Decisions, decisions...

So much going on this summer! Not only are we adding another little person to our family, but Justin and I need to decide on where we want to be stationed next and if he's going to re-enlist for another 3-5 years.

This August marks Justin's 3 year anniversary in the military. So far it's been hard, but wonderful. We love Germany and all the benefits that come with being in the military. The health insurance is incredible. On the other hand, it would be nice to live near family and Justin will have a few career opportunities thanks to the training he's gotten in the military. He's up for a promotion this August and is doing really well in his field. There are a lot of pros and cons to both decisions and so we're working on figuring things out. We'll need to make a decision within the next couple of months. We'll let you know how it goes and what we decide.

Also to consider, where we want to be stationed next. We can stay in Germany for an extra year (then he will have finished his enlistment) or we can choose to move back to the states for the last 12 months of his enlistment. I think I would prefer to be stationed in Texas or California for that last year so we can be closer to family (much closer!) because I want Tristan and Tommy to have their grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles nearby. We do have an opportunity to go to Hawaii, but he would have to re-enlist because you can't stay in Hawaii for less than 2 years, and he will only have a year left. Tempting!

Justin and I are still in awe how fast the last 3 years have went by. We still feel "new" to the military and it's hard to believe we're well over 1/2 of his 5 year enlistment. He will have 3 years inactive duty after his 5 year active duty is over, but we will be able to live wherever we want and it won't disrupt his new job. Most soldiers in Justin's field have a job lined up 6 months before their enlistment is over, so we're counting on a few options to choose from if we decide not to re-enlist. We're hoping to get interviews in Arizona, but most positions for Justin's field open up in Alabama where the main calibration team is located, which is what Justin does in the military, calibration. You'll have to ask Justin to explain what exactly that is because I will for sure just confuse you. :)

So we have a lot on our plate this summer. Stay in the military, get promoted and live closer to family (or in HAWAII!)? Or get out of the military, live where we want and have a regular career and get paid more?

Decisions, decisions!

I leave you with a cute picture of my new niece Kristabelle Victoria, isn't she cute!

In Your Face, Justin.

Observe --> Justin and I like to debate who Tommy is most like. I say he is more like me, Justin thinks Tommy is his little clone. I now have documented proof that Tommy's apple didn't fall far from his mommy's tree.

For those who don't know this about me (in which case you don't pay enough attention to me, so shame on you) I am an extreme perfectionist. This both frustrates yet pleases Justin. He's happy his wife keeps the house sparkling clean even when she feels like she's dying from the flu, yet he hates watching me, giving him a disapproving look, fix the remote he just turned out of line with the others. Yep, it's that bad.

Tommy is the same way. I don't know if it's because he watches me and notices me lining things up, but he has been lining up his cars from biggest to smallest for the past 6 months. If I come by and move one, he fixes it. The picture up there is just one example. As an experiment I turned one car away from the others, and sure enough, he fixed it.

I consider us pretty lucky that Tommy is so tidy. Now Justin is the odd one out and I don't have to feel like a weirdo. Tommy may look more like Justin, but he has my personality! Attaboy Tommy!

The Best Pasta Salad. Ever.

Pay attention, folks. I'm about to give you the best pasta salad recipe you have ever tasted. Tommy gobbles it up and he doesn't even like food.

Exhibit A.

So, let me get right down to it. Here is the recipe. I don't have exact measurements but trust me, you don't need them. This recipe is fool proof.

Ingredients:

1. One box penne pasta

2. About a cup of pesto (best if homemade, but I get mine from the German deli)

3. Two handfuls of baby spinach

4. About a half cup of feta cheese.

5. About a cup of lite ranch dressing. (Come on now, don't use anything but Hidden Valley)

6. Cup and a half of cherry tomatoes.

Directions:

Cook penne per box instructions. Al dente is best. Drain and cool with cold water. Pour into a bowl. Stir in pesto, ranch and feta. Mix well. Add baby spinach and cherry tomatoes.

It's super easy and delicious. I hardly ever make it because I've been known to eat too much of it if left alone with the bowl. It's good in the fridge for about 3 days, but definitely better fresh.

You're welcome!

As you can see, I leave out the tomatoes. Yuck. I add them only if I'm making it for a party because it adds a pretty color.

Olive Fingers!

I had to share this picture of Tommy. He discovered olives have perfect holes for his little fingers. I couldn't get him to eat them, but at least he found some sort of use for them!

So excited!!!

Good news, and bad news. The past two days have been a mixture of both.

