March Madness

Hello to you blog readers out there (if there are any of you left since it's been so long between posts)! We are still "homeless" but residing at my mom's in Mission Viejo and you'd think that with a "built in babysitter" there would be more time to send out updates, but this just is not the case. We have been busy.
Here's a quick recap of the past 3 months. We sold the house in Mississippi (THANK GOD!!) and Tom spent the better part of January back in Meridian dealing with the buyers and getting the house all ready, not to mention continuing to fly and finish out his job there. He had been back and forth between MS and CA so many times that I've lost count. I should mention, however, that he did drive both of our cars out here on two separate occasions, all by himself! I suppose I owe him big time for that. Once we closed on the house in MS, we started seriously looking for a house out here and found one we LOVE, relatively quickly. We made an offer and if all continues to go smoothly we should close on March 24th. We are so excited --- it's a great house with a huge yard (and pool!) and on a clear day you can see the ocean on the horizon from the kitchen window!!!!
We've been able to spend some time up in Camarillo to get a better feel for our new town. Tom has been up there for 2 weeks now at his new squadron, getting ready to head off to C-130 training in Fort Worth for the next few weeks. It's going to be a bit of a transition for him, both in the air and on the ground. So far he's having a hard time getting past the "air-force like" formalities and mentalities of this squadron, but I'll let him explain more about that since most of it just goes right over my head :)

Since we have been back in CA (3 months now!), I have been coaching part-time the masters group of my old swim team here in MV, the Mission Viejo Nadadores. It has been such a blast for me. First of all, my old coach (Coach Rose) who coached me all though high school (bless his heart) is still the head coach here and it is soooo much fun for me to see him on deck each day and know the absolute torture that those poor kids in the water are enduring and not have to be one of them! The masters program has 200 swimmers, which in contrast to the 3 masters swimmers I coached while in Meridian is quite remarkable. The team offers 5 different masters practices each day!! I coach 2 of those 5 and at each practice there are about 15-20 swimmers of all levels and abilities. It is so much fun for me to work with so many eager swimmers who are there because they REALLY want to be there. In addition to this, Marin has been doing swim lessons with the team too. Coaching at the team that I once swam for feels weird in a lot of ways, but even weirder is bringing my daughter to learn how to swim in the same pool that I learned how to swim in!! CRAZY. I will be sad for both of us when we have to say goodbye to the Mission Viejo Nadadores in a few weeks, but hopefully we can both find some aquatic activities to keep us going in Camarillo.
Marin is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of her baby brother. We have a little more than 3 months to go and even though I really miss my longs runs, bike rides, egular pilates and the ability to consume alcohol, I really do need these next 3 months to get ready. A lot has to happen both inside and outside the womb between now and then!! I have a feeling the time will fly by. This pregnancy has been equally as easy (however very different) as Marin's. I've been swimming and doing light cardio 4-5 times per week, eating a lot and feeling great. I crave anything sweet, particularly ice cream and DONUTS and if you know me well, the donut thing is an absolute anomaly for me. I don't think I had touched a donut in 20 years prior to this pregnancy. The other weird "craving", which I'm kind of in love with, is that I cannot listen to enough U2. I don't know what it is about that band, but this baby cannot get enough of them --- anything from Rattle and Hum to Pop (I know, not the greatest album, but it'll do for this little guy!) to the latest album. I think I'm growing a little Bono inside of me or perhaps a mini Edge :) Either way it's A OK by me.
I will try to post some new pics soon! I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, happy and healthy.