Yeah, I pinned that.

So, my pinterest addiction/habit/hobby has gotten a little out of control over the past year with me "liking" over 1400 things and making about 3...including recipes! lol But now with Myles on the way and baby stuff being priced like a used car (more than it's worth) I decided to try a few things. I didn't have lamps for the nursery yet and it just-so-happened that when we first moved to Kansas I found 2 really cute, WORKING lamps at Goodwill that were just waiting to find a home:) So, a tube of acrylic paint, sponge brush, painters tape and a couple hours later I had a finished lamp! I really love the chevron pattern that has gotten popular recently and not only is it hard to find a chevron lamp shade, when you do they are outrageous! Mostly because they are hand-made or from a boutique or gallery. But I thought "I can find this on pinterest and make it, it can't be that hard!" and it wasn't hard, per-say. It WAS time consuming and intricate! After measuring out the height you kind of just have to guess at the pattern (which is nerve racking and caused even more stress!) but after the first row the worst part was just cutting the corners and getting good, strait lines. I was happily surprised that not only did the painter's tape stick to the lamp pretty well, there was NO bleeding at all! I will always use scotch blue painters tape now, I'm hooked. Actually, there were spots I found after removing the tape that needed more paint (I was afraid to paint to heavy near the seams because of bleeding).  So although the lampshade appears complete, when you turn the light on you can see spots that aren't as solid:/ The good news is: I have plenty of paint left:) Touch-up town here I come! I was pretty excited by the finished product though so below I'll post the before, during and after. This may be the first and last lampshade I ever make, but I had a good time and somehow managed not to ruin anything so I'll consider it a success.

After taping was complete!

 

Painting complete, sort-of.

....and we have a lamp! less than $10 later, I'm happy:)

Hello 3rd trimester, goodbye belly button!

WOW! It's hard to believe that its been almost two months since I've actually set down to write a blog post! Even harder to believe: I'm now in my THIRD trimester!! Oh how the time has flown. It seems like with work and school and life I've neglected the little pregnancy things that I enjoyed in the beginning, life is getting busy! I know what you're thinking: "Just wait until that baby gets here, you'll really know busy then." And all I have to say is poor Myles! Because mommy is a hot mess as it is! Here are a couple things that have been neglected the past three weeks while I've been studying and taking finals, working (a new shift) and trying to grow a human: No pedicure for 3 weeks (I know this is a first world problem, but remember: I work 40+ hours a week in a skilled nursing facility. these dogs are barking daily! AND, I can't reach my own toenails anymore:/), No baby-bump picture for 3 weeks, no progress on the nursery (I have plenty of time for this though), No blog post in 7 weeks, No call to my gramma in 2 weeks (WAY TOO LONG!), and no grocery shopping in like 10 days! The Haggard household is almost out of produce and water and we've been out of milk for 3 days. I'm a sad, sad prego! Thank God for Dean and all of his help! He's done laundry and dishes (because I dread to see what it would have gotten to!) and taken more care of the dogs than I even get to see them! Needless to say, I took a half day off work this week, was able to re-coup a bit and am feeling much better. Note to self: being pregnant is not a time to try to be superwoman. It will catch up with you, and when it does it's a doozy! So in an effort to make up for lost time I'll try to update as much as possible in this one post. We had my follow up ultrasound last month (I'm still having a hard time believing its already November) and not only was Myles still healthy and active, Mommy is healthier too! The ultrasound didn't put at 100%, I'm still treading lighting and my restrictions (lifting and heavy activity) continue but the placenta has migrated "north" 1cm which graduates me from placenta previa to low-lying placenta! This also takes my pregnancy from high-risk to just "risky". According to my OB and the nurse practitioner 1cm is not enough to have a vaginal delivery but it is a good enough start to move toward that plan and away from a c-section/early delivery!!! So, the plan now is to wait, continue to grow, and have another ultrasound in 4 weeks (around Thanksgiving). Per Dr. Breit I only need about 1 more cm of migration away from the cervix and I'm in the clear:) Now, the details you really want to hear! Myles is over 2lbs now! He should be about 2.5 per the pregnancy books and was 2.2 at the 26 week ultrasound! He is moving around like a gymnast inside me! I can sometimes see my stomach moving if he's really active and I'm laying down after work:) He even kicked Dean's head one night (he was laying on my stomach) when he was really getting down! Needless to say, our excitement is building and although we want him to grow as much as possible and be as healthy as can be when he does make his arrival, we just can't wait for him to be here!!! For now though the waiting continues and January is just around the corner:) So we will continue to ask for your thoughts and prayers because those are surely what have gotten us this far. Week 29, here we come!!!

Who doesn't love a little pregnancy complication??

