For the Love of Smooth Skin (Laser Surgery?) Day 14

Ok first and foremost. I have a stretch mark. I've said it, it's true. GAHHH!!! I think I'm going to have a meltdown.
So, I have had a couple on my hip areas for a lil bit, but those were ok, because they were on the side and seemed easy to hide. But then yesterday I discovered it. One lone stretchmark. On. My. Belly. I'm officially so over this pregnancy thing. I would like my daughter to just be here already and discontinue stretching my poor skin.
I have been told there's not even a way to get rid of these ugly battle wounds. How do celebs do it? You can't tell me Nicole Richie went from skeleton to big ol' watermelon in 9 months flat with out a simple line of stretch. There's gotta be some celebrity secret. And I want it. Now.

Explain this to me. Please.

In other news, it's 2 weeks since Mr. P left. These are the meals I have cooked since he has gone:
* Beef stew and noodles
* Beef stew and rice
* Chicken nuggets and left over mashed potatoes
* Chicken nuggets and noodles.

Noticing any patterns? And yes, that's beef stew from a can, plopped in a pot and heated up on the stove.

Who's happy to be going home to Maryland tomorrow and indulging in mommy's cooking?
Yes, that would be me.

Sad how fast domesticity flies out the window when the hubby leaves...

Hope you all are enjoying your week!

Oh, and if you're wondering how fat I am now...

35 weeks

And yes, the lone trouble maker is in this pic. Please don't try to hunt it/point it out/look at it in any way. Belly pics are not cute anymore. :(

Cats and Cribs

Hope everyone had a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

We had a very low-key Halloween, and while I missed all the festivities of Halloween's past in Maryland, being with hubs on Halloween and just hanging out was pretty sweet, too. On Friday at work was costume day, so I had to throw something together, seeing that I hadn't even considered what costume would fit over my new body shape this year. I ran to WalMart the night before and found some tiger ears, tie, and tail and some costume paint/make-up. I had a black dress and leggings at home and a tiger would have to do it! My coworkers and the kids all seemed to like it, so my quick-fix was a grand success!
I visited Mr. P at work when I got off to bring him lunch. I forgot about my face and gave him a huuuge hug, since he had had duty and I hadn't seen him since about 5pm the night before, I was excited, ok?! Buuut oops about his face... haha
Friday evening I was feeling pretty bummed about our lack of Halloween plans and low and behold hubby comes home telling me we got invited to a party! So I redid my face paint and we picked out something to throw together for the hubby, and we headed out!

It wasn't the best Halloween party I'd ever been to, but we had a good time, got to cut loose a little bit and have some Halloween fun - Oh and dress up :-D

Halloween day (Saturday) we decided to take some time to move the futon out of baby girl's room so we could set up her crib that my mom had bought and had arrived at our front door on Wednesday. It looked like it was going to be a really daunting task, but it wasn't that bad at all and didn't take much time - and Mr. P only cussed out the parts one time! haha. Crib assembly success.

Our bellies were growling after our grueling labor, and we wanted some delicious Chinese. We looked at ordering and we both wanted SO much that we decided it would be more cost efficient and more satisfying to our bellies if we just went in for the buffet. And let me tell you, what a buffet it was. A preggie woman's dream I like to call it. So much food, and desserts. I think I got like 4 plates of food... oops. Haha. All the Chinese goodness and fried deliciousness we could eat for two? $22. Fooding our hungry selves... total success.

Now we're having the laziest Sunday. I have picked up a cold or something this weekend and am wicked congested and feel like doing nothing. Our typical Sunday ritual consists of meal planning/grocery shopping, hair cut for Mr. P, errands, and house cleaning, but I won't be surprised if only part (or even none...) of that gets done.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and your week is just as awesome!

Overwhelmed

Woo, what a week. I apologize for the lack of posting this week, but the title sums up my general feelings lately - overwhelmed. I suppose I'll start from the beginning with a little week recap.

I started working this week, working in a whole new sense of working while being pregnant, seeing that I had taken a short hiatus from the paycheck earning world. The first three days were "World Class Community Service" training days that all Marine Corps Community Service (MCCS) employees are required to take. These three days covered everything from safety and security to drugs to being the best service provider ever. It was actually pretty fun, lots of group work type things and really not too too bad at all. Monday was 10-4 and Tue/Wed were 8-4. Much earlier than I'm used to and much longer days. Needless to say I was pretty tired each night and was in bed by 11 (SHOCKER!)

