Close Quarters

At the beginning of the year we will be headed to San Antonio. This month we decided to move out of our 3 bedroom rented home into a one bedroom apartment.  Moving out earlier will save us a little money to help with travel down to San Antonio and less stress dealing with packers and cleaning the house. This one bedroom is fully furnished and is tiny. I keep telling myself its only a month. Going from a house to an apartment is such a difference.  The walls are so thin. Our first night I heard ESPN clear as day from the neighbor and a few nights later while lying in bed I was trying to figure out which episode of Family Guy they were watching.  Again its only a month. As a family we spend a lot of time together but now we can't escape each other. This weekend we got snow and lots of ice making it stupid to travel in town. Cabin fever sets in much faster when we are in such close quarters. Its only a month. Okay I'm done complaining.  Our new lives begin so soon and I'm excited for the hard part to be over and be settled in.

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a beautiful day and enjoys their family and friends.  I'm thankful for a lot this year.  I have two amazing boys and an Awesome husband. I'm thankful for my boys because they make me a better person. On days I'm stressed my babies give me a smile or giggle and my worries melt away for that beautiful moment.  Thankful that my husband sticks around and loves me and all that comes with loving me, including my over worried mind. I thankful for my family, when I need them they are there no questions asked. I'm thankful for my friends, the ons that truly care for me and love me with no judgement. I'm thankful for God who is still there even though Ive lost myself and want to bring him back into my life and let my boys know and understand him.

Going crazy.

I am such a mess and in a funk. The past week I've set goals and none of them have been reached,glad I didn't tell anybody about these goals  because that would have been pretty embarrassing. For example mopping my floors or getting my laundry done or just keeping my house decent. I can't even stick to a diet.

      Yesterday I had to go to Walmart to get some oil and I could care less of how much of a mess I looked. I had banana split up on my pants dog hair sticking since they were black, I had baby food carrots on my back from Masons messy hands. I just got a new haircut but you couldn't tell because I did nothing with it. I truly felt like a mom who had nothing together and going crazy.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday and I was so excited to go to get an hour to myself is that sad?

Every night when I go to bed I'm thinking that the next day I will get up and get my house spotless and I will have makeup on and my hair done and Aiden will actually be wearing clothes since he likes to be naked and Mason will have on a onesie with no baby food on it. I will have dinner pulled out and cooked by dinner time. I also think that today will be the last day I have sugary foods or the last day I will eat chips for a snack but sure enough I baked brownies last night and had a bowl of barbecue chips. I think that I will have my boys in bed at a decent time or actually have a routine that I'm able to stick with. I'm losing my own battle here.

I really need to get my stuff together. Such a random blog post but I needed to vent about myself.

Charts and Awards

 

 

 

Aiden has been pretty helpful, so we decided to give him a chore chart so he can feel good about completing  something. Once we had had the chart up for a while I realized we should have some sort of rewards system for him.

 

 

 

 

 

Printed and laminated the prizes he could choose from, these are just a few and still thinking of more.

 

1. Put money in his bird bank.

2. Bring his I Pad to bed.

3.Stay up 20 minutes past bed time.

4. Piece of candy.

5.Go to the park.

6. Movie date.

7.Ice Cream date.

8. New Toy.

 

Any ideas you have for a 3 year old??

 

 

 

Our craft of the week was a hand wreath with his favorite things listed. I am ready to do some Halloween crafts with Aiden.

 

 

Aiden has allergies and has to take medicine everyday and was just given another type of medicine he also has to take daily. This list is more for me and Danny so we don't give him the same one more than once a day. I thought it would be fun for Aiden, so we just made it for him to look at and check off. It's a morning and bedtime routine checklist and has been very helpful.

 

This weekend felt short, it rained all day on Saturday which sucked since it was the post wide yard sale and we had a permit to sell in it. $20 down the drain. Sunday however was beautiful out and a little chilly. So excited that fall is slowly making it's approach.

 

My boys are growing so fast, trying to take it all in.

Weekend fun and Breastfeeding guilt.

The weather this weekend was amazing. I am so happy that fall has finally arrived. Got all my fall decorations up, I was excited. It is not suppose to hit the 90's at all this week, this is a good thing for Oklahoma. Saturday we were up early and out and about by 9:30 am. I love when we are active on the weekends, I enjoy the lazy relax weekends to but not has much as I love going out and doing things. Aiden learned to fly a kite and caught on quick. The kite stayed up for long periods of time and he knew what he was doing, it was fun to watch. Aiden's kite is black bomb bird from the Angry Birds, so he kept yelling " Hi, Black Bird over and over" so cute.