Not that pregnancy isn't complicated enough:) About a week ago we found out that I have what is medically called "placenta previa". Please don't google it!! Dean made this mistake and by the time I arrived home from work that evening he was preparing himself for the death of his wife and unborn child! Ooooohhh internet. The one thing you can count on to convince you you're dying. I'm convinced they purposely put the worst diagnosis online to get people to go to the doctor in the first place. Is google owned by doctors? I may google this later....I'll probably find out I have cancer:/ Anywho! Back on track. So as you all know we have our "gender" ultrasound at 18 weeks (about 3 weeks ago) and we were over joyed to see that there was a healthy baby BOY inside of me! Fast forward 2 weeks and you arrive at the day my doctors office calls me with this message: "Hi Ashley, this is Melissa the nurse with Dr. Breit's office. Please give me a call back as soon as possible so I can discuss some things the doctor wanted you to be aware of." My heart sank. I knew that my baby was "healthy" according to the ultrasound. The tech pointed out all the organs, both legs, both arms, the spinal cord, the fingers, his face...what did  I miss? I instantly called the office back only to be forwarded to a voicemail. VOICEMAIL??!!! AT A TIME LIKE THIS!!??? So, I left my phone-tag message that I was returning her call and would be available the rest of the day. (despite the fact that I was on my way to work! WORK??! AT A TIME LIKE THIS!??) I was going from 0-60, my mind was racing and I was trying to stay cool and calm while warning the girls at work that I was waiting for a call and would be leaving the floor as soon as my phone rang. FINALLY, the phone did ring! I ran off the floor and answered my phone. "Hi Ashley, it's Melissa. Dr. Breit was able to view your ultrasound and she noticed that you have a slight placenta previa." (ok..back to nursing school...placenta previa....I don't remember this being good) "Your placenta isn't fully covering the cervix which is good news but it is lying low and the doctor wants to do another ultrasound at 26 weeks to see if it has "grown" with the uterus and moved up. Until then: no lifting over 20 lbs, and strict pelvic rest for you" If you don't know what pelvic rest is, google it. It's the worst thing that can happen to a seemingly healthy pregnant woman with hormones through the roof!! "She'll discuss more details with you at your appointment on Friday, any questions?" That couldn't have been a serious question. So I answered "no" and hung up the phone so I could update Dean (forgetting to tell him not to google, causing him to freak out) who's first question is: "what could have caused this?" Well, that's a funny story. Literally NOTHING I have done could have or did "cause" it. There are some predisposing factors but they include: women giving birth to multiples (not me), women who have had multiple pregnancies (not me!), Asian or African American women (def not me), women who smoke (nope!), or women who have had previous C-sections (again, eeerrrrrr, not me) causing scare tissue that keeps the placenta from adhering at the top of the uterus. So in other words I won the placenta previa lottery! Not the lottery I was looking for exactly.... (shocker!) Fast forward again to my appt on Friday and the final say per the big boss, aka Dr Breit. She is very optimistic about my prognosis as are Dean and I. I'll post a picture below but in terms of placenta previa cases I have the "best" as far as recovering and being able to have a normal delivery. My case is a low-lying posterior previa. It's not actually covering the cervix, although it may be very very close to it and it covers the "back" of the uterus so there's even a small possibility that if the previa remains I can deliver the baby without C-section! Now is the worst case scenario: at 26 weeks we find out that my previa is still there. I go on bed rest at about 30 weeks. My lifting restriction continues (of course) and pelvic rest remains (oh I hope this doesn't happen!) and I have a scheduled C-section at 35-36 weeks with steroid injections prior to delivery to ensure full lung development. I feel so blessed to have Myles being so healthy that at this point I'm strictly following the doctors orders and planning for a possible early delivery. I will admit that the idea of having a baby at Christmas is blowing my mind! How does December seem SO much closer than January!?? Mind=Blown. And we luckily moved my baby shower up to November 17th the week before we found out about the placenta previa! So worst case scenario I'll go to my baby shower and then go to bed until Myles gets here LOL what an exciting life:) We'll make sure to keep everyone updated (if you want to know that is:)) but for now we're just taking prayers and good vibes! Dean and I have been so extremely blessed I know this is just a scheduled bump in the road. And an excuse for me to get out of moving furniture and carrying laundry or groceries! There really is a silver lining in every situation:)

So, looking at the pictures from left to right (worst case to "best" case) I'm on the far right. Normally the placenta would be toward the top of the uterus in an area opposite of everything you see above.

Bend it like Beckham?

If the activity going on in my belly is an indication of what Myles will be like when he gets here then we've got a future soccer star on our hands! In just the course of a week I've gone from feeling "quickening" to actual KICKS against my belly! (Although, those kicks just feel like taps since he's still so little) Even Dean felt Myles kick against his own hand this week:) We can already tell that he (Myles) likes his personal space and doesn't appreciate it being invaded. Poor kid, having to share his space with someone else, I wish I could relate! LOL Earlier this week I started wearing a "belly band" to work (per my OB to "save" my lower back and legs while my belly grows out of control) and day one I could feel Myles moving like waves in the ocean. He was NOT happy that something was pressing down on "his" space and he wanted to let me know about it! For about the first hour of work everyday that I have my band on Myles kicks away as if he is going to loosen the band and get rid of it with his tiny little feet. Such a stubborn little fella already, I don't know where he gets that from!

Woah Belly!!

12 weeks: wearing regular jeans and still sick all.day.long.

14 weeks: after church AND luch! still wearing regular jeans. Baby H only pops out after a big meal right now:)

18 weeks: Had to break out the maternity jeans this week! Baby H is now Myles Landon and wants the whole world to know he's in there! Including his momma, kicking/quickening started this week:)
 

21 weeks: Had to break out the "belly band" this week at work. Myles hates it, mommy's back loves it!

