R&R

Hello all! I'm back after a fabulous R&R with my husband, a wonderful Birthday for my monkey girl, and a wonderful Christmas with my parents. Fabulous Dah-ling, FABulous! I'd like to take a moment and share my 'picking up daddy" story. It's -most- definatly worth the read.

The day before was hectic, like normal, cleaning, prepping, gettin myself all purdied up, so that evening while we were out we grabbed some Taco Bell for dinner. Evening went as planned. I ended up going to bed a bit early as I didn't feel good. I woke up around midnight with the worst stomach ache EVER. no temp, no throwing up, just a horrid stomach ache *darn Taco Bell* Later on during O dark thirty as I was laying there awake clutching my stomach BD calls from Ireland *YAY* Told him I wasnt feeling so hot but I'd be there the next day. Then he drops this bombshell.."oh ya, btw, I dont have a connecting flight to Killeen, Dallas is my last stop" to which my blood ran cold. Yes I had planned to pick him up at Dallas anyways but if I was still feeling as I was there was no way I could make a 3 hr drive and he'd just have to connect into Killeen...soooo I chuckled and said "I'll.........be there" CRAP!!! Morning came, still hadn't slept, still felt like crap. But I knew his flight wasnt to be in until noon *and had been scheduled as noon for the past 24 hours* so I had some time. I'm busy gettin everyone ready and its around 730am and I get a "mommy feeling" and decide to call the hotline for the flight info just one more time...imagine my surprise when the lil man says "arriving at 1030am" I almost choked on my tongue. I start hollerin at the girls to get to the car, hurry hurry, poor babies didn't know why as they just knew we were 'going on a drive' *hence where my organization comes in handy, I was nearly ready to go, thank God* So we make it to the car and i realize "CRAP!" I didn't get gas the night before bc "I had tiiimmmeee" ARGH *smacking forehead* sooo I get gas thinking "im gonna be late..gonna be late" and see, its not just the 'picking up the husband' bc if I -was- late, he'd just sit there and wait on me, no biggie, it was the whole DFW R&R "EXPERIENCE" that I didnt wanna miss out on. We FINALLY make it out of town and we get to Belton *about 10mins away* and............Allana throws up.....all over her nice outfit, all over the carseat, all over herself. I wanted to just hide. I got that whole mess cleaned up and off we were again. Might I add in here that I still felt like death.
So -somehow- we make it to DFW by 1025..(ok, I sped a bit..shhhh) and we get there and I breathe a sigh of relief. Filled my kids in on why we were there, they were excited, I was excited, we MADE it! I LOVE DFW R&R. The volunteers and USO workers are SO helpful and so nice. I got told 4-5 times "Thank you so much for YOUR sacrifice, thank you for what YOU do" which just brings tears to my eyes. Soo we all crowd around the Arrivals area and wait...and wait..until 11:30.....lol..and soldiers come out and at this point I expected my children to act all happy and excited and anxiously awaiting their father,acting like good lil Army Brats...I was wrong...dead....WRONG. As each soldier comes out theres clapping and whistling and music and JROTC and signs and hugs and tears and its AWESOME and with each soldier that came out my lovely 3 year old would scream "YOU AREN'T MY DADDYY!!!!" crying, wallering on the floor.I wanted..to...FAINT. 1. I was embarassed, 2. I still felt like death. Those who have been around kids know that when 1 goes psycho the other does also. So I had 2 screaming kids and I had to stand there and look like the "Ever in control" Army wife *HA!!* I told the people standing next to me 3 or 4 times "Im sorry, she's just overwhelmed right now" Luckily they understood. Of course my charming husband was the LAST FREAKIN PERSON off the plane. So I endured a whole plane load of soldiers in horrid painful heels, feeling like death, nervous as heck and 2 screaming kids. Im sure every mom has had the moment where they wanted to abandon their kids and say "those arent MY crazy kids" *RAISES HAND!!*
But when he finally came out it was AMAZING. The kids went right to him and were stuck to his side from then on. I couldn't have asked for a better R&R..The time seemed to go slow which was wonderful.

We made it, we did it, we had an AWESOME R&R..Freakin Murphy had his hold on me until the second I gave my husband a hug but we did it!! We are ALMOST into "teen' weeks also! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll blog some pics of our R&R soon!

Happy New Year!!

Nice tidbits of info

I'd like to share a few tidbits of information I've learned lately, things that may enrich your life and make your life more enjoyable....

1. Shortening *of the baking kind* can be used as an amazing buffer for your fake nails. It shines them up quite nicely...along with moisturizing the hands.

2. The bike/cycling machine mabobber at the gym causes what can feel like a massive booty cramp. I did not expect this bc one would think "bike: leg workout" oh no my love...I walked out of the cardio Cinema with a massive booty cramp. Which is akward when you have to walk through said gym.

3. Dog toy making companies need to make stronger dog toys...Harley chewed through a new tennis ball rag toy within the first 5 minutes...I'd hate to make him mad............

4. When you say "I don't want anything for Christmas this year" "Santa" will break your dishwasher and fry your computer, causing you to have to buy a new dishwasher and computer during Christmas time. From here on out I am asking for stuff.....lots of stuff. No good deed goes unpunished

5. This time of the year I am reminded of how many people love my children, sending them Christmas gifts, cards, letters. I'm reminded of how much we are loved. It touches my heart as a mother to know my children are so loved by so many people. For my family that is far away this year may you feel the warmth and love of Christmas and be reminded just how much you are loved.
I'm reminded just how much I love my babies. It's amazing to watch the magic of Christmas through their eyes. I now understand why my parents were up far before we were on Christmas, waking US up. Because its such an amazing thing to watch your children get so excited about Christmas and the gifts and the whole spirit of the day.
I can honestly say I am SO excited for this Christmas. I get to spend it with my husband, which is a rare honor, I get to spend it with my parents, whom I haven't shared a Christmas with in years, and I get to watch my children's eyes light up as they open their gifts...I get to watch EVERYONES eyes light up as they open their gifts, I get to watch everyone savor the food I've prepared and I wouldn't have it any other way.
My Christmas "gift" this year is having my family together. whole. safe. My 2 beautiful babies and my husband.

I pray for those who are serving our Country during this Holiday season. May you feel the love and warmth of your families and the joy of the Season.


Merry Christmas!!!!!!! ho ho ho

Extreme Home Makeover is in the HOOD!

The other day I had quite the excitement. I was heading home and I was pulled over by tons of Police zooming around and what did my lil eyes see in my rearview mirror...a huge bus..my first thought was "omg, is it Kenny Chesney?" *Don't ask..I dont know what that popped into my head* lol but lo and behold it was the Extreme Home Makeover:Home Edition Bus!!
I was kinda hopin they were going to come to my house but they ended up going to the home of someone far greater, SSG Patrick Zeigler, who was paralyzed in the Nov 5th Shooting here at Ft. Hood.
Unfortunatly I wasn't able to go help with R&R being so close and having my 2 kids but a fellow Army wife and friend, Laura, was able to go help. Check out www.lauracashion.com to see her blog with pics and the story of her Extreme Home Makeover experience.

MY favorite things

I was thinking the other day "Oprah can have Favorite things, why can't I?" I'm as cool, or cooler,than Oprah so I should have "Favorite things" So here we go Ladies and Gents *I hope there are some 'Gents' out there reading* My First Annual Favorite Things List. Disclaimer: Unlike Oprah I am not rich, so I will not be giving one to all of my readers, I will though, work on seeing if someone will sponser me for next year, so stay tuned :-) hehe

1. My Swarovski Crystal Snowflake necklace. I wear it nearly EVERY day starting in November. It was a gift a few years back and I LOVE it! It Looks similar to this, only a necklace.
http://www.swarovski.com/Web_US/en/1065956/product/Magnet_Tack_Pin.html

2. My Itouch. I cannot live without this and if it is lost, it is a sad, scary day in this household. I lovingly refer to it as "My brain" my calendar is on there, all my appts, my to do, music, email, facebook, world clock so I always know what time it is in sandland, games for the kids to keep them busy should a situation arise. It goes EVERYWHERE with me. If you don't have one........go get one. Even my bank has an app so I can always check my bank acct. love!

3. My Dyson vacuume. Thank you Mr. Dyson. I first got my Dyson when I was pregnant and nesting with Lillia. For some reason my husband had a mental lapse *or else didn't wanna fight with a Nesting Pregnant woman whom he had just seen cloroxing the underside of the kitchen table* and agreed to buy me the $500 vacuume. It was and still is worth the money! I've vacuumed any sort of mess you can imagine and it still works perfect, Ive even vacuumed the outdoor carpet we had on our porch.

4. Heres one for all my foodies out there. Oscar Meyer Carving Board Lunch meats. Oh..How..Yummy! They have ham and roast beef and o..em..gee, they make the BEST sandwich EVER!

5. Mint Milano Cookies..Yes.. sir. I will do just about anything for some Mint Milano's. For thsoe that want to win my heart..Mint Milano's is the way to go. My husband's friend, Frank, first introduced me to them when he brought me some as a gift after I had Lillia. It was probably one of the BEST baby gifts I got..no, I am NOT kidding. I guarded those with my life. LOVE!

6. Kohls..yup..you knew this would be here huh? I LOVE Kohls. I go in there during a sale and my Kohls card and it's more of a game what type of deals I can score. My all time record is spending $180.00 but I saved $250.00! yup! I recently scored an 80.00 purse for $4.00. How can you -not- love that?

7. Ju Ju Be Mini Be backpack. I recently scored one on sale and I love it! It's super sturdy, works great for a diaper bag now that my kids are older, plus Lillia LOVES carrying it, which means I don't have to. Honestly, I was very shocked at how sturdy it was for being so small. I anticipate purchasing another for Allana next time I can find them on sale! I can also carry it and it doesn't look goofy. It has an insulated pouch which works great for small snacks like string cheese, ect. It also has 2 cup 'holders' which is fabulous as I have 2 kids! Most bags that small don't.

http://www.amazon.com/Ju-Be-Diaper-Sienna-Swirl/dp/B0026PTDQY

8. Gap jeans. I am a short, thin, but with big hips type girl and it was sooo hard to find jeans that looked good and fit me. I just recently bought a pair of Curvy Gap jeans and I am in LOVE! They fit me wonderfully everywhere. They were sooo worth the 50.00! They are lightweight yet the give where you need them to give and fit snugly where you want them to. If my house were on fire, they would be one of the things I would grab before leaving.



