ACU's, Stiletto Shoes, and Pretty Pink Tutus

What Christmas means to me, my love.

2011-12-20T17:40:00.001-05:00

Bunny's due date.
Our 6th wedding anniversary.
Christmas Day.

That's what this weekend will be for us.

I'm not going to lie...I have really mixed feelings about Christmas. I know I want to enjoy it and make the most out of it for Lucy but it is HARD to deal with all three of those things hitting at once and having to go through it without G.I. Joe here. When he is able to talk he is always reminding me that Bunny will have the best Christmas out of any of us and that should make me happy. It does. But it doesn't. My mind occasionally wanders to thoughts of the full term newborn I should be holding now, or about to be holding. Of course that makes me even more emotional about how delicate this pregnancy has been. As of today I made it to 31 weeks with Disney Baby and that's huge! Last Saturday I just felt sure that he was going to be born in the middle of the night. Now I'm having to rest so much to make sure he does stay put at least until 34 weeks.

We have so much to be thankful for its just hard every now and then to get over this hump when things really hit me. I had been counting on staying super Christmas busy to get through all this but that's not happening now. In way...as emotional as I get at times over hitting 3 milestones/holidays at once without G.I.Joe...I am thankful for being forced to slow down. I haven't been able to do any cards or presents for lots of family like I wanted but its made me get back to why Christmas is really important. Why He was born. He was born to die and I have hope because of it. And I'm so thankful that G.I. Joe shares that hope with me. I don't know what I would do without it.

I'm also super blessed because since I can't travel (being in the car for just a little while triggers too many contractions) my family is coming to us! Lucy still gets to see everybody and the holiday will feel somewhat normal. I appreciate so much more of the little stuff this year than I would have without these things. G.I. Joe had left a recordable Frosty The Snowman book for Lucy and we tried it Sunday night only to find it kept shorting out. Then he just *happened* to call that night and told me how to fix it. Lucy's face in the morning when she got to hear his voice was priceless! And Sunday morning at church there was standing room only so I was prepared to sit out in the hall but a few people insisted on getting chairs in the service so I didn't have to miss it. (G.I. Joe thought it was comical that at a Christmas service there was no room for the pregnant lady, haha!) A woman I had never seen before came up and said she was glad they got me and my dad chairs and that she had been worried about me. Someone I don't even know knew our situation and was praying for us.

Really, this Christmas hasn't been bad.

Its been emotional, but maybe its been just what we needed.

I haven't even been able to focus on doing stuff like editing pics or taking Lucy's Christmas pictures yet but I just wanted to jump on here and share what Christmas is for us this year. Not everything can be super jolly but its the not jolly moments that make us appreciate the true meaning and happy moments even more. At the end of A Christmas Carol its said of E. Scrooge that "he knew how to keep Christmas well." I want that to always be said of me no matter what the circumstances around us.

Getting to see Disney Baby's smiling face this afternoon was an amazing Christmas present!

He kept smiling when he would hear Lucy talk :)

He's got tons of hair already and looks just like his big sister,

but he also seems to have his Daddy's chin dimple.

The Most Non-Update Ever

2011-12-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

Well, I left the doctor really frustrated yesterday. I was surprised they didn't do an ultrasound, check me, do a fetal fibronectin...pretty much all they did was check his heartbeat (which was strong) and measure my belly. This time my belly measured fine so that's a good thing. We don't want Disney Baby falling behind any in case he comes early. It would have been nice to get a few more answers but its still "Not sure why you started bleeding, but you probably over exerted yourself." Forget that I didn't do anything that I hadn't done for weeks before that. And there is no explanation for why my contractions get to be 2 minutes apart for so long. So, the point is...I have no news to share. Just still trying to ride out this roller coaster knowing I could either go into labor a minute from now or a couple months from now. Haha same as always! I can honestly say I have no clue what a "normal" pregnancy is.

My 1 big piece of news though is that today I officially hit 30 weeks!!!!! That was my goal since my issues started at 16 weeks! Some days I really didn't think we'd make it to this point. I made it into the 3rd trimester and 7 months! As soon as I hit 28 weeks I had a more noticeable bump. It took that long for anyone to suggest that I was pregnant without me saying anything. Suddenly it feels like this pregnancy is real. Lol, and the night in labor and delivery definitely sealed the reality factor.

I can't tell you how much we appreciate the prayers and support right now. Its scary to not know what's around the corner and knowing we aren't out of the woods yet but I know we have awesome friends and family cheering us on. Coming up I have tons of pictures (that I can finally get to since I have to take it easy) and an incredible giveaway from Hug-A-Hero Daddy Dolls! So don't give up on this lazy blogger yet!

A letter to our son...and a big scare.

2011-12-12T08:18:00.001-05:00

Today I will hopefully go to my normal OB for a follow up so I'm hoping to give everyone a full update after that. Basically, Disney Baby gave us the scare of a lifetime this weekend. I randomly started bleeding and my contractions became 2 minutes apart. I spent most of the night in Labor and Delivery. I honestly thought that I was giving birth that night. I did these L&D trips with Lucy a number of times before 34 weeks but it was never as scary as this, maybe because I actually felt like I was in labor this time. But the contractions slowed enough for me to go home. Hopefully I'll get an ultrasound today but they didn't do one the other night so we don't have a lot of answers. I'm just thankful he stayed put and tomorrow I officially make my goal of 30 weeks!!! Now onto the point of this post....

To my son….

When we found out you were going to be a boy I knew there were some things that I had to tell you. Promises that I need to make. Its kind of funny and fitting that you are a boy. Afterall, you are a second generation surprise Disney baby like your Daddy! So it seems natural. I do though get a little nervous thinking about raising a boy while your brave Daddy pursues his military career.

But I want you to know you are going to have some amazing life. It’s going to be full of love, laughter and more hugs then the Tanner family. (Oh, one day I’ll explain that reference to you.) And to really make sure your life is as extraordinary as it can be these are my promises to you….

There will come many times in the future when Daddy has to be away. In families like ours its normal for a boy to feel like he needs to be the “man of the house.” We won’t allow that for you. Your “job” will never be to act as Man of the House. That is your Daddy’s job and always will be. Your job is to run. Make funny faces at the dinner table. Build forts with your sister and knock them over. We want you to grow, not just to fill a grown-up’s shoes.

During these times while you are growing up during deployments, I promise to respect the fact that there are some things you need a male role model for. Your Granddad and Papa are both incredible men that can teach you many things. Whether its music, broken hearts, a jump shot in need of coaching, they have you covered and I’m okay with that. But never forget I’m still here to listen.

Your Daddy and I have both made it clear we would prefer our children not join the military. The reason for this is that we don’t want you to have to make the choices and hold the memories of war. Your Great-Grandfather fought in World War II. Your Papa did the same in Vietnam and your Daddy will answer the call in every war we face until the end of his career. We would like something else for your life. However, that is not our decision to make. And I promise that if you decide to join any branch of the military there will not be any prouder people in the room when you swear in than me and your Daddy.

One day you will meet “the one.” She won’t be the one who steals your heart, she will be the one who freely gives her heart to you. I promise when this day comes I will love her as a daughter. NOT a “daughter” but a daughter. On your wedding day I promise the only tears you’ll see swell in my eyes will be the happy-for-you-tears. I’ll save the inappropriate my-baby-boy-has-left-me sobbing for your Daddy to deal with later that night. (Don’t worry…he’ll be making the same promise to your sister as well).

I can’t promise you a perfect life. All I can do is promise we will do our part to make sure your start in life will be one that you can be proud of. So please, little Mickey Mouse…hold on just a little longer for us. Your life is worth waiting for.

Pumpkins, Baby!

2011-11-07T19:33:00.000-05:00

Before G.I. Joe and I started dating, and especially before Lucy, I didn't care for fall. I just don't like Thanksgiving food for the most part (its too heavy for me), I like my leaves fresh and green not brown/orange/dying, weather is better the hotter it is...so yeah, fall isn't my thing.

But Lucy gets so excited over the little things in life and its just downright contagious! I do still love hot weather and a refreshing Greek salad but she makes me really enjoy this time of year. And its always amazing to see how much she has grown!

This is our Love Bug last year when she was 2...

Now we have a Little Lady!

In her defense I did tell her to "make a face" :)

The pumpkins are way more interesting than the camera!

Especially when someone knocks one over and it tumbles down the steps!

We stop to twirl every 15 minutes in our family.

One of Daddy's homemade "spooky house" decorations that hasn't been put away yet.

"See you guys later!"

See, I told you I was going to photo bomb this place! Lots more to come :) We're doing Elf on the Shelf for the first time this year and a couple other new Christmas traditions so I figured I'd post some pics of stuff like that. I LOVE to see people sharing Christmas traditions so we can all pick up some new ones and trade ideas.

And if you like scrapbooking or blog design hop over to my mom's blog! She has a great giveaway going right now and its actually her first ever :) Its for an incredible scrapbook software system that is very user friendly and has tons of things to do with it. You can even use it to make blog layouts!

Long overdue updates!

2011-11-03T08:15:00.002-04:00

I cringe a little when people tell military wives "it gets easier" Haha I couldn't disagree more. I think to say this correctly it should be "you have the potential to handle it better each time, but each time will get harder." My reasoning for that is that yes I may become more "skilled" as an Army Wife as days go by but first and foremost I am a woman passionately in love with my best friend/soul mate. We love each other more each day so every progressive separation does hurt more. Its like each time there is more to miss. So its taken me a little while to pull myself together but I'm doing it. And I found this quote on Pinterest that I'm keeping as my motto to get me through this one..."Don't cry because its over, Smile because it happened." Gotta love Dr. Seuss! I let myself cry for a while and now instead of spending the next however long crying that his time home was so short I'm going to smile that we had that time and that we will have it again.

Now updates on the little ones!

DisneyBaby....hmm. Where to start on this little goofball. Okay well the very good news is that in October I saw my OB for an anatomy ultrasound and had one with the perinatologist. We were super relieved to find out that he is perfectly healthy and growing right on schedule for now. This is big because if by chance something does happen and I go into labor somewhat early he is healthy and will just face the "expected" preemie complications. Its also exciting that I haven't lost anymore fluid and my levels look awesome! The "I wish it were possible to just get a straight answer" news is that as far as my signs/risks for preterm labor all anyone (that's an OB or a peri) can tell me is "You look okay now but that could change at any second." Basically I'm a ticking bomb until February. I may go full term again or my water could break tomorrow. I wasn't dilated 4 weeks ago and my appointment this week was very rushed but my OB and I agreed on a point for my contractions to hit and that at that I'll head to the hospital. Until then we wait and pray that he stays put at least a bit longer. 30 weeks is my goal and I'm currently 24 weeks. This is viable birth but I want to go well past this. Who knows maybe I will just end up having a February 2012 baby after all this! If anyone can predict the future now is the time to speak up :)

Late 5 month bump...with a little picture high jacker :)

22 weeks...Daddy was super proud these calf and bicep muscles!

Very chilled out, like Daddy!

Totally different from Mommy and Lucy.

Lucy! My girl is 3 years old now and I just can't believe what an awesome kid she is. We had her 3 year check up while G.I. Joe was home. I didn't get her weight stats because she was rather fussy but she's tall and skinny.

G.I. Joe took her out to the car when it was all over that way I could talk to her doctor and we finally nailed down her potty training issues. I told him I tried everything from just letting her go without any pull ups or panties to structured potty training and she just wouldn't have it. She won't even take bribes, ever. For anything. She won't even tell us when she has to go which is a big step. So I told him about our year: G.I. Joe in and out, pregnancy, morning sickness, miscarriage, pregnancy, morning sickness, baby brother coming, G.I. Joe home a little while then gone much longer....her doctor thinks she is such a smart kid she realizes people are supposed to be able to guide their own lives and she feels like she has no control over hers. So she isn't just being stubborn for the sake of putting up a fight and most likely won't take bribes for anything. Having a little grip on something is more valuable to her. He suggested we drop it and just let her be, while also giving her even more choices during the day so she does have more responsibility. This is all working really well because just this past week she started announcing more when she is going!

I feel so much better now. Sometimes it just takes an outside perspective. At first I thought how on earth would I manage all this while G.I. Joe is gone but I feel more confident and less over whelmed. Lucy is so sweet too she just melts all my worries away. Recently she woke up one morning and the first thing out of her mouth was "Mommy, can you take your arms out of the covers so you can hug me?" That makes me feel like we have done something right after all.

Halloween, birthday and Disney pics to come now that I'm all caught up!!

DIY Chalkboard Pumpkins

2011-10-17T15:44:00.001-04:00

In a week or so I plan to photo bomb the mess out of this place! :) I know friends and family have been patiently waiting for me to post Lucy-pics and I have wanted too. But we've been just enjoying every single bit of family time we have with G.I. Joe before he leaves again. That day is coming up way too soon and I don't feel ready at all. So next week when I'm sitting around bored at night I'll be catching up on Disney Baby updates and pictures. In the meantime I have a super easy pumpkin tutorial for you guys!

I LOVE finding new ways to decorate pumpkins, though I also love carving them. Last year I carved my first one and I did Cinderella's castle. This year I did Ray and Evangeline from The Princess and The Frog.

These chalkboard pumpkins are a fun, kid friendly alternative to carving. The best thing is you can change their face or design as often as you want!

Supplies:

a real pumpkin of whatever size you like

flat black spray paint

chalkboard spray paint

chalk...we only had the jumbo size but the thinner ones work better

To make:

1. Wipe off any excess dirt and grime from your pumpkin.

2. Spray it all over, including the stem, with the flat black paint.

3. Let this dry completely then spray a layer of chalkboard paint all over.

4. Once its dry (maybe give a few hours for this) color away!

Is Disney Baby a Mickey or a Minnie?

2011-10-05T13:01:00.000-04:00

Its a Little Mickey!!!

One birthday surprise after another!

2011-09-30T19:28:00.000-04:00

I feel totally worthless this pregnancy. Its been so hard to keep on track with blogging, sharing pictures...fun stuff like that. After we got home I caught a lovely sinus infection so that's kept me away from computers for a while. I think I will hold off a few more weeks before I restart My Week On Pinterest. We just have too much going on right now and I have to keep my stress level down. But it will be back before Halloween!

So now for my long over due "I can't believe my baby is 3!!!!!" post! After celebrating at Disney Lucy has had tons of birthday surprises still. Her actual birthday was the 23rd. We spent the day with my parents, eating at Lucy's favorite places (Cheesecake Factory for the grand finale) and opening presents while eating ice cream cake. Then on Monday morning the REAL surprise came. On our May Disney trip Lucy begged for a "Duffy" bear. If you haven't been to Disney in a couple years Duffy is kind of their Build-a-Bear or like a Disney mascot that's not Mickey. G.I. Joe promised Lucy that on our next trip he would buy her a Duffy. While my parents had her one day I snuck into the store and bought Duffy. I kept her tightly wrapped and Lucy never knew.

Monday morning when she woke up she had no clue that he had gotten home the night before. So I turned on a lamp and asked if she wanted another birthday surprise. She rubbed her tired eyes and said yes. I called out to the door "Lucy's birthday present can come in now!" In walked G.I. Joe with Duffy covering his face and a pink cake pop in the other hand. She was so tired and shocked she didn't know what to think at first then she just started laughing uncontrollably. It was my favorite part of her birthday!

Now we're getting ready for her party tomorrow and G.I. Joe's dad and step-mom are in town for it. Lucy has LOVED getting to play with Pawpaw and Nana S. I guess all in all her birthday has been celebrated for a month :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Lovebug! You are the greatest thing I've ever done and I could not possibly be more proud of you. You give me strength I never knew I had and its all because of your

beautiful smile and unconditional love.

I think she had an okay time...

2011-09-13T09:52:00.001-04:00

Lucy dressed up like Vidia from Tinkerbell and even got to meet her favorite fairy :)

Well, it was very strange celebrating Lucy's birthday at Disney without G.I. Joe.

There were definitely times that I thought I was going to lose it emotionally.

Like when Lucy kept looking out our Bay Lake Tower window and would point to guys on boats and say "Oh, that's my Daddy! He'll be in soon."

But the girl had an awesome trip!

Lots more pics to come as soon as I catch up on laundry and things.

Thank you soo soooo much to everyone who checked in to see how she is doing.

I think she is getting used to the situation.

