Easter Picture Debacle

What a busy day. We were able to get the grass mowed and edged, do all the laundry, cook breakfast and snack, mop the kitchen and vacuum all the upstairs all before our 10:30am appointment to have Easter pictures taken.

We arrived on time and were taken right in. Poor Annmarie was SO scared of the Easter Bunny. She cried everytime I took a step away from her. So, we tried to do the pictures with her and I and everytime she even looked towards the Easter Bunny it was all tears. I briefly looked at the raw shots there and I don't think a single one turned out. Tomorrow I have to go back to look at the proofs. I went ahead and scheduled another sitting. I really hope I can fit another sitting in. I also got her Easter Basket together today. I got her a cute basket and some fake grass, a dozen painted plastic eggs, two little stuffed animals, a chocolate bunny, some chocolate candies, two new books, 3 new puzzles, a new outfit, and 2 little stuffed baby dolls. Traditional, but not all candy. Educational and fun.

Spring is in the Air!

Annmarie is either allergic to pineapple or her antibiotics. I have another appointment for her next week. I am going to make them send her back to the allergy clinic. I want them to do the full panel. I am tired of accidentally finding out what she's allergic to. We did a 14 prick test about seven months ago. But, obviously, she has a few more triggers. Her rash isn't getting any worse -or better. She had better balance today but her mood was kind of down. I think her mouth hurts. So, between being itchy and sore I think I was pretty lucky that she wasn't an absolute terror.
Thankfully the weather was nice today. I was able to get some more running done and go around with the bank a little more. I hate that bank. They lost all my paperwork again. For the sake of Annmarie not feeling well, I was able to keep my temper.
We play this game where she looks at me from under the high chair tray as I am lifting it. Then she tries to jump out and hug me. As I try to dodge her because she's usually covered in food. All while preventing her from jumping out of the chair. Welp, it finally happened, she flipped the tray over and food went flying everywhere. I slipped up and said, "Damn". She looked up at me and said, "damn". I am very thankful for the hardwood floors. I am waiting for her to repeat it at daycare.
The weather was pretty awesome today so I went ahead and gave in and took her to the park for about 20 minutes. She enjoyed being outside. I was happy to have a few minutes outside too.

Nana posted some really great pics of Annmarie's birth tree, so I added them to yesterday's post. I was so excited when Annmarie ate normal this morning that I posted the picture on Facebook.

Almost Fifteen Months Old

Annmarie's birth tree is finally in bloom and Grandpa was nice enough to send us pictures. Mommy bailed out of work after the end of her duty day. Well, I used up a vacation day, but it was so needed. I had to take Annmarie into day care so I could go to turnover. So, I left her there for the morning and started running. I had so many odd things to take care of. I was able to get paperwork notorized, transfer over my GI Bill benefits over to Annmarie, mail off boxes, clean my kitchen, try on my uniforms for an upcoming inspection... And, then I picked her up and drove her home only to find out that she is covered in a rash. I was going to take her to the park for a bit, but she kept digging at her ear, so I thought better of it. Once I discovered the rash it sealed the deal. Plus her ears are jacking up her balance. She kept falling down.  I have tomorrow off too. Hopefully the rash will go away and the weather will be nice...and hopefully she will sleep.

Little One...Not having so much fun.

Poor little baby girl. Nasty ear infections mucking up the day. But, one of the two eye teeth has popped through. Today was the first legitimately fever free day since Thursday...so far! I have duty today so I am on a tight leash. I will take whatever I can. 

I am still trying to figure out how I want to attack Easter.  This is the year that will set the tone for all future Easters. I don't want it to be all about chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I am not ready to turn in my woman card yet. I still worship chocolate like any other true woman. I just want her to have a semi traditional tradition. I do know I want to start the day with Mass. Yes, she was supposed to be baptized already. But, when she goes to bed at 6pm and the RCIA classes start at 6pm in Mission Valley (30 minutes north), I haven't been able to get to them. My normal day consists of leaving work between 3 and 3:30, picking up the girl, getting home between 4:15 and 4:45, then dinner, 1/2 hour of phonics and then I get her to bath and bed. She's usually asleep by 6:45 ish then I have to get everything ready for the next day. I don't dare stay up much past 8 -just in case she's up all night. So Grams, no baptism yet.

