We officially have...

Oh, I'm such a bad blogger these days.  I've been focusing on so much other stuff that I've let Chuckleheads fall by the wayside.

But there are major milestones that just simply have to be recorded!

1.  We have a walker!  Jaxxy boy is not officially walking more than he is crawling.  It happened just the past two days.  He's been occassionally toddling along but preferring the faster crawling method...then yesterday he started walking on his own...catching his balance and getting up when he'd fall to try walking again...

And today I can't stop him.  He's a walker!

2.  We have passed the 6 month mark for deployement!  As of about July 24th we are on our way back DOWN the hill.  Woohoo!  Three more months before leave and then three months before he's home for good.  Hallelujah!

3.I have lost 36 pounds!  Woot!  Pretty proud of myself.  I restarted (again) the C25K and instead of doing the program as is...decided to do each week twice in an attempt to really be able to keep up with it and the run times it eventually gets to.

Well, can I just pat myself on the back and say...Last Saturday I ran TWO miles without stopping.  Thats right...me...running...two...miles.  I couldn't even run 30 seconds without heaving for breath 8 weeks ago when I started this. 

I also am taking a zumba class 2X a week.  I. Love. It.  And my teacher...holy booty shake queen!  This girl can move like nobody I've ever seen.  Except for maybe my mom on her new jiggle jiggle machine.  ha ha ha.

So thats where we are unless you want to hear more about my house that needs a good clean.  (next on my priority list if you can't tell.)

A trip to the zoo...

We went to the Nashville Zoo!  Bobbi and Bop came visiting...they drove their motorhome from Oregon all the way to Fort Campbell and stayed for 10 day total.  We had a great time just being around them.  Its been a long time since we've lived near family.  I'm so grateful for inlaws that think its important to visit, know their grandchildren and develop good relationships with them!

The zoo was small, but beautiful.  Very lush and green.  They had these crazy monkeys at the very beginning that were SO loud.  You really felt like you were in the jungle!



Just a few photos from our day at the zoo...

On the carousel.  Bella had to be on the cheetah and so I put Jax on the ixtapa.  he liked it for about one full carousel circle...actually "liked" might be too strong a word.  He tolerated it....then he was ready to be D.O.N.E.

Grassmere Estates...the estate that donated the land to the zoo and so its named after it.  Bop and Bella sitting on the porch rocking...all they need is a little glass of lemonade!

Bobbi holding Jax in the playzone area for kids.  He puts everything in his mouth...and loved her hat strings.  He sucked them to soaked!

I just laugh every time I see this photo of Bop and Bella at the meerkat exhibit.  Their faces are priceless!

 

 

And the highlight of Bella's day...the flamingos.  She talked about them all day long and they were one of the last things we saw.  Just beautiful bright colored birds.  I never realized how bright their coloring actually was until this trip...

 



What a long two weeks...

If there were two weeks we could just wipe out...I choose the last two.  I have been up to my elbows in snot, vomit and tears for two weeks.  Ugh.  Its kept me from doing almost anything productive and exhausted me in the process so now I'm struggling with a cold of similar proportions.

We can't seem to get rid of the cough...Bella seems to have inherited my chronic cough after a cold.  Poor kid.  I'm actually trying some allergy medicine.  Its only been 2 days, but I do sense a difference in her.  Hmmm...allergies...something you don't think about unless you have them.  (it was a suggestion from my allergy ridden neighbor.)

And so there is the end of the last two weeks...may they never be repeated again.

Just a little love from Afghanistan...

Its weird when you have a spouse that leaves for as long as John will be gone to Afghanistan.  What I mean is I think you miss them differently than one might if you just knew they were going to be gone for a week or two.  There isn't an acute feeling of angst...its more like a chronic feeling of loneliness that just kind of sits in your gut all the time.

Our family has been through so much separation.

Deployment from 2010 to 2011
Three months of school in 2011
Seven months apart/school in 2012
Deployment 2013 to 2014

So...since 2010 we've had a total of 11.5 months of dad living in our house with us.  Give or take a week here or there...either way...That sucks.   

So...when he is away we crave communication from him.  And he has not disappointed these past couple of weeks.  Its nice to hear about his life away from us....what he observes...what makes him laugh...what he thinks is interesting...even what his room/bathroom look like... 

I've included some tidbits of emails that he's sent describing his time in Afghanistan...