23 weeks: It took me a while to get this uploaded but I'm told I have officially "popped" by my co-workers. Scrubs aren't hiding this baby-bump any more!

26 weeks: Not a huge difference. We had our follow-up ultrasound today and good news was heard all around! Myles is now 2.2 lbs and mommy is measuring at 28 weeks. Is it too early to pre-enroll for sports?!?

28 weeks: Myles doesn't have much ambition to leave my lower belly. This may get rough for both of us soon!

30 weeks! (had to take this one myself so the quality is a little iffy) Still able to wear my wedding ring, success!!

32 weeks: right after Thanksgiving, I was so swollen my toes looked like little sausages! (gross!!)

34 weeks: We found out at this point that Myles is footling breech which explains my very pointy belly! His head and butt are laying parallel to my pelvis and his feet are pointed down. oh joy! We'll have another sonogram in two weeks to check his position and possibly schedule a c-section.

 37 weeks: PRAISE THE LORD! last week we had our final sonogram and found out that Myles decided to put his little head where it was supposed to be! (notice how much round-er my belly is?) Also, my placenta migrated 3cm in one month totally 4cm. Myles isn't going to be a c-section baby after all, look out labor here I come!

Baby love, my baby love:)

Man its been a while since I've actually taken the time to document ANYTHING on here!! Since my last post I've started a new job, and school (!), Melissa came to visit for a weekend, I took Dean to Ft. Riley to see where I grew up (well, part of where I grew up:)) and to meet the Greifs for Samantha's wedding and my dad came for a short visit!! It has been a busy August! OH! and we found out the sex of the baby!!!!! Baby H is officially now Myles Landon Haggard, or will be in January when he makes his not-so-formal arrival:) Myles was actually a major reason for both my dad and Melissa visiting. Who knew something so small could bring so many people together??

Thank you auntie Missy for bringing me a bed!! now I won't have to sleep in a kennel:) hahaha

I could only hope that Myles gets lucky enough to make great friends like his parents have!!

We had the ultrasound at 9am on Friday August 24th and it was more than amazing! Although it was the second ultrasound we have had, it was the first time we've actually seen our baby's arms and legs and heart and brain and "parts" and FACE! The show started with Baby H sitting spread eagle and showing us that "it" is a "HE"!! Of course my dad, who has been calling Baby H a "he" the entire time calmly said "I told you so, now I'm 2 for 2" Referring to my step-sister Lindsey's son who was born in January and was originally determined by ultrasound to be a girl! We even got to see Myles being a bad baby!! He was very active the entire time and during the show he decided mommy's bladder was too big to share the space with his legs. So, we watched our little bundle of joy ball his legs up and KICK MY BLADDER!!! The tech doing the ultrasound started laughing and said "do you feel that? he's kicking your bladder!" Until this point I didn't connect the "spasm" feelings with kicking because I honestly just didn't know. Now however, I know that I have a very active little baby inside of me who should have very strong legs when he gets out! Myles proved to be quite the little charmer during his "big show" and kept the tech busy for about an hour with all of his acrobatics. I must say we are two very lucky parents, I could have watched him move all day!! Especially after the tech showed me his measurements, blood flow and organ placement. If you are reading this you have most likely read about Lindsey's son (my nephew) who was born with CDH in January and you know how passionate we all are about research and knowledge. And, how long the roller coaster-ride to recovery was for him. Because of this, I of course had to see that the lungs, heart, liver, intestines and stomach were all in their "right" places. They were, thank God! and so was everything else! Myles seems to be "healthy" in terms of what we can see and hear. The blessings just continued during the visit when the tech decided that since Myles was so photogenic that she would turn on the 4-D:) FOR FREE! Amazing is all I can say. I know 3-D/4-D ultrasounds look like aliens but as soon our son's face appeared my heart melted. "It's a baby!!!" was my only reply. There's nothing to put pregnancy in perspective like actually being able to see your baby's features in real time.WHAT A MIRACLE! and I know soon enough I'll wish he was still inside of my belly being quiet, not waking up 16 times a night and crying but right now I wish I could just fast forward to January and have this little bundle of joy in our arms:) Soon enough though, soon enough!

...and here he is!! all sqwishy-faced and perfect:)

I.Hate.Technology.

Well after typing almost an entire blog post, I somehow highlighted the entire post and deleted it. After trying EVERYTHING I could to retrieve it, with no luck:( I decided to cut it short. I was blogging about my ever-exciting morning sickness hahaha and now that I look back on it, it's probably a blessing to all of you that I deleted it! Now in my 14th week of pregnancy I was just very frustrated that my "sickness" hasn't subsided yet. I was so confident that after the first trimester I would be able to eat, REAL FOOD! but the joke has been on me! Even Dean has been in disbelief that I'm not feeling better. He said to me on Monday night, "I think you're making this sickness stuff up now." He.Almost.Died...SERIOUSLY!!! But then I put myself on the outside and I think "I would probably be doubtful too of a girl who seems healthy but complains of being sick for 8 weeks strait. If I were blind, deaf and from outer-space!!!" Lucky for him I'm a very patient person and I don't like violence:) So to keep you all filled in with my life below I'm going to make a list of things baby h likes and things baby h doesn't like. You may notice the same item on both lists. This is because this child is STUBBORN and some days LOVES food and some days HATES EVERYTHING!! Am I giving birth to a teenager?? God I hope not!

