In case you were wondering

Well it's been awhile since I posted anything substantial, and in that time a LOT has happened both to the good and to the bad.  Our trip to MN was a crazy-busy mishmash of house viewings and visits with friends and family all eager to see our new little one.  The latter in particular was hugely helpful since it meant that we were able to find more than one willing babysitter to help save Kaia from repeated long days being dragged around in her car seat while we looked at houses.  Even better then that is the fact that all those showings ended with us making an inspection-contingent offer on a VERY beautiful little 3 bedroom house.  :-) We are still waiting on an inspection report before things are completely finalized, but barring any unpleasant surprises we close in December, and will be able to move right in upon our return to the T.C. in February.  That's a huge relief since it means we only have to move once, and not try and find a temporary place to stay until we find our own space.

On a more somber note, we are still processing the events that occurred in Fort Hood while we were away. To be honest I think it'll be a few weeks yet before I can full process the reality of how what happened has effected things, both for the base as a whole and for D and I  in particular.  I know it sounds cliche but in some ways the Army really IS like a giant family, and to see so many of that family injured, stateside, by someone who was supposed to be part of said family has been hugely hard to process.  It's sort of like having a cousin come in and randomly start killing people at the yearly family reunion.... 

To make a long story short, you prepare yourself mentally and emotionally to deal with death or injury when you have a love one deployed, but when they are home they are supposed to be SAFE from all of that and you start to relax and take off some of your mental armor.  As a result the deaths that occurred last week are almost worse than if people had been lost in normal combat, because they were so horrendous, and we were all but wholy unprepared for that kind of senselessness.

For the service men and women serving in Ft Hood Texas today.  There was a shooting at the base.  7 dead. 12 wounded.

Well it's been a busy few days since I last talked to you all...here's a list of what we've managed so far..

1) Drive from Copperas Cove, Texas to Brooklyn Park, MN
2) See mother in law and great grandmother for supper
3) Spend morning with brother in law - including trip to our favorite roleplay and comic book store.  (They were out of the latest issue of Invicinble Ironman :( )
4) Drive an hour out of the cities to visit my parents and sister and let both families be introduced to their new niece/grandbaby.  (Introductions were favorable, despite a baby who I'm sad to say has been a bit screamy.  She was HUGELY cranky after being stuck  in her car seat for more than an hour four days in a row, but did enjoy her cousins, and she managed to pee all over grandpa when he was trying to change her.  :-) )
5) Drive back to the cities to see Grandpa Frank on Dan's side.  Along with out friends Will and Kim.
6) Church this morning followed by lunch this afternoon with the Jaborwok and HER Dan...well hopefully...

Then house showings, and dinner with at minimum 2 other people next week.

Is going about as well as I could have hoped.  I have a very bruised and tender abdomen, but the pain meds are doing their job for the most part and I am honestly having far less pain than I expected I would at this point.  I've also had virtually no nausea which allowed me to step up to soft foods for which I am VERY grateful.  Hopefully a broader diet will equate to a faster healing process which is better for all of us.  I'm moving at about 1/4 speed of course, but that's to be expected with four mini-incisions in my belly. D and K are also doing well...though the munchkin misses her cuddle time with mommy.  (I held her a little while yesterday but she didn't understand why she couldn't nurse until 24 hours post op, and when she gets mad she squirms and kicks - which is NOT great when you have a painful stomach.)  :(  Hopefully she'll tolerate the change in her schedule a little better today once Daddy and her develop their own routines...

Well that's it for now I think. 

Oh - side note...I may be working on the T/P community fic challenge in the next week or so...not sure - I'm trying very hard to get back up to pace with DLS and Symbiosis. My personal goal is to have at least one of them wrapped by the start of Ironman 2.

I also haven't forgotten about Negociatiosn for those of you who wonder.  Poor Chauci has just been so swamped with work she hasn;' had a chance to send her latest add ons to me yet.  (I know, how dare either of us have lives, right? ;p) Hopefully she'll get some free time sometime soon and we can get that ball rolling too.

why I can get a c-section and have them cut me open while CONSCIOUS and have no issue with the process before during or after, and yet the idea of being knocked out for a hour long day-surgery is creeping me out?  I mean honestly, I won't even be spending a night in the hospital this time!

-scowls at self-

trying to sound intelligent in a serious online debate, on 5 hours of sleep with your sick kiddo screaming...

is really a lot harder than it seems.

Just scrubbed out all the non-fabric surfaces in our car in preparation for lending it to my mother in law when she visits starting tuesday...

-shudders-  Need to to that more often.  Because the water ended up BLACK...  that was totally DISGUSTING...