 

 

 

 

      Once we finished the kite flying we headed to the park so Mason could have some fun as well and pushed him in the swing. It's amazing the difference parenting is for me now having two kiddos. With Aiden I was so nervous about everything, and always cared I was being judged. For example if we had to make a quick trip to Wal-Mart and went over to the cooler food areas I would think if Aiden did not have socks on I was a bad parent, or if heaven forbid I forgot his hat on a super sunny day. I was learning and should not have cared what others thought, I knew I was doing the best I could and that every parent even the one with more then one will have hiccups. Who has the right to judge anyways?? No one but the man upstairs.

OK, I had a point I should get to it.... with Mason I'm not as scared, I know that forgetting his socks wont hurt him. I allow him to try and do things sooner as well. Being a parent of two is a whole other world that's for sure.

 

Saturday night game night for me and the hubs. I was doing horrible at Super Mario, but it was still fun.

 

 

 

                                    They look so much alike.

 

 

Sunday we did some yard work and Aiden drove his brother around in his Captain America jeep. Danny put in a seat belt for Mason so he could enjoy. They both enjoyed it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I've been feeling guilty lately when it comes to breastfeeding, being a breastfeeding per counselor before Mason was born makes me think I should be taking the advice I gave many other moms in moments of weakness. Mason still gets up every 2 to 3 hours and at least twice a week it's every hour since he's been born and he's 6 months now, very different from Aiden at this age. I'm so tired, I feel some nights I am actually angry at Mason. How horrible is that?  Most nights I cherish the bonding but I have my moments of weakness and what to throw in the towel. I went 18 months with Aiden and pray I can go at least a year with Mason.

 

 

Birthday gift from my Aunt. WHO DEY!!!!!

 

 

Dollar Tree

 

 

I can always count on finding things for Aiden to do from the dollar tree, and not have to worry about spending to much money.

 

Puzzles, Aiden loves them. I have him tell me the shapes as he finds their place.

 

 

 

Butterfly ABC puzzle.

These are my favorite find thus far. They are wipe away books so he can use over and over. I even have them in our backpack for when we go out and he needs something to do.

 

 

 

 

Google Eyes.

 

 

These cute little books gave us a crafty idea.

 

 

I has Aiden draw monsters and then he glued on the funny eyes.

 

 

 

Traffic Jam due to baby in the middle of the road.

 

 

 

What fun things do you find for your kiddo to do when you have to budget?

Home will no longer be where the army sends us

In just 3 short months we will be leaving Fort Sill Oklahoma and headed for a mystery.  We have no idea where we will be and what we will be doing. I was born into the Army and married my bff who became a soldier.  It's sad to think the army life is all I know.

   The past 3 years we have been renting a home off base so ive learned how expensive utilities are and know that it will be a easy transition, the only thing that truly scares me is health care insurance. Where to look? How much it will cost?

Moving every 3 years is something I've goy very use to and grown to love, so staying in the same home for any longer will be strange.

I am however very happy to be able to have my hubby home safe. Deployments are horrible no matter how long they are, how many times they go, it sucks either way. Having lost my dad in Iraq my anxiety is horrible and I'm glad to not have that feeling anymore. I'll miss seeing him in uniform that's for sure. 

Army is in my blood and I will always support our troops and families.

Wonder what ill change my blog name to?

Sewing machine for $7.99.... SCORE!!!!

I love saving money. Have you seen extreme couponing? I want save like those women. Do you realize how much $$ could be saved if you did not have to buy shampoo and toilet paper or toothpaste for a year? I actually dislike grocery shopping so for me stocking up on items means less grocery sopping for me. I'm slowly learning how to coupon, its much harder then I thought and takes a lot of time and with the boys, I find a little time during naps and quiet time.

Last week I went to Dollar General and they were having a sale 50% off on already clearance items, so I found a few things.

 

Regular $36 Paid $13

         I found a sewing machine at goodwill for $7.99 that works and have been sewing on it that past few days. I'm new at sewing and have lots to learn but here is what I've tried and done so far.

                              
                              

 

Bib

 

Little Bag

 

Pair of pants for Mason.

 

Fabric on sale for $2.99 instead of $6.99 at Joann's.

 

A drawstring bag for Aiden from his PJ's.

 

 

 

Getting books from goodwill for the boys is also a great deal. If you really look you can find really nice books. Got these for $3.50.

 

 

 

 

 

How do you save money?

Happy Anniversary

 

July 12th 2003

 

10 years ago today we started dating, we were on my family camping trip. We had to sleep in separate tents, ha got to love dads. It was such a fun week. Germany has some of my favorite memories.

 

 

5 years ago today we had our wedding, it was beautiful and one of the best days of my life.

The past 10 years have been amazing, we have been through a lot and still going strong. I love you so much babe and I truly look forward to the next 10 which will be a adventure for us both for sure. Happy Anniversary!!! I LOVE YOU!!

