Last week

Have I ever mentioned how Noah is a big ball of energy? I realize all kids have tons of energy, but this kid could keep going and going and... going. Oh, and she talks just as much. Wednesday was her first day of tumbling and cheer. I don't think I have heard the end of it since we signed her up for it two months ago. When we pulled up to the studio I swear her eyes were as big as saucers. She was ready to go! We saw all the little bitty girls just as excited. At first, I thought we went to the wrong building because these girls were tiny. I had to ask a mom what age group this was since Noah was at least a head taller than most of them. I really don't know why I wonder why my children are huge compared to other children when it comes to their height. HELLO my husband is 6'5ish and I'm right at 6ft tall. Of course my kids are going to be giants. When I was told it was for ages 3-5, we lined up around the room waiting for Noah's coach. Of course, I brought my camera (I was the only one which I thought was extremely odd. I guess parent's only take pictures of their kids at shows? Well, not this mama!). As soon as the coach entered, she had us sign a waiver and started introducing her self. She explained how parents were not allowed in the studio when the kids were practicing because of how distracting they can be, and by golly, if my camera didn't flash right when she said that. Haha. She might have used me as the example of the distracting parent. Eh, oh well. Honestly, I was quite disappointed to see we were not allowed in there. On the otherhand, kind of excited I could leave for an hour and go get coffee and have one on one time with Graydon. After class, Noah said she loved it, she liked all her new friends, and how she was going to be in the Olympics when she was old enough. Always dream big, sweet girl!

Graydon is now 10 months old! Such a smart and happy little guy! The morning of his 10 month he showed us his new skill. (I swear he does something new right on the day he gains a month in age!) He started clapping! He has seriously been trying for months now, but just couldn't get the mechanics. He would hit his belly instead of his hands when we would try to show him, but he's got it down now! It's the most precious thing to see him get excited because he figured something out. He is also standing solo now. He still cruises most of the time, but he lets go a lot. I'm so ready for that first step. I have been trying to get him to walk to me, but he gets scared and quickly sits down and crawls instead.

Yesterday we went to the Cardinals football game with some friends. It was the first NFL game for Kevin and me. We brought our kids, and let me tell you, I have never gotten more stares than yesterday. It's like everyone acted like we took them to a bar. Last time I checked, football games are family events. Obviously not pro football games. It was still really fun even with all the looks. The kids behaved so well! Graydon clapped everytime the crowd did, and Noah sat still the whole time (which is HUGE for her). She had "her William" there sitting beside her, who is the 3 year old son of our friends, so she was definitely content.

Christmas is right around the corner!

Normally, I've finished Christmas shopping months ago. This year has been a little different. We didn't know if we were going to wait until we moved to do Christmas, have an early Christmas, or just take the kids to Toys R Us in Austria to pick out what they want. We quickly changed our minds on them having a shopping spree. There is absolutely nothing magical about picking out your own Christmas presents. There would be no curiosity what's wrapped under the tree, no running down the hall to tear open presents, and no excitement on their little faces when they see what they've opened. NOT IN MY HOME! No way, no how! You know how there are people known as the crazy cat lady? Yeah, I'm the crazy Christmas lady. I take pride in the title! I've earned it! Therefore, Kevin and I have agreed on buying their presents, shipping them, and doing our own little Christmas after we get our shipment and are settled in. As I wrote a few posts back, we are going to do one big shippment which will probably happen the end of next month or the very beginning of November. That means I have a little over a month to get my butt in gear and Christmas shop! This year we will be trying a new Christmas shopping technique. When it was just Noah, it was VERY easy to go overboard with gifts. Since I have two kids that both get to open gifts and only have a short amount of time to buy, I need a little more organization. They both will get the same amount of presents and get gifts that fall under the same categories.

Thank you fellow blogger, Kim, for posting about this a few years ago! I love this idea! Maybe it will be a hit for our family!

Here it is

Something they WANT
Something they Need
Something to WEAR
Something to READ

I also found other catagories on Google to add on to that list. Which are:

Something to WATCH
Something for DRESS UP
Something to LISTEN TO (Adele Cd for Noah. Kid loves her!)
Something to EAT
Something to CREATE (finger paint for Graydon, new paint and brushes for Noah? hmm?)

Let the shopping begin!!!

Our Bucket List.

Kevin and I have never been out of the states. We are looking at this PCS as a way to experience the world and get our kids as cultured as possible. Who knows if we will ever get stationed over seas again. We are going to take advantage. I'm going to write our bucket list for two countries at a time of places to see. If I put all the countries we are wanting to travel to, it will be too much of a read, and I may lose your interest. Please feel free to give me your input on places you've been or been wanting to go. I have a ton, but the more the better. I'll start with where we are going, Italy, and the first city/country we plan on visiting, Paris, France.

Italia
1. Go to Verona and stand under/on Juliet's balcony. (How romantic)
2. Stand in awe looking at The Last Supper in Milan. -Heard it brings tears to most
3. Be in amazement with our mouths open at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City
4. Stand in front of the Vatican. -You aren't allowed to go in or we would jump on that experience.
5. Visit the Coloseum and take in how much history is around us.
6. Try to push the Leaning Tower of Pisa back up ;)
7. Take a Gondola ride in Venice.
8. Visit Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice
9. Take too many pictures of us in front of the Grand Canal.
10. See the real Statue of David in Florence and "try" to take a picture of it.- NOT allowed at all.
11. Go to Naples to eat Pizza from where it originated from.
12. Walk through Uffizi Gallery in Florence. -One of the most famous art museums.
13. Stand under the Tuscan sun.
14. Visit where Leonardo Di Vinci was born.
15. Make a wish in the Trevi Fountain in Rome.
16. Hike through Aosta Valley
17. Walk through Frassassi Cave.
18. Stand in front of the Pantheon at night.
19. Lie in a Catacomb if I'm allowed (more of my bucket list than Kev's)
20. Walk through/around Sassi di Matera. (ancient town. Never heard of it? Google it!)
21. Go to fairs and bizaars near and far.
22. Get fresh fish and vegtables from our town market.
23. Visit a nude beach. (that's all there is! It's Europe! What do you expect? PCB?)
24. Take a Mediterranean cruise. (starting at 399€ a person for 7 nights. Too good to pass up)
25. Lie on a beach in Sicily.
26. Walk through an Italian vineyard.
27. Try only new foods everytime we eat out.
28. Get the breath knocked out of me when I look at Cinque Terre from a cliff.
29. Pretend with my kids that we are the 'Royals' anytime we visit a castle.
30. Drink the preferred wine in every village/city.

