Just Another SINGLE Mom

Happy!

2010-04-18T21:48:00.003-04:00

Clickin

2010-04-12T18:01:00.002-04:00

It's been soo long

2010-03-24T19:32:00.003-04:00

I really has been a really LONG time since I have written! My life is not how I was when I wrote last but I wouldn't trade it. I truly believe all things happen for a reason.

A little update on "us"....

I am a busy lil bee with raising the girls and working full time. S is now 6 yrs old and in first grade and is doing an amazing job she is headed into the gifted program, I am sooo happy for her. I think she will LOVE it. H is now 4 yrs old and she is beyond excited to start school it won't get here quick enough for her.

I will try to keep this updated now!

What are u??

2009-01-12T23:33:00.000-05:00

I took the 43 Things Personality Quiz and found out I'm a

Romantic Money Managing Extrovert

I guess her name is "Gray"

2009-01-11T20:11:00.002-05:00

S, miss artsy....had to make a collar for the cat in case she got outside. Well, the cat HATES it. G will get it off and S will see it laying on the floor and pick it back up and put it on the cat. G tolerates it tho she will walk around with it and fall asleep with it.

Vote for Hailey..Ends Monday 7pm

2009-01-10T17:36:00.003-05:00

Voting is now open and will be open until Monday evening at 7pm. Please only vote ONE time. I will be watching the votes and seeing where they come from, anyone voting more than once will be removed from the contest. Please keep in mind this is not a popularity contest so while it is perfectly fine for your friends/family to vote, please only have them vote one time during the contest.

You can vote at: www. kandilamont. blogspot. com

My Kindergartener!!

2009-01-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

Click to enlarge cuz u just can't see it good.

S came home today with this today. OMG her writing is getting better and better check out the spacing. Don't ya love the yellow zebra hehe. Sentences, sight words and reading books....makes me a proud momma!!! Half of the school year is already over, why do they grow up??

Pumpkin Cake

2009-01-09T19:10:00.004-05:00

I discovered this from Jill. Then Megan made it so I had to have my turn. I didn't even wait until it cooled off completely its good. Next time I think I might add some pumpkin spice to the batter or just used the spice cake instead and make the icing. Here's how mine looks......

2 ingredient Pumpkin Cake Recipe

Back in the groove.....

2009-01-06T08:24:00.003-05:00

I can't believe its January already. That long school break was really nice and today started our first day back to reality. S is back in school, it's weird that they started them on a Tuesday vs. yesterday. We were able to sneak in a dentist appointment for S which I was nervous about but she did wonderful and didn't take my camera opppsss!! She also started up skate lessons again yesterday. She got ice skates for Christmas but we had to send them back to get a different size so we should have them for next Monday. When we got to the rink yesterday the parking lot was PACKED!! I can only imagine it is from the results of the show and that everyone wants to try it out. I like the smaller classes since u really get more for your money but thankfully they separate them according to levels of experience.

I finished up another class of school and waiting on my next book to get here. I am really not looking forward to this class. The good news, is after this class it should be smooth sailing...ok with a little ripples here and there but nothing that I can't accomplish.

So on goes my day, laundry day that is...and lil H is sad since her sister is not home. When I dropped S at school this morning she got out we said our goodbyes, we love u's, have a good day and S closes the door. H says, "Mommy, I am going to miss....Shelby" Sisterly love...I love it!!!

more news next time......

Kids Tea Set

2008-12-30T18:56:00.005-05:00

This tea set is the CUTEST thing EVER!!! I absolutely love it...

This was a Christmas present for the kids. It's from Constructive Playthings this was money well spent. It is a six piece service set and a tea pot with a milk and sugar. The tea pot and sugar have removable lids. Online it doesn't show the chrome rack that comes with it but it is included. I got the catalog in the mail and spotted this for the girls. It's made of ceramic so I just make sure they play with it on soft surfaces so they won't accidentally break. The age limit on the web site suggests 5 yrs and older.

Christmas 08

2008-12-27T19:33:00.005-05:00

I have fallen of the wagon with blogging as you can tell. Life has just gotten in the way holidays, my school work, kids and of course the school winter break. Preparing for Christmas ate up most of the month. So Christmas has come and gone it's sad. The kids had a great time this year its so magical when they are little. Why can't they stay little forever?

Our Tree

Making Gingerbread houses, the kids always love making these. The icing came out wonderful this year. We saved all the leftover candy from Halloween for them to use. Yes, I've been hanging on to it...no since in wasting money, right? It's all going in the trash anyway.

H inspecting her Candy Cane ornament.

to be continued...........

Here it is!!!

2008-12-08T10:22:00.002-05:00

Her solo performance. This is from the in-laws camera. A videographer was at the show so I can't wait sit with S and watch the show together. I'll have to wait until Feb tho. They also too photos I am excited to get those back as well!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

This show was awesome the instructors worked so hard on all of the details and choreography for all numbers. It last two hours, it started last since they had a line of people out the door to get into the show. Of course we got to the rink early to get good seats. I can't wait for spring show and next christmas. This Friday we have the family Christmas show its going to be FUN. I can't wait to put on a pair of skates and see if I can attempt to do the moves Shelby has learned. I hope H will at least try to get out on the ice I am sure she will be scared.

This was after the show she was showing off for the family hahah!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Holiday Show on Ice- Ft Bragg

2008-12-05T10:38:00.003-05:00

December 7th 3pm @ Cleland Ice Rink on Ft. Bragg

http://www.fortbraggmwr.com/FlyersforWebsite/holidayshow.pdf

U can also read the story from the Paraglide Section D1

http://paraglide.nc.newsmemory.com/

Ms. Kitty

2008-11-21T11:24:00.003-05:00

Yes, we still have the mystery cat. My FIL, keeps asking when we are going to name her. S replies, "We don't know her name, we call her Kitty". Prior to Kitty showing up at the door step we had other plans for the kids and an animal but for now we have Kitty and apparently it happened this way for a reason.

Thankfully, she is a good cat. I was afraid she would tear up my new couches but we haven't had a problem. We did see a worm, YUCK!! so we got her some medicine and haven't seen any since....now to get her fixed!! After E (a friend of mine...an animal lover that has a zoo, not literally lol) saw her...she thinks she is at least a yr or so old. S has her all scrunched up in this pic so she looks bigger I think...maybe she has just gained weight since we have taken her in and a pic adds 10 lbs right?

I have been saving money on food for her, a lovely $4 coupon in the Sunday paper on IAMS cat food..ended up paying $3 for the bag!! At least she is saving me some money.

For you cat owners what kind of litter to you use?? I picked up Fresh Step but it doesn't clump like the package says it does. We haven't had the smelling issue it just doesn't clump!

Ice Skating, Ft. Bragg

2008-11-20T05:03:00.000-05:00

So I finally remembered my camera, fresh batteries and memory card. Here it is her solo routine, minus the decor and spotlights....

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

I love it, it just warms my little heart...memories in the making, oh sweet memories!!! I just can't wait for this show.

Polar Express Train

2008-11-19T00:01:00.001-05:00

I know seriously stop with the Christmas related blogs, right?

The Polar Express Train

It goes along with the book. You board the train head up to the North Pole to pick up Santa and enjoy hot chocolate the book reading all in your fluffy pj's. Of course the trip would not be complete without the bell. Interested, find a train near you and check out the video.

I seriously wanted to do this last year but J was in Iraq and it would not be the same without him. The drive is about 7 hours or so from here. They could quite possibly be reserved already but its worth a phone call.

Elf on the Shelf

2008-11-18T09:11:00.005-05:00

Elf on a Shelf

OMG, I just love this and I am sooo excited that I stumbled upon this yesterday on, Our Ohana. If u have little kids that "Believe" this is a MUST!!!! U really can use an elf of your own or if u are crafty make your own. I want the book to tell the story for kids, but it would be fun to make my own elf for the kids to pass down after all it's a "tradition". This would make a fun gift for someone having a baby.

