Afghanistan Emails

I decided to do some inbox cleaning today, and I came across a bunch of emails between Nick and I from the last few times he was in Afghanistan.

There's nothing significant about any of these emails.

Most of them go as such:

 "Hey baby.  I made it to lthrnk.  Getting settled in.  got some meetings and some training.  I will call you asap.  Gotta run.  Tell Dannika I miss her and love her.  I love you guys."

or (you gotta read from the bottom up)

I am trying.

-----Original Message-----
From: me
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 09:31
To: hubby
Subject: Re: hey

Call me

------Original Message------
From: Hubby 

To: me
Subject: RE: hey
Sent: Jan 23, 2012 21:00

How did the doctors appointment go baby?

-----Original Message-----
From: me
Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2012 09:06
To: hubby
Subject: hey

call me when you get a chance. I am goin to bed now (its 830pm). Call me
tomorrow, k? I love you...want to talk to you.

 I can't find it in myself to delete them. 

I obviously saved and printed the long love letters he used to email me, but these short little notes that he used to email me is what I used to look forward to every day.

It gave me a sense of relief to know that he was OK and safe.

They hold memories of long lonely nights, the nights of crying myself to sleep, the stress of being a working, single mom, the days feeling sorry for my daughter...

They also hold memories of the fun mommy/daughter dates I got to have, the girls nights, the bonds and friendships I made with other women going through the same, and of course the countdowns to the homecomings. 

So I guess they will remain in my inbox until the end of time.

I don't even want to make a separate folder for them.

I want them to stay right where they are...

in my inbox...

just like how I received them the first time.

These are my favorite memories. The ones of being reunited.

Pregnancy So Far (19 Weeks)

How far along? I'm 19 weeks today. I've been miscalculating my pregnancy by a week!!! I thought I was 20 weeks! 

Total weight gain/loss: I have no idea. I refuse to look at the scale when I go into my Drs. appointments. I have kept my work out intensity the same as before pregnancy (so far), and our family has always eaten super healthy, so I think I'm doing alright!

Maternity clothes? At home, I'm usually in oversize tshirts and stretchy sweat pants. When I have to leave the house, I like my stretchy skinny pants! I'm barely showing still, so I can still squeeze into my normal clothes.

Stretch marks? Nope...zero! I didn't have any with D either. I have really good skin from my mom, and it's not prone to stretch marks.

Sleep: I sleep great! I can still lay on my stomach!

Best moment this week: Going for a run this weekend cause the weather was so freaking nice! (btw...it's freezing again and the wind chill is ridiculous...I knew it was too good to last).

Miss Anything? I miss a good cocktail. It's not as much fun going on fun date nights with the hubby (without the kiddo), and not being able to have a vodka martini (my fave). I also miss my abs...like I said, I'm barely showing. I just look like I've let myself go a little :-(

Movement: Yup! I can feel the little guy move around all the time! D hasn't felt it yet, but Nick has.

Food cravings: I AM NOT a dessert or sweet person, but this pregnancy has me craving cupcakes, ice cream, cookies, and muffins. I have found a ton of SUPER healthy recipes online to fulfill my cravings without all the sugar and fat. I also crave crispy apples all the time.

Symptoms: I have the pee a lot. I hate that when I start my work outs, I have to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes for the first 20 minutes. I have slight mood swings. I got really emotional and mad at my hubby for eating one of my English muffins for breakfast (even though there were plenty left for me)...For whatever reason, I felt really possessive of my English muffins that morning. My hubby has not eaten an English muffin since...oops!

Have you started to show yet: Just a little. I'm at that awkward stage where it looks like I'm out of shape :-( I was in full maternity clothes with D by this point!

Gender: little man

Labor Signs: Too early!

Belly Button in or out? In! I don't think my belly button popped out till I was like 30 weeks with D.

Wedding rings on or off? On..in fact, they feel looser around my finger!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I'm moody...not cause of pregnancy (although it probably has some part in it). I'm still not used to living here in New England, and I dislike it here....a lot.

Looking forward to: Having a cocktail!

