The Lily Pad

Wherein my womanhood and independence are questioned

2011-09-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Madelyn and I took an impromptu trip to surprise my parents for their 30th Anniversary. I used the GPS to keep me updated on my time of arrival so that I knew where I needed to go for maximum surprising impact. After exiting for the fourth potty break, and being yelled at by the woman in the box to make a U-turn. Madelyn asked the following:

"Momma, how come you can drive all the way from California without that thing but you can't find Nanna and Da-Daddy's?"

Yep. The GPS landed in the floor and I did NOT use it on the way home.

Their Story is our story

2011-09-13T00:00:00.000-07:00

Today marks my Mom and Dads 30th wedding anniversary.

Their story is our story, our family and our love.

Mom caught dads eye with her beauty and grace.

taken at Niagra Falls and the first picture Dad ever had of Mom

Dad swept her off her feet by wearing tuxedos to drag races

you wish you could look this sexy

They dated and Dad set the standard for perms in the relationship.

It took Mom a few years to catch up, but when she did, she did it big.

Mom instantly had a ready made family. I personally think she got a pretty awesome deal.

I mean, look at that cuteness in her lap.

Not everybody gets so lucky as to marry a guy and get such an awesome daughter too!

This is the stuff of fairytales. I was a perfect angel and never ever peed on her lap in the drivethrough.

She also had the pleasure of spending time with my older sister, and although Brea's story is different from my own, the love and devotion from our Dad and Becky are not.

For some reason our little family had to grow, so we grew larger with the addition of these two turds.

While their story started resembling a little bit of normalcy - married, owning a house, and living with 2.5 children (I won't tell you who the .5 is) I know that things still weren't easy. They both worked hard long hours, and us silly kids had things we wanted to do like dance, band, T-ball, and eat dinner.

Plus they were raising us in the 80's. It was a very scary time.

Even in church portraits.

I know that they survived with lots of this:

and even more of this:

Now, after thirty years they have kids who aren't entirely embarrased by them and a granddaughter who is pretty certain they hung the moon.

Everybody pictures their life story long before they start living life. We grow up reading fairy-tales and dreaming of our happily ever after. Mom and Dads story didn't start out like a fairy tale. Some people have baggage as they enter into new relationships.

Dad had a steamer trunk.

I was part of that steamer trunk.

Mom could have turned around and ran.

Dad could have dropped that trunk and run away with Mom, but they didn't.

They carried the trunk together and did what they felt was best and right for the two girls riding that trunk.

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you!

Lily Pad Preschool Day 1

2011-09-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

We may not have gotten out of bed as early as I wanted in order to start our day and then we may have taken an hour longer at the commissary than I wanted to but we did manage to make it through everything I had planned for the day.

We worked this afternoon for a little longer than I think either one of our tolerance levels could handle. In case I was unsure about that fact, when we started our handwriting exercise, Madelyn was thrilled that I was a "teacher mommy", by the end of it she informed me that maybe she just needed a different teacher.

I think I was fired by my 3 year old.

Thats when we pulled out the crayons and stopped trying to make letters.

While I finished up dinner she played a hopscotch game using the apple floor tiles from Confessions of a Homeschooler and then played in her kitchen after making it to 7 and losing interest.

Speaking of dinner, can I just say that I kind of want to make out with the inventor of the crock pot liners? Is that inappropriate?

All in all I would say it was a good start. I've already tweaked this weeks lessons to more readily help with what were sticking points today.

Hopefully I can make it through day 2 without being fired.

What I am doing

2011-09-02T06:42:00.000-07:00

So many of you have asked (OK, maybe none) what my plans are to teach Madelyn. I'm going pretty basic and simple and we'll add more as is dictated by boredom and learning curve. Every day will have a handwriting and phonics exercise as well as new material and new focus. For example, we are still working on lower case letters so one day in the second week is intensive lower case work. As in we're pulling out the house diagram and talking about who has what in the attic and in the basement. Intense I tell ya. Each week will have it's own theme. We will use that theme for part of our handwriting and phonics skills, as well as a themed craft, books (fiction and non fiction), and as many related activities we can while maintaining my sanity. Our first week is Ballet because she will be starting dance class the following week, so this will serve dual purpose of getting her excited and having a fun week 1 theme.

My "gold*" friends will want to place their hand firmly under their jaw for this next part.

I have a notebook with lists, each days plans and what prepwork beyond worksheets I need to do. The back of each page is where I will list what we actually do so that when I plan weeks 4+ I kind of know what's working. On the inside cover is our schedule that will hopefully keep us running smoothly. For the actual work, I have 5 different colored folders, one for each day, that has that days work placed in pockets so that each morning I can grab that folder and go, even if my coffee hasn't yet kicked in.

As for that inside cover schedule, "school" will be scattered throughout the day so that neither one of us gets frustrated or tired. In my little dream bubble our days will flow seamlessly and smoothly and I will end the day rejuvenated and feeling accomplished. Then I will poop sunshine.

*Gold refers to a personality color based on the Four Lenses, I am not a gold, I am an orange, also known as the anti-gold. My notebook and folders are, however, very "gold".

Back to School

2011-08-31T14:05:00.000-07:00

Can it really be called "back" when she's never really been? How about if she isn't even technically "going" this year? I don't know the deep philosophical answers to those questions, what I do know is that I have 3 weeks worth of lessen plans and materials for our very own Lily Pad Preschool! Oh wow! I really like the sound of that. Maybe I'll have a sign made, or add it to our arts and crafts, or sew something, or talk about it a lot and never actually get it done.

Madelyn is almost 4 and is in constant need of intellectual stimulation, so I devised a battle plan to help us through the long cold (to us who haven't lived winter in 11 years) VA winter. My battle plan is preschool. My sword is a pencil, my shield a piece of paper, this sentence a huge hunk of cheese.

For those of you in know about me, you know that schedules aren't really my thing, but I'm doing it. I'm setting an alarm clock without having a specific place to go and we will start our days at the same time each day. This is going to be a feat in and of itself as little miss M is not a morning person, and frankly, neither am I. I can already see mornings of coffee and chocolate milk as we sit over the table tracing letters and working phonics.

I'll be updating here regularly with pictures and letting you know what did and didn't work. I'm sure there will be plenty of funny somewhere, after all, I am a scatterbrain choosing to teach her child.

edited to add: I know that I wrote about this whole preschool thing earlier, but now I have a plan! and materials! and it's real! not just a thought in my head and on this blog.

A very valid point

2011-07-29T12:25:00.000-07:00

Conversation between Madelyn and Strawberry Shortcake after I told her she (Strawberry Shortcake) could ride in the car but not go in to story time.

"Momma says you can't go in, so you'll sit in the car and not go to story time. Ok?"
----
"But you want to go to story time? No, you will stay in the car because you will have friends in there."
----
"It will be OK, you won't cry. You don't need to go in because you're not real."
----
"No, you're not."

I almost spit out my water hearing this very real one sided argument with a strawberry scented doll, who currently has no less than 5 bandaids on her arms. I'm a little scared to ask what kind of argument caused those.

Qualified?

2011-07-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Madelyn's birthday falls at a very unfortunate time for starting school, at least here in VA it does. She misses being able to start kindergarten by 24 days. I am hoping to be able to have her test and start school at 4 because she (like everybody else's child) is advanced. No really. She learns so quickly and picks up things that I am afraid that if she doesn't start school until she is almost 6 that she will be bored in class and have behavior issues.

I really have three choices in this matter. 1. Sit back and let what happens happen. 2. Work with her on preschool curriculum and pray that there is a program to test her into kindergarten (should probably research this). 3. Just straight up homeschool her. The problem with full time homeschooling is that I never planned to do that, I always thought I'd be back at work when she started school or in school myself. I don't know how qualified I am to teach her and for how long. I've done a fair amount of research so I'm not actually worried about her getting socialization, or extra curricular activities, I'm just worried about her and I bumping heads so much that we lose the benefit of learning.

So this is where I tell you my choice. In mid-August we will be starting a full on preschool curriculum and have "school" in our house. I can't sit back and just let what happens happen with my childs education. After we complete preschool, we will see what and where our options lie.

Of course I will be documenting it here as we go and letting you all know how it goes. I'm really excited about it but making myself wait to start until I have all the materials and resources I need to actually get going for a full time program. So here we go.

The three resources I have and will be working primarily from are:
Confessions of a Homeschoolers K4 curriculum
The Ordinary Parents Guide to Teaching Reading
Slow and Steady Get me Ready

Anyone have any other suggestions?

Out of touch

2011-07-13T05:56:00.001-07:00

I recently read an excellent article about the differences between civilian and military life and it got my poor little rusty gears turning about my own experiences with ignorant people.

I think ignorance a rampant handicap that is preventable and treatable. We all too often forget to put ourselves in that other person's shoes before asking a rude question. There are no dumb questions if you truly want to understand my life, it is rude to ask questions that are nosy or judgmental. I am also guilty of forgetting that our life style is appealing and interesting to civilians who don't have the "luxuries" we do. I was complaining to my hairdresser before this most recent move about how tired of it I was and how I just didn't want to move. Her reply "I've lived here my whole life, I'd love the adventure." In that moment I was just as insensitive as the civilians mentioned in the article. The truth is that we will not and cannot hope understand another persons life unless we engage in sincere conversation, something that has become lost in the land of Facebook, texting, and email.

A friend commented that she didn't know what it was like to be married to a doctor, lawyer, or accountant and I don't know either. I think the big difference in the professions and that of a military person is I don't ask if their husband has been defrauding the insurance companies, or if he coaches his clients to lie under oath, or just how padded are the books that he keeps. All of these questions are the counterpart to the lovely question "Has he killed anyone?" I think that because our military occupies so much of the media's attention that people start lumping us in with whatever opinion they have formed about whatever military related story made national news that day. I get it. I get that to some people we are an enigma, we are this rare breed that sends our spouses off to kill people while we live life as a single person.

What? That's not what we are? We are people? With feelings, and thoughts, and opinions, and stresses? What The Heck? That's craziness. What is even crazier is that there are the same stereotypes within our own community. Other spouses that think certain things are true because of the rank or job of somebody elses husband. The fact is that we all have a different experience, different feelings, and different issues to face on a day to day basis regardless of our husbands rank or job and unless you sit down and talk to me about it, you won't know what I'm experiencing, you're assuming.

I like to think that as our generation ages and we start to realize how out of touch we are with people, true people, not acquaintances on facebook, that we will start to reconnect, to start caring about one another with genuine interest and pass that along to our children. That is my hope for Madelyn and her generation, that they are able to connect to one another on a level that far surpasses our own understanding and acceptance.

Linking up to
Shell for Pour Your Heart Out

Baby Bumblebee

2011-06-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Snippets

2011-06-14T13:14:00.000-07:00

1. We moved. This is a whole post on it's own, but I'm not in a good enough place yet to blog it. We are settling in and will be happy here, it's just gonna take a minute. Or three.

2. Marshmallow is a boy. I discovered his "accessories" about a week ago and promptly started calling vets to have them removed. I'm not interested in dealing with little boy bunnies marking my couch as their territory. How immasculating is it that I refer to my rabbit's testicles as accessories? Anyway, we started calling him a him and were being corrected by Madelyn. Chris asked if we were going to tell her and I asked if he wanted to be the one to show her why he isn't a girl. Therefore, despite having accessories, Marshmallow is a girl.

3. I called the vet to confirm Marshmallow's pre-surgery appointment and had the following conversation while distracted trying to put away laundry:
Vet Tech: Unintelligible, May I help you?
Me: Yes, I need to confirm an appointment for Marshmallow for today.
Vet Tech: Are you having a party?
Me: I'm not sure that's very nice, but if you think it'll help we most certainly could. I just need to double check the time we're coming in today for his appointment before we have him neutered.
Vet Tech: Wait, what!?
Me: Having my male rabbit neutered. Wait, who is this?
Not a Vet Tech: Pizza Hut.

4. Went to story time today at the base library and it's a Fathers Day theme and they read a story about Dad being a Hero, and the particular Dad in this story was in the Army. The librarian made it two pages in and said something about isn't your dad a hero and Madelyn says "Yeah, but my Daddy is a Marine not Army."

5. I forgot how hard it is to settle in and make new friends. Why are we all so guarded and quiet? Guess it's time to just shove out my hand and say "Hi! I'm Katrina, I'm crazy but I promise you'll laugh."