Which is good and bad since he will be home for a very short while in the near-ish future before leaving for a much longer time.

But we're adjusting.

Baby news...

Recently we had some issues arise.

Its not too worrisome yet but my braxton hicks contractions have started.

I have a history of having way too many of these so the doctors just want to keep a close eye on my since I'm only 17 weeks.

I'm so glad they are being careful.

I saw my OB and a high risk OB (perinatologist) yesterday for a thorough ultrasound.

The baby was sitting breach so they couldn't get a good enough look but so far everything is healthy.

I go back to the peri in 3 weeks then see my OB a week after that.

Basically I just have to be a little more careful about what I do for now.

I'm hoping to put off any level of bedrest as long as I can but its very likely I will end up on it by 6 months if this pregnancy keeps going the same way the last one did.

This is the one picture the peri gave me yesterday.

A friend of mine on facebook pointed out something I didn't notice.

There is a shape that looks like a heart above the belly!

Do you see it? :)

"Mommy, can you be Daddy?"

2011-09-02T19:20:00.000-04:00

I know I should have done this yesterday but obviously this week I haven't posted My Week On Pinterest. It will be back the week after next so get ready!

We had a very different kind of week.

Its been a bit stressful.

But at least it has gone by fast and the first week is almost done.

The reason there is no link party is that I've just really needed focus even more on Lucy and making sure she is adjusting well to the new situation we have here with G.I. Joe being gone. She's taking it much harder this time and I figure that's partly because of her age. She is old enough to be aware that he is gone for an unknown (none of us know yet) amount of time but she just doesn't understand it. Sometimes when she asks me if he can get her out of bed to play or talk on the phone and I have to explain it again she gets a bit upset with me. It breaks my heart to think that she thinks I'm keeping her from him.

I can say in all honesty we have never had any behavior problems out of her but of course now some are creeping up. This is all "normal" though for the circumstances so we're just trying to figure it out as we go.

Luckily for Lucy, and for me, we have had a little vacation planned for a while now and its just perfect timing. We both need it. So that's where I'll be next week! Up until yesterday I thought I was keeping everything together pretty well with my own emotions but then Lucy kind of crushed me. I can't put into words how much she loves pretending. Every moment of her day is filled with "Mommy, you be Mrs. Potts and I'll be Belle!" and any combination of characters she can think of. Well, before we even got out of bed yesterday morning she was at it again.

Lucy: "Mommy, can you be Daddy and I be Lucy?"

Me, a little surprised: "Sure. Good morning Lucy!"

Lucy: "Daddy, I love you. That's all."

Good thing it was dark and she didn't see me break down at that point. I finally heard from G.I. Joe last night and told him that and he cried some too. We're so lucky to have a child with such a tender heart.

Lol...bad days are never that bad with my little goofy monkey.

And here is a picture of my very unimpressive 4 month baby bump...

Yeah, really boring so far!

But I figured at 15.5 weeks I should finally take a

belly shot.

I hope you all have a fantastic long weekend!!

My Week on Pinterest: Hurricane Edition!

2011-08-26T13:17:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! Okay I swore to myself this week that I would post more than just a link party. Haha but where I'm at we've not only been preparing for G.I. Joe to leave yesterday but also for hurricanes and dealing with the effects that earthquakes have a on a certain little princess. Life just got completely out of hand all at once! Lucky for us G.I. Joe's unit told him he can stay and not leave until after the hurricane so that's been a huge help. Next week I'll have to post some pictures I've wanted to share for a while and finally take a belly bump picture. I'm hoping and praying that's possible since the last night we had a huge hurricane come through we lost power for 10 days. Not so much fun when you can't even shower or run water at your own house. I hope all my East Coast gals and your families stay safe!

So join in this week's linky party. It will stay open till Tuesday night, like always. And if you feel the rain effects but keep power it will give you a little entertainment :) I'm thinking this week may be really light. I still have not had any time to promote the weekly link up and so many are getting ready for this horrible storm. I wasn't even sure if I could get on here to post it but I did because it was a nice little break for me.

A few rules...

1) Link to only a certain post, not your whole blog or a giveaway. Make the post full of your favorite pins from the week. Maybe its 10 or maybe 1 thing just really changed your week and you want to share.

2) Have fun with it! Show us a little of everything or stick to a theme!

3) Check out other people's pin boards!

If you really really want to be extra sweet you'll put a link to this party, or the button, on your post. And maybe even somewhere on your blog! But its just a request, I'm not the Button Police ;) And HUGE thanks to Mrs. Muffins who made the button for this party!

Now without further ado, here is my week on Pinterest....

Pin It.

I want to do a silhouette like this on our kids' walls so bad!

Pin It.

I'm in love with these colors! I want to use them in our military wedding.

Pin It.

This made me feel light and at peace this week.

I think it should really say that it shows "political potential" :)

Pin It.

And finally....something that made me drool....

I could LIVE off chocolate mousse!

One of these days I will try all these recipes I pin.

Pin It.

And don't forget to enter the giveaway posted with last week's link party!
I totally spaced on this and didn't put it in the information about the product
but Halle Berry has been photographed wearing one of Lori's original lockets.
So enter to win one of your own!

Have great weekend and go pin something!

My Week on Pinterest

2011-08-19T08:50:00.001-04:00

Its time for another edition of My Week on Pinterest!

Last week my favorite pin board selection was from Kellee Lyn. She pinned some amazing yummy treats then posted pictures of her versions of the recipes! They all looked amazing and motivated me to actually try some of the dozens of recipes I pin :) So stop by and check out her post and pinboards!

Time to link up!

1) Link to only a certain post, not your whole blog or a giveaway. Make the post full of your favorite pins from the week. Maybe its 10 or maybe 1 thing just really changed your week and you want to share.

2) Have fun with it! Show us a little of everything or stick to a theme!

3) Check out other people's pin boards!

If you really really want to be extra sweet you'll put a link to this party, or the button, on your post. And maybe even somewhere on your blog! But its just a request, I'm not the Button Police ;) And HUGE thanks to Mrs. Muffins who made the button for this party!

Now without further ado, here is my week on Pinterest....because of our awesome news this weekend I thought I would share some of the "wisdom and inspiration" that's kept me going during our painfully long limbo period.

Pin it.

Have great weekend and go pin something!

Clinging to a Promise: Part 2

2011-08-17T09:29:00.001-04:00

I don't even really know where to start with this post. I've wanted to post it since Sunday night when we got "the word" but we've been over-whelmed with different emotions (mostly good ones) and G.I. Joe came home that night so we're loving our short bit of family time. For a whole run-down of what happened last year when G.I. Joe tried enlisting in the Army after his NG contract ran out click here.

After that experience we felt somewhat lost and frustrated but God's voice in my head kept telling me "I'm not leaving you here. This isn't the end."

That brings us to October of last year when {only after looking at other branches} did we find out that he could slip into Army enlistment in a rather unconventional way. We were thrilled!!! But it didn't mean active duty would start right away and we knew that. We tried to be realistic but our celebrations didn't last long. We had already tried for over a year to get to active duty. So we would hear "next month you will go to this school/training then be on active duty." Next month turned into January 2011, which turned into April. April turned into June and to get to the point June turned into October. Politics, red-tape and budgets just kept causing us delays.

I shudder when I get emails or people we meet want to know how long its taken us to go from NG to active duty. We get questions on the Milies about it and my heart sinks. I hate the thought of people hearing how long its taken us and getting discouraged.

2.5 years.

That's almost 3 years of waiting, calling every person who could possibly help us, worrying about money, and trying to find temporary or just a permanent different job altogether. And the sad thing is we aren't the only ones who have dealt with this for so long.

But now for our good news....

After all this time left wondering and questioning ourselves we suddenly have not just the active duty job he's wanted in our hands as an option but we have another possibility that's even better than we could have imagined! Its almost indescribable how we feel. We're going to miss him so much soon (sooner than October like we had been planning for) but to have almost 3 years of questions finally answered with "Yes, THIS is where you are supposed to be" is incredible! The craziest thing about all this is that if everything had gone "right" 2 years ago or last year at MEPS, G.I. Joe probably wouldn't have this better possibility that I told you about.

So we're thrilled. Relieved. A little sad to be saying goodbye so soon. And amazed. Now when I start to have some irrational fears about G.I. Joe's safety God gently reminds me "Hey, remember I promised you this? I came through? You know you can trust me."

I know this is getting long but I have to leave with this...Sometimes when God has something for you doors just open immediately and easily. BUT that will not always be the case. What good would it do His children to make everything so quick and simple that we don't have to trust Him? Sometimes the road will be long. Maybe years long. And maybe you will hit road blocks and like us hear "NO" over and over again. What we have learned from this though is that sometimes NO really does mean that. But there are many more times when it either means "Not this way." Or better still, "Not now." We prayed daily over the past 2.5 years that God would show us what His will was. Time and again He would say "keep at this."

So we did.

And all I can say is God is Great!

Thanks for all who joined My Week On Pinterest! This weekend was impossibly crazy for us with lots of surprises so I wasn't able to get on here much to promote it but hopefully this week I can. If you are addicted to Pinterest come back and link up with us!

My Week on Pinterest

2011-08-11T20:20:00.002-04:00

Hey everyone! I'm so excited about this link party! I keep getting ideas for cool parties and then hesitating too long and someone else starts almost the exact same thing. Don't you hate when that happens? So I kind of jumped into this one the second I thought of it! Lol...that means I haven't even really promoted it that much so I'm kind of telling myself this week may be a light turn out.

Anyways on to the fun part! You know we're all quickly becoming Pinterest junkies. I think that site is so amazing because it inspires people to create beautiful things, live healthy lives and just to find the lovely aspects in life more often. I think that by doing this weekly link up we can expand that. Inspire each other with the things that inspire us. I'll be stopping by all the entries each week and picking my favorite pins. If your's in one chosen I will link to your pin boards on here and you'll get to post my "Mrs. G.I. Joe featured me" button!

So here are the "rules..."

1) Link to only a certain post, not your whole blog or a giveaway. Make the post full of your favorite pins from the week. Maybe its 10 or maybe 1 thing just really changed your week and you want to share.

2) Have fun with it! Show us a little of everything or stick to a theme!

3) Check out other people's pin boards!

If you really really want to be extra sweet you'll put a link to this party, or the button, on your post. And maybe even somewhere on your blog! But its just a request, I'm not the Button Police ;) And HUGE thanks to Mrs. Muffins who made the button for this party!

Now without further ado, here is my week on Pinterest....

This is an original. I made this for my mom because we are always joking like this.

Pin it.

This really got to me because I hate my body most of the time.

And it made me stop and think about how that will influence Lucy in the future.

Pin it.

One cute thing in a pile of MANY cuties to make if Disney Baby is a girl!

Pin it.

DIY flooring made out of pennies!!!

I drool over how the different medal tones come together.

Pin it.

Tirimisu Dip...

Oh Lord I could eat that by the spoonful!

Pin it.

And now you've seen the type of clothes that fill my fall/winter wardrobe.

Pin it.

The timing for our first Pinterest party couldn't have been better because I also have a giveaway to share! Lori, from Heart Works by Lori, on Etsy, has offered 1 lucky reader her Liberty Locket. Her lockets are just stunning! And she is as sweet as can be and the daughter-in-law of a WWII veteran. The locket normally costs $40 but you can win for free right here!

To enter leave separate comment for each...

~Leave a comment with your email address and tell me which item from Lori's shop is your favorite.

~Add Heart Works by Lori to your Etsy favorites.

~Like Heart Works by Lori on Facebook.

~Tweet about this giveaway up to one time per day and leave a comment each time.

~Blog about this giveaway for 3 extra entries.

~Share a link in the My Week on Pinterest party

~Add one of my buttons to your homepage

Giveaway is open world wide and will run until September 2nd, 8 pm EST.

Have a lovely weekend! Go pin something!

Cravings are evil. But Pinterest helps!

2011-08-09T20:07:00.003-04:00

I think one of the worst pregnancy feelings can be when morning sickness finally eases up and you start craving things. Sure it can be fun to have a craving and find the actual food instantly satisfying, but what about when you crave something you can't have? I'm not talking about alcohol or shark meat. Haha, I mean legit stuff that just isn't accessible.

Case in point:

Half my cravings are for Disney food. I want flatbread pizzas from the Bay Lake Towers, a Dole Whip from Adventureland, chocolate mousse cups from Italy, and a hot dog with fries from Cosmic Rays. (Both of those last 2 need to be covered in cheese sauce.) But its going to be a while before I can get my hands on any of that! Maybe that's a good thing though. I try to eat healthy but if we lived down there I might be up 15 pounds already.

Lucy enjoyed the mousse on her 1st Birthday!

My other major craving that I can't have isn't just something I have to wait a while for. Its the most amazing Strawberry Shortcake the world has known. I haven't had it since I was like 15 but its so yummy its burned into my memory. I would like to just send a Facebook message to the creator of this heaven-in-a-glass but because of who it is and their family connection with certain "Wrong Boyfriend" G.I. Joe and I agreed it was best not to. So now I'm trying to find anything that comes close to being that delish!

This is where Pinterest is my best friend at night. You can find some really creative recipes on there! Which this preggo likes :) I think I'm going to try out a few of these soon so I at least get a Strawberry Shortcake "fix."

View them on the Pin board.

My mouth is watering already! And I won't tell you my "worst" craving. The one that drives me crazy. I will save that for another post.

Speaking of Pinterest. I wanted to announce a new weekly link party I'm starting up. Its called "My Week on Pinterest." That website seems to be like crack to anyone who joins so I thought this would fun! All you have to do is post a blog during the week of the favorite things you pinned. It can be all from one type of category or a bunch of things you liked. Then link up! The party will run each week from Thursday night through Sunday night. So there will be plenty of time. Then others can check out your blog AND your pins! (Yeah, I will admit I'm hopelessly addicted. I've even gotten G.I. Joe into spending hours looking at stuff on there.) If you aren't already on Pinterest and still need an invite let me know! I still have a bunch!

Hopefully by Friday I'll have a button and we can be each others' Pin-enablers!

Almost there....

2011-08-01T14:54:00.000-04:00

I'm getting so close to being out of the high risk of another miscarriage stage. I get excited more each day and I also get a little more nervous. But I had an appointment on Friday that was my "3 month appointment." just a few days early since I'm really just 11 weeks. My OB is being super great about helping us through this. The appointment started with them using the doppler to find the heartbeat and it was perfect. However, I had some issues the day before and given my history she wanted me to get an ultrasound right then to "just check." So I got the 2nd ultrasound fort this baby at 10 weeks and 3 days. Which is exactly to the day the gestational age I was when we got our first ultrasound with Lucy! It turns out everything is fine and this little one is really a fighter. The normal heartbeat for babies at this stage can be 120-170. Well, the heartbeat measured in at 182!!! Apparently he/she was as excited as we were to see them. This week I have another (regularly scheduled) ultrasound and I can't wait! Its so incredible to watch them grow from a shapeless blob to a teeny tiny person.

Every day I have to remind myself that God is in control and I shouldn't let fear steal my joy during this surprising journey. I do know when we get past the point where if the baby is born he/she will have higher survival chances I will feel so much relief. Oh and I recorded the heartbeat onto my cell phone for Lucy and she's totally in awe of it :) Seeing her excitement over this really helps me chill out and leave the worries behind.

You say "fanatic" like its a bad thing.

2011-07-27T15:58:00.000-04:00

Haha...here I am again. Finally! Two and a half weeks later. Thank you all SO much for the sweet comments, prayers and support. I'm really happy to be 2.5 months along now! I'm totally in awe that we've made it this far along. My morning sickness this time has been exactly like it was with Lucy: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with NO relief. But thankfully it got a lot worse after my last post and is now letting up. I've felt fairly normal the past couple days and considered posting but I kind of just wanted to bask in only feeling moderately queasy a few times a day.

Now to finally catch up! I'm way behind on picking giveaway winners so I'm extending both giveaways. The Black Baroque Book Art giveaway will end on Friday August 5th and the War Eagle Ring giveaway will end the same day. So you still have time to post new entries! Also, another "business" thing I keep forgetting...if anyone wants a Pinterest invite I have a bunch left. Lol morning sickness cramped my style a bit but normally I'm on that site waaaaaaay too much. Its first come first serve but I think I have like 10. So leave your email addy if you want an invite!

