Patiently Awaiting Orders

Or maybe not so patiently...

Arrrghh!

In theory, Jason gets his orders in less than a week.  Of course, we all know how the military is.  Hurry up and wait, right?

Anyways, Jason applied for staff pick-up and according to the staff on his crew, he got it.  I don't know why the current instructors would tell him that he was accepted, but I'll believe it when I see it in writing because I know the second I start my garden in the backyard, his orders will magically change and we'll be off to Guam.  Or I'll buy curtains for the windows in Kaelin's room and we'll be sent to Pearl Harbor. 

I'm not completely okay with us staying in Charleston for another 2.5 years.  The whole place is a swamp and when it rains, you can smell the paper mill.  It's too hot.  It's too humid.  NWS Charleston is one of the crappiest bases I've ever seen.

For the past several months, I've been planning on moving to Norfolk in September.  My family is in Virginia.  We have friends in Norfolk.  I have my grad school application filled out for Old Dominion and I'm just waiting to put it in the mail.  I've researched neighborhoods and parks and birthing centers and gyms and races.  I've even looked at housing in Groton (Hi Breezy!) and Bremerton (Hi Jeff!) in case we didn't get Norfolk.  Honestly, the only reason I even want Norfolk is the proximity to my family.  Part of me still hopes we go to Seattle.  My best friend lives in Seattle and I would completely bring back grunge single-handedly.  And the coffee...

Six months ago, Jason didn't even want staff pick-up.

It began when I realized how cheap housing was in Goose Creek than any other duty station he requested.  We LOVE our house.  It's huge.  We have a massive backyard with a privacy fence.  We have a fireplace and hardwood floors and a garden tub.  And Harper was born here, literally.  We could never find anything similar if we moved to Norfolk (at least not in a decent neighborhood).  We would be stuck in base housing in both Groton and Bremerton, which don't get me wrong -- base housing is nice there, but not nearly as big and as private as what we are living in now.  Plus, we would only qualify for a 3 bedroom until Jason reenlists in a few months.

But really, the big reason Jason decided to apply for SPU is that he won't be deployed anytime soon.  We could move to Norfolk in September and he could be in the middle of the Atlantic by October.  He could miss Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years.  He could miss our 5 year anniversary.  He could miss Harper's first step, first word, first birthday.

I've been through a deployment as a Navy wife before.  It sucks.  I know that Jason will be deployed.  I just don't want him deployed right now while Harper's so little and while we are planning a bigger family.  Will I want him to get deployed in 3 years?  Of course not.  But with our current situation, it's preferable to being deployed anytime soon.

Plus, we have a big-ass TV we don't want to move.

Although, this whole post is pretty pointless because it's up to the Navy.  Yes, we've been told we're staying here, but who knows?  All I can do is put our life on hold for another week while waiting to hear the news. 

I'm Ba-ack!

Hello, all!  After an unplanned hiatus, I'm back and blogging.  Lots of updates will be coming in the next few weeks as I have time, but first... a quick explanation as to my absence.

I went on vacation.  My mom's internet is worse than dial-up.  While I can check facebook from my phone, I wasn't about to write a post using a touch screen.

Harper's crawling.  She's been crawling for over a month, but now she's really getting around.  I swear, I can't put her down for two seconds without her finding something she shouldn't have.  We've done preliminary babyproofing, but not enough that she can safely crawl around while I play on the internet. 

Yeah, it's been that sort of month. 

Playstation controllers go in the mouth, right?

6 Months

Today, my baby is closer to being a toddler than a newborn.  What the hell, time?  You had no problem stretching six months out while I was anxious to meet my baby.  You had no problem slowing the clock down when I spent weeks at a time hunched over the toilet.  But now?  Now that things are getting fun, you're speeding up. 

And it's not fair.

My tiny 8 lb 10 oz baby is 16 pounds now.  She no longer fits in her adorable newborn sleepers.  Rather, she's wearing people clothes, size 9 months.  Instead of staying still in one place looking all cute she's scurrying around the house chewing on cords (still cute, though.) 

Please slow down. 

At least until we hit the terrible twos.

Happy Birthday, Kaelin!

August 2, 2001

I woke up this morning with really bad cramps.  It was 2:00 AM and everyone else was still asleep.  I didn't want to wake anyone up if I wasn't in labor, but after I got up and started walking around, the pain got worse.  I woke Grandma up, and she said that she thought I was having a baby!  The cramps hurt so bad that I laid in bed with Poopie and cried.  At 4:00, we called the hospital and Dr. Duda said to go ahead and come in even though she doubted that I was really in labor. 

On the way to the hospital, Dad and I were stopped by a train.  Then, the main hospital doors were locked!  We walked around the building for half an hour looking for an entrance. 

After I was admitted, things went slow at first.  The nurses kept asking me questions while I was having contractions and got annoyed with me when I couldn't answer.  All I wanted to do was to curl up in a ball, but they wouldn't let me because of all of the straps.  They finally gave me a shot of Demerol and I went back to sleep until I was able to get an epidural. 

