This time I mean it

Shawn ended up being too tired last night to pack things away so we are doing it this morning. I'm not sure how much time he's got but I already have everything put away so it's just him taking it all down. So I wanted to do one last post. Last night I was glad the computer was still out because I got to chat with Chriss but it ended up getting the best with me. (The computer, not chatting with Chriss). I was browsing through wedding page ideas at my two peas website and could not stop. I finally did because my eyes were about to fall out of my face and I knew I couldn't have a lazy morning but I was on my 200th page of ideas and there were still more. I am definitely inspired and excited to do my own wedding album. Oh and I think I want to renew my vows on a beautiful beach someday, or at least take some really great photos on one.

Hmm...I thought I had more than that this morning but I guess I don't. I should get ready and finish up a few things anyway, Shawn will be home soon. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Goodbye for now

Tonight we are packing up the cars so we can check out on time tomorrow. We thought Shawn had the whole day off but it turns out it is only part of the day so I'll need his help tonight. This weather here is so odd. Yesterday it was cold & raining, this morning thick as pea soup fog, and by this afternoon it was hot and yes - humid! For one I'm glad I don't have super frizzy, curly, temperamental hair because I would probably go nuts. And two I am getting over my dislike of wearing shorts due to the pasty whiteness of my legs because oh my goodness I just couldn't stand it in pants and I know this is only the beginning. So I think the kids & I will be getting a kiddie pool for the backyard, I think we'll all need to take a daily dip.

In case you all didn't know already I am really looking forward to being in our own home again! The cooking & cleaning - I really have missed it all. (You may need to remind me of that in a month or so when I start griping about the endless sweeping, dishes, laundry...etc.) I am so out of my element not having a routine and lists to check off. And I'm looking forward to stealing a few moments during nap time to do scrapbooking. I've already started looking online for several ideas for our wedding album. I decided it can't wait for me to finish Lydia's & catch up on family stuff because Lydia's could take me at least two years like Michael's did and the family stuff - I'll always be catching up on that. So I'm just going to start tackling it as soon as I can. I don't know if it's because of the time we've spent apart, the time we will be spending apart or our anniversary approaching but I've been very sentimental about our wedding & marriage lately. It's a good thing and I want to capture the moments before I've forgotten more details than I'm sure I have already.

In other random stuff, has anyone else seen that commercial for that listening device? It starts out by being geared toward those who are hard of hearing and turns into a 007 like spying device? I was just wondering if I was the only one who thought it was a little odd. Well, hopefully we'll have the computer up and running again by Monday evening. It depends on when Comcast can make it out. When I have time I'll let you know how our weekend & unpacking goes. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Things you can do on a rainy day

This morning I was surprised, and happy, to see rain outside. The rain has cleared the air of the awful pollen that was attacking my sinuses yesterday. The downside of that is, it's raining so we didn't go outside anyways. Aside from getting half of the laundry done (which is no small feet with only four washers & dryers for 150 rooms). I made myself a little family of M&Ms. I kept seeing these commercials saying that everyone has an inner M&M and I could find mine at www.becomanmm.com and so I guess some marketing ideas do work. I don't plan on going out to buy M&M's right now but it did catch my interest. So, this is my version of my family as M&Ms. They didn't have a lot of options for stuff so I did my best. And that's not a mohawk on Lydia, it's a little sprig of hair like pebbles has. It was fun and killed about 10 minutes anyway. If you find your inner M&M share it by posting it on a comment here.

Laundry was more fun today than it usually is. I met up with a friend I made last week and met two more women who are new to all of this. There are four of us who are completely new to the military and this base and three of us have kids. So that was fun. I'm looking forward to having people to hang out with and talk to & for Michael to have friends to play with. Now it is naptime and Michael is sleeping, I'm hoping Lydia will fall asleep for a little bit also. I may even take a nap today!

So laundry, napping and finding your inner M&M are all things you can do on a rainy day should you need some ideas the next time you have one. Thanks for stopping by.

Ch Ch Cha Changes...

I did it again, complete overhaul. It was just getting to be too much for me. Way too much going on and the color was getting on my nerves. I mean, I like pink and all but everyday?!? No way. Stacey & Clinton would be like 'You are on What NOT to Blog' chickey poo. So I think I made my last change, for quite a while anyway. It's clean & simple but still fun enough & I have my three columns. And now I can relax. I think my blog *addiction* is partly to blame on my lack of scrapbooking. This is my only creative outlet until I unpack our stuff and can start scrapping again. Oh, that will be nice. But don't worry, I won't leave this alone completely. I'll still post just not changing the design every what? 5 days or something. I am crazy. I hope this is more pleasing to your browsing eye.