France
We plan on driving to Paris from Aviano. 11 hours is nothing compared to what we are used to driving. Piece of cake. Plus, we don't want to miss the countryside view!

1. Think how wonderful life is when I kiss my husband in front of the Eiffle Tower.
2. Look at the Arc de Triomphe at night.
3. Stand inside the Notre Dame and take our picture with a Gargoyle.
4. Look at the art at The Louvre Museum. (Perhaps you've heard of Mona Lisa?)
5. Walk The Palace of Versailles.
6. Pretend my husband is Ewan Mcgregor at the Moulin Rouge. (Love to go inside, but probably won't happen with kids. Doesn't mean we can't go look at it.)
7. Set up my tripod and Rebel in front of the Luxembourg Gardens for family pictures.
8. Find paintings by Monet in the Orsay Museum.
9. People watch and name pigeons with my babies at Palace de la Concorde.
10. And finally, the main reason to travel to France for our first country of choice is to go to Euro Disney for Noah's 5th birthday!! Lucky kid, how many children can say they went to Paris for their 5th birthday?

Again, please add anything I'm leaving off that is a must see. I will try to do our bucket list of the next two countries next week.

Our Busy Saturday

Kevin had gotten called into work for weekend duty. Let me just say, I was NOT in a good mood. We have one car now so that means I would have to take him to work-at the break of dawn. Did I mention Saturday is my day to sleep in? I was all sorts of moody. I had a crying baby I didn't want to deal with. I had a crying child who was upset because her hair wasn't brushed. She obviously didn't notice she was still in her pajamas while we on our way to base and didn't realize we were NOT getting out of the car no matter how many time I told her. Let me just say, I'm normally more patient than that with my kids, but all mothers have their moment where they just want to scream from frustration, and I've learned to just keep quiet (or ignore) than regret my words. That's really what it all was-frustration. I had it in my mind and tired body that I was going to get to sleep in, and it all came crashing down when I heard my husband say, "I gotta go in." I could have cried. On the way to base, I told Kevin we HAVE to get coffee. I would have seriously died if I didn't get my caffeine fix. Maybe not, but still, I needed it. When he returned to the car, he told me to guess how much it was. I was not in the mood to guess. I quickly said, "No clue, with prices these days" He said, "FREE." Free? National coffee day was really the first thing that came to mind, but that vanished quickly when I thought that day should be on a Monday not Saturday when people get to sleep in. Which brought me back to why I was super pissy about the whole ordeal. He told me the cashier saw him in uniform, shook his hand, and thanked him for his service. I melted. Every bit of my bad mood, went away. How awesome! Then I realized, "Wow, I can really be an ass" I had to get up and take my husband to WORK and play with my precious kids all day. I have it SO bad. My poor husband didn't want to go (12 hours of work at that), and I was complaining because I didn't get to sleep an extra hour or two. Shame on me!

The kids and I came back home so Noah and I could pick the house up and for all of us to get ready. Noah had her teeball meeting at 12:30. When we arrived, I realized the meeting was held at a preschool with TONS of toys. Guess who didn't pay attention to the meeting and all the coaches? My child and the other 60 children. Parents were handed the rule book, picture packets, and game and practice schedule, and we were done. I bet they will think twice about having a meeting at a play area again. haha. Therefore, all the parents have to go over the rules with the children which is fine by me! It was a loud, loud zoo in that small area. I was glad to get out. I love like children. Really, I do. But...they can be quite annoying when there are dozens of them. Especially when the number of boys dominate over the girls, and we all know the amount of energy boys have...

When we left, both kids were fast asleep in the car. I hadn't been to Target in FOREVER so I wanted to go check out the clearance isle. Both kids were in an okay mood for not getting their naps out. Surprisingly, the only thing I found that I needed was a pencil pouch. I've been wanting one for my PCS binder to hold our passports (Which work wonderfully if you are wondering). When we left Target, I thought we would make our way to ROSS. I've been looking for Noah gymnastic wear and heard they sometimes get leotards/unitards in. Nope, didn't find a thing that had to do with any kind of sports. I did, however, find Noah a pair of OshKosh skinny jeans for $7 and OshKosh sweater for $5! Score! We've been trying to stock up on the kid's winter clothes so it is easier on our bank account than going all at once for everyone's winter wardrobe. Italy winters are a little more intense than the mild Arizona's winters so we need heavier clothing than a wind breaker jacket.

We went home for lunch and quiet time. Graydon naps. Noah reads with her Leappad/plays in her room until Graydon wakes up, or I come get her so we can have one on one time. I catch up on house work if there is any, or read or watch Netflix on my Nook. Works wonderfully. I absolutely love it. After the household started moving, I decided it is too nice out to be cooped up in the house. We are at home all week because again, we only have one car right now. We deserve to get out. Plus, it's not too healthy in my opinion. Where did we go? On base. There is something about base, any base for that matter. Meeting and learning about other military families is so exciting. Everyone is so alike, but different. I decided to head to the BX (base exchange- Kind of like a taxless walmart/kmart for us military folk) since Kevin should be getting off soon. I came across the CUTEST outfit for Noah. I played my cards well or so I thought. "Ew Noah, look at that outfit." Normally anything I say I like, she hates. I've said it before, I'll say it again, we butt heads ALL the time because we are SO much alike. Reverse psychology did NOT work. I changed my attitude toward this awesome outfit. "Well, I guess we could dress it up with a cute bow and some black maryjanes." Still didn't work. "Man, this child has to have this outfit" is what I was thinking. "Noah, just try the shaw on. You may actually love the way it makes you feel in it." "FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNE," She said. I felt I had an audience. Yep. I did. Three other moms with their children, were looking. After it was on, she hated it even more. She was whining, crying, and screaming about it itching. That is always her excuse if she doesn't want to wear something. If she saw someone else where it she would absolutely love it. It's because her Mother liked it. I pulled a "Mean Mommy" and bought her two! muahaha. A red/black/white one and purple/dark purple/beige one. Here is a picture of loving it WHEN her Daddy said how pretty the outfit was...

