and so it begins...

Yesterday was a difficult day, Troah and I dropped Ernest off to begin his deployment.  I was pretty proud of how well we held it together (particularly my emotional self), and aside from asking "Where did daddy go?" Troah seems to understand "well, he is getting on a bus [Troah: a BUS??], then an airplane [Troah: what?! an AIRPLANE?!], then he has to stay at work for a really long time" pretty well.  He is mostly excited for daddy that he gets to ride a bus and airplane. ;)

After dropping Ernest off we made it home around noon and Troah watched Veggie Tales "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" while I deep cleaned the entire house.  At one point Troah came running to me saying "Mom! Pirate Troah!" I figured out he wanted to be a pirate with Bob, Larry, and Mr. Lunt, so I wrapped a bandana around his head, laid his blue blankey out on the floor for water, put a box on it for a boat, then gave him the carboard cylinder found in paper towels.  He was grinning from ear to ear and loving being Pirate Troah...

That evening I put him in his room to play his mobigo system then he fell asleep shortly after, after several late nights he was exhausted and I'm sure he will be catching up on sleep for the next few days!

The night before Ernest left we went to Las Cruces, NM for a barbecue, turned out there was lot of booze so we didn't even get out of the car, rather we went to Papa Murphys (sadly, they do not have on in El Paso), picked up a couple pizzas then came home to enjoy them.  We watched UFC, Daddy helped Troah do some gymnastics, and helped Dad finish packing.

 Delicious Papa Murphys!

 My hero in more ways than one, providing me with delicious Garlic Chicken Pizza!

Last evening together

Poor boy was exhausted!

Handstand!

 Ernest called around midnight to let me know they were stopping off in Maine before continuing on.  His ankle is swelling and hurts, but hopefully he can get it all back down and under control.  

That's all for now! Have a good week yall!

Baby, dog, couponing, and upcoming deployment...

Okay, I officially suck as a blog writer since it has been over 3 months since my last post.  My excuse...I was finishing up my Associates of Arts emphasis in psychology degree.  I completed my courses July 10 and have been adjusting to being a full-time mom without the distraction of being a full-time student as well, I have to say I love it!  So much has happened in the last few months, and while I keep my facebook updated (probably over-updated) I want to stay updated here as well, as I hope my blog will be more lasting than my facebook page.

Shortly after Ernest returned from NTC (pre-deployment training on Ft Irwin, California), we headed to San Antonio to visit our good friends the Ramirez's.  While in San Antonio we went to a 3d ultrasound place to learn the gender of our baby!  I was 17 weeks at the time and we just couldn't wait any longer to find out!

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My little sea monkey

17.5 weeks

Two days after learning we are going to add a baby girl to our little family I felt her for the first time.  Ernest was on the couch watching television, while Carolynn and  I were doing homework and I felt our little girl start kicking!  What an exciting moment it was ;) 

Two weeks later, back in El Paso, we had our next doctors appointment followed by the "official" ultrasound.  Thankfully the baby was still a girl and we had a name ready for the ultrasound pictures! Aria Marie Rodriguez.

Sucking on her thumb (every ultra sound she had been a thumb sucker)

Peace!

An awesome 2d pic of her face :)

19 weeks

Thankfully the awful morning sickness that claimed me the entire nine months of Troah's pregnancy has lessened for this pregnancy!  Wow, I can actually function and feel good while I'm pregnant, it's an amazing concept :)  The last doctors appointment went well, although the placenta is still at the bottom of my uterus, so I should be getting another ultrasound next week or the week after to see if it has decided to move yet.  Here is my growing belly up to now:

20 weeks

22 weeks

24 weeks

At 24 weeks pregnant Aria is jumping around like crazy (which I love feeling), and I'm feeling pretty good for the most part!  I've had a little nausea creeping back into my life, though I attribute that to being more physically active since finishing school (more time for cleaning, playing with Troah/dogs, and working out), so I suppose I just need to monitor myself better and take it easy.  

Another new addition to our family is a German Shepherd named Oso.  A friend of ours was unable to keep him, so we took him in.  Though he has been somewhat difficult with adjusting to a new family, we have started crate training him and switched him to a higher quality food.  He seems to be doing better (though he still sneaks into the pantry and eats our bread if we don't keep a close eye on him), and I'm sure he will fully adjust in no time at all :)  Here are some pictures of him with Cloud and Troah.

Troah and Oso LOVE to play together, Oso is getting much better at giving the rope up when he fetches it rather than trying to play tug-o-war, Troah is always excited for our outdoor play time with his new buddy :)

Aside from new baby and new puppy, since finishing school my life has revolved around deep cleaning my house a couple times a week (nesting instinct set in early) and learning how to coupon!  My wonderful mother mailed me a book called "Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom."  I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn to save money on groceries!  She focuses first on learning to shop by sales (and stock up when your "high impact items" are on sale) then adding coupons into the strategy.  I admit I have not been great at coupons yet, but the sales have already saved us about $50 each shopping trip.  I do have a great coupon collection started though, and my goal is to begin planning my shopping trips by sales and coupons after August 1.  

