oh, decisions, you are never easy!

Well, there comes a time in everyone's life, where you feel stuck between a rock and a hard place. You want one thing, and you picture it being so great and you see some of the bumps, then you picture another solution, and see how great that could be too, with the minor bumps, and your left with the decision whether or not to choose choice A or B, both could be good, and both could be bad. Both are totally different options, but totally wonderful options at the same time.

But then you have to think about, not whats best for you, but what is best for your family. I mean, I can't be selfish and want one thing, and my family wants or needs to other thing. So then you try to find a compromise. So I am onto my pro's and cons list, to weigh my options, and go from there. I'll get back to you when I have reached a decision!

2 Years Already

Our Wedding Day 07-15-10

Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary, and by celebrate I mean, he went to work at 330am, was home at 230pm, and in bed, asleep at 530pm from an exhaustibly long day! So today, his day off, we got Makenna in daycare and had the day to each other. It was really nice. First we went and got coffee and a danish from the German bakery downtown, then we headed off to get maternity pictures done. That didn't take very long, since Brandon and I are pretty easy participants. Then we headed downtown to do a little shopping. I got a couple more maternity tops and a new pare of maternity shorts, Brandon got a new shirt, and Makenna got 2 new shirts and a pare of leggings. Due to her extreme height, tiny waist, and bubble butt, leggings fit way better than jean pants or capris, so until she puts on some more weight and stops growing so tall, so quickly, then she will be wearing more leggings vs. jeans. Afterwards, we went to our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant in Germany, pepe's. So yummy for being what German's think Tex-Mex is. LOL! Then we came home, and just relaxed and enjoyed one another's company. He played video games, we chatted, and I even got a cap nap in. Then we picked up Makenna and enjoyed our family time/Mommy cleaning time. LOL. Now Makenna and Brandon are asleep and I can't sleep, so blogging it is!

Us 2 years later!

Being married to Brandon has been this whole new experience and I love it. We've been through a deployment and separation from training, a pregnancy and child birth, the active Army lifestyle, a miscarriage,  and now we are going through another pregnancy with twins, and much much more. Brandon is so amazing, though he has his faults too. But I cherish everything he has to offer and we work on the things that cause conflict. We don't ignore each other or problems, and we conquer any obstacle head on, as a team. We've managed to be able to co-parent even when he has been gone for months at a time, which is hard for some couples to do even when they are together all the time. Brandon makes me laugh, cheers me up, and his honestly, whether it's wanted or not, keeps me grounded. He always believes in me, and knows that I can conquer the world if I set my mind through it. He supports me and my decisions, and like myself, together we put our children first. Brandon also gave me this amazing step-son, daughter, and now twins. He loves that I go to college, and loves that I stay home with Makenna, so I too, don't have to miss out on the many things he has missed out on. He's always proud of me, and most of the time, he is always willing to help me do anything (when I don't ask him to do it after working 16 hours. lol) He has given me stability and love, and that is something that I have always longed for, but never got, until I met him. I am still just head over heels in love with him!    

A Whole New Experience!

Well, I decided, and the husband agreed, that when the twins are born, we are going to cloth diaper them. The biggest reason is the financial aspect of it. Diapering Makenna has been quite costly, and though we are working on potty training, I don't know if she will be completely potty trained by time the twins are born. I am hoping so though. Then paying for twins to be in diapers is going to be outrageous, especially at a time where Brandon and I will be adapting to new jobs and leaving the financial comfort of the military. Makenna was allergic to many different diapers, but Pampers seemed to work well for her, and Pampers are actually one of the more expensive brands out there, so if we had to do that for the twins, it would just be a lot. I thought about cloth diapering Makenna because of the environmental factors, but I didn't want to pin and fold diapers and have her wear plastic pants over them, but now they have these modern cloth diapers, that I had never heard of. They don't require folding or pinning, they have this all in one system, so it's just as easy to use them as disposables. There's a couple pictures below. The snaps are to adjust so that the baby can wear them from 8 pounds to 36 pounds and the inserts just tuck into a pocket and your ready to rock and roll.