The Night he Left...

At 0130, We boarded a commercial flight with stewardesses and everything. I was very suprised to learn that it was a direct flight to Germany and a follow on to Romania. So by some freak luck of the draw, I ended up in an exit row. On this plane, it meant LEG ROOM - I mean I couldn't even touch the seats in front of me. The side of the plane also fit my head just right so I was really excited to sleep. I put my headphones in and started to doze off when they turned on the lights and started serving breakfast. WTH? So, I ate - again and then was able to doze for a while. I can't remember the movie, but it was one I had already seen, so I stared at it for a while in between cat naps. About two hours out of Franfurt, we ate again - dinner this time. They had a little slice of Tillamook cheese in the meal and I exclaimed to my neighbor how awesome the cheese was. He gave me his and I ate it without protest lol. We landed in Frankfurt at about 1800 local time. We had a 2 hour layover in a small concourse that had a gift shop, two little kiosks and a newspaper stand. I tried to hook up to the WiFi in order to let you know what was going on, but other people ahead of me captured all of the band width. Anyway, we reboarded the plane and flew the 4 hours to Romania.

In Romania...

When I got back to my room - 0230 - I decided to try to shower so that I didn't have to compete with the rest of the dudes. They hadn't turned on the hot water in enough time for night time showers though. Hmmm. I just remembered Wallowa Lake and the polar bear plunge (and swim practices in the Hillsboro pool in January) and toughed it out. It was colder than those other bodies of water. I ended up skipping some areas and shaved in the sink, but a couple people walking by laughed out loud at my plight. 

Arrival in Baghram...

They opened the back hatch of the plane to take out the pallets with the bags and it was raining - argh. None of my clothes were protected from incliment weather (except for my wet weather gear, which was in a water proof bag). The bags went one way and we went another. We turned in our ID cards and went through a couple briefings in the PAX terminal. We were released to get on the bussess, but first we had to load all of the bags onto a little transport truck. WTF? How come a baggage detail didn't have that done already? So - in the rain with our weapons slung on our backs and our carry on luggage at our feet, we created an assembly line chain to carry the bags from the pallets they were staged on into the back of the truck. We got on busses and went to the temporary/transient base. Again I got lucky and had a bottom bunk in a dark area of the building with an outlet right by the bunk. After unloading the bags from the truck - again in the rain - I got my bags settled, took out my tablet (thank you) and my credit card and ordered up internet service...

What is it they say about love?

If you google that question then you come up with a list of crazy stuff...the top two being a set of lyrics from rapgenious.com that I will spare you the disaster of having to actually read and a yahoo question asking what is the quote about love hurting.

Yup.

Love hurts. 

Rap that three times fast.

Seriously though...if the last year is any indication about what love is all about I was ready to toss in the towel and walk away...but then there is this crazy something something that kept me around and has magically turned into something that is looking much better, much brighter and much more amazing than I ever imagined.

And so on this glorious day of love a.k.a. Valentine's Day....we went bowling...because nothing says love in our family like a night of bowling.

Yes...she had to wear her super special love dress that day.  As usual...she was a stellar bowler and no joke...fair and square beat the pants off me...  I never did claim to be a great bowler.

While Jax looked on with such intelligence... ha ha ha...  it kind of reminds me of that photo I have of bella putting underwear on her head.

After that we went home and gave each other valentines...

I got a box of chocolates and my very favorite thing of the night was an 101st Airborne "Sweetheart Pin."  It was inside the box of chocolates.  I was very pleasantly surprised and felt much loved.

So...yeah...what is it they say about love?

Kissy Kissy!

Funtucky Family of Four...

September 11, 2012...do you know what you were doing?  I was flying on a military jet from Ramstein, Germany to Baltimore, MD.  It was the final stage of our move from germany back to the states...a move that was both heartbreakingly difficult and exhausting. 

What did I love about Germany.  Pretty much everything.  I am partial to the European way of life.  I love NOT having walmarts, 7-elevens and Walgreens on every corner.  I love open markets and stores that close on Sundays.  I love the quiet town we lived in and the awesome best friend neighbors that we had...I loved my German friends, we loved the library and librarians.  I miss the cute towns that we'd drive through, red roofs, churches in the town square, crazy statues honoring some random person, fountains, ornate designs on random buildings.  I miss cobblestone, and pedestrian zones, and the "feed the deer" park, the autobahn and driving fast.  I miss spatzle and brats.  I miss my backyard and watching the kids play.  I miss being able to walk wherever I want and having the shopette about 4 blocks away for those last minute treat needs.  I miss random festivals or holidays that seem to happen just about every week.  I miss a weekend trip to Prague or Munich.  I miss stumbling through their language and sorting euros from dollars... I just miss Germany. 

