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.