Our New Normal + Saying Goodbye to my Grandma

Life in Corpus

We're overdue for another blog post! It's been a hard couple of weeks around here. I had to go home for a week to attend my grandmother's funeral and then Mike and I had a week of trying to re-find our normal routine down here, and now Mike is in Florida this week for work. It's just been tough trying to find routine in the midst of a lot of travel, having a lot of feelings coming up (for me) from being home, and then (also me) still coping with a lot of free time on my hands.

I have at least found a volunteer opportunity that I'm taking advantage of one day a week on Fridays. It's with a local non-profit that helps connect members of the community to education and job opportunities, and I'm actually going to be giving two presentations for them during the month of July, which is nice! I also have a library card, a prenatal yoga class that I go to once a week, a gym routine to keep up with (hopefully!), and I've been doing slightly annoying around-the-house things like dealing with (messed up) furniture deliveries and beginning our claims process for items lost/damaged during our move (I should definitely write a post about what we learned through the PCS process, but I'm still learning right now!). 

Mike gets back late tomorrow night and then I'm hoping we can start to make this place feel like home soon. (Once we do, I'll share more pictures.)

In the meantime, here are some picture of everyday life in Corpus!

Crazy/pretty clouds.

23 weeks pregnant...(I'm 25 weeks now, which is how long it takes me to blog haha)

View from our balcony!

Mike's first trip to Whataburger which was founded in Corpus Christi.

View from bedroom window where we have our bike set up!

At an event with Mike's coworkers, which was also our first time at the beach.

I got tired of standing, so I sat down and enjoyed the sunset.

Sunset!!

Lots of pretty skies.

Rupert hanging out in the toy my family gave us for Ava (used to be Ashton's). It's now his favorite thing.

Oh, he has also claimed the changing table as his own.

Our brand new table that was made my one of Mike's Woodberry friends!

Rupert playing....

and then attacking!

Traveling Home & Back

My grandma (Nova Eliza Yates (maiden name: Leonard) was born in Grundy, VA which is in the Appalachian mountains in Southwestern Virginia where the accents run thick! Her father was a coal miner. I know that she met my grandfather in the Northern Virginia area when buses of girls were basically shipped North to find work & meet husbands. She worked as a secretary for the Navy and then retired. They lived in Woodbridge, VA while my mom and her sister were growing up, but most of my memories of them are from spending summers and trips at their house in Davis, WV where they had retired. 

My grandma was a simple, kind, and quiet country woman. When we were little, we'd poke fun at her for eating onions like apples (straight out of their plentiful garden), never throwing away plastic containers (always re-using them for leftovers so you could never tell what was actually inside of the container), thinking that packaged food never expired (I remember her trying to convince me a hard marshmallow just has to soften in my hot chocolate for a bit haha), and never sitting down when the rest of us were eating (always trying to fix things for others). I also remember her for her very southern eating habits: cornbread with milk, making drop biscuits, lots of greens cooked with fat, and using lard to cook. She loved my grandfather too. He was the clown of the two of them, a musician and jokester. She was always stable, worried about everyone, and only let her anger show if we had endangered ourselves or wasted something precious. 

My grandfather passed about 10 years ago from dementia and that is what my grandma also passed away from. She did okay for a couple of years after he left, but had lived with my mom for much of the past several years when she needed more support. Seeing my mom care for her was a blessing in my life. In many ways, it was like their initial roles in this world were reversed, but in such a sad situation, I thought it was a bit of beauty.....to love someone so much that you would show such care for them even knowing you will eventually say goodbye. But I suppose we will all eventually say goodbye to each other.

Below are some of the favorite pictures I came across of her and my grandfather over the week!

At our home in Castleton, VA (I was just a toddler)

My grandfather loved building miniature doll houses.

On the swings in WVA. I believe that's me on the left!

One of my favorite pictures because I think it sums up their personalities so well.

A recent picture of her at my mom's house.

That's me! And that's her traditional hairdo!

Me again with both of them

Traveling Home & Back

Anyway, it was wonderful to be able to spend some time with my family and here are some pictures from that trip.

There was no toning down Ashton's 3.5 year old energy!

Loved being able to take a long walk outside in a place that I knew!

Here he is wanting to make wishes in the fountain.

And this is where I finally got him to eat some of his ice cream.

(Watching a bubble maker in the distance.)

Something I created for my parents when I was little. I don't know where my picture of the other side went, but it was a very nicely colored coloring book page!

I was SO happy to be able to see Kelly and Alex for a bit while I was home! Here we are meeting for dinner in Fairfax.

Sunrise at Houston airport after I had to spend the night due to missing a connecting flight. I did lots of adulting on this trip (with Mike's help obviously) including doing my first flight transfers by myself and first rental car! (I know this isn't a big deal to other people, but I hate flying, so it was big to me!)

Flying back into Corpus and I even got brave enough to take a picture out of the window!

