AHHHHH!!!

So, after this weekend, of non-stop work and play, I realized this morning I had 4 diapers left, and no transportation to buy more. Luckily, I happen to have a plethora of "little swimmers" diapers, which I plan on using until I have the opportunity to go shopping (probably at 10 PM tonight, once John gets home). The only bad thing is that since Tori is teething at the moment, just about every diaper is a messy one. AND, the swim diapers happen to be more like pull-ups, and so, removing them with a mess will be tricky. Plus, since they are meant to be submerged in water for longer periods of time, I don't believe they will be holding much in the way of liquids.
That is pretty much my day. I'm just playing Russian Roulette with my toddler and her diapers. Hoping that we will be able to survive until tonight, or tomorrow.
Having only 1 car is probably the biggest pain in the butt ever. We could have picked up a car for John over the weekend or at least one this week if a ex-friend of ours would have done what he was supposed to before PCSing to Japan. Basically, there is an open hold on John's credit because this idiot couldn't sign a piece of paper at the court saying we paid him. He crashed our car, which we owned, and since he had been paying the insurance (and showed up in court in uniform, which is AGAINST THE AF REGULATIONS!!) while basically borrowing it from us, the judge ruled that we pay him a ton of money. Anyway, he cashed the check, and left the country. Now, a year later, when we attempt to get a small car loan, we can't.
Thanks Garren. As if I needed a reason to hate you even more.

One of those days

Yesterday was one constant headache. Between starting school (and the stress of ordering the WRONG textbook due to a mix up at the bookstore) and Tori being a whiny brat, I didn't get anything done, and was just in a terrible mood all day. I don't know what has gotten into Tori, but lately if she doesn't get what she wants, she will just scream and scream until you figure out what it is. And, since I am just as stubborn as her, I tell her unless she can somehow communicate what it is she wants, she won't be getting it. So, we've gone around the room pointing at things and trying them out as well as just letting her sit there and freak out until she realizes I won't pay attention to her when she cries.
Needless to say, it looks like today may be another whiny toddler day... I think what's going on it another one of her teeth is popping through, but, still, she needs to learn not to whine. Or throw herself on the floor when she sees me. I've also learned that when she's alone with daddy, or anyone else, she doens't whine. So.... I don't think she is really in pain. She just thinks she can get away with it with me.
So... for the time being... I'm going to be going crazy until I can tell her to cut it out. Perhaps more time-outs will work. Haha.
AHHH!!!

Pill-popping for beauty purposes?

I apologize for any men who read my blog, this will be of NO interest to you.
So, as I was taking my prenatal vitamin this morning, I got to thinking... Prenatals help your nails grow, as well as help with your hair, but not as much as Biotin (which they have now started putting in conditioners). Which means there must be PLENTY of other vitamins out there, so, I was wondering what other pills women take to help stay beautiful.
After a little research I discovered that there was tons of vitamins women take! Fish Oils was probably the most obvious (I need to start taking them again now that I think of it). But there were anti-wrinkle/aging pills like Imedeen (very pricey), Biosil (claims to reduce wrinkles 19%), and Hydraplenish (which has Hyalauronic Acid and is a great internal moisturizer for skin/joints). Not to mention things that help with skin issues, like most birth control pills.
Anyway, I figured I would post this so all the other women can either tell me what they use (share the wealth!) or let me know how these things work if you already are using them.
I plan on picking up some Biotin since after bleaching my hair so much, it's still trying to recover. More to come on this after I do some personal research. All I can say at the moment is GO BUY PRENATALS! My nails are super strong and grow quickly.

Leaving Utah??

