So much to give thanks for.....

All of these things are from Sissy(my MIL). I adore the green outfit. It's funny side by side they look like easter egg colors!

Aunt Sandi got this adorable blanket for Kara. I love the colors, it's so vibrant. I should be receiving it soon in the mail!!

What girl doesn't love shoes? Kara has some of the cutest shoes around. Special thanks to these people: bunny slippers and white butterfly shoes-Granny (Sissy), butterfly and dragonfly slippers-Nana (my mom), pink butterfly shoes- April, pink sandals-Tangela, White butterfly sandals- Gloria, white dress up shoes- mommy, white shoes with flowers-Laci.

I just received this in the mail today from my friends Tiffany and Veronica (from High school). I am so in love with the cherry bathing suit and sunglasses. Oh and the sandals are adorable too!
I got this yesterday, isn't it a beauty? A wife from our squadron made it for baby Kara. I feel so blessed to know such kind people. She hand made this quilt especially for her. Can't you tell with the purple and butterflies?
These are outfits from my neighbor and friend, Samantha. She knows I have an obsession with purple. I love the purple dress and the overalls. I can't wait to see her in them.
My friend Erica got Kara this cute little beach outfit. It came with a matching hat. She will be so cute in it on the beach this summer!!

I figured I would give out some thanks for all the really cute things I have been receiving from friends and family for baby Kara. She's got some really adorable outfits that I just had to share with you. No doubt she's going to be the best dressed baby around here. I love all the purple of course but the other outfits are all very special too!! My mom recently sent some clothes but they are in the wash so I couldn't add them to show you. Thank you to all of my friends and family. I really don't deserve such wonderful people in my life.

4 Things about me

So as I posted earlier I was lurking through some other blogs this morning and found a tag I wanted to do. No, I was not tagged, but hey I can do it if I want to. I found it on Slings Domain's blog, if you were wondering. So here it goes:

4 Jobs I have had in my life:
1. Pool Girl (yes it was listed that way, I checked pool tags at a resort, plus got a tan!)
2. Hostess
3. Teller
4. Bus Monitor

4 Movies I have/would watch over and over again:
1. The Notebook
2. Elf
3. Wedding Crashers
4. Sweet Home Alabama

4 Places I have lived:
1. Florida
2. North Carolina
3. Pennsylvania
4. Okinawa

4 People I want to bitch slap right into the middle of next week:
1. An old neighbor of mine
2. A girl that told me maybe God didn't want me to have children after I had just had my 2nd miscarriage, while she herself sat there with two healthy children.
3. Lindsay Lohan- Girl, put down the bottle, get off the drugs, and close your legs.
4. Some newscasters, ANNOYING!

4 People that email me regularly:
1. Samantha
2. April
3. Aunt Sandi
4. Karen my cousin

4 TV shows I watch:
1. General Hospital
2. American Idol
3. Bringing Home Baby
4. Desperate Housewives

4 Places I have visited:
1.The Bahamas
2. Disney World
3. Colorado Springs
4. New Orleans

4 Favorite foods:
1. Chicken Parmigiana
2. White Chocolate covered Strawberries
3. Potatoes
4. Grilled Chicken Wraps

4 Places I want to be right now:
1. In Florida
2. In Texas
3. With my husband
4. Holding my baby boy

4 Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Kara's arrival
2. Hopefully going to the states in December
3. Kara's first Christmas
4. Getting back into my old clothes

So even though I wasn't tagged I would like to tag Aunt Sandi and Jana if they want to play!!

Just call me "CLUELESS!"

So I spent about an hour this morning looking at blogs on my mother in law's favorites list. I found some that I think I might enjoy revisting. While looking through all these glorious sites, I find myself feeling clueless. Everyone seems to have their own homemade backgrounds with all kinds of cool side bar things, while I am sitting here with a plain pink template made by blogger itself. How do you guys learn how to do this stuff? I feel totally out of the loop. I even saw a lilac purple background on one. Yes, I was a bit envious. Not only did I feel shamed with my own background, but with the running of my blog. All of these bloggers have cool recipes, craft projects, and home decor, while I sit with plain everything. Man, I feel like a loser now. How do people find the time for all these extravagant crafts and baked goods? You wouldn't believe some of the Easter treats people made. WOW! All I can say is kudos to all you talented people. Are you willing to share?

