waited for nothing....

The storm never came....but there another one to hit this weekend...supposedly.

While Guam braced itself for what were expected to be damaging force winds after the island was put into Condition of Readiness 1 this morning, it obviously turned out to be much ado about nothing with the sun peeking through the clouds at several points throughout the day.

By 2 this afternoon the tropical storm warning for 18W was called off, and island residents heaved a collective sigh of relief as the storm dissipated as it made its way through the Rota Channel.

Chip Guard from the National Weather Service told KUAM News, "Fortunately, it didn't cause any serious problems in the island. Because of its fast forward movement all the winds were on the right side of the typhoon that is the side around Rota and we didn't get much wind here on Guam."

Still waiting....

We are still waiting on storm 18W, but its now much closer! And a few days later another bigger storm is to hit us. We are right in the path of these storms.

Tropical Storm 18W is accelerating and is expected to hit Guam much earlier than initially forecasted.


As of 11 a.m. today, the storm was about 85 miles east-southeast of Guam, but moving this way at about 17 mph.


It is expected to come closest to Guam — or hover over Guam — at about 3 p.m. today. Winds during the closest approach will be about 40 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Chip Guard this morning.


Winds of that strength can dislodge and fling tree branches, possible knocking down power lines, but should not do direct damage to sturdy buildings, Guard said yesterday.


Gov. Felix P. Camacho signed Executive Order 2009-15, declaring a state of emergency as a result of Tropical Storm 18W and authorizing $250,000 in General Fund appropriations for expenses associated with Guam’s preparation and recovery efforts.

The National Weather Service issued an urban small stream flood advisory for Guam until 3:45 p.m. The advisory means that river or stream flows are elevated or the ponding of water in urban areas is occurring or is imminent.

As of 9:00 a.m., the island’s 12 pre-designated primary shelters opened and have already accepted approximately 250 residents. All residents seeking shelter are reminded to bring with them a 3-day supply of food, water and toiletries, according to the Guam Homeland Security.

Good news!

Still waiting on the worst of the storm...
STORM UPDATE: 5:30 p.m. — Tropical depression 18w could become a tropical storm before midnight

Good news is..


Nick is OUT of that God awful country of Afghanistan. He now sits in Qatar waiting for a flight home. We are hoping soon...but the date keeps getting pushed back. Could be at least a week.

You would think being a military wife for over 7 years now that I would be used to the hurry up and wait of the military. But Tis not the case.

Each day closer, is harder than the one before.

And watching that show Im addicted to doesnt help. (Army Wives)

had no idea *UPDATED*

I wanted to go out today and get some Halloween decorations for Kayla. Each time we go to the store she loves pointing to and shouting "witch!, spider!" when she sees them.

Woke up to a nasty storm out side. I had no idea there were warnings of a tropical storm going on. I'm kind if irritated about this.

So many of us have husbands gone right now and no one calls to check on us. We are approximately 10 days out from our husbands coming home and no one has contacted us with information. Our husbands cant exactly give us a whole lot of information over the phone or Internet and in some cases I'm sure some husbands cant get to Internet easily.

Its frustrating. It's the squadron's First Sargent's job.

WOW...its really crazy outside. I can hear it...

As of 7 p.m. yesterday, Tropical Depression 18W was located 840 miles east-southeast of Guam and 390 miles east-northeast of Chuuk. It was moving west at 17 mph and was expected to turn to the west-northwest with little change in speed through tonight, the National Weather Service said.

The tropical depression has maximum sustained winds of 30 mph. It could become a tropical storm today, the weather service added.

"No tropical cyclone watches or warnings are in effect," NWS said at 7 p.m. last night. "However, people in the Marianas and surrounding waters should closely monitor the development and movement of 18W.

****UPDATED****

We decided to go to the BX for lunch and to play at the indoor playground since it's a nasty rainy day. As we were sitting there eating I was watching the sky get darker and darker. Thats when my neighbor and I decided to load the kids in the car and book it.

Got home and checked the status of the storm and was surprised to find:

Local residents should prepare for 55 mph winds capable or ripping plywood off some structures and downing rotten power poles, said National Weather Service meteorologist Chip Guard this morning.