Inside of Diaper

The cloth diapers I use.

So after ordering a dozen of Kawaii brand cloth diapers, I only paid 87 dollars, and I'll need about 4 dozen total, so for about $350, I can diaper the twins for their entire diapering stage. I've spent probably 7x that on disposable diapers for Makenna, and she still needs them. Well anyway, the diapers came in the mail, and I wanted to try them out to make sure I like them, so I have been using them on Makenna for 3 days now, and they have held up against lots of pee, poop, and even diarrhea without a problem! It's pretty awesome. So I am using this dozen I have on Makenna until she is potty trained, and then I'll continue to buy more, a dozen at at a time, for the twins. I wish I had knew about these when I was pregnant with Makenna, because I would of defiantly used them a lot sooner.

Some down-sides of using the cloth diapers, is that I do a load of laundry at the end of the day of cloth diapers. After Makenna poo's or pee's in them, I dump the chunks into the toilet, rinse them out, and drop them in a bucket in the bathroom, then around 4 or 5 in the evening, I put them in the wash. She's been using about 7 or 8 a day, though yesterdays diarrhea mess, we used about 10. I don't think that cloth diapering is for everyone because it's not just a 5 second change of the diaper, fold it up, and throw it out, because of the rinsing and washing that's required every day, but if you don't mind an extra 2-3 minutes added to the end of every diaper changing, and throwing a load in the wash every day, then these are for you!!

First Half of 2012

2012 has been quite the eventful year so far. Today is the first day of the last half of the year, and if it's anything like what the first half has been, this year is defiantly a wonderful year! Though we haven't done to much, it still has been quite enjoyable, and I am lucky to have such a wonderful family! Here's our year thus far:

1. Makenna turned 14-20 months old! 
2. Brandon got promoted
3. Brandon came home from Afghanistan 
4. Edelweiss Mini Vacation
5. Bought our new Jeep Commander!
6. First 2012 trip to the zoo
7. Rest of the 527th MP Co. came home from Afghanistan
8. Half-way to Makenna's 2nd Birthday!
9. Makenna's 2nd Easter
10. Daddy was on vacation
11. Munich trip to the zoo, Olympic stadium, and aquarium
12. Beach picnic
13. Decided that Brandon should leave the military 
14. Decided to move to Florida
15. Submitted paperwork so I can move to Florida early
16. Found out we are expecting TWINS in December!!

I know a ton more has happened, but drawing a blank! I am super blessed to have such an amazing family and wouldn't change anything for the world!!! 

UGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!

I am going insane! I am so sick of being cooped up all the time. It's just miserable! I spend day in and day out in the house, doing the exact same thing, just Makenna and I. I can't stand it anymore! I just need to get back to the states where I can go back to work, have my friends and family around, and have a life beyond my front door. My husband tells me all the time how lucky I am that I get to be a stay at home mom, and he would trade me in a heart-beat, he just isn't understanding how much it really does wear on you. I've been doing this for nearly 2 years now, and I am going insane!!!! I love that I get to stay at home with Makenna all the time, but shoot, she gets tired of being home all the time too. The worst part is having to share a vehicle. They'll only ship one vehicle to the states, so while we are in Germany, we have to suffer with just having one car, which sucks! He has to leave for work at 330am, and so he takes the car, so if I need it, I have to walk 2 miles uphill to go get it. It's usually not that bad, but it's getting harder and harder on my back with my belly getting bigger to do it. Then there are days like today, where it is pouring, so I can't even go walk and get it. What bothers me the most, is that my husband doesn't understand and doesn't even attempt too, because he thinks it's all sunshine and fricking rainbows being home ALL THE DAMN TIME!! I'm going insane, and have cabin fever like a mother fuck!!

I should be going to the states soon, but who knows how long that will take to get done. I am ready to go now, and it's not happening, and it's making this whole situation 10X worse! The paperwork may be submitted, but who fucking knows that this point. It takes 2 damn seconds to fucking sign it, and it's still not done, been over 2 weeks now! UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just want to scream! Let me go home now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!