We officially have

A CRUISER. I've been meaning to blog this for about a week now, but with family coming out, and Noah having all her extracurricular activities, it's quite difficult to find time. About two weeks ago, Graydon FINALLY started crawling! A few days before that, he figured out how to pull up. Please don't tell him he wasn't the coolest baby ever. Haha. He would get so excited and try to clap for himself and in the process would fall down. Not just any fall, a fat man's fall. Yes, he wouldn't fall on his butt, it would be on his hip with a roll and legs in the air. HILARIOUS! For a few days after he started crawling, I didn't see him pull up much at all, actually. He had better things to do. GET PLACES with his new skill! Then, about a week ago, I walked downstairs and saw him going around the furniture to nearby toys. Exciting! He has even been brave a few times and let go for maybe a second, but quickly grab back on to find his balance. Not too much longer until we have ourselves a little walker!

Graydon's birthday dilemma

After we recieve our hard copy of orders which should be the middle of October, we can call TMO to let them know the date to come pack up our house. We are allowed up to 60 days out before we leave to get our house packed. We could do that, or have two shipments. First shipment would be unaccompanied baggage which would be pots, pans, sheets, ect. Then a few weeks later, TMO will come pack up everything else. I honestly would rather them come get it all at once, so it will be there, or almost, by the time we arrive. The reason we can start 60 days out is because it takes roughly 45-90 days for our shipment to arrive in Europe. In the meantime, we can borrow loaner furniture from the military at our current base and at Aviano. The sooner the shipping, the faster you get it. Sounds good, right? Eh, maybe. 60 days out from the time we leave is October 20ish. Whoa. Yes, the October that is next month! Seriously?! NEXT MONTH?! Umm what the heck am I supposed to do about Graydon's birthday? We already have to tweak Christmas, now Graydon's 1st birthday, too? We were planning to get him a scoot along metal bi plane that Kevin and I both have fallen in love with. Do we give it to him early? Wait until we arrive in Aviano to give it to him? What do we do? I like the first idea better, but the whole giving it to him to get it packed up doesn't really fly either. What about his birthday party? Every child deserves a party. Right? RIGHT! I can let guests know Graydon does not need anything just to help him celebrate his big 1st year of life, but if you absolutely want to give him a present (because you always have those overly sweet friends and family that give anyway), make it money or a giftcard from a store that ships to APO addresses? Is that tacky? He can't actually get presents because again, all our house and toys will be packed up already and on their way to Italy. There is however, a Toys R Us in Austria. Should I write this on his invitations in case someone wants to give him a giftcard? Oy. What to do. What to do.

Shipping our vehicle.

About a week ago I attended a Smooth Move Briefing the Air Force offers to all families PCSing. Kevin had just gotten off work, and both kiddos were sick so I decided it would be best if I went solo. It was very informative, and I highly suggest going if you are about to move. Kevin and I have been wondering how the whole shipping our car would go, and how much in advance we would need/want to ship it. I was told the earlier the better since it can take up to 90 days to get your car when you move. Since we are 20 minutes north of base and only have one car now, we couldn't ship it too early because Kevin would not have a way to work. When I sat down at Smooth Move, a NCO that was sitting behind me who happened to also be moving to Aviano told me we absolutely HAVE to take it San Diego or LA to ship our car. Makes sense. It is the closest port to us. Until the briefing started, I had the worst gut feeling just thinking how the heck we were going to drive to San Diego, get back, and out process the final days we were at Luke. After TMO (movers) started talking, that horrible gut feeling subsided. Since we're moving to Europe which is East, we are allowed to drive toward our destination. Since we are going home to Tennessee for Christmas before we move, we can drive our car to the Atlanta port for our car to be shipped (There are only 5-10 car ports in the US and Atlanta is one of them) and use Nashville or the Atlanta air port to fly out of when our vacation comes to an end. Majority of people fly out of Baltimore, but we are really hoping needing it to be Nashville or Atlanta. The only way we can do that though is if it's cheaper for the Air Force. If it isn't cheaper, Kevin is going to talk to TMO to see if we can pay the difference! Fingers crossed!!

Graydon

My baby is 9 months old today! Where has the time gone? Really, where the hell has it gone? I just posted I was pregnant 2 months ago...or so it seems. He is such a blessing and has the sweetest personality. He has started doing this granny grin (the only way I can explain it) where his face scrunches all up, he tilts his head back, and all you can see is his teeth. If I'm lucky, he will start giggling while doing it and try to catch my attention. PRECIOUS!

He can now ARMY CRAWL! Hey! Better than I thought he would be able to do since he is so massive. He is getting quick, too! He is pulling up on everything as well! Pulling Dvds out or pulling pots out of cabinets is his absolute favorite thing to do right now.

The other night when he was playing dentist with my mouth, he kept poking my nose. I started poking his and saying "nose...nose" I let him down for a little bit while I was cooking, and when I was finished I put him back in my lap and asked him where my nose was? He poked it! Maybe that was coincidence, but the next morning when I went into his room I bent over his crib, I asked again and he found it. Coincidence or not, I'm going to keep working with him on finding features of the face!

Lastly, a couple days ago we were having pizza for supper. Noah was sitting in the floor and all of a sudden I heard her dramatic cry. I look over, and yup, head tilted back and doing the top-notch-telling-on-you cry. I look closer, Graydon crawled to her plate and stole her pizza. Half of the pizza was in his mouth while the other half was mashed in his hands. I decided to cut him up a piece and he did wonderfully with it. I guess he wanted something different than the all organic food he has been getting ;)

Medical Board Meeting

We had our medical board meeting yesterday. Nerve racking was an understatement. Kevin didn't have to go, but he's my rock and I needed him there with me. When we arrived on the 3rd floor of the hospital, there was another couple waiting to be seen. They looked more nervous than me. It made me think 1. I got this or 2. I need to get more nervous! This is the moment of truth if we get to move abroad or not. My dream of visiting moving to Europe was either going to come true or crushed into a million little pieces.

Next thing I heard was the young airman ask if we were ready. Let me tell you she was the true definition of "military-woman-that-hates-all-civilian-wives" until I told her that I graduated college and what my degree was in. (Normal behavior of a military women. Happens a ton if they assume you don't do anything with your life and just mooch off your husband's check. NOT COOL.) She too had an interest in Mortuary Science and tried to do it through the military. We hit it off after that. HA! Anyways, we went back to the conference room where the doctor/commander of the hospital, doctor in the special needs department, and the airman were. "No Psychologist?! Whaaaat?!" Everyone that I talked to who had anxiety said a psychologist was present, but I'm assuming since I was not on medication or have never seen a counselor, they didn't feel the need to have one.