Things baby h likes:
Mcdonald's Breakfast (no judging folks!!)
Waffles
Crepes
Fruit
Potatoes
Carrots
Nutella (THANK GOD!!!!)
Coca-cola (not pepsi!)
Hamburgers
Steak
Seafood
Pizza
PB&J
Sparkling water
Ice cream
BACON!!! (this makes me wonder if i really am having a boy like my dad "thinks")
Lemonade
Sweet tea:)
Soft pretzels
TUM, TU-TUM, TUMS!
Zofran:)


Things baby h does NOT like:
Ginger ale (go figure)
Bread:(
PB&J sandwiches (as of today)
Hamburges
Chicken
Eggs
Pepsi
Water (not kidding)
Milk
Ranch dip (sad day, i used to live on this stuff)
Triscuts
Chicken broth
OJ (not the guy, the juice. although i'm sure baby h will never know who OJ is anyway! I'M.OLD.)
Ice cream
Fruit
Potatoes (when mashed)
Panera (sad)
Olive garden (also sad)
Any strong flavors/smells
COFFEE!!!! ):
Brocolli
Prenatal vitamins (i had to switch to the gummies and supplement other vitamins!)
Turkey breast


*I actually may update this post whenever I think of new dislikes. (more for my record than yours!) I know their are more but I try to block out the things that make me sick and I have def stopped buying them from the store!

1+1=3??

Two short years ago this month Dean dropped down on one knee and proposed to me in the kitchen of our Lexington apartment. Seven months later we were married and eight and a half months after that Dean left for Air Force basic military training. After 8 weeks of BMT (not even seeing him once!) and three months of technical training, both in Texas and 12+ hrs of driving and numerous plane rides away, I was FINALLY reunited with my new (yes, I still say new!) husband!! He had about three weeks at home to visit with friends and family before we would add yet another adventure to our list, MOVING TO KANSAS!!! Those exclamation points are not out of excitement, rest assured. More out of...shock. Yes, shock. Knowing that Dean was assigned to McConnell for 24 months (and there was a very slim chance we would be able to bust out of that joint early!) I did think to myself: "We may actually go six full months without a life changing experience. This will be different." WROOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!! Now I don't enjoy using the "W" word (I think it actually may be against 'woman law') but alas, I was WRONG! It was a weird feeling, being the first time in my life that this has ever happened:) But almost a month after arriving to Wichita, mother nature decided it was time to take a nine month vacation and make me hate food for three-ish weeks:/ And although we were "planning" for this occasion, by NO means did we think it would happen this quickly! For those of you (aka boys) who didn't get the hint, WE'RE PREGNANT!! This morning we went for my 12 week appointment (BYE BYE FIRST TRIMESTER!!!) and baby H is healthy and growing according to schedule with a heart beat of 170:) he/she was excited! Due January 23, 2013, Baby H is sure to be the most exciting/important life changing event we've had so far! The blessings that Dean and I have received in the short time we have been together have really been insurmountable! We are so thankful to the amazing friends and family that have supported us from day one and continue to send their blessings our way. Although its been a whirlwind two years, I wouldn't change one detail and I look forward to the details we'll be adding this year:) Below are the ultrasound pictures from my first appointment at 7weeks 4days.

IT'S A BABY!!! I know it looks more like a..blob, but I'm told it REALLY is a baby:)

So this is real life? I think I'll pass.

The past few weeks have been the end of our (well, mine at least) honeymoon period in Wichita. I stopped laughing about how bad it is, stopped joking about how I was counting down the 24 (now 22) months we had left, and stopped overlooking the fact that we are 12-14 hours from home with little to no friends. I opened my eyes, wiped away the fog, and put my big girl panties on. I let myself feel sorry for..well myself (and it actually felt kind of good!) For the past 6 weeks I had been denying that I was unhappy or that I would have a hard time getting along without our friends and family but the truth is: you don't know what you have until it's gone. And I feel like the last two years being in Lexington gave me proximity to family that I hadn't had for most of my life and the ease of a large group of friends that I had been lacking since high school (since my friends literally have to plan reunions YEARS in advance to get everyone to one continent!) Trips that once took days (going to see family and old friends) could now be traveled in hours. When my nephew Killian was in the NICU and facing an unsure prognosis I was able to hop in my car and drive the 3 hrs to see him and be with my step-sister and family during a very trying time. In my 25 years this isn't a luxury our family has often had. In order to be with family during a situation like this we would previously have to take vacation, drive a day or two, and sometimes leave before we really wanted to in order to get back home to work/school on time.  I don't think my mind had let itself adapt to having a "home" and as quickly as I realized that I had found one, it was time to say goodbye again. So, this is my personal pitty-party. If you're tired of reading my woe-is-me post already then too bad! I'm venting! Ok, seriously. If you're tired of reading just stop reading:) I'll have a new happy blog post soon enough!

