Parenting

Yes this is going to be a touchy post but I think that it is time to write about it. My parenting styles are my own; but I have a wonderful group of ladies that believe the same things that I do. I am a co-sleeping, cloth diapering, use to baby wear, extended rear-facing, and intactivist! I am proud of everything that I am. Yes, my son is 2 years old and co sleeps, he starts in his bed and ends up in ours and I love that he is there. I love the snuggling and waking up to my handsome little boy next to me. Cloth diapers save me money and they are cute, granted we use disposables at night because he is a heavy wetter. I loved to wear Keylan and wish that he was not so independent that he would let me wear him more but I did it because he felt secure and he knew that his momma was right there no matter where he went. Rear-facing, I made it 26 months and wish it was longer. I made a compromise; I do intend on extended harnessing Keylan though. And I love my whole son! There is nothing wrong with the natural anatomy of the male body! The circumcision rates are dropping so when he is old enough to be changing in the locker room there will be more boys that are intact then circumcised. It is an unnecessary procedure that the American Academy of Pediatrics is against it. I have never shoved my opinions down anyone's throat nor will I. But when I see a post that I am adamant about I will speak up and say something; whether it be through experience or research. 

Update on life

So we are now living back home in Alabama!!! YAY!!! It is so weird to look outside and see trees and grass and know that we are not ever going back to the desert. We have been home a week now and have been mostly relaxing and adjusting. Jeremy has decided what he is going to do for a job, just need to wait till August to take the tests. He is testing to become a corrections officer or sheriff's deputy. He is going to focus more on the corrections officer and work his way up, but with that pay I will be able to stay home or work just a few hours a week for our "fun money". But with that we will probably be living with my parents till at least then. The kids are LOVING it! They play outside all day everyday and have to have a bath every night (secretly that depresses me though because I loved being able to skip baths every now and then lol). I am slowly getting into going down to the park to walk at least every other night. I have classes starting tomorrow and look forward to another term and hopefully more good grades. I am also starting to plan for Shiana's Kindergarten year; outfits with hair bows, homemade lunches (thinking about making a new blog for this topic), and everything that comes with having a school age child. I still cannot believe that my little girl is getting ready to start real school and I am not ready for all the drama the many years are going to bring. Next week though we are headed to Disney World and I am really excited and cannot wait to see the kids reactions.

2 weeks to go!

2 weeks from tomorrow we will be on the road headed home! After lots of stress and probably more to come all that will matter is us getting home. Then we will deal with everything else. I found an apartment that I really like: it is 3 bedroom 2 bath, laundry room and nearly 1400 sq ft for 895 a month which I personally think is not that bad. But I foresee us living with my parents till around August, hopefully not, but if we do then that will be okay. I am so ready to be home around family and to get back into church. And these next few months are going to be so busy that I am not going to have time to think. Between moving, getting settled, Keylan's birthday/ welcome home party, DisneyWorld, Cityfest, registering Shiana for school, and (at first) Jeremy looking for a job and a place to live and then the girl's birthday's and first day of school. There is always going to be something going on. I really hope that I am able to stay at home with Keylan at least till I get into nursing school. If I get in in January, then it should only take 2-3 years (hopefully), and while I am in school and clinics then my mom will watch him and Shiana will get dropped off there after school. Then by time I finish school he should be starting school and I will be able to work. But that will all be figured out in the next few months. I will be finished with my bachelor's degree in December and right now I am on track to graduate with honors again =) that makes me very happy. But that is all for now and will probably update 1-2 more times before we leave El Paso for good.

6 weeks

I have so much going on in the next six weeks, so I think I am going to make a list of things that need to be or will be going on.


April:
- I need to make an eye doctor appointment for myself, using up my insurance while I have it, lol.
- Get Keylan back on WIC and transfer papers for when we get back home.
- Monday Keylan will be 2!!! O.o I can't believe that it has gone by so fast and how much he has grown.
- 2 year old appointment
- Dentist appointment for both kids
- Follow-up appointment for my foot
- Various other things that will decide to come up the rest of the month


May:
- Finish packing/cleaning
- Load trailer and make a HUGE move
- Mother's day
- Keylan's birthday party/welcome home party
- and my mom and I have a huge surprise for the kids, DisneyWorld. I am so excited and cannot wait to see Shiana's expression when we get there (we are keeping it a secret)
- But this month we will also be figuring out living and money and jobs.


It is still hard to believe that we are finally going to be home for good. I know it is going to take a while to get adjusted, but once we are we will be perfect. The adjustment thing has me a little bit and I wish that we had a place to go ahead and move into, but without a job and money that is of course impossible. I have awesome parents that have the space and love us enough to put up with us for a few weeks. 

