All about me and maybe a little of the kids:-)

So as most of you know I've been starting a new path to become a fitness instructor. I'm currently just volunteering and learning from great instructors! I taught my first full 60 minute class today on my own! What an awesome feeling it was! I tend to get myself all worked up and extremly nervous when I have to do something! I sometimes lack self confidence. I feel like I've buried it and it needs to be set free! I feel the need to be perfect and do perfect(my inner Virgo coming out) but come on who is perfect!?!? We are all human and make mistakes! Today really gave me that boost of confidence. Having people believe in me was such a huge gratification! I owe a lot of thanks to my friend Jen! I think if it were up to us we'd just live at the YMCA! Between working out and classes for our kids we live there!
Everyone in class was amazing too! I think they enjoyed it and I know I still broke a sweat(not sure if it was workout induced :-) ) I walked out of class on cloud 9! I went to get the kiddos out of child care and if possible was sent over cloud 9 when I saw Claudia running to me and in the sweetest voice say hello mommy! Nothing in the world can bring me more joy than my children! And of course Rex just melts my heart everytime I see him! He's the 2nd man to steal my heart!

We headed home to have lunch and then went down for nap time. I wanted to finish decorating for Halloween and then do some much needed cleaning! Shocker I didn't get to it! The decorations were almost done when Rex starts screaming(which doesn't happen often) so I cleaned my mess up and went to check on him. I picked him up and decided to cuddle him for a few minutes. Those minutes turned into hours, I spent almost 2 hours in the rocking chair with him. I don't do this enough with him so I embraced the moment! I am such a lucky mom! So today was an awesome day!

the decorating...

and what was more fun!!!

Family photos

I'm obsessed with getting photos done! Rex had his 6month pictures and then we wanted to get family photos as well! Of course Rex was chill and did great! For one photo I put him in suspenders and a newspaper boy hat! Let me just say it was adorable!! I can't wait to see how they turned out!! He didn't even touch the hat! He is so unlike his sister!

Trying to get Claudia to cooperate was interesting! For a 2 year old I think she did a great job! My favorite moment was when Rex was getting photos in the prop bath and Claudia started to get undressed and wanted in the bath with him! It was adorable! I love watching Rex watch Claudia and study her every move!

Claudia did not like Alicen(photographer) talking to her at all. She'd scream and get very mad. At one point she put her finger up to her and told her "shhh"! How embarrassing! Which she tells me to do when I'm singing,which I totally understand! Lol!

We might have Elmo in a few photos but I'm to the point of oh well as long as we are all together. I think Nate is impressed on my nerves! Usually I'm going crazy but I think I'm becoming more relaxed and realizing what will be will be! Something's I just can't control:-).

We did bribe Claudia with ice cream! So after photos we had a nice lunch date at Red Robin. Again Rex was awesome! We can take him anywhere! He sat in the car seat without a peep! And Claudia didn't even eat a lot of the ice cream we ordered! I know Nate and I devoured the chocolate chip cookie! It was actually a pleasant lunch date with the kids!

It was a great family morning! I wish we could have more days like this! In Claudia's words "I so happy"!

Slacking

So my wonderful hubby brought to my attention that I haven't "blogged" in a long time and asked me what's up?!?

I got lazy in writing ok! I spend more time at the YMCA and just relaxing during nap time or wasting time on Pinterest!

Can you believe Rex is 6 months! Man time flies by! He is such a blessing to our family! He loves to jump in his jumper and is content sitting on the floor playing with toys but he does hate tummy time still! He screams and at times will just lay his head down in defeat! So needless to say he has no desire to crawl or at least while I'm in the room! When I leave him on the floor and come back he's in a different spot and then sees me and starts to cry again. He knows he has me wrapped around his fingers already!

It's amazing to watch Claudia & Rex's sibling bond grow and I hope it continues to grow deeper. I will have to catch Claudia on video because today she crawled up to him and kept saying "hey buddy, I'm gonna get you",which I do all the time. I had to step back and laugh, and question wow do i really sound like that! Claudia is such a piece of work! I embrace all her moments and loving her every day learning! The best thing she says now is mommy go shopping! Tonight after bath she wanted to go shopping so bad she ran and got her shoes on and when I told her no again she had a melt down rolling on the floor! Oh daddy is in big trouble!

