Almost time!

Well, it's been an entire week since the moving company came and packed our household goods and we've basically been living like hobos ever since. I am so ready for tomorrow to get here so we can pack up the cars and hit the road! We originally weren't supposed to be leaving until Wednesday but we got a call from the moving company saying they needed to deliver a day early, which means a slight shift in our plans. So now we are leaving a day early and going to split the trip up into two days. We should be in Biloxi by Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning we sign the lease for our new house and get our stuff delivered that same day! It's going to be an exciting/stressful day but I will be so glad to have our belongings again.

This past week has been a challenge when it comes to entertaining our toddler and I'll admit I'm so grateful we still have wifi so he can watch netflix on our laptop. We also got him a coloring book and some markers so we could draw together and keep him occupied. Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the base pool and splash pad which was really nice and a perfect way to beat the heat! I'm so disapoointed that we just now made it there because they don't even charge admission and Jeremiah loved it so much! I'm very excited about the fact that our new housing community also has a pool and that we will be able to take him there often before the end of summer. He is definitely a water baby! :)

Other than that I've been trying to get our house cleaned up a little each day so we are ready for inspection before we leave on Tuesday. I've also been working on teaching Jeremiah some new words and I'm excited at how many new words he has learned this month. Some are only ones I can understand because I hear him say them enough but it makes me happy none the less! I'm hoping once we can communicate better there will be less frustrations for both of us. We got him a vtech learning book that says the names of objects when you touch them and he really seems to like it so far. I'm hoping it will help with learning some new words too. ♥

I hope you all have a Happy Monday and enjoy these pictures of my little guy playing in Mommy's suitcase. Here he is saying the newest word he learned..."Cheese!"

I love his little cheese face! Have a great week everyone! ♥

One step closer

Well yesterday was the big day! The packers came and by the time three o'clock rolled around they had already packed up our entire house. It was a bit stressful at first because I didn't have much time to get things in order before they arrived, but it all went smoothly in the end. I worked all the way up until Friday and Jeremiah gave me a pretty awful cold, so needless to say I didn't accomplish much this weekend in terms of packing and sorting things we didn't want packed. I was so incredibely thankful to have my husband here this time around and for the fact that Jeremiah was so well behaved while they were here. We put on Tarzan for him and he literally just sat on his couch and watched it while they packed everything up! Then he decided he was tired and took a two and a half hour nap, which was amazing because that meant my husband and I could run around and make sure everything was going smoothly along with trying to get some cleaning and organizing done. I couldn't have asked for it to go better. :)

So now we are just waitng for the driver to arrive tomorrow morning and haul all our stuff away! :) The one thing I'm not looking forward to all that much is having no furniture to sit on for the next week. We'll have our air mattress of course but no couches or table, so that should be fun since I'm nearly six months pregnant. We've also got to do a thorough deep cleaning before we hit the road, so hopefully we'll get most of our deposit back. Other than that we are one step closer to getting this move over with and coming home to our new house in Mississippi! I have so much to write about these days, and I'm excited to finally have the time to dedicate to my blog again. Wish us luck on this next chapter in our lives! ♥

And so it begins!

Last year when we got our orders to Florida, the last thing we thought we'd be doing was moving again in less than a year. However, life is funny sometimes and although I was disappointed at first I am actually very exited for our upcoming move. Our time here in Florida has been short and bittersweet. This year I went back to work for the first time since having Jeremiah, and started a new job in a city where I didn't know a soul. Over the last eight months I've struggled with balancing motherhood, my marriage, a full time job and trying to keep up with all the housework. (Which hopefully explains my lack of blogging). I sincerely had times when I felt like there just weren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I had on my plate. There were also days when I felt so incredibely lonely. I missed all my friends in VA and having people to hang out with a lot. I didn't really have time to make a lot of friends while we were here, but I did make a few good ones. :)

