Our Motto Is Patience

Oh Mr. Clean Where Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:45:00 +0000

All weekend Pat and I have completely busted our butts getting the house ready for going on the market. We're meeting Realtors this week and should have the house listed by the end of the week.

Maybe you don't understand just how much stuff and dirt we had. It has literally taken us all weekend to get as far as we are and I still have quite a bit of stuff to get done today. I wish Mr. Clean were around to help. His magic erasers aren't cutting it alone.

I'm beyond exhausted. Last night it was after midnight when I finally fell into bed. I told Pat I wasn't sure my body would be able to get out of bed in the morning. My entire body was so sore and tense I couldn't even sleep last night. Thankfully this morning I'm feeling slightly better but completely run down.

I am so hoping that we'll get a reasonably quick sale to make me feel like this is worth it, but I also am very aware of reality. I'm also hoping that since we've worked so hard to get the house back to clean and have stored so much "stuff" that it will be easy to have it show ready at all times.

I honestly cannot wait for next weekend. I just want to be lazy all weekend. But alas, it's only Monday. I'm so happy that it is only a 4 day work week. I need the long weekend next weekend.

Now I must get Ryan ready for school. Hopefully we'll have a nap this afternoon. By the way, I also wanted to add, I absolutely LOVE my Scentsy order. My house smells like Pima Cotton, and I love that.

On The Market

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:56:00 +0000

We spent the entire weekend preparing our house to be put on the market. Things seem to be moving in the right direction with our move, and since we are on a time crunch to move before the baby arrives the house really should have been on the market like yesterday. We're hoping to get it listed for sale next week. So for the rest of this week and next weekend we are working big time to finish making our house clean. (Although Pat is in the field during the week, so a lot falls on me.)

I really hate selling a home. I hate having people walking through our stuff and critiquing everything. I hate the constant pressure to have the home looking perfect. There are two things that will always work against us when selling: 1. We have three dogs and 2. we have two kids.

One of the things we've done in hopes of getting a quick sale is put massive amounts of stuff into storage. All toys are in storage. Any excess furniture is in storage. The clutter is gone (and I love that!). We are trying to live as minimally as we can. There have been many trips to Goodwill this week. It's nice to feel our load get lighter. I've also placed a scentsy order to have a clean, fresh smell in our house.

Anyone have any tips/tricks that you used when selling a home? Any recent experiences selling? How long were you on the market?

Also, speaking of the housing market, I've been keeping a very close eye on the market in the towns we are looking to buy in. One town seems to have the best houses considering what we are looking for. Pat and I had two favorites. Yesterday our second favorite went under contract. Our first choice had just come on the market last week, so I was hoping we would get a chance to see it next month when I'm up there. Today our favorite house went under contract too. I guess they really were good houses then. Hopefully the right house will be available for us when we are ready to buy. We can't wait too long, so I'm crossing my fingers more great houses come on the market in the near future.

It's a....

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Girl!!!

Baby girl does not like ultrasound photos. She seems to hide herself pretty well. This is the best photo we got of her today. We're really excited, especially Ryan who has been hoping for a baby girl since he learned that there was a baby in my belly.

More to come later.

Emotional Rollercoaster

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:03:00 +0000

And the saga continues....

Let me preface this that I try my best not to bash the Army on my blog. After all, they are my husband's employer. He works for them; I don't. I don't usually feel it's my place to air the laundry concerning Army issues on my blog. However, there are some times when the Army affects MY life so much that I need to talk about it partly for my own sanity and also to let people know what's going on in my life.

So to the issue. Do you recall how bitter I've been recently about our cancelled move? I may not have liked it, but I'd come to accept it. Well, last week Pat got tentative orders for that move from his branch. He immediately called them to inquire because he has been told he is "stop moved" and cannot move on. Branch told Pat that they know about the request to keep Pat here, but they still plan on moving him.