They started off with the kids and how healthy they were. They asked if they were on any medication. I spoke up and said, "Noah was on acne medication." The commander started flipping through files abnoxiously. "Crap. My big mouth always gets me in trouble" was what I thought." I told her the situation when she asked and she said that it wasn't a big deal. Heck, I didn't want them to pull a fast one on me, and as soon as I said no, they would say, "Well Mrs. Cheney, it looks like Noah is on medication."

Before they started asking me questions, they asked if I was comfortable with my family being in there while I talked about my health. I told them I didn't mind. I had absolutely nothing to hide. The commander who was running the show asked if I was on medications, went to mental health, or have anxiety issues now. She then asked exactly how that appointment went down 2 years ago. No shame, I Told her the whole appointment was because of an allergic reaction to formaldehyde and... Before I could finish, she asked if I saw the funeral home reality show and if I hadn't I needed to watch it ASAP! Yes, I didn't even get to finish the details of the appointment. Next thing I know a big PASSED was stamped on my medical papers, and we were good to go.

Now I see how silly it was for me to worry the last month over and issue that wasn't an issue. WHEW. Glad that is over!

The Family

Noah
A couple weeks ago Noah had been talking nonstop about a pj party. She wanted nail polish, pillow fights, pizza, cupcakes, movies, and hot cocoa. Why not do it that night?! We went to walmart and got all our supplies! We had an absolute blast.
She will be starting gymnastics for the first time in September and tee ball for her second year in October! I am beyond excited to watch our baby be part of a team...again!

Graydon
Graydon is as sweet as ever! He loves food, but hates to be fed by spoon. He wants to do it all by himself. We have been cubing and steaming squash, zucchinni, carrots, sweet potatoes, or apples for his meals along with ground turkey and shredded chicken. He can now go from laying down to sitting up! Also, last night he kind of took a crawl. How can you kind of crawl, you may ask? He was on all fours and put one knee forward, then the next. He fell over soon after that, but that's not the point. HA! He hasn't got the mechanics down, but he will get there! He had his medical clearance yesterday, and unlike mine, it went SO well. I love his pediatrician. We see eye to eye on what's best for my children and their health. To be honest, their pediatrician was one of the only things I was going to miss about Luke AFB until we told him where we are pcsing to. He too will be joining us at Aviano except 6 months after we get there! Oh how I hope I can pull him to be our children's pediatrician again!

Kevin
Kevin has been busy at work a lot lately. He is waiting to switch over to days for his final months at Luke. It will be much easier with out processing. He will be testing for Tech Sgt come early 2013. He did a practice test about a month ago online and scored an 80 which is fantastic since he hadn't even studied. Even though most people don't make it on their first time testing since it is the hardest test you test for, I still have faith in him.
He just started his baseball season a couple weekends ago. I think he is realizing this will be his final season playing baseball and will have to switch completely to softball. I won't hear him complain too much I'm sure. Who doesn't love softball?...and beer?

Cheyenne
I have been awesome! I am 1.5 months clean...from the tanning bed! Yes! I have not tanned for over a month. I canceled my membership not only to save money, but to be healthy and healthy looking for my children! Go me! Other news in my life, Kevin bought me a brand new, only 17 miles on it, GMC Terrain! I absolutely LOVE it! Did we absolutely need it? No. Is it safer? Helping us save money and not worry about what we are going to do with the Tundra? Yes. We were planning on selling the Tundra before we moved which meant we would take my Mazda 3. Kevin knew he will get deployed a ton over there, and he knows I will not mope around the house just because he isn't there. Definitely not my style. He also knows I plan to travel with or without him. Which he is glad so that is the main reason we made the purchase. He didn't want me to break down in a country I didn't know the language with a car that had a ton of miles and no warranty. At first, I didn't like the idea, but the more he explained the more I was jumping on board. What if I did break down and he wasn't there? Then what? This car has onstar and a warranty that will hold up in Italy! Plus doing it this way, we killed two birds with one stone so to speak.
Also, I finally took the plunge and bought an Ergo baby carrier! I seriously do not know how the heck I haven't bought one before now. I love it! It is seriously the most comfortable thing I have ever tried on. Even Kevin loves it! Not only is it comfortable, it can hold our 4 year old! Yes, we put Noah in it! Ha! Not that we would put her in it when we are out, I just needed to see if the box was telling the truth! Such an awesome investment for our family!

Hold up. Wait a minute. That was in MY file?!

Tuesday I had my medical clearance appointment. My Pcm (doctor)had changed. Thank God was what I was thinking, until I met that Bitch. Excuse my language, but I would rather be in a room with Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, and Charles Manson with a table full of knifes than her.

When I walked in the nurse and airman did the normal physical-height, weight, questions. Piece of cake. Soon they left, and said the Cpt. would be in shortly. I heard a knock and young voice say "I'm Cpt. unnamed (just in case for the sake of my husband's career.) I see you have anxiety?" I immediately said, "Not that I'm aware of." The interrogation started. Rudely she asked, "Did you or did you not go to your PCM for anxiety...in 2010" Whoa lady, what are you....wait I.. remember... My old PCM put that down?! Really?!

Let me explain

In 2010 I made an appt. with my old PCM because I was having an allergic reaction to formaldehyde. My hands kept turning blue. Not a light shade of blue, but blueberry snow cone blue. Not normal. Let me add, this was right around finals. As we were finishing up, the doctor did what all doctors do and asked "If there was anything else?" I said I'm kind of stressed. I have finals and I still have 6-7 bodies left to embalm within a week. Seriously, it was almost small talk. He asked if I wanted medicine. I laughed and said absolutely NOT. It would pass in a week. He then said, do you want to go talk to mental health about your stress. I chuckled again, and said nah. I got it. It would pass.

Hell, who has been in college that hasn't been stressed? Better question, who has been to college as a mother, trying to find childcare so she can finish her embalmings, study for finals and didn't get stressed? Yeah, you probably won't find too many people that don't get stressed around finals.