Highlights

So I know this may seem funny to you but the two pictures in this post have brought me much joy. The first one is the little fence I finally got for my backyard. Up until now (for almost 2 years) I have had to walk my dog every time he needed to go out. This has lead to him going back on his potty training and me tired of walking him. When we got Tinkerbell it was even worse. I had two dogs to take out rather than just the one. When I started thinking about having this baby and having to walk the dogs numerous times a day, I felt overwhelmed. When we moved to Okinawa, I had all intentions of putting up a fence in the backyard, only to find out that it was be very expensive and a lot of paperwork. We would have to get permits and all kinds of things cleared before we got the okay to put it up. Also we would have to buy and put up the fence ourselves. Nick was never thrilled on that idea, but then again he's not the one having to take the dogs out all day either. About a year ago, I saw one of these little white fences in someones backyard. I thought, "Now that's what I need!" However, I couldn't find one here. I tried ordering one from Petsmart, but they wouldn't ship it here. I tried all kinds of websites to try and get a fence, but it didn't work. Finally, we found these little white gates at a pet store off base. At first we just bought two packs which included 8 panels (which cost over $100), making an octagon for them to run in. I was all excited about it. However, Anakin wasn't too thrilled because now he's used to being walked. If I would leave them outside in their little fence where he would whine and bark until I got them out. I was so angry that I had spent that much money and it still hadn't solved my problem. While my mom was here, she suggested we got two more packs to make our whole back yard fenced off. So finally about a month ago we bought the final two packs. My friend Samantha helped me put it up and it's been great! At first the dogs weren't too excited about it, but now they love it. Anakin has started asking to go out more and I couldn't be happier about that!!

So the next thing is really going to make people think I am crazy. When we got to Okinawa I realized that I hadn't seen any 2 liters of any kind of drink here. I looked everywhere, the BX, Commissary, and shoppette. No one had any at all! I even ran into a woman at the commissary who was looking for them too. Needless to say we were both appalled. So after being here this long, I have come to accept that 2 liters are not in my near future. Sure they have can drinks and 20 oz drinks, but I like 2 liters. I never drink a whole coke so that way I can pour how much I want without wasting it. So I go to the PX (on another base) two weeks ago and see a 1.5 liter of coke. I was over the moon about this. Sure it's not the full two liters that I wanted but it's pretty darn close. Funny part is that it's a Japanese coke, go figure, but I am thankful for it!

Yes some of it's missing I had to have a glass!

Our sweet chipmunk..

She loves bird food!
Her standing up while I was talking to her.
See her full cheeks?

She's an amazing creature that provides us with a lot of entertainment. By accident Nick left her cage open the other night and she got out. To our amazement, Chloe (our cat) didn't eat her. She actually ran from her. Leia didn't even seem phased by the huge cat near her. She walked right up to her as if they were the best for friends. They are too funny! I wanted to share her (Leia's) newest pictures. She's a pretty little girl now isn't she?

The start of a nursery.....

He was hard at work!
I didn't mean to miss his face!!

The walls have nothing up yet, but it's starting to pull together!
I know the bumper is on inside out, but it's because the crib doesn't show it on the outside.
Don't you love the glow worm and little musical thing? Too cute!!

On Monday, Nick was off of work so we decided to put up the crib. Luckily the bed set came in that same day. It was quite amusing watching him put it together. He only put the sides on wrong one time, so I can't complain. He kept telling me I wasn't allowed to help because it's the daddy's job to put up the crib. So I helped as little as I could. I did have fun putting the bedding on. I know it is very purple, but that's the way I like it!! The quilt is very cozy, I love it. I also got the matching lamp that I have in the loft where I will be feeding her at night. Right now she is sharing a room with Maddy so it's a little cramped. Once I get it all finished with the stuff on the wall I will be sure to post new pics. It's killing me that I can't paint the walls lilac or even light pink. I think it would be so cute!! However we vowed not to paint any walls in this house so we won't have to deal with it when we leave. Whenever I get back to the states and we get a house it's on!! I will be painting every room!! So tell me what you think of my progress!!!

