Want the skinny on skinny jeans???

My mom is sitting outside with my Roo and I'm sitting in my office with my skinny jeans. Do I feel skinny in them? Mmm, not really. Do they flatter my figure? Mmm, not so much. Do they look good with everything I wear? Mmm, nope. Then, why, do you ask, am I wearing them? Because they're cool that's why. And I want to be cool ya know. I just bought my I don't know how many-th pair of skinny jeans, hoping to find the ones that I am obsessed with and can prance around our house to show off to my 15 month old daughter. She seems impressed so I'm sold that this is the pair. We'll see, I may hate them next week, and my husband may hate my for buying them. I don't think he even likes skinny jeans on me to be honest. But truthfully, I must fit in, literally, which is why I have so many skinny jeans and why I insist on wearing them.

Now, I think when skinny jeans were invented, they were made for people with bodies that are pleasing to look at, where clothes just magically mold to their figures, not a curve nor a crease of undesired proportions to be had. When I wear skinny jeans, they are always too long, and obviously, too tight. I find that they bunch at my ankles, suffocate my calves and squeeze the crap out of my thighs to the point where I actually leave the top button undone so as to convince myself that these jeans are not as tight as they seem. (I only unbutton them when I'm in the house I swear, I mean come on, who doesn't???) And then this gets me thinking about all body types out there and the quirky names they give them. We've got the rectangle, the oval, the hour glass, the pear, the wedge (what?) and many other innocent names to describe them all. I personally think I'm a spoon. And here's why: I'm short (obviously) and, let's just say, well endowed in my derriere. The funny thing about this shape is that when I gain weight, I gain it in my ass and when I lose it, it vanishes from my non-existent bosom. (This is where I would insert a sad face but I don't know how.) It's a vicious cycle I tell you.

Funny thing happened to me a few years ago while wearing the infamous skinny jeans. Mike and I were getting ready to fly back to Japan from the states and, of course, I had to be fashionable. I picked out a cute sweater, skinny jeans and flats. The first half of the flight was rather uneventful. But then, after the cabin pressure started to show it's effects, I started to feel claustrophobic in my skinny jeans. I was like freaking out, I'm not even kidding. Mike just told me to suck it up. Well, that was after he told me I was stupid for wearing skinny jeans on a 14 hour flight. Back to my problem, I just could not fathom the idea of wearing these ridiculously, insanely tight pants anymore and came up with my own solution: I took my pants off. Now don't freak on me and think that I just stripped in front of the entire 747 Delta coach cabin. I discretely placed one of those scratchy blankets over my lap and voila, you couldn't even tell. But I will be honest when I say, it got kind of gross. You see, this was an old plane, therefore an old coach cabin with old, probably pleather seats. So of course I developed a case of SWASS (you know, sweaty ass) and then had another problem to overcome. Was it worth the skinny jeans or the swass? I caved and pried on the darn skinny jeans and since then, I have never looked back.

So what's the point this post? Mmm, no reason. Just felt like you wanted my take on skinny jeans.

Bye bye Mike!

(Typed out two weeks ago)

Well, here I sit in the office on this beautiful Saturday while my little one is napping and my husband is watching football. Wait a second...you're wondering why I said husband right? Isn't he supposed to be deployed by now? You're probably concerned that I'm actually imagining his presence similar to how Dexter talks to his father when he's no longer around. I have had to pinch myself a couple times because, yes, it is true, Mike is actually here.

I should be jumping for joy. Yippeee, my husband is home and we get to spend more time with him! And believe me, I am overjoyed that he is still here with us. But let me preface this by saying that I feel like I've been through hell and back since Wednesday and now I'm rather "numb" to this whole deployment situation. Mike was supposed to deploy on Wednesday. Picture us the days leading up to deployment day and you would find me following Mike around (with Rory scampering behind) while Mike grabbed things here and there, scanned things, filed things, gave me lessons on how to operate certain "manly" tasks and zipped up ridiculously heavy luggage with other military items in tow. I let him watch whatever he wanted to watch on T.V. (um, I'm not a fan of news or sports which is why we always go for compromise channels), made every one of his favorite meals and didn't nag him about changing an unpleasant diaper or taking out the trash. I wanted him to feel as comfy and happy as possible and I was content with making him happy. During quiet moments when Mike was in another room or I was putting Rory to bed, that was when the tears would start. Silence was not good for me and anxious thoughts filled that silence for the unknown feelings of that final goodbye and the absence of my husband when he got on that plane. I tried my best to hold it together in front of Mike but I'm not as strong as I'd like to be so I had my moments. Mike was great through all of this, giving me pep talks, reminding me of all the times we were apart in high school and college and really, he was just wonderful to be around. I found myself hugging him longer than I normally would and wanting to spend every second of every day with him since the days leading up to his deployment were numbered.

