Address

I finally have Brian's address -

AB Covert Brian R
331 TRS/FLT 318 Dorm A-2
1320 Truemper St. Unit 369549
Lackland AFB, TX 78236-5570

Please refrain from sending Brian anything other then letters in plain envolopes. When a recruit recieves anything other then this like food, care packages, pretty colored envolopes, things that smell, etc. it can be a reason for the Drill Instructor to "pick" on them instead of it being the comfort that the sender had intended it to be. Also it takes 3-5 days for a letter to reach him so if you send him something after April 26 he might not get it. Oh - and he says he will not be able to write letters so you may not get mail from him.

Brian is doing well, he says his arms or sore, but he sounded really happy other then that. He also found out all the places we could be stationed and overseas is a big possibility so we are SO excited!

Promised Information

I know Isaid I would update today so....I do not have Brian's information, nor have I heard from Brian, nor do I know how he is. Also I did not get an ultrasound today, and probably will not get one. Sorry for the short update but I have to go to work. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

My New Book

Before Brian left we had talked about and pretty much decided to use a method called elimanation communication with the baby. We hadn't really told anyone because I was stressed out enough with people - it seemed everytime we made a decision together we were getting hit by all sides by well meaning individuals that didn't agree with us and let us know it, and how they just KNEW we were making the wrong decision. In any case I felt this decision was going to be met with just as must angst as many of our other decisions, but today I got a book we had ordered before Brian left that goes more in depth to elimination communication i.e. DIAPER FREE. It's very interesting, and I've almost finished reading it. Surprisingly it is a very empowering book. Brian and I were all for diaper free but I was still a little worried and thought I may not have the ability to deal with it unless I had some support, SO this book totally change my outlook. I'm not scared about it and frankly I don't care if I don't have support about it because I know that I can do it - I mean 80% of the world is diaper free from birth. The book is full of stories and studies about the subject, suggestions on how to be diaper free, but above all it states numerous times that there is no set in stone way to do things and that a mother's instincts are usually right. Not only did it make me feel comfortable in this decision it also made me feel more comfortable in all the other decision's Brian and I have made - no matter what anyone else thinks.

In my great excitment with this book I called to talk to my parents, my mom was truly interested and thought it was totally doable. My dad said no way, but then I explained the whole process and I think he changed his mind. They have been really awesome lately and totally supportive, my mom is funny because she says she sees stuff and thinks that she should buy it for the baby then she thinks "no because just because that's what I would do doesn't mean Meredith and Brian want that". I appreciate it a lot because it makes it easier to talk to her about stuff , and it's easier for me to tell her about what Brian and I think about raising kids. I think she also understands a lot about my whole exploration of different methods and belief that using what isn't the norm may be benificial because well, she's that way lol.

If anyone is interesed the book is called Diaper Free and it's like $8 on Amazon - I totally suggest it.

Information

Brian is currently waiting for his flight at 2:15, and then he will be off to basic.

My doctor's appointment in next Thursday afternoon and as soon as it's over I have to book it back down to Durand to teach.

I should have Brian's adress in about a week, so I will post next Thursday night as soon as I'm done taeching with his address and the results of the ultrasound.

Troubles today

So i was supposed to be flying to san antonio today but since there were such bad storms in texas today all flights to texas were canceled. i was the group leader for the six of us who were shipping to the air force and so i was the one who had to do all the talking and calling and figuring out of all the details and getting things in order so that was interesting and God gave me the patience and ability to handle it all. So we had to stand in line for two hours and then spend another 40 minutes talking to the agent getting things straightened out. and so we wont be flying out till thursday at 2:15 pm and we are staying at the hotel till then. its been a long day and i've been up since 4:30 this morning so i'm going to go to bed.

A last update before i leave

So i thought i would put up my last past for the next six weeks because i wont have access to a computer during that time. i'm rearing and ready to go but my wife is having a hard time because she is sad that i wont be with her for that time and so she cries and it makes it hard for me because i don't like it that i make her cry because i'm leaving. other news i lost the few pounds that i needed to and i'm going to try to lose a few more just to help make it easier to train but i'm sure that once i start doing PT 6 days a week i will lean up a lot. as for baby news we still don't know what it is or how many but as meredith wrote she plumped up overnight and everyone asks how far along she is and then when she says 20 weeks they ask if she's having multiples. to add on top of that there are numerous twins and triplets on her side of the family and i just found out from my birth mother that if the pattern holds up i should be having twins. so between the two of us there is a high likelyhood of us having multiples. i think tommorow i'm gonna take a picture of merediths baby bump so we can post it.

Update

Well I think I am a blimp - Sunday I woke up and thought HOLY COW I'm huge! Then today at Zumba I took off my sweatshirt and all the ladies flipped - "Meredith you have doubled in just the belly area." I have been thinking that I got big fast and then after December I just stayed at that size and the suddenly went BOOM this weekend and I kind of felt crazy for thinking that until one of the ladies said it to me.

Brian leaves in ONE week so we are getting ready for that. He needs to loose a few pounds so he has to resist the temptations of my craving food - which lately has been popcorn and milk (good thing my inlaws bought us a jiffy whirl or a whirly pop a ma jig....a thing that makes good popcorn.) We are going to the cities on Monday to check in with the recruiter and then he will leave Tuesday morning.