I don't know if you can imagine the absolute elation Pat and I felt knowing that our dream assignment might actually work out. We were flying high until Pat's LTC tells him that his unit plans on trying to get his orders deleted. It is extremely disheartening to have the people you work with/for working against you. Pat was devastated (and so was I). Another call to branch tells Pat that they do not plan to delete his orders, and it will have to come from way up above for that to happen. And again, we begin to feel a little comfort and joy about the idea that we may get what we want.

And then today we hear that the fight will be brought to a two-star general to fight with Army Human Resources. (I am not sure if this is true or will happen.) I can not adequately explain my feelings on this whole ordeal. I guess I could say it is a combination of annoying, worrisome, frustrating, comical, and so much more.

This situation is most of all stressful. If it works out in our favor, we will be PCSing before our baby is born. We need to sell our house in order to move. We are running out of time. If it doesn't work out for us, I'm not sure what we do in the future. We will be heartbroken because this is not an assignment Pat can do later. We had finally come to terms with losing it, but now I feel like we could lose it twice.

So that's where I'm at and what is going on here. I'm not sure when I'll know more, but I really do hope and pray that this will end in the way I desire. I'll let you know how it turns out when I know. It wouldn't hurt if you could cross your fingers for us ;)

One Year of Command

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:24:00 +0000

Today marks the one year anniversary of the day Pat took command. It's bittersweet. During this past year a lot has happened--both good and bad. Unfortunately the part that will stick in my head is that we were ready to be done and move on this spring to much better things, but this unit is preventing that. Pat will have over another year in command. All that said though, I really think this is leading us to a path that may just be the best one for us.

Other than the above anniversary, I've got very little to say/update on. The kids are sleeping miserably in the new room. They are taking 1.5-2 hours every night to go to sleep. Tonight I'm moving the bedtime even earlier. Sometimes they are waking in the middle of the night. Since they're not sleeping well, they are even getting up early (6:30 a.m.) every day. Plus being pregnant I'm finding it hard to be comfortable enough to sleep. Add to all that 3 dogs trying to sleep in my bed too, and I wake up ready for a nap.

Maybe tomorrow when I'm not so grumpy I'll have more to write.

Pregnancy Update

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:03:00 +0000

I know I've mentioned my pregnancy on here in other posts, but I thought I'd give a little bit of an update and maybe even a few photos of how large my butt...errr... belly is getting.

So let me go back a while for a quick story first. Around 10 weeks a friend in town let me borrow her doppler. I had never used one at home with my other pregnancies, but I was having a hard time trying to make it until my 12 week appointment without any confirmation that things were going well. I was nervous about trying to find the heartbeat at home, but thought if I did succeed it would give me some peace of mind. Hubby and I nervously began looking for the heartbeat. We mostly heard static and my own heartbeat. I was beginning to worry and get frustrated. We hadn't been patient enough to wait till the kids were in bed, so they were running around during all this. Hubby went to get a snack for the boys and I continued looking. I was just about to give up when I heard the beautiful sound. Hubby heard it as he entered the room. We shared a smile and sigh of relief. I used the doppler one last time the night before my 12 week appointment, and I am so glad I did.
At my 12 week appointment they took out a doppler that looked like it belonged in the Ghostbusters movie or like an old-school boombox. I hoped that they kept the old thing around so long because it was super good or something. That wasn't the case though. The midwife I was seeing couldn't find the heartbeat and calmly asked the nurse to bring the ultrasound machine in. I was quite calm still because I knew the heartbeat could be difficult to find, and afterall, I had listened to it the night before. Part of me was hoping they wouldn't get the doppler to find it so I could have the ultrasound, but a bit of me was starting to worry. The ultrasound machine gets wheeled in, and she started looking at the baby. My breath gets caught in my throat because I don't see any blinking on the screen. My mind starts flooding with worry that in those past 24 hours since I heard the heartbeat something terrible must have happened. The midwife says, "do you see the heartbeat?" To which I reply, "I don't, but if you do that is great." It turns out the ultrasound machine is about as old as that doppler. Upon closer inspection of the screen, I could see the heart moving. I finally felt happiness surge though me. I even got a couple photos of baby from that whole ordeal.

