Home is Where the Navy Sends Us

Oops I did it again...

2011-03-04T03:18:00.000-08:00

and that is not a reference to a rather infamous pop princess!

But rather the beginning of an apology to my bloggy world friends! It has been almost a year since my last post and I feel incredibly awful about it!! So I am going to try and be a bit better about these things! Like I have said in the past though I suck at follow through! LMAO!!

So crazy it has almost been a year!!! I left off in May 2010! We had just moved into a bigger (4bedroom) house for our expanding family! Now it is March 2011 and i am having a hard time remembering the events of the last 10months! Actually now that i think about it life was pretty mundane! I had lots of Dr appointments, Ernie worked alot!

Cami Started gymnastics at last march at Island Tumblers in Waipio! Cami and I absolutely LOVED her class there! But sadly a mere 7months after starting, her skill out grew the way they instruct and advance! When they made the decision to not move her forward because of her age (despite that she had the skill level to move forward) we decided that maybe she would be better suited for a different gym! We found a new Gym home at Hawaiian Island Twisters!! We made the transfer November 1st and have not regretted a moment! Cami since joining has advanced 2 levels and starts testing again starting Monday :)

Addi has had a lot of therapy!! As of mid May we added a Behavioral therapist, a Skills trainer, and speech therapy! Though we kinda furloughed for a while after Emmi was born! Trying to find a routine that worked for us was a bit difficult! We restarted our 1hour a week therapy in January and have been maintaining that pretty well. Next week we meet again with everyone and will be adding the behavioral therapy and skills trainer! I will also be scheduling her speech therapy again! The only areas she is behind in at the moment that I know of (unofficially) are social and speech! I will update on that after our meeting on Tuesday and let everyone know where her official standings are! :)

On November 16th we added a beautiful 7lb. 18in. baby girl to our family! Emmilee Ariana (Emmi) was born via cesarean at 0600!! A week earlier than planned but that is ok! She has been such a wonderful blessing in our household and her older sisters love her soooo much!! Now she is almost 16 weeks (she will be Mar. 8th) and is doing amazing things! She sleeps through the night she has just started laughing and she smiles so much!

As for the four legged furry members of our family! The move was ROUGH!!! The new house was a hard adjustment for them! The backyard had/ has many flaws and we had a lot of "repairs" to do (which really sucked cause we live in Military housing and that is supposed to be their job! But they didn't deem my dogs escaping the fence was an issue they needed to fix!) So after having to hunt Rambo (our Shi Tzu) down numerous times and him even having an overnight jaunt in Doggy Jail (aka the Humane Society!) The day Rambo had his overnight stay Princess (our Black Lab mix) also flew the coup!! Rambo was picked up in Pearl City (which is about a 10- 15min drive from the house) and Princess was never found! :( She was never reported to the Humane society or to Animal control, so our hopes are that someone found her and took her in and loves her as much as we did/ do! A few months later when we gave up the hope of Princess coming home we decided to make another trip to the Humane Society! We just wanted to go take a look around, we had no intention of adopting that day! Well... we met Rocco! We adopted him that day :) He is a Corgi Terrier mix (he looks like a goofy bat dog LOL)

I recently have joined the Pampered Chef bandwagon! LOL Well I have been on board for a while but I finally decided to take a leap of faith in the company, the product, and most of all myself! I became an Independent Sales Consultant! I love pampered Chef products!! I am extremely excited for this journey! And amazingly E was on board and all for me signing up! For him to have the faith in me that I don't always have in myself means so much to me!! Such an amazing and wonderful husband I have!!

Which leads me to the last of this EXTRA long post!

6YEARS!!! Ernie and I have been Married for 6YEARS!!! Wooo hooo! To the naysayers who said we would never make it here is my big fat rude gesture!! These years have been trying, with less than stellar commands, pointless separations (military kind not marriage,) deployments, 3 pregnancies (and child births,) 2PCS moves and all the little in and out work ups! We still have each other and I look forward to so many more wonderful years to come! It can and will only get better!!!

Ernie if you read this! I want you to know and never forget that I Love you beyond any and every distance we have ever conquered! You are an amazing father, a wonderful friend and some other things that shouldn't be mentioned on a PG rated blog! You are my one and only true love! Lets knock out the next 100+ years together!

And we are in

2010-05-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

It has been 2 weeks since the move was accomplished! Aside from the frustration of my husband and family friend putting everything except for large furniture pieces in the garage it went well LOL! I have SLOWLY been unpacking and organizing things and am in the process of making a freecycle/ CL/ Goodwill pile in the garage (that might I add is not growing in the desired way I had hoped!) The girls are adjusting as well as can be expected! Cami is missing her friends from the loop something terrible and that makes me super sad and wonder if me choosing the housing with more sq footage and carpet was the right choice. I miss my friends too but I have the luxury of having a drivers license and the ability and knowledge of how to properly use a telephone! I guess we will just have to make more playdates! After I get the house more organized and cleaned! Thanks everyone for bearing with me while I get all of this stuff completed and finally have a decent looking house LOL

I have not abandoned everyone...

2010-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

All is ok! Just been a bit CRAZY around this house!!

We found out back at the end of March that we are going to be blessed with another munchkin sometime in Nov! So now we are preparing to move to a larger house at the beginning of next month! Cami has started at a new Gymnastics program and she LOVES it! She has balance and coordination like no other 4yo I know! She is also starting T-ball in June! She is super excited about getting a new brother or sister! and She loves to tell everyone that Addi gets to be a big sister now too (it is like there is some secret society for big sisters!!)

Addi is doing ok we are making some progress in her developmental delays (not nearly as fast as I would like it to be but that is life!) She is now signing a little she does all done, more, and sometimes she says please! She is mimicking the sound of the word Hi which is a good step in the right direction for working towards the goal of her talking! We recently added new team members to Team Addi (as I like to refer to them LOL) with the addition of an Autism Diagnosis they were needed! Our team now consists of a Pediatrician, a Pediatric Neurologist, a Pediatric Psychiatrist, an Audiologist, OT/ PT therapist, Early education specialist, ABA therapist, a Student Skills trainer,and like 3 coordinators LOL! I am starting to lose my mind LOL!!! But things are slightly on the upswing! Addi has not had a seizure since the beginning of January! and we are completly weaned off of the seizure meds! Other than a few check ups and lots of therapy the biggest thing going on with her anytime soon is she is going to have to have a sedated ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response testing) the sometime in May! I will Keep you posted on when that is going to happen though!!

This past few weeks have been a somewhat whirlwind but in such a good way! We have really had a chance to bond as a family and enjoy our time together! We made a trip to the beach with Chrissi and the kids a couple of Saturdays ago! It was such a good day at the beach! We are moving a week from Thursday! So if I am pretty non existent (like that would be a new thing) at least you know I am not ignoring the blog I am just a bit busy LOL!

Tuesday at the Table

2010-03-30T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky almost 28 years ago, though I don't remember living there too much! We moved away to Ohio when I was about 4yrs old and we lived there for like a month before my father’s job decided it would rather open a new shop in the Reading, PA area. So there we go off and moving to Reading, PA (well the surrounding boroughs of.) A great deal of my childhood was spent there and I have many, many fond memories of our time there. When I was about 11yrs old my father’s company (the same that moved us to PA) decided that they were going to expand and that the man for the job was none other than my old man! So we once again packed up shop and moved where they told us too! Where to you are asking huh?!

THE CAROLINA’s

Charlotte, NC to be exact…I was in love with our new home as much as my 11yrs allowed me to love it! I loved everything about our new home! The neighborhood was full of children my age and younger…that meant lots of babysitting opportunities. The elementary school was bike riding distance (I thought that was the best thing ever…but now that I think back I don’t think I ever actually rode my bike to school!) and even better I was going to be in the 5^th grade! That excitement lasted all of about 2 min LOL!

About 2 years later my parents made the decision to buy a home in Rock Hill, SC (it was only an extra 30min to the commute for them but it destroyed my world LOL! As anything severe like that happening in a 14yr olds life does! This move was a wonderful decision that to be honest at the time I couldn’t see! But now that we move every couple of years for my husband’s job I can totally see it from both points of view! I do think I may do things a little differently when it comes to explaining to my children the ins and outs of moving! I think Moving so much as a child prepared me for the moving as an adult though now the question I ask my parents is why did you never use moving companies?!?!? Especially for the big state to state moves! Ugh they make life so much easier LOL! Now that we live the Nomadic Military life people are constantly asking where are you from and when they do my response is always… South Carolina! I may not have been born there but that place for me is Home! It holds the best and the worst memories! But I wouldn’t change a one of them!

But anyways moving south developed my taste buds into new and exciting things!!! There are so many things that I miss about the South and the culinary genius that is SOUTHERN cooking!! Now don’t get me wrong the Northern region had some wonderful food as well but IMHO nothing compares to a good down home cooked southern style comfort dinner!!! So a couple of things I miss the most are Sweet Tea (everywhere there…3places here!!), and REAL Carolina style BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches!!! YUMMY!!!! I have found a recipe that is AMAZING...and the best part about it is …a Crockpot Recipe!!! I found this while perusing the wonderful Recipe Applications on my iPhone technology is wonderful!!!

Ok so these are the ingredients you are going to need:

2md-lg onions, quartered

2tbls brown sugar (I used Dark Brown)

1tbls paprika

2 teaspoons of salt (I used Hawaiian Sea Salt)

½teaspoon Pepper

4-6lb boneless Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast (I use bone in)

2/3 cup Vinegar

4Tsp Worstershire Sauce

1Tsp Red Pepper Flakes

1 ½ tsp Sugar

½ tsp Dry Mustard

½ tsp Garlic Salt

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Hamburger Buns

Cole Slaw (Optional)

Directions

1. Place quartered onions in the Crockpot

2. Combine brown sugar, paprika, salt, and pepper. Rub entire surface area of the roast. Place Roast fat side up on top of the Onions.

3. Combine red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt, cayenne, cider vinegar, and worstershire sauce. Stir to mix well. Drizzle ¼ of the mixture over Roast Cover and Refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.

4. Cover roast and cook on Low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6hours. Remove meat and chop or shred. Chop onions.

5. Serve meat and onions on Hamburger buns, if desired top meat with coleslaw. Pass the remaining vinegar mixture to drizzle over sandwiches!

ENJOY!!!!!

(P.S. I forgot to take finished pictures!! I promise it was delicious and beautiful LOL)

I Heart Faces: Week 13- Dramatic B&W

2010-03-28T20:16:00.000-07:00

Every week over at I Heart Faces they do a weekly photo challenge of some sort! These challenges encourage the individual as a photographer to seek out new techniques to broaden the individual's horizons so to speak! You may have gathered from the name of their blog Amy and Angie (the owners of iheartfaces) like to see...FACES...Baby faces, kid faces, grown up faces and I have even known them to look for animal faces LOL!! I love entering these challenges not because there is some wonderful prize in store but because I like to showcase what I have done! It isn't always the best (I am SOOOO far from it LOL) but I like to think that some of it is good! I know I said this in last week’s post but I am still so proud (even a year later!!) My very first entry ever took 6th place in the Week 8 Challenge-Messy Faces last year! My friend Matt had just gotten done doing Swamp Romp (it is a Race they hold for Active Duty over on the Marine Corp base) and boy was he a mess! You can kind of get the idea from the mess on his face but that was HEAD TO TOE!!! He got back to my house so energized (well until we started spraying him with the cold water from the water hose! It was great!

Ok so anyway back on subject now that I have done a little reminiscing!! This week’s challenge is Dramatic Black and White!! First let me just tell you that this challenge by far was the most difficult for me cause I 1) don't have a wonderful bells and whistles type photo-editing program and am simply using the Picasa that came on my computer (which isn't horrible might I add I have learned to do some fun stuff the last couple of days!!) and 2) dramatic to me means some type of moody! I just can't seem to bring myself to use a picture of a smiling person (mainly children in my world) convert it to B&W and call it a Dramatic B&W! For me the expression has to describe the emotion in the picture and then the conversion just highlighting that expression! (This honestly is why I think most “sad” pictures you find are in B&W Color just makes things happier!!!) So honestly it is nothing short of spectacular that I found this photo in my plethora of shots! As I was concerned that I wouldn't have anything ready on hand for me to toy with! Not that I am not willing to go out and set the shot for what I am looking for I just like to utilize the abundance of shots I already have (I typically take A LOT of pictures of my children and their friends.) before I go out and try to manipulate the general public into a shot that is worthy of the challenge!!

Again with my Ramblings (Please excuse them as I do have a picture to showcase for you!) This is my friend (and fellow Sub Wife) K's DD (dear daughter) L! She is a wonderful girl (growing just a little too quickly into a young lady) and such a good kid (when she wants to be as most are!!) So anyway this shot was taken (pure luck) at my daughter Cami's 4th birthday party it was a tad bit windy and I couldn't tell you why she doesn't look happy and excited (all of the children were playing on Slip n slides, and in the sprinklers!) But lucky for me she wasn't cause I think her expression makes this picture! Even without the B&W conversion it was a moody and interesting shot!! This is by far one of my favorite pictures I have ever taken on L!!!

So I think I have Rambled enough for one posting LOL! Please feel free to leave me some comments and Constructive Criticism! If anyone knows of an AWESOME Photography course on the Island of Oahu please feel free to let me know as I have decided to go back to school for Photography!!!

Check back for a TatT tomorrow!!! BBQ Pork Carolina Style!!! YUMMY!!!!

A couple new adventures and a Picture Show

2010-03-25T10:37:00.000-07:00

My first adventure may very well turn out to be a flop as I am going to try to teach myself

how-to make Bows! And yes I did say bows as in little cutesy keep my daughter little as long as

possible Bows! I am thinking some of it is going to be VERY easy But I do foresee a bit of an issue

when it comes to making the Traditional style double loop boutique style Bow! But I think I will get it eventually!

I actually found a REALLY cheap Ribbon store online and am currently waiting on my first of two

orders! I am currently just going to make them for my girls and maybe a few of the neighbor girls!

