Back in California!

So, Josh decided to re enlist so we are back in CA to finish his current set of orders.  

After the craziness of Jackson's birthday party in November, then Christmas and New Year, we finally had homecoming to look forward to.  Nothing went the way it was supposed to and the day it's self was super stressful.  But I forgot all about that the moment I saw Josh, I was just happy.  I felt complete.  

Homecoming was a little bittersweet.  We didn't have much downtime to relax and adjust to being a family again.  4 days after his plane landed in VA, we had to load up again for the drive back to California.  The drive was a long one, it was cold and the weather wasn't great.  But we made it and got to move in to our new house in the beginning of March.  So now we are settled back in and loving life in CA.  Hopefully getting back to trying to conceive number 2.  I have an appointment soon to talk to my doctor.  Just trying to enjoy every day until we have to deal with deployment again.

Ta ta for now!

xoxo Mommy, Daddy, & Jackson.

Almost 2... Really, already?

As I sit here making 20 Lightening McQueen favor bags for Jackson's party.  I am watching him put together a puzzle and sing along with the Disney movie in the background and I am in awe.  I can't believe what a smart, polite little boy we are raising.

Josh is still deployed.  Not sure when he will be home but I can tell you, it isn't soon enough.  He's also in the process of looking for a civilian job since he isn't sure he wants the military to be his career.  Lots of changes coming soon for our little family.

When he comes home, we will begin officially trying to conceive baby number #2 (think pink)so wish us luck with that.  I've stalled enough, back to favor making.  Will have a detailed post of our summer coming soon.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson

Moving day is quickly approaching.

And I am not ready yet.  Emotionally I am more then ready to move and be back in Maryland closer to family for a while.  Physically, I'm no where near ready.  I feel like I have so much to do and not enough time left to do it.  I'm trying to pack a few boxes every day.  But it doesn't feel like it's enough.  I know once I start moving stuff into the storage unit that it will get easier since I will be able to see the house empty out and  exactly what still needs to be packed.  Only 2 1/2 more days until Josh's mom gets here, 10 days until the move out date, 11 til Mr Dan gets here, 12 til we get on the road.  Geeze, typing that out really made me realize how little time is left.

On the Jackson front, We have entered the "Terrific" 2's.  He's been so moody, and cranky.  I'm sure my stress is rubbing off on him and he is not happy to be seeing his toys go into boxes.  He's started saying "Thank you" although it sounds more like "ank too", but I know what he means.  And he misses his Daddy terribly.  He has a Daddy doll that goes everywhere with us and he gives him kisses and hugs.  I can't wait for homecoming.  I miss seeing my boys together.

Ok, I've stalled enough for now.  Back to the packing and cleaning.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson

Big Changes

Since my last post, Josh has deployed, Jackson is starting to talk, and I am packing up our place.

Josh and I talked it over for what seemed like forever and we decided it would be in the best interest of our family for Jackson and I to move back to Maryland for a while.  I will be leaving San Diego and moving in with my in-laws for a while.  Lucky, I've got some great in-laws, makes things lots easier.  I've heard horror stories about other peoples in-laws and I am very thankful that my amazing husband came with some amazing parents.  Plans are being finalized, I move out of our place on July 25th and we leave CA on the 26th. We are taking our time driving across the country and should be in MD by August 2nd.  It's a good thing I had already prepared myself for moving.  It turns out the place we live will be raising the rent by $300 if we were to renew our lease.  This place is already on the high end of our budget and that would take it over.  So it looks like one way or another, I was bound to be moving this summer.

Josh has been gone for a little over a month now.  And I am handling it ok.  I have some good days and some bad days.  The bad days seem to be coming around more often.  I'm hoping it is just the stress of the move and the fact that Jackson has started talking and Daddy is missing it.  He now says cat, meow, more, vroom, quack, this, and his new favorite, uh oh.  He's turning in to a little boy before my eyes.  He's amazing.  He's so smart.  He loves to build blocks, play with cars, read books, and go swimming.  If there was one thing I could rein in on him is if he could be a little less fearless.  Especially in a crowed place or near the water.  We are definitely entering the "Terrible Twos" with tantrums, and not wanting to share.  But we are working through it one day at a time.

That's all I have for now.  I've had a busy day with cleaning and going to the pool.  The little dude is in bed and out for the night.  I think I will go relax, maybe watch some tv or read and go to bed myself.

xoxo
Mommy & Jackson

Decisions, Decisions..

It has been a long week. I'm sure it just felt longer because we had visitors, Josh's Dad and Linda (Dad's girlfriend). We were go, go, go all week. Trying to see as much as we could in the 7 short days they were here. Now they have left and Josh is back to work after leave and I am left alone with my thoughts. Josh is leaving for deployment very soon. I have a lot of decisions to make on my own. His Navy contract is up shortly after they return from deployment. So, do I stay here in California by myself, well not by myself, I have friends here. Or do I move to Maryland where I can be closer to family so that Jackson can bond with them and I can have their much needed help and support while Josh is away.