Sunrise leaving Houston

Time To Cook

Another perk of my funemployment time right now is having lots of time to cook (and also take pictures of what I eat when I've impressed myself). Here are some things I took pictures of!

I do think I've gotten quite good at fried egg sandwiches.

Steel cut oats with strawberries and peaches, because why not if you have the time?!

Mediterranean nachos (pita chips with feta, yogurt sauce, cucumber salad, roasted chickpeas, etc.)

Breakfast tacos

This weekend, we're headed to a work cookout for Mike and I might make Mike take some 25 week pregnancy pictures of me! We also have to buy a new dresser, since our deliver was botched this week (don't worry, I got full refund).

Pregnancy Thus Far...22 weeks today!

FINDING OUT

Mike and I were incredibly excited to learn I was pregnant. We had JUST started trying and I was prepared to spend a long time due to a history of ovarian surgery, so we were a bit surprised when at the end of January, I got a very faint line on a pregnancy test. I hadn't gotten my period yet and knew we had plans to travel to Williamsburg that weekend to celebrate 30th birthdays with some of our college friends. Obviously, there would be a lot of drinking, so I took the test to see if I'd be able to partake. The positive line was so faint that Mike did not believe I was pregnant. I also didn't believe it because, while I hadn't gotten my period yet, I had severe cramping that suggested I would get it any day. Later I would learn that the cramping is a sign of pregnancy. Anyway, I took another test right before we left for the trip and the line had gotten darker. That's when we knew. I was about 4.5 weeks at this point.

We had to tell a select group of friends that weekend because they would have known anyway with me not drinking and being weird. I was not prepared for the extreme fatigue to hit me that weekend, but it was a sign of things to come.

FIRST TRIMESTER Weeks 4 - 13

Feeling: There were lots of physical symptoms during the first trimester. I had lots of cramping initially that worried me. I did not throw up at all, but I was nauseous a lot. It felt like motion sickness or constantly being hungover. Even though nausea is not fun, the worst part BY FAR was the fatigue. I had been drinking a ton of coffee up until finding out I was pregnant, and because you're supposed to avoid caffeine while pregnant, I quit coffee and tea cold turkey. That on top of my body making a baby meant I basically wanted to nap all the time at my desk. I would go to bed at 8pm. I was a zombie during the day. And two mornings a week, I had personal training clients at 6am so I have no clue how I kept waking up for that!

Feelings: I was definitely not prepared for all of the emotions that would arise after finding out I was pregnant. Initial excitement was quickly followed by a feeling of panic and anxiety about the fact that my body was no longer my own and from from fears of miscarriage in the first trimester. I realized I knew far less than I thought I knew. I felt unprepared and had tons of scary information at my disposal. 

We also found out early in the first trimester (around  8 weeks) that I was a carrier for the Cystic Fibrosis gene AND that I tested positive for toxoplasmosis. What that meant was that we needed to find out if Mike was a carrier for CF as well and WHEN I acquired toxoplasmosis. If before pregnancy, it wasn't a big deal.

There were a lot of doctor's appointments for testing and re-testing my blood and a lot of waiting for Mike's results to come back. Needless to say, I was not enjoying pregnancy at this point. We ended up finding out the first week of April that Mike was not a CF carrier and finding out at the end of April that I acquired toxoplasmosis prior to pregnancy. WHEW. 

Craving: When I was feeling nauseous, only certain foods sounded appetizing. Pasta, cheese, pasta sauce, grilled cheese, and pizza were everything. I remember distinctly ordering a small Bertucci's margarita pizza after work and how perfect it tasted. 

Clothes: I felt 'fluffy' very quickly, so I mostly wore mostly loose tops and nothing fitted. In the mornings, I felt like I would look "normal" and, by the evening, I would feel like I looked "pregnant."

Doing: I really leaned on my support network during this season of uncertainty when not a lot of people knew I was pregnant yet. I was so very fortunate to have another expecting mom a couple of months ahead of me on my team at work and she listened to all of my worries and kept me grounded. Mike helped me to keep perspective as well. 

I did not work out at all during the first trimester. I think I managed to go to one BodyPump class, but I was so tired most of the time that I couldn't even think about moving more in my free time.

2ND TRIMESTER Weeks 14-28

Feeling: Once we found out all of our tests looked good, I started to really relax into pregnancy. And now that our move is done, I feel like I can start to enjoy it! I'm at 22 weeks today and for the past week or so, I've been able to feel Ava move! This is my favorite part of pregnancy thus far. I can even see her move my tummy sometimes. 

Feelings: I still have some anxiety (mostly about Zika virus spreading to South Texas at some point this summer), but I am focusing on adjusting to our new life in Texas. I am more excited than scared. At my 20 week appointment, we found out we're having a girl, and I think knowing that really helped me connect with her and look forward to meeting her. When Mike and I saw Wonder Woman this weekend, we got excited realizing out little girl is going to grow up in a world with lots of strong female role models.

