Pregnancy Hormones

It's official, the hormones are definately raging out of control. During my pregnancy with Olivia there would occasionally be times when I realized that my emotions were spinning completely out of control. I knew I was over reacting but I couldn't do anything to stop it. This happened during random commercials, especially kleenex or hallmark commercials, and reruns of 7th Heaven. I would sit there sobbing histerically all the while knowing that this was all fake, it was television, but I just couldn't stop crying. Of course I realized that my behavior was completely rediculous so then I'd start laughing at myself so I'd end up sobbing and laughing at the same time. I remember thinking at the time that I was glad that Mike wasn't around to have to deal with my crazy pregnancy hormones.

Well, they're back....the hormones that is. Yesterday Mike has the day off from work so he spent a fun day with Olivia, they both got to sleep in, have breakfast, then Mike got to take Olivia to school for a couple of hours so we could meet for a lunch date, and then he picked her up from school early so they could spend some quality time in the afternoon. Since Mike got Olivia ready I didn't see her until I got home from work around 5pm. As you can tell from our pictures, our child has some wild and crazy hair. I could immediately tell that one of her daycare teachers had done Olivia's hair. I didn't say anything about it but then later that evening after Olivia was in bed I was watching TV upstairs and just started crying. Mike asked what was wrong and I just burst into tears about how Mike would have to learn to do Olivia's hair because I didn't want her to go to school and have other people make fun of the way her hair looked. Mike's logical response was that Olivia is almost 2 and that kids don't make fun of eachother when they're 2. I started sobbing uncontrollably about how her teachers had to fix her hair and how I should have been there to do it because I'm her mother. I realized that I was over reacting a bit to this "crisis" but couldn't seem to stop crying. My poor husband, he sat there and listed to me cry, promised to do his best to learn how to fix Olivia's hair, then asked if I wanted Ice Cream, all the while he was able to keep a straight face (for the most part at least). I realized at the time that I was being completely irrational and that in the big scheme of life it is not a big deal if our daughter's ponytail isn't straight but I just couldn't seem to stop crying. Of course today the entire episode is hilarious. I'm so glad that Mike is here this time to experience all the effects of pregnancy!

Olivia's School Picture

So Olivia has already had regular class pictures, they were done in the Fall, but in the Spring they do alternative school pictures. They work with a local company and bring tons of costumes for the kids to wear then dress your child up in a costume that "fits their personality." Picture day was several weeks ago and I've been looking forward to finding out what costume they were going to dress Olivia in. Clearly Olivia didn't particularly enjoy being dressed up as a fairy princess but I just couldnt' resist buying one of the pictures. I think that the look on her face is priceless.

British Columbia, Canada

So we had a great time in British Columbia. We really enjoyed riding the ferries (which were unlike anything I'd ever been on before). They have snack bars and shops and some of them even had play areas for kids on board (similar to what you'd find in a mall). Victoria and Vancouver were beautiful and the weather was fantastic! In Victoria we went to a butterfly museum where Olivia actually grabed a butterfly. I was expecting a squishy mess when she let go but thankfully the butterfly just flitted away. In Vancouver we spent the day having a picnic on the beach and then visited a public market with a great kids area. It was different to go on such a family centered trip. All of our other little vacations either involved spending time with family or Mike and I spending time alone. We're glad that we had a trial run of a little family vacation before our longer trip to Hawaii this July. It was a great weekend! Although we did feel a little wierd about spending our country's Memorial Day holiday in a different country...it seemed so unAmerican to visit a different country on that holiday.

O Canada

So Mike is finally due to come out of the field (he's been gone for almost 3 weeks). One thing I've learned quickly about his new unit here at Ft Lewis is that they like to go to the field, a lot. During his time at Ft Carson he only went to the field a handful of times (Of course he was also deployed for 2 of the 3 years we where there). Here he goes to the field often at least 3 or 4 days a month, if not more often. So I guess you never know what to expect.

Anyways to celebrate his return from the field, and the long Memorial Day weekend we're taking a trip to Canada. We're only a few hours from the border here and we've been wanting to take a trip up north but haven't because Olivia doesn't have her passport yet. We just found out that she doesn't actually need a passport so away we go. I've planned quite the elaborate weekend get away, we're leaving this afternoon on the ferry to go to Victoria, British Columbia for the night, then tomorrow we're off on a different ferry to go over to Vancouver, British Columbia for Saturday and Sunday nights then we're driving back across the border into Washington and home (by way of Ikea to hit their big Memorial Day Sale) on Monday. I hope that Mike gets some sleep on the way home from the field because I've got quite the weekend planned! Check back next week for pictures! Hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend!