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?
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
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.
Monday, June 25, 2012
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!
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!
Friday, June 22, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
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.
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
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.
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