So back to present. I'm about 18 weeks now (give or take). And from the looks of the photos, the baby is growing in my butt and thighs as well as my belly. When this pregnancy began, I had high hopes to take belly pics where I looked glowing, well-dressed, and just cute. Then reality hit me. I hardly ever get out of sweatpants unless I have to, and I definitely do not feel beautiful. So you'll have to settle for pictures of reality.

Here are some of the typical details:
How far along? 18 weeks
Sleep? ehh, I'm usually a back sleeper, and that's not comfortable or safe in pregnancy, so I'm not sleeping as well as before the pregnancy. The two little boys who wake me up don't help it either ;)
Movement? I've started to feel taps and kicks. I look forward to feeling more as he/she grows.
Food Cravings? Thankfully for the first time in any of my pregnancies, I'm craving fruit. I also sometimes crave light and fresh foods like salads or sandwiches. But that doesn't mean I don't also crave ice cream too ;) (and it's beginning to show) It also happens that if I want something once most of the time I'll be grossed out by the thought of it after I eat it.
Anything make you queasy or sick? As I said I'm feeling so much better these days. In the evenings I sometimes feel gross, but overall things are pretty good now.
Gender? We'll find out for sure in a couple of weeks. We have a hunch, but I'll wait until we know for sure before I say anything. Any guesses?
Symptoms? I'm still pretty tired, but the lack of good sleep could be causing that.

So there you have it. You are completely up to date with baby #3.

What's In Your Bag?

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 23:25:00 +0000

I'm linking up with Becky over at The Branches for a what's in your bag link-up. Go on over and join in the fun.

The bag I'm currently carrying is a casual canvas bag that I bought during a Thirty-One Fundraiser at Ryan's preschool. It's a great bag that fits tons of stuff. It was great for traveling over the holidays.

And here's what's inside:

Keys
Vera Bradley coin purse
Vera Bradley zip around wallet
iphone
Optimus Prime Cell Phone (Ryan's)
Clinique Chubby Stick Moisturizing Lip Colour Balm in graped-up (Posted about HERE.)
Kate Spade Glasses (that I should wear more often instead of just carrying around) (Posted about HERE)
EOS Lip Balm that I got in a blog swap.
Eclipse Mints
Tylenol for the headaches that pregnancy sometimes brings.
Vera Bradley bag full of band-aids, neo-to-go, more lip balm, hair clips, tampons, eye drops, etc.
Foldable Travel Potty Seat (Buy HERE). This may seem weird, but it is seriously priceless. In potty training both my boys got the hang of it, but toilets in public places pose different challenges. This seat has really added to the success of public potty trips. Definitely worth it!
Flushable Wipes are great for the potty trips I mentioned above.
Extra pull-ups or a change of underwear in a pampers diaper bag I got for free.

I also have a spare plastic bag in there just in case of issues while out. And of course before any trip I toss some snacks in the bag too.

So what's in your bag?

Boys will be boys

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:55:00 +0000

This is what happens when little boys play with the kitchen sink.

Don't worry, I was the one who opened the cabinet to clean up the mess. The kids can't get to the chemicals.

And this is what happens after they make a giant mess.

He's asleep on my floor. We can thank the AT&T service people that never showed up for the lack of a proper nap.

Little boys are so much fun though!

Where is the coffee?

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:16:00 +0000

If I were not pregnant right now, "where is the coffee?" would be my first thought each morning. The boys moving into one room has been worse than I anticipated. I thought Ryan would be the more difficult of the two because the first two nights you could hear him yelling "wake up" to his little brother each time he fell asleep.

But alas, they're both proving equally difficult. Ryan was pretty good about bedtime in his own room. Right before we moved them together he started to have some difficulty because he didn't want to be alone. I thought the move would be a solution.

I also thought it might help solve Sean's need for me to sleep with him. I figured if he and his brother were in the same room they could fall asleep without me.

Well, nothing is solved. We now have two boys crying out for Momma each night. It takes me a minimum of 1.5 hours to get them quiet and go to sleep. This is not working for me and they are so overtired at this point.

