On Monday I turned 26 and 3 days later my husband turned 26... obviously it was so exciting that I posted ON the actual day of our respective birthdays.  Oh wait... I didn't.  But our birthdays were still exciting in that "we are closer to 30" kind of way.

If you ask my husband he is still 21.  His father says the same thing.  My mother says the same thing.  Maybe it is a right of passage as you get older to claim you are younger... but honestly... 26 feels about right.

I didn't get any extra abilities this year.  Just another year on the calendar.  Now my life is more about celebrating my babies and their accomplishments.  Because when they accomplish something, I win too.

They say motherhood takes over you life... and I guess this is one of those times when that saying rings true.  I'm blessed to add another year to my life accomplishments.  I don't think I ever expected to be right here doing just this at 26.  But now I can't picture myself anywhere else.

So here is to another year of life... my 26th year will certainly bring about some changes.  Hopefully some personal growth too.



always,
amanda

On Monday I turned 26 and 3 days later my husband turned 26... obviously it was so exciting that I posted ON the actual day of our respec...

I know we have lived in Clarksville since September... but we spent three years in Augusta - while Rob was stationed at Fort Gordon.  Three years in the same house, same city and stationed at the same base.  For many reasons I both loved and hated Augusta... here is my personal list of the best and worst of Augusta and the Fort Gordon area, better late than never:

Best-

Savannah Rapids Pavilion.  We had spring pictures taken here and LOVED it.  It is gorgeous and quiet.. right along the water.  So if you need pictures or a nice refreshing walk, this is the place.  I definitely wish we would have discovered this area sooner and had more time to explore.

Canal Tours. There is not much in Augusta when it comes to tourist activities - but one way to get outside and enjoy the water and learn about Augusta is to go on a canal tour.  During our three years there, we took two canal tours.  My sister and I did the historic Civil War era one... where they give background on what Augusta was like and how they aided the war efforts.  Then the second tour was on an unforgivingly hot day... we were DRENCHED but enjoyed the tour and what it had to offer.  [[Sorry Kara for making you sweat buckets!  But that is what you get for visiting in July.  ;)]]

Augusta Market. Definitely one of the best Farmer's market I have ever been to.  Everything from food to homemade goodies can be found every Saturday along the Riverwalk from April to October.  Parking can be rough - but it is definitely worth it.

Trinity Hospital. Fort Gordon has its own hospital on base -Eisenhower, but they source out all of their baby deliveries to Trinity Hospital about 15 minutes from base.  I LOVED my experience at Trinity.  The staff was awesome.  While I was in labor for 25 hours, I didn't experience any uncomfortable situations (Rob hated the bed provided for him... luckily they have renovated it since I gave birth in January of 2014.).  I could go on for days about how much I enjoyed my experience.  I can only hope delivering here on base is just the same as there.

The Fort Gordon Spouses' and Civilians' Club.  The first year we were there I was not involved at all.  Socials were awkward as I knew no one.  Finally I met some amazing Warrant Officer spouses that made me feel welcome and eventually one of them recruited me for the board.  I spent two years as the membership chairperson and one year also doing the webmaster duties.  Right before we left I was the expo chairperson, which was an adventure... but all experiences that help make me a more well rounded military spouse.  I made lots of friends through the FGSCC and though it was not without it's dramatic moments, it was overall a relatively good experience that provided me with many positive memories of Fort Gordon and the surrounding Augusta area.

Augusta Greenjackets.  If someone offers to give you tickets to an Augusta Greenjackets baseball game, GO!  In fact I think it is worth paying a couple of extra dollars to be in actual seats and not the general admission benches.  We had so much fun every time we went.  It's close to home and a nice and cheap outing for the whole family.

Our friends.  Hands down Augusta was hard to leave because of the amazing people we got to spend our three years with.  Would Augusta have been the same without them?  No.  Not at all.  So for them making Augusta what it grew to become, I am forever grateful.


Worst-

Fort Gordon and AIT.  (For those that are not familiar with the acronym AIT, it is the schooling soldiers attend after basic training. )  Fort Gordon is a base FULL of schools.  Which is rough for those of us that are permanent party.  There are a lot of people in transition on the base at all times... which makes making friends hard.  Eventually you start to not notice the AIT students overrunning the PX during evening and weekend hours... but at first it is definitely a shock.

Limited shopping.  Luckily there are two Targets and two Ross'... but many of the other stores there are only one of.  Coming from a city atmosphere like Kansas City (where I lived prior to Augusta), that can be HARD because if your store is out of something you need, you are out of luck.  Augusta is not a small town by any means.. but it is also two hours to Atlanta.. one hour to Columbia, etc... so if you can't get it local, you have to drive.

Bugs.  Moving to Georgia I was not afraid of bugs.  At all.  I could handle a spider here or there.  But NOTHING prepares you for the bugs in Georgia.  I saw bugs I could never in my life dream of.  It is terrifying.  So watch out for insane spiders and fire ants... oh and spiders with babies on their back are the worst.  You've been warned.

Traffic and BAD drivers. A lot of people live in Grovetown - which is a great area to live in!  But the traffic is atrocious.  We lived right outside of gate two and luckily didn't have to experience the majority of bad traffic through town... but even living so close to base, you cannot avoid the bad traffic in Augusta.. so good luck.  And the drivers... we like to say people just drive stupid.  Nobody seems to pay any mind to what anybody else is doing.  It seems everywhere we have lived the drivers are a certain level of bad (Maryland-too fast or too slow, no in between -- Tennessee-STUPID.  Holy crud they scare me!!!!)

