It's Game Day!

I'm killing time before the Patriots playoff game starts and I realized it's been over a month since I updated.

Sara and I's friendship is pretty much over. Last month, she came to the door with two bags full of baby food to give us and to say goodbye. Apparently, Chris told her he didn't want to be a father anymore, that he never wanted Ava, and that he wanted Sara to give Ava up for adoption so it could just be the two of them again. Sara said she was leaving that night on a red-eye flight. I hugged her, said goodbye, closed the door and just started crying.

I found out a few days later when I texted her to see if she got home okay that she never left. Didn't bother to say anything. A day later, I saw her back at home. I didn't understand how she could go back to someone who would say such things about her daughter. To each their own, but I don't want to be a part of the drama. I'll still be neighborly, still be there if she needs someone to talk to, but I'm no longer going to make an effort.

Here's Brady with Santa:


And here's a video of him cruising - he started December 15.


We had such a great time on vacation! I had mentioned to George how much I hate the stress of traveling with a baby before we left. He laughed at me before we left Hawaii, started grumbling on our flight to Detroit, and by the time we were traveling to DC, he VOWED we would not be traveling this far for anyone again who does not travel to see us within the next 365 days. I'm ALL for that! He said "If no one travels to see us in PARADISE then the next time we see them will be at their funeral."

That was after a bad flight, but it was still funny enough to quote.

I just don't want to pack for myself and 2 children again. Seriously, George didn't pack his own suitcase until the flight home, and even then I was folding his clothes for him. I hated him for putting the extra work on me. I had to pack 5 suitcases and 4 carry-ons ALONE. F that next time we travel ANYWHERE. He needs to learn, I'm not HIS mother.

So our schedule was this:
Dec 18 - Hawaii to Chicago (8 hour flight)
Dec 19 - Chicago to Detroit (1.5 hour flight)
Drive to Toledo, OH for my family
Dec 24 - Detroit to Washington-Reagan (1.5 hour flight)
Drive to Alexandria, VA to stay with Whitney/visit George's family
Jan 2 - Washington-Dulles to Denver (4 hour flight)
Denver to Hawaii (7.5 hour flight)

Waiting in Honolulu:


ALL of our flights were decent as far as Brady goes. He didn't scream, he only cried when he was hungry or wet (though more for diaper changes. George was REALLY quick to feed him and REALLY lax on diapers). On the Christmas Eve flight, there was a boy in front of us (26 months) and a baby. The boy was decent for most of the flight, but he SCREAMED the last 20 minutes of the flight. Brady was SOUND asleep but George had put him to sleep on the wrong side - B's head and G's elbow were towards the aisle (I was in the middle seat next to an arm-rest HOG) and everyone who walked down the aisle bumped G/B. George had steam coming out of his ears, LOL. Yesterday, we had a 3.5 hour layover in Denver. No big deal, we had agreed to keep B awake and put him to sleep on the plane. We board, get settled and B goes right to sleep, no rocking, no singing, nothing. Of COURSE....we SIT at the gate for over an hour while they "fix a mechanical problem." JUST what you want to hear when you're on board a long flight with a baby. UGH. Our 7.5 hour flight = 9 hours on a plane. Shoot me.

So we're not doing that again. I'm totally okay with that, LOL. For now. Until I miss my mom, LOL.

Everyone in Ohio LOVED seeing Brady and meeting George. They were all so surprised at how big Brady had gotten, how happy he was, how quickly he adjusted to the time difference, how cute he looked in his winter coat. They all also REALLY liked George which was a HUGE boost to George's ego. He was so nervous meeting my family, but he got such a great reception and my great aunt was TOTALLY hitting on him, asking him to pour her more wine. LOL....she's in her 70's, and she loves me and Brady more than anything. She didn't have kids. If she wants to flirt with my husband, it's ok - I told George to play it up. She's rich, I want in on the will.

Brady in his coat, going to see "Lights At The Zoo":


My mom did the smart thing: she told everyone we were in town, got a bunch of food and said "Come over on Saturday ANYTIME. We'll be expecting people between 11am and 9pm." EVERYONE came to us. We didn't have to drive to visit with anyone. I'm SO grateful to my mother for that. It's so much easier and laid back and less stressful to have everyone come to you!