On the brighter side -

Kitchen - clean
Laundry - done
Birthday present for brother in law who is also coming - wrapped
carpet - shampooed.  Will vaccuum again monday evening
bathroom - not done, but I want it as clean as possible, so think I'll do it right before they arrive tommorrow evening or Tuesday morning...

Now to figure out or menu and write up an appropriate grocery list

It's amazing how 10 interrupted hours of sleep (my husband got up with the baby last night without being asked.  -venerates-) just makes the whole world bright, happy and shiny.  ;-P  Not only am I feeling more alert than I have all week, but the kitchen is now clean, the laundry done and hot apple crisp should be coming out of the oven shortly.

Also, it's actually nice enough to walk OUTSIDE again.  After MONTHS of 100 plus degree heat.

Yeah for autumn.  Here's praying it stays!

My husband and I latched onto this hilarious series last week as a way to 'go to a movie' without having to leave the house with a newborn and have been enjoying it greatly.  For the record we are renting now for the most part because we have no family to babysit nearby, and because I don't want to be one of those people others quietly (or not so quietly) cuss out for bringing a potential crier to a movie and disturbing everyone elses' good time.  ESPECIALLY after I read yesterday about some jerk who actually hauled off and smacked a two year old in Walmart last week because her mother couldn't get her to stop crying.  For the record I believe that kids learn to be okay with different environments by being exposed to them and taught to cope, so didn't expect me to confine the poppet to Notre Dame until she's perfect all the time - that's unfair to both her, myself and her Daddy.  Still I always though motherhood paranoia would involve lots of hand washing and avoiding exposure to swine flu...not watching out for intolerant, selfish adults who ought to learn a little empathy.

Seriously when did so many people become such JERKS about babies and such?  I'm a little in shock how downright inhumane people can be when dealing with children other than their own.
 
-shrug-

-cuddles the baby-
 

To hear Daisy (my nickname for my writing partner Neondaises) is safely through her surgery and home from the hospital... Resting up and free from the evils of hospital food and midnight vital checks at shift change.

:)

Babies are strange creatures...yesterday Kaia would not sleep for anything...

and today, I can barely keep her awake 30 minutes at a time to feed her and change her diaper...

My writing partner Daisy is having surgery today...  She's expected to be off the radar for the next 4-5 days.

When in doubt, swaddle the baby.

I have no clue WHY it works, but it does...

Well I'm back from the ER this morning after a bit of a scare, and am writing this up as I wait for the meds to kick in. Good news: I ended up with a diagnosis of strained abdominal muscles and swelling instead of torn internal stitches and bleeding like was originally thought when Dan brought me in. I kind of freaked people out for awhile there though with fluid in the abdomen and a 45 bpm heart rate, though... Thankfully they were able to eliminate the possibility of any serious bleeders and I got pain killers instead of surgery...as well as warnings against lifting anything from the floor for awhile. This is as opposed to my old rule which was don't lift any more than 10 lbs...I now don't get to stoop, bend or twist either.  I am allowed to sit, stand, walk and lift from waist level sparingly -sighs-

On the upside my iron and hemoglobin were both acceptable, so I can finally lay off the green veggies and red meat...which is good, because I'm totally craving things like fresh fruit and chicken chow mein lately...

Still...I don't think I have ever missed the Twin Cities or my family there quite this badly.

Six more months until D ETS and we get to go home for good.  Anyone can make it that long, right?

If your iron is low and you're supposed to add more of it to your next few days of meals, what do you eat?  Other than steak or brocolli I mean?

Got a call from L&D.

Induction commencing in T minus 10, 9...

3 days in and still no open beds in labor and delivery.  :(  That's what I get for having an induction on a military base 9-10 months after a bunch of units returned from Iraq I guess.  On the upside, a good friend is coming to visit for the next 5 days, which will make the days go faster... and I may actually get to see GI Joe in Theatre...

L&D says my induction is 'still on' for today...waiting for their call that a bed has opened up...

bored bored bored

I am now (hopefully!) 12 hours from checking into the hospital for the start of my induction, assuming the L&D floor doesn't suddenly fill up with life-threatening cases overnight. (Knock on wood.)

And I have this horrible feeling I have forgotten to pack something to bring along.  Though WHAT...  -shrugs unknowingly-

Just back from the clinic after my 4th migraine onset in 5 days.  They say it's a reaction to the hormones changes common to the end of pregnancy most likely. Either way, new medication for the pain (yeah!) and the pronouncement that Kaia has exactly one week to get herself born naturally, or they're going in after her. (They don't want me on migraine suppression meds any longer than that apparently...)

So mandatory induction on August 5th if she doesn't come out before that. I'm half disapointed, half relieved. On the upside the doctor also requested Dan be given medical leave to stay home with me until that date  he wants me to have company and we have no other family in town.  Add that time to his 10 days paternity and he's basically on vacation the next 3 weeks...