Constant Beginnings

7 more weeks to go! It cannot come soon enough! I am dying for life to get back to normal or at least reclaim my body, but obviously, super excited to meet our little guy. The girls had a birthday party for a friend this weekend and a random party goer approached me and said, "Congratulations! You're having a boy, aren't you!?" I didn't know her from Adam, so of course, she was guessing purely on the way I am carrying. I was totally excited! I do think I am gaining less weight all over like I did with the girls,  but I certainly do not possess that cute little basketball in the front either. He is getting to be one big beach ball! I've gained 30 pounds so far and would love to stick to that. We had an ultrasound this morning and we decided to bring the girls. They were so excited! Claire mentioned that in previous pictures, the little dude looked more like a dog than a baby. She was really hoping things have changed. And changed, they did! He is looking grea...

And just like that, the rollercoaster is climbing once again! After a few conversations, a few phone calls and emails, Chris has been deemed eligible to apply for early retirement. Phew! It would have been frustrating to have been shot down before even beginning the process, but now, he at least can apply and see where that takes us. He'll apply this week, then we wait for the yay or neigh and go from there.

I mentioned this in one of my previous posts, but Chris received an email stating he was eligible for the early retirement incentive being offered because he has 15 years of service completed. The process goes a little something like this: get the email, send email back verifying eligibility, complete application, wait for response and proceed based on that response. Well, Chris emailed to verify his eligibility on the 14th and finally received word this morning that he is NOT eligible! WTH??!!! I think he is feeling kind of bummed about it as we had "life" planned out. There were minimal uncertainties in terms of what would happen next, what would life look like, etc. He is doing some checking to make certain this information is correct and that someone didn't make a mistake, but apparently either his year group was omitted from the deal or his career field. Either way, I guess we should look at this as a positive when thousands of others will be involuntarily removed ...

I am well into week 29 now. I've made my best effort to savor this pregnancy and simply enjoy each moment, knowing it will be my last. That being said, my feet are killing me, my lower back is in excrutiating pain at  the end of the day and I want nothing more than to wear sweatpants to work each and every day. Ha! I am ready to be done! I only have about 9 more weeks to go and I know it will pass quickly. I cannot wait to hold this precious boy in my arms. He will be so worth the wait! I finally dropped the fabric for his bedding off to the gal who is sewing it for me. I can't wait to see some progress pictures. I think it is going to be so cute! I've been stalking the online sales pages in hopes to find a dresser and finally found one for $20! Mya decided she needed one that was a bit larger and truth be told, this one is more feminine than the chest of drawers she is currently using, so we swapped them. I filled his drawers with all the clothes I've been collecting...

My word for 2014 is "intention." So much of life is spent on "autopilot," simply going through the motions of routines and activities. It is my focus to act with intention. To move with  purpose, to focus on maximizing my happiness, to do with meaning. 1. Organization--I am happier and more sane when my life is organized. My focus is a meal plan, maintaining a weekly calendar of chores/homework schedule, etc. Chris and I have revised our budget to reflect our family financial goals. This ties in directly with financial organization and spending with intention or purpose. 2. Health--Once our little guy is born, health will become my obsession. Clean eating and working out. Lots of sweat, sweat, sweat. This is our last little one that I will carry, so no more excuses to carry this extra weight. I am focusing on pre-baby Kara, which will involve losing about 40 pounds. 3. Family time--Working full time and being a mom and wife is a juggling act. I am vowing to no...

Wow, it is hard to believe 2013 is done and gone. It was such a mixed year for us. We suffered two miscarriages, immeasurable heartache and stress as we weren't certain our hopes to expand our family would come to fruition. We settled into a new house, made it our home and fell in love with our little neighborhood where our neighbors are like our family. We took our first cruise to Greece and Croatia, traveled to Venice, Italy three times, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Belgium twice, Netherlands, France, England, Portugal & Morocco.  10 countries in a year is pretty amazing! Claire learned how to read fluently and is now reading at a 3rd grade level. Mya has learned all of her letters, the sounds they make and can blend sounds to read words as well. She is officially a beginner reader. Both girls are doing amazingly well at swimming. They love the water and can front crawl like no other. Claire has developed a love for soccer and is now competing in U-7 district s...