To Beijing and Back

Ahhhhh…home.  Well, Guam home.  Either way, it is where my bed is and more importantly, where Reece's crib is.  The child knows where he sleeps and he let us know about it every night of our trip.  I don't mean to sound like Reece was not a well-behaved baby on our China adventure.  Quite the opposite. For what we put that child through, he was nothing short of a rock star during our very busy 5 days.  I'm just saying that even little people sleep their best in familiar surroundings.  Crazy how babies know what they know.

Anyway, allow me to start from the beginning and tell you all about our trip to China.  What a jam-packed, whirlwind, fun-filled, loooooong days, best weather ever, kind of trip we had!  Because there is a lot to share (pictures too, although I'll give everyone a link at a later date to view all of the pics) and because the only time I have to type is right before I go to bed, I'll probably divide this blog up into a few different blogs.  Hopefully I will keep you interested as I go on about the same topic for a few blogs.  I'll try to leave each post with a cliff-hanger to keep you in suspense, anxiously awaiting the next post. :)

Beijing Bound…Day One…

Why does one's mind always defeat the body in a battle over sleep?  This was my question as my ever so sleepy self tried to go to bed a wee bit earlier than my norm the night we were due to leave.  There is something about trip anticipation that gets my mind going in over-drive every time.  We woke at 12:30am to get ourselves dressed and car loaded and waited until the VERY last possible second to wake the baby.  A quick diaper change and we were out the door.  Now, most people would think that a baby would just go back to sleep.  Those people don't know Reece.  My son is a phenomenal night sleeper, however, when woken up out of a perfectly good sleep, he now thinks something good is going on that he MUST be awake for.  He does not like to miss a moment of life.  Silly me, here I thought keeping him in his pajamas would cue him that it is not time to get up.  WRONG!  We arrived at the empty airport, one very awake and happy baby in tow, got ourselves checked in and made our way to the gate.

Happy Traveler

At this point, Reece thought his job was to be the entertainment around these people he has never seen before.  He smiled at them, babbled away, squealed with delight, waved his arms…all of his charming Reece mannerisms that usually make Carlos and I smile, but we knew at this time of night any chance of sleeping on the plane had just gone out the window.  Sigh.  I beat myself up for about a minute wondering why we just didn't do a Benadryl trial run before the trip so that we could've had a Benadryl induced sleeping baby on the plane (for those of you who just gasped at the thought of basically drugging your child for a plane flight, don't tell me for one minute you never thought of it.  It's called sanity saving).  Either way, it was a no-can-do since one, we didn't do a trial run (Benadryl can have a reverse effect and actually make some kids more hyper), and two, we didn't even have any Benadryl with us.  So repeatedly kicking myself for this was just a moot point (or to quote Joey (I'm a Friends junkie) "it's just moo.")

On the plane we had been given "bassinet seating."  Basically, this is the first row of seats behind the bulkhead so that a bassinet for the baby can be attached.  The bonus to this row is that we basically get the extra leg room row free of charge because we were flying with an infant.  SCORE! :)  So flying with a baby does have some perks.  I'd also like to point out how oblivious I was to all things parenting before I was a parent.  I have sat in this row many-a-time on an airplane and NEVER did I notice the little plaque/sign thingy that talks about the bassinet being stowed during take off/landing/turbulent weather.  I know it had to have been there.  I'm sure the airline didn't wait until I had a baby to start posting about a bassinet.  Just funny to me that my observations about baby things were just null and void until I had a reason to care.

I was a little nervous during take off since I wasn't sure how Reece would do with the ear popping.  I was prepared though.  Carlos mixed up a bottle and as soon as we took off, I popped that bottle right into Reece's mouth and let his sucking keep his ears regulated.  It must've worked because he never seemed phased by any of it.  So now that his belly was full, it was perfect sleeping time.  The flight attendant brought out the bassinet and attached it to the wall, Carlos worked Reece into a slumber, and into the bassinet he went so we could drift off as well.  Or so we thought.  So earlier when I mentioned I couldn't turn my brain off in anticipation of our trip?  Well know my brain kept filling with all sorts of horrible thoughts that really kept me (us) from sleeping.  It was just me, but it turned into an us when I shared my concerns with Carlos and got him worried as well (that's what a good wife does, right?! ).  I kept thinking "what if we fall asleep and Reece wakes up and tries to get out of the bassinet and falls?"  If you've ever seen one of these airplane bassinets, you know that it is not that hard for a mobile baby to get out of it.  My second thought that I couldn't shake, and this one a lot worse, was "what if we fall asleep and there is turbulence and Reece gets thrown out of the bassinet?"(Insert visual of baby being thrown directly up into the air and hitting off the ceiling of the plane) Maybe I was being a tad overdramatic, but hey, its my baby and I'm allowed to worry about such things.  So yeah, at this point all hope of sleep was lost.  Its really okay though because Reece decided to basically cat-nap off and on the duration of the flight to Korea so we wouldn't have had much sleep anyway.

