THE question

On Monday night, Blake and I headed to Nashville to have dinner with his Uncle Chris. Chris lives in Montana, and we haven't seen him for about two years so we were excited that he was in town. Within five minutes of our meeting, Chris asked THE question. The one I have known was going to come eventually, but I always expected it to come after graduation and the deployment. So what was the question? "When are you guys going to start giving us some babies?"

Oh my. We are not ready to start thinking about this. At least I'm not. Blake on the other hand would be quite content to have a child running around right now. But that's because he doesn't have to carry the thing around for 9 months and endure labor. I've heard stories, and I am in no way ready for that.

For as long as I can remember, the one thing I've always wanted to be is a Mom. I love babies. The way they smell, how they fall asleep in your arms, how good it feels when you can make them stop crying, and most importantly, buying things for them. I love to shop anyways, but shopping for a baby is just so much more fun.

So would I love to be a Mom? Yes. Would I love it right now? No. Truth of the matter is that I love just being married. I love being able to do whatever we want, whenever we want it. And on top of that we've got to many things to accomplish before we even begin to think of parenthood. So here is our list. Our list of things that need to be accomplished before we have children.

1. I need to graduate with my M.S.
2. Blake needs to become an N.C.O. (non-commissioned officer), or go to warrant officer school.
3. Travel to Europe.
4. Travel to the Caribbean.
5. Become Jessica Montgomery, SLP-CCC M.S. (which happens after I complete my clinical fellowship after graduation and takes approximately 9 months).
6. Be living in a house, rented or owned, I'm not picky. I do not want to be the annoying neighbors who have a baby crying at all hours of the night.
7. Have a full-time job, with great benefits and great co-workers. That way I'll have good baby showers. Haha-just kidding.
8. Be close to moving back to Indiana. I need free babysitters.
9. Win the lottery. Because I want to be a stay-at-home Mommy. Or start a photography business, or get a book deal.
10. Have a good portion of my student loans paid off.

So there you have it. All the things I/we need to accomplish before there is a Jessica Jr. running around-and yes our first born will be a girl despite what Blake says.