From "Elf on the Shelf" the Tradition,

This charming tradition began for our family when my children were very small. Plagued by their desire to know how Santa really knew who had been naughty or nice, I searched through the Christmas decorations for a plausible explanation. Nestled among them was the answer; a small elf doll from my own childhood. With that discovery, the idea for the elf tradition was born.

At our home the elf would arrive around the holidays, usually at Thanksgiving. His sole responsibility was to watch my children's behavior and report it to "Santa" each night. The next morning after the children awoke, they discovered the elf had returned from the "North Pole" (with some parental assistance) and was hiding in a different place. My children would race each other out of bed to try and be the first to spy him in his new position.

Over the years the tradition was perfected and rules were even introduced. For example, to better preserve his mystique the children were not allowed to touch him; however, they were allowed to talk to him. For obvious reasons, he was not allowed to reply. Eventually, my children even gave him a name - officially adopting him into the family.

Unwittingly, the tradition provided an added benefit: it helped the children to better control themselves. All it took was a gentle reminder that the "elf was watching" for errant behavior to be modified.

I never dreamed this simple tradition would lead to so many Christmas memories for our entire family. It is my earnest desire that The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition will bring as much joy to your family as it has to mine.

Make it your own,

Christmas is coming....

2008-11-17T08:50:00.019-05:00

Since Christmas is upon us I thought I'd share some of the kids favorite things.....

How can you not love Fancy Nancy??

My mother-in-law started the girls on the Fancy Nancy book series, last year!! This little girl is so darling, the illustrations are bright, colorful and very detailed. Everything in French sounds fancy and of course my girls can not eat ice cream without making it fancy. They have easy readers too for those with kid beginning to read. I would love to see them come out with a movie!

I love IKEA!

My aunt introduced me to them if ever get a chance to go to one of the stores, GO it's a MUST!! We have the KALAS the kids textile set. I actually picked up another set when I went to the Atlanta store a couple months ago and a table and chair set too, SVALA. $40 bucks real wood with two chairs I painted it pink and purple. I love all the products we have bought from them.

Brain Quest

These are AWESOME!! They start at age 2 and go up. It's perfect one on one time with your kids while learning at the same time. We take them when we go out to dinner it kills time when you are waiting on a table. They are small enough to fit in to a purse. S sometimes opts for this instead of choosing a book at bedtime. The Brain Quest website has a listing of all the products. You can find them at Target and Toys R Us.

Melissa and Doug Responsibility Chart

S got this last Christmas, she loves it and so does mommy!! The one we have is just a single board and it has the magnets on the back. I wish I would have gotten this version instead. U can interchange the chores out on ours they gave blank ones also so you could make up whatever you wanted to add.

Leapster L-Max

S's favorite games are Letters on the Loose, Kindergarten, & Animal Genius. She has a couple other but these are the ones she plays the most. H also picks it up and draws with it, colors in pictures. They have a new version Leapster2, you can hook it up to your computer and see your childs strengths and weaknesses. I love it, it's educational and portable!!

I highly recommend the Leapster DVD's they sell them in a set of five now, Amazon has them. My kids love to watch them, which is how Shelby learned her ABC's sounds. As you can tell we are Leapfrog lovers in this house. We also have Fridge Phonics, Word Whammer, USA puzzle map & Phonic Railroad. The railroad is not as popular these days, ebay is where I got ours last year.

I have recently discovered a toy site I thought I'd share Fat Brain Toys! Go check it out they have what appears to be unique, quality toys.

Military Welcome Home Banners

2008-11-14T00:01:00.001-05:00

20,000 Banners and Jumbo Cards for our Troops!

Do u need a sign? Better jump on the bandwagon!! Spread the word this is a great business that supports our military members

so if u need the direct link its www.buildasign.com/troops

From Build a Sign....

Hello,

I'm an employee at Buildasign.com, and we just launched a promotion in honor of Veteran's Day. We're giving military families a free customizable banner to help welcome home their loved ones returning from overseas or the option to send a free customizable jumbo card to a loved one overseas. I was wondering if you could offer me any tips or suggestions on who to get in contact with to get the message across to people that can take advantage of this promotion. Also, it would be great if you could help spread the word by posting about our promotion on your blog. The link to this promotion is www.buildasign.com/Troops.

We are giving away a total of 20,000 banners plus jumbo cards to support our troops at home and abroad. Thank you again, I greatly appreciate your time!

Best,
Katherine Chen

In Memory....

2008-11-13T08:20:00.007-05:00

CPT Sims
November 13, 2004

Never Forgotten! Freedom Isn't Free!

Santa Baby

2008-11-12T09:03:00.003-05:00

It's here!! Her Santa Baby outfit for her routine. Actually it came weeks go but I just got around to snapping some photos. S is insisting on wearing it for her private lessons, that she is taking to learn her routine. Last week was her first private lesson and she learned the full routine she just needs to work on hand motions being sync with the music. She still has a month to get everything down and will start Saturday dress rehearsals. She is skating to Martina McBride, "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow". I added the song to my playlist so u can listen.

It's going to be a fun show. For those Fayetteville families looking for something to do its going to be $3 admission so its affordable for the whole family. I'll post the flyer soon!!

Where do u live??

2008-10-30T08:26:00.005-04:00

Rewind to Yesterday morning, 5am.

J gets up and gets ready for work. I usually sleep in til 6 then start getting the kids up and going. So J is walking out the door and jumps in the truck to leave for PT. Well, the truck wouldn't start...so I get up to see if he needs help....he tried to jump it off and it was a no go!! So that means he has to take my car. Of course it would be the only day that I "had" to be somewhere bright and early in the am. So I come inside and start my normal morning. I get the kids up and feed them breakfast and then I hear this meowing noise that sounds like its coming from the garage. I thought maybe a cat got in the garage from when J was trying to get his truck started. I open the garage door, no cat..still hear meowing. Go open the front door and guess what I see a, kitten...mostly grey with a little white on it's chest and paws. No collar of course, I felt sorry for the thing because it was so cold outside. Immediately the kids start saying can we let him in. Time is passing and remember I have no car so that means S has to catch the bus. So she gets ready and we head down to the bus stop and the cat follows. S is saying funny things like, can I take her to school in my book bag? Do u think she will get on the bus with me? S gets on the bus and the cat follows me back home. I go about my morning, cancel my appointment then J comes home with a new battery for his truck. He puts it in and it works, woohoo!! The cat is still around walking in and out of the garage and H wants to love all over her.

Fast forward....5pm and the cat is still outside laying in my flower bed.

Hubby comes home and guess what....lets the cat in!!! The kids reply, so we can keep her!?!? J told them that we would take care of here until we can find where her home is and if no one came looking then we would talk about it. So the cat is in the house and is so friendly and its fur is short we inspect her and notice that her whiskers have been cut. We think she's about 6 months old and looks like she had been well taken care of. She has to belong to someone its just figuring out who. They must have kids that like to play with scissors.

Oh Kitty, I bet that kid who cut your whiskers misses u? Where is your momma? Where do u live?

I am sure this story will be continued, hopefully someone from our community watch group will know who the owner is!

Minestrone Soup Recipe

2008-10-24T07:23:00.000-04:00

It's cold outside baby and it is a sure way to get warmed up!! Make it for your family, my kids even love it.

What u need:

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 4 carrots, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 small zucchini, sliced
* 1 sweet onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped
* 2 dark green romaine lettuce leaves, diced<~~~~I like to use spinach instead
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth
* 4 cups water
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
* 2 cups uncooked pasta (macaroni, angel hair, small shells)

What u need to do:

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Stir in carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot.
Mix in tomato paste, beans, broth and water.
Season with basil, oregano and salt.
Cook and stir 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

2. Mix pasta & zucchini into pot.
Continue cooking 10 minutes, or until tender.
Stir occasionally.

3. Salt and pepper to taste.

I serve mine up with a side of bread with butter of course. Here is a yummy olive oil dip that we use to when we are not dipping in the soup.

