Every mother wants what is best for their child. We want them to be happy and healthy. We want them to grow up to be strong and idependent. We want them educated. We do our best to teach our child good habits to prepare them for the world. We make sure they dont watch 'bad' TV, we make sure we teaching them to share and be friendly to other.One huge thing is, we want them to be healthy. We have spent countless hours researching what is good for our childs health. If you are anything like me, this started while you were still pregnant. I wanted to make sure I started off breastfeeding, I wanted to make sure he was getting enough. When I made the decesion to switch to formula I spent days researching which brand is the best. From there it was baby food. I started off making my own. That is the big thing these days. Its easy, its cheaper, and most important its healtier!! I had to pick the right foods to puree and read exactly how to do it. Now that MJ is a toddler I continue to research foods that are best for him. The perfect amount of veggies and fruit and meat. I have been on countless websites finding meal ideas for him. As I sat there today watching MJ eat, from the kitchen, his peas, applesauce, and chicken nuggets, I looked down at my own 'plate' Chocolate pop tart. Yep that was my lunch. Here I was hiding in my kitchen behing the bar eating my bad food. Why dont I sit at the table at least do you ask??? Because if my child saw what I was eating he would refuse his food and want mine. Matt and I do this routine often. We do not want our child eating that junk, yet we do it ourselves. We do not want our child to watch bad TV but our whole DVR is full of recorded reality shows. I bet you are thinking you are guilty of all of this. I know you are. There isnt a parent in the world who hasnt snuck a candy bar while hiding in the bathroom or watched your shows late at night after the kids are asleep. Its so funny to think about really. We work so hard on making them perfect that we stop working on ourselves. Now Im not saying it is bad, I am guilty..Im the queen of all of this. Its just something to think about. Our children learn the best by watching our actions so we need to make sure they are good. Until then, I hope our new house has a large pantry where I can eat the cookies while MJ isnt looking!! :)
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Things a Military Spouse knows ( Repeat)
I had this posted in a previous blog...way way back when. I also had it On my blog layout BUT decided to delete it. I wanted to post it here one last time because I really find these to be true. And for you who are knew to the military, you will soon learn each one of these!
- The thought of being alone for a year doesn’t bother me. The fear of being alone for a lifetime—does.
- Flat rate boxes can hold twenty whoopee cushions, four kindergarten projects, and five perfume-scented letters.
- Technology can be a double-edged sword—one side delivering his face; the other a brutal live-action feed of explosions and camouflaged body parts.
- Murphy’s Law is a constant companion. The moment he walks out the door, anything that can break, collapse, bleed, or explode–will .
- Five hours of uninterrupted sleep is a gift from the deployment gods
- Holidays are hard, but manageable.
- Deployments come and go, but sand from his boots never leaves.
- Nothing can replace a handwritten letter. Through those beautifully folded pages, he is holding my hand again.
- When the National Anthem is played, I know goosebumps will rise on my arms, and a lump will fill my throat.
- The silence in communication following a war zone attack is agonizing.
- Laughter is a powerful ally.
- Each deployment offers two options: grow or regress. This is a choice.
- Cereal is always a dinner option.
- Videos of lost teeth, ballerina recitals, and preschool graduations can be emailed to Iraq nearly instantly.
- Five powers of attorney and the intimate details of his will are needed to navigate a deployment.
- White out blizzards can actually bury a truck in five minutes.
- Rosie the Riveter was right: We can do it.
- Children cling to hope and the promise of tomorrow.
- Living in each moment together is possible when facing the fear that it could be your last.
- Welcome home kisses are sweeter than the finest chocolate.
- Anger will grip me and depression can hold me, but another military spouse will steady me.
- A six-year-old child can feel the absence of her father so deeply that she can suffer from clinical depression.
- A military spouse will often hold her/his tongue, silencing a story, for fear of sounding “unpatriotic.”
- The sound of a bugle can make my heart swell with pride or collapse in sorrow.
- Duct tape and a monkey wrench can fix nearly anything.
- Despite the protestors and those who tell me I “knew” what I was getting into, I know there are countless American citizens who will go above and beyond to show they support us.
