Photo Challenge: Day 9

"A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most."



I can't even explain how long it took for me to find this photo. There are other pictures of us floating around, but they either involved drunken karaoke, drunken karaoke, or pregnancy. I don't think she'll kill me for posting this one since it's now 7 years old. Though I think she might kill me for posting sappy crap about her.

This is my friend Sara. You will not find any recent pictures of me and Sara because the military has stationed our husbands on opposite sides of the country. The last time I saw Sara, she was pregnant with her first baby. And now her second baby is coming up on his first birthday in a couple of months. Our pregnancies have kept us from visiting one another, but that's what military wives do when their husband is home: breed.

Without going into too many details, Sara has dragged me through a lot. There was my first ever deployment, during which she used to come over on her work breaks just to make sure I was still alive. There was my second divorce, which was a nightmare. She dragged her butt all the way to DC after I got married to Jere, just so we could tour the city and visit. She remains one of the few who has ever made the effort to come my way. Then, when she was pregnant with her daughter, Jere was deployed and I was in the middle of infertility treatments, and she would moan about some aspect of her pregnancy, then add on, "Just you wait. You're next. And then I am going to laugh at YOU!" She was right. I was next. And she did laugh at me!

Most importantly, Sara sees me through my bad mom moments. You know, the ones where my kid is screaming at the top of his lungs and I've had no sleep, so I stick him in his crib, shut the door, and rock myself in a corner while I listen? You can bet that Sara's on the phone telling me that it has to stop sometime and that letting him cry it out when I've reached my end is the right move. She corrals her two children in the background while I cry about mine.

What's the best part of this? It's that Sara and I, thanks to the generosity of our husbands, get to live in the same city for a WHOLE YEAR starting in a couple of months. Just when I think she can't possibly have anymore to give, she offered to come to the hospital for the birth of my next child. Not all friends would volunteer for that one, but she's on board...on one condition. "If they ask me to hold your leg while you push, that's where I draw the line."

Photo Challenge: Day 8

"A picture that makes you laugh."



This picture is from the cruise we took during Jere's R&R in 2008. We had closed down the bar, and that is a purple martini in my hand. I am screaming drunk and trying desperately to navigate stairs in heels without spilling that precious purple drink on my swishy dress.

Why does this make me laugh? Well, because at this point, I hadn't seen my husband in 6 months, and he was laughing while he was taking this picture. And the twenty other pictures he took of me trying to get back to our room with that drink. It's the cruise we almost missed because his flights got changed, which resulted in me hauling my tail down to Atlanta at top speed to go get him so we could drive to the cruise port on time. This is also the cruise where I refused to get in the water, seeing as during the last cruise my husband tried to drown me in both the Gulf of Mexico and a river in Belize. He snorkeled while I sunned. He swam while I took photos. The whole cruise was hilarious. That's what makes me laugh.

Photo Challenge: Day 7

"A picture of your most treasured item."



Ok. So the baby is not my most treasured item. The most treasured item I own is what that baby is asleep in.

Winston's jumperoo is my lifesaver. We received it as a gift from one of Jerry's Army buddies. I want to hug him. As you can see, he used to bounce himself to sleep when he was little. Now he just bounces himself sleepy. What is wonderful about this living room space devouring device is not that I could stick him in it for hours at a time and leave him there. No, I'm not that mom, though I have gratefully sat him in it and fallen asleep on the floor next to him for 15 minutes when desperate.

Nope. The most wonderful thing about the jumperoo is, now that he's older, I can stick him in it for 45 seconds so I can pee. If I don't contain him, he will, in the time it takes me to even walk to the bathroom, have spilled the cat's water, eaten her food, pulled all the sponges out of the cupboard, and opened a drawer for the purpose of taking out all my ice cube trays and flinging them across the room.

Unfortunately, he is only about a pound and a half away from outgrowing it. Then I'm in trouble.

Photo Challenge: Day 6

"A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day."



This is my husband, and I believe he's on the deck of the USS Drum in this photo. We've toured so many ships that I've completely lost track.

There are some obvious reasons I'd like to trade places with my husband. I would love to leave the house and go to a job that I enjoy each weekday (even on the days it sucks). I'd love to be tall enough to reach high shelves. I'd love a day where my hair would look fine after just washing it.