Second Baby Fears

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about how different the early life of our second child will be compared to D's.

When D was born, I was an active duty Marine, and I only got 6 weeks of maternity leave before I had to drop her off at daycare for 9-12 hours a day (sometimes longer).

Up until she was 3 1/2, her weekday consisted of being forced to wake up at 430am to get ready for the day so that mommy and daddy could go to work.

She was dropped off at daycare/preschool at 630am, and spent her entire day there until 6 in the evening.

As sad as it was for me to miss out on so much of her infanthood, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

I truly believe that being in daycare at such a young age around other children is the reason why she is such an easy going and social butterfly of a child.

Here's the thing.

I was ABSOLUTELY blessed with D.

She never had colic.

She began sleeping through the entire night at about 8 weeks.

She never had a problem feeding (and we switched from breastfeeding to bottlefeeding at 6 weeks).

She was hardly ever sick.

She was potty trained in one day (yes, ONE day) at the age of 2.

I never needed to baby proof our home, because she never got into anything!

She's never been the "clingy" kid who freaks out when mommy or daddy had to leave her in Sunday school or at a friend's house (so that we could have a date night).

In fact, I NEVER felt bad asking someone to watch our princess for us because I was 150% confident that she would be the EASIEST baby in the world to watch (and she was). 

People were astonished at how well behaved of a baby she was, and how easy going she was.

So I am having serious anxiety that this next baby is going to be the complete opposite of D.

I'm having anxiety about being home ALL. DAY. LONG. with this baby.

Will he turn into a complete mama's boy that has an absolute meltdown when I drop him off at Sunday school?

Will he be clingy and a crybaby?

I told myself after having D that if Nick and I had another baby, there is no way I was going to be working.

I want to experience every moment that I missed as a mother with D.

I'm just having fears now that because I was so used to a certain lifestyle of parenting with D, this one's gonna give me a run for my money.

It doesn't help that I had post partum depression a few months after D was born and was on medication for it....

Needing some prayers please!

This picture makes me laugh. This was after my first day of work since giving birth...exhaustion!

Resurrection Weekend

It's hard to believe that this is D's FOURTH Easter already!

As I say time and time again....

"WHERE DID THE TIME GO?!"

This was D's first Easter. Nick was deployed to Afghanistan. I love her little chubby baby cheeks! (Can you tell I didn't own a DSLR camera yet?!?!)

Easter 2011...by far my favorite Easter Bunny pic EVERRRRR!

Easter 2012

 Easter 2013

It seems like every year, she loses a little bit more of her "baby face". 

It makes me sad :-(

 The weather was AB-SO-LUTELY beautiful this weekend!

We are talking highs in the 50's.....

I am laughing because just over a year ago, I would have said 50 was freezing.

But for New England, it was nice.

The sun was out, and it was nice enough to go outside without bundling up like Ralphie from the Christmas Story.

 It felt like SPRING!

This is the first time since we've moved here that D has been outside without a jacket or pants!

And in true Texas cowgirl style, she's showin' off her cowgirl boots!

D and our neighbor having a tea party in the front lawn next to her Camaro. YES...she is wearing capri pants!!! It IS Spring!

   I love this picture because it truly shows a different perspective for me as a stay at home mom (SAHM). I've never truly experienced being home with D ALL DAY LONG, and the excitement and look on her face when daddy comes home after a long day of work.

I don't have a sweet tooth...AT ALL.

I am not a dessert person, nor do I really like sweet things.

It seems that this pregnancy has triggered my inner sweet tooth, but if I gave into every craving I had, I would gain 200lbs this pregnancy. 

I started looking up healthy ways to make things that I crave (like chocolate chip cookies and muffins), and most of the REALLY healthy recipes I found are vegan!

I don't think I could ever become full vegan (I'm a southern girl that loves her occasional fried chicken, brisket, and steak), but I've learned that eating little or no animal products really does make a difference in the way I feel! 

For the most part, I don't eat meat except at dinnertime, and my family has pretty much cut red meat out of our diet.

