Here I sit in a lovely Homewood Suites in Pensacola, Florida while one baby naps, the other relaxes with Big Bird and Elmo, and Honey is off to his first day of class at Recruiter School. This is part of the life, isn't it? Lots of time in hotels. I always miss home when we're in a hotel, but these truly aren't bad. And to be honest, we've sort of gotten that hotel-living thing down to a science.


First of all, we've tried to stay in Homewood Suites wherever we go. We can get a bedroom and a living room, which we really need for Katie. My independent sleeper can't have any distractions when it comes to bedtime. That means no Mommy or Daddy hanging out, no tv on.. nothing. And since she became such a big girl last week and started sleeping in a full sized bed, she can sleep on the pull out sofa! That means one less pack n play when we travel, woot! We can also get a full sized refrigerator, which is important for keeping all sorts of KB-friendly snacks and GB bottle-makings on hand.


I've learned that I really can do laundry when we're in a hotel, so I can pack less. I am the world's worst over-packer. I'm so scared I'm not going to have something I need. I did so much better this time, though! There wasn't a single cocktail dress in my suitcase! Ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration.. I don't usually bring a cocktail dress. Usually. 


It's hard to narrow the packing down for little ones, though. I may not need a cocktail dress or 14 pairs of shoes, but they still need a ton of stuff. Like booster seats, travel cribs, Bumbos, a gajillion bottles and sippy cups and bowls and plates and plastic forks and spoons. Oh, and at least 2 sets of clothes (not to include pajamas) per day. Sigh. 


Anyway, we're here in Pensacola for 3 weeks while Honey learns to sell the Nuclear Program to unsuspecting college students. Poor kids... I told Honey he should let me come along on recruiting trips to speak to the girlfriends/boyfriends/whoever of the recruits. 


Here's what I would say:


"Run! Run away! Don't look back!  ...That is, unless he's the love of your life, because then, even if you do tell him to shove his ideas of marriage, you'll be back.. you might as well just drink the Nuclear Kool-Aid now. And then, you too can learn the joys of hotel-living."

It's been a long time since I posted, and I feel badly about that. Here are some bullet points on our lives over the past month.

• Mom, KB, Baby G and I all hopped on an airplane and landed in Memphis about 16 hours later. We drove to Jackson, MS and I hung out there for a month.
• My great grandmother passed away a few days after I arrived home. Her entire family - 5 living daughters, 17 living grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and 23 great great grandchildren - all got together in her hometown of Winnsboro, Louisiana to celebrate her life.
• We started the last part of the process of buying a house near our new duty station.
• I decided to have my IUD removed because I think it as been hindering my weight loss. Instead of having it removed, I found out that it was never placed properly to begin with. I had to have it surgically removed, and had my tubes tied at the same time. (I think I'll actually write about this one here soon.)
• The day after my surgery we loaded up the truck and moved our carry-on stuff to Memphis where we are currently waiting for our electricity to be turned on and our household goods to be delivered.

Now that I'm a good 2 weeks removed from being home in November, I can't think of anything to write. We had a truly wonderful time! By far my favorite part was getting to see Katie Beth bond with her extended family members. For instance, at first she was a little wary of her Papa, Jason's dad.  But by the time we left two weeks later, she was all about giving him hugs and kisses.

She learned how to ride a horsey while we were in Tennessee!

Our niece Shelby was definitely Katie's favorite family member. Shelby is 3, and is a wonderful older cousin! She played with Katie, shared with her, talked to her.. it was so sweet! Katie wanted to be where Shelby was at all times. She smothered Shelby with kisses, gave her big hugs.. and the sweetest thing ever.. Shelby got scolded for something and she cried. KB climbed close to her and wiped her tears away! I'm telling you, Katie Beth LOVED Shelby! That makes me so happy because I know that a girl's cousins are her very first best friends. I am so looking forward to the day that KB and Shelby are telling secrets in their bedrooms, or giggling about boys.

Shelby and Katie Beth - Cousin love!

KB's second favorite person wasn't a person at all. In fact, it wasn't even *one* of anything. If there was a dog around, KB was a happy girl. In fact, there were times where she wouldn't even say the name of the person we were with, but she would learn the dog's name in a matter of minutes. She never said Papa, Pop, Mimi, Mammaw or Pappaw.. but she did say versions of the names Hannah, Ally, Luther, and Lacey. We seriously have to get this kid a dog soon.