Rock River Rapids time!!! (the lazy river here is actually the only reason Jamie came along for the trip:))

Luckily, half way through this blog post I got a text from one of my very best friends Whitney saying that she was in Oklahoma for the week and was planning to re-route her trip to Wichita for a visit! HUM DU LA!!!!! Here I am two sentences away from tears writing this post and the trumpets sound, the clouds part and my spirits rise! I actually started writing this blog on Tuesday and it's now Sunday that I'm finishing. Looking back on what I started, Wichita does not fair me well. lol BUT I need to make it my mission to enjoy this place a little and make it our home. Who wants to visit someone who mopes around her house all the time and complains about everything? (I wouldn't!) So long story short Whitney, her two (very well-behaved!) boys and her (6-month pregnant) sister Jamie came to visit and are really to thank for pulling me out of my nasty I-hate-kansas funk! It's hard to believe that 11 years later Whitney, Jamie and I would all be back in Kansas spending the summer together. We had a blast while they were here! Going to the water park, relaxing in the lazy river, watching movies, having dinner and watching Mason (Whitney's son) fit himself into the kennel with Linkin! I really have no idea what is so appealing about a dog's kennel, but this makes child number two who has done this! (although similarly, Dean was watching both children when this happened:)) Their visit has not only prepared us for future visitors (hint, hint!!!) but has also made me realize that although we live in a different state and we are far from friends and family, we can still make new memories with them at our new home! I am so thankful that we have such amazing people in our lives. I don't think I can say it enough. So thank you all for being so amazing!! Until we see you again, we'll just be hanging out in Kansas, enjoying our new Fresh Market Grocery:) It's like a little piece of home and a little slice of heaven all in one!

I had a person tell me that I shouldn't post pictures like this because someone might call social services. Good thing Mason isn't my son:) besides, the door is obviously unlocked!

If only I had a job...

Those are six words that I never thought would come out of my mouth!! Our move to Wichita gave me an opportunity for the first time since 2004 to just take a break from working and take in all the changes that were happening in our life. I will admit that it WAS very refreshing at first. The first 3 weeks were great; sit by the pool, sleep in, look for houses/apartments, spend time with Dean, get to know the new city, go to morning zumba,ect. But, Wichita isn't THAT big of a city so the exploring only took about a week, we got burned out by the lack of places to live quickly, and Dean soon had to go back to work himself. (the air force gave him a 7 day vaca to help me search for a house and get acquainted with the city) I even decided that I would register for come college classes to take up time and sadly learned that I had missed the registration deadline for summer (June 1st). SO....it appeared that my only option was too start a job search.(BOO!!!) Being a full-time, stay-at-home puppy mom just wasn't doing it for me anymore. Luckily, during our house hunting fiasco I made Dean stop at a couple places-including a Dr's office-to put in some applications. Not thinking that anything would come of this job opportunity I also put in applications at a home health agency and a long term care facility. Because, if you are not familiar with healthcare you know that there's not a huge demand for LPN's in an office setting. To my surprise I got two calls that week!! One from the doctor's office and another from the long term care facility. I was feeling so lucky I almost went out and bought a lottery ticket! I knew at this point that  I was at least going to get one job offer; the long term care facility. I have been a nurse for about 3.5 years and almost exclusively worked in long term care and short term rehab. It's kind of my niche, if you will. So, I feel more than comfortable interviewing for a position that I know I am 110% capable of rocking! The doctor's office on the other hand was going to take some preparation. I have zero office experience (even in college I worked retail!) and most certainly no family medicine experience. I soon realized it was time to turn on my charm:) It was really the only chance I had, charm the pants off of HR (what do they know REALLY about nursing??) and at least get my foot in the door. By then, it would be too tedious to interview and hire someone else when I had already learned most of my job in the first couple days (i really am a quick learner!). I interviewed for both jobs the same day. Family MedCenter at 10am and Manor Care at 2pm. My charm, talent, and overall knowledge (you know you love it!) worked instantly at Manor Care and I was offered and accepted (what the heck) a full time 2nd shift position with the largest corporate long term care company in the United States. This was good for two reasons:1. LTC is my comfort zone so it would be easy to catch on to my job responsibilities and 2. Manor care has 500 facilities in the US so I would almost be guaranteed a job anywhere that we move. The only problem was that Kansas denies employment to health care professionals who don't have an active Kansas License and mine was pending. So, I was hired but scheduled to start at the beginning of  June. This ended up being the best "clause" ever because in the time that it took for me to get my temporary permit from the state Family MedCenter called me back to offer a second interview. (YAY!) This time with their office manager (RN) and the MA I would possibly working alongside. OK, NOW I'M NERVOUS! I can't charm these people, they actually (hopefully) know what my skills and experiences should be:( Much to my surprise, I seemed to be exactly what they were looking for. They were pleasantly surprised that I had previous training on EMR (as this is what they operate under in the office) and actually impressed that I had worked in long term care and short term rehab because the job at this office required me to be very familiar with pharmacology and labs. (BINGO! I KNOW THIS STUFF!) So we laughed, I bragged about how great I am and we shook hands. I left the office with the reassurance that I would get a call to tell me either way, if I was being offered the job or just not the right fit. At this point I was still convinced that this was a loss and I would be returning to LTC. Please don't get me wrong, I actually REALLY love long term care. My fellow nurses, CNA's and KMA's will tell me I'm crazy but I really do love it. I love the rush of have to manage your time when there's an emergency and you have scheduled assessments to do and an admission comes in and at the end of the night it's all finished and you go home (somewhat) on time. It a feeling of accomplishment that I love! And the residents! Who doesn't love a little old lady who calls you fat or ugly or tired just because she's like 104 and can!?? Or a man who probably can't see past his palm who tells you you're beautiful every time you walk into his room? (and you may go in there every hour! SERIOUSLY!) BUT. BUT, BUT, BUT. Being a nurse for 3-4 years and only working in one environment/field of nursing can be limiting. And as much as I love what I did in LTC, I also thrive for the opportunity for advancement and learning. Even though working at a Dr's office doesn't scream: EXCITING, it's new and different, and not an opportunity I have ever been given. So, when Cathy the office manager called me back I was sure that her tone was saying "sorry, you suck. have a great life." So sure that when she offered me the job I had to act like my phone broke up so that I could gather my thoughts! I was being offered a job that I actually wanted, I would get to possibly learn something new, and I was getting to keep my salary from LTC. THIS CAN'T BE REAL??! At this point I was 100% sure that we had been transported to OZ! I couldn't believe that as a nurse I was finally going to have a 8-5, no weekend, no holiday job with my own desk. WOW. I have a real job! I will admit there was a small internal struggle when she told me I would work mon-fri with a half day thurs because if you've ever talked to a nurse about work-perks, they will have told you that working 3 days a week is the best part! But you make sacrifices (yes, 5 days a week is a sacrifice) to get something you want. SO...I ACCEPTED TO JOB!! I started this monday and so far, so good. It's a little humbling because I really am a little lost about the whole hustle and bustle and office protocol. I learned quickly that chewing gum is a big no-no:( But in exchange we get a catered lunch 3 times a week. sooo.....I can learn to carry mints:) But weekends off and no holidays will be a welcome change! I just hope this isn't a honeymoon phase and that I really continue to like it!

