Another Month Gone

Well another month has gone by. And a crazy month it was. We still haven't made it home (obviously), but are still hoping to soon. If things work out we'll be home for Christmas, but I can't make any promises yet. We'll know more in the next few days.
Anyway, like I said, November was kinda crazy. We spent a lot of time fighting with the Army about Ben's convalescent leave. His doctor extended it from 28 to 60 days, but apparently Army Regs say it can't be more than 30 with out the General's approval. We thought we had it figured out, but then it really wasn't and it was just a mess. And to make it worse, his first day back in uniform he rolled his ankle which caused him to twist his back which caused both his leads to move. So now not only do they not hit where they need to, they cause pain in other areas if he turns his spinal cord stimulator on. Guess who is always hurting and having surgery again... Surgery is scheduled for January 6th to go in and adjust the leads. Silly me for thinking we were done with surgeries. Needless to say they haven't started the med board yet. They'll have to wait until he is recovered from his next surgery, so we're looking at March before they get started. Which means it will probably be next November/December before we are done with the Army. That can be seen as good and bad. It's more paychecks, but longer that we have to put up with all the stupid stuff. It's a bit frustrating, but what do you do?!
We celebrated our 6th anniversary on the 21st. We went to lunch at Chili's and then to see Breaking Dawn (the new Twilight movie). It started out good. But as soon as they brought our lunch out Kaylin decided to scream and would not settle down. So we didn't get to eat lunch together. One of us ate while they other tried to calm her down, and then we switched. She was better during the movie. I fed her before it started and she slept through the whole thing. And that was about the extent of our celebrating. Nothing super special, which is alright.
Thanksgiving wasn't very exciting either. The battallion provided a "dinner" (which was really a lunch) which was just alright. It didn't have the same feel as when you eat with family and friends. The day over all was a bit depressing to be honest. We had been hoping to be home, but that didn't work out. And we don't really have any friends here to get together with. That's been one of the hardest things about living here. Things have been so crazy since we moved here that we really havn't gotten to know anyone well enough to hang out with and invite over for holidays and such. But that's another story. So anyway, yeah. Thanksgiving wasn't too special. We had lunch there then went to Wal-Mart. Super exciting, I know.
Kaylin continues to do well and grow. She's getting tall and is over 13 lbs now. She loves to talk and has the cutest giggle. I can't help but smile and laugh when she starts laughing. It's one of those things that just makes everything better, even when I'm having the crappiest of days. She is starting to get a couple teeth. It seems really early to me, but it could just be that I'm not ready for my baby to be that big yet. So she's been a bit cranky from that. We found out Friday that she also has Hand Foot and Mouth Disease. We noticed a rash on the soles of her feet earlier in the week and it wasn't going away. So we stopped by Pede's to schedule an appointment, but they just squeezed her in right then and there. I have no idea where she got it from. She doesn't go to daycare or anything and we don't leave the house all that often. But the doctor says pretty much every kid gets it by the age of 2. And she's just got a real mild case. She really hasn't had a fever. And if she has, we've been treating it with the tylenol we've been giving her for her teeth. She's been eating just fine for the most part. Yesterday and today she's gone a bit longer in between feedings, but still eats well. She still has plenty of wet diapers so we don't have to worry too much about her being dehydrated. So all in all we don't have to be too concerned and just have to wait for it to run it's course. Since it's a virus we can't really treat it. Only treat the symptoms. It typically only lasts 7-10 days, and it's been almost a week, so she should be about over it. It has made her more cranky though. She will start crying and screaming for no apparent reason, and be near impossible to console. It's wearing me out honestly. She may scream when I hold her, but she screams even more when Dad tries to hold her. She has been very much a momma's girl lately. She won't cuddle with daddy when she's tired. But as soon as mommy has her she'll be out. And I better not even think about putting her down if she's asleep. She does fine at night about sleeping in her own bed, but likes to be held during the day. So between taking care of her, taking care of a hurting daddy, and trying to keep the house in one piece, I'm starting to wear down. Ben does what he can to help out, but even that is limited because of how bad he hurts. Hence why I could really use a vacation. Everyone seems to think that living in Hawaii is a vacation. Try living my life for a little while and you'll see it's no vacation. But we make the best of it and continue to push on. I don't know how I make it through each day, but I do.
So although it was a crazy month, it is another one that we survived. I have so much to be thankful for. I've been blessed with a wonderful husband who does everything in his power to provide for us. I have an amazing daughter who even when she is spitting up and peeing all over everything still makes me smile and melts my heart. I have awesome parent's who I can call at any time I need, even if for no other reason than to just talk so I don't go crazy. I live in Hawaii, which is absolutely beautiful and awesome. We have an awesome ward family at church, who not only brought us meals for a week and a half after Kaylin was born, but also another week after Ben's last surgery and they are ready to do it again after his next one. We have our health, for the most part anyway. And just overall, very blessed.