I Voted!!

Yes, it's true...I've already voted.  Just tonight Mike and I finished our absentee ballots for FL, and, WOW, does it feel great to vote!  I was interested to discover that, after reading each persons information (bio, plans, stances, experience) my votes were about half and half.  1/2 Republicans and 1/2 Democrats.  I really don't care what party the candidate belongs to, just what they stand for.  And it is such a relief to know who and what I'm supporting...instead of just voting for the president and not voting for anyone else, like I was considering doing...and to know that I'm giving a piece of my mind to help make the U.S. and FL good places to be.  Ahhhh.  So nice.  The only bad thing is that I don't get an "I VOTED" sticker to wear around.  

I hope everyone takes a few minutes before they walk into the voting box, to google the candidates up for office and really read up on their lives, what they stand for, and what they want to do with their office.  It's so important, because this is our country, our state, and our city....so please vote smart!

Updates...

I wanted to post a few pictures that we've taken along the way:  Look at how much fun Analia is having!  She just loved the little rides we have at the mall.

The rides are so cute too!
Analia and Maya are sharing everything lately--bedroms, baths, and even colds.  Yes, right now they are both sick with a nasty cough and runny nose, and they have been for over a week.  It's getting old.  I love this picture because it's the one time when the girls are sharing a toy that Maya isn't crying!  Cute.
Analia got into my makeup bag and found the mascara.  Nice job, I would say.
And this is smilin' Maya tonight in the bath.  Even though she's coughing and running her nose away, she just loves the bath and can't help but have fun.  I think this is one of the best pictures of her.  Wow.  She's beautiful.

In other news, we haven't taken any pictures of this, but we are beginning to potty train Analia. So far it's going okay...we've had success a couple of times, but it's slow going.  Any advice from you professional parents?  I've already told her that when she gets good at going potty, then we can get her some Little Mermaid undies, and she's excited, but that's a long way off.  

Analia's latest quotes:

every morning: "i waked up" and "maya's wake" 

when she doesn't want my help: "my do it" and "my help"

after she gets in trouble, she says "sorry maya, we fest friends, huh mom"

when I ask her a question, she says, with her finger to her lips, "um..."

Turns out, moving is really hard.  Especially with kids.  I am totally missing everyone--I'm trying to make new friends though, but that is slow going too.   I feel like I need to stay connected the best I can with my family and friends--it's good to know that friends are out there, even though they are REALLY far away.  

Love you all.

Hafa Adai! Welcome to Guam!

Hello Everyone!  Yes, we have made it across the world to our new home--GUAM!  So far it's been one hiccup after another (for example, we didn't get picked us up at the airport, so we didn't know that we had reservations at another hotel along with a rental car, so we ended up staying up all night trying to figure things out and paying the cab rides all around, for a night at a hotel and a day of rental car.  That's just the first--then we find out that we got the wrong forwarding address, so everything that was sent to us during the month on July and August was returned!  Wow, just thinking of these two things makes me so mad!    Anyway there were many other things...)  We are just trying to learn our lessons from each mishap here--next move will be better, I hope!

The girls are doing great and we're trying to get settled and get into our routine.  I don't have many pictures of the island, but here is what I have so far.

Me on one of the beaches on base....amazing!

Us at the Guam Aquarium.

A sunset over Tumon Bay.

Life in boxes--they turn into tables and chairs for eating.  How convenient!

Isn't Maya just so dang cute?!

The one thing I have loved about moving around, is that my little family is growing together and becoming so close.  Analia and Maya just love playing (when Analia is not mawling Maya!) Like last night we did family home evening and we played the "stop/go" game down our hallway.  We had both girls laughing and giggling--it was so so fun.  And Analia is always asking for Maya to do things, asking if she can eat things, or asking is they can take a nap together.  She says that she and Maya are "bess frens".  It is so true and I hope they continue to grow together.  

I've been called as a nursery worker!  Wow.  Such a change from YW.  If you guys have any suggestions, please comment because I can use all the help/encouragement I can get.  I know this is where I'm supposed to be, but sometimes it gets overwhelming always being around kids.  I've ordered the new manual, but it is going to take like 4 months to get here, for real.

