oh! heeey!

can we take a second and talk about how super, super, super behind i am on this gosh darn blog? obviously it's true. crickets can be heard for miles, tumbleweeds are blowing by and dust is accumulating on this little web space of mine. (and also around my house but we won't get into that.) there's nothing that states, "i'm crazy busy!" better than a blog that hasn't been updated in over a month.

instead of a million different posts all nicely organized by event- with coordinating pictures of course- here's just a teeny, tiny peek at our life as of late. and by late i mean from june-ish until now. yikes.

row 1: family date night / selling mama-made ring slings / a back-roads walk / birdie's room decor- all mama made.

row 2: pink, sparkly toes / post-bath kissies / packers #1 cheerleader / birthday celebration at a baseball game

row 3: grammy visited / mama made mock up of birdie's flower girl attire / it's still hot in 'bama but it's fall in our house / this guy is getting older and handsomer (new word)

row 4: lots of storms but no hurricanes yet / pre-bedtime story time / visit from auntie / sleep issues finally under control

not pictured: countless mosquito bites, prep for our trip to hawaii (!), countless projects that have been started but not finished, d brewing his own kombucha, keeping up with my young women girls, doing cross fit work outs, watching lots and lots of football with friends, cleaning up after a curious, mobile baby, my new part-time job, playgroups, mila is cruising and finally lovin' table foods, fighting bugs, new tires (!) and all the other day to day stuff that requires attention or randomly pops up. whew.

Chin Up

long time, no chat.

d's absence- due to training- leaves me to juggle everything and everyone. while we still have just over two weeks left before it's over this has been the only separation that has flown by. like all of the separations we've had to endure there's always an emergency-like situation that never fails to occur on my watch, usually car or dog related. (dog, this time) despite that, and other events that will not be blogged about, my chin is still up.

in my blogging absence i've gained some gnarly tan lines, mosquito bites, and a slight oreo addiction. i've conquered a bunch of household projects and, yet, somehow that to-do list keeps getting longer instead of shorter. i survived the scariest storm i've ever experienced a hurricane-like storm, alabama's wide array of weird bugs (understatement) and slowly adjusting to the southern heat. i'm gaining control over my post-partum depression, anxiety, and acne. ('cause lord knows i'm not 15 anymore!)  i've been kept busy by a scooting-but-on-the-cusp-of-crawling birdie, dogs that would rather be exploring our backyard creek than inside, church responsibilities, dinner and play date invitations and daily household items that require attention.

quite honestly that's the sugar coated version. we've been presented with a tough obstacle which has been one of the main drives behind my absence. i try to be as open and honest as i can here but there is a boundary line that i don't want to cross. i'm drawing that line here... now.

life always hands us a challenge that seems overwhelming and ridiculously hard. keep your chin up. that's what we're doing over here. i'll be back soon... pinkie promise.

Excused Absence

it's been awhile with no word from this wifey.

apologies. 

settling in a new home and location is hard work. it's a job that i'm still plugging away at, but i can now see light at the end of the tunnel. there have been new friends, play dates, doctor visits, family walks, church callings and teaching, schedule switch-a-roos, colds, teething, lots of carne asada eating, baking, late nights, developmental milestones, phone calls to california, surfing, road trips, crazy thunderstorms, and falling in love with a new album by a favorite artist. as you can see we've been a little busy. 

in the midst of this a stranger showed up unannounced. at first it was quiet and subtle. then it grew noticeable but was kept in a corner, like a pile of papers waiting to be filed. suddenly it required my full attention. i was prepared for post-partum depression to hit but not this late, and not in this way. it has caused such a disturbance that it's hard to function some days. functioning as a mom has been no problem. but functioning as a wife, friend, sister, daughter? yikes. 

on side, but relevant, note: honestly... i took starting solid foods with birdie very, very hard. part of it i blame on post-partum, another part i blame on having to go through infertility, and the other part i blame on social pressures of being a mom. (and a new one at that!) d and i waited and waited for so stinkin' long to become parents that starting the solid-food milestone is just a tangible reminder- and a strong one- that her babyhood is quickly fading. pressure from outside sources to get her to eat three solid food meals a day seems, to me, intrusive and ..... commercial....? in the end- one la leche league meeting reassured my fears. so, while we'll sloooowly continue with solid foods but not make in a huge focus while she's still under a year old. 

for now my postings will slow down a little until i can get a better grip on this post-partum business. i have a few scheduled posts/ photo dumps that will appear next week in my absence. and despite all of this murkiness there have been so many bright, sunny spots. sweetness between our little trio, or with new friends, have made me stop and relish the moment. the following pictures are proof of that. 

