The Lily Pad

1. My husband. He puts up with so much silliness from me and that's saying a lot a man who wasn't used to silliness before me. 2. I'm thankful that my husband is in MO and can't kill me for that comment until tomorrow. ;) 3. My Madelyn, my puddin pop. She is beautiful and wonderful and can make me laugh when the whole world wants to make me cry. 4. My family. They are wonderful and supportive and I love being so close to them. It's been so much fun being able to pop over to their house for a visit or having them popping over here. 5. Pampered Chef Chopper. It makes chopping 4 cups of onions fun, easy and fast! Not at all like chopping them by hand. 6. Wireless internet. 7. Pajamas. I love that I can have instant comfort from an oversized T-shirt and yummy flannel pants. 8. Cooking smells. There is nothing better than smelling a wonderful meal in your house and tomorrow it's going to be even more so with sauteed onions and celery...my very favorit...

Does this look happy or mad to you? I love this picture of Madelyn it was taken in Stafford before we left and she was running towards me growling and cracking herself up. She still growls and lately has been scrunching her face up so much that I swear it must hurt. If this is happy, I am so afraid of her teenage years...

OK, so my last post was apparently a little more doom and gloom than I actually feel since two of ya'll thought I was curled up fetal style rocking myself and another thought my post meant I would be happier in CA. Neither is true. I am just feeling the difference between a military town and my hometown. I never really thought it'd be that big of a deal. But it is. It's weird living "civilian" again without a commissary, without a Marine checking your ID to go grocery shopping, without the exchange, without a barber shop on every corner and a used car lot across the street...lol. I am happy here. I LOVE being near my family and this is such a gorgeous city and Madelyn and I are finding our routine and our place. Weekends and time with family is awesome, but both my parents and my inlaws work...plus my daugther needs some interaction with somebody at least close to her age. Therefore her mommy needs to learn how to function as a civilian mom among other civi...

A little more serious post and a couple cute pictures as a distraction. Look, it's a sweet baby in a bears head... Being a Marine wife is who I am, it is in my blood, I have been living this life for 8 years now and I love it. I love what it means to be a part of something as wonderful as the Marine Corps, an institution where chivalry is still alive, where men and women aren't afraid to stand and die for something bigger than themselves, where the feeling of family is all encompassing. I am so proud of my husband, of his contribution to the country and his dedication to an entire nation of people who may or may not support him. I miss being near/on a military base. I am now living in a very liberal town, a town I grew up in but that I now don't feel a part of. I know that part of my problem is me, it's my own preconceived notions of how the people of this town look at me, look at my husband and our choice to be a military family. I know that I am probably not bein...

I really wish somebody would buy my daughter some toys, she has absolutely nothing as evidenced by the things she plays with. A short list of what she has played with lately... -Boxes of jello -empty coke bottle -laundry detergent jugs (full and brand new) -reusable grocery bags -tupperware of all sized and shapes -bottles of lotion -a laundry basket that she filled with magnets, wash cloths and vhs cases -an oven mitt -hand towels off the stove -keys -wicker basket -wooden spoon Of course she had to walk past her rather large toy pile several times in order to completely destroy the house with said "toys" but I guess those just aren't fun enough. As I type she is putting tupperwear lids in her highchair.

On Saturday Madelyn and I drove down to Charleston to meet Chris so that he and I could go to the Marine Corps Ball. Somehow I ended up with one picture from the ball and a bunch from Monday but nothing else. So, here is our Monday in Charleston... We went to Hymans where Madelyn colored for the first time... Then Eli gave her a coupon for free ice cream and she was thrilled! But first she needed to wash down her grilled cheese with water. Then we went for a walk along the battery, Madelyn loved it. Madelyn and Daddy declared war on something to my right... Madelyn pulled out the big guns And then she pooped out a bunch of cannon balls! We had an awesome time and it was really cool of Brad and Kara to let us stay with them in our old house. I expected it to be weird to be in our house without it really being our home anymore but it wasn't, it was nice and comforting. I still love that house and the yard and I am so happy that we decided to keep it. Our weekend wasn't ...

I partied for you...

Chris has been afraid that Madelyn wouldn't remember him since we hadn't seen him for 2 weeks, but yesterday after we picked him up he put his hand back to her carseat and she held onto it with both hands smiling from ear to ear. She was all smiles everytime he walked into the room and would follow him from room to room and look for him if he went missing. This morning she woke up and after her little stretches and eye rubbing she looked over and realized that the lump next to her was not a pillow or down comforter but was Daddy! and she crawled over, sat on his chest and buried her face in his neck. I think she would have crawled in his skin if she could have and every few seconds she would sit up and look at him as if he were just a dream and she needed to make sure that he was real. These two moments make the time apart a little easier knowing that she is a daddy's girl and time won't change that.

We get to see Chris tomorrow! He's been in CA for 12 days and I can't wait to see him! Plus we have the Marine Corps Ball tomorrow night in our favorite town and we're staying with awesome friends. This weekend is going to be fabulous!

Now that I am living in Asheville I am trying to reconnect with my mountain girl roots and living in my Granny's house is really helping me out with that. My Granny's house is a cute little trailor that she bought after my grandaddy passed away because their huge 3 floor 5 bedroom house was just too big for her and not in a safe enough area for an old woman. Seriously, her house is so cozy and homey and Madelyn has settled right in. Anyway, the other day I was sitting in the recliner flipping between My Big Fat Redneck Wedding and The Dog Whisperer with a bag of garbage sitting on my front porch. I think I'm settling into mountain living nicely don't you? Oh, and if you haven't seen MBFRW, you must! It's great, there is nothing like it to make you feel like the classiest most educated person in the whole world. I don't recommend that you eat or drink during your viewing though because you may vomit and / or shoot liquid out your nose laughing.

Bonnie recently blogged about her embarrassing moments and being the friend that I am I felt that I should blog a couple of my most embarrassing moments just to show her that having a little black schmutz on ya is nothing...plus I love laughing at myself so you all should get to laugh with me. The funniest embarrassing moment involves alcohol and dancing. I blogged this once over on Frog E. Luv but am too lazy to go searching. My friends L and J and I went out for a bachelorette party in Charleston SC, we met up early for a little pre-game drink just in case things were boring. At the restaurant we did typical bachelorette party things like make fake name tags with stripper names, write sweet words in a keepsake card, and laugh at the bride to be as we made her wear a crazy tiara. Our party soon moved to various clubs and bars that were all within walking distance (Charleston was awesome for going out, you could switch venues without having to get a cab!) and we landed at City Bar. ...

As the concerned and perfect mother that I am I have been careful not to expose Madelyn to nuts in fear of the dreaded nut allergy. I made my sister in law make her a separate birthday cake without nuts, I refused my father to give her peanut butter, I wouldn't let her have a bite of icecream because it had pecans in it. I have preached the peanut allergy fear for weeks now because I just wasn't ready to watch her for a reaction, or to deal with the reaction if it happened. I am proud of how diligent I have been. As Madelyn has started eating finger foods I like to share with her from my plate to expose her to new flavors as well as distract her so I can eat my own food. French fries have been one of her favorites for a while now and one of the best places to get fries (and a burger) is Five Guys and there was one 2 minutes from our house in Stafford so whenever family was in town or we wanted a good burger that's where we went. Last week my parents and I went to the new Fi...