After a 4 hour flight to Korea, we had a quick plane change to make and on to Beijing.  I'm going to use this moment to say that Korean Airlines is probably the best airline I have ever flown.  Clean, friendly, extraordinary customer service, modern features on the planes.  Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea was also great.  Very Americanized, but so much better.  As a matter of fact, I don't think I saw much of anything in Korean, it was all the english language.  Hands down it is the cleanest airport I have ever been in.  So while we were in a little bit of a hurry to make our transfer, only because we weren't sure how long it would take us to get to our gate, we both came to a screeching halt when we saw two words up ahead on our left.  It was a moment that we had to stop and make sure that we were really awake and it wasn't a dream.  We saw the orange and pink lettering and the words spelled out: Dunkin Donuts.  This may not seem like anything to shed a tear over to all of you, but living in Guam and not having certain things available to us, seeing the comforts of home (in Korea of all places) makes you a little misty eyed :)  And I'm not really even a donut fan (although, put a boston cream in front of me and I'll be singing a different tune).  We checked our time and knew DD was meant to be.  We had enough time to grab a donut to go and some DD coffee.  I got two of my DD faves…an iced caramel latte and a boston cream donut.  Carlos got a hot coffee and two glazed…his favorite.  Reece just got a big hug from his mommy since she was so happy.  On to our gate and to Beijing with bellies full of donuts, still no sleep, and a very awake baby…

For a brief moment, I heard angels singing

Daddy teasing Reece with a donut.  The poor kid really tried to take a bite.  Mean Daddy.

Ignore the no make-up/sleep deprived look and just focus on the Dunkin'

Reece still mad he didn't get a donut :)

Seems like a good place to end for the night.  It's 9pm, I'm tired, and my laptop isn't plugged in and about to die anyway.  I was really hoping to get all of day one in, but obviously my son gets his babbling from his mommy :)  I'll try not to drag this trip out for a month on the blog :)

I'm Sitting Down…Something must be wrong

Hello my dear family and friends!

I'm going to start this off by saying plain and simple, I'm EXHAUSTED!  Don't read this as me whining, I'm just merely stating a fact.  I honestly think the last time I sat down was some time in September.  I'm not really sure since September went by so quickly and the past 6 weeks have been quite a blur.  I have been negligent in keeping everyone up to speed on my little family here in Guam, but blogging while running around doesn't exactly work for me.  So let's see, what can I tell you?  We'll go from youngest to oldest…

Reece has decided to become quite the little person over the past 6 weeks.  He hit 6 months and the world as we knew it changed.  He went through some tough growing pains that even threw his sleep cycle off for a few weeks, which I believe was more painful for Carlos and me :)  Reece sprouted 2 new teeth, taught himself to crawl, taught himself to pull-up, hang on to things while pulled-up and move his legs to get around, learned where his toys are kept in a basket in the living room (bring on the always ever-present clutter of toys on the carpet), knows how to eject the cd in Carlos' Play Station and gets mad when he does hit the button and nothing comes out of the slot, enjoys biting…I don't care if this feels good on his teeth, IT HURTS!, pretty much as eaten every fruit and vegetable that can be pureed and loves it all, likes to put EVERYTHING in his mouth…including the fake decorative grass stuff that is at the bottom of our decorative tree (he's been yelled at enough that he is starting to get the point now), enjoys hanging up on people when I have them on speaker phone on my Iphone (again, I apologize if he did this to you), loves to Skype (translate that to loves to look at the people and then bang his hands on my computer…YIKES!), and overall he is the most curious little boy and succeeds in keeping us exhausted.  For example, today I was folding laundry while he was playing on the floor.  He rounded the corner by our chair (in the direction of his toy basket) and the next thing I knew when I looked over, he had pulled himself up holding onto the floor lamp!  Not exactly the most sturdy of all things to be hanging on to.  He saw me look over and gave me the biggest grin (as the lamp rocked back and forth) he was so proud of himself.  Needless to say, I scooped him up before he could tumble, but I am really considering putting him in a bubble.  The way he stares at the ceiling fan, I know he is just trying to figure out how to get high enough so that he might one day hang on and swing round and round on that fan.  I hear you all saying "he's only 7 months he isn't thinking anything."  Oh but he is.  Trust me.  I can see the look in his eye as he takes it all in and plots :)

