Home sweet home

We have finally moved in to our new place! We decided on an apartment for now so we can set up a routine and get ourselves ready for house shopping. It wasn't something we wanted to rush into, so we're really excited about our new living situation! We signed the papers and picked up the keys on the 10th and had our furniture delivered and cable/phone/internet installed on the 11th.

It was such a relief to see all my stuff come off of those trucks and into the apartment. I forgot how much stuff we have! We immediately saw no damage to the big pieces, thank goodness, but opening the boxes was a daunting task we're still undertaking. Happy to report that all my pottery survived!

We are slowly but surely getting it all put together. Not surprisingly, the kitchen was the first room to be unpacked and Hayden's bedroom was the first to be completely decorated. We've had a lot of fun picking out window treatments and the few new pieces of furniture we needed for our apartment. The unpacking process is made a bit more difficult by the time constraints imposed by full time jobs, full time school and full time need for a toddler schedule, but we'll get there! We've done a lot of sorting and trashing and donating and organizing and it feels good to settle in on our own couch, sleep in our own beds and eat dinner as a family. It's also really nice to be able to walk into Target and Bed Bath & Beyond and find everything we need all at once!

What? No pictures?

Sorry, we haven't taken as many pictures since we started working and schooling full time, but this is Hayden sitting in the middle of his Toy Story race track.

And this is him after his first day at school.

And finally, this is Hayden enjoying a successful nap.

What's this? Enough down time to blog?

Remember that time I got a job? Well I started the 10th. Sort of. My start date was the 10th, but thanks to the snowmageddon that wasn't, I didn't actually start until the 13th, and then it was a two-hour delay. This would have been more awesome if I had gotten PAID for said missed snow days, but I am not yet that kind of employee. I start amidst utter chaos, which seems to be the theme for my last two jobs. Is it me? Maybe.

Anyway, I started my job and I love it already. I really do. I sort of forgot how much fun it was to A) work with civilians in a world where NO ONE knows any acronyms relating to the Army and b) work with students. I really love higher education as a trade, and it's so different from Salem that I don't feel like a traitor. *Sidenote--I have friends that went to Salem that have gone on to work at similar schools and that's okay for them. I, however, could never sell a school like I could Salem. If I could, I would have gone there instead.* I learn new things every day and am so grateful to be employed! Right now I'm sort of a gopher, doing the stuff no one else wants to or has time to, and it gives me the chance to learn stuff all over the financial aid map. Even better, a full-time, real-live, salary and benefits option has opened up and I applied for it today. Woohoo, fingers crossed.

Jay is in full swing of third-shift work and going to school. Bless his heart, next semester we'll do a little better planning around his schedule but for now we're just making the best of it.

Hayden started his new daycare on the 10th, because they don't close for snow days! Only if the power goes out, which is awesome for us. That meant he got to ease into school by going a few hours for each of the first three days before full-on all day at the end of the week. He is adjusting well and doesn't hate to be dropped off as much now that he realizes we always come back at the end of the day for him. And sometimes he gets to see his cousin Zoe, his aunt Erin or his uncle Eric, depending on how early he gets there. Bonus points!

We have also found an apartment to rent. After some careful consideration, number crunching and consultation with a lender, we decided to hold off on buying. We are going to spend the next year getting settled and adjusted, paying off cars and loans and whatnot and learning how to be responsible home buyers instead of impulsive. I'm excited! We found a really great three bedroom place that has some breathing room, unlike our tiny and narrow apartment in Germany, and this one comes with a dishwasher. Finally! I get my first dishwasher! Bonus points for the indoor pool, the outdoor pool, the walking trail for Oscar, the stock pond for fishing, the playground for Hayden and the fireplace. We move in early next month and are counting the days!

And finally, Hayden has gained one inch and three pounds since we moved back to the states. America agrees with him!

Perspective

Today, I am thankful for my wild, rambunctious two-year-old. Sometimes he doesn't listen, and sometimes he throws toys and screams for no reason. But he is happy, healthy, fully mobile and brings a smile to my face. He can be so crazy, and so loving.

I want to be a homeowner so badly. But today, I am grateful to have a roof over my head, food in my belly and a warm place to sleep in this cold weather.

This year, I hope to appreciate, celebrate and participate in every holiday and special event with my husband, who has missed at least one of all of them (except Hayden's birthdays!) since being in the Army. I will not complain if he snores or leaves clothes on the floor, because he has returned safely from no less than three long deployments. There are approximately 4,000 families of soldiers who have perished in these two current wars that would give just about anything to be able to say that.

There are many things I want to buy, and many debts I want to pay off. But I am thankful to have bills paid on time, groceries in the fridge and a new job that starts tomorrow in this economy where so many are not as fortunate.

Today I will be thankful and grateful for the things I have been blessed with instead of thinking about the things I wish I had. And maybe tomorrow, I can try to do it a second day in a row. One day at a time, we can change our perspective and maybe change our way of thinking.