Time will tell and if it is meant to be an adventure I am supposed to take! Please just pray that

the right path reveals itself soon!!

So my second Adventure is my Camera! My Loving DH purchased my first DSLR for me and

I am in love!!! I feel inspired to seek out new pictures daily so I think that it is time for some

formal education on the subject! I have decided that I need to Look into going back to school and I think I wanna go for Photography! Learning the ins and out of my camera and how to edit photo's is something I feel I could do and enjoy for a long time! Like everyone who turns a hobby into a job I am afraid I will lose the love for it but only time will tell!!!

So it has been a while since I posted any new pics and with the permission of some of my friends and neighbors there may be few children who don't belong to me LOL!

My oldest... She Turned 4 the end of last month!

She is a spirited little girl with all the umph and gusto of a Sumo Wrestler!!!

Oh and She has Daddy WRAPPED!!!! LOL

~Camille Sierra~

My Beautiful 17month old Daughter

A seizure disorder diagnosis in August has not slowed her down and I think she is out to set some Medical record or something!

A new Diagnosis of Mild Autism won't get her either!!

She is currently Seizure free since the beginning of January!!!!!!

Currently weaning off of Toprimate suspension!!

~Addisyn Makaia~

His Mother (Kissy) and I have been friends since we met when Ernie and I married! Her Husband and Ernie were in Sub School together and then parted ways as "Sprocket" went to his "A" School and Ernie went straight to the boat! Long story short after Sprocket was done with "A" School he wound up on the same boat as Ernie! Kissy and Sprocket were married a mere 6months prior! Kissy and I became pregnant at just about the same time (about a month apart) and Cami and The Boy were born 39 days apart! So we were stationed on the first boat together and then we parted ways (a little prematurely) and went to VA while they finished their time in Hawaii (that go around LOL) a little over a year later they were in VA with us though Ernie was just on a different boat and Sprocket had managed to make it to Shore Duty! It was great being able to be somewhat close again! On Superbowl Sunday we went to their house to watch the game and enjoy some friend time when Kissy and I told each other we were pregnant again LOL! But Sadly Ernie and I were moving again!! Back to Hawaii! Even though we were apart we still stayed in touch LOL! Good thing to because less than a year after we parted with them in VA Spocket decided it would be a wise decision for them to cancel their shore duty billet and head to back to a sea command! (It just happened to be the boat we left LOL) Well the cool thing about the new command for them was it was due for a homeport relocation....but where?? You guessed it right back her to Hawaii! We were blessed that they were able to move in not directly next door but a couple of houses down! These people have become our family and I would have been lost without them while Ernie was gone to Afghanistan!!! Sprocket fed me and Kissy kept my chin up and a smile on my face as much as possible!!! These people are AMAZING!!! We couldn't ask for better friends!!

So this is the Boy!!!

Isn't he a cutie!!

I love him!!!

And he is smart as smart can be!!!

He is Cami's Best Friend!!!

This is Menace!!

(That is said with all the love and heart an Auntie can give!!)

Don't let her cute facade fool you she is T_R_O_U_B_L_E!!! She very much reminds me of Cami when she was this age!!

And because I have just been messing around on Picasa lately (hence why everything is in Collage form today!) One more Collage for the road!

These are from our most recent trip to the Zoo!!

Honolulu Zoo

March 2010!!!!

Ok so that is it for tonight folks I am going to head to bed because unfortunately I am feeling a bit under the weather as I feel a Sore throat coming on!!

God Bless

I Heart Faces Weekly Challenge!!!

2010-03-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

entered the IHeartFaces weekly challenge a while back when they were looking for messy faces! I didn't place in their children's category but in the adult category I placed in the top 10!!! Woo hoo!! i have also entered a few others since then but haven't placed since then!! But I learned a lot from Angie and Amy and all of the WONDERFUL Photographers over there! This weeks theme is Focusing on Angles and I think I have a good Shot! My picture was taken with my new I have taken several pictures over the last few months with my friend Chrissi's Nikon D3000 that she got from her hubby (He is a good Man!!) for Christmas!!! I seriously fell more in love with the DSLR than I ever was before! I knew I wanted one but I had never felt the pure rush of shooting with one! For our anniversary this year my husband surprised me with a Canon Rebel EOS and an extra lens!! He is AWESOME!!! So anyway on with my ramblings! My entry for this week is a picture of my daughter Addisyn (17mnths) playing in the Garage/ Playroom! Good Luck to Everyone who is entering in the fun this week!!!

I guess I should get back into the swing of things with a ...

2010-03-09T11:29:00.001-08:00

Today's TatT is

Buffalo Chicken dip!

1 bottle Franks Red Hot Buffalo sauce (or you can use the buffalo sauce of you own preference!)

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 8oz package of Cream Cheese

1 package shredded cheddar cheese ( I use pre-shredded but you can totally shred your own)

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375degrees

Boil the chicken till done and finely shred.

Step 2

Combine 1/2 of the cheddar cheese, 8oz cream cheese, shredded chicken, and Buffalo sauce in a mixing bowl. Blend ingredients well

Step 3

Pour mixture into a baking dish and top with remaining cheddar cheese.

Step 4

Bake for approx 15-20min until cheese is melted and the mixture is bubbly!!!

Serve warm with Tortilla chips!!! Enjoy!!

This week is going slow and it is only Tuesday LOL!

Ernie started back to work yesterday and it was bittersweet for me! this last month for me and the girls was amazing just having him home! And even though I know we were both ready for him to return to work I don't think I was 100% ready! I never am LOL!

So for our last weekend before he had to return we spent it as a couple and as a family! Friday was our Anniversary! We have now celebrated 5 blissful (ha ha had to laugh) ok so maybe not blissful they have been crazy and wonderful nonetheless. Friday morning Ernie surprised me with the 2nd best gift he has ever gotten me A CANNON REBEL DSLR!!! I am in love with this Camera and am enjoying learning to use it! That night we went out to one of our Favorite places Dixie Grill ! We enjoyed a laid back dinner just the 2 of us (our wonderful and amazing friend Chrissi watched the girls). Saturday we went and spent the afternoon at the zoo With some wonderful friends!! I got some great shots of the kids and animals! Sunday I hosted a soy candle making party and it was a lot of fun!

OMG I am back LOL!!

2010-03-04T11:14:00.000-08:00

I am back with no promises! Only a hope of future postings! Last time I posted was to far back to give a detailed summary of past events so I will give a quick review if you need any elaboration on anything just ask and I will try to return with an answer of some sort! In late July early aug my baby girl was diagnosed with a rare seizure disorder (Infantile Spasms) we have been working since then on controling the seizures and working on the developmental delays that are a side effect! Cami has been almost as healthy as a horse just helping me get through the craziness! Ernie Came home for R&R the end of Sept beginning of Oct. and was able to celebrate his birthday as well as Addisyn's first with us as a family! It was wonderful and I missed him very much! Nov flew by and then we spent December in AK visiting with my family!! We ventured back to "warm " climates the beginning of January and things were a whirlwind of un packing and trying to get the house and girls ready for the arrival of the bestest present ever!!! The Daddy man came home the beginning of February ending his IA tour!! It was a wonderful, exciting day for us! The best part was Daddy was FINALLY HOME!!!! 3 weeks later My BIG BABY GIRL TURNED 4!!!!! Cami is turning into such a big girl I can not believe how quickly time has flown! Now that February is done and Ernie is returning to work next week we will settle back into a routine! Cami has started gymnastics and is loving it and Addi has been seizure free since the first week of Jan. We have started weaning her off of her seizure medicine!!! i will do my best to keep the posts coming! But you can be my friend on FB to get a more up to the min play by play of our CRAZY life LOL!! Thanks everyone!!!

