We have a plan!!

Well, it looks like we finally have a plan for the next year or so. It's still unofficial so it's possible that it could change. But for now, this is what we're looking at.

As soon as medical declares Josh LIMDU (limited duty, though there is some issue of if and when the Captain will do this), his current orders will be cancelled, and he will be given PCS (permanent change of station) orders to Pensacola for 6 months. The detailer will continue to give him orders there in 6 month increments until he is healed. Then he will have to negotiate for new orders. Since they are PCS orders, they will pay for me and our stuff to go out there with him, and he will get housing allowance based on Pensacola's rate.

Josh graduates from his school in Friday and has a meeting with his surgeon on Monday. Assuming everything works out the way it's supposed to at the moment, Josh will then take leave for a week or so and fly back to TX. We will load up everything that is left in the house and drive back to FL! I am so excited about the possibility of seeing Josh again in about a week!!!

The only major issue now is selling our house. I don't know how we're going to afford to rent a place in FL while still paying our mortgage here. We had thought about waiting here until it sells, but we really want to be together soon. Besides, I need to be able to be there to take care of him after his surgery, and I had already given notice to Sarah's daycare and they have already filled her spot so we wont' have childcare after the 12th.

So please continue to pray for us as we're still navigating these unknowns.

Cycle -1

AF has come to visit. This is my first real Flo since getting pregnant. I'd forgotten about cramps! I'm calling this cycyle -1 because Josh is still in Pensacola for training. His class is supposed to be over at the end of the month.

The problem though, is he re-dislocated his shoulder. The Navy doctor says that he is now non-deployable. We're supposed to be moving to WA after his class, but being non-deployable means he can't go to the ship. So they're going to do surgery again to fix his shoulder. Then he'll have about 6 months of recovery time when he's LIMDU (limited duty). We're not sure if they're going to postpone our orders and leave him in Florida until he's better or if they're going to change our orders completely. If they change our orders, they might send him on to wherever that will be and have them do the surgery there or still keep him in FL for now. Regardless, they're picking up our household goods next week, and we're still trying to sell our house. If he's stuck in FL, I'm going to go there to help him after his surgery. Or he may take some leave to come here the first of March before his surgery. I really hate this not knowing!!!!

So if you're into praying, we could definitely use some during this time of confusion.

12 month appt

Sarah had her 12 month appointment today. 23.5 pounds and 28.5 inches! My little girl is growing up :)

It's time!

Josh and I have talked about it, and I'm getting my IUD removed next week! Of course, he's out of town for a couple more months and then we're moving. But I'd like to get my cycle back on track before we officially try. This is going to be an interesting TTC journey as Josh will be going back out to sea so we'll have to take a 6 month break in the fall. I know I don't post here that often anymore, but that'll probably change as we progress. I like having a place to write that stuff that is way TMI for social networking sites. But I know you ladies get it :)

BTW

Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm on FaceBook quite a bit so if you wanna see more of what's going on more frequently, find me over there. My nickname there is madee25

Yes, I am alive

I just don't seem to really be into blogging anymore. But if there's anyone out there that still checks up on me, I'm doing well. I'm still working part time at Home Depot. It turns out Josh won't be going to the Horn of Africa. Instead, he will be assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln stationed in Everett, WA. He will be detaching from Goodfellow in Dec and we will be visiting family. Then in Jan, he will be going to school for 2 months. We are supposed to report in WA March 16.

Sarah will be 9 months old next week. I can't believe how big she's getting. She's now crawling and pulling herself up and can even "walk" if I'm holding onto her hands.

I can't believe it's been almost 2 months since my last post!

Wow, I really do need to post more.

Sarah is now 3 months old. She is getting much better at sleeping through the night. She normally sleeps at least 5 or 6 hours. There've even been nights like last night where she slept 8 hours! Developmentally, she seems to be right on track. She's smiling and giggling along with her babling. She likes to try to sit up and can sit pretty well when supported. She also likes to try standing. When we went in for her 2 month appointment,she was 14 lbs and about 23 inches. The PA thought her soft spot might be too small so she wanted to see her again at 3 months. She is now 15 pounds!!! She's also been a little sick :( She has a bit of a runny nose, but it's all clear, and a bit of a cough from the post nasal drip. She had a bit of a fever and she pulls on her ears some, so I think she might be teething.