So, those are my favorite things. If I had to leave my house in a hurry I would probably grab all the above *Of course my kids too!* and then leave. I just love them that much!

A Month Of Firsts

As November draws to a close I can't help but think about how this month was full of firsts.

I turned 24..for the first time.

I had my first sick kid up all night puking experience. I had managed to escape that for 3 years now and it finally caught up with me.

I had my first full 48hours awake in...well, I think, ever. It's amazing what you can accomplish with no sleep. I also learned that sleep is not a necessity, more a luxury. And when you don't sleep for 48 hours your eyeballs start to burn..interesting.

I weigh the same as I did when I was 17...now is the first time that's happened -since- I was 17. I also learned that even though you are the same weight/size, your body isn't the same since having 2 kids in 2 years. Always heard it but never believed it until now.

I bought my first pair of Gap Jeans *love*

I almost set my car on fire...for the first time. Luckily I didn't and my car is okay.....I think.

I spent my first Thanksgiving away from family. I had my Army family though and had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving with them.

annnd I got my first pair of Zebra Heels *looove* and just for good measure, a picture of the beautiful Zebra Heels. I'm thinking about getting a glass case to store them in.

Gym Rat

I finally bit the bullet and joined the gym. I don't like gyms much. My husband has been trying for.......let's see, we've been married 5 years..so, trying for 5 years to get me to join the gym with him and it didn't happen, For a couple reasons, 1. The one time we worked out together he momentarily forget that I wasn't a soldier and he wasn't my drill instructor, it didn't really work well for either of us. I'm not a fan of "One more lap, move move move MOVE" and he isn't a fan of sleeping on the couch :-) and 2. I don't like being oggled at and everytime I've been at the gym theres some muscle bound guy who thinks he can swagger up to me and oggle me. Because of some stuff that happened in my past I do not like men to oggle at me. basically heres the deal: Unless I know you and like you *men* don't come up to me or even look at me bc it makes me whiggy and I'm liable to kick ya in the nuts (I'm tellin ya, its a miracle I got married)

Soooooooo anyways I bit the bullet and did it. I've already lost 24 lbs and I'll be darned if I gain it all back this winter, so I had to do something. This morning was my first morning and I was *really* nervous bc the kids were going into the kids care while I worked out. Lana is a crier, she likes mommy and she doesn't like new people and somedays even people she knows..only mommy. We are finally, after 5 months of daycare, to the point where she doesn't cry the whole time. So yes I was nervous that she was gonna go crazy and I would never get a workout in and then my $40 a month would be wasted But lemme tell ya, what an amazing workout I had. I got an hour in and went to pick up the girls and BOTH were SO happy and had such a good time and couldn't stop raving about how nice the ladies were and how much fun they had and lana had no hint of any tears. YAY!!!!!
It does my mommy heart good! Then after that I found an Ipod arm wrap holder thinie for exercising on sale for $7.00, reg 30.00 at Target. I am waaayy too cheap to spend $30.00 on something like that, it was like God was rewarding me for finally going to the gym :-) hehehe

So yes, I am a gym rat now! I get an hour or two of quiet, I get to exercise, the kids get to play and work off energy...win, win, WIN!
BD and I are supposed to go workout together when he's home on R&R..I'm a bit nervous bc of how our last 'let's be workout buddies" excursion went but he's -promised- that he will stay on his side of the gym and I can stay on mine, so we'll see if he can actually do that. :-)

An Update on the Floofster

So, For those of you who read my blog yesterday about Floofy I thought I would share an update on the floofster.

Yesterday I was already half way annoyed..ok..I was in a bad mood. I was tired, my legs felt like they were falling off, thanks to Jillian Michaels, BD and I didn't have the most pleasant phone conversation, I was in walmart, it was loud, the kids were fighting, the phone connection sucked, I was mad that the phone sucked, he was mad that I was mad..ya know *PS: It's really hard to get the jist of the conversation when you only hear every third word*

so yesterday I get home and lo and behold floofy comes into my yard..pees on my fence post and procedes to 'scout' out my yard and do her business..I watch for Miss Redneck lady and shes nowhere to be found so I go out there and holler at the dog "Hey, get out of here!" and I hear "I'll get it!" and I turn and look and THERE she is..Standing by her car WATCHING her stupid lil floofy poop in my yard!! I'm sorry, but WHO does that ?!?!? No "i'm so sorry" or "FLOOFY come HERE!" or even an aplogetic "I'll get it" it was more of an "I am irritated that you caught me so I guess I'll get it" I stand there and stare at her for a second and go inside, slamming my door in the process. bc..ya know..a door slam will teach her!
So..apparently her idea of "I'll get it" Means she will tear a hunk of grass out of my yard where said dookie was. Yes folks, that's right...to 'solve' the issue she TORE a HUNK OF MY GRASS OUT! Granted theres no poop there now but theres also no grass either! Who...does..THAT!?
Ya just can't fix stupid. I'm really very interested in whether Floofster will pay me a visit today or what will happen.

I really didn't think you had to be too smart to 1. keep your dog in your own yard
2. keep your dog on its leash and 3. be apologetic when your dog does poop in your neighbors yard and you're caught watching said act. At least an "I'm sorry" ??

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go take Harley, my 85lb horse, over to their yard to do his business and then tear out a hunk of their grass.

The Tale of Floofy

For the past month and a half theres been this woman staying next door with my neighbor and everyday for the past month and a half I notice this lady chasing down her lil floofy dog multiple times a day. Hollerin at it in her cruddy housecoat with drippin wet hair and her giant Big Gulp *no, I'm not kidding. it's all way too redneck* And everyday for the past month and a half she acts surprised that her precious "Lexie" *yes I know the dogs name bc I hear it hollered multiple times a day" has once again run away from her. Miss "Lexie" has peed in my yard, while I was outside, WHILE said redneck lady WATCHED, Miss "Lexie" has pooped in my yard and every time Miss Redneck Lady goes anywhere she takes Miss "Lexie"...doesn't hold her, no leash and acts surprised and exasperated that her precious floofy runs away and doesn't return when called. She scowles at the dog, snaps her fingers at it, hollers...it'd be quite funny if it weren't so annoying.
What really irritates me is when she lets her dog do her business in my front yard. First of all just because I have dogs doesn't mean I wanna clean up HER dogs mess and secondly my dogs are VERY rarely allowed in my front yard bc thats where my kids play. I have a nice fully fenced front yard with a gate and if Lord forbid I leave that gate open Miss "Lexie" pays us a visit. If I'm going somewhere else during the day I -do- leave the gate open and I can do that bc its my gate and I own the house. Sometimes if I see floofy on the loose I let my dogs out front, They appear like big attack dogs but honestly wouldn't hurt a fly, but they do keep floofy away.

I'm thinking of leaving a leash on the porch..perhaps she spends all her money on Big Gulps and cannot afford one...If she had floofy on a leash it might save her some stress and her vocal cords....

I really cant explain why this irritates me so much...but it does..Keep your dog under control. I really liked this neighbor before Miss Redneck moved in..occasional wave and kept to herself, my kind of neighbor.

I'm really hesitant to report Miss Redneck and Floofy bc I just have this gut feeling that she would get mad and report my dogs for some unkown reason just to get back at me.


Perhaps I could play nice guy and give 'darling floofy' a welcome to the neighborhood present consisting of a collar and leash............... In any sense I better get this resolved before BD gets home bc I know he will not be nice if he caught floofy.

rut row raggy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

These were -really- good. I LOVE pumpkin and chocolate chips so these were heaven! They taste like pumpkin pie with chocolate mixed in. They were very cake-like and moist along with the gooey chocolate..Yum!! Will definatly be making more of these

Ingredients
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Directions
1.Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2.Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3.Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Peace Out October!

Another month is drawing to a close and I couldn't be happier to see it leave!! It was a crazy insane month and I am so ready for November! It looks to be a fairly busy month. I'm getting another year older. *I'm still young though..as opposed to BD ;-)* It won't be the birthday I planned but..it's just a birthday. That day I'll be with my lilibug trying to get some answers and if we can find answers for her that will be the BEST Birthday present EVER. And my mom is making a trip here to help me out with Lana while lillia has her testing done so I won't have to spend my birthday alone, another plus.
I Hope to have regular daycare again as soon as they process Lillias no dairy papers. It's been WAYYYY too long since I've had regular daycare. Just as I got everything scheduled for Lillia to start going twice a week for preschool I had to cancel it all bc of her health issues and them taking their time processing her paperwork. I also get to start planning Christmas. I'm hosting again this year and I'm SO excited! I LOVE Christmas. And I really enjoy hosting Christmas. It reminds me of Christmas at my grandmas years ago. It's been probably 3 years since I've had Christmas with my parents and this year they are coming for Christmas so I'm really excited. Why, may you ask am I planning Christmas in November? 1. Bc its fun, 2. I wanna and oh ya....because R&R is December!! WOOT!!!!! So I wanna have all the big planning done as when R&R comes around I won't be plannin NOTHIN. I've also gotta get all the food for the meals BD has requested when he comes home. Still no word on when he'll be here, I have a round about idea, but nothing forsure and won't know until a couple days before, but, If I go missing then he's home :-D (that's for all those wanting to know when he'll be home..I dunno and I aint tellin if I did know..hehe)
And for the part I am most excited about........I have officially reached my goal weight! I've lost 23lbs in 4 months! Even the jeans I could barely fit in when BD left, I'm serious, I had to say a prayer before *trying* to put them on, fit me and are loose!! I have no clue how many sizes I've dropped as I haven't been shopping but I do know it's really hard to find any clothes in my drawers that fit me and don't look really baggy. Now comes the hard part..maintaining. of course, who knows...I may end up gaining some weight after R&R ;-)

so..To October......See ya later!!!!!!!!! Don't let the door hitcha on the way out!