Mom & Dad did give Brady $5,000 in a college fund. George got me the necklace I wanted and wrapped it in a box, in a box, in a box, in a box so that it looked like it came from Mom, Dad, Brady, AND him. He's goofy.

Us at "Christmas" (December 21) at my parents:








Brady got tooth #7 while we were there. He also figured out how to do stairs. Mom and Dad have a sunken living room with one step. Once Brady mastered that, he went right over to the stairs and started going up them! He's totally incredible seeing his little brain working!





The airport was hard - Mom and Dad drove up with us (our 4 suitcases had become 5, and we had an additional carry-on - they got us a video recorder and travel bag). Mom and Dad had time to say goodbye to Brady alone while George and I looked for my expensive Versace sunglasses I'd left on our Chicago to Detroit flight (no, they didn't have them - GRRR! Damn gay male flight attendants took them!). Mom put Brady in the stroller, looked at me and lost it. She told me she misses me, I told her I miss her every day while we're apart...I had to walk through the security line crying. George didn't really know what to do except put his arm around me while we were in line and then hug me when we were waiting for our plane to board.

Christmas at my in-laws was much better than I thought. Lynda made 2 blankets for us - one with pictures of George and I over the last year, one of Brady over the last year. Both are so sweet and sentimental...I really didn't expect things like that. She also got George an 8GB Nano and me a 1GB Shuffle and I got a Dooney & Burke purse! Lynda & Mike really spoiled us.

Brady was excited:


I didn't get to see any of my girlfriends while I was home (other than Whitney & Mandi). George had some beef about spending time with family, not friends. What he doesn't realize is that growing up, before he and I were married, and while he was deployed, those girls WERE my family. Some of them have been my friends since I was 11. I'm waiting for the guilt trips to set in, but in my defense, I told EVERYONE the days I was going to be in town and what days I was available and no one got in touch with me either.

We bought tickets for this hyped event in DC. What a fucking waste of money. It was OVER sold, so why even bother ticketing the event? You couldn't walk anywhere - you were hearded by the masses, like lemmings. Of course, I stupidly wore beautiful 3" stiletto heels so my feet were hurting about 1 hour after we got there. I HATE crowds like that though, and I get claustrophobic. I never thought it would be as bad as it was. We were waiting in line at the bar to get drinks (which you had to get 2 at a time and step to the back of the line so that by the time you finished BOTH drinks, you were able to order more) and I FLIPPED out. I could feel people pushing me, putting their hands on me and I turned around and yelled "STOP FUCKING PUSHING, YOU AREN'T GOING TO GET ANYWHERE FASTER AND YOU'RE PISSING OFF EVERYONE IN FRONT OF YOU." Some cheesy dude then goes "man, this is New Years, have a drink and lighten up." I wasn't talking to you dip-shit, I was talking to the blonde bitches behind you, but now YOU've made the shit list as well. Whatever. I was totally over it. I walked out of the bar and waited for George, Whitney, and Craig to come outside, then in near-tears, told them that they could stay if they wanted, but I was taking a cab home. They made a joke that it was a long cab ride "home" (to Hawaii, haha) and hailed the cab with me. George was pissed off that I "ruined" his first New Year's back and said that I "knew what it was going to be like because I'd lived in DC for so long." Uh, no, if I'd known it was going to be like that, I would have saved us $88 each, thanks.

We looked hot, though! I was super confident in my outfit, I just wish we could have gone somewhere more fun so that I could have spent more time in it.

George & I:


Whitney & I:


Since we've been home, it's been pretty quiet. Brady got his 8th tooth and we're still watching him cruise all around our furniture. He has not gotten brave enough to take a step on his own, but he has stood for a few seconds on his own at George and I's prompting. I'm getting ready for Brady's birthday and for Whitney's visit. It looks like George is going to WLC in mid-February, so he'll probably graduate from that right after Whitney gets here. We're still getting boxes in the mail from back home/Christmas. Whitney got Brady the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Table and he is obsessed with it! He also loves the Laugh & Learn Vacuum that my MIL got him. I can't wait to see him move around with the walking/push toys - they get here on Monday.