Ernest is scheduled to deploy July 31 (could be the day before or the day after, though) to Iraq.  Last week he participated in a combatives class (pretty much his job was to beat up the soldiers in lower levels than him, he was pretty excited ;)), and injured his ankle.  After a couple days the swelling was only getting worse and the bruising was quite impressive.  

Taking advantage in Costco, if only we got temporary handicapped parking passes...

We decided it would probably be best for him to go to the ER to get it x-rayed and make sure it wasn't broken.  Luckily he was only at the ER for a few hours with no broken foot, but they gave him crutches and a nice boot to keep it safe.  He spoke to the military ortho doctor a couple days ago and found the ligaments are pulled away from the bone (ouch!) but he is still deployable.  He will work in the aid station though, rather than as a line medic.  Something I am very grateful for!  

So that is what has been happening in my life lately!  Ernest leaves this weekend, and I am just hoping I can help Troah feel secure without his dad.  He has been acting out recently (I'm positive as a result of Ernest leaving soon), and I am constantly trying to figure out how best to deal with his melt downs (sometimes it means sticking him in his room then going to my room for my own melt down).  Troah is really a sweet boy though, so I know everything will be alright :)  He has gymnastics on Saturdays and I am going to sign him up for swim lessons twice a week during the month of August, so we will survive I am sure!  

Ernest is gone, Shaina is here, and conference was awesome!

So much for my goal to blog once a week!!  In all fairness I had every intention to, but as priorities happen, other things came along that took up my time.  My plan was to blog two Sundays ago (oh my, did I really miss three weeks since my last blog??) after General Conference and share my favorite quotes and my amazing insights. ;)  However, that apparently did not happen.  What has happened since my last blog?  As Troah says, Hmmmmm leeets seeee.....

Since my last post we enjoyed a wonderful weekend of General Conference.  I even kept especially good notes to be able to share with all of you...unfortunately, I cannot seem to find my GC notebook anywhere....so I guess that blog post will have to wait till later.

On April 8 (very early in the morning) Troah and I dropped off Ernest at work so he could leave for a month to NTC (I don't know what it stands for, but it is basically pre-deployment training) in Fort Irwin, California.  As he was packing his bags the previous night I asked him if he packed his phone charger because that is usually an item he forgets.  He said, "No, but we can't use our phones anyways." I looked at him wondering why he would say that, what does he care what the rules say?  If he wants to take his phone he would! Besides, he took his phone last time he went to NTC, but oh well.  So I figured at least we could get one or two calls in before his phone died, because being the wife I am, I KNEW he would show up there, find ample time to use his cell phone as I'm sure many other guys were taking their phones as well (who doesn't take their cell phone?).  So as we drop him off he ends up giving me his phone....*sigh* I put on a smile anyways because I know he won't listen to me (if your a guy and your reading this, ALWAYS listen to your wife, she is ALWAYS right :p).  So...guess how many times I've heard from my wonderful husband?  ONCE.  Yup, apparently he borrowed someone's cell phone.  Ironic, eh?  Oh well, just another experience for him to realize he should listen to me. :D

Now most wives might be upset to have a husband who did not take better precautions to ensure communication when he is going to be absent a month, but I have good reason to be happy :)  (well, as happy as I can be with my other half several states away) my best friend Shaina came to visit!!  I have to say, it is nice living with a woman, lol!  The house is cleaner, Troah gets more attention during the day, we take turns cooking/cleaning...it is fantastic!  Not to mention she wanted to do the same diet/exercise program I did recently, which is helping me to eat healthier as well...diets are always easier when you have a supportive partner. ;)  So Shaina flew in April 12 and we have been having a ball ever since.  I had to introduce her to my favorite television show, Better With You, so now our days refer to different quotes from that show and we laugh all day!  Troah absolutely LOVES Shaina (honestly, who couldn't love Shaina?  I have determined she is impossible to not love) and we both crack up when we hear him through out the day, "Shaaaiiinna!!  What are you doing?" Or if he does not like what I say he goes to Shaina and says, "Shaaiinna! Plleeeaaase!" It is just too funny!

Last night we had the pleasure to take my dear friend Lena out to dinner for her birthday to Cheddars.  It was absolutely delicious and we were all dressed up and pretty for our night out!  Unfortunately, we were unable to hold with tradition and have  picture taken before we left Lena's house, then it was just too late by the time we dropped Lena off so Shaina and I will be going over to visit Lena sometime this week to get a picture of the three of us, then I'll post it here for your viewing pleasure.

