My First Post Back Home

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I posted, but I figured with some time off that I should take the opportunity...

Becky and I thoroughly enjoyed my 6-day pass upon my return to Colorado Springs and we quickly realized that it wouldn't take much adjustment. Fortunately I wasn't gone for too long, so neither of us had gotten too used to recent routines. The local restaurants are happy to have us out and about, namely Dragon King Chinese, Subway, Applebees and Olive Garden! We got the chance to catch up on some shows that we had missed along with a few movies.

After the 6-day pass we started reintegration training on post. This consisted of medical tests (no issues here!), some mental evaluations (again, no problems fortunately) as well as many death-by-power point presentations on why we shouldn't drink excessively, do drugs, beat our wives, etc. Of course a few soldiers will fall prey to their old vices, but the Army wants to minimize this as much as possible.

So block leave began two days ago, and will continue on through April 13th. If soldiers have accumulated enough leave they can take the whole month off, or come in for a few hours Tues-Thurs and get 4 day passes every weekend. I'll be doing a little bit of both. Right now Becky and I are getting ready for a trip to Puerto Vallarta in two days and then getting the house ready for my mom and brothers!

I'm slowly catching up on old correspondence, so give me some time and you'll hear from me. Congrats to Laura and Jarret and the upcoming arrival of little _________ Kirshner!

After

One hundred forty-two days...

...20.2 weeks...

......4.73 months......

.........two trimesters.........

............five holidays............

...............one ultrasound...............














He's home.

Homecoming Info!

Tom's flight finally came up on the FRG website with a homecoming date and time. If everything goes according to plan, he will be home in less than 72 hours!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Lord Provides: An Outlet, A Flight Number & A New-And-Improved Window

Life is funny.

Heading to Sonic to get myself a quick pick-me-up, I nearly ran over some kids rollerblading down the steep hill to my neighborhood. Already angry and frustrated (it was still during my 10 minutes, I promise!) I wanted to yell at them for skating down a blind hill, but instead continued on to my beloved hazelnut iced latte.

I returned home to some noise outside my window. Being a bored housewife, I decided to peek outside to see who was making so much noise. Outside I spied our stroller, which FedEx must have delivered during my earlier rendezvous with the vacuum. I eagerly opened my door to retrieve the package and was surprised to see the same teenagers sitting on my front porch filming their friend doing some "sweet jumps" on the stepped sidewalk in front of my house.

Oh hell no.

I not so politely asked them to remove their behinds from my porch and they actually listened, walking away mumbling to themselves in all their skater-boy angst. Call me crazy, but where did these boys get the idea that it would be okay to sit and hang out on someone's porch?

And then the answer came to me: it was a gift from God. I needed someone to take my frustration out on and He provided me with a group of idiot teens deserving of my anger. If I ever needed any proof of His existence, I now have it. So thank you, God, for providing me with the outlet that I so desperately needed.

After letting loose on the kids, I happily settled myself putting together our stroller. I missed my opportunity to take a picture of it in the daylight, but just know that it is exactly what I wanted: gender neutral, easy to use, and as stylish as an infant car seat and stroller frame can be! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Still in stroller bliss, I received a phone call from the head of the FRG (Family Readiness Group) with some more information about Tom's return. I now have a flight number and window that puts him home early next week. FINALLY, some quasi-concrete information. While nothing is set in stone, it definitely helps to know which flight number to be watching.

*** A brief clarification as I've had some questions, the flight number that I'm referring to is not an actual flight number, i.e. United #721 or Delta 974. It is, rather, a flight order number and does not provide any information about the date, time, or stops of the flight.**

As for me, I'll be heading to my midwife's office tomorrow for my 28 week checkup. Lots of poking, prodding, and tests will culminate in my personal favorite: the RhoGAM shot. I almost can't wait! Hopefully we'll be able to get another ultrasound in the next week or so and be able to get a clear view of the sex. It would sure be nice to give a name to the person currently kicking the crap out of me. And shopping for gender-appropriate baby things will be a blast!

Here's a picture I sent Tom this weekend, taken at 27 weeks exactly.



I'm still not sure if I even look pregnant, and most people are shocked when I tell them how far along I am. But we're very certain that we are! I've now gained 11 lbs, definitely not enough according to my midwife's standards. But for a girl who has struggled her whole life to put on a few pounds, I'm extremely proud. We'll just see what she has to say tomorrow!

So It's Gonna Be A Bit Longer...

Finally got word from Tom after the blackout was lifted that his departure will be a bit later than we anticipated. He should be home sometime next week. I'm trying not to get my hopes up this time since we've been pushed back a half dozen times in the past month. It's hard not to feel disappointed knowing that he should have been home by now. But he's coming home. And that's more than some families are able to say this week.

Incidents certainly are a jarring reminder that I need to count my blessings. We had a couple close calls this deployment, and I'm thankful that the worst things that have happened is this extension and Tom's round of dysentary.

So I'm giving myself the next 10 minutes to be sad about it being a few more days and then it's back to eager anticipation of his return, whenever it may be.

We Have A Flight Window!

I received a phone call from someone in Rear Detachment this afternoon informing me of "my soldier's" flight window. Barring complications he will definitely be back next week!

Now I just have to stalk the FRG website and the hotline for his flight and finish getting everything ready! I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!!!!!

