Life is Grand

I have let this blog lay dormant for a while because I have been mommy blogging lately. Jeff is now four months old and progressing so very quickly! I honestly am not sure exactly where the time went! I came back here because honestly I did miss blogging for me and me alone. What I mean by that is I am not updating family with this blog, this is where I can write for me. I can say what I want. Don’t get me wrong, I love keeping Michael’s family updated on what is happening with pictures and words, but I miss just sitting down with my lap top and writing about what ever comes into my head. So, here I am today.

Today is Michael’s birthday and he is working. He finally found a job that gives him decent hours and pay. He works like 16-18 hours a day most days but I know he does it for us. If I were to put Jeff in daycare, then find a job, my paycheck would be eaten by daycare basically. So, right now, I am a Stay at Home Mom. Honestly, that is the hardest job I have ever had. Especially now.

Life is good right now and I am happy. I am still in constant pain every single day, but I am working on that. My doctor has told me if I lose approximately ten pounds that it would make a huge difference. So, I am struggling to lose weight again. If it does not help, then we move forward with more medical tests to find out what is going on with me. I am still so very tired, but now I have an infant to show for it and people seem to understand better why I am tired all the time.

Things between Michael and I were tested by his mother of all people earlier this week. She did not know that she was walking on thin ice, but we got through it and are better because of it. We talked about the issue at hand which had something to do with his ex-wife and we got through it with no problem. My relationship with Michael is so different than those before it, we actually communicate with each other. Take the time to talk about things and make sure that we are on the same page as it were. I tell him everything and don’t keep secrets, something that I have never done before. It is nice to be able to tell him everything.

Well, I gotta run, Jeff is playing my song!

-Ciao!

Good News Finally

I am glad to finally have a decently happy entry to write! My health issues get me down sometimes and it is hard to deal with day after day. Yesterday was a good day and we got great news in the mail! Army Boy has enrolled in school to become a nurse, so his Post 9/11 bill, which is similar to the GI Bill, I thought it was not going to be processed for like 90 days which would put us into March. Turns out, it has been processed and not only that, this will cover rent for the duration of his schooling! Which is a load off my mind for sure.

He is starting a new job on Monday and the rent has been paid for January anyway, but I was still worried because we still had electric, cable and water to deal with. Which is already been taken care of as of now.

I talked Army Boy into buying a pair of New Balance walking shoes. He was looking at a pair that was $30 at Walmart, but since his new job will have him on his feet a lot, not to mention his Drill stuff for the National Guard, I thought a decent pair of shoes were in order for him. I only buy and wear New Balance myself because they are great shoes and I have feet issues. I love them and they have never let me down.

This morning at 7:45 AM the construction guys were here banging their ladders around. Ugh. This is honestly getting to be a bit ridiculous to me. 7:45AM?!?! Really?!?! So needless to say I was not really happy about that. Don’t get me wrong, I know they have a job to do, but I am tired of them being way noisy and the ‘quiet’ hours here don’t end until 8AM anyway. Not that 15 minutes makes a big difference apparently.

I am so tired today because I had a not so good night with pain again. This is getting really old fast. I think a nap is in order soon. Gonna run.

-ciao!

Sunday Sunday

Sundays are supposed to be quiet around here, i.e. no construction. Not today apparently. Sigh. I had been looking forward to a day of blissful silence because of the two really horrible nights I have had in a row to get some sleep today. Not did it not happen, apparently the office people are now getting in on the act as well! I heard them out there yelling at the construction guys. Sigh. I know they are just doing their jobs and more than likely wanted to be at home watching football today too, but seriously?

The weather here is about to go from kinda chilly, as today it was in the 50’s to holy crap I woke up in the Arctic! On Tuesday morning it is supposed to be like –8. Of course this is just in time for Army Boy to be coming home from work. However, Monday is his last day at this job, he has Drill this weekend and then he goes to orientation for the new job and starts school all on the same day!

The school thing has been a pain in the ass for us because he is using his veteran benefits and the school or the VA for the matter is not clear on how things will work for him, since he has a VA person who he has to deal with. So when he enrolled in the Fall semester the school financial aid office was to say the very least unhelpful to him. So, this time, he has some better information on the process and it has helped him out a great deal.

Today was another high pain day and I am learning to deal with that the best way I can. Although some days not so much. I made dinner today. I made Cheesy Chicken Tater Tot Casserole, which I will be posting to the food blog shortly. It is a slow cooker dish so that was easy. Since I was up, I prepped the chicken and made the bacon. When Army Boy got him with the milk, I threw it all in the slow cooker and let it cook as we slept.

I am tired and I need to run, I have to eat so I can take a pain pill.

-Ciao!

The Last Few Days

The last few days have been seriously trying for me. Well us. First let me say that I have the most amazing husband in the entire world!! Last night was a horrible night for me. I was having some serious pain not only in my hips like usual, but my right knee had gone out on me a few days before and had been extremely painful and I almost got stuck in the tub because I could not put weight on it the other night. Sigh. I love sitting in the tub reading because it is peaceful for me.

Last night, I could not get to sleep because I was in so much pain and I had heartburn to burn down Texas! My hubby, who was very tired, stayed awake and rubbed my hips and knee until I was sleeping peacefully. Then he had to work tonight and went to work anyway even though he was exhausted. I really do love that man of mine.

I woke up this morning and my knee did not hurt, which was wonderful news but my hips were still painful. I am exhausted because I could not sleep last night and the workers were here today banging and so forth. Ugh. I am trying hard to stay positive during all this but some days it is hard to do. I feel horrible because Army Boy is totally exhausted and at work. The good news with that is that he got his letter from the doctor today saying he is good to go to work at the VA. His orientation starts on the 13th and school starts that day as well. So things are coming together for him!

He is studying to be a nurse, which given my health issues is probably a really great choice. New Year’s here was quiet as we stayed home, which was fine with me. Except for the fireworks at midnight it was blessedly quiet around here. The fireworks I was not expecting and of course set the PTSD off some. Ugh. I got through it but it was not really easy.

So, this new year, I did not really make any resolutions. I never keep them anyway. I am trying to make a commitment to eat better, which is hard for me. I am Southern and the kinds of food I love are fried. Plus I am a horrible junk food junkie. I have been doing pretty well. The other night we had pizza, but it was a BBQ chicken pizza and I had only 3 slices. I also had a chicken salad for dinner that night. Although I did splurge some and had some mozzarella cheese sticks. Those are my weakness! Tonight I had vegetable soup for dinner with some crackers and peanut butter. I have been snacking on raw celery and carrots as well as some plain popcorn.

I am a salty snacker. I don’t eat a lot of sweets unless I am craving them.  I know the key to anything is moderation. Normally I do not have an issue with that except for chips. You know that old commercial, ‘Bet you can’t eat just one’? Yeah unless they are talking bags, they are right! LOL. I am also making an effort to drink more water. My issue with water is that it is boring! Those additives like Mio and such, they have aftertastes that I do not like much, makes them taste like cough syrup.  I also like my water cold. My Army Boy doesn’t. So I have to add ice and since we don’t have a filter on the freezer, I can taste the chlorine in the tap water in the ice. Ugh. I have a Brita pitcher for the water and I have had it for years. I totally love it and recommend it.

I am thinking about getting a filter for the sink faucet as well. When Army Boy was in the Army, he was a Water Dog, which means he was dealing with water for his unit of they got deployed. He was in charge of drinking water and getting it filtered correctly. So, it helps now. LOL.

Well, I am going to go. I am tired.

-Ciao!