Tropical Storm 18w threatens to bring heavy rains and damaging winds to Guam within 48 hours, or by Wednesday. As of this morning, the storm was more than 700 miles east-southeast of the island.


Guard said the forecast of dangerous winds was based on this information, but because the storm was actually farther south than predicted, the forecast could change, he said.


More accurate information will be released this afternoon, Guard said.


“This may make a significant difference to the computer models,” Guard said.

Sorry blogland

I seriously have nothing to blog about. I sit here and try to think of something...but there is nothing. My life has come down to playing this dumb game on Face.Book called Farm.Ville and another one called Fish.world.

Either that, or we are in the backyard in the pool.

Exciting, huh?

Only about 10 more days to go!

:)

good news!

Tomorrow Nick turns in all his bags to be shipped out! Which means he will soon be on his way out of that terrible place he is in....to sit at another place...to wait for a flight home

Thank you Lord!!!!!

A little more than a week and he should be safe and sound at home, with us.

All together again!

In his words:
Nick Alessi: Well, 41 Missions, 4254 miles, a few fire fights, a lot of IEDs, some mortars, some RPGs and my last mission is over!!!! Another two weeks and I will be home to my family. Thanks everyone for all of the support. I made it out of this one alive. RIP to those who didn't.

Yes, RIP to those who didnt and much strength to their families. These guys are the real heros.

And YES, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR THE SUPPORT. This deployment was anything but easy.

We been keeping busy here. Days are flying by. Today we spent most of the day out back in the pool.

Tomorrow....BEACH and picnic lunch on the beach!

Q and A plus pictures

Q: is it possible for a 14 month old baby to know her colors?

A: Yes.

The past 2 nights in the bathtub I been teaching Kayla colors starting with Orange, Yellow, Green and a little bit of Blue.

Last night I was going over them and she got to one before I did and said 'Orange!"

And it was the orange one!

Simply genious!

Here are some pictures of her opening the package from her Mimi and Papa a few days ago.

helP!

No better time to blog than at 2 AM when Kayla has been up for alomst 2 hours screaming from her room refusing to sleep. Its been a couple weeks of this now. Im so tired. Just listening to her exhausts me...and throw in the lack of sleep and single parenting..whew. Any other Moms out there go through this at some point? How did you deal with it? what was the cause? Im wondering if teeth are the culprint or if she is just protesting night time since its been weeks of this. Im to the point where I dread night time now because I know there could very well possibly be a battle ahead of me with no sleep.


Anyhow, Kayla recieved a package from her Mimi and Papa the other day. She had a blast going through all the clothes. Thank you!

Yesterday, feels like today since its barely 2 AM, we went to the water park and had so much fun. Im totally worn out!

I would tell you more about it but dont have the patience. So Im off to catch up on blogs. Its been a few days at the least.

Beat it!

So, this morning my cat Pooh Bear kept jumping on the computer desk and I kept pushing him and telling him to beat it.

Next thing I know....Kayla is walking around saying, "BEAT IT!"

Never would of guessed my 13 month old baby would be walking around saying "BEAT IT!"

And now shes trying to climb the computer desk. Oh my.

Last night we went to eat dinner on the beach with the neighbors. Had a good time. Cant wait until the daddies of these little girls are home again.

Getting to kno Guam.....

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I needed this laugh so bad. Last night was rough around here. Thank God Kayla's teeth gave us 2 nights to recover from the last rough night before this one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u07RtJ-DsRU&feature=player_embedded

Thank you Tammy and Typhoon damage

So first-
Kayla got a nice package in the mail yesterday from our wonderful friends Tammy and Mark....

I'm going to go a little off topic here for a minute but I will get back on track with the package...

While I was laying in bed I was thinking...ya know how famous couple end up with a name for them combining both of their first names? Like Bran.gelina? and Ben.iffer?

Well....Tammy and Mark...you are now Marmmy.

Anyways, Kayla got a package from our friends...Marmmy.

I opened the box and out came a teddy bear in a BDU uniform. Kayla took off with it as happy as could be..so I thought.

