One last "Hooraa"!

It seems that Brian has signed his name for one last "Hooraa!" with the US Air Force. What could be his final reenlistment happened this morning at the 823d RED HORSE compound. A little background for you though about why it happened now: Brian only has 17 months left on this current enlistment and in order to put MSgt on in a few months, you need to have 2 years retainability... bottom line? Have to reenlist! He decided to do it here and before he deploys because he will be stationed in BFE with the Army and wasn't sure if the higher ranking folks there would know what is expected in terms of paperwork for the Air Force. Long story short... he signed his name for 4 more years (on top of the 17 months already on the books). Of course this will bring him over 20 years, but at least he can make the decision on when he is done with this career when he gets to that "magic number". But Brian has always said that if he still enjoys what he is doing and where is going, then why change it? I agree.

Here we are this morning at the 823d with all of its glory! AKA: all the construction trucks and the mascot (which Thomas absolutely loves)!

Grannie & Nana were able to join up with us for the short ceremony!
Brian asked Lt. Critch (Navy Seabee stationed with the RED HORSE) to reenlist him. Here he is saying some jokes about Brian, but really saying some kind and meaningful things about what he has learned from Brian since he has been working with the Air Force.

A few of the RED HORSE guys (there are actually about 400 in the squadron)

Taking the oath (Maybe for the last time?)!

Daddy & Thomas saying goodbye after the reenlistment ceremony

Not enough...

There are just not enough hours in the day! How is this possible to do everything that needs to get done????? Am I just not managing my time as wisely anymore or is there really that much stuff that I feel we need to do before 1) Abby arrives and 2) Brian deploys?????

Aughhhhh!!!

Single Digit Days

We are in the home stretch... down to single digit days until this baby girl joins us (if not sooner). A week from Friday is our "go" day, but I have to say that I wouldn't be opposed to her coming earlier. Only downfall about that happening is not everything is DONE... of course, is everything really done before a baby arrives? Probably not.

Tomorrow I'm working all day up at school to finish lesson plans and get everything squared away for my long-term sub. We are actually meeting together on Monday in my classroom for me to give her all the low-down and walk her through the 6-7 weeks of lesson plans that I have prepared for her. Once that is complete, I'll feel mentally much better about work things.

I'm in the final 2 weeks of my current M.Ed class - thank goodness my professor is being somewhat easy on me with the final week assignment... I mean really... isn't giving birth a little more important than finishing online discussions, journals and papers? I would hope so. Meanwhile, there is usually homework everynight that I'm trying to stay on top of.

Each day Thomas and I have been attempting to stay busy in the morning after we have breakfast and play. My energy usually starts running out in the late-morning and I'm usually anxiously awaiting naptime. I have had very little energy in the afternoons, so I've surprised myself each day when him & I have managed to go on 30-45 minute walks/big wheel bike rides with Ziggy. I guess it just needs to be done or the two of them would go bananas (well, so would I coopped up in the house).

OK... until next time...

Sunday Sillies

Nothing better than ending a good Sunday with some tubby time & being silly! Thomas is actually saying "Cheese, Ma-ma!" (which is why he looks this way)

Big start, big finish!

The day started off BIG! When I say big, I mean a big pancake at IHOP! Because of errands (picking up the VW that is now officially fixed... Whoa!!!) in town, Grannie & Poppie wanted to tag along & take a certain little boy out to breakfast so we hit up the famous breakfast place on our way. Check out this huge "build-a-face" pancake with bananas, strawberries and whipcream (not to mention the yogurt that it was also served with). Needless to say, Thomas ate a good breakfast!

Once Thomas went down for a nap (and before I laid down too), I had to try and complete some kind of task. So... I started to pack my "hospital bag" (key word: started) and also looked at what bottles & breastmilk storage bag stuff I have. I got out the green container that has been stored away in the closet for the last year and surveyed my supplies. The plan is to breastfeed the baby just as I did Thomas, however I need to have the bottle situation under control for those times when I am away or someone else wants some "feeding" time with Abby. Needless to say, I threw away 1/3 of the things that are on this table... things that I have just been hanging onto; things that I never even used with Thomas the first year; things that basically I had no need for.

Thomas and me spent about an hour in our pool today playing as we waited for Brian and the boys to return home from a fishing trip. Brian's fishing trips are quickly coming to a close with Abby's arrival around the corner and the deployment shortly after that. So... what better way to wind down a fishing season than with a BIG finish! Check out the stock that the boys caught today...

Thomas & an AmberJack (AJ) - which one is bigger?