So, I haven't written much the past few days since all I could think of writing about was fighting with the hubs. I didn't want to bad mouth him... since I definitely would have. Anyway, things are resolved (thank God!), and now that I look back, I thought it was all important at the times, but, it really wasn't THAT big of a deal.
Anyway, in more exciting news. As John was leaving this morning he told me that since Hill AFB plans on retiring 17 jets (John is an F-16 Maintenance Analyst) they will be getting rid of 2-3 Analysts, and 4 Schedulers. After hearing this, I was already excited. Then he told me that the two Analysts that are most eligible are himself and Sgt. Ninal (his boss) since they have been here the longest. Which means that yeah, we won't be able to finish school here, but, I'm sure where ever we go, we can find a place to take school. Plus, on base they always have testing areas that work with many schools, so technically we wouldn't have to leave base, and we could go to a school near us.
As much as many of you are not going to want to hear this, I have decided that our number 1 choice at this time is out of the country. I REALLY want to be stationed in Kadena, Japan. First off, getting stationed out of the states right now, may be one of our last chances. As soon as John becomes an officer (about 4-5 years from now), we won't be stationed out of the states. Since he's planning on being a Chemistry major, we'll get stationed in New Mexico, Colorado, or California for the duration of his career. Of course we'll be moving every few years since he'll be an officer, and they don't like the subordinates get too used to their higher ups, but, there are only so many places that a Chem major can go and do what will be helpful.
So, sorry mom, but when you come to visit me in Japan (haha, I talk like it's already a sure thing!) at least you can enjoy REAL sushi. And, think of it this way, it's only a 10 hour plane ride! If I was to get stationed in Germany, it would be more like 22 hours! So, it's not that bad!!!
The only thing I'm a little sad about is that I love my midwife, and wanted to stay here until I had my next baby. But... this is the nature of being a military wife. You don't get to choose much about where you go, and when you go. Planning only gets you so far. And they never work out like you want them to anyway.

Rainy Saturday Morning

I woke up this morning to find the sun had never come out, and everyone (including Tori!!) Had slept in until 8:30! It was great catching up on some sleep since the night before I got 3 1/2 hours, at best.
Anyway, the temperature outside has dropped like crazy compared to the mid-90's we had the last couple days. I'm actually really excited about it. It has just been too hot lately! I mean, I love wearing my tanks and shorts, but, I can't wait to curl up in sweaters and boots. I'm not looking forward to having to shovel the driveway, but being able to get Victoria all bundled up and go outside to play in the snow will be fun. Last winter she was too little to really appreciate it. So... this time will be fun. I wonder if she's old enough to be pulled in a sled... Perhaps we can go to WalMart and grab one. If John and I start from day 1 of the snow, we could make a great hill to slide down on in our back yard. Or better yet, we can put it in out front yard and convince the neighborhood kids to help us. That way they can use it too. I know last year John wanted to make another igloo, but it just never happened. Perhaps I can help him with that.
Also, I may be able to go snowboarding at least in the beginning of the season! So exciting. I miss snowboarding. I just think that by the end of the winter, if everything works out soon, I'll be too preggers, and John won't let me. :(
You miss out on a lot of things while you're pregnant... it would be nice if it was shorter... haha.
Anyway, I'm going to go back to cuddling with my girl and watching cartoons on Disney Channel. My favorite thing to do. :)

Why can't I sleep!?!?!

it's officially 0125. And... I'm awake. What the heck. I'm supposed to be driving John to work tomorrow at 0600... which means I will MAYBE be getting 4 hours of sleep.
But, for some reason, unknown to me, I cannot sleep. We have no more Nyquil, so it's not like I can take some of that to help relax me at least. Or Tylenol PM, since at this point, if I took 1, I wouldn't be able to wake up with John, little alone wake up with Tori at 0730. Sorry for all the miltary time by the way, it's getting to be habit. Luckily you don't really have to do anything but take off the zero in front. It's afternoon that I can still get a little confused with.
Anyway... lets all hope I'm not super cranky tomorrow because of my lack of sleep. Who knows, maybe my body thrives off lack of sleep... or perhaps it's all the coffee I like to drink when I don't get sleep. Either way, I will definitely be brewing a large pot tomorrow.
Even Ozzie is passed out next to me... legs in the air, spread eagle. Awesome.
All the Utards are asleep, except for me. I should go running around the streets just to make sure. Maybe that will wear me out... who knows. Time to at least go try to sleep... wish me luck.

I need to win the lottery

Like most people, I would love to win the lottery. First off, having a maid, would be excellent. Not every day, but a few times a month to get the "big" stuff, like the bathrooms, and cleaning the baseboards, blinds, and other "spring" cleaning things. I seem to be the only one who actually cleans them. Every once in awhile I do wait and see if they'll get done, but, much to my dismay, it just means more cleaning for me. Or more things that make me want to puke... which is always wonderful. Not.