Anyway, they can't throw us out of church, so we still go! I haven't decided on a basket yet. I know one thing...no nasty jelly beans. Ewwww. She's still too young to color eggs. Maybe we will try it anyway. I wonder if I am supposed to do something for daycare. I was really caught off guard on Valentine's Day. I had no clue they exchanged cards and candy/crackers. I really thought she was too young.

I am under the five month mark and still don't have any hard copy orders or funding...or dates for my transfer. Argh. I am still being patient. I have yet another buyer for the condo. I have been steadily faxing off paperwork. I truly have no idea where I am at in the process because I have had to start it over so many times. I think that handles all the random areas.

Yay...Drills are Done!

The other night, Annmarie started getting really feverish. We were able to make it through the night without using the 'Not So Yummy Tummy' bowl. I thought we had it licked, but we still took it slow yesterday morning. I waited until noon to attempt to take my car back into the shop. The man guaranteed me it wouldn't take more than an hour and a half. About three hours into it, Annmarie started to get feverish again. And, we were stuck there. Luckily, mommy had a full diaper bag with everything we needed -except her own bed. It was a little after 5pm when we finally got the car and started home. My car is safe again. Bottom line is that it sucked to have to take her out when she wasn't feeling well, but there wasn't really a choice.
She didn't eat for crap yesterday or the day before. I put her on pedialite yesterday. It was helping...until I ran out of grape and had to switch to fruit punch. After a long night of bouncing up and down between 102 and 104, I gave up and took her into the emergency room. I tried everything from putting wet socks on her to wiping her down with wet cloths...plus Tylenol and Ibuprofen laddered throughout the night. I was trying to wait until the drills were finished. Its a mad house there as it is, I would have just sat there if I tried to take her in the middle of the mass causality drills. I was able to get in and out in under 5 hours. Nice. I am not sure about the doctor though. She changed up her existing medication doses...a lot. Of her three main medications, a) 1.8mL every 6 hours, b) 0.8mL every 4 hours and c) 2.5 mL once a day -she changed her up to a) 5.0mL every 8 hours, b) 5.0 mL every 4 hours and c) 2.5 mL once a day with d) new drug 5.0mL two times a day.  It really bothers me because the two of them are more than 3 times what the other doctor had her on. They have messed up with her dosing before. The one time they tried to hide it by moving her over to a totally different drug, but didn't realize I research what they prescribe. The new drug was the same strength, but they halved the dosage. Which tells me they gave me the wrong dosage to begin with. So, before we start these new drugs, I emailed a Florida pediatrician that I met through my southern family -and for good measure, I am going to look them up via Web Md. She's sleeping now and I have to get a bunch of stuff done for my duty day tomorrow. So, I am cutting this short, but wanted to give you guys an update.

Operation Citadel Shield and Iron Curtain



My favorite flowers!

Operation Citadel Shield and Iron Curtain...thankfully we only have to play this reindeer game once a year! Don't get me wrong, these are very important drills that make us think and plan for real life events. So, we spend a week testing our emergency response systems. As a part of these drills, the base gets locked down. One year, the lock down was rumored to start at 1500, so I left work at 1400 thinking I would beat the clock. Hm. That year, it took me almost 4 hours to travel 6 blocks to get off base.  The problem and race this year was in that I was working on a different base this week. So, I had to leave the base I was on, get over to pick Annmarie up and get her out of the military child care facility before it locked down. This year, I left earlier. And yes, if the base is locked down and your child is on base and you are not, then they will graciously care for your child for you. Insert sarcasm here -as how well do you do if you don't have your own personal care items, medicines... Now, picture a baby in that situation. So, I left early. Way early. 9am early. Insert smile here.
Not only was I able to get out of there and get her out of daycare, I was able to finally get my car over to the shop. I have had a check engine light on for about two weeks and just haven't been able to get it taken care of. Annmarie did good.  The timing was awesome. There was literally only one other car at the dealership. After we left there I took Annmarie to lunch. She wasn't very hungry, but she was very well behaved. I also was able to fax off some paperwork and mail out a book of other paperwork. She fell asleep in the car so I brought her in and took her up to bed. She slept for almost 4 hours, but since I had her up at 4:30am, I let it happen. We went for a walk after she got up. Everytime we pass by the neighbors little purple flowers she has to stop and touch them. I can't remember what they're called, but I used to have them in front of my house when I lived in Point Loma.  Whereever I go next, I am definitely planting some of these flowers.