So, On a msg board I frequent they do a "Whats something that is annoying you today" and "whats something good that happened today" so I decided to carry that over to my blog-y blog *as Lillia would say* (Ps, I'd like to thank Yo Gabba Gabba for teaching my daughter to say every word twice and end the first word with a Y)


Something that Annoyed me today: *bare with me, this could take awhile*

- The fact that lillia was up at 6am while Allana slept until 8...Could they not get their sleeping in sync..perferably sleeping until the 8am hour, at least once a week
- The fact that people put babies in dumpsters
- That I got in a fight with the back door this morning...long story short, I was mad, dog was sitting in rain not coming inside, I hate wet dog, rug got bunched up, door got stuck on rug and I was too mad to calmly straighten the rug then close said door. yaaa, moment for a video camera
- The bathtub drain 'stopper' thing is on the fritz so in the midst of my nice warm bubble bath it kept making this rather annoying 'farting' sound because it wasn't securing tightly enough to the tub, which kinda put a damper on my bath. Although I do think it would be rather hilarious to be taking a bath while BD is home and have it make the 'farting' sound right as he walks by the bathroom. lol *sorry, thats my Jones humor* comeon, think about it...it would be really funny. It does sound like a horrible farting noise. lol



Something Good that happened today:

- Lana kept sayin "mama" when she wanted me, this is huge, my kids don't normally address me by name for the first 2 1/2 years of their life
- I had DQ for dinner.......I luv their fries
- I got to talk to BD
- I got a nice hot bubble bath...a short one, but nice while it lasted...I Looovee bubble baths..a nice magazine, really hot water..mmmmmmmm
- Lana kept giving me kisses today
- At this moment, my house is completely silent.......It's a beautiful thing.

PEACE!

Crazy busy week

What a crazy insane week! It seems like it's been the longest week of my life, yet also gone super fast. Monday we went to the pumpkin patch, it was the last thing I wanted to do with my daughters medical issues but I did it because my kids deserve to go to the pumpkin patch. If daddy was here we would have gone and just because he's gone my kids aren't going to suffer. It's not their fault their daddy had to leave, It's not their fault I'm tired and stressed so they deserved to have fun. I refuse to short change my kids bc I'm tired, busy, or stressed.
Lillias medical issues starting popping up again so I knocked down some doors and got her an appt w/ her specialist on Tuesday, which in and of itself is a Miracle. It's super hard to get into Specialists here because it's mostly military, all military has fabulous health care, which means if you need a specialist, you go, no questions asked. But, I got her an appt and her dr said it's time to start looking into some other options, like getting her a consult with a Pedi GI Surgen. Tuesday was a trip to her PCM *primary Dr* to get that referral. I LOVE Her dr. He's a wonderful, knowledgable Dr. Now, His office staff is about 2 tacos short of a combo plate and test my patience and sanity about everytime I need to get an appt but the -only- reason I put up with it is so I can see this particular Dr. He's just that awesome. So he gave me a consult for a couple surgens and also no questions asked wrote me a RX for Lillias preschool stating she can't have dairy. Nothing drives a mother more insane than needing answers for her child and not being able to get them 'fast enough'
Wednesday was my catch up day and wasn't any less stressful, piles of laundry, dirty house, cranky kids.
Thursday was our Brigades Fall fest which I used as our "halloween" as I'm not about to take 2 small kids out alone on Halloween. For-get That. It was crazy busy there and I was near frazzled but I did it and I pulled off my mommy duty and they looked super cute in their costumes. I almost had to smack the kid with the stupid pumpkin 'face' on going around scaring little kids, it was so mean. These poor kids were so scared. That kids very lucky he didn't try to scare my babies. I'd smack him on his punkin head and then take him to his mother to explain to her how her son is scaring poor little kids. Don't mess with me.
So yes, it's now Friday and I'm really hoping for some relaxation this weekend. On a scale from 1-10 my stress level is about a 20. Next week looks to be crazy busy as well. Also gotta stay on Tricare to get that referral taken care of. If I don't hear anything by middle of next week I'm gonna have to start knockin down doors again. :-D

I'll blog a bit later some pics of the pumpkin patch and the kids costumes but for now it's time for me to get ready to go on a run. The other day on my run I found a dollar..maybe today I'll find $10. Now if that isnt an incintive to run I don't know what is!

Peace!

Don't you REALIZE?

So, I don't quite know the reason for this post, but perhaps there is someone out there who is feeling or has felt the way I am feeling and somehow I can help or they can help me.

Lately I have been feeling so overwhelmed, which is sooo not me, I'm a go getting, a mover and a shaker, do all, Armywife here me ROAR kind of person. I've had people ask me how I do it, manage a house, kids, bills, dogs, yard, ect ect all while my husband is gone for a year to a war zone and my answer is "Oh we stay busy, but we are doing great" and its TRUE.. I'm -not- a moper, We have our schedule and I do it all and still have time for me. I'm used to being alone, I'm fine with it and we got it down. It's all so very true...until lately.
Lately I'm overwhelmed, tired, frustrated, stressed, exausted, worn down, D-O-N-E. I had it together more last deployment when I had a newborn and a 15 month old and had no daycare.

Doesn't the dog realize that I need him to stop barking because I'm trying to deal with my daughters medical issues that have arisen once again?

Don't my kids understand that I need them to NOT sprinkle..er..dump..powder between 2rooms and a hallway then mix it all with peroxide as I'm trying to skype with their father who is 8,000 miles away?

Don't the dishes realize that I need them to wash themselves bc I have to spend the evening cleaning up said peroxide/powder glue mixture?

Doesn't my child realize that I can't handle the 12yr old attitude I'm getting lately?

AND on top of it all I've had sick kids for....geez..3 1/2 months now and on top of all that I'm now sick.

I haven't had the time in nearly 2 weeks to exercise because it was too cold to run outside with the kids then the kids were sick, and now I'm sick...It's a miracle I'm still losing weight.

1/2 my house is possibly sinking

annnd it's looking like we're moving in less than a year which means it's up to me to get the house 'sell ready' all by myself... ya know..in my spare time

Don't you realize that I have the weight of the world on my shoulders??

These are all the big things, below these big things I have 10 million other 'little' issues that need to be taken care of that aren't getting done because there just aren't enough hours in the day.
If you think I just sit around the house leisurely reading all day you are mistakingly wrong.

What stumps me the most though is how in the world women have the time to cheat on their man while they are gone..honestly..how?! By the time my kids go to bed I have been drooled on, climbed on, and hung on so much that I do believe I will scream if so much as the dog gets within 10 feet of me. And it's the honest to God truth that I don't know a man willing to come into this chaotic, drama filled, busy, hectic house besides my husband and he kinda has to because they are his kids and his stuff is still here and I have the keys to his car. lol

is this just the mid deployment hump that I'm feeling and perhaps I just forgot from last time? I sure hope so.

My Plea to T-mobile

Every month I dread 1 bill and that is my cell phone bill. I dread paying it. Every month I call the nice automated lady and they have the nice system where you have to say everything as opposed to just pushing the buttons on the phone, which chaps my hide. Not only do you sound stupid saying "YES", "PAY MY BILL", "NO", "YES" in a loud monotone voice so that they don't, Lord forbid, misunderstand you and accidentally change your plan to 10 billion minutes, but I swear to you, everytime I get on that phone to pay that bill my kids knnnooowww!!!!

Like today, I wait until the kids are totally engrossed in their tv show, pull out my debit card and phone, push 611, *very quietly, may I add, so they didn't lose their trance* Miss 'nice automated voice' answers and no sooner than I say "PAY MY BILL" in a nice monotone voice so as 'Miss nice automated lady' won't misundersatnd me, do my kids start bum rushing me and yell "MICKEY MICKEY, MOMMMMM MICKEYYYYYY MOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MICKEY MICKEY MICKEY!!!"
Or there is the sudden high pitched screaming cat fight *I have girls* that happens.
Those of you who have used that type of system know that when any other noise or voice is heard Miss 'nice automated voice' gets confused and cancels your services or signs you up for the 'I'm a millioniare texting plan' then you have to hang up and start all over again. I kid you not, I have had to hang up and start over again 4 times before because of outside noises!

So there I am putting my finger to my lips, making "SHHH" faces, whispering in that quiet but 'SHUT UP NOW!' voice and my kids DON'T GET IT! I don't have the -time- to redo this 5 times! This time ended alright and I did accomplish paying the bill the first time but I kid you not, I have, literally, ran from my children, to my bedroom, they barged in there, through the house, out the backdoor, SHUTTING the back door just to get the bill paid, *I believe that was the time I was on my 4th attempt and my patiences was fried*. I hate resorting to such embarassing displays but desperate times call for desperate measures. They would -not- quit screaming at me and a mother had to do what a mother had to do.

Okay..yes..I know I could wait until they are in bed or napping and I -do- try to do that, I really really do but obviously it doesn't always happen because those 2 times are the only time I can sit on the couch for more than 5 minutes and yes, I take advantage of it. Those times are also the only times I can get dinner prepped or do cleaning without it being undone 2 minutes later or return calls/answer emails, or write these funny, witty, informative blogs, now you wouldn't want me to stop doing that now would you..so cut me a little slack, I'm kind of a mom 24/7/365 :-D

My plea to T-mobile...CAN'T I JUST PUSH THE BUTTONS!! BRING THAT FEATURE BACK!! PLEEASEEE! This 'single' mom needs all the help she can get!!!!!!!!!