Now on to things I've wanted to post for ages!

I swore I would never go out of my way to attend a Star Wars Weekend but we happened to plan our Disney trip during the first 2 events of the season. It turned out to be totally worth it! It was fun just to see how crazy far out people go with this. It was wicked hot but there were fans there covered head to toe in full costumes and make up. Awesome!

These guys greeted guests on top of the entrance area.

It was actually entertaining to see the way they interact with the guests.

I could never get a good angle without being super obvious

but there was multiple Star Wars tattoos involved here :P

My FAVORITE part of all this...

We found out before we got to Disney that the last day of our trip G.I. Joe's all time favorite movie actor/character, Boba Fett (Jeremy Bulloch) would be there to sign autographs.

To save time we came in a side entrance which was less crowded.

Well, I quickly found out from some "event staff" that if you didn't get a Fast Pass

at the front entrance, there was "no way" you could meet any of the actors.

This nearly crushed me because how many chances do you get to meet your childhood action hero like that? Being me, I didn't really except that answer.

I found the guy in charge who just happened to be working Jeremy's tent.

He said there were no guarantees but if I waited in line and they got to everyone with a pass Jeremy "may agree to meet us."

My mom and I switched off standing in line and then I finally brought G.I. Joe over and gave him a cool Boba Fett t-shirt I just bought and told him what was going on.

We waited and waited.

And we had time ticking on our FastPasses for the new Star Tours ride.

He wanted to leave because he just didn't think it would happen.

Lol...but I wouldn't let him.

Finally when he was supposed to go on his lunch break Jeremy's assistant told him that a soldier had been waiting in line just to see him.

I wish so bad that I could show you a picture of G.I. Joe's face when he got to meet the real

Boba Fett!

It was like Christmas morning for a 5 year old!

I will never forget them smiling from ear to ear together when they met.

I didn't even know who he was before that day but Jeremy Bulloch is a seriously cool guy.

Not every celebrity would happily hang around like that.

Mr. Bulloch, thank you for making my soldier's day!

(Day, week, month, year...haha)

Oh and apparently had we been staying at the Polynesian this time we would have gotten to see George Lucas himself! He was there hanging out one night "off duty" but still made time to sign everything that wasn't nailed down for some kids who were vacationing there with their parents.

The Disney souvenir with a heartbeat....

2011-07-11T12:18:00.001-04:00

Don't you love it when you have something super important to announce and your internet goes down for a week? Yeah...I know I do!

So this was supposed to go up last week. That's the real reason I haven't been on here in a week. I know I said that wouldn't happen again but we had the worst storms ever last week and it messed everything up. But anyways...the reason I've been so hard to catch in the online world is that looking at the computer screen has been making me very sick.

In fact....

I've been sick almost everyday since we got home from Disney.

See where I'm going with this?

Its really blurry because I couldn't get our scanner to work so I took a cell picture of the ultrasound photo but this is my Disney souvenir! We were thrilled, surprised and over joyed to find out I got pregnant again so fast. Everything is looking great so far. I've been wicked sick day and night. We've seen the baby's heartbeat and I've made it to 2 months along! Especially because of what happened on Easter our news has spread really fast so that's part of why we are announcing now, which is still early. Both of our families are just so excited. Plus when you are as sick as I have been for over a month its hard to hide!

Another reason we wanted everyone to know is just so more people can pray for the baby and us. We have seen the heartbeat but until we hit 13 weeks I'm still at risk to miscarry since I got pregnant so soon after the last miscarriage. So we appreciate the prayers and support! Hopefully from here on out I can catch up on things. Pretty much everything besides showering and laying on the couch has gone by the wayside.

And that's our exciting news.

We kind of think this one is meant to be.

Oddly enough, G.I. Joe himself was a Disney souvenir too :)

I guess a tradition is forming!

Finally Back! With another great giveaway!

2011-06-25T14:18:00.001-04:00

I feel horrible for not posting for 2 whole weeks! That won't happen again. Haha I know people were starting to wonder because of my last nearly 2 week absence and don't worry. I will be able to explain soon where I've been. I can't now, I wish I could! But I will be able to explain it all by July 5th at the latest.

So anyways. I am so stinking behind because I have barely been able to glance at a computer screen lately, let alone focus on anything. I have a lot of picture posts, sponsor features, and tutorials coming up. Things should hopefully be getting back to normal now.

With that I want to introduce my readers to the first sponsor I had sign up. Brent, the founder of War Eagle Rings, also offered to give one lucky person their choice state quarter ring! If you haven't seen his Etsy shop you should definitely check it out! He takes US and foreign coins and turns them into rings. But the coolest part is that in the ring form you can still make out all the engravings that were originally on the coin! They make such awesome gifts. I really think a great anniversary gift would be to get state quarter rings from the states you and your spouse are from. I'm definitely sending one to G.I. Joe when he leaves!

Another thing I love is that Brent served in the Active Duty Army before going on to be a stay-at-home-dad. Here is a bit about him in his own words:

"My life in a nutshell....

I am from Columbus Indiana and I have loved Art all of my life. I took every Art class I could while in high school. I joined the Army after graduation. I was part of the only Active Duty mortuary affairs unit in the U.S. Armed Forces at the time. I got out of the Army in late 1995. I messed around with crafts for sometime, but never found anything I liked or wanted to do full time.

About a year ago my sister asked me to make a ring out of a spoon. As I was researching the spoons rings I found a guy that made coin rings. I studied his work and asked a few questions and he gave me a little help. Not anything more then what can be found on the internet.I had to learn to make the rings by trial and error, using only hand tools and muscle....lots of muscle on the larger rings. I am still learning as each coin is different and unique as each person I make the ring for.I have made rings from dimes, quarters half dollars and just about everything in between in the size of 0 up to a big boys size 16."

Now you can win one of these incredible rings! Here's how to enter:

Leave me a comment with your email address and tell me which state you would chose for your state quarter ring. (1 entry)
Follow my blog publicly. (1entry)
Add War Eagle Rings to your Etsy favorites (1 entry)
Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)
Tweet about this giveaway. (1 entry, once a day)
Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook (2 entries)
Blog about this giveaway and leave a link to your post! (5 entries)

Remember to leave a separate comment for each entry!

Contest is open to US residents and ends on Friday August 5th, at 9 pm EST.

Black Baroque Book Art Giveaway!

2011-06-11T20:35:00.003-04:00

This is one of my all time favorite posts!

Wanna know why?

Well, there is the fact that I get to host a giveaway where 1 lucky reader will get an awesome prize but also I get to gush about one of the best Etsy shops there is! I adore Black Baroque's book art selection! I can't believe I never thought of something like this. Alexandra, the creativity behind the shop, takes vintage/antique books that wouldn't otherwise be used and loved anymore and she creates these amazing 8x10 prints. She's not just talented, she's an incredibly sweet person who puts a lot of time and care into customer service.

Alexandra was kind enough to also offer me a free print and I'm having the hardest time deciding on a favorite. They are all beautiful and whimsical. Old book pages turned to works of art. How neat! The method of how these are produced is a mystery. Only her and her adorable side-kick, Puppy Poni, know the process.

We do know though that Black Baroque is a rapidly growing trend. Her work has made the front page of Etsy and she will be featured in the September issue of Coastal Living Magazine. You can read a wonderful interview here about her experiences as an artist, film agent, designer, and shop owner. She is a truly fascinating person!

And right HERE on this blog you can win YOUR choice of any Black Baroque print!

Here's how to enter:

This giveaway is closed.

Thanks to all who entered!

The winning number was entry #20!

Congrats Chantal!

Good luck, lovelies!

This giveaway is open world wide and will end on August 5th at 9pm EST when I chose a winner via random.org.

Reuniting best friends....

2011-06-06T20:00:00.001-04:00

That's what we did this week with a few happy tears in our eyes.

Nothing compares to hearing your child gasp and say

"Ahhhh! MAGICAL THINGS!!!" multiple times a day.


I can't believe you're back to see me, Lucy!


I've missed you so much, Lucy!

Sharing secrets.

I have lots to catch up on now after our "magical trip." Emails, pictures, projects, laundry...ugh....hate that last part. But we had such an amazing time watching Lucy reconnect with her favorite pal Daisey. The last time they saw each other Lucy tried to walk out of the park with her. And Daisey was happy to go along with it! This time Lucy said the funniest thing and everyone just melted. She was trying to tell Daisey, "YOU'RE MY favorite." Instead she kept saying, "Daisey! I'm YOUR favorite!!!" It was so precious I thought Daisey wasn't going to let her go! She kept nodding her head and giving the thumbs up to us that YES. Lucy IS her favorite. Most of the characters this week didn't want to let go of her. They made her feel like she was the center of their universe. It was so incredible to watch.

Each trip with her gets better and better.

More pics and stories to come!

G.I. Joe even got an incredible celebrity moment too :)

Host your own Mad Tea Party

2011-06-01T08:40:00.013-04:00

Lucy's 3rd birthday is coming up in September and I'm already brainstorming like crazy how to pull off a cheap but awesome party for her. Last year for her 2nd we celebrated but because of schedules she didn't get a party. Her 1st birthday party was amazing! I honestly don't know if it will ever be topped. She had such a great time. This year she requested a princess theme bash so we'll see in about 4 months how it goes! I can tell you that very soon we'll be going on a "Princess Party Research Trip." That's a must, right? :)

In the meantime....here are some tips for throwing your own Alice in Wonderland Mad Tea Party.

Tip #1: Don't be like us....we found this amazing iron rabbit garden statue at Goodwill,

spray painted it white,

then on party day forgot to set it at the Wonderland entrance!

Tip #2: Dollar Store or Craft Store glass bottles filled with colored water add a little maddness :)

To use these as drinks for your young guests just mix up various Kool Aids and

tie "Drink Me" signs on the bottles.

Tip #3: Details!

Mome Raths are a cheap/easy detail to set your wonderland scene.

Just cut and spray paint dowel rods.

Glue strips of ribbons and a fuzzy pompom on top!

Tip #4: Use bed sheets and curtains to create whimsical canopies

that don't cost you anything.
An old wicker chair from a thrift store makes the perfect throne for the guest of honor.

Check out my ribbon garland tutorial here.

Tip #5: Thrift stores are excellent places to find cheap tea pots and cups.

Our Door Mouse was one we stumbled upon at Party City for less than $7.

Tip #6: Mirrored Objects.

We did have a big mirror for the looking glass but to enhance the affect

we also used a silver frame with black and white photo of the birthday girl reading the book,

and a mirrored cone from Target's Christmas decoration collection.

Tip #7: You can find large metal or wooden keys at a lot of craft stores.

A touch of spray paint or you can leave it natural.

Tip# 8: Fabulous signs.

Wonderland is all about signs, right?

G.I. Joe hand made these with wood scraps and paint!

Cost=$0!

Tip #9: For hostest-friendly, yummy, cheap foods we did all desserts.

The big feature was a Make Your Own Tart Bar!

Just get some cakes/cookies/pastries for the tarts

and set out fruits, oreo crumbs, whipped cream, cheesecake filling and other puddings.

This was such a huge hit for the kids and adults!

Click here to find out how to make "Eat Me" mushrooms out of cookies and marshmallows.

Tip #10: Lawn games!

These are cheap to buy and guests of all ages will be amused by them.

Tip #11: Caterpillars might blow smoke but we blow bubbles.

Bubble machine cost=$10 at Target.

Best $10 we ever spent in our life.

All the kids spent most of their time playing with these.

And there you have it.

How to host Your very own Mad Tea Party.

Cheap and Easy.

MilSpouse Round-Up is here!

2011-05-27T07:00:00.001-04:00

Helllloooooo Lovely Milies!

I'm so honored to get another turn to host the MilSpouse Weekly Round-Up. Next week you can link up with a great friend of mine Sarah from G.I. Joe's Wife.

Hmmm....lets see. This will be my 3rd post this week so I think for once in my life I don't have that much to talk about! It feels weird ;) Anyhoo. I did have one question I wanted to ask folks while I have your attention. I've been thinking about the different linky parties there are and there are some amazing ones out there. But have you ever had an idea for one and then sat on it for a while because you weren't sure if anyone would join in? Then someone else starts almost the exact same party you thought of? Ugh. That's frustrating right? So my idea was this....there are lots of things for us to link up about or ones like this where you can link to any type of post you want from the week and don't have to have a certain topic or theme. But what about a fun link party, maybe not weekly, that's more dedicated to getting to know a blogger. There are CONSTANTLY new military, craft, and mommy bloggers on the scene and if the only thing I have time to read of theirs is a periodic post then I still have no clue who they are!

So my thought was to start a DYK {Did you know?} or a Confessions party for every couple weeks or so. These are super fun to play on message boards and I figured why not do it here?! You get amazing little tidbits about people's habits, personalities, backgrounds, likes, work ethic...lol...

The way it works is very simple.

You just start with Did you know....I have an extra vertabrae and an extra rib? Or I confess....I've had 3 cupcakes today. Yikes! They can be as funny/serious/deep/silly as you want. And it doesn't have to be a mile long list either. Then when you see a blogger "on the streets" and by that I mean the blogosphere, facebook or twitter, haha, this is a way to fill in some gaps. Would anyone be into that? This would be open to all bloggers who want to join. Not necessarily just military.

And now that I've rambled enough here is the link up!

Vintage candelabra inspired jewelry holder.

2011-05-24T19:54:00.001-04:00

I don't know about you all but I love taking old things and giving them chic new updates that bring them to life again. I'm lucky I have the bestest Grandma on earth. She gives me things from her past or "treasures" she finds at Goodwill. Because of her I have a totally rockin collection of vintage scarves and jewelry.

I'm sure somewhere along the way she gave me this candelabra. For years now its sat with my pearls wrapped around it and suddenly I had the idea to make it over! So here is how you can turn a tarnished old candelabra into a jewelry holder.

Materials:

A candelabra from your attic or a thrift store
Polish, if you want it
Spray paint that adheres to metal
fabric scraps
cotton balls or stuffing
hot glue or E-6000

Instructions:

1. These things are probably really dusty and filled with wax. Wipe down the entire candelabra so all the dust comes off. Usually the pieces unscrew and taking it apart will help you clean it.

2. To remove any dried wax boil just the little cups that the candles would go in. Very carefully {with tongs} take them out of the boiling water and wipe the wax out.

3. {OPTIONAL} Polish the candelabra only IF you want to leave it shiny without paint or if you want to distress the paint and have a shine come through.

4. Spray paint all the pieces with a couple of coats so the color is nice and bold. Let dry over night.

You are almost done! This project is so simple :) Now we need to make the "ring pillows" so your rings or earrings don't get stuck in the bottom of those cups.

5. Take your fabric scraps and cut a circle larger than the cups that hold the candles. Cut a circle for each one.

6. Squirt a big blob of glue right in the bottom of a candle cup.

7. Take a ball of batting and wrap your circle around it.

8. Press the ball down into the cup and glue.

Voila! Now you can place your jewelry and marvel at your beautiful and cheap creation that could have come straight out of Anthropologie.

Beachy Keen!

2011-05-23T16:59:00.002-04:00

It feels so good to be able to get on here and post pictures! This weekend my computer went on the fritz so I'm really behind. Apparently 22,000 pictures and nearly 500 typed pages of files is a bit too much for this laptop. It would take forever to load anything and finally told me it wouldn't accept anything else until I made room. So that's what I've been doing this morning.

And now for beach pictures!!!!

Lucy amazed me, like always.

The water was too cold so she spent most of the time sliding down the tallest playground slides she could find. It was yet another episode of "Oh crap! I blinked....a second ago she was too scared to go down a slide by herself."

"I'm bouncing like Tigger, Mommy!!!!"

The other thing that happened pretty much over night was that Lucy's shy phase ended.

She chased other kids down to play no matter what.

Besides the playground slides Lucy also fell in love with the sand.

She seriously doesn't care if its all over her from head to toe.

It amazes me to see how much she's grown.

We stayed at the same hotel we stayed at in 2009

when she took her first steps.

Soon I'll have pictures of what we did this weekend. We had a wonderful cookout and planted a cherry tree in memory of Bunny. Tomorrow will be one month exactly since we lost our sweet baby so its been rough at times. But we're staying super busy so that is helping. And each April at my parents house we will be able to see pink flowers blossom. The kids had an amazing time at the cookout. Lucy played so hard with her cousins that she nearly fell asleep on the slide coming out of her bounce house!

