My Better Half Has Returned!

So I am sure that everyone has heard that Ricky "Rico" returned to NC on Tuesday (April 10th). Originally he was supposed to return in May causing this to be a 9 month deployment. I was ecstatic to learn that the unit relieving them would be heading out a month earlier so he would be returning in April. The countdown began in February when I learned of the news. The only trouble with countdowns is that the date of arrival seems to change a number of times before they actually land. This time it only changed once...from Monday to Tuesday. Below are some photos of the homecoming.

Ricky is flying the jet that is the second one from the left in both photos.

If you look closely you can see Ricky in the right seat flying in the plane.

The greatest feeling of all is getting that first hug and kiss...these were taken after he took off his gear which reeked of jet fuel. But I must say the follow on hugs and kisses were just as wonderful.

Heading home and it feels great! :)

Each time Ricky returns I always try to have his favorites at the house. This is easy since he loves everything! The trouble is, I ended up literally buying the grocery store and our pantry and refrigerator practically burst at the seams. The one request he always has always been pizza...specifically from Mario's, our local authentic New York pizza shop. He was also greeted at the hangar with a 12 pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer from our friend Ken-also a favorite of his.

Four hours after the wheels touched on NC soil, we were off to a doctor appointment for my 32.5 week check up at the doctor's office and Ricky's first baby appointment. Two hours later we had to attend a birthing class which lasted 3 hours. I must say I felt a little guilty but then again for the past 7+ months I have been going to doctor appointments by myself. Despite having a hard time staying awake in the class, I think Ricky really was happy to be there with me to experience the last 2 months of this pregnancy together.

I still cannot believe he's here and as usual deployments/homecomings go, we fall back into our old roles and responsibilities and its as if he never left. I am just so excited that this weekend's plans are to hang out and just enjoy being a couple again. I sure did miss him, but if you can believe it, I think I have fallen just a little more in love with him...and I thought it wasn't possible. ;)

The Shower's on Full Blast

The past two weekends have been simply amazing for me and I feel like words cannot express the gratitude I have for my amazing friends. I must tell you what an incredible experience, being a military spouse has been thus far. The military culture as a whole, is an interesting an unique cross section of society that tends to exist throughout all the world where ever military bases exist. The characteristics that I am referring to include loyalty, closeness, immediate understanding, kindness, openness, and the ability to walk in one another's shoes prior to judgement. The relationships that are formed between those in uniform and those in civilian attire, married to the ones in uniform are pretty similar but also have their own uniqueness. Those wearing the uniform often form a brotherhood or mentor/mentee relationship but both groups (spouses vs military) form relationships that most closely resembles a family. A family that does not judge, is quick to lend a hand and is supportive in all and every situations. The members of the family do not expect anything in return for their generosity and/or assistance, but are disappointed when they find out that help was needed and they were not notified. Its just an amazing part of our society to be a part of.

Why did I feel the need to go on such a tangent about military culture? The past two weekends I was thrown two AMAZING showers by some of the most beautiful women I have ever met(both inside and out). These women just happen to be military spouses. Of course women in the civilian world throw wonderful showers and are too, beautiful people, but the level of closeness I have for these ladies is like nothing I could ever describe. We have only known each other for 1-4 years, yet the amount of information and level of detail they know about me is as if we have known each other for 8+ years. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful ladies every day. They are the reason this lifestyle comes so natural to me and such a rewarding way of life.

Shower #1 consisted of primarily a guest list that included my work friends...my current co-workers, spouses of co-workers, and anyone else that may have come in contact with me during my time as a FRO with the Marine Corps. Everything from the light blue tissue poofs, brunch and foamy punch-It was delightful! My dear friend Samantha (who happens to be Ricky's Family Readiness Officer, our neighbor and close friend) threw the shower with my friend Angela (who is also a FRO). They both just go out of their way to make me feel loved and special. Samantha has been my rock during the deployment as she too has a deployed husband. I don't know what I would have done without her during Ricky's deployment.

Shower #2 consisted of my friends and family in the local area, ranging from other VMAQ-1spouses, church friends, friends I have met while living in NC and my two sister-in-laws and niece. Five close friends and Ricky's sister Cathy, collaborated efforts in a creative "Baseball Theme" shower. We are decorating the little man's room in vintage baseball using colors ofrustic navy, red and khaki with wooden baseballs, old gloves and vintage artwork so they made sure to help add to his room. My friend Jen (who used to live next to us) drew us a gorgeous picture of a glove, bat and ball which she had framed. It will go perfectly in his room,tying everything together. The shower was perfect and extremely detailed-I just loved everything!