Hiding under the covers

2011-04-22T12:02:00.000-07:00

If you know me in real life, or on facebook, then you know that the Marine Corps has decided to rip me away from my beautiful, wonderful, even tempered climate of Southern California. I knew it was coming, but and we had a little advance warning, but when budget stuff started getting crazy and Chris was nominated for a new job here in CA, I allowed myself to believe that it wasn't going to happen. I made plans, I had high hopes for this summer - a summer not filled with work-ups or deployment - I just knew we were gonna be here one more summer. My bubble was burst less than 30 days ago and today, there are movers at my house packing my stuff. Yeah. So not only did I lose my summer of plans, I lost any amount of time to do anything other than hide under the covers.

This is weird for me, I am usually ready for a move, ready for an adventure, ready for whatever the Marine Corps throws at us. This time, I want to throw it back and pick again. It's not that I don't want to move...eventually, I just don't want to do it right now. Give me 4 more months and I'll be good. Move me to VA in the middle of fall and I will be so excited the movers wouldn't be able to pack fast enough.

I have so much I want to say to those that we are leaving whom I love so dearly but I can't. Not right now, not yet, not today.

So that's where I've been, hiding under the covers and I think some random guy is about to pack them in a box so I should probably find a new hiding spot now.

All Dressed Up

2011-03-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

Linking up to Lady for this weeks dress-up installation.

On Friday, Denise and I got together for a super fun girls night with some new to me friends. Of course since we were in something other than comfy pants and flip flops we had to do an impromptu photo shoot which may or may not have been interrupted twice by a hubby trying to sneak out for cigars. Ahem.

Silk shirt and gray shirt - New York and Co Clearance

Jeans - levis

Necklace - ?

Earrings - gift from my man

shoes (not shown but I promise they were cute) - Payless

Boobs - God, Madelyn, and Victoria's Secret

Excuses Excuses

2011-03-23T10:40:00.000-07:00

Why do we always feel a need to make excuses for why our children don't act like stuffy adults?

I admit that sometimes I get embarrassed by Madelyn's behavior in public and I start telling perfect strangers "It's naptime." or "She's hungry." or "It's been a long day." and a few months ago it was "She misses Daddy." First of all, its none of their business. Second, there is no excuse for bad behavior, but most importantly, we all have bad days and my 3 year old is not going to be on perfect behavior all of the time. Wow. What an epiphany right?

Parents aren't the only ones who do it. Teachers do it trying to ease our poor exhausted parenting hearts. Reassuring us that it's nothing we're doing wrong, it's just that Dad is deployed, or that all the kids were acting up, or she seemed really tired. How about she's 3 and cannot be expected to behave like an adult. Yes, there is room to teach and correct bad behaviors but expectations have to be realistic. If she misbehaved, she misbehaved and there is no excuse. I'm not going to take her home and punish her, but we are going to talk about it.

Sometimes there is an obvious reason for a behavior and it isn't just an excuse, sometimes our toddlers act the way we want to. I'll admit there are days where I would love to walk through the grocery store and throw stuff on the floor just because it's a bad day. It's our job as parents to teach that it is OK to feel that way, just not OK to do it.

Lately I've been looking deep in my pea picking parenting soul and seeing where I can do better, how I can improve so that Madelyn's life is improved. What I've found is that I need to stop excusing us both.

Linking up to Shell over at Things I Can't Say for:

I'm running for military families!

2011-03-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

On April 2nd, I will be running a 5K in support of ACT Today for Military Families. OK, OK, I use the term "running" loosely, it's more of a jog, but those of you who know me in real life know that I'm not so much for the running. As in, not at all. I feel that if the families I am running for can live this marathon life of dealing with Autism, I can run a measely 3.1 miles. My 3.1 miles are nothing compared to what these children are living on a daily basis.

1 in 88 military children has a diagnosis in the autism spectrum.* This amazes me. Fortunately autism is treatable, but those treatments can be expensive, extensive, and beyond the realm of our standard Tricare coverage. That is where ACT Today for Military Families comes into play. This organization helps military families defray the out of pocket costs for specialized treatments, allowing families to obtain the best care for their children.

If you haven't guessed by now, this is the part where I'm gonna ask for money. Or if you're local, register and come run with us. It's gonna be a gorgeous route down at Mission Bay. If each of my followers gives $5, I will meet my goal. If each gives just $1, I will be happy to have brought in a little extra support for this great cause. So if you'd be kind enough to click that link there, I would greatly appreciate it!

Katrina's Donation Page

Of course, I appreciate you even if you don't click the link.

*ACT Today website

Book #2 - The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

2011-03-17T06:01:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy Google Images

OhMyGosh guys. When I told you that I really honestly truly love to read, it is because of books like this. I started this book Monday morning, and finished it Tuesday morning. I couldn't put it down, it was so intriguing and well written. I cannot wait to read her other books. Like I am having to keep myself away from the library because I have a house to clean, groceries to purchase, and a family to care for.

So if anyone is keeping track - that's two books in less than a week.

All Dressed Up - No pinching!

2011-03-15T20:11:00.000-07:00

I'm linking up to No Model Lady for:

This week I'm feeling a little luck of the Irish.

I LOVE dressing for a theme. Unfortunately my day to day to life doesn't really call for much of this.

Dress: JCrew clearance

Shoes: Dillards clearance

Sweater: gifted
Earrings: Kohls

Pen to the Paper #1

2011-03-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

As I posted on Saturday, I've decided to share some lines from my handwritten journal here on the blog.

I realize that I am opening myself up to a lot by doing this, but please bear in mind that all of the lines shared here are random and you don't know the before, the after, or the context. So they are random lines from a random place that I like the phrasing of or that just touches me.

I think they maybe took a wrong turn or two while I was in a completely different state.

This is as much a part of my journal as she is of me. A little splash of mayhem. (written just below one of Madelyn's doodles)

Full belly + stinky breath + wine drowsiness = Fabulous Night!

Are you inclined to share bits from your journal? Do so in the comments, or link to your own blog in the comments.

Book #1 - The List by Tara Ison

2011-03-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

Image courtesy of google images

This was a pretty quick read and fairly engaging.

The story is about a couple who are toxic to one another but addicted to each other as well. It's not your typical love story and just when you think you're figuring out the end, you realize you really had no clue.

It didn't have a profound impact on my life, but I enjoyed the book and was easily lost in it.

Book 1 of 24 towards being able to rationalize getting an electronic book reader.

Next up: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

Pen to the Paper

2011-03-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

I started a blog so that I could express myself but all I really find myself doing is censoring what I put out there. Thinking "nobody wants to read that" or "who cares?" so I've decided to take the pen to the paper and start journaling again, handwriting style. It's cathartic and I don't have to censor myself. What I'll be doing is pulling a few lines from the weeks journaling and sharing here.

The lines I choose will probably just be things that I liked the wording of, or recurring thoughts, or epiphanies of the week and there won't be any context to accompany them. Just take and enjoy them for what they are - random lines from a random place.

If anybody wants to join, shout out and link up in the comments section and if there are enough, I'll start a linky party. I think it'll be fun to see a slightly unedited side of us all.

I'll post the first on Monday.

Library visit - day 1 - Success!

2011-03-10T13:02:00.000-08:00

So I went to the library this morning sans child and of course failed to make a list of any of the authors or book names I've seen on other peoples blogs (Candace...ahem). As is my usual routine I was initially overwhelmed but I kept walking the aisles. Our library has a "What's Hot" section and it's an "express" checkout so you only keep the book 7 days. Everything on those shelves that I wanted to read seemed a little long for me to be able to commit to such a short time frame. Remember, I'm just jumping back on this bicycle.

So, I know you're dying to know what I got. First, here's what I didn't get. Anything that started with "After ending her relationship of blahdy blah blah blah, Susie whositwhatsit goes on a journey to find herself and finds love where she least expects it". Yeah. I really have to be in just the right mood to read the same story written in a different city, voice, etc.

What I did get:

This looks to be a fun little read about a relationship gone awry. I picked it because when I opened it, the page I opened to had an amusing argument on it. So we'll see if the rest of the book reads this way.

The second book I got is one that I remember coming so close to buying that I actually thought I owned it several times but could never find it. I really enjoy historical fiction especially WWII Germany or anything surrounding that era.

Stay tuned....

On reading

2011-03-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

I LOVE to read. I LOVE novels, fiction, non-fiction, whatever. I truly enjoy immersing myself in a book but for some reason I have gotten away from it. I don't know why. The last book I purchased I read cover to cover in a matter of hours during a layover and flight with a two year old, so I know it's not something I've "outgrown", I just don't know where to start, or what book I want to read. I get overwhelmed in a bookstore because the covers are so pretty and flashy and I can't make up my mind. I'm underwhelmed in a library because it's just titles and authors showing, so unless I know what I want, I can't settle on something and be happy. Something about my personality and always wondering if I'm choosing the BEST book for my time. Yeah, I know...weirdo.

I'm not a rereader of books either, some classics I can, or if it's been YEARS since I read it but I get bored because I know what's going to happen next.

I want a Kindle (or nook) because all the cool kids have them but I can't justify getting one if I read one or two books a year. So, I'm going to set a goal and I need book recommendations. If I read an average of two books a month for the next 12 months I'm going to ask for a Kindle (or nook) for my birthday.

I'll be browsing Candace's book club choices but what do YOU recommend?

Way Back - All Dressed Up style

2011-03-09T10:13:00.000-08:00

OK, so this isn't really all that way back, but it was October and I never did blog it so I'm linking up with

No Model Lady's

I LOVE dressing up for Halloween, and for the second time ever I talked Chris into a couple's costume.

Kind of fitting for an MP huh? :)

As an aside, does anybody else get ridiculously frustrated with Halloween costumes and the fact that they are either way trashy or way frumpy? Where is the middle ground? This "shirt" was actually a dress, but because my rear-end hangs low and wobbles to and fro I put on some pants, cause nobody needed to be that kind of scared on Halloween.

MilSpouse Weekly Roundup

2011-03-03T23:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome Friends!

Do you L-O-V-E somebody in the military?

Then this is totally the place for you.

Please, pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee, and make yourself comfortable.

Hi! I am Katrina aka Froggy Lady.

I like frogs.

No really.

I do.

The Lily Pad is my little space on the internet that I like to call home.

It's a place where I take off my shoes, relax and get a little crazy sometimes.

I also like to visit Four Ribbons and get my craft on.

This is my Marine, he fights for freedom. That is HOT.

This is Madelyn. She is three and keeps me on my toes and sometimes renders me speechless.

So now that you know a little more about me, please link up so we all can get to know you!

Oh and since we are all linked to the military somehow, you know there are rules.

Don't worry, they're super easy and fun!

Link-up your favorite post from this past week with the little linky guy below.

Yep that's it.

Now, please, go, mingle, and leave some bloggy love for our fellow military spouse bloggers.

Don't forget to check out next weeks host,

the lovely Denise who has not one, not two, but

Three Hands Full.

March already?

2011-03-02T09:12:00.000-08:00

Yep. I guess it is. Wow.

Friday Fragment

2011-02-25T07:25:00.000-08:00

A conversation had every morning this week.

"Madelyn, what do you want to wear to school today? Skirt or pants?"

"Nuffing. I just go nekki."

"No, you can't go to school nekki."

"I won't be cold, I wear a jacket."

All Dressed Up!

2011-02-23T14:02:00.000-08:00

It's All Dressed Up Wednesday with No Model Lady

It's just a fun day for us to get dressed up and share it with the internets. Today I did a little casual outfit that I've been thinking about for a while. It's not super creative, but I LOVE this shirt and scarf combo.

Feeling pensive in the backyard.

Feeling like a picture with heels sinking in the grass!

This outfit was really all about the shoes.
Because it's always all about the shoes.

This is how silly I felt posing in my backyard with a mirror propped against our glider bench.

Shirt and scarf combo: Kohls

Jeans: Levis skinny

Shoes: Macy's clearance

Earrings: Charlotte Russe

Bracelet: a gift from my lovely Denise

Did you play? Wanna Play? Head over to No Model Lady and link up!

Is your glass full or empty?

2011-02-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

I have always been a glass half full kind of gal. I tend to be happy with what I have or what happens in our life. I believe that there is a higher power in control of things and that everything happens just the way it's supposed to. It doesn't always mean that we are going to like the situation, but it means that what is happening is supposed to be happening for whatever reason. For this reason I'm not very good at consoling because I'm always trying to refill your glass. I'm always trying to find the good in it and I have to remind myself to just listen sometimes and stop trying to force lemonade on my friends.

The reason I am this way is because I understand and accept that there are things beyond my control, things beyond anyone elses control. I always see how much worse things could be and I am very fortunate that things aren't nearly as bad as they could be. I believe firmly in being thankful for what you have and you will be blessed daily. If you continuously wish or mourn for what you can't have or what can't happen, you will consistanly be let down and that is a miserable place to be.

I agree that there is a happy place in between and that sometimes it is fine to dump out your glass and have a pity party, as long as in the end you come away feeling peaceful, blessed, and thankful for what you have.