Also, I could really use the money to decorate my house. It still looks we're in dorm phase. Well, at least I think so. We have all the bare essentials, which doesn't include curtains. In fact, only 3 windows in our entire house have some sort of curtain. They all have blinds, and most have the metal hooks to hang curtains, but we don't have the rods or material to hang up. Plus, 2 windows are bay windows, so... I'm assuming the curtain rods for that are way more expensive.

So... yeah. if anyone wants to start buying us lottery tickets, I'll pay off your mortgage or other debt when we win... depending on how much we win that is. If we only win $10k... I'll give you $1k. Afterall, we have lots of debt too. Well, a mortgage and a few minor credit cards.

Walking

Victoria is getting better and better at walking. Well, besides falling into the coffee table and giving herself a black eye a week or so ago... that was a little embarrassing taking her out to go grocery shopping and other random errands. More than once people gave us dirty looks. I mean, yeah, black eyes are no good, but... really? You think we did it on purpose? Come on!!
She still hasn't mastered walking on an incline. We tried on the driveway, and then when we went rock climbing this last Sunday, she tried walking around there too. And luckily, she didn't trip on any of the rocks. She definitely tried to step on a couple, but, since she's smart (or just SUPER cautious) she didn't actually put any weight on her foot, and put it on the ground instead. Perhaps it was all the dirt she ate?
Anyway, she is doing really well. She still does crawl, like when she either is already down on the ground, or is too lazy to stand up. I'm assuming within the next week or two, that will stop. And about the same time, I'm sure running will start. She already has quickened her pace when chasing after me, or playing hide and go seek. So... I can only assume that soon, she will be actually running. At least I'll be able to burn that last little bit of weight off! Haha.
But, best of all, I am LOVING her entertaining herself. After learning to crawl, she has definitely become more independent, but like right now, she is switching off between watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and throwing a little plastic ball around and chasing after it. Only to throw it a different direction once she gets it. Hey, whatever gives me a chance to catch up on emails, or clean. Although, that's not as fun. ;)

teething... AGAIN!!!

How many teeth do kids need anyway? I mean, seriously. I'm not looking forward to when Tori's more flat teeth (like the molars) come in, since just dealing with her during the front teeth has been enough of a headache.
Right now she's getting 2 more teeth on the bottom (to make 4 on bottom and 2 on top) So, she'll just have slightly wider chipmunk teeth. Still no good chewing teeth, which would be nice, so I can actually feed her more than a quarter of what I eat. Although yesterday she made a good attempt on eating the peanut daddy gave her. I believe she ended up spitting it out since she couldn't chew it.
Anyway, I've given her some baby Motrin, so, for the time being, I don't have a cranky kid on my hands at the moment, but... 30 minutes ago. Holy cow. She would be fine, and then all of a sudden she'd act like her arm was just cut off. I mean, I'm sure the neighbors thought I was beating her or something. And actually, to them, I probably was, since I don't go to their Mormon church. Automatically it makes me have bad morals. In fact, there are many play groups around here that do not allow children (no matter what age) from non-Mormon families. After I heard that I pretty much laughed in their faces. A 1 year old doens't even know what morals are, little alone can display good or bad ones. So, to not let them hang out is ridiculous.
Luckily most of the mormons around me seem nice, or at least act it. So far, they've yet to come over to dinner, although we've given them numerous invites. I don't know if they're just super busy doing family stuff, or honestly don't want to come over... I have no idea.
Sometimes I think that if I went over to their church, just once, I would be automatically accepted, and I would never have any issues again. Although, since I was raised in a very liberal area, I don't know if I could handle it.
Anyway... yeah, teething... shoot me.

Army Wives

As some of you may know, there is a show on Lifetime called Army Wives that airs on Sunday nights. While I happen to love this show, and watch it every week (thanks to my DVR), some things about it are just so inaccrate it makes me want to scream.

First off, since I am an Air Force wife, I know all about how military life really is. Like for example, if you are enlisted, like John and myself, you DO NOT associate with the officers. The only relationship you are permitted to have, is one on a business level. Take Victoria's pediatrician. He is a Major, or an O-4, and he seems like a really great guy. But, the only relationship we are allowed to have is as Victoria's doctor. We saw him at the Commisary once (for those of you who have no idea what that is, it's basically the on-base grocery store), and weren't even sure if we were allowed to wave at him. Luckily, he acknowleged us, so we were allowed to do so back.