I've decided that it's time for me to start focusing on losing the rest of the weight I want to lose for 2 main reasons: 1) When I start training for the marathon, I want as little impact on my knees/ankles as possible and the less I weigh, the better for my joints, and 2) I want to be able to enjoy the lack of weight for a while before George and I decide to have our second kiddo. I've got a fitday.com page - if you'd like to join and get in on it, I totally recommend it. It's helped me see where my empty calories are and where I need to improve my diet.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=armywife117

I hope everyone has a blessed year! I am shocked at how quickly the last year of my life has gone by - shocked that I've been married for a year already and that I have a little boy who is almost a year old!

GO PATRIOTS!!

I have a 9 month old!

I absolutely cannot believe that I have a 9 month old! A year ago tomorrow, I was 6 months pregnant and I fell on my stomach. I rushed to the hospital when my OBGYN said I needed to be checked out, Christine rushed from a sound sleep to sit with me in the ER...everything turned out fine (obviously!), but it's so amazing to look at how far you've come sometimes. I was worried I wouldn't know what to do at any stage or age with Brady, but I've realized that I'm actually REALLY good at being a mom and I'm so proud of myself for making the right decision and having Brady in my life. I can NOT imagine what my life would be like without him (or George) and I know I bitch about George and I arguing a lot, but he is where I feel I am at home. The Army can move us anywhere in the world - as long as I have George and Brady, I will always be home.

George and I are getting ready for our trip to Ohio and Virginia. We sat down and made our Christmas lists of what we're getting for our family members and what we're planning to spend. This is where I really start to hate Christmas. It's become all about budgeting, lists, and commercialism. What happened to just getting together as a family and enjoying each other's company? What happened to just celebrating the MEANING of Christmas - Christ's birth?

I get so downright SCROOGE-like during the weeks before Christmas. I boycott radio stations that play Christmas music nonstop. George's commute has become an hour longer each day because fewer people are carpooling so they can go shopping for Christmas presents after work. It means that I get less time with my husband, it means Brady barely sees his daddy during the week....it's just tough. I'm usually fine by Christmas Eve, Christmas is always wonderful....but then it's like the magic of the holidays wears off and it's back to the hum-drum real world again. I enjoy the hope of the season, but not the inevitable exhaustion at it's end.

It's been raining for 4 days in Hawaii, so we've come up with the bright idea to go to the beach tomorrow. We'll see how that plays out when we wake up and see the weather. We may end up just taking Brady to see Santa. Of course, that means we'll HAVE to buy him a Christmas outfit. DARN. :)

Just Call Me "Scrooge"

Yay! I made it through my first Thanksgiving cooking alone! Turkey, mashed potatos, gravy, stuffing, greenbean casserole, corn bread....all amazing and everything was finished at the same time and all the guys had 2 helpings each, so it HAD to be good. I've got so much more confidence in the kitchen now than I had 3 months ago.

But with priceless looks like this, who can help but smile?



Okay, so George and I decided to buy a dog Friday night for Brady's Christmas present. Cute puppy - chihuahua/fox terrier mix. We named him Charlie.

Saturday mornings are my morning to sleep in, Sunday mornings are George's. Yesterday, I got up with George and Brady at 7:30 so that I could deal with Charlie while George dealt with the baby.

This morning, Brady woke up around 6:45. George laid in bed while I changed and dressed Brady. Charlie is whining the whole time (we're crate training him). I manage to get Brady downstairs playing, take the dog out, make breakfast for both of them, and feed Brady while the dog is eating. When everyone was finished with food, we all played on the carpet for about 10 minutes and everything was fine. When I was certain everyone was settled and happy, I got online.

Not 2 minutes later, I smell dog shit. I look down next to my chair and it is SMEARED all over the floor. I thought the dog did it, so I grabbed the dog and went outside, knowing Brady would follow us to the door and watch us. Charlie is rolling in the grass when Brady puts his hands up on the glass door - COVERED IN DOG POOP.

I KIRKED out. Grabbed the dog in one hand, Brady in the other arm and went upstairs. Put the dog on George and I's bed and said "OKAY, Sleeping Beauty, it's time for you to get up and help me!" and walked out of the room and into the bathroom where I stripped Brady in the tub and started a bath for him.

