Anywho.
I'm tired of not blogging. I miss it. I miss y'all. This may not be the best post I've ever written, but I want to share some things. And maybe it'll help me get back into the swing of things. Here goes nothin'!
Thing #1
Thing #1
I am beyond ready to move. The 2 weeks we spent in NC were wonderful, to say the least. It was...sort of liberating. Haha! I know that sounds funny.
I shopped at WalMart. I know a ton of people despise WalMart, but hear me out. The one(s) we have here are terrible. Tiniest food section known to man. Poor selections of anything. Higher prices. Always busy. Just blah. So going to a WalMart Supercenter? It was like I was on a vacation. {Ok, I guess I kinda was...} I didn't need to go somewhere else to get what I was looking for. People were friendly.
I could get in the car and drive without hitting any kind of major traffic. There were hills and trees and squirrels. Highways with speed limits greater than 55. Back roads with speed limits of 55.
Plenty of shopping options. A mall that isn't severely crowded and overpriced.
Chick Fil A. Olive Garden. Chipotle. Need I say more?
Southern people. {Does that make me sound racist...or something? I'm really not.}
Thing #2
I am sick of being sick. Charlotte caught a cold our first day in NC and has since shared it with me...twice. Once while we were there and again when we got back to Hawaii. *sigh* And now, I've shared it with Joe. I might just die if he shares it with me. Thankfully, Charlotte is finally on the mend! No more snotty nose or cough. Hallelujah! I am feeling better...sorta. No more sore throat. Just a stuffy nose. And, today, my asthma has decided to act up. To top it off, I was supposed to go see my pulmonologist, but couldn't because....the Army sucks and Joe couldn't go with me. (Meaning I have no one to watch Charlotte. And I don't feel comfortable leaving her in the "daycare" at Tripler. Call me crazy.)
Thing #3
For the first day since we got back, it's actually normal Hawaii weather! It's been so rainy lately that I often wondered where I was. :P I've also really been wanting to take Charlotte on a walk, but you can't do that in the rain!
Thing #4
Speaking of Charlotte... The kid has been giving me a run for my money lately. Mainly with her sudden sleep problems. I get that traveling messed up her sleep schedule, but really? I've been living on the edge since we got back a little over a week ago. The first 2 nights (including the night we flew in), she woke up at 3am. Ugh. I had a feeling it would happen, though, considering 3am Hawaii time is 8am NC time. So I changed her, fed her, and put her butt back in bed. Thankfully, by the 3rd day, she had adjusted and slept through the night!
However, her naps were awful. Terrible. The worst they've ever been. She fights sleep soooooo hard! This is all new territory for me. We were starting to have nap issues before we left, mainly because she learned she could pull up! Since she couldn't get back down, she'd freak. Understandable. Frustrating, but understandable. Sometime while we were gone, she decided that she'd rather skip naps than miss anything exciting. I assumed things would go back to normal when we were home and in our own environment. *sigh* No dice. Sometimes she barely gets 30 mins. Sometimes she'll sleep the full 2 hours. Sometimes she screams for an hour instead of sleeping.
Translation: We're both very tired over here. She's tired from lack of sleep and I'm tired of fighting her and then wrangling her when she's all over the house. It's exhausting and I want my normal, happy, sleeping baby back!
Thing #5
The D word has been creeping up a lot lately. The unit Joe's in now is starting to prep for deployment. We're PCSing long before that happens, but it still makes me think. It's also possible that his new unit in GA will be deploying soon after we get there. Just thinking about the possibility makes me slightly anxious. And a little sad. Sure, it sucked the last time around, but next time? With a baby? With a toddler? Ugh. It will be so much harder. I'm sure some parts of it will be easier (like staying busy), but other parts will be harder. Nothing like the D word to make you stop and think, right?
So this was a random post... Oh well. :) Kudos if you made it to the end!
Thing #2
I am sick of being sick. Charlotte caught a cold our first day in NC and has since shared it with me...twice. Once while we were there and again when we got back to Hawaii. *sigh* And now, I've shared it with Joe. I might just die if he shares it with me. Thankfully, Charlotte is finally on the mend! No more snotty nose or cough. Hallelujah! I am feeling better...sorta. No more sore throat. Just a stuffy nose. And, today, my asthma has decided to act up. To top it off, I was supposed to go see my pulmonologist, but couldn't because....the Army sucks and Joe couldn't go with me. (Meaning I have no one to watch Charlotte. And I don't feel comfortable leaving her in the "daycare" at Tripler. Call me crazy.)
Thing #3
For the first day since we got back, it's actually normal Hawaii weather! It's been so rainy lately that I often wondered where I was. :P I've also really been wanting to take Charlotte on a walk, but you can't do that in the rain!
