Lil Peanut at 12 Weeks

We had our First Trimester Screening Appointment on Christmas Eve.  The doctors office was backed up when we got there and we very impaciently waited in the waiting room for over an hour!  We were quite displeased with this, and I spent most of the time eating the crackers which were to accompany the baked brie I was to bring to the family holiday party.  However, all the bad feelings disappeared as soon as we got to see our little Peanut. He was moving around so much, kicking and squirming like a little frog!  It was so funny and so reassuring to see the little guy.  The early stages of pregnancy are odd..I dont really have a belly yet (except after I eat), I am starting to feel less morning sickness and I can't feel it moving.  And aside from the pre-pubecent acne that is now covering my mug and the love handles that just won't quite, I often wonder if I am pregnant at all?! But He (She)'s in there!! Here's our little guy...all 52 mm of him!

Like I said, I haven't changed too much (belly wise) but you can definately see a little difference in my waist line and my butt (which I just noticed!) Awesome.

7 Weeks 1 Day

12 Weeks 1 Day

Needless to say, I am exstatic to hit the gym today!

Our Christmas was awesome and Now pretty much everyone in our lives knows about the baby.  It was cool to share with the Callahan Clan.  They naturally were quite enthusiastic as they are the type that asks you on your wedding day when you will start trying for kids.

Hoping all of you  had an awesome Christmas!

Love,

Me

Christmas Crazy

I think that it's safe to say that we all get a little coo-coo around the holidays. It's an overdose of food, drinks, money spending, and family all wrapped into one. Quite the cocktail if you ask me. Every year the holidays seem to catch me by surprise and it's safe to say for me, that this time of year i never learn from my past year mistakes. My greatest flaw, procrastination, leaves me to battle all of my fellow procrastinators every year at the stores. So why don't i start my shopping in October or some other time other than 2-3 days before Christmas?

1. Denial. There is something wired in my brain that refuses to let me believe that Christmas is a matter of importance unless it's only 2 days away.

2. Spending the money. Who wouldn't rather spend the money on themselves? Call me selfish but you all know it's true.

3. Procrastinator. Like i said before, this is just one of my many flaws.

4. I have no idea what to get anybody, and my lack of creativity is of no help to that whatsoever.

5. Time... Who has it anyways?

6. Wrapping the gifts....

So last night as i stood in line for 20 minutes at Ross i had a revelation. Who cares, oh well, i procrastinate and i always will. So long as it get's the job done, i will stand in lines for 20 minutes + surrounded by other stressed out crazy last minute shoppers, trying to cut in front of me all the while to the joyful sounds of screaming children and Christmas music (this makes quite the soundtrack...)

The good news is. You all make it worth it. Happy Holidays and i can't wait to see ya'll (as Caitlin would say)

Doula What?

Well, it's almost official.

As many of you may already know, I feel my calling in life is to be a midwife. I know it seems rather out of the blue and random but I can't even begin to describe how passionate I am about encouraging women to have the birth of their dreams, when possible.

For now though, since we're moving to Japan and we are planning on starting a family in the next couple of years, becoming a doula is the next best thing for me to do.

I will begin the certification process immediately, starting with an extensive reading list and a Birth Doula Workshop in January in Alabama. I will then need to attend several births and birthing classes...

Some people may find it strange that someone who has never experienced child birth on a personal level would have any inclination to this career field. All I can say to that is this. Ever since I was a little girl, I've dreamed about having the ultimate birth experience. Weird? Maybe. :-) My Mom has inspired me to some degree by having all 5 of us girls naturally. I can remember with our youngest sister, while my Mom was laboring, she was getting our lunches ready for our school day. When she had a contraction she'd stop and work through it. Then a minute later it was like nothing had happened. It amazed me. She knew her body so well that they were able to stay at home for quite some time before needing to really get to the hospital to deliver. I do believe that the American culture has created a stigma of fear, terror and unmanageable pain to go along with natural child birth. Women have been birthing children for a millennia with the support of other women and a knowledgeable midwife. Of course I don't say all of this to discount the importance of Obstetricians!!

