The one with the long story...

I have finally done it... I have caved and joined the blog world. I'm not sure how this is all going to turn out (or even how often I will remember to update) but... I am making an attempt (HI CHELSEA!).

I am going to lay out the one ground rule I think I will need, and have to remind myself of:

I WILL NOT ENDLESSLY COMPLAIN ON THIS BLOG.

It seems like that would be the easiest thing to do these days, however I will try to come up with something witty, amusing or even slightly remotely funny to offset the whining (hey, I said TRY).

The other rule I will TRY to follow will be:

DO NOT GROSS OUT READERS OF THIS BLOG WITH PREGNANCY TMI.

Because, the reason of all that complaining, is the tiny little Green Olive (approx. 1 inch in size) growing inside me currently. I am 9 weeks pregnant with my first child, and experiencing the never ending JOYS of this journey (sarcasm isn't really complaining, right?).

On today's post boys and girls, I will start with a little background...
My husband Tim and I got married on April 23, 2010. If you ask my mother, however, that date is not valid and we were actually married October 16, 2010. And I guess my mother has a point, as we decided to secretly elope in April without telling any family or friends....and it just HAPPENED to be on her birthday... MINOR DETAILS. Needless to say whether it was by a Muscogee County Judge (oh that's right... classy Fort Benning, GA, because they NEVER see elopements with soldiers at that courthouse. We were the 4th wedding that Friday morning!) or by my father-in-law, we are bound together for life.

Now, another MINOR DETAIL is the fact that Tim is active duty Army. Those of you who know me know how WELL I do with not being in control, just leaving it all up to the government to decide for me, and not having any say in the direction my life will head in the next 3, 5, 10 years. So, I fought. I decided to stay  in Indianapolis after we were married, even though it meant we would spend the first year of our marriage apart; I fought to establish my career in the meantime in state government, and try to find my own way in the world. I fought to make the Army bend to my will (YEAH... RIGHT) by fighting the system, and I lost. I'm not sure if you all know this, but the Army is a big machine. And just because one Army wife is complaining that they haven't gotten their travel pay for moving expenses in the allotted time frame, doesn't mean anyone has to...care. It is the Army and it does what it wants.

I have given up fighting the Army. It is a bigger beast then I, and also I was warned that commanders do not like wives who meddle. So. Anyway. Back to life in military-base-free Indiana :).

Around October of 2010 (wedding time!) we found out that Tim came down on recruiter orders. He had put in to be a voluntary recruiter back in 2009, when he was stationed at Fort Campbell, KY, and instead got orders to go to Fort Benning, GA. We figured the Benning orders cancelled out the recruiter packet and promptly forgot all about it. Tim had roughly 2 years left in the army at Fort Benning, so we would just survive those two years, and then he could get out and move to Indy. But alas, the Army knows and remembers all. So he re-enlisted for 3 more years to accept the orders, and we waited for the ball to drop on where he would go.

His first assignment he was told was the Indianapolis Battalion (YAY!)... but then he would told the actual city would be Vincennes (BOOO!) which is about 2 1/2 hours south of Indianapolis, where I worked and lived, and that commute is just not going to work. Well, that same day Tim was able to call the headquarters, explain that we were buying a house in Indianapolis (a little premature--we were just looking at that point) and could he be stationed closer. AND THEY DID. The first time the Army has ever worked in our favor, and I couldn't be happier. His recruiting station is about 25 miles from our recently purchased (shhhhh! not THAT recent if the Army asks!) first home!

SO... we moved into our first home in late May, and promptly started tearing the place up (more to come on that later!). We were blissfully enjoying the married life, learning how to live with each other for the first time with shared responsibilities and hurdles (and dogs... can't forget our pups!)... and then... it happened... the POSITIVE TEST.

Now, I would love to tell you what a cute, shared, poignant moment that was for Tim and I... but, like most other things in our lives... it was very... not. Cute and poignant that is.

Months and months ago, BEFORE 2011 STARTED, I had an HSA (Health Savings Acct) from my employer that due to new laws, could no longer be used for over-the-counter medications. Well I also had a few hundred dollars in this account since I hadn't had many doctor's visits that year, and I was starting on the military's insurance TRICARE at the first of the year, and I wouldn't be able to use the HSA. So Tim and I set out one new years eve to blow a few hundred dollars on over the counter meds, and THAT didn't get me flagged or anything.

After maxing out my Sudafed-buying abilities, I had to turn to alternative medicines that weren't, you know, meth ingredients, least I find myself part of some Channel 13 drug investigation. So naturally, I turned to pregnancy tests and bought one (or 2, or 3) of every brand, basically, and considered myself stocked for life (and probably a VERY worried cashier... HI cashier, I just like to give these out as... uh... parting gifts... that's why I need 3 years worth!).

SO going back to THE TEST... needless to say I had every variety imaginable under that bathroom sink. Well a few days before THAT TIME OF THE MONTH THAT MUST NOT BE MENTIONED BY GUYS AROUND THE WORLD, I started to feel "off" like something just wasn't right... I wasn't getting my normal cravings to eat everything in sight around me, I wasn't feeling like my pants were tighter, etc. I know Friday was THE day, and by Tuesday I was curious. When I got home from work, I figured I'd test out one of those suckers and went about my business waiting for the results, expecting a big fat NO and feeling justified in my massive pregnancy-test-buying-spree (LOOK! I used one within the first year!). Except... there was something there. Not a HOLY CRAP YOU'RE PREGNANT, PREGGO kind of there, more of a very subtle, you're mind is playing tricks on you, go scour the internet for every site you can find about false positives and evaporation lines kind of THERE.

Well, of course Tim was working late that day, so I immediately start texting him and pestering him about when he would be home. I had not told him my suspicions or plans to take a test, so he had no idea why all the sudden I need him to be home NOW. So I waited for him to come home (while still surfing the ever-informative internet on sites like peeonastick.com... yes... it's real!) to get his opinion. And, like any normal wife, I made him come to the bathroom before he even took off his coat to show him THE TEST. And... this is where the typical-us comes out... he basically called me a crazy lady who was just desperate for a baby.

OK Maybe that's not what he said, he MIGHT'VE said something like "I don't really see anything there, but I guess we can check tomorrow" and in my head it just sounded SO ACCUSATORY. So, naturally, I ignored him the rest of the night because I AM NOT CRAZY AND WE WILL SEE TOMORROW!

SO the next day, I decided again to wait until I got home from work (why? I have no clue) and took two more tests... this time the FIRST RESULT WE WILL TELL YOU 2 MINUTES AFTER YOU CONCEIVE IF IT HAPPENED BECAUSE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY $20 FOR A TEST test, and the digital THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND HERE BUDDY test.

And guess what? Both said "PREGNANT" in big loud pink and digital ways and there was just no mistaking. So I, like any sweet wife who just finds out this wonderful news and wants to surprise her husband do the only natural thing--I take a picture, TEXT IT TO HIM AT WORK with the caption "Still don't see a line?!"

Now... in retrospect... maybe not the best time to hold a grudge or a way to break the news. But hey... it works for us because his response was "The blue (digital) one doesn't have a line!" And thus begins the journey of this little Green Olive growing inside me, which I will try not to complain about but will instead update you will all the wonderful hurdles on this journey.

And thanks for sticking with me til the end. I promise I'll try not to be so wordy next time :)