Tonight I'm ready to play hardball. Bedtime will start at 7:30. We must get on a routine that works for all of us, and I'd like to find that routine FAST!!!!!

If anyone has some secrets that have worked in their house, I'd love to hear them ;)

The Laundry Fight

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 13:53:00 +0000

Getting laundry done in general is a fight in this house, but that's not the fight I'm talking about.

The other night the hubby decided he would fold the laundry. Every night I am exhausted, nauseous, cranky, and pretty much just feeling too done with the day to move. So hubby and I were sitting together on the bed while he was folding. I realize this makes me sound very lucky to have a hubby willing to fold laundry. However, after a while my urge to be cranky overwhelmed me, and I let loose on the poor guy.

My pet peeve when hubby folds the laundry is he doesn't sort it....like at all. All the clothes are mixed in together--my clothes, his clothes, the boys clothes---shirts, pants, it doesn't matter. Hubby also will not put any of the laundry away. So I'll end up with a basket to sort and put away anyway. The last straw though was when I saw that nothing in the piles was going in the same direction. (I'll admit, maybe I'm a little particular!) I at least expect the collars of all the t-shirts in the same direction. After all, this is the same man that at the beginning of our marriage insisted I fold his boxers 3 times at the top and then 3 times up the legs; no other way was acceptable.

So as I said my mean side came out. (I blame the mean side coming out as often as it does these days on the pregnancy). Thankfully Pat did chuckle a bit because some of my points are legit, but I think I've lost his help on the laundry anytime in the near future.

Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:20:00 +0000

Pat and I decided not to do big gifts for each other for Christmas this year, but he still wanted some ideas from me. I knew exactly what I wanted to ask for. I've been wanting to get a bread machine for years now. And since I'm not currently on a quest to get thin carbs can be a staple of my diet, right?

I couldn't wait to try my bread machine when we got back from our trip to see family. The first weekend home we decided to have some homemade chili with buttered fresh bread. It was delicious!!!

After making my first loaf, I guess you could say I'm a bit obsessed. The next day I wanted to try another recipe. The only one I had all the ingredients to try was Chocolate Bread. Sounds a bit odd, huh? I decided to give it a whirl though. It ended up pretty good. Sean is a big fan. It is recommended as a breakfast bread and served with cream cheese. If you like chocolate, why not add it to your breakfast?

Since I had a bit of the white bread left over I decided to try a recipe I'd been craving.

French Toast Casserole (Modified from FamilyFun Magazine)

Ingredients:
5 large slices homemade white bread
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon or to taste
4 eggs
3/4 + a bit extra milk
1tsp vanilla extract
maple syrup for serving

Cut bread into 1" cubes. Place half of bread cubes in a buttered casserole dish. In a small bowl combine cinnamon and brown sugar. Sprinkle half of the sugar mixture on the bread in casserole dish. Add the remaining bread to the dish. Top with the remaining cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Starting at the sides and working toward the center pour the egg mixture evenly over the bread. Gently press down on the bread to make sure it all gets some of the egg mixture on it. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight (or at least 4 hours).

Heat oven to 350*. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Then remove foil and continue baking about 20 minutes until the top turns golden brown. Serve warm with maple syrup.

I love french toast. This was definitely a good variation of it. It hit the spot, and I didn't have to do much work to get it ready this morning. It would be a great dish to serve if you are hosting a brunch.

Outgrown

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 14:46:00 +0000

Just like I've outgrown my pants recently, we've also outgrown this house. This was one of the hard things to accept about our move being cancelled. Our house right now isn't technically too small for us. In fact with a move we'll probably be downsizing the square footage, but the truth is the layout just makes this house too small for our family.

While we have a large living room, we do not have a playroom. Our living room is full to the brim with children's toys. So almost all of my day is spent feeling like my world is being taken over by colorful plastic. And to add to the pain of it, our bedrooms are literally inches from the living room (no hallways here, my door just opens to the living room). As soon as I wake up the clutter hits me.

