I have one or two things left to do before I am ready for Christmas!  All of the gifts are here and ready except one thing that I just have to finish up.  I have been caught up with trying to find gifts and getting the tree and decorating, but now I am going to try to focus on teaching Nathan why we celebrate Christmas.  I'm afraid he has been caught up in the excitement of cookies and lights and trees and decorations, too.  That is fine, but I want him to know the real reason for Christmas.  As I am trying to come up with traditions for us to celebrate as a family, there is one that I am going to take from my mom and that is reading the Christmas passages from the Bible on Christmas Eve.  It seems so strange trying to come up with our own traditions when I still feel like a kid myself at Christmas.  It seems so strange having kids at all when I sometimes still feel like a kid inside.  Funny how I used to think there was some kind of finite line where you suddenly grew up and felt like an adult.  Turns out I usually still feel like a kid, only I have adult responsibilities now.  I guess that's why some people always say they still feel like a kid inside, even when they grow old. 

The Winter Solstice has passed!  We are officially on our way to more daylight!  That is a pretty big thing up here.  Right now the sun is rising at 10:15 am and setting at 3:35 pm.  We have many months of cold, snow and darkness still ahead.  The darkness this winter is bearable, it's the darkness next winter that I dread.  It's nice to have Christmas lights up on the house outside.  It actually brightens the front yard so we can go out and do things in the snow in the afternoon and evening and still see.  We built a snow family the other day, I will have to take pictures and put them up on here.  Our snow piles at the sides of the driveway are beginning to get a bit unmanageable, really.  They look like the Chugach mountains, craggy and snowy and very, very tall!  Shoveling is really great exercise, though, and it's actually rather enjoyable to get outside and do some hard work.  I love yard work in the summer, so I guess shoveling is like winter yard work.  It's so much nicer to get a workout through manual labor than to go to the gym.  You don't even realize you are working out and you are accomplishing something immediately visible to boot.  

Here is a picture of our tree

I will try to get some more pictures on here soon.

   

Hello, blog!

Well, we had a great Thanksgiving with some neighborhood friends!  It was very nice to spend it with other people since it has been quite some time since we've been able to do that.  I was crazy this year and agreed to go out with some of my friends for black Friday sales.  We went to Walmart at 10pm on Thursday evening.  I have never in my life seen a Walmart so packed full of people.  I didn't have anything specific in mind to purchase, which was best because the people who do are usually the ones who pitch a tent outside the store for a few days.  How sad, to miss a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with family for a bargain.  We also went to Target at midnight.  I guess now I can at least say I've done it, but I don't think I will ever be doing it again.  There were some really nice deals, I bought some blu-rays for 5 bucks a pop which is pretty much unheard of. 

Now, I am shopping for Christmas gifts.  We've set our budget and now I am just trying to figure out fun things to get for the kids.  I am almost done with Nathan's gifts, but I am stuck on stocking stuffers.  I have hardly any idea what to get for Ayla.  So, the search continues.  I am determined to get all of this done and everything wrapped so that I can enjoy the days before Christmas without having to worry about last minute shopping.  We seem to be having a heat wave of sorts.  Probably not what anyone reading this would consider a heat wave, but to us it is rather nice.  In fact, I think the temperature has even risen above freezing today.  The snow looks like it is a little melty out there.  I've decided that each year we are each going to pick out a new Christmas ornament for our tree.  We hardly have any ornaments except for bulbs and some bows and stuff, so this way we can gradually build a family collection.  I also picked out an ornament for both kids to put in their stockings so they can put them on the tree on Christmas day. 

Nathan has been driving me to my wit's end lately.  He has been saying "no" to everything whether it is warranted or not.  Questions, answers, songs, exclamations...always "no!"  Maybe I am a bad mother, but I feel like I need a break from the kids pretty badly.  I rarely ever have a moment away to myself, and it wears on me.  I can't imagine what next year is going to be like.  I guess I will pretty much find out what it is like to be a single parent.  Such is the life of a military spouse.  I sure hope God will help me through because I don't know where else I will find strength.  It would be nice to have a date night with Mike every once in a while, too, but it's very hard to trust people to watch the most precious things in your life when you see news articles daily about kids being abused in various ways by people that the parents of said kids thought they could trust.  It would be nice to be close to family.  But, on the other hand, we really have much to be thankful for.  Like this small moment I am enjoying writing this blog while amazingly both of my children are napping...at the same time!  

We went to see the Nutcracker in Anchorage again this year!  It was very enjoyable and Nathan really liked it.  Afterwards we went to McGinnley's Pub for some beef and guinness stew in a bread bowl!  Yummmmmmmmy!  Unfortunately, we didn't do our research and forgot that the light up ceremony was also that evening.  We didn't stay for it because we didn't bring proper outdoor gear, but it was very nice last year and I wish we had been prepared.  Perhaps another time.  

As you are all just beginning to get your first taste of snow, it has looked and felt like winter up here since mid-October.  The sun is rising at 9:45am and setting at 3:48pm after making a dim arc across the far southern sky.  Most of its time up it is concealed by the mountains...or clouds.  Alaska has some very wonderful things about it, but this is certainly not one of them.  Well, I do believe that is it for now.    

So, we had a nice trip to Pennsylvania.  It was great to see family and friends again, but it was also very long and draining.  After three weeks of leave, Mike had to go back to work feeling even more tired than when he left it.  We were all pretty exhausted.  Next year we are considering taking some time out for just us instead and either not going anywhere or just going somewhere in Alaska.  I will miss the family greatly, but I think we need it. 

We spent time with Mike's family and went to James and Stephanie's wedding.  We spent some time in Erie with mom and got to see some old friends there.  Eric was able to come down for a short visit, so we had a cookout on the peninsula with Gammer and Gaffer.  It was a lot of fun!  We spent some time in Sharpsville with Gammer and Gaffer and got to see Aaron's property.  We ended up running (literally while we were out on a run hahah) into an old friend in Sharpsville and having lunch with her, so that was really nice!  Sarah was going to try to make it down to see us too, but an inconvenient cold put an end to those plans :(  We went back to the eastern side of the state and celebrated Juliet's first birthday with the Swanns!  Then we celebrated Alaina's birthday the next day so we had lots of cake.  Finally after sleeping in three different beds over three weeks of travel, we got home and collapsed into our WONDERFUL bed that I missed so much!  There's just nothing like your own bed, really.  The down side is, just as the leaves were really starting to turn beautiful in Pennsylvania, we came home to bare trees and snow in the forecast.  It was like fast-forwarding through Fall, which is just not OK with me.  

Now we have been home for a couple weeks and I am getting back into our routine again.  I got to spend a fun night with some of the neighbor ladies playing dominos and cranium.  It was some much needed time away from the kiddos, though I love them more than anything.  Now my friend Megan has me reading "Twilight" because I agreed to go see "Breaking Dawn" with her in November and she wants me to know what is happening.  I can't say I'm very impressed, but it's not wholly unentertaining.  You never know until you give something a try, anyway.  I've been trying to keep myself in a good mood, but with winter darkness encroaching in on us and Mike's impending deployment next fall, I have to admit I've been having some down days.  I really need to not think about it too much, but you probably don't have any idea how hard that actually is.  