I told the Cpt. the whole story of what had happened. She acted as if I was lying. She wrote quick in my medical clearance papers. Slam dotted the i's and dramatically crossed the t's. She shoved me the papers, and as she walked out, she said, "Have a nice day." Yeah, sure will, lady... What a wuss move. She didn't want to be in the room when I opened the papers? Didn't ask if there was anything else that I needed? Had any concerns? In my opinion, if you pick a profession that deals with people and their health, you should probably 1. like to talk to people 2. have compassion towards people and 3. at least act like you want to listen to people.

I opened the papers to see what on earth she could have put..
Anxiety.
Because of school.
Resolved.
No longer in school.
Zero meds.
No counseling.

That is it.

If you know the military, you know how strict they are about mental health (dang I feel like they are acting like I'm a basket case just typing 'mental health') and moving overseas. They think if you have problems in the states they will be worse overseas. Which I'm absolutely certain that is true. Military life is tough, but for the umpteenth time, I do not have anxiety issues! I feel like this whole thing was blown WAY out of proportion.

Words from my lovely, military best friend, who is now in Japan, that I miss dearly, "Better chill out before you give yourself anxiety and panic attacks from worrying about the anxiety you never had." I suppose she is right, I can't do anything about it now except explain to the scaarrrrrry medical board when we have our meeting.

The PCS process.

I'm late about writing, but what's new?!

The process of the move (at the time... I have a whole other post about our hold up)has been going wonderfully. The only real problem I've had was with a snotty little brat in TMO (people who plan your move you and book your flights). I know I get ahead of myself and others most of the time, but I'm not one to dilly dally around to say the least.

We are going home for a week or two at Christmas and then we will fly out of Nashville to Baltimore to start our journey to Italy. Kevin and I went to renew our military ids because they were expiring THE next day so it had to be done. On the way out, I told Kev we should go put in for a date to leave. He didn't object. Hell, he never objects. He leaves big matters up to me. He knows I like the work and responsibility because I'm a control freak--and that's the honest truth. While we were walking in to book, I noticed a lady behind the desk looked so upset that we walked in. Stroller and all. It may have been because it was 30 mins before they closed. Still not a legit reason if you ask me. I proceeded to say all we wanted to know was if she could go ahead and write down the day we wanted to leave so we could book our flights home (that would be out of pocket) before we left. THAT.IS.IT. She looked at me like I had two heads or something. As I tried to explain she kept cutting me off mid sentence not letting me get one word in. She also kept saying that they wouldn't have the flight list out until November since we are leaving at the end of December. It was obvious by that point she had zero parents or guardians because she had absolutely NO manners. To make matters worse, we have a friend that leave to go to Aviano as well that already put in to leave November 1. When I told her, she kept saying no. no. no. no they don't. I stormed out. Poor Kev knew he would hear about it for the next week or so. I even asked an official who I go about to 1. get her in trouble and 2.put down the dang day we wanted to leave NOT to book our flights.

Oy. I guess I'll keep calling every few days and be that lady.

Fourth of July

Kevin had off two days for Independnce Day. We don't do much for the holiday except grill out and take the kids to see fireworks. Around 5 am I woke up with Gray. Shortly after, I decided to go for a run while pushing him in a non jogging stroller. WHEW! Talk about a workout! While running, I thought it felt extra humid which is crazy since we live in the desert. As I made it back to my house, it definitely looked, smelt, and felt like it was going to rain. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The one day we DON'T want it to rain it does?! Oh, I knew Noah was going to be upset if we didn't get to watch fireworks we have been talking about for weeks. I was dreading telling her they may have to be postponed. After about two hours of it raining, my whole family couldn't stop yawning so we decided we would take a short nap since this NEVER happens that all of us being sleepy at the same time. We laid down around 1030-11am and didn't wake up until 3!! If you have children, you know how rare that is! As soon as we woke up, Kevin started the grill. We decided to have cheeseburgers which is not the norm. We rarely have red meat, normally just chicken, so it was quite the treat. After eating, we noticed the rain had stopped. Thank God!! It meant I wouldn't have to deal with a cranky 4 year old. We finished watching the Braves game, and got the kids ready to go. When we got to the firework area, we sat up our chairs in the back of Kevin's truck. Man, I love that truck and sure am going to miss it when we move. Thankfully, since it rained the temperature dropped about 20 degrees. The fireworks finally started and lasted roughly 20 mins. Graydon didn't give a hoot about anything except Noah's chocolate shake. Bless it and his love for food. Noah couldn't or wouldn't stop talking about them the whole ride home. Ahhh She's too precious for words. I love this age and the excitement she sees in everything.

Kicking the kids OUT

As some of you may know, Kevin and I are co-sleeping parents. We love having them with us and the bond that comes it. However, it's time for it to come to an end.

We haven't always been co-sleepers. It started when Noah was about a year and a half old and Kevin went to 3rd shift or mids as military calls it. He would go in at 11pm and wouldn't get off until around 9am. I had the need to bring Noah in the room with me. I knew she was there. I felt it was the safest. We live off base, we have neighbors we don't even know their names, and people that constantly drive up and down our road and park. Yes, it felt safer. Kevin soon went to 2nd shift and would get off at 10 or 11pm, and Noah just stayed in our bed even if it did get crowded. However, some of the best memories were made during this co-sleeping phase.

We decided to bring another life into the world, and as you can guess, our bed grew even smaller. We love watching the kids giggle before bed and wake up to their precious faces in the morning or in most cases, their feet in our face. Which is why we are bringing this journey to an end. It has came to the point where we are constantly waking up because of floppy kids or we can't get ourselves comfortable because we are scared it will wake the kids. I'm going to miss it, but it's whats best.

Will we ever let them back in our bed, of course. What kind of childhood would one have if parents didn't let them in their bed when those monsters in the closet get to be too much?

The name I have chosen is not what I choose.