Bread Dipping Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Italian seasonings
Black Pepper
Parmesan Cheese

I don't use exact measurements just wing it really and taste until I like the flavorings!

Potty Training!!

2008-10-23T08:04:00.009-04:00

The joys of motherhood!! The time came when I was so "over" diapers! You are tired of changing them & spending the insane amounts of money on them.

H is officially potty trained!

I am sure she will still have a few accidents, you know those when she is playing to hard and can't get to the potty fast enough. She has gone through the night for 2 weeks without having an accident. Traveled in two seven hour car trips without any incidents, just mommy I have to go potty!! Then you have to figure out which exit to get off at and hope and pray its a decent location. The transition has been challenging and took about a month but she was ready to wear big girl panties like her sister. The potty treats and success chart worked perfectly with her. So no more coupon clipping for diapers.

For those who are in the process don't give up just give it some time, it will happen!!

Cleland Ice Skating Rink, Ft. Bragg

2008-10-20T16:18:00.005-04:00

I've always loved being at an ice skating rink for some odd reason its relaxing to me. My dad would take us to hockey games when we were younger and even tho it can be an aggressive sport I've always found it relaxing, maybe its the smell of the air crispy and chilly...I could just be weird.

Ok anyway back to the point of this post......

S was doing ballet and I wasn't too happy with the end result of recital she had and the school she was going through they were unorganized and everything was last minute with them. The teacher ended up leaving after the show and that is the only reason why I was still having her attend, she LOVED her teacher.

So the beginning of the year rolled around and that was when J was gone and we were looking for things to do. We stumbled upon ice skating, I inquired about prices and such and let her give it a try. It took her a while to get adjusted one week she would hate it the next she would love it. The lessons are 6 week sessions long enough to get adjusted. It's exciting to see how much she has learned and how comfortable she is becoming on the ice. In the beginning, she was afraid of falling down and looked like a little penguin on the ice. She has advanced to Tot 4- Pre-Alpha which the scale that they are graded on after you learn each skill in ice skating. The instructor wants the kids to master each skill before moving to the next level.

So the holidays are around the corner and this skating director is putting on her First Annual Holiday Show in December. S is now taking regular group lessons and then they have a separate night for rehearsal for the shows. The kids are grouped according to the skill level and they perform groups routines, solos and duets. Imagine listening to Christmas music in September I love it, its relaxing..I think I am weird seriously!! If I could only remember to bring in a cup of hot chocolate with me. All of the kids look so cute and are having so much fun I am glad she has this opportunity. The show program was released last week and guess what!?!?! S has a SOLO!!! AHHHH!!!! I had to talk S before we committed to make sure she was really wanting to do it and understood what the definition of having a solo really meant. I didn't want her to be afraid of being on the ice alone and under a spotlight. So she will start private lessons to learn the choreography for the show she will be skating to "Let It Snow". Her costume is on its way here and I can't wait for her to put it on she is going to LOVE it!! Imagine a Santa girl outfit in blue cordory with white fur like trim and embroidered snowflakes on the skirt with white leggings a santa hat to boot...for a bargain of a price.

For the next month or so I am volunteering to help these ladies take donations for decorating the rink and getting props together. Once it all comes together this show is going to be so fun to see in action.

I intended to snap a few recent pics of her on the ice last night at practice BUT I forgot to bring my memory card...so next time!!

School Picture

2008-10-07T14:59:00.003-04:00

S got her school pictures today and I thought I'd share. She's gotten so big. I was actually surprised they turned out pretty good for school pictures.

Review

2008-10-03T13:32:00.003-04:00

Remember those Onion Straws I mentioned from The Pioneer Women...I finally made them today. I've been slacking on school work and I told myself if I could get 5 assignments done I could make them, sad huh. Drumroll please......I give it 5 stars!!! They tasted good, I won't cut mine so thin next time tho. I didn't have as much oil as she mentions using so had to make due. The kids and hubby liked them they are very similar to what you would get in a restaurant. I used one viladia onion and used most of the batter mixture.

Her favorite color is....

2008-10-02T09:35:00.007-04:00

Chocolate!!!

Everything seems to be favorites to her these days. Yesterday the girls had chocolate pudding for a snack and as H was eating she repeatedly said, "Chocolate, is my favorite color". Of course S chimed in to correct her, "Hailey, chocolate is not a color..it's really brown". Hailey ignored her and kept diggin' up her favorite chocolate pudding. Kids are so funny!

She is so much like her momma. How can u not love this lil face.

My mini-me H!

I took this picture while S was at ice skating practice hence the winter wardrobe, lol.

Fishing

2008-09-30T10:19:00.007-04:00

This past weekend they held a Wildlife Expo at a local fish hatchery. The event had wildlife, the kids could kayak (ours were too small), fish, shoot air guns, archery...get the picture. We really went for the fishing since its an opportunity for the kids to catch a couple fish and of course throw back. I do have to admit I get as excited as they do when I catch one, haha. Here are a few pics from our day!

Can u believe how big they have gotten??

H reeling in a cat fish.
She didn't want any help, Miss Independent!

Officially Addicted

2008-09-21T10:46:00.002-04:00

Toooooo......

Confessions of a Pioneer Women!!!

If you haven't become addicted go ahead click then link and be absorbed in. She is an amazing writer and the recipe blogs are awesome! I've been so sick of eating the same stuff lately that she has opened the doors for some new recipes. We had Marlboro Man’s Favorite Sandwich which isn't figure friendly and will make ya need to hit the gym a couple extra hours. J liked it and I didn't use a big enough pan to lay the meat in a single layer and I also had to drain some of the juices off, I'd give it 4 stars. I have a list of the ones I want to try next up will be the Onion Strings - Oh Yeah, Baby.

She is also giving away a pretty lil espresso machine so go comment and if you win you owe me a cup and I'll do the same for you hehehe. Hurry up it ends 12 noon Pacific time today!!!

So if you have been making her recipes I'd love to know the ones you have tired and liked.

Blogger

2008-09-18T07:46:00.002-04:00

Things sure have changed with Blogger. I love how we have so many templates we can use from the net. All the new features rock!! Why does it not default the blog rolls each time you update the template, anyone know? I guess I need to save them somewhere now. So if u were on my blogroll and you don't see yourself now let me know so I can add ya'll back!!

It's been forever!!

2008-09-14T20:12:00.002-04:00

I am ALIVE!! Sometime has really passed since I have posted but I am going to try and get back in the swing of things. After all my husband has made it home safely!!! I am so glad it's all over, your really don't know what its like unless you have been through it.

So a little update, lets roll back to where I left off........

Hubby left June 07 for Iraq and life got in the way with me running this place alone. It's never fun but someone has to do it. So December S was in a wedding which was an hour or so north of here so that helped a little with the holidays. I was still able to see some of our family. At this point which was less than halfway of deployment I drove J nuts with asking about R&R. For those who have no idea what I am talking about that is Rest & Relaxation way from the desert. It's 18 days (because he was doing a 15mth tour) which they end up taking away from your leave days (vacation days). It should be free time but that is the military for ya it's never they way it should be. Ok back to life and to make a long story short he showed up on the door step the day after Christmas. I was completely speechless. Christmas was I think the hardest day for me out of the whole deployment at least its the day I remember the most. With J showing up the following morning made things a little bit better. Once I got over the shock of him being home I immediately thought about him leaving. I guess with the suprise I didn't have time to prepare myself for that next adjustment. He was home still mid Jan, the kids loved every minute of it and I knew him leaving was gonna be hard on them.

Earlier in the year S started ice skating lessons and was still in Pre-K. New and old friends came into my life and it was great because they kept me going. H turned 2 in Feb and family from NY was down to celebrate with us. I started school in April, fun fun. J's time was cut short, imagine that he came home mid July so 14 mths is what he ended up doing. S turned 5 the day J came home from Iraq, two days later she started K. This school that she is going to is year round. J's leave time started and we took time and went and visited family and went up to the mountains.