Panic

2011-02-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

One day last week I had been fighting a nasty migraine that was trying to creep in and take over my life. As I am wont to do in this situation, I took my little "cocktail" of tylenol and a simply sleep. It's just the right balance of pain relief and sleep assistance without taking something "harder". This particular night I passed out soundly and a few (several?) hours later I woke up because I was trying to roll over but my arm wouldn't move! I didn't know what time it was because I didn't have on my glasses and I couldn't get them because I couldn't move my arm! I panicked. I poked at my arm and couldn't feel anything. I started to get really scared and then I noticed that there was a dark blob where my arm felt like it was supposed to be! OHMYGOSH! I've been bitten by a spider and now my arm has swollen to 5 times it's size and already started to rot off! This is gross! I'd poke Chris to wake him but what if I miss and poke my nasty rotting arm and it explodes! OHMYGOSH! What am I going to do? What the heck kind of spider bit me? Probably one of those crazy brown widow hybrid things. OHMYGOSH!

I decide to sit up and go into the bathroom to get a closer look. I figure I can drag my arm all ape style out of bed and get a better look. I put my glasses on and look over at my arm only to find a sweet little three year old face sleeping soundly on my arm.

Yeah. No clue when she had gotten in bed with us or if I had actually snuggled her or if she just found my arm and thought it'd be hilarious to make mommy think her arm was rotting off. I'm pretty sure I saw her smile as I laid back down and wrapped my other arm around her.

Friday Fragments

2011-02-11T13:53:00.000-08:00

I HATE sidewalk chalk. There, I said it. It's gross. It feels nasty on your fingers and makes my teeth itch just thinking about it. Madelyn, of course, LOVES sidewalk chalk. I might invest in gloves to wear so I can draw with her.

I want my house to look decorated and put together, but I have no idea where to start or what to do. My asthetic is completely different from Chris and we end up with a bunch of randomness. I'm going to work harder at our next home to make this not be the case.

I went to the fabric store today and went on project overload. Luckily I found one project and all fabrics for said project so it wasn't a complete waste. Of course if you know me, you know that buying all the fabrics at one time is a huge accomplishment.

I greatly desire to own Mariokart. I love fun video games like that. Luckily my brother and sister in law own it and I make them bring it whenever they visit.

I am having a hard time following up my All Dressed Up post last week. Hoping I get some inspiration this week.

Have a good weekend!

Grumpy

2011-02-03T18:08:00.000-08:00

Scene: After waiting for 5 minutes to pull out into traffic on base, a car slowed and let me out. I waved and said out loud "Thank you", you know, cause he could hear me. The following 20 minutes went something like this:

"Mommy! Why you say thank you?"
"I was thanking that Marine for letting us pull out."
"Why?"
"Because that was nice of him. Don't you think so?"
"How him do dat? Let us out?"
"He stepped on the brake and slowed the car down so Mommy could pull out."
"Why?"
"Because he's nice."
"You say thank you?"
"Yes."
"Him stop for us?"
"Yes"
"Him push the car?"
"What?"
"Why?"
and so on and so forth. Same questions, different word structure and lots and lots of "Why". In traffic.

Then she seemed happy with my responses and seemed to fully grasp the situation and I had quiet for 3 minutes before:

"Mommy! You wave at that guy and him push the car and we get out and he push that car and you say thank you? Why you do dat?"

Exasperated and a little forcefully "Madelyn. We were stopped and waiting for traffic and the nice man let Mommy pull out so that we could go. I told him Thank you because it was nice. OK? Conversation is over!"

"Mommy, why you so grumpy today?"

"I'm not grumpy."

"No, you a little grumpy."

All Dressed Up Wednesday - KaNdY

2011-02-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Today I am participating in

With No Model Lady.

The idea is that a bunch of grown women play dress up once a week and share it with the world.

This is so much fun and so much fun to see what everyone else does. So without further ado, let me introduce you to KaNdY. KaNdY is a dancer down at the local club and she takes a lot of her inspiration from The Hussy.

Hey Ya'll! KaNdY here! I have learned so much from The Hussy, it's like we are kindred spirits. Especially since I had an old boss who used to tell me to hustle but because he didn't have any teeth it sounded like he was saying "hussy" so I asked the internets how you "hussy" and I found Jessica! Boy was I lucky. Thankfully she taught me how to make my eyebrows perfectly arched, and to use the instagrammatic app on the iphone.

She also taught me that I don't need to buy a pole for the house to practice my moves, I can just practice out in the yard with a tree!
Amazing and cheap. I'm totally saving my money now so I can buy more socks to wear with my heels!
Plus it's totally OK to mix prints and you should always layer a tank under everything.
You can do it as long as you own it, and I did pay $5 for it down at the goodwill so I am Owning it.

I ALWAYS make sure my hair is the right length,
which according to The Hussy is "to my nips".

The Hussy likes to wear tutu slips to make her feel young.
I like to swing in my skirts and heels with socks.
I feel like I'm 6 again!

The Hussy is obviously a much better dancer than I am because she can afford a mini vespa. All I got is this little trike to ride around my neighborhood.

Last week The Hussy totally did some glamour shots for her boyfriend

(who is still in high school I think?) and I LoVeD her make up so I HAD to duplicate it.

Her whole "socks with heels" things is genius! This makes my feet so much warmer when I'm dancing, I don't have to worry about touching up my black-light toenail polish, and they are so comfortable.

Plus, you never know when you're gonna have to run from the PoPo.

Did you play? You should!

The Itch

2011-01-31T16:00:00.000-08:00

No, I dont' have a rash. I have the itch that all Military Wives get, the itch to move. It's kind of funny, moving is a huge pain in the rear but after you've been a Marine wife for long enough, you can feel it in your bones when you come up on 2 years in the same place and you start daydreaming about where you want to go next. Sometimes you get to move, sometimes you don't. Right now I have the itch. I'm ready to head back to the East Coast. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it here but I can see us living there just as easily and happily and 2 years into living there I'll probably be ready for something else.

Moving is so therapeutic and frustrating and may cause you to need therapy but I feel like it shakes up your life in way that nothing else can. You have to decide what you really want to take with you and pack and unpack and get to eliminate a lot of junk from your life. Then you get the fun and frustration of setting up a whole new house. You live in so many different houses that when it comes retirement time, you know EXACTLY what does and does not work for your family so you can plan and look for your dream house.

It takes a special person to live this kind of lifestyle and I think that God prepares us for it differently. For me, it's that I get the itch. I will miss things here and I will be super sad to leave, but the promise of a new adventure waits just behind every set of orders and I can't ignore that.

Artistic Interpretation

2011-01-30T13:12:00.000-08:00

Madelyn loves to color, and by loves I mean LOVES. I would venture that it is her most favorite thing to do, we go through coloring books like we do toilet paper around here. She usually colors pictures however she wants, whatever color she wants. However, her daddy likes to color things the "right" colors and makes a point of this every time he is coloring with her.

Friday night was the exception. After an exceptionally long week of not being home before 8 or 9, Madelyn was in dire need of some Daddy time and asked him to color with her. Daddy obliged but just did not have the energy to follow his own preset guidelines of coloring Woody the right colors. I walked back into the kitchen to Madelyn yelling at me "Mommy! Turn dat movie on! Dose not the right colors! Turn dat movie on and show him! Him not blue and red! Him wellow!"

Chris looked at me with a "what the hell" on his face and all I could say was "You're the one that started it."

Jirp Jirp The Snowman

2011-01-27T18:49:00.000-08:00

Jirp Jirp the snowman was built on Christmas Morn.

With bottlecap eyes and an 80's cap and two arms made out of sticks.

Jirp Jirp the snowman was not his first name

but Madelyn knew that Idiot just didn't feel the same.

There must have been some magic in that 80's hat that day

cause he didn't melt as fast as he should and didn't go away.

O' Jirp Jirp the snowman was as short as he could be then he melted away

and Madelyn cried all day.

Thumpity Thump Thump

Look at Jirp Jirp Go.

**Yeah, I'm a little late for Christmas carols, but I couldn't resist sharing this masterpiece with you. Plus show you M's lovely snowman.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

Who needs directions

2011-01-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

I enjoy making, creating, sharing, and photographing projects that I have or am making however, I am not really good a following direction. Sure, when it comes to knitting, I follow the pattern, and make what I'm supposed to but that's only part of the time. I usually jump in without the right kind or amount of yarn and think that based on one line of direction that I can do it. Or if I don't like a certain element, I change it. When I cook (not bake, baking is very scientific and requires measurements) I read the recipe, see what it needs and usually just start dumping and tasting and dumping some more. I do follow some recipes to the letter, but I do far more dump and taste. Recipes are just starting points for me.

I am a master at making things work. I am self taught on almost everything I've done and even if I did learn it somewhere else, I have tweaked it to suit the way my brain works. This causes problems because I look at things so differently than 95% of the people I come in contact with that when I try to explain things they go all blurry eyed and look at me like I've been smoking crack. It's frustrating for both parties. What can I say, I view the world uniquely.

A while ago I did a personality assessment. I found that I am an ENFP. Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving. In real life terms, that means I'm batshit crazy. The scarier part? I'm strong on all of those...no chance I'm anything else. In a different assesment called Four Lenses, I'm an orange. Translation: Kooky. I embrace this, I love who I am, but knowing this information explains so much to me about myself and why others just don't always "get" me.

Seasons

2011-01-21T13:52:00.000-08:00

As a North Carolina native I am used to have seasons. My life was mapped out by seasons. Seasonal clothes were packed away and brought back out at appropriate times, there were very clearly spring/summer clothes and fall/winter clothes. I knew what time of year it was by walking outside and feeling the temperature or smelling the air. You can smell the seasons change in NC, you can feel it in your bones and you know there are things you're supposed to do in fall. Like go to high school football games, get your flu shot, pull out your sweaters. That first crisp morning of fall is the best thing ever. The sun takes on an oranger glow, the leaves start looking like a beautiful painting, you feel the dryness in the air and you know what month it is.

California has screwed me up. I have no clue what I'm supposed to be doing seasonally. In NC I know to start Christmas knitting at that first sign of fall crispness (don't judge, knitting is a cold weather craft). In CA, the leaves are just now littering the yard. What the crap? Last night I laid in bed and thought to myself that I needed to get my flu shot because I hadn't yet. Then I realized that despite what the weather kind of* feels like outside, flu season is pretty much over and we've already done our holiday traveling. Yeah. Because it was so cold while we were in NC for Christmas and now we're back in CA and its in the 70's-80's every day I feel like it's spring and keep having thoughts that I forgot to sign Madelyn up for swim lessons, that I should start planting flowers, and that it's spring. Yeah. This whole lack of seasons thing is really messing with me this year and you all know that confusing me more than I'm already confused is pretty scary for all involved.

*It feels like spring because we've had some cold, but the sun is still hazed like a fall/winter sun (does that make sense to anyone else but me?) and it's still warm like it should be in early fall. So I don't know what this season is. I think I'll call it Flinger.

Favorite Things

2011-01-11T14:47:00.000-08:00

My bloggy friend Candace is having an awesome give away over on her blog. To give away some super things, and since I am coveting the chair bottle opener I am going to share with you some of my favorite things. Some of these are all time favorites and others are things I am just loving right now.

Scentsy, AKA crack

I have about 20 scents, 4 warmers and scent profiles based on mood, season, or location. Yeah, I might need some sort of support group.

I don't have these yet, but I am in love with these cansiters.

Just think how happy my sugar and flour will be when they're all snuggly inside these sleek little canisters!

Frogs, I love them but I really LOVE frog art and figurines

(do these count as figurines? I don't know, I love them though!)

Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips.

Yum!

Malabrigo yarn.

It's soft, it's yummy, it's full of hand dyed colorfullness that is a total pleasure to knit with and wear!

I'm not picky either with my malabrigo, I love all the weights equally. They make me happy.

Now, go visit Candace and tell us your favorite things!

Madelyn-isms

2011-01-09T09:26:00.000-08:00

Madelyn is at the ever lovely "why?" stage and apparently after 3 HUGE tantrums in 2 weeks, the tantrum stage. On a completely unrelated note, anybody want to borrow a 3 year old for a month? No? Darn. Anyway, she asks why for everything. At Christmas she asked why her daddy was a boy and I told her because God made him that way (this is my new favorite answer btw) and my father in law asked her why she was a girl. Her response? "Because I sit down to pee."

Sarcasm is also a new addition to our house and Madelyn's favorite new saying whenever I ask her to do something or tell her "no" is to say "Oh Man!". My father took great delight in this during our visit and prompted the saying every chance he got. After one very frustrating evening of Madelyn not listening to me, she and he were saying it after everything I said so I said "Dadaddy is gonna get you a spanking if you don't stop saying that." Madelyn hurried up the stairs (what I'd been telling her to do) and said "No Dadaddy! Don't do that!" that was the last of the "Oh Mans" for at least the next 20 minutes.