About a month ago, we found out that Josh was selected for orders to the Horn of Africa. Unfortunately, it seems like the Navy is out of money so they can't give him written orders yet. So we're not sure when he'll be leaving or how long he'll be gone. It could be anywhere from 8 to 14 months. And that may not include any training which will probably be at least 3 months before he goes. It's going to suck for him to be gone for a year or more. But the good news is that I won't have to move for a while longer and he'll be getting extra pay and all his pay will be tax free while in a combat zone. I'm also glad that he'll be in Africa, where he'll be fighting pirates and doing humanitarian missions, as opposed to Iraq or Afghanistan.

Here's a video of Sarah watching her mobile. I've attached some pics but you can find more here.

Where does the time go?

I can't believe that Sarah is already almost 7 weeks! She is growing very well. At her one month appointment, she was right at 11 lbs and 22 3/4 inches. That put her in the 90th %tile for weight and 70th for length!! The thing I'm loving the most is that she is starting to smile. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get photographic evidence. She's also getting better at sleeping at night. She now almost always will sleep for 3 or 4 hours in a row. She's even slept for 6 straight hours a couple nights!!

We finally started going back to church now that she's old enough for me to leave in the nursery. We also left her with a friend so that we could go to dinner and a movie to celebrate Josh's birthday. It was kinda sad leaving her the first time, but I was okay. We also found a child care center so that I can go back to work. I really wish we could afford for me to stay home with her, but that's not possible right now. I've got an interview with the State School today. I would be working with the mentally retarded. I also have an interview tomorrow with Home Depot. I've heard they're paying $10/hr for cashiers. So I'll be leaving her in childcare for the first time today.

Well, I need to get some lunch before my interview so I'll leave you with some pictures. These are a little while ago; I haven't gotten ones off my camera since she was one month.

I'm still here

I'm still around, just haven't been online too much. I'm sorry I haven't been commenting too much on blogs. When I checked last week, I had around 30 posts in Google Reader that I hadn't read. There's probably a lot more now. I've just been spending more time trying to sleep and relax lately.

Things are going pretty good. Like all new moms, it's been hard getting sleep. Sarah has decided that she likes to sleep during the day and stay up most of the night. Josh is awesome in helping me when I need it. He even does stuff without me having to ask! My mom came to visit for about a week. But then she got sick so she wasn't able to help take care of Sarah too much. Josh also got a bit of whatever she had.

Sarah's starting to wake up now, so I'll quickly add some new pics, but then I've gotta run:

The story and pics

My labor and delivery were pretty uneventful. Around 6:45 on Tuesday night my water broke--not gushing, just a little squirt. I wasn't totally sure if that's what is was so we waited around the house until I got another squirt a little before 8. When the nurse examined me around 8:30, I was 3-4 cm, but she still felt the water sack so they took a swab to test it. Sure enough it was amniotic fluid so they put me in a labor/delivery/recovery room and started an IV. My contractions weren't incredibly painful, but I went ahead and took the Staydol (sp?). The plan was to give me pitocin around 5am if I wasn't laboring on my own. Around 1:30, my contractions were getting a lot worse and when she checked again, I was at 5cm so by 2:30 I had my epidural. A little before 6, I was 9cm and fully effaced. When they checked me again at 8, I was fully dilated and started pushing at about 8:20. By 8:45, Sarah was born and was being cleaned. I was a little upset that the doc cut the cord without giving Josh the option, but Josh was grabbing the camera to start taking pictures. There was some issue getting my placenta delivered, but I wasn't really paying attention because I was watching the nurse with my daughter. I think I also tore a little and they had to put in one stitch. Overall, it lasted about 14 hours

Without further ado, here are pictures for your viewing pleasure: