Yes, I am still here
I have no idea where to start, I have fallen so far behind with this blog. I used to be so good at keeping it updated but it seems I have very little time on my hands for much of anything this past year or so.
Speaking of this past year... where the hell did it go? I was in NY preggo, had the baby, went on a road trip with Kari and Sami to get Keith in NC after him being deployed for 7 months in Iraq, drove back to NY, back to NC, back to NY for Keith's mother, and back to NC. We had our house packed, lived in temporary housing in NC, flew to Hawaii... lived in temporary housing here. Got the house, the cars, moved in. Got settled, finally got the dogs flown here from NY, bought a van for when family/friends come to visit... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and BAM the year is gone!!! It's just insane to me how fast this past year flew by.
All that time the kiddos have grown... Emily looks different to me. Her facial features have changed a bit. She looks more mature and I can't help but look at her and think she is just stunning. She is just a natural beauty. She starts school in July here. I am on the fence about that when it comes to my emotions. I know she needs it to help her mature more but the idea of her starting "real" school makes me so sad. She won't be home with me every day and that saddens me greatly. It seems to me as well that once children start school it's a milestone where they grow and mature way too quickly... Emily is very innocent and I know once school starts that it will slowly disappear and her eyes will be more open to allot more ugly things about the world. You want to shelter your children, keep them safe, and blinded towards allot of nastiness in the world... I know I can't keep her in a bubble all her life but it would sure be nice if I could.
On the other hand, there is no way I could home school. It has been a slow process teaching Emily her ABC's and numbers. Emily does not pick things up quickly nor do things come easily to her. She has a hard time focusing but once she gets something she's got it and she does well with it. She has been like that since she was a baby. You could never make her do anything, she was always a bit behind in all her milestones but once she got them she excelled at them. For example, her speech. I think she was in speech therapy for a year and half and now I can't get her to shut up....EVER! LOL She needs a classroom setting to do well at school. It will help her focus and she will want to keep up with her peers. One thing that she is really interested in and knows allot about for a person her age is the computer. She knows how to do ALLOT on a computer... not just games but using picture programs, how to turn things on and off... get into programs, uses the mouse, gets on the Internet... I wouldn't be surprised if she does something computer oriented as far as jobs go in the future... that or modeling...LOL Or both!
Now Olivia, things come easily for her and way too quickly. She isn't walking yet but it won't be long. She "speaks" well for her age. She says Mama and Dada and uses them correctly for Keith and I... she says Bye Bye and can't say Emmy but knows who she is. She knows most of what we are saying... and does well with listening as far as a 10 month old baby goes. She is probably over 20 pounds now and can fit into 12 month and some 18 month old clothing already. Her blue eyes are stunning and are the color of a clear sky day. Her hair is a very light blond and being here in Hawaii she gets allot of attention for that by the locals. We get stopped allot while shopping just so people can look at her. She is a true beauty and has a smile that will break hearts. She is a pretty easy baby to care for so far. She goes to bed easily (knock on wood), eats well, is not picky, listens, is easily entertained, likes to snuggle (except when falling asleep), and is every patient. I guess second children have to be! LOL She crawls all over the place, plays well by herself or with her sister, loves her bath, hates kisses from the dogs and let's them know it. She has been sleeping through the nights since she was 5 months old... talks allot and laughs, gives kisses, likes Elmo, and loves her blankey and her pink dolly whom she hugs. She has been eating table foods since she was around 8 months old. She has 8 teeth and is a little chunk. I am sure people look at my girls and wonder if they are true blooded sisters as they look nothing alike. Both are going to cause allot of headaches for Keith once they get older. Emily now attracts boys from the neighborhood... they stop by to talk with her when we are outside and Keith literally chases them away and is truly enraged with the idea of her just talking to any boy. Keith also has gotten allot more gray hairs these past couple of years...I have to keep reminding him that they are kids her age and just want to play, not ask for her hand in marriage.
So, that about sums it up with the girls.
As far as us goes... Hawaii is still really awesome. There is just an incredible amount of things to do here. And of course the weather doesn't hurt either. My parents are coming out in February and are staying for a long time. Keith and I both can't wait. We are all going to have allot of fun, they are getting out of the cold, snow, and ice, and we get live in baby sitters!! LOL
We have another little niece entering our lives this year. Although her parents can't seem to come up with a name for her yet! LOL We can't wait to meet her... Of course we miss all our family and our friends. That is the hardest part being here. I didn't care much for North Carolina but at least we were in a place that was drivable to go home and see everyone. With the time difference it's harder to keep in touch and I feel very left out of everyone life and the "loop". It sucks not seeing our nieces and nephews grow and having our kiddos grow up along with them. At least though when everyone comes to see us we all will have some really nice things to do together. And it is also good to know that we are on the countdown to Keith military career retirement. This is our last duty station.
And speaking of my husband... I am very proud to say that he was selected for Master Sergeant. If you don't know anything about the military/Marine Corps that means on the Enlisted side of the house he can only pick up one more rank and that's all that's left. It only goes up to E-9 and Keith will be an E-8 come February first. I am extremely proud of him as getting this promotion in his MOS (his job within the Marine Corps) was very competitive this year. So for him to get it makes it that more meaningful to me and to him as well. This is the first time in his career that I was emotional about him picking up a rank. Our tour in North Carolina was difficult and he was gone for half of the time we were there... if not more with all the field exercises. He missed a third of Emily's life, he missed Olivia's birth, and it at times put a strain on our marriage. He was hand picked by his previous CO to work a job in his unit that involved a multitude of challenges, extremely long hours in NC and in Iraq. He worked 7 months straight for 14 hours a day or more without one single day off. He met those challenges above and beyond for that is the type of Marine he is. I am so proud of him and maybe just maybe all that he endured and what we endured as a family these past few years might have been worth it for him to pin MSgt on at a time when it was a bit more challenging to get it. So, on February 1st I will glady and proudly take his new chevrons and slam the shit out of them in his collar bone. Because I know, he wouldn't have it any other way... (It's a Marine thing, as they say... you have to know one to understand)
So, that is my update. Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. I will bask in the sun for you and try to send a bit a warmth your way... ;)
Later
Speaking of this past year... where the hell did it go? I was in NY preggo, had the baby, went on a road trip with Kari and Sami to get Keith in NC after him being deployed for 7 months in Iraq, drove back to NY, back to NC, back to NY for Keith's mother, and back to NC. We had our house packed, lived in temporary housing in NC, flew to Hawaii... lived in temporary housing here. Got the house, the cars, moved in. Got settled, finally got the dogs flown here from NY, bought a van for when family/friends come to visit... Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and BAM the year is gone!!! It's just insane to me how fast this past year flew by.
All that time the kiddos have grown... Emily looks different to me. Her facial features have changed a bit. She looks more mature and I can't help but look at her and think she is just stunning. She is just a natural beauty. She starts school in July here. I am on the fence about that when it comes to my emotions. I know she needs it to help her mature more but the idea of her starting "real" school makes me so sad. She won't be home with me every day and that saddens me greatly. It seems to me as well that once children start school it's a milestone where they grow and mature way too quickly... Emily is very innocent and I know once school starts that it will slowly disappear and her eyes will be more open to allot more ugly things about the world. You want to shelter your children, keep them safe, and blinded towards allot of nastiness in the world... I know I can't keep her in a bubble all her life but it would sure be nice if I could.
On the other hand, there is no way I could home school. It has been a slow process teaching Emily her ABC's and numbers. Emily does not pick things up quickly nor do things come easily to her. She has a hard time focusing but once she gets something she's got it and she does well with it. She has been like that since she was a baby. You could never make her do anything, she was always a bit behind in all her milestones but once she got them she excelled at them. For example, her speech. I think she was in speech therapy for a year and half and now I can't get her to shut up....EVER! LOL She needs a classroom setting to do well at school. It will help her focus and she will want to keep up with her peers. One thing that she is really interested in and knows allot about for a person her age is the computer. She knows how to do ALLOT on a computer... not just games but using picture programs, how to turn things on and off... get into programs, uses the mouse, gets on the Internet... I wouldn't be surprised if she does something computer oriented as far as jobs go in the future... that or modeling...LOL Or both!
Now Olivia, things come easily for her and way too quickly. She isn't walking yet but it won't be long. She "speaks" well for her age. She says Mama and Dada and uses them correctly for Keith and I... she says Bye Bye and can't say Emmy but knows who she is. She knows most of what we are saying... and does well with listening as far as a 10 month old baby goes. She is probably over 20 pounds now and can fit into 12 month and some 18 month old clothing already. Her blue eyes are stunning and are the color of a clear sky day. Her hair is a very light blond and being here in Hawaii she gets allot of attention for that by the locals. We get stopped allot while shopping just so people can look at her. She is a true beauty and has a smile that will break hearts. She is a pretty easy baby to care for so far. She goes to bed easily (knock on wood), eats well, is not picky, listens, is easily entertained, likes to snuggle (except when falling asleep), and is every patient. I guess second children have to be! LOL She crawls all over the place, plays well by herself or with her sister, loves her bath, hates kisses from the dogs and let's them know it. She has been sleeping through the nights since she was 5 months old... talks allot and laughs, gives kisses, likes Elmo, and loves her blankey and her pink dolly whom she hugs. She has been eating table foods since she was around 8 months old. She has 8 teeth and is a little chunk. I am sure people look at my girls and wonder if they are true blooded sisters as they look nothing alike. Both are going to cause allot of headaches for Keith once they get older. Emily now attracts boys from the neighborhood... they stop by to talk with her when we are outside and Keith literally chases them away and is truly enraged with the idea of her just talking to any boy. Keith also has gotten allot more gray hairs these past couple of years...I have to keep reminding him that they are kids her age and just want to play, not ask for her hand in marriage.
So, that about sums it up with the girls.
As far as us goes... Hawaii is still really awesome. There is just an incredible amount of things to do here. And of course the weather doesn't hurt either. My parents are coming out in February and are staying for a long time. Keith and I both can't wait. We are all going to have allot of fun, they are getting out of the cold, snow, and ice, and we get live in baby sitters!! LOL
We have another little niece entering our lives this year. Although her parents can't seem to come up with a name for her yet! LOL We can't wait to meet her... Of course we miss all our family and our friends. That is the hardest part being here. I didn't care much for North Carolina but at least we were in a place that was drivable to go home and see everyone. With the time difference it's harder to keep in touch and I feel very left out of everyone life and the "loop". It sucks not seeing our nieces and nephews grow and having our kiddos grow up along with them. At least though when everyone comes to see us we all will have some really nice things to do together. And it is also good to know that we are on the countdown to Keith military career retirement. This is our last duty station.
And speaking of my husband... I am very proud to say that he was selected for Master Sergeant. If you don't know anything about the military/Marine Corps that means on the Enlisted side of the house he can only pick up one more rank and that's all that's left. It only goes up to E-9 and Keith will be an E-8 come February first. I am extremely proud of him as getting this promotion in his MOS (his job within the Marine Corps) was very competitive this year. So for him to get it makes it that more meaningful to me and to him as well. This is the first time in his career that I was emotional about him picking up a rank. Our tour in North Carolina was difficult and he was gone for half of the time we were there... if not more with all the field exercises. He missed a third of Emily's life, he missed Olivia's birth, and it at times put a strain on our marriage. He was hand picked by his previous CO to work a job in his unit that involved a multitude of challenges, extremely long hours in NC and in Iraq. He worked 7 months straight for 14 hours a day or more without one single day off. He met those challenges above and beyond for that is the type of Marine he is. I am so proud of him and maybe just maybe all that he endured and what we endured as a family these past few years might have been worth it for him to pin MSgt on at a time when it was a bit more challenging to get it. So, on February 1st I will glady and proudly take his new chevrons and slam the shit out of them in his collar bone. Because I know, he wouldn't have it any other way... (It's a Marine thing, as they say... you have to know one to understand)
So, that is my update. Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm. I will bask in the sun for you and try to send a bit a warmth your way... ;)
Later