Anyway, what I'm trying to get at is, one of the wives on the show is an enlisted wife. Yet, every week she's hanging out with a 2 star general's wife. Officers wives are stuck up, and would NEVER hang out with an enlisteds spouse. They only associate themselves with other officer's wives, who most likely all attend the officer's wives club meetings. Which, by the way, if I even tried to step foot in that meeting I would be kicked out faster than you could say hello. No joke.

Luckily, for us, even though we're trying to become a commisioned officer, since we were previous enlisted, it's acceptable for us to talk with our enlisted friends. But, to ensure that we don't continue to hang out with them, they will move us to a different base, so all our contact will be either off base, or over the phone/internet.

Another thing that just drives me crazy about the show is the age of the 2 star general. He is about 40. In order to be a 2 star general, it means he's been in for a LOOOOOONG time. I believe it takes at least 25 years. Which means you've passed every test on schedule, you don't miss any cut-off dates due to when you signed up, and you haven't done anything wrong. Which means, most people don't get their degree finished until they are at least 22, so, if you were to enlist at 22, add another 25 years, you are nearing 50 years old. Now, my question is, why can't the writers/casting agents do this simple math?

I guess the show just wasn't written for people who were military, or who had the brain power to figure this all out. Don't get me wrong, love the show, I just wish it was a little better researched. Everything else is pretty accurate. Deployments, uniforms, PT (physical training), base housing, gate guards, etc. And they also seem to have at least one snobby officer's wife. Although, from the looks of the show, since they've made her into the bad guy, she will most likely be leaving before season 2 ends. Bummer. ;)

Sourdough bread, take 2

It looks delicious, but... I still have another 20-30 minutes of waiting before I am allowed to slice it open. It is still technically cooking on the inside. And at this point, being hungry, isn't enough to ruin my entire day's work.
Yes, that's right. The picture you're looking at too me ALL day. I woke up, took my starter out of the fridge and "fed" it the flour it needed (yeast needs breakfast too you know). Then, I waited another 2-3 hours for it to wake up, while I was waking up over a cup of coffee. Once that was over, I was able to take a cup out I needed to make my bread, and replenish my starter with 1/2 cup of flour and warm water. Then started the process of kneading. Luckily, my bread machine has a dough cycle, so I let him do all the work while I made pancakes. I then needed to knead the bread a little myself, and let it rise for 2-3 hours. Luckily, even though sourdough takes much longer to rise than normal bread, I was able to stick it in a warm oven (you still need to be able to put your hand on the inside of the door, otherwise it's too hot) so it wouldn't take 4-5 hours. Then, yep, you guessed it! More kneading! I had to feed the dough one last time with flour, knead it into the desired shape and let it double in size. Preheat the oven to 400, slice the top with my awesomely sharp knife, and BAM! 25 minutes later, this baby pops out of the oven.
I must say, if this doesn't turn out, I will probably give up on bread making. At least sourdough. I'll return the responsibility over to my bread machine. Although, I'm sure he's been enjoying the break the last couple days.
More to come on how this actually tastes...

IT TURNED OUT PERFECT!! Honestly, I just danced after eating a slice. So wonderful!

UFC 101

I get to go to the fights tonight!! As of 2 weeks ago, John and I were fighting (up until earlier this week) on whether I was going to cooperate and be his DD while he went off and watched the fights on base at the bar. I was to sit at home, wait to hear from him, and then wake Tori up at whatever late time it is, and pick him up. Right...
Now, I get to go!! My wonderful, wonderful, friend Andrea has agreed to watch Victoria while I go! It was going to be a guys night out, but, John let it slip that another wife is going, so I was able to convince him to let me come along. I'm just glad I'm not the wife that ruined the "guys night" haha. Although it wouldn't be the first time.
And this way Tori can sleep, and everyone is happy! I am still planning on being DD since it techinically is going to be his friends, and I'm sure Stacey is also a DD since she's newly preggers. We can sit and laugh at our husbands as they make fools of themselves. ;)
Anyway, I'm super excited. The fights tonight are going to be awesome.
Oh yeah, and for those of who you don't know what UFC is, it's basically fighting with different styles, like Jui Juitsu, Judu, etc. mixed with wrestling, and some boxing... yes, there is blood, but, hey, humans have been watching this sort of thing since before the gladiators!!