On the day that he was supposed to leave, again, more tears, more talks, more hugs and reassurances. Rory and I were dressed in patriotic clothes and we even had a neighbor/friend take a few pictures of us before leaving the house. I drove Mike to the airport, checked in his luggage and walked him to security. I did not want a gate pass to go with him because I just could not stand the idea of hanging out and waiting for him to board the plane. I wanted to get that goodbye over with. And then the final goodbye was upon us. It was sad, especially seeing Rory say bye to Mike and her not really knowing that he was about to leave for a long time. I watched him unpack his things and walk through the scanner. And then I heard the airport page his name. Mike was too far away to see me flag him down and I didn't know if he heard them. I called his phone a few times but he didn't hear it. I honestly assumed that there was an issue with his weapons and decided to go down to the ticketing desk and see if there was anything I could do on my end. When I walked up there, I saw Mike's weapons container out which I knew wasn't good because he his flight was scheduled to leave in less than an hour. Then I saw the rest of his luggage and was really confused. I spoke to a woman at the counter and she informed me that she received a call to pull Mike's luggage from the plane because his flight was cancelled. So this time, I assumed that his rotator from Baltimore was cancelled which is why he wasn't allowed to leave from Albuquerque. Less than a minute later, Mike comes from around the corner to tell me his deployment had been cancelled. He didn't know why, all he was told was to not get on that plan because there was no longer a job waiting for him in the middle east.

To spare you the boring details over the next two days, what had happened was that "someone" accidentally deleted his position from the system and it was not intentional by any means. So we had to go through the process of getting his orders recut to reflect new dates and to schedule him on the next available rotator out of the U.S. To both of our surprise, the next one wasn't available for another two weeks. When we first got the news, we were both annoyed with the situation. Sure, I definitely wanted my husband around for as long as possible, but at the same time, here we were, with another two weeks of this dark cloud hanging over us and this awkward, empty sadness to fill the space and silent moments.

(Typed today)

Or so we thought...

The next two weeks turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I mean, it was wonderful. A stay-cation if you will. We relaxed, slept in, went out on excursions and even celebrated our four year anniversary. Oh, and lets not forget that we stripped down our horrible garage and have now turned it into a safe haven/playroom of sorts with tacky mix-matched decorations to boot! We even were lucky enough to take some last minute family photos before Mike headed out.

The best part about all of this, is that neither one of us were sad this time around. We smiled, we laughed and at times, admitted that we forgot he was deploying. We really relished the additional family time that we were blessed with and I amazed myself with how good I was doing. I wasn't crying at the the drop of a hat and for some reason, this overwhelming sense of peace had come over me. That I knew everything was going to be ok.

And so yesterday finally came, two years of knowing about this deployment, one year of off and on spin-up training, and there we were, standing embraced in the airport, hugging and kissing and sharing a few last moments before he got on that plane. I just got a call from Mike as he was about to board the rotator from Baltimore and he sounds good. Nervous, anxious, doesn't know what to expect, but ready just the same. Exactly how I feel. How a lot of people like us feel when faced with similar circumstances. But you know what? I almost feel embarrassed at how sad I have let myself get at times. It can be SO much more challenging. I've heard of one spouse who was so PROUD of her  husband for getting an opportunity to deploy for a year to work with Afghans up close and personal. To me that sounds very daunting and scary to think about how long that will feel when two loved ones are apart. But to her, she just seemed so happy for him and what a great opportunity this was going to be for his career. And on the opposite spectrum, I have heard of another spouse who has a daughter roughly the same age as Rory and just gave birth to her second child, a son, while her husband is deployed. Her son was born with downs and several other medical conditions that requires him to have operations for the first few years of his life. Again, her spirit and positive wisdom just overwhelm and amaze me. I do not know these women in person, just through daily blog readings. But both of these ladies see the good that they have, and here I was stamping my feet while my husband goes to fulfill a commitment and responsibility that is called upon by his job. I feel very humbled at this point, and a lot of other things I'm not gonna lie. But this is the time to be grateful for the things I have and the people that I love. And really, that's all that matters.

Short update

Goodness has it been a long time or what? In my defense, I've been out of town for quite some time. Actually, I'm STILL out of town but I am longing to be home snuggled amongst my things. Mike has been busy with his training here in Florida and has just a handful of time left before he sets on for his deployment. We are all beyond ready...anxious, nervous, sad...not wanting him to go, but in turn, wanting him to leave so we can start the countdown instead of waiting in this uncertainty on the starting line. We are all ok. Oh wait, you were asking about me? I'm ok...no really, I am. I have known what was to come for some time now and I am very proud of my husband. We are so lucky that we could go this far with him before he sets off so now is the time for us to enjoy every second until he leaves.