Getting reacquainted with Lu-Lu (Luther)

Roxie coming in for kisses

Getting love from A-La-La (Ally)

Getting totally ignored by An-Na (Hannah)

First, I must tell of our debacle trying to get to Tennessee, and why I will *never* fly through San Francisco again, if I have the choice.

We were scheduled to leave San Diego on Friday afternoon. We were flying into St. Louis, but had a small layover, just 40 minutes, in San Francisco. We got all loaded up on the plane, and started taxiing out for take off. That is, until the Captain came over the intercom and told us that there was a weather delay in San Francisco, and we weren't being allowed to leave. In fact, this weather delay was a TWO HOUR delay, so they were sending us back to the terminal.

We were so freaked out because we only had a 40 minute layover to begin with, and now it looked like we were going to miss our flight to St. Louis all together. We lined up with all 798 other passengers (or so it seemed) to try and figure out what we were going to do about our flight. About 45 minutes into waiting, we heard one of the attendants announce that the St. Louis flight was greatly delayed also, and that we would definitely make it. Well, we did, because he was right. Our flight to St. Louis was delayed an additional 2 hours out of San Francisco because of the weather. Apparently, SF has a very small flight line, but they schedule 2 flights to land and take off at a time on Fridays. This is fine except for Fridays where the weather is even the slightest bit windy, or rainy, or whatever, and then only one can go of the scheduled two. Soooooo, pretty much every flight on the West Coast is delayed if San Francisco has crappy weather. Awesome.

Flying with a toddler is not a good time, in case you were curious. Flying with one who has been awake since 7 am, with few chances at a nap, is even worse. There's just not enough Yo Gabba Gabba in the world to occupy her. She did have a really good time in the SF airport, though.  You see, Katie Beth has a new obsession with dogs, which I briefly mentioned in my last blog. I don't really know why, considering we haven't had a dog since before she was born. But seriously, she adores them. Anyway, we were hanging out in the terminal, when she started pointing behind me and declaring "Daw! Daw!" I turned around numerous times expecting to see a service dog or something, and there just wasn't one there. Katie Beth, however, INSISTED that there was a dog. After about 5 minutes of this, I realized what she was pointing at.... A lady behind us was wearing a fur-lined jacket. I love my kid :)

Oh my goodness, it's been so long since I last wrote. I plan on getting back to the 10 Day You Challenge just as soon as I have 10 days to devote. Our past month has been a whirlwind, and it was wonderful! We got to see our friends, our family, and most importantly to Katie Beth, our pets! Kidding about that last part.. Katie Beth made some serious bonds with her grandparents and great grandparents over the last month, and that is what I'm most grateful for.  So I'm going to chronicle our trip here, and I hope you don't mind. I won't do it all at one time, I promise :)

KB enjoying a little Yo Gabba Gabba on the flight

The first leg of our trip was in San Diego. Honey was asked to attend a Submariner conference - TANG: Tactical Advancements for the Next Generation. All I know is that he had a great time, made some awesome business connections, and was able to voice some ideas for the advancement of the submarine force.

While he was busy doing all that, KB and I explored the city. Oh. My. Gosh. I LOVED San Diego! Ever since we've been married, I've told Honey that I don't want to live on the West Coast.. I just don't feel like I'm a West Coast type of girl. And I'm still not, but San Diego could really change my mind. There was so much to do, the weather was perfect, and the city is so baby and pet friendly. There were dogs (on leashes, being properly cared for) everywhere! And all of their owners were nice enough to let my toddler squeal and pet them.

One of the dogs that KB fell in love with upon first sight. This was a such a sweet bull dog!

As for the baby friendly thing, oh wow! San Diegans love babies! Everywhere we went, men and women spoke to KB, commented on her, and made me feel like I have the world's most precious baby. (Which, obviously, I do..)  I loved that there is a Children's Museum that gets amazing reviews. We didn't go because I think KB was still just a little young to appreciate it. If she had been even 6 months younger, we would have gone and stayed all day.

Loving the giraffe on the carousel at Sea Port Village

Another high point for us was Sea World. Since we went during November, it was incredibly slow. We didn't feel over crowded, which was awesome. We got to see some pretty cute penguins, and KB was entranced. The Shamu show was a lot of fun, but not quite as exciting as I think they used to be since the trainers no longer get in the water with the orcas.

OMGoodness!  PENGUINS!!