The catch - AJ, "Chicken" Mahi-Mahi, Grouper, Scamp Grouper, Almaco Jack and Bonito (for bait). What didn't make it into the boat was a 7 foot shark, 50 lb Mahi-Mahi, Snapper, and a Trumpet fish. Whoa! The freezer is stocked with good eat'ins!

Another Friday night on the water

Friday was busy - are you starting to see a reaccuring theme? Thomas hung out with Grannie & Poppie most of the day... they even went to the children's park in Navarre. While he was off having fun, Brian & I went to the 823 RHS picnic during the lunchtime hours (Thomas' naptime). In the late afternoon, I went & picked up Thomas after his fun-filled day with Grannie & Poppie and when we got home we cooked a good old southern dinner - fried snapper, corn bread, vegtables, & baked beans - & it was delicious! To top off the day, we headed out to the dock nearby and caught the sunset, as well as an improptu dip in the water.

Daddy & Thomas were tugging on the fishing rod together and next thing they knew, the fishing rod had flung out of their hands and landed in the water below. Needless to say, Daddy had to go in after it!

I guess it was a good thing that the water was only about 2.5 feet deep... ha-ha!

I'm not sure at this moment if Thomas is thinking he wants to jump like Daddy did or if he is just excited that the fishing rod was retrieved by Daddy?????

Back in action on the dock

Notice that beer makes everything better

Ziggy enjoying the dock also... no swimming for this Portuguese pup though

Sunset picture

Isn't it 5 o'clock somewhere always? I can't wait to be able to sit on the dock and enjoy a cold beer, wine or "fufu drink" after Abby has arrived.

Thursday in town

It was a fairly early morning out the door - lots of things to take care of in town! Our first stop was to school to check out AP scores that were just released. I grabbed my personal class results out of my mailbox and headed upstairs to my classroom to look them over. My sidekick grabbed all the dry erase markers and board erasers he could find and hit the boards. This was pure entertainment for him.

Then he wanted to color on paper at one of my student desks... he is still a little small for the big kids' desks but he didn't do too bad.
After hitting the bank drive-thru, we headed to McDonalds where we enjoyed some breakfast and the great indoor playground. Out of all the Mickey-Ds I have been to in the panhandle area, the one on Mary Esther Cutoff in FWB is the only one that accomodates little toddlers with their own climbing & slide area. I really like it!

The last pitstop (which I wasn't looking forward to) was dropping the minivan off at VW for more work on the alarm. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I had to wait for the rental car people to show up, then I had to move the carseat over to that van (pain in the butt), and then head back to the rental office to do the paperwork - all while keeping Thomas occupied & happy. By this point, he had been such a trooper, but he was quickly running out of steam. Bless his heart. Anyway - not sure how long I will have this rental... fingers crossed its not too long. Meanwhile, we have made it home and nap time is in full swing.

Wordless Wednesday

Believe it or not - he is not watching cartoons or his favorite movie; instead - he is glued to my morning addiction, "Good Morning America," with a short feature on shark attacks.

Chill'in with no where to go

After running around with our heads cut off yesterday (we went in the car 3 different times), I decided that both Thomas and I needed to just stay put today. I say, "Chill'in with no where to go," but the truth is I could run around town everyday and still not have enough time to get things done. But staying put today was necessary. When I have to cart Thomas all over creation each day, he doesn't have an opportunity to burn off energy and he just isn't happy like he normally is. In addition to him, I needed the rest. I feel like I'm running on fumes lately and starting to get really uncomfortable - sadly enough, even walking around is getting harder, let alone running after a toddler, him climbing all over me, me getting down on the floor to play with him... you get my drift. Just hard.

Anyway - after breakfast and a quick episode of "Immagination Movers" on Clubhouse Disney channel (a new favorite of his), we were dressed and out taking Ziggy for a walk while Thomas rode his big wheels around the neighborhood. The weather is beautiful and it felt great. When we got back we hit the pool... his toddler pool that is. It has been many weeks since we filled it up so I thought it would be a good morning thing for us to play with.

Is this considered skinny-dipp'in?

After spending an hour in the pool, we headed inside to get dressed and have some lunch. Thomas wanted to watch "Cars" today so I decided since TV had been pretty limited the last 2 days that it would be OK. I actually let him do something that I have never done - let him eat lunch (grilled cheese and steamed broccoli) in the family room in front of the TV. I guess my rule of thumb is you eat meals at the kitchen table and you don't watch TV either while eating. Today was an exception and he ate everything on his plate while enjoying his movie. This will certainly not be a regular thing, but he was adorable to watch enjoy himself.