Some other news is that Mike is going to deploy in January for 6 months to Iraq.  It's hard to swallow, but it is inevitable.  Right now I'm planning on moving in with Mike's sister Laurie for a few months, and then moving home for a while.  I have 6 months to split up...so we'll see.  I try not to think about it, but at night I find myself snuggling up closer to Mike and hugging him more.  I know it'll be hard, so I'm just trying to soak in all the time we have. 

We love you all and we'll write more soon.

Hafa Adai! Welcome to Guam!

Here She Is...

Eating her first bowl of rice cereal!  Yay!  I thought about waiting until we get to Guam to begin anything new, but she has been grabbing at our food and following the fork from our plate to our mouth, so I just decided to try it.  And she is a pro already!  She hardly spits anything out and swallows it quickly.  I think she's ready to be eating solids.  What a big girl she is--5 1/2 months already.  She is rolling easily from back to belly, and is getting better at belly to back.  When she gets excited, like when she watches us eat, she kicks her legs and just wiggles around.  

The other night I was putting her to bed and just giving her kisses and telling her how much I loved her, when she pulled her head back and put both of her palms onto my cheeks, and pulled me in for a big kiss!  I was so touched.  She really looked into my eyes and just wanted to tell me that she loved me too.  That's one moment that I will always remember with her.  Just how tender she is.  

And her eyes!  They are so blue and deep--I feel like I know those eyes, like my heart knows those eyes, and that they know more than her little baby self can.  Wow.  I'm so lucky to have my two little babies.   

Pull this thread as I walk away...

If you don't get the reference, it's a Weezer song from the 90's that goes something like this:

If you want to destroy my sweater,

whoa o o o

pull this thread as I walk away,

as I walk away,

Watch me unravel

I'll soon be naked,

Lyin on the floor,

Lyin' on the floor,

I've come undone.

This is the song that represents my life since last Friday.  Sure it happens as soon as I write that life is going great...Analia has totally hit the terrible-horrible-monstrous twos!!  I can't believe she used to be my sweet little girl.  Seriously it was overnight.  On saturday she just went nuts...biting, scratching, and stomping on Maya, screaming not to go to bed, she was up for 2 hours in the middle of the night crying that she wanted to sleep with me in the big bed.  NO WAY.  We had to keep up the fight, but eventually I just laid down with her in our guest bed until she fell asleep.  She whines and cries all the time and nothing we say or do seems to help.  She's stubborn and doesn't forget the thing she's crying for.  UGH.  I am definitely at the end of my rope.   

Any suggestions from you experienced moms??  I need some help here!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles...

This past week and a half, the girls and I have been vacationing in Utah.  We had a blast.  Seriously, this had to be one of the funnest vacations for me.  Even though I was basically a single parent, I loved it still.  Each day was jammed with seeing people and doing things.  We had family reunions, family dinners, play dates, bridal showers, receptions, and weddings.  Whew.  I didn't think I would ever rely so much on Coke to get me through the day -- in a happy mood!  

This trip, in all of its fury, turned out to be much more for me.  It was a proving ground for me as a mother and a woman.  I felt in control of my emotions and my actions.  I felt in-charge of my life.  I felt like I was doing good for my kids.  And this feeling came home with me.  It is so nice to remember what is important--and I've discovered that it's all about my family and spending time with them.  Especially with my kids.  I've just loved each day with them, and now that I'm home, I feel rejuvenated and re-motivated to make each day great.  For instance, instead of watching T.V. after dinner and letting Analia run around us, we play outside, eating ice cream or swinging on the swing set, or walking around the neighborhood.  Now, I know that this energy will run out sometime, but it really feels great--in my guts--to live my life this way.  Not letting things drain away my time--like the T.V. or the computer (my two biggest time wasters!)  

Ahhh.  

The other thing it proved to me is that I'm a strong woman.  I can care for my kids and give them the things they need....for the most part.  They still need their dad like crazy, and I do too.  But it is sure nice to know that when I do it alone, it works out okay.  

Traveling also proved to me that I don't have to have things all planned out.  I basically started with a general game plan, but it morphed and changed as I went along, and I just flowed with it.  Not much else I could do, actually.  But I found that this is the easiest and least stressful way to travel.  It made the vacation fun.  So I hope I can carry this with me as I go across the world in a month.  

This trip to Utah almost didn't work out, but I'm so glad that at the last moment, it did.  And I was able to learn so much about myself and how I want to live my life.  Thanks everyone for making this a fantastic vacation.  Kisses.

(I'll get some pictures posted later...)