I Almost found my groove!!

2009-06-25T02:17:00.000-07:00

And then I realized that I have not been on here in FOREVER it seems like it anyway! I am doing good so far though the last few weeks have been difficult! We had some friends move back out here at the end of May and they stayed with us here until they got their house (which I am blessed is only 2 houses down from me!!) And since they got here all of our children have had a variety of run ins with the sickies! Cami started with a viral cold that was supposed to go away within a few days (a week tops the doc said) that lasted 3 weeks and at the 3.5 week mark she started spike 103+ degree fevers! I took her back in and he once again tried to tell me it was viral and I let him know in my expert mommyness that I strongly disagreed and so he agreed to consider it was a sinus infection! So after putting her on a round of Antibiotics it has completely cleared up and we are almost done with them! But now she is complaining of an Earache! Addi got to experience her first ever trip to the ER and I am pleased to say it was about as good as any trip to the ER could be! (Especially at a Military Hospital!) She had the Croup (for those who don't know what that is it is a virus of sorts that sets up in the airway and causes a barking kind of cough sounds really similar to a seal!) Before I took her in I thought that was what it was so I started trying to treat it at home by sitting in steam and rubbing vicks on her chest and such but then it took an odd turn and it wasn't so much coming out as a cough! She was making the same sound but it was as she inhaled so that freaked me right out and I took her in! 2.5hours a breathing treatment and a round of oral steroids and home again we went with out another issue! (My friends have a boy and a girl so until I take the time to ask said friends if they mind me mentioning their names these two will be refered to by the gender that they represent!) So Boy Started out with just a cold and a week later had an ear infection and then 3 weeks later has now had a go with the sinus infection! Girl (who is 22days younger than Addi) has had a go around with the sinus infection! So now that gets to the me part! I now (almost positive without having gone to see the Doc yet!) believe that I have a little if not all of what all said above children have had! I have a sinus infection definitely the pressure is unbearable and the mucus (sorry if this is a bit TMI) is green and gross! My chest though it is tight is not yet wheezing (which for me being an Asthmatic is a miracle in itself) I have a whooping bark of a cough that has the power to bring me to my knees and make me pee my pants (i should probably do more of those Kegal things my momma kept on me about while i was pregnant LOL) if I am not careful! I feel like my head is constantly underwater! Unless I know you are directly talking to me I can't hear you so don't try and holler to me from a different room especially if there is a lot of other stuff going on! I have alos come to realize because of all of this that even though I know I hate being sick and I know I make a lousy patient (my momma will atest to that one!) My husband takes the best care of me when I am sick (not nearly as good as my momma but a close 2nd) It is times like these when I need to sleep in or take a nap so I can get back to 100% quickly he looks afer me! He fetches me OJ and soup (even if he has to get someone else to make it LOL) He is an AWESOME man and I hate that he is gone I miss him so much!

So today I am having a slightly rough slightly productive day! I have done really awesome at catching up on the laundry that I have been neglecting til I ran out of onsies for the baby LOL! (Bad mom I know!) But All of the baby and kid laundry is put away and I am working on mine (by working on it I mean the washing and drying are taking place and the putting away may commence when it is all clean and dry LOL) I got my kitchen and living room cleaned and the toy room looks like the cleaning fairy did her job the only thing I did not get done is sweeping and mopping and the backyard (which would probably be a good idea to do while I can't smell anything LOL!!!) It is rough cause I miss him and I just wanna lay on the couch and be sick with him here to take care of the things I don't feel like taking care of because I am sick! To just be able to sleep and not have to wake up at the butt crack o dawn because Addi pooped in her sleep and it woke her up (my kid is weird!!!) and now she wants to kick at 3am! Ugghhh I just want life to be simple and normal again! I detest seeing happy couples all around me cause it makes me ridiculously jealous and I wanna SCREAM!!!!!!! Please Just send him home safely and make this deployment go faster!

Even through all of the sickies miss Cam was still able to attend her weekly swim lessons and has flourished! She is doing so good at it as soon as I can I will post her swimming pictures (cause of course I have taken a bunch!) But for now since I have dosed myself with some Tylenol Sinus and Robitussin I am taking my sickly self to bed! I will update again soon!

An update and new family pictures!!

2009-05-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

Well Ernie is on the airplane heading back to MS and then he will go from there to the final destination till he comes back home to me! I am super sad and Cami went to drop him off with me (Addi stayed at home with a friend) that was horrible... she was not happy about him leaving! Heading off to bed though (hopefully sleep will come easy) Here are some pictures from our portrait session!

Tuesday at the table!!

2009-04-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

It has been a really long time since I posted one of these but the problem is I haven't found anything spectacular that I deamed worthy of sharing! But then I found this wonderful recipe for some healthy lasagna on the foodnetwork.com. Let me just say that I LOVE that website!!

Better Beef Lasagna
12 ounces whole-wheat lasagna noodles (15 noodles)
8 ounces lean ground beef (90 percent lean or higher)
2 teaspoons olive oil
8 ounces portobello mushrooms, diced (about 3 large mushroom caps)
4 cups good quality store-bought marinara sauce
1 (15 ounce) container part-skim ricotta cheese
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
3 ounces grated part-skim mozzarella cheese (about 2/3 cup) Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Cook the noodles al dente according to the directions on the package. Drain them well then lay out on waxed paper to prevent them from sticking to each other.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks, about 3 minutes. Transfer the meat to a plate, discarding any fat remaining in the pan.
Add the oil to the same pan and heat over a medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated and they begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Return the meat to the pan. Stir in 2 cups of the tomato sauce and simmer for 2 minutes.
In a medium bowl combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, egg, the salt, the pepper and nutmeg.
Spread 1 cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Place a layer of lasagna noodles on top, touching but not overlapping. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top of the noodles. Add another layer of noodles. Top with half the beef-mushroom mixture. Repeat with another layer of noodles, then remaining cheese mixture, more noodles, then remaining beef mixture and finally 1 more layer of noodles. Top the final layer of noodles with the remaining sauce, then sprinkle with the grated cheeses. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

He is home...

2009-04-25T19:42:00.000-07:00

He has made it home safe and sound from his IA training! We have 10days and then he will be gone again so I will try to post some while He is home but I make no promises! I thought I would share the video of him being OC Sprayed (pepper spray) with the rest of his battalion. This video is of Ernie only but I have another compilation video I will add later that has everyone in his battalion being sprayed and it is dubbed to some music by Disturbed!