P.S. The title for this post? Part of an old song? 80's maybe? Oh wait, that can't be old I'm from the 80's and I'm not old. If anyone knows, leave a comment. It was something that came to my mind and I'm not sure why and that seems odd to me.

Found another HOT Spot!

Oh yeah, I've done it again. Well, I never really did anything in the first place so I guess I should say 'it has happened again'. No, I'm not pregnant thank you very much. But I am living in another hot spot ~ hot for hayfever that is! Call it what you will; allergies, sinus issues, nostril problems, not getting along with nature - take your pick. Whatever you call it I wind up feeling the same way after running a simple errand, stuffy, runny, congested, headache, itchy eyes, just plain pollen ridden. All I wanted to do when I came home from the store and post office was take a shower to wash all the pollen off. But alas the kids needed lunch, the room needed a housekeeper (which I still get to enjoy ~ sorda ~ for three days), and I had to put away diapers, open mail - take care of business. So we had lunch, Lydia napped for a bit, Michael got a bath, mail has been opened, things put away and finally the cleaning lady came. They are all very nice and I appreciate the trash getting emptied daily and having fresh towels without yet another load of laundry. (I've mentioned the new laundry situation so you all should understand). But they never come at the same time. For the first week of our stay here they were right about 11:00 each morning which was great. Enough time for me to be up and usually dressed (don't ya love it) and the kids could nap after lunch without me worrying about them getting woken up early. Now every day I wonder when they are coming, is it safe to lay the kids down? But I suppose if that is my biggest concern of the day it's not so bad. Well, that's not my biggest concern (I'm not that shallow) but it's still not all so bad.

I've been thinking of changing the look of my blog once again (and looking at ideas) so we'll see what happens over the next few days or weeks. I won't be on here so much after we move and I get to unpack our house. I've come to the conclusion that I need a wardrobe for my blog with a nice walk in closet to store all of the templates. Each time I go around looking at them I find new ones that I like. I think it depends on my mood. When I changed to this 'pink party' I've got going on now I was in a very perky mood - as you can probably tell. Well, the kids are still sleeping and I have a few more things that I should do before Shawn comes home from work. Thanks for stopping by.

Oh and aren't those flowers beautiful?? Just looking at them right now makes me want to sneeze but it's not their fault. Those are the gorgeous flowers I had at my wedding ~ bringing back memories Patricia?? *no! no more thorns. no more wires and floral tape* Thanks again!

What I am happy for today
(aside from my family, friends, health and provision)

* Only 2 more nights sleeping in this hotel
* The family resource center loaning us mattresses to sleep on until our belongings are delivered
* Shawn getting Friday off of work
* Shawn getting Monday off of work to help set up home and unpack

P.S. The 'again' & 'another' references concerning my allergies is because the area in California where I used to live was another 'hot spot' for people like me. I used to need my very own box of tissue at school because I would use too much of the class supply - little sad huh?

Time Flies

Today I got myself up and things together earlier than usual and took the kids downstairs to the playground. It's a beautiful spring day and I couldn't think of a better way to spend some time with the kids outside of this hotel room. I put everything in my bag (except my cell phone - oops) and we headed downstairs. Michael ran to the playground and started climbing, sliding and laughing - you know his contagious belly laugh. It was great. I laid Lydia down on the grass (with a blanket of course - she may have my sensitive *can't stand to have grass touch or it'll get all red 'n itchy* high maintenance skin after all. She was loving it, I think. I know this much, she wasn't crying so it couldn't have been bad. She had this beautiful look of peace on her face. She was just staring up at the tree we were under, probably amused by the light dancing between the leaves. I'm sure the fresh air was good for her also. I know Michael enjoyed it. I liked the break from the indoors and spending time with the kids relaxing. I chased Michael around a few times which was fun.

