Even the spa has an acronym!

During the spouse orientation at the beginning of this training, we received a packet entitled "Air Force as a Second Language." And it couldn't be titled more appropriately! With just a little over 3 months as an Air Force wife, I've become proficient in the language of acronyms. Here's just a sampling of what I've learned so far.

• I've stayed in a VOQ (visiting officer quarters) as well as a TLF (temporary living facility).
• I am currently in Alabama because Daniel is on TDY (temporary duty) to attend ASBC (air and space basic course) which is part of SOC (squadron officer college).
• Next month, Daniel will head out to Colorado for IFS (initial flight screening). Later this year, he'll start UPT (undergraduate pilot training). Since he's a pilot, I'm part of the SSG (student spouses group) and may join the OSC (officers' spouses club).
• And today, I got to have a pregnancy massage at APOHOE (A Piece of Heaven on Earth) spa. It was amazing and I highly recommend any military wife do some searching to see if your base or post has a spa. The prices are great and the service I received was wonderful.

We have a home!!!

After many months of uncertainty and lots of stressing, our prayers have finally been answered: We have a house on base! We were starting to look at houses and apartments off base and I was starting to freak out over the fact that Daniel would be gone for up to a month and I would be stranded in a new neighborhood far away from the comfort, convenience and community of living on-base. We got the call just last week and after seeing pictures that a Pinnacle employee took, we decided to take it. It is one of the unrenovated homes which means we will most likely be moving in the later half of 2010 to a renovated home so they can either demolish or renovate the original home. However, once we're on base, they can't kick us off which is comforting. I can't possibly convey how much of a relief this is. After being told we would have a house in 30 days, and later being informed they weren't moving anyone into the base housing until February 2011, this is an unbelievable blessing. It makes us very happy to know that our baby will have a house to come home to once he or she arrives in April.

Our new kitchen!!

Thank you for all the prayers! We'll be passing along our address once we get it from Pinnacle.

Welcome to the Sunshine State!

After a rather dreary week in Montgomery, Daniel and I braved the 'blizzard' that descended upon Alabama to drive down to Pensacola for the long weekend and some time with friends from our pre-Air Force life. Though the roads were really just wet (It never got below freezing!) and visibility was about as clear as you can get, Alabama drivers were pretty distraught at the white stuff falling from the sky. On our drive down, we saw lots of tire tracks where people had pulled over because they were too scared to drive in snow. These tracks were often paired with snowmen since Alabamans don't get much snow and it might be their only chance at making one!

Once we arrived in Pensacola, we called up our Pittsburgh friends, Mike & Emily, who are based at the Pensacola Naval Air Station where Mike will train as a pilot. We grabbed a bite to eat at the Ruby Tuesday which was walking distance from our hotel and caught up with our fellow newlyweds. (See a couple of their wedding pictures in a December post.) It was so good to see them!

Mike and Em at the beach...

Saturday was a great day of yummy food and good friends. After breakfast and a swim at the hotel, Dan and I met Mike and Emily at Mellow Mushroom where we enjoyed delicious pizza before a little bit of window shopping at a nearby mall and a trip to the beach. Apparently the sand at Pensacola is special and finer than most other beaches. It was a bit chilly and very windy, but it was a great walk and a first for both Daniel and I- our first trip to the Gulf!

Daniel and the Gulf of Mexico

After some Catchphrase, yummy stirfry a la Emily and watching the Olympics back at the Rueda house, we called it a night and headed back to our extremely comfortable king sized bed- a definite upgrade from our full sized bed back at Maxwell!

My beautiful flowers from my Valentine

Sunday was our first Valentine's Day as a married couple and it was wonderful. We went to lunch at Olive Garden, which was the place to be and thus, very crowded. Our waitress was so sweet and kept apologizing for the long wait. Once our meals finally did come out, my grilled chicken put up a fight in coming off the skewer and the waitress ended up flinging a couple of the pieces onto the floor. After many more apologies, she sent it back to the kitchen because it was burnt and the manager came out to let us know that the meal was taken care of by the restaurant. After eating our fill, we headed back to the hotel for some Olympics and relaxation before evening mass with Em and Mike. We said our good-byes after church and went our separate ways to enjoy dinner as couples. Overall, it was a great day and a very memorable Valentine's Day.

We celebrated Presidents' Day with some friends from Notre Dame. Through the wonders of Facebook, I got in touch with Megan and Nathan who are based at Eglin AFB about an hour and a half from Pensacola. They happened to be in town meeting some family for dinner and we were able to get together for lunch. We had a lot to celebrate since Megan and Nathan recently found out that they are expecting a little one! Nathan says it's what all the cool Catholic married couples are doing. :-) It was a wonderful way to finish our weekend in Pensacola and having the chance to visit our friends all over the country is just one of the many reasons Air Force life is so special.

Baby Update

As my belly grows and it gets harder to see my feet, I'm getting very excited to welcome our little one. I'll be 29 weeks along tomorrow which means I've been in my third trimester for 2 weeks. It's hard to believe that in less than 3 months we'll finally meet our baby. Here is the most recent picture of my baby bump taken at 28 weeks:

I finally started working on a baby registry to make a list of all of the items we need for baby. I'm still researching strollers and car seats but we did pick out our high chair. Another ASBC wife, Desiree, who is a mom of 2, showed me her high chair and what she liked about it- removable tray insert, recline feature, and an adjustable height for when the baby is big enough to sit at the table. She found hers on craigslist.com and I was able to find a similar model at Babies R Us.

Earlier this week, I recieved a beautiful gift from a fellow Bump.com member who is also due in April. We had set up a gift exchange among a group of "April Due Drops" and I received 2 adorable long-sleeved onesies made from organic material. Both are in neutral colors- green and yellow- and one has a pea pod on top of a globe and says "Peas on Earth." I'm looking forward to shopping for more baby clothes and having my baby wear booties, socks and the sweater that I've knit!

My American Hero

It's a bird! It's a plane! No! It's my husband- and he's my American hero. Not because he has chosen to serve in the US Air Force (although I'm very proud of him for that, too), but because he has stepped up to the plate during my pregnancy and has been an amazing support for me. I truly think dads-to-be get the shaft as far as recognition goes during the 9 months before parenthood. And believe me, I know that moms-to-be are the ones who go through the weight gain and other crazy body changes, but who is there to tell them that they still look beautiful and attractive after they've gained all that weight? If they're lucky enough to have a husband as wonderful as mine, they have someone to look them in the eye and tell them that they have always been and always will be the most beautiful woman they've ever seen.

Besides boosting my self-confidence, he indulges my pizza cravings, reads me to sleep when I can't relax, massages away my sore back and understands of my varying states of fatigue. He also has dealt with my crazy mood swings with love and lots of hugs. He has definitely gone beyond the call of duty when it comes to being a good husband.

While visiting TheBump.com, there was a question posted on the third trimester board asking moms-to-be what they were most surprised about when it came to pregnancy. A lot of women talked about different symptoms which I haven't experienced (thankfully), but one woman posted something that I could completely understand:

"That it is possible to fall even MORE in love with your husband when he curls up to your belly and talks to your unborn baby."

 Having Daniel talk to our baby is one of my favorite things about being pregnant. The baby is moving so much now that Daniel gets to feel the kicks and punches very often and watching my tummy move is every day entertainment. I love how much Daniel has bonded with our little one already and I know he'll be a great dad. I definitely think that this experience has brought our relationship to a whole new level. And while we didn't think that we would become parents before we celebrated our first anniversary, we are really looking forward to meeting our beautiful baby this spring.