Trendy TotsTuesday
I saw another blog post Trendy Tots Tuesday. I think this is absolutely amazing. Why didn't I think of that!!! We all know how MJ has to be in the best clothes and shoes. Now I have to admit I have my days where he is a normal one year old boy, messy and in sweats, but for the most part I try to keep him clean and looking good. He has just as much shoes as we do. So Today starts the tradition of Trendy Tots Tuesday. Here is what little man wore (yesterday) to a going away lunch. Now I want to apologize in advance, taking his picture is a struggle these days. So they will never be that great!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Thankful Monday
Thankful Monday
I am thankful for a good pair of shoes... come on yall know you have those one shoes that you love
I am thankful it was warm this past weekend so we could spend some time outdoors
I am thankful that M gets to take a little time off so we can go meet my mom in Reno before he leaves
I am thankful Kemba is doing even better on his training besides the fact I have a huge hole in my finger from when he got the treat out of my hand...still learning 'easy'
I am thankful for Gabby and the few others that I can just be myself around and have a good time. August is coming so quick and although we are excited I am going to miss her and the others I am close to. I will be thankful for social media, email, and skype so we are able to keep in touch all the way over seas.
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| Here is a 'live' photo of an outfit I posted from polyvore last week |
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Orahami Owl Party
Today a friend of mine is having an Oragami Owl party. Its Sunday, lazy day for me usually. Our group of friends like to host parties ( pampered chef, scentsy, jewelry, etc.) on Sundays. It is the only time we all are not working or have plans with the husbands. It works best for us. So usually at these parties Im pretty laid back with my outfit. Who wants to wear heels on a Sunday besides at Church??? Not me! So this is my attire today. The shirt is a new one, first time wearing it. Perfect for M's upcoming 7 week TDY. My coach earrings are my favorite for casual fashion. Love my BKE jeans and Naughty Monkey shoes from the Buckle which I need to replace because I loved them a little too much... And of course no outfit is complete without a Coach purse!! This is my newest purse from the Coach Outlet Casual and Comfy!!
T
T
Friday, April 26, 2013
Stress Free!!! Ya Right
Im a stresser ( is that even a word?) I stress. I stress all the time about everything. I will stress about going to the grocery store, over weekend plans, money, how I am gonna patch the holes in my backyard before we leave, getting out evites for lunch bunches and more. You name it I stress over it. That is just me. I am major OCD. Everything has to be perfect. Everything has to be planned and I must be on time. I have to admit that I have become a little more laid back since MJ was born because lets face it, its hard to be on time with a child. Now a little more laid back for me just means I dont get upset when Im one or two minutes late, but five minutes..nope that is not ok
Anyways my point, this PCS has got me stressed out! We finally got Matts class date June 12, which is a huge relief. We know can plan a tiny bit more. We now can plan everything that needs to be done before he leaves. We have an idea when we will be moving out of Mt Home AFB and we know that it will be ONE of the four locations we asked for, Medina Ohio, San Dusky Ohio, Ft Meyer Florida, or St Petersburge Florida. Now I think you can guess why I am stressed, besides the stress that comes with any PCS. How in the world am I supposed to plan a move and look for a house and be gone in 4 1/2 months if we have absolutely no idea where we are moving to!! I have seriously done what I can up till this point. I have saved about 60 houses on my real estate app for Medina Ohio. I have saved maybe 5 for San Dusky because I am having the hardest time finding something we love. And I have saved no houses for Florida, I havent even looked at Florida houses. Can you tell we really want Medina?? We will be moving to a place where we dont know much about, scratch that Matt knows a ton about Medina and San Dusky but couldnt tell you what neighborhoods are good or bad. We know nothing about Florida other then what our friend who is from Ft Meyer and our friend who lives in St Petes telling us. This isnt like we are PCSing to another base where I can just get on base housing and no have to worry about good neighborhoods. I have to do this on my own!! When I say on my own I really mean on my own. Matt is busy with work and squadron exercises, then leaves for recruiter class. He will be too busy in his class to be involved in the search for a house. I can show him some houses and he can tell e if it looks nice or not but other then that I cant expect him to have any time to help me out. We even have to apply for the VA loan BEFORE he leaves for class so that is all taken care of so we dont have to bug him when he is gone. Now if it is Ohio it will be a little less stressful, in a way. This is because Matts family is out there. Within 45 min of each location. That means that his mom and sister can go and take a look at houses for me so I am not just buying off of a picture. Also it means that while Matt is away at school, MJ and I can fly to Ohio for a week after narrowing down to a few houses, pick one, and start the buying process and pray it doesnt fall through after I head back to Idaho. So I actually get to see the house before we move into it. Now this trip to Ohio is a whole new issue on its own... I will get back to that in a minute. Now if its Florida we are screwed. I refuse to fly to Florida by myself and pick out a house alone. The only reason I am willing to do this in Ohio is because Matts mom knows about this kind of stuff, I do not. So she is pretty much helping me. I find a house I love, she looks at the important things about it and the paperwork side. Florida is a no go for this. I will wait until we move there to purchase one. I just cant do it alone. Now remember this is all being done in the next 4 1/2 months of course!! Seems impossible to me really.