While I was sitting on the grass lost in my thoughts I realized that today was the 26th which meant two things. 1) I had to go pay for our last three nights at the hotel so I didn't have to worry about my key not working tomorrow after 10am (who knows if I'll have another early for me start to the day). And 2) my little baby had been 5 months old for six days now and I just realized it!!! Random people I've come across lately have even been asking how old she is and I've automatically responded with 'almost 5 months' but she is 5 months, the day came and went and I was probably so irked at being in this hotel room that I didn't even notice. Not only that but now I have to start thinking of her 6 month photos so I don't forget and to top it off there are still some of her 3 month photos that I have yet to give out since first, I got the appointment made late and second, it was through Penney's which did a great job but they take like 3 weeks to get your photos to you and third I was in the middle of packing/moving when I was also trying to mail out her pictures. This is all very stressful for me. I'm sure some of you are thinking "at least you took her to get the pictures done in the first place" but I remember when Michael was three months old not only did I take him to get his picture taken but I also mailed those puppies out within a week of picking them up from Penney's (there goes that excuse), but no, not just the picture but a letter from Michael talking about all the great stuff he had done up to that point. Okay, so there wasn't a whole lot to write about beyond holding his head up, grabbing toys and drooling on stuff but still there was a letter and people knew what he was doing. Now I remember other moms with more than one child saying something along the lines of "Just wait and see how different it is the second time around. You don't take as many photos, you don't write down as much stuff, you don't do the same things." I believed they were right but figured I could overcome this 'mom of more than one' stereotype/curse or whatever you want to call it. Then Lydia came along and everything started taking me longer, I wasn't writing everything down, I wasn't taking a million pictures of her sleeping (and most of the pictures I took are still saved on a cd or my digital memory card, not filling up albums). And now I missed her turning five months old. Okay, so maybe it isn't that big of a deal but I had my moment.

Time is going quickly in a good way too. Like, did I mention that we'll be out of this room after only 3 more nights here?? Then we get to go sleep in our new house with walls and doors and no beds or internet connection for 3 nights and then our stuff comes. Tell you what, I'm looking forward to the walls and doors so much that I don't care that I might be sleeping on hardwood floors with only a blanket to cushion my back. Actually, Shawn is probably going to borrow an air mattress from a friend or we'll buy one so you don't have to worry about our backs - just in case you were. That reminds me of another way time is passing by - I'm getting old. Okay, okay maybe not in an actual my age is increasing and I'm the ripe old age of whatever you consider old but I say it's as old as you feel. And lately I've been feeling OLD. Like I reached between the portable crib and hotel chair to get Michael's sippy and think I actually pulled a muscle doing it. I'm no doctor buy my shoulder blade area was hurting after. Yeah, stuff like that. More of those 'grunts' as I get up from playing on the floor with the kids than I'm used to. I think it boils down to needing to be more active and getting some exercise on a more routine basis. Not for any other reason than to be healthy, have more energy and not feel so dang old. Especially with hubby getting all in shape and stuff, I don't want him totally blowing me in the dust. ; )

Well, I can't think of time flying any other way than if you throw a clock out the window. (badumching!) Ya, I know - keep my day job. I think it's time for me to go do the dishes since I have soap again and the tiny sink they give us is full. Plus I don't want hubby to think I spent the whole entire day just sitting around on this computer. What am I going to do when we get in the house and I don't have internet set up yet? Call you to talk while I'm sitting at the park drinking a Starbucks - yeah baby. Well, at least those of you who are home during the day like me. Don't think the boss would appreciate you chattin' it up with me on his/her/their time.

Thanks for visiting! Next week you should stay over and help me arrange my furniture - I'll get right on that.



Okay, now this may seem a little cheeseball to some, I know most should understand. But it's my attempt at getting a bigger perspective on life and staying out of the rut I just climbed out of.

I am thankful for:
* my hardworking handsome soldier of a husband who takes care of us
* my gorgeous, healthy fun and oh so loveable kids
* my blog and all of you who visit, esp. those who comment ; )
* nap times for little breaks from oh so loveable kids
* living in a town with stores that I know & enjoy shopping at

Our Sunday

5 days and counting until we are in our new home and let me tell you - I am looking forward to having doors and walls again. So, I know I've been ranting about these doors and walls for quite a few posts now and whoever is reading this is probably thinking 'get over it already, it could be worse, find something else to talk about for crying out loud'. I understand the boredom of hearing about it over and over again but when you hear about my 'adventurous' night I'm sure you'll understand my incessant and relentless griping/whining/rant.

So it was a typical night of the kids finally being asleep around 10:00pm, I of course couldn't sleep until about 1:00 in the morning and Shawn was out by 11ish - fortunately for him he doesn't suffer from insomnia bouts like I do. (I don't know if it's technically insomnia but ever since I can remember I've had trouble sleeping. Just ask my sister. When we were shared a room we had bunk beds and after trying to sleep for what felt like forever to me (probably only about 5 minutes) I would lean over the bed and ask her if she was sleeping which she always was because - duh! her head did hit the pillow and for normal people I guess that's all it takes. Anyway, it used to bug her I guess because I would go on and on about how I couldn't sleep and ask her how she did it. It just wasn't fair.) Anyway, so I was finally asleep and sometime around 2 Lydia woke up wanting to nurse and snuggle (she's just so used to sleeping in bed with me) so I went back to sleep and by 3ish Michael was up whining about I still don't know what but he ended up in bed with me too. I didn't want him to wake up Shawn and wouldn't be able to sleep myself. Now, let me remind you that we have two full size beds in this room, by full I mean full - not queen (like we're used to). By 5ish Shawn was moving over to the empty bed because Michael had literally kicked him out. I'm not sure if there were feet swinging or anything but either way Shawn had a rude awakening from hitting the floor. I think Michael was up by 6 and wasn't planning on going back to sleep, I kept waking up every hour or so from him whining about one thing or another. Let's just say I'm glad he can get a banana on his own. (The kid has to learn to fend for er take care of himself at some point right?) See, if I had walls and doors we would have all had a full nights sleep and made it to church this morning.