Transitions

so, Since I'm getting closer to R&R I'm starting to think about transitions and things that have changed around here while BD has been gone. When spouses come home for R&R and even for good it can be a hard transition. You're used to doing things a certain way, your spouse is used to doing their own thing, and your spouse also knows how things were before he/she left. Those 3 factors can cause a lot of unneeded stress and arguments. It takes patience on both parts, especially when there are kids involved, to get back into a routine. My husband is really good about standing back the first few days and just watching and being a 'help' instead of 'taking charge' It's easy for a soldier to want to take charge coming home when they are using to taking care of soldiers or being in charge of some aspect at all of their job, which causes clashes because as a mom, we're used to doing things a certain way on our own without outside help. They get so into doing their own thing, whenever they want, however they want, day in day out for 6-12 months at a time. As do we. It can bring out a 'mommy bear' if your husband walks in and starts being harsh or disciplining the kids when you're used to doing it all or doing it in a different fashion. You're husband has been 'soldier' for a solid 6 months, they are using to talking to soldiers and can come across a bit harsh
Something I do that seems to help us is before BD is supposed to come home I write him a letter and share everything 'new' thats gone on. Like the fact that Lillia doesn't take a water cup to bed anymore, she's only allowed a sip before bed, or the fact that Lillia doesn't -have- to nap during 'quiet time' she just has to be quiet for the set amount of time. It can cause a lot of fights when a husband comes home and tries to -make- a kid nap and you and the child aren't used to that then it turns into a fight bc you're mad that they are doing something they aren't supposed too and they are mad because they didnt even -know-. It's all about communication.
Another thing, go with the flow. If your husband wants to go out to walmart at 6:45 to look at something and you are normally getting the kids ready for bed....Whats the harm in giving a bit? Say "well, normally I'm getting the kids ready for bed but if it's a quick trip, then thats fine" In the end what's it matter if the kids are 20 minutes late for bed? Ya, they may be a bit cranky the next day but there's no fight, your husband is happy, you're happy bc you're not fighting and in the end, you're together so unless its life and death...give a little. It takes giving and taking. And in the end your husband may say "oh..well I didnt know that, we can just go tomorrow" Soldiers get into the mode of doing whatever, whenever.
And lastly..Give your soldier a bit of space if they need it. They've come from a war zone where they may have seen/heard things and whatnot. They've traveled days to get home, they are most likely tired. They are going from being 'single' to 'family' in an instant. It's all a bit overwhelming. If they need space to just go drive their car or nap or just quiet. Give them some time. Now, Im not saying let your soldier desert you the whole time, but, a little space is normal and okay. If they're distant, let them be, dont nag them. Ask once if they wanna talk, if so, let them..if not..dont harp on it.
It's all about give and take, patience, and respect. Now, this isn't true for all soldiers as everyone is different, just some food for thought. When you think about it though, isn't that what marriage is supposed to be all the time? Love, patience, respect, thoughtfulness, compromise. Being nice to your spouse, being thoughtful, trying to understand their point of view and trying to understand where they are coming from. Ya, your spouse may annoy you...but...at some point doesn't -everyone- we know annoy us at some point?

It's amazing how such commonsense can be forgotten at times. It's true, you never know what you have until it's gone! I learned that my first deployment and I try to remember that when my husbands home also. Don't take each other for granted, life is too short.

2 ear infections, 2 fevers, allergies and flu shots...Oh My!!

I'm thinking of inviting the kids Dr over for Thanksgiving.
In the last 5 days I've had to take Lillia to the dr for a horrible persistant cough and found out she had an ear infection, no fever, no waking up at night, not even complaining that her ear hurt but most definatly an ear infection. Then they both got flu shots and both had fevers and were generally grumpy, fussy and irritable, first lana then as soon as she was okay Lillia started with the fever. At least I didnt have 2 in that condition at once ? hey, I gotta stay positive. Then today I notice miss lana is jamming her fingers in her ears...hi ho hi ho it's back to the Dr we go. Of course, she's not running a fever or being awake at night...but its an ear infection. Heres a little trick for the mommies out there to know forsure if your child has an ear infection, take a little bit of hydrogen Peroxide and squirt some in the ear, I like using the lil medicine dispensers you get at Walgreens when you fill a Rx, if it bubbles up and fizzes it's an infection.
How can all that happen in 5 days?? Now, don't get me wrong I love the kids Dr. If you need a peditrician, definatly check out Dr Organ at the Family and Childrens Clinic in HH. He's fabulous....I just don't necessarily like to see him every 3 days. lol
I'm so tired of sick kids and ear infections. This will be lana's second since BD left 3 months ago. Luckily *I guess ?* My kids handle them pretty well and you can't tell when my kids are sick normally unless they are *reeally* sick, so that definatly makes my life easier.

ya can't make this stuff up.

Now as for Murphy....He can be shown the door!!!!!

Hello Fall

I don't know about ya'll but September flew by! I'll admit I was the one dreading september bc I had 'nothing' going on and was sure it would drag. Well, I was proven wrong. I don't quite know what happened to make it fly by so fast, but it sure did. I do know there was car trouble, house trouble, sick kids, dog surgery....wait...theres only 4 weeks in a month, that averages 1 'issue' a week..okay..maybe we were busy :-) We are finally cooling down to some semi-fall temps and I am so ready! Bring on Fall!
Lillia -loves- going to daycare, she's in the preschool classroom now and has done so well and learned so much! Allana is very clingy..always has been, but is even more so when BD is gone but she's doing better at daycare also, which does my mommy heart good.
Below are some pics of the girls all ready to go.



I'm so ready for October! We have a few things planned along with the normal everyday stuff that happens. I am taking part in the Walk to Defeat ALS on Oct 9th. My grandma had and unfortuantly lost her battle with ALS. It's a cause very close to my heart. For more info on ALS or if you want to make a donation to help find a cure you can visit: http://web.alsa.org/site/TR?px=2746706&fr_id=6567&pg=personal

What a week! and its only Tuesday!!

Yesterday was horrid! My day started rough anyways as the girls only 'allowed' me to get around 3 1/2 hours of sleep the night before. always rough! I very much need my beauty rest! :) Well as the day progressed it turned into one of those days where everything you touch either falls out of your hands, breaks or causes you to trip, stub a toe, whatnot. every...single...thing. Couple that wtih tired kids and a tired mommy, not good. I was just generally grumpy, tired of deployments and just annoyed. Lillia kept sayin "mommy, you 'rumpy'" ha
That afternoon I decide we need out of the house and needed to make a trip to Sams anyways, which is in Temple, so its about 30 minutes away. Trip there went great, kids napped in the car, got there, got everything we needed..all great. On the way home we're about 1/2 way there in an area thats very.....shaggy, shall we say. Theres bascially nothing there except a very old, very run down, very scary trailer park. As we're driving along the car starts feeling very hot and I just keep sayin to myself "oh, I'm just tired and stressed, i must be just havin a hot flash or somethin" lol They say stress ages you. And it starts feeling warmer and warmer in teh car and I keep thinkin I'm just losin my mind or somethin. Then I hear a little voice in the back saying "mommyy!! Its HOT!!" *okay..maybe I'm not losin it*
Im tryin to figure out whats happening and I decide to pull off the highway right next to...yes.. the very scary trailer park. I get out of the car and I smell a horrible smell, so thinkin I've just blown a tire or something Im checking the car and then I see it...Smoke comin out of my hood! Whats the first thing that my mommy brain thinks? QUICK, get the kids out of the car incase theres a fire or something. So there I am standing there on a frontage road off a busy highway, RIGHT off an exit ramp with 2 small kids, who I am clinging to for dear life for fear one may run into oncoming traffic, trying to decide what to do. I sure couldn't walk the 15 miles back to Killeen with 2 kids in the 95 degree heat. I was around -nothing- and I didn't know if my car was safe to drive. And heres where I get mad............You would be SHOCKED by the number of cars driving by -on the frontage road!!- who obviously see a mom, 2 kids and smoke comin out of the hood of a car and DO NOT STOP! at LEAST Pull up and ask if everyone is okay!!!! I can understand a woman not stopping but..men..REALLY!? Mothers need to be teaching their sons that if they ever see a woman with small kids and a smoking car on teh side of the road to HELP! I'm really fed up with men not acting like MEN! Shortly there after a couple men stop and help me out and figure out that my air conditioner compressor was blown and I could get home and if I just didn't run to AC and they offered to follow me into Killeen to make sure I got there okay. Thank you so very much to those to men!!! Can I just say that my car is an 06 and since we got it in 07 theres been NOTHING wrong with it...and in 3 months since BD been gone I've had 3 car issues!
We finally made it home safe and yes my compressor is all jacked up. Add that onto a house that needs leveling, cranky kids who aren't sleeping well, and that I'm in the midst of my 3rd deployment in less than 6 years and I'm just about fed UP!

So hopefully my car won't cost me my first born :) and at least it's still driveable, no ac, but driveable. Hot...But driveable. and at least we all got home safe and those 2 guys didnt try to mug me or somethin. lol and thankfully I have a loving family to call on when I need to whine or I have questions and thankfully I have an honest mechanic...When my Uncle Steve can't fix it ;-) and Thankfully I have the amazing support of my loving husband, even from thousands of miles away!

Being Strong isn't about strength...It's about being able to pick yourself up after your pity party and moving forward.

Pity Parties are fine...but you just gotta know when to pick yourself up, put on your big girl panties and deal.

Mizz fix it

Murphy stopped by...in the form of a clogged kitchen sink. This kitchen sink has given me fits 2 other times *in 2 1/2 months* I'm learning a lot about fixing a kitchen sink, so i wasn't all that surprised when it was clogged yet again. I did all the tricks I knew to do, plungering, drano, ect and I still had a horrible clog. I was about to give up and call a plumber but at the last moment I thought, what the heck, might as well try to fix it, if I end up with tons of pipe pieces laying around I can always call a plumber at that point and tell him "sorry, i thought I was more hooah than I apparently am" and he'd fix it. Honestly, I HATE having worker dudes in my house..and I hate giving them my money..sooo I figured I had nothing to lose if I tried to fix it.
So I googled a bit and figured out that its usually the 'elbow joint thingie ma jobber" that is causing the problem. Now, nobody told me that when you unscrew said 'elbow thingie' tons of water comes pouring out at you and to have a bucket/towel handy...that was an exciting moment as I dodged all the sludgy/drano smelling water that once resided in my sink/pipes.
Found my clog *it was really gross Btw* and decided I would do an extra good cleaning job and rinse it out...........Note: Don't use the kitchen sink.
I failed to realize that what I was rinsing in the kitchen sink was in fact a key part to not causing a huge flood underneath the sink.......yyaa..again...exciting!