The two of us during our college years. Doesn't Tom look fratty? :)

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

The weather here has been beyond gorgeous ever since I've arrived, and today is the best one yet! Sixty-six degrees, bright and sunny. The sun here is so warm that you truly do not need a jacket or even long sleeves to be outside. I opened up all the windows today to let the house air out, as it still retains that delicious new home smell (chemical-ly carpet stench and paint, yum!) when it's been shut tight for too long. Then I decided to venture out into the neighborhood, taking a short walk to get our mail.

Those who have visited know that we live in an area of all new construction and that we live "up on the ridge" as the locals say, so we really don't have much of a view of what is around us. What is around us on 3 sides is new construction, as far as the eye can see (which isn't very far). Homes and townhomes to the south and east, commercial establishments to the north. We're going to have a Taco Bell within walking distance soon (sorry, hips you may be retaining some of that baby weight after all!) and a mass of new stores. I'm crossing my fingers for an ice cream joint to move in, as walking to get ice cream was Tom and I's quintessential date during college. Plus what would be better than walking with baby to get ice cream, Starbucks, Sonic, Subway, Chinese, etc.?

Ah, but to the west we have something more than just newly constructed homes and yuppie establishments.


Not a bad view when walking to the mailbox, eh?

Those mountains, the ones I have to check out every time I leave the house. Will Pikes Peak be snowcapped today? Will they look green, or will they be the eerie shade of purple that they sometimes look? Or, on foggy or rainy days, will I be able to see them at all?

In other (and probably more interesting) news, next week I will drive on post to pick up everyone's favorite tanker. I do not know the day, nor would I be able to share it if I did. (See link on OPSEC). But I can share that the number of days until he's home is in the single digits. Or as The Donut puts it: "You're a single-digit vertically challenged person!"

Today's lesson in political correctness brought to you by The Donut of Misery.

As you can see the information that I can share really is very limited. I will try and keep everyone updated as best as I can. For now, just know that he should be home soon! I can't wait!

The End Is Near

A Super (Bowl) Blog Post

So I'm not really that interested in the Super Bowl this year. In fact, I wasn't even planning on watching it until a craving hit: I absolutely needed Parmesan Garlic Wings from Wingstop. Being a fairly intelligent person, I quickly decided that a run to Wingstop would be dumb since everybody and their brother would be there picking up their party platters. And I hate crowds.

Darn people with friends and family around during the 'Bowl.

So instead I decided to improvise! I would run to Safeway and pick up a bag of wings, making my own yummy Parmesan Garlic sauce in which to smother them. After braving the crowd only to find that Safeway did not have plain chicken wings and that the checkout line was 40 deep, I decided to throw in the towel.

Ah, but I did mention that I'm a fairly intelligent person. (Or at least my mom says so!) I had chicken in the fridge and bread crumbs in the pantry! I could make my own baked chicken tenders and smother them in that Parmesan Garlic yumminess!

And so I did.


They took about 15 minutes to make, less time than I wasted at Safeway shopping for ready-to-go battered chicken. If you could see the butter running off these things you'd be concerned that Augie might currently be having a heart attack. And I'd share the recipe for the sauce, but I don't want you to judge. They are tasty and satisfied my craving. And much to the dismay of my arteries, there's plenty left for the duration of the game!

So I'm kicking back with some "wings" and watching whoever it is that's playing with Jasmine, who is almost as excited about the game as I am!


She must be able to see the neighbors big screen from there. Or she's staring at the air. I'll leave that for you to decide!

Extension, or Reason #21,894 To Hate the Army

So we got word that Tom's unit is being extended a week due to "logistical reasons." In Army speak that means that either someone up high made a change to a perfectly good redeployment schedule for no reason or that someone somewhere screwed something up.

Or that's my interpretation, at least.

But I'm still heading back out to Colorado early, as planned. Showing up very early to the party suits me just fine as I've got plenty to do to keep myself busy before he gets home. I don't think it's a nesting instinct just yet, but I find myself wanting to clean everything for him before he gets home. Tom has started his list of grocery items that he'd like for when he returns, so I'm eagerly anticipating shopping for our usual items while sipping a chai latte at the Safeway and Starbucks across the street from our beautiful home. And I can't wait to see those mountains again every time I step out of the door.

I miss the simple life of spending my days with Jasmine, cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, and doing more laundry. And while I complain sometimes, ("Can you please explain to me why you're the ONLY person coming home soaked head to toe in clay?") I miss it. I miss having Tom come home from work to me having tried a new recipe that failed and having him eat it anyway without complaint. I miss curling up on the couch and watching our favorite movies or television shows together. I miss my bread machine, our bed, and my car. I miss too many things to list in one blog post. But most of all, I miss him. He's given me a wonderful life in Colorado. And while it's been great being home with my family, I can't wait to return to the warm weather, the sunshine, and the love of my life.

Less than a month to go, hun. Thank you for working so hard for our family and for sacrificing so much for our country. I love you, and can't wait for you to be home eating my crappy cooking and making mass piles of filthy laundry again. :)

An Anti-climactic Answer

Now that I've kept you all hanging for FAR too long, the only news that I have on the baby front is that we are, in fact, having one. We were unable to get a clear view of the sex, so we're looking forward to the next ultrasound which will be done shortly after Tom redeploys to the states!

Keeping it short and sweet, here's what the donut is looking like. He'll be home next month!