Christmas Eve Tradition

Christmas Eve Gingerbread Cookies (for Santa!)
Yum. Savvy even participated!

27 weeks with crib and changer!

Room is coming along... Crib (Thanks to Joe's mom) and Changer (Thank-you Dad and Becky!) are all set up. We have a little more touch up painting to do and I'm going to start putting away all of her clothes (Thank you Mitchell and Blank family).

25.5 weeks cooked :)....and getting bigger!

Well... I am 25.5 weeks cooked! And I feel large. Savannah is measuring about 13 1/2 inches long, she weighs approximately 1 1/2 lbs. Savannah actually had her 6 month check up today. She is measuring on target. The doctor confirmed she was a girl ( thank god! ) and counted all her fingers and toes! Woohooo!

I'm not totally uncomfortable yet-but I do have my sore days. I think prenatal yoga has been helping a LOT. I was sad my 6 week session ended on Wednesday. I'll be happy to start it back up early Jan again. I did book a prenatal massage for Tuesdy. It was a gift I was holding on to from Daddy Steve and Becky from my birthday. The time seemed perfect.

That's really it from us. We're done shopping, wrapping, sending and have a full schedule of holiday visitors ( We're not going anywhere for the month of December!). I finished menu planning and grocery shopping for all of December- so we're enjoying our outdoor and indoor decorations with the family and friends we love.

6 months.... 3rd Tri- WOW

Wow! 24 weeks! 6 months! Whew!
3rd trimester.

Here we are! Things are good. Looking forward to the holidays. Getting big and I tire easily. Nose bleeds(although I hear they are normal) aren't that fun. Other then that- Life is good!

Can't wait to meet our little girl in March!
Samantha and Joe

22 Weeks Cooked!

Over the 1/2 way point! Whew!

We had maternity pictures taken at 20 weeks. We have pregnancy pictures scheduled again at 34 weeks. I've been trying to post them-but the files are too big! I'll try again later!

Things have been good. Belly is growing. Joe felt his VERY first kick last week. It was very excited. It was so strong and the look on his face was PRICELESS! She doesn't kick much but when she does- she's strong. I'm thinking SOCCER player. Which is great!

We spent two weeks ago in New York for the Peterson/West wedding. Beautiful day, Beautiful bride. We were really glad to be included in such a special day for them.

We have finally finished registering at Babies R Us. One more thing to check off our list! We're also glad to have made more progress on the nursery. Here is what it looks like with the border up:






xoxoxo
Joe,Samantha and Savannah(who is 22 weeks old this week!~)

More Room Renovations

And we're making progress. Becky came to help with Savannah's room. We are doing the lower part the dark purple and the higher part the light pink. We have a beautiful border that we are going to put up with Joe's Mom. More pictures soon!

Thanks for the help Becky!

xoxoxo
Samantha, Joe, Saavy

Savannah's Room Renovations

Joe and "Uncle" Josh patched up Savannah's ceiling yesterday evening so that we can start painting and getting her room ready over the coming months. They did a great job. Now a few more coats of mud, some sanding and some ceiling paint- Good as new!

More pictures of her room as we get it done....
xoxoxoxo
Joe, Sam and Savvy

It's a GIRL~

Savannah Grace LaCouture will be joining us around our due date in March!
We are very excited and plan to paint next Sat.

We'll post more pictures!
Samantha, Joe and Savy

18 week belly

Here is it - the 18 week old belly. Appointment on Thursday went well. Doppler picked up his/her heart beat at 150. Very normal. Also baby was down VERY low. This indicated(old wives tale) that it's a BOY. Who really knows though. Our Doc will tell us on December 10th. We can pay and go in town as early as November 2nd. We're not completely sure what we are going to do but we think we'll be going into town. Gives us an extra month to prepare.

You may also notice Samantha is missing about 8 inches of HAIR! I found an organic salon near the house and chopped it off. Since it was still falling out- I thought smaller pieces would be less depressing(And I was right!). Cut is easy and soft- and I truly love it even if I was worried. I haven't had my hair this short in a while! Joe claims it's very soccer mom"ish". At my instance for clarification- he back pedaled and claimed he meant.. " you know...the stylish soccer moms who are busy mom but still hot". Not sure if I buy it- but whatever. He's never been one for complimenting words.