 

  

Life

Life. Life gets really busy with kids, working out, cleaning, husband, baby, laundry, friends, family, bills, and more. I can definitely repeat kids baby kids baby kids baby all day. I love being a mother. My boys are everything. I'm not sure if it's just hormones but most days I'm head over heels for my boys even when they drive me crazy, then there's some days where I feel like I could just cry because I need a break. Hopefully this is normal in every mother feels this way.

  

       In the past few weeks I've only worked out a little but I still I am excited about my first 5k Color Run in October and I'm sure that I'll be able to run most of it just have to push myself.

     On July 12th Danny and I will have been together for 10 years. The love of my life he has made my life an adventure and I look forward to the next 10. Hopefully we will be getting tattoos as gifts to each other sometime in August. I love you babe with all my heart.
I'm really excited for August to get here. The last time we were on a family vacation was about 6 years ago and that was not really a vacation it was more get out of town kind of vacation. Danny was in Iraq my dad had just passed away in Iraq so it wasn't very much fun but we needed a stress free environment for a few days. In August even though its only 3 days my family including my mom and sisters and nieces and nephews will be in a RV headed to Corpus Christi then to Sea World in San Antonio. Even though we had a yard sell to save up for it it's going to be totally worth it. All of us in RV is going to be quite an adventure. I've never been in one before so I'm really excited.

So Danny and I have found a new hobby its called geocaching. Geocaching is finding containters with logs and finding little trinkets that people leave behind. In other words it's like treasure hunting. We started over the 4th of July weekend we have 32 finds so far.  I really enjoy it because we go as a family and it's something that we are doing together. It's getting us off the couch so I'm all for it. Here's some pictures of what we found.

Starting over

Week 3 and 4 Update:

               Everything was going great. Walked 6 days, and was feeling great. I was even seeing the scale finally move down. That went down hill real fast. Woke up Sunday with throat pain, so first thing that morning went and got some medicine and vitamin C to drink, I had a busy week ahead of me and being sick was the last thing I needed.
     Within a few hours, just throat pain turned into chills, body ache and hot flashes. I slept the entire day, all I did was get up to nurse Mason and Danny took care of the boys. Monday came and I was feeling just as bad even ended up having a fever, which I've not had in forever. It hurt so bad to swallow that I did not eat much for the two days and lost 4 lbs. That was probably the only plus side.
        I really wanted to feel better by Wednesday because Danny was having his no more babies surgery and would be knocked out from the drugs. So on Tuesday I did a walk in clinic and they tested for strep and it was negative, they told me it was probably nasal drip into my throat causing the pain. I ended up sucking it up because its a week later today and it still hurts to swallow, not as bad but still irritating. The only highlight to my week was going to Texas for 4 days, which was a total surprise to my mom, wish I felt better but still had fun. One week flew by because I was sick and I did ZERO walking.
        It depressing how fast your progress goes out the window. I could not walk today because my poor dogs got fleas and took them to the vet and have been cleaning my house around the clock to keep the fleas from getting nasty in the house. Only thing left to do is mow the yard and get pest control out here.  Hope to get my butt back on the track soon.

Skinny where are you?

Week Two to getting healthy, in shape and SKINNY.

 

 I keep thinking about biggest loser show and how amazing it must feel at the end of the season. Wish it was the of the season already for me.

 

The week started off great, got up early and we were at the track by 8:00. Our pace is still at a hour, which I think is great since we seem to have a few stops to adjust the kiddos. However Monday  afternoon the weather got bad and continued through Tuesday was not able to get out. Monday ended up being a day where lots of prayer was needed. About one hour north of me Moore Oklahoma got hit with a F5 Tornado.

 

 

 

 

It happen so fast, still praying for everyone who was apart of this horrible Storm.

 

Wednesday:  Up early, hit the track and since I missed a workout on Tuesday I did zumba after walking the track. I realized today that I did not use excuses like before because my son had a doctor appointment at 9:30 and this to be before meant that was all I had to do that day. This time I made sure I was up and got the track done early, then straight to the doctor and soon after make the 10:30 zumba class. I felt accomplished for sure.

 

My little booger is 12lbs now, growing up so fast.

 

 

He took a bottle for the first time this week and Daddy was able to feed him.

 

 

Thursday: Woke up with a very intense migraine. I still got up and got dressed, even got mason ready but started feeling worse by the minute and ended going to the ER to get a IV of medicine to help. Migraines is something I got sense I was in high school, but sometimes they are really bad and nothing helps but the cocktail IV they whip up. Missed another walk.

 

Friday: Woke up refreshed and ready to go. My hubby has a four day weekend so he joined me in the walk and took Aiden to the park while Mason and I did zumba. I feel that getting two forms of workouts in one day makes up for my missed day. I afraid I'm going to start slacking because I did something to my knee and its kicking my butt. I have a doctors appointment next week so going to try and tough it out until then.

 

 

How yummy does this salad look? 

