The Lily Pad

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.

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 an...

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...

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:...

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...

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

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 corre...

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,...

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 loo...

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...

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.

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...

Yep.  I guess it is.  Wow.

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."