Now back to the stress of a trip to Ohio to buy a house if we get Ohio. I had wanted to take MJ down to see Matt in Texas for a few days during 4th of July. It would be good for Matt to see MJ and I really want to take MJ to Sea World since we are missing out on our SD trip this year. We planned to fly out the 3rd, stay there till the 7th or 8th then fly from there to Ohio and look at houses and deal with that for a week or so, then fly back to Idaho. Sounds fantastic to me! Well Matts mom has a crazy work schedule so she needs us to come out the 5/6th because she goes back to work the 12th and well I need her off in order to house hunt. So that would mean A. Move my TX trip to June 29-July 5 then fly to Ohio 5/6-11. Ok not bad really... but we have a friend from the shop who we really trust with the house and dogs who is on vacation pretty much during that time... ahhh now what do I do the there is B. Cancel TX all together...bummer. So Now of course I am stressing about that.
I really need to sit back and stop until we know where we are going really. Who knows, maybe we get Florida and the Ohio trip stress is all for nothing..but then that means there is a whole new set of worries. I am so exited to PCS. I have wanted this since the day I moved to Idaho, but like I said I stress, that's just who I am. I am gonna be grey...or bald before Im 35 at this rate..
Just breathe!!
Anyways my point, this PCS has got me stressed out! We finally got Matts class date June 12, which is a huge relief. We know can plan a tiny bit more. We now can plan everything that needs to be done before he leaves. We have an idea when we will be moving out of Mt Home AFB and we know that it will be ONE of the four locations we asked for, Medina Ohio, San Dusky Ohio, Ft Meyer Florida, or St Petersburge Florida. Now I think you can guess why I am stressed, besides the stress that comes with any PCS. How in the world am I supposed to plan a move and look for a house and be gone in 4 1/2 months if we have absolutely no idea where we are moving to!! I have seriously done what I can up till this point. I have saved about 60 houses on my real estate app for Medina Ohio. I have saved maybe 5 for San Dusky because I am having the hardest time finding something we love. And I have saved no houses for Florida, I havent even looked at Florida houses. Can you tell we really want Medina?? We will be moving to a place where we dont know much about, scratch that Matt knows a ton about Medina and San Dusky but couldnt tell you what neighborhoods are good or bad. We know nothing about Florida other then what our friend who is from Ft Meyer and our friend who lives in St Petes telling us. This isnt like we are PCSing to another base where I can just get on base housing and no have to worry about good neighborhoods. I have to do this on my own!! When I say on my own I really mean on my own. Matt is busy with work and squadron exercises, then leaves for recruiter class. He will be too busy in his class to be involved in the search for a house. I can show him some houses and he can tell e if it looks nice or not but other then that I cant expect him to have any time to help me out. We even have to apply for the VA loan BEFORE he leaves for class so that is all taken care of so we dont have to bug him when he is gone. Now if it is Ohio it will be a little less stressful, in a way. This is because Matts family is out there. Within 45 min of each location. That means that his mom and sister can go and take a look at houses for me so I am not just buying off of a picture. Also it means that while Matt is away at school, MJ and I can fly to Ohio for a week after narrowing down to a few houses, pick one, and start the buying process and pray it doesnt fall through after I head back to Idaho. So I actually get to see the house before we move into it. Now this trip to Ohio is a whole new issue on its own... I will get back to that in a minute. Now if its Florida we are screwed. I refuse to fly to Florida by myself and pick out a house alone. The only reason I am willing to do this in Ohio is because Matts mom knows about this kind of stuff, I do not. So she is pretty much helping me. I find a house I love, she looks at the important things about it and the paperwork side. Florida is a no go for this. I will wait until we move there to purchase one. I just cant do it alone. Now remember this is all being done in the next 4 1/2 months of course!! Seems impossible to me really.