She is so much like Nate in so many ways. We all know Nate is the clean one well I think now he'll have more help with Claudia! She has to put her shoes a certain way, clean the tub and enjoys cleaning up! Lucky me!!! Hope that continues!

Spouses Flight Appreciation

This past weekend I got to experience my first spouse flight! I was pregnant with Claudia the last time they held one so I was extremely excited! I've been waiting so long to go on one! The day was absolutely beautiful sunny and clear skies...very rare for this state!
All the wives are shuffled into the auditorium to go over safety precautions and having a 100 women together there is lots of chatter! They get to the demonstration of oxygen mask, life vest yada yada yada...who really listens to those things?!? Well I obviously don't! What an ignorant person I am! We were then taken out to the runway and we took a group picture and then had split us up into two planes.  We are all settled in the plane and we got a demonstration of them loading the plane and then dropping a load(from the ground) It was so neat to experience. So we take off and are in the air for maybe 10-15 minutes and my friend Melissa & I were the next wives to experience the cockpit. We get all settled and no sooner than we sit down they point out Mt. Rainier! It was absolutely beautiful but then alarms started going off! I had no chance to appreciate the beauty because we were told to put our oxygen masks on. I look over to Melissa and our faces showed the fear. We had headsets on so we heard what was going on. A smoke detector went off. This happened for a few minutes and then they stopped and we could take our masks off.  The pilots then assured us it was ok and these things happen. We could see the other plane ahead of us and then it starts again...alarms and the panic sets in! My mind is racing I have a new baby, how is Nate going to care for them, will Nate remarry?!? As a woman my mind didn't stop of all the miserable thoughts and questions. If I could of I would've been hugging Melissa but I was strapped in and couldn't reach her.  When they declared an emergency all I could think of was land this plane ASAP! When we saw the runway you could see in our faces we were calming down.  Then they are saying 1500 ft, 800 ft, 200 ft  and then looking out seeing all the fire trucks waiting for the plane was such a relief!
  So we are out of the plane and safely on ground and Melissa & I didn't leave each others side! We are now bonded for life!
 I text Nate and he doesn't call, it was around nap time so i didn't think anything of it but then time passed so i finally call him and tell him what happened his response was ...yeah. And so i start to say what do you mean yeah...arent you concerned? He wasn't! So i ended the phone call quickly and when i got home i ranted to him. As calm as can be he says Nichole this happens on a daily basis what do you think happened when i told you the engine blew.....HOLY SHIT thats what happens is my response! Its F*$#ING scary! He has to be extremely calm and have his shit together at all times! I have a whole new appreciation for what my husband does every day! I will take the stress of raising kids over being a pilot any day!
 The next spouse flight is suppose to be in August....not too sure if I'll be on that flight:-)
Thank you to the amazing pilots and crew who were with us that day and all service members that serve us everyday!

I LOVE MY AIRMAN! 

Happy times!

With the oxygen mask on..yes we had time to take photos:-)

This was happening in the cargo area! 

Safely on the ground!