Sick

Hayden and I both have colds. They started out as sniffles the last day in Texas but thankfully did not ruin our trip! I was feeling pretty crappy by the time we got settled in at home and didn't sleep a wink thanks to complete congestion. I got up at 2am to brush my teeth because I was breathing through my mouth and was pretty disgusted.

Mucinex-D has become a good friend of mine and helped clear out most of my congestion in two doses. Hayden needs a bit more work, since all we can do for him is vapor bath, Baby vicks (they actually have it here, unlike Germany where it's an urban legend) and saline, saline, saline. He's become a champ at taking saline up the nose in the past two years. Aquaphor is helping keep the redness down on his baby nostrils that are taking a beating with all the wiping.

I took him to the doctor yesterday to get him all checked out for school and he assured me it was just a run of the mill cold. America agrees with Hayden...he's gained three pounds and an inch since we arrived! He's a full three feet tall now and weighs just over 33 lbs. What a beast! That puts him in the 93rd percentile for weight and height. He's my big boy, and can wear very little of his 2T clothing. Looks like mom's first paycheck will be going towards some new clothes for my growing boy!

We got all his paperwork in to start at his new school on Monday. We took him yesterday to check it out and he was instantly excited about the playground. I just hope the weather cooperates for some outside time! We are supposed to get snow this weekend and I am just fine if it goes right over us.

The Lone Star state

Texas is yet another state that has avoided my visit for too long. Our good friends The Flemings moved there in 2008, just days shy of Hayden's birth, and we haven't seen them since. We had some time to fill in January and no New Year's plans, plus Tommy would soon be deploying so in October we decided to book tickets to go visit them!

I booked our flight super early Thursday morning to maximize our time with our friends, which proved to be a serious error in judgment. I forgot what leaving the house at 4am with an exhausted toddler was like! Between that and stopping for gas, the cold cold weather, the park and ride, the buses that didn't STOP to pick us UP at the park and ride, and EVERY other person arriving early and American Airlines closing the flight early, we missed our 6:20am flight to Dallas/Ft. Worth. I was so bummed! I have been flying 18 years and have never missed a flight! (Though nearly, one time when Gene took a shower in PA, but that's another story) We were put on standby for the 7:45 am flight and waited at the gate. Luckily we had a fully charged portable DVD player for Hayden, who was really more interested in running amok through the terminal. Wild man.

7:45 came and went without us on a plane. The next available flight wasn't until 10:20, which means we had a good three hours to sit and wait. And hope. Hayden and Jay ran around, I texted Dandy to keep her updated with our current situation, and I hoped and prayed to be on the next flight. I don't know how much longer I could have hung out in the airport! Luckily, there were seats available for us and a young man even switched seats with Jay so we could all sit together. However, this was only getting us to Dallas and from there we would be on standby again for our flight to Austin. Dandy decided instead to make the 2+ hour drive to Dallas to pick us up instead of us waiting around all day for her to possibly have to do it anyway. We didn't have bags to check, thanks to my light packing (for once) and Texas' mild winter weather.

Dandy and Cali were there to pick us up, and Hayden was excited to meet Cali and to ride in Dandy's truck. We rode down from Dallas to Ft. Hood and noticed that Texas is very brown and flat compared to North Carolina. We stopped at Whataburger, something we don't have here and have heard a lot about. We were at Dandy's house in about 3 hours and Hayden was really excited to be out of his carseat! The Flemings have a swingset outside that Hayden was really fond of, so we spent much of our trip pushing him outside on the swings.

We didn't have much planned for the trip, other than ringing in the New Year and seeing old friends. We spent time hanging out and catching up and letting the kids play and of course, eating Texas food! We had a ton of mexican food and if it were up to me, we would have had more! The kids had a great time getting to know each other and playing games and being outside. I can't believe how much they've grown! We got to see some old friends from Germany who are still in the Army and are in the continuing cycle of deployments. That was definitely a contributing factor to Jay's exit from the Army, so we know what they are going through!

We went after dinner one night to see the lights at Belton Lake, which are very similar to the ones at Tanglewood but with a Texas twist! We visited Ft. Hood and saw the memorial to those that lost their lives in the November 2009 shooting. We saw where Cali goes to school, and Dandy & I took the girls to see "Tangled", which we all enjoyed.

On our last day, we packed up and headed to the airport extra early to avoid our earlier fate. We were checked in and sitting at our gate 90 minutes before our plane was scheduled to leave. Hayden had a great time looking at all the airplanes taking off and landing, and of course, running around the terminal. We arrived safely in Dallas and quickly boarded to go to Raleigh. We arrived at our car in the park and ride just after 7pm as scheduled, and headed back home. We were definitely worn out from all the traveling, but so glad we were able to see our old friends!

Happy New Year!

A big Texas "Happy New Year" from the Rogers! Thanks to Cali (age 6) for our family photo!