We are obviously not ready for a dog if we cannot deal with the potty training and a baby at the same time. I'm okay with that. I told George that if this was a preview of my life until the dog was potty trained, I didn't want it. He said if I didn't think I could manage Brady and Charlie on my own 5 days a week, then I was right.

Charlie was returned today. Well...given back. The store "doesn't have a return policy on puppies." Fine, whatever. We made sure the dog would have a new home found for him and we dropped him off when the store opened. The store gets to make a profit on Charlie twice. Must be nice.

I just feel like the bad guy. I suggested the whole thing to George, he was so excited to have a dog. Then I decide that it's too hard, and I have to take the dog back. George glared at me while I was getting all the puppy stuff to take back with the dog. He pouted while he was putting the crate in the car. I feel like I failed and that he's mad at me for failing...

Oh well, it's done now. George suggested maybe a kitten, but I don't really want a pet. The whole situation has left a really bad feeling in my gut. I want my Ellie back, but she's so in love with my parents and with being in Ohio, I could never take her from that.

Brady's First Haircut

Tonight, I finally cut Brady's hair. I was really reluctant to do so - it just seemed like something else on a long list (that's getting longer everyday!) of things that make my baby more grown up. George had been bugging me about it for about a month, but I thought it was just the military mentality thinking hair should be short.

I didn't realize how SHAGGY Brady's hair was on his forhead and by his ears until I cut and - POOF! - it looked completely different. The before and after pictures are insane.

Next time, tell me people!! :)


Before haircut:



After haircut:





Tools and cut hair:



I'm getting ready to cook my first entire Thanksgiving dinner alone. George invited two guys from his unit, so I cannot mess up! Wish me luck - I might need it. :)

Am I the poison?

UGH. I don't know how I married someone like this. Maybe it's me....

George and I got into it again (I know, shocker) tonight. He made dinner. We have a little agreement where whoever cooks dinner, the other person does dishes. No big deal right? Except I'm really good about cleaning as I go, so generally, he only has the dishes, utensils and a pot to clean. I walked into the kitchen and it's a disaster. So I joked with a smile on my face "Hey, you think you could learn to clean as you go?"

He took it as some huge insult and I tried to tell him that I was teasing. For the amount he dishes out, he sure can't take it! I told him that maybe I could help him find ways to clean as he goes next time he cooks so that when I he does cook it's not an insane chore for me. And honestly, I like washing dishes. I would say only about half actually go in the dishwasher - I do all the pots, pans, and cooking utensils by hand.

Of course, it escalated and he thinks that I try to make every problem we have his fault. I told him that I don't place blame on him, but on us because we don't know how to communicate with each other. He likes to list things I do "wrong" or "mean" but then cannot back it up with an example. It drives me nuts when he says negative things about me but then cannot substantiate them. I've even asked him to point out WHEN I do something he doesn't like so that I can realize what it is that is hurting his feelings, but he doesn't even do that. If I'm going to say something negative, at least I can back it up with when it was said (if I don't tell him right when he does it) or examples of how he did it.

It escalated further into him telling me that I knew what I was getting myself into, being a stay at home mom and being married to someone in the military. I find it hard to believe that I KNEW, seeing as I've never been able to just "stay at home" before Brady, I've never been a mom, and I've never been married to someone in the military or been/stayed friends with someone who was from a military family. I told him that this exact argument was one of the big reasons I asked him to wait to get married 10 months ago: I DIDN'T know what I was getting myself into and I didn't want to be blind sighted the way I have been about how the military works and how much I don't know about military life.

For example, I am applying for WIC to help offset the cost of formula for Brady. When the packet of information came, it said there was an office right on Schofield. I mentioned it to George and he goes "Uh, YEAH." I said "If you knew there was an office on Schofield, why didn't you just tell me?" He said "well, WIC and the Army go hand in hand. I don't know where it is, but it makes sense. I'm surprised you didn't know that."

Why the fuck is he surprised? Why am I "supposed" to know? Why do I have to be the bloodhound for information on a base he's been stationed at since 2005? Why do all the responsibilities regarding Brady or saving money fall on me? Why can't he open his yap and ask around?