Road to Recovery

What a week! I can't believe Rex is a week old already! The first night i was by myself with Rex in the hospital and thats always tough. He did really well but you never get any sleep in the hospital!  Luckily we were able to go home the next day! Lots of transitioning and learning all over again! My mother in law(Carol) was here and she was a huge help.  Nate & Carol stayed up with Rex to let me sleep! It was so nice to get a good nights sleep. Although they had their hands full because Claudia didn't sleep well and for the next few nights she didn't:-( But i think we are finally back on track!
 Sunday i woke up with engorgement and it was awful. Once again it got to the point were it hurt to pick up my baby boy! I was an emotional wreck that day. I cried and really all i wanted was my mom! Its amazing how much you want your mom to hold you when something is wrong! Its true, a mothers love is like no other! I thought by not breastfeeding this time i wouldn't get engorgement(or at least as bad), boy was i wrong! I guess I'm a mass milk producer! So far no signs of mastitis(which landed me in the hospital for 4 days with Claudia. MISERABLE!) and i think i'm headed in the right direction of "drying up"
 Its amazing how different already he is from Claudia! He seems so much more mellow. He cries when he's hungry or has a dirty diaper, no fussiness! So unlike Claudia.  And I'm slowly getting use to the diaper changing, lets just say i'm usually changing his outfit too! He is dangerous! During bath was my first experience and i think my scream scared him! I think I'm going to have to invest in those pee pee teepees! Its just so different! He's a great eater and we are slowly getting a schedule of sleeping 4 hours, some nights are better than others.
  To my friends who are having babies,plan on babies or just never heard this before, WARNING DONT READ if you can't handle the truth!......  this information was passed onto me from another friend and it worked with Claudia! No one tells you how swollen you get and how extremely painful it is to sometimes just sit.  The key to help the swelling is HONEY! put honey on a pad and its a natural way to help the swelling! It sounds awful and sticky but its not and its amazing how quickly the swelling goes down! Its become so well known here that my midwife brought in honey packets! But i already packed mine!:-) So next kiddo try it you will be pleasantly surprised! Also i recommend depends! Pack them in your hospital bag! Yes its embarrassing buying them but it beats those awful hospital underwear that are uncomfortable, don't fit  and doesn't hold a pad plus it holds an ice pack much better!! Just tell your hubbies that this is what it'll be like when we grow old together! Its a good laugh and they work! Those are just two helpful pieces of advice that was given to me and i'm not afraid to share no matter how gross or TMI it is...how are we suppose to help if we don't share! And my biggest thing that bothers me is no one told me my belly would still look like i was pregnant! I don't know what i thought would happen but it sucks and everyone has it after birth. It took 9+months to create another human so its going to take time to get back to "normal".
   Honestly if new mommies have any questions i'm not afraid to tell you the truth and I'm always open for new tips from other mommies.....who knows when/if Call number 3 will come along:-)

He's so worth the pain...

and he knows it!

Here comes REX

   So my kiddos like to stay in for an extra week! If we went with Rex's original due date of February 23 it would have been exactly a week late, exactly like Claudia! Things seemed to happen exactly like Claudia. Claudia actually woke up around 330am and I was going to get up with her but I felt a small leak, went into the bathroom and yup just a small leak. Told Nate he had to get up and get Claudia and that i think we will be going to the hospital in the next hour or so! So i took my time, got in the shower and waited for the contractions to start. Nate kept texting from Claudias room to see what was going on and about 5am I told him he should probably get ready. Of course Claudia did not fall back to sleep, I wonder if she knew her world was over as she knew it! So off to the hospital we went about 545 and the drive is about 30-45minutes depending on traffic. Contractions were 3-4 minutes apart and of course not pleasant but Nate was impressed because i was actually sitting, with Claudia i was laying in the back seat screaming! I knew as soon as i got there they'd admit me because i was already at 5cm the previous day! And i made sure to order my epidural as soon as i walked through the doors!!
 So it took about 10 minutes to get me set up and placed in the birthing room. At this point my contractions are 1-2minutes apart and i did so much better on my screaming. I think i knew what to expect and my breathing technique was better! I had a student nurse, Heidi and the RN Kathy who were absolutely wonderful! Time for the epidural and Nate stepped out because he didn't do so well last go around. So he knew he didn't want o be there again.  He always jokes that the needle looks like it should go into a horse! In all honesty the contractions hurt so much more that I didn't even feel him put the needle in! And so the relief kicks in and for woman who can't or choose not to get an epidural GOD BLESS you!! My new tradition is to call Katie Carter after my epidural. I called her with Claudia so I had to call her with Rex! And again like Claudia my epidural started to wear off and they ended up giving me another bolus right before delivering.
  Time to push.....
        As most of you now he was sunny side up so we were trying to get him to flip but he was being stubborn of course! I was probably pushing for 20-30 minutes and he was right there thats when everything went crazy. He was stuck! Mary Paul, my mid-wife, called for doctors to come in and everyone looked panicked.  I knew i had to push hard and get him out and so with the loudest scream i've ever made i pushed. Out comes baby and then Nate goes to lay down in the corner. The scariest thing in the world is not knowing what is happening to your baby.  He let out a scream and i knew he was at least breathing but no one was explaining what was happening making Nate extremely nervous and me lost.  I look to my right and make sure Rex is doing well, I get the ok he's fine and then look to my left to ask if Nate is ok. Nate was ok but he was so pale! Slowly things calm down and Mary Paul was able to tell me what had happened.  He's head was turning but he didn't want to turn with his shoulders. So he came out with both shoulders like a line backer she said. Just thinking about that makes me hurt! So she knew he was going to have shoulders issues and that was the cause for the doctors to be in the room.  Yes he broke his clavicle but its very common and heals quickly. Again another relief it was a broken clavicle and not something worse.  Mary Paul said the way i delivered add another pound to that baby so Rex coming out was 9lbs 4oz! Craziness and ladies want to know how many stitches I had to get....not a single one!!! I didn't tear at all! How is that even possible?!? Lucky me i guess!
 So that is how we welcomed our sweet little boy! Nate & I couldn't be happier. Rex is such a sweet baby. We are so happy everyone is healthy.