The kids are doing great.  I was happy to get them back into cloth diapers after three weeks of disposables while we were traveling.  There's really nothing fun about diapering, period, but when it comes down to it I really wish I had done cloth sooner because I much prefer it to disposables.  I am attempting to start potty training with Nathan, but I can already see this is going to be a big challenge.  That's probably an understatement, really.  Nathan is already in 3T clothes, and they fit him pretty well for the most part!  His legs still aren't quite long enough for 3T pants in most cases, but I think that it's only a matter of a short amount of time.  We had to buy him a whole winter wardrobe when we got home, coming from shorts and T-shirts in 70 degree weather to long pants and sweaters in 30 degree weather.  So, of course, we made a stop at Once Upon a Child...my favorite used kid's clothes store.  I have to admit, it's probably because I prefer to buy brands like Carter's and OshKosh, but we can get him a ton of barely used clothes for a 3rd of the price we would have to pay for new.  I should check out Goodwill, but in my experience there tends to be a lot of grungy stuff to sift through before you may possibly find something worth your time.  Ayla is getting bigger and bigger.  I packed away her 0-3 month clothes and all her cute little summer dresses that I only got to use for those couple weeks :(  She's back in fuzzy sleepers again, the practical option for cold weather and ease of diaper changing.  I've never been one to use impractical baby clothes very much, so I always find it funny when people have their newborns dressed up in little pants and shirts and socks and shoes and an assortment of other things (little stockings for girls).  It cracks me up because I remember when I thought that kind of thing was going to work, but ended up realizing very quickly that a onesie or sleeper is SO much easier.  Babies don't need shoes, and who really wants to clean poop off of a little pair of stockings, or attempt to keep a pair of socks on a baby's feet.  So, sleepers and onesies it is.  I know, how boring!  

Well, I best go grab a shower while I have the chance!  More to come later!          

If you don't like:

craters in your yard
yellow or bare spots in your grass
poop in your yard
hair in your clothes
chew marks on your furniture
chewed up shoes or other miscellaneous articles
giant vet bills
slobber marks on your glass doors

you should probably not own a dog.  If you do like this stuff, I really don't understand you.  I wish I had known better, but we all make mistakes.  And just to set the record straight, you are allowed to not be a dog person or a cat person or whatever; and no, that does not make you a horrible human being.

Well, I survived!  Nathan was a very good boy while Mike was gone, so I am grateful.  I was very happy to pick Mike up from the airport on Saturday, though!  I think everyone was happy that day in this family!  So, anyway, Mike had to go to work today, but tomorrow starts ten days off for him, so I am excited about that.  We are planning a trip down to Seward which should be fun!  Hopefully we will finally get to see a bear..though I would prefer not to see one too close up.  I can't believe we haven't seen one yet!  I'm so mad because everyone keeps saying how many bears they have seen and we've been to Denali and down to the Kenai Peninsula already and haven't seen more than some bear scat and a few tracks. 

Last Thursday I went to an FRG cookout.  I was a little worried at first because it was the first time I tried taking the kids out by myself other than to the store.  It turned out fine, though, and I got to meet some people.  I think Nathan had fun, too.  I took a big bowl of potato salad, and when I got there I saw that someone else had already brought a big bowl of potato salad, too.  I thought, oh no, now I'm going to be bringing most of this huge bowl home with me, but when I went to leave there wasn't even a spoonful left!  Most of the other bowl was intact, so I guess people really must have liked my potato salad (actually mom's potato salad)! 

I met some neighbors down the road from Pennsylvania the other week!  It's surprising how many people we've met from Pennsylvania up here.  Anyway, I was out for a walk with the kids and they wanted to meet the baby so that's how we started talking.  Unfortunately, they are planning to move soon to be near their grandkids back in the lower 48.  It seems like a lot of the nice people I meet up here are getting ready to move away.  It kind of sucks, but I should be used to that by now.  They offered to help out with the kids while Mike was gone if I needed it, and I thought that was very nice!  A lot of people in my neighborhood seem to be much more friendly and neighborly than I have ever seen elsewhere.  It's really nice because it seems like a lot of places I have been, people tend to keep to themselves.  Up here people wave to you and say "hi" instead of looking the other way.  That must be an eastern thing or something.  

Our garden is doing great!  We picked like 12 zucchinis yesterday!  The beans need to be picked again, and I have been freezing veggies because we can't keep up with eating them!  It's really wonderful to be able to go outside and pick a fresh zucchini and turn around and cook it up for dinner!  We bought an upright freezer to put in the garage, so I can actually freeze things now and have a place to put them!  I have seen a lot of canning kits at stores, and I've been contemplating getting started out on that, too.  I've wanted to for some time now, but I never really had anything to can before.  Well, I better go get lunch ready for Nathan   

So, I am finally sitting down to update this blog!  Don't worry, lack of any updates recently has not been because I no longer want to blog or anything...rather, I haven't had a single moment to do so.  Well, I am lying, I actually have had a moment or two here and there, but generally I choose to sleep or do something that really needs to be done.  I thought having one kid was exhausting, but I was wrong.

So, Ayla Rose Henriques was born on July 3rd at 3:17 PM.  She was 8lbs 13oz and 20 and 1/2" long.  There, all of the stuff that people usually want to know in a nutshell, hahah.  At any rate, after my traumatic labor and delivery with Nathan, I never thought I could accomplish what I did with my daughter.  I labored at home until I was about 8 cm dilated (not that I actually knew that, but that is what they said when I finally went into the hospital).  I was in labor from early that Saturday morning until 3:17 pm Sunday, but most of it was not really that bad.  I used yoga breathing to relax and get through the pain.  I did not have any pain meds, and I was able to choose to labor in the way that I saw fit (thank you Mat-Su hospital and my doctor!!!) which was non-negotiable in my mind anyway.  When things were still moving along a bit slowly, my doctor finally broke my water and within probably a half hour my beautiful little girl was born.  I want to point out that I did not give birth on my back, and if I have any more children, I will never give birth in that position again.  Ladies, especially those of you who have not had children yet.  Please, don't make my mistakes.  Make sure you are in charge of how things go, do things the way you feel most comfortable, and above all LISTEN to your body.  Don't let a doctor tell you otherwise.  I had a fourth degree tear with my son having been induced and giving birth on my back with nurses TELLING me when I should push and when I shouldn't.  I had absolutely NO tearing giving birth NATURALLY to my daughter on my hands and knees and doing things the way I saw fit.  Believe me, it makes all the difference in the world.  And to think, I almost went with the care of a doctor who suggested a C-section at my very first prenatal visit.  Anyway, I guess you can tell I am pretty passionate about this.  It took me upwards of 3 very painful months to heal after giving birth to my son.  I was mowing the lawn 1 week after giving birth to my daughter!  And by the way, being induced hurts at least 10 times worse than natural labor.  It should be a last resort, in my opinion.

Anyway, my mom came up for the occasion.  She arrived just in time on Saturday evening of the day I went into labor.  I met her at the airport with a hello and oh by the way I'm in labor right now hahah.  I am so grateful for all of her help.  If you think one baby turns your world upside down, the second one really throws you for a loop!  Mom stayed for a couple weeks to help out and just recently left, which brings me to the present.  Unfortunately, Mike had to run off to Thailand for the next 2 weeks, so I am on my own with the two kiddos and feeling very overwhelmed and SUPER tired.  Mom was originally going to stay a little longer, but the cost of changing her airline tickets turned out to be outrageous so that didn't work out.  It's really amazing how much of a difference it makes to have Mike home in the evenings to help out with the kids.  I really realize that since he's not here right now.  Speaking of the kids, I hear Ayla right now, so it appears I shall have to cut this blog a bit short.  Until next time (whenever that may be)         

We've been pretty busy lately, which is why I haven't been writing on here much.  We painted Nathan's room and it looks really good.  I'm so happy to have it done.  This weekend we are going to paint the guest room, but I have to be careful that I don't overdo it as my doctor is going to be away for a few days and I don't want to go into labor while he is gone :-/  Not that there wouldn't be another doctor available to cover down, but I picked my doctor for some pretty specific reasons so I really prefer it be him when the time comes.  Last weekend Mike ran a half-marathon.  He did a great job, he was in like the top %20 for time overall I think out of well over a thousand people.  I can't remember for sure, but that kind of thing comes pretty naturally to him.  He didn't even train for it beyond his regular PT for work so I'm very proud of him!  We also got our Costco shopping done for the month and had birthday portraits taken of Nathan.  They are pretty nice only Nathan was way overdue for a nap at the time so he is a bit zombie-like in some of them lol.  He smiled for some, but his smile is only a halfhearted attempt at his normal smile.  They still turned out nicely.  We finished some projects around the house, and after this weekend I will be able to cross the last big project off of my list of pre-baby things to get done. 