And since I am adding the video of my love I figure some of you would love to see some new pics of my munchkins! Living in Hawaii if we don't wash out the trashcan regularly year round it will start to REEK!! So Cam wanted to be a big girl and help me with the yucky chore!

Looking all cute in the New Easter outfit The Bunny brought her!! Addi Playing outside in the pooh walker Yummy squash! I love the expressions she makes while she eats! They are priceless!

UGH Life at it's best!

2009-04-19T01:08:00.000-07:00

So I know I keep telling everyone that I will post more and then I am still at the same point I was and if anything have gotten worse about Posting! I have a couple of awards out there to pass on but to be honest right now I am not going to pass them on tonight! I am sorry to those who have awarded me but I am just not able to pass them at this point! I have probably been the worst blogger friend in the whole wide world recently! I apologize to all of you for not stopping by to comment I haven't even been reading my google reader (which is bad since I get that on my cell phone!)

These past few weeks i have been struggling with my role as mommy! I have not had the energy to do much of anything and I feel horrible! I feel as if I have been neglecting my duties as a mom because I have been neglecting myself! I have not allowed myself any me time! If I have ventured anywhere outside of my home it is with the girls and I feel the stress building! The sad thing is I have offers of people who are willing to watch my fussy, teething 6month old and my whinny not listening to anyone, think I can do as I please 3yr old! I am just afraid to let them and be embarrassed if she is as horrible there as she has been at home!

I am just glad that the first leg of this thing is almost over and he will be home again soon if even for only a few days! I think it is the pick me up that I need! I have missed him terribly and I think it may have shown via my blog and I am sorry for that friends! I apreciate all of the help and support you have all provided for me please don't give up hope on me yet!

So this summer I am planning on enrolling Cami in a couple of outdoor activities that I think will help her at home as well as getting the energy out! Swim Lessons start soon and I am planning on being the first one in the door that day! I want to take a Mommy and me class with Addisyn and miss no fear herself needs the lessons so if she ever decides (again) to just jump in unsupervised I can have a little bit of sanity knowing that she knows how to swim! I swear she will be the death of me if we don't find a positive oulet for all of her energy! And I want to encourage her to continue to be athletic. I never really was struggle with weight and self confidence issues now!

Addisyn is doing good she is almost 7months now and I can't beleive it! We are trying to cut in our bottom two teeth and they don't seem to wanna come through! We are having an issue with weight gain and the Dr and I are on top of it! The Dr is thinking that I am just not making enough breastmilk to sustain her so I have been on Reglan and pumping between feedings to help increase my milk supply and it is seeming to work a little but it doesn't seem to be as well as we were expecting! I am kinda close to excepting that I may have to supplement with formula I am just trying to hold on to nursing for as long as possible! My goal was atleast 1 year but if she self weaned before that I would be ok with it! As long as she is happy and developmentally on track I will try not to worry to much!It helps a little that we go back to the Dr. in the morning for a weight check so hopefully things will be looking up!

I will try to keep everyone up to date on how things are going but once again I will make no promises and I will try to get those Awards passed on soon!!! Thanks everyone for bearing with me!!

Slack...

2009-03-31T03:15:00.000-07:00

Slack

The best word to describe my blogging habits lately!! I promise I will be working on it but I have been working on my house instead! So as soon as I get my house back into shape and at a maintainable level I will have a little more time on my hands to do things such as blog and peruse the Internet for fabulous items! But for now I will be keeping my postings to a bare minimum so that those who know and love me and my family will know that we are OK and still alive! These postings will probably be coming with an accompanyment of a Tuesday @ the table and/ or my photography entries!

So other than us being alive their has been nothing fabulous or interesting to report this week! Ernie is doing well in MS and learning lots of fun new things! Cami has been a great big pill of a three year old this past week! Everything she has done has been whiney, disruptive, and destructive!! Needless to say she has spent a lot of time in her room and has had her butt popped a few times these past few weeks! I am at a loss for what to do with her anymore! She is stressing me out! And try as I may I can't seem to bring myself to take her out to do fun things if she can not behave at home!

Addisyn on the other hand is doing very well so far i can not beleive she is turning 6 months old already! She has started eatin baby food and cereal. Her diet now consists of ...

Boob Juice (lol)

rice cereal

Oatmeal cereal

Green beans

Sweet potatoes

And we are going to keep gradually adding to it! She loves her food no matter what it is! I am just hoping that when we go into her 6month Well check she has gained a little bit of weight because that was a concern at our last appt! I myself am not overly concerned with it because at this point with Cami weight gain was very little! Her growth didn't kick it up till after she hit a year old! So we will see how things go!!

I am doing ok! I developed a Stye under my left eyelid at the beginning of the week so I have had a swollen eye all week! And it is finally going away! As far as how I am feeling it is a little bit better I have gotten out of the house a couple of times with the children and then I have been able to escape for shorter amounts of time with out them! I will survive this is all I keep telling myself! I know I can it is just a matter of finding my groove! Once I find that I think I will be ok! Any advice on how to find it? Ugh I hate to keep asking that question I just am having trouble this time! Though I was thinking about it and maybe I am having trouble finding it because I know the rollercoaster will just be starting all over again when he leaves after his I-stop! Thanks everyone for listening and being there for me! It really means a lot to me!!

( This is a post that I have been working on for a week and thought I posted LOL! So expect another one soon LOL)

Another week down

2009-03-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Things are OK on the home front here just seeming a little tedious! I feel like everything is piled against the door and I can't push through! Nothing is really wrong, matter of fact minus the housework that I can't seem to get the energy to get behind and get done, everything is going great! I just can't seem to shake that feeling that my world is about to collapse around me! I know part of it is a depression trying to settle in and i am fighting it hard! The thing is I have a history of depression and am not proud to say that at 14 I hit an all time low! I tried to kill myself! Since then I have been on many different medications and only a couple of them have worked! Unfortunately when treating "mental" issues it is a trial and error when it comes to finding the right medication (or a combination of!) Well before I found out I was pregnant with Cami we had finally found the perfect combination to keep my issues in check and unfortunately it was not safe to continue taking while i was pregnant and nursing! Needless to say I did not go back on the medications after Cami's first year (we were trying for Addisyn) and have not been on any stabilizers since! Some days I wish for the even keel that I had before I had Cami! Now it is an emotional roller coaster and though I am no where near that place I was at 14, there are many days where I just don't want to even get out of bed! I know it would probably help me to go back on something but i enjoy nursing my child! The bond that I have with both of my girls is amazing and a lot of that is (IMHO) attributed to the fact that I nurse(d) them! And unfortunately the only mood stabilizer that is "safe" for pregnancy and nursing is Prozac and that has been tried on many different levels and just is not the right choice for me! I am at a loss of where I want to/ need to go with this! Please everyone know that I am truly OK (I have just hit this part of the deployment cycle and am trying to climb out) and I know where my point of breaking is and I will never allow myself to get there again!! I just wish there were an answer that could help with out me feeling like I am depriving my child of the healthiest thing for her! Monday Morning I will be calling to talk to my PCM about getting my referral to go back to counseling and maybe there is some new break through medication that is safe to take! If anyone has any suggestions for natural mood stabilizers please feel free to suggest! I have used St. John's Wort in the past and am not sure if it is safe while nursing or not so I haven't tried and I need to do some more research on things! Thank you all for all of the support that has been given over the past few weeks it means sooo much to me and my family!