And now we've relocated to K.E.N.T.U.C.K.Y.  0_o  a.k.a...Funtucky!

It was the best choice out of the final four options.  We were offered Fort Drum, NY (and 8 feet of snow 8 months out of the year), Fort Hood, TX (in the middle of nothing and nowhere), Fort Riley, KS (Even more in the middle of nowhere.) and Fort Campbell, KY...and what came out of my mouth is something I never thought I'd say...."I think Kentucky is the best choice."

But, being here now I realize that it actually is a pretty great military base and a town full of cool things to discover.  First of all, its not really Kentucky.  We are smack dab in the middle of the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.  Our house is actually in Tennessee, but we live on base and the post office is in Kentucky so thats what our address is.  There is a road just a few blocks from us called State Line Road.  And that is literally what it is.  The state  line.  I wonder if you are being chased by Kentucky cops and cross that line if they have to stop because they lose jurisdiction....?  Hmmmm....not something I'll run out and try, but its an interesting thought.

Clarksville, TN is the main town attached to the base.  Its essentially a 20-mile long strip mall.  I'm not kidding and there are not 1....2...or 3...but FOUR Walmarts from one end to the other.  The other thing they have a plethora of is Waffle House, which is kind of like a Denny's diner, but think smaller and greasier.  There must be 10 Waffle Houses along the main drag.  I'm not kidding.  We do have Nashville just an hour away, Land Between the Lakes just an hour the other direction and I'm kind of excited to see what the South has to offer.  I've seen the Opryland hotel and driven past Dollywood.  I hear the summers here are fantastic with more than enough to do.

So....I guess we've become a Funtucky family of four at this point and as military families do...we'll make the best and the most out of the opportunity we've been given to see new things, meet new people and have new adventures. 

I do promise that we won't encourage inbreeding or start making moonshine, however I can't promise my kids won't run barefoot all summer long and that some of those redneck jokes won't hit close to home.

You might be a redneck if...

You got stopped by a state trooper.
He asked you if you had an I.D.
And you said, 'Bout What?'

Your state's got a new law that says
when a couple get divorced,
they are still legally brother and sister.

Your sister is the third generation
of women in your family to conceive
a baby as a result of an alien abduction.

The centerpiece on your dining room table
is an original signed work
by a famous taxidermist.

 

You've got more than
one brother named 'Darryl'.

 

 

 

Father's Day...

What's that saying?  Oh yeah...Better late than never? 

Thats the motto of this Father's Day post.  We're only about 2 weeks late on it...but with a new baby I think I have a pretty good excuse for not posting right away.  (Yes...I'll continue to milk the new baby excuse for as long as possible.)

The man of the hour....notice he has become the bearded one...thats what 10 days of paternity leave will do to a man.  :)

Anywho...Father's Day was fun.  John wanted Greek food and bowling.  Easy to please, he is.

First...Greek...

Delicious it was.  I'm a huge fan of the lamb...and the tzaziki sauce.  Sooooo good.

After dinner we went bowling...It was Jax's first time bowling...he was a real champ.

Oh wait...a close up of his excitement...

John was the only one that bowled.  I was too recently post partum...Bella just didn't feel like it.  So Big Papa J bowled by his lonesome and bowled a pretty mean game...

Bella and I took cameo shots of each other...its amazing how much more beautiful she gets every. single. day.

And the mama...

So, happy Father's Day to a man that I've always considered a great dad.  I don't know two little kids who adore their daddy any more than my little ones adore him.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Happy 4th of July!

A 4th of July in the middle of the week.  Its a little weird, I must say.  I'm sure in the history of my 38 years on this earth this has happened before, but for whatever reason I seem to only remember 4th of July holidays that coincide with a weekend...or extended weekend. 

Regardless...It was a GLORIOUS 4th of July Wednesday.  The sun was out...it was hot and humid. (Thats not part of the glorious bit.)  We spent the 4th lounging around...like any good holiday should be spent.