What is a doula? The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily. A Birth Doula Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth Stays with the woman throughout the labor Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decision Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level

Why use a Doula? Women have complex needs during childbirth and the weeks that follow. In addition to medical care and the love and companionship provided by their partners, women need consistent, continuous reassurance, comfort, encouragement and respect. They need individualized care based on their circumstances and preferences. DONA International doulas are educated and experienced in childbirth and the postpartum period. We are prepared to provide physical (non-medical), emotional and informational support to women and their partners during labor and birth, as well as to families in the weeks following childbirth. We offer a loving touch, positioning and comfort measures that make childbearing women and families feel nurtured and cared for. Numerous clinical studies have found that a doula’s presence at birth tends to result in shorter labors with fewer complications reduces negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience reduces the need for pitocin (a labor-inducing drug), forceps or vacuum extraction and cesareans reduces the mother’s request for pain medication and/or epidurals Research shows parents who receive support can: Feel more secure and cared for Are more successful in adapting to new family dynamics Have greater success with breastfeeding Have greater self-confidence Have less postpartum depression Have lower incidence of abuse

Anyway... :-)

Please keep my endeavors in your prayers as I finally embark on a career journey that will ultimately affect the lives of many women and babies!

Holiday Office Party

Santa Clause came to the office on Friday. Funny! I still look pregnant in this picture.... Huh?

We also had a Fortune Teller, and Charater Artist, a juggler, a henna artist and tHe Grinch...me made super cool ballon animals ;)

We had a raffell... some people won PLane Tickets, Ipods, Mastercards, Starbucks, In&Out....I scored with the leave early on a Friday.... The awesome thing is that I am on salary...aaaaand.... I never ever really stop working.... eeeh...but whos complaining. At least the day was filled with Cheese, shrimp, Mimosa's, Koo-Ka-Roo and cookies :) Oh I forgot to mention!!! In the white elephant game I won an awesome warm scarf from brookstone...and $15 I-Tunes... perfect stocking stuffer for Hunter :)

Informational of Another Variety

September 2008 brought on a journey that my Aviator had been dreaming of forever. 13 months later, the United States Air Force made it official with that beautiful set of wings you see on his chest. From here on out it's going to be the real world. As soon as we get to Yokota, he'll be flying missions and deploying. The past almost 2 years have been cherished and will always be close to my heart as we started out lives together both as married folk and as an active duty military family.

I know I'm not exactly a hand model but I wanted to show off my new ring.. :-) As some of you may already know, the Aviator and I have had a very interesting time with my wedding ring/diamond from the very start... We started off with a beautiful tension setting engagement that was later on accompanied by a complimentary wedding band. After about a week of wearing the wedding band with the engagement ring, the diamond popped out and was lost forever, the day BEFORE we insured the ring........ Needless to say, it was very traumatic for us. We'd been married almost a full week when this happened and neither of us knew what to do next... So we waited a about a month and then called the jeweler that made the engagement ring and wedding band and explained what had happened, hoping that perhaps they had their own form of diamond insurance... That was a big fat negative... The only thing they could do was reset a new diamond for us at no cost. They felt terrible about it. So we eventually ordered a new diamond from Blue Nile that was absolutely the perfect one. We mailed the ring set to Montgomery, Alabama to have a new setting fashioned from the gold after I described to them over the phone what I'd like.. No more tension setting... This girl NEEDS prongs to sleep at night... :-) So upon delivery of the diamond, I drove to Alabama to hand deliver the diamond for the new setting... The new set the jeweler fashioned was beautiful. I couldn't even begin to describe how happy I was to just have my wedding ring back. That was almost 2 years ago. Since then, I've been keeping my eyes open for a heck of a deal on something that I absolutely loved, something that said "CAITLIN" all over it... We found it about 2 months ago at the mall in Little Rock, marked 70% down from it's original price. It was perfect. It still is. There was no centerstone and it was the perfect size. We waited and waited and waited. Then we went ahead and got it. :-) Here it is with my same diamond. We took it and my old setting to a local jeweler to have the diamond set and to have a wedding band made with the original one. It's so beautiful. We still look at it and check to see if there is a diamond still there... Old habits die hard... Ha ha... This one is insured... Ha ha... ha.... ha...

We went on a quick weekend trip to Chicago a couple of weekends ago. We met one of the Aviator's childhood friends and his wife up there for some sight seeing and food eating. :-) Here we are at The Bean at Millennium park... This was an amazing sight! You can see the entire city of Chicago in the its reflection! It's really neat!