After those days of training, we headed to our places of work for our in-house orientations and trainings. These took place at the Child Development Center at Tarawa Terrace for me, my new place of duty. It was good to finally be back with the children. They were pretty easy days, on Friday we actually "assisted" (aka shadowed) in the rooms and filled in for people who needed breaks or lunches. Thursday was another 10am day and Friday an 8am. They were both pretty short days, but the exhaustion was really making itself known and I was pretty grouchy by the end of the week (sorry hubby!) It felt good to be back in the workplace but I could also tell already that it won't be easy.

This weekend has been pretty eventful. Friday we went and got new tires put on the truck. Since there was an hour wait and I was craving McDs, Hubs and I headed to the McDs down the road on foot - about 3/4 of a mile each way. Go me for getting all that exercise in (even though it was rewarded with bad-for-you food). We then spent some serious and much needed cuddle time in front of the tv.

Saturday we got to work cleaning the house (a total field day in USMC terms - I even cleaned the floor in the kitchen by hand!) then checked out the Onslow County Oktoberfest, which was a big fail (Onslow County fairs, I'm learning, are not too 'happening'). We met up with my friend Caitlin and her hubby and after seeing what a bust Oktoberfest was we came back to the house to devise a plan B. We ended up bowling and having dinner at Hooters (and spending way too much money, another reason I'm overwhelmed) but it was a super fun evening. Came back and watched Land of the Lost which, although pretty funny, I didn't make it through - I was out by 11!

Was up by 9 today (on my OWN! holy cow, this whole early going to sleep early getting up thing is really crazy to me!) and had a pretty typical Sunday. Ran some errands, watched some football. While we were out, we stopped by the Beirut and Vietnam memorials in Jacksonville. There is also a World Trade Center memorial with a piece from one of the centers. It was so humbling and sobering to see all these memorials and be reminded, once again, why we fight (and why we're waiting on those orders...). We then drove around and found a new back road place with a recreational area for picnics on the water! We always like finding new "spots." Although I was a bit put off by the "Beware of American Alligator" sign, it was a pretty awesome spot. When we got home I set out to making dinner, Mom's recipe for her famous home-made Mac n Cheese (I DID IT WOO HOO), pork chops, and peas. While the mac n cheese was in the oven, I also put in the laundry and cleaned the bathroom. Yeah, you can call me super wife.

I think the reason for being overwhelmed is now being in work I'll have less time to get my stuff done and I'm nervous about taking all the time off I need (doc appts, baby classes, holidays, etc) as well as the whole getting up early thing (this week I work from 630-1230 -- yeah, I have to BE there at 630 EEK!) As well as just being a grown up in general.. bill paying, money saving, house maintaining, having responsibility... Sometimes I just stop and think HOLY CRAP am I going to be able to manage all this? Hubs takes a minute to remind me that 1. I'm not managing it alone 2. Yes, we can manage it and 3. We're doing just. Fine.

And that being said, I've got to go pay some bills and then I'm going to enjoy a movie with the Mr.
Also, there may be pics later, my phone is being a jerk and won't send them online!

The Spirit of Growth

I am such a procrastinator. I've had things I've been wanting to write about for quite some time but I slack. And once again, I missed Wishful Wednesday. I fail at blogging :( Ok, journey of self-pity over, what's been up?

First, fall has hit! Woo hoo!! It's is finally cool in NC. Now of course, the minute I hit "publish post" and this becomes official, the temperature will suddenly increase back to the sweltering 90 degrees it was this weekend. Hopefully not. For real though. I'm starting to get to that "private summers" stage in the pregnancy where I am always Hot (well hotter than usual, because I'm naturally always warm). With the arrival of that good ol' fall feelin, I've been in a more fall-y mood. I have been wanting to just bake. So the other night... I baked! I made muffins with two of my favorite fall ingredients - apples and cinammon! Mmm. They were delicious too. I only made 6 because we only had one apple and it was 11pm and I wasn't about to make a WalMart run. Mr. P. certainly enjoyed them (I left him a note and told him he must take the biggest ones, have one for breakfast and one for lunch because I loved him that much. Aren't I sweet? bahaha).
We have decided to resume our house hunting in full force. We've been doing great at budgeting. In all honesty, our salary isn't anything to write home about, something I was prepared for marrying an enlisted Marine, however, with a little attention not only can we survive but we can thrive (yeah, how cheesy was that?! I'm in a good mood, let me be). Seriously though, we haven't really cut out all that much (ok so I can't buy expensive makeup and bags the way I enjoyed in college) but just paying attention and being conscientious of what you're spending money on makes a big difference. Oh, and turning out the lights when you're not in a room (now who sounds like a mom?) I am very proud of how responsible with finances I have become, especially anyone who knew my spending habits before marriage could tell you I was anything but frugal. That being said, Mr. P assures me that if we continue this budgeting deal, we really can afford our very own house. Something I really, really desire especially with Little Miss Buttons on the way. I want to paint and have a dog and a yard and a swing set and... all the other fun stuff home owners get. Of course, this is all dependent of finding the house, I refuse to settle. Our rental is great now, I just wish it had a bit more space and we could do what we want with it. But it's in a great area and it's livable, so if we don't find our dream home (in our price range) right now, it won't be the end of the world. Wish us luck on our hunt though, we sure could use it!