That's all from us!
Samantha, Joe and the Baby (Who right now is the size of a turnip- until Monday when he/she will be the size of a green bell pepper)

A Special Project.

.
Here is the latest project, its small and not anything crazy but is one of the most important to me. Its a much better tobacco pouch, it should hold about three pipes full of tobacco. This project was made from some of the leather that my Great Grand Father had. By the time I came around he was not doing leather work anymore since his eye sight had degraded. My mother still talks about the coin purses he made out of leather with the hair still on. He did do a lot of wood working, and he forgot more then I could every learn about it. He built 13 of the 19 houses on the street he lived on. He lived in three of them, two were taken by the bank, the last one he got to keep. He ran two green houses and a good sized garden up until he died. His home also butted against a good track of woods with a brook going down the middle, what more could a young boy ask for? Some of my best memories as a child are getting out of school early on Wednesday, it was a half day when I was in grade school, and going there. It was free day care and it was great. Grandpa didn't talk a lot but when he did you listened, and he liked to show you how to do things once and then let you figure out how to do it from there. I never really watched TV as a kid, they didn't have cable and the outside was way more interesting. I know I get my love of learning from those times. Much to my wife chagrin I get my desire to try a bunch of new things from him too. I learned wood working, cement casting, figure carving, gardening, hunting, fishing, and the list goes on and on. I also learned a lot more. My work ethic comes from that time in my life. It's hard to stop weeding when the 70 something guy is there doing it with you. You can't really complain when something breaks because he would just take it as a challenge to fix..
Turns out you learn a lot about things when you take them apart to fix them. I get my love of quiet contemplation from him too, I think that's why I love motorcycles so much, I don't have a tree in my front lawn to sit under and just think, but I do have the bike. I know I got my love for apples from him. It just made me think that I miss him. I wish that he and BooBoo (That was what we all called my Great Grand Mother, that's a whole other post) could be here for me having a little one of my own. I remember how important they were in my life and all the great influences that I had growing up. I hope my kid gets that, the Navy life is going to make it hard. The soon to pop out kid will have a Great Grand Meme, so they won't totally miss out. Still its good to go back and think of those influences that got you where you are. I know he would be proud.
I also get my habit of walking around in stocking feet from him.
-Joe

Sam's New LEAF -Cooking

There are SO many things we're doing to get ready for little miracle- One is understanding that both Joe and I will have new roles.

Joe really wants me to be a SAHM. That is something that I don't want to do but before we got married I said that I could compromise and work less. That started a whole train of job/career switching and brought me to the wonderful world of contract work. Contract work I love- Inspiring High School students year round as a motivational speaker. This gives me the ability to have all holidays and the summers off! I've worked in a little boutique in Mystic to stay busy since we didn't have kiddos yet-but that will soon end(or decrease). The job with Making It Count allows me to have adult time, reconnect and network with the other speakers (about 280 of us in the US) twice a year at trainings and feel like I'm participating financially. We've eased into it and it's been great. It should be easy to co-op with another parent and be able to keep my same speaking schedule. Some months (September, January) are really busy and others(May,December) aren't. All in all - I'll only be away from my peanut a maximum of 15 hours a week. How blessed am I? It's like having that cake and eating it too! And Joe feels good about the compromise as well.

Well this little compromise I made two years ago has come to bite my little behind. We have realized that I will now be the chef of the house. I thought Gift buyer, card sender, laundry do"er", bill payer, finance manager...etc was enough. But after much thought and deliberation- We realized that chef will need to be added. Well, those who know me... You know this is VERY new uncharted territory for me. I am (of course) up for the challenge though. I got out cook books. I made lists. I made menus. I am diving in head first. (What other way do you dive in?).

And...so it has begun. Right now - I'll be making 4 "dinner" dishes and 1 dessert dish every week. We may add more in the future-but right now, this is what I am starting with. My new chef job started on Sunday(9/27). I had an assistant for my first day(he was really cute too!). I learned a lot. I'm actually really excited to provide for my family in this way too(Who would have thought!!!).