There is only a little over two weeks until I'm due, but I wonder if she is going to cooperate or not.  I scheduled a tour of the hospital birthing center so that I can get an idea of what to expect when I do go in.  The nurse at my doctor's office says they have birthing tubs that you can labor in and everything, so it sounds really nice!  They don't allow you to deliver in them, but I am ok with that I guess.  Mom is going to be getting here on the 2nd, so I hope the baby waits at least until after that.  Then the adventure begins.  I am still not sure how I am going to handle two little kids...especially since soon after mom leaves, Mike has to go to Thailand for work for like two and a half weeks.  It's going to be crazy trying to manage by myself for that time, but I'm no stranger to getting through seemingly impossible situations as my fellow military wives well know.  When he gets back he can take 10 days permissive TDY that they allow when a baby is born, and then soon after that we go on leave and travel to Pennsylvania for almost a month so I will just have to stick it out.

It's strange, when I started writing this I felt like I had a ton of things to say, but now I feel just about talked out.  Well, Nathan is taking a nap so I guess I can go try to accomplish something that would otherwise be impossible while he is awake.   

Memorial Day weekend was a very busy weekend for us.  It's funny how you can get some time off and take a small "vacation" but it ends up being much less relaxing than it should be.  After giving Nathan vitamin C all week and taking Airborne every day for myself, we were feeling well enough by the weekend to go on our little camping trip we had planned.  So we packed up our things and headed north on the Parks Highway to Denali National Park.  I was very excited as Denali is one of the top National Parks I've always wanted to visit!  I never really imagined I would one day be able to make a 3 hour drive from my house to get there, how crazy is that!  For those of you who don't know, I've had a goal for many years now to visit all of the National Parks in the United States...we will see, I have a lot more to go.  Anyway, on our way up we had many spectacular views of Denali, or Mt McKinley as many people call it.  It was a wonderfully clear day and the mountain was highly visible, but I figured we would be able to take plenty of pictures when we reached the main entrance to the park farther north so I didn't bother stopping anywhere.  Well, it turns out that you can't actually see Denali from the main part of the park where we stayed.  I was very disappointed, especially since on our way back down, the mountain was almost completely concealed in clouds!  I have been kicking myself since, but I figure we will likely make it up there again a few more times before we leave Alaska.  
Anyway, we made it up and set up camp in the campground.  I was happy that I had had the foresight to buy some firewood in the valley before we left because up there they were selling these tiny bundles for $8!  They weren't even big enough to burn for an hour.  They must make a killing on that, though, because there is really nowhere to go to get wood up there unless you already have some with you.  Same with every other convenience, which is why we really thought it out to make sure we had most everything we would need so we wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous inflated prices.  When I checked in at the campground, I was informed that just the day before there had been a grizzly just down the road from there.  As though I weren't already on edge enough about bears.  Thankfully, Congress made it legal to carry a loaded weapon in National Parks a few years back, so we brought our .45-70 with us.  However, there really aren't that many problems with bears and they have never had any serious bear related incidents in that park.  Still, I didn't want to be the first.  On that topic, I had a serious need to use the restroom at around 2am the first night, and even though it could hardly be called dark out at the time, if someone happened to see me creeping up to the restroom they probably had a good laugh because I was very skittish about the whole thing hahah.  

We did a little hiking and looked around at the various visitor's attractions in the main area of the park.  Unfortunately, we forgot to bring Nathan's back carrier which would have made hiking much easier.  However, being almost 8 months pregnant, I am in no real shape to be doing any serious hiking myself, so even if we had the back carrier we probably wouldn't have done much more.  We saw some snowshoe hares and a moose with two newborn calves.  It was rather hot up there, in the 80s or so the first day.  The second day was pretty comfortable, but we've developed a new definition of hot now that we've been through an Alaskan winter.  We had a fire and roasted hotdogs and marshmallows.  It was a little miserable trying to get Nathan to settle down at night and go to sleep, but for the most part we had a pretty good time.  Here are some pictures from the trip:

 

        

  

The last picture is supposed to be Denali, but it is shrouded in clouds and all you can see are the mountains in the foreground.  Oh well, maybe next time. 

On Memorial Day we finally decided to buy a patio furniture set and had it set up in time to have dinner out on our deck.  Mike grilled pork chops and it was really nice to be able to eat outside.  Nikita was certainly loving it!  We also bought paint for the two remaining rooms we want to paint.  Maybe we will be able to get to one of them this weekend.  We will probably do Nathan's room first, and then the guest room.  Thankfully, they are much smaller than our bedroom was so it shouldn't be nearly so much work!  I am anxious to get them done, but I am not looking forward to all the taping and mess that always comes with painting.  It can be such a pain and I'm sure Nathan will be trying to get into everything this time since he is walking.   

So I finally uploaded pictures from the camera onto the computer.  I know I promised iditarod pictures a long time ago and never posted them because I was being lazy, so here are some of them now!

I would upload more pictures right now, but for some reason it's taking seven years just to upload one, so this will have to do for now. 

Wow, what a busy weekend!  It seems like it just started and then all of the sudden it is over already.  We celebrated Nathan's birthday, and I was looking at pictures even from just back at Christmas and realizing how much he has grown.  I can't believe how quickly time goes, and I have to keep reminding myself to try to enjoy every last bit of it, even the tantrums and bad days that I know some time in the not too distant future I will end up missing.  When you are a kid, it feels like you have all the time in the world.  A year seems like forever, until suddenly you are an adult and time is just flying past and a year goes by like a day.  Anyway, here are some pictures from our little boy's birthday.  I remember hating when mom used to say I would always be her baby, but now I know what it feels like.  

  He had a fun time I think.  We built him a sandbox and got him some toys to play with in it and he loves that.  Unfortunately, I think we are all coming down with a cold which really irritates me because we want to go camping this weekend.  The first long weekend that Mike has had since January that has not been interrupted by the Army in some way.  Maybe it will pass quickly and we will still be able to enjoy the weekend.  Somehow, I doubt that is how it will happen :(

Well, I have to do book keeping stuff today, and sew a patch on Mike's uniform.  Kind of boring after all the excitement this weekend. 

Today has been one of those days...you know, the kind that you feel like you will explode at any minute because Murphy's Law is in full effect and everybody seems to want to make your life miserable all at once.  Ok, maybe that's a bit exaggerated, but when you're pregnant and your hormones are all messed up, even something little can annoy the heck out of you.  Nathan got up this morning with a smile on his face.  I thought that meant it was going to be a good day.  Well, I was wrong.  First, he refused to eat his breakfast and screamed to high heaven for the majority of the morning.  Then, I went outside to spread some more soil on the garden as I am trying to fill it in and make it as much of a raised bed as I can.  While outside, Nikita barked continuously at me and attempted to get into the garden numerous times because what I was spreading was somewhat stinky with organic matter etc.  I am not entirely sure why we have a dog.  I can't help but realize over and over and over again what disgusting creatures they are.  They are literally drawn to the stinkiest, nastiest most repulsive things in this world so that they can either eat it or roll in it.  Maybe that's just my dog?  Anyway, it didn't help that my nerves were already frazzled due to Nathan's morning fit, and Nikita just made it worse with her barking.  As soon as I put the empty dirt bags in the trash bag we keep outside, she proceeded to drag them out and begin chewing on them.  In short, it seemed to me like she was doing everything in her power to piss me off...at least that is how it seemed, but of course she is not that smart.  So, later on at lunch time, I once again had the wonderful experience of dealing with a Nathan screaming fit.  This time it was over coleslaw.  Who doesn't like coleslaw?  That lasted longer than any normal person's patience would ordinarily hold out.  Fortunately, we parents know we are no longer ordinary in the patience department.  You can't survive that way.  Thank God we love our children more than life or this would not be possible.  Well, I don't want to write an entire blog of complaints, but I felt like venting a bit anyway.

