Top Ten Tuesday

I don't do too many blog hops and link parties but this one seemed fun and fairly easy. All I have to do is come up with 10 random facts about myself.  (I'll probably be kicking myself for saying that when I get to #8 and can't come up with any other interesting facts.)

Link up here

Anywho, let's get on with it, shall we?

1. I grew up Amish. Dresses, no electricity, horse and buggy, all of it.
2. I am more terrified of bugs, snakes, and other cold blooded creatures than I let on to be. They're gross, ya'll!
3. Pizza used to be my favorite food. Now, I'm really starting to dislike it.
4. I am way more concerned with what others think of me than I should be.
5. Even though I ran the mile and two mile races for track in high school, I have always and still do hate running.
6. Also, I hate working out.
7. I LOVE babies! The new (under 6mo) baby stage is my absolute favorite time!
8. My husband and I are complete opposites in almost every aspect but are somehow still perfect together.
9. I hate seafood of any kind. Can't even stand the smell of it!
10. Don't ever ask me what my favorite food, movie, song, etc etc are because I can't ever come up with an answer.

There. That wasn't so bad. See, now you know all these useless facts about me. Go ahead and write your own.

My UBP13 Party Post

I'm joining in on the Ultimate Blog Party 2013 for the first time! Welcome to my blog. I'm so glad you took the time to drop by!

First off, let me introduce myself and what I and this blog are all about... I shall try and keep this short.

I started this blog in 2010 while my husband was serving 18 months, yes, 18 months in Iraq. Unfortunately, I never kept up with it until January of 2012. That was the month we started our journey to become parents for the third time. So let me go back in time a bit...

My husband and I met while stationed together (I was AF, he was Army) and quickly hit it off. We had quite the whirlwind relationship and were married shortly after in July 2005.

Aww Look at us so young and in love!

 We both knew we wanted kids and decided not to wait very long. January 2007, our beautiful daughter joined our family during my husband's first deployment. He was in Afghanistan until December of 2007 and the next month we moved to our current location in southern Arizona.

We quickly became pregnant with baby #2 (we don't mess around taking our time with anything) and he joined the family in September of 2008.

Fast forward to November of 2009 and Gabe leaves for 18 months in Iraq. That was not an easy time for our family but we made it through and came out stronger in the end. We started trying for baby #3 right away. It didn't happen and in January of 2012, we met up with a fertility Dr. After months of treatments, worrying, and letdowns, we became pregnant! TODAY, April 4th, is actually my due date so you're coming here at just the right time! Did I also mention that both my husband and I just signed up to go back to school? Things are about to get crazy in this household!

This blog was created more for myself and our family to document our life (since I'm so bad about scrapbooking and keeping up with the baby books!).  I'm passionate about my family, pregnancy, birth, and breastfeeding. I keep it mainly focused on the family life aspect but you will see the other topics creep in once in a while too.

I hope I haven't bored you to death yet and you're still here. If you're interested, I'd love to have you stick around and join me on this adventure we call life!

20 Questions

I love doing and reading these types of posts because you can learn about others and others can learn new things about you. So here's 20 questions for you to get to know me better.

What is your favorite way to spend a Saturday? I'd say spending the day together as a family watching movies, relaxing, going out to eat... Pretty much a day where we're together and having fun.

List your top 3 favorite TV shows. We don't have Cable or satellite so we stick with Netflix and Hulu. I will watch Dancing With the Stars and American Idol on the computer though. I also love Up All Night with Christina Applegate and Will Arnett.

Would you rather be in pictures or take them? Definitely the one taking the picture!

Why do you blog? Living across the country from family and friends, blogging has been a good way for them to see what we're up to. It's also a fantastic outlet for me to get my thoughts and feelings out there and sorted out.

 Five websites you visit daily. Facebook, Pinterest, MSN, Blogger, and Google (I'm always googling something!)

Your dream vacation...  I can't name just one. I'd love a secluded island paradise or cabin in the mountains. But then I'd love to visit big cities (Rome, Paris, London) too. I want to see it all and do it all.

 Favorite snacks? I don't snack that often, but when I do, it often depends on my mood what I eat. I love Oreos and milk, nachos, popcorn, and salt and vinegar chips.

Do you have a pet and what kind? We have five. We have three dogs. Two yorkies and a lab mix. One cat and one chinchilla. It's a zoo around here!

What three material possessions would you not want to live without? My phone, computer/Ipad, and the car. Without my phone or computer, it would be really hard to stay in contact with friends and family who live across the country from us.

What's your favorite drink? Alcoholic, Strawberry daiquiri and Ace Pear Beer Non alcoholic, water and sweet tea

Do you enjoy cooking? The more I experiment with different recipes, the more I'm finding that I really like cooking. It's great to know what is going in our food and that I made it.

Do you have children? We have two and one on the way. A five year girl, a three year old boy, and the baby in my belly that we've waited and struggled for for so long.

What are your favorite hobbies? I don't get much of a chance for hobbies. I love taking pictures, doing puzzles, and I'm going to start learning how to sew (wish me luck!).

Would you consider yourself shy or outgoing? In high school, I was the bubbly, outgoing cheerleader but as I've matured, I'm often fairly quiet until I get more comfortable. Then I loosen up a lot.

If you could change one thing about you, what would it be? I've always struggled with my self confidence and worrying too much about what other people think.

 Who is your favorite actor/actress? I really don't have favorites. Maybe Sandra Bullock and Robert Downey Jr.