As much as I complain about this, I am not one to take the toys away from the kids. I just know in my next home, a safe and designated play area is a MUST.

With all the growing we have going on here, we've also had to make some changes. Since we aren't moving and we do have a baby on the way, we had to combine the boys into one room. I was planning on this with a move, so now I just started earlier. Sean's new bed (identical to Ryan's) arrived yesterday. Sean is having a little bit of a hard time falling asleep without momma in his bed. And Ryan is still learning that at bedtime we have to be quiet. They didn't fall asleep until just after 11 p.m. I'm sure it will get easier with time. And it was so worth it to listen to the two of them talking over the monitor. I couldn't help but laugh at them.

Here's a pic of their new room.

Here's hoping for more sleep tonight.

Why hello there!

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:21:00 +0000

Last night I spent a little while trying to catch up in the blog world. So much is going on right now for many of my favorite blogs. I also noticed the plethora of 2012 goals/resolutions. Before I tell you mine, let me start by catching you up on where I've been.

We arrived home last night from our holiday trip to see family. It was a great 13 days. I miss my family so much. Being back in New England was bittersweet since that is where where were supposed to be moving in the next few months until the stop move. And I'm sure you remember how upset I was about all that. I can at least say that Pat and I have hashed out a plan for our future. Of course it's only written in pencil at this point, but I'm a planner and having a plan makes me feel a lot better.

The boys had an awesome time getting so much attention from everyone. We celebrated Christmas up there and had a little visit from Santa last night for a TN Christmas this morning. There is absolutely NO room in my house for any more toys.

So that leads me to the present. We're now in 2012! I know I entered the new year feeling a little stuck and at a stand still. But really there are such big things in store for us. In June we'll welcome a new baby. Next fall/winter (fingers crossed) we may be selling our home and buying a new one in preparation for a BIG move. I have another trip to visit family planned this spring, but I'll be flying with both boys alone (and pretty pregnant) so that is exciting and scary at the same time.

As for goals, I have lots of goals that I'm working on all the time. So for 2012, I just want to have a broad goal of choosing happiness. I want to choose a happy outlook at life and also to actively pursue happiness through the decisions I make. Maybe I choose this since we ended 2011 with such a let down. I don't want to let noise on the outside color my mood or perspective. We'll see how it goes ;)

Happy 2012 everyone! I hope the new year is filled with blessings for all.

Getting Over It

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:37:00 +0000

I know I've been complaining quite often. I sound like such a downer. But with this most recent blow, I feel overwhelmed with emotions with no place to release them. So thus, I'm coming to my space to release my pain.

I'm having a hard time getting over the change in our plans. I think this is mostly because I haven't been happy with certain aspects (although they are kind of large aspects) of our life for quite a while. I have not made it a secret that I do not really like where we currently live. I have tried to make the best of it and complain as little as possible. I knew it wouldn't change until Command was done. I had survived 4 years here (and two deployments). Not only was there a light at the end of this tunnel, but it was more than just getting to some place new. We were getting to a dream location. We would have been 1 hour from our families. We would have been near friends. Pat would have had his perfect job. Everything was in place.

I'm finding it so hard to put that smile back on my face for another year here. I know being unhappy isn't the way to live, but so many things here lead us to feel that way. Neither of us is happy with the way things currently are. We had so many plans that we've had on hold for so long waiting for this move that are now not only delayed a year+, but our options are not going to be anywhere near ideal like they were this time. I know we need to make some changes, and we are planning on big ones. But again, we must wait so long.

It's just that everyday I face a reminder that we are not moving forward. There were so many things I thought I'd be doing at our new home and new location. I thought this would be our last Christmas here. I thought we'd be able to celebrate with family next year. I thought the kids would get to start a new school. I thought we'd be decorating and painting the boys bedroom and making a nursery. I can still do some of that, but not how I wanted knowing we'll be putting the house on the market.

So that is where I'm at. We're traveling home to spend this holiday with family. We were also planning to look at houses and meet Pat's new boss. Some of that is cancelled. I'm just going to try to enjoy the time with my loved ones and forget about what we're going to miss....at least for now.