Then April came around and my husband and I found out we were expecting baby number two! It was definitely a surprise but a very happy one. :) Add on the first trimester exhaustion, morning sickness along with working and caring for a toddler and I was out for the count. My mom did come and stay with us for a few weeks for my birthday and she was a tremendous help. I was so, so thankful for the time we got to spend together and the fact that she got to see her only Grandson so much. I know we both loved having her here with us! Since then I Slowly but surely feel like I've regained some of my energy and am now well into my second trimester. Thankfully our baby is growing well and is healthy. ♥

Friday was my last day of work and we had a delicious potluck luncheon. My sweet coworkers also threw me a beautiful baby shower last week for our little one. I definitely felt very special and loved! It's amazing to me that I only worked there for eight months and they did so much for me before I left. Just goes to show how kind people can be down here in the south. :) Friday was also my son's last day of daycare and his wonderful teachers made him a precious book filled with pictures of him, all his drawings and art work from throughout the year and letters from each of his teachers. Looking through it and reading their sweet words made me cry! My son loved his teachers but had a special connection with one in particular so knowing he won't get to see her anymore really breaks my heart. The military lifestyle does get easier the more you get used to it, but one thing that never hurts any less is saying goodbye to people you care about, people who have been there for you and helped you out along the way.

 I am very thankful for the good people God has put in our lives while we've been in Florida, and it's defnitely been a year full of challenges but also one full of blessings. Now as we get ready to pcs again, I am incredibely excited and hopeful for what the Lord has in store for us. We are leaving for Biloxi, MS next Wednesday and already have a house waiting for us! I can't wait to decorate our new place and get to know some ladies that I've already met via social media. I am so excited about living in military housing again, and for the fact that we will have a fenced backyard and a park right down the street for Jeremiah to play. We also have a community pool and I believe there's a splash pad in one of the neighborhoods so I'm also excited about that! Jeremiah loves the water and I'm hoping we can make it to the beach a few times before it starts to get cooler.

I still  have to worry about transferring all my medical stuff and getting an appointment with my new o.b. as soon as possible but it shouldn't be too bad since I'll still be going to a military hospital and all my records will transfer over. All in all things have gone pretty smoothly considering we just found out we were for sure moving about a month ago. Well, it's been fun playing catch up and filling everyone in, but I'm off to make dinner for my family and FINALLY start setting aside the things we don't want the packers to take tomorrow. I know, I'm a huge procrastintor! Tomorrow the PCS madness begins! Happy Sunday ya'll! :)

It's getting real

Today the estimator (I guess that's what they're called?) from the moving company came by the house to take a look at all our belongings. Maybe since we've been waiting for this move to happen for so long now, it hasn't really felt real. That is until today, when a stranger was poking around my house, scribbling down notes (or rather typing them out on his ipad...) and asking me about the stuff we have packed away in storage.

Then I looked at the calendar and realized that next Thursday the packers are coming to pack our entire lives. This is GETTING REAL.

I'm still in disbelief that it's almost here & am experiencing a flurry of emotions. I couldn't be happier that we are starting a new adventure and chapter in our lives, but I am also a bit afraid of the unkown.

 I'm remembering how I felt before/during my first pcs and some of those same feelings are resurfacing. I'm sad about leaving some great friends behind, nervous about making new ones & learning my way around a new base & city. Above all I'm hoping we will like our new home & will have lots of good times there. ♥

This month is flying by & moving day will be here before I know it! :)

Hello again

Well, I did it again. I fell off the face of the earth as far as my blog is concerned. I have no idea if there is anyone still even following my blog, with how little I've written over the past year. I miss it so much. Sometimes before bed I have so many thoughts running through my mind that I think to myself, "I should write this down..." but most nights I'm just too exhausted to, so instead I say my prayers, count my blessings and snuggle with my beautiful baby boy.