Hancock Fabrics had a fantastic sale this weekend - and will have an even better one next weekend. I bought a few patterns for baby clothes for .99 each and then some fabric peices for a few bucks and I have been sewing - it keeps me busy, yet sitting so my back doesn't hurt as much.

The Jetta is fixed so we got that back today, it's nice to have a car that I'm not petrified of crashing. Everything that was wrong with the car was under warranty so it didn't cost anything and they even cleaned the car.

I guess that is it for the update - Brian may have to write one though - I keep forgetting stuff

A story about a test

I found this on a pregnancy site - I thought it was funny :)

I was out walking with my 4 year old daughter. She picked up something off the ground and started to put it in her mouth. I took the item away from her and I asked her not to do that. 'Why?' my daughter asked. 'Because it's been on the ground, you don't know where it's been, it's dirty, and probably has germs' I replied. At this point, my daughter looked at me with total admiration and asked , 'Momma, how do you know all this stuff, you are so smart.' I was thinking quickly. 'All moms know this stuff. It's on the Mom Test. You have to know it, or they don't let you be a Mom.' We walked along in silence for 2 or 3 minutes, but she was evidently pondering this new information. 'OH...I get it!' she beamed, 'So if you don't pass the test you have to be the dad. ''Exactly' I replied back with a big smile on my face.

18 weeks down 22 to go!

I have found an apartment near Brian, now if only I knew how much we will be making so I can know for sure we can afford it. The place I found is nice and only $505 and includes gas and water, also I believe it is fairly close to the base, which is good because the whole point of me moving to Wichita Falls is to be close to Brian. There is no birthing center in the area so Brian and I are talking about home birth and I'm looking at birthing pools.

I am two massages into my 6 massage package and I'm in so much bloody pain. I asked the doctor about all the pain I'm in and he just said it was normal and it would go away. I don't think so! I couldn't move last weekend my knee was the size of a melon and my back was so swollen you could see it through my clothes. I get a massage and Ashley says that no the pain is not normal there is problems with my muscles bunching because I'm doing a lot and the baby is pushing on my spine. She is certified in prenatal and had some interesting things to say about doctors ignoring back pain during pregnancy, so she has been gently working through my painful spots to help my muscles loosen so hopefully by the time I move I only need one massage every couple weeks.

The date for the ultrasound is Thursday March 27th and I'm really excited about that :)

The Mormon Mobile

we rented a car and this is what we got. on the brighter side of things they are supposed to come and bring us a different smaller car tommorow

Car troubles

So today we drive down to the studio and Meredith goes to turn off the car and pulls the key out and usually when you pull the key out the radio turns off well today it didn't so she tried to put the key back in the ignition and the key would not go in. we tried wiggling pressing the break turning the wheel and all sorts of things to get it back in but it wouldn't go so we had to call road side assistance(RSA) and they asked me to try a few things and they didn't work. So they sent a tow truck well the RSA told the tow people to send a flat bed truck, the drive is about 45 minutes between us and Eau Claire where the truck came from, and the guy got to the studio and asked us if we could get the car into neutral and we said we couldn't and he fiddled around with the car for a bit then called the dealership and asked if there was anything that he could do so he didn't have to drive back to Eau Claire without a car. They came to the conclusion that there was nothing they could do so he had to drive back to Eau Claire get a different type of truck and drive all the way back again. Finally he took the car later in the afternoon Meredith got a call from the dealership saying the car won't be ready till the 14th so we are car less for the next 11 days I’m going to call and find out if we can get a loaner car because I have to meet with the recruiter at least one more time if not two before I leave for basic.

I'm ready to go

I'm just up and ready to get moving. I want to get the training over with I know it will be a hard several months on both Meredith and I but once its over it over. We can settle down, well at least as settled as a military family can be, and get things on track have a financially stable life. Once I'm in I'll start working on getting a four year degree so I can become a commissioned officer and possibly fly if I qualify. The Air Force has their own community college that I'm automatically enrolled in once I start basic training. And my tech school and basic training count as credits towards a degree. I can also test out of up to 30 credit hours by taking the CLEP tests. If I can do that I can probably have the first year and a half to two years taken care of in less than a year and if I can finish up the last two years at another college I can have my four year in two to three years and as soon as that happens I can start working toward getting a commissioned officer position which comes with a much better pay and I higher cap. so I'm just ready to get out of here I'm tired of being around the house doing nothing and I can't really go outside because it's to cold most of the time like today I wanted to go running but I woke up and it's 16 degree's outside and that cold of weather is just not good on your lungs when you breath it in. I think I might go out in the car and track a 3-5 mile route to run so I can get used to running and help me to lose a few pounds so I can have an easier time staying under my max weight. So this is a bit annoying never in my life have I ever had to watch my weight and now I have to because the Air Force has a specific height to weight requirement and my max weight I can be is 191 and I'm 186. 5lbs is kind of easy to gain in a few days and so I have to watch myself and make sure I don't go over that weight because if I do I don't get to ship and it’s just a bit annoying.

Photo

I haven't decided if i've finished it yet or not but here's what i have