As for me, well, I'm sitting down so I'm one happy gal now!  I've just been working, taking care of home life, and enjoying some down time as well with Carlos and friends.  Nothing too exciting on my end, unless you consider household chores exciting.  If that is the case, message me offline and I'll send you paragraphs describing all the laundry and grocery shopping that goes on :)  Fortunately for me, I have a very wonderful husband who recognizes when I just need to take a few hours to myself and go meet up with a friend for coffee or dinner.  I've also been the travel planner in our family and have the 3 of us headed to China (Beijing) in a few days.  We are extremely excited, so be on the lookout for pics and a post upon our return!

The old man has been quite busy at work, but aside from providing for his family by working, he has also been busy out catching our dinners.  I think if my husband could live on his boat, he would.  His knowledge about boating and fishing never ceases to amaze me.  He's been out catching mahi, tuna, and wahu these days.  The rule is though that the fish get "cleaned up" somewhere other than my kitchen.  I love fresh fish, but I really don't need to see my dinner in its full form and all the goo that goes along with making a fish dinner ready.  Carlos also just completed his application for part 2 of his ortho boards which will take place in July.  I know my hubby to know he will rock part 2 just like he did part 1.

I've spent enough time ignoring the pile of towels and sheets that need to be folded so I will say goodnight for now.  I will fold, then sit my butt back down for the season finale of the New Jersey Housewives on Bravo.  Ahhh yes…a guilty pleasure of mine.  Please don't judge.  As a matter of fact, I encourage you to watch it as well because you will love your life x10 when you see just how crazy these folks are!

Reece's Busy September

I can't believe it is already mid-September.  Where did the first half go?!  Since I'm typing this close to my bedtime, I'm going to make this short and sweet.

Reece has decided that September, which is also the month of his half-birthday, was going to be his month to just take on life.  It started with the teething of his two top front teeth.  His two bottom teeth have been around since his 4 month mark.  I guess they were lonely because here come the top two!  They are just breaking through the gums now, so hopefully they will be fully through in no time.  As if getting his two top teeth weren't enough, he decided to start crawling.  Real crawling.  No more belly/scooting/army crawl for Reece.  He finally got his arm/leg coordination down and is on the move.

Now one would think for  a 6 month old this would be enough, but not for Reece.  Apparently, he has a lot to accomplish this month because just a day after crawling, he decided while at school, he would pull himself up and stand at one of their kiddie tables.  Yep, he pulled himself up.  And stood there (holding on of course).  It's official.  My child is out of control.  I have asked him before to please slow down because I'm not ready for all of this.  He can wear us out as it is, but now…oh my are we in trouble!

I wouldn't trade it for the world though.  Each one of his accomplishments is met with smiles and praise from mommy and daddy…so much so that little boy must think he just won a gold medal in the Olympics.  He sees our excitement and just BEAMS!

So, while we still have a couple of weeks remaining in September, I'm hoping Reece is done learning new stunts for now.  I need him to take a time out and let me catch up to him because he is just moving through this world way too quickly!