I had to coax Kayla into coming back to the box for more. She was so content with that bear. Once she realized there was a blanket in the box...forgotten was the bear! For the moment anyways. This little girl LOVES, I mean L-O-V-E-S blankets. The past week, she been very attached to the Mickey Mouse blanket from my Sister In Law. I mean, carrying it everywhere....even into the car when we go places. Its so adorable. And now...she has two blankets to carry around.

Thank you both so much for thinking of Kayla and taking the time out of your day to send her a gift that she really enjoys. To see her smile, makes me smile. And its wonderful to know that she is not just a part of my life, Nick's life, her Grandparent's lives...but also a part of yours.







So last night was interesting. If I typed out all the details it would be quite the hilarious story.
The short story is, we have been getting hard winds and lots of rain from a typhoon that is north of our island...its hitting Saipan pretty good. It started pouring so I took Kayla to the back door last night before bed to see it. We love watching the rain. As I was standing there...the tarp and 2 of the metal poles its attached totally blew up and disappeared, but came back down a few seconds later. I went outside and tied the pole that blew down to the tree in the yard thinking it would be secure at least until morning when I can try to do something about it.

Wrong.

I was sitting here at the computer typing up an email to Nick telling about it. I told him I would be surprised if it lasted until morning. Then I hear a LOUD crashing noise and thump. My neighbor even hear it from inside her house.

I looked out side and both poles are gone, half tarp is flying in the wind. I go outside to look for the poles. One of them is standing straight up on the roof. It looked so funny but was a huge safety hazard.

So...I called the cops to come get it down. They thought it was really funny and I couldn't stop laughing for a little while after.

The story may not sound funny reading it on a blog...but it was one of those 'you have to be there' type of things.

Kayla dancing

Today Kayla dancing:
I have a lot more videos to come!

Fish Eye Day!

The storm is still effecting us today, but that didnt stop our day.

Kayla and I, and my neighbor and her daughter went shopping this morning downtown at the only store there is to shop at...Ross. I picked up a couple Christmas presents for Kayla, a new pair of slippers, a shirt, some new underware, a dress for Kayla and a twin size comforter for the spare bed in her room.

Then we had Wendy's for lunch. Yes, this goes against my diet, but I will break any diet for a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger and a Root Beer Frosty float from Wendy's. And its not very often we get to go there since it's 45 minutes away.

Then we decided to go to Fish Eye....even though there were very dark clouds. We got there and walked down the pier. Half way down the VERY long peir the rain started coming so we ran and barely made it before it downpoured. I mean BARELY.

Once inside, wet and out of breath from running in the rain with a 2o pound baby, a heavy purse and a heavy wet unbrella, we walked down the 75 stairs with jello legs and let the girls look at the fish and run loose since we were the only ones in there.

On the way back to the cars, we werent so lucky. DRENCHED! Kayla passed out not even after being the car for 5 mintes. Good thing she doesnt mind the rain, because she was drenched....and we had a 45 minute drive home.

While were down under the water in the observatory of Fish Eye...I missed a call from Nick. Dang it. Hopefully he tries again tomorrow. He will be home in LESS than 3 weeks and it cant come soon enough. It still feels like forever away.

Oh WEIRD....as I was just typing that...he signed on to yahoo messenger! Gotta go!







This last picture is a blue star fish in the water. Click to enlarge it.

Typhoon Choi-Wan

Typhoon Choi-Wan will pass over the Marianas with heavy rain and winds at Andersen. If the storm track changes, this storm could
have higher impact with less preparation time. Households and duty sections should review preparatory actions for Typhoons and
secure items which can be damaged or cause damage if blown by strong winds.

Enjoying the rain right now.

Nick called me this morning. He is safe. They are working their butts off to finish this convoy mission sooner rather than 5 days later.

He will be home in less than 3 weeks now. About 20 days or so.

It cant come soon enough.

Thanks to all my blogger friends. I could feel the love and hugs and I needed that.

Great....

5 Americans just killed in Afghanistan.

And my husband just went out on convoy today.

And will be out for 5 days.

I want to curl up into a ball and cry.

But I cant.

I have to be strong for Kayla and her painful teeth.

3 weeks seems like 3 months away.

I need sleep.

I need peace.

I need my husband home. NOW.