Ah...one last thing....if you have ever guest posted for me there is a new button for you letting others know that you were featured here! How is everyone feeling about the new look? I'm honestly loving it!

Yarn Octopus Tutorial Part 2: Faces

2011-05-20T17:36:00.003-04:00

To learn how to make a yarn octopus look here.

Today I'm finally back to give you all some tips for making faces and accessories for the yarn octopus! I would have been back sooner but we took a much needed trip to the beach for some family time this weekend.

Basically this post will be on how to add faces to your yarn octopus. What you add is up to you or your kiddies! You can really have fun with this and go all out or keep it sweet and simple like I did with the pink octopus.

To make the faces you will need:

1. Embroidery thread
2. Ribbon
3. Heavy duty glue and a brush to smooth~I LOVE E6000 because its as strong as hot glue but less stringy
4. Scissors
5. Felt scraps
6. Sewing needle

Instructions....

First you need to decide on what you want on your octopus. Any type of facial feature or accessory can be easily made by cutting shapes out of the felt. Here are a few examples of eyes and how different shapes give a different mood.

After you have played around with the look you want you will need to apply the pieces to your octopus. This what the main point of the tutorial because the actual faces you choose is just about having fun :) So to apply.....

You can either glue, or sew. Both work. Both hold. Sewing is nice because if you or your child want to upgrade or change anything you just carefully clip the seams and pull off the pieces.

Gluing is great too though because it feels really solid and seamless.

I sewed with the pink one and glued on the purple.

To sew features on your yarn octopus....

1. Simply use 3 o 4 strands of embroidery thread that match your felt and make a stitch that pulls through a piece of yarn and into the felt.

2. Use a running stitch across the entire piece. Make sure along the way you are catching yarn in the needle.

3. Tie off the ends and use the point of the needle to tuck the ends into the yarn.

That's it!

Now to glue....

1. Place a large dot of glue on the back of your felt face pieces. Use a brush to smooth it.

2. Stick the felt to the yarn and let it set for about 30 minutes.

Voila!

Beyond faces you can have a little fun with personality too. Maybe this is a pirate octopus!

For Lucy's I made a Jelly fish friend. I just cut 2 half ovals out of felt and used strands of ribbon for the tentacles. I glued the ribbon on one of the ovals then placed felt scraps inside both the ovals to make a sandwich. With matching thread I ran a blanket stitch around the outside edges of the jelly fish body. Then I used the ribbon to tie it to one of our 8 octopus legs!

The last step is most important.....

Give it to your child and sit back to watch the reaction!

Feel free to post links or references to any tutorial on my blog. All I ask is that you not take credit for my work. And don't hesitate to email me if you have any questions about a project or reposting something.

New look in progress!

2011-05-19T08:37:00.000-04:00

I've been working {forever it seems} on a new look for the blog. The new header I made turned out to be too big for the new format I'm using. So for a little while you will see it cut off on the right side. I'd fix it now but I have to run and get this little girl ready for story time!

Thanks for your patience with my bloggy impatience and constant desire to change things :P All of this and part 2 of the yarn octopus tutorial should already be done but we decided to get away for a while. The beach was just what we needed!

Just color happy.

2011-05-12T13:12:00.000-04:00

Also titled: Life, in all its unedited glory!

I love Lucy's outlook on life. She inspires me and challenges me.

Just yesterday I was crying. I was really upset and hurt by some people.

I can't go into the situation but in addition to feeling like I myself lost something,

I was worried about Lucy.

I was upset knowing one day its very possible,

that she might watch this same situation

(but with different people involved) unfold.

I don't want my daughter crying 20 years from now wondering why these people involved don't care about her. I never ever for a second want her to have to wonder if every person on all sides of her family love her. A kid shouldn't have to wonder about that.

I don't want her to experience something like the miscarriage we had and

have to face some of the reactions that we have

while also trying to grieve and heal.

My heart felt so heavy yesterday afternoon I just broke down.

That's when Lucy took my hand.

She gave me kisses and hugs.

And finally she looked me in the eye.

Very simply she handed me a piece of chalk and said...

"Mommy, color happy. Just. color. happy!"

In all the wisdom of her 2.5 years she was saying "Its okay, Mommy. Things look messed up at times. They look sad. But that's when you make the CHOICE to color happy instead."

And so we did.

Pretty sure I'm the luckiest Mommy on earth :)

Yarn Octopus Tutorial Part 1

2011-05-10T18:30:00.006-04:00

This is my first tutorial and I'm so excited/nervous about it. So please don't judge me too harsh ;) This is such a fun project to either do for a little kid or with one. I haven't given Lucy this purple one yet because the face isn't done but she LOVES her pink octopus. How to make the face will be posted in Part 2 on Thursday.

Materials...

Hard surface~card board or wood or a frame that's 20-28 inches long
1 Skein of yarn~bright colors or multicolor yarns are best
10 small rubber bands
1 bouncy ball the size of a tennis ball, or 1 tennis ball
A couple pieces of craft felt, various colors that you would want on the face
Needle and thread, or super glue

How to....

1. Begin wrapping your yarn around the end of whatever solid surface you have selected. This part of the project is the most time consuming and occasionally my arm gets tired and needs a break :)

2. When the entire skein has been wrapped up cut one end so you can slide the yarn off.

3. Cut the opposite end now so all your yarn is in a pile of long strips.

4. Leave out 10 strands. Gather the yarn in your hand and use 1 of the rubber bands to tie off the top a couple inches down. Use one of the yarn strands to wrap around the rubber band and hide it.

5. Lay your yarn out on a flat surface and form a nest near the top that you can place the ball in.

6. Use your fingers to smooth all the yarn around the ball until its covered evenly. Take another rubber band to tie it off and then wrap another piece of the spare yarn around it.

Now you have the body of the octopus and you're ready to make 8 braided legs!

7. Separate the yarn into 2 even sections and push one to the side.

8. Divide the side you are working with half again.

9. Take one of those and divide it in half one more time. This will give you the first 2 legs.

10. Braid, twist, or weave both of those and tie them off with a small rubber band.

11. Repeat steps 8-10 until all eight legs are braided. Now you have an octopus!

12. As one last finishing touch to the body of the octopus cover the leg rubber bands with the remaining yarn strips.

Here is part 2 of the tutorial where you can find out how to put a face on your new friend!

This post was featured!

You know you want to know too!

2011-05-02T18:22:00.000-04:00

I really can't put into words how much everyone's support and prayers has meant to G.I. Joe and myself during this time. I said this on facebook the other day but I will say it here too. Words can't undo what happened or really change how heartbroken we are but it DOES make us feel so loved, like we aren't alone in this. That is priceless. Today I had what will hopefully be my last doctor's appointment and blood draw. If my numbers are completely down then everything has passed. That's what we hope for because its no fun at all going back and forth to my OB's office, hanging out with ladies who are about to pop, hearing cheers of joy from the ultrasound room and a grandma shouting "MY FIRST GRANDDAUGHTER!!!" I'm so happy for the pregnant women in my life but I just need a break from that place. So today I gave more blood....I'm seriously looking like I shoot up or something, its so gross. And we talked to my OB about "what-ifs" and "maybe next time's."

There are some questions a lot of people have asked and some people have hinted at wanting to ask so I figured I would go ahead and answer them here for everyone :) And yes, we totally don't mind answering questions. No one has to beat around the bush. First I wanted to put one thing to rest. 99% of our combined family and friends found out about the pregnancy and miscarriage the same way: Facebook and this blog. I'm so sorry for those who were hurt by this but we really didn't pick and choose who to call and who would have to hear it with everyone else. I chose to tell everyone this way because just telling the very few people we did was so hard. I got tired of saying we lost our baby. We were having a hard time so I went with the option that allowed the most amount of our family and friends to find out at once. But I truly never meant for any feelings to get hurt. That was the furthest thing from my mind.

Now on to the "popular" questions....

Do you know what went wrong?
No and there won't be any way to tell. This "type" (that's a poor choice of wording but I can't think of anything else) of miscarriage is very common and there is nothing that can be done that would have prevented it. Not that any of that helps. Believe me, I still feel a lot of mommy-guilt and try to figure out what I did wrong.

Does this change your mind about trying to have another baby?
Yes and no. We have been very open about feeling like our family was complete with Lucy. And we also said if something happened (like our pleasant surprise with Bunny) then we would be totally excited. Now though do we feel like our family is less complete somehow? Not really. We like to think we are still a whole, complete family. Its just that not everyone is physically here on earth. But we got attached to the idea of Lucy having a sibling to play with and everything that comes with that. We feel very torn. On one hand we don't want to jump into trying for another just because we are sad about this loss. On the other hand we don't want to make the decision not to have another out of fear and heartache. We are not at all in the place we feel like we need to be to make a huge decision like that now. Hopefully before G.I. Joe deploys we will have a very clear direction from God on what we need to do for our family. In the meantime, we feel like even though this baby isn't here right now we don't need to be obsessing over having another. This is just what we feel is right for us.

How are you doing?
"Okay." That's the answer you will get from us on the phone or in person. But the truth is we still sit and cry together every night. Thank God G.I. Joe was able to rearrange some things and be home now and home for Mother's Day. It wasn't supposed to be like that but people have been very understanding. We are struggling with this but we're dealing with it and taking things a day, or hour at a time. A family member told me to listen to this song because he really knew it would help us right now and the end basically says that in the arms of God the aching may always remain but the breaking does not. We're still at the broken stage but we have faith God has a plan and will bring healing.

What can we do for you?
I rarely know what to say when people offer to do things. We honestly just appreciate the thoughts and prayers. When I feel like the hurt is unbearable I read some text messages, and emails and things like that and its a comfort. A virtual hug helps more than you can ever realize.

I promised my next post would end a happy note

so here's what's made me happy lately!

My favorite movie star :)

Too glam for her own good.

Not the Easter we expected.

2011-04-25T18:44:00.001-04:00

I know I'm way overdue on posting pictures and returning messages. I just figured I'd explain why since there isn't a need to keep this a secret anymore. It will probably still take me a few more days to get back on here again but when I wrote my last post I knew I was pregnant. That following Monday I finally broke down and tested. It was positive and the next day my OB confirmed it. I had terrible morning sickness all week. It was as strong as when I had Lucy. So we were calling this little one our "Bunny." Because it was like this huge awesome surprise from the Easter Bunny. Well, yesterday my parents kept Lucy pretty much all day so G.I. Joe could take me to the ER. We hung out, endured some tests, laughed, cried, watched Wild Hogs on the flat screen TV in my room. Then today we went back to my OB to confirm that I am miscarrying. Our little Bunny would have been due this Christmas.

These past couple days have been really difficult but we're so thankful for our amazing friends and family who have been and continue to pray for us. We're very blindsided by this and it still doesn't seem real. But I'm also super thankful that this at least happened while G.I. Joe and I could go through it together. He's held my hand and taken great care of me. Lucy has also been showering me with kisses, which is better than any pain medicine I could ever ask for.

It was hard for me to show outward excitement last week because I felt so sick all the time. Now the hard part is coming to grips with how excited I truly was. Closing tabs on my computer for "how to crochet baby booties" or the link to the fetal dopplar I was going to buy so I could record the heartbeat for G.I. Joe while he's away...is harder than I ever imagined.

Big scare...biggest relief.

2011-04-13T10:15:00.000-04:00

Before I jump into the details of yesterday I want say Lucy is 100% healthy and fine. So if anyone who actually knows us reads this and starts to get worried before they get to the end...she is perfect :) This is just my WHEW! moment of the week.

Last week when G.I. Joe was gone I found a little bump on Lucy's stomach. I dismissed it as a bug bite that was fairly new and just hadn't turned red yet. She wasn't bothered by it and didn't act weird and had no other symptoms going on so I figured I'd wait a few days and check it again. It never got bigger but it became more evident that it wasn't a bug bite, it was a lump under her skin. So Monday night I had G.I. Joe check it out while we were giving her a bath. Normally he is the anti-worrier. He brushes stuff and tells me there is no reason to worry. This time though he chose his words very carefully. "Would it make YOU feel better to get it checked? I think it would make YOU feel better so call the doctor in the morning."

That sent my nerves over the edge. I had so many things going though my head and none of them were good. Then I would think, "Maybe I'm being completely ridiculous and its nothing. But a little lump sticking out of her abdomen can't be nothing." Tuesday morning we were at the doctor's office. The moment we went in Lucy has flashbacks to shots (like she does anytime we are in a waiting room where names are called) and she started flipping out. Focusing on calming her down was the only thing that kept me calm.

We finally saw the doctor, a man who used to treat me periodically as a child so I trusted him completely. After asking a lot of questions and feeling the lump...a lot...he gave us total assurance that we didn't need to worry a second longer. Lucy has a tiny cyst under her skin but that's all it is. I was relieved when he told us there was "no way it can be cancer." It freaked me out a bit that he brought up the "C word" because it made me realize I hadn't been totally unrealistic. If the characteristics had been different we would have been told that it required further testing. Countless parents have to hear that and it breaks my heart. I pray for families like that every day. Thankfully though Lucy's cyst is "100% benign." It doesn't have any cancer properties at all. The cyst may go away or she may have it forever and never notice it.

Its funny because G.I. Joe and I have both had little cysts like that. Most adults have at point had one. But when its your kid its a whole other matter! I don't think I've ever breathed better than I did as we walked out of that appointment yesterday! And now we can resume our previous schedules of tea parties and hide-and-seek :)

Photo courtesy of: a very talented family friend!

She thinks he's Robin Hood.

2011-04-11T16:14:00.000-04:00

Last week as we were getting ready for G.I. Joe to come home from yet another bit of "awayness" I waited until the day before he was coming home before I told Lucy. Partly because return dates from anything...be it school, deployment, tdy, whatever...always change. So the day before I started telling her "Daddy's coming home soon!"

Wednesday morning she woke up super excited.

Bouncing off the walls excited.

She would jump and shout "ROBIN HOOD IS COMING HOME!!!"

No matter what I said or did everything in reference to Daddy was "Robin Hood."

If I said, "Baby we need to get ready for Daddy to come home."

She quickly corrected me saying "No, we need to get ready for ROBIN HOOD to come home."

Deep sighs.

If that's the way she wants to deal with separations,
I'm fine with that.

Robin Hood is honorable and courageous.
He fights the bad guys and always wins.
He makes girls swoon.
He takes care of those less fortunate.
And he makes Maid Marian feel like she's the only person in the world.

Who doesn't want that?

It may not be a paycheck....

2011-04-08T19:17:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you all but I can't log into facebook without my entire homepage being filled with links and status updates about the looming shutdown. I'm not at all saying that's bad a thing but its nearly impossible to find anything to be positive about today. Military spouses around the world are sitting and panicing, praying they go into labor this second while they still have Tricare Benefits. Or we're holding our breath that no one in our house gets sick enough to need a doctor over the next week. And service members fighting to protect the human rights of others are about to be putting their lives on the line for no pay whatsoever. Its tough to swallow.

I can admit I've had more than a few moments over the past few days where I have NOT been proud to be an American. I could write a huge long rant on my opinions of the governemnt, president, congress, the shutdown...but that's been done a thousand times over today and yesterday.

Instead I want to offer the Military and Milie blogging world something else.

Its not a paycheck....but just in case you have forgotten....

You matter.

What you do matters.

To prove it I want to share comments from a post I wrote last year. I wrote this after G.I. Joe was given the shock of his life....he went to a movie theater in uniform and the manager refused to take his money. He said "Soldiers shouldn't have to pay in a country they shed their blood for." The post was actually about how we don't do what we do for the glory or thanks but at a time like this I think its important to remember people are thankful.

It might seem like Capital Hill could care less....but you matter.

Your sacrifice matters.

Over 1 million "angry Americans" take a stand on Facebook saying that this is absolutely unacceptable. Here are some fabulous stories of grateful Americans standing proud behind our troops. Please PLEASE feel free to add your own thank you stories in the comments sections. Our troops and families need all the positive encouragement that we can get. There is enough negativity going around so lets lift each other's spirits a bit.

I've actually been surprised by the amount of people who come up to Nate--and to me--and say thank you. Being out here where seeing a person in uniform is so rare, I didn't expect much--not that I ever do. I'm still waiting on the day that we encounter a person who is ungrateful. I know it'll happen. .