In other news, Rory is blossoming into such fun and smart little kid. She turns 14 months next week and can say many words. The standard day to day words are hi, bye, mama, dada, huey, baby, brush, no, yea, wee, whoa, yay, uh oh, up, down, two, three (don't know why one is left out), night night, cheese, bubbles, thank you, juice, fish, shoes, and most importantly, doggie.  It's so funny to have conversations with her and see that she actually understands what we are saying. The other day I was changing her dirty diaper  while having an interesting conversation...

Me: Rory, did you poop?

Rory: Yea.

Me: Did you poop a lot?

Rory: Yea.

Me: Does it smell bad?

Rory: Yea.

Today Rory was watching me shave my armpits and she said brush. I had to laugh because I guess the motion I was moving my hand looked like I was brushing something but I promise you, I don't brush my armpits!

She is great with directions (if they are a part of her plan of course) and will get her shoes and attempt to put them on when asked. She can also sign a few simple signs, 'all done' being the one she uses most frequently. When she signs all done, she combines it with a "Hai!" sound similar to that of a Japanese person agreeing with you. She still hates her car seat (I'm starting to think she'll never out grow this phase) and will let you know she's 'all done' in the car by signing it and shrieking "Hai!" from the back seat.

Alright, time to go to bed! 

Making the most of a fun summer!

This has been a great summer for family time and making new friends. We really love our house at Kirtland and the neighbors that surround us. Now the desert feel of New Mexico itself is something that we both still need time to get used to. We both say how we miss cool days where it rains all the time and more especially how green Japan and the east coast are.

For the past month, we've been in New Jersey where Mike completed one of a few trainings that he has to do for his upcoming deployment. It worked out great because my mom lived where Mike's training was and we were able to catch up with our good friends from Japan. Rory and Lily got to spend some quality cousin time, and Grandma Vee Bee was to her hearts content with two little grandbabies running around her house. We met up with Mike's parents as well and were finally reunited with our pup Huey. Oh the life of a military dog. We hadn't seen him since January, poor thing probably thought he was just going for a walk and instead we flew him half way around the world and in with his grandparents!

Between the New Jersey training and the training Mike still has to complete down in Alabama and Florida, Mike and I decided to head back to New Mexico to spend one last week together as a family. The next time we will all be under the same roof together in our own house will be October of 2013 so it's bittersweet for sure.  Speaking of this deployment, it is definitely lagging on us for sure. It's his first one, and hopefully it's the longest he'll ever have to do, but it's quite daunting to think of what's ahead. Rory is turning one next week and by the time Mike gets back, she will be over two years old. The kid seriously changes every day so this part of being in the military isn't the best. I think about all the other families that have done or are currently doing the same thing as us and that makes me feel a bit better. Really, I feel like these last two months that Mike is with us is the hardest that it will be because I almost want him to just go so we can get that goodbye over with and start the countdown for when he can come home. However, I am cherishing the time that we still have left as a family and I would love to have more time with him than what his orders say...

In a few days, we head back to the east coast to celebrate Rory and Lily's birthdays and then continue south to where the rest of Mike's trainings are located. Once he gets on that plane, Rory and I will go home to New Mexico and get back into the swing of things. It's great to be able to visit family and go on the occasional trip but there's nothing like your own home with your own things to give you comfort. Anyone that is headed our way though is more than welcome to visit Rory and I here. We've got plenty of room and would love the company ; )

Grandma Vee Bee with her little grand-fairies

Getting acquainted with the water

Rory's 1st of July and Huey's least favorite holiday!
He's not a fan of the fireworks! 

Hanging out with Big G and Grandma

This is what they did when they first saw each-
other after being away for a few days.

Playing with her role-model Mal!

On a side note, Rory is SO much fun! I swear they get more fun as they get older. I love that we can tell her things like "Go get your ball" and she'll go looking for it. It's neat to see that she actually understands what we are saying. We just had her 12 month appointment today and she is definitely a peanut, goodness! She's tall and skinny like her dad but I never understood the desperation moms feel when they want their kids to eat! Rory is a snacker, eats when she chooses and seems content running around rather than sitting down for a meal! She's in the 5th percentile for weight (yikes!) but the ped doesn't seem concerned since Rory has been mobile for so long and is tall as well. Some of Rory's tricks that she continues to do are wave and say hi and bye at the appropriate times, clap her hands, and talk in "fairy language" as well. She just jabbers but no one knows what the heck she's saying! She loves Huey and would constantly say his name. She would walk up and wave to him and say "Hi Huey" and we thought it was the cutest thing. However, now we are noticing that she says "Hi Huey" to every dog that she sees so we have to work on that! She also loves to dance when Mike plays music so that's cute to see. Her latest thing is running around the house and kicking her ball. We definitely think she's right footed.