Madelyn knows a couple songs all the way through but when you ask her to sing, she will sing her very own made-up song about whatever is on her mind. Everytime she does this I'm wondering what is going to come up. We've had everything from "mommy and daddy love me too much" to "mommy wipe my poops" in said songs. I love her songs, she pats her foot, sings, and does a little wiggle dance. You know when to clap because she throws up her hands and holds the last note.

She loves to color and goes through a coloring book a week. She is amazingly good at staying in the lines and is very particular about what color she wants things and which picture she is coloring. I'm not quite sure what I think about this controlling creativity.

I am really loving this age. She can tell me what she wants, what she needs (to some degree) and we have conversations about her day, about what she wants, and her play is so fun to watch. She has an amazing imagination and I am so happy about that. I think she should stay three forever! Well, at least until she turns four. :)

Thanksgiving Turkey

2010-11-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

Since it is the night before Thanksgiving I thought I should start thinking about what we were going to eat. Plans over the past month have been up and down and all around. Thankfully there are turkey giveaways going on all over base and I managed to snag this 30 pounder at the preschool today.

I think this year I will try to brine the turkey. I asked it to get in a big bucket of cold salty water and it got sassy. I'm beginning to wonder if this "free" turkey was a good idea.

After taste testing the toes I think we'll just have hot dogs because I'm pretty sure the gravy from this turkey will just taste weird.

Forgive me?

2010-11-14T16:47:00.000-08:00

Can you ever forgive me for my super long blogging absence? I don't know what has been up with my funk lately but I have been emotionally constipated for a few months now. I think I was in deployment survival mode. This is the first time a deployment has done that to me. I am usually a mess of emotion and crazy and it makes for some amazing blogging material, but this time I just haven't felt it. It was day after day of the mundane and same - and I liked it. A day without excitement was a good day, it meant I was one day closer to my love and one day closer to not being exhausted. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty of excitement both good and bad, I just couldn't form words around it to make it work here - so I gave up trying, and it was nice. It was nice to take a break, to just live in the moment and not formulate the story in my head for the blog. But now I'm back. My break is over and I keep being so excited about things to tell you, things to share with you.

Life

2010-08-05T08:33:00.000-07:00

Sometimes as adults life can overwhelm and we need to take a much needed pause from our normal pace of life. That is why there were a total of two posts in July. Life just kind of got in the way and there was so much to say but I didn't know where to begin or what to say. I still don't, I just know the blog has been neglected and I don't like it.

We are currently in Asheville, NC where we have been taking a much needed rest and visit with family. I had hoped this trip would be full of excitement and we would be on the go constantly, but we have actually been fairly mellow with some awesome things thrown in and it has been perfect. My coping mechanism during deployment is to stay busy, to constantly be go go going so that I'm so tired at the end of the day I can't even think enough to be sad. It's harder to do that with a two year old because when she gets tired and melts down all I can think about is how much it sucks to be going this alone.

We have been able to visit wtih family, Madelyn has gotten some nice one on one time with everyone while I have gotten some nice "Mommy!" free time. We head back to CA next week and while I'm excited for the things to come, I will be sad to leave NC. But now it feels like we truly could be on the downhill slide of this deployment and nothing could make me happier.

Babyland

2010-07-27T15:57:00.000-07:00

Like how I'm just jumping back into blogging like I never stopped? Yeah. Me too...

My Mom has been planning this trip to Babyland, USA since I was 16 weeks pregnant and we found out I was having a girl. It was a tradition for our Nanna to take us kids, and Mom (Madelyn's Nanna) wanted to carry that tradition on. So last week, we took an adventurous trip with a two year old to place filled with baby dolls. The whole thing is set up like a hospital with nursery's and babies everywhere!

You can tell from this picture just how distracted she was by everything going on! You haven't lived until you've chased a 2 year old through a giant sized Doll store!

Just chilling with her girls! Do you see the puff of curls on that one on the right? Squeee!!!

Mother cabbage giving birth to a new baby!

After being completely overwhelmed, picking out one baby and all associated accessories, she decided she wanted a different baby. It was a really sweet selection process, she had to hug and kiss each one before saying "too big" or "no". At the end of the time, she settled on a brown haired, blue eyed cutie.

We took her into an adoption room so that we could get Madelyn to focus on a name and settled on Mikayla Alice. She calls her Alice.

All that shopping makes a girl thirsty!

Feeding Alice lunch of "mac cheese, beans, and tern" (corn)

Playing "where's Alice?" A game she has played with her Grandaddy since she could sit up.

Of course Alice had to go shopping with us, because what's a road trip with Nanna without some shopping?

Overall we had a great time, by the end of our trip we were all three tired and silly.

I can't wait to do it again when she's a little older and can really understand what it is all about, and is a little less distracted by everything else.

MilSpouse Friday Fill In

2010-07-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to blog more, I'm going to start participating in some of the fun things I see around this here interwebs. This is the second week of Wife of a Sailors Friday Fill In!
1. Tell us about your dream job… one that you could do regardless of pay.
I absolutely loved the job I had when we lived in CA the first time. I was the event coordinator for a nonprofit group and it was so much fun. I planned fundraisers as well as morale events. It was amazing to see my work directly making a difference in the lives of Marines and Sailors and their families.

2. What is your most prized material possession (kids and pets don’t count!)?
This is a hard one. I find myself attached to different things at different times and "prized" implies that it should be something I'm proud of. So, my most intimate material possession is my Teddy Bear, but as for pride I would have to say that right now my sewing machine takes top billing. I am so proud of the things I have been able to create with it and the excitement that is Four Ribbons. None of that would be possible without my sewing machine.

3. What has been your favorite duty station and why?
Charleston, SC. We had so much fun there and met friends that we have kept depsite being sent to the four corners of the world. It is also where Madelyn was born, was driving distance to family, and where we purchased our first house. It has a lot of sentimental value and memories.

4. What is your least favorite household chore?
Folding clothes. Nuff said.

5. If you could give one piece of advice to a teenager today (not specifically a MilTeen), what would it be?
Do not value yourself according to somebody else's opinion.

Deployment Myths debunked - #1

2010-06-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

Everyone always talks about how empty their bed seems when their spouse is deployed. I find the exact opposite to be true. Here is a list of things in my bed currently:

4 pillows
3 baby dolls
2 pooh bears
1 large teddy bear
3 blankets for the baby dolls
5 books

To be added to the bed in about an hour:
1 Daddy doll
1 2 year old
1 Mommy
1 laptop

and any other item needed by the 2 year old for tonights slumber.

Somehow having my Marine home and in bed is going to be so much less crowded!

100 days down...

2010-06-23T16:23:00.000-07:00

Yay?

Secrets revealed!

2010-06-18T00:06:00.001-07:00

So I guess you could say that 3Gs is moving. We are heading over to our new digs at Four Ribbons! All of your favorite posts from here will be moving over there as well but before we clutter up the place, we'd love you for you to go take a look around.

In addition to our new website, we also have an Etsy store and facebook page so look us up!

Wordless Wednesday - looking back

2010-06-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hitting the wall...

2010-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

We are almost to the halfway point of this deployment. Yay! But also Boo! I am reaching that point where I no longer just miss Chris, but I feel like a whole entire piece of me is missing. I lay in bed and wonder when it will be full again and when I wake up on the weekends I miss our morning cuddles as a family. It's been 3 months since I've had that and it'll be 4 more before I have it again. Typing it out like that makes me think of running a race...well, walking it actually, cause we all know I don't run. We're too far in to give up and just head to Denny's for breakfast, but the finish line is just so far away that I wanna go sit on that wall over there and wait for a ride.

To say that I miss Chris is so inadequate, but I cannot formulate the words to express just how deeply it goes. I am at the point where I'm gonna have to have an ugly cry before I can get better, but the tears just aren't falling hard enough. I know my other military friends know how I feel.

I have a ton of wonderful things in my life right now, fun things, exciting things, fabulous things. But I can't enjoy them completely until I have the ugly cry. I feel blah. Despite a huge announcement that is coming on Friday, a trip home in July, having family living locally for the first time our entire marriage, beautiful summer weather, a sweet little girl, and so many other things I can't even name them all, yet here I sit on my wall.

I guess I'm gonna have to go sit in his car, look at pictures, and listen to his music so that I can get off this stinking wall and finish our race.

What do you get...

2010-06-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

In my quest to leave my frump at the dump, I've been trying to become more active and in doing so, I bought a wii fit. I love games, I'm competitive and I can do it braless in my pajamas if I so desire. I was pretty excited that while wii thinks I need to weigh less than I've ever weighed in my adult life, that it calculated my "wii fit age" at 32. I was expecting 50 or something. One feature is that you tell it your height and it weighs you and your little person resembles their interpretation of your body shape. This is OK as long as you are the only one on the screen.

Once my brother and sister in law made their profiles and put in their heights that are taller than me, it made their "miis". I guess since I was first I got the middle spot, so now whenever I turn on the wii fit, I'm standing between two tall skinny miis and I suddenly look like an oompa loompa.

Thanks wii, for making feel like a short fat orange guy with bad pants.

Tardy to the Party

2010-06-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I think I'm a little more than fashionably late to the whole team Edward / team Jacob party, but I did watch New Moon last night and I have to say that I am Team Cullin. I'm not so much for the moody vampire who doesn't want to be a vampire. I thought Edward was supposed to be like a million years old. Shouldn't he be past all this teen angst crap and happy with himself? He glitters for heavens sake! If he were a girl, he'd be saving a ton of money on glitter dust. So while I'm not really digging Edward, you have to admit those inlaws are pretty awesome. All except the ones that want to eat you, but we all have our issues with inlaws.

Despite the fact that Jacob and his clan run around shirtless and are totally yummy doing so, they are a pack of dogs. Speaking of the shirtless thing, how do their jeans stay intact or do they just always have a spare pair hanging around? I guess shirts are too much trouble for a man-dog thing. I don't know. Anyway, what was I talk about? Oh yeah, shirtless man-dog things. His abs and pecs may be awesome, but he turns into a dog when he gets mad. Am I the only one that sees the superior lack of romance in this fact? Can you imagine fighting with your husband over not doing the dishes so he turns into a huge man-dog thing and licks them clean, pees on the floor and then sheds all over the bed? Yeah...not my idea of something sexy.

This brings me to Bella's incessant need to become a vampire and I have to wonder how well the girl has thought this through. Is she going to be "vegetarian" or is her first meal gonna be some bum? What happens when a Cullin family member bites her to change her and then Jacob kills them all? Then she really won't get to have her precious glittery corpsy dude.

I haven't read the books, but I really really hope that Eclipse introduces a zombie that eats all three of them and then lives with the Cullins as a pet. Kind of like ALF. The Cullins' can eat deer and the zombie can snack on cats. That's a sitcom I'd watch.

Memorial Day

2010-05-30T20:01:00.000-07:00

Several years ago I was priviledged to meet Medal of Honor Recipient, Lt. John Finn, USN. I was the coordinator on an event we were having where we were honoring Medal of Honor recipients and when I called him to confirm reciept of our invitation, he informed me that he needed a secretary, or at least somebody to open his mail. I was struck with how down to earth he was and in the same instance with the demand there was on his time. Everyone loves a hero. If you asked Lt. Finn about his service and his medal he would tell you that he was just doing his job. He was a very humble man.

It is on this Memorial Day that I sit back and reflect on those men and women who gave their lives "just doing their job". It is the humilty, courage, strength, and honor of those service men and women that make me proud to be a Marine spouse. I think of the families who have lost their loved ones, and the sacrifices they have made. I pray that I never join those ranks.

As you enjoy your weekend, your extra day off work, your cookouts, the beach, and whatever other way you celebrate this beautiful summer weekend, remember. Remember those that have fallen. Remember the families that are missing their loved ones. Remember those still in harms way.

One person see-saw

2010-05-29T17:19:00.000-07:00

Ever feel like you're the only one on a see-saw at the play ground? That's how I've been feeling lately. Not so much emotionally but more life in general. I miss my husband every single day, but I feel like I just can't get off the ground. Overall I'm happy and content and counting along my days down until his return.

I've been so busy but I don't feel like I've gotten anything done. Rooms are still unorganized, piles are still unsorted, clothes are still unfolded...but I barely have time to pop in on my favorite blogs and even less brain cells to leave a coherent comment!

I am so excited about upcoming and exciting things that are happening in my life and I feel so blessed right now for the people in my life.

Apologies!