Now back to the stress of a trip to Ohio to buy a house if we get Ohio. I had wanted to take MJ down to see Matt in Texas for a few days during 4th of July. It would be good for Matt to see MJ and I really want to take MJ to Sea World since we are missing out on our SD trip this year. We planned to fly out the 3rd, stay there till the 7th or 8th then fly from there to Ohio and look at houses and deal with that for a week or so, then fly back to Idaho. Sounds fantastic to me! Well Matts mom has a crazy work schedule so she needs us to come out the 5/6th because she goes back to work the 12th and well I need her off in order to house hunt. So that would mean A. Move my TX trip to June 29-July 5 then fly to Ohio 5/6-11. Ok not bad really... but we have a friend from the shop who we really trust with the house and dogs who is on vacation pretty much during that time... ahhh now what do I do the there is B. Cancel TX all together...bummer. So Now of course I am stressing about that.
I really need to sit back and stop until we know where we are going really. Who knows, maybe we get Florida and the Ohio trip stress is all for nothing..but then that means there is a whole new set of worries. I am so exited to PCS. I have wanted this since the day I moved to Idaho, but like I said I stress, that's just who I am. I am gonna be grey...or bald before Im 35 at this rate..
Just breathe!!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
35 Things You Are Sure to Find in Every Military Home
I wanted to repost this from Military Spouse web page!!
Take a look around your humble abode and you are sure to find a few items that your friends with civilian spouses don’t seem to have in every crook and cranny of their homes. A group of our talented Military Spouse contributors put their heads together and came up with a list of all those unique, interesting and sometimes down-right funny things you are sure to find in the home of someone serving our country. Oh, we know that not everyone has every single item on this list… but chances are if you are military family long enough, you will find most of these items lurking around. Which items would you add to our list?
“35 Things You Are Sure to Find in Every Military Home”
35. Tan socks and protein powder. (in our case its green socks and 4 containers of protein)
34. Bedroom furniture in the living room.
33. Black shoe wax and spray starch.
32. Customs forms and flat rate boxes. ( This is a major one)
31. A countdown poster, paper chain, or calendar.
30. Boxes of clothing from a completely different climate-- which you don't dare get rid of because you don't know where you'll be stationed next!
29. An unlimited supply of Motrin!
28. Magnets and take out menus from places you no longer live! ( Im OCD proud to say this is not true)
27. 23 bottles of shampoo from the last case-lot sale.
26. Baggies full of dammits, pins, patches, ribbons and medals.
25. Canteens, and waterproof notebooks.
24. A dish that someone left at the cookout you hosted.
23. Spices or dry goods from six moves ago.
22. Flat, white sheets and a box of paint to make the next homecoming banner.
21. Daddy Dolls
20. Sports team memorabilia from a team thousands of miles away. (O-H-I-O)
19. Beautiful furniture in the garage. It fit in the house you just left… but won’t fit through these doors.
18. A scattering of "frogs" (pin backs) on every counter - the bathroom, the kitchen, the shelf in the laundry room…
17. Skiing gear in HI and beach toys in AK.
16. A driveway full of cars with license plates (and inspection stickers) from three different states.
15. CamelBaks… multiple CamelBaks.
14. White Walls.
13. Little piles of things from pockets. Usually a pen and then odd notes that resemble scratchings from the Davinci Code.
12. Brand new cleaning supplies because the movers can’t pack them. ( i HATE THIS)
11. Those little, black clicky pens.
10. Covers, which no husband can ever seem to find.
9. A few, bad formal gowns.
8. A case of MRE’s in the garage.
7. Tuff boxes full of gear taking up the spot in the garage where the car is supposed to be.
6. Red, yellow or blue stickers (moving stickers) under a few pieces of furniture.
5. Unit and challenge coins.
4. An assortment of alcohol glasses from different balls.
3. An unpacked box that seems to follow you wherever you go.
2. Sets of curtains, not currently being used.
1. Boots, boots…and MORE boots!
Source
(Contributing Writers: Morgan Slade, Erin Whitehead, Monica Pugh, Clarice Williams, Stacy Huisman, Beth Garland, Lucha Reyna, Samantha Dean, Tia Johnson, Jen McDonald, Kate Dolack, Cyndia Rios-Myers)
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