So my first main dish was Prosciutto, Spinach and Pasta Casserole. It was YUMMY. Not bad to make either. 25 minute prep. 25 minutes to cook.

Ingredients- 2 and 2/3 cup of dried pasta, 2 medium onions(thin wedges), 2 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1/2 tsp of anise seeds, 1/2 cup flour, 1 and 1/2 of chicken broth, 1/4 cup of grated parm cheese, 1 10 ounce pgk of chopped spinach (thaw and drain), 2 ounces or prosciutto, 1 medium tomato (seed and chop).

Cook Pasta and drain. Rinse with cold water.
Cook Onion and garlic in hot butter until onion is tender. Stir in flour and anise seeds. Add milk and chicken broth. Cook and stir until slightly bubbly and thickened. Stir in Parm Cheese(I added more then called for!). Stir in cooked pasta, spinach and prosciutto. Spoon mixture into 2 quart casserole dish.

Bake covered for 25 minutes at 350. Serve with chopped tomato (optional)

It smelled the house up something very YUMMY. When reheating -we've enjoyed it with some provolone cheese melted on top.






My first dessert dish was Brownie Pie. A little longer on the prep(40 minutes) and longer cook time(50 minutes). My husband is a chocolate nut- so this was a must for my first dessert.

Ingredients: (1/2 cup butter, 3 ounces of unsweetened chocolate, 1 single pie crust, 3 eggs(beaten), 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/2 cup of flour, 1 tsp of vanilla, hot fudge topping and 1 cup chopped walnuts(optional, hubs doesn't like them-so I didn't)

Filling First- Melt butter and chocolate in saucepan. Cool for 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 350. Prepare/Make/Roll out Pie Crust. Use 9 inch pan. Crimp edges
For Filling - Combine eggs, sugar, flour and vanilla. Stir in Chocolate mix
Pour Filling into pie crust. Back 50 minutes. Add fresh fruit or hot fudge sauce.
Yum

Khaki Ball 2009

Khaki Ball was a nice evening out filled with khakis and many different semi-formal cocktail dresses. This year it was held at the Mystic Marriott. The guest speaker was Big Al. He passed on some great words of wisdom and kept the speech short and sweet. And we're always proud when the CPO's raise enough money to make the entire night open bar. Joe was happily telling everyone he had a built in designated driver. The funny part was he was ready for bed after just three drinks. I guess since I haven't really drank anything lately, neither has he. And as we're not big drinkers to begin with...well.. Yeah. My husband was home and asleep by 11:30.

It's a wonderful evening steeped in tradition. A good time for the Chiefs to reconnect with each other. A great time to honor all of the new CPO's and welcome them to the mess. A fun time for wives to dance with one another. The best part is hearing the newly frocked CPO's sing the star spangled banner. We had a nice table. The picture is of Joe and I and then Joe and a long time friend of his- Labue.

Update - belly and leather!

Some of Joe's new projects. My quiver and his shield.

There is...(drum roll) my baby bump! 14.5 weeks and that's how big I am. Joe and I can't imagine 8 months. (side note: I had only left from 4:45-6:30 and then done a presentation in NY and drove home from NY when Joe took this picture- so I look like crap)

That's all for now!
xoxo
Joe, Sam and baby!

travels, babies and more!

Japan was wonderful. Exhausting with the time change- but we're back home and getting into the swing of things again (or trying to). We moved Dee in to Toyo University and aside from looking nervous- I think she was excited to start her year long journey. And we(Joe and I) are glad we got to visit and settle her in. Should be a great year for her. We're jealous!



This cutie above is our 13 week sonogram! They can never get the kiddos heartbeat with the Doppler- so I keep getting free sonograms- woohoo! (Although when they can't find the heartbeat, I freak out and start shaking)- nerve racking! We're so amazed with the difference the 8 week picture was to the 13 week picture though.