I used to REALLY believe that the majority of the problems/fights in my first marriage were caused by Dale. Now I'm thinking I may be what's "wrong" in my marriages. Am I really that horrible to live with? I'm wondering if I'm SO miserable that I pick fights to justify my shitty mood. Like I can't deal with it being "me," so I make it "us." Maybe I'm trying to make excuses for the both of us by taking the blame myself. But why does blame even have to be placed on one of us? George wanted me to divide it by percentage tonight. He said "What, is it all my fault?" And I said no, it was our fault because we don't know how to communicate. So then he asked if it was 50/50. I told him I didn't think it was fair to place blame on anyone, even if it was split down the middle. He told me he feels like I think it's 60/40 his fault and I asked him why he automatically assumed I would think it was like that. He said he didn't think I would take the majority of the blame on myself.

I just feel so out of control here. I have everything micromanaged because honestly, running/cleaning the house, paying the bills, and taking care of Brady are the only things I CAN control. I can't control when George deploys or has to go do classes or any of that, so I like things to be done a certain way here. I like the bed to be made everyday, the laundry to be done on certain days, the dishes done a certain way, the bathrooms cleaned every week, etc.

I'm so disappointed that he and I can't even have a conversation anymore without arguing. More often than not, we argue after Brady goes to bed and I end up going upstairs to be alone because I can't stand sitting in the same room as someone I can't be civil with. He's had so much time off and so many long 3 or 4 day weekends. Every time I hear he has extra time off, I cringe inside. Instead of being excited about the thought of the extra time, I dread the coming days, knowing we'll be together more and that a fight is inevitable.

He's a wonderful father. He's so good with Brady - like not being together for the first 7 months was no problem. I prayed every night for that while he was gone. I love him more for the way he is with Brady, the way they play, the way Brady lights up when George gets home and then follows him everywhere he goes. Literally, if George goes upstairs to change clothes, Brady will crawl to the bottom of the steps and look/wait for George to come back downstairs. I could watch them together all day and be happy seeing their relationship bloom.

So, I guess I just want to know if it's me. I want to know if I am the poison in my relationships with other people. I'm calling a counselor on Monday. We are allowed 6 sessions through the military without being charged. I think this is overdue.

I thought I left rednecks in VA....

Brady's first Halloween is today! I'm so excited to dress him up in his Nemo costume. We're just going to hand out candy - I would feel uncomfortable going around asking for candy that he obviously cannot eat. Sara (my only friend here in Hawaii besides George & Brady's girlfriend's mommy) said she was interested in taking Ava around, so maybe I'll walk with them, but I don't need any candy!

Talk about playing hard - poor guy was SO sleepy on Sunday!!



We finally got a baby play yard so that we can corral the mighty crawler. Check it out - it's fondly known in our house as the "baby jail."



George and I had a completely interesting weekend. Long story short, rumors have been going around that our neighbor, "L," was sleeping around on her husband, "Z," with their roommate, "J," and another dude, "B." It was heard secondhand from L's friend, "T," who is there quite a bit. We spent Saturday in Waikiki at the zoo and had dinner overlooking the sunset. Sara and her husband, Chris, invited us over to drink after the babies were in bed, so we were excited for some adult conversation over adult beverages! When we got home, Chris was more interested in playing beer pong in Z and L's disgusting house, Sara was feeling torn, and George and I got roped into going to Z and L's.

Their house seriously is disgusting. George said that as he was playing beer pong, the TOPS of his feet were getting dirty. He tried to wipe them clean at one point, but 10 minutes later, they were covered again. When the games ceased for a bit, Sara and I tried to herd the boys over to their yard to relax and wind down.