There's no place like home

This post is a little dated but with our move and lack of Internet resources I have been forced to post from my phone to make up for lost time. And, if I'm going to do this blog, I want to include as much as I can! So, as some of you know two weekends ago I got the chance to fly back to my old Kentucky home to accompany my dad on yet another 12 hour drive to Kansas (yipeee...)This time though, with all of our stuff!! Because at last it was time for us to finally move into our house:) and because my dad is awesome and agreed to drive a 24' rental truck 800-some-odd-miles containing all of our furniture and clothing and life necessities. It also gave me the opportunity to attend a wedding reception for our good friends Mason and Annie. (Which was a blast!!) And although I was only able to spend the weekend in Lexington, (I literally flew in Saturday morning and drove out sunday evening) it was so refreshing to get to see many of our close friends and family. It would be easy to insert the quote, "you don't know what you have until it's gone." here but that would be false in so many ways. Although Dean and I were excited to start our new adventure together with the Air Force and we were over-joyed by the opportunity for travel, we both always knew the hardest part about following this dream would be leaving our home. Now as everyone knows I am a blue blooded, all american, army brat. Born and raised, second generation. I moved, A LOT. I am a modern day nomad. I am from everywhere. I have NO home. BUT Kentucky IS home. It's where my family is from, it's where I was born and (partially) raised, it's where Dean and his entire family (seriously) were born and raised, it's where Dean and I were married and started our lives together and it's where our best of friends are! It's a small-big town and it's home. Which is why we both knew that leaving our comfort zone would be one of the hardest things we have ever done. On my drive back into Lex (Abby, Mindy and Alli were awesome enough to pick me up in Louisville)I stared out the car window taking everything in and noticing that nothing had changed. Of course nothing had changed, I had only been gone a month! I told the girls that day that living in Kansas was like going to Narnia. I felt like I had been away for YEARS and that I had grown and changed so much only to come home and see that everything was the same:) I think originally it was our fear (or at least mine) that we would move away and everything would change without us. Leaving us in the past and our friends and family in the future. But after seeing my in-laws and nieces and our dear, dear friends I realized that home is always going to be HOME. It will always be warm, welcoming, and full of love. Dean and I can't begin to describe how lucky we are to be surrounded by the group of people (friends and family) that we are. I guess you really can always go home, but clicking your heels three times doesn't really take you there. Unless you're clicking on a plane or in a car of course:)
Below are some pictures of our amazing friends from the reception.
(Thanks Abby!!)

me, alli, and abby!

myself and the beautiful bride!!!(and her awesome st.lucian tan!)

it's a really cute picture, if you're laying sideways:)

my lovely date for the wedding! (never mind that her husband was sitting next to us!)

the girls! <3 them!!