We decided to go ahead with the quad screen which will happen in 2 weeks. So prayers, fingers crossed - that it comes back fine and we don't have to make any decisions for further testing.

How our little monkey is growing:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

That's it for us. Oh, we did get some crappy news- Our doc only does the gender determination in the 25th week ( REALLY LATE- most get to find out week 18-week 20.) So, we won't be painting the room anytime soon- BUT we will be repairing that ceiling and getting the room as ready as possible until we CAN paint which now looks like late December.

More of Joe's talents

More of Joe's work. This is my belt for my dress. It's really pretty. You can't see how it will lace in the back- but it will be corset style. He did it all by hand- including the dye job~ It's a beautiful deep red. I love it.

We're getting our costumes together piece by piece and are totally excited. Joe is working on a shield for himself and then a quiver for me. We'll see where time brings us- and if there is some extra.. he may try a pair of shoes (Very difficult).

I'll post more as it he finishes.
xoxo
Samantha
P.S - I turn 27 in a few days- Whew!

Joe's third project

Have to brag about my talented husband - His leather working skills are just amazing.
This is his third project. They are bracers for his outfit for the LARP stuff we are doing this year. He made them and dyed them himself. I love them!

We have finally got the office/craft room finished- These bracers were actually completed in the craft room! The only thing we have left to do is pick out and hang curtains. I'll be glad when we are completely done- but I'm super satisfied with the progress we have made so far!

More to come!
Joe, Samantha and BABY BUMP :)

Life -- lately!

Things have been moving along. We're excited for the fall- so we can get into some of the LARP stuff we do. We're in the process of making our costumes right now. You can see the awesome shield Joe made himself this past month. He's working on bracers for himself and a quiver for me at the moment. We'll post pictures of us all dressed. I usually go with a corset style outfit- but the baby in the belly doesn't like tight spaces (Imagine that!)-so my outfit will be quite different this year!

We have almost completed the office renovation project. *sigh* We can't WAIT to be done. Joe has done most of it with the help of numerous family members -Uncle Steve, his Dad -etc! I am SO excited to have our crafting room/office put back together -which we plan to do this weekend! We'll try to get some pictures up. Next up is the ceiling replacement in the baby room. Sometimes it feels like it never ends.

I start speaking on the 25th and am REALLY excited to get back to the work that I love. Can't wait to motivate and inspire in High Schools.

That's it for now
Samantha, Joe and Baby Bump

Military Spouse

Saw this on another military wife blog- Had to repost!
I hope all you Military wives enjoy!
And all you civilians get a better understanding of all of us~

Samantha :)


Each one may look different and each is wonderfully unique, But this they have in common:

Lots of moving...
Moving...
Moving...
Moving far from home...
Moving two cars, three kids and one dog...all riding with HER of course.
Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house; Moving curtains that won't fit; Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.
Moving away from friends;
Moving toward new friends;
Moving her most important luggage: her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting...
Waiting for housing.
Waiting for orders.
Waiting for deployments.
Waiting for phone calls.
Waiting for reunions.
Waiting for the new curtains to arrive.
Waiting for him to come home,
For dinner...AGAIN!

They call her 'Military Dependent', but she knows better:
She is fiercely In-Dependent.

She can balance a check book;
Handle the yard work;
Fix a noisy toilet;
Bury the family pet...

She is intimately familiar with drywall anchors and toggle bolts.
She can file the taxes;
Sell a house;
Buy a car;
Or set up a move...
.....all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.
She reinvents her career with every PCS; Locates a house in the desert, The Arctic, Or the deep south.
And learns to call them all 'home'.
She MAKES them all home.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty...
They leap into:
Decorating,
Leadership,
Volunteering,
Career alternatives,
Churches,
And friendships.
They don't have 15 years to get to know people.
Their roots are short but flexible.
They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other:
They connect over coffee,
Rely on the spouse network,
Accept offers of friendship and favors.
Record addresses in pencil...