ANYWAY, before I go off on a tangent, here are some delicious pics of my vegan blueberry muffins, chocolate chip muffins, and chocolate chip cookies...and seriously, they tasted better than treats made with eggs, butter, and oil!

Nick took me out on a dinner cruise for my birthday (bday was Mar 25th) on Friday night. 

I had an absolute blast, and it was nice to spend time (just the two of us) with each other.

Plus, I don't get out into "the city" (Boston) much, so it was nice to get out of the 'burbs.

The Chanel store of course!! I love the old buildings in Boston.

This is a random giant ninja in the middle of Boston.

 Boston skyline pic taken from the dinner cruise at sunset...gorgeous

What girl doesn't love a man in uniform? 

I know I do!!!

I love the way Nick looks in uniform, and I would choose him in uniform over any fancy suit any day!

1. He looks so handsome in it.

2. I am SO proud of him.

3. I love showing him off!

He put on his deltas for our "date night"...what a special treat!

I am one lucky gal.

 The Romers dyed Easter eggs this year!

Can you believe that I have never dyed an Easter egg in my entire life?!?!

Nick couldn't believe it.

I always wanted to, but I felt like D was too young to really enjoy it the past Easters.

It was a TON of fun!

 This is Nick trying to look "badass" with his pretty pastel colored eggs......yyeeeeaaah.....

 D's Easter eggs

The "loot"

 With the weather being nice this weekend, I decided to put my running shoes on and go outside for a run.

This was my first run in almost a year.

With my knee probs, knee surgery, and everything else that's wrong with my knees, I stopped running.

But honestly, you can't tell a runner to stop running because of an injury (that's not curable).

It was painful, but exhilarating!!!!!

I never realized how much weather could affect my mood until I moved the place with the most depressing winter weather ever!

I was so used the the gorgeous year round weather of southern California for the last 10 years!

It put me in such a good mood just to hit to pavement and get some vitamin D!

Nice weather meant that Dozer got to spend LOTS of time outside.

He got super lazy over the harsh New England winter (he's a Cali dog), and after being couped up indoors for 5 months, being outdoors WORE. HIM. OUT!

With Spring finally here, we noticed a TON of cardinals and other birds chirping around, so Nick made a birdhouse for D to hang in our back yard with a bird feeder.

I know he was itchin' for some good weather to be outside all day in the garage with his electric saw, drill, and other tools to build SOMETHING.

Pretty nice lookin' birdhouse!

 I wanted to do an Easter ham for Easter, but cooking an entire ham for just Nick, D, and me seemed unreasonable.

I chose to do two cornish hens instead!

This was our Easter dinner!

We had oven roasted cornish hens, artichokes, kale salad with edamame and corn, and a fire roasted tomato soup!

Just call me the domestic goddess....lol

I will be HALFWAY through my pregnancy in THREE days!!!!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend, and got to spend time loved ones.

We had an amazing weekend!

HE IS RISEN!

We are SAVED!

HE WILL COME AGAIN! 

AMEN....AMEN.

Easter Photos

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for the Congrats and well wishes!

We are super excited to have a little boy in our family!

My poor dad who got stuck with my mom, two daughters, a pomeranian, and two granddaughters is obviously very excited to have a grandson! 

Not that there is anything wrong with the women and girls in our immediate family, but that's a lot of estrogen for my dad to handle at once!

The only downside is that our house is taken over by an extremely girly 3 year old and almost everything that she is influenced by in our home is either pink, flowery, or extremely girly. 

I'm also a little upset about the giant wardrobe that does not fit D anymore can not be passed down (unless Nick doesn't mind his son wearing pink...I mean come on...we are in Boston after all ;)

The weather forecast keeps changing here from snow, to rain, to no snow, to whatever! 

I figured today was my chance to get D outside in her Easter outfit to take some photos!

Also, I never watermark my photos because my blog isn't a business or anything of that sort, but I read another blog recently where a woman had photos of her family off her blog stolen and used in ways she did not appreciate.

So, until I get a blog make over redone, I'll just go with putting my blog header in corner of all my photos that I post until then.

Yes, I realize my watermark should be bigger and cover some part of the photo.

I'm working on it!