Big squeals for Shamu and friends

The coolest part of Sea World was that it was FREE. Yep, free. Sea World, Busch Gardens, and a few other places take part in the Heroes Salute program, which allows service members and 3 dependents to attend one of the parks for free once a year. For more information, go here : http://www.herosalute.com/

Since Jason and I are such foodies, we loved the restaurant scene in San Diego. We were excited about *real* Mexican food, which you just can't get in Hawaii. We ate at some other great places too, like the Broken Yolk Cafe, Nicky Rotten's, and this hole in the wall pizza joint called Gaslamp Pizza. All of it was great stuff!

Loving the Mexican!

We had an amazing time in San Diego. I was so happy to wear jackets and jeans and not sweat in November, but to still have a great view of some ocean. So, from here on out, San Diego will be duly considered for future duty stations.

Dear Readers, 


Please do not be discouraged by my lack of writing!


I'm kidding.


Many of you are like, "Yeah.. I came across you once in a MilSpouse round up, and followed you because you posted something that kind of made me giggle.  I'm not all into your life, chick."


That's cool!  I do have the occasional witty word or two!  I mean, I'd follow me.. just sayin. (That phrase is entirely over-used, but I continue to use it..)


Moving on.


Our trip home has been great, but it's been whirl-wind!  I actually am feeling a little less stressed on this trip than I did on my 3 previous trips, especially that one where I unexpectedly had a kid 7 weeks early.  That one took the stress cake!

With Mimi during our 4th of July celebration

We've done lots of visiting, and it's been nice.  I miss my besties so very much when we are away.  They truly are the best people I've ever come across.  They are so understanding of my little flaws, especially that one where I tend to overextend myself.  They love me anyway!

KB learning all about Mammaw's homemade delicacies.

I've been home for about 48 hours now, and it's been lovely.  The trip home was amazing!  Hats off to the 172nd Airlift Wing for making sure a girl flies comfortably!  I'm sure there are other flight crews that are just as hospitable and accommodating, they just haven't had a reason to take special care of me.  It definitely helps that these guys know my Dad and Uncle John.  They put me on the plane first, made sure I had a good spot, and then took me up into the cockpit for take off and landing.  Landing was possibly the coolest thing I've done in a while.  We were about 30 minutes out when they took me up, and it was about 8:30 at night.  That panorama view of the sky was just awesome, especially with the street lights and such.  The extra pilot was sitting beside me, and he pointed out all the big cities on the way into Jackson.  He pointed out Monroe, and then Vicksburg, and you could see Jackson's lights on the horizon.  So neat!

Being home has been great in itself, too.  I don't know what the difference is, and maybe it's just that I'm being more active, but my sugar levels have been lower since I got home.  Like, a lot lower.  I've been way below my cut off number for the past two days, but eating what I want.  Maybe I'm just making better food choices, but it doesn't seem like it.  Who knows.. Maybe my body just responds better to being near my family.

I miss Jason terribly, but I'm lucky enough to be able to talk to him for a few more weeks still.  The boat is going underway soon, but Jason is staying behind to finish a school.  That works really well because he'll still be there when I see the doctor here for the first time next Tuesday.  I'm going to ask about all the important things, but especially about when we can have this baby.  She was measuring a week small at 29 weeks, so I'm interested to see if she is still.  If she is, the likelihood of Doc being willing to induce will probably be small.  I hate the thought of being induced, but if Jason is only allowed a couple of days to be home, I'll do it.  He wants to wait until after I see my Doc and get an idea before he approaches the Captain about time off again.

I've gotten about half the things done I needed to do in order to have Katie Beth here.  I've gotten my address changed with DEERS, and got an appointment made with the OB I want to use.  I went today to make sure I had the referral letter from my new PCM but the lady I needed to speak with wasn't there.  There is so much red tape to this, that I don't even want to write it out.  Suffice it to say that my appointment is Tuesday, and I really hope they don't try to charge me instead of TriCare.  Blah.

I'm becoming a pro at Space A travel.  I think I'll know all there is to know about it by the time we are done with this tour.  After that, I'll likely never get to travel for free again since we all know how often Submariners get leave.  (Civilians can read that as: Never).  So here is how my 7th Space A journey went.

There were supposed to be 2 flights leaving Guam for Hawaii on Sunday, so I was packed and ready for them.  The last time I called to check the recording at Andersen, however, there was only one flight listed, and it had a show time of 0540.  You're supposed to be there early to make sure you're signed up, so I was going to have to be there at 0500... Which, when you live where we do, that means leaving the house by 0415.  FUN.