So that is a brief update on life.... more soon!

Shopping

2007-11-07T21:41:00.001-05:00

I've been fabric shopping and I picked up some new patterns! I've been itching to make something new. I'd share pics but Blogger isn't working right.

Anyone wanna share some great sewing goodies for Christmas presents besides the usual??

Time Change

2007-11-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

So we are a couple of days into daylight savings time and I am still adjusting lol. The good thing is that I am getting up early without hitting the snooze button but I am so tired by 8:30. I did stay up way past my bedtime all weekend so maybe that could be a reason. I'll be adjusted by the weekend.

My Donut of Misery is at 33% done & 67% to go!! I can't wait for the number to be flipped around.

I'd like the small things...

2007-10-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

a tub of ice cream
cold night, warm fire
hot chocolate
moon & the stars
a chick flick
some more chocolate
a bubble bath by candle light

I miss my hubby!!

Ever think??

2007-10-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

Your life could be made into a movie or book??? For some reason thats all I can think about lately. I guess I should not be complaining. The drama I had in September which seems to be continuing into October, am I gonna have a boring month soon?? Between our life and friends lives I think we could make a pretty good movie, anyone wanna watch? jking!

I feel like I've been on the go for ever now and I once I felt the sickies coming I decided I'd take the weekend off. Well, not off...because how are the kids gonna eat or how are diapers gotta get changed. As hard as it may be I did it. I turned down the phone calls to go out with my friends on Saturday and Sunday because I needed time for me just to be lazy, well not really lazy I should say be a home body.

I am ready for cooler weather so I can turn on the fire place and pour me a cup of cocoa. Even getting the urge to sew again. I need to de-stash the closet seriously!! I am looking forward to these last few months of 2007 flying by. I am almost at my 11 month mark, I seriously wish it was over already until then I'll keep dreaming for Sept 08!

Free Dyson

2007-09-23T23:28:00.000-04:00

to be given away!! Are u a blogger?? Enter today hurry it ends soon!!

5 Minutes for Mom

Understanding the 4 Loves!

2007-09-23T21:25:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to pass this along to anyone that might want to listen to the podcasts from our church. They are doing a 4 part series on Love. Today was the third week so the podcast will be up soon for this week to get caught up u can listen to the previous two.

http://www.mannachurch.org/

Click Listen On-Line

Chooses these dates, u should listen in order
9/9
9/16
9/23 will be online soon
9/30 will be online after next weekend

PVT PH part 3

2007-08-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

Shelby,

How have you been? I hope that you are being a good girl. Is school still fun, have you made any new friends? I have been taking a few more pictures and will send them to you. We have a room here that has a lot of books, we call it a library, but it is not really one. I have been thinking alot about you and Hailey lately. I can't wait till I can give you a big hug and kiss. I miss you all very much.

Please keep being a good girl for your mommy, and a good big sister for Hailey. I love you. Give mommy and Hailey a kiss and hug from daddy.

Love Daddy

Pvt. PH salutes a blimp

Pvt. PH, talking on the radio

PVT PH at the Combat Stress center

and at the make shift library.

Potato Head Part 2

2007-08-28T21:04:00.000-04:00

Shelby,
I hear that you have started school and I am so happy for you. How do you like it? Do you have naps, color and learn about numbers & letters? I know that you are making friends there and are going to have lots of fun playing outside at recess. How do you like your teacher?

I have taken a few more pictures with Mr. Potato Head. I will send them in this email so you can see them. You can show them to mommy and Hailey too. I will keep taking them and sending you more and more pictures. If there is a place you want to see let me know and Mr. Potato Head and I will go there and send a picture.

Be a good girl and be nice to mommy and Hailey. I love you. Give mommy and your sister a kiss from daddy and tell them that daddy loves them too.

Love Daddy

This breakfast looks yummy!!
U can click on the pics to enlarge lol!!

Boots are on the Ground

2007-08-24T22:56:00.000-04:00

Mr. Potato Head that is. Here is the first lil letter to S. I haven't read or shared the pics to S, I will at breakfast in the am.

These are the first pics I have see of hubby since he's been gone. He looks a lil chunkier in the face but I guess thats what the heat will do to ya.

Shelby,
I have been taking a few pictures of Mr. Potato Head and will go ahead an send a few now. He kept falling apart so I took some super glue and glues his feet and hat to his body. I have been taking him around with me getting his orientation out of the way. I showed him where the Chow Hall is and where to find the office. He has been sleeping in my locker. I have named the pictures so you know what he is doing in each photo.
Mom told me you had your first half day of school. I hope you liked it. did you have fun? Do you want to go back? When Daddy was a little boy I liked going to school. We had nap time, snack time, recess where we played outside. We ate lunch in the lunch room. and we colored and learned to write. I know that you will have lots of fun when you go back to school soon.
I love you and will take more pictures of Mr. Potato Head doing silly things.
Love Daddy

PVT PH emails Shelby

Battle buddies bonding, lol

and of course a lil PS2 training.

I think Pvt. PH needs to get to work don't u??

Private Potato Head

2007-08-02T20:40:00.001-04:00

We have a new recruit!! Let congratulate Pvt. Potato Head. He is receiving his orders to duty effective tomorrow. It's going to take him about 2 weeks to arrive in Iraq. Please pray for safe travels.

Seriously, I am hoping when J gets him he will bond and become battle buddies and send the stories back home. I think the girls will get a kick outta seeing Pvt. Potato Head and daddy together in the gym, eating, working, spending time with the other guys. enjoying holidays together, so hopefully this story will be continued....

***Update-Sorry I should have mentioned this u can find these Mr. Potato Head military figures at Checker's in the kids meals. They have all branches of service!

My Life

2007-07-31T22:02:00.001-04:00

I have been BUSY!! After our trip to GA & SC , we were home for a couple of days then got bad news that my aunt who lives in NY passed away from cancer. My parents drove up and pick us up and headed to NY. We stayed for a couple of days then started our journey back home. We stopped at my grandparents house in New Bern, NC. We were gone for a week.

So we have been home now for a couple of weeks and since then I have kept us busy. Play-dates, children's museum, kids summer movies this week is vacation bible school at our church. I volunteered to be a crew leader for preschoolers. I have eight kids total but I only had 5 today and yesterday. We have had lots of fun this week its like being a lil kid again dancing around and being silly singing songs with the kids. Our theme is Avalanche Ranch, S asks me to sing the songs to her so she can do the hand motions, its cute.

S starts Pre-K in a couple of weeks I am so excited. We have been hanging out with two other parents/kids that are going to be in her class so it will help them make the adjustment together.

J is doing good too. I hope he is able to find the time to send pics soon for the kids.

Anyway thats life here. I hope I get the urge to sew again once S goes to school and H naps I'll be able too.

Where have I been

2007-07-06T18:10:00.001-04:00

I went on a mini trip for about two weeks. It was a nice get away and I was happy to get back home but now deployment has finally set in. I have had people and things to keep me occupied. So now I am trying to fill up an schedule to make time fly. I thought the second go around would be easier but it never gets easier, lesson learned.

So where did I go?

Well, my mom came into town and we planned a trip down to Georgia to see all the family. Along the way we stopped in Columbia, SC to visit the children's museum, Edventure. This place is HUGE and AWESOME!! I highly recommend u take your kids they will love it. It's filled with all kinds of educational stuff and hands on learning, which is a great way to learn. We had lots of fun and we are definitely going back again and again. I got the phone call from J that he was safely in Iraq while we were at the museum.

From Columbia we drove do my parents house an hour away from Columbia and we stayed the night visited with my dad. S wanted to go bowling my dad manages a bowling center so she aways wants to go bowling when we go visit. She had the whole place to herself she loved it.