Yes, another Sunday with no church. It's sad I know. We were fully planning on going to check out a church this morning but neither of us set our alarm because we figured the kids would have us up in plenty of time to go. Technically, okay, they did. However I don't count being woken up just about every hour as getting rest and when 7 rolled around I could hardly open my eyes to change Lydia's diaper let alone even consider getting up and ready to be around people. So we'll give it another go next Sunday. We did eventually get up and take a drive over to our house and the park nearby just for a break from the hotel room. But first I drove the car, yes the new car with a shiftstick and I didn't do too bad. It was only in the parking lot to start because I'm still so nervous to drive on the road with other vehicles and people waiting for me to figure out how not to stall at a red light. So I'll do that again soon. I did stall a few times but I also started and stopped the car 5 times in a row without stalling - yay me!

After that we took a drive (Shawn driving) over to peek in at the new house. The door ended up being unlocked so we took a full look inside. (Still not sure why the door was unlocked.) So the kitchen is pretty small but for it's size has decent counter space and a lot of cabinets including a deep pantry closet with shelves. So I can put dry food and stuff in there and still have space for the vacuum, broom & mop. There isn't a washer and dryer in there right now but there is space and hookups for one in the kitchen so I'm hoping they put those in or we'll have to look for some in the freebies or whatever they have out here. The kitchen is sorta 'L' shaped and you can walk into it when you turn left at the entryway and there's another opening to the dining/living room. There is a dishwasher which is exciting. The kitchen floor is linoleum. The rest of the downstairs of tile flooring, like you find at a grocery store, white with gray streaks. Not so attractive or nice to walk on so we'll be getting carpet for the living room. The living/dining area is really small. I'm still not sure how the furniture will fit in or what we'll need to get rid of. It's hard to picture it all so we'll just see when we get in and get everything moved in. Some bonuses are a lot of windows and good lighting and I have full view of the backyard when Michael is playing out there. Upstairs are three bedrooms and the bathroom and another closet. The kids' rooms are pretty small, Lydia will be in the smallest since she has less stuff and will be playing wherever I am most of the day. Michael's isn't too bad and they both have closets that are big enough for their needs. Plus each closet has extra storage space above the shelf they would be using that I can use for things like Christmas decorations and whatever else I don't need access too all the time. Our room is the largest of course but that's not saying much. I looked around the room and there was one small closet - even smaller than the one in Lydia's room. My jaw dropped and my mind was racing trying to figure out how in the world all of Shawn's uniforms and equipment would fit in there let alone my stuff (not that I have a lot of clothes or a huge shoe collection) or his civilian clothes. Then Shawn found the other closet behind the opened bedroom door - whew. So it's a his and hers thing, we still may have some issues with all of his stuff but we'll deal with it when the time comes. All of the floor upstairs are wood and the bathroom has nice looking linoleum. Oh and the closet space in there - wow. There is a linen closet plus a built in of cabinets. Overall the house will be great, we'll just need to do a few things like the carpet and maybe some window treatments. My only complaint is the small living room but we'll make do. Besides, this home is temporary. It was fun to get a look at the place.

After that we went to the great park which is just down the street and Michael had a lot of fun playing. There is so much space for him to run on and great things to do. I'll post some photos in the future when we are settled. We got a couple cold coffees at Starbucks while we were there. Then we came back home for naps and laundry. Of course the washers and dryers were full so I'm blogging instead. I'll have to check back on those. So anyway, that was our Sunday, so far anyway. I don't think we'll do much else today except get ready for the coming week. Hope you all enjoyed the sabbath and have a good evening.

