Home Sweet Home

I really can't believe its been close to a month since my last post. Well, actually I can. As usual, things have been INSANE - did I mention we'll be moving here in July??!!! Any guesses? Charlotte, NC. Yup. Little fishes in a BIG 'ole pond! I have to admit that I'm a little seriously freaked out at the present... Just to give a little background, the hubs has decided to go to grad school and UNC has a great urban design program. I am not a big city person by any stretch of the imagination, but I will do anything I need to to support Adam and his dreams. (Goodness knows he's sacrificed A LOT for our family!!) Anyway, of course when we decided to move I went into panic mode (me panic? I know its out of character completely..)considering I now had 6 months to find a job, daycare, place to live, etc.... all in a town neither of us had EVER been too. OCD kicked in and I just about lost it. I We decided the best course of action would be to plan a visit as soon as possible to find a place to live, or at least find an area that would be convenient and safe. Safety is a huge thing as you can imagine having a 16 month old daughter. I have to admit that when I saw how large Charlotte is (Its the 19th biggest city in the US) I was not picturing "safe". However, that was a pleasant surprise when we visited this past weekend. This town is ridiculous. I mean I have NEVER been to a city that is so CLEAN!!! It was insane! There were no run down, abandoned buildings. No trash blowing through the streets. I was seriously impressed. Good job Charlotte. Now, while I was MAJORLY impressed with the city, I am still having my spaz moments. I will go ahead and say it - I am directionally challenged. Like, bad. I am extremely worried about getting lost like a little ant in this ginormous city and ending up sobbing on a street corner. Everyone keeps saying that I'll learn my way around, but I really want to respond with "people, I lived in Florence Alabama for 18 years and I still get lost". I truly feel there isn't much hope there. However, we did find some great apartment options and I was shocked to find that we could be right in the middle of the city on our budget. Most places we looked were less than a mile to Adam's building so no more driving! I have to admit that I am excited to be walking to most places (even the grocery store is just a few blocks) and shed a few, or several, pounds. Most places only operate on a 60 day notice schedule so odds are we will be planning another trip to see what units are actually available. Besides our trip we've also been busy just trying to get things done. Adam was away for a week in Chicago so I was here with MC. First, she got sick (sinus infection and an ear infection) and then I got sick! Sick mommy and sick baby with absent daddy equals not the best week for anyone. It was very tiring and stressful but my mom came down for a few days at the end of the week and graciously helped me out! MC is doing fine now, just growing like a little weed. I just sit and stare at her a lot pondering her little brain and all those new connections she's making every second. I'm sure its natural for every mother to feel their child is smarter than the average child at that age, but MC really is. haha. She truly blows me away every day with things she says or does or new things she's learned. No greater joy than being a parent!!! Well, being the heavily read blog that I am (did ya pick up on the sarcasm there? Good for you..) I wonder if there are any Charlotte readers out there.... do you have any city advice or apartment suggestions? Hope everyone has a great week!

Near And Dear...

As many of you know, the hubs, Adam, served in the Army rangers and National Guard. He completed 4 tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. I am a proud woman to say the least. While I didn't know Adam when he was deployed the first 3 tours, we were married and pregnant on his latest one to Iraq. I tried to be strong and stay positive, however I couldn't help but imagine worst case scenarios in my head. I thought about what mine and Maggie Claire's life would be like without daddy. Its for this reason I want to inform you about what our dear friend is doing....


Our friend Andrew is taking part in a noble task and completing a 21-themed triathalon for this 21st birthday in order to raise money for the SOWF (Special Operations Warrior Foundation). This foundation helps the children of fallen special operations soldiers by raising money for them to go to college. Imagine being able to provide the gift of one less stress to a family already dealing with so much heartache. PLEASE take the time to read about what Andrew's doing and whether it be a prayer or financial support, please offer what you can! We need to help protect the families of the men that protect us!!!


Read Anna's blog description here (Andrew's amazing girlfriend) or you can go straight to the donation page and get more information about Andrew's cause here.

Have a happy Monday and please check out these links! GO ANDREW!!!

I Have A Favor To Ask...