Two Little Words

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 01:49:00 +0000

I hadn't mentioned yet that things were falling into place for our next assignment. The stars were aligning so that Pat was going to get an awesome assignment at a location we couldn't have dreamed of actually getting. It's NOT an exotic place that people want, but it was perfect for our family, our needs, and our future. I didn't want to say anything for fear of jinxing it.

I shouldn't have worried about that though. I should have known better and realized the Army has NEVER given Pat anything he wanted, and this time would be no different.

It's not the end of the world, but two little words ruined so many hopes, dreams, and possibilities. I bet you are wondering what words, right?

STOP MOVE

The month before Pat's already scheduled change of command a stop move order is going to go into effect. Pat will not be changing out of command. We will not be pcsing. We will not get any closer to family. We are stuck here and unhappy.

To say we are upset would be an understatement. We had been waiting on the next part of Pat's career since he graduated the Captain's Career Course FOUR, yes you read that right, FOUR years ago. Now we wait some more, but the sad part is the assignment that we had won't be available for us again.

I'm sure I'll have more to share about all the effects of this in future posts. It just feels kind of raw right now.

A Year Ago

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:58:00 +0000

A year ago today I was getting ready to pick Pat up for R & R. I remember it being hectic and exciting. I remember Ryan's emotional reaction. I remember Sean getting sick that night. I remember how great 2 weeks with my husband was after he'd been gone so long. You can read about his arrival home HERE.

It's funny how time works. After the summer left and we had settled back to normal, the memories of this rough deployment seem to have faded. I appreciate that, but it also feels weird to think he hasn't even been home a year yet.

Speaking of not being home a year yet, can you guess what word is being thrown around now? There is a formal meeting about it today for spouses. The dreaded D is coming again. We may be pcsing before (you never know with the Army though), but my thoughts and heart are with families that are going to be receiving this type of new so soon after getting their loved ones back and right before the holidays.

Today I will enjoy having my husband home for more than 2 weeks this holiday season.

P.S. Thank you all so much for the kind comments on my last post. Your support is greatly appreciated and truly means a lot to me.

What I haven't been saying

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 23:37:00 +0000

I know I have been neglecting my blog. My updates have been a bit half hearted. I'm going to explain what's been going on now.

I'm about 12 weeks pregnant. It's great news. We are so happy and excited. I still feel really nervous and even cringe a little about typing it out for the world to see.

But it's also been hard. I've been sick. I'm a lucky one that doesn't vomit (most of the time), but that doesn't equal feeling good. I feel nauseous all day long. I feel like I want to be sick. I feel yucky. I feel emotionally unstable. I almost feel depressed between the emotions and the physical effects. I know it sounds really woe is me and all, but it's the truth of how I've been feeling.

I was really looking forward to pregnancy again. Since this is possibly our last pregnancy I promised myself that I would be so grateful and try to enjoy every moment and milestone of the pregnancy. While I am so very grateful for this pregnancy, I have come to realize I am not a woman that enjoys pregnancy. I'm not trying to convince anyone to feel bad for me. I am lucky and I know that, but it's been a bit hard the past few months so that is why I haven't been around much.

As I said I'm still really nervous. We've heard the heartbeat, and I saw the baby yesterday. Maybe I'll post that story later.

Holiday Spirit

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:34:00 +0000

I haven't been feeling very festive this year. I know I'll be feeling the holiday spirit more in a few weeks when I travel home. Until then though, I seem to be missing it. We aren't decorating for the holidays, I didn't do Christmas cards this year, and it's just kind of sad to be glossing by the holidays.

One quick way I'm finding my holiday spirit is in a warm cup of hot chocolate. My in-laws sent some Christmas stuff for the boys. Included in the package was a box of peppermint Peeps. They are VERY peppermint.

So I decided it would be great to use them in hot chocolate.

I placed a peep in the bottom of my mug.

Used my keurig to brew the hot chocolate on top the Peep. It melts from the hot water. And I was left with minty hot chocolate.