The other one was her thinking she was being sneaky. I had the camera held around the corner. You can tell when she spotted me because she just smiled and tried to eat the camera!

In the second video, she is trying to put my shoes on. Usually she gets really frustrated, but of course she spotted the camera before she got mad.

So, everything was good until I took her up to bath. It was the strangest thing. She was in the bath playing and all was well and then she just stopped in the middle of a giggle and looked at me. Then she started to frown. Then it just all went down hill. She didn't start screaming, but she was obviously upset. I took her out of the tub and she was hot and shaking. She doesn't shake like that when I get her out of the tub. I always bundle her up really quickly. She just layed there in my arms bundled in the towel shaking. I took her into the room and started to put lotion on her, but she wouldn't stop shaking. So, I just kept bundling her and rocking her. I took her temperature and she was at 101.8 degrees. She was alright when I put her into the tub for crying out loud. So, I gave her some Baby Advil and some honey...for the coughing that also just started again out of no where. She's been asleep for a couple of hours, but her breathing is labored and she is rolling around alot. I know this may sound selfish, but I really NEED for her to not get any sicker tonight. I need to get new tires put on the car tomorrow. I just don't have a lot of time that I am able to do this type of thing -and they are balder that my master chief.

I lost another buyer on the condo. But, luckily, I have another one already. I have lost count on how many buyers I have signed contracts for. It's got to be close to 10 by now. I am getting closer, this last one was 2 weeks away from closing escrow. So, the new one we talked the bank into just switching the names out on all the paperwork. That should shave a few weeks off of the paperwork process.   

Shame on you AUNT Janyl

As most of you know, things have been a little strained between Janyl and I. Well, today she took her pettiness to a new level. I deliberately haven't been letting people know about the stunts she's been pulling because I didn't want to flame the fire. However, if you really want to know, just ask. I am ready to spill it. Today however, I find out that she has been holding a gift that was sent to her home for Annmarie. She has been jealous of the fact that I spend money on whatever Annmarie needs -whenever. So, she has had that gift at her home for well over a week now and hasn't bothered to say a word about it to me. Why would she finally say something today? Because although she has time to dive and go to dinner a few times a week and plant things in the yard...she doesn't have time to go online and pay $1. to have her mail forwarded over to her new address. So, her paycheck arrived here today. Which is the only reason she told me about the gift for her niece which is sitting in her home. Which by the way, she has made no attempt to have anything to do with Annmarie since SEVERAL weeks before she moved out. HEAR THIS LOUD: I will never tolerate someone/ANYONE using my child as a pawn in some idiotic jealousy bullshit. KNOCK IT OFF OR GET OUT OF OUR LIVES.

Big Girl Panties

I am so irritated this picture is blurry. But, today we tried on our first pair of big girl panties. Man, did she like them. We still sit on the potty right next to each other every time I have to go. She hasn't quite learned that she can control when she goes. But, she hates diapers so hope is high.

She still has a fever and a cold, but the honey is helping control the cough. I worry about her teeth with the honey, but she gets her teeth brushed every day already -and its all natural. Spoke too soon, she's up again.

Pre St Patty's Day Catch Up

It seems I am always catching up! Annmarie has had a super busy, but non sleep filled week. She caught a cold and I can't give her anymore medication without jacking up the delicate allergy balance of medicine that she's already on. So, the doctor (finally) today told me to put her on shots of honey. I have half a million medicine droppers -so about once an hour I give her a couple mLs of honey. She's been asleep for almost 3 hours straight now -which is promising. I almost fell asleep at my desk today while eating my lunch. Even though St Patty's Day isn't until Saturday, I am dressing Annmarie up in her St Patty's Day outfit for school. This picture was about 20 minutes after her second shot. She went from laying on my chest lifeless to smiling and active. I was so happy that she was moving that I let her call the grandparents! She doesn't quite understand the whole concept -but she loves to put the phone up to her ear and pretend to talk like mommy.
Uncle Matt is coming out for a visit! We are so excited! All that excitement is slightly dampened by the fact that I still have no funding for my next job. Time is getting short. The more last minute things are the messier they are. I think I am still going in August. The closer you are to October, the higher the chance of shoving you off until the next fiscal year. The pinch is that I can't miss the August school without losing my school. If I miss the start date, I have to wait until Jan 4 to start the next class.