2010-05-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh ya'll! Why didn't you tell me my pics were so blurry? I have a goopy eye that doesn't look goopy but it makes my vision blurry so when I loaded these pictures last night, I just assumed that it was my goopy eye making them all blurry and fuzzy!

So here are some less blurry pics...

Unloading the camera

2010-05-15T20:49:00.000-07:00

First we have a toddler with a butterfly on her face. I'm pretty sure she would wear make-up like this daily if I let her.

Butterflies in the floral arrangement for Granny. She loved butterflies, and I know she loved this arrangment.

sillines

Rolled jeans and red chucks. Doesn't get any cuter!

A new hat? This is how I found her after running in the house, she'd grabbed her skirt (an extra one) and put it over her head.

Obviously the roses did fabulously during our trip. I counted 75 blooms.

I'm blaming exhaustion and a long day at LINKS but tonight I bought Madelyn a fish tank...complete with fancy goldfish, 4 neons, and a frog (duh).

This is our very round, very blurry (apparently) fancy goldfish.

But I'm thrilled that the pizza box in is focus. Deployment cooking at it's best.

Taking the Frump to the Dump

2010-05-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

I've been hiding in frump for way too long now. As in 2 years too long. Today I was digging through the drawer for a sports bra and realized all the frumpy stuff in THAT drawer! Who has frumpy underthings? What does that say about a person that even their underwear drawer is frumpy? No, really. I have a strapless bra that is being held together with a safety pin. Yeah. I think it's time for that to go to the dump.

I am once again on a journey to lose weight and become healthier. My thighs are screaming about it already after doing 3 miles of lunges up hill. OK, maybe it was barely a fraction of a mile, but it was uphill! So in order to help keep me motivated, I'm gonna take the frump to the dump and forbid myself to wear any "comfy" clothes outside of the house. Unless I'm just going to Denise's cause her house doesn't count as the public. I'm not even going to let my workout clothes be too frumpy dumpy because I'm the queen of deciding that I'll pretend I'm headed to the gym by wearing frumpy dumpy clothes...when I'm really just buying ice cream.

I want Chris to return to a wife who regularly gets dressed in actual clothes, who puts on make up, and who does her hair more than for special occasions. Hell, I just want to be that person again. I used to love getting dressed and putting on make up and somehow it started becoming a chore.

Maybe I'll take some pictures of my frump that to the dump...or maybe I'll just spare you and you can take my word for it. :)

One of our adventures

2010-05-06T10:26:00.000-07:00

Even though we are in town for a very sad reason, that's no reason not to get out and have a good time. We have made the best of our visit and on Monday we joined my lovely sister in law for lunch and exploration at the health adventure. Lunch was noodles at The Noodle Shop in down town and Madelyn used chop sticks for the very first time! To say that I am constantly amazed at her ability to learn and to try new things is an understatement. She did better with chopsticks at 2 years old than I did at 20! She never gave up or used a fork, although she did allow me to "telp" her when she started getting tired.

Laying low

2010-05-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hey ya'll!

I know I've been laying low in the blog world for a while now. It's not that I'm not interested in your lives or in telling you about mine, it's just that if something requires more than 3 brain cells for me to read...I just can't spare them.

I have so much I want to say, so much I want to write, but the words just aren't there. I miss Chris, I miss Granny, I miss being able to express what I feel. So much has happened in the past couple of weeks, I just don't know where to begin, or how to start without acknowledging what has happened.

We recently lost a Marine in our unit. It wasn't during a deployment, but a car accident here in the states. I can't decide if that makes it more tragic or not. Somehow it seems like they should be safe here, it's in the war zone where they are in danger, not on the drive home from work. It's just another reminder of how life can change in an instant. If you like, you can go read my friends post about the memorial. I wasn't in town for the memorial because on Sunday my Granny passed away, 3 weeks shy of her 80th birthday.

My Granny was and is a very special person in my life. I spent every week-day in the summer with her, we would have sleep-overs, she and Grandaddy would take me to the lake. I have so many memories of my time with her and it hurts my heart for her to be gone. I wish Madelyn had the opportunity to get to know her the way I did, a chance to build her own special memories. Luckily there are a lot of pictures and stories to tell so I can share with Madelyn the love that Granny had for family and friends. Granny pulled in everyone as family, I called so many people "aunt" growing up that I had to have an actual conversation to find out who was blood related and not. It didn't matter, because I loved them as family. It is that love that I want to pass along to Madelyn, the acceptance of all people, the love of those who aren't necessarily family, because love is what makes the world a better place and I believe that my Granny did indeed make the world a better place.

Now, Madelyn and I are in Asheville where it is humid, hot, and polleny. We are visiting family and having a fun time, but everything is overshadowed by the fact that we won't be going to visit Granny. I know that is why God had a plan in his infinite wisdom that we return later this summer (I bought the tickets Sunday night before I knew about Granny).

Please bear with me, I hope to be out blog hopping and commenting again soon...as soon as I have a few brain cells to apply to it, otherwise my comments might be more "phhhhtttt!" than you care to read. :)

I love you Granny!

2010-04-26T11:11:00.001-07:00

I will miss you.

You are what you eat...?

2010-04-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

It's probably true. I am kind of a crazy eater. Especially when left to my own devices and not having another person requiring me to make an appropriate meal. Madelyn is content with a hot dog, macaroni and cheese, a peanut butter sandwich, or any number of other easy one person things for dinner. Me...I like weird stuff.

During deployment, especially before Madelyn, you will be hard pressed to find anything in my house to make a traditional meal. I get weird cravings for food and then I modify it so that it doesn't require too much effort. After all, I'm not going to put forth a ton of effort for a meal just for me.

Want proof?

My current go-to snack, meal, thing I can't get enough of is: an eggroll wrapper (that I bought to make eggrolls with but forgot to get anything to go in them) with a tablespoon of pizza sauce, 4 slices of pepperoni and some mozzerella cheese. No, I don't cook it, I just roll it up and chow down. I've eaten 7 today...as in all three meals today consisted of this for me. Now I'm out of cheese and bummed. Plus I have a whole pack of english muffins that I bought to make little pizzas with that I'll now have to top with something else crazy. But those have to be toasted because it's just weird to eat them not toasted.

Don't judge.

The best compliment

2010-04-15T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last night I emailed Chris pictures of the "Daddy skirt" for his viewing pleasure since he cannot facebook or check blogs. I mentioned that I was proud of it and which blouse I used to make it, nothing else really in the email.

Today I recieved a phone call and among the rest of our conversation, out of the blue, he says: "That skirt is cute as hell." Coming from a man who usually says "It looks good." or "It looks fine", this is a huge compliment!

I am so happy that he is happy with it, afterall I did destroy one of his cami blouses to make it. :)

Conversations with Madelyn

2010-04-07T14:21:00.000-07:00

Are you my baby?

No, not baby!

Are you my doodle bop?

No, not doodle!

Are you my big girl?

No, not big!

What are you then?

I Madelyn!

Friend Makin Monday - Easter Edition

2010-04-05T10:36:00.000-07:00

Today over at {ae filkins} it is Friend Makin Monday!

::Favorite Things about Easter::

I posted last week that Easter is full of family tradition for me and this year, my favorite thing about Easter was that I have such wonderful friends to spend it with! On Saturday we participated in an Easter egg hunt with our dear friends the Wiggins' at the lake Here you can see how "daddy doll" enjoyed the day:

Then later that afternoon the Snipes family came down for a night filled with mess and candy and an Easter day filled with more candy and mess. :)

Two toddlers breaking into more candy...

We dyed eggs in the grass, with stripped down 2 year olds so that the mess just wouldn't matter. The kids had a blast and the moms were not stressed out because there wasn't anything that could be messed up! Madelyn loved dipping her eggs in orange, then blue, then orange, then blue. She wound up with gorgeous brown eggs.

After we cleaned up from eggs, it was time to decorate cupcakes! I baked mini-cupcakes and we just let the kids have at it with icing and sprinkles. Madelyn even enjoyed the way they tasted!

Really enjoyed it.

Easter morning we woke up to eggs "hidden" in the yard and enjoyed a fun day with friends!

Madelyn had such a good time that she passed out on her beanbag chair watching wow wow wubzy at 7:10.

The latest love in my life...

2010-04-02T18:42:00.000-07:00

To meet her, go HERE. I promise it's worth it. She is beautiful. I think I will name her April.

Pour your heart out Wednesday

2010-03-31T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here are the Rules:

Pour Your Heart Out

Wednesdays

Write a post from the heart.

Something that has been weighing on you.

Something you feel passionately about.

Something you've been wanting to talk about.

A cause, a memory, a belief, a world view.

Anything.

There is no assigned topic, but if you are stumped, read some of the posts that are linked, and get ideas from there!

I hate that I even have to say this, but, whether you are participating or just reading, please keep in mind that the people linking really are sharing something from the heart. So, please, BE RESPECTFUL. We might not agree with each other, but we can all accept someone's right to have a different opinion than we do and NOT attack someone because of this. Play nice. :)

My husband and I both grew up surrounded by family, we had grandparents that we saw multiple times a week, and spent so much time with extended family. Our families played a huge part in our lives.

Being a military family, we live on the other side of the country from all of Madelyn's grandparents, aunts, uncles, everybody...it weighs so heavy on my heart that she may be missing out on something so wonderful that Chris and I both enjoyed. I remember summers with my grandparents, we would go for week-long visits to the lake, I would have sleepovers with my great aunt where we'd stay up way past my bedtime playing card games. Every holiday was a huge event with food, cousins, playing, pictures, and laughter. When I say every holiday, I mean, Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Fourth of July, Family Reunion, Birthdays, and any other reason we could think of to get together and eat. Those times are some of my happiest memories, the traditions started there.

As Easter is coming up, I think back to Easter egg hunts in my Granny's back yard with all the cousins running around hunting for them, about hiding the eggs in my grandfathers tulips and on the door handles of his car. I think about loading up our plates with food, taking 20 minutes to say goodbye because of hugging everyone in the house, and family pictures where it was a miracle if we got everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. The subsequent "funny faces" picture that we took with arms crazy and tongues out. I think back to these wonderful memories that I have and I wonder what kind of memories Madelyn will have. It's just the two of us this year for Easter and as much as I try to make it fun and fabulous, I know that anything I can do will never measure up to the wonderful memories I have.

We will dye eggs, I will hide plastic jellybean filled eggs in the yard, we will go to church...but will it be enough? I worry that I can't be enough for her. I want to have our own traditions, but I feel like our traditions can never measure up to the memories Chris and I have of our childhoods and it breaks my heart.

The rational part of me knows that she's only 2, that there is plenty of time to make memories, that we won't always live an expensive plane ticket away from family, but the mom in me, the sentimental part, just can't help feeling that she's missing out something awesome.

I don't want to leave this post sounding like Madelyn doesn't have a great relationship with our families, she does. She talks about her grandparents and great-grandparents often, she talks to them on the phone and asks to call them. She remembers everyone when we go home to visit and what she loves to do at each of their houses. She has a very strong bond with each and every one of them even though she only see them every now and then. I have made it a priority that when we are home, that she gets quality time with family members, and I know that she doesn't know any different so for her, her time with grandparents is wonderful and she will look at it fondly. I just know that it could be more.

Post it note Tuesday

2010-03-30T14:22:00.000-07:00

Wanna play? Head over to SupahMommies via the top post-it and get sticky!

The great toilet escapade of 2010

2010-03-28T16:25:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this with two very important facts.

1. Water is freaking expensive out here.
2. Two neighbors whose houses were built by the same builder have had water pipes in the concrete slab burst causing weeks of work and damage.

On Saturday afternoon I walked into the master bathroom only to hear that the toilet was running. Being the super handy woman I am, I lifted the lid off the tank to assess the situation and found that the floaty bulby thing had broken off the arm thingy that it lifts to plug the hole (bet you didn't know I knew such fancy plumbing words huh?). I replace the lid and bend down to the turny off knob and turn off the water. Tada! Fixed til somebody comes to fix it. Right?

Wrong.

Sunday evening I walk in that bathroom just to check on things and notice a decent amount of water in the floor. I assess the situation and find that the turny off knob is dripping water. Hmm. It's a small little bitty leak so I dry up the water and lay down a towel. Monday morning I get up, check the towel and it's wet but not sopping wet. I change out the towel and start down the hall to get Madelyn's clothes only to find out that OH NO! The carpet in the hall is wet! I immediately call the property manager to make her aware and to update my previous maintenance requests. I'm kind of starting to freak out.

I take Madelyn to school, come home and reassess, the carpet is definitely wetter and the towel in the bathroom floor is just barely damp. Hmmm...