Morgan Smith Realty. I have to put the rental company we rented through on blast.  They dropped the ball SO many times.  We had several storms that downed trees and branches in our backyard.  Doing damage in some instances.  I would call and get no response about if they needed to document it.  When we had that fire in the attic, I could not get ahold of anyone or an emergency line until Monday morning and the fire happened on a Saturday.  Which also means we were without A/C during that time too.  When we moved out they violated our lease by trying to give us short notice to show the house.  Or they wanted to show on a Sunday when our lease stated they could show it Monday through Saturday.  We were surprised to get some of our deposit back as most renters I am sure are... but we were disappointed to see that we paid for them to rekey the home for the next renters.  Which I'm fairly certain is supposed to come out of THEIR deposit.  We loved our house and its location, just hated our rental company!

Overall we enjoyed our time in Augusta... but I was ready for a new adventure and so far, Clarksville has served up just that.. a new adventure.

If you are set to PCS to Fort Gordon - PLEASE don't hesitate to reach out to me.  I still know lots of people in the area and I can direct you to even more must see locations!


always,
amanda

I know we have lived in Clarksville since September... but we spent three years in Augusta - while Rob was stationed at Fort Gordon.  Th...

always,
amanda

Some weekends are better than others.  Ones that are four days and include Valentine's Day and President's Day, are even better...

What Fruit are you // a cabbage // a jicama (which is what... I wish I knew..)
Due date // March 28th
How far along // 30 weeks---weeks are starting to run together y'all... thus the two weeks in one post. // 32 weeks
Next appointment // like two weeks from now.. // Tuesday
Gender // it's a girl!
Total weight gain/loss // in between appointments so your guess is as good as mine...
Swelling // none.
Maternity clothes // when I have to wear "going out" clothes... so like twice a week. // down to maybe once a week
Belly button // in
Sleep // has not been so hot since Monday... Grace is finally sleeping in her own bed, which is GREAT.  But I'm up like once every hour checking on her and making sure she is still breathing.  It is like I have a newborn all over again.  Which is totally fun. // AWFUL.  My hips hurt ALL the time.  Getting comfortable is absolutely next to impossible.  It's the worst.
Food cravings // Zaxby's and sweets. // Chocolate still
Symptoms // feeling large.  As for the Gestational Diabetes fun - I turned in a weeks worth of numbers and my OBGYN (whom I LOVE, seriously) called me and gave me fantastic news!  I don't have to monitor everyday.  She wants me to test the week before my next appointment, so I have fresh numbers to bring her.. but otherwise we are basically just monitoring from a distance.  Because of the fact that I was induced with Grace because my numbers were abnormally high the last week of my pregnancy, I am totally okay with this!  I don't want to miss the signs my body gives off. // Heartburn.  Almost every night now.  Typically just have a light snack before bed with a big glass of milk and it helps me.
Movement // still very active after meals.  Grace sits with me almost every night as she winds down for the evening.. this usually involves me sitting in a recliner and her between my legs, Baby B loves this!  She is so active when Grace is leaning against my belly. // Still making her presence known, often.  When I sit in a chair for too long without reclining, my ribs ache.  She's getting bigger but not necessarily kicking me in my ribs like Gray did.  Thank goodness!
Labor signs // none.
What I miss // regular clothing.  I miss shopping for myself on sale racks and not having to find maternity clothes on sale... because that never happens. // Motivation, energy and being able to keep up easily with Grace.
What I'm loving // the theme I've selected for her room.  When we moved in the third room upstairs was painted this horrific baby pink.. which does not match Grace's room decorations AT ALL.  But instead of putting in a request to repaint this room, I am just going to work with it and make it look less gaudy.. so I am doing baby pink, gold and white with deer antlers being a large part of the room.  I can't wait to see all of the elements come together. // That we got maternity pictures taken.  Haven't seen the result yet, but should soon! (The above is a shot from Grace's two year photos.)
What I'm looking forward to // besides Grace's second birthday - I am looking forward to seeing one of my best friends from home next weekend in Nashville!  She is two weeks ahead of me in pregnancy and it's going to be so nice to see her! // Next weekend when we get some visitors from Georgia for the four day... we can't wait to see you Nick, Abby and Logan!
Best moment this week // snow days with the mister!  It was already a 4 day thanks to MLK day.. but then turned into a two day with two snow days.  And it really snowed!! // Getting in our tax return!  Such a good surprise to wake up to.  Haha.

To read about Grace at 30 weeks, click here.  
To read about Grace at 32 weeks, click here.



always,
amanda

c/o Recollection Photography What Fruit are you //  a cabbage // a jicama (which is what... I wish I knew..) Due date //  March 28th ...

Making: Not a thing... almost lunch time though.
Cooking: About to cook some macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets.  Toddler life.
Drinking: Just finished a glass of milk.

Reading: I started a Nicholas Sparks novel - but can't even tell you the name because so far I'm not feeling it.  I did just finish reading some blogs though.  
Wanting: The house to finish putting itself together prior to baby.
Playing: CMT.

Listening: To the TV and Grace mumble as she plays.
Sewing: Nothing... ever.
Wishing: For the baby to get here... but not before I empty out and put the nursery together.

Enjoying: The sunshine.
Liking: That tomorrow Gray and I are getting her second birthday pictures done.  Finally.
Wondering: If Rob will ever help me move the guest bedroom bed and hang some curtains.

Hoping: For a clean report next week from my OB with fresh blood sugar numbers.
Marveling: At how easy going my toddler CAN be.  
Needing: To clean.  Do laundry.  Decorate the house.

Smelling: Nothing unusual - so I guess just us?
Wearing: Pajama pants and a t-shirt.  It's getting limited on what can and can't fit comfortably these days.
Thinking: Of all the things I hope to do pre-baby number 2.

Feeling: Tired and unmotivated.
Bookmarking: Decorating ideas for the house.


always,
amanda

Making: Not a thing... almost lunch time though. Cooking: About to cook some macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets.  Toddler life. ...