New Additions

No, no new babies - right Shell? (hehe, that'll be funny until they have a baby, to me and Chriss anyway - right Chriss?) No these new additions aren't nearly so cute, sweet and cuddly (or loud at 2 in the morning either ;), just some stuff on the blog. Thanks to my computer *savvy* friend Mel I've added a calendar and a clock. I've tried to put some of those little animated characters on this thing but every time I attempt to access 'Smiley Central' an annoying box pops up stating that my computer will be shutting down and asks if I want to report it. Question for any of you who know anything about computers - who gets these reports? what do they do with them? and why does my computer keep getting shut down if I report the problem (whatever it is) that keeps causing it to shut down? I just don't get it. Anyway, now when you are browsing around on my blog you can know what day it is and keep track of how much time you have spent sitting in front of your computer. Isn't that fun? I think so. Plus these new items filled in some blank space just perfectly. I guess you can tell what kind of day I had seeing as how the only news about me is about my blog. Other than my entry earlier today about my new little brother - his arrival was exciting. My day in the hotel, not so much. I am happy to report that I had a full day of laziness in my jammies and with as little productivity as needed. We only have so many dishes so I had to do that at least right? Right. Not that I'm usually proud of not accomplishing things but hey if you're gonna do something follow it through the whole way I guess. Tomorrow is a new day and the laundry will get done.

Update: Okay, so I finally got that 'Smiley Central' thing to not freak out on me and added some fun things by each of our photos. It'll be fun to change them as interests change. Can you believe I found a scrapbooking smiley face?!? Even more surprising, they didn't have mine or Lydia's names with all of the others? - can you say rude. Oh well. I don't think there are any other ones that I can use but we'll see...

Elijah

Happy birth day little brother! Yes that's right, I have another little brother!! (I knew it would be a boy.)

He was born today at 12:00 pm (mountain time). He weighs 7lb 9oz and is 20 1/2 inches long. My dad was able to deliver this baby also, not for lack of doctors this time and with an 'okay' from the midwife. The umbilical cord was slightly around his neck and body and he was a little blue but he is doing well now. Carrie is also doing well. Labor started around 11:00pm yesterday so she went about 13 hours total.

I know that some of you (who don't know me very well) are thinking, how do you have a new brother when you have two little ones of your own? Long story short; my parents were young when they had me, dad remarried and now there are 9 of us total in a his/hers/theirs situation. I, Rebecca, am the oldest (24), Rachelle (21), Kevin (19), Christian (12), Caleb (6), Josiah (4), Hannah (3), Chloe (1), and now little Elijah. It is fun being part of such a large family and even more fun to explain to my two year old that his newest uncle was just born. I look forward to meeting the newest Rose baby in June when my family and I are both in California for Rachelle's wedding. The next baby won't come until Rachelle or i have one *note emphasis on Rachelle*.

Cleaning for Housekeeping

Okay so the hotel room may be in a little distress right now. Alright it looks like a tornado came through here (his name is Michael) but with four people (yes Lydia's stuff contributes to the clutter also) in this small space it's gonna happen. The good news is my blog is doing much better now. Thanks to a tip from a fellow blogger (thanks Heather) I found a way to make my page a 3 column layout!!! Those two columns were driving me crazy. I may still have some kinks to work out and hopefully I'll think of some more fun stuff to add but for now I am content. I'm getting a fix on my desire to scrapbook, not exactly the same but very similar with a lot of cut & paste, titles, journaling, etc. I know some of you will understand. And by the way, the winner of the quiz on yesterday's (I'd rather be here) post was Christine - Yay Chriss!! Her prize is to be featured on my blog this morning, wasn't she a beautiful blushing bride? I think so! The movie I was quoting was Office Space - yay Office Space!! I'm in quite the mood this morning aren't I? I think I'm going a little batty and the walls are closing in...oh no, save me! Haha. Actually I'm feeling a little better today even though I didn't get much sleep last night. It's looking a little windy out today but I think I'll bundle up the kids and take Michael down to the park in a little while. It'll do us all some good. I ended up not driving the stick yesterday, I think we'll attempt to do it tonight. Well, I should get off of this computer already - I'm getting sucked in - so I can clean up the room before the cleaning lady comes by. That sounds like an oxy moron doesn't it? See, I have to pick up all our crap so they can vacuum and make the beds and take out trash and replace towels and stuff. Sure, I could make our own beds but at $50 a night - they can make em for me. Right? Right! I may post again later if anything exciting or eventful (or not) happens today. Have a great day, thanks for the visit.

I'd rather be here...