Channeling Martha Stewart

It's official, Carlos and I are parents.  Yes, I'm aware we have had our baby now for 6 months so this new found parent label really should not be quite a shock for me, but the realization of what this means for the next 18 years took effect the other day.  This is what happened…

After work on Wednesday, I practically skipped into Reece's school for my favorite part of the day…the picking up of my child.  Reece is always so excited to see me when I come through the door and the smile that greets me is just ear to ear.  LOVE IT.  Anyway, I was gathering Reece's belongings when Miss Rosie, one of Reece's teachers, handed me a slip of paper (see photo of said paper).  My eyes briefly scanned this sheet of paper and what stood out to me were the words "project" and "due date."  I continued to smile as Miss Rosie explained we would be given some art materials on Thursday and that we could be as creative as we wanted.  Well, if you know me, you know one thing and that is creativity is not in my blood.  That gene skipped over this girl.  I finished gathering up Reece's things and walked out the door as fast as I could.  As I was driving home the reality of what just happened began to sink in…Carlos and I were given a homework assignment.  Homework?  Didn't we already earn our degrees?  More reality…we will be doing homework for ANOTHER 18 years as we help Reece with school.  I guess I just didn't think a 6 month old would be getting homework assignments and we had at least a few years to relish in a non-homework lifestyle…WRONG!  Sure we've been doing basic parenting from the day Reece was born, but now the reality is sinking in that we better start showing up with our A-game because Reece will look to us for guidance on assignments and such.  We most certainly can't take this family tree project lightly.  It could make or break us in the long run with how we will deal with homework assignments in the future (I'm saying my prayers to the Math Gods now that Reece will be a mathematical genius and NOT need our help with math homework).

And in true Missy Kennedy style, you know that I floundered for a bit asking Carlos what should we do and how should we do it and blah, blah blah.  Yes, I was getting spun up over what is basically an art project for a 6 month old.  Like if we messed it up, Reece would fail to get into Harvard in 17 1/2  years…you never know.  They may just ask to see his first ever homework assignment during an interview… :)

I laid out all the "art mediums" that were given to us by Reece's teachers and started to think…

what exactly does one do with a fuzzy pink ball for a family tree?  All I knew was that I had to keep Reece away from that fuzzy pink ball or else he would try to eat it.  So with paper, pipe cleaners, fuzzy balls of various colors, string, and popsicle sticks, I  quickly decided what I might use and what I would have no use for (translate that to know idea what to use it for).  I sat down at the table with Carlos across from me, Reece in his bouncy next to me, and said "let's just get this over with."  Great attitude for my child's first homework assignment, right?!

Quickly, an idea began to take shape in my mind.  At this point I told Carlos he was excused to take Reece and do whatever he wanted because we both knew, this "family" project was turning into a "Mommy" project…not that there were any objections from my husband, mind you.  But seriously, how was my darling Reece supposed to help besides tasting all of my art mediums?  Off they went and I got down to business with a momentary pause as I realized my (yes, I just said "my") project needed a bit more flair and I had to head to the store to make this happen.  This is what I left in waiting for the flair….

Please don't judge me.  I do realize that Reece probably could've made a better tree if I would have just let him play with the scissors.  On the positive side, I was able to use 6 of the fuzzy white balls eliminating 6 of the potential choking hazards from entering my son's mouth.

Are you ready to see the flair?  Before I show you, I want you to know this wasn't done with any hidden anger or aggression.  I simply had to make a family tree…

So I cut off your heads :)

Don't worry, Carlos and I had our heads cut off too.  See, no anger…all's fair in tree making :)  Now, I must also explain that Reece has quite a large family, especially on the Kennedy side, so in order to just do a family tree and not a family forest, we chose to do immediate family only.  So if you are reading this and wondering why your head didn't make the cut (ha ha ha…I may not have the creative gene, but I sure did inherit the "John Sproull sense of humor gene."), please don't be offended.  Again, it's a project for the infant room and we really didn't want it to be all consuming.

Reece's project is finally complete and will be turned in on time (of course, because Mommy hasn't ever turned in a homework assignment a day late…EVER).  We obviously aren't getting graded for this, but I'd give Reece's tree an "A" if I were a teacher.  However, I would grade us a "B" on our immediate attitude toward the homework assignment.  That attitude quickly turned around though once we I got started.  I actually had a lot of fun doing this family tree and I plan on saving it (once I get it back from the school down the road) so Reece can see the hard work his mommy put into our first homework assignment.  His daddy put in the hard work entertaining Reece so mommy could get the project done, so he deserves a shout out too :)  Here is to many, many more years of projects and assignments, may they all be as easy as this one (translate that to no math).  Harvard, here comes our Reece!