 So much has happened the last few months and I can't even believe it but somehow my son is already seven months old. And did I mention he is crawling already? Yes....oh how fun that has been! It has been so exciting seeing him learn new things each day and watching his little personality develop. He makes me smile and laugh more than I ever thought possible, but he also tests my patience and pushes me to be a better mama each day we spend together. I know I don't always tell my husband this, but I'm extremely grateful for the chance to stay home with him and witness all his firsts. It's something my mom never got to do with me or my sisters so I don't take it lightly.

Other than staying home and taking care of my little man I have also been trying to find us a house. We are getting ready to pcs here in October and are moving down to Jacksonville Florida! I am very excited for the change but also sad to be leaving so many wonderful friends behind. The military lifestyle is very bittersweet sometimes...

We really wanted to do base housing but only had two months notice for these orders. The wait for housing is 6-9 months so it looks like we will have to rent a place out in town. I am amazed at how much house you can get for your money out there though. You can rent a three bedroom house for the same amount or less than what we pay here in Virginia Beach for a one bedroom apartment! It's pretty crazy, but I am so looking forward to getting out of this cramped apartment and getting us into a nice house.

Husband's house hunting leave just got approved so we are going to drive down to Florida next weekend and look at a few places. I really hope we find something nice in our price range not too far from the base. Wish us luck! Well that's all for now but I will try to be better about keeping my blog updated. I really miss writing everyday. Hope everyone has a great weekend. :)

Hurry up & wait...some more

So we all know the navy loves to play the "hurry up and wait" game. In fact I believe it's their mantra. We waited an entire year to find out if my husband was PTS approved, (for those of you not affiliated with the military it stands for perform to serve) and now that we have that good news we are still waiting on our orders. The frustrating thing about all this is that my husband has been on sea duty for the last three years and WAS supposed to be at his new command as of March 1st. 

Seeing as he wasn't even PTS approved until April that obviously hasn't happened. I am so anxious for him to get off that ship I can't even begin to tell you. We've been through two back to back deployments, one of which was nearly 11 months and the longest naval deployment in history since WWII. Lucky us right? 

Now I try my best not to complain about my husbands job because I know it could always be worse and I am thankful he has a way to provide for us and that we have healthcare and a roof over our heads. However, even with all those benefits sometimes it would just be nice to know where you will be living in a few months. Will you be closer to family, will you be able to go somewhere new and exciting...? I only wish I knew. On top of the long wait we've already had we just found out they have extended my husbands stay on his ship until October. :( 

Now I'm still trying to stick to my goal this year to "live in the moment" and be happy in the here and now, but I am so upset about this. I really wanted to be moved out of VA by this summer and go on to the next chapter of our lives. I am so tired of this place. Three years here is more than enough for me. Right now we are in a tiny one bedroom apartment and its very cramped with the three of us and all our stuff in here. We desperately need to move into a two bedroom so Jeremiah has his own space but it looks like we're gonna have to wait another six months until that's possible. I might just lose my sanity by then! 

I really wish the navy was more organized sometimes. When they put us through all this "Hurry up and wait" it really takes a toll on the sailors and their families. I know I shouldn't let it get to me but its easier said than done. I am trying to leave it in god's hands and not stress about it too much. Hopefully we'll at least know where we're going pretty soon so I can start planning our move. 

For those of you who are mil spouses have you been through anything like this when it comes to re-enlistments or orders? 

xoxo

Boxes, Boxes and more Boxes

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned we were moving? 

This is what our office looks like right now...there are literally boxes piled to the ceiling. 

And we've spent the last week slowly packing up our house...it seemed like it would be forever before we were able to move and now it has suddenly creeped up on us. We are moving in FOUR days!! 

I can't believe its almost here! :) 

I'm super excited because 1) We will be saving a ton of money by leaving military housing 

2) I won't have to worry about cleaning and decorating a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house. 

3) I will no longer have to worry about mowing a lawn or pulling weeds

4)And I will get to use this amazing kitchen!!

Friday is the big day and I can't wait! Happy Monday Everyone! ♥