A few years ago, my husband and I were planning a vacation. We wanted to rent a beach house on a cliff in Northern California, but it was WAY out of our price range. I contacted the owner and asked if he would rent the house for a weekend instead of a whole week. I explained that we only had a limited window to travel because my husband is a Marine and had to report to his new duty station soon. The wonderful home owner gave us his beach house FOR FREE for the week! We both cried when he offered it to us. Years later, we still stay in contact with this generous man. We will never forget his kindness.

My fiancé is in Afghanistan and my co-workers reached out to me and are buying things to send him in my care packages... I couldn't believe their thoughtfulness and generosity! They really showed me they cared and it was a true "thank you." I can't wait to put the package together and ship it out!

I have two great "thank you" stories. I used to be on active duty and both of these happened in an airport. On my way home from Iraq for my 18-day R&R, I was walking through the airport (in uniform of course) trying to get to my connection. I was walking down the terminal when I felt someone tugging on the cuff of my ACU top. I looked down and it was a little girl, no older than four. She was looked at me and said, "Thank you for what you do." I almost lost it. So sweet.

The second was when I was going BACK to Iraq after my R&R was over. I was in Atlanta and they have this big holding area for all the Soldiers heading back into theater. They got us all together and then lead us to our gate. As the big group of us was walking through the terminal, EVERYONE got on their feet and started clapping. It was such a great feeling and gave me good vibes to go back to Iraq and finish out my deployment.

As a wife of a wounded soldier I am in awe of the support that we have gotten! It sucks that our men and women don't get much when they are healthy and fighting to keep us all safe. However, I am grateful and will be forever thankful that there are organizations to help us when the government fails. Wow! I turned the corner. Anyway....we (my husband and I) didn't do it for the "thanks" we did it because that's what we were called to do.

P mentioned something in his most recent email update to his family. He talked about how when he "played Army" on the weekends in college (aka in the National Guard), he'd get a random person who'd walk up to him about once a year and say thank you.

He said, "And it always took me by surprise when someone actually took the time to walk up and thank me. I'm one who doesn't need to be thanked at the end of the day, because I can say that I'm truly doing something I enjoy and don't really consider it work. And I also know that those little "pick me ups" if you will although not needed or called for can change your day and later on down the road like now when you sit miles away from everyone you know and only see what is slapped in the news reminds you why you do what you do, and helps you get out of bed some days when you wake up and your like why do i do this."

My favorite thank you story was when he returned from the last deployment before this one and we spent a night in a really nice hotel in Portland. The porter who helped us take our bags up to the room was young but talkative and figured out that hubs was a soldier returning home. He thanked him and dropped our bags off and left. About 10 minutes later, there was a knock at the door and when we opened it there was a bottle of champagne and a basket of munchies with a simple note on hotel letterhead that said "Thank you for all you've done for us." I got a little teary eyed, but hubs just said "free booze!" Haha :)

Four times when I've gone to the post office to mail a package, I've gotten up to the window only to hear "the person ahead of you paid to mail your package, you don't owe us anything." By the time I heard this, the person who was ahead of me was long gone, and there was no way to thank them. I stood there in shock each time, and twice started crying. It really is the little things that matter. We've never gotten to thank those who who have done these little things for us, but we appreciate them more than they will ever realize.

I've actually had a lot of comments on my blog from people stopping in  from linky parties who find out I'm an Army wife.  When they say thank  you I cry.  I'm even worse if someone says it to my face.  I am just so  full of pride in what my husband does that it brings me to tears.  I  love this post. 

my favorite thank you was in an airport bar (classsyyyyyy) and 2 ladies  sitting next to me noticed my wedding rings and mentioned i look too  young to be married and drinking.. and i was like oh im 21, and they  were like oh but your married! and asked if we were both in school and i  said no my husbands in the army hes in iraq right now, those women were  like OMG, youre so young and here we are complaining about being away  from our husbands for a few days etc. we don't think you wives get  enough appreciation for all you do, thank you.  

My husband and I had just gotten to our new duty station. After a very long day of house hunting, a trip to the hospital, and DH trying to get his footing at work, we went out to dinner. This older man and his son both came up and thanked my husband for his service. The next thing I new, they turned to me and thanked me for all I do as a military wife. It was the first time I had been thanked for supporting my husband.

Just yesterday I went up to a soldier at a car wash and thanked him for his service and shook his head. He was caught off guard and embarassed a bit,but i needed to tell him. He needs to know that myself and my family do appreciate his service.

My favorite thank you moment was last week when Robbie got home from his deployment. As the they all started down the escalator in the airport the entire place was on it's feet clapping and cheering. My heart was fluttering and my eyes filled with tears. I was just so very proud!

My greatest Thank you moment was when my husband was flying to training and the flight attendant asked him to wait in the back of the line and she said that she will make it up to him...Well when he got to her she said wait here...then came back 5 minutes later and gave him first class seating...The whole works food and all...He was greatful cause he is a taller guy a 6'4 so he is usually crammed on a plane but not in first class...He said he slept like a baby too...Those type of things make me so happy to hear...They work hard and deserve things that are little to the person that is giving but so big to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines...I HEART GOOD OLE AMERICANS;)

I think the best thank you was when my DH was deployed and a neighbor mowed our lawn for me. My son just would not nap that day. I wasn't feeling too hot either, but it needed done badly. I ended up having to lay down with our son to get him to nap, and when we got up, the lawn had been mowed. I wish I knew who did it. I'm still so thankful for that kind gesture.

I know we don't do this for the praise but its nice sometimes to be reminded of the simple fact that what you do matters. There are so many more stories like this out there, I don't even have time to copy and paste them all. But in case anyone hasn't told you lately....

Thank you.

How do you prepare kids for deployments?

2011-04-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

I thought this question was kind of appropriate given that April is Month of the Military Child! It amazes me how strong and resilient kids are...and especially military kids. My dad has a very VERY busy schedule when tax season rolls around. I can remember being a kid and missing him terribly on his late nights. But I had no clue what it was like to go 9 or 10 months straight without seeing my daddy. I honestly don't know if I would have handled that as well as what military kids do. Lucy always blows my mind like this. There are times when she screams out for her daddy in the middle of the night. That only happens when he is gone. But most of the time she will ask for him and I can say "Daddy's helping the other soldiers right now. He'll be back soon." To that she just smiles from ear to ear and says "Okay Mommy! Lets go to the mall now." Um, yeah...its scary she already knows that phrase!

She has yet to go the full length of a deployment with G.I. Joe though so I'm trying to start ahead of time compiling a list of things to do with her while he's gone and even things the three of us can do together before he leaves. (Its important for me to note something here to family reading this: we do NOT have any dates yet. Don't panic. This is just me trying to be a prepared Mommy because we all know many deployments lie ahead for our family.)

So those mommies who have done deployments with young children...how do you handle the time leading up to departure? I really can't wait to hear everyone's suggestions!

Unicorns for the day

2011-03-28T13:55:00.002-04:00

I'm back from a very unintentional blogging break! For the past couple weeks I've been dealing with a total nightmare of a sinus and ear infection. I finally got medicine last week and even though I'm starting to feel better {slowly} its been draining my energy. But here is a glimpse of what we've been up to!

Last weekend Lucy decided she wanted to be a unicorn.

So we hopped in the car and went to one of our favorite stores...Joann Fabrics and Crafts!

We bought some supplies and got down to business!

Thank you purple popcicle for Lucy's frost-bitten lips!

Then we ran around all afternoon like crazy silly unicorns.

Days like that are my favorite :)

It really won't take me 3 weeks to post again.

In the meantime if you haven't tried my Truly Chocolate Truffle recipe check it out! A friend of mine tried it for a church dessert contest and actually won first place for best taste! That made me so excited because this was an original that I came up with. And it was nice to hear someone else loved it. I always wonder if my family is just humoring me when I come up with these things.

In case you want to make your own....

Unicorn Project Materials:

Styrofoam Cones

Paints and brushes

feathers

Pom Poms

Ribbon

Super Glue

Have fun and express your inner child!

Are we that hard to please? Reactions to "Coming Home"

2011-03-07T18:28:00.002-05:00

So, many of you might have watched last night's premier of Coming Home on Lifetime after Army Wives. If you haven't heard its a really sweet show that documents service members surprising their loved ones. I'm guessing it was inspired by all the videos going around the web of the same nature. I always love seeing military families react to the new ways that our lifestyle makes its way into pop culture and the media.

But I'm kind of disappointed in reactions that I've seen to this. All I've seen for the most part is people complaining about Coming Home. For the life of me I can't figure out why. This post is NOT in any way directed at anyone specific but here are a few basic summaries of some reactions:

~Civilians will think every day of our life is that wonderful and magical.

~Its an invasion of privacy.

(that one I've seen even about stupid contests for the "best" homecoming picture)

As far as the first comment goes I think we need some perspective. After 10 years of being smothered with the negative aspects of military life do you really think civilians, based on one simple little show, will COMPLETELY change their entire of view and say "Oh, I get it now! Their life is nothing but sunshine, rainbows and happy tears. Wow, they have it better than I do!" Haha, that would be nuts. Any logical person should be able to understand this is a Reunion show. They say it over and over. Its a show about reunions. They aren't advertising that this is a show meant to reveal every real life aspect of military life. Its just to show what is probably the coolest aspect. One of the top reasons we all Milie On.

Is it really an invasion of privacy when someone applies to be on a show like this? I know some people feel like this should be a personal and private part of our life. For some of us it is and still will be. We don't get big televised homecomings anymore and could really take them or leave them. When G.I. Joe comes home in the middle of the night nothing will ever take away from how special and intimate that moment is. No two reunions are ever alike so one shown on tv doesn't make your next one any less special. Only your attitude about the reunion can do that.

We all want to rant and rave when the main media portrayal of military service members and their families is negative...and now what? We complain when the coverage is actually about something positive and heartwarming? Do we just want something to always complain about?

Oh well. To each their own. I watched the show and can tell you I plan to tune in every week. I cried from start to finish. That one hour was such a strong reminder to me that it is an honor to be part of a military family. Whether you are a military parent, spouse, sibling, brat, uncle, niece....its an honor. We get to experience a rush of emotions that few ever will.

Nervous Stomach.

2011-03-02T07:41:00.001-05:00

I will never ever watch Grey's Anatomy again. Too bad though its already done some damage to my brain. Haha....my Mom is having surgery today and I think I've seen a few too many Grey's episodes because even though its routine every single possible (and impossible) complication has already played out in my mind. That's actually part of why I've been unreachable for the past couple weeks. We've been getting the house ready because when she gets back for recovery things have to be super sterilized so there is no chance of infection. And we've been giving her lots of time to hang out with Lucy since she won't be able to lift her for a while. I know that thought is torturing my mom. The surgery to her is no biggie but not being able to pick up Lucy is the real issue :P

So I sit here now very anxiously waiting for it to be over and for normal life to commence again! And maybe I occasional text jokes to Mom and about Charlie Sheen wishing he could be her for the day since she gets to start her mandatory vacation on pain killers.

PS~I'm a spazz today and don't have my head on straight. This is my mommy's blog so if you get a chance to pop over and take a look!

Keep Calm and Milie On

2011-02-25T07:47:00.003-05:00

"How do you do it? 
I just don't understand how you handle all that."

If you are a military spouse you have probably heard those words before.

I lost count a long time ago of how many people have asked me this.

They want to know how exactly I deal with the worry.

How I get through month after month of separation.

How I kept it together giving birth without my soldier there

and spent years living apart.

Or how I can stay sane while spending every day sitting

and waiting for the official word that he's leaving yet again.

As military wives we rarely have control of much in our lives.

I often don't know how I do these things

But I generally know why.

Its because I choose the love of a man in uniform.

I don't "have to" do anything.

Its not out of obligation.

I just know that living this way and having his love

is better than a lifetime of easy living with someone else.

When things get rough I just

Keep Calm And Milie On.

You may not have words for how you live the life of a military wife

So here is a new button for those of you who are just proud to choose love

and all the beautiful uncertainty that comes along with it.

Grab it!

Nobody gets it.

2011-02-22T16:58:00.000-05:00

Its incredibly exhausting being 2.

Sometimes its so much hard work you just fall asleep standing up.

And thank the Lord that Daddy set you down near a soft couch.

You are a good man, Mr. Monk.

2011-02-18T20:07:00.003-05:00

So I wrote in 2009 about how swine flu had turned me into this guy. Its true I was pretty paranoid. But it was nothing compared to how I've been in our own house this week. Around my birthday last weekend the stomach virus hit and literally everyone around me...except me...ended up getting it. My family thought it was hysterical that I walked around the house for a couple days with a surgical mask on and antibacterial hand gel in my back pocket. And when it came time to touch any dirty laundry I used rubber gloves. Seriously....I witnessed how bad this stomach virus was and I had no intention of getting it. We won't even get into how much laundry has been done this week. Anything that is made of cloth has been through the longest wash cycle possible.

Lucky me the only thing I caught this week was a cold. Which I will gladly take over the plague that has everyone dropping like flies.

It seems to hit at night so I can admit that each night this week before bed I've gotten nervous. When Lucy wakes me up in the morning I realize I made it through another night without puking its like the grandest thing! Haha. I inherited a little phobia of throwing up. My dad is the exact same way.

One good thing that has come from this is that instead celebrating my birthday, Valentine's Day and G.I. Joe's birthday all on 1 separate day each we have spread things out! No one has had the strength to make a whole day of celebrating so we're following through with our plans little by little. Maybe by Easter we'll be done ;)

I can't wait to post pictures soon! But staring at this computer for this long has been quite enough for now. I'll be back after my head bursts and I can pull it together again.

Anyone else out there turn into this much of a germ-a-phobe during flu season?

I wasn't this bad until I had Lucy.

If she gets sick my heart breaks.

Then if I get sick I hate not being able to give her my 100%.

Truly Chocolate Oreo Truffles

2011-02-14T19:13:00.000-05:00

Whew!! I think we have been under quarantine here and disinfecting stuff for the past week. Our house was hit with the stomach virus so that's why I've been lazy about blogging. But as a little post-Valentine treat I thought I'd share a recipe I made for G.I. Joe when he came home this past week!

This is my very own recipe for Oreo Truffles. Most recipes out there call for either a whole or half package of cream cheese to make the filling. Those are decent but personally I can't get over the cream cheese after taste. So I set out to find a substitute and really love the way they turned out.

Ingredients:

1 package of oreos~you can use the mint or peanut butter ones if you like. Just no double stuffed!
4-6 ounces of chocolate pudding.
Melting chocolate or Almond Bark~Dark, Milk or White

Preparation:

1. If you are using instant pudding prepare that according to the instructions on the box. Basically add milk and mix! Its fine to use this but you will have most of it left over. Another option is just use 1-2 individual pudding cups if you happen to have those in your fridge.

2. Grind/Crush the oreos. This is much easier with a food processor since it turns the cookies to crumbs in seconds. I like to break the oreos up into 3 or 4 pieces to make sure they grind quickly.

3. In medium size bowl mix 4 ounces of pudding with the oreos. It will seem like at first that this isn't nearly enough pudding. Working it with your hands is messy but it makes sure everything mixes evenly.

Using 4 ounces of pudding is plenty but if you would like a more creamy or fudgy texture add in another ounce or two. You want the oreos to be wet enough to stick together but not so saturated that they feel like cake batter. Cookie batter is what you want.

4. Over a pan or plate with wax paper. Using your hands and a spoon roll/mold the oreo mix into truffle balls. Refrigerate them for at least 2 hours.

5. When you are ready to dip your truffles melt your chocolate, either in the microwave (for Almond Bark) or on a double boiler for real chocolate.

6. Dip the truffles using toothpicks and lay them on wax paper to dry. If you use white chocolate its a good idea to double dip so the color is nice and bright.

Optional: I didn't have time to get fancy with this batch but while the chocolate is still wet you can sprinkle the top with crushed oreos, sprinkles, crushed candy cane, or wait till they are dry and drizzle chocolate on top.

Then Enjoy!

I LOVE this idea from Bakerella to turn the truffles into homemade Hershey kisses! I think that's what I'll try next time.