Dog hair has protien, doesn't it?

Finding your child eating anything besides what you gave her to eat is disconcerning. For example, you find her eating the paper towel you left on the coffee table from lunch, or that part of her book is missing since she chewed it off using her newly acquired teeth. Well, while cleaning the hair off the couches, I was using my lint brush. Since it's not the sticky kind, I was cleaning off the hair, and putting it into a small pile on the carpet (after all, I was about to vacuum). I turned my back to Victoria and continue de-hairing the couch, and when I turned back around to deposit more dog hair into my little pile to find that my daughter had decided to come over and "help" me clean. Which basically means she decided to pick up a handful of dog hair and eat it. I must say, her reaction to the dog hair was priceless, but, I didn't have time to appreciate it. All I could think of doing was grabbing her cheeks and doing the "finger swipe" through her mouth, similar to what you would do with a dog actually. Needlessly to say, after getting the majority of what she had shoved in there, she started gagging on the rest. Great. I go in for another swipe, and luckily get it all. But, now, my daughter is spitting for the next 10 minutes since during this whole thing I'm saying "YUCKIES!!! SPIT IT OUT!!!" And sticking my tounge out and "spitting."


Just wonderful. Luckily I have learned that I can never de-hair the dog hair and stick the hair where Victoria can get it if she's awake. I'll probably just add it to the list of things I can only do while she is napping. Like, vacuuming, using the blender, using my hairdryer, using the food processor, shampooing the carpets, mopping, and basically anything else that will make a loud noise, or requires her to sit still. Yeah... now you all understand my pain.

To work? Or not to work?

About a month ago, I applied to work at the on-base childcare center (CDC) thinking that as soon as I got a job, I would immediately be able to work with Victoria. Well, after calling in today, I discovered that she needs to be put on the current waitlist, but if, when her name comes up, and I do not have a job yet, we will (obviously) have to decline, putting her on an in-active list. Which basically means she won't be able to use the CDC, so I'd be working with other children, and she would be off at some other childcare place, without me.
I guess I thought that everything would work out the way I planned, but, it's just another example of how things never work out the way you want them to. Regardless of how convienient it may have been.
So, I don't even know if I should be applying for jobs at this point since either A) I will get a job before Victoria can get into a daycare or B) Victoria will get into daycare, and I won't be working, so it will be pointless. Not to mention the fact that when I do get a job, we won't be able to afford daycare until I get my first couple of paychecks. And of course, all the other women/moms I know around me work full-time, so it's not like I could even ask them to watch Victoria for a week or two so I can save up some money to put towards her daycare.
This is all very frustrating, and as much as we need extra income, I just don't know if it would even be worth all the hassle. Why can't the military just bend the rules for me just this once. I mean, it's not like it's really hurting anyone. I wish there was a way I could accept the CDC job on the terms that Victoria comes with me... but... that would probably result in me loosing my job offer, and I would never be able to apply agian, and Victoria would never be able to go their either. I'd be blacklisted as "the crazy mom."
As much as I love living away from my hometown, since it gives me this huge self accomplishment of surviving alone, I really wish my family was close. I probably would never even have to pay for childcare since between everyone trading off, the week would not have any openings. It would be like pre-motherhood where I get my entire paycheck to put towards normal bills, instead of $150/week going towards someone else to play with my daughter while I do something less fulfilling, but more financially smart.
I guess it's now time to train my dog to watch Victoria. It will solve all my problems.