I determine that I have a burst pipe. I turn off the water to the house and call property manager again, worried about the problem. I call the hotel and make a temporary reservation - for a week. I call my rentors insurance and make sure that I would be reimbursed if I was displaced.

It's now noon. I go to pick up Madelyn and get a phone call as soon as I get home that plumber is on his way. I'm fighting myself not to pack a suitcase, but mentally I'm doing a checklist of things that I don't want in the house with workers when I'm not here. Check books, legal documents, that kind of stuff. Plumber comes and fixes the floaty thing and the knob thing and says that the water in the hall is from the teeny tiney drip. I don't believe him. He checks the meter and says no water is going anywhere. I can't tell if the carpet is more wet or not.

I start drying the carpet with towels, I soaked 3 beach towels and 2 bath towels and it still wasn't dry. I call property manager again and tell her that I'm concerned. She sends handyman over to assess the situation. He says the water "rode the slab" like it was surfing or something and that's why the carpet is wet.

Fine. I cancel hotel and determine that we'll stay in the house and if it's wetter in the morning then I'm going to make them pay water bill and fix the dang thing.

Tuesday morning and the carpet is drying with a fan blowing on it. Who knew the plumber and handyman knew better than I did?

The best part? When handyman left, he looked at me and said "Are you going to be OK now?" I was totally that freaked out crazy woman who couldn't handle a minor toilet leak.

Fan-freaking-tastic.

So tired...

2010-03-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

I want to write. I want to tell you about our days, about what we've been doing and show you pictures, and have fun exciting stories to tell, but I can't make my brain formulate full sentances. I'm just too tired. This is what happens during deployment. I hold everything together during the day and then my subconcious takes over at night and I wake up every hour, sometimes staying awake for an hour or two in the middle of the night. Eventually my brain is mush and you get weird rambly posts about me not being able to think. I have some unisom and an appointment in 2 weeks for some ambien. Hopefully then I can get my thoughts together.

For those of you who know me in real life. I'm not gaffing you off or forgetting you on purpose, just text or email or call me if I'm supposed to be doing something. Even though I've tried putting things in my phone to keep myself organized, I have put 3 things so far in the wrong month. Yeah....

Maybe tomorrow I can put words together cohesively enough to tell you about how I became THAT crazy person who calls the property manager 5 times for a leaky toilet. Yeah, it's a great story.

Friend Making Monday

2010-03-21T22:28:00.000-07:00

I keep missing Friend Making Monday over at {aefilkins} so tonight I stayed up super late to get in on the action before it was even Monday for me. OK, so maybe that's a lie, but I am up and it did post. I blame insomnia and I have missed doing FMM.

So here are my springy answers to the fun springy questions!

1. Favorite things about Spring: The smell of freshly cut grass and pretty flowers.

2. What I'm doing for Spring Break: I'm a stay at home mom to a 2 year old in SoCa. Every day is spring break!

3. Favorite Spring flower: Tulips

4. Do you have a garden? No, but I have a lot of flowers and flowering bushes and grasses.

5. If so, what do you grow. I try to grow flowers, but the rabbits like to eat them.

6. Do you do Spring cleaning? Not really unless it's rainy and I can't go outside and enjoy the spring like weather.

7. What is your weather *really* like right now? {Just b/c it's "officially" spring, doesn't mean that it feels like it for some of you}. It's felt like spring for weeks now. I love it!

8. Snapped any weather related photos lately? Share one with us! Just some time at the beach.

9. What's your favorite thing to do on a sunny afternoon? Sit in the shade and read a nice book, but when Madelyn's awake, we blow bubbles or go for a walk.

10. Favorite TV show right now? America's Next Top Model...or Shear Genius...or Project Runway. Don't make me pick!

Grab my butt(on). :)

2010-03-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

Go ahead, you know you want to. It's just hanging out there over on the right looking all cute and pretty, so just reach out and grab it! It won't bite, so grab it and let me know you did. I want to start a little button collection over there. :)

Special delivery...

2010-03-20T13:43:00.001-07:00

Early this afternoon, Madelyn and I were reading a book and we heard the doorbell. Madelyn immediately says "Daddy's here!" and I have to remind her that Daddy is "bye bye" and won't be home for a whole bunch of sleeps. We go to the door and peep out the peep hole only to see that nobody is there...so that means there's a package! Woohoo! We love packages.
I pick up the box and see immediately that it's addressed to Madelyn and know that it is her "Daddy Doll".
I am not sharing the first video I took of her opening it, it was very personal for her and she walked away from the camera and me to have a moment to herself. She is doing very well, but I can tell she's not sure how to process things, I'm not even sure how to process things so it's understandable. I'm just glad that she is expressing herself and hopefully soon we'll be able to find a way for her to express herself that doesn't involve a full on meltdown. :)

It's nice to see that Chris is able to help wipe her nose even while he's overseas. haha!

Funky chicken

2010-03-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

I've been in a bit of a crafting funk lately. I have projects to do and lists of things I want to complete but I've been feeling less than inspired. Until today and this evening full of checking out crafting blogs! Today I finished a skirt and made a ruffle sleeve top and now I have visions of other things running through my head. If I weren't so tired and concerned about Madelyn's sleep (or lack of) I would start something tonight. You can be assured that I will be mod podging in the morning though! :)

On a completely different note, why does my 2 year old have to be so dadgum smart? She just brought me the sunscreen and wanted me to spray it on her. It's a twist top and it was closed so I "tried" pushing it and said it didn't work. She took it from me, twisted it open, and handed it back. I'd love it if I could get something over on her it would make some days so much easier!

Ton of bricks - nsfbs

2010-03-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

The nsfbs in the title indicates that this post is Not Safe For Bonnie's Sanity. She will choose to read it at her own risk. I cannot be held accountable. If your husband is deployed or deploying soon, it may not be safe for you either. Enter at your own risk.

I started writing these deployment posts as they were happening, in the interest of opsec (operational security) they haven't been posted in real time. As the posts and events get more general, they'll be a little more up to date. As of this posting, Chris has already deployed.

The other day I had a conversation wherein I disclosed to my dear friend that I was feeling very indifferent about Chris' departure. I wasn't feeling the sense of dread I expected, I was just going about my business as if the 7 month deployment to a war zone was just another week in the field. It was kind of nice. I was proud of how strong I was being, although a little sad that I could be so heartless. Was this what 10 years of marriage had done to me? Turned me into a heartless wife who could handle things without her husband so she didn't care if he was there or not?

Apparently, 10 days before departure is my breaking point. I broke down and it was ugly. There was fighting, there was screaming, there was tears, and now there's the undeniable sense of dread. I had a horrible dream that filled with me so much anxiety that I'm almost afraid to go to sleep. I dreamt that I was a Marine, that I was getting ready to deploy to war and I was terrified. I was completely unprepared and I realized that I wasn't going to have my partner to go through it with me. I was worried about blisters from my boots, about being shot at, about artillery going off and me being scared. I believe that this dream came to me in order for me to understand a bit of what my husband is feeling. I'm not saying that he is afraid, but I can't imagine a scenario in which he wouldn't be at least a little nervous. The day I broke down is also the day that we found out that somebody we know had been shot in the leg in the exact war zone my husband is flying in to. The injured Marine is OK and should make a full recovery, but it still slapped me across the face with a little reality.

I have blogged about my experiences during deployment before, but I did them after the fact. Now that life is a little different and I have a daughter to think about I want to write out these things as they happen for her to look back on and to see where she came from and the strength exhibited by our family during this time, I want her to be proud.

As for Chris, I can't imagine what he is feeling right now, preparing to leave us for so long to such a harsh place. His daughter will be 3 when he returns and will have matured and grown from toddler to child. I hope that through pictures, letters, and the rare phone call that he will be able to watch her grow and feel close to us despite the miles.

I cry at the very thought of our goodbyes, I cry at the thought of 7 months worth of mornings, nights, and days without my partner, of Madelyn without her daddy. I cry because I can. I cry because I can't do anything but cry. Then I laugh. I laugh at the tears, at the fact that I cry because of a commercial, I laugh. The laughter will keep me sane. The laughter will drown out the pain.

Week in pictures... maybe sfbs?

2010-03-18T18:45:00.001-07:00

Me playing Marine....and Chris posing for Madelyn's photo shoot.

Madelyn and Daddy reading

yeah...that...

Helping Daddy with his bag...

Her St. Patricks Day outfit!

Yay beach!

Changing the subject

2010-03-17T09:03:00.001-07:00

Even though my mind is full of thoughts of deployment and I can't seem to focus on anything else, I have to. Here is a list, cause lists are very un-deployment like, unless you count the list of things to do, pack, or that can't be talked about over the phone.

1. Madelyn is still convinced that when Chris goes away that he is at a park swinging. I don't know where this idea came from and we just kind of roll with it, but it makes me wonder what's going to come up in therapy later. "My daddy was always running off to go swing at the park without me!"

2. I'm thinking about getting a bb gun to shoot the rabbits in my yard. They keep eating my flowers and my strawberry plants! It was one thing when they were eating the grass, but they need to stay away from my pretties!

3. Madelyn has stopped wearing diapers for the most part and is doing great! She is such a big girl and loves it!

4. I haven't been crafting or sewing (unless you count fixing a sea bag) so I'm hoping that I'll get some motivation from my girls on Saturday, I've got some sewing projects to do and a super secret, super awesome project to start.

5. My brain isn't processing anything right now. It's like a sack of jello up there. I can't make complete thoughts or sentances, or even think enough to buy food from the grocery store. I'm sure I'm making life on my sister in law wonderful.

6. On Friday we had a photo shoot of Chris for a "daddy doll" for Madelyn. During this shoot, Madelyn directed the shots and Chris played along. I have so many shots of him doing fun poses that she directed. It was so cute for her to stand behind me and show him what she wanted him to do. I think she has maybe spent a little too much time in front of the camera!

7. The weather has been gorgeous and I want to hit the beach, but I don't want to look like a beached whale, so I guess I will be using some of my "free time" at the gym. Or eating cookies. We'll see.

8. My brain hurts so this is the end.

Part 3

2010-03-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Part three in the story of our first war time deployment. Catch up on parts 1 and 2 below.

In the coming days and weeks I heard from Chris very little. I continued to write him daily and I collected newspapers for him. I didn't read them.

I went on a media strike. Each morning and each night I turned on FoxNews and watched the bottom ticker for about 5-10 minutes and that was it. I didn't even listen to the news cast that was on. I just wanted to get a general update. I hated the body count, I still do. There is no need for it. I hated the randomness of it all. I just wanted to know one thing. Was Saddam dead or in custody yet. Once that happened I knew we'd be on the downhill slide and that's all I really cared about. I didn't know all that would be involved in the coming months and years.

The details are fuzzy. My days, nights, and weeks all ran together. I remember the base was like a ghost town. It was sad and creepy all at once. The organization I worked for developed new programs to support the families whose husband, wife, father, or mother were off in Iraq. On a daily basis I got teary eyed as the community wrapped it's arms around our base as a whole and hugged us with support. I went to yoga, I went to the gym, I went tanning, I spent way too much time in WalMart because it wasn't home, it wasn't my empty apartment. My best friends husband was gone at the time too so we spent many nights together just wasting time. Somebody would ask me if I wanted to do something and I never turned them down because it took up time. I rushed out of my apartment on more than one occasion in my pajamas because somebody (usually my best friend) called about a sale on makeup at the drugstore or because she and the kids were getting ice cream. On the exceptionally lonely nights I would do anything. Want to get a tooth pulled?* Sure! That'll take up a good hour and a half, and maybe the meds will knock me out for a little longer.

It was sometime during this deployment that I realized I wasn't sleeping. I didn't understand it, I just knew that I was so tired I was being careless and downright stupid. I could fall asleep, just couldn't stay asleep. I woke up at least once every hour and jumped if the phone even hinted at ringing. I went to the doctor who asked me what was wrong. I told him I couldn't sleep and he asked why and I said I didn't know why. He asked about stress, and I told him work was good, nothing unusual. He asked about my husband and I said that he was in Iraq but it was OK, I was doing fine with that, no stress there...he laughed at me. Said that maybe I was really worried about my husband but had pushed it into my subconscience. He gave me a prescription of ambien. It helped and it didn't put me in such a deep sleep that I couldn't wake up.

The phone calls from Chris were difficult. I forwarded my house phone to my cell phone. I took the route with the most cell phone service every time. Even if it meant driving 30 minutes out of my way and sitting in traffic. I didn't want to miss a call. When he was able to call there was a horrible delay, bad connections and sometimes the line would go dead but not disconnect. I remember sitting one night and talking for 20 minutes into nothingness just in case he could hear me. He could and all of the sudden I could hear him again. Conversations like that drained me. I wouldn't hang up until the line went dead and gave me a busy signal. I didn't want to hang up the phone, I refused to say goodbye, to let him say good bye. We ended every conversation with "I love you. Muah".