This post is not full of witt or humor. My sarcastic rantings must cease for the moment to ask a favor of my readers. As you might have been able to tell from my recent downtrodden posts, Adam and I are in the midst of tough times. I won't go into details, but I am asking a very large favor of you - please remember us in your prayers. The only thing I know to do to make it through this difficult time is to reach out and rely on God. I am reaching out to you right now in hopes that you will aid us in this quest to turn everything over to Him. I am asking for prayers of strength, peace, wisdom, and most importantly faith. As a wife, mother, and self pronounced OCD perfectionist, I have exhausted myself in attempts to take all of this into my own hands to fix it, control it, and carry it. I need prayers to let it go. I'm not truly comfortable putting all of this out there and making this request, however I know that two prayers are better than one, three better than two, and so on. So please, toss in our names if you think about it and know that we are eternally grateful. Happy Thursday everyone and God Bless! :)

I Can't Think Of A Good Title

Lack of title - does this give you any inkling as to the recent happenings in the Martin house? That's right, my mind is mush. I'm truly surprised I have even been able to function without a meticulously composed and detailed description of what I am supposed to be doing each day. My mind is so mushy that it would need to include - get dressed, brush teeth, and the like. Yeah, its that bad.I feel that the combination of lack of sleep, extreme stress, and being INSANELY busy have all compiled to produce a mushy brained mommy. But, hey, you do what ya can. Here's a little of the going-on's at our house...


First of all, an update on MC. I have still not determined MC's night wakings. Its got me dumbfounded. However, I do have to say that she's gotten A LOT better. She is only waking 2-3 times a week and she's only crying about 2-5 minutes or so each time. Granted, its not the best situation to be woken up in the middle of the night by a crying baby considering I am a sucky sleeper and it usually takes me an hour or so to go back to sleep. Anyway, the solution we have found for the problem? Let her cry. It might sound harsh to some, but its the only thing that gets her back to sleep. She'll cry a few minutes and then lay down and go to sleep. Before, when we would go in her room, we would do the back and forth thing for over an hour. And when we layed her down after coming in, the crying was even more severe than when she had initially started. Hopefully, over time, she will not cry when she wakes up, but until then, we are letting her learn to put herself back to sleep.



In other news, I'm not sure If I've mentioned our move to North Carolina. Moving to a city in which you've never been is enough stress in itself to kill you. Literally. You have the daunting task of finding a place to live, finding a job, finding a daycare - all the while you are 10 hours away and can't even drive around the city to get a feel of good locations. However, I must say that we've been EXTREMELY blessed by being given several contacts in the area who have given us a good deal of information about things. Bless them.


While trying to arrange everything for the move, Adam has also been working himself ragged. If he's not working on his huge senior project, he's studying for the GRE or other class tests, or trying to help me with MC and the house. This man is amazing. He works so hard for his family. He usually goes to bed around 3am then he's up at 7am getting ready for class. Blows my mind. Speaking of my super-man hubs, he is taking the GRE today so if you could happen to think of him around 12:00 today and say a little prayer we would all appreciate it :)


In addition to the above mentioned, things are also starting to pick up in the real estate market so I too have been super busy. Winter is usually a little slow, but around March/April/May, things really start picking up. Hoping this year is a great one!


I've probably spoken enough rubbish for one morning. I hope everyone has a fantastic Monday and I'm sure MC will put a smile on your face just as she does mine ;)

HELP!

Ok mommies! I need some major help here.... we've got a little situation with MC and I am totally in the dark as to what to do.

MC, like most children, will occassionally wake during the night. She'll ususally whine/cry for a few seconds and then go back to sleep. However a couple of months ago the crying got worse. She would wake up SCREAMING bloody murder. The first few times we were quite alarmed, as you can imagine, and went in to check on her and everything seemed to be fine - not too wet, no poop, not hot, not cold, and we gave her Tylenol just in case her new teeth were bothering her. The only thing we could come up with was teething. Then we noticed that ss soon as we picked her up she would stop crying... When we laid her back down, the screaming began again.

This started happening maybe once every two weeks or so but now it is happening multiple times a week. I dont know what to do! Now, you're probably thinking "well duh you idiots, she's used to you coming in there and picking her up!" Well we still let her whine and put herself back to sleep when its not bad. She'll still do those partial wakings where she'll do the whine a few seconds and we don't go in there and she just puts herself back to sleep without a problem. The problem is that a few times a week now its NOT just a short whine. Its an all out SCREAM that does not stop after a few seconds, or even a few minutes. I will go in there and not pick her up, but just put my hand on her and she immediately stops crying. The moment I take it off she starts back again. Its heart wrenching to listen to your child scream like that and not know what to do!!! I am so confused - and tired!

If ANYONE has any suggestions or advice, PLEASE comment!!! I have been in tears too many nights with my baby crying so hysterically that you would think she was in the worst pain of her life! HELP!!!