Sourdough Starter

I've been in Utah too long. I have officially attempted making a sourdough starter from scratch. It takes 5 days, and you have to stir it 3x/day. And everyone thought I was crazy for having 2 dogs...
Anyway, after 5 days of stirring and checking on my bowl of flour/water, I was so excited to make my very own sourdough bread (after all, I have been spoiled by San Francisco). I added all the ingredients to my bread machine (why knead, let rise, and shape to bake, when you can have a machine do it for you?), added the rapid rise yeast, and put the bread machine on the rapid cycle (waiting is for people with time... I already did 5 days of waiting). Well, about 2 hours and 15 minutes later, my timer beeps. I'm so excited because it means my bread is ready!! And it smells SO good. I take it out of the bread machine, and put it on a cutting board. I waited about 10-15 minutes to finish cooking and let the bread cool down a little, and I made my move. I cut into the bread, and oh my God, what is that smell?? I take a little nibble out of the inside and YUCK!!! That is the sourest sourdough I think anyone has ever made. What did I do wrong??? I go back and read the directions again. Yep, added everything I was supposed to, stirred the starter 3x/day, and let it sit for 5 days. So what the heck?
Well, luckily this is the 21st century, so I hop on my computer and look up sourdough starters. After reading a few different methods to let the yeast ferment to create the sourdough flavor, I find that sometimes, depending on the area, it can take between 2-5 days. And the longer it sits, the more sour the bread will be. So.... I guess that means my bread was WAY too sour because it fermented way too long. Great. I wasted about 6 cups of flour, which I could have used to make 1 1/2 more loaves of bread that I actually have successfully made via bread machine, but... no. Instead, it is sitting in my garbage and down my garbage disposal. Terrific!
Thankfully, if your starter is too sour (AKA you have NO idea what you're doing and let it sit too long, like me) you can take one cup of your existing starter, and start a new one. Although, this time, I plan on just using my bread machine to knead the dough (yes, it has a dough cycle, and a jam cycle... and pretty much every other cycle you can think of!! AMAZING, I KNOW!!), and I will bake it in my oven. The recipe I found on the Internet was much easier, and is a little more... well, friendly for the baking-challenged like me. Hence why we got the bread machine to begin with. I can cook anything, but baking? No way. And apparently, that has not changed.
More to come in a few days on how my new sourdough starter/bread turns out...

First there were 2 naps, and now there is one

We are currently transitioning between 2 naps a day to one nap. But, that means at 5PM, I have a terror on my hands. She screams and cries, and pulls things off the couch/table and throws them on the floor just because she wants to make my life harder than it already was. Well, thank you little 1 year old, but I don't think so. At this point, I seriously have no idea what to do. It's not like I can make her lengthen her first nap, and she refuses to go to sleep for her first nap before 11:30ish.

It has now been 3 days of this, and I'm sick of having to take Asprin or Excedrin daily to get rid of the headache I have at the end of the day. I'm sure my liver probably hates me for it too. Probably as much as it hates me for the wine I drink. But, that's a different story. Sort of. I guess that's Victoria onset too...

Anyway, I suppose I shouldn't complain too much because I know as soon as baby #2 comes there will be no free time what-so-ever. If Victoria is even still napping by then, I'm sure the second baby will definitely not want to nap at that exact moment. One can dream though.

But seriously, how does one person become a "super mom" who can do everything??

1 dog family

We officially have only 1 dog. No, I'm not crazy. Surprisingly, it was easier with 2 dogs. They entertained each other, ran around in the backyard, and played together, although they also got into trouble together. Walking with 2 dogs and a stroller was a little much, but, I did it a couple times (note, only a couple times).
My dog Ozzie now seems a little depressed without her sister dog, but on the other hand, my husband couldn't be happier. He even did a celebration dance after the couple walked out the door with Luna in her kennel. I'm hoping my dog has a short memory and forgets about Luna. Maybe a trip to the dog park will help.
I guess if I look on the bright side, it means I won't have to worry about Luna getting so excited she pees on my carpet. Or, getting so scared, she pees on my carpet. Or, her just sneaking around behind my back and either peeing or pooping in the bathtub, or if the bathroom doors are closed, on the carpet. And she was terrified of everything. If we had people over for dinner, she would bark and bark and bark and run around terrified that there were people in her house that she didn't know. Which resulted in her being locked in her kennel.
Also, since she didn't know how to chew her food, she would constantly either choke on it, so there would be slimy dog food all over my kitchen/dining room floor, or, she would silently puke in her kennel at night, so when she made gagging noises, we'd go to let her out, and find she had already puked.
I'm hoping now, Ozzie won't have a bad influence, and will be the perfect dog she was before Luna. Like being more careful around Victoria. More than once they've run right into her.
So, although I'm a little sad about loosing my retarded dog. I suppose my carpet shampooer will thank me. He'll only have to clean up messes like grape juice spilt by not only my 1 year old, but by my husband as well.