Day Ten

It was another cold, rainy day here in Bavaria. Winter is definitely coming early. Not looking forward to this.

Got up this morning, got Hayden fed and ready for school, and off we went. I dropped him off and sent him in by himself so I didn't have to worry about getting the stroller out or carrying Brayden and dealing with an umbrella at the same time. He's mature enough to go in on his own, and he goes in with other kids, so it was ok. Brayden and I headed home and ate some breakfast. I checked my emails, the baby board, and read a little bit more on baby names. After that, it was time to shower and get ready for the change of command ceremony. Brayden was so tired that he just slept the whole time, so he had a nice little nap while I got ready. We headed out and it was still drizzling and cold. They all of course joked that it was "just another beautiful day in Bavaria =P." It was a sad day to see our batallion commander relinquish his command; he truly is a true example of what a good leader should be. Brayden was pretty good during most of the ceremony until his boots started falling off. He was wearing his rain boots, and they don't really like to stay on. Afterwards, we headed to the reception to meet (again) the new batallion commander and get some yummy food. Ok, it was only subs, veggies, and fruit, but it was free, so it was extra yummy lol. Our brigade signature is the Warhammer. The batallion commander almost always kept it by his side, and it is a gift to those leaving the company. I already got mine, and am so proud of it. I'm not leaving the company, but my fellow FRG co-leader and I decided if we were going to get it from someone, we wanted it from the batallion commander because he truly upheld the warmhammer experience. Anyways, the point of all that was that they ended up cutting the cake with the warhammer, and I thought that was pretty cool. http://www.kingego.com/item/Medieval-War-Hammer-643
The above link shows what a warhammer looks like. Someone recently joked that on of the crazy things the Batallion Commander did while in command was to design a deadly weapon and then give it to married couples lol.

After that, the FRG "lead" team and the captain met to go over upcoming events and planning. We've been kind of dormant as we've been getting back in the swing of things after summer break, but we've got a lot going on in the near future, which is always a good thing. It went on longer than I had expected, but it really could've went on for longer except I had to leave to go pick up Hayden from school. I picked him up and had to drop off one of the ladies from the meeting. I called to find out if we would be canceling soccer today due to the weather, but much to my chagrin it was still on =/. We headed home, I cooked Hayden some lunch, and then we did his homework and studying. I went ahead and got him ready since it's a pain in the butt and I didn't want to wait until the last minute, and then went and got myself ready and relaxed for a bit. I really would've loved to have been able to fit in a nap sometime today as I've been able to do recently, but there was no time for that. Brayden took himself another nice little nap though. That boy gets tired out more than I do, so I'm glad he's so good about wanting to take naps.

After that, we headed out to soccer. It was still cold and miserable, but at least it wasn't raining. I only had 5 of my expected 9 kids show up to, but I wasn't surprised. The kids played a really good game despite the fact that there was no room for substitutes, and they got tired quickly even though we shortened the quarters because it was just so cold. It's good next week will be the last week, because it will be snowing in no time and just getting colder and colder.

Afterwards, we headed to the food court and got some pizza for dinner. My favorite part of going to the food court after soccer twice a week is being able to get the Popeye's sweet tea. I cut out caffeine during pregnancy, but the taste of the south runs through my blood and I take those two days to "cheat" a little bit lol. Once we were done, I decided to just go walk around the PX a little bit to pass the time. I went back to the book section and found a baby name book that I realllly love and fits me so much better. I just may find a few names I like. I also found another great book: How to Raise a Healthy Child...In Spite of Your Doctor. I have had that book recommended to me countless times over the years, but just never got around to reading it. It wasn't in my libraries, and I hadn't seen it in stores, and I didn't want to buy it online, so when I found it tonight I grabbed it up especially since it was only $7.99. So I scored with 2 good books, and Brayden

Well, we got home and I let the dogs out and put stuff away. I got the kids in the bath with some epsom salt and sat up there with them while I went over the baby name book. I've come to realize I have absolutely no interest in Irish/Gaelic, and most European names. I also have no interest in celebrity baby names. Lastly, I don't like plain Jane names. I pretty much fit somewhere between the latter two. I like different, just not "what did you do to that poor child?" different lol. However, most people would say Hayden is such a commonly used name today, it isn't different. Well, back when I came up with his name, the *only* other Hayden I knew was Hayden Christensen, and that's who he's named after. It wasn't until I was in the hospital and heard that there was also another Hayden and a Jayden on the same floor, and then everyone's kid was some form of "Aiden" lol. Oh well. It was new for me. Choosing the name Brayden was Denton's fault. I had chosen Hayden, so he got more say on Brayden's name, and though I wanted nothing to do with it, I gave in because it was his turn. It will just be weird now if we have another boy because there's no way I'm continuing the trend, so it'll just be so different =/. Oh well. It's interesting, though, that I'm not at all interested in any of the names I was so interested in for Brayden. Maybe I just somehow feel like those belonged to him so I have to think of something new? I don't know. I'm sure this baby will have a name yet, though. I'd just like to get a good list though so whenever I get to talk to Denton I can go over them with him, and hopefully he'll like something. We both kind of butt heads on the subject, but I'm hopeful.

I haven't talked to him since the last time I posted I did, but I know he'll call eventually when he gets the chance, of course I'd rather it be sooner than later. But, the kids and I pray every morning and then more throughout the day that wherever Daddy is, please keep him safe and let him know that we love him and we're always thinking about him. Hayden surprised me today. He asked if we could call Daddy, and this kid does *not* like to talk on the phone, so I thought that was pretty bitter sweet. I try to stay as frank as I can with the kids about this stuff so they understand to the best of their ability what it is we're going through. I think helping them realize what's going on rather than giving some kind of sugar-coated story is better and will help them grow into understanding, confident Army brats. They do so well with accepting that Daddy's gone, and I'm so proud of them for it, and for Denton and I to have been able to prepare them for it before we even know that he's leaving.

Well, both kids are passed out. Hayden actually made it to the bed first this time, so I've only got one child to move tonight. I'm going to go sit up in bed and get through this baby name book and hopefully get at least a few names down, and if I'm awake enough break out my new headphones and try to listen for the heartbeat. I haven't tried in a few days.

Goodnight.