Sadly, I have been unable to attend church the last couple weeks (before and after conference) due to being sick!  So yesterday I decided I was feeling pretty good so I should definitely plan the lesson for my Sunday School class (14-15 year olds) and it was a fantastic lesson!  Though a little oddly put together in the manual, however I think I learned more than the kids did!  The lesson was on the Keys to Heaven (the priesthood) and there were three parts, the one I wanted to mention here was about the Transfiguration of Christ before he experienced the atonement.  I had NEVER heard of this before!!  It was an extremely significant event in the New Testament, this is when Peter, James, and John received the keys of the Priesthood from Moses and Elijah (the very same angels who gave the priesthood keys to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdry).  Peter, James, and John were also shown what the earth would look like after the Second Coming and they were told/prepared for Christ's sacrifice.  At this time Heavenly Father transfigured Christ so He could receive comfort and preparation for the atonement, which wasn't too far in the future.  I just thought this story was amazing and had to share it!  I was so proud of my class today, through out the lesson every one of them participated by reading scriptures and giving input into the discussion.  I have never seen better behaved teenagers for class, I love them!

In Relief Society we had a fantastic lesson about the Sabbath.  So Shaina and I come home and think, we should definitely do our best today to keep the Sabbath holy after that lesson!  So we made lunch for ourselves and Troah then played with Troah before putting him down for his nap, then we decided to watch the Priesthood session from conference, and it was fantastic!  My favorite talk was by the Prophet, he is so funny and has such amazing insights (not surprising) and my favorite quote from him is, "Choose your love, love your choice."  His entire talk was beautiful and I definitely want to keep up with the Priesthood sessions seeing as I am raising a future Priesthood holder. ;)

So that's pretty much what we have been up to, mostly hanging out and waiting for a certain man to try and call home, but we are having a blast and I will be so sad when Shaina leaves!  I will definitely have to kidnap her for the next time Ernest goes out of town, it definitely makes the absence of my love easier!!

I wish you all a Happy Sunday!  And now that I have Shaina here to remind me, I should remember to blog again next week ;)  Next time I'll be adding pictures of our fun times!

XOXOXO, Katie

In a nutshell....

With my last post being December 2009, I've decided I should just start fresh. Today. I've re-decorated my blog and ready to start a-fresh with a renewed commitment to blog at LEAST once a week! In a nutshell, since December 2009....We moved to San Antonio, TX for Ernest to attend occupational therapy school (March 2010), after attending school Ernest realized occupational therapy isn't his cup of tea, so he is still a medic (the best medic you will find in the U.S. Army ;)) and in October/November 2010 we moved to El Paso, Texas. Troah turned 2 in October and his Tia Barbie helped us throw an amazing Spongebob party!

Troah and his cousin Ariel

Delicious Spongebob Cake! Happy Birthday Troah!

Troah, Anna, and the HUGE Spongebob pinata!

Troah taking out Spongebob!

The magic behind the scenes ;)

After celebrating Troah's birthday in San Antonio, Troah and I drove to Montana to spend some time with the Rogers/Nevilles while Ernest got our new house in El Paso set up for us.

We got to play in some leaves

For Christmas we were lucky enough to travel up to Montana to spend the holidays with my family :) Unfortunately, throughout the trip we had two car accidents. On the way up to Montana when we were passing through Price, UT, we slid off the road then blew out the transmission trying to get back on track. So we left the Truck in Price and rented a fabulous brand new Expedition! We made it the rest of the way, had an amazing time and wished we didn't have to leave! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera for the trip so all our Christmas pictures are on Lelsy's camera, I'll post them as soon as I get them from her. :)

The last day before we had to leave I took a pregnancy test, and sure enough, it was positive! We spent the last day celebrating and discussing names, happy as clams. On the way home, the day after we picked up our newly fixed truck, we slid off the road again but into a steep ditch, which caused our truck to roll. We were all perfectly fine, I went to the closest ER and was checked out just fine. We had to rent another car to make it back to El Paso...The truck, very sadly, was totaled. Ernest spent a few parting moments saying goodbye to his beloved truck, almost had me in tears for him! He climbed into the rental and turned to me and said, "Well, I guess I can't have too much good stuff. God says either my truck or another baby...I'm really glad I get another baby." There he did it, almost had me in tears again! Despite all our bad luck with travelling we were in incredible good spirits and grateful we were safe and together!

On January 5, a few days after making it back to El Paso I began bleeding. We went into the ER and discovered I had miscarried. It was a very difficult time for us both and took a few weeks before the emotional breakdowns settled down. I am so grateful Ernest was here with me, I do not know what I would have done without him by my side!

On January 29 we were making our first trip to Costco (thanks to my parents for our Costco membership!) and while stopped at a stop light an old Mexican decided not to pay attention to the road and rammed my sweet orange caliber, pushing us into the truck in front of us. Gratefully again, none of us were badly hurt (although Ernest did have minor whiplash). Sadly, my caliber was totaled. So then we had a rental for about three weeks as we searched and searched for a new car. After many tears of frustration we settled on a white 2004 VW Jetta, her name is Genevieve (we thought giving her a name would provide her with better luck than our previous cars).

That's what has happened since December 2009 in a nutshell!

PS- I am not sure why the format suddenly decided to underline everything I write, but I can't figure out how to get it to not underline my text, sorry!