Rex David Call March 1, 2012 11:18am 8lbs 4 oz 19 inches

Daddy & Rex

Mommy & Rex

Claudia wins this round

Oh what a morning! I had big plans, go to Tacoma boys then head over to the mall to walk this baby out of me but Claudia had other plans! We did our normal shower routine and she usually sits at my feet and plays then we clean up and she hands me the toys. Well she refused to clean up so I sang the clean up song and asked nicely, mind you this was only 1 thing she needed to hand me! Nate was still home getting ready for a run and he asked (while laughing) how long the stand off was going to last.  Well he left for his run and i still was dealing with a screaming Claudia nose to the wall refusing to pick up! I told her i had no where to go today and that we could stay in the shower all day. She would inch closer and start to bend over to pick up only to realize I was watching her and if she gave it to me I would win! So she'd back up and scream even louder! Atleast I got some good squats in while waiting! So let me tell you how she won....she pooped in the shower! So I literally flung her over my shoulder picked the poop up and cleaned the shower floor  (she's still over my shoulder) then we got back in the shower to clean her off and then wouldn't you know it she was the biggest cuddle bug. She knew she had won! Oh she has a lifetime of standoffs with me! But gosh I love her so much! The one good thing with Rex being late is I still get my one on one time with my little girl!

Her new cheese face

She does love her mom!

Ended up being a perfect morning with my girls in bed!

She just kept crawling all over me!

TORNADO CLAUDIA

Oh my little Stink pot! She loves going into her room to sit on the rocking chair with a pile of books and she reads out loud most of the time. She was being extremely quiet so i sneak over and she's sitting in her chair but looking at me like she was up to something.  She was sitting with no diaper on. I tried to get a picture but it turned out blurry and then of course she was on the run but this is what i caught...

and so the next question where is your diaper little miss......

yup she threw it in her crib! Luckily it was only a wet diaper and not anything more!!! 

Oh and then later that night while Nate was home we were sitting in the upstairs living room and once again she was too quiet for our liking so i go into her room and normally she pulls all her books off her shelf which doesn't bother me to much and she likes to have all her options available to pick out! LOL but this time i walk into all her clean clothes pulled out from her dresser!!! UGG So i started to fold the clothes and the good little girl that we have started singing the clean up song and putting her clothes away (not folded) which drove me bonkers and Nate had to take the monster away before i threw her out of her room! And of course Nate had to come back in and capture the monster mommy mode! 

I do love my little girl and she makes me laugh so much and lately so hard that i pee my pants half the time!  Literally....one of the great pleasures of pregnancy!  She's growing up so fast and i'm so glad to capture special moments with her! 