"Travelin' Soldier" or Airman:)

It's two for one week!! The Memorial Day sales have really got me in the buy-one-get-one mood:) so two blogs this week folks! I've been meaning to post the lyrics to this song, mostly because I've had some feedback saying "you're married to an airman, not a soldier!" and the truth is, I named the blog after a song by the Dixie Chicks that played several times on Pandora during our horrendous drive out.  I was told by a couple civilian friends in Lexington that Dean and I should start a blog so that everyone would know what was going on in our lives and they could follow us as we move. I liked this idea because most of my friends and family are military and moving isn't a huge deal to us, but to our family and friends in Lexington it is! They didn't grow up in this life style they don't go to work on base daily or move to a different location (usually unwillingly) every couple years. So, since most of the reason I decided to start the blog was because of our new-found military life, I thought the title was more than fitting:) Here's a peak into the theme song and blog title of our new life! Although I DO hope the song isn't indicative of how our new life will go:/ good thing I'm not THAT young:)

"Travelin' Soldier"

Two days past eighteen
He was waiting for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth in a cafe there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy so she gives him a smile
And he said would you mind sittin' down for a while
And talking to me,
I'm feeling a little low
She said I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go

So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend but I don't care
I got no one to send a letter to
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you

Chorus: I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her of his heart
It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of
He said when it's getting kinda rough over here
I think of that day sittin' down at the pier
And I close my eyes and see your pretty smile
Don't worry but I won't be able to write for awhile

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said and the Anthem sang
A man said folks would you bow your heads
For a list of local Vietnam dead
Crying all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair

I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone when the letter said
A soldier's coming home

normalcy at last!

Normalcy (noun) - being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning.

This^ is not exactly normal but it did me giggle:) Dean got issued a HUGE bag of cold weather gear and decided to put it ALL on at the same time. I don't think he'll be getting cold on the flight-line this winter!

Yeah...i guess we're having a bit of normalcy in the Haggard household:) I think it's time to admit that Dean and I are adjusting to life in Kansas. I don't know that I say we are enjoying ourselves yet, buuuut every day is feeling more normal than the last! Last week Dean finally started his in-processing (just lots of paper work and seminars) and getting familiar with his flight and co-workers. I had two job interviews (YAY!!) and got an offer and a second interview (YIPEE!!). I signed up for school and will hopefully be enrolling in classes this week. Maybe I WILL finish my bachelors before 30:) We finalized our housing situation by giving up our base housing option and putting a deposit down on an adorable house in Derby, KS which we move in to June 5th. Plan your visits now!!! We moved into a temporary corporate apartment until then and it feels like we're real newlyweds now! It's a small one bedroom, one bathroom (what else do we need for 3 weeks?) but the best/worst part is that it came fully furnished with furniture, cable and internet! but no dishes/pots/pans/linens:( So in order to 1.) not eat fast food 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for 3 weeks and 2.) not gain 100 lbs by eating only microwavable junk food and cold cut sandwiches I decided to get a couple things to get us by. Let me just say its the saddest (and most hilarious) thing ever! we have 1 pan, 1 pot, 1 spatula, 1 (really crappy) knife, and one coffee cup. I did go out on a limb and by paper plates and bowls and solo cups so we at least have a good supply of those:) But the last week or so has been really humbling, it makes you realize that you really don't NEED all "that stuff" to live and make good food:) Too bad all of "our stuff" will be here in three weeks and our humble living situation will gone! darn!! (I may not be all THAT sad). Dean's not suffering though folks, NEVER FEAR! He's got his x-box and playstation hooked up and somehow convinced me that we needed to buy a new 55"3D  tv (it WAS a really good deal) that takes up (seriously) half of one wall in this "humble" abode we've got. All I do is shake my head and laugh though at this point. We're in a 600 sq ft apartment and we have THREE tv's and only 1 knife. Priorities, priorities:) We are one brand new sports car and a baby away from being the stereotypical lower enlisted couple haha and let me just say thank god for Jerry and Gina! Their the two who helped us find our house and keep us from having no social life what-so-ever! We've been so lucky to at least have the two of them to hang out with and get over-charged for beer with:) 

This is it folks!! 1713 Evergreen Ct. Derby, KS. There are still people living here so no mail until after the 5th of June please!! We can't wait to send out "We've Moved" post cards:) It may not look that  room-y from the outside but there's plenty of space (and rooms) for guests!!

house hunters: wichita??

