It's been so nice having Caroline here. I think it's been about two years since I saw her, when we both lived in Virginia. We're very similar in temperament, and we're both "homebodies." So if we want to go somewhere, we go, and if we want to stay home, we do, and it doesn't really matter to us either way. We're probably going to go to Seattle and show her around, but if it's not in the cards, it'll probably be okay too. It's up to her. Plus she made me Korean food! So how much better could it be?! :o)
Saturday we went to the mall to look for maternity clothes for me, although I guess it's against the rules for a woman to be short, chubby, and pregnant. I couldn't find ANY maternity jeans, except the style I had already bought from JC Penney, which are good but I don't like them enough to have more than one pair. All the pairs of jeans in my size were still too small at both Motherhood Maternity and JC Penney, they had no maternity jeans at Sears, and the plus sized jeans I did manage to find were tapered legged (yuck!), and they were far too long. I don't mind hemming them myself, but honestly, these would have been long on someone 5'8"!!!
The baby got slightly fussy while we were at the mall, and at one point, Kurt was carrying her around in his arms so that she was laying down. From the rocking motion of his walking around, she managed to fall asleep! It was so cute! We sat down at a bench, and I took the baby from him because I just love holding the baby, and she slept in my arms for about another 20 minutes while the rest of us people-watched. There are some freaky people that go to the mall on a Saturday afternoon! :o)
And in the midst of all this wonderfulness with having Caroline and the baby around, there's been a dark spot. Kurt found out on Friday that the ship he's going to in June wants him to go to school. The thing is, he's been to school already, and most of it would be a repeat of what he took ten years ago when he first joined the Navy. Plus he would be the oldest and most senior sailor in that class, in all likelihood, and could actually outrank the instructor. It's not like he would learn much from the school anyhow.
Even worse than that, the school runs from 1 June to 9 September at the Navy base in Illinois. Kurt would miss three months of my pregnancy, and not even the easy first few months of pregnancy. I would be between six and nine months pregnant while he's gone, and instead of having a husband here to do stuff like mow the lawn and help with housework, I'll have to do all that myself. I have kind friends and neighbors who would help me out, but it's not the same as having your husband there. And for this first baby, I wanted him here for the whole pregnancy.
This whole school thing took us by complete surprise. When he went to his current ship, he didn't have to go to school, so we just assumed that when he would transfer, the only difference is instead of going to the one base, he'd end up going to the other base. And the only worry we had was when I went into labor, if he could make it to the hospital in good time since getting to and from that base involves a ferry ride across the water. Kurt's trying to get out of the school or at least have it be postponed, but as with everything that's messed up our plans with the Navy, it probably won't do any good.
I know I ought not to make plans, being a Navy wife and all that, but the whole thing is just upsetting. When I got pregnant, we were happy that it happened when it did since his new ship isn't supposed to be deployed during the pregnancy and we figured he'd be home throughout it all. I am strong enough to do it all on my own -- it's just I don't really want to have to. I would like my husband to be here with me.
All we can do, though, at this point, is just hope and pray. There's not anything else we can do.