1. a walk with mama and dog-dogs

2. all fancy-faced for church

3. weeeeeeee

4. my two best girls

5. lovin' our huge backyard 

6. one tooth... two tooth... and now we're on to our third

7. a very, very, very late night bath

8. a face i could eat up

9. less than a week away from being a 7-month-old

Life, Lately, In Snippets

> We had a great first Christmas as a family of three, surrounded by tons of family. It was loud, long, and chaotic. Perfect! This mama scored a new Nikon camera that has already been put to work. 

> On New Year's Eve we said goodbye to California and hello to the open road. With our stuff piled on top and various parts of the car we encountered 10+ hour long days of driving, 4 poop blow outs, two patient dogs and lots and lots of hotels rooms. 

> We stopped in Texas to visit our best friends and their expanding family for a day. They introduced us to Texas BBQ and we wore out their 4 year old and chatted like old times. (Like, the good chats that girls have late at night over bowls of cereal.) C & M- we're still obsessed with how comfy your guest bed was! 

> Saw some serious swamps and quietly giggled at all of the funny accents as we hit the southern states. ("Oh look at that BAY-e-bee!") 

> Our house hunting day was long, stressful and ended with me in urgent care with a 101* fever and early flu symptoms. Just when we were ready to lose it a house came our direction that left us crossing our fingers. 

> Over the weekend we splurged on a new Temperpedic bed and look forward to it arriving next week. We attended our new ward and found everyone to be very lovely and welcoming. We made some new friends and enjoyed a great meal at their house. 

> We've found that Alabama residents are very friendly and are serious about their Roll Tide. Like, dead serious. We enjoy their twangy accents and wouldn't be surprised if we picked up a little one during our time here. We can't go anywhere without people wanting to coo over or flat out steal Mila- bird. For the most part- we're letting them. 

> Doggies have been given the short end of the stick lately. Cooped up in the car and then cooped up in hotel rooms. Ugh. We hate it as much as they do. 

> It's already hot. We're still trying to get over how much our electricity bill will be each month. Plus, the sales tax is high. Ouch. 

> D loves his shop, coworkers and base. We're preparing ourselves for another 7-week separation sometime early this year. 

> My flu symptoms have been manageable up until a couple days ago. (Nicely timed on D's first day at work.) I spent all of Monday between the bed and bathroom. D had to take our dogs to work with him and was able to come home early to help me out. Fortunately, Birdie used that day to catch up on sleep. Thankfully I seem to be on the mend now. 

> More posts to slow come as I'm able. (And with more pictures if I can find my cord) 

This Time

E, C and I in Yosemite around this time last year. 

This time last year... I broke down emotionally during dinner with my mom at a restaurant. It was hard to watch my mom find words of comfort to make everything all better.

This time last year... I had a really fun visit with e and c. (pictured) And was secretly wishing they'd start dating.

This time last year... I had random, crazy reaction to a medication I've taken before.

This time last year... all of the hard work that d did was wiped away in one injury.

This time last year... I kept telling myself over and over and over that everything happens for a reason. (right?)

This time last year... we were getting ready to move back to Oregon.

This time last year... we were surprised (understatement) to learn that a little bird was soon to be on her way.


This time... I am the happiest I've probably ever been.

This time... I'm counting down the days until I get to see e and c again. (11 to go!) And I'm over the moon, tickled, thrilled that they're now married.

This time... all of d's hard work and sacrifice paid off in a huge way.

This time... all I can think about is how things happen for a reason, and someone else knows of a bigger plan than I do.

This time... we're starting to plan our move to our next station in Mobile, Alabama.

This time... I have an almost 3-month-old (what!?!) birdie sitting contently in my lap as I type this, chewing on her soft, chubby hands.


What a difference a year makes.

As of Late

1. a backyard friend
2. crocheting a couple beanies for an upcoming photo shoot
3. cockatoo hair
4. turns out mila-bird just doesn't like paci's.
5. fall has arrived.
6. a new-to-me phone. love.
7. halloween love from nana and papa
8. a dapper pup.

As of Late

1 & 2- Cousin visits

3- A hotel stay

4- Puppy cuddles

5- First real bath 

6- First day at church

7- Swing love

8- Growing like a weed (sigh) 

Sweetness

1. can't get enough cake batter fro-yo.