Of course, everyone from Z & L's house follow us to Sara and Chris's house. DRAMA seemed to immediately follow. Drunk Chris tells Z about the rumors Sara has heard about L. Z, naturally, completely loses it and it's even worse because he's drunk. J freaks and runs, calling someone on his cell saying "You have to come get me, come get me now!" B wasn't at the festivities. When L finally comes outside, she's a blubbering mess, saying she didn't do anything wrong and that Z is wrong for believing other people and L doesn't know where the rumors started. Z and L have a 3 year old little girl, who for some reason, was not asleep at 12:30am. Sara and I took her inside since L was hysterically crying (drinking like a fucking lush will do that to you sometimes!) and distracted their daughter with juice, crackers, and cartoons. Sara left me inside for a few minutes and George came inside. We'd been communicating through LOOKS all evening, so I knew he was inside to try to avoid the drama. While we were inside with the little girl, apparently L confessed and Z lost it again. Sara came inside, demanding that I come outside to talk to L.

L goes on and on about how it might have been wrong, but she was curious and that Z doesn't show that he loves her and how she wants to get pregnant again, etc. Seeing as I'm the most sober female here (I'd had 3 drinks over 4 hours at this point and the events were a complete buzzkill), I attempt to talk reason with someone who's past the point of knowing how to spell the word "reason." Z is outside the back fence ready to throw his fist through anything that will stand still and is downing alcohol that Sara continues to bring him like it's water. Puking in the grass by the back fence twice wasn't enough to stop him from swigging the bottle of Jack. Seriously, people, are we all this immature?!?! I thought the military was supposed to straighten people out.

Eventually L goes home (either to cry or to pass out from the alcohol, who knows) and Z is standing out back with the rest of us. Sara and Chris start play fighting in the yard and she landed a pretty good slap on his cheek. He jokingly tackles her to the ground and when he comes up, she's OUT. STONE COLD OUT. Unresponsive. Slapping her face, talking to her, tickling her, pouring water on her face don't work, so Chris calls 911. Apparently she's had a blackout like this before, but at this point, I'm scared that it's the alcohol.

I go inside to check on Z & L's little girl - thankfully still asleep in front of the tv. I go out front and turn on the lights to wait for the ambulance and I hear the guys in the back. I go back inside to see them fireman-carrying her through the gate and up to the house. She's dead weight. We get her to the front yard and we're able to get her back for just a moment before she starts throwing up. She loses conciousness again. When the paramedics get to the house, I'm completely in shock that the evenings events have led to this. I am in control enough to ask Chris if he wants me to get Ava ready to go, if he wants me to stay in the house with Ava, or if he wants me to go with Sara in the ambulance and have him follow in the car. He asks me to stay with Ava, so I do.

The ambulance leaves and I start sobbing. I've never gone through anything so seriously scarry in my life and I never want to again. George came back inside with me and stayed until I calmed down. He went back home to stay with Brady and told me to text him if I got any news.

I think I fell asleep for about a half hour. Around 4am, Chris called to tell me that she was awake and getting better, but that they were going to do x-rays on her. Ava woke up around then, so I fed her and put her back to bed. Right as she is drifting off to sleep, Chris comes in (apparently he got a ride from someone), gets the keys to his truck and says they're almost done with Sara and that he'll be back as soon as he can.

At this point, I call Whitney because it's 4:30am and I need to stay awake in case Ava doesn't fall back asleep and I need to tell someone about this INSANE night. I'm wrapping up my convo with her when Sara finally walks through the door with Chris. She's fine, 2 bruised ribs, 1 cracked rib, but otherwise fine. They don't know why she blacked out, so she's got to go back in for neurological tests, but thankfully everything is ok. Don't know if the ribs were injured from play fighting with Chris or from George's fireman carry to the front lawn, but I'm just glad she's ok.

George and I finally get to sleep around 5:30am. UGH. Brady woke up at 7:30, but George let me sleep until almost 10. We watched the beginning of the Pats/Redskins game, but when the Skins started getting their ass kicked, he went upstairs to nap. We finally got our butts in gear to go grocery shopping. We got Brady in the carseat and Z is outside and wants to talk to us. Apparently he and L talked all day and he tells us her story completely changed: she says B raped her in February and that nothing ever happened with J.

Now. I was raped when I lost my virginity. I know what it's like to have people not believe someone when they say they had something so horrible happen to them. However. If this were really the case, why would she have "confessed" to sleeping with BOTH men? And if this were really the case, why would she have been so upset the previous night? AND, if this were really the case, why did J book it when he heard Z "found out?" It doesn't all add up. I always said that I would believe any woman who said she was raped because I've been in their shoes and I know how hard it is to even admit it. But 2+2 is coming up to, like, 1,939,837 and I just can't trust that she's telling the truth. However, it's not my marriage and the only thing I have to share with her is a wall until next April. I hope Z is right in trusting his wife's version of events. He deploys to Iraq in December.