This was taken by a really sweet couple from Denver... They said it was -40 degrees with windchill in CO so the 3 degree weather we were griping about was quite endurable for them... This is the SkyDeck at Willis Tower (formally known as Sears Tower). 108 stories up and 4-feet off of the wall makes for quite an exhilarating photo opportunity...

Aviator and I in the heart of it all. There is really nothing like being married to your best friend... He is the best travel buddy a girl could ever ask for!

Just wanted to throw this in here... We got a new camera a couple of weeks ago and it has a food setting... :-) Cool right? Kinda makes me feel like 'The 'OTHER' Pioneer Woman'... :-)

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas season! Don't forget why we celebrate it! Joy to the world!

The Hangover...

Brunch
passed out erika
margaritas...
Jake & Frank
This basically paints a pretty good picture of how the night ended
Arriving at the ball
Wives: Dana, Sharee, Erika, and meKyle and the 3 Marines: Jake, Frank, and Brian
~ Last Saturday Kyle and I boarded an early flight at Burbank and headed to Vegas for the Marine Corp Ball that our friends the Panza's invited us to. We checked into the Hard rock Hotel which is where we would be staying and where the ball was being held. At the Hotel we met some of the guys whom our friend Frank had been in Iraq with and their wives. Everyone was totally awesome and we had the best time. This was my first time in Vegas that i actually got to party Vegas style, as in drunken debauchery until 5AM. We headed down to the ball for cocktail hour at 6, at 7 we were all seated and they had a very emotional presentation of the Marine Birthday cake and commemorated all of the Marine's who have given their lives. There was not a dry eye at our table. Frank and his buddies lost quite a few comrades during their time in Iraq. Then we had dinner, after which all hell broke loose and the partying went into full force :) We danced and drank and then went up to our rooms to party a little more and then went back to the bar and then it all get's a little fuzzy ;) Unfortunately the next morning check out was at 11 so needless to say, very hungover maybe even still drunk and very tired, we headed to a Mexican restaurant for brunch. $15 per person got you a brunch buffet and bottomless margaritas, needless to say i'm still hungover today, and had one of the best weekends of my life ;)

Long Time NO Blog!

Since I've been so neglectant to the nest I've decided to fill you all in on the happenings of the last month and few weeks. Hope everyone had a great turkey day and i also hope that you are preparing for the smörgåsbord of holidays that are approaching.

~We had a great turkey day, we went to Brian and Tammy's house. Then the following Saturday we went to the USC game for Kyle's birthday. We started tailgating at 7AM for a 7 PM game, so you can imagine how that day went ;) We had a great time drinking beers and BBQ'ing . The Day ending fantastically with USC pulling it together to have a win over UCLA at the grand coliseum.

~ Last weekend our good friends Todd and Kelly got married at El Capitan. We stayed at El Capitan Canyons which is like an upscale campground that has canvas tents with hardwood floors, heaters, and queen sized beds, as well as cabins. The ceremony was beautiful and Kyle did a great job as one of the groomsmen.

~As soon as we got home from the wedding we knew we had to get our christmas tree up. So we packed Moto and Porter up in the truck and went to the nearest tree lot where we found the perfect one. Kyle is yet to put the lights up on the house, but i will be sure to post pictures of that as soon as he does.

~ Our adventures continue as we will be headed to Vegas this weekend for a Marine Corp ball. ( We were invited by Kyle's friend who is a veteran) I've decided to go ravishing in red for the occasion...

~

~ So there you have it!

miss you all and can't wait until New Year's!

I Don't Feel Like Dancin

But you'd never know it!  Check out the link below...let me preface it by saying "It's Hideously Awesome!"

http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/OCTqbXsNqnX2EZaI

Happy Holidays!

Tallie

This is why

This is why I dont blog tooo often. This is what my desk looks like, on a good day. Everysingle file you see represents a live shipment thats currently happening. On the left...is a pile of billing that you cant see. Behind me is pile that I need to file. Further left is a 5 inch pile of quotes that I am waiting for the client to pull the trigger on. Maybe one day Ill take a picture of my Olympic Binders. They are top secret and get locked up at night ;0) ooooo There are 3 of them. 3 inches filed with manuels and documents, quotes and PO's.

Carry On...