Big Navy Day!

As some of you know, yesterday I was promoted to my new rank of Lieutenant Commander (LCDR).  I have pics posted on Facebook, so if you haven't seen them, check them out!  If you don't have FB, then I will also include a few of them on here as well.

This promotion is somewhat bitter sweet for me.  See, in the military, when you start off as a direct accession as I did, you get commissioned as an Ensign (O1), the lowest man on the Naval Officer totem pole.  After two years as a Butter Bar (yes, this is the unfortunate term used in reference to an Ensign because of our lonely little gold bar that denotes our rank), you then get promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade (O2).  This promotion is given after two years, without having to do much for it except your job and not doing anything wrong in the military.  From the rank of LTJG, you then get promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (03) again after two years serving as a "JG" without messing up.  This is where it starts to get interesting…

Once you get promoted to lieutenant, you know spend more than two years in this rank.  You also now must "prove" yourself worthy of being selected to your next rank of LCDR.  You are supposed to hit the ground running as a LT, racking up as much experience possible, volunteering for numerous command and department collaterals (basically one person doing three full-time jobs…and by "volunteering" the term we use in the military is actually "volunTOLD"), and doing whatever possible to make it "look great on your FITREP."  Side note;  a FITREP is our annual performance evaluation (to put it in civilian terms).  It's used to compare us/make us competitive with our fellow officers of the same rank.  This quote is one of my favorites and is used more often in the Officer community than I care to think about.  Basically it becomes known as the wooden stake in the heart.

Most often the scenarios play out like this:
Department Head (who over time has become groomed on how to delegate unwanted/excessive work load) comes to you and says "LT Kennedy, I have a tasker that I know I can trust you to take charge of.  You have shown me you are more than capable of multi-tasking and have exceptional organizational skills, and along with your sense of responsibility, make you more than qualified to complete this" (yes folks, this is really how it goes down…LOTS of smoke up the a** to make you want to puff out your chest and have a momentary lapse of reality as you just got 3 weeks of work handed to you with the understanding you will have said tasker completed within 3 days. You really do lose temporary sight of the bullsh** flag waving a mile away, attempting to flag you down and make you run, run, run!!!).  Now here it comes…are you ready?  Insert wooden stake through the heart because the conversation always ends with "and you know LT Kennedy, it will look great on your FITREP."  Ugh…slow, painful death.


Ok, so the time you spend as a LT can vary based upon the number of "openings" so to say to the next rank and when your name becomes "in zone."  If I tried to explain all of these military shenanigans to you guys, this post would be two days long, so pardon me if I skip a few explanations.  I became in zone after 4 years as a LT.  Fortunately, during those 4 years I had quite the job (and life!) experiences and various other assignments that really made me competitive amongst my peers.  Low and behold, ranking board convenes, results come out, and I was selected!  Sigh…now I must wait almost one year to actually be promoted to my new rank…again, this could take 2 days to explain why, but let's just say that for the most part it has to do with the government and money because with a promotion to a new rank there is a pay raise…and of course they have figured out how to regulate the promotions to spend fewer dollars in the long run.


So why bitter sweet?  Well, there is a sense of pride from within that knows I busted my bum (I'm done with the profanity for now) to get where I am.  My last job at my previous command was by no means easy and for a moment in time I was holding down a job that was billeted for an O5 (yep, as an O3 I was doing a job designated for someone who was one rank higher than my new current rank!).  I'm not patting myself on the back by any means, but knowing I had all my checks in the boxes and then some when I was looked at by the ranking board, I felt very rewarded by being selected to the next rank…the first time I actually had to EARN my next rank.  


That was the sweet.  The bitter?  An 04 in the Navy gets you noticed a little differently.  By this I mean what is expected of you is 3x that of before (if you can imagine).  As a LT, I was already sacrificing a lot of personal time and a lot of sanity, but my husband was equally as busy figuring out the ortho world so it was easy to throw our support to each other, high-five each other on our way out the door, and see each other when we see each other.  Now that we have Little Man in our lives, the idea of losing any precious time with him that is being taken away all so that I can make things "look great on my FITREP" doesn't really jive with me.  I certainly don't mind doing my job, but I'm not gunning for selection to the next rank or higher.  It may sound like a poor attitude, but some people are die-hard military and will do whatever it takes to keep making rank.  I, on the other hand, want the balance of doing what I do, but not at a loss of valuable family time.  Too many people in the military are working from 06:00-19:00 or later (that's 7pm for you non-military time folks), and sadly, these are people with families.  And these same people go to work on the weekends and holidays to get "caught up."  To me that is just sad.  