Everyone was extremely generous to us during both showers and I just cannot believe the amount of love and kindness that is going to surround this little guy. He just doesn't know how blessed he is! We couldn't be happier with life and I hear its about to get a lot better! ;)

(32 weeks and counting!)

A dozen remaining

This weekend I hit the 28 week mark so we have 12 weeks left until we get to meet our sweet little boy. I have arrived at the third trimester and I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown. On Friday I had my glucose test which has been troublesome for several of my friends, requiring them to return a week later for the three hour blood test and all you care to drink flat orange soda. I was relieved to hear that my blood sugar count was 105 (it has to be under 130 to not require more tests). Everything has gone according to plan thus far and I couldn't be more blessed to have had an enjoyable pregnancy. Let's just hope that he continues to be an easy baby upon making his debut! My countdown for Ricky's return has begun...T- 29 days until I get to race onto the flight line and jump into the arms of my best friend and better half. ;)

How much is too much?

The second I found out I was pregnant and began telling people, the advice lines opened up and everyone had a suggestion or information they wanted to pass on to me. Clueless, having never been pregnant, I accepted all unsolicited advice with open arms. With regards to fitness, most people said just keep doing everything you did before you were pregnant and several others said to take it easy and enjoy this time, you can run and cycle after the baby is born. I have definitely struggled with which course of action to take. For those that said keep doing everything you did before, did they realize that this means a 25 mile bike ride, followed by an 8 mile run? Or a 3 mile run with an hour of Crossfit (which includes things like 28" box jumps and 25' rope climb to the top of a gym ceiling)? Do I sign up for another marathon since I successfully completed one at 9 weeks pregnant? Or how about competitive racing and cycling with a team at a speed of 25 miles an hour. I ask myself...what does keep doing everything you did before, really mean? My thought, pretty much stop doing what I am used to doing but just keep being active.

I sort of found out this weekend what it means to do too much, when I decided to reorganize and purge Ricky's and my walk-in closet. The inspiration occurred after my friend Marian came down for the weekend and painted the nursery for me. I wanted to begin setting up his room which included cleaning out his closet to make room for his clothes and gear. I needed a place for all of the items in the closet to go-and what better option than our closet. I began by taking everything off of the shelves and refolding every article of clothing and organizing the items by color. I also took every wire hangar off of the shirts and replaced them with a smooth plastic one. All of my shoes went back in their shoe boxes and the ones without boxes went on a wire shelf categorized by the type of foot ware.

The end result=a beautifully organized closet and for bonus points.....Jill with a sprained back. How does this happen exactly? My doctor said that tasks like this are a no brainer and easy on your body when you're not pregnant but while you are pregnant...its a completely different story. I am almost at 26 weeks and this is about the time your body starts to change. All the good stuff they tell you about, birthing hips elongating, hips widening, pelvis tilting, and your body adjusting to make room for the growing baby is all occurring simultaneously. My doctor says that I strained or tweaked it while on my 6 hour binge session and due to the other complications my body is going through, additional pressure caused my back to be sprained instead of a minor strain or pulled muscle. Awesome.

I have spent the last 48 hours in intense pain, so much so that it takes my breath away when I lean forward or backward slightly or try to stand up after sitting down. I am on Tylenol 3 and I don't know how effective it has been since my pain level is still sitting around a 9 out of 10. My friend Amanda, brought me a heating pad last night and my back felt a bit more comfortable while it was on but the pain remained steady upon adjusting the temperature or taking it off. I think time is a necessity but I need to remember to rest-something that doesn't come natural to me.

I think this was a wake up call from God telling me to take it easy and that I can't continue to do everything I did before. Running races, attending kick boxing classes, pull ups and doing burpees and jumping jacks should probably come to a halt. Don't misunderstand, I will continue to go for walks and complete a daily workout at the gym, but the elliptical machine and 5 lb dumbbells may become my best friends-I can't imagine they would cause a sprained back or other such injuries. So how much is really too much? Is there a way to tell BEFORE you hurt yourself?

Still racing...

I always wondered how ladies who are pregnant, I mean more than a few months pregnant, are able to train, compete and enjoy running up until the hour before they give birth. It seems like a lot of extra weight to carry around and a total adjustment for their bodies. You always hear that you can continue to doing whatever you did prior to being pregnant but you just can't start if your body isn't used to it. This is true, to a certain degree. There is also an element of stretching, extra weight, biological changes, muscle changes etc that make "doing what you did before" just a little challenging, despite being allowed to do it.

A couple of weeks ago I discovered just how fantastic belly support bands can be! They truly support your back and extra weight and the band is actually pretty comfortable. I tested it out on a 5K race in Greenville in which I was 6 months pregnant. It was a fantastic day and I had a blast getting back to the race atmosphere.