We got up the next morning and headed for south Georgia our hometown. We got in late in the evening. J had gotten a mailing address and he already had a lil list of things he needed us to send so that was my first objective for the beginning of our visit. We slept lots of time with all the family and friends. I shopped ALOT probably too much. I got a new hair cut from my hairdresser which I LOVE. We celebrated S's 4th birthday early with family she really enjoyed herself.

We left south Georgia and headed back to my moms house then I made my way home the next morning.

That's when the reality of deployment set in. My yard needed mowing so that was the first thing on my list the second was getting all the mail sorted thru, most of it was junk of course. Speaking of mowing the yard this was the second time I have mowed our yard since he's been gone, J usually does it. I love mowing tho I did it a lot when I was younger at my parents house. I love that feeling of clean and freshness that u get once u get all the dirt off in the shower.

Camera

2007-06-19T09:44:00.000-04:00

I got a new camera!! J took the good one with him so I was left with an old digital that I can't even find. Here are a few of my favorites!!

Update

2007-06-16T12:26:00.000-04:00

Our last set of visitors where here for S's recital and we went back to the Children's Museum for my niece to explore. We cooked out and had a great time the kids ran around the yard played on the swings, sandbox and bounce house, it was lots of fun. It was bitter-sweet tho. J left which is ever an easy thing even when they are away for a short time. Then the family left except my mom she is here for a bit.

So it's been almost a week...gosh time really needs to start flying by!

Recital

2007-06-11T12:18:00.000-04:00

Isn't she cute this was after her recital Saturday! Josh was able to see it which I was very happy about. If u wish to see the video is on my profile on MySpace. Oh the date was wrong on my MIL's camera haha I wish it was 2008 already!

Family Time

2007-06-05T13:10:00.001-04:00

I have been busy which is good. J's family came into town this weekend. We took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese & then the Children's Museum. The rest of the time we spent enjoying each others company.

This weekend my folks are coming. It sure is nice having family coming and going. S's recital is this weekend also. I hope everything goes well. Please pray that J is able to go.

The army fails to tell anyone anything until the last minute so who knows when they are leaving. I am SURE they know but why the soldiers & families haven't been told pisses me off. I really dislike this unit!

Swimming lessons

2007-05-30T10:11:00.000-04:00

One day at the park S stopped playing for an immediate potty break. S's favorite park has a recreation center right next to it (Yay for clean potties haha) so I stopped and picked up a booklet that has all kinds of activities going on this summer. On the first page swimming lessons by the Red Cross I read further $20 for hour long lessons for 8 days. I thought lessons would have been more expensive so I jumped on this offer. Thankfully they still had slots open!

Memorial Day

2007-05-27T10:51:00.002-04:00

Draughon & Quartered

Take a minute and read Heidi's blog Memorial Day 2007, she is such an amazing woman!

Strawberry pickin'

2007-05-26T17:45:00.000-04:00

We took the kids to Gross Farms to pick some strawberries. They had a great time here are a couple of pictures from our Saturday afternoon. The weather has been awesome lately!

New Look

2007-05-25T13:26:00.001-04:00

I started getting bored with the previous layout so I decided to change it up a lil bit.

My Ballerina

2007-05-23T22:46:00.001-04:00

The tights are bought even picked up a new pair of ballet shoes for her. Comparing the Payless brand to the dance store brand that was only $2 more. I should of just gotten these new ones the first go around the quality is definitely worth a lil extra money. The tights fit to a T...no more gathered up material at the elastic strap on her shoe, yippee!!

While I was at the dance store I asked about the tap shoes oh my gosh they are so stinkin' cute!! Her eyes light up when she saw them.

So we are all ready for photos tomorrow lets hope all goes well. I really want great pictures. I snapped this picture of her while she was trying the complete costume on to make sure all is well for tomorrow.

Great week?

2007-05-22T15:33:00.000-04:00

Can u really say that u are have a great week when its only Tuesday?

Yesterday I turned 28 ekkk...I can't believe I am almost 30.

Shelby was accepted into a Pre-K program which I am super excited about. She is gonna love having other lil kids her age around her on a regular basis. I was skeptical at first but once we went and checked out the place I felt like everything was gonna workout. J was able to go with us so that helped. Follow your heart is what they say huh, well I did. She starts until August.

Yesterday was also ballet make up day. I can't wait for the recital she has her costume. I need to go buy her new tights. They are doing a photoshoot this week, I hope they turn out cute. Family is coming into town for the recital..its gonna be exciting!! She is enjoying ballet so much that we are gonna continue this summer and she will move up to ballet/tap. We watched an older class a couple of weeks ago that were doing tap and S said she wanted a pair of those shoes they make noise...so funny.

Today I did my first set of alterations two dresses for the military ball. I was SCARED at first but I felt confident and guess what, they turned out perfect.

Hopefully the rest of the week will go wonderfully!!

Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book #2

2007-05-17T13:07:00.000-04:00

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

S got her second book from the Imagination Library. I am as anxious as she is to see what the next book will be. This book is a fun read, since its easy to remember she sits and recites it to her sister.

It's over

2007-05-15T21:27:00.000-04:00

J's leave time is offically over. It's sad and just makes reality of this deployment set in a little more. I am trying to enjoy the remaining time we have together. While he was on leave he was notified that the date was moved up. I am hoping and praying that he will at least be here for S's ballet recital. Even if he leaves that night I would be happy as long as he could see her on that stage for the first time. We had a great time while he was on leave going out of town and doing some work on the house, spending time outside in the yard chasing the kids around, his dad came in town to upgrade our alarm system so I have one less thing to worry about. Sleeping is hard for me to do alone, at least I am not the only one in this world.

One day during lunch he was picked up H and just held her tight, it was a different kinda hug that usual. So I asked whats wrong, he replied that when he gets home she will be so much older and won't be a baby anymore. It made me tear up and I had to get back to washing dishes before I started to break down. It really makes me sad to know he is gonna miss so much of the little things. I try to tell myself we have done this one time before but sometimes it seems this go around isn't gonna be any easier. Thank goodness for the internet, web cameras and phones right.

Off to soak in some more precious time....

Family pictures

2007-05-06T12:14:00.000-04:00

I got our family pics that we had taken while we were in Augusta. I think this is my first time sharing a pic of my family so enjoy! I cherish these pictures when we are all in them. I am usually the one behind the camera haha. Here are two of my favorites.

Found Material

2007-05-05T20:27:00.000-04:00

I ordered this Amy Butler Cabo Halter pattern off one of my sewing co-ops and I finally found some material to use. Here is a peek I am gonna try and start it this soon. I am excited to start working on it. I heard her patterns were easy so hopefully it will turn out perfect.

May already???

2007-05-04T17:06:00.000-04:00

Can you believe its May already April flew by!!

We took a trip to North Augusta, SC where my parents live. My brother & his family drove up too. We had family pictures taken along the Savannah River in Augusta. It's been along time since we have all been together so it was a perfect opportunity.

After our visit in with my parents we drove up to the Blue Ridge mountains in North Georgia and visted J's grandmother. She built this beautiful house in the mountains its just a great place to get away from everyday life. We took the kids to the Oconee River in the Cherokee National Forest his grandmother is a volunteer there. They have whitewater rafting and hiking trails if u have the opportunity to go u should. Shelby had a blast she was able to do lots of exploring.

Here are a few pictures...

Seersucker Dress

2007-04-19T08:46:00.000-04:00

This material was picked up when Wal-Mart was doing away with the fabric dept. It was sitting in the stash waiting to be made into something cute. I choose to use a solid color for the lining so I could conserve the cute seersucker material. I adjusted the elastic in the back quite a bit. I kept the extra in the casing so I could adjust later if needed she'd probably outgrow the length first we shall see.

McCall's Pattern 5088

Now that I posted this I am wondering how it would look with the straps attached to be backing, Hmmm.

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

2007-04-16T23:01:00.000-04:00

When we visit our local library I always look at all the flyers they have up. So I came across this application for preschoolers to receive books thru United Way & Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. Today, S got her first book she was so excited to see it in the mailbox. They have the program set up so they get a book each month until the age of 5. I think this is really awesome, the girls love books so she will enjoy this for a long time.