Reunion Expectations

2011-02-07T19:21:00.002-05:00

We'll agree that no one should do this but lets face it...its really hard not to have at least a few hopes/expectations for reunions. I think that's just because as military wives we often let ourselves visualize reunions to make it through even the shortest separations. So sometimes we take our favorite parts of those day dreams and really work hard to make them happen.

Since G.I. Joe leaves a lot we try to make the absolute most of every reunion no matter what the circumstances. When he came home from Iraq we had lots of ideal situations in mind but what actually happened was the total opposite. In the end we didn't care about anything besides being back together. Isn't that how it always works? We stress and plan but in the end we all turn to mush when those uniform-clad arms scoop us up again.

For this short separation I've been giddy over the reunion! For starters I get the rare thrill of picking him up during day light hours! Normally he just gets home after dark and we have to be super quiet so we don't wake Lucy. Then she sees him in the morning and its like "Oh, you're here. I must have been dreaming that you were gone. Okay, I need breakfast now, Daddy." But this time I get dolled up and go meet him!

I mentioned before about my up coming "Extreme Make Over: Hair Edition." This got me even more excited. When I pick up my soldier I just knew I was going to be a blond bombshell! The anticipation of this week has been driving me nuts!

Well, come to find out my hair color kit wasn't strong enough and I'm still a ways off from bombshell. I'm more like "Aww look at that Mommy. She's trying pretty hard but she looks alright." And it looks like someone will be creeping in after dark. A day-time reunion and chance to surprise Lucy is probably out of the mix now.

Of course as expectations go I'm a little disappointed. (Mainly with myself for not getting hair color with bleach) But on the other hand...I do know without a shadow of a doubt what I can count on this week......

I can count on us both glowing with excitement.

I count on him whispering in my ear as he sweeps me off my feet. Literally.

I count on holding hands all the way home.

I count on choking back tears watching him and Lucy play together again.

I count on him getting up 20 times to check on Lucy during his first night back.

I count on his excitement as he tells work stories to be infectious and make me appreciate our Army life even more.

I count on us picking right back up where things left off and never miss a beat.

I count on reality always being better than the expectations.

And now some pics from our special tradition!

We have a little "Daddy's almost home and I've been a big girl for Mommy" treat.

Eat It, Mommy!

This place is really waaaaaaay too yummy. Especially for those of us who have to actually limit the dairy intake. But who can resist Red Velvet Frozen Yogurt???

When we got to the topping bar Lucy insisted on only having chocolate sprinkles. Well, the rainbows taunted her. It was so hilarious when she decided she had to have the rainbow sprinkles too. She told my mom and I that she had to "ask the little lady" (the teenage girl working there) for rainbow ones. And she did. I took her up to the counter and she looked her right in the eye without any coaxing and said "Pwees may I have some wainbow sprwinkles pwees? Thank you!" Haha...I don't know where she got "little lady" from.

Sometimes bigger is better.

2011-02-04T18:50:00.000-05:00

Love Bug at 5 months

I've finally gotten around to making some blog changes that I've been contemplating for a while! Its still a work in progress because there are a few things I'm not happy with but...my main mission has been accomplished! I really wanted to widen my post body so that I could post bigger pictures. Before if I did most pics in "extra large" they cut off. So I now I can post pics of my cuteness and other randoms with a lot more elbow room :)

Okay, that's all for now. I just wanted to test it out. I'll be back on Monday for a real post! And maybe I'll have yet another "Extreme Make-Over Hair Edition" to share. (Sometimes when G.I. Joe is gone I get bored so my hair provides an outlet for that).

2 years old and so much personality!

Daisy, you're mine.

2011-01-31T07:00:00.004-05:00

As insanely cold as its been this winter I can honestly say its a huge excitement around our house right now that we have both our Disney trips for the year booked. Lucy can't wait...no shock there...but even Mommy and Daddy would head down there tomorrow if we could! It will be hard to top the trip we took last September.

Before that Lucy had always been scared of the large characters.

That's totally normal and some kids don't grow out of that until they are 3 or older.

But on our first day at EPCOT I saw Lucy's favorite character.

It was early in the day and there wasn't a line for Daisy so I thought

what the heck! Lets try this again.

I expected her to cling to my leg and whimper.

Like every other time.

But she didn't.

She walked right up and shook her hand.

And hugged her....by this point a line was forming behind us.

And then she decided to take Daisy home.

Everyone around us thought it was hysterical and just too cute.

People were snapping pics and couldn't care less about waiting in line a little longer.

Thank God for my Mom and her point-and-shoot camera. I was too excited, and too choked up to think of taking pics.

Its strange to watch your child grow before your very eyes.

Strange, but incredible.

It was NOT easy getting her away from Daisy after that!

PS~ Don't forget to enter the Custom Gaiam Yoga Mat giveaway while you are here ;)

A winner will be drawn tonight so this is the last day to enter!

Black Friday Keeps on Giving...

2011-01-28T19:36:00.003-05:00

I know most people would think it logical to post about their Black Friday finds oh, I don't know...maybe sometime around Black Friday. Haha...okay so I'm not "most people." I wanted to wait until I put mine to use and had pictures to share!

So the only place I'll ever stand in line for on Black Friday is Joann Fabrics and Crafts. Percentage-wise they truly have the best deals. When I saw an add for this fabulous line of flannel fabrics I knew I had to stock up. Its regular $5.99 and yard but the Black Friday sale brought it down to...$1.29! That's wicked awesome! So here's the stash of dress and blanket making fabric that I picked out. Plus I went back later that day and got more that's not in this picture :P

And here are some things I've made with the stash! The first 2 are for Brody. I need to post an update on his page but this boy is growing like crazy! He's only 2 months and already about 3 and half pounds and completely off oxygen. They get to take him home soon!

Now I have to explain this dress...its been a thorn in my side! I got the instructions from a book. No pattern, just instructions. I've NEVER made any clothes from scratch before so I knew it would be an adventure. The problem is the instructions were for 2-3 year old girls. So I started and kept realizing the dress would be monsterously big on Lucy. I had to keep modifying it and changing little things so it would work for her little body. Its far from perfect but she loves it. And it will grow with her because I made it adjustable. All in all it could have been a total disaster but I don't think its awful for a 1st try!

Her dress for the "Fancy Dress Ball" as Lucy calls it.

The Princess and The Frog was more exciting than Mommy's camera apparently.

The catwalk!

Not a perfect dress but it makes twirling more fun.

And its still comfy enough to climb in.

Love this face.

Drama queen!

Don't forget to enter the Custom Gaiam Yoga Mat giveaway while you are here ;)

A winner will be drawn on Monday night!

Life is sweeter when its messy.

2011-01-19T18:57:00.000-05:00

Give a Lucy a cup of Strawberry Applesauce and this is what happens :)

Dancing in the Minefields

2011-01-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

This was just too beautiful not to share. This Sunday at our church the message was on marriage and they played this at the end. It makes me cry every time I watch it because it really hits home with a lot of the things G.I. Joe have gone through over the years so far. I'm so thankful God allows me to walk through the shadowlands with my best friend. I think this song is SUCH an awesome summary of marriage.

Watch it and see if you don't want to run and hug your spouse :)

Dancing in the Minefields

Well I was 19, you were 21
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway
We got the rings for 40 each from a pawnshop down the road
We said our vows and took the leap now 15 years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for

Well "I do" are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I've heard is a good place to begin
'Cause the only way to find your life is to lay your own life down
And I believe it's an easy price for the life that we have found

And we're dancing in the minefields
We're sailing in the storms
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I lose loves chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith to the end of all my days
when I forget my name, remind me

'Cause we bear the light of the Son of man
So there's nothing left to fear
So I'll walk with you in the shadow lands
Till the shadows disappear
'Cause He promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of this chaos baby,
I can dance with you

So lets go dancing in the minefields
Lets go sailing in the storms
Oh, lets go dancing in the minefields
And kicking down the doors
Oh, lets go dancing in the minefields
And sailing in the storms
Oh, this is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that's what the promise is for
That's what the promise is for

"Changed my life forever"

2011-01-17T16:30:00.000-05:00

I'm super blessed.

That's something I'll never take for granted.

There is some saying or rule or whatever that basically a woman becomes a mommy when she finds out she's pregnant. But a man becomes a daddy when he holds his child for the first time.

G.I. Joe wasn't like that. He was a terrific daddy from the day I found out I was pregnant with Lucy.

Saturday, January 15th 2011, was the 3 year anniversary of our birth as mommy and daddy.

Even though he was away for mostly all the pregnancy and every "big" moment, he still did everything he could to be an involved, loving daddy. I'm so grateful for that. It made the difficulties of being pregnant a little easier to bare knowing how loved Lucy and I were.

So here is a post from January 15th, 2009 where G.I. Joe told his story of one of our favorite days....

Almost a year ago exactly, I was at work waiting for a chance to get on the computer to do some papers. I was not expecting the day to be very exciting or memorable; just another glorious day in the U.S. Army. The day was dragging on, and nothing important had shown up for me and my soldiers to do. As I "patiently" waited for someone to quit playing e-mail tennis, my phone rang. I couldn't get very good reception inside our Battalion HQ so i excused myself and stepped outside. I looked to see who was calling me; it was Mrs. G.I. Joe! I answered the phone not thinking very much other than this is nice, I usually don't get the chance to talk to her during the duty day. I had no idea that this single phone call would change my life so amazingly! Mrs. G.I. Joe said something that caused me to pause in my very footsteps. It took me a few seconds to realize exactly what she had said. She had just told me that she was pregnant! I had all of these thoughts flooding my brain and my heart began to beat faster and faster! I was so excited and equally scared out of my mind, but there was no way I was going to let her know that I was at all scared. When she reads this she's going to call me and ask why I didn't tell her then :p The fear wasn't that I didn't want to be a father though. It was more like the butterflies in your stomach when you're trying something for the first time. I was completely caught off guard but that didn't matter. My beautiful bride was carrying our child and nothing could change the completely awesome feeling that I was experiencing at that very moment. On that day my life changed forever. I was going to be a father, and not just a father but "Daddy" to that precious little girl. That day was the start of a long journey that was mostly traveled alone by my wife due to my job, and even though she won't admit it my wife did an incredible job. She is an amazing woman who brought an amazing little girl into this world, and I will spend the rest of my life thanking her for the gift she has given me. I will always love her and only her for the rest of my days. - A loving husband and daddy -

Facing changes

2011-01-11T08:55:00.001-05:00

I'm happy to finally start catching up with the blog world again. I have so many pictures from the past couple months that I can't wait to share! Ever since right after Christmas I've been sick and trying to figure out some food allergy issues and all that fun stuff. Like I said in my giveaway post before this (hint, hint! Enter to win a free Gaiam yoga mat customized by CafePress! haha) my goal for 2011 is to be healthier and not let stress get to me. The past few months have brought on a LOT of unexpected stress and now we're getting to a point where G.I. Joe's going to be off doing things again. Life is changing for us. I feel like we're finally getting out of this transition phase we've been in since he moved home.

I used to not really blog about military family issues before he moved back. The reason for that is because I can't talk about his job but also I had other ways of dealing with the separation. When he did move home talking about the military issues that I could was helpful for me because it kept me feeling connected to something. Over the past couples weeks though I've realized that a change needs to happen again. I'm not going to be able to deal with what's in front of us the same way I've dealt with everything from the past year and a half.

I really have gone back and forth with this since the summer but I am certain I don't want to shut down the blog. Finally, I know that for sure. However...there will be changes coming. I won't be writing deeply personal posts about military life. Of course, its not going to disappear from the blog. I know there are a couple of promotion/graduation type things I'll want to share but there will be mostly other stuff here. I will get better about posting pictures, videos, and maybe even some sewing tutorials and recipes.

Over the past year I did a lot of stuff. And I don't mean that in a bad way. I'm proud of the articles I've written and the projects I've done for certain military organizations. I feel like there was a season for that. My biggest concern in the coming days, weeks and months is making sure Lucy adjusts well and has as stable a life as possible. That means taking on less and I'm super happy about that. So that's the other reason you won't see a lot of serious military related posts around here. I hope you'll stick with me though! I know this blog has been "transitioning" for a while but I finally feel like I know where its going because I can see what I need to be focusing on now.

Shout-out to my awesome friend Sarah for taking these super cute pictures at our house :)

Custom Gaiam Yoga Mat giveaway!

2011-01-11T08:40:00.002-05:00

I'm so excited about this giveaway...and finally my first post of the new year...because it goes hand in hand with my personal goals for 2011. I really am determined to get healthier and that involves cutting down on stress. Of course its impossible in life to actually remove stress factors but we can let them get to us less.

One way I used to deal with stress all the time was yoga. Before I had Lucy I used to do an hour or more of yoga each day. Now with a 2 year old I can't exactly spend all day doing the brave warrior and sun salutation but I am making it a priority. My FAVORITE yoga products and dvd's have always been by Gaiam. They just seem to have the best quality over all that helps me fully immerse myself and get the maximum bennifits of the workout.

Until I was contacted by Cafepress I had totally missed out on the fact that they sell custom Gaiam yoga mats! I was so thrilled to find that out because when I need a new one I just go to Target and pick up a comfy, but plain, Gaiam mat. Cafepress offers the same Gaiam mats but with super cute graphics. For my review I picked this Army Wife mat. It was such a hard choice because of their huge selection! They have everything from military theme mats to family, animals, and pop culture references. There is literally a yoga mat for any hobby or interest you may have.

My body loves this mat!

Would you like to win your choice custom Gaiam yoga mat?!

Cafepress is offering one lucky reader a free yoga mat!

All you have to do to enter is leave me a comment with your email address

and one goal you have for yourself in 2011.

Additional Entries:

Leave a seperate comment for each!

Follow this Blog
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Follow CafePress on Twitter
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Mention this giveaway in a blog post for 5 additional entries
Tweet about this giveaway, up to 2 times per day. 1 comment for each.

Contest closes on January 31st, 2011 at 10 pm Eastern time. A winner will be chosen via random.org and notified by email that weekend.

Thanks for each one.

2010-12-23T19:17:00.001-05:00

My Darling G.I. Joe....

We may have only spent a small part of our 5 years of marriage under the same roof.

But you've given me 5 years of "Greatest days ever"

5 years unconditional love

5 years of sanity....because

"being with you here makes me sane, I fear I'll go crazy if you leave my side" :)

5 years of love letters and homemade cards

5 years of laughter

and 5 years of the best all around foot-popping moments a girl could ask for.

Thanks for marrying me on Christmas Eve 2005.

Each year you are still my favorite present.

Baggage in the Attic

2010-12-15T21:03:00.002-05:00

I feel really excited to start attempting to blog more now. I've enjoyed my break and for a while I sort of debating coming back to it all. I mean, I've had a little more drama with the blog world then I care for so for a time I didn't see the point. But now, even with all the Christmas hoopla going on, I've been getting excited about coming back.

One thing I really wanted to address was some worries/questions about my situation. I know a few people have been worried so I wanted to describe in the best way possible what my therapy sessions are for. Everyone should know that its perfectly natural to go to therapy if you are not depressed or suicidal. I'm not either one of those. I love my life more than I can ever express in words.

But I do have baggage.

What normal, honest human being doesn't at one point in their life have that?

A couple weeks ago G.I. Joe was gone so one Sunday my Dad and I spent the morning going to church, running errands, and eating lunch. I don't know how the subject came up but I started explaining to him why people might need therapy. He is definitely the most level-headed, happy, content, baggage free person I've ever known so I had to start from scratch with explaining this...

When certain events happen in our lives we mentally keep souvenirs and mementos.

As time goes by those aren't out in the open they are stored in suit cases in our attics.

But the suit cases are always there, laying around getting in the way.

At certain points we may deny the existence of the luggage. We trip over it...but we would never admit that's what made us fall.

Other times we may randomly open one and shake our fists at the sky in anger and frustration.

Then there is the dwelling. That's when we just curl up in the suit case and try to live there.

Something has to be done about the baggage. But on our own or with a dear friend we may just spend more time pouring over the mementos to the point that it runs our entire life.

My therapist sits with me in my attic.

Sometimes I cry a little. But I generally laugh more.

Piece by piece we go.
She listens.

I tell her about the time I got my Probable-Widow {metaphorical} t-shirt. Some "friends" gave it to me before G.I. Joe went to Iraq. They wanted me to be sure I "knew what I was in for." Sweet wedding gift, huh?

We discuss how the t-shirt makes me feel.

