Thursday, January 31, 2013

out for now

I will be gone for the next week, not blogging. Why? Because I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to have labor induced. See you on the flip side with an additional family member. :)

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Xander's Speech issues

So around a year old I noticed that Xander pretty much had zero words. He had said bath for a week and then nothing. He would say dadadadadadadad and bababababa over and over but no real words. So I mentioned something to his peds dr. She referred him to a speech therapist who in turn tested him and determined he had a speech delay. We got him signed up for occupational speech therapy the next month.

He is seen about 2x a month and the therapist works with him on naming objects and sorting and basically a structured play time. Xander has been making progress. He says daddy, car, bath, and when he sees himself in the mirror he calls himself Xandy. He also approximates a lot of phrases like "I did it". He is very independent and doesn't like help from us which is a hindrance in his speech because he will just do something on his own instead of asking for help. He has yet to call me mama or mommy. We have also been working on a little sign language and any time he needs help with something being opened he taps twice on it. Which is nice for the communication, but he doesn't pair it with any words yet. He is making progress and he babbles a ton more but he is just not a speaker yet. He turns 2 in 2 months and I am not sure if we will be able to start on potty training any time soon because his communication is just not up where it needs to be in order to be successful.

Every time I see other people post about words their babies say or videos of their babies talking I get sad. I really wish that Xander could tell us anything. I wish I could show off videos of him talking to me. Really I just wish he would call me mama.

Damn now I am crying.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

A Nerdy Saturday

So since Saturday tends to be everyone's down day I thought I would start a habit of blogging my favorite Nerdy items I have seen on the interwebz during the week.

Item number one I saw on a favorite blog I follow, Geekologie. How beautiful are these custom Star Wars wedding bands? I want them for our eventual vow renewal so badly.

My second item comes from my favorite nerdy shopping store, ThinkGeek. I want Popsicles now. Plus they light up, how awesome.

I saw this wedding cake on Pinterest and Brian and I just fell in love with it. Best dragon cake ever. I mean look at those wings!

This last one comes from the Blog OffbeatFamilies. What is better than a craft you can do with your kids? A Nerdy craft you can do with your kids! Behold C-3PO made out of toilet paper and paper towel rolls!

Yay for nerdtastic Saturdays!

Friday, January 25, 2013

A Week from today

I have a non stress test today for my pregnancy. It consists of me driving all the way to Tripler Army Medical Center to sit in a chair and have two monitors strapped to my baby belly to hear the baby's heartbeat and to see if I am having contractions. I have to have NST's because I have chronic hypertension (even when not pregnant) and a family history of cerebral hemorrhage. I go in for the NST's twice a week and I did the same when I was pregnant with Xander. It is boring but necessary according to my Dr's. The bonus of the NST's is once a week I get to see my daughter on the ultrasound. After today I only have one more NST scheduled.

Why you ask? Well, because they are inducing me a week from today. Due to my medical conditions and family history, the Dr's feel it is in my best health interest to be induced. I was also induced when I was pregnant with Xander. Because I have already had an induction at Tripler before, I know pretty much exactly what to expect. Brian and I are just now playing the waiting game. I mean sure, I could go into labor before next friday, but I doubt it. We have our Daughter's room all set and ready to go. Our bags are mostly packed minus things we will use between now and then. Lovely, Jane from Taingamala has graciously agreed to watch Xander while Brian and I are in the Hospital. Now it is just a waiting game and I am going out of my mind lol. I just want to hold her in my arms now and start breastfeeding and start losing weight. Not that I gained a lot this pregnancy (only 14 lbs), but that I am not at all at a weight I am comfortable with. Plus Brian and I are going to the Brigade Ball at the beginning of April. So, that doesn't give me alot of time to get formal dress ready. 

In the next few days I will go more in depth with Brian's medical issues and Xander's Speech issues.

So, what exciting things do you have happening in the next week?

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Women in Combat

So yesterday the Pentagon announced that they were lifting the ban on women in combat positions in the military. The MilSpouse community exploded with opinions online. Some were positive, most others were very negative. I heard intelligent well thought out arguments on both sides and I also heard some of the worst arguments with no thinking at all. Personally I am all for the option.

Now hear me out before you jump down my throat. Am I saying that every woman in the military is cut out for combat positions, no. But that is the same as not every woman in America is not cut out to join the military. If a woman wants to join infantry and can complete the physical tasks laid in front of her, why shouldn't she be allowed to join? One of the arguments I heard was the personal hygiene counterpoint. "Women have periods, having no bath for over a month would be unsanitary." Well, there are several solutions to this issue. 1. don't join if you can't handle your own body. 2. take a birth control pill and skip the sugar pills to hold off your period. 3. pack ob non applicator tampons which take up next to no room or weight in a ruck. And for those who think a shower is necessary to maintain hygiene during your period, there are always baby wipes, which men having been using to clean while in the field for years now. 

Another argument I heard was that a woman who weighs 100 lbs can't pull my 200 lb husband out of the way in a fire fight. Well the military first off has weight standards on both ends, there are very very few women who are able to join who weigh less than 105 lbs. My husband joined underweight for his size and they actually made him eat double rations at basic lol. He weighed about 135lbs when he joined and he could still dead lift the 200lb man just like everyone else. Women who choose to join combat units know what is required of them and if they can't complete the tasks, then there are plenty of MOS's that they can join instead. But this goes along with the idea that not all women are going to line up in their heels to join the infantry.

Ok, now here come the illogical arguments lol. Several said that it would increase cheating. Women, if a man is going to cheat, he will. Working with all men won't change that and if you think he never sees other women during the infantry day you are sadly mistaken. Another one, "woman's place is in the household as a homemaker, God said so". This one boils my blood so I am only going to put this out there. 1. No one said YOU have to join. 2. Not everyone is Christian. My man is chivalrous, he is going to put his life on the line to save the female in his unit. The solution to this problem is just training. Train a soldier to do his job first no matter what and guess what, problem is solved.

The bottom line here is that women have been fighting in combat since the beginning of this war because there are no real front lines anymore. The Pentagon is just correcting the wording in basic terms lol. If you have deployed in the last 10 years then you have the opportunity to engage in combat even if you spend all day on the FOB, it doesn't matter what gender you are. Not everyone has to join the infantry or other combat units, but a woman should have that option. It is not about forcing the woman to be like a man, it is allowing the woman to have that choice. 

I am sure others will disagree with my feminist opinion but it is my opinion and I'm sticking to it lol. 

So what do you think about women in combat?

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Life Happens

Wow so it has been a while. If you are still following me thank you!

Lets see updates.
Brian didn't deploy because his back has gotten seriously worse and was on rear d and a physical profile all year.

Xander is almost 2 years old now. He is in speech therapy for delayed speech development.   He has about 10 words now at 21 months.

And the biggest news of all, I am pregnant. But not for much longer. I am getting induced a week from Friday lol. It is a girl and we are going to name her Cordelia Fae.

So what has gone on in your life in the almost year and a half I was gone?