Depending on where u are located u can sign up online if your community participates. For those in Fayetteville go sign up, its free!! It took me a while to get my first book but its definately worth the wait!

Kids

2007-04-13T23:06:00.000-04:00

Where does time go?? So much has changed around here in the last couple of weeks.

S now has bunk beds and gets to choose which bunk to sleep on, how fun is that! H is sleeping in the toddler bed by herself its a big adjustment for her, but last night was her first full night sleeping without waking up. I weaned her from breastfeeding so thats another new thing for her. So it was a bit harder than S was but I breastfed her til 18 mth, H is almost 14 mths.

I am happy with the change but sad that my babies are growing up!

H is starting interacted in her own lil ways each day. She is self feeding and can respond yes & no, if u ask her a simple question.....Like, Are u done eating? She will shake her head yes or no. She says yum when she eats, point out mom in pictures, knows how to give kisses & hugs...which is oh so cute, waves bye-bye these are my favorites. Now if she will just get over being upset when I leave we will be doing good.

H eating a mini ice cream cone..she's so much like her momma

S is doing good too. She is still doing ballet and has a recital in a couple months. Her costume should be here soon so I'll be sure to share pics of that when I get it in my hands. I think she is having seperation anxiety issues here lately...at least thats what I think it is.

S after church Easter Sunday

Bathrobe

2007-04-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

I have been in a sewing mood. Can ya tell??

This purple bathrobe is for S, she is growing out of her other ones so it was time to make her a new one. This pattern was fairly simple to make.

McCALL's Pattern M5222

Artist Case

2007-04-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

Artist Case Tutorial

I saw Keri's artist cases on her blog Knitty Gritty Thoughts and I just had to make one for Shelby. She likes picking out fabric but I often don't know what to do with it. This was a great way to use the Strawberry Shortcake fabric she picked awhile ago. When I saw Keri's I thought it would be a good thing to stuff in the Easter basket but it didn't make it that far. I couldn't wait to give it to Shelby, she absolutely loves it. We plan on taking this with us when she needs something to do but needs to be quiet. It will be good for car rides, church, waiting at the drs office. It was very simple to make & the tutorial was easy to follow.

I opted for colored pencils and got the drawing pad from Target. Here are a couple more pics...

Countdown

2007-03-20T23:45:00.000-04:00

Anyone wanna countdown with me??

I have actually talked to him 2 days in a row, he gets a awful signal so its been brief. It's amazing what a phone call will do for your day! Kinda like a taking a shower in peace & quiet. I can't wait for him to see the kids.

A couple more days!!

Teeth

2007-03-12T22:44:00.000-04:00

Well, H has finally gotten some more teeth. They all decided to just come in all at once. She is getting 4, yep 4 all on the top! So she has 6 now. I am glad she is getting them all at once!!

I haven't told J and don't expect too since I doubt we will here from him anytime soon. He will be shocked when he gets home and is greeted by a smile with teeth.

Of course she wouldn't open up for me to sneak a pic so this is the best I could get for now!

Jambbas Ranch

2007-03-10T21:53:00.000-05:00

We went to Jambbas Ranch this weekend with a friend and her two kiddos. Here are a few pics, Enjoy!!

Why & When??

2007-03-05T20:25:00.000-05:00

Every night she asks...

Why is daddy at work all the time?
When is daddy coming home?

It's dinner time S sets the table.....
Shel: I got daddy a fork mommy
Me: sorry S daddy isn't coming home tonight either.

It really sucks that its hard to explain time. I guess we are gonna make some countdown paper rings maybe that will help.

For u ladies who are from this area if u have any places that are good places to kill some time with the kids. We have been to Facinate U and some parks the library. I recently heard about a ranch that I plan to take them too.

Anniversary

2007-02-28T11:07:00.000-05:00

Today is our 5 yr wedding anniversary! I wish J was here!

He's HERE!!

2007-02-27T19:46:00.000-05:00

I am an AUNT to a cute lil boy!! Dylan Seth arrived Monday and I can't wait to put my hands on him! He is the first baby boy in the family. He will be spoiled rotten in no time.

Bathroom Makeover

2007-02-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

We did a makeover in S's bathroom. We plan to replace that mirror and add a simple crown molding to the top to complete it. It had stripped wallpaper as u will see in the photos we took before we moved in. We the paint went up I thought it was too bright but once the room was put back together it all blended pretty well, I think. What do u think?? Now on too the kitchen and master bathroom guess what more wallpaper to remove JOY JOY anyone wanna HELP!!

She's 1 Year Old!!

2007-02-20T14:23:00.000-05:00

My lil girl is offically a year old! She is walking, talking (dada, go-go-, momma) waving bye and keeping me on my toes of course. Gosh they grow up so quickly! We had family here to celebrate with us we had a great time. My grandparents made the trip too it was great to see everyone again.

Snow in NC

2007-02-01T18:34:00.000-05:00

It Snowed!!

We didn't get much but it was enough to enjoy. It didn't last long before the rain washed it all away. S wanted to put some in the freezer to show J when he gets back. I wish he could have been here to see how excited S was.

The first pic is my attempts to write "Snow" on the hood of my car.

Two posts in a row are ya impressed?? I am!

Ballet

2007-01-31T21:03:00.000-05:00

I did it!! I signed DD up for ballet hoping she would like it. Tonight was her first class she did so good!! I admit I was hogging up the window peeping into watch. She cried when we left. I am so glad she had fun. I was rushing out the door so I forgot the camera at home. More pics next time.....

still here

2007-01-08T23:14:00.000-05:00

I have fallen off the bloggin wagon but I am still here. J has been working and I have been doing my thing with the kiddos. I have been trying to organize closets and get my crafting stuff in order. I am hoping to whip up some stuff this week we shall see if it gets done.

Fabric

2006-12-30T23:02:00.000-05:00

I have no clue if this is just one of the local Walmarts or if it will be happening at all of them but they are doing away with the fabric department. I went tonight and everything is 50% off I couldn't believe it. At least we have some other fabric stores to shop at. Just thought I'd give yall a heads up in case u wanted to try an get in on some bargains.

Cute things

2006-12-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd share one of my Christmas presents that I got from my SIL, its sooo ADORABLE! A sewing notions storage box. I love the print on it.

And S LOVES playdoh. One of her gifts a playdoh storage box with lots of tools. Also these little accessories to make lil potato heads outta playdoh. I love when she is using her lil imagination.

Merry Christmas

2006-12-25T23:37:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. We had my parents here at the last minute. My grandfather woke up Saturday morning and had the ambulance come pick him up they thought he had a heart attack so my mom & dad drove up to see him so they stopped to drop off Christmas presents since they were passing thru. To make along story short my grandfather didn't have a heart attack but they haven't concluded what exactly is going on he is still in the hospital but my parents came back late Sunday night and spent Christmas here and had early lunch then they drove home. Hopefully, my grandfather is gonna be a-ok and will get to go home soon. Last I heard they were doing more tests.

So on to Christmas.....

Last night (Christmas eve) we did the Santa stuff. J fell asleep while putting H down so it left my mom and me to finish wrapping and put toys together. We didn't go to bed until 2am. They were my first house guests, they loved the house.

I got up at 7am to start cooking the turkey so they could eat and hit the road. The girls got up at about 8am and S was soo suprised to see her presents around the tree. S got tired of unwrapping since she helped H with her stuff too. I should have put more stuff together for them. Next year I will.

Here are a couple pics...

Checking out H's toy..S is helping her figure it all out.

As u can tell by her face she wanted this a dr kit..

My mom & the girls. See S's pjs..those are the ones I sewed up for her while in AZ.

H testing our her toy. J is trying to make her hat stand up.