And the last bit of exciting news I have for the day is...

I GOT A JOB!

A great follow up to the budgeting discussion above, we will soon be pulling in extra money because I will finally be working again. (Maybe only for a few months before time off but working now is better than working never, right?) A few weeks ago, I attended a "career fair" on base for Child Development Center positions, which is the same job I had back in MD before the move. They called literally not even an hour ago and let me know that I was selected for the position and I start with paperwork/training on Mon, Tue and Wed and go from there. It is a flex position, which means I will be working "not set" hours, but at home I was flex as well and after being there a while I was pretty set with my hours, so hopefully it will follow a similar pattern. I'm making about a dollar less an hour than I was at home, but NC is also cheaper than MD so that's not such a big deal either. I'm just really happy to finally contribute. I was starting to feel kind of like a bump on a log. Even though I do volunteer and do things during the day, not bringing in any extra money when we could use it had me feeling a bit guilty and well... useless. Not a feeling I'm very fond of, so I'm really really stoked to be a contributing member of the P family. Hahaha.

And last but certainly not least... baby girl is doing fantastically as far as making mommy grow. I had my doctor's appointment on Wednesday - 25 weeks. I have gained about 20 lbs (EEK!!!) during the whole pregnancy which they say is good (I'd hate too see what too much looks like, I feel like a cow) and my belly is measuring at a perfect 25cm. Her heart sounded great and she was a brat as usual, kicking at the doppler and moving away so we had to keep hunting her down to listen. She's so awesome :)

I still don't think it looks that large in person...

Mr. P loves "his" belly

I'm Such a Good Wife! (A picnic dinner)

Hubs has 24 duty tonight. That means from 0700 today until 0700 he gets to hang out at the barracks and make sure the Marines of his company are not being complete idiots. That also means that I get a whole 24 hours to myself! What have I done with my 24 hours, you ask? Well, I cleaned some of the house (yay for motivation!), I lounged around watching TV, I made dinner, went on base, and went to the library. Sooo, yep typical day in the life of Mrs. P.

Something new I decided to incorporate into this day between the making of dinner and the going to base parts, is the purpose of the two - making dinner for hubs stuck on base. Aren't I nice? (Ok, I'm learning, remember?!) As husband is there all day, I figure a nice home cooked meal could definitely do him some good. After hearing from him that this is in fact allowed, and he wouldn't mind dinner around 6, I gussy up (gotta look pretty if I'm being a good wife!) and begin cooking at 1700 (that's 5pm - I'm getting good at this). I prepare steak tips which are cooked in brown beef gravy with white rice (Uncle Ben's quick ready - ready to eat in 90 seconds!), salads, and buttered bread. I pack all the ingredients for dinner into a brown paper bag - bowls, forks, knives, napkins, the salads, the bread, sodas, even salt and pepper. The main dish gets put into a styrofoam container (we're working on keeping things hot, here) and the rice bags (yes, they're cooked in bags) get wrapped in kitchen towels. As the gravy leaks from the styrofoam, I am left to hold it and watch it and drive more carefully than I ever have. Ever.

I, of course, get lost of the way to the duty hut. But it's ok because one speaker phone call later and I'm in the right area. Hubby heads over (in his cami's - ooooooo) and helps me carry the bag over to a little covered picnic table area. We unpack and hubs is surprised and delighted by the effort and full-course-ness put into his meal. We dine outside while watching Marines field day (clean their barracks - I guess I wasn't the only one on the cleaning bus today) and then it is time for me to go and him to get back to, well, duty-ing.

All-in-all it was a great dinner. I felt good for doing something nice and being able to get to see him (duty days are longer than they sound, ok?) and he enjoyed a good meal and saw that I really do appreciate him and enjoy doing things for him. Win-win for all involved.

After dinner, I headed over to the library and picked up a few books. I've got a full carton of chocolate ice cream calling my name for dessert and a long night ahead of me. I'll probably end up asleep early - go figure.