Tales of Malcolm Grow Hospital

I think I've had the longest day in history. With Jonathon working nights, I am usually up waiting for him and we sleep during the day. On the days either of us have appointments, the line between our day and our night is blurred and we end up so tired we just want to fall over.

Today, I had a doctor appointment at 10:20 am. This meant, I had been awake for almost 12 hours (I took a nap that night) by the time I showed up to the hospital. After waiting around for my doctor appointment, I endured the scale (I'll fess up to gaining 16 lbs) and met my new doctor (whom I really like!). She sent me up to the lab to take my glucose tolerance test. I had to fast for this particular test - so not only had I been up FOREVER by this time, but I hadn't eaten in 7 hours either.

I went up to the lab, waited in line to check in, and then got told 10 minutes after I checked in that the computer system was down and I could either wait until they come back up or I can go get written orders for my blood work from my doctor. Great. I navigate my way back to the other side of the hospital and wait 30 minutes for my doctor to write a few words on a medical note pad. To make a long story long, I went back to the lab, drank my orange solution and had to wait an hour to get my blood drawn. I can't even tell you how ready I was to pass out waiting before they gave me sugar. I was tired, starving, and I have low blood sugar normally - so I was a wreck. I got home 3 hours after my appointment when all was said and done and was just in time to say goodbye to Jonathon who was leaving for work.

On a good note - my doctor says that I'm measuring on the small side, still in the healthy range but on the small end of the scale. So our boy is tiny right now, but I'm sure he'll fatten up for us in the coming weeks. (11 to go!) My back is an absolute nightmare, though. It feels broken in 9 different places and I'm certain there is only one position I can sleep in. Jon takes walks with me at night though, and that helps out a lot!

Jonathon is already thinking about Dallas Cowboy onsies and Air Force outfits. If anyone knows where I can obtain these things, please let me know! We're on the down hill stretch, and even less time until I brave traveling while not being able to completely see my feet. See you all soon!

Baby shower invites & Hope

Jonathon and I often go to a town called Bowie for the only Mexican food around - On the Border.
We went, and ate (a lot..), and then had a great idea - ok, my idea - to go to Pets Mart. For anyone who doesn't know, Pet's Mart has cats available for adoption from area shelters.

Jonathon and I picked up the much needed new cat toys and as we were walking, we decided to go in and look at the cats. Mind you, I've done this a million times and never walked out with a new cat. I'm actually not even an animal person - they are a lot of work and I hardly find them worth it. Don't confuse this with hating animals - I just don't want them at my house.

Anyway, Jonathon starts playing with this adorable little cat...and I do mean little. However, her sheet says she's a year old. (We're still debating if we believe it) She trots to the front of her cage and just won't let Jonathon leave. Needless to say, he falls in love. This is strange in itself, because Jonathon isn't a fan of cats...at all. After we got rid of our dog, he has kept saying he wants another one when we move. Right..

Ok, so we bought this cat. Jon names her "Hope" because he says he gave her hope for a home. Cute.. I'm dreading bringing her home because I already have a cat at home who believes he is an only child. He didn't like us for a few days, and wouldn't even come into our room. It appears now, however, that he is slowly coming around to the idea of having a friend around. She looks A LOT like my cat, I'm not even sure if people will be able to tell the difference except for the fact that she is half his size.

On to other things - I got my baby shower invite in the mail and they are ADORABLE. My mom is so creative I can't even believe it. She made up the little poem and really spent a long time on them. I'm posting some pictures of the invites...and in case you can't read the saying, here it is:

"Daddy keeps our country safe
While Mommy helps me grow
She takes me with her everyplace
and soon we're gonna go...
To Grandma's house to celebrate
With games and fun and pie
Things that make our country great
This Fourth Day of July.
I think I heard poor Mommy say
That two o'clocks the hour
My friends and family come to play
And throw her in the shower!"

I'm so excited to see everyone - not too long now! I have to go take my glucose test this week, and I have a doctor appointment next week - we have a new doctor which makes me nervous, but I'm sure she'll be fine. Jon's been missing the last few appointments since he works nights, staying up until 10am just isn't an option. But, I fill him in when he gets up and he gives me questions to ask the next time.

Jonathon is heading off to Iowa to take part in one of his very best friends' weddings in July. I'm sad I don't get to go as well - but I'll be 34 weeks pregnant, which is just too far a long to be traveling. So, I'm hoping he has a lot of fun with his friends and "his second family" - we're so happy for them.

Well, I better go start dinner before Jonathon gets home from the gym!

Moving?

When I moved to Maryland, Jonathon and I decided I should live on base since I would be alone. Andrews gave me all of 10 days to get from Colorado to Maryland (1700 miles..) and claim a house. When I got here, I was surprised by the quality of the house. We do have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths. We have all new appliances, carpet, cabinets, etc. We would be the first to live in it.

Now however, we find ourselves disgruntled that we pay so much to live here. Our house is nice, but neither of us believe it is worth what we pay. We have talked about getting an apartment off of base, but now that we've had a house, apartment living doesn't seem so appealing. Plus, since Jonathon works at night, I feel safer on base.

We were invited to a bbq at Fort Meade, which is an Army base about 20 minutes away. Apparently, you can live on any base within a certain amount of miles of the base you're stationed at. Jonathon's friend is Air Force, and therefore makes money to live at Fort Meade since the Army makes less than the Air Force. Let's see if I'm explaining this right -

In the military you get a fund for housing - this is called "BAH". If you live off of base, this is just extra money you get in your pay check. If you live on base, they take all of it and call it rent money. The higher rank you are, the more you make. Since Jonathon is an "E5" in rank - or a SSgt - we would have to compare what an E5 makes in the Army to see how much of a difference there is. If we moved to an Army base, we would be able to keep the difference between the two services in cash.

To make a long story long, Jonathon and I were really impressed with the new housing development Fort Meade was offering. Even though he would have to commute, we would save about $350 a month and get an even nicer house. I've emailed housing over at Fort Meade to see what we would have to do to make the move. See - if Andrews Air Force Base takes our money from our BAH automatically, (called an allotment) then they will take about a month to stop that allotment and give us our money back. So - if Fort Meade wants a massive amount of money right away it would make us think twice about the move. We'll see what they say and what they want from us.

On to baby news - we're 26 weeks into this now. 3 months to go! He's still very, very active. No weird cravings still, I would just say I eat a lot and pizza and Mexican food - still my favorites. Honestly, I don't get tired of either one! I crave toffee a lot as well. I'm down to 26 days until I'm in Colorado - and I'm already missing Jonathon....how lame is that? But, this is my first real trip home for no other purpose than visiting. I've had orthodontist appointments that dictated my trips in the past so it's nice to be able to go and just enjoy my family and friends.

Jonathon works the 4th of July which is the only reason I agreed to going to Colorado for that holiday. I know my sister and I already have our usual plans while I'm in town - it's still strange not seeing her everyday. I talk to everyone in my family each day though while Jon is at work or sleeping. I'll tell you that doing dishes goes a lot faster when you have someone to talk to!

I've made this long enough - I hope everyone is doing well and I'm so glad I get to see you guys soon!!