Over the weekend, we went down to Anchorage to take care of some errands.  It was nice to get out of the house and out of Wasilla.  I haven't been going much of anywhere lately with gas prices the way they are.  We went to the case sale at the commissary, then we went to get Mike measured for the tux he is going to wear at James and Steph's wedding.  We stopped at Babies R' Us because I wanted to get these bibs I had seen a long time ago that have a little pocket for catching food.  They are pretty cool.  They are rubber, so all you have to do is wash them off after a meal, and the little pocket catches a bunch of food that usually either ends up in Nathan's lap or on the floor.  Then we went to the BMW shop to drool over motorcycles that we can't afford hahah.  Then we did our Costco shopping for the month, and poor little Nathan was very tired at this point.  He is down to one nap a day, but he usually takes it around 1 and we had been out since about 830.  He also woke up early that morning, so that combined with all of the running around and no nap made for a very tired little boy.  But, of course he fell asleep on a ten minute drive between stores in Anchorage, but when we actually started the 45 minute drive home where he could have had a nice chunk of a nap, he stayed awake until we were 10 minutes from home.  So, we managed to get quite a few things accomplished over the weekend, which always feels nice. 

I hope to upload all of the pictures from the camera tomorrow, so I should be posting some that I promised I would.  I've been putting it off because we have like 3 memory cards full and I have to sort and organize them and all of that jazz.  Nathan's birthday is this weekend, and I need a memory card empty so I can take pictures! :)  Well, it's dinner time and I'm famished!

I have all of these ideas for projects that I want to do around the yard, but most of them involve lifting heavy rocks, or digging out large chunks of weeds with a shovel.  I've tried some of them, but then I start breathing heavily and get all tired and I think maybe I should take it a little easier.  It's very aggravating being pregnant.  It makes you feel like you can't do anything for yourself.  I find I usually need to stop and tell myself I should wait for Mike to get home so he can help out with the heavy stuff or something.  Those of you who are reading this blog know me well enough to know that is totally against my character.  I am a very independent person by nature, and nothing aggravates me quite so much as having to step aside and let someone else take care of something that I am usually fully capable of doing myself.  Well, I've reined myself in to a certain extent, especially when I can feel my heart rate going up too high since I know that can be harmful to the baby.  Oh how I long to be back to my normal self again.  I'll have to wait another year and a half or so for that since it doesn't seem to happen while I'm nursing a baby.  It's almost funny because I can remember when I was pregnant with Nathan I had no idea what to expect postpartum, so I had this ridiculous idea in my head that as soon as the baby was out everything with my body would be pretty much normal again.  Hahah.  I know better now.  I'm not sure why nobody told me otherwise...  Perhaps I didn't ask, I don't really remember, but it seems that my mom at least would have tipped me off to the fact having had six children herself and being no stranger to the long road of postpartum "recovery."  I guess everyone is different, too.  It seems to take me longer than some.  I think a good way to look at it is, it took your body 9 months to get to the way it is when you deliver so it will take your body at least 9 months, maybe more, to get itself back to "normal"...or at least the new definition of normal after pregnancy and childbirth.  Someone told me that, maybe mom, and it makes sense to me.  Unfortunately, I am not a very patient person when it comes to things like that. 

So, I started this new project in the yard.  I am going to take some rocks that used to be around the fire pit and line some of our "landscaping" features with them.  It's going to look very nice when I am done.  I don't think the people that owned this property before us had it landscaped too badly, but it had too much time unattended during a very rainy summer.  Everything became weedy and grown up.  They also used smaller rocks than I would have to line the landscaping that I am going to fix with big rocks.  Anyway, We have done a lot of work in the yard since we moved in, and it is really coming along nicely.  Some things are going to take a little longer to fix than others.  There are areas that need to be seeded with new grass, and the flowers I planted in the front flower bed will probably take a year or so to establish themselves before they actually bloom.  The one thing they did a horrible job on is the fire pit.  It was hideous, but we are fixing that slowly.  Unfortunately, Nikita picked that area as her favorite spot to make messes all winter, and they are too wet and squishy to pick up so I guess they will just have to serve as good fertilizer for the new grass seed we will plant.  

We had frost again last night.  I really wanted to get the garden in this weekend, but I am afraid we will have to wait at least another week.  I can't trust the weather report because they consistently say it will only get down to 38 or something overnight, and then it gets down to 30 instead.  Our zucchini and bean plants are getting so big, they are more than ready to be transplanted.  The tomatoes need some more time, and so do the lettuce and herbs.  I am very excited, I think we will have a good zucchini harvest, and the beans should do well too assuming they don't get eaten by pests.  I already have plans for making zucchini bread with fresh zucchini!  My herbs are going to be in planters along our deck railing so I can grab fresh herbs whenever I need them while I'm grilling!  It's going to be great!  We are going to spread manure this weekend in the garden so at least it will be ready when we finally can plant.  I have to put up a fence to keep Nikita and a certain little boy from playing in it, but that shouldn't be too hard.  We have a bunch of leftover scrap wood from disassembling a set of steps that were randomly in our back yard when we bought the place.  They used to be the steps for the back door, but the people who lived here put a deck in instead, and they just set the steps down in the back yard near the fence.  I don't know why they didn't just disassemble them and use the wood.  Anyway, the skinny pieces that used to be part of the railing system are great for my little fence stakes, and also for tomato stakes when we plant our tomatoes.  There is also some wire mesh stuff that I am going to use for the fence.  Wait, steaks or stakes?  Something told me it isn't supposed to be steaks...  that sounds too much like a nice slab of beef :)  

Nathan's birthday is coming up!  I can't believe he is going to be two years old!  We are going to use some of our scrap wood to build him a sandbox.  It may be a sand and dirt box, actually.  Then we will get him some toys to play with in it.  I think he will love that!  I have this idea of sandboxes being dirty, nasty places where kids pee and puke and stuff, but I think that is more in a public sandbox.  We will build a lid to keep Nikita out when it isn't being used, so she won't be able to mess it up.  I never had a sandbox growing up, but we had an area underneath the pine trees that had pine needles and dirt that served almost the same purpose.  We used to play with tonka toys and little toy pickups and shovels in there.  I remember building roads and making construction zones.  It was great fun!  Hahah that just reminded me of raking little roads in the newly fallen leaves and riding our bikes around pretending to be in cars.  Having kids is the best, you get to go back and remember all of these fun things to do and it's almost like being a kid again yourself.  Nathan managed to get his shoes wet and muddy yesterday, so we went out in our bare feet and it was great.  Until now it has been too cold for it, but I think it's ok now.  We did stay in the front yard, though, even though we have Nikita's messes cleaned up, I prefer not to be surprised!  That reminds me, there is a big pile of moose poop in the front that I have to clean up.  Anyway, the neighbor came over and we were talking, and then I was laughing to myself wondering what she must be thinking of these crazy people in their bare feet.  Wow, this blog is super long...I think it's time to stop!  I'm so happy the weekend is almost here!         