But there are other reasons. My husband has a zest for life that few possess. He tends to be carefree and spontaneous, while still living within the realm of the well-reasoned and practical. He has seemingly endless energy and can remember facts and names and dates like no one I've ever met.

Then again, if we traded places for a day, I'd have to put up with myself for 24 straight hours. Maybe I'm not willing to trade...

Photo Challenge: Day 5

"A picture of your favorite memory."

You know, I'm pretty sure that, as a wife and mother, my favorite memory should have something to do with my husband or son. And I looked at some of those pictures and thought about it. They're good memories, most of them. But I always glance at the picture and remember what was going on behind the camera, and sticks in my mind more than the happy moment. My wedding day was, well, lackluster and slightly odd. My favorite vacation photo of my husband and I was while he was on R&R from his last deployment. I found out I was pregnant with my son while on vacation in Rome and was desperately sick. They're great memories. But as I said earlier, I have trouble defining myself by motherhood, and choosing one favorite moment with my son would be pretty difficult.

This photo is of me in Istanbul. Right before this, I'd had lunch in a Turkish cafe and fallen asleep at the table from jet lag. I had just finished touring the mosque you see behind me. What you can't see is that it is insanely cold and windy. The skies opened up with freezing rain about 15 minutes after this. And it was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Before I went to Turkey, I'd never been further out of the country than Canada. I had no concept of "foreign." Even being in Turkey for a day before this was taken didn't make me feel like I'd really gone anywhere, seeing as everyone spoke English. I had spent months learning basic Turkish on my iPod while riding the metro and driving to the grocery store, and I hadn't gotten to use it. But this was the moment that I felt like I was somewhere else.

I have, of course, learned some things about travel since then. Layers are important. And the only words you need to know are for coffee, shopping, and it helps to know how the locals toast. The last one being very, very important down the road for the amount of beer I drank in Ireland.

Photo Challenge: Day 4

"A picture of your night."



Unh. This post isn't easy to write. Why? Because that green light in the background of this photo is my clock, and it says 4:24. Yeah, AM.

Lately, my son has been getting up at this time every single night. He will probably stay awake until somewhere around 6. This is the only time of day you will see this mommy give in to the call of Baby Einstein. Winston is full of energy when he wakes up, and I don't have the energy at this time of night/day to keep up with him.

What terrifies me about this is the fact that we'll be putting away the bottles this week, which means any chance of him going back to bed easily during these wake ups disappears. Somehow, a sippy cup does not have the same comforting effect. He just doesn't seem to get enough food during the day yet, and wakes up for 6 ounces of formula during the night. The formula disappears this week, too. He likes milk, so I'm not too worried about that one.

It just seems that we are expected to flip a switch when he turns one. No more bottles. No more formula. More solid foods. He should be saying "this many" words. Our pediatrician already gives me dirty looks, so I'm dreading his 12 month appointment. How do I explain to her that even if he's not quite up to speed in certain areas, he's still leaps and bounds in front of other kids in his MacGyver skills? He's perceptive and quick and can find the tiniest gap through which to escape into the kitchen. I see the evil genius in my kid.

See? I don't just get up with him at night. It's the time when I worry. And that's my night.

Photo Challenge: Day 3

"A picture of the cast from your favorite show."

So...this one might be a surprise for those of you who read earlier that I know I can't cook. The gorgeous lady on the right is Nigella Lawson, and she has a number of cooking shows.

Why on Earth would I, someone who struggles with weight on a near constant basis, subject myself to a cooking show that is far from lowfat? Because Nigella is human. Watching her eat anything is, pardon me, a near erotic experience. She's buxom and curvy and just about the sexiest woman alive (and my husband would agree). Even when I am having a knock-down drag-out with my scale, I can watch her and be reminded that food is something to enjoy and savor. After catching her show, I am more able to then turn around and lusciously devour my next meal. It may be sugar free chocolate pudding, but I'm darn well going to lick the lid.

I love food. I will moan over a good dish at a restaurant if I let myself eat without guilt. I have the same reaction over a bowl of hot buttered noodles or a spoonful of Nutella. Sometimes I just need to be reminded that getting to enjoy really fantastic food means I'm never going to be rid of those last 10 pounds. But those pounds are WORTH IT because food is one of life's greatest joys. Nigella reminds me of that.

(Now that I have written an entire post about food at 6 in the morning, I think I'm off to make some noodles)