And its connection to my {metaphorical} skip-a-meal-to-look-perfect-when-he-returns skinny jeans.

Then I fold the t-shirt up.
Like it or not its a part of my story.
I don't throw it out.

But I actually pack it away this time.

That is what therapy is for. Its simply a way to inventory your baggage and learn to live a life that is not defined by one single t-shirt.

CafePress Custom Holiday Cards Giveaway

2010-12-10T09:10:00.000-05:00

The world has been buzzing about Christmas cards for a while now and I'm so excited to finally be ordering ours! CafePress.com contacted me and offered me a free review of a pack of their non-profit custom photo cards that benefit Operation Gratitude. So while I'm waiting on mine to come in to review I get to host a giveaway!

If you all are like me the list of people to send cards to grows every year. And it seems like mid-December I always realize I need more cards! Yikes! Then I end up rushing to Target or Sam's Club to print out some very basic cheapies. But now we're all in luck because whether you've started your Christmas cards or not or just need a few more you can win a beautiful 12 pack right here from CafePress!

I love all their designs. They have adorable cards for Baby's First Christmas, or Hanukkah. And their charity benefit cards are hard to beat. The profits from the cards go to a specific organization. Its also a great way to spread awareness for the cause because there is a website on each one that your family and friends can check out to learn more.

Here are a few of my favorite custom holiday cards from CafePress:

Who could use an extra pack of FREE cards this holiday season?

To enter and win your very own pack of custom holiday cards from CafePress.com

just submit a comment with a valid email address.

That's it!

But if you want extra entries leave separate comments for each of these:

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Include a link to your post.

*Fine print* Contest open until Thursday, December 16th, 9 am Big Apple time. This is open to US and Canada residents. No PO Boxes.

Don't forget to check back here after Christmas for a special "New Year's Resolution" giveaway from Cafepress!

Confessions of a Christmas slacker...

2010-12-07T09:06:00.001-05:00

It seems like every day in blogs, Facebook, real life...people are gushing about being done with Christmas stuff. We've already gotten a few cards in the mail but pretty much the only Christmas things we've done is decorate the house and watch Christmas movies.

Do you want to know a secret?

I haven't even ordered/printed our cards yet!

I don't even know if I'm going to go with pre-made cards that you just upload your photo to or if I want to design our own.

As of yesterday I don't feel ridiculously behind though because we got some of our family pictures in that we had made so I at least know what pictures I'm using. That's progress, right?

Truth be told though, I don't feel bad about not having shopping done, not having wrapping done, not even having cards in my hands, and not knowing what to make for Christmas dinner. This is our family's absolute favorite time of year. Doing all this stuff for other people is something I look forward to all year! The thought of all the shopping and wrapping being done by the 2nd week of December makes me sad. My shopping and wrapping don't end until late on December 24th by the glow of a Christmas tree and Home Alone. So that's my confession. I'm a Christmas "slacker" by choice. Really though I like to think I'm a Christmas savoror...And yeah I think its totally make-up-a-word-worthy.

What about you guys? Do you like to drag out the Christmas to-do lists like me, or get most things done sooner with more time to relax?

And I also wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who has been praying for Brody and leaving wonderful comments. I'm going to make a button that links to the post below about him and keep it updated. He's a tough little guy but still faces many challenges and isn't close to being out of the woods yet. Every Tuesday he will be having a brain ultrasound to see if there is any change in his hemorrhage. But only time will tell what damage has already been done. This has been a very stressful and exhausting time for everyone so the prayers mean the world to us.

Our family's newest/tiniest miracle: UPDATED

2010-11-24T09:04:00.004-05:00

I would like you all to meet someone very special....

On Saturday night my cousin Matthew--who is more like my big brother--

welcomed his son into the world.

This is Brody.

He was born weighing 1 pound and 11 ounces,

and is just over 13 inches long.

This sweet little guy was born 3 whole months early.

They have been saying that he seems pretty normal for a 26 weeker. He's a good size and so far hasn't had a lot of extra complications. But the fact remains that he's less than 2 pounds and still has a lot of developing to do. Brody will be in the hospital until his February due date. As a parent I can only imagine how hard it would be to leave your child in the NICU day after day and go home without him. It really breaks my heart that anyone would have to go through this. I remember at various points in my pregnancy being admitted to the hospital and thinking "Oh my God, what if Lucy comes at 6 months...7 months..." but for some reason that wasn't God's plan for Lucy. I don't ever pretend to understand these things but I just have faith that He has something awesome in store for Brody and his parents.

During this Thanksgiving week I hope we will all be thankful for the things we sometimes take for granted. Today I'm thankful the most challenging hurdle Lucy faces at the moment is the common cold and that we can take care of her here at home.

Please pray for our little Brody. Like I told Matthew last night with lots of prayer years from now people will be saying...

"Hey you know BIG Brody?

Yeah, the one who is a great baseball player like his Dad was?

Well, he weighed less than 2 pounds when he was born!

You would never know it by looking at him!!"

UPDATE: I will try to keep this updated but I won't bump the post up each time because there will probably be a lot of updates. I think maybe we need a Brody button here :)

November 24th~ Brody is perfect and his lungs are developing really well but there is one big complication now. He has a brain hemorrhage. There is a 1 to 4 scale of these, 4 being the worst, and Brody's is a 4. Because he's so little they can't do anything to his brain besides wait it out. He could walk out of the hospital one day and have no issues whatsoever or he could face things like Cerebral Palsy. All everyone is doing now is waiting and praying.

11/30/2010~ The follow brain scan showed that the hemorrhage is still the same, but that's good because it hasn't gotten any bigger or worse.

12/1/2010~ At just 11 days old Brody is off the ventilator!

12/8/2010~ The latest brain scan results are in and Brody has no more bleeding! That is a huge praise. He's been having a great couple of days.

Week of 12/10-12/18~ BIG week for Brody! He had his first surgery ever and it was successful at removing the fluid build up in his brain. Matt, his Daddy, was able to hold him for the first time ever. He got his mask off that was assisting his breathing. He is over 2 pounds now. AND the big news...he might be able to go home in just 4-6 weeks! Incredible. Christmas miracles happen :) And Brody is also 1 whole month old! Countless happy and healthy months will be celebrated in this little guy's future.

An update of sorts...

2010-11-22T15:06:00.002-05:00

I can't believe its been this long since I've posted! I really never intended to take that big of break from posting altogether but it seems Lucy has hit quite a developmental-transitional-type stage where she kind of, sort of, sometimes wants a nap during the day but doesn't actually need it. I used to put posts together and return emails during her naps but now my days are spent running around from morning till night. When she is sleeping at night I just don't have the energy to get on the computer. But I do have stuff that actually has to get done so I'm trying to create a new daily routine combo that works for both of us.

I figured I'd do a bullet point post about all that's been going on around here since I took my big break from the world of written blogs!

G.I. Joe is officially in his new unit and we were really pleasantly surprised when we found out he'll be home for the holidays this year!
I started seeing a therapist and am finally figuring where a lot of my anxieties are coming from and how to deal with it. But its a slow process.
Mentally and emotionally I feel better than I have in years and I wish my body would catch up! That amount of stress leaves one feeling incredibly drained.
A couple weeks ago I "officially" became an Army wife again...I got my new ID card!
Because G.I. Joe can pull the whole "But next year I'll be...." argument we put our Christmas decorations up wicked early this year. Lucy loves just being around the tree and sparkly. She's also started a new obsession: collecting snow globes!
I will be submitting my manuscript to agents starting in December or January!
On Saturday We had family pictures done for the first time in ages. I can't wait to share some of them! We found this great old 1700-era plantation to use as the setting.
Lucy is sick right now--that's really my only bummer update--but even watery and miserable she's a happy, goofy, sweet girl. When slimy goo comes out of her face she just looks at me and goes, "MOMMY! What's happening to me??!!"

So that's what's going on with us! I promise over the next week I'll have more picture posts and as soon as December rolls around I'll start posting more normal stuff. Thanks so much for everyone's patience and sweet messages. They have meant so much to me!

Its still true.

2010-11-12T08:19:00.000-05:00

Because yesterday was Veteran's Day
I figured I would repost what I wrote last year.
I think it sums up what it means to be a Veteran's wife pretty well :)
And of course, its all still true.

I love a Veteran.

I love a man who is brave.
I love a man who put his life on the line for people he doesn't even know.
I love a man who has walked through fire to save precious lives.

I love a man who has missed many holidays at home to keep our country safe.
I love a man who is gentle and passionate.
I love a man whose heart breaks if he hears one of his friends didn't make it home safely.
I love a man who'd be willing to go back and do it all again.

I love my soldier.

To all the Veterans out there...Thank You! When G.I. Joe was away I know he was never alone. Thank you especially to all the Veterans of the company that went to Iraq with him in 2006 for watching his back.

And to all the Veteran Wives reading this...you are heroes to me too!

We rock the gourds.

2010-11-10T15:00:00.000-05:00

I can only assume that Lucy got her love of fall decor from her Great Grandma,

because it really didn't come from me.

Haha...

But she does make gourds look totally rockin!

The *fake* pumpkin Daddy carved for Lucy.


This is the FIRST pumpkin I've ever carved solo!!! I'm extremely proud of Cinderella's Castle.

The one with happy tears.

2010-11-04T17:54:00.004-04:00

Last night G.I. Joe was getting his bags ready to travel down to his new unit for in-processing.

He called to me and said he needed "help."

This puzzled me because for one,

his uniforms were in the wash and he won't let me do those anyway.

Two, he was going to Target later that night to get his travel toiletries so I know nothing was lost.

And three...Lord knows I don't have a clue about what he needs for in-processing.

So why on earth did he need me to "help" him?

Um, he pretty much just wanted to show off :) And also to make me cry!

I walked up the steps to find him grinning from ear to ear in front of a mirror....

wearing the uniform he hasn't been able to put on for months.

Oh how my heart completely turned to mush!

I just stood across from him and cried.
It was like seeing him for the first time ever.

He kept whispering to me that everything was going to be okay

because he thought they were sad tears.

I had to tell him

"I KNOW! That's why I'm crying!"

He even walked around the house in his uniform for a while before packing it.

So I was too busy drooling over my soldier to snap a picture

but figured I'd get one before he left today.

Turns out he didn't plan on wearing it for the drive

and since he's very "anti-picture" this was the best he'd let me get.

I'd give anything to see the Commander place his new patch on his shoulder

but just knowing its happening is the greatest feeling ever.

And yes, he is absolutely on cloud 9 right now.

He's like a kid,

in Disney World,

at Christmas,

with all the candy and

video games the world has to offer :)

(I am a little behind on picture editing so that's why I am breaking my post silence just this once.

I figured it was a big occasion for us so I had to include it)

Pretties Pumpkin Picker...

2010-11-01T09:46:00.000-04:00

"PUNKINNNNNNSSSS!

"Look how big I am this year, Mommy!"

"Co-mon, GG and Grandpa! Co-mon, Co-mon, Co-mon!

We gotta get more PUNKINS!"

"I got dis, Daddy."

"Did I mention I LOVE punkins and never want to leave this wonderful place?"

Ripping off the band-aid.

2010-10-28T21:13:00.004-04:00

Also might be titled: He's not the only one with PTSD.

I've breezed by this subject on here a number of times. A few weeks ago I wrote a post about my first year as a Milie. I didn't really know what I was doing back then, if my feelings were normal, or how to get help. So I developed some bad habits and my emotional stability took the brunt of the punishment that followed. After G.I. Joe came home from Iraq in 2007 I kept expecting to "get better." I kept thinking eventually I'd start dealing with stress and emotions the way I used to. Towards the end of that year I started having more panic attacks again and getting sick a lot because my nerves were just fried. I couldn't understand why I didn't "feel normal" yet. He'd been home for 9 months, 10 months...Finally the only thing that changed was I got pregnant. Then there was a whole new definition of normal. I had the world's greatest distraction from the fact that we had been married 2 years and he had been stationed away or deployed for those entire 2 years. I thought everything was fine and basically convinced myself that Lucy cured my PTSD. She just seemed to make it go away. Really what happened was I still had all these issues there under the surface but dealing with the pregnancy without G.I. Joe home was like looking at myself through a frosted glass window pane.

Ever since then I had been able to move through life by staying extremely busy and project oriented. Every second that I didn't need to be holding, feeding, or playing with Lucy has been filled with some sort of project. Not the relaxing therapeutic kind either. Earlier this spring and summer I was working my butt off to finish my manuscript about my first year as an Army wife. This was not really therapy. It forced me to relive my worst memories and then I just sort of left them under the surface instead of dealing with them.

Later this summer as we started to deal with all of our re-enlistment issues I started slipping back into my old habits. I didn't even realize I was doing certain things, like keeping all my feelings bottled up tightly so it doesn't affect G.I. Joe's PTSD. That first year we were married was traumatic for us both. We've spent all this time making sure he deals with his aftermath from combat but I've put mine on the back-burner. Now, I have the super fun task of undoing all the hard-wiring in my brain. Lately I've had more panic attacks than I care to mention, my energy level plummets and when I get sick it takes me forever to shake things. I've spent a long time avoiding having to deal with my PTSD but I can't do that anymore. I can't be afraid to show a weakness or to express certain emotions. After all this time I'm finally going to unpack the baggage in my mind and do something with it.

I'm excited now about getting counseling and using this as a way to actually grow. Even just telling G.I. Joe and my parents that "Hey, its time for me to get serious about dealing with this. I want help" has done wonders for me. Since Wednesday morning I've felt lighter than air. I know taking the dive into some of the issues that surround my own type of PTSD is not going to be pleasant. But I have an awesome family to support me and an incredibly understanding husband to experience the joys/pains of it with me. That afternoon I wish I could have captured on camera this look he gave me. I cried and told him I kept thinking these issues would just go away the longer he was home. He looked into my eyes with more love and empathy than I have ever known. I really don't see why military wives out there would want their husbands to think they are 100% perfect or that the difficult stuff never bothers them. Its the hardest things sometimes that can strengthen you the most.

So...what does all this mean for the blog? Well, for those of you who really don't love what I write about you get a break! Haha. I am going to keep blogging but for the next 3-4 weeks* its going to just be pictures (you can probably guess who will be in these pictures most of the time) and probably some videos too. I'm not going to be writing blog posts because I just need a break. Especially with all the drama that's gone on lately I certainly don't want to add the stress of posting about something so incredibly personal at this point. I plan to keep a written journal for a while and do hope to share that when I come back to writing posts. So I hope you will all stick with me! Instead of doing so much "work" (freelance writing, book editing, and future book research) in what down time I do have I plan to be away from the computer. I'll still be around doing stuff for The Milies and I'll respond to emails so feel free to chat anytime you want!

Next week I have so many incredible pictures to post, including pics from the pumpkin patch! And I'm also working on a few little changes to the blog which will hopefully land here next week!

*ETA~This is going to be a longer process than 3-4 weeks, and I know that ;) But I seriously doubt my self-control when it comes to not writing posts on here. It will be a miracle if I go that long with just posting pics!

Shabby Apple Review and Discount Code

2010-10-25T09:18:00.003-04:00

I was so excited to be contacted by Shabby Apple and asked to do a review of one of their dresses! My friend Theta Mom had done a giveaway from them on her blog last year and I have just been in love with their collections ever since! In case you've never heard of Shabby Apple, its an online dress boutique for women. Their specialty is pairing women with dress styles that flatter whatever their figure is. That's actually one of the ways you can shop--by body type.

When I got this opportunity I was so honored that they asked and I was a tiny bit nervous. I never buy clothes online for myself because I always have to be able to try something on. And sending packages back just to wait for another has never appealed to me. But I was curious because fit is something that Shabby Apple specializes in! On their website you will find not one, but two size/fit charts. I love this! One is for all the dresses labeled "Fits true to size" and the other is for dresses that because of style or fabric have a more generous fit. Every woman's clothing store whether online or actual concrete shopping center needs this sizing scale! It takes all the guess work out. The dress I picked out had a "fits generously" label on it so I found my size on that chart and ordered it.

