Military life is not one that I ever imagined living. I was VERY hesitant when we decided to join, but felt like it was right (I also really hate debt). The moving around isn't ideal but I don't hate it, however, the potential separation is what I am not a fan of. We have been fortunate that Grant hasn't been deployed or on a ship, just a few small exercises here and there. So when we realized we would be apart for over 6 weeks, to me that seemed like an eternity (I think the fact that I was pregnant and had to facilitate the move on my own added to that). I know to the rest of the military community, 6 weeks is like a blink.
I was hoping to make it an okay experience for all of us though, and I think we succeeded for the most part.
I often felt a little sorry for myself and all that I had to do alone (with 2 little boys making everything harder), but I also felt bad for Grant on the other end having to start a crazy residency while trying to set up our lives in Maryland. He found a car, a place to live, a preschool for Rowan and so much more. He made the transition on the other end very smooth for us which I am so grateful for.
Here's some of the fun we had. Rowan got a workbook and was quite enthusiastic about learning to write his name and letters (at least the ones he wanted to learn). He then wrote his name everywhere for the next couple weeks, it was pretty cute.
I took charge of the household duties. The AC was sucking, so we went to home depot and got a new filter.
Outdoor crafts
A trip to Oceanside to visit our friends at the old condo. Man I miss living right on the beach, however, in our current situation, our more inland house was the perfect place for us.
One Saturday the landlords did an open house so we had to be gone for about 4 hours, so we got Krispy Kreme for breakfast and then headed to Home Depot for their kids craft day. We made bug catchers. It was a bit of a challenge helping both of them by myself but it was a lot of fun.
Pretty sure he was the messiest kid there...
We took some naps on the bump...
Ate ice cream and watched movies...
I had one "no good very bad day", in which we had a doctor's appt for both kids. I had Grant schedule it about a month prior at a time that he could go with me because I knew they both needed shots and it was going to be a struggle. Well, he ended up leaving before this appt so it was me alone. I got them up and ready to go with plenty of time. I checked my GPS to see the fastest route and found out there was a crazy accident which means I needed to leave that moment to get there on time. So, I took the fastest route on the back roads and ended up getting pulled over (my first time ever in the states) and the cop gave me a speeding ticket (along with another car he pulled over at the same time). I was so stressed about being late and the kid's shots, etc already that I got upset and started crying after I got the ticket. I had to get out of the car and throw up (pregnancy is not fun sometimes). So I'm standing in this parking lot, 2 scared kids watching their mom cry and barf into the bushes, and the cop comes over and asks if I need an ambulance. I obviously tell him no and he says ok and then proceeds to leave me there alone. I called Grant and got SO lucky that he was between classes and able to talk. I just needed his calming reassurance at that point. He called the doc office for me and let them know I'd be late. We made it in time for the 2nd appt and they were kind enough to still see both kids at the same time (luckily!) We had talked about shots the night before and Rowan was actually seeming really ready and brave, but then lost it once we were in there. He made Boden go first, which I knew would be a bad idea since he'd see him cry. Oh well, I held him down and we got it done...but then I still had to take them to do a finger stick in the lab. Equal freak outs but then we were totally done! I let Rowan choose the treat and he decided on Chik Fil A lunch and ice cream for being brave. We all needed a little relief after that morning!
Spent some more time at the beach...
Meanwhile, Grant started "school"/residency
And I kept getting more and more pregnant ;)
The next week Karleigh came to visit! (and just in time). I picked her up on Sunday afternoon and literally within minutes of getting home I started not feeling quite right. It wasn't terrible, just mostly exhausted. Then, within an hour I was SO sick, throwing up, stomach flu like crazy. I don't know what I would have done without her there, although I felt bad that it was her vacation to see us! I could not keep anything down and was texting all my OB friends that night trying to decide if I needed to be seen. Finally I decided that if I threw up again I would go in to get hydrated and luckily at that point I was able to fall asleep. The nice thing about having friends in Okinawa still is there is always someone to text in the middle of the night ;)
Luckily, I felt mostly better the next day although I pushed it too hard and was slightly miserable but at least not throwing up, just completely wiped out.
The next day was 7/11 and Cow appreciate day so we got all the free food that we could...slurpees at 7/11 and free dinner at Chik Fil A!
Karleigh then got a little sick off and on, still not sure if she had a more mild case of what I had or what, so we kind of just laid low the rest of the week. We did get to go up to Oceanside to celebrate my birthday (it was great to have her there for my bday!) Unfortuantely she started to feel really bad about halfway into lunch. However, we went back to the Phillips the rest of the day so we had friends to play with and she had a dark cool room to rest in.
Moving day! We thought they weren't going to finish in the 2 days they allocated, but in the end they sent some extra help and got it done, yay! Overall a pretty decent moving experience.
Mexican food and playing in the yard before saying goodbye to friends :( So sad to see kids say bye to friends...and so sad to say bye to my own friends!
I stared at them asleep a few times so I could remember just how adorable they were and how much I loved them since I had some frustrating times in between ;)
Playing around with fb filters while video chatting :) This "cage bed" as Rowan called it, was where we most often talked with Grant. We were beyond blessed that the day after we found out Grant would be moving to Bethesda at least a month before us, a guy from the class ahead of him called and said that his family would be out of town for the month of July and he was welcome to come stay with them there! In addition to this, Mike and Alexa let us store Grant's car and all of the stuff from his truck at their house until we moved into ours. This trial seemed a little bit lighter with those 2 things taken care of. What amazing friends and strangers/new friends we have. I do love seeing how the military community comes together to help each other out. Hopefully I ca return the favor some day.
Grant's parents came to help me with the move and I am so grateful. I couldn't have done it without them! They helped take things apart, watch the kids so I could pack and direct the movers, etc. Grateful to have had the help we needed!
Hard work of playing on the bounce house to make sure it was clean and dry before bagging it up!
Moving was hard work for all of us! Rowan had a few meltdowns about seemingly insignificant things and I tried hard to remember that his entire world was being rocked. His dad had been gone for over a month, he was saying bye to good friends, and he was watching all of his possessions being packed up before his eyes. It was a good perspective for me to realize and we all got through it.
One of our last nights, we got to hang out with some Okinawa friends who just moved to SD and feed the ducks at the lake.
Saying goodbye to our empty house. It really was the perfect house for us and we were sad to say goodbye so soon...but excited to finally get to be with Grant again!
My parents came the day we moved out and we were then off to the beach house, hurray! The stress of it was over and we had a vacation before our week long drive across the country (at 34 weeks pregnant :)
You really are a saint!! Being a single mom for any amount of time is hard but 6 weeks is long ESPECIALLY when pregnant! What a crazy summer y'all have had. Now get that baby here :).
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