Valentines Day

Neither Nate or I are big on Valentines day. Its a made up hallmark holiday and i'm not a fan of flowers so to me its just another day. But having a little girl i wanted to make it special! I got her Elmo books, stickers and she loves mini m&ms so i spoiled her a little! I made heart shaped grilled cheese for my little valentines! We then made little heart cupcakes and she was into eating the icing more than decorating! and when i did let her have a cup cake she licked all the icing off and gave the cupcake to Britain! Oh what a silly girl! We made daddy a heart cake  too! And daddy got an elmo card and she did not want to put it down!! And of course i got my Kahlua that i can't wait to enjoy in a few weeks!! So Valentines day turned out to be a good day for all of us!

Mini vacation on my blogging!

Love my kiddos!

So its been a few weeks since i've had time to sit down and actual blog! A few weeks ago I coordinated this years cookie drive on base for all the single airman. I don't know what i was thinking with my due date being so close but it turned out good. Not as many cookie donations as i would of liked but everything went smoothly and the airman got their cookies! I made 7 dozen cookies and it was so hard not to eat them!    Super easy recipes though from pinterest of course!

I enjoyed my friend Katies baby shower hosted by Starla.  Katie and I are actually due the same day! we will see who is first my bet is on her because i think my kiddos are stubborn and just like to torture me while they are "baking"

Thought baby Rex was coming early but not the case, you can read about that under Rex pregnancy week 37:-)

Had maternity photos taken, will post when we get them:-) and of course Claudia would not cooperate! SHOCKER!

















I went to see the broadway musical Oklahoma with some of the squadron girls. It was nice to go into the city and have dinner with the girls. I'm so lucky to have an amazing husband and dad! Nate had a father/daughter day.

Claudia is changing everyday and learning so much, she's talking so much and somethings are so clear! Its crazy how quickly time goes by! We love that she waves goodbye to Vanna White after wheel of fortune because that is our nightly routine before bath time.  The other night we had a melt down after bath because Elmo towel was in the laundry! Thats the only towel we can use, i think i need to buy a back up! She was hysterical and the water works didn't stop. Good thing it was Nates turn for bath night! too funny! I just wish we were closer to family and friends so they could see her grow! Hopefully someday! She brings so much happiness to my life (99% of the time lol) and i can't believe we are adding a new bundle of joy in a few weeks/maybe days?!? I couldn't be any happier than i am now except that my husband thinks we need a mini van and not a SUV so please encourage him vans are so not cool! LOL any help my way would be appreciated! He's not the one driving it!


Thats the catch up on whats happening. Just waiting for Rex and then family to come out and visit! YEAH!

Washington Weather

 What a week for the Call house! Washington got hit with snow and then on top of that got a nasty ice storm causing power outages everywhere! We were without power for a little bit but we were one of the lucky ones that had power while others went for days without it! Claudia was just getting over a little cold so we didn't really take her outside, plus it was so cold and i hate cold weather! But we did take her out to introduce her to the snow and for a photo opt LOL:-)

 

We had some friends come over to warm up and shower while their power was out and they brought their dogs! It was a zoo in our house! I couldn't imagine owning more than one dog! And all of them are high energy! Craziness! Poor Britain had an accident outside either the ice cut her or she ran into something we aren't sure. We've been putting ointment on it but if it gets bad we are going to take her into the vet, its so gross......

All week Claudia had trouble sleeping. I don't know if it was due to some teeth coming through or her not being able to breath out of her nose! It was lots of snuggle time and luckily Nate had been home to help me out!  At one point I was skyping Katie Carter  and Claudia just fell asleep on my lap, she's not the type of child to just zone out anywhere so i was in complete shock when she did this! It was hilarious! So we both napped on the couch and it was so nice to snuggle with her! We had a lot of naps on the couch together this week but I ate it up because in a few short weeks its going to get hard to have one on one time with her

    

My snuggle bug!

Also have to share how well Claudia is with dogs, its a good feeling that no matter how big or hyper they are she wants to love on them. Here she is with the Townsend's dog Cora:

So glad this past week is over and we can get back into our routine! While it was good family time I'm ready to work out, play with Claudia and of course fill my addiction of pinterest! 