But I got it all cleaned out and put back onto the other pipe pieces to where there was No leaks! *GO ME!* and now my sink works good as new and I'm not out $100!!!!
I'm SO proud! This is the first project I've done all on my own without any calls to one of the dads or whatnot!

And to my darling husband,

I love you very very much but No..I will Not keep doing said repairs once you get home! What I am learning is valuable but I will cease all 'manly' work as soon as you get home! Do not ask, try to bribe, or beg me to do said 'manly' jobs as I won't give in! I do them while you are gone and that is it!
--Your loving wife

D-Day

So, I've realized that not a lot of people..mostly civilians, know what happens on D-Day...That horrid day when your spouse leaves for a deployment. So I'd like to share my D-day.
The day before D-Day was our 5yr anniversary. I was so thankful to get that day with him because for quite awhile it looked like we would be apart on our anniversary and at the last moment the Army pulled through for us. We had a fabulous day, spending time as a family. We didnt really celebrate as we were all celebrated out from our previous 2 "anniversary celebrations" a month or so earlier. But we had a fantastic day nonetheless.
I am normally very scatterbrained on D-Day and I end up doing a complete cleaning of the house that morning. Yes, instead of spending the last moments with my husband I am cleaning. I clean and flutter around the house keeping myself busy. Washing baseboards, vents, underside of the kitchen table, ya get the jist. My loving husband has just come to terms with the fact that thats how its gonna be. It's either going to be cleaning or me sobbing in a corner. SO I think he was a bit surprised when we woke up that morning and I said "lets go to breakfast" I was trying my hardest to keep upbeat and happy so as to not upset the kids and figured breakfast was a wonderful option. Plus I didn't know when BD would eat next, so knew he needed food.....I'm very big on making sure he has enough to eat, maybe thats why he gains weight when hes home ?....I have been known to throw a can of beans in his duffle when he was goin to the field for 2 weeks. Like the Army wouldn't feed him..I don't know why I do these things, But I'm very paranoid about making sure people aren't hungry.
SO off we went to Cracker barrel, Got dressed, kids ready, loaded everyone up and off we went...On our way to cracker barrel, which is a 15-20 min. drive from my house, I was priding myself on the fact that I was doing so well, maybe bc it is my
3rd deployment I was finally getting the hang of it, I was a seasoned Army wife, I had it together!...until we got to Cracker Barrel, turned to grab my purse and realized..OH CRAP!!!!!! I left it sitting on the front porch!!!!! phone, money, ID's everything on the front porch of my house. lovely. So BD tells me to go ahead and go home and get it, he'll take the girls inside and get them something to eat, no problem. As I'm 1/2 way home I realize.......wait.....if I dont have my purse, then............I dont have my drivers license. Then my mind starts to wonder if I do get pulled over for whatever reason I would get arrested for not having my drivers license and in that case would they not make BD deploy ? oh the possibilities.....luckily I made it home safe and everything in my purse that was in fact on the front porch was safe also.
We had a lovely breakfast and then came home and honestly, I can't tell you WHAT we did from then until he had to report at 1130am. I have no clue how we busied ourselves.
The past 2 deployments I start crying when he puts on his uniform bc that means we're about to go, last time I even begged him to take it off, I think maybe I mighta bribed him also..geesh, I sound like a crazy person..but comeon, give me a break, I am saying goodbye to my husband for a YEAR to go to a war zone!
And we made it out the door, I even had makeup on *thats a plus!*
We get to BD's offices and he has to draw *get* his weapon then its a lot of standing around and waiting *some units have a ceremony, in 3 deployments we never have* We stood around letting the kids play, visiting with co workers, bein social ect, some people just stay off to themselves. I even made a run to the shoppette *like a 7-11, kwick shop, ect* to get snacks for the girls and a sandwich for BD.
and then the mean man comes out and starts hollerin "10 Minutes until you have to be at the gym, say your goodbyes now, NO family at the gym!" (all the soldiers go to a gym on post and are 'locked in' for 4-5 hours before they leave, no family is allowed to go there, no soldiers leave) Theres no goodbyes by the airplane like you see on TV. Still, I was doing good.
I was still doing good until he started saying goodbye to the girls and I lost it...and i mean..LOST...IT! I kinda hid in a doorway so he wouldn't see me crying. Then I realized, crap...We were a good ways away from our car and to get to the car we had to walk through a lot of people and I could not have them seeing me sobbing, soo I pulled it together, yes..again.
We started walking back to the car. He helps me load all the kids up and I am really, REALLY trying hard to not crawl under the car and start sobbing. Finally everything is int he car and its him and I standing there and we hug and kiss and we say "I love you" "be safe" ect I dont quite remember our exact words at that point. Then I get in the car and I'll never forget this....all i could see was his stomach through my open side window and I make the sign for "I love you" and press it on his stomach bc I couldn't say it or else I'd cry more and he took his hand and pressed it over my hand and held it there and bent down and gave me another kiss. and he walked into his office.
I drove home, crying...I dont quite know how, but I did. Put the kids for their nap and had my pity party..>Then the kids got up, I was fine, made dinner and we carried out the rest of our day. They needed to see that everything was okay and I was bound and determind to show them.

So that was D-day..I dont think I have ever written it out before and even writting it out now I feel a lump of emotion in my chest. I dont even think our family knows how D-Day goes......It's emotional and hard but there will be a day when those lovely white busses pull up and I will have my husband ALL to myself again and its worth it!!

Hello September!!!

Hello again lil Blog!

I took a bit of a hiatius as August turned out to be such a crazy month. We had a nice trip back to Ks and I sooo enjoyed the cooler temps. Lillia had a fabulous Birthday and got spoiled rotten! I can't believe she's 3.
September should be a slower month. Not a lot going on. I do plan to start potty training noni. She's ready and this will be our only 'slow' month until R&R! WOW, thats so much -fun- to say!!!!!!! I also hope to touch up/finish some painting in the house this month.

On the weight loss front, I am about 5-10lbs away from my goal. I am, at this point, thinner than I have been in 3 years. I am SO super proud of myself. This is the first time I have had the want/desire/strength to do it. And I'll be honest, when I first started, I doubted I could/would do it. And as time goes on my goal is starting to shift. In the beginning it was "get skinny". Now it isnt so much. It's about eating healthy, its about being healthy, and a large part is that now I feel like I deserve it! I deserve to be healthy, I deserve to take time for me to exercise, even though some days my kids holler about it and I should be cleaning or doing laundry or whatnot, I deserve to take the time for me. I feel better, physically, mentally, emotionally. I have more confidence. I'm a better mother. Yes, most days I'm tired and don't want to exercise, but if I get out there and do it I feel so much better.
Once I get to my goal I won't change anything that I am doing now bc it's not about that anymore. It's about me and my journey. It's about feeling great about myself, its about being able to let go of some of the stress that I deal with everyday.
This is me...and if you don't like it, that's okay. For every person that doesn't like me, theres another that loves me dearly.

Well thats all for now, I have dogs barking, kids revolting and its time for me to get out of my lil blogging world and resume "Super Hero" status once again.

Peace!

Embarking on a wild ride

well, it's been a 7+ year journey but I've finally figured out what I want to be when I "grow up" I've been thinking a lot about when BD gets out and the job he wants does pay good...for us, but maybe its losing the 'security' of the Army that lights a fire under me? I want to get my degree while I'm still an Army wife so that I can use the MYCAA program, and although I love being home with my kids, it isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life. Once my kids are in school I am not going to sit home and twiddle my thumbs. I want a job, a career.
I am going back to school to become a Registered Diagnostic Medical Sonographer. In laymans terms, a sonogram technician. I still need to figure out what areas I am going study the most in (ie: pregnancy, brain, stomach, ect) I plan to pick a couple different areas to study so that it helps my chances of getting a job.
I Never ever thought I'd want to do anything in the medical field. I just don't do goo or fluids, but this feels right. Ya know that feeling deep down where you know you are doing what's right..ya, that one. plus..scrubs are -really- cute! ha
It amazes me that you can take a little wand and look inside somebody. When I was pregnant I was so awed to check out the machines and I watched like a hawk to see if I could make out any of the symbols/signs ect, not bc I was necessarily worried about my babies but because it was cool!
I am so so excited! I can't wait to start school. I can't wait to learn all about it. I am checking into colleges and facts on the job and everything looks promising. Projected job growth is good, pay is good and this is a job I can do anywhere. I am so excited to start this new chapter in my life. I am scared though, really...really...scared! lol It's been soo long since I have been in school. And all those subjects that make people cringe, anatomy, physiology, physics, I will be taking. lol I always did pick the hardest road possible. :-) Maybe it's so that I can watch myself succeed time and time again.
At the current time I plan to just get my associates so that when BD gets out in 2years I will be able to get a job if I need too, if not, I will go for my bachelors, providing financing comes through, ect. Heck, maybe I'll even go for my Doctorate *totally just kidding........I dont like school that much!*

Thank you to my husband for supporting me 1,000% on this journey. Thank you for providing for me the last 5 years. Thank you for never pressuring me to get a job or go to school. Thank you for always encouraging me in all I do. Thank you for accepting me just as I am right now, a little stay at home mom. Thank you for believing in me, beliving in my 'smarts' even as a stay at home mom. Thank you for being my Prince Charming. The only way I'll succeed on this journey is through your support, so thank you!!

To my parents: thank you so much for your constant love and support. Thank you for never pressuring me into college. Some of the best advice I recieved from my mom was to not go to college unless you know forsure what you want to do, because then you end up spending lots of money and time trying to figure it out. Thank you for never saying "you need to go to college" You knew that when I was ready, I'd do it.
Thank you for having the wisdom to know that 6 years ago I didn't know what I wanted and if I had gone to school I woulda majored in something that at this point in my life I wouldn't enjoy. Then would go back to school spending more time/money..or I woulda just been unhappy. Thank you for allowing me to find my Prince Charming and have my Princesses first and then pursue college, if I wanted.