Craving: I have not had any severe cravings. Sometimes I get cravings for meat. I still love tomatoes and cheese, but also melons, fruit, and water. Gotta stay hydrated during these Texas summers!

Clothes: I did buy a couple of maternity clothes from Target, but have mostly been living in leggings and tunic shirts or dresses since I'm not currently working.

Doing: I am back to working out regularly at our apartment complex's gym. I also found a prenatal yoga class that I love! I've been cooking a ton and looking for some volunteer or part-time/temp job opportunities.

GOAL: Enjoying the rest of pregnancy

My goal for the next 18 weeks is to enjoy as much of pregnancy and the time that I have left with my little one inside of me. My worries aren't disappearing. Zika virus could still show up this summer. I'm constantly going to be feeling new discomforts in my body. And we have the hottest part of the TX summer left to make it through (which I'm told is August). However, I'm going to strive to enjoy each day by working out regularly, going to the pool at our apartment complex, getting out into the community every day, wearing clothes that make me feel good, and opening up to other people about the both the highs and lows of pregnancy.

Bump pic at the gym. I'm horrible at taking pictures of myself, but am hoping Mike will help me take more pictures once I'm bigger.

Picture of Ava! Her head on the right:)

Southbound Road Trip

On our drive down to Corpus we drove through 8 states in 5 days: VA, NC, SC, GA, AL, MS, LA, TX and had stops in 4 cities: Burlington, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston. Mike and I have clear distinctions between out strengths when traveling. I am great at making sure we take walking breaks, hydrate, making sure we have snacks, and picking places for us to eat dinner each night. Mike is great at picking awesome hotels, driving downtown in new places, and going along with whatever weird needs or plans I have. 

I initially thought we would be bored on our long trip, but it actually went by super fast. I think this is because we broke it up into 5 days AND I insisted on a walking/bathroom break every hour and a half where we would also normally switch drivers....if only I could try the same strategy with pregnancy! As you drive South, the weather started to get really hot and walking outside was not as appealing. Solution? Wal-Mart! There are a ton of Wal-Marts in the South, so there was never a shortage of exits we could take. I would do a few laps around the Supercenter and also grab a Fage yogurt for a snack. Mike would check out the electronics section because that keeps him happy. And bathrooms!

Anyway, the photos below will take you on our journey to Corpus Christi!

ATLANTA

I had never been to Atlanta before and Mike had never been to the ATL aquarium which we luckily had time to check out when we got into the city.

Sunset view from our hotel room.

At some point leaving the city, we hit 100,000 miles!

NEW ORLEANS

I had also never been to New Orleans. Mike got us a hotel right near French quarter, so we were able to spend lots of time exploring by walking. We were even able to get dinner with Beau's mom, Bunny, that evening at a creole/cajun restaurant.

Creaole/Cajun spice store

Crepe snack before dinner

Beignets from Cafe Du Monde (I've been avoiding overconsumption of sweets throughout pregnancy, but Mike convinced me this was an exception that had to be made)

A street performer who I made Mike go give money too because I was too scared he would move and scare me....Mike is the best haha

I did find a healthy restaurant in French Quarter called "Meals from the Heart"....loved it!

Mike's crabcake benedict

HOUSTON

 Houston was a really cool city (although a LOT bigger than I expected).

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of Houston while we were there, but I did get this cool picture of Texas countryside while driving:)

CORPUS CHRISTI

When we finally got to Corpus, we had to wait to check into out apartment, so we went to a local food truck to grab lunch.

I got an avocaco/egg/sriracha sandwich while Mike had a smoothie

View from our apartment after we finally got in!

We were (fortunately) able to get our stuff delivered late that night (I think it was midnight before we finally get out bed set up) and, while I hated not being able to move boxes, I got really good at opening them.

All we had to do now is to wait for Rupert to get there the next day!

My amazing sister picked up Rupert (with Ashton in tow) and got him on the plane for Corpus Christi. Because I was so stressed about Rupert's travel, Mike took the role of being point of contact with Court the entire time, so that I could keep from getting caught up in the travel details.

And then we got him!

And he loves the new apartment! So much carpet for him to run on and plenty of windows to look through.

We also had another new addition to the family since arriving in Corpus.....meet "Corpus Coopsti". Corpus Christi is not a great city for public transportation or uber, so we knew that if we ever had two places to be in the same day, we would need separate cars. Mike obviously set to work researching solutions as soon as we got our stuff more settled. He found a guy online trying to downsize and get rid of one of his two cars....one of those being a Mini. In case you didn't know, Mike has had a thing for Minis for a several years and this is the first car he's ever had the opportunity to by himself, so he was very excited.

Corpus Coopsti

I can't believe how much has happened so far this month! At the beginning of this month, I was still working for GW and now I'm exploring the stay-at-home life until I figure out my next move. We're now living in our own place for the first time, getting used to having our own refrigerator! washer/dryer! dishwasher! kitchen!

One of the benefits of being stay-at-home for now is more time to blog, so hoping to keep this more regularly updated. On to June!

Kelsey