*There was no actual teeth pulling, but I probably would have jumped at that too.

Part 2 of "the beginning"

2010-03-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

Here is part II of my original post about our first war time deployment. I read this and realize that so many of the feelings are still true leading up to this deployment.

Catch up on Part 1 HERE

I am thankful that Chris left in the morning of a work day – it forced me out of bed and into my job of providing services for other military families. I had been up all day Sunday with getting things ready and preparing for the inevitable. He was supposed to leave at 9 p.m., I waved goodbye to him through a bus window at 2 a.m. Those hours were hard on me. I just wanted to sit and snuggle and cherish our last few minutes. He had to run around and make sure everything was ready. His anxiety and excitement wouldn’t let him sit with me in the heated car. Eventually he did and another Marine climbed into our backseat to get away from the cold and to rest a few minutes.

At 2:15 I followed the bus out of the base, the route that Chris and I both took to go home every single day, the only difference was that I turned and the bus didn’t. Chris has commented before that the moment the bus passed our street was hard, he knew he wasn’t going home that night.

The only thing I remember about that Monday was the walk into my house from my car. With each step my heart grew heavier, I felt physically heavier, it was the first time I’d be living my regular life without my husband, without him being there, without him walking in the door a couple hours later. Words don’t describe how it felt. I have felt it since and I know I’ll feel it again.

A few days later I had to take Chris’ car in for the insurance adjuster to look at it and repair it. The shop was 30 minutes from my house and I took it after work. The seat was still reclined to the position that it was last in when Chris sat in it during our last time together. I asked them not to move it. The guy looked at it and asked for the keys. I didn’t think I was going to be leaving it. The appointment was actually for the next day. I didn’t have a ride home and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to Chris’ car. The tears fell hard and fast and I laughed because it was ridiculous that I couldn’t let the car stay. I just wasn’t ready to let go of something else, it was the last place I sat with my husband. The guy looked at me like I was crazy and I drove back home. That night I cleaned out the car and made sure that the seat wouldn’t be moved by making a little note to go on it.

Chris sat at an Air Force base for 3 or 4 days waiting to actually leave for Kuwait. He was only a 3 hour drive away and it took all I had not to drive out there just to hold him one more time. The first day I started writing him, I mailed a package to him so that it’d be there when he got there. I wrote him every single day of his deployment.

My coping mechanism was to make myself busy and not to watch the news. A friend’s husband had been in Desert Storm and she and I talked at length about how this was similar and different and how the worst part of that was that our guys* sat in the desert for 7 months waiting on something to happen. I want to clarify that in no way were we excited for a war to start, but the sooner it started, the sooner it meant our husbands would be coming home. Waiting for it to not happen was worse. In my crazy head I concocted a time-line. It was factually based I had done my research. I lived for the date of my time line. For the date I predicted we would cross the line.

In that time there were a few calls from Chris, he’d made it safely and it was sandy. The Kuwaitis were treating them like royalty, he was eating well and had a gorgeous tent that he shared with several other Marines. It wasn’t too bad.

On March 19, 2003 I was at my little local gym on the exercise bike when President Bush made the announcement. Miraculously enough – they were on my timeline. I was ecstatic and scared and sick and worried all in one. On my way off the base I stopped and told the guard that it had started. I went home and mourned/celebrated. It was the beginning of the end in so many ways.
*Yes, there are female Marines that deployed over there - they just weren't going to be the first ones across the lines. The Marine Corps does not allow women in combat/infantry units. It's all very chilvarous. They do, however, train them for combat.

Let's start at the very beginning...2003

2010-03-09T19:33:00.000-08:00

I wrote about our first deployment on my now neglected blog, Frog E. Luv. Here is part 1 of 3 as I originally posted it in 2006.

I have mentioned on here before that I am married to a Marine, however I don’t recall ever talking in depth about my political views, my thoughts on the war in Iraq, or what it was like to be at home with a husband fighting for the freedom of people I don’t know. I’m not sure how long this will be and I know for a fact that not everyone will agree with me, it is just the story of what I experienced.

When Chris and I started dating he was in an anti-terrorism unit. What this meant for me was that sometimes he called, sometimes he didn’t. Sometimes he’d call to say that he wouldn’t be able to call for a few days. I never knew and still don’t know exactly what was going on. I don’t care to. Then he got orders to CA where he was stationed with a headquarters unit. What that meant for me was that he wouldn’t be deploying except in time of war. That was fabulous because it was May 2001 and we weren’t grouchy with anyone and there wasn’t a raised level of grouchiness with us. We had 4 months of him working basically 7-4 and it was nice. I got a job and we had lunch together, he usually beat me home from work and we were together for dinner. It was a “normal” life.

In August I got homesick and planned a trip back home to NC. This had been the first time I’d lived in a different town as my family and I chose to go 3,000 miles away. I was due to fly back home on September 11. Everyone remembers where they were when it happened. I cried, I called Chris who was getting ready for a battalion run and told him the news, it was only 6 a.m. there, most people weren’t even up yet. He got tense and as we spoke a few times throughout the day I learned that the base had pretty much shut down and nobody was getting on or off. There also weren’t any flights. If it had happened 6 months earlier, Chris would have been with his unit in NY within 2-3 hours.

I made it home a few days late and we settled into life post 9/11. That’s how it is now isn’t it? Before 9/11 things were different, things were a little easier. It took an hour or more to get from our house through the gate, a half mile journey and then an extra 10 minutes for them to search my car. People got ready to deploy. Chris worked 14+ hour days. I ate dinner alone and warmed his for him when he got home. We knew something would happen, we just weren’t 100% sure what or when. We were on pins and needles waiting for IT to just happen already. We cherished our time together and stress was at an all time high. Me needing my husband and him needing to focus on getting his troops ready for war. Those months are a blur of work, tears, and worry. There were fun times, times we were able to escape the impending dread. We used to say we were "making memories". I knew what the possibilities were when I married a Marine, I knew that I would have to see him off on deployment, I knew that I could become a widow before the age of 25, it doesn't mean that I liked it, but it means that I supported him with my entire being and took in as much of life as I possibly could. I never could shake the black cloud and a knot formed in the bottom of my stomach and didn’t leave. On February 2, 2003 Chris wrecked his car – not too badly, enough to be repaired but he wasn’t injured and drove on into work. He came home a little early that evening and worked through the gear that had become a permanent fixture in our living room.

In the wee hours on Monday, February 4, 2003 Chris deployed to Kuwait.

You asked for it...

2010-03-09T15:42:00.000-08:00

Since all 4 (serioulsy people? that's all that commented? I need more readers!!!) of my commenters suggested leaving my deployment posts here, I guess I will oblige you. There are a few in the works as I am in full on preparation mode. I have some rules though, so listen up.

1. I will not EVER give dates, times, or places. You won't be reading in real time, there will be a delay whenever something is date specific - such as departure day.
2. I won't answer questions about specific dates, times, or places. So don't ask via the blog. If you know me in real life and want to ask, call me. I may or may not be able to answer.
3. Play nice. These are my thoughts and feelings and might not be right for everyone. You are entitled to your opinion and I encourage you to share even if it differs from my own, but do it nicely. No attacks.
4. DO NOT ever put specific information you may have about my husbands unit or a different unit in your comments. They will be deleted.

If you cannot tell, I'm very serious about operational security.

Now that I'm done being a froggybitch, I'll share a little snippet of daily life with Madelyn.

Madelyn is in full on terror mode. She is apparently wonderful at school, but at home she is testing each and every boundary. She doesn't want to listen, doesn't want to do what she's supposed to, doesn't want to follow basic rules that she has had since she was old enough to have rules. The other day she hit me in the chest and I corrected her and said that she had to tell me that she was sorry. She didn't want to so I told her she could say sorry or sit in time out. She said "I sit." So 5 minutes in time out and she finally comes to me with her sweet little munchkin voice and says "I sowwy mama." Again today, she was eating crayons and when I corrected her she proceded to throw her crayon box into the floor. All I had to do was stand up and she ran to "her wall" and said "I sit". I let her sit there for 2 minutes and then we talked about what she had done that was wrong and she uses that sweet little munchkin voice to say "yes ma'm". I'm beginning to think this voice is a new weapon, and I'm grossly unprepared.

Sunday Stuff...a plea for help.

2010-03-07T19:36:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posting around here and on ThreeG's lately. I promise that I am living and doing things, I just am not in a writing mood. Well, I am but it's all much more than I think I want to share here on this blog and I am contemplating another blog so that I can then have three blogs to ignore on a regular basis. What do you guys think? Should I do another blog that is solely my thoughts, ramblings, and experiences as a wife and mother enduring a deployment or should I just post those here with titles that will allow you to skip them if you have no interest?

Then, on those lines...is anything I would have to say about deployment interesting enough for you to want to read?

I need opinions, input, answers. So comment. If you don't, it will make me sad and I will have to cry even more than I have been and then you'll be that person that made the poor pitiful Marine wife cry just because you were too lazy to leave a comment. Ok, not really...but maybe.

Yummy creations over on Three G's!

2010-03-07T09:01:00.000-08:00

Go check out my and Denise's creations for Suggestion Saturday! Yum!

A video to tide you over...

2010-03-02T19:30:00.001-08:00

I have a nice long "rights of passage" post in the works for you as it has been a very exciting few days here on our lily pad, but I thought you might enjoy a video of Madelyn "shredding it with Jillian".

How's your shredding going Tammy?

Sunday Stuff

2010-02-21T11:02:00.001-08:00

What every crafting girl needs....a table saw. ;D
Some Madelyn cuteness...turn your head. Blogger is a butthead.

Mashing taters, adding cheese, butter and milk! Yum yum!

Have a great week!

Friday Fragments

2010-02-19T09:40:00.000-08:00

So I'm jumping on the wagon and doing Friday Fragments. I just can't seem to put together a cohesive post lately, so fragments are perfect...as my brain is probably a little fragmented. :)

I started my training with Jillian this week by using her 30 day Shred DVD. OHMYGOSH! She totally kicked my arse. Of course I realized after I did the workout that I hadn't really "worked out" in over a year. I've walked, done some cardio, jumped rope, etc...but nothing like that! I was and still am sore. But it was a great workout, in 20 minutes I felt like I used to after an hour+ at the gym.

Earlier this week I was driving home after a meeting and it was really foggy. I realized that was how my head felt lately. I just can't seem to wrap my brain around things or think clearly. I hate this feeling. I'm chalking it up to a predeployment haze. Twice recently I've been giving presentations on things I know and caught myself just reading off the slide. It's like my brain just couldn't fire.

We have had some absolutely gorgeous weather this week! Madelyn and I have been outside everyday and are even starting to get a little sun on our pale white arms. We lather up in sunscreen but still get tans. :)

I'm steeling this one from Shell, I hate when I have comments that just say "Please visit me" and don't comment on the post at all. I feel like I haven't been read and I don't like that. While I've been trying to up my traffic here and to Three G's, I don't just want numbers, I want readers and people who enjoy what I'm putting out there.

I am loving this new blanket I got. It came in a Nivea gift basket from my visit to The Ellen show and it is super soft and had a pocket at the bottom for your feet!

A little fun in the kitchen...

2010-02-18T19:57:00.000-08:00

My submission for Suggestion Saturday: Katrina's buttered fennel chicken

Beach video

2010-02-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

Some more of our fun at the beach. Mostly for family because it's too big to email and I'm too video-illiterate to make it smaller.

Presidents Day...

2010-02-16T19:13:00.001-08:00

Can't think of a better way to spend a February day.

Ton of bricks

2010-02-16T14:32:00.001-08:00

Today is one of those days where life is hitting me like a ton of bricks. How is it that I can go several days with absolutely nothing scheduled and then I end up with 3 things in one day that all kind of conflict...plus a little no fun news.

It's a beautiful day, life is good, and none of the things are really that big of a deal except I had completely forgotten about two of them until I came home to reminder emails...and they happen tomorrow! One is a LINKS presentation for Marines. Something I would have liked a little more prep time for because Marines are by far our hardest audience and I'm scared they'll have questions I can't answer. The other is our predeployment brief...or as I like to call it, the thing that happens that means my husband and love fo my life is leaving me for a long time and it's coming soon. Something I just don't want to think about.

The third thing that is happening is that my beautiful sister in law is coming to visit! I am so excited for her visit but am really bummed that her first day is going to be so crazy hectic. I guess it'll be a bit of a peak into our day to day.