We worked on our garden area over the weekend and got it mostly ready for planting.  We are going to get some dirt and fertilizer to fill it in because it is a raised bed sort of thing.  Our zucchini and beans are ready for planting, but I am not convinced we've had our last frost.  I also picked up all of the trash in the yard and it looks SO much better!  The yard is really coming a long way from it's sad, wintery state.  It is starting to dry up some and I did some raking which got rid of a lot of debris.  There are some sticks and stuff that need to be cleared up before it's back to normal, and the fire ring area has a long way to go.  I need to get some grass seed and seed some areas down.  Nikita has a ridiculous habit of taking individual bits of her food and pawing at random sections of our lawn to "bury" said food.  It greatly irritates me.  I often wonder why we ever got a dog, they seem to be more trouble than they are worth.  Anyway, we have several little "scars" in our lawn due to this fact, and they need to be repaired.  Ok, I'm not really that concerned about having the perfect, manicured golf course lawn like some people do.  I do like to have a somewhat decent looking piece of grass though.  

We went to a yard sale over the weekend and found some baby girl clothes!  I am starting to get excited.  It's funny how being pregnant is supposed to be all exciting and stuff, but you don't really start to think about the reality of the fact that you're going to have a new little person until you are getting close to your due date.  That is how it is for me, at least.  It doesn't become totally real until that baby comes out, and then it's like WOW!  hahah, but buying a couple of little pink baby clothes made me start thinking about it and how happy it makes me, even with all the discomfort of pregnancy.  So, I plan to do some more yard sale picking before she comes because people are having them all over the place and everyone is selling baby clothes!  I can get a gently used Carter's sleep sack for $1 or less where it costs like $8 at Carter's!  It's awesome!  

Yesterday, I took Nathan to a free performanc of Sesame Street Live on post courtesy of the USO.  Well, Mike and I thought he would really like it because he is all about singing and dancing and stuff.  I don't know if he got up on the wrong side of his bed or what, but he was not a happy camper at all.  He screamed and kicked and had absolutely no interest in looking at the stage at all.  I finally had to leave early with him because he just wasn't behaving.  I guess he is my son after all, I never went in for things like Sesame Street when I was a kid either.  Of course, I grew up without tv...which is what he is doing too.  The only thing he liked about the whole thing was a little light up toy they were handing out as you went in.  It spins and has lights and he is all over that.  

Tonight I am going back down to post for a spouses' hail and fairwell hosted by the colonel's wife.  I only know one other person who is going to be there :-/  Hahah we will see, hopefully I can manage to not be too socially awkward.  I need to get out and meet some people anyway.  Also, it gives me a chance to get out of the house for a little me time.  I am going to put some ham and split pea soup in the crock pot for dinner, so Mike won't have to worry about that when he comes home.  I only wish I could have some of it, too, but there will be leftovers since I am making a double batch :)  We had a ham over the weekend as our late Easter dinner, and now we have the delicious leftovers to eat.       

My zucchini and beans are sprouting!  Hahah it's exciting!  I also planted the hostas in the front flower bed.  I think I will need to get some more because I want them to come in nice and full.  I used this fish fertilizer that stinks super bad but it should be good for them.  Man does it stink!  I think I will plant some more flowers today, we will see.  Mike got me a strawberry hanging basket for the back deck that I need to plant.  It's very hard to gauge when the last frost is going to be around here.  I thought we were done, but just the other night it was below freezing again.  It is supposed to be a nice day so I would like to be outside if I can.  There is also a lot of trash to pick up in the yard from a long winter of strong winds blowing everyone's garbage cans over.  I should take care of that, too, as it is driving me nuts. 

Well, Mike finally comes home today after a whole week away.  I will be so happy to have him back!  I can't remember how I survived 13 months apart from him, I don't want to remember.  I hope I never have to do it again, but that's probably not going to be the case.  There are a lot of things about being a military family that are impossible to imagine, but there are a lot of good things, too.  Strangely enough, I can't really imagine life any other way.  I don't think I will be unhappy when it's all over, though.

So, I was on craigslist the other day looking for a bookshelf because we have a rather cruddy one that needs replacing.  Anyway, I saw some adds for yard sales this weekend and I am thinking about doing some picking around.  Craigslist is the thing up here in Alaska, by the way.  Everyone loves it and uses it for EVERYTHING up here.  It's almost comical.  When we were first moving up here and looking for houses, we were told to check craigslist because, yes, people list their real estate on there too.  Anyway, I am on the hunt for some baby girl clothes and the one yard sale said fill a bag of baby clothes for $5 which sounds pretty good to me.  I have a lot of neutral-ish baby clothes from when Nathan was smaller, but I guess I may like to dress this little baby like a girl sometimes...not that I really go in for stereotypes or anything.  I hated pink when I was little, but now I like it.  It's really just a personality thing, not a gender thing.    

Mike said he would watch Nathan on Saturday so I could get away and have some time alone.  That sounds really good to me except that I want to spend some time with him after he's been gone all week.  I think I will probably take him up on it, though, because I do need a little time away from the little guy.  I love him with all my heart, but it takes a lot of patience to be a parent, and a little time away from everything once in a while is a good thing...especially with the new one due soon.  It will be back to having a baby with me virtually 24/7.  So, I am thinking about hiring a doula for my labor and delivery this time.  A doula is like a labor coach, kind of.  Anyway, I am having a lot of anxiety given my previous experience, and I think it may be a good thing to help me manage everything.  I have to talk to Mike about it, and I may ask my doctor for some recommendations.  The thought of a c-section really scares me, but a repeat of last time scares me too.  There are so many things I want to do differently this time, I only wish I had known the first time around.     

Another week has begun!  This morning I planted some of my seeds for our garden.  I know, I'm pretty late getting these started, but I have a good feeling about it.  I planted some oregano and chives for my herb garden and some lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes and green beans for my veggie garden.  Way late on getting the tomatoes started, so we will see how that turns out.  We got some hostas for the front flower bed and I plan to get some collumbine and lily of the valley to go in there, too.  It is so shady at the front flower bed so I have to go with shade loving flowers and plants. 

Gas up here is about $4.13 a gallon, yuck!  I have been trying not to drive to much lately, naturally.  Sometimes it gets boring being stuck at home, though, so we do go out occasionally.  Most of our back yard is melted and the water seems to be draining into the soil.  It did rain today, but not a whole lot so I am hoping that we will be able to do some yard work this weekend or next.  We cleaned out the garage, and there is a mouse in there!  We did know about it before, but I guess we just didn't take care of the problem till now.  Anyway, we got some traps and have them set, and we also got rid of anything it could hide behind or under for the most part.  That little mouse better watch out because I will squish it if I see it again. 

I am thinking about preping the guest room to be painted this week, and maybe Nathan's room, too.  I can get all of the taping out of the way, and that way all we have to do is move some furniture and paint when we are ready.  I would also like to finish Nathan's toy box.  We have it mostly done, we just need to put some lid supports on so he doesn't pinch his fingers, and I would also like to paint it.  Now that the weather is warmer I have to start thinking about all of these things before I get too big and clumsy to do them!  Well, I should probably start dinner.