So, while I will relish in knowing that I am now a LCDR and I didn't get here by sitting on my tush, I will now have to see how things play out and try to find the balance.  It will probably be a good 5-7 years before I would even be in zone for the next rank, Commander, so I have some time to figure all of this out.  


The best part of being promoted to LCDR?  Being able to have my husband be my Promoting Officer.  I didn't have to hold an official promotion ceremony since all officers have to do is sign the paperwork saying we accept our new rank, but this time I chose to do the ceremony…with the only reason being the opportunity to have LCDR Kennedy promote the new LCDR Kennedy :)

"I, Melissa Kennedy…"  taking the oath again

Being promoted in my work space

The changing of the shoulder boards from one rank to the next…this is tradition with a promotion ceremony

Ha ha…I had to shake Carlos' hand…too funny, but it is customary!

Look who was watching his Daddy promote his Mommy…in his blue cami (NWU) onesie of course!

Now there are 2 LCDR Kennedys!

Rain Rain Go Away

If I have ever wondered what living in the Pacific Northwest would be like, I question it no more.  Guam has been having one heck of a rainy season and it really needs to start wrapping up.  Do you like how we have lived on Guam for less than a year (well, one year for Carlos) and yet here I am making claims about how bad this rainy season is?!  I may not be able to compare to years past, BUT I have been told by folks who live here it seems to be worse this year.  Lucky us.

When the rainy season first started, I actually didn't mind the change.  It was nice having a little relief from the unbelievably bright and sunny (and have I ever mentioned hot?) days here.  Granted, it is still hot/humid here even with the rain, but there is some overcast which can be nice.  Well, we are done with nice now and would like to be able to go from one place to the next and not wonder if we will be caught in a sudden onset of very heavy rain because of how quickly things change.

People didn't give this wise man enough credit, but I find myself thinking of Forrest Gump every time the rain starts falling in Guam and saying to myself "yep, he nailed it."  His description of the rain when he was fighting in Vietnam is exactly how it happens here in Guam...

 "One day it started raining, and it didn't quit for four months. We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin' rain... and big ol' fat rain. Rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath."


Lets just say an umbrella here is just something we hold onto in the hopes that the one time we do use it, we may actually stay dry.  I'll let you know when that one time occurs for me.  Don't go holding your breath waiting for it though.


I know what you are thinking…are you really blogging about rain?  Still?  Yes, I am.  Because I really can't explain well enough just how this rain impacts our lives.  For example, the other day I needed to run to the store.  So the trip started off innocent enough...clear skies and even some of that elusive sunshine had come out to play in Piti (the village where we reside).  I loaded up the baby and on my way to the Navy base I went.  5 minutes into the trip it was like someone picked up the ocean and started pouring it on top of us.  So we sat in the car...In the parking lot of the store we were supposed to go into…and we sat…and we sat…and then we left.  I just couldn't bring myself to get us out of the car and get soaked.  If it was just me, no problem.  But the baby?  No way.  


The other interesting thing about the rainy season is that it seems to bring out all the crazy sick patients.  Our numbers for the OR have been exceptionally high these past couple of months and I wish I could say it has been with the average joe kind of patients.  It's like the skies opened up, and the clouds started dropping crazy unique patients our way along with the rain.  Kind of like a full moon effect, except full moons last but a few days and this has been going on for a couple of months.  Sigh.  Wouldn't be so bad if these crazy sick patients showed up during routine business hours, but they seem to love late evenings and the middle of the night.


Alas, we will attempt to stay dry, continue to use our umbrellas purely as fashion accessories, and sit in cars as long as it takes for the rain to pass...or until Reece lets us know he has had enough and we go home.

On The Move

Reece went from push-ups to the video below within a few days.  The time span between the 2 videos is 5 days.  He is out of control!