My sweet Noah Maye's name was decided long before she was thought of. I would say I was 14 years old when I thought about her name. Even at the time, I never thought I would have children. Noah meaning comfort and Maye, a mixture of both my grandmother's middle names, Marie and Faye. I remember when Kevin was in bootcamp we would write these incredibly sweet love letters to each other and one was the names we would choose for our children. Of course, I still was fond of Noah Maye and he wrote me back saying Noah Maye it is. Although I love everything about Noah, I have recently learned the girl version of Noah is Noa in Europe and the Middle East. Short, sweet, and simple. I LOVE it! However, I knew there was a daughter of a king in the bible named Noa, but never thought about the spelling just that a girl had the name of Noah! Which was enough of a deal breaker for me to name my daughter a boy's name. Kevin and I have been talking a lot about the spelling and dropping the H. Heck, when she spells her name to us anyways she forgets the H because it's silent and we constantly have to remind her about it. Even though Kevin and I love her name, we are thinking it may be easier for her to defend her name that it CAN be a girl's name. Especially if she has someone to relate to besides Miley Cryus' little sister, Noah. :/ Oy. When coming down to it, who knows. Changing things through military insurance, SS, and ect might be a hassle. However, it is done daily when people get divorced.

Re-up

We have been playing it by ear about our up coming travels about moving abroad. If you know me, I HATE playing things by ear. I'm not that kind of person. I need checklists and instructions day of. A few weeks ago Kevin received an email saying he had to re-up or reenlist by July 2nd or our orders will get cancelled. Oy. Talk about crazy, white, lady coming out on Kevin. I know my husband. He procrastinates until it absolutely HAS to be done. Opposites attract? Eh. Maybe? He finally went to the blockhouse to reenlist on June 8th. What he didn't know was it takes 10 days to process the paperwork. Which would be the 18th of June. Husband said he would just go on the 22nd since it was a Friday. Uhhhhhh O.K. was what I thought, but didn't say anything until Thursday the 21st that he needed to go THEN. Thank God I'm always right and he did. ;) When he went they said, the paperwork was gone and needed to have an orginal copy and what not. He texts me this and I'm hysterical. I knew they couldn't do anything until tomorrow which was the 22nd, and ten days from the 22nd is the 2nd. The day he HAD to get reenlisted by or orders are cancelled. Kevin somehow got all the paperwork that day and re-uped on the 22nd. Whew. How stressful. Even more so because I wasn't in the driver seat and had no control over ANY situation. Thankfully, everything is squared away. Now we are just waiting on the 29th of July to get our dental and medical clearance paperwork and the meeting in front of the medical board. I'm so incredibly nervous about that one.

The kids

Noah went to a dermatologist a couple weeks ago for these little knots all over her face. They have been there for over a year now. The base dr kept telling us they are fibroid knots and will go away in time. Of course, I wanted needed a second opinion. Therefore, we were sent to a doctor who had worked and did a research study at Phoenix Children's Hospital. When we arrived Noah was terrified. She thought they were going to pull her knots off and make them bleed. Yeah, word for word what she thought. Thank goodness the doctor was the least bit scary and Noah loved her. Come to find out the knots weren't fibroid knots but straight on acne like teenagers get. She was prescribed two cream medication that needs to be applied twice a day, everday. I was relieved to finally get something for her face. The last thing a parent wants for their children is scars on their face. The first week of use, Noah's face cleared up a lot. The second week, her face became super dry and red. Everytime I would apply the medication she would scream because she said it would burn. Not sure what to do besides go through the long process of going through base to go again to an off base doctor. (I love military, but that is SUCH a hassle)

Graydoon just turned 7 months Friday! He is so much fun these days! He laughs and smiles all the time (except in front of a camera). I thought because of his size, he would not crawl. He is massive, all 23 lbs of him. The other day I walked into the living room and he was on all fours! I give it a few more weeks and he will really be keeping us busy! Both bottom teeth have came in and boy is he so cute with those things sticking up when he smiles. Yesterday, I was holding him upside down to make him laugh and one top tooth has broke through the gum! The other top tooth is right there too. I give that a week or so and he will have 4 teeth! I love it!

Cheyenne Marie Cheney. United States Air Force Wife?

The life of an Air Force Wife MINE


If my husband is on a normal shift, I wake up every morning to make sure my husband's uniform is clean and ready to go. I pack his lunch and he is off. Normally I don't see him again until the kids are asleep and I'm getting ready for bed myself. I do it all over again, and again. Yes, that is very Air Force wife-y of me, but that title does NOT make me who I am.

Let me explain myself, that role is a small part of my life. It feels like a smack in the face when someone says "Oh you're an Air Force wife. Thank you for being your husband's support system." The gesture is nice, but really, is that ALL I am to society? Can someone not simply say, "Your husband is in the military, but tell me, what is it YOU do?" I have dreams, goals, and accomplishments too that I'm damn proud of. I don't live on base and I recently started to meet military wives after 6 years. Thank you, but I'm perfectly capable of meeting women by myself and becoming their friends without our lives being nearly identical. I CAN have any kind of friend I like. They CAN be pro war or against it, bible bangers or Muslims, and gay or straight. The idea that every military wife has to be pro war, bibles in their hand, and well, against gays (thank God don't ask don't tell is now in the past), is sickening. I know a lot of people don't expect us to be that way, don't get me wrong, but there are plenty that still do. What I'm saying is, I wish people would except that I have my own life, I'm a free thinking liberal, have friends of ALL walks of life, and Kevin and I are raising our children to love everyone and let them choose who they want to be and be with in life. Yes, my lifestyle MAY not be the same as yours and I may not think the same as you, but diversity DOES make the world go round.

This week in the Cheney house

Preparing for The Move
This week has been spent making lists...(and catching up on Grey's Anatomy,but Kevin doesn't need to know that) If I'm good at one thing, making lists is my specialty. My first thing was to add onto the list I made a week ago. I must say, there is a lot of energy that goes into things that must be done before a move. (Renew driver license, sell car or cars, call banks, ect) This week the list has been a little more in depth. What are we going to sell?

I started off with the Noah's room. There are plenty of items to sell. PLENTY. Clothes for instance is going to take the longest to go through. After 4 years of Noah wearing clothes, that adds up. Here's the crazy part, I have never sold or gave away a single clothing item. EVER. Things we also will be selling are the toys. The toys that kid has is ridiculous. Therefore, we are selling the things that don't get played with and things that can't be passed down to Graydon. The three biggest toys we are taking to Italy is her doll house that was handmade by Kevin's dad and her train table that still gets played with a ton, and her lego table. Graydon will be at the age soon where he will start to enjoy trains and legos. It doesn't matter if you're a boy or girl, most kids think trains and legos are the coolest.