I woke up Wednesday morning feeling perfectly normal, went about the day as usual. Justin came home for lunch, we ate together and then when he left Tommy laid down for a nap. I decided to catch up on emails and sat down at the computer. After a few minutes I started

feeling kind of strange and I stood up and noticed my right leg was really swollen, while the left side was perfectly normal. I've been swollen the past few months here and there, but nothing like this. I was also seeing little floating stars in my vision.

So I called my doctor, as usual her line was busy. So I called the hospital and they said I should come in, swelling in just one leg is usually a bad sign of either pre-eclampsia or a blood clot. So Justin came home and we went to the hospital. My blood pressure was low, my temp. and pulse were all normal. My blood work came back and they said my iron was really low and could be causing the sparkly flecks I had been seeing in my vision the past few weeks. Pre-eclampsia was ruled out, so they decided to keep me for two days to monitor my swelling and do more tests to see if it could be a blood clot.

It was a boring two days. My swelling went away, and I had to have the baby's heart beat monitored twice a day for 30 min. each. Everything came out fine. This morning they did a really extensive ultrasound to check absolutely everything on Tristan. They said he seems to be a really healthy baby but were concerned because he's not getting enough blood flow from me. I'm going to be getting more ultrasounds to see if it gets better. The baby is really big, the doctor says the baby will probably come early since he is so long and has put on a lot of weight. He is 5 lbs and I'm not quite 33 weeks yet. Healthy boy!

I got to see a lot of the hospital and meet the doctors there, it was awesome. This hospital has EVERYTHING! I'll have a midwife that stays with me throughout my labor and delivery giving me massages, walking around the hospital with me, and coaching me through the delivery. They have several big jacuzzi bathtubs that I can stay in as long as I want to help me relax, with classical music playing. It's so cool! It has me so excited that I'm actually thinking I won't need an epidural this time. My doctor is convinced my labor and delivery will be quick, I fully dilated with Tommy in only 3-4 hours. He says I may not even have time to get an epidural if I progress fast again, which I should. So I may try to do this completely natural and see how it goes. I don't want to be stuck in the hospital bed the whole time like I was with Tommy. That is the goal, we'll see if my mind changes while I'm actually in labor. :)

So good news: the baby is big and healthy and most likely coming early. Bad news: my iron is low as well as my blood pressure, and the blood flow to the baby may not be ideal. I have an appointment next week and the doctor is going to double check everything then, I hope my iron and blood flow rights itself by then. I should have taken some pictures of the awesome hospital I'll be in but I just didn't think about it! I did find some on the internet though. You can see how big it is, and lucky for me the labor and recovery rooms are at the top, so it's a beautiful view. You can see my house in the second picture, I live literally 3 minutes away. I'm feeling good now and so excited to meet our new baby!

~Brittney

My Brother, the missionary!

My brother Jordan has been on his mission a couple months now, he sent me some pictures and I wanted to put them up so family who hasn't seen them can. Isn't he handsome in a suit?? Geez I can't believe that's my baby brother! He's serving in the Oakland/San Francisco mission and is currently in Fremont. Love you Jordie! :)

Scrapbook Pages

Here are some of my more recent scrapbook pages. I've been trying to catch up, I have a big box of photos I need to organize. I went through them the other day and categorized them by event, took close to an hour. Looks like I have a long way to go! I love doing it but it most definitely is time consuming. (and expensive!) It's actually my favorite hobby and Justin loves that I do it. When I first met him, he asked me if I could help him scrapbook his mission pictures. :) I didn't actually become a scrapbooker until my good friend Kristal introduced it to me. It's really become a creative outlet for me. Playing piano is also something I love to do, but not having a piano has made that hard, go figure!

Here are my favorites:

This one is last year's Easter. Justin was deployed and I was living in Arizona with Tommy. I rented a house right by Justin's family, it was so much fun. I loved being their neighbor. The bottom picture is my sisters Susannah and Tiffany. The top one is Tommy with my sister's boyfriend's niece. Say that three times fast!
This was Tommy's first time at the Phoenix Zoo. He LOVED it. He had a blast and was beat tired at the end of the day. When I scrapbook something that has a funny story or just something I want to remember, I add a little envelope to the page and have the story inside. Sometimes I have other people write on it too, makes it a little more special for me.
Here are some of my senior pictures. The biggest picture on the page was the same picture I sent to Justin while he was on his mission (it was smaller of course). Ahh, the memories. :)
Me and my sister Tiffany, she came to visit last New Years, it was so nice having her here with me. Miss ya lots Tiff!
A picture of me five months pregnant with Tommy, the bottom picture is me holding Tommy's two day old hand. I wrote the poem on his first birthday. I can't wait for Tommy to read it someday.

More to come!