Life is good.

2 years ago today I was standing in front of all my family and friends pleading vowing to be Jareths wife.  At that time I could not have imagined what adventure these last 24 months could have brought me!  Since getting married I have had some of the most wonderful life changing experiences.  Jareth and I survived a torturous 28 hr drive have moved from our safe haven of Fargo/Minnesota to explore the DEEP south.  Jareth commissioned into the Army Reserve from the MN National Guard committing another 8 years to the Army. We made it through a healthy, happy pregnancy to introdue Minka Mae into the world.  We were able to learn to be parents.  We made some great memories in Alabama before I took a leap of faith with a new position and moved Minka and me to Colorado.  Minka has seen 7 states, learned to crawl, babbles constantly and loves to eat everything!  Jareth successfully made it through SERE, dunker, academics, tests, PT, simulators, studying and flying to graduate as a Blackhawk pilot.  We have shared nine months with the most precious gift we could have ever received and I cannot wait to see what the next two years will bring us.  I am sure it is beyond my wildest dreams.

I wouldn't want to live this crazy life with anyone but Mr. M and M&M.

Happy Anniversary!

A Day in the Life of a Single Mom

Let me preface this by saying how much appreciation  I have for "real" single moms out there.  Boy am I thankful this is temporary for me.  Although I am grateful for my situtaion in many ways and probably would not change it if I had the opportunity and am so happy to see Minkas cute smile everyday...sometimes...this kinda blows. 

Here is a breakdown of todays frustrating nightmare adventure:

• 5:00 AM Hear noises from Minka's room.  Praying she goes back to bed.  No noise.  Shove my face back into the pillow and force myself back to sleep.
• 6:25 Hear joyful babbling from Minka's room.  Groan as I go to get her.
• We play and she is as happy as ever as I try to keep my eyes open.
• 8:00 Naptime.  THANK YOU! It could not have come soon enough.
• 9:00 Hear Minka playing.  Speed shower so I can rescue her while she is still happy.  She plays as I get us both ready.
• 10:00 We head out the door.  It's chilly.  We are dressed in pants and longsleeves.
• Get a LOT of groceries and other items needed for the week. 
• 11:30 Get home and realize there are about two trips needed to get all the bags inside. Wait.  I need to carry Minka up and down the gigantic flight of stairs and across the parking lot each time.  Four loads.
• I am sweating. Minka is tired and crabby. 
• 12:00 Naptime for Minka.  I run around the house throwing in a load of laundry, starting dishwasher, put away groceries, clean up from breakfast that was left out. Sit down, hear Minka.  Crap.
• Minka gets up and continues to play with fireplace (it has a marble slab in front of it and two glass doors Minka finds as a SUPER fun game.).  Pack up again to find a solution.
• 1:30 A kids store has a mat to cover the marble floor but no bench/bins/chairs to block off the doors and glass.  I put Minka in the stroller to walk to Bed Bath and Beyond because she is refusing her carseat these days. 
• When did it get to 85 degrees?  Sweating.
• Find two small ottomans that will work in bed bath and beyhond.  Stare at Minka in stroller and two ottomans I need to carry.  Hmm...
• Head back to the kids store, buy mat. Load Minka into car.  Why is the AC not cold??
• Go back into Bed Bath and Beyond.  Get two ottomans.  Minkas hungry and screaming.  Find her a bottle.  Load the two ottomans and Minka back into car. 
• Head Home.
• Minka, diaper bag, two ottomans, and mat....how many trips to get it all inside?  Now its like a horribly unfun game that I need to win.  Two.  I can do it in two trips.
• Trip number one complete. Is it the thin Denver air or the 60lb load I just hiked up the apartment that has stolen my breath? 
• Minka plays while I chug water, change into tank top and shorts and head back down with Minka in arms to get the last of our load. 
• The rest of the day was doing the next three loads of laundry, taking out the garbages, and playing with Minka. 
• I spared you the details of the normal things like 6 diaper changes, two oufit changes, a bath, two snacks and three meals. 
• I spent my free time writing out cards that should have been sent out a week ago, couponing (my new hobby), cleaning up the spaghetti Minka smeared on the white walls, table, floor, and chair, talking to my husband, calling a friend and now it is 9:30.  I need to sleep because we all know this all starts over again tomorrow bright and early!

Graduation

Jareth has finished flight school!  They conclude each cycle with a graudation ceremony recognizing each soldier and his achievement with the pinning of their wings on their ASUs (Army Service Uniforms).  I was honored to pin on Jareth's wings! 

Here is Jareth's graduating class.  The ceremony is held in the aviation museum thus the helicopters all over in this picture.  This includes graduates from the Apache, Chinook, Blackhawk, and Kiowa courses.  Each graduation has about 50-60 graduates and Ft. Rucker has graduation every two weeks.

Minka did so well during the ceremnoy and was SO cute in her dress and bow!

 Had to share the picture with the cute shoes :)

 Jareth's parents were able to make the trip down here to see his graduation!