Graydon's room doesn't have hardly anything to get rid of. Most is just clothes. However, we are going to get rid of his baby activity things like jumper, exersaucer, playmat, ect. that we keep down stairs in our living room.

I decided to wait until Kevin is off work to grow through our room. I for one would hate it if he had to list my things to get rid of, so I'll let him make his own decisions for his things.

The Kids
Everyone asks what do I feed my kids...

If you have ever seen my daughter's pictures, her hair is past her belt loops of her pants. I have trimmed it several of times. Right before Christmas, I trimmed it the shortest it has been and it keeps growing faster and faster every time it gets cut. I hate and love it. I hate it because the longer the hair, the older she looks. People are in shock that she JUST turned four. All I can say is, the girl loves her veggies, milk, and baked/grilled chicken so maybe that is the reason for her long locks.

Graydon is massive. For such a tiny newborn, at 6 months he is 5 lbs from quadrupled his birth weight. Kevin was about the same size at 6 months so that's where I'm thinking he got it from. The kid loves his baby food and his bottles. He is not exclusivly breastfed anymore which was a VERY hard transition and decision for me to make, but getting sick two times within two and a half weeks will do you in. These bugs that I came down with were the kind you don't want to be around anyone and definitely not bed touched. My milk supply went VERY low and would hurt everytime he latched on, so I threw in the towel. The positive way I looked at the situation that I was so heartbroken about was, I made it half a year! It is definitely better than nothing so I have came to be proud of that long.

How I have been telling everyone..

I've been telling my family we are moving in ways that they would for sure be okay with. Heck, even excited for us. Don't Judge.

Our sweet, sweet Noah. We won her over when we told her we were moving here:

My mother is having a hard time dealing with the fact we are not moving closer, but farther. So after showing this, she has jumped on the 'I'm so excited for your adventures bandwagon.'
HINT: The hiiiillllllls are allllive

This movie was actually filmed in Austria, but that's only 200 miles away. Definitely easy traveling =)

My daddy is just thrilled for us. ABSOLUTELY THRILLED we will get to see so much history and experience a different culture. So he doesn't need much persuading but if he ever does I'll just have to let him know about Italy's topless beaches. ;)




The kids and I have really been trying to really get in the European mood. We've been watching not only Pinocchio, but Aristocats and Beauty and the Beast since those are all movies based in Europe.

Also, I should add Kevin will be going TDY and getting deployed more when we move to Aviano. I have decided the kids and I will not be traveling to TN while he is gone, but make the best of it and still "backpack through Europe" (always wanted to say that). Yes, traveling to new places not knowing the language with two small children may be difficult, but if you ask anyone my best characteristic they may just tell you that I'm a very determined and a strong woman AND can handle anything.

We are moving to ITALY!!!

Tuesday was like any other day. I woke up with Graydon at 6am, fixed breakfast, put him down for a nap, ect. I decided I would go to the tanning bed when Kevin woke up to get some alone time. I thought a lot about my life and where it has taken me the last 5 years. I thought about things I have never done. I thought about the children I'm raising and hoping to God I don't turn them into psychotic individuals. I thought about my life more than I have in a long time that morning, but thought it was my hormones and lack of sleep.

Kevin decided he would go to work a few hours early since he knew he would be getting off early for his PT test Wed. morning. Around 5 pm I heard Kevin's assigned ringer go off and thought what did he forget. He never calls when he is at work, only texts. When I answered I knew something was wrong by the pause after I said hello. He then tells me, "It's a good thing we haven't closed on our house." Of course, I'm freaking thinking the worst. He said, "I got orders." Dammit. He has to go to Korea. For a year. By himself. He then asks if I'm sitting down, and says, "We have to be in Aviano no later than Jan 31st but can leave as early as Dec 17th." Of course, I said YEAH. OK, I heard that joke once before when you graduated from Tech School in 2007. Plus, Italy orders just don't fall into people's laps. They normally have to go to Korea for a year unaccompanied. After getting him to swear on my life, I knew he wasn't lying. I hung up on him because I knew he didn't want me to scream in his ear from all the excitment I had. After the 20 mins of screaming and dancing, Noah was terrified and begging for her daddy to come home while Graydon was crying hysterically. ehh. They will recover. HA.

After the excitment of moving to Europe calmed and all the phone calls were made, it hit me. What the HELL do I do? I have a million things to do before we just up and leave our lives we have made in Arizona the last 5 years. I almost felt sick to my stomach because 7 months just doesn't seem like enough time to move to a different continent.


I have to say that the craziest part of that day, when I was laying in the tanning bed, I remember thinking one day I will be like Julia Roberts on EAT PRAY LOVE. I'm going to travel the world and do what people only dream about. hmmm.

Phoenix, Noah's bday, and Gray is 6 months

Our house was coming along nicely when we got back to Phoenix. We were getting SO excited.
Graydon was 5 months and getting to be so much fun with his talking and belly laughing. Noah kept us on our toes constantly and never forgot to remind us her birthday was coming up soon.

Noah turned the big 4 on the 12th of May. We decided to splurge and get her a Camaro powerwheels riding toy. She absolutely loved it! She had a Snow White birthday cake she picked out that was absolutely fantastic. Her birthday was relaxed. So relaxed we had birthday cake at 7 am. That's right. It was her day. She wanted cake so I thought what the hell. We don't have a party planned with actual guests. Why not.

Graydon turned 6 months on the 22nd and has been sitting up beautifully. He brings so much happiness to our family and is the missing puzzle piece that completes our family. He has 1 tooth and trying to get on all fours.

Graydon 1-4 months, Noah 3 yrs.

Christmas came on us quick. We took the kids to Glendale Glitters for Christmas festivites and took them numerous times looking at Christmas lights.

Originally Kevin and I decided we weren't going to get Graydon Christmas presents, but a week before Christmas I felt horrible about it and went shopping. Noah of course, had a ton of presents she was so excited about opening. After seeing new presents put under the tree, she had a hard time accepting that some of those presents were her little brother's.

Kevin and I celebrated 5 years of Marriage on December 23. We decided since we had the kids we would go somewhere kid friendly and chose Famous Dave's. It wasn't the weekend getaway to the mountains you wish to go, but hey that's life. That night Kevin's parents and his sister were on their way into Phoenix to spend the holiday with us. We all had a great Christmas with each other and as always the holiday came and went.