This will be a wild ride. I excited, scared, nervous, happy. It will be extremely hard, but I want to succeed. I wanna pull off a 4.0!
now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to go buy my colored pencils and Strawberry Shortcake lunch box! woohoo!!!!!!!

money, money, money

So I'm thinking more and more about saving money and being frugal. When BD gets out we will most likely take a paycut for at least the first year he's in the Academy and the Force so I'm thinking more and more about saving money and living smart.
I've started line drying, yes..I know..How very Little House on the Prarie, but comeon, I've gotta use the 106 degree heat to some sort of advantage. I keep our big double front windows closed with new fangle energy saving Curtains, which is really really hard for me. I hate being inside and having no way to look outside, I get almost clasutrophobic. I'm also starting to look at coupons more. I wish they had coupons for veggies, meat, and fruits. I buy very litle packaged products and I refuse to buy a product I don't normally buy just so that I can say I used a coupon because in the end I'm still spending more, unless that product is free. I spend approx $150-$175 every 2 weeks on groceries and that includes diapers/wipes/laundry detergent, ect.
I also called our electric company to see if they could get us a lower rate and sure enough they did!
I also have a Khols card *gasp* When the girls need clothes I wait for a sale, which they have pretty reguarly and then using my card I also get another 15-30% off my total. I've walked outta there spending $100 but saving $180 for all the clothes we need. Then I pay it off the next month.
We rarely go out to eat when BD is home...we almost NEVER go to a sitdown resteraunt, unless we have a gift card, and we only eat out at other places 2.. -maybe- 3 times a week. When BD is gone I dont eat out much at all, even fast food, because its just too much work to get both kids in the car, go get something, come back, unload everything and then eat. Just too much work to justify it for me. If we're out and runnin behind and hungry then ya we pick up somethin, but other than that..not normally. This actually has less to do with money and more to do with my lazyness. lol
We don't buy soda for the house but thats just because if we have it, I'll drink it and I dont need to drink Dr Pepper all day. ha

So...Lemme have it, Tell me your best frugal/money saving ideas!

Ps: I do NOT do cloth diapering...somethin about scrapin poo off a diaper just makes me whiggie..although I do have to admit some of those cloth diapers are REALLY cute! but lana will hopefully be outta diapers soon so we'll just have to wait and see if I change my mind on the next baby.

Time

So, this week's weight loss did NOT go good. it bombed..failed...hey, at least I didnt gain anything. I did stay right where I was last week, which is good, I guess. But, I've been given a gift, the gift of time! Time to do better next week.
Time is a funny thing, it either goes too fast or too slow. It seems like time never cooperates with us huh? But time does not stop, no matter how much it feels like time is at a standstill, it isn't.
I know every military wife has heard the phrase "at the end of everyday you are one day closer to being with your spouse again" well, think about it for a minute, really let it sink it. Tomorrow I am one day closer to having my husband/wife home. Isn't that an amazing thought?! Yes I've heard it thousands of times before but when I really let it sink in and really thought about it, I was like wow! cool!! I don't know about you but being a temporary single mom my days fly by. Even days that I dont have anything going on it's hectic. Someone will get sick, they'll fight all day, something unexpected will come up, meses will be made all day long causing me to have to clean up said mess and chase said mess maker.
Cherish each day. I promise you if you spend each and every day wallowing in pity and sadness you're days WILL seem like they are dragging. But when you get up, get busy, become involved, whether its with FRG, volunteering, seeing family, whatever, Time will go faster. Ya know the old saying "Time flys when you're having fun!"
Make the best out of your situation. I get to spend wonderful quality time with my girls at the moment, it's like a girls night EVERY night. okay, ya, I'm exausted, they fight, I scold them, time outs, tandrums, drama, but..aren't we supposed to look at the bright side? or at least try to find one?
Yes, I am sad that BD won't be at Lillias 3rd bday...but, Lillia gets a chance to see her grandparents and spend quality time with them, I get the wonderful gift of help that I don't get often, I get to leave our mutts here and not have to worry about them, I get the chance to visit where I grew up again. Next year Lillia may not be spending her bday with her grandparents so this is a wonderful opportunity for her. see...The bright side!
now, If you'll excuse me I'm going to follow my own advice and go spend some time with some family for, as Lillia says, "Cousin Nessie's birfday party, SWIMMIN TIME!!!" lol Yes, I could be sad bc my husband isnt there with me and I still havent figured out how I'm going to properly watch 2 kids in a pool, but I'm not going to think about that, I'm going to think positive!

Later!

Hello August

Well, August is finally here. Last month I did really well on my goals. Lost the poundage I wanted to, plus 3 more. I hope to lose 7lbs this month.
This month will be a busy one. Birthday parties, birthdays *apparently everybody in my family chose August to be born*, a trip, and the most important birthday of all, My Lilibug will be 3!!! It will be a bittersweet birthday as daddy is away but Im trying my hardest to make it perfect for her. We are going back to Ks to celebrate and shes requested a Princess birthday party and Princess she's getting.
I also have gotten myself in quite the prediciment with Lillia. She was sleeping perfectly *8pm-7am* before BD left then BD left and she was thrown off and was waking up a lot sooo in the interest of sleep that we all needed I started the "milk cycle" milk always makes her fall asleep. Welll, now she's getting up 3 times a night for milk. I realize I was stupid to even start it but at that point I just needed to survive. If I don't give in to the milk she throws a royal tantrum, if she throws a royal tantrum then she wakes up her sister as they share a room. Sooo as of tonight Miss Lillia is camping in the toyroom and not getting milk and we will kick this habit. I need to sleep. I need consistant sleep for more than 3 hrs at a time *no exaggeration, I'm up every 3 hours* not to mention shes costing me a fortune drinking milk all night, as she's on soy.
Just so you can share in my misery, heres a rundown of my nights.
I go to bed between 10 and 11, usually closer to 10, she wakes up around midnight, back to bed, she's up around 2, 2:30 again, back to bed, then shes up again between 4-5:30, then back to bed *Hopefully..we pray that happens* then up for the day around 6-6:30, but shes not really rested because she's a grump all day
I...Am...Exausted. So I hope this is a quick, painless process. Every morning I must save the world all by myself and a Super Hero has to sleep.

So..if ya pray, please say a quick one that my child will kick the crack *aka, milk* and sleep all night once again.

Thank God I'm not a Dude

So this morning I played Dude. I mowed the front yard and decided to try to conquer the weedeater once again *refer to previous blog* and I'm so proud! I did it for like...30 seconds. One whole side of our fence is somewhat better looking. I consider that a huge accomplishment, then I had to stop and check on the kids, as they went missing, (They ended up inside raiding the Goldfish crackers) then I went back out and the stupid thing wouldn't start again, so I gave up. Not worth it. I will just hire someone to come do it.
I, then, got on some sort of tangent and decide to trim all our bushes and our tree in the front yard. While doing that I got annoyed with our 1/2 broken trelles and decided to take that down, along with the pretty pink flower vine thing that grows on it, while it is pretty, it attracts bees and I can't really have bees dive bombing my front porch. So there I was, one foot on a chair, one foot on the porch railing in a very unlady like position unscrewing the last screw *I really shoulda just got a ladder* and Mr. Bee decides to come buzzin around and I start to whig out. Ya know how if you holler at a dog it'll go away........That doesn't work with a bee, it went something like this "AH..go away..WAAHOO *I almost fell there* AH GOOO away!! WAAHOOO *Almost fell again*"...but I successfully took that down and drug it to the curb.
All that was left was the back yard. yaaa about 1/2 of that got done before it just got too hot and I whimped out. lol

Now, people may think strangers and such dont bother me bc of my 2 big dogs...ya, no..they don't bother me bc they see me doing such things as I did above and they think I'm CRAZY! lol

But, if anyone wants a laugh just bring a lawn chair and park it across the street with a cold drink and watch me do yard work. Me trying to move a 7ft tall trelles was quite humerous. Just imagine........I dare ya. :-)

Thank God I'm not a dude! and honey, I'm sorry I fell so in love with such a big yard. Arizona with rock yards are looking really good at the moment!

Who doesn't love a new recipe?

So, who doesn't love some new recipes. I thought I'd share a few of my go-to recipes.

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Mushroom chicken: This is my 1st go to..its SUPER easy and yummy! I've even made it for company.

1 can cream of mushroom soup
4 chicken breasts *i adjust the amount of chicken and soup to how many people I have, for the 4 of us, i usually do 4-5 chicken breasts and 2 cans of soup, but I like it with lots of 'gravy'*

Cut up the chicken and put in skillet, dump soup on top *yup, straight from the can* and let cook until chicken is done, about 20-30 minutes. stirring occasionally I serve this with rice or pasta and a veggie.

I've also made this with Cream of chicken soup and Cheddar cheese soup *condensed* and both were also really good!

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BBQ.......meat

Ive done this with pork, chicken or a roast.

Put meat in crockpot and I add approx 1-2 cups of broth *chicken, beef, veggie, doesnt really matter* Let cook all day on Low (8hrs) Take meat out and let rest 15 mins or so, then shred with a fork, put back in crockpot and dump BBQ sauce on top, stir, let cook another lil bit *until you feel its good*
Serve on buns. I also have cheese, onion, pickles, tomatoes to put on top

It really is a GOOD bbq sandwich!

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This is my newest Go-to...Thanks to Miss April!

Redbeans and Rice

Fry 3 slices of bacon-crispy, saute onion and garlic in the same pan with a bit of the drippings. Add chopped smoked sausage *If you want it* into same pan, I also added the chopped up bacon, 1 can of tomatoes *I used diced*, 1 can redbeans, 1 can cannellini beans, salt, pepper, oregano, chili powder, and a little lime juice (I used 2 fresh key limes and it was perfect). Let simmer for 20 mins while rice is cooking.
Serve beans over top of rice or mix together, however you like it.

ok, sure, it isnt original, but, it was really really good. And I only had a skillet, cutting board, knife and rice pan to wash. And I was able to cook it while I had a toddler screaming at my leg...thats a winner in my book

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Mushroom porkchops

However many porkchops ya want *boneless, with the bone, doesnt matter*
a Lg can cream of mushroom soup *ya, I use it a lot*

stick porkchops in a baking dish, dump on the soup, sometimes if i wanna get snazzy I add mushrooms on top too, then just bake 350 until porkchops are done. around 30 mins for thinner chops.
Lots of times I'll put seasonings on the porkchops before i add the soup. salt, pepper, garlic, adobo, whatever I can find and sounds good.