S in her bounce house. It was NASTY outside so she couldn't play outside with it. Everytime we go to a fair or festival they have these and the OLDer kids don't pay attention and trample on the little kids (where are the parents?) so I don't like S getting in them. We picked this up at the end of summer this yr in AZ so it was on clearance. It has a little ball pit then the entrance to the bouncing area. H was scared of it.

This was one of the first pics of the morning.

The girls together.

S riding her scooter, I know she can't wait to get outside with it.

Here is my new KITCHEN!! See I have been busy!!

Before & After

That time of year

2006-12-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

We have been busy so I haven't had much time to keep up with the blog. I can't believe this year is almost over with!

Our Christmas Tree!!

Shelby made her first Gingerbread house this year. I made the icing up for her and J help her put the graham crackers togethers. She has so much fun putting it together and ate more candy then she put on the house.

Neato

2006-12-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

I love when things change and I can play with new features, Thanks Blogger!!

Our Saturday was busy!! We went to Home Depot and Lowes to check out some stuff we want to buy and priced them out. While we were at Lowes we ran into a guy that removed trees so we had him come out and remove a dead pinetree for us. They had it down in no time. S watched from the window. I am glad its down since it opens the backyard up a little. We really need to do some raking and get the pinecones up.

Anyone know how to make the cinammon scented pinecones??

I am mad with the newspaper people here. I didn't get my paper today so I called to let them know. She said they would come out and deliver...well guess what todays paper never showed up!! GRRR!! I hope I have one tomorrow morning!!

J put out some more Christmas decor tonight. I think its gonna look cute once we are done.

Night

It feels

2006-12-07T22:22:00.000-05:00

like FRIDAY and it's been driving me crazy. I feel like tomorrow should be Saturday. We had our first dinner as a family in the house tonight. J was able to get home in time to eat with us. The kiddos had bath time and H was soo tired so she crashed pretty early. I started working on the Christmas decor for outside. It was very windy and cold outside so my lil toes were frozen.

We are gonna work on getting the house situated a little bit more this weekend. J has a couple of little projects to do. Our bedroom needs some rearranging since the furniture is too heavy to do by myself. I hope to have that room complete by this weekend. J has boxes in the computer room so hopefully he will get that done too so it won't look like a tornado in here.

I haven't found a home for my sewing machine, she is still boxed up.

So

2006-12-04T00:35:00.000-05:00

The house doesn't look like a complete tornado anymore. J got a couple hrs off Fri evening so we unpacked ALOT!! I can actually get my car in the garage now, yippee. We have never has a garage with a door, just carports that u park under. I hope when J gets back we will get the rest finished up he will have room to fit in truck in too.

I have fallen in LOVE with my washer and dryer. I have never loved washing laundry so much, altho I might take back those words once they become old news haha. It was pretty cold last night and yucky today so I had to turn the heat on finally. I feel sorry for J being out in this weather. I hope he doesn't get sick and bring it home to us.

So besides unpacking and doing the mom stuff thats all I have been up too. I am planning on meeting up with some Bragg ladies later this week hopefully my schedule won't get messed up.

Happy!

2006-11-30T20:07:00.000-05:00

Well, we had a great Thankgiving. We drove down to my parents house to spend a couple of days down in SC. My brother and his family drove up it was great being able to spend time with them. I think the kids (S & her cousin) said Nana a billion times & of course my mom loved every minute.

Monday we closed on the house and our movers came on Tuesday to deliver our household goods. The garage is loaded with boxes to unpack. We had a couple of things missing. J's dresser, which is a highboy has a broken leg on it. I have NO CLUE why they would ship it with the legs still attached. So its laying on its side until that gets fixed. Thankfully its all minor stuff. I have already dug out my sewing machine!! J is "away" so I haven't gotten far with unpacking, the kids...well H wants to be attached to my hip so that doesn't give much time for unpacking. It will get done eventually. The house is a mess which drive me nuts!

I am really happy to be in this house. It is weird tho. I don't hear other neighbors coming and going like we did in apartments. The kids can run since we don't have neighbors below us. I am glad that we bought and didn't choose to live on post. We have lots of room to grow into this house.

I brewed my first pitcher of sweet tea. Walmart had my FAVORITE chocolate covered cherries, Cella's. One of my favorite tv shows came on tonight (Greys Anatomy) and I got to DVR it to watch it when it the kids were asleep. What more could a girl ask for, ice cream haha just kidding!!

My washer and dryer are being delivered tomorrow. I can't wait to start a load of laudry, is that sad?? Usually I don't look forward to laundry but its like getting a new toy or car. I can't wait to try it out.

Frozen Toes

2006-11-22T11:47:00.000-05:00

BURRR, its Cold!! Wind, rain and no sun calls for some nasty weather! We haven't done much because of the weather. A fireplace and some hot chocolate are calling my name!

Walk thru

2006-11-20T19:19:00.000-05:00

Well, we did our walk thru yesterday. The carpet is down and the paint is on the wall. I wish I would have picked a darker color on the wall. The vinyl roll was laying in the garage and it was to be laid today.

It doesn't look like we will be in before Thanksgiving so hopefully J can get a pass so we can go out of town.

Yada, yada, yada...

2006-11-18T21:03:00.000-05:00

the house saga continues...

Yesterday, I found a house that I wanted to show J since it was a possibility for us to get. So we went last night for J to check it out. We put in an offer on it this morning. This house was the same price as the first house but it was further away from post. We had up to 24 hours before we would know if they accepted our offer. Well our realtor contacted me this afternoon and guess what?? The seller of the original house wanted to offer the house at the appraisal price. We had to make a decision before they accepted our offer on the 2nd house so we could withdrawal our contract.

Sooooo, since we are getting a pretty good deal on the original house we decided to go ahead and take it. I hope this was the right move!! Hopefully this is the end of my drama otherwise, I might become gray headed overnight!

Tomorrow we are going to do a walk-thru to see that the repairs were done. This place is gonna look pretty inside with fresh paint, carpet and the new flooring in the kitchen. It will be wonderful to be able to get in before Thanksgiving since our paperwork was at the closing stage with USAA. I guess we will see what happens!

Hunting again

2006-11-17T14:21:00.000-05:00

So the seller of the orginal house doesn't want to drop his price. We reviewed the appraisal and our realtor believes it should have appraised a little higher. Things happen for a reason. I was upset with that house but I feel better about it now. A couple of new houses just went on the market that look like better options for us.

J is back at work so I went ahead and started house hunting with the kids and our realtor. We hit a handful of houses today. This time I remembered the camera, so I can let J take a look then we can go check them out together once we narrow them down.

Thanks for all the comments!!

I am

2006-11-15T21:17:00.000-05:00

mad, sad, angry, upset, disappointed.

It's the house yep just when I thought my life in this hotel was going to be OVER!! The appraisal came back 7,000 lower than our contract amount. UNREAL!! We have NO CLUE as to why it appraised so low. I am HOPING and PRAYING that USAA will have answers for us tomorrow. Houses in this area are going from 10-20K more that our offer was so this was the last thing we expected to happen. I wonder if this appraisal person even knew what he was doing.

I guess, we are going back to square one. My heart was set on that house! I need some prayers!!

Milestone

2006-11-11T21:26:00.000-05:00

H has teeth!! One is up and another one is coming, its the bottom teeth. She is being a brave lil girl trying to stand without holding onto anything. She is will be 9 mths on the 20th gosh time has flown by.

I had to write it here so I won't forget the dates for the baby book.

Good day!

2006-11-03T18:18:00.000-05:00

Oh its been a wonderful day for us. We met with the inspector today. The inspection went really well the repairs are minor and most we already noted in our contract to get repaired. The inspector was awesome! Our realtor recommended him and I am really happy that we used them. It was thru Home Check and I had the report complete with pictures within 5 hours of the inspection being completed.