 

 

Salad with pineapple. strawberries, mandarin oranges, and this particular one had creamy poppy seed dressing and the noodles since I ran out of pecans. SO GOOD!!!

 

This week we also redid a jeep for Aiden. What do you think?

 

 

 

 

Aiden thinks it's cool.

 

 

Thanks for reading about my little world, Have a beautiful day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1st week doing the 3 mile track.

My main goal for 2013 is to become fit. I signed up for a color run 5k in October. This is my first run ever and I want to run it not walk.

So I'm going to share my journey .

The week of May 13th I walked a total of 15 miles. Even though it was walking it's something I'm very proud of. A friend and I even threw in a hour and a half Zumba class one night, it kicked our butts.
   
Slowly I'm trying to work on what I'm eating,why not lose weight at the same time. The first thing I've done is givin up soda. Even though I  gave up soda before and lasted almost 2 years my pregnancy had strong cravings so I'd started again. Once the caffeine headaches are over it's not so hard.

The new thing I'm trying are salads, I've always had salad but have covered it with ranch and it's such a heavy dressing I thought I'd try something new. The salad from Panera Bread and Atlanta Bread are really good and much lighter. So I went online and found the recipes. They are so yummy. My favorite part of the salads are the strawberries and the mandarin oranges.

Now that my first week is over I lost 3 pounds. However on Friday I caved in and had a burger from Sonic and I'm back up one, crazy how fast that happens. I'm really happy to have a friend walk with me it gives me more motivation, and when my husband walks with me he pushes me to work harder, I'm very grateful.

Baby Mason

March 17, 2013

It was an early morning for me, woke up at 4:00 am to contractions. I waited it out for a little while and then finally started to keep track of them, since I had just seen the Dr. and was told that I was still not dilating, I was sure it was going to be another false alarm. I was just trying to wait until my water broke but the pain was getting stronger, so I woke everyone up. Daddy and I went in around 11:30ish just to be sure I was not dilating. We were seen right away, the hospital was empty since it was a Sunday. The doctor came in and said I was 6 cm dilated and they were going to admit me. I was happy and scared all at the same time.

 I made it clear that I wanted an epidural, I had one with your brother and just wanted things to be familiar, this to me is less scary. The Dr. did an ultrasound and saw some black around you and wanted to make sure it was not stool so they said for your safety that they would break my water before the epidural. I was all about your safety. I made it clear that I delivered your brother in 4 hours and was told that was fast so I could possibly be quick with you as well. They brought me and your dad into our room that we would deliver and stay in for the next few days. The nurses came in and started the IV, which took a little longer since I was not very hydrated. The fluids finally in, the Dr. comes in and breaks my water. All is well with you and now we wait for the epidural. The doctor and nurses leave and I’m breathing through contractions.

Honestly I thought I was doing amazing for the pain...pain I did not feel with Aiden, Little did I know. Very fast the pain went from a 5 to a 10. I was shocked!!! I was telling your dad I'm not going to get the epidural in time, and just like that I started to yell, scream, cry, hum; everything I could think of to try and help but nothing did. Nurse came in to check fluids and she could tell by the way I was acting that something was up and checked you. Sure enough you were ready and I started pushing and could not stop. This all happened very fast. 21 minutes after the doctor broke my water you were here. Beautiful and healthy, I cried from happiness and relief. Your dad was also overwhelmed and had happy tears.  An hour after getting into the hospital you were here and your dad and I were both happy and surprised. Your dad held you for the first two hours while the doctors were fixing me up, I was in and out of sleep but you did not seem to mind. Once I help you my heart skipped a beat. You are just perfect. You looked just like your brother, you could be twins, but soon enough you showed your own little personality. You breastfed like a champ, and things just fell into place. We had to stay in the hospital for two nights and 3 days. Aiden and Oma were very excited when we were finally home.  Your brother took to you well and fit his role as a big brother great. I love you and am excited and blessed to have you. Looking forward to watching you and your brother grow.

38 weeks

Almost time... I'm still nervous but I'm done being uncomfortable and ready to complete our family. I'm so excited to see Mason. This time around since Danny was home we did not get a 3D ultrasound, so we are anxious to see what and who he looks like. Aiden is a clone of his dad I would not be surprised if Mason was as well. 

Aiden was born at 38 weeks and my water broke on its own so I've been extra anxious this week hoping for the same. Except its totally oppisite, seems I have to work a little harder to help Mason along.  Hope that I have good news at our Dr appointment.

This past week may have been rough because of pain and lack of of sleep but my mom is here and she is a huge help. I love having her here. Its nice to have someone other then a 2 year old to talk to during the day. I am very grateful to have her and Aiden adores her.

Here are some pictures of the week.
Did some painting, played in his new mini sandbox, jumped and decorated the trampoline, blew bubbles,we even decorated for spring/ Easter.