Alright, I have a feeling that Rory's nap is coming to an end so I've got to get up and do chores around the house before she decides that is not in her plans for the day!

Long Overdue!

On April 1st, Mike, Rory and I boarded our plane headed for Honolulu, Hawaii! Mike had lived there when he was a kid and gone there on a TDY several years back but this was Rory's and my first time. To sum up our vacation, I will just say it was long overdue! The last vacation we went on was to South Korea and that was an entire year before so we really wanted to take advantage of our stay and decided to spend two weeks and see as many of the islands as we could.

For the first week, we stayed at the Hale Koa Hotel in downtown Waikiki. We went to the zoo, the Dole Plantation, the North Shore, Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Missouri, Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Air Field, Hickam Air Force Base, hiking and obviously lots of beaches! 

The second week was spent on a Norwegian Cruise ship where we sailed around various Hawaiian islands. It was such an awesome experience! We stopped in Maui, Hilo and Kona and cruised along the Nepali coast (along with dolphins and whales!) We were able to go on lots of shore excursions and Rory did quite well with all of our day trips. She really grew a lot on this trip, including her two top teeth (which seems so minor now considering she now has seven). The majority of people on the cruise ship were, shall I say, old, and they just LOVED Rory and were constantly stopping us to get a better look. We should have just hung a sign around her that said her name, age and that she was a girl. Quite a few people thought she was a boy (I'm assuming because of her lack of hair) and we just would go a long with their assumption. I mean, Rory can be a boy name too so I can see where the mix-up is but come on, do most baby boys wear pink bows and flowers??? 

By the time our vacation winded down, we were ready to get to New Mexico and finally get settled. We've now been here for about a month and a half and I must say, we still are not "settled" but we're getting there. We bought our 2011 Toyota Highlander and really enjoy driving around a nice car as opposed to the beaters that we drove around at Yokota. We got our household goods three weeks ago and just yesterday, we unpacked the last box in our house. The garage is another story and one that will be addressed in small doses! Heck, at least we have a garage! Oh and a linen closet! And yes, dare I say it...CARPET! It's the little things ok? ; ) So now I've brought you up to speed on what we've been up to these past two months, all in under four paragraphs! 

Now Rory on the other hand is a totally different kid. And yes, I said kid as she would run at me with her seven sharp little teeth if I called her a baby. She decided that walking at 9 months was a good idea as well as climbing the steps of our step tansu chest. She's really a ton of fun, crazy as ever and getting into EVERYTHING! She loves to turn the pages of books, chew on the spines and either ingest or spit out the cardboard pieces. She loves to rake through our DVD collection and chew incessantly all over the cases to leave permanent teeth marks. She chews her crib rails and eats the paint. Do you guys see a theme here? She also loves to open up the cabinets, toilets and doors (all of which have yet to be babyproofed) and find the absolute worst, most unacceptable "baby toy" to drag around the house. She unwinds the toilet paper in the bathroom, pulls the clothes out of the drawers and books off the shelves. Whew, just typing this all out is exhausting! Anyone want to trade places with me for a day, heck even an hour? Despite all the craziness in our house, Mike and I just love, love, LOVE this crazy kid of ours that refuses to be baby. I am especially loving how her naps are getting longer. She used to be the frequent cat napper but now she takes two naps a day that are least an hour long each. That is pure heaven for a mom! Freedom!!! 

Other than that, not much else new to report. Let me display a picture walk of sorts for you to get a better idea of what we've been up to! 

Taken in our hotel room in Japan right before we left

Hanging out in the Hale Koa lobby

Playing with Daddy at the Honolulu Zoo

View from our balcony

My view is better ; ) 

At the Dole Plantation

On the North Shore

Waikiki Beach

Dinner at Dukes... I love Rory's expression in this one! 

Loving on her Daddy

Pearl Harbor and the U.S.S. Missouri in the background

Look at grumpystilskin before the Luau

On our hike

Isn't this water just awesome?

Rory and her towel bunny friend

On top of a volanco

Hawaiian Grand Canyon

Rory fits in quite well with her fellow New Mexicans ; ) 

Gramma Vee Bee came to help while the movers were here!

"Yum, toothbrush!"

"I can help unpack Mama!"

Playing at Gymboree

Sliding down some slides

Look at her go!

I think trampolines were invented for kids like Rory!

"Bubbles!"

Dancing at the end of class

This kid loves to swing

Clapping with Gramma

Look what I got to fly on Spouse's Day!

I'm all strapped in

View from my seat

Pretty cool views huh?

Looks a bit like grand canyon, on a smaller scale of course

Hanging my feet off edge while strapped in with a gunners belt

Another Osprey in the background

View of our base while landing

Do you forgive me now for waiting so long to post???