Do you hear that racing sound? It's my heart. I'm starting to get that anxiety panicy thing that happens when I feel like I'm no longer controlling what is going on, so I think I will go take care of something I can control...the mess that is my house and the mountain of laundry. Maybe I can work on a little bit of my presentation to an audience of underwear. They always have the best critiques. :)

Oh, and I owe a bloggy friend some Shred time with Jillian...that sounds like the perfect way to forget about everything else!

Almost didn't share

2010-02-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

This prize over at Jessica's blog is so much fun I almost didn't share it, but I need the extra entry because I need some of that art hanging on my walls. So...go to the blog but DO NOT enter...or I'll have to cut you. :)

While you are checking out Jessica, you might as well check out the Hunduddle Hussy (see the nifty button over there on the right...use that to get there anytime!) as well. They are one and the same, but one is a vlog and sure to make you laugh! Plus today is the Hussy's debut post! Enjoy!

Blogging the show...

2010-02-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

You may have heard that I had the wonderful opportunity go see Ellen yesterday! It was so much fun! I carpooled up with a great group of gals and we chatted and laughed the whole way up to Burbank. When we got to Ellen we had to stand in a line to get our "ticket" and wait for the show to begin. While we waited we could busy some food from a food cart, browse the portable Ellen store, and watch episodes of Ellen. The waiting area was in the bottom of the parking garage but was so nice and clean. The bathrooms were awesome!

During our wait there was music and even a talent contest. It was fun!

Several women from our group were pulled out from the crowd and taken back and screened...and TWO made it on the show! It was so exciting, but I was more than a little jealous of them getting to hug Ellen! They played a super fun game and got an awesome prize!

Ellen was fabulous and it is seriously a party the whole time you're there! We danced every commercial break and had a dance contest during two breaks! I danced so much I worked up a sweat and then was hoarse from screaming. Ellen is just as funny in person as she is on the show and even during the commercial breaks when she is looking over the cue cards and getting updates/whatver she is dancing and waving at the audience. She is just an amazing woman.

Anne Hathaway was our guest and she hugged 4 audience members to round out the donation from Nivea (they paid $1,000 per hug/kiss from celebrities) to the red cross to help Haiti. I was seriously awestruck by how much fun it was and I can't wait to try to go again!

We weren't allowed to take pictures so I didn't even have my camera on me, so I can only hope that I made it on camera at least once...if not I'll just have to keep trying! :)

Of course we didn't walk away empty handed...we got a diamond key necklace from ice.com, a gift basket of goodies from nivea, the Couple's Retreat DVD, and Valentine's Day soundtrack.

It was seriously so much fun! We rounded out the day with margaritas and Mexican food.

I can't wait to do it again!!!!

Sunday Stuff - wordless edition

2010-02-07T20:19:00.000-08:00

Brilliance?

2010-02-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

Have you been to ThreeG's lately? No? Well go check it out and become a follower..when we hit 30 we'll be having a Giveaway!

I am not by nature a list maker. Lists get long and restrictive and I never know what to put on said lists because when I start writing, especially with pen and paper then it becomes stream of consciousness writing and then my little list is 4 pages long with 6 addendum. I used to try to make notes of the brilliant ideas that come to me late at night when I can't sleep or when I wake for a few minutes and have had a project on my mind. The only problem with this is that I would write something that made sense to me right in that moment and the next morning? Yeah, I could never figure out what I meant. Never. I think that means that my stream of consciousness at that point in time is not so comprehendable...or that I am drunk and don't know it.

Here are some examples of notes that have been in said notes (usually the backs of envelopes or magazines)
-PAINT! (what? I don't know)
-nailfiler keeper (do I make one, need one, or invent one?)
-PdL (mmmkay?)
-monkey

It's been several years since I did this and those notes are still in my head and every now and then I try to focus on them so that I can recreate the thought because obviously they were brilliant thoughts and I need to recapture then so I can make millions of dollars!

Have you ever taken notes and gone back and not understood?

Pea Rye

2010-02-04T22:43:00.001-08:00

Today Madelyn was the Happy Helper at Mommy and Me. One of the duties is to hold the flag for the pledge of allegience and to say "Please rise" to all of her friends. We practiced and practiced and she was very clearly saying "pea rye" on cue...until it came time to actually do it. However, she did a great job holding the flag and putting her hand on her hear! Do you like her outfit? Yeah, she picked this one out. Those shoes are her favorites because she can very easily put them on herself.

Yesterday I spent $6 and bought her a scooter at this awesome little consignment shop and of course in the interest of safety we had to have a helmet...which she wore out of the store and the entire ride home. She must be a little scared of my driving. :)

This was the best $24 (including helmet) I've spent in a while! She loves her "bike" and has ridden it all over the place. She's not too good at turning yet and chooses instead to just pick it up and carry it.

In other news, I completed another ruffle sleeve shirt, go check it out over at Three G's crafts!

Sunday Stuff

2010-01-31T19:54:00.001-08:00

Going through my pictures tonight I found that I have a lot of stuff in the works, but not too much completed, ready for reveal, or small enough to just throw in here. Interestingly enough, all of tonights pictures have two things in common...Valentine's Day and pink!

First up is Madelyn modeling a lovely Valentine's dress and doing the mashed potato.

Second is a little heart decoration that I made on a whim to go over my mantle. .

I kind of consider this a craft fail, I'm not loving the LOVE so I'll probably be reworking these soon. Plus...sneak peak...(hint hint).

Madelyn channeling her inner diva!

Just a heart to show you that I LOVE comments, so leave em. Good, bad, and ugly. Well, maybe not ugly because then I might cry.

Misunderstood

2010-01-27T17:32:00.001-08:00

Raise your hand if you watch The Biggest Loser? I love that show! I love watching people change their lives and workout from the comfort of my couch while eating m&ms.

If you don't watch, I'll fill you in a little bit. It's a weight loss competition for teams of two and they are voted off based on their weightloss percentage. This season there is a mother daughter team that is really hard core. They are the green team, Miggy and Migdalia. Those that watch are shaking their heads in agreement right now. They have been given a lot of grief because they are strong hispanic women that don't show emotion. Jillian got in Migdalia (the daughters) face last week yelling at her to feel some emotion, to cry, that crying wasn't weak. I tend to agree that feeling emotions is a sign of strength and that holding them in isn't always best. That is until I learned this week that Migdalia's husband was scheduled to leave for Afghanistan WHILE she was at the ranch (if she made it 5 more weeks) and then I realized that girl was just trying to keep her shit together.

Only another military spouse can understand what she was feeling. In the last weeks leading up to a deployment you are raw, you just want to crawl in a hole with your family and make time stand still. I cannot imagine being on a momentous weight loss journey AND possibly missing my husband leaving...knowing that he might not come back. It was such a huge sacrifice that she made and I believe that she did for her mom as much as she did it for herself. The only time she's smiled since the first week was getting to call home.

I know first hand that a deployment makes you raw, that if you don't make yourself stone that you might cry at something seemingly ridiculous and nobody wants to do that on national television. Some day I'll share with you about how I turned into a puddle of blubbering nasty and got tons of looks at the repair shop.

So, I doubt Migdalia will read this, but I don't think she is an emotionless wreck, I think she is a wonderfully selfless, strong woman, that was afraid that if she allowed herself to cry a little that she might just lose her shit all over that ranch.

Weekend pictures

2010-01-24T07:27:00.000-08:00

Head over to Three G's for more on the crafting weekend. Be sure to scroll down for all the posts, Denise and I were dual posting.

Getting ready..

2010-01-21T12:28:00.000-08:00

There are exciting things in the works for this weekend, a friend is coming over for a CRAFTING EXTRAVAGANZA! Of course that means that I need to do a cleaning extravaganza first because we've been out of town for 3 weeks, we are renewing our lease and the property manager wants to look at the house, and I'm getting tired of the clutter. The property manager thing has me in a tizzy because for some reason I have it my head that she's going to open closets and drawers, and I know that isn't reality, but that didn't stop me from organizing and cleaning out two closets yesterday while my daughter continued to destroy the house with toys. Seriously, the toys have taken over the kitchen/family room, the living room and are now creeping into the hall threatening to take over my bedroom. It's a very scary thing. Now ask me if I've picked them up. Nope!

I'm going to call my local hardware store this afternoon and see if they will cut a 2x4 into 3 inch pieces for me for a craft I want to do. I am calling because I don't want to be laughed at in person. I'm making the "letter blocks" I keep seeing everywhere. I can't wait to get some LOVE on my mantle and share it with you!

It's raining a ridiculous amount here and I am so thankful for parking in the garage. I have never parked in the garage because we have too much crap. Well, we've straightened up the crap and now I can pull in and I love it!

A little random...

2010-01-19T15:56:00.000-08:00

My life is a little random right now, so here are some things that don't really need a post all to themselves.

1. My daughter has a serious issue with hygeine. As in it's her favorite things to do. Wash her hands? Oh yeah! She'll wash her hands all day if I let her. Brush her teeth? I'm lucky if the 3 times a day is enough to appease her. Bath? Heck Yeah! She'll take a bath anytime, and if you mention any of the above things she will run to the associated area and try to do it. Just say bath and she starts stripping. I don't have to spell candy, or toys, or play, but I have to spell teeth, wash, and bath.
2. She's also on a serious peanut butter kick. As in she says "butter poon". Meaning she wants her peanut butter on a spoon, don't ruin it with bread or crackers. Her lunch the past three days has been 2 tablespoons of peanut butter, yogurt, and tortilla chips. Such a balanced diet.

3. Here Madelyn demonstrates how to go from real life housewife to made for tv housewife in two easy steps.

1. Take the curler out of your hair.

2. Put on a dress.

4. This post is all about Madelyn because nothing else is going on in my life. I'm pretty lame, and right now there's a bit of a break in all the things I volunteer for because I missed the January things while we were in Asheville.

5. One thing I do seem to be really good at right now is attracting bad weather. While we were in Asheville, there was about a foot of snow, it didn't get above freezing for 3 weeks, and there was snow every day. It was like living in a snowglobe. Now that we're back in CA, they are having warm weather and CA is getting hit with rain and chilly temps.

6. I'm really looking forward to a crafty weekend with my friend Denise and hopefully will have lots of neat finished crafts to share. If not, at least I know I'll have some laughs and some great stories of what happens when 6 girls hang out in one house (only two are adults).

Making new friends

2010-01-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

Also published over at Three G's Crafts, head over there for some yummy lemon curd, a $0.25 project, and much more crafty and food fun!

Amber over at .{aefilkins} is hosting a really fun event called Friend Making Monday! I like making friends so I'm joining in, plus her question today ties in with something that I've been thinking a whole lot about lately given my recent escapade to JoAnnes and the realization that I really need a whole lot more money to feed my habit. :)

The Question:
With the new year here, and resolutions & organizational goals in full force, what are some of the projects on your list? Are you working on any specific projects around the house, such as purging, organizing, craft projects, home improvement projects?

In my new notebook, I have a list of projects that I want to complete for 2010, plus several pages of fun ideas for holiday and seasonal fun with Madelyn.

So, here's a quick peak at my list:
1. Redo cushions for my Grandaddy's chair. I started this project 9 years ago, my sewing machine crapped out on me and I've just be laying the fabric on the cushions. It's quite sad actually.

2. Create a backboard for the headboard on Chris' childhood bed that is in the guest room. The thin pressboard one it had was damaged 3 moves ago.

3. Make a quilt top with Madelyn's baby clothes. I'm a beginning sewer and never quilter, so I'm just pushing for the quilt top which I may or may not send out to be quilted.

4. Prettify our tv tables that are used for everything in our family room and are showing the wear and tear.

5. Knit, sew, and create at least 4 Christmas gifts for family. I have one planned already but these have to be secret until December 25, 2010.

There is what I would consider my top five, but obviously my true list is much much longer! :)

Housekeeping...

2010-01-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

There's a new post up over at Three G's Crafts, go check it out. Denise kidnapped me and made me shop for crafting stuff. It was just like going to a bar. Don't believe me? Go read it! Are you a follower yet? If not, you should be because exciting things are happening and there just might be something in it for you! I'm just saying.

I added a cute little froggy widget over there on the right. Join the FrogBlog so that I can see when you pop by.

I have decided to let Jillian Micheals kick my butt via dvd since according to the scale tonight I managed to GAIN 12 pounds over the holiday. That is just ridiculous. I swear my body goes back to caveman times in cold weather and starts packing it on so I don't freeze to death. While I didn't eat that well, I know I didn't eat so bad that it warranted 12lbs. Unfortunately I like food too much to really do much with diet this time of year so butt kicking it is. I'll be purchasing my dvd tomorrow and starting as soon as I have it (may have to order on-line, but am going to look at electronics store). I will be doing a weekly butt kicking update on my shredding progress. The dvd claims 20lbs in 30 days, but I'm not expecting that.