Once the epidural was in place, I went from 4 to 10 cm in 45 minutes!  After an hour of pushing, you were born -- a baby girl!  Grandma and Dad were so surprised that you weren't a boy.  You were our daughter, our little Kaelin Blaire.

Dear Idiot, You Suck

A few days ago, a radio host in South Carolina went on the air about how she was "disgusted with breastfeeding."  You can read a transcript of the segment here. 

I'm pissed off.  I mean, I am really fucking pissed off.  I believe that everyone can have their own opinions, even if they are ignorant jackasses.  But when you broadcast that opinion to hundreds of thousands of susceptible listeners...  well, I'm really pissed off.  It's the total lack of support from other WOMEN that keeps moms from breastfeeding. 
Anyways, I wrote a letter to the show's program director and I encourage everyone to do the same.  You can find the contact information for both he and the rest of the radio staff here.  I don't care whether you chose to breastfeed or formula feed.  EVERY parent has the right to feed their kids. 

***
Dear Mr. McLain:

I am writing to you today over a segment that was aired on the Russ & Lisa Show on July 6th describing Lisa Rollins' lunch at Chick-Fil-A.

I am appalled that you have such a bigot on the air. Over the course of the conversation, Ms. Rollins suggested that breastfeeding mothers:

     1. Nurse in a car, no matter the temperature.

     2. Nurse in a car while the car is moving.

     3. Nurse in a public restroom.

     4. Stay at home.

     5. Feed their baby a bottle rather than nurse.

     6. Leave public areas if the need to nurse arises.

Ms. Rollins then went on to suggest there should be laws against breastfeeding. I would like to point out that South Carolina actually has laws in place to protect nursing mothers from people like her.

S.C. Code Ann. § 63-5-40 (2005):
(A) A woman may breastfeed her child in any location where the mother and her child are authorized to be.
(B) Breastfeeding a child in a location where the mother is authorized to be is not considered to be indecent exposure.

I don't believe I need to point out to you how hot it gets in this state. Should anyone be forced to sit in their car for lunch, even with the air conditioning on? Infants are also more susceptible to heat than adults. Perhaps Ms. Rollins and her daughter should have had lunch in their car.

Nursing a child while a car is in motion is ILLEGAL. Obviously, Ms. Rollins isn't informed of the law, but that's the purpose of a car seat.

Nursing in a public restroom is unsanitary. Even if you assume that the restroom is clean, every time a toilet is flushed, bacteria and feces are sprayed into the air. While this might not make an adult sick, babies have weaker immune systems. Nursing sessions can last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. Is Ms. Rollins really suggesting that a mother sit on a toilet with her child for an hour? What if the mother has other children with her? Should they sit in the restroom while their mom feeds their baby sibling? Or should the mother leave her children unattended? And honestly, when was the last time you ever saw a public restroom you would eat in?

If public nursing offends Ms. Rollins so bad, maybe she should stay at home since again, the rights of breastfeeding mothers are protected by law. The World Health Organization recommends that all children be breastfed for at least two years. Is it fair (or legal) to tell nursing mothers that they can't run errands or eat outside the house for over two years because Ms. Rollins is uncomfortable?

Doctors don't recommend feeding infants from bottles if they are breastfeeding. Artificial nipples on bottles can cause nipple confusion and drinking from a bottle instead of nursing can dramatically affect the mother's milk production.

While Ms. Rollins is entitled to her opinions, her comments are ignorant. Breastfeeding is the number one thing you can do for a child and most mothers aren't doing it -- in part because they have no support. Women are afraid to nurse in public, despite being protected by the law, because of comments like Ms. Rollins made. Your station is broadcast to hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions, and it is discouraging and disappointing to hear her uninformed comments reaching impressionable mothers.

Breastfeeding is recommended by doctors throughout the world. No mother should ever feel ashamed or embarrassed to feed her child. Breastfeeding is normal and it's beautiful.

I believe that Ms. Rollins should issue an apology to all nursing mothers, especially the mother she criticized in Chick-Fil-A as well as inform her listeners of the South Carolina law protecting breastfeeding.

I look forward to hearing from you regarding this matter.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Embry

Battle of the Lawn

"Are you going to mow the lawn this weekend?"

"No, I was going to wait.  It doesn't need it yet."

"Fine, I'll mow the yard this weekend."

"No, that's my job."

"What?  I can't mow the yard because I have boobs?"

"No, you can't mow the lawn because you work so hard inside the house, it's the least I can do."

"So, you're going to mow the yard this weekend?  And the sidewalks need edged too.  I can do that while you mow."

"Yeah, I'll take care of it, and I'll edge the sidewalks too."

"Promise you're going to do it?  We'll get a fine from the housing office if you don't."

"Yeah, I'll do it."

***
So guess what I got in the mail today?  If you said, definitely not a notice from the housing office for having an unkempt yard because you're wonderful husband has been saying he'll take care of it for the past three months, you'd be wrong.

I guess I'll be the one outside tomorrow in 100 degree heat edging the stupid sidewalk.

This is what my yard should look like.  That is, if I didn't have a lazy, chauvinistic husband.

5 Months