Worst teething night thus far

Oh boy. I don't even know where to begin. I'm just going to say it.
Last night was the worst night I have had with Kayla. I put her to bed as normal at 8 pm. At 10 the crying began never stopped. I am not used to this. Normally while teething, she will cry no longer and a 2 minute span and then be back to sleep for the night. Not last night.
Finally at 1 AM, I took her to bed with me and that didn't help much. After a while we both fell asleep but I was woken up many times with her tossing and turning and eventually crying again at 4 am.
So I brought her out to the couch with me where she fell asleep on my chest and I fell asleep too, but again, being woken several times between about 5 and 7 am.
Nothing helped her. Nothing. No amount of medicine, no amount of consoling, no amount of ignoring her, no bottle. Nothing.

I give major respect to this single parents out there. Major. This is no easy task. At least I have light to be seen at the end of the tunnel and I know me doing this alone wont last forever. Only 3 more weeks in fact.

Needless to say, I'm FREAKING EXHAUSTED. (So glad I decided to shower last night before all this crying started)And I am thankful for the raining day we are having. Correction- I am thankful for the down pour that is going on right now. The rain is falling so thick I can barely see my neighbors house! I love tropical rain.


As of 11:00 p.m., the tropical depression 15W at 15 degrees north and 152.1 degrees east, or about 500 miles east-northeast of Guam, said the National Weather Service.

A tropical storm watch remains in effect for Guam and Rota. That means that tropical storm conditions including damaging winds of 39 to 74 mph are expected within 48 hours. A typhoon watch is in effect for Tinian and Saipan.

Something more enlightening...Kayla has new curtains in her room. It only took a year for me to find a set at the BX. Stupid AAFES.

Here is before:
(HATED these curtains but its all I could do)


After:



Now, just gotta find some matching bedding for the twin size bed in her room.

3 weeks and lots of pictures.

Only 3 weeks, give or take a couple days, until Nick is home. And he still has 2 more convoy duty mission's before he leaves. Yuck.

Here is Kayla a couple days ago. We got lucky with our house location on base here. I can look out my front door and see the elementary school. So the playground is within very close walking distance. And the built a new one for this school year. And Kayla loves it. She runs wild on this playground! All the other playgrounds on base have sand and she cant run that well in the sand. But this one just has a rubber like solid ground.

Lots of pictures to come, but for now...

For now, we will start here. Kayla got a wonderful and most thoughtful belated Birthday gift from our friends, Kate and Jen.

You can visit them here, so stop over and say hello.
http://stinkytinky.blogspot.com/

I know I've told you already...but BIG Thank You to you both for everything you have done for us, for Nick, for Kayla.

Mostly a post for Dada...

This post is mostly for Dada because he asked for a current list of Kayla's words.
Honestly, this is NOT an easy task to do anymore. Kayla can say anything and everything I teach her within seconds. She is walking around talking like a 2 year old and honestly...I am not exaggerating. People do not believe me when I tell them she is only 13 months old.

But, I will try my best to make up a list here. I dont remember where I left of on her last list so some of these may be a repeat.

11Aug- Moo Moo, chair, bow. She says Bow because of the collection of hair bows she has. They are in her hair just about every day. She tries to put them in her hair by herself.

13Aug- Kayla said, "Dada's car!" while pointing to it, diaper, sticker (I often let her play in my sticker collection and give her one to play with) woof woof, Elmo. She can now spot Elmo 3 blocks away.

14Aug- trash, Kayla can now throw things in the trash when I tell her its trash, mostly just diapers.

15Aug- Belly (she now knows where her belly is) table, cheese.

16Aug- Lamb (she can also say ba ba ba for the sound) star, pig (and make a pig sound) She LOVES pigs and gets excited when she sees them on tv. She has learned to love the movie Babe. Also this day, grill, bug, pop (for Popsicle) and coco for coconut. She now points to every coconut she sees and says coco.

17Aug- Pear, Grape, Plum, Peach, Hot Dog, Mat (the bath mat) Blue's Clues and lotion. She is learned a lot of foods and their names because I use grocery shopping as a lesson in foods!