So ok onto better things!! Addisyn is almost 6months old already and it truly seems like just yesterday I was going into surgery to give birth!!! We have started using a sippy cup (just water for now!) She loves to sit in her exersaucer and play! She still has beautiful blue eyes (I am totally jealous) and a smile that (even behind a binky) lights up my world (and anyone else who is privlidged enough to see it!) She is rolling over constantly and trying to get her knees up under her i feel she may start crawling before Cami did! though Cami was an Army crawl baby!

Cami is doing well she is getting better with the discipline issues that we had been having! Implementing a more routine focused schedule is helping quite a bit! But we still have a long way to go til she is back on the schedule she was in VA! Man I wish I could go back to that time with her! She has quickly become a speed demon on her bicycle and a daredevil as well! She has started standing and peddleing like the big kids do! She scares me and I do beleive I need to get her in some sort of sport as soon as I can so that i can encourage that constant scheduled activity! She needs it and I think she will excel at sports with how advanced she is in her motor skills!

Ernie is doing ok in MS! We are both realizing that this isn't going to be as easy as we thought it was going to be! By no means did we think it was going to be a cake walk but it hurts to be away from him knowing that it is for such an extended period of time! The most difficult thing so far has been the time change and the time constraints that we each have! With me here with 2 small children to care for I can't drop everything when he calls! And he is in training all day so he doesn't have the liberty of calling when it is convinent for me! So we pretty much are trying to figure that out! though watch as soon as we figure it out he will be coming home for his I stop LOL!!!

So in a nutshell that is our lives at this point! Keep an Eye out for this weeks I <3 faces week 11 post as I attempt to compare with some of the amazing photographers on this site in their weekly contest this week the theme is NO FLASH!! If you are interested check them out and give it a whirl!

A great weekend

2009-03-15T03:28:00.000-07:00

For once I really don't have much to say (though I am sure I will find more to say LOL), this weekend was pretty chill around here!

A quick update on my neighbor...

His surgery went well they were able to remove the entirety of the mass in his bladder, though it took a little longer and was a little more intricate than the doctors had anticipated! He had some small issues after and wound up having to go back in to repair some small areas that were still bleeding! but is now in full recovery mode from the surgery! They released him from the hospital today and as far as I know he is on the road to recovery but only time will tell so please no matter what your religion or beliefs please keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers, as they are going to need many as he battles through this!!

Ernie is doing well in Mississippi! He has had some great accomplishments this past week. And even though I would love to share those with everyone but I don't think it is good for me to share them with the Internet considering the job he is going to do!! I know I say this a lot but the pride that I feel for the man I married is indescribable!! My sun, my moon and my eternity!!

Addisyn had an ultrasound this past week Tuesday on a knot that developed after she was born on the back of her head! I had taken her in for her 4month well baby and addressed it and was told that it was a lymph node. That diagnoses was not sat in my book it just seemed like the dr was giving me a quick answer to get rid of me (I HATE when a Doctor does that!!! HELLO we are mom for a reason Listen to us when we have a concern!!) Well of course I didn't take that answer and 2 days later at Cami's 3 year check up I addressed the issue with her (Cami's) PCM (Primary Care Manager for those non military types reading). He was AWESOME He totally agreed that the feel of it was wrong for it to be a lymph node and immediatly suggested taking a look with and ultrasound! Well the radiologist came in and informed me that it is not a lymph node but a Subdermal Syst that is creating a scalloped indention on the plate of her skull! So now the next step is to have an MRI done and a consult with Neuro surgery! So I will keep everyone posted on the happenings of that! though I have already been told that it is going to have to be removed. How much truth was behind that I am unsure of so we will see!

Cami is beginning to handle Ernie being gone a lot better we got the Deployment DVD from Militaryonesource and it has been a godsend!! Though the whining has yet to be curbed so I am asking for some help here any advice that can be offered I am open too!! Though she has hit another fabulous childhood Milestone and I am so proud of her!! for her 3rd birthday one of her big momy and daddy gifts was a new bike (just a little 12in) and My baby girl can now ride...

WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS!!!!

It took about an hour but she can do it with absolutely no help whatsoever and I couldn't be more proud!! She is now the youngest in our neighborhood riding without them and it took her about an hour to completely get it! Though she has already given me a mild heart attack with it LOL!! She is so advanced when it comes to stuff like this and I can't wait to tell her Doctor about this LOL!! I will post some pictures soon but I gota couple of new toys last week that I am working on getting completely figured out so bear with me and keep checking back to this post and I will get them up ASAP!!

I am the proud new owner of my first lap top!!! snf I sm committing all of my pictures and music to an external drive so it will take me a bit to figure out what I am in need of doing!

Well Addisyn is awake and hungry so I need to assist her and get some rest myself! TTFN!!
Keri*Alane

A lot and nothing!

2009-03-11T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well there has been a lot and nothing all at the same time going on here in paradise, one may just say a lot of nothing!!! This past week I have just been reflecting on things and wondering where life will take us next and what it will throw at us next!!

We have mad many new friends (and retained some old ones) when we returned to Hawaii and by far the ones I am closest too are going through heartache right now and I don't know how to fix it! Last Monday he was not feeling very well (urinating Blood) and so he went into the ER. They did the routine checks and then they dug deeper (thank god for those who are willing to dig deeper!!) and found a mass in his bladder! 2days and a biopsy later he has a diagnosis of bladder cancer! The youngest documented case! Well he had surgery on Tuesday and is doing ok from it but doesn't wish to have any visitors (completely understandable considering the situation)! In all honestly I know there is nothing I can do except be a shoulder and make some food and stuff but I want to do more!!! And it hurts not to be able to help them the way I want to be able to!!

Last Monday I got a very special package at the airport, our dog Rambo! The adjustment phase with Princess isn't going as well as I would like it to but it is a slow process! they can be out together for short amounts of time but then they get a little rambunctious! He was very missed in his transition from Virginia to Hawaii!!

So some exciting news! I got another award from an awesome bloggy friend!

The Tea Cup blogger award from USS Retired!!

"This award may be passed to ONLY ONE! We all have that ONE blog that we look forward to every single day whether it's updated every day or not; that ONE blog that reaches to the depths of our soul; this is the ONE deserving of the "Tea Cup Blogger" Award. So -- because your blogging warms my soul like a hot cup of tea, you are deserving of this very special honor ... "

I have quite a few blogs that I follow and it was hard to choose! But I wanted to pick someone who hasn't yet received it and has always been a great bloggy friend!! One day we will totally have to get some tea (from starbucks of course) together!!

So I will be passing this onto ...

Andrea over at My chihuahua Bites!!
So I am heading off to bed and will be back around (hopefully) tomorrow!

I <3 Faces Week 9

2009-03-09T03:21:00.000-07:00

So I totally enjoyed last weeks contest at I <3 Faces and am very proud to say that my first time up I was able to place in the top ten for the adults contest!!! Check upcoming update posts to hear more about me raving about this blog!!!! And everyone please I am totally open to constructive criticism!!! Comment comment comment!!!

This photo was creatively cropped in the picture taking phase! My husband relaxing after a long day watching our daughter play with the kids in the neighborhood! I cleaned it up a little (with the best of my ability at this point) using photoshop 7!

This is the original! My baby girl Addisyn loves the Peanut shell sling I have and I was trying to capture her comfort in it (though she doesn't look very happy at the moment!) I took it utilizing a common method (the mirror effect LOL!!) and it turned out kinda cute! It needed some clean up and a creative cropping but I am quite happy with the after product! I just wish I knew how to make her blue eyes pop!!

The after!! My creative cropping was to highlight her beautiful face! After cleaning up the image I am quite happy with the end result she looks so fresh. The only other thing I would love to do with this picture is make her beautiful blue eyes stand out because unfortunately the pictures I take do her eyes no justice!!

Well all who want to know I will have an update coming soon I promise I have not fallen off of the blogging wagon!! I have just been kinda busy and my computer just doesn't seem to like me!!! Hopefully I will have a fabulous new one very very soon!!!

I <3 Faces

2009-03-02T13:46:00.000-08:00

My first photography contest ever!!

This weeks theme is...Messy Faces!!

At the last minute here I have decided to add and Adult entry as well!! One of my good friends Also known as "Uncle M" to my girls did a fabulous team thing on the Marine corps Base this past weekend called a "SWAMP ROMP" He came how a HOT mess and I was happy to snap so great pictures but this one is my FAVE!!

1 Week down...51 to go!!!

2009-02-28T22:03:00.000-08:00

Well I am not going to say that this week has been easy (cause it hasn't ) but I have had far worse!! I think many things have helped me through! The support of some of my fellow Blogger friends, some actual true blue friends and mainly the love and need of strength for my children. I have pulled it together like no other (IMO) I have not cried since leaving the airport last Sunday and I acknowledge that those will not be the last of my tears! In all honesty I will actually welcome them when they come because the feeling of being numb is not one I prefer!

Ernie is on the second leg of his journey and at this point he is still excited about what is to come! Though he is not thrilled with the fact that he feels like he is in boot camp again! His new accommodations in Mississippi are not what he expected...Open Bay Barracks! For those who know, know that almost all of the time in all branches open bay barracks are only used (most of the time) in boot camp! It is one thing having to share a barracks room with some one but a completely different thing all together having no privacy whatsoever! Can you imagine having to go to the bathroom and anyone walking in and doing there business at the same time?! IMO it is like having to go at a department store!! I give my husband and his new friends props because I don't think (actually I know hence why I am a civilian!!!) I could survive what they are about to do!! So I just want them to know that I am thankful and I respect what they are doing!! They are all Hero's and will always be in my eyes and the eyes of my children!!!

I am super excited because some of my favorite people are soon moving out here to beautiful (but currently on the chilly side) Hawaii!! The last command that we were with is doing a change of home port and I can't wait I am actually counting the days till I can see them again! To all my girls be prepared for a card night and a few play dates with the kids when you get here cause I have missed you all bunches!!! Nothing could be better than having the girls I loved in Virgina in one of my favorite places in the world with me!!

One of my small indulgences is going to the salon and getting pedicures! There is nothing more blissful to me than sitting in that chair and relaxing while someone else cleans, softens and decorates my feet! I went today (a small gift to myself for our anniversary!) and left there as I always do feeling slightly prettier! I am one of those girls who likes to keep my hands pretty basic (typically a french manicure or clear coat), but on my toes I like to go a little crazy! Wild vivid colors! and most of the time some sort of design! Well this time I went for a watermelon pink and cute little bright green shamrocks! I LOVE Saint Patrick's day and try to always wear something green!! I am a small part Irish and embrace that part of my heritage full on!

Nothing really exciting has been going on here in "Paradise" lately (with the exception of the weekend before Ernie's departure) though Cami has said some pretty cute things!! Tonight we ran some neighbors to the airport and hit the sub base mini mart on the way back to the house. Most know when visiting or frequenting any base there are "artifacts" (for lack of a better word) all over the base most days the small (actually quite large) torpedo's catch her eyes and we try to explain what these are in a way a small child will understand most times with little success. Well there is a very large black and white missile (at least that is what I think it is) on the way off base that caught her eye this evening! and our conversation goes as follows...
Cami~ what's that mommy?
Me~ That is a missile
Cami~ A whistle?!!! (wheels turning as she is trying to figure out how to make it make noise LOL)
Me~ No a mm-missile (sounding it out so she can work on pronunciation)
Cami~ What's a mm-missile?
Me~ something the sailors and soldiers used a long time ago to make sure the bad guys didn't hurt anyone!
Cami~ how?
Me~ (contemplating how to explain this) Well the bad guys were hurting people, like the ones daddy is going to go help, so they would send them to the moon with the missiles! (hoping this doesn't open another can of worms with her!)
Cami~ Ohh...(wheels turning again) So daddy is gonna send the bad guys to the moon with a whistle!!?!!
Me~ yes baby daddy is going to send them to the moon with a whistle (giving up at this point)
Cami~ WOW!! that's cool mommy!!~~
Why are children's questions so complicated even when it seems like the most simple of answers to an adult?! Even though we live in a military community I am trying to somewhat shelter my children from the harsh truth that lies within! I don't want them to know what a war is at 3 or that there daddy is fighting it! Maybe I should just tell the truth about it but I don't want her worrying about it! The explanation of why he was leaving when he was on ship was so much easier because she knew daddy works on a boat and the boat has to go out in the ocean! When daddy is out in the ocean he is doing his job to help the people! Other than continuing that with out the boat hoe do you explain to a 3yr old why her daddy had/has to leave her? To me that is the hardest part of the whole situation! **SIGH** Suggestions are welcome! If you have been through this and have had to explain something like this to a young child how did you do it? Cause I am at a loss!
and on that note I am off to bed!

An updated look

2009-02-28T02:26:00.000-08:00

Well Spring is in the air and even though I feel like I am freezing (laugh if you will my mother does cause she is in Alaska!!) my tush off, I know there are others out there who really are in need of a touch of spring! So I paid another visit to Cutest Blog on the Block (the ladies there are so creative and have some cute DIY tutorials on how to fashion there creativity into your own!) I am so not disappointed! One day I will have someone (probably Miss Becca) make me my own layout but for now till I can muster the creative energy to figure out what I want, these will ave to do! I would love to learn how to completely make my own but I would need someone standing beside me taking me step by step through how to do everything! Let me know what every one thinks of the new look!!! I am off to bed!!

A funny email

2009-02-27T00:10:00.000-08:00

I have received this a couple of times over but never really paid it any attention til Ernie printed it out and brought it home one day!