I did find time to finally put together the 4th of July outfits for the kids...I'd been planning it for awhile, but never got around to actually making them.  So...we ended up with these makeshift outfits, but they looked pretty darn adorable in them!

I crockpotted a turkey breast roast...John mixed up a cold potato salad and we dined on a delicious dinner before heading out to Grafenwoehr for the fireworks.  We met up with some friends there and spend just a couple of hours chatting and socializing...

And then it started to get dark and the show started!

God Bless America...Land that I love...

Baby Jax has arrived!

Once again the process of bringing a little life into this world was dramatic....but I am so glad this little bug has finally arrived! 

John Xavier Larson (Jax)
Born 9:27AM on Saturday, June 9, 2012
7lbs 10oz
18.5 inches long
St. Marien Klinikum, Amberg, Germany

I ended up in the hospital on Wednesday, June 6th with pregnancy induced hypertension and extreme swelling in my feet, legs and hands.  Its one of the signs of preeclampsia (which I had with Bella) so they admitted me and said I wasn't going home until the baby came via c-section on our scheduled date of June 19th. 

Talk about a stress case.  That was nearly 2 weeks in the hospital.  Who was going to take care of Bella!?  I think that stress caused me to worsen...because by Friday my doctor said the baby was coming early...at exactly 37 weeks...and they tentatively scheduled the c-section for Saturday morning 9:30AM on June 9th.

This is me saying goodbye to my belly on Friday night...

On Saturday morning they took me in for "monitoring" at 8:30....and once I got there was told it was actually prep for the surgery and they had moved my time up.  EEEEEK!  John wasn't there...nobody was there yet!  Within 10 minutes I was in the operating room and getting a spinal and I was a complete stress case.

The spinal wasn't working so they told me it was likely I'd be put under a general anesthesia.  The anesthesiologist told me to breath some air....the next thing I remember is gasping for breath, and asking what happened and where is my baby....

The "air" was the general and it knocked me out pretty quickly.  As a side note...waking up from a general anesthesia is A.W.F.U.L.  I would gladly NEVER experience that again.  Ugh. 

They took me to the ICU for recovery and I was there for nearly 4 hours before I finally got to meet Jax...I couldn't help it...I just cried when I finally got to hold him.

Apparently when I went under, my body reacted very badly to the general and my blood pressure skyrocketed.  When that happened it apparently caused Jax to become distressed and before you know it both of us were "critical."  They delivered him quickly...he wasn't breathing...a byproduct of the general anesthesia and the traumatic birth process...raced him to the baby NICU and thankfully got him taken care of quickly...Little man is PERFECT with all 10 fingers and toes and the cutest little mug....he did have low blood sugars, but that was quickly remedied and we didnt' have any other problems. 

John holding Jax just about an hour after birth...

Bella holding Jax for the first time after we got back to the hospital room...

Me and my baby boy after I returned from the ICU...

I still look drugged...and he is cherry red.  We found out later that his poor little extremeties were being deprived of oxygen because they put the bands around his hands and feet on too tight.

Of course the good news is that neither Jax nor I remember anything related to the actual delivery.  We were both passed out.  :)  And despite the experience were both able to heal and get moving around pretty quickly.  They released me to go home a week after I arrived in the hospital on Wednesday June 13th.  I was so excited to finally get back to my house, my bed, my little girl.....

Getting ready to go...Bella brought Jax his little Simba stuffy.

Bella pushing Jax in his little stroller around the hospital floor...

Bella also fed Jax his last little bottle before we left the hospital and headed home.  We wanted a content happy baby with a full belly for the 30 minute drive back to Vilseck.

Me and my babies...loving on my children.  I am a blessed mama.

The all-new extended Larson family.  Headed out from the hospital in just minutes!  Yeah!

Daddy carrying Jax in his car seat out of the hospital...

 Now that we're home we've had quite a fun time getting adjusted to having a baby around...

Bella drew this little picture of baby Jax and signed it.  We're not sure if thats all his hair or a little cap on his head.  :)

I am spending lots of time just loving on both my kids...

When he doesnt think anyone is looking we get random extreme cuteness...

He had his first bath and loved it...yes...that is his loving it face...

and he was dressed up like Elton John...

Overall, he is an absolute blessing and treasure...a little piece of heaven...just like his sister.  

Welcome home baby Jax!!!