I finally got a sewing machine!!!  I am so excited and bursting with ideas of all the things I can do with it, I don't know why I waited this long!  It is a Singer and it works like a charm.  I took a chance the other day and attempted my first project, a fitted cloth diaper.  It didn't turn out too bad, but let's just say I need some more practice.  I guess it didn't really help that I had to draft my own pattern from scratch.  I also learned that I hate sewing elastic!  It was fun, though, and it was great to try out my new machine!  I think this is the best birthday present my husband has gotten for me yet :) 

It has been getting above 50 almost every day lately, and can you believe that 55 degrees actually feels hot to us?  It's completely crazy how the human body can acclimatize itself to crazy cold weather to the point where 30s and 40s feels warm, and 50s feels hot!  Nikita is even lying around the yard panting like it's mid July or something.  It's kind of funny.  Our yard is thawing out, but we have some low parts in our back yard that are turning into swamps.  I hope that once all the snow melts, the swamps will dry up and we can get some good grass again!  I have been spending a lot of time outside with Nathan, and he just loves playing in the dirt.  It's great to be able to let him run around and get some of his energy out now!  Unfortunately, with warmer weather we are seeing the first of the mosquitoes, and they are crazy big!  If you know what a mosquito hawk is, think of that as the general size of an Alaskan mosquito.  I'm not even kidding, they are scary.  I am used to hearing the high pitched humming in my ear when one of our normal, lower-48 mosquitoes comes around, but these things don't make that noise, it's more like a low droning!  I hope they are not too bad this year.  I think we were spared last year because of all the rain we had and the summer stayed pretty cool. 

Well, I am officially in the third trimester now.  I am not looking forward to labor again, but I am so looking forward to not being pregnant.  I'm not sure I can handle this again, we may just end up with two kids.  I seriously hate being pregnant.  Hah, who knows?  Pretty soon Mike gets to play Major again and take over doing S-3 stuff.  He had to do that for a chunk of time in February and March, and it wasn't fun for him or any of us.  Longer days and it's not like he is getting Major's pay or anything hah.  Well, anyway, now he will have to do it again as the current S-3 is moving up to XO and there is going to be a gap of time before the new S-3 gets here.  Not looking forward to that, but I guess it is good work experience for him.  It looks like he will take company command early next year some time. 

So the other day we were out in the yard scooping up the thousands of piles of Nikita poop that had accumulated all winter when Mike said he had heard a commercial on the radio for a business that actually scoops poop!  Hahah I just thought that was funny!  Apparently they advertise something like this: "Is your yard a dirty mess from not cleaning up after your pets all winter?  We can help!  Call blah blah blah etc..."  Hilarious!  Now, granted I do not particularly enjoy scooping poop, but really?  You'd have to be lazy to actually pay someone to come do something that you can do perfectly well with a good shovel and a big bag.  I bet they get business, though.  Let me tell you, the last thing you want to do when it's -20 and the wind is blowing is to go out in your yard digging through the snow for your dog's excrement...so it really does pile up over the winter.  We have most of our yard cleaned, we just have to wait for the rest of the snow to melt and parts to dry up a little to get the rest.  Ok, enough about dog poop hah. 

We did spring cleaning on the interior of the Santa Fe the other day.  I always love to clean out a vehicle after winter!  They get so dirty from all the snow and salt and junk, it just looks so nice when you finally finish vacuuming and wiping everything down with Armorall.  Maybe that's weird, but I love to make something nice and clean and fresh smelling, especially when it's been really dirty!  Next we have to do the Tundra.  It didn't get as dirty, though, cause Mike uses the Santa Fe for the commute to work.  I want to clean out the garage, too, but Nathan doesn't like to cooperate when we are in the front yard.  He has a bad habit of running towards the road when a car is coming!  I hope that doesn't last!  The garage really isn't that dirty, it just needs a good sweeping and some straightening up.  

I have a pot roast on, and the smell is making me hungry!  I think I will find a small snack to hold me over until dinner time. 

Wow, it's been a while since I've been on here.  Haven't been particularly busy, so I guess I don't really have an excuse.  Let me see here, what is new and exciting.  Well, we went down to Anchorage to watch the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail sled dog race.  That was pretty cool!  We thought Nathan would really be into it, too, but he seemed more interested in attempting to escape in various ways, generally by running off somewhere.  I intend to post some of the pictures I took, unfortunately they are few because I was silly and failed to ensure that the batteries were fully charged in my camera.  I also failed to ensure I had enough space on the memory card I had with me.  What a bad photographer I am!  Anyhow, I did manage to capture some pictures, so I promise I will get them up on here at some point. 

What else...  Well, we are still waiting for spring weather.  We have had some warmer weather recently, but it can't seem to stop getting cold and snowing in between.  It seems like every time we just get our sidewalk and driveway and deck cleared of snow and ice, we get a little more snow.  It usually doesn't last, but it is very annoying none-the-less.  We have been able to break out the grill and grill a couple of times already.  Granted, I am somewhat crazy about grilling and have been known to grill out in all sorts of different weather conditions that may be less than appealing to most people.  We finally invested in a new charcoal grill as our old one was about to disintegrate in front of me.  I had some sentimental qualms about it at first because the old one has been with us since before we were married, but I am coming to terms with our new one ;)  It's pretty darn nice, actually!  Oh, yes, I had my birthday recently too.  Not that this is very exciting news or anything, but my wonderful hubby has offered to buy me a sewing machine as a gift so I am currently researching for the best deals and brands.  I really have very little idea, but I do know that mom had a Singer, so I have been looking at them in particular.  Unfortunately, they tend to be expensive, so we shall see. 

Speaking of expenses, I've found myself very grateful we were wise enough to put a chunk of money aside for an emergency fund as the way our ridiculous Congress is pointing fingers and beating about the bush on the budget, it looks as though we will be without a paycheck for a bit in the near future. 

So our most recent adventure all started when Nathan was supposed to be taking a nap, but was instead figuring out how to climb out of his crib.  Long story short, after I hear a giant bang and screaming coming from his room, I run back and find him on the floor instead of in his crib.  So, we finally converted it to a toddler bed.  Well, ever since then he will not take naps and he gets up at different times during the night to pound on his door and scream.  SIGH.  I guess it's better we are going through this now than later when the new baby is here.  I'm sure she will do her fair share of keeping us up without Nathan's help.  I do hope it ends soon, it is very annoying!  We have also planned our next trip to Pennsylvania already.  I hope I can handle it as I will only be 2 months postpartum and last time I could still barely walk at that time.  Let's just hope this labor and delivery goes smoother and is nicer to my body this time around.  In fact, please pray for that because it weighs heavily on my mind.  I would like to have a nice little 7 or 8 pound baby instead of a giant this time!  I fear genetics is against me.    

You can just barely make out a firework down near the water if you look closely :)  Pictures never do any of the views up here justice, it's so frustrating.  I guess you will just have to come visit to see the amazingness of this place!

I forgot to mention last time that we went down to Arctic Valley to watch fireworks last Saturday.  They were being put off in Anchorage and we didn't want to deal with traffic so we went up the mountain instead and had a splendid view of the whole city.  It was interesting as we were higher than the fireworks and they looked very small and far away, but it was still fun.  We packed sandwiches and had a sort of picnic in the truck as we watched!  Hahah you're probably wondering who has a picnic inside their vehicle, well when it's only 10 degrees out and the wind is blowing making it feel more like -10, you would have a picnic in your vehicle too.  Anyway, this picture has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this blog, I just fancied putting it on here for some reason.  I love bears, I'm dreadfully afraid of bears, bears make you feel small and weak...it's strange to not be on top of the food chain when you are walking through the woods, and it's definitely always on your mind wherever you go up here.  Wolves, too.  Well, anyway, I would like to go bear hunting before we leave here.  It's good to face your fears!