What's the coolest thing you've done this week? Apparently I'm not that cool because I can't think of anything. Haha

Do you live near your family? No. Our families are in Ohio and Michigan. We are trying hard to come up with a way to move closer to home.

List three of your talents. I know how to play the trumpet and am learning piano. I am an excellent navigator and can always pick out which direction (N, E, S, or W) we're heading. I am fluent in the Korean language.

What is your greatest attribute? Hmmm, this is tough one to answer. I'd like to think I have a great sense of humor and am great at working with other people.

So there you go. 20 things you might not have known about me.

Who am I?

First off, my name is Leanne and this is my life story...well, sort of.

I grew up in Northeast Ohio, smack dab in the middle of Amish country. As a matter of fact, I actually grew up Amish. Amish life is hard! For those of you who don't know much about their way of life, let me give you a quick tutorial. Imagine doing everything you do at home but without electricity. That means no TV, air conditioners, computers, or video games. Think about it... How much more free time would you have if you couldn't spend your time on the internet or in front of the TV? Now, imagine having to run out the door for a quick trip to the store but instead of hopping in your car, you have to hook up a horse to a buggy first, then get in and go. Driving a mile or two down the road could take you 15-20 minutes! And that's if the horse cooperates and doesn't go at a snail's pace. My parent's left the amish community when I was ten years old and I am so glad.

I graduated from a TINY school. Only 19 graduates in my class. I always did pretty well in school and was in most of the school's sports. I really had no idea what I would go to college for, so instead, I joined the Air Force and in August of 2004, I left for Basic Training. I was only 18 and it was my first time being away from home. There I was on my very first plane ride heading to boot camp, scared out of my mind. But I made it through six weeks of Basic Training and then headed to my Tech School on the coast of Monterey, California at the Defense Language Institute where I was to spend the next year and a half learning the Korean language. The first few weeks were great. We were all so happy to be out of Basic and most of us spent our time at the Rec Center playing air hockey, pool, ping pong, watching TV or movies, or on the computers. Then one Saturday as I was trying to figure out what to do, my roommate suggested I go with her to a free swing dance class at the gym there on base. Little did I know that this would be the Saturday that changed my life forever...

The swing class included 6 girls and only 3 guys. I ended up dancing with this cute Army guy named Gabe who happened to also be studying the Korean language. We didn't get to talk to much but we hit it off. The next Saturday I sat debating all morning about whether I wanted to go back to the class. I really wasn't into the class too much but I did want to see that Army guy again. I ended up going and found myself dancing with Gabe again and got a chance to talk some more. Gabe and I ended up as dance partners and I really started to enjoy swing dance and shortly after, we started dating. Five months later, we were engaged and three months after that, married.

We graduated in February of 2006 and Gabe went to Army reserve status. We decided we didn't want to wait to have kids so we started trying. I knew I wasn't ovulating so we went to a fertility doctor and a month later, we were pregnant! In May I got orders to my first duty station but it wasn't good news. The orders were to Korea (I would've been 8 months pregnant) and unaccompanied which meant Gabe was not allowed to come. Everyone I talked to said there was nothing they could do. The only thing I could do was get out or wait it out and see if anything changes. We made the tough decision that I would get out of the Air Force and we would move back to my hometown because there was no way I was having our first child without my husband there. So we moved back home. A month later as Gabe was checking his e-mail, we got shocking news. Gabe was being deployed to Afghanistan and leaving in September. In the back of our minds we knew this could happen but it's still a surprise and sucks when it does happen. I moved in with my parents so I would not be alone after the baby was born. With a little luck and a note from the Doctor, Gabe was allowed to come home for the birth. And on a cold day in January, Alena was born.

Thus started my journey of motherhood. Alena was born on a Wednesday and on Friday morning we came home from the hospital. I was trying to breastfeed but all Alena wanted to do in the hospital was sleep so we never got off to a good start. Gabe's family ended up coming down to see the baby that Friday evening after we came home. I was exhausted, in a lot pain, and frankly was not ready for visitors. There were 11 people in one small house and it seemed like I couldn't get any rest. His family stayed for two days and a week later, Gabe had to leave. After he left, things just went downhill. I was trying to nurse her but it was so hard and my family seemed so against it, while Gabe's family was pushing me to do it. I'm pretty sure I had PPD but never talked to anyone about it. When Alena was 12 weeks, I went back to work part-time as a waitress. A month later, I gave up trying to nurse her and went to formula. This was probably the best decision because immediately I felt better. I didn't have the stress from trying to nurse although Gabe was not happy I made the decision without him.

Gabe came home for good in December and had gotten a job offer here in Arizona. Right after Christmas we made the move down. A month later we started talking about trying for baby #2. Took a pregnancy test and yay! I was already pregnant. We bought a house and then in September, Christian was born. His nursing experience was the COMPLETE opposite of Alena's. He did great right from the start. I was hesitant about it after what I went through with Alena but decided to just "go with the flow". I made sure that this time I wasn't letting anyone tell me what to do and what not to do. I loved not having any pressure put on me and it worked out beautifully! We are currently going strong for 20+ months.

Right after Christian turned one, I found a job at an after school program but it only lasted 2 months. Gabe was getting ready to leave for a contract job in Iraq and the babysitter we found was not doing a good job. I didn't really trust her and Alena kept saying she did not like her. We did find another great sitter but after Gabe left, Alena took it very hard. We are currently in our seventh month apart and am so excited because Gabe is coming for a three week visit in just ten days!!!

Well, that about sums it up. Hope I haven't bored you all. I just thought some background on me would help you understand better about who I am. Looking forward to more posts if I can keep it up.