Military Wives have a common bond:
The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands; his commitment is unique.
He doesn't have a 'JOB'
He has a 'MISSION' that he can't just decide to quit...
He's on-call for his country 24/7.
But for her, he's the most unreliable guy in town!
His language is foreign
TDY
PCS
OPR
SOS
ACC
BDU
ACU
BAR
CIB
TAD
And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.
She is the long- distance link to keep them informed; the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments:
She wants to wring his neck;
Dye his uniform pink;
Refuse to move to Siberia;
But she pulls herself together.
Give her a few days,
A travel brochure,
A long hot bath,
A pledge to the flag,
A wedding picture,
And she goes.
She packs.
She moves.
She follows.

Why?
What for?
How come?
You may think it is because she has lost her mind.
But actually it is because she has lost her heart .
It was stolen from her by a man,
Who puts duty first,
Who longs to deploy,
Who salutes the flag,
And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military Husband, she will remain his military wife.
And would have it no other way.

--Author Unknown

Our big news!

We had this amazing moment with the above picture on July 10th

Hello!

Now that we have made it almost to our 8 week mark(it was hard)and had our first two appointments with sonograms(all is well) - We wanted to let you know that we are expecting our first child. We are very excited, nervous, anxious,scared..etc etc!

So far, So good. I have been VERY tired. Exhausted. I hate it. And I crave all kinds of things- lately cheese, grape popsicles, V8 juice and pickles wrapped in turkey. Belly is starting to grow and we will post belly pictures as it gets bigger.

Due date is March 22nd. We will be finding out the sex and WILL share
that with all of you in our 19th week in early November as long as baby
cooperates for the sonogram! Today in the sonogram we saw the tail. Personally I am hoping it's a penis. (Although we are wanting a healthy babe, send us all the boy dust you can!)

Love,
Joe, Samantha and Baby LaCouture

Wow- AUGUST!

Well.. August is here. We are shocked.

Lots going on in the LaCouture household. We have finally replaced the ceiling in the office (from the water damage during the last deployment)- Which has been quite the project. We figured we'd do a lot while we were in there. We ripped out the closet to make a bigger room(and craft storage I found in a magazine). We also are in the process of stripping the wall paper. Well that got some water damage too- So we will have to re-plaster those walls before we paint. A lot of sanding involved. I can feel it. Mr Chief Electrician Joe LaCouture did re-wire for a light too. Right now we are mid-project and it's pretty crazy. Our house is messy and dusty... And (drum roll) we have ordered food twice in two days. Yes, that is right- TWICE. Pizza last night and Chinese is on the schedule for this evening. Joe might want to start this project over just for the joy of take out TWICE in such a short span of time!! Joe will post pictures shortly.

Quick shout out to some of our help this week:

Eric Doe - For help moving a few big items out of the office
Stephanie Peterson - The fantastic and cheerful taxi service
Chris Ewing-Chow - Thanks for the help hanging the dry wall ceiling.
Dad LaCouture, Liz and Dee - Ah, so nice when family is visiting when you're mid project. I swear we didn't plan this guys. Thanks for everything!

Speaking of family- Dee is with us for the week and I am psyched. We have a few plans. We don't intend to make her do our projects all week. On the agenda- nothing in stone- but berry picking, relaxing, some shopping....and mostly just getting excited for the three of us to travel to Japan in early September. Dee got into Toyo University in Japan- Joe and I are taking her out there and making sure she is settled. We are all so excited!

As for the rest of August- A few plans. Joe's mom got a new puppy- Jack. He's an adorable Dobie who we are planning to meet next weekend when we go to Maine. We are also expecting a visit from two of our favorite people- Auntie Gail and Uncle Steve mid August. They are going to help us finish a few projects and do some well deserved visiting. We haven't seen them in over a year(When we drove to Chicago). We're super excited about that visit.

That's it from us!
Stay cool everyone and enjoy August!
Joe and Sam

Back from paradise!

Cabo was beautiful. What a great place! The resort was beautiful. The weather was amazing. In the high 90's - but not ONE bit of humidity.

Joe got me the beautiful ruby and diamond ring while we were there - Aren't I lucky?

The place was beautiful. Great company. GREAT food. Everything was great :)
Great, Great, Great!

xoxo
Joe and Samantha