I finally got Quicken up to date!!  Wow, talk about being behind!  Being sick for so long and not doing anything with the giant pile of receipts on my desk made for some real headaches!  It took me the better part of a day but it's done now and I can start being vigilant again.  It feels good to have your finances in order, right along with having a clean house hahah.  Still have some tweaking to do on the budget, but that will have to wait for the weekend when the hubby can brainstorm with me.  I have the crock pot full of beefy chili on low, so dinner should be ready by 6:00.  I doubt Mike will be home by then, but I can just put it on the keep warm setting.  I love my crock pot!  I know I've probably said this before, but it's so wonderful to be able to just leave it on all day and not think about it.  The freak winds of the Mat-Su Valley are blowing again, so, though I put the trash can down at the bottom of the driveway, it has blown over twice now.  I am sitting here waiting for the noise of the garbage truck so I can run out there really quickly and right it.  There's simply no use trying to do it before then because it will just blow over again.  Gotta love 75mph gusts.  Ok, well not really, in fact it's probably my least favorite part of this particular location in Alaska.  I am beyond ready for spring!

I had the strangest of nights last night.  For some reason I kept waking up to an impossibly dry mouth and throat...almost as if my mouth had completely stopped producing saliva.  I know this sounds weird, and you're right, it was weird.  It was also almost intolerable!  One doesn't realize the importance of one's own saliva until one finds out what it's like to not have it.  Anyway, it was very strange and very irritating and I did not sleep well at all because of it.  I still don't feel completely right.  I wonder if this is some strange new side effect of pregnancy that I didn't experience with Nathan?  Hormones are capable of the most aggravating things sometimes!  

Nathan is starting to repeat a lot of words that we say.  It is very cute to hear his version of different words!  I know I should be taking more pictures and video, I have been falling behind on that and I know I will regret it.  His little sister kicks away quite often.  I hope she does not get as big as he did.  I hope the garbage truck comes soon because I keep seeing my trash can blow a little farther away every time a big wind gust comes...maybe they won't come today.  Maybe I should just say forget it and bring the can in.  We will be way overflowing next week if I have to do that.  For some reason I can't think of much to say today.   

It's snowing!  There's something about a snowy day, even when I am beginning to tire of winter, that just makes things magical.  A fluffy new coat of glistening crystal covering up all the grime and dirt of the old snow, it's wonderful!  I have been watching this tv series on netflix lately called Dexter.  It's about a serial killer who only kills people who are murderers themselves.  I was a bit skeptical when I watched the first episode.  I kind of though, what in the world, this is so macabre...and, well, it kind of is, but now I'm hopelessly addicted!  So, I got through season one and two, but now I have to get the discs for the rest of them because they only have the first two on instant play.  Anyway, in other news, I am proud of myself because I cleaned both bathrooms yesterday including mopping the floors.  I know that sounds silly, but usually I only get one done in a day because I so despise cleaning bathrooms, and I don't usually mop the floor.  I actually got a lot of the house cleaned yesterday.  All that is left is the kitchen and dining area.  The kitchen and dining room floor need to be swept and mopped and that is a job that I don't like.  How exciting, I'm telling you all about my cleaning exploits!  Hah.

This, however, is kind of exciting!  So yesterday, I'm eating my lunch and someone walks up to my front door.  So, I think to myself, who could that be?  I wasn't expecting anyone and I wasn't expecting a package or anything either.  So I see this face try to look through the glass on the door, which is quite impossible because it is that warped, ripply kind that allows for privacy.  Anyway, I'm like what the heck.  So I think about going to get the gun, but instead I decide against it.  They ring the doorbell and I open it a crack to see who is there and it's these two state cops.  So I'm like, uhoh, what could this be about hahah.  I'm pretty sure I haven't been that bad lately.  Anyway, they ask for the guy who we bought the house from, and I'm like, that's the previous owner of this house.  So they ask my name and I tell them (btw having the last name Henriques and looking about as Scandinavian/Northern European as they come is absolutely hilarious sometimes. I swear from their faces I'm sure they thought I was making up a last name).  The one cop is like "Henriques?" and I'm like, "yeah."  So they asked if I am a personal friend of the guy, and I say no, I just know we bought this house from him.  So then they said thanks and left me to ponder what kind of trouble this guy must be in.  Hmmmm...  And why, pray tell, were they looking for him at a house that we've owned for half a year already?  He better not be using this address for some shady, alias type criminal activity.  Well, that was my excitement for yesterday!

So, today I have nothing planned.  If only I had a little more energy, I could take Nathan outside to play in the snow!  Earlier this week I had a sonogram, and we found out we are having a girl this time.  I was pretty sure of that beforehand because I have been sick as a dog this pregnancy.  We girls must be a real drain on people's energy if this is what we do in our mothers' wombs!  We went to Red Robin for lunch that day..Yuuummmm.  I know, not so good for you but man do they make a tasty burger!  Speaking of, I am hungry!  Perhaps I should find something to eat.  Oh heck, I'm always hungry these days.  This seems to be the way I've been ending my blogs recently hahah.

My last post was a bit of a rant, but don't worry, this one will try not to be.  We got some snow the other day, finally!  Believe it or not, it does not seem to snow here nearly so much as it does in Erie, Pennsylvania.  That is a bit disappointing to me because I was very excited about the prospect of living in the far north where I imagined there would be tons of snow and cold and wonderfulness.  Sadly, it seems to be more cold and windy than snowy.  Of course, that does not apply to all of Alaska.  There are many places up here that get far more snow than any place I have ever lived; I just don't live in them. 

Mike was supposed to have a four day weekend this weekend.  Unfortunately he had to pull staff duty today so that kind of put a damper on the whole idea.  I guess it is kind of a 3 day weekend since he had yesterday off and he will be off tomorrow and Monday.  But no, because it is separated by a day so it doesn't really count.  Well, I will make the best of it and take him some dinner tonight.  That way Nathan and I will get to see him at least a little bit today.  Dinner, ah yes, that is cooking in the crock pot right now.  My favorite kitchen gadget besides my bread machine.  I simply love to throw things in there and forget about them all day, then by dinner time it's Voila!  Hahah.  I intend to make a carrot cake soon.  I am not sure whether I will find the motivation to do it today, or if I will wait for another day.  Perhaps it would be a nice surprise dessert for Mike tonight.  I love sweets, I can't help it.  Yes, I know it is not terribly healthy, but in my own defense I do try to keep my sweets consumption to a minimum.  Everything in moderation, right! 

Well, there's not much new to tell.  I had a massage yesterday and some time to myself, thanks to Mike staying home and watching Nathan.  I very much needed that.  Don't get me wrong, I love my son, but everyone needs a little bit of time once in a while.  Yes, even us super moms.  And you moms out there who are reading this and saying "pshh, that is so horrible to say," spare me the crap cause even you need some time to yourself sometimes.  So, I had a massage and I took myself to lunch and did some me shopping.  It was very nice.  Thanks to being pregnant and having no energy, however, I was pooped after about only 4 hours out so I had to come home and lounge for a bit while my super husband made a delicious dinner.  I honestly have no idea how I would have finished school if this is how my pregnancy with Nathan had been.  Seriously, the months of sickness coupled with the crazy hormones and no energy thing is way worse this time.  There's no way I could have been going to classes like this!  I am so thankful I was able to finish college!  I can't begin to explain how important an education beyond highschool is, and I realize that now more than ever.  I just wish that most American youth of today would feel the same way.  But then, I suppose the college setting is not for everyone either.  I do think there is great value in self education, though.  Did you know that President Abraham Lincoln was primarily self-educated?  Can you believe that?  And yet today we basically insist our presidents have some sort of high-priced, ivy league education.  Values have changed over time.  I guess we can't trust people to self-educate themselves to an appropriate level anymore.

Wow, I think I just went from talking about carrot cake to talking about President Lincoln.  This is a very rambling blog, but then I guess most of mine are.  Time for lunch!