DIVA DAY THURSDAY! Oh wait that's every day!

OMG! Claudia is all girl...please tell me she isn't the only miss independent, possessive, mean girl at 19months?!? We had a play date with Stephanie and Hunter and she was so mean! Poor Hunter had no idea what was going on! He was so laid back, I'm really hoping Rex is like this! He wasn't allowed to play with any of her toys and at one point popped him on the head with her juice! Really Claudia?!? I know people say its normal but its embarrassing and of course i want to say i have the perfect child (in my dreams!) and she could do no wrong! LOL The best part is she says sorry right away! She has no clue what it means but knows she should say it! UGGG  Another step in learning!



Have to throw this in too....remember that push record entry....wish i could do it again...i think i'm going to start researching in a monitor that can be a video recorded if not I'm suggesting it! At 330am i hear an awful scream! I sit up as fast as i possible can and hit the monitor, there is Miss Claudia standing up, "oh not again" are my thoughts! But since i am slow to get moving i found myself watching her instead of going to comfort her. She didn't cry for more than a minute and she walked over picked up her stuff giraffe and placed him by Elmo in the corner of the crib.  She then proceeded to cover them with her blanket and then decided to get under the blanket with them too! So they were all snuggled up together and back to sleeping in no time! I love capturing these moments on the monitor and being able to share what she's up to!

Friendships and Rex's baby shower

I'm miles away from family and friends but I'm amazed at the beautiful friendships I've made in Washington these past 2 years! My best friend Kelly threw me the most beautiful baby shower! Let me share with you that she is in the process of moving to California and her husband to Alaska(got to love the military!) in the next week and still found the time to make me feel special! I really don't know what i'm going to do when she is gone!

Kelly & I

   As a military wife you form such strong bonds with the other wives because you are away from family and your husband is gone about 300 or more days of the year! They become your rock when you need them! They are there to have fun, laugh, cry and help when needed! You never know they may even deliver your baby! These women are incredible! You laugh when you say "I haven't seen so and so for awhile" because that usually means their husband is home! Its like we go into hibernation when our hubbies are home, at least i know i do! These women are strong on so many levels and words can't describe my appreciation for them everyday!
  Thank you ladies for making my day so special and know I hold every one of you close to my heart!

Here are a few photos from the shower! Thank you again Kelly! Love you!

the cute bottle drinks! and amazing punch!
1 can frozen pineapple-orange juice
1 can frozen limeade
1can frozen lemonade
3 cups cold water
2 liters lemon-lime soda
lemon, lime and orange slices

Those are gum balls in the vase!! 

Lolipops!

Door Sign

The amazing cake!

I wish i could push record!

Claudia is picking up on everything! She's a little sponge! It amazes me how much she knows and understands! We had to implement the dreaded time out! I'm sure it can only get worse but she'd throw a fit if she did not get what she wanted, so bad as to throwing herself to the floor and rolling around...really it starts this young?!?! For Claudia time out works, downstairs we put her on the steps for 30 seconds to a minute and she stays! The thing we find funny is she buries her face against the gate or if we are upstairs in the wall! we never told her to do that but Nate and I had to turn away because we were laughing so hard! The time out is working as of now and has helped keep me stay calm and her from always getting her way:-)

Time out at the Call house

Another story that has me cracking up still is: nap time comes so easy for Claudia, she goes right down now for how long always changes but its always at least an hour! I put her down and sat down to work on stuff on the computer (for once not pinterest!) 5 minutes into nap time i hear.... Mom, Mom , Mommmmmyyy so i turn the monitor on and she's standing in the corner, i was not about to go get her! this is my hour by myself! but then she says poo, poo, poooooo and then her hand goes to her nose and says stinky. I was laughing so hard  but sure enough she pooped! The way she knew and said it makes me smile just talking about it! I changed her and she then went down for her nap. I think she might be an easy potty trainer when i'm ready to start! I think that will be after Rex is born!:-) 

Loving our little girl more and more