I always serve these with sticky rice. mmmmmm

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Fried Rice

now, this does take awhile to cook, but, it's a pretty good fried rice.

Big container of leftover *chilled overnight* cooked rice *probably 4-5 cups*
carrots
onion
sometimes Ill scramble an egg
mushrooms
Frozen mixed veggies
whatever kind of veggie you can find in your fridge, toss it in. Chop up all veggies into small pieces. If im trying to save time I will cut everything up during the kids naptime then once dinner time comes I just have to dump it all in

Heat oil (you'll want quite a bit) in wok or lg. skillet *I use a lg wok* until really hot. Dump in your rice and all the veggies, ect. I put in some teriyake sauce and soy sauce *i just glug until it feels right...probably 2-3 Tbs of each. minced garlic, pepper, whatever else strikes my fancy.
Then just cook it, stirring often, until it looks like a fried rice 'color' I usually let it cook a good 30 minutes, stirring a lot or else it sticks.

Also made this for company and I dont think I've ever had much or any leftovers


ENJOY!

So, I'll be honest, I've lost count already as to how many week in we are, but thats okay because time goes faster if I'm not counting. I have a round about idea but I'm not 100% sure. Time got away from me, things happened and I lost count.
One of the hardest things about being a parent is that you hurt when your kids hurt. It's heart wrenching when your daughter cries everyday for her daddy and theres not a thing I can do about it. It breaks my heart, and it makes me angry because this deployment was not supposed to happen and no, I'm not being bratty and dramatic about how unfair it is and it shouldn't happen. The truth is, it -wasn't- supposed to happen, but someone got all hooah-happy and pushed things up and by doing that caused a heap of stupidity over there not to mention a heap of stupidity here. I can't get into specifics but this is my 3rd deployment and I'm amazed at some of the things I've seen and heard about. It would make your mouth drop.
I believe everything happens for a reason and everything I go through can teach me something, I cannot for the life of me figure out what the reason for this deployment is, except that it's hurting my daughter, it's hurting my husband because he can't be here for his kids and its hurting me. I thank God that lil miss doesn't have too much of an idea yet what is going on bc I don't think I could handle 2 kids crying for their daddy everyday.
Another thing that has started......The rumors...How far into the back of my head can I roll my eyes? lol Specificially, the Big Rumor..When they're going to be home. O........M.......G...dear Lord people we're less than 2 months in *that I do know! ha* Here's a tip for the newbies, Don't get excited if this rumor is a good one, bc I guarentee that next week there will be a rumor that they are staying 5 extra months and you'll get all upset and, let's face it, thats waayyy too much emotional stress..lol Yes, they are nice to hear, yes, they can be nice to think about but thats as far as I let it go. I start getting a little bit excited when their replacements get there and then you can really get excited when Rear D gives ya that special call......no, wait, nevermind, I don't even trust Rear D...lol, I kid, but seriously though last time they called and told me BD would be home the next day and well, they were wrong. BD called soon after and Im smart enough to realize that if he's at Point A, he can't get to Point B in less than 12 hours, unless he's superman. lol Luckily one of BD's friends was on rear and was able to confirm that I was correct in my assumption. Kinda funny looking back, I had 2 or 3 people calling me apologizing, stuttering over themselves, haha, They're just lucky I caught their mistake and didn't show up to that field and he wasnt there.. ooooooooo lol Get excited when he's in your Arms and until then just keep pluggin along, I promise, it doesn't last forever!

Kudos

Kudos to those single moms out there! I give you all major props. It takes a lot of work, sacrifice, devotion, courage, and love to be a single mom. I am temporarily a single mom at the moment and I absolutely cannot imagine doing it forever.
You have to be mother and father and its exausting. The responsibility falls on your shoulders alone, bills, house, car, yard, kids, and everything in between.
It's overwhelming and exausting. You don't have the luxury of saying "hon, could you get up with the baby this time" when its 2am and you were up for 17hrs with a teething baby and a sick toddler. It all falls on your shoulders. The discipline, the money, the kids, the house, if anything negative happens it falls on you. It's all your fault. It's enough to keep someone up at night!
There are those times when you feel like if you have to discipline one more child you will crack, but you suck it up and you do it bc that's what a parent does.
You have nobody to run your ideas past, another point of view.
There are times when you are so tired, so fed up, so exausted, so overwhelmed that when you're child acts up or disobeys you just really -dont- care.
I know theres been times, personally, where my kids have acted up, and I've sat there and shrugged my shoulders and said "oh well'' because I couldn't deal with it. I was too tired and overwhelmed or whatever and you think "In the long run, whats it -really- matter that she took her sisters cookie, one time won't make a huge difference"
Theres times when you want a hug. You want to feel arms around you, and theres nobody around. Heck, it could be the checkout boy at Walmart for all you care. Just to know someone cares.

So, To those single moms out there, God bless you! You amaze me! Thank you for not giving up on your kids. I know right now it may seem like your kids don't care and dont appreciate you but they do, and one day in the future they will come up to you and thank you and will understand and be thankful for the sacrifices you made.

101 about me (part three)

36. I can, and will, dip just about anything in gravy... I love gravy!

37. I love the smell of bleach

38. I love getting tats..I have 2 already and am starting to get the itch for more. My husband created a monster

39. I love purses. Purses are my crack.

40. I always wanted a sister

41. I always hung out with dudes and rarely had any girl friends. It's okay, dudes have less drama anyways

42. I've very opinionated

43. I think I'm a horrible dancer but my husband says I'm great. I don't know which one of us is right

44. If I had a career, outside of the house, I would definatly be a workaholic

45. I hate going to the dr. not because I'm scared but because I'm to stubborn and if I do go to the dr you know something is -really- wrong

46. Before I met my husband I was not looking for love, even after I met him I had no plan to ever date him but was just content to be friends.

47. my dream before I met my husband was to be a CEO of some high powered company, be single, work 80 hour weeks then come home to my loft apartment to my faithful cat, Sophie, and drink martini's..........lol it seemed glamorous at the time.

48. I hate when people make me feel inferior

49. I dont like ketchup

50. I hate shoes, I wish I could go barefoot

51. I think the culture in the eastern part of the US is just charming

52. My favorite family trip we've taken has been to Tucson

53. I am addicted to Dog the Bounty Hunter

54. and since becoming addicted to Dog the Bounty Hunter, I think I want to be a bounty hunter. lol

55. Even though I'm not a dog person, I don't know what I'd do without our dog Harley. I'd be heartbroken if anything ever happened to him.

56. is totally ignoring the crying I hear in the other room

57. I hate getting my hair done

What is a civilian?

In about 2 years it will be our time to say 'byebye' Army. The Army has been good to us. It gave us a great start in life, helped BD and I prepare ourselves for the 'real world', I've met -wonderful- life long friends I will cherish forever, the Army allowed us to opportunity to buy our own home but it's our time to step out by ourselves and be civilians.
Already I'm wondering what's it like to be a civilian. What will it be like to have my husband home all the time, day in day out, everyday. It sounds funny, but I'm so stumped as to what that's like. If you include the time BD and I dated we've been physically together I'm pretty sure it's less than 3 years and we'll have been a couple for 6 years this August. We do apart very well, we are excellent communicators via email/messenger/letters. What will it be like to be physically together everyday? If you wanna be honest, it seems weird to me that 'normal' couples spend everyday together, for years at a time. lol BD and I joke that by the time we are really starting to irritate each other the Army sends him away and we have that time away from each other to get back into that Honeymoon phase again.
Another aspect of civilian life that scares me is that I may not always know where our next paycheck is going to come from, as with the Army, you do. That's a big thing for me. I need to feel secure, financially. I grew up always knowing there'd be food on the table and money to buy what I needed and I always felt secure in that aspect. My loving husband knows this and understands this about me. We've had long talks about this subject, especially in this economy. I know that he will do any and everything in his power to make it so that I always feel secure in that aspect. That means the -world- to me. He has a solid plan for when he gets out and honestly, that woos me just about as much as a 4Ct diamond ring would. haha I have told him though that I will gladly give up my 3 bedroom house with a den and a large yard and live in a small 2 bedroom apartment just to have him with us. I'll give up the new cars and clothes *we'll have to further discuss the purse collection issues* :-)
The deployments every year are too much for both of us. He wants to be with his family and we want him home with us. I don't believe a word of the whole "deployments will slow down" bit, sorry, I don't. Maybe I'm jaded. I dont know.
We're excited. We get to choose where we want to live, we get to choose what to do with our lives.
The Army will always be a part of me. Deep down I will always be that Proud Army Wife. But its time for us to be us.............in 2 years. :-D

Another week

Another week gone. Another Friday that I lived through. I hate Friday's. When BD was home Friday was our 'date night' whether we were lucky enough to have a sitter,pizza with the kids then a movie/popcorn after they went to bed, a later dinner after the kids were in bed, or one of our favorite Pasttimes, Wii, we got so competitive that we'd sometimes be up until midnight/1am trying to beat each other. Whatever we did that was our night for us. Now that my Wii buddy is gone Friday's leave me with a little hole of loneliness. One of the deployment keys to survival is to make you're own routines and I'm trying to do to for Friday nights, it's just coming along slowly. Only XX amount of Friday's left before my Wii buddy is back home with me.

So the girls room is 99% finished, just need to add some decorations on the walls and such and I am SO happy with how it looks and so proud of myself for making my dream come to life. I also got my noni in a toddler bed all in the same week *go me!* The toddler bed wasn't planned but I've learned as a mother that if you're kids embrace something then go for it!
Now it's time for me to really crack down and start potty training lana..*sigh* I'll be honest, I'd rather scrub a prison bathroom then potty train another kid already. uughhh but I also want to be diaper free for a few months before #3 comes along. My only hope is that since lillia was SO hard to potty train that lana will give me a break.

It's the last week of July! Oh how happy I am! Let's just move right on into Fall please! 1 more room in our house to be painted, our spare room, so I hope to have that done before September, also.