Thing #4
Speaking of Charlotte... The kid has been giving me a run for my money lately. Mainly with her sudden sleep problems. I get that traveling messed up her sleep schedule, but really? I've been living on the edge since we got back a little over a week ago. The first 2 nights (including the night we flew in), she woke up at 3am. Ugh. I had a feeling it would happen, though, considering 3am Hawaii time is 8am NC time. So I changed her, fed her, and put her butt back in bed. Thankfully, by the 3rd day, she had adjusted and slept through the night!
However, her naps were awful. Terrible. The worst they've ever been. She fights sleep soooooo hard! This is all new territory for me. We were starting to have nap issues before we left, mainly because she learned she could pull up! Since she couldn't get back down, she'd freak. Understandable. Frustrating, but understandable. Sometime while we were gone, she decided that she'd rather skip naps than miss anything exciting. I assumed things would go back to normal when we were home and in our own environment. *sigh* No dice. Sometimes she barely gets 30 mins. Sometimes she'll sleep the full 2 hours. Sometimes she screams for an hour instead of sleeping.
Translation: We're both very tired over here. She's tired from lack of sleep and I'm tired of fighting her and then wrangling her when she's all over the house. It's exhausting and I want my normal, happy, sleeping baby back!
Thing #5
The D word has been creeping up a lot lately. The unit Joe's in now is starting to prep for deployment. We're PCSing long before that happens, but it still makes me think. It's also possible that his new unit in GA will be deploying soon after we get there. Just thinking about the possibility makes me slightly anxious. And a little sad. Sure, it sucked the last time around, but next time? With a baby? With a toddler? Ugh. It will be so much harder. I'm sure some parts of it will be easier (like staying busy), but other parts will be harder. Nothing like the D word to make you stop and think, right?
So this was a random post... Oh well. :) Kudos if you made it to the end!
What have you been up to lately?
Urgh poor you with the sleep issue. My parents keep offering to fly the girls and I to London in February because my husband is leaving for a month and all I keep thinking about is why would I mess up a good thing by making both my kids jetlagged
ReplyDeleteAs hard as it is try not to dwell on a deployment....it may or may not happen especially with the draw down happening.
ReplyDeleteWe are struggling over here with sleep issues also! My 2 (almost 3) year old transitioned to a toddler bed a few weeks ago, and suddenly he's waking up 3 or 4 times a night to stand next to our bed and whine. Oh, and he thinks it's cute to wake up for the day at 5:30. I'm dying.
ReplyDeleteKeep your chin up though. When my hubby deployed the first time, we didn't have any kids. It was hard. It sucked. You know, you've been there. The second time, I had an 18 month old when he left. And while it was still awful and hard, I do think it was EASIER having a toddler around. Someone to keep me company and make me smile every day. So, take heart. It will be ok:)
I'm sure it wasn't a surprise for you that sleep schedules would get messed up during travel and take a day or 2 to get back to normal, especially with a big time change. But it's also really common for there to be some sleep difficulty when baby becomes mobile. It's the same idea of not wanting to miss any of the excitement, afterall there's so much more for her to explore now. Also she's getting older so she doesn't need quite as much sleep. Give it time and you'll fall into a new rhythm with her soon enough.
ReplyDeleteAnd there's no denying deployments suck, but take heart Charlotte won't remember the absence as vividly while she's still young. There's lots of resources and things you can do to keep Daddy with her even when he's away. I loved watching my kids video chat with hubby while he was gone. And an added bonus the kiddos keep you busy and provide entertainment and company :)
Two cheers for moving! TO Georgia no less! I am excited to have another blogger in the area that I've read about for awhile. (Again, if you need any help/advice/anything along those lines, e-mail me! I probably know the answer!)
ReplyDeleteTwo sad faces for Charlotte not napping. I'd be going insane. :( Sorry girl.
WOW the WalMarts in Hawaii must really be terrible if you think the ones in NC are friendly & less crowded! :D
ReplyDeleteCharlotte will figure herself out soon! Penny had a little time there of adjustment when she started learning all these new things, but she started napping better again. And I hate that D word! If we get to Carson next, they will be coming back from deployment... relief!
ReplyDeleteI totally get the Walmart thing! I avoided them growing up in California because they were all dirty and in bad areas (seriously... my dad STILL won't let me go to Walmart alone in CA). Then we moved to GA and I went to a Supercenter and it was fantastic! We used to do all our grocery shopping there and it was so cheap and they had EVERYTHING. It's one of the things I miss about Georgia (and the no traffic too!).
ReplyDeletethe d word is always a little scary. however we are over half way done with our first and we have 2 kids, a 4 yr old and a 5 month old. the hubby was only home for the day she was born. it crazy how fast time has gone. now i havent had a deployment to compare this one too so im sure its totally different going through one without kids. i just hope he doesnt have to go. fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that you enjoyed your time home. I know it was hard for me to leave my family to come back to CA after ten days. Hopefully the move is happening soon!
ReplyDeleteUgh... D's. Hopefully he won't have to any time soon!