21Aug- witch (I bought her a witch PEZ dispenser), airplane

25Aug- Got cha!, Ice Cream

26Aug- Diapy Change (another 2 word phrase!) Box, Moose (Moose A Moose on Noggin)

27Aug- Giraffe, Elephant, Help, No Touch (I think she said this), Pinky (From Pinky Dinky Doo on Noggin)

28Aug- wall (she pointed at the wall and said What's that?) Kayla also says Addison- the little girl next door.

30Aug- Bowl, Pie (I made Shepard's Pie for dinner) grass and owie (She had a diaper rash and couldnt walk. She tried to walk while crying and saying "OWIE" at the same time)

3Sept- Rwar!( She learned dinosaur from tv) brush, balloons, and elephant sound.

4Sept- Soap, House

5 Sept- Yogurt, Chips, Juice, Happy (from song on Yo Gabba Gabba)

7Sept- Aww Man (Another 2 word phrase!) and medicine from all the meds I was giving her for her fever and teething.

9 Sept- Kayla pointed and said "Right there" (Another 2 word phrase!) Also when her binky isn't attached to her shirt, she walks around looking and saying "Binky"

She also sees Pizza Hut commercials and gets very excited and shouts "Pizza!" I dont know how she learned this since we have only had Pizza Hut 2 times since Nick has been gone. Once not long after he left when she just started on table foods and then again I got some delivery for our Anniversary last month. So, I think just after that ONE delivery, she learned what it was.


As you can see, every single day this little girl says something new. I'm sure there are words I have forgotten to write down. Its hard to keep up with her. And not only does she knows how to say all these words, she knows what they mean and uses them all at the proper time.

The past few days, she has been pointing at all the pictures of Nick around the house and saying "Dada". This is something she hasn't done before. I wish she could understand he will be home soon. (4 weeks to go!)

She knows and can point out and make the sounds for, pig, dog, duck, cat, cow, sheep, lamb, chicken, frog, and lizard.

She can point out and name off body parts- hair, eyes, nose, mouth, belly, tongue and we are working on butt. She also knows and points out and says shirt and pants and shoes.

When we are going somewhere, I tell her to get her shoes and she gladly goes by the front door and gets them and brings them to me so I can put them on her.

She will randomly pick something up (tampons included! lol!) and pretend it's a phone and talk to either, Papa (the most popular person to talk to on the phone) Mimi or Dada.

She is incredible.

First day sucessful

Today went well. I had my eating under control. Most of the problem is boredom and I think that will come to an end when Nick gets home. Tomorrow we will go grocery shopping for better alternatives to what I been eating.

I actually had luck at the BX today and found a pair of shorts ( I wont say what size, GASP!), shirt and bra that I might wear for Nick's homecoming shall I not find anything better.

Kayla and I took a walk on the beach, then came home with the intentions of taking a 2 milk walk. But the rain stopped that. I don't mind getting wet, but I wouldn't want to make Kayla suffer.

So, tomorrow is another day.

Cant wait to start taking Hydroxy.cut! Its on its way.

(And yes, I know the cons to taking it, but I have taken it before and did fine with it)

Oh and...today I got my hair cut. Its the shortest I've had it since the 5th grade.

I was really unsure at first and nervous, but its actually growing on me. I think just might love it. Its above my shoulders and cut in high layers. I will try to get some pics tomorrow.

Disgusted

I just got on the scale and was in shock, and I am totally disgusted. I never thought I would see a scale read the numbers I saw.

Granted, this is DURING Aunt Flo, and AFTER eating oatmeal for breakfast and with clothes ON..

but oh my God....

that was the motivation I needed.

And this is the embarrassment I need...

155!

That is not right.

Goal weight = 130 lbs.

I need help and really funny picture...

I'm super depressed about my weight right now. I know during Aunt Flo's visit I gain at lest 5 pounds, feels more like 10 pounds. Maybe it is. But even still, lately, I feel yuck about myself.

I feel like I look like a whale, when I know that really isn't true. But this is the heaviest I have ever been. That being probably 140-ish pounds. Maybe even 145, I don't know. I have not the courage to step on a scale, although I should. Maybe it will give me the motivation I need.