Well ya'll time for our Saturday Park Fun. Mommy runs/does stairs then the kids get to play if they are good, if not, we try it again on Sunday :-)

Miss You my Wii Buddy! Love you to the moon and back, Venusforever baby!

Part 2, 101 about me

k..Im really starting to doubt that I'm interesting enough to have 101 facts about me...............let's see what we can come up with

23. my favorite sandwich is the Reuben

24. I'm independent *like you didn't know that, right*

25. Would love to visit NY

26. is a little bit of a feminist...it's quite possible I could burn a bra one day

25. I'm not the "Good Submissive wife" I let my thoughts be known on subjects, BD likes it, says it 'challenges him' *I think he means that in a good way* Oh well, he never complains. I am working on getting better at it though :-)

26. I'm Feisty *again..like you didn't know*

27. I love cleaning the bathroom

28. I love my bed, I don't spend near enough time in it. It's warm and comfortable..heaven

29. My favorite numbers are 3 and 18.

30. I don't have a favorite color, I like all. Purple does have a slight advantage though to the rest

31. I hate that people can't keep their dogs contained in their yards. It's really not that difficult.

32. Has super momma bear syndrome when it comes to my kids

33. Is a "class is half empty' kinda person.........im workin on it though

34. my favorite type of movie is comedy

35. Can't stand stupidity

All for now.......mo' later

101 facts about me

A couple blogs that I frequent did this so I'm gonna give it a go, let's see if I can come up with 101...I'm pretty boring. :-)

1. my biggest pet peeve is walking barefoot on the floor and feeling something under my feet, whether it be dirt, food, toy, whatever..drives me up a WALL

2. I hate sweet potatoes...Have ever since I was a baby

3. I HATE getting woken up at night

4. I'm not a dog person

5. I want to open my own bakery one day

6. Even though before I had kids I wanted a boy and a girl, I am BEYOND thrilled that I got 2 girls. I can't imagine anything better!

7. I don't like being outside

8. My first job was at a deli and I LOVED that job. I could have worked there the rest of my life. It was so much fun

9. I want to have twins

10. I love having things neat and orderly, I just don't have the energy sometimes to always keep it like that.

11. I wanted to be an accountant when I grew up, I'd still like the job

12. I need quiet, noise and chaos makes me cringe.

13. I can be a TV addict

14. I could live alone in a quiet place happily for the rest of my life

15. My first car was an 86 Honda Accord...I loved that car

16. I've had our future sons' first name picked out since I was 15 and his middle name since I met BD

17. I want more tattoos

18. I can't wait until our ETS date

19. I hate giving the girls a bath, That was BD's job and it irriates me to do it now that he's gone

20. I love decorating

21. One more baby for us then we are done!

22. I want to adopt

all for now! more later :-)

Big changes

Lots of big changes are happening around here. First of all I started painting the girls bedroom. Their poor room needed a remodel so so bad! Our house was built in 1950 and I dont think that room has been painted since 1950. Theres also 'wonderful' decorative wood 'panneling' on 2 walls...ick! Their walls are a beautiful green color now and there will be a pink border around the top of the wall and around the middle of the wall. along with new curtains, decorations, Miss Lana will get a big girl bed and bedding set and new dresser. Im so excited about how it'll turn out.
So yesterday I started on the painting during naptime and moved miss Lana's mattress into the play room, kind of a 'is she ready for a big girl bed' tryout. And lemme tell you that girl did amazing!! She went right to sleep and didnt get up once! Which is such a vast contrast to when lillia was put in a big girl bed.
Lillia's big girl bed experience went something like this: it was last deployment, I was 7 months pregnant, new big girl bed, I put that child back in her bed so many times I called my mom crying after 2 hours bc it was causing me to have contractions. Finally had to just shut her door and let her pass out where she may bc it was wreaking havoc on my body and I kid you not we fought that battle for 3+ months.
So, as you might imagine yesterdays experience with lana was fantastic! Even last night for bedtime she went right to sleep. Poor thing did keep slippin off the mattress around 10:30 so I had to go in there a few times and help her but after she finally got settled and realized the bed had 'boundries' she slept fabulous and is still asleep right now! So needless to say Im breakin down the crib and she will just sleep on the mattress in her room until I can get her a big girl bed. YAY LANA BABY!!!!!! My lil baby is growing up! Who woulda thought it woudl have been this easy? *not I*
Next big project: Potty training. We've tried it out with lana in the past few weeks but we're gonna start gettin serious about it. Lets hope it's as easy as the big girl bed and we will just be Fantastic!! it really is the small things in life :-)

Peace!!!!

1 month down

Tomorrow is officially 1 month down! well, In sandbox time it's already tomorrow so Im celebrating today :-) My husband gets to do everything a day early, why shouldn't I? This month has gone fast and slow all at the same time.
We have 2 more weeks in July and Im ready to get them overwith. August-December should fly for us, so I'm stoked!
I didn't lose any weight this week. I still have to lose 3lbs before the end of July to make my goal. My eating last week wasn't that hot so I need to get that in check this week. I did exercise everyday last week so I'm proud of that.

This week my goal is to focus on the girls' room. I need to go through their clothes and paint the room. They also need new curtains, lana needs to be in a big girl bed and get her sheet set, although I don't think all of that will happen. We shall see.

Peace!

What a week!

Where did this week go?? It just flew by. It was a crazy, crazy week. I had appts, errands, ect ect everyday and not one of those appts or errands went smoothly. (Don't ya hate it when that happens?) It seemed like each project took 3 times longer than it should have. For example, the act of canceling a cell phone line took 3 days and 5 different stops and 3 seperate calls just to accomplish it. It was just one of those weeks. And with 2 kids who need naps and cause every errand to take twice as long, I didn't get much accomplshed. Found that yesterday we had very little water pressure and after 3 calls and talking to numerous different people I finally got someone from the city to come out and look to make sure everything was okay and right as he got here whatever the problem was, righted itself...yaaa those weeks. :-) And don't even get my kids attitudes this week. On the upside the exercising is going fabulous and I've done so good all week.
So its finally Friday and all that I have to do today is make a quick trip to the grocery store to get a few items then I plan to spend the rest of the day getting my house in somewhat of an order. It's been neglected horribly this week and needs some TLC.
Have a fabulous Friday ya'll!

Mrs. Fix-it

Oh yes, thats me! Mrs. Fix-it! It's my mission to fix, or try to fix, any household problem that arises by myself, if possible. Now, the broken window and the "I hate Midas" issues were beyond my control but for the most part I'm pretty handy around the house. (Just don't tell my husband, he'll think its a free pass) BD if you're reading this: no..I will not continue to do household repairs once you get home. sorry! Although it -was- my idea to get rid of the home warrenty bc "we never use it' Coulda used it lately huh....oh well, look at all the knowledge I'm gaining.
Anyways, A few days ago broken glass mysteriously got into my garbage disposal. Don't understand how that happened bc I would never put broken glass in the disposal and I didnt even see any remnants of a glass in the sink to begin with. Well, I found said broken glass by turning on the garbage disposal and having it promptly lock up on me. No fun. So I stood there for 20 minutes pain-stakingly fishing out every piece of broken glass just by touch, risky business, After 20 minutes I had almost given up hope and called a repair man, picturing a horrid bill for a new disposal when we had just replaced the disposal about a year ago. But I kept at it like the little engine that could and after nearly 30 minutes I was victorious! I had gotten every little bit of glass out of the disposal and it worked perfectly. You shoulda seen me. I was estatic. *seriously, I need cameras in this house, I'd be a HIT reality show!*
And now...today...that dreaded kitchen sink is once again giving me fits. Its all clogged up and not draining. Sooo I plungered it, that just caused a gyser out of the other side, kinda cool but not the results I was looking for. I'm now in the middle of trying the vinegar/baking soda trick if that doesn't work I will have to get out the big guns and get some actual "gnaw out all the junk with harsh chemicals' cleaner.
This is starting to be kinda fun *i said KINDA!!!!!!!!!!!!* because I am learning new things and fixing the problems and I feel so proud and victorious after I fix the problem! I'm learning how to fix things that I would normally say "babe, come fix this!" annd theres also the fact that I Hate........HATE...having fix it men in the house..with a PASSION! So I am going to try whatever is necessary to fix the problem myself.
We shall see if I can conquer the sink!!!

All for today...From Mrs. Fix-it

Letters to my Daughters

I occasionally write letters to my daughters. I want them to have that treasure if Lord Forbid, something were to happen to me. So this time I decided to blog them.

Lillia,

My lil crazy hair girl *blame your daddy for that*, I love you more than life itself! You are almost 3, I don't know where the time went. You are so kind and so loving, especially to your sister, I love that about you. You are also feisty and stubborn, like your momma, and I love that. I admire how you can go up to people and just be friends and start a conversation, you get that from your daddy. I know you are having a hard time right now, Missing your daddy. You and daddy always were very close! When you were first born and were having a hard time breathing and staying warm your daddy stood next to your bed and rubbed your head for hours and talked to you. Mommy was busy trying to feel better and couldn't see you for a couple hours. You had your daddy wrapped around his finger from that moment on. You have grown into such a wonderful little girl. You've learned so much in the last year and I'm so proud of you. Please know that mommy will always fight for you, no matter what. I love you!

Allana,

You are a little mini-me. Blonde hair, blue eyes. You have such a tender soul. You're kind and tender-hearted and you love cuddling with mommy. For the first 6 months of your life it was just you, mommy and lillia. You slept with mommy, you were glued to my side. Then when daddy came home, you won his heart too. You're your daddies little baby. He's a sucker for blonde hair and blue eyes ;-) You are so funny, you keep mommy laughing. You also have your daddies temper, Yes ma'am you do, since you were a few months old. You are such a happy lil 18 month old, except for when you're mad...then you're M-A-D. You have your daddies gentleness and sleeping abilities and his eating abilities, you like your food and always have. You look like your mommy and act like your daddy! You are almost 2 and I can't believe it. You were mommy and daddies surprise baby and it was the best surprise EVER. I can't imagine you not in our lives.
Always know that mommy will fight for you no matter WHAT! I love you!