I really dislike snobs.  People who think everything they do is right and look down on everything everybody else does with no regard as to people's different positions in life, etc.  I'm sure I am snobbish in ways sometimes, though I try my best not to be.  Ok, so that was random, but some of the things I see just irk me.  What tends to irk me even more is the general ignorance of "normal" people as to the hardships and special circumstances of military life.  So many people just don't get that what works for them or for anyone else in a normal situation is totally unreasonable for a military family.  They can't understand the dedication it takes just to live this way.  And here's the kicker, just because someone you know is in the military doesn't mean you know jack about military life.  I'm no expert, but I've experienced enough to know that it takes a special kind of person to do what our servicemembers and their families do.  Things that most people couldn't handle themselves, but still have no appreciation for.  Unfortunately, this is how it will continue to be because it's simply impossible to understand unless you've experienced it.  So, I guess I shall remain frustrated.  But if there is one thing that I can not stand to hear from someone who has never had to spend a year away from their spouse hoping every day that he or she is still alive, never had to pack up and move their entire life to a new place every couple of years, never had to dread when the next separation would take place...it's "I understand what you're going through."  No, you don't.

   

Ah, the days are getting longer and my mood is rising.  I am feeling better and have more energy to a certain degree.  The house is mostly back in order and I am back to being able to cook meals like I used to.  Now, I'm just waiting for spring thaw.  I keep randomly wanting to do things like go camping or roast marshmallows over our firepit in the back yard, but alas those things must wait until spring and summer.  When spring finally does arrive, we plan to paint Nathan's room and the guest room.  Originally we were going to go for the whole house minus the bathrooms, but at this point I am questioning whether I want to tackle the kitchen and living room.  That is a big job with lots of obstacles and complications, and I will be 7 months pregnant to top it off.  So, I'm thinking we will settle for Nathan's room and the guest room.  We aren't going to be living here for long, so I think having the bedrooms custom colors will be enough to satisfy my aggravation at having had white walls in the past 4 places I've lived and being able to do nothing about it.  Later on in the year we will have to get a separate bed or bunk bed for Nathan when the new little one takes over the crib.  I am hoping to find a bunk bed that comes apart and can be made into two single beds, like I had when I was growing up. 

We are building a toy box for Nathan so that he can actually put all of his toys away when he is done playing with them.  Right now, they are scattered all over his bedroom floor, and that very much bothers me.  Anyway, we are making it out of pine and it is coming along nicely.  We will probably stain it in the summer so that it is closer to the color of the rest of the furniture in his bedroom, but I am not sure.  I've toyed with the idea of painting it as well, but we shall have to see.  I am thinking about sketching some pictures to put up on Nathan's bedroom wall...perhaps Winnie-the-Pooh as we have been reading that to him and he seems to enjoy it.  Maybe nature scenes or sailboats.  I was never one for decorating the super cute baby room or whatever like some people do, but I would like to put something up because his walls are mostly bare and that seems boring to me.  I am also thinking of collecting some family photos to be framed and put along our hallway.  I have two up already of my mom and of my sister, my mom and myself when we were younger.  I was holding off because we were planning to paint the main area this year, but now that it looks unlikely that that will happen, I am going to go ahead and start decorating the walls.  The people who owned this house before us had nails up all over the place and we sort of just took them over for some of our photos rather than putting new ones in.  But, I don't like where they are situated so I am going to take some of them out and fill the holes and put new ones where we want them to be.

So far, I love owning our own home.  It is so nice to be able to make your own decisions regarding your property instead of having to think of what a landlord might say.  Of course it is also a lot more responsibility, which is scary in ways.  Mostly, it's nice to know that it is an investment part of which we hope to get back when we sell the property as opposed to just saying "bye bye" to rent money every month that is twice as expensive and you know you will never see again.  I will be sad to go back to renting after this, since we don't plan to buy at any of Mike's next duty stations until we settle down in one spot for good.  I hate renting!  It's odd to think of settling in one spot, though.  We are so used to moving around every couple years that it's almost a habit and you start to feel like "OK, it's time to move on to the next place" after a certain period of time.  It has its aspects of adventure and new experiences, I guess.  It can be stressful and annoying, but it's weird to me to think of trying to find a spot where we will be happy for the rest of our lives.  Where would that spot be?  Would it be back in Pennsylvania?  Would it be out west in the mountains that I always long for so much when I am back in PA?  How do you choose a house and property that you plan to keep for the rest of your life?  I suppose we will probably end up back in Pennsylvania, though.  In the end, what matters most is family, and since most of our family is back in PA, it would make sense to go back.   

I have this pet peeve that tends to annoy me more than I should probably allow it to do so.  So when a woman gets married, she usually takes her husband's last name, right?  Ok, that's fine, I did and I figure one or the other has to take the other's name or things get too darn confusing; like when people hyphenate names or keep their maiden name.  Too long, too confusing, annoying for posterity and their future spouses to have to deal with.  Anyway, so usually the wife takes the husband's last name.  So here is my issue: I took my husband's last name, but I kept my first name...so why do people still insist on the old fashioned form of address that looks like this

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Henriques

My name is not Mrs. Michael Henriques!  My name isn't Michael at all!  My husband doesn't own me, my identity does not meld into his, I am still a person all my own.  Yes we are One in some respects, but I still exist as Emily.  I guess it bothers me because it seems that since I've been married, more and more my identity (my name) is slipping into the darkness of non-acknowledgement (I've already given up my last name for goodness' sake).  Anyway, it's a pet peeve, and I probably shouldn't let it bother me, but it does.  No, I am not mad at you if you have addressed me in this way before, but here is my preference (I know it is longer to write and you probably don't care, but it makes more sense to me from a linguistic perspective):

Mr. & Mrs. Michael & Emily Henriques
or
Michael & Emily Henriques

I usually prefer the latter as it is much less formal and it doesn't make me feel old ;)  At any rate, I just felt like writing that down, so take it or leave it hahah.

Lately, Nathan has been a real devil.  It seems like ever since we've returned from our trip to PA, he has a horrible attitude and he hits and bites and all manner of nasty things.  Where is my good little boy?  Where did he pick up these nasty habits?  It is so frustrating sometimes, especially since I usually have no way of getting away for a little bit of me time.  I suppose this was bound to happen at some point, or at least everyone tells me about the "terrible twos," which I guess he is starting a little early.  I guess we just have to be vigilant in correcting him, even when it seems like it just bounces off his head because he is doing something bad again two minutes later.  I really don't want to be that family that has real brats for kids, you know.  The ones you always look at and think, "man, I would never let my kid get away with that!"  But now he's doing things that I vowed never to let my kid get away with, and I don't, but he still does them anyway!  On top of everything else, he has been waking up in the middle of the night and screaming bloody murder.  Normally, I try to let him go back to sleep on his own, but it just seems like something isn't quite right recently.  I think he is either sick or teething something aweful.  I hope that ends soon.

We are finally getting snow again!  We had some a couple days ago and again last night, so we all went out and played in the snow today.  Well, apparently the baby didn't like that so I lost my breakfast because of it.  Oh well, I had fun until that point.  Now we are thinking about going to see a movie this evening, but I'm not sure if we will or not since the roads are probably not too great.  Amazingly enough, they actually plowed our roads the last time it snowed!  I couldn't believe it.  They haven't yet this time, though, and I'm not holding my breath.  Mike started to shovel the driveway today, and our neighbor from down the street came up with his fourwheeler and plowed it for us.  I thought that was really nice!  He is a retired Coast Guard veteran.  I guess he told Mike we should invest in a "toy" up here hahah.  Everyone has them, either fourwheelers, snowmobiles or dirt bikes.  We don't need anything extra to sink our money into.  I'm sure they are quite a lot of fun, though.  Well, I suppose that's all I have for now