If you can't find peppermint Peeps anywhere there is an alternative. I found peppermint mini marshmallows at the grocery store.

I brewed it the same way. The mini marshmallows are a little less minty, but it is still a delicious and warm treat.

Enjoy!

Photos From Ryan's B-day

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 13:34:00 +0000

I wanted to share a few photos from Ryan's Birthday since my last post was lacking pictures.

My sweet 4 year old boy!

Covering his eyes before presents.

New Toys!

Sean usually gets a new toy or two on Ryan's Birthday.

It was awesome to see so much joy on his face.

Sean was pretty happy with his toys too.

Ryan had this cake picked out for months before his birthday. When we go shopping at Sam's Club, Ryan likes to check out the cupcakes. One day he saw transformer cupcakes. From that day forward it was pretty much decided that transformer cupcakes were the only option.

As someone who enjoys decorating cakes, it was hard for me to buy the cake, but maybe next year he'll let me make something again.

It was a great day, and I'm pretty sure Ryan thought it was a great birthday too.

4 Years!

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:20:00 +0000

Happy Birthday Ryan!!!!

4 years ago today Daddy and I headed to the hospital to bring you into this world. We were excited and a little bit scared, but we felt so ready to meet you. From day one you were overflowing with personality. When you came into my world, I finally knew what I was supposed to be doing with my life. You have made every day joyful. You bring so many smiles into this world. You are funny, smart, and caring. You love to pretend and have quite an imagination. Any words I could write about you here just won't do you justice. You are one of a kind, buddy!

Everyday I know how lucky I am to be your mommy. I hope you have a GREAT 4th birthday. We love you with all our hearts. Please stop growing up so fast big boy ;)

Love, Mommy

Black Friday Birthday.

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 21:18:00 +0000

I find it rather appropriate that my 30th birthday falls on a day referred to as Black Friday. I haven't quite been looking forward to saying goodbye to the 20s. I'm no longer a 20-something. I feel like that makes me old (well, at least in the blogging world it seems to ;)

I could now tell you about my past 30 years, but the only things I need to say are that I've learned so much, figured out who I am, and know a bit more about who I want to be. I've made mistakes, but overall, I'm pretty happy with where I am as I enter 30. So instead of looking back, I'm looking forward to these 30-something years. I have a few goals in mind.

Here's what I want during my 30's:

*I want to get my body into the best shape of it's life. Sure it would be nice to look good, but really I want to do this one to FEEL good. I want to feel the strength that I know my body has. I want to be fit. And I want to enjoy what it can do.

*I want to spend more time on things for me. I devote myself 100% to my family. That won't change, but I do want to put a little more time into passions for myself. Maybe working out like I said above, or knitting, decorating cakes, crafting, or whatever. It doesn't have to be just one thing; I can enjoy lots of them and I hope I do.

*A goal that Pat and I are trying to work toward is planting roots closer to family. This one is so important to me. To know that I'm 30 and not there yet makes me feel a little sad, but we're working on our plans. We have to do it right to ensure stability for our family. So fingers crossed and prayers said, maybe we'll get our dream to come true with this one.

*Since my 30s is a long time, this one is for my mid-late thirties--find something I can do to make money for our family. I save it for my mid-late thirties so that the kids will be in school by then and I'll have time. Being a mom is my number one priority. I have some ideas of avenues I'd like pursue, but only time will tell.

*And most of all to enjoy my kids and husband and never take a day with them for granted.

So there you have it. My plans for the next 10 years. I'm pretty sure that this will be one of the only posts for a while that I mention my age...at least until I get used to this new number :)

I hope you all enjoyed thanksgiving. Happy Black Friday Birthday to me.

Christmas Plans

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:23:00 +0000

When Pat and I got married, I knew we'd be moving far away from family. This wasn't exactly the kind of life I had dreamed of as a little girl, but Pat made it worth it. While we did travel home sometimes for the holidays during our newlywed years, I knew it wasn't going to continue like that. I wanted to have my own family celebrations and traditions. My ideal would be living in easy driving distance so that we could celebrate at our home and then travel to be with family too. Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that from TN.