A day at the fountians

Today after I caught up on a grip of chores we went to play in the fountains. She has a blast when we go there. She tries to catch the water. The fountains vary in height in timed intervals. So it's only a foot high for about 30 seconds...then it shoots up to five feet. She thinks it's awesome. After our trip here I dried her up changed her and took her onto the swings for a bit. She was so appreciative that she pooped on the floor when we got home. The house was hot so, I let her run around naked for a little bit. It just reminded me of the time I was at Dad's house and Kayla pooped on the floor. It was just Dad, Kayla and I at the house. They were potty training Kayla, so she was running around the house naked. She was standing in front of the TV and reached up to push a button and pooped at the same time. Dad kinda freaked out. He instantly came out of his zone and started to run towards her. Then stopped and ran the other way. I didn't see the need to freak out -the deed was already done. He was running to get tissue. Kayla is going to kill me. :-)

Two Front Teeth

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...my two front teeth... This is the first picture where you can see her front teeth. They have dropped rather quickly. Her two eye teeth haven't pushed through yet, but they are definitely in process. The girl is giving new meaning to the phrase, "Double Tap".

And of course, she doesn't fit any of her PSU or Steelers clothes...so she has to show her Gator Colors!

Where'd Spring Go?

As we head into summer....I was supposed to take Annmarie to Sea World yesterday with some girls from work. But, I was so far behind from having duty on Thursday that I just couldn't make it work. So, we went to the park on Saturday. Annmarie still refuses to sleep past 6am. But the good side of this is that I was able to get groceries, do two loads of laundry, and clean the house all before 9am. This weekend our goal is to finish up a lot of the projects we have in process. Aunt Janyl mowed the grass, so I was finally able to get out there with Annmarie and pull weeds. Man did it need it. I still wasn't able to plant the seeds in the flower garden, but there's still next weekend. I also got the pictures we had done over a month ago ready to mail! So, I rewarded us with a trip to the zoo. I risked it and took Annmarie into the petting area at the zoo. We only made it about 15 minutes..but she was fully medicated so it wasn't too bad. I tried to get better pictures but wasn't leaving her side. Later we went to see the snakes. She really love snakes. I don't get it, but OK. Then we went to see the monkeys. Annmarie loved this one 50 year old orangutan. He just hung out at the window and let Annmarie try to give him five!

It looks like I am going to Cocoa Beach for 10-13 weeks in the August time frame. So far, here's what we got on the side of mission planning.

-Friend Catina lives in Cocoa Beach, she is going to scope out child care facilities.

-Brother Adam and wife will fly out of Florida to here and drive my car to Florida.

-Dad has offered to fly to Florida and drive car to Fallon.

-Aunt Jeannie bought a house about half an hour from base. If she isn't living there yet, my intentions are to ask to rent it from her for a few months. This is a long shot.

-Cousin Cassie lives 90 minutes from base and has offered help, but not too sure what she can do. But she's a resource.

-Mom is storing baby stuff in Hernando that I can use while in Cocoa Beach. So far she's got everything from high chair to car seat.

-Brother Matthew has offered set up and baby sitting help.

-Cousin Tricia in Tampa is professional nanny and will take a leave of absence to help me if needed.

Here's our stumbling blocks:

No firm dates on ANYTHING yet.

If Aunt Jeannie has already transitioned to Florida, will need a vacation rental.

Will be carless for a few days with a baby in Cocoa Beach on both sides of the trip.

Will need to identify pediatricians in Cocoa Beach and Fallon before we get there. Cocoa Beach isn't so bad because I have several RNs and PAs in the family within an hour's drive.

Need to get to Fallon to find a place to live BEFORE I go to Cocoa.

Lost another buyer on my Mission Valley home. I am taking a $1083/month pay cut in Fallon and just can't afford to keep anything in San Diego.

Will need to identify what gets shipped to Florida, Fallon, and what flies with. When I leave San Diego in August, I will not be able to return.