I have the blahs, in a rut, bored out of my mind. If I worked at Initech people would be saying "looks like someone has a case of the Mondays." Does that still work even if it's Wednesday? I think so. **sidenote: if you can quote the movie you'll win a prize** So yes, I'm feeling a little down. I know I've been a little gripey lately and I know things could be worse, like we could be in this hotel even longer than we are, or it could be smaller or something else bad - but this is where I'm at and how I'm feeling at the moment. Doesn't this look like a place you'd want to be at though? Its a photo taken in St. Lucia, my friend sent me some pics from her honeymoon last October. It's just too pretty a place not to want to visit. I'd like to be floating around on a little raft with a shade umbrella and a lounge chair sipping a strawberry daquari (sp?) and eating fresh fruit with chocolate fondue. Hmm...I don't think thats even possible but who cares its my fantasy right now. Anyways things aren't all that bad I guess just getting very old and mundain. I should have something interesting to blog about later - I'm going to learn how to drive a stick today. Yes, me behind the wheel shifting gears. I tried this once when I was learning how to drive on my dads pretty new Saturn. Lets just say my dad didn't want to totally ruin his clutch so it was just the one time, maybe two. I would have been perfectly content driving an automatic the rest of my life - much easier to talk on the phone while eating and applying make up ;) but Shawn bought a new car (2005 Altima with only 300 miles - score!) and it's a stick. So now I finally get a little four door with a radio and working conditioner - yay! And it's great on gas so that's a bonus. Well, I can't think of much else to talk about at this point. I need to change a diaper and clean up this room which will just get cluttered again but oh well, gives me something to do right? Talk to you later.

Pictures Found

I wasn't even going to blog today, there just wasn't anything blog worthy. No excitement over the weekend just the same ol' (new and funky) routine at the hotel. But then I was going through e-mails that I had saved because they had photos or other information on them that I wanted to save to my computer. I almost erased all of these thinking I already had them but I'm so glad I didn't. There were some photos that my mom sent to my e-mail so that Shawn could see Lydia after she was born and he was still in training at Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri. I forgot all about these and really thought I had no chance of ever getting these photos. The originals were put onto Matthew's computer which is now with the police as part of the investigation into her murder. I let the police and DA know about the photos but you never know what will come of it. Anyways, I'm so glad to have these photos, especially this one; it was my mom's favorite.


I'm so thankful that she was with me on that day. She was calling the whole day before, checking with Rachelle and Chriss to see how labor was going for me. My second night in the hospital she stayed over with me, helping to take care of Lydia throughout the night so I could get some much needed rest. She came home with me the next day and helped me to get settled in and even helped me with grocery shopping and my laundry. It was very special time spent with her and I will treasure it always.

a mom's rant and search for help

Okay, so am I the only mom who wants to just get away for a day - no diapers, no sippy cups, no nursing, no baths, no park, no nothing but whatever I feel like. I can't be because my life is probably not much different than other stay at home moms out there. Don't get me wrong, I love being a sahm and the precious time I get to spend with my kids; teaching them, loving them, encouraging them. But to have a day that I can sleep in, lounge, go out (without it taking at least 30 min to get out the door), shop without little hands reaching at everything and little feet running a muck. Then the guilt creeps in, feeling like a bad mommy because I'm complaining about my little blessings. I guess our current living situation has just heightened everything and made me more aware of some stuff. It doesn't help that Shawn already knows people and has friends to hang out with, glad for him - stinks for me. How I miss being able to call a friend to meet at the park, grab lunch or just go hang out. Any prayers on this area would be much appreciated. I know God has placed us here for a reason and I've had ideas about my purpose in this place but it's hard to see the promised land when you're stuck on the other side of the mountain (does that make sense?). Anyway, I'd appreciate the prayer.

Thanks for letting me rant a little and exhale, let it go. That's a little odd isn't it? I'm thanking you for letting me rant when you really had no choice. You clicked on a link, typed in a website or just stumbled upon here without any warning of my mood or thoughts. I guess I should say thanks for reading/listening.

Anyway, we have hit a milestone for little Mikey today - he has shown true interest to take care of business. He absolutely does not like sitting on the toilet though so I don't know whats going to happen come poo poo time. As it is we have to get a little stool so he can stand at the toilet for pee pee. I've thought of getting one of those little seat covers that make the hole smaller (so his skinny buns don't fall in) but that doesn't help with the height issue. And I've got no idea what the bathroom looks like or how much space we'll have for a stool & seat cover...alas I may have to cave in and get a wretched interest in using the poddy. While he is still learning the difference between "feeling like you have to go pee pee" and "mommy saying 'let me know when you have to go pee pee' " - he's at least interested. When the last of his diapers run out we're getting pull ups so it will be easier for him to bolt to the poddypoddy training seat. I think they are disgusting and have been dreading the thought of cleaning one of those things out, it getting knocked over all over the floor, or worse - Lydia making a new discovery when she starts to crawl. (Yuck!!) My best hope is that Michael grows taller and gets over the fear of the toilet seat within 3-5 months. (I think that's about when she'll be crawling - can't remember how old Michael was when he did at the moment) So if any of you have poddy trained a boy or a girl for that matter (boys sit half the time too) I would appreciate suggestions. I'm sitting here wondering, when do we start putting underwear on him? How many extra sheets should I buy? How many spare pants and underwear should I keep handy in the car? How does the car seat come apart to give a thorough cleaning? What signs do I look for (beside poddy dance) that he has to go so I can help remind him? And so on... So like I said, any suggestions would be helpful.