The New Year came and I was absolutely loving life. I had a great husband, awesome daughter who happened to be a great big sister, and the BEST baby boy. Seriously, that kid does not cry and just so chill. I just didn't think life could get better. February we decided to build a house. We have been in Arizona for 5 years. For military, that's crazy and very rare. We thought we were the exception and decided to stop throwing our money away on rent.

When March came, Kevin recieved a devastating phone call about his father's health. We knew he was on the heart transplant list for a few years now and thought he was stable, but he took a turn for the worse when he got sick. After finding out his organs were shutting down, we decided to take emergency leave and head home to TN. About a week in, the Dr. thought it would be a good idea to stop waiting for a heart and get an LVAD instead. The surgery went smoothly and about 2 weeks later he was out of the hospital staying in a hotel around the hospital.

While we were in TN I did a lot of things on my own since the kids couldn't go into the ICU. Everyone had a fit over Graydon and the BIG boy he is and of course thought the world of Miss Priss. Even though I hated the reason we were home (Kevin's dad being sick), we made the best of it and the kids had a blast there for almost 6 weeks.

Bringing home baby

We brought Graydon home on Thanksgiving. I thought that was pretty awesome since I too was a "turkey" baby.

When we arrived home to a spotless home, I was so relieved. I hate being stuck in a hospital for days. I thought this new baby thing would take some getting used to, but everything went perfectly smooth.

Kevin decided since I did just give bith he would fix Thanksgiving dinner. Heck, I assumed he would anyways. I must say it turned out amazing. The rest of the night we watched Christmas movies and had an awesome night of being a family of four.

Graydon's Arrival

On November 21, my birthday, at 9pm we went in to be induced with our beautiful baby boy.

When we arrived at the hospital we had to go through the emergency room. Of course everyone gave that "awe she is huge and in labor" look. After a million congratulations from the sick, nurses, and hospital volunteers we headed up to labor and delivery.

After settling into our cozy room we were greeted by a young night nurse that obviously hated her job and possibly her life. She was NOT going to ruin my night so I simply did what any good hearted christian would do and NOT ignore her. Yep, I tattled taled on her. HA. Okay a little extreme, but did she expect that every pregnant woman was going to let her talk down and huff and puff at them anytime they had a question and concern? I think not. It was my time to shine dammit, I was about to push a child out of my vagina for crying out loud- I didn't know if the hoohaa would ever get back to her oldself or not. So I didn't want any extra concern on my plate. Our next nurse, however, was a doll. She was awesome and even talked about Miss Rudness with me. As I thought, I wasn't the first to complain about her.

After getting weighed and set up, they checked my cervix and to my surprise I was only dilated to a 1. A ONE?! Those ball bouncing nights, running up the stairs, and chasing after Noah helped very, VERY little. The nurse then set me up on an IV and placed a small, disolvable pill way up in you know where and the waiting game began. Since I didn't have an epidural in, I was able to get up and go pee any time I needed to. About 3 am, I decided I needed to go again and as I was headed to the bathroom my water broke! I was estatic. It didn't happen without the dr. help with Noah so it was a neat experience to say the least.

When the nurse came in to check I was at a 5 and the contractions were getting pretty intense, but I wanted to wait them out to see how much I could handle. Yeah, that didn't last long. I made it to almost a 7 and I thought I was dying, but because my belt wasn't on my stomach right the machine wasn't reading my contractions. Of course, Dr. Kevin Cheney thought I was making it up and wanted sympathy. So glad my nurse had children, she told him that a woman at a 7 dilation was definitely having severe pain and that his wife was NOT making it up. She then fixed my contraction belt and he then saw how steep that "mountain" got on the screen.HA! He felt bad the rest of the day.

When the nurse popped back in, I begged her for the epidural and said I needed to get through the new bag of fluid she put up for the IV. The whole time Kevin was breathing through the contractions with me and getting my mind off the pain. Finally the anesthesiologist came in, and decided he wanted to have an hour long chat, or so it seemed. After yelling at him that I did NOT care of the risks of the epidural, he finally began. IT WAS HEAVEN IN A NEEDLE.

Not even an hour later, I went from a 7 to a 10 and it was GO TIME! The sweet nurse asked if I minded students coming in to watch, and of course I was so excited and feeling great I told her the more the merrier. After all 7 students arrived, I got the OK to start pushing and I could tell Kevin was EXTRA nervous about it--again. I thought after doing this once the second time would be easier? Yeah, I think it was worse. While waiting through pushes, why not tell jokes, right? Thought I would lighten the mood. These young children looked as if they saw a ghost so I thought it seemed appropriate. I could definitely tell they appreciated it just by their body language.

Around 3 pushes later, 12:08 pm, on November 22,2011, my 7.4 lb sweet baby boy was born. I didn't want to get him weighed right away or measured. I wanted to skin to skin. After about 1.5 hours I then let the nurses have him. Let me tell you, that bonding moment was amazing. Why should these nurses get my baby 10 minutes after giving birth? I kept him alive in utero, I went through contractions, and I pushed him out into the world. Dammit, 10 minutes doesn't seem fair. All I wish was, I knew about this skin to skin with Noah because it really truly was amazing.

About 4 pm that day, Kevin went to pick Noah up from the sitter so she could finally meet her new baby brother and lets just say, she was in love.

Horrible Mother.

I feel terrible about not blogging more. I do. Where to start? The last thing I wrote about was the gender of our baby I believe. Here's a overdue update on our life the last many months. (Not as detailed as I would like, but better than nothing.) September In September Kev, Noah, and I took a vacation to Disneyland and to the beach for a last vacation of a family of 3. It was amazing and Noah enjoyed it SO much. That month I also cut 21 inches of hair off and gave it to Locks of Love. Even though I really miss it, I'm so glad it could help someone. October In October, I believe I was getting as big as whale and LOVING every minute of it! ha! What's pregnancy when you watch what you eat? Halloween came, and Noah went trick or treating as FUFA. Also that month, we had a scare with baby and had to get admitted to triage in the Labor/Delivery unit because his heart rate was 80-90 bpm. Everything turned out fine, he was just a very lazy fetus. November We tried to finish up with the baby room and everything we needed. My birthday, Nov. 21, came and was extremely relaxed and wonderful. We had Steak Salad for dinner and that night we went into the hospital at 9pm to get induced...