Thinking

Been thinking again, usually not a good thing but it happens. So next week I am suppose to start packing this crazy mess of an apartment and I really have no idea how I am going to do it. I really just want the Army to move us, less stress on me and not have to worry about boxes and packing and loading or any of that stuff but it also means less money. I know that I will get it all done, just hopefully it will be as organized as I want it to. I am worried about my foot, I have a follow-up on April 28th, 10 days before we leave, I am scared about what he is going to say. If I have to wear the boot longer then that is fine, I will only be in the car and relaxing when we get home. But all I really want to heal before we leave is my tailbone, bruised it when I fell. It hurts so bad and sitting on it is so painful. I also have already come to the conclusion that when we go to Disney World that my foot is going to swell and be painful, but the smiles and laughter and fun that my kids will have is enough to make it all worth it. I am so excited to see their, mostly Shiana's face when she realizes where we are going. It is all going to be a surprise, I am going to put a basket together for each of them and that morning I am going to let them open them and of course video tape it. My dad has already got tons of batteries so that is not a problem and I am going to get one or two extra memory cards. They are going to get their autograph books and we are going to get as many autographs and pictures(separately) as we can and all those pictures are going to be turned into scrapbooks once we get back home. I am also so ready to get home and the kids can play outside all day, they sleep so much better when they get the fresh air and running. I know that Keylan will definitely be outside from the time his feet hit the floor in the morning till we drag his screaming self in for dinner and bed and then repeat the next day. But I have no problem with that, they need to be outside away from games and the tv. We will also be registering Shiana for school in June and have decided that the first monday of school she can start riding the bus. The only reason behind that is is because her bus driver has been part of my family since before I was born and I trust her; otherwise I would be taking her and picking her up. I think that is all that is on my mind for now, I am sure if there is more I will of course make another post.

a tough 6 weeks

So this past Tuesday I took a fall down the stairs outside. I had Keylan in my arms and my main priority was protecting him. I could have swore that I broke my ankle, I had perfect timing though because Jeremy was just getting ready to head back to work. Instead we made a trip to the emergency room to have it checked. I got in really fast, had x-rays done and was told that it was not broken or fractured and that it was probably just sprained. I was given a boot and told to basically just deal with it and to just make a follow-up. I have been trying my best to stay off of it since then but being a full time mommy it makes it kinda hard. I have been picking up in the morning and making the beds and doing what dishes are in the sink and then I sit the rest of the day, which hurts because I also bruised my tailbone when I fell. I had my follow-up appointment this afternoon and have to say that I REALLY like the doctor. He his very friendly and informative; he checked everything and then drew a diagram, which I personally like since I am a visual learner, and my anatomy classes paid off today. I have a grade 3 ankle sprain which is severe and ripped all three tendons that hold my ankle "together". I am to be completely off the foot for the next 2 weeks, which is going to be hard, and I am in my lovely boot till April 28th (my follow-up). I am hoping that at my follow-up I can take the boot off, but I could always have to wear it longer. This all really could not come at a better time. Next weekend I am suppose to start packing our apartment and getting ready to move. I am in so much pain I have no idea how I am going to get all of it done. And Keylan will be having a birthday too; I cannot believe that my little boy is about to be 2, where did the time go? I look at him and think back to the first day and all the ivs and stuff on my tiny little baby boy and now he is starting to have "conversations" and just recently knows the difference between yes and no and he knows what he does and does not want. But I am going to do what I have to with my ankle because I am trying to avoid reconstructive surgery, but I could still need it 6 months to a year down the road if I am still having issues. 

The Past 3 years

The Past 3 years:
- Jeremy left January 14, 2009 and I got him back May 14, 2009
- We moved June 8, 2009 to El Paso, Texas with a Uhaul truck, my car, 2 kids, and a dog
- Found that we were expecting
- And then lost the baby
- Decided to let God take control and then were blessed again August 14, 2009
- Announced our pregnancy to our families
- Visited my grandparents in Nebraska and broke down in Liberal, Kansas
- My awesome daddy bought us a new car
- In September I found out that I had 2 clotting disorders and was put on Lovenox, blood thinners.
- Celebrated Halloween with a kitty cat for a kid
- Got to spend Thanksgiving with my parents
- In December, we found out that we were having a baby boy
- Visited Roswell, New Mexico a month before Keylan was due
- Keylan was born April 16, 2010 and our world changed =)
- Spent 6 days in the NICU, though he was full term, that was the hardest thing that I have, okay almost the hardest thing, been through
- My incision opened and wore a woundvac for 6 weeks with a toddler, a newborn, and a husband in the field.
- The first 2 months were really rough, Keylan was on a very strict feeding schedule with hundreds of tests done and in the end he was put in the hospital (dx: failure to thrive)
- Found out that he basically has fast metabolism with acid reflux
- My little girl turned 3 and we went to the circus for the first time.
- Celebrated the holidays
- Then in February we got to know a wonderful person who is a strong woman and awesome mommy (Nikki =) )
- Went to Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Celebrated two awesome little boys 1st birthdays in April
- Jeremy went to NTC and started preparing to deploy.
- August 7, 2011 we lost an amazing woman that will NEVER be forgotten. We miss granny everyday and I talk to her often.
- September we literally had 5 different deployment days; Granny had other plans though. 6 days before the last deployment day Jeremy had to have surgery to have his appendix removed. Simple surgery, but still really scary.
- Enjoyed the holidays with each other and with our families at Christmas.
- We got home from visiting in December to get in the car the next day. My daddy had a massive heart attack and at that very moment did not know if he would make it. Thankfully, he pulled through amazingly.
- It has been a slow few months, but we are starting to pack our tiny apartment up and get ready to load up a UHAUL and head back to Alabama.


I write all that out and could go into detail about everything. It amazes me just how much stuff happens in your life in one place in just a few years. I started thinking and crying while I cleaned our bedroom yesterday. Keylan has slept in that room, every night that he has been alive and here. I have always had my little boy just a few feet away and now he is about to have his own big boy room.