I think that's about it for today. I think Michael is finally really sleeping so I can have some ice-cream without having to tell him I'm not sharing. (If I can't get a day off I'll at least enjoy my ice-cream in peace) : )

Thanks for the visit.

Conversation with Michael

Have you ever tried to explain pro-nouns to a two year old? Well, this is one thing I've been going round and round with Michael on. It is one of the more challenging things of helping him learn how to talk. So earlier today while we were waiting for Shawn to take care of things at the transportation office Michael and I had a little conversation.

Michael: "Mama, me"
Me: "What about you?"
No, me. (insert slightly whiny stuffy Mikey voice)
What about you?
You?
No sweety, you...what do you want?
No you, me mama, me! (getting frustrated)

This continued for a while until I noticed him pointing to the phone, he wanted to watch a video of himself (me) on the phone. I wonder how long it will take for him to understand how the you, me, he, she stuff works.

P.S. As soon as I figure out how to transfer video from my phone, onto the computer and on this website I will put them on here for all to see.

Hotel Livin

Well, today was uneventful ~ in an unfortunate sort of way. Shawn finally came home this morning, after working all day and night yesterday, for a couple hours so we could go to the community directors office and transportation office. It was great to see him again - Michael was really excited, watching for him out the window of the hotel (we have a great view of the parking lot - yeah baby) and running up to the door to greet him. I'm sure Shawn thought was just about the greatest thing. The unfortunate uneventful part is that we won't be able to move into our house until March 30th, and our belongings won't be delivered until April 2nd...which means another two weeks here in the one room hotel and three days at the house with no bed, table, couch, tv, lamp...nothing but what Shawn brought in the pathfinder down here. So I'm hoping it will be really nice weather those days so we can at least spend time at the park. We're going to see if we can pick up the stuff ourselves if Shawn's friends with trucks don't mind helping out. Crossing my fingers! : )

It wasn't all bad though, when we drove by the townhouse we realized that ours isn't that funky mental house green I thought it was, or the bright bright yellow - they are grey, grey and brick. Some of you may be thinking "gray is so boring/plain/neutral" - and normally I would agree. I love many shades of green and would love to own a cute little creamy yellow house one day but trust me these green and yellows are funky, with emphasis on the funk. Brick and grey siding is wonderful! And not only that but I am a stroller walk away from - get this - a starbucks which is right next to this awesome park. Since it was rainy today we couldn't go there but it looks great. It's called a boundless park and they were doing a story on it on Fox News Channel today, something about it being good for kids and soldiers when they come back home and kids with disabilities to play along with everyone else. I caught the end of it but you can read the full story here if you are interested. It looks really neat and will be a fun place to take the kids. Ah, I can see it now; taking a stroll down to starbucks and picking up my blended white mocha (cold, fat and whipped ;) letting the kids play while chatting on the phone, reading a good book or talking with other moms, maybe planning a mary kay party even. I am really looking forward to being in a home again.

Well, like I said the day was pretty uneventful. Thanks for stopping by, hope your day was great.

Funny sayings from kids (not mine, not yet anyway):

The Sermon this Mom will never forget....

"Dear Lord," the minister began, with arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. "Without you, we are but dust." He would have continued but, at that moment, my very obedient daughter (who was listening!) leaned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little girl voice, "Mom, what is butt dust?"

Mission Impossible??

Well, I did it. I braved the roads on my own. I was on a mission this morning - to find a scrapbook store in this new town of mine. After my last attempt that ended with a closed down store I was desperate to find a store with people who shared my interest - (who am I kidding) share my obsession, some hope of an outlet and place to meet other women as crazy about scrappin as I. For those of you who have ever tried getting directions from or giving directions to me you know that it's no small feat when I find a new location. I finally got the kids into the car with my handy (and oh so reliable) yahoo/mapquest directions. I don't know what's more to blame, the directions being different from exit & street signs or my wrong turn after the gas station. I do know that the smartest thing I did was buy a map at the gas station (along with gas or I would have run out I'm sure), so I took the more scenic hour and a half long route but I did find the scrapbook store - yay! Since we had spent so much time in the car I didn't have a lot of time to browse the store but got a good look around and was impressed. Got one item I needed and a couple I didn't ; ) On the way home I reset my mile marker in the car (and that's the technical term) to find that the direct route was only about 17 miles... But I made it and now I think I know the right, well faster way to get there next time. Plus it gave me something to blog about. I won't be defeated!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Oh and notice the new links I have to the right - some other great blogs and my Mary Kay.