So what are we doing this year?

We're traveling to see family. Shortly after Christmas we'll be putting our house on the market and by the spring (fingers crossed) moving elsewhere. I guess because this will just be a home in our memories soon, I don't feel the need to stay here this year.

I'm really excited to spend time with my family. I am looking forward to seeing the boys on Christmas morning at Grammy and Grumps' house. It is really special to me because the boys will get to experience a Christmas just like the ones I had for so many years.

And I'm hoping for a white Christmas, but it just can't interfere with our travels to and from there.

Who do you spend the Holidays with?

Medical Care Battle

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 13:15:00 +0000

If you've been around Military spouses often, you've probably heard at least one or two complain about the medical care. I have some opinions on it, but I'll spare you that. My family and I also see a handful of civilian providers and the problems exist there too. It isn't just a military thing.

Anyway, I'm getting a bit frustrated for Ryan. I've been asking the medical professionals for a while about a recurrent issue, and am getting no where. It is frustrating to feel like you are not being heard.

We've been told casually by a few medical professionals that Ryan seems to have allergies. He frequently has telltale symptoms going on. However, these "allergies" are through all the seasons, so I'm not sure what they are to exactly. Coincidentally, during the winter months Ryan always seems to end up with a persistent cough and similar congestion. The cough doesn't respond to medicine very well. Recently I asked his old doctor how to handle the allergies and I really wasn't given an answer.

The last time he was having an issue was right before Pat came home from deployment. I was told that he had allergies that caused inflammation that then travelled down and became bronchitis. He needed lots of meds and a breathing treatment. I'm no doctor, so I cannot confirm the accuracy of what I am told.

Yesterday, Pat took Ryan to the clinic on post because he said his ear hurt. We assumed he had an ear infection. Turns out he doesn't have an ear infection, but rather he may have pneumonia. They gave him antibiotics and cough medicine and sent them on their way. This could 100% be an isolated issue. However, I'm getting worried that this is part of the recurrent issues we are constantly dealing with. The poor little child gets sick so often. If there is anything I can do to prevent this I want to know.

Thankfully I need to schedule his 4 year check up anyway, so I can follow up then. It will be with a new doctor and I just hope that he will listen to me and help us keep Ryan healthy.

"I want my Mom."

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:15:00 +0000

I like to believe that I am a strong, independent woman that is capable of handling a lot. I feel like I've proved this over the past few years. I'll admit that there are moments of weakness, and during some occasions when it feels like I've been circling the toilet bowl both physically and emotionally I want to go back to childhood. When these low moments hit me, I sometimes find myself longing for my own mother to swoop in and take care of me. There is something about a mother's comfort that stays with children all their lives, and the idea of having no responsibilities myself seems so easy in these moments.

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I hope that I'm able to give my children the same comfort, love, and closeness that my mother provided for me. I want my boys to remember me taking care of them and the safe feeling a mother's care gives a child. I hope that even when my boys are all grown up, they'll have these same fond memories of me caring for them.

And don't worry about me, I am fine now. I just wanted to share this observation that I had about wanting my mom. Does anyone else ever want to go back to the days when someone would tuck them into bed and care for them?

Faking It

noreply@blogger.com (Shelly) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:42:00 +0000

Have you ever had some things going on in your life that you weren't quite ready to share with your blog?
That is what is going on here. I have a few things in life that are taking over my brain and my heart, but the time to share them on this blog just isn't right yet. That's why I've kind of gone MIA from the blog world. I never intended to stop blogging, and I really do plan to come back to it. However, I feel like I'm being fake if I try to write like normal and am avoiding an elephant in my reality.

But there are some things I WANT to blog about, like my upcoming (BIG!) birthday, my Ry-Ry's 4th birthday!, maybe even our holiday plans.

So I guess I just want to say I haven't forgotten about my blog. It's not that I don't care about it or all of you that take the time to stop by here. I just need a bit of time to sort some things out and then I promise you'll hear all about it.