We are here we are here we are here!

I've not forgotten this blog just yet! I'd say I've been too busy to write, but with the exception of today that's really not true. Again, I've fallen into the rut of "I should write about this..." and I just haven't.

Still waiting on Dori to be a full person on paper. We have his birth cert, and are currently waiting on his SSC so that we can enter him in DEERS, and thusly TRICARE! My god, what a wonderful day that will be. Hopefully having to go through all this (and having to do all the "cleanup" himself) will help motivate Anthony to be a little more proactive on the paperwork. Hey, girl can dream!

In spite of it all, Dori is still growing. Probably a little less chunky than he would be without the tie, but he's by no means in any danger. :) Things are becoming a tad on the painful side for me, but I think part of that is him moving more fully into teething. He likes to take the random chomp on my nipple. Owwwooooooooo. Not nice!

He is, overall, a really sweet and happy guy. He loooooves attention, but he rewards it so nicely, with happy coos and gurgles, grins and raspberries. Drool is everywhere. I go through 2-3 shirts a day that are just ring-em-out SOAKED, and he goes through more. How babies at this age are not perma-dehydrated is beyond me. I love it though. He is quite the mover and shaker. In quite the rush to be following brother around, this kiddo is not content to just lie around doing nothing. He still wiggles all over on his back, but he's recently added back to tummy rolling (and occasionally tummy to back) to his reportoire. Even more recently, he's enjoying tummy time more. He's reaching for toys, and when he gets them (or, even better, a burp rag) he clutches them to his mouth with both hands, like a little chipmunk, and just starts slathering them in drool and chomping away.

Ray is still only half interested. He's helped with a couple diapers now, and will sometimes show Dori a toy to entertain him, but mostly he just pays enough attention to him not to step on him and that's it. (Honestly, that's enough for me right now lol) He will talk to him though, and lord knows Dori LOVES watching big brother. Grins big whenever he comes near. Ray is going to have a shadow before he knows it!

He (Ray) is still growing his vocabulary by leaps and bounds. Sentences become more intelligible by the day and come each evening he's always tried out 4-5 new words.

I'm discovering the joys of domesticity. Well, more specifically, doing things with my hands that yield lasting results. (Dishes = not fulfilling, sewing something I can use daily = highly fulfilling and FUN) Really enjoying what little sewing I'm able to do. Bought a few things today I've been in need of, and soon I'll be setting to work turning the remainder of an old sweater into 1-2 more diaper covers. (I already made wool longies with the sleeves and they are fantastic) I've also discovered a site with some nifty free diaper patterns to use with scrap cloth around the house (which we have tons of, between worn out bed sheets and Anthony's ridiculous number of black t-shirts). SO excited to get started on that but trying to hold off until I get my rotary cutter in the mail next week. I also turned a receiving blanket into 20 wipes, took about 2 hrs and again, very easy. Latest project (and quickest) was a pair of knee socks into arm warmers, the kind that come to the palm and have a hole for the thumb. I actually did those by hand, though they admittedly required almost no sewing at all.

I'm not sure what the inspiration has been, but I've just been so enjoying the thrifty stuff. I'm yearning for a garden. I should really plant some things in pots when spring gets closer (well I could probably do it now, not like we'll get a freeze here). I'm wanting chickens to have fresh eggs, of all things. And you all know how much I LOVE 1. birds and 2. pets in general. Of course the latter is merely a pipe dream for now, I wouldn't even want chickens in a yard this small. Ideally one day we'd have a little spot of land (say, an acre or two would be more than sufficient) so that we wouldn't have them quite so near the house. Plus by that time the boys will be older and we can make a big homeschooling to do over it all. :)

I think that's it. I'm craving nature. And basics. And things that I did growing up. This neighborhood, this whole area, is just stifling with civilization. I want space. I want trees that weren't planted by human hands to "green up" the place. I want bushes and plants that aren't landscaped. Places I can take the boys where they will actually have a chance at seeing wildlife. Space to run! We're in a cul-de-sac but the whole street is so packed with cars and people come flying in here...I'm free-range but it scares even me. I hate that the only place to take Ray and let him run (nearby) are carefully manicured parks and playgrounds.

Reminds me, I really need to take a trip over to our nearest real park. (Like, with hiking/biking trails) Soon. My soul needs nature. I think maybe that's why I've been craving "weather" too. It's just so pasteurized here, and then on top of it even the weather is insufferably predictable.

In short, California, or at least this part of it, is not for me. Not long term.

Still going to ICAN, and loving it. It feeds my soul, directly, talking with like-minded women about my passion. It's honestly stunning how satisfying it is. I recommend a meeting or two to EVERY woman that gets anywhere near birth, whether it's through her profession or because she's expecting. Whether she's had a c-section or not. Go with your ears and heart open, even if you don't say anything. You won't regret it. (Of course, it's entirely possible that the San Diego ICAN is just the best thing ever. Hehehe)

Work continues for Anthony. Same bullshit different year, week, day, hour. Trying to keep our heads up, that thankfully it won't last forever. Before we know it this ship will be in the past and we'll be on to something new, hopefully better. For now, it's tough. We see him so little, just a few hours a few nights a week, and if we're lucky, one day on the weekend. If we're REALLY lucky, both days. Made all the more difficult because we get so little time, and too soon he'll be in Bahrain again. Until October. 3rd Ray birthday that he'll miss, hoping it'll be the last. He may be home for Dori's first, we shall see. It blows my mind that he'll come back to a one year old. And breaks my heart. But I try not to bring it up, because I know it must be so, so hard for him. I start missing my babies if they take an extra long nap. I can't imagine having to leave for even a week, much less 7 months. :( I know they'll survive, and they'll still have a great relationship with him. My mom was gone so much when I was Ray's age, and look at us now? Still jabbering on the phone for hours every few days. Close as could be. But still, it hurts to see it in the short term and I'm sure she still gets a pang for that time lost with me. (At least if all those claims of drunken, weepy "I miss you!" phone calls are to be believed. Lol)

Alright well that's it for now. We keep on keeping on. Squeezing the joy we can get out of it and surviving the rest. There's alot of joy, truly. I just wish Anthony had the time to get more of it. Four years, almost exactly, to being FREE! (Of course we'll be off this atrocious ship before then, thank GOD. I hope it sinks. With no one aboard, naturally.)