2. freshly washed & organized changing table. 

3. turned on laptop to find this page open. love. him. 

4. homemade sopapillas. 

5. nap time. 

6. discovered a secret message from my favorite person. 

7. buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake. 

8. hubs' latest reading project. 

As of Late & Chaos

This sums up our last couple weeks pretty darn well. Let me back track a little...

Six months ago D suffered a pretty bad shoulder injury while in training across the county. They immediately sent him back home to me and, together, we had a week to find a new place to live back up north near his previous station. I was overwhelmed by the whole situation but promised D that I would immediately calm down once we had secured a place to live. After all- moving is no fun unless you have some type of idea of where you're going. Within a couple hours D found a condo for rent, and five days later we camped- literally- in our new place after signing a lease.

While the town and the condominiums that we lived in were really, really nice the condo that we rented wasn't...err... treated properly... to be nice. But we did the best we could with what we had, and I think we made the best out of the situation. I successfully looked past the white walls, physical imperfections, and the small space and made our condo as homey as possible. We made a verbal agreement with our landlord to extend our lease for another six months.

One day, a couple months ago, I was served papers at our home notifying us that the condo we were renting was heading towards foreclosure. Wait.... what!?! We have never, ever missed or have been late on a rent payment so you can imagine our surprise. I tried my best to read through the legal mumbo jumbo but I could only understand a few things clearly:

1. We were to keep paying our rent.
2. Our landlord was behind a specific amount and had to pay the balance by a certain date. (Which, if paid, could stop the foreclosure proceedings.)
3. If the balance wasn't paid then the condo would be auctioned a week before my due date.
4. If the condo was auctioned off we could either have 24 hours notice, 30 days or 90 days notice to move, depending on the situation.
5. This wasn't a great situation for us.

We mentioned to our landlord that we were aware of the situation and asked him to keep us updated. Weeks went by and there was still no word, let alone a straight answer when we questioned him. A few weeks ago we were really adamant that we HAD to know.... after all- we didn't want to be in a situation where I was popping out Birdie in the midst of house hunting, or moving with an infant that was days or weeks old. D and I made the decision to remove ourselves from the situation and find a new place.

I'll spare the gory details but it was a lot more stressful and anxiety filled than I thought it would be. There were also a couple crying meltdowns on my part. In the end we found a place that's in the next town over, actually saves us money, and has a better use of space. The only down side is it's a single wide... literally... and it's extremely dated in the- ahem- decor department. But, we're making the most of it and the pros of it out weigh the dated wallpaper, wood paneling, linolium flooring and such.

We've spent the past week packing up our things. Fortunately I did a major spring clean shortly after we moved into the condo and most of our stuff was already packed in storage bins. Over the weekend we got permission to start moving our stuff over. D has been a champ at doing all of the actual lifting and moving while I'm heading the sorting and organizing department. Tomorrow is our official move in day. We accomplished so much over the past couple of days that we really only have the major stuff (bed, freezer, etc) to move over.

I'm so, so glad that we're done and out of foreclosure situation as much as I hate that I'm moving while 6 1/2 months pregnant.

........

Of course daily life continues in the midst of chaos. Here's a quick glimpse at ours: 

 D and our friend E hiked Saddle Mountain one morning. I thoroughly enjoyed not going and, instead, spent my time sewing. 

 I finished the bumpers for Birdie's cradle. I know SIDS is a big concern with bumpers so I purposefully did only two sides and made the inner batting super, supper thin. 

These knuckleheads always find a way to steal my heart. I'm glad we've been having unseasonably warm weather lately as it'll get them ready for our trip back to California. (Note the turquoise pillow I made for our couch with leftover cradle fabric.) 

A Tiny Peek of Life Lately, Part II

1. an uninvited guest to our sit-in-the-car-and-watch-the-waves lunch date.
2. my two strapping boys.
3. playtime at hug point. (and a glimpse of the waterfall d fell off of.)
4. french baguettes from scratch.
5. cinnamon-sugar pull-apart bread. oh. my. word.
6. oh, my sweet girl.
7. possible color scheme for birdie girl's room.
8. whoops. and ouch.

A Tiny Peek of Life Lately, Part I

1. living room redecoration update: mismatched picture frames finally painted.
2. a tour of d's station with his mama and not so baby brother.
3. surf session with friends on a random 60* day. (and an awkward sunburn for this lady)
4. tillamook cheese factory icecream sampler.
5. the results of d falling off an 8ft waterfall and landing smack on his booty.