Well, Dean and I may not have been HGTV but it really felt like we were lost in Oz this past week:( the house hunting started....poorly, and then it continued...even worse, so we accepted a house on base. This was both the answer and the beginning to our NEW problems. Dean was told by several (SEVERAL) co-workers that we NEED to live off base. "Don't do it," they said. "You'll hate it," they warned. I, having lived on a military instillation my entire life had a hard time believing that it was any different than I remembered but Dean, ooohhh sweet Dean was scared to death that his co-workers were right and we would be stuck in a housing area that was awful. SOOOOOOOOOO.....since we hadn't picked up keys or signed the official "acceptance" letter yet we decided to use Dean's last couple days of TDY to search a little more. We looked at EVERYTHING!!! I even (to appease my lovely husband) agreed to look at places without basements. Let me tell you problem NUMERO UNO with the housing in Wichita: it is poorly kept/maintained/updated. I don't know if we looked at a single house that didn't have dark brown trim, old steel windows, and smelly carpet. I'm assuming from the smell of these places that the pet population in KS however is very high. It's also an anomaly to find a single family home in the Wichita-metro area with a basement!! If its a single family home it doesn't have a basement. If it has a basement it's $1,700 a month (I'm probably UNDER exaggerating). If it has a basement, its a duplex or townhome. NOTHING makes sense in this housing market. We were told by one realtor, after seeing a window that was cracked and held together by duct-tape: "well, the landlord really doesn't want to fix this because the windows are old and pricey and this is just a rental." Dean couldn't keep up with me as I RAN out of this place. After looking at probably every rental property (house, apartment, townhome) in the southeast side of Wichita (which is where we were told by many many friends to look) we ventured to the Northeast side of town. THIS IS HOME! (we thought) it reminded us very much of Lexington with all the restaurants and shops and NEW (yeah i said it!) real estate! We found a couple options (apartment options, the homes are OUTRAGEOUS! and rightfully so) but none would be available any sooner than base housing. We were back at square one:( where are we going to live for the next 28-ish days??!!We put the house hunting on hold for the weekend, got our thoughts together and decided to go church shopping instead. Any excuse to go shopping right:) I found a couple churches (through my love, google) that offered contemporary services so we picked one and left. Luckily i had google-ed several churches that morning because before Dean and I even sat down in the pews we knew this was not the church for us! Not that there was anything wrong with the church what-so-ever, it was just very very traditional and came with an older, traditional crowd. SO as embarrassing as it is to admit, Dean and I snuck out the side entrance and drive about 1/2 mile up the road to Central Christian Church. We pulled in and I could tell immediately that this would be a better fit, thank God (seriously, I was thanking him!). The crowd was younger, the worship band was lively and very talented, and the lead minister (we found out later) is from LEXINGTON! We couldn't have felt more at home! Well....that's a blatant lie. We could have felt more at home, at home:( but my gypsy soul was pleased and I could tell Dean was relieved to be able to talk a little UK bball. That afternoon Dean got a call from his friend Jerry. Jerry went to tech school with Dean in Texas and was the ONLY other poor soul who got stationed with him at McConnell. He had good news for us! Jerry's long-time girlfriend Gina has a good family friend who just so happens to be a realtor in Derby, a town very close to base. Jerry goes on to tell  us that Kathy (the realtor) has a house for us to look at for a great price that meets all our needs. PRAISE JESUS!!! (seriously, I was praising!) So, long story short we set up the  meeting and had a look at what (hopefully) will be our new home!! Dean has to work out some kinks with our paperwork on base and we're praying that the housing office doesn't make this difficult for us, as they can. But the place is about as perfect as we could hope for! Full finished basement, 2 car garage, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, small deck, GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD, and not more than our monthly salary in rent:) So send your prayers our way! If we get to move in we'll have plenty of room for visitors too! and I  know you're all just dying to visit the wheat fields of Kansas. LOL

following the yellow brick road

Well, its happened. Dean and I officially arrived at McConnell AFB Sunday night around 11:30 pm. We were welcomed to the city by heat lightening and blinding fog, followed by a light rain. But after being on the road almost 14(YES FOURTEEN)hours we were both just ready to stop and be settled SOMEWHERE! Our morning started our successful. We stayed in Hopkinsville with my grandmother, who made us dinner Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning (mmmmm) and then headed out toward Evansville, IN to start the first leg of our trip on I-64. My dad later told me that my grandmother (an army wife herself) told him the morning was all but nostalgic to her as Dean and I are now the third generation of Military in our family and the second generation to stay at her house before PCS-ing:) This increased my excitement about our move. We made it to I-64 in great time. The weather was favorable and traffic was moderate. We made it to St. Louis by 1:30 and stopped at a local Qdoba that we found (it was like a final gift from god!). Then the problems started.....about 15 miles past St. Louis we hit a traffic jam. After about 30 minutes I saw a roadside marque telling us that the accident was at mile marker 191. This made me uber hopeful because we were at mile 194. 30-45 minutes and ONE mile later Dean had to pee (another gift from god) so we weezled our way out of traffic and onto the exit where a very nice lady told us about an access road that could help us bypass the traffic. THANK THE LORD! at this point we had already stopped for an hour lunch and wasted over an hour in traffic. My GPS that predicted an 8:30 arrival now predicted 10:54 pm and I felt a little queezy. About an hour outside of Kansas City the sun started to set and the rain got heavy. Of course, I had forgotten my glasses in hoptown at my gramma's house so my anxiety was through the roof because I have poor night vision to begin with, adding rain to that situation is a disaster waiting to happen! My exact words to Dean as we were driving through heavy rain, fog, and lightning were "I can't wait to get to Wichita!" Although I'm placing the blame for that comment on my severe fatigue, it was comforting to know we  had a place to lay our heads for the night waiting for us:) We checked into the temporary lodging facility and told the pups goodnight. A day of house hunting and familiarizing ourselves with the base and the city was waiting for us. If only it could be done from the comfort of my borrowed bed!

 It's all fun and games when you think you're stopping for a good ol' lunch "half way" through your trip:/ this may be the last Qdoba we get for a while though!! (which is why I ate for 3:))

 "Treats and snoozin'. Snoozin' and treats. I would have given my life to trade places with him!!"

The gateway to the west!! As you can see, the sun was equally as tired as we were and decided to take a nap and let the rain in:(