Our mortgage lady who is thru our credit union in our hometown has been lally gagging around and not returning my phone calls. I hate getting the run around so I moved on to USAA. I am not sure why I didn't just go thru them to begin with because they are wonderful. We began the process all over again with them. The best thing of all we got an even LOWER interest rate. PLUS, we will get money back from USAA for using the Movers Advantage program along with getting the loan thru them.

I hope we have great weekend!

Exploring

2006-11-02T18:39:00.000-05:00

I am so amazed at how well I know the area already. J has been asking me how to get places. Today, I finally ventured to Joanns & Hobby Lobby. I just went window shopping tho. As I was leaving Hobby Lobby I notice someone left a purse in a cart in the parking lot. I went and turned it in to the manager I hope whoever it belonged to got it back. The stores here are all in the same area and can basically hop from one to the next. They have a couple of stores I have never been too so dangerous. I can't wait to try out a couple of resturants here too.

Tomorrow we have the home inspection!!

The Verdict!!

2006-10-31T21:39:00.000-05:00

IT'S OURS!!

I am excited we close in 16 days, hopefully it won't change. Hopefully the contractors will get busy and if the paperwork gets done on time I will might be unpacking while cooking my turkey haha!

24 hours

2006-10-30T18:48:00.000-05:00

The contract has been signed and we are waiting to hear if our offer was accepted for the house. We will know in the next 24 hours!! If everything goes thru and our closing date doesn't change we could be in the house before Thanksgiving. They are replacing the carpet thru out the house, painting the walls & replacing the flooring in the kitchen.

A little about the house. It has 3 bedrooms 2 baths a decent size living room and kitchen. The backyard is a nice size for the kids to run around. This house is a little bit closer to Bragg than the other two. S will start school here and its seems to be a pretty good school, its year round tho...not sure how I feel about that we will see when she starts I guess.

We have been living in apartments since we got married, upstairs units at that so having room inside and out for the kids to run wild will be wonderful! I am trying not to get too excited until we hear back on our offer.

The other houses are still options just in case it falls thru. We have looked at older houses that we would need to put some love into up to new construction. We went with our gut on our decision and hopefully it will be the best choice for us. I guess only time will tell.

House hunting

2006-10-26T22:27:00.000-04:00

We have been house hunting for the past two days with our realtor. I never realized how stressful it can be. The kids have been great while we check out all these houses. We have seen between 25-30 houses and we have 3 that are possibilities. Here is the house that is our #1 choice as of this moment, haha. We forgot the camera on the first day so I didn't get pic of the other 2 yet.

On the road again!!

2006-10-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

For the final leg of our journey!! Hubby is packing up both vehicles as we speak. The girls are getting as much sugar as possible from the grandparents. Luckily we only have 3-4 hrs ahead of us. S loves the DVD player in the car so it won't be to awful to con her into getting back in for lil drive again.

I am excited and nervous Ft. Bragg here we come!

~~Update~~

We are here safe and sound!!!

A bit closer

2006-10-17T13:53:00.000-04:00

We have safely arrived in SC. We are at my parents house for a couple of days. Orginally we planned on visiting J's grandmother who lives up in the GA mountains but the girls and I caught a virus that seems to be going around. We didn't want to chance getting her sick so we are going to plan another trip to see her.

We got pre-approved for a mortgage!! I can't wait to go house hunting.

Howdy

2006-10-13T20:11:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to give a little update since its been awhile. We left Arizona last friday and got to San Antonio on Saturday. We spent the day at SeaWorld. I have a few pics to share but I'll do that when I have more time. We are in Georgia now we got here early Monday. The girls did wonderfully with the long drive. They sure were happy to get out of their car seats for a while. We are here for a couple more days. We are going to head up to the Georgia mountains and Augusta to visit family. That is our last stop before hitting Ft. Bragg. Our household goods arrived in NC today. We are enjoying our last few days here with the family. J is camping tonight and tomorrow is a full day of shopping for me and the gals. I'll blog more later.....

I hope everyone that reads here is doing well. I miss my sewing machine and my bed.

Goodbye Arizona

2006-10-05T17:05:00.000-04:00

Well, the movers came packed us up Tuesday and loaded up the truck yesterday. J graduated today, YAY!! We are leaving AZ tomorrow morning. It's gonna be a long ride but I think we as prepared as we can be. It should be FUN!!

I "might" blog along the way just depends...

Little Mermaid

2006-10-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

DD wants to be lil mermaid for Halloween. I used this Simplicity pattern 9919. I completed the top but the bottom isnt done yet. Here is a peak at that it looks like now. I still need to add the ruffles on the bottom and around the waist. It is large on her but she will be able to have it as dress up clothes for a while. I am gonna work on getting it to fit better for Halloween. I was in a rush to get it done.

I found out that chiffon is not the easiest thing to sew with.

A friend asked me to sew up a scrub top for her so I also finished that and its in the mail so I am hoping she will take a pic for me. I hope it fits her.

Blabbing....

2006-09-27T02:04:00.000-04:00

What a day!!

My SIL had her ultrasound today but the lil stinker was being modest and didn't want to show off for them. I woke up anxious to her the news. I really hope its a lil boy but of course we will take whatever God wants us to have.

I got everything related to moving and USAA taken care of today. I love USAA they have awesome customer service and rarely screw things up. Hopefully I will get a good realtor to deal with & our auto insurance will be cheaper than it is here in AZ, woot!

J is away and lil miss S asked for him mulitple times today. That was my first experience with trying to explain her. I kept it to 3 yr old language and I think she kinda understands. Tonight at bedtime S shocked me....Saying " I have a monster in my room". This is after she is all tucked in...so I go back in and reassure her of monsters not being real. I thought I had a couple of years before we started the monster talk. So....she ended up in my bed! Grr, so I am getting H to sleep and here is S in bed too. I am nursing H and S says, momma I need my teddy bear he isn't asleep and I need to do like u do to H. So I said sure go get him and get back in bed its past your bedtime. What does she do? Yep u guessed it pretends to nurse her teddy bear to sleep! She is still laying in the bed with her shirt up with teddy. At least she wasn't worried about monsters anymore. She usually sleeps with her baby doll but tonight its her teddy daddy sent when he was in Iraq.

To end it with a BARGAIN....

On a message board a lady posted about a typo error about some baby jeans on Old Navy. They were listed for .01 each. So "thinking" that this would never get thru the system I ordered. Well, I scored UPS delivered them today. The girls have jeans for a LONG time. I am still shocked that they are sitting in my living room. They are so cute!

Just Another *SINGLE* Mom

Happy!

Clickin

It's been soo long

What are u??

I guess her name is "Gray"

Vote for Hailey..Ends Monday 7pm

My Kindergartener!!

Pumpkin Cake

Back in the groove.....

Kids Tea Set

Christmas 08

Here it is!!!

Holiday Show on Ice- Ft Bragg

Ms. Kitty

Ice Skating, Ft. Bragg

Polar Express Train

Elf on the Shelf

Christmas is coming....

Military Welcome Home Banners

In Memory....

Santa Baby

Where do u live??

Minestrone Soup Recipe

Potty Training!!

Cleland Ice Skating Rink, Ft. Bragg

School Picture

Review

Her favorite color is....

Fishing

Officially Addicted

Blogger

It's been forever!!

Shopping

Time Change

I'd like the small things...

Ever think??

Free Dyson

Understanding the 4 Loves!

PVT PH part 3

Potato Head Part 2

Boots are on the Ground

Private Potato Head

My Life

Where have I been

Camera

Update

Recital

Family Time

Swimming lessons

Memorial Day

Strawberry pickin'

New Look

My Ballerina

Great week?

Dolly Parton Imagination Library Book #2

It's over

Family pictures

Found Material

May already???

Seersucker Dress

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

Kids

Bathrobe

Artist Case

Countdown

Teeth

Jambbas Ranch

Why & When??

Anniversary

He's HERE!!

Bathroom Makeover

She's 1 Year Old!!

Snow in NC

Ballet

still here

Fabric

Cute things

Merry Christmas

That time of year

Just Another SINGLE Mom