Congratulations to Jareth on being one of the newest Army aviators!

Family Day

The day before graduation we were invited to Family Day to explore a Blackhawk for ourselves and quiz Jareth on his new expertise.

A line of UH-60M Blackhawks. 

 Minka was enjoying the day with us.

It was nice to be reunited with my hubby!

Jareth with his parents enjoying the beautiful weather. 

Jareth has finished the UH-60 Blackhawk course.  He will stay in training for another 6 weeks for the Mike course to be certified to fly the more technological advanced UH-60M Blackhawk model.  Below is a picture of the dash of a Mike Model Blackhawk, equipped with touchscreen controls.

Our group in front of the Blackhawk.

One of my all time favorite Minka pictures!

Would you fly with this pilot/co-pilot pair?



Sweet Home Alabama

Minka and I were able to spend a whole week in Alabama with Jareth.  This was some much needed family time and I am so happy we were able to enjoy every minute together!! 

                                  What happened to my little girl??  She looks huge!

Being silly at lunch. 

So excited to ride on Daddy's shoulders! 



What Do I Do?

So we should all know I work in Aurora, CO (suburb of Denver) while I have Minka and Jareth finishes flight school in Alabama. But you may not know what I do that brought me here in the first place.

Some details have been omitted or changed to protect the privacy of confidential information.   Thus ensuring I still have a paycheck after I post this :)

The company that I work for has offices all over the world.  We are one of the worlds largest privately owned companies in the world and is headquarted in Minnesota with a large base of our business done in the United States.  When I worked from Fargo and in Alabama I worked for one office and I transferred to another part of the company when I took the offer in Aurora.  My work is project based with a duration of about a year.  (which means in about 8 months it will be time for yet another change.  I think I live to make my life challenging.  I wouldn't have it any other way.)  So when I took the offer from the location in Aurora, I had a lot of learning to do.

Here is a quick story for the basis of the project in the first place.

Back in the 1940's our company was started as a single business.  Over the years the business grew and grew to purchase other types of businesses, acquire new assets, expand their market and merge with other companies.  Over time managing all of the data has become less than desirable.  The company has decided to consolidate our information into one main system and ensure each part of the business is true to the company name and is held to the same standards to yield higher returns and increase our stance in the market.

Because the company is so large it will take years to roll this out but we are attacking it one chunk at a time. It is my job to learn the business in Aurora the best I can as it is run today while learning the new way of operations.  I am also trying to learn a new city, how to do this single parent thing, a little spanish and support my husband from across the country.  Let's just say my plate is full.  Overflowing.

 I landed in Aurora with three suticases, a backpack, a diaper bag, an infant in her carseat on a huge stroller. I went to the address I was instructed to and found where I would be living (they did a good job on this one thank the Lord!).  Work started the day after I arrived and my life has been BUSY ever since.

I do have spare time on the weekends, when Minka is staying with family, or when she is in bed for the night.  But by that time I want to rot my brain with junky TV and avoid thinking if at all possible. 

I hope that helps you understand what my life is like everyday.  Oh yeah and I get to come home to the cutest baby in the world which makes everything else worth it.

What We Have Been Doing

Let's be honest.  I've been ignoring you.  Not anyone in particular but the task of "do a blog post" has been the last thing I have been motivated to do.

I don't have cute pictures for you today.  But I can update you on what Minka and my life has been like these past couple of weeks.

Life is busy.  I had to grab my calendar to even remember what has been happening since the last time I posted.

Minka has started clapping a lot.  When she gets excited and when she is proud of herself she claps.  It is adorable every single time.  Minka has her ninth month appt on the 23rd and I am so excited to see how much she has grown these past three months!  She is crawling everywhere.  She pulls herself up and is starting to take a few steps here and there as she holds on.  She tests herself everyday to see how long she can stand and how well she can balance.  She is babbling a lot more and loves to hear her voice.  She is giggling so much more and it is the cutest sound in the world.  Her hair wings out at her ears now.  She still has two teeth.  She is wearing 9 month-12 month clothes.  She is eating everything!  This tiny little girl is a carnivore!  She is starting to cuddle much more and is a fabulous sleeper. 

Jareths Mom has been staying with me in Denver to help watch Minka while I work and recently Minka went to Wyoming for two weeks.  She loved all the attention and time she got to spend with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle.  I was able to visit over the weekend and we explored the beautiful mountains.  (pictures to come)

I have Minka back now and we are going to Alabama to visit Daddy tomorrow for a whole week!  We are SO excited.  The distance is starting to wear us all down a little bit and we are very grateful we can spend this time with him because it is a very exciting week!  Jareth is graduating flight school!! (Even though he still has to stay in AL for awhile longer to do another course) We are so proud and he has done so great for the past 14 months!  We are also going to be able to do a flight simulator and family day where we get to explore a Blackhawk up close!  PLUS we are ready for some sunshine :)

I hope to have more posts for you soon!