My friend Amanda ran the race with me-it was great to have a partner to run with.

This picture was taken after the race to show my prego belly under my number. I am so looking forward to running races with my three main men and the jogging stroller. :)

A GREAT way to start the day

Tuesday, February 7th started out to be a very exciting morning for me. I felt our little boy for the FIRST time. I was starting to be very concerned as everything I have read says that typically moms start to feel the baby around 18 weeks but as late as 24 weeks. I was 23 w 5days and hadn't felt bubbles, plucking, tapping, or a flopping fish...these are all descriptions my friends have used. I have been asking the "Big Guy Upstairs" for his assurance that everything would be okay and that our son was continuing to grow healthily. No one warned me how amazingly stressful pregnancy can be and how many unknowns will face me in the future. I know this is just the beginning of many years of being a worried mom. Much to my surprise, I had a wake up call at 6am on February 7th and my stomach was MOVING! Craziest thing I have ever felt/seen/heard about. It was a GREAT way to start my day. Thanks God, for answering my prayers!

In the afternoon, I had the pleasure of seeing my little guy during our 2nd ultra sound. When I went to the first ultrasound, the ultra sound tech had a little bit of difficulty obtaining all of the photos that doctors need to see, for instance, 2 kidneys, and 4 working chambers of the heart. The doctor assured me that everything was in great working order and there weren't any concerns but they just needed them for record purposes.

The tech tried many times throughout our last visit to get the necessary photos and he was just hanging out and relaxing and despite her efforts she couldn't get him to move. She asked my mom and me, who the "chill" one was in our relationship? Without hesitation we both said RICKY. I am keeping my fingers crossed that he has Ricky's calm personality and not mine. :)

Cathy (Ricky's Sister) drove a few hours to accompany me to the visit- THANK YOU! I think she enjoyed seeing her nephew up close and personal, but I am not sure how much she enjoyed the time in the waiting room seeing miserable, ready-to-pop moms, biding their time until the big day.

The doctor could not have been more pleased with the little guy's growth, movement, vitals and mine as well. Our little guy is in the 41% for height and weight and its currently 1lb-6oz. Shew-prayers answered again. God is good!

I am anxious for another opportunity in the future for me to see him. We are planning to do the 3-D ultrasound when Ricky returns from deployment which is always pretty amazing to me. This pregnancy (aside from my worries) has been extremely easy for me and I feel wonderful. Aside from my beer belly, I don't think I look differently than I did pre-pregnancy (but please don't tell me if you disagree) and I don't feel very pregnant. I have no doubts that this handsome little guy is going to steal my heart forever and I may be asking myself 6 months from now... Ricky who? :) Just kidding.

Frog Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

On January 3rd, after much anticipation, guessing games, old wives tails, and crazy cravings, my mom and I sat patiently waiting in the ultra sound room for the tech to reveal whether Ricky and I were having a 'boy' or a 'girl.' Thanks Mom for making the drive down to NC to experience this amazing news with me!

Lots of friends and family would ask what we "wanted" and my response never changed from...It doesn't matter, as long as the baby is healthy. I was fully prepared for the tech to have a difficult time seeing the baby's anatomy but fortunately for us, he cooperated! ITS A BOY!!!! :) At 18 weeks 5 days he was measuring 9 oz and 9 inches which is in the 43 percentile. Ricky says he's small and I need to eat more. I am sure he wouldn't be saying that if he had to carry this baby for 40 weeks. :) The doctor said he was perfect and to keep doing exactly what I have been thus far. All other measurements and organs look great and the doctor is pleased with the results of all of my tests and weight gain.

I have officially decided that most pregnancy symptoms that dictate whether it is a boy or girl, differ completely from woman to woman and pregnancy to pregnancy. My symptoms were very minor and I was sick less than 15 days out of the first trimester; in fact I felt well enough to continue to run 4+ miles everyday! Hot n' Spicy V8, olives, pickled cucumbers, pita chips and almonds were my best friends in the first 4 months. What do they all have in common? SALT! Indulging in these items was absolute heaven. If you've spent even 5 minutes with me you know that I LOVE chocolate. While I still enjoy an occasional Dove candy, at this stage in the game it can't hold a candle to a bowl of green olives or a vegetable egg roll.

So if you're wondering if I have experienced weird hair growth, carrying low and out in front, cold feet, or if my nose has widened...the answer is no. I pretty much look and feel the same except my stomach sticks out and is more round than it was a few months ago. Wait-I take that back, my smile has gotten a little bit larger and a smile is glued to my face for approximately 24 hours every day.