Settlin into Kennesee continued...

Shawn is blissfully sleeping and I'm still surfing the net. I was planning on enjoying a bowl of ice-cream while chatting but it's getting late here so I'll settle for a bowl of cereal before going to bed. Anyone who really knows me won't be too surprised at that. I love my cereal. My dad used to ask me which brand I preffered, once I went into this long shpeel about how it depended on my mood and the time of day (cereal's not just for breakfast) - when I asked why he replied with "I want to know where I should buy stock and get some return on my investment" - hmmm.

So before my cereal and bed I'll finish this entry. It's 12:30am now, though in California time it's only 10:30 so that's not so bad. Hmm...so what else is there worth mentioning about Kennessee?? Oh I know. Okay so we aren't in as desolate a location as I thought we would be. On Fort Campbell Blvd (Clarksville, TN) there are a lot of restaurants and shopping areas. Some places to note are the Piggley Wiggley (no joke - always thought that was some made up place in movies and shows - but its real, a convenient mart like ampm), Hardees (which has the carl's jr. star logo for some reason) and these ones I'm being serious; Sonic, Ruby Tuesdays, and CiCi's Pizza. Sonic and CiCi's I know from New Mexico (though this sonic doesn't have a green chille cheeseburger) and we ate at Ruby Tuesdays last week and it was good. One thing that I have yet to find is a scrapbook store - I know it's just awful, I mean can you imagine a town without a scrapbook store? Yeah, I know I'm a little dramatic but what can I say? I love to scrap and I was looking forward to meeting others who share in the hobby. I'm venturing out on my own tomorrow and in hopes to find a store - wish me luck!

Military life calls for adjustments on an almost daily basis. Today Shawn worked from 6:30-5ish?? (He didn't come straight home because he locked his keys in the car and had to wait for tow truck so I'm not sure exactly when he was off) Tomorrow he has to report at 5:30 (I think) and won't come home until Thursday morning because he has nightguard duty. If it wasn't for our appointment at the housing department I wouldn't see him for a full day. Definately not your typical work schedule. Although it does go the other way too. Monday was some holiday (still don't know which one) but he had it off. I'm sure it was some special Army thing because no one else seemed to be affected by it. He is doing well in his job. He is the 6th fastest runner out of his entire company, has interviewed to be a driver for the sgt. major (in Iraq), and is coming up on his promotion to Private First Class (E3). Yay for Shawn! I'm really proud of him.

Well, I can't think of anything else at the moment and my tummy is calling for cereal. I'm sure Lydia will be up soon to nurse so I should get going. Looking forward to talking again soon :)

Settlin into Kennesee

Yay for hotels that provide broadband internet with no extra fees and husbands who drove the computer 2500 miles and brought it up to the hotel room so I can blog!!

I have been at a loss without my internet to surf, e-mail and blog. Whatever did we do before all of this nifty technology? I guess we waited for snail mail to deliver the news. I know there are many reasons God put me in this century - the internet and attention to personal hygiene are just two of them.

So here I am in my hotel at Fort Campbell Kentucky. I know this whole Kentucky/Tennessee thing has been a little confusing for me to explain and I have referenced both states as our new location. So for some clarification: Our address is Kentucky because the post office happens to be located on that side of the border, however most of the base is within Tennessee statelines. When we drive off of the base you are immediately in Clarksville, TN. If you go about 10-15 minutes the other direction you will be in Hopkinsville, KY. So I've nicknamed this general area Kennessee - ain't I clever? (Okay I didn't think of it all on my own). Shawn just came home from poker night with the guys so I'll have to make this one quick and do more later or tomorrow.

So it's not as cold here as it was when Shawn was telling me what to pack, I think it was in the 70's today. I guess I brought some of California with me. The area of Kennessee that we're in doesn't have hills, just flat land when you look out the window. We haven't done much traveling as we don't have all of our belongings, know where anything is (just hooked up the 'net), have been under the weather and had other stuff to take care of. We are hoping to be in our house on base next week, we'll find out for sure tomorrow. It's a townhouse near the PX with a backyard and storage shed - not a new house like we'd hoped for but it has walls, doors, full kitchen and three bedrooms which is a lot more than I can say for the one room hotel. Let's just say things have been challenging with us all in one room - nap and bedtime routines are all outta whack and I don't do so well with things outta whack - mom's need naptime! :)

Okay, have to go spend time with hubby, talk more soon. Thanks for stopping by.