Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow (Maybe)

I am contemplating a huge hair change tomorrow. This change has been in the making for a few months now but I think the time has come to finally take this huge step.
Since I was about 14 years old, I have been chemically straightening, or relaxing, my hair. Over the last couple of years, I have tried to take better care of my hair. I became a YouTube junkie, bought tons of hair products and spent hours upon hours in the hair salon (literally). Now, I never had an issue with my naturally curly hair. Mostly I kept relaxing it because that's what I had to do. Relaxed hair doesn't revert back to curly so once you make the decision to use chemicals to change the texture of your hair, you are making a commitment to the upkeep that comes along with straighter hair.
One of the main reasons I decided to "go natural" is that I am trying to live a healthier life. I want to eat better, live better and limit my families exposure to harsh chemicals. I had to admit that the chemicals I was putting on my hair every 6-8 weeks was not healthy at all. I frequently suffered from burns on my scalp, headaches and to be honest, my hair suffered at times. The final straw came when I realized that I had severe breakage in the center of my head. I knew that it was time for me to make a change and try something different.
It has now been about four months since my last relaxer. I have about two inches of "natural" growth which doesn't look like much when your hair is tightly coiled. After talking things over with Will and my mom (who actually just cut all her hair off recently), I plan to cut all my hair off tomorrow. I plan to go to a barber shop and explain my situation to them. I want to keep my little two inches of growth but the rest of it can go. I am not the type of person who likes to hang on to something I no longer feel I need (or want). Besides, it's only hair. It will eventually grow back (and hopefully be better than ever). Although this is a big move, I'm excited to make this change. Plus, I think this will make doing my hair much easier while in Germany. Wish me luck!

Germany, Here We Come!

Well, not at this exact moment but very soon.
One thing about the military is that there is never a set plan. You have to be flexible because things can change at the drop of a ACU/ABU hat.

This has never rang more true until about two weeks ago. Will's recruiting orders fell through and he decided to call Branch to see if there were any bases open right now. They told him that we had a choice between Alaska, Korea or Germany. Of course we picked Germany. We are excited. I, however, am completely freaking out. This will be our first move as a family and to make it more nervewrecking, it's overseas. There are so many details that we need to work out such as only being allowed to ship two dogs (we have three), only one vehicle shipped at the government's expense (we just bought a second car), etc.

This will be a crazy experience for us but every single person that I have talked to who has been stationed in Germany loved it. I really think this will give our family a much needed break, a change to spend time together and an opportunity to see lots of places in Europe.

Of course this move will bring about many changes in our lives (like a temporary end to my National Guard career) but we are accepting it with open arms and realizing how lucky and blessed we are. I'll keep you guys updated on our planning and moving over the next few months!

TMI Series: TTC Month Three

Welcome to TTC Month Three! Things have been chugging along well and I'm happy to say that I have been a bit more relaxed this month. We had a little bit of a surprise last month when I got a positive pregnancy test. I actually tested on day three of my menstrual cycle (which was a couple days late). I hadn't planned on testing, however, my menstrual cycle was a little weird that month. I am a firm believer in listening and knowing your body. Once I tested and got the positive, I wasn't sure if it was right. I decided to test again later on in the week and got a negative. Deep down, I knew
I wasn't pregnant. I contacted my nurse advice line and the nurse ordered a blood test, just in case.
We are hopeful that this will be our month. I am currently on cycle day 15. Since I am trying to relax this month, I will not be buying a large supply of pregnancy testing strips. Instead, I will purchase a few tests and as of right now, plan to test on cycle day 24 or 25.

We have lot of exciting plans this coming up this month so I don't think it will be hard to resist the urge to pee on a stick. I will definitely be back later on this month with an update on our TTC situation. Until then, have fun guys!