I thought Hawaii was supposed to be paradise....why is it filled with rednecks and drama?! I thought I left that in Virginia....

Just the beginning...

Okay, so I've been in Hawaii for over a month now. I didn't post about Hawaii at first because I honestly hated it! I had "island fever" - where you realize just how far away Hawaii is from the rest of the United States and how long it takes to get back to the continental side and you kind of freak out about how small the island is and you feel claustrophobic. I'm so glad I got here before George got back so that I could go through that without his watchful eyes. I miss my friends, but they all know that I love them, no matter how infrequently we get to talk now.

I'm truly appreciating all Hawaii has to offer. I'm on the island of Oahu, which is also where the capital, Honolulu, is located. There are so many things to do here that it's really your own fault if you're bored. There are hundreds of different beaches to go to and explore. Our favorite is at Ko'Olina. There are gorgeous lagoons with rocks to break hard waves. Brady does really well there. He's just fine when we're in the water, but he does not like the gentle waves coming up to his toes or tummy when we sit on the sand. Even better, Ko'Olina has a grassy area surrounding the sand which is perfect for Brady since he just learned to crawl!

Brady only started crawling on October 18, and he's already mastered it. Now, nothing is safe if it is left on the floor! We have to barracade our important papers and bills, our printer, and Brady is absolutely FASCINATED with electrical cords. Of course! Baby proofing is much harder than I thought. We're still searching for baby gates and for a specific playyard...I hate seeing something I really like and then not being able to find it! We're also looking for a toy chest that will look decent with our living room furniture. It's probably going to end up costing us a fortune. Target won't ship the one I want to Hawaii, so I may end up having to ship it elsewhere and then asking the post office to ship it for me. SO EXPENSIVE. Shoot me now. <-- There you go - the only negative thing I have to say about Hawaii. Shipping charges BLOW.

I'm turning out to be a pretty decent cook! I've cooked chicken successfully TWICE now and made some things from scratch. My best two were a portobello mushroom lasagna (OMG, YUMMY!) and chicken with rice. I'm learning that I can pretty much cook anything if I have a recipe or an idea in my head of how I want it to taste, but I am still trying to expand my choices. I would be just fine having chicken 4 times a week, but I know George would get SUPER sick of that. We're good about keeping a good rotation, but he wants me to find something other than pasta and rice to make with main dishes. I'm all over foodnetwork.com for this. Watching Rachael Ray for the last 2 years has to start paying off, right?

George was picked up for promotion last week. It's so exciting! He has worked so hard and put so much time into being promoted. He was so excited, he was dancing and jumping through our kitchen, front hall, and living room. I was so happy and so proud of him, I nearly cried happy tears. It means so much for us to have the promotion finally go through - I can stay at home with Brady and we have the opportunity to save money for baby #2 so that we're ready (financially!) when we decide to have another. It's still "scheduled" for May of 2010. That will be right around the time he returns from his second deployment. We are considering trying earlier on his R&R break during the second deployment, but only if we are fairly certain that he'll be back for the delivery and the first few months. He missed so much with Brady and I don't know if I could mentally do the first few months by myself again WITH a 3 year old! I know Whitney and my mother would come out if George wouldn't be here (hell, they'll probably come out regardless!), but I would really like for the birth of our second child to be something we get to share together. It's fun to think about now, but just thinking. We're enjoying just being the three of us for the time being.

Whitney and I have decided that our goal is to run the Honolulu Marathon in 2008! I think it will be hard to train alone, but I know she'll be my rock when I hit training road blocks and on marathon day, she'll kick my ass! It will just feel good, knowing that I CAN finish and that I can finish FASTER than I did in Miami in 2006. I'm looking forward to having a big goal like that again and to getting back into major shape. I'm tired of being soft and "squishy." Time to firm things up and get back to feeling how I WANT to feel. I'm sure George will be thrilled to hear me stop bitching! :)