And while most of this feeling bad about myself is the weight, I feel like I 'look' like a Mom. Ya know, the ones who don't spend any time on themselves during the day? One of those Moms. I shower and throw my hair into a pony tail or clip...which I have done even before Kayla. I throw on clothes and a pair of flip flops and call it a day. I barely even look in the mirror anymore.

I don't want to do that anymore. I want to look nice. I want to look nice in nice clothes and have a bit of a face on and have decent looking hair. I want to look like I at least spend SOME time on myself. I want to look human. My husband deserves a wife who spends even a little time on herself, even if to just look nice for him.

So folks...please send me the motivation and strength I need to start a better diet and get some exercise daily starting tomorrow.

And to get my hair cut.

And wish me luck in the shopping department, because on this island there is little selection.

And I mean LITTLE selection. As in... I to choose from three places.
1, the BX. Which has all fall and winter clothes in right now...yes..winter clothes being sold on a tropical island...ya know...just in case I want to buy my family in the states some gifts. How freaking annoying.
2, Ross, a 40 minute drive then after getting there you get practically ran over by Japanese tourists and it takes more energy and hassle then whats it worth sometimes. It's hit or miss at that store.
3, We have a Macy's but I rarely have luck there. I don't know if it's the store here on island...or if it's me. I mostly think its me...I don't know how to dress anymore. Im 25. I cant shop in the Junior's department as much anymore...but the clothing in the misses section looks to old lady for me.

I cant shop online for 2 reasons.
1, the ONLY place that will ship to Guam is Old Navy...and right now they have mostly fall stuff.
and 2, I MUST try stuff on before I buy them because of my odd shape. Smaller waist and big butt and hips doesn't allow me to fit in the same size in all clothing...even if it's all the same brand. It's the cut and fit that throws me off.

I never have had confidence in myself. I never thought of myself as pretty. Ever. And lately, it's just getting worse.

I need help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is so frustrating.

Ok, so, for the funny picture. There was a Labor Day festival type thing on base on Friday. Kayla and I went for just a few minutes, literally. She still had a fever and was feeling sick and I was just pre- Aunt Flo and was in the WORST of moods. A mood where everything and anything just ticked me off. I was mad at the world that day.

Can you tell?

Muwhahahaha. No seriously...LOL!!!!!

A battle

Sorry for the delay in blogging. Kayla has been battling a fever for 2 days now, of 100.7. Its for sure, 110% her teeth. Her gums look incredibly sore and very swollen. I can see 4 teeth making their way, 2 more on each the top and bottom. There could be more that I cant see because of course she wont let me look at her mouth for anymore than what seems like .5 seconds at a time.

I should have known this was coming because about 2 weeks ago she started very very bad diarrhea.

She is not herself. She wont take a bottle (which might be good because as of today I stopped giving them to her!) She wont drink milk, only very watered down juice. She hasn't eaten in 2 days but 2 bites of oatmeal, maybe 5 bites of banana. Tonight she had a couple bites of noodles. She isnt playing. She is still very talkative, saying any word I teach her now a days within seconds. And even knows what they mean. (current list of words coming soon since Nick has asked for them)

She sleeps great at night but nap time is hard. She cant get comfortable because she is so warm. She jumps a lot in her sleep during nap time, I dont know why.

I been alternating infant's Tylenol and Motrin and also the teething tablets.

I hate her being so warm and not being able to do anything about it.

THESE make me smile....

Even if it is just a dumb quiz...this makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy and even gives me hope...even if JUST a little bit.

I did this quiz on Face.Book and got this as a result:

Michelle completed the quiz "How Many Children Should You Have?" with the result A Household Full of Children!.
Congratulations, you have been specially selected to be the ideal parent to a whole household full of children! Your giving nature, patience and natural ability to meet the needs of many people at once make you the perfect parent to many children. Maybe you will have them naturally or you will be blessed with beautiful adopted babies- either way, your house will always be brimming over with laughter and love!


Secretly, I want to be like Angelina Jolie.

Well, I guess that isn't a secret anymore, huh?

And this makes me smile too:

Approximately 4.5 weeks until homecoming!

Oh, and this:
Kayla learned how to climb up her crib today. Although, that is a more nervous smile. HA!

Cant..

I cant shake off the feeling that I need more babies.

Please make it go away.