I always said I wouldn't be one of those military wives that went home for every deployment, but now I am seeing that in some cases, it is absolutely necessary. I can understand why some chose to do it. For me, it is still not an ideal situation because I NEED my own space. A place to call mine that I can escape to when I need some down time. Josh and I talked about is and realized the money we'd save by me moving back could help us with a down payment on a house when he was out of the Navy. I had they idea maybe I could stay in a long term hotel, or short term furnished rental and but our stuff in storage so that A) I wouldn't have to worry about moving it from one coast to the next by myself, cost wise and other and B) so that everything would still be in one place when the Navy would move us one last time. That idea got nixed when I did some research and realized I'd be paying just as much in rent here as I would for the storage unit and a place to stay, meaning we wouldn't be saving any money.

So now it's back to the drawing board. I have to get something figured out in the next few weeks so I can plan, pack, whatever needs to be done. I only have 4 months left on the lease here. I do know that if we stay in CA, I definitely want to move. This complex is not family friendly. There are no other children, or even a playground around for Jackson. He needs playmates and a place to run.

So that's it for now. I just wanted to get that out.

Easter Pageant weeked

I entered Jackson in to a Easter pageant hosted by the Stars and Stripes Entrepreneurs Network, which is military wives with home businesses based. The do monthly events to help us get our names out there, make contacts, etc... Since I was unable to be a vendor this time, I decided to put Jackson in the pageant.

He got a stylin' new suit and dress shoes for the event. He looked so stinking handsome. I know I am biased but whatever, My son is so cute.

He won! He won 1st place for boys in his age division! He got a candy bouquet, and a cool r/c race car. And in lieu of a crown, they gave the winners bunny ears. I'm so proud of my little turd, I just wanted to brag about him a bit.

Whew...

It's been a busy 5 months. I now have "Blog at least once a week" written on a post-it by the computer. I feel so much better after I write a nice long post and I know I will cherish remembering every detail I can when it feels like the days are flying by so quickly. Let's get caught up, and go from there.

Josh came home a couples days before Thanksgiving and we were so glad to be able to have him home. We spent the day with our great friends turned family Ryan, Nicole and Aidan. Nicole and I decided to go Black Friday shopping for the first time ever and we were lined up at Toys R Us by 9pm. We hit Toys R Us, Old Navy, Target, and Walmart and didn't get home until 3am. Woke up after sleeping a couple hours and went to the Navy Exchange and scored a couple more deals. Overall it was a fun, exciting trip and we definitely saved a lot of money on things we were planning to buy anyway. I know my savings were about $500. I loved being able to spoil my boys and have extra money.

Nothing to exciting happened in December. We were just enjoying being a family and Josh was getting to see all the new things Jackson learned while he was gone. We decorated for Christmas, painted ceramics for Christmas gifts, visited with Santa, and planned a trip to MD for right after Christmas. Ryan, Nicole, and Aidan came over to our house for Christmas dinner, it was a nice relaxing dinner. Exactly what we wanted since the next day I had to clean house, take down the decorations, and finish packing since we were leaving for MD on the 27th.

Our trip to MD went well, Jackson is an amazing little traveler. He got to see all of his Grandparents, and even got to meet some Aunts, Uncles, and cousins he still hadn't had the chance to meet. He had Christmas again with Grammie, Grandmom, and Grandpa. He is a very loved little boy. We took him to Annapolis, Maryland to walk around and show him where Mommy and Daddy were married. And he even had a taste of Cream of Crab soup since that is Josh and I's anniversary tradition.

January was another quiet month. His BFF Aidan turned 1 and we went to the zoo with him on his birthday and then had a blast at his party that weekend, Mommy got a tattoo with Nicole to celebrate our boys and us making it through a very trying, exciting first year. Jackson watched the football playoffs with Daddy, and we just enjoyed being together.

By February, I can't believe I ever had a baby. He is a full fledged child now. He runs and plays and he is such a dare devil, he goes down the slide head first, and loves the playground. We had his first haircut in February, and they took my baby from me in a matter of minutes. I watched him transform from my baby with crazy hair to a handsome little boy. And now, he looks even more like Josh.

March was exciting. We were getting ready for lots of visitors. First Grandmom came out, then the next day Uncle Bryan, Aunt Sammie, Braydon, and Matthew came down from OR. I hadn't seen Bryan (My brother) in 4 years. I'd never met his wife, or my nephews. Braydon is 2 months older then Jackson, and Matthew was 5 weeks old when they came to visit. We went to Playtown, the Zoo, Sea World, A swim in the pool and had lots of fun before they left. Grandmom stayed a few more days and we added a trip to the beach onto that list. My birthday was on the 27th, and I turned 27. No big deal it was just another day to me and I am having a hard time emotionally turning 27. No time to deal with that, Next week Josh goes on leave and his Dad and Dad's girlfriend will be flying in for a week. Then we get ready for the dreaded deployment.

Thanks for reading this long post. Hopefully I will not have to do a long catch-up one like this again.

xoxo

Mommy & Jackson