I wasn't able to sleep anymore by 0330, so I just got up.  I let Jason sleep a few extra minutes, and we got out the door by 0410.  I was pretty sure I had everything.. We got almost to the gate, and I remembered my jacket. Military cargo planes (which I thought I'd be traveling on) are notoriously cold, so this was not ok.  We went back for my jacket, got off base, and Jason realized I'd left my pillow.  We were already running 15 minutes behind by this time, and we still had to stop for breakfast, so there went my pillow :(

We finally got to Andersen by 0515.  I went to check in, and the chick informed us that they couldn't release a seat count until roll call.  Brilliant.  It's 0515 and Jason is supposed to be at work by 0600.  He called and got someone to stand by for him (Thanks, Bueno!) so he could hang out with me until/if I made roll call.  They finally started roll call at 0615, and announced only 15 seats.  I was pretty sure I wouldn't make it since there were two families in Category 2.  In fact, Jason had left my luggage in the back seat because we were that sure I wouldn't make roll call.  They got through Category 2 with only 4 seats remaining.  Nobody was in Cat 3, and I was the first person signed up for Cat 4, so I made it!  NOTE: If you're going to fly Space A without your sponsor, sign up a month in advance!!


I felt really bad for the two families behind me, though.. Both families had 4 people, and there were only 3 available seats.  I almost gave up my seat so they could fly, but my thought process was this:  #1, the flight leaving Guam on Monday is a C5, and those are not such reliable flights.  For some reason they always get delayed or cancelled altogether.  I didn't want to risk not getting here in time.  #2, If they had signed up far enough in advance (like I did), they would have been ahead of me.. So.. Sorry :(  If I had known then what I know now, that family would be enjoying the Hawaiian breezes by now.

Anyway, so I made roll call, and Jason stayed with me to get my luggage checked.  I walked with him back out to the car where I proceeded to hold my tears in until I'd turned and started walking back.  I'm sick of that man seeing me cry, so I managed to get to the terminal bathroom before I lost my mind.

On to the plane!  So, let me just say, if I am ever able to choose again, I will NOT fly on a KC135.  I am accustomed to flying on a C17, and I don't mind the C5.  For future travelers, here's what matters:  C17s are the bomb.  They usually have extra space so you can lie down, walk around, whatever.  C5s typically have air line type seats, so they are pretty comfortable, just not very spacious.  KC135s, apparently, only have jump seats, and are incredibly small.  The luggage of 15 people takes a lot of space in the 135, which is not a cargo plane like the C17 and C5.  The 135 is an aerial refueling plane, so it was NOT built to carry lots of stuff.. or people.  There was exactly enough space between my jump seat and the crate of luggage for me to stretch my legs out.  The crates were right in the middle of the plane, so there were just two lines of seats on the sides of the plane, and then the crates in the middle.  So what this means, is that there are effectively two aisles for people walk up and down to get to that one bathroom near the cockpit.  Therefore, propping your feet up to sleep is a no-go.  Lying down in the aisle is a no-go.  Besides being incredibly tiny (I'll post pictures of the different people so you can compare), the 135 is not well ventilated.  While my upper body was actually sweating, my feet were freezing inside my socks and running shoes.  Needless to say, seven hours of this was more than a little uncomfortable.

We landed in Hawaii, and this particular plane was going to head on to Pittsburgh today.  Jason and I considered me staying over night here, then taking this flight on to PA and getting a commercial flight to Jackson.  The cost of a last minute ticket to Jackson would be almost the same as the cost of spending 4 days in Hawaii with a hotel and rental car.  After 7 hours on that tiny old plane (I shall refer to the KC135 from here on out as the Pterodactyl), there was no way I was prepared for any more flight time on that one.  Then I heard the crew mention that the flight to Pittsburgh was 10 hours.  Ha!  No thanks.  I'd rather spend a week in a hotel room in HI than 10 hours on the Pterodactyl.

C17 - What I'm accustomed to flying on

C5 - Just so you can see just how BIG these bad boys are

The KC135 - See the difference???  SO small in comparison!

So here I am.  There is a cargo plane going straight to the Air Guard base in Jackson on Wednesday.  My uncle is awesome and has been keeping up with this plane and crew for me.  I know it's going for sure, and on top of that, it's going straight HOME.  This never happens in the Space A world.  No commercial flights for me, just military hotel rooms.  I don't think I'm going to rent a car while I'm here, either.  The BX and Commissary are less than a quarter of a mile away, the gym is right across the street and has a pool, and the terminal is about a half mile away.  I'm still pretty capable of walking, so that's what I'm doing.  I mean, I'll call a cab to take me and my luggage back to the terminal, but for a few days, I'll be fine hoofing it.