Stress test #2 and #3

So the last two test have went pretty good. Last week I had a 2 minute contraction (they've been lasting longer) that caused me to stay longer but other than that things were good. My fluid level keeps going up which is great!! She's a very active baby, but today she had to get buzzed so she would move some more. I guess she was feeling lazy like I was this morning. Her head is low but not expected to make an appearance in the next few weeks. Nick will be leaving for a TDY to the states on Friday so pray that this baby doesn't try to come while he's gone. He will hopefully be back on April 6th. Once he gets back I am going to do everything I can to get her to come, I am ready to see her. I have been feeling pretty good, just a little tired and swelling a bit (which hurts!!). I hope you all are well also. Take care my blogging buddies!!

Stress test #1

My first stress test went well. The first thing we did was an ultrasound, which determined that she's not breech anymore but into position to enter this world!! She's very low, which probably explains why I can't get out of the bathroom and why my lower back is killing me. There is plenty of fluid around her. They want you to have at least an 8 and mine was at 11, so that's always good to hear. Next was the monitors being hooked up to my tummy. It's just like when you are in labor, one for the baby's heartbeat and one for contractions. Luckily I didn't have any contractions during that time. The baby had to have two accelerations of her heartbeat that last at least 15 seconds within the 20 minute time period. She's so active that she did it within the first 6 minutes. However, I had to continue to be hooked up for the entire 20 minutes. It went pretty good so I felt relieved. I hope next week is just as good!

New due date

It seems that I have been wrong this whole time about my due date. I was under the impression that it was May 7th but I learned last Wednesday that it's actually May 4th!! I was glad to hear it. A few days sooner is pretty cool.



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What if ??

Jana tagged me a while back with this fun little game of what ifs. I also received a smooch from Aunt Sandi a while ago that I can't for the life of me remember if I posted or not. So if I didn't thank you Aunt Sandi, right back at you!! And now let the games begin....

What ifs:

What if I could meet someone in the art world to chat with....I would choose someone that inspires me. I wasn't too bad at it either. I used to draw as a teen and it kept dying down. Now I never draw anymore. I would pick someone that would get me back to it. I miss it sometimes.

What if I could have one wish granted for the benefit of all mankind.... I would choose for everyone that wants a child to be able to have one without complications. In return I would make the ones that don't want children to be unable to produce them. I know so many people, including myself, that have had issues having a child. All of these women want children so badly. It seems so unfair for those women when you have thousands that never wanted any children and end up with 3 or 4. That way children would be taught better and we would have less problems in our society dealing with mommy issues.

What if I could travel anywhere in the world.... it would be to Europe. I believe Italy (for the food) and France (for the sights) are my top two.

What if I could live in another time than the present, for 24 hours....I would choose to go back to when my mom was a kid, just to see how different life was for her and all my other elders. I think it may help me form a new appreciation for things.

What if I could make over three areas of my body.... hands down in this order: thighs (smaller without cellulite), arms (more muscular), and breast (larger).

What if I could become an animal for 24 hours....I would be a monkey so I could hang from the trees. It sounds like fun. LOL

What if I could bring someone back to life for 24 hours.... it would be my son. Just thinking of having an opportunity like that brings tears to my eyes. Every second of that day I would hold him and tell him how much he means to me. I would let him know how much I wish he was here all the time. How I wish I could see him grow up. I think just staring at him would be awesome.

Nerf War

Weekend before last Nick, Maddy, and I went to the park to have a Nerf war. It was pretty fun. I wasn't going to play but decided it looked fun. I know it must have been funny seeing my preggo self running around the playground. Maddy got the worse of it because she wouldn't shoot at us that much. She just spent most of her time hiding. Here's some pics:

More beach pics....

One of our many castles!
She's working hard!
Along the shoreline.
Yes, I played too!
I love this picture. She looks like a model.
Too cute!
She said I had to do it to.

Beach bunny

A true beach bunny!

On Saturday, Maddy and I went to the beach to hang out. It was a lot of fun. We built sandcastles, found shells, had a picnic, and walked in the water. She looked over at me while eating her apple and said, "I love our girl time!" It was so sweet. I felt so good because I was playing with her while most of the other parents on the beach weren't paying much attention to their children. We stayed for about 3 hours and even managed to get a little bit of sun. It was a great day!!!