The Oh La La fit perfectly! It probably fit better than any dress I could have tried on in person at a shopping mall. I am so impressed with the quality of Shabby Apple's clothes. My dress felt like it was tailor made for me and was very comfortable. I have already worn it to a friend's wedding and now I can't wait to get G.I. Joe to take me out on a nice date so I can wear it again :)

(I had the soldier take these pictures quickly before I left for that wedding

so that's why I wasn't even pay attention while he was snapping)

Another awesome thing about Shabby Apple is their dedication to women around the globe. Here is a snippet from their website that gives a little summary of their work in fighting poverty:

"For many women in the developing world, life is a constant struggle against poverty and hardship. Limited economic opportunity leads to a downward cycle of malnutrition, illiteracy and poor health - a cycle that traps each new generation. Through access to microfinance - financial services such as microcredit loans, insurance, savings and other products - women can overcome poverty and provide a better life for their children.

We at Shabby Apple Dresses love to help women dress but are also commited to helping women live as well. Thus we are supporting the fight against global poverty by partnering with Unitus-a non-profit organization that accelerates access to life-changing financial services for those at the bottom of the economic pyramid. Shabby Apple donates 5% of its net sales to support work in India (where Shabby Apple Dresses has sourced many of its dresses and the textiles used to manufacture its dresses). In addition, each Shabby Apple Dresses customer has the opportunity to donate an extra five dollars to Unitus every time she buys a dress. Shabby Apple Dresses and Unitus are involved with 10 of India's most promising microfinance organizations that provide financial services to more than 1.6 million hard-working women and their families. Every $100 donation from Shabby Apple Dresses provides at least 20 women with access to financial services - and the chance to live a life without poverty.

Each new Shabby Apple Dresses dress features a unique hang tag with a micro-credit success story."

Figure flattering dresses from big hearts...what more could a woman ask for?

The wonderful people over at Shabby Apple were also kind enough to give me a discount code to share with all my readers. Use Welovelucy1154 for an entire month and receive 10% off your purchases!

*The Oh La La was provided for review by Shabby Apple. The opinions stated are my own and no additional compensation was received for this review. If you would like to see your product reviewed, featured in a giveaway, or would like to advertise on this blog please contact Mrs. G.I. Joe at acusandstilettoshoes@gmail.com

Foto Friday Caption Contest!

2010-10-22T15:31:00.001-04:00

Due to my computer/blogging break lately I've extended the contest dates! This won't close until November 30th! You can enter as many times as you want just be sure to leave a valid email address :)

In case it hasn't been obvious...I've been uber computer-lazy this week :) We've been trying to get some issues worked out as to when G.I. Joe will actually start active duty, but that's a post for another day. Anyways, we've also been enjoying the fall and Halloween season! Today we finally made it to the pumpkin patch and I'm so excited to post the pictures.

In the meantime I figured we'd have a little contest! All you have to do is come up with a caption for the photo below. Be sure to leave me your email address too. The contest will stay open until 10 pm Eastern time on Friday October 29th. G.I. Joe will have the honor of selecting the best caption and the winner will be notified by email that weekend. I'll probably come back and post the winning entry. The winner will receive a special prize from Lucy! And the only fine print for this contest is that each person can post a maximum of 3 entries.

*Insert best caption here*

What was your favorite part of your wedding?

2010-10-19T14:15:00.000-04:00

I got to attend a beautiful wedding this weekend and take pictures at the reception. Hopefully soon I'll get some edited to share! The whole event was really sweet, and I was kind of proud of myself because this was the first wedding I haven't cried at in years. But I think that's because I was so focused on pictures.

I've said before I get mixed feelings from weddings but I do love seeing the unique little touches that people do to make it their own. For my friend's wedding on Saturday she wore cowgirl boots with her gown. During the ceremony the bride and groom took the Lord's supper together. And for their portraits outside (which the first photographer took and turned out amazing) they sat on an old church pew. Those little things are my favorite part of weddings.

We have been getting so excited about our military wedding even though its about 2 years away. Because of the way things worked out with enlistment we had to push it back a little further. There are a couple of big schools that G.I. Joe wants to get through first so this little event will be our treat at the end for making it through. Its so much fun to come up with ideas to make our {way-in-the-future} day unique. I think we are going to do the Lord's Supper. That's something that in almost 5 years of marriage we've only been able to do once together because of orders keeping us apart so much. One thing we did for our wedding back in 2005 was we had a "Pinky Swear" ceremony after the rings and vows were exchanged. That's a big thing for us. I was planning on saying something funny for mine, still sweet and heartfelt, but definitely trying to make him laugh. Too bad for me though because he definitely went for heart-wrenching instead and made me (along with everyone in earshot) cry. Then I had to be quick on my bare feet and think fast while trying to not cry even more.

So what did you do to make your wedding unique? Or what are you planning to do? :)

I also need a little advice on military weddings. This may be a completely ridiculous question but how do you get the sabers? Do you rent them? Or do the service members you have there already have them or is that their wedding gift? I have no clue what the protocol for this is. For those who have done or are doing military weddings, are you adding any other "military-ish" touches to your ceremony or reception?

One thing about our wedding I loved was how we did our vows. We did traditional vows at the ceremony in front of everyone but we also wrote our own and read those to each other on our wedding night. Now we're not really sure which we are going to do for this one or if we'll do both again. Unity is really important to us since most of our marriage was spent apart and we'll be apart so much more in the future. I like the idea of doing one of those sand ceremonies because that's something we can include Lucy in on. But we're also trying to come up with other stuff like that.

Even though we still have a long wait for our military wedding, I don't want to wait till the last minute to get the major stuff figured out. And I know this is a slightly different topic than you've seen here lately but I figured what woman doesn't like talking about her wedding?!

ETA: My friend Jane is hosting an amazing giveaway on her blog right now. Two of her lucky winners will receive one those awesome recordable story books! They are such a great way for deployed parents to stay connected with their kids. Hop on over there and enter!

Yeah, she talks like me.

2010-10-15T08:00:00.017-04:00

It seems like forever ago I first became aware that I needed to watch what I said around Lucy. We don't swear in our house so its not really a huge issue like that but one morning I knocked something off the night stand and said a phrase that a 15 month old really doesn't need to repeat. But she did. For days. G.I. Joe had been away so he came home to a much for colorfully-linguistic (yeah I made that up) child. Now the rare slip-ups on my part are more age appropriate. Like, "Oh Maccaroonio!" courtesy of Strawberry Shortcake and friends.

But the issue still remains. Her mind constantly amazes me. The list of things Lucy picks up and carves into stone on her brain goes on for miles. Its not just "frustrated words" she repeats now. I'm so bad about always calling her Daddy "Babe." He knows though that when I really get eager for him to respond to me I say "HONEY!" or I use the same tone and call him by his first or last name. Now periodically if Lucy feels she hasn't gotten Daddy's attention fast enough she calls out for Honey, or his actual name. Its so cute though when she does it, because it isn't terribly often. And each time its hard for us to hide our laughter. If I don't really pay attention to what I call people when she's around I'll suddenly hear Lucy call her Granny "Mom" like I call her. The exact same tone I use also comes out.

One thing that is the most noticeable is actually very subtle. She's copying my, oh well, lets call them verbal ticks. She's already saying things like yeah, yeah or I know, I know! As parents, or at least for me as a mommy, it can be a little scary at times to see our own bad habits coming out in our kids. We're working super hard on making sure Lucy says things like "yes, ma'am." And she does that more than she says yeah, yeah thank God. But its also such a good reminder for me to not sound like I'm either too lazy or too hyper. She soaks up everything so when she asks me, "How are YOU, Mommy?" I try to stay away from an indifferent "I'm okay" and go for "I'm wonderful, Lucy! Thank you!"

Overall though, she is extremely polite and entertaining to talk to. When she turns something down she'll give you an over-dramatic "No way!...Thank you berry much."

I know they say that parents can't wait for their kids to talk, then eventually they want them to shut up. But I can't imagine that right now! Hearing our 2 year old say "OH MY GRACIOUS!" or "Pray for bless this food" at meal time is just still too exciting.

Sometimes we laugh the hardest over the names Lucy gives herself:

Wucy-SaKayla!

(Lucy Michaela...and she knows her last name too!)

Muffin Crumb!

(No joke...that is what she named her non-sleeping alter-ego)

Turtle Poots!

(that one seems to be her favorite)

Yeah, Mommy, we need to talk.

Are ya' listening?

circa 2009

Check out my guest post, "Tightropes and Calendars," over at Faith and Deployments! While you are there be sure and congratulate LC on having her Airman home with her again!

If my HOOAH offends you.

2010-10-13T09:04:00.003-04:00

Since it seems this type of thing is happening on a regular basis now, I don't plan to bring it up each time. But I thought this recent set of Anonymous comments was rather timely given the question for (Mili)ing It Over. The question was on stereotypes that the media puts on Milies. My thing is that there are situations out there where if someone is stereotyped by a dictator or a militant group they face things like prison, torture, or even death. If America wants to put a stereotype on me as a spouse, there are far worse things that could happen!

I really wasn't terribly mad at these comments that were left. For one I said the last time it happened that I know I care way too much about what people think about me. Those "military marriage counselors" who tried to rip me one did a lot to cure that because these new comments really only left me upset about one thing. They are supposedly coming from a "friend" but that person won't own up to it. That's so lame. But anyways, I could rant about that forever. Its kind of funny though, if you think about it. People like to get so pissy online and "yell" through the screen "GET A LIFE!!!" Haha. If you are that upset about something someone says on their own blog then maybe they aren't the ones who need to get a life. I adore my online friends and sometimes do disagree with a post, a status update, or a lifestyle choice...but it never bothers me to that extent. Why? Because I actually have a life outside of the computer!

Anyways, back on track with the stereotype issue. To me a stereotype is just another word for assumption. You take a little information, and you assume a lot to fill in the gaps. Then we assume everyone with a certain connection has these qualities. According to these comments I'm "that" Army wife. I'm the one who can't shut up, ever, about being part of the Army. Every Facebook status and blog post is Army. Army. Army. Army.

And apparently I'm wasting my time being concerned about G.I. Joe's dreams and supporting him to achieve them.

But isn't that what marriage kind of is anyways? Military or not? Shouldn't you be that persons' biggest fan and greatest cheerleader?

Now, I don't agree at all that I "can't breath without saying Army" or whatever. Are we really such a socially challenged society that we automatically assume people put 100% of their lives online in blogs, Facebook, and twitter? If you do I strongly suggest you back away from this and go outside for 13 minutes of oxygen. Then if you must, come back and blog about it or post a status update about how the creak in your screen door is very bothersome and it will need oil soon. I don't put a lot of aspects of my life online. Why? Because I do write articles about military life. I put a lot about military life and our Army love story out there so some other things are just for me. You know, I will admit...I've looked at some of those big mom blogs before and thought "Geez! Do they have anything in their life besides cloth diapering? Can they talk about anything besides stuff that catches poo?" Then I just have to give them the benefit of the doubt that yeah, they probably can talk about something else in real life! They just choose to put this one area of their life online and document it for a particular reason. There is nothing wrong with that and it doesn't at all mean there isn't more to them as people!

If people read this blog or my facebook statuses and want to put me into a category of the wife who is "too proud" and the one who thinks there is nothing more to life than supporting a man who fights for freedom...oh well. Is that really an insult? Is that supposed to make me feel compelled to water down my HOOAH? Never!

I was discussing this with some awesome Milies on Twitter this weekend. We were talking about all the hilarious facebook statuses I should post, like

"PROUD ARMY WIFE, CURRENTLY SERVING AS FLY PAPER FOR FREAKS!"

The one I like the best though, that I wish I had come up with the day I got the first of these comments was...

YOU. ARE. WELCOME.

If we seem "obsessive" about things like freedom,

and honor,

you're welcome.

If that offends you,

don't read this blog.

Unfriend me on Facebook.

And know that I will NEVER tone down the pride I have for being

the wife of a soldier.

(Mili)ing It Over: First VBlog!

2010-10-11T08:00:00.007-04:00

I am really excited Jenn asked me to be part of (Mili)ing It Over! I'm also extremely nervous. "Public speaking" is so not my thing! So I recorded this video a few times before finally giving up and leaving it as is. Just to give everyone fair warning when I get nervous I say um, like, and stuff, you know...okay you get the point. So here's my first video blog. This week's topic for (Mili)ing It Over was on stereotypes that the media and Hollywood put out on Military Wives.

(And next time I do plan on making it shorter so excuse my rambling.)

Be sure and check out other responses to this issue from some fabulous Milies!

A Marine's Wife from Flip Flops and Combat Boots

Mrs. K and Captain J

Nicole~Sailor's Sweetheart

Sarah at G.I. Joe's Wife

Surely there are more of us.

2010-10-08T09:21:00.002-04:00

Fall is in full swing around here and that has me thinking. Everywhere I look online people are posting status updates about Pumpkin Spice Lattes or doing blog posts with pumpkin bread, cakes, pies, cheesecakes, cupcakes, ice cream cakes...haha okay maybe not pumpkin ice cream cakes but you get the idea. G.I. Joe loves anything with pumpkin so every fall I try to make him some type of pumpkin treat.

But am I the only person out there who does not like to eat, drink or smell pumpkin???
I love making that stuff for the soldier because of how excited he gets but even just the smell of it (in any edible form) turns my stomach. I'm hoping that I might not be the only one of this kind left in the world :) I am really thankful though for all the recipes people post. Soon I need to pick out something unique to bake G.I. Joe. Last year for Thanksgiving I made him a Pumpkin Cheesecake. I totally gagged because of just about every single ingredient in it. Then we took it to my grandma's house for dinner and definitely left the whole thing there. I can't even remember if he ended up being able to try a piece or not! I felt so bad that in our rush we forgot it and even told him I'd make him a new one, but he knows the effect pumpkin has on me and just bought a pumpkin spiced latte instead.

So do you have any favorite (or least favorite) fall smells? My favorite has to be cinnamon! I get intoxicated when I walk into grocery stores this time of year because many of them around here sell those cinnamon brooms right by the door!

As much as I love fall, I miss the heat and humidity. Especially Florida heat! The kind that just begs you to splash in the nearest fountain.

And for all you Milies out there don't forget to join in the Weekly Round-Up that's hosted by my awesome friend Katie!

ACU's, Stiletto Shoes, and Pretty Pink Tutus

What Christmas means to me, my love.

The Most Non-Update Ever

A letter to our son...and a big scare.

Pumpkins, Baby!

Long overdue updates!

DIY Chalkboard Pumpkins

Is Disney Baby a Mickey or a Minnie?

One birthday surprise after another!

I *think* she had an okay time...

"Mommy, can you be Daddy?"

My Week on Pinterest: Hurricane Edition!

My Week on Pinterest

Clinging to a Promise: Part 2

My Week on Pinterest

Cravings are evil. But Pinterest helps!

Almost there....

You say "fanatic" like its a bad thing.

The Disney souvenir with a heartbeat....

Finally Back! With another great giveaway!

Black Baroque Book Art Giveaway!

Reuniting best friends....

Host your own Mad Tea Party

MilSpouse Round-Up is here!

Vintage candelabra inspired jewelry holder.

Beachy Keen!

Yarn Octopus Tutorial Part 2: Faces

New look in progress!

Just color happy.

Yarn Octopus Tutorial Part 1

You know you want to know too!

Not the Easter we expected.

Big scare...biggest relief.

She thinks he's Robin Hood.

It may not be a paycheck....

How do you prepare kids for deployments?

Unicorns for the day

Are we that hard to please? Reactions to "Coming Home"

Nervous Stomach.

Keep Calm and Milie On

Nobody gets it.

You are a good man, Mr. Monk.

Truly Chocolate Oreo Truffles

Reunion Expectations

Sometimes bigger is better.

Daisy, you're mine.

Black Friday Keeps on Giving...

Life is sweeter when its messy.

Dancing in the Minefields

"Changed my life forever"

Facing changes

Custom Gaiam Yoga Mat giveaway!

Thanks for each one.

Baggage in the Attic

CafePress Custom Holiday Cards Giveaway

Confessions of a Christmas slacker...

Our family's newest/tiniest miracle: UPDATED

An update of sorts...

Its still true.

We rock the gourds.

The one with happy tears.

Pretties Pumpkin Picker...

Ripping off the band-aid.

Shabby Apple Review and Discount Code

Foto Friday Caption Contest!

What was your favorite part of your wedding?

Yeah, she talks like me.

If my HOOAH offends you.

(Mili)ing It Over: First VBlog!

Surely there are more of us.

I think she had an okay time...