28 Ways to Simulate Being in the Navy While at Home

1. Lock all friends and family outside. Your only means of communication should be with letters that your neighbors have held for atleast 3 weeks and have discarded 2 of the 5.
2. Surround yourself with 200 people that you don't really know or like: people who smoke, snore like Mac trucks going uphill, ad use foul language like a child uses sugar on cereal.
3.Unplug all radio's and TV's to completely cut yourself off from the outside world. Have a neighbor bring you a Time, Newsweek, or Proceedings from 5 years ago to keep you abreast on current events.
4.Monitor all home appliances hourly recording all vital information (IE: plugged in, lights come on when doors open, etc...)
5. Do not flush the toilet for 5days to simulate the smell of 40 people using one toilet.
6. Lock the bathroom twice a day for a four hour period.
7. Wear only military uniforms. Even though nobody cares, clean and press one dress uniform and wear it for 20 minutes.
8. Cut your hair weekly, making it shorter each time, until you look either bald or like you lost a fight with a demented sheep.
9. Work in 19 hour cycles, sleeping only 4 hours at a time, to ensure that the body does not know or even care if it is night or day.
10. Listen to your favorite CD 6 times a day for 2 weeks then play music that causes acute nausea until you are glad to listen to your favorite CD again
11. Cut a twin mattress in half and enclose 3sides of your bed. Add a roof that prevents you from sitting up (about 10 inches is a good distance) then place it on a platform that is 4feet off of the floor. Place a small dead animal uder the bed to simulate the smell of your bunkmates socks.
12. Set your alarm to go off at 10 minte intervals for the first hour of sleep to simulate the various times the watch standers and nightcrew bump around and wake you up. Place your bed on a rocking table to ensure you are tossed around the remaining 3 hours. Make use of a custom clock that randomly simulates fire alarms, police sirens, helicopter crash and a new wave rock band.
13. Have week old fruit and vegetables delivered to your garage and wait 2 weeks before eating them.
14. Prepare all meals blindfolded using all of the spices you can grope for, or none at all. Remove the blind fold and eat everything in 3 minutes.
15. Periodically, shut off all power at the main breaker and run around shouting "Fire, Fire, Fire" and then restore power.
16. At least once a month, force the commode to overflow to simulate a "black water system" boo-boo.
17. Buy a gas mask and smear it with rancid animal fat. scrub the face shield with steel wool until you can no longer see out of it. Wear this for 2hours every fifth day especially when you are in the bathroom.
18. Study the owner's manual for all household appliances. Routinely take appliances apart and put it back together.
19. Remove all plants, pictures, and decorations. Paint everything gray, white,or the shade of hospital smocks.
20. Buy 50 cases of toilet paper and lock up all but 2 rolls. ensure that 1 of these 2 is wet at all times.
21. Smash your forehead or shins with a hammer every 2 days to simulate collision injuries sustained on board Navy ships.
22. When making sandwiches, leave the bread out for 6 days, or until it is hard and stale.
23. Every 10 weeks simulate a visit to another port. Go directly to the slums of the city wearing your best clothes. Find the worst looking place and ask for the most expensive beer, drink as many as you can in 4 hours. Take a cab home, taking the longest route possible. Tip the cabby after he charges you double because you dress funny and don't speak right.
24. Use fresh milk for only 2 days after you leave port.
25. Keep the bedroom thermostat at 2 deg C and use only a thin blanket for warmth.
26.Ensure that the water heater is connected to a device that provides water at a flow rate that varies from a fast drip to a weak trickle, with temperature alternating from -2 to 95 deg C.
27. Use only spoons that hold a minimum of 1/2cup at a time.
28. Repaint the interior of your home every month whether it needs it or not.

Well he is gone...

2009-02-23T01:14:00.001-08:00

And I am sad (of course who else saw that coming)! I miss him horribly and I know things will get easier as I fall in to routine but right now I am avoiding bed because I don't wanna go with out him (eventually I will have to but right this minute isn't the time LOL). He arrived at his destination and I was able to talk to him on the phone and via web cam, which is more than most get and I am blessed but it was heartbreaking! He is not holding very well! He is very sad and upset because of leaving us! I don't think he expected it to hit him this badly and I understand that but it hurts to know that he is second guessing the decision that "we" made! His motives for this are right! This is a move that will potentially help to forward his career and better himself! He is doing right by his country and most of all his family! In my eyes and more importantly his girls eyes he is and always will be a hero! He is doing this to help protect our country from those who want to dictate what we do and what we stand for as Americans!!! I have told him this and I think he is doing better I just wish I could send him some sort of motivational thing to make him see that what he is doing is ok!! **SIGH**
To see him hurt makes me hurt even more!

This deployment is greatly unknown territory for us! For those that know he is on a Submarine (typically, technically we are on what the Navy calls shore duty right now) A deployment on a sub is no easy feat I am sure! Imagine being on a boat under the water with the same 150people for 6mnths with minimal contact with the real world! I got a really funny email a while back I will have to see if I can find it and share LOL! We were lucky to have email and I know some wives who are seasoned enough to know what a submarine deployment was like with out email! (And a lot of the times the lesser seasoned of us can tell you what it is like also!) I know a deployment is a deployment know matter what branch of the military you are in, but as much as they are the same they are all so different (even one to another). I guess what I am trying to say is that I just don't know what to expect anymore this is ground we have never covered! At least with a regular (submarine) deployment I know what to expect! Unknown territory for me (and I am pretty much sure anyone else out there) is extremely scary and I don't care for the unexpected!

He and I as a couple a this point are fine and holding steady (no unexpected real fights have emerged before he left). Individually we are holding, not great but not horrible, as best as xan be expected at less than 24hours really! The one I was most worried about wsa Cami! And She is a TROOPER let me tell you as I walked through the airport shoulders shaking people staring sobbing my little momma was trying to tell me it would be ok from the front of the stretch limo (aka double stroller) as we walked past complete strangers she would tell them it is ok my mommy is just sad right now! I felt so proud and even more depressed at the same time! It is, in my opinion, my job to keep her strong! Not the other way around how did my precious baby girl become so incredable right before my eyes and me never even see it coming! **SIGH**

OK so my eyes are starting to fail me and as much as I am not ready to go to bed alone I am headed there!! Another **SIGH** and I will sign off for the evening (morning actually!) Stay tuned for a post later on about my Super awesome Valentines Swap package and how my baby girl's 3rd birthday goes!

I got my Valentine's Swap Box!!!

2009-02-20T01:24:00.000-08:00

And It is fabulous! Ashley over at Chris Bliss did a great Job and I loved it! This girl is CRAFTY!! She sent me a small version of her DIY Project and it is SUPER cute I really needed something to dress up my desk a bit! She also sent super super cute bows for the girls! And one of my favorite movies is hers as well!! So here are the pictures of my package and all of it's goodies!!! Thank you Ashley and Andrea for a great swap!! It was so much fun I can't wait to do it again!!!What I saw when I opened the box!

I Officially LOVE big Sunglasses!!!
I have never found any of the Jackie O style that I thought looked good on me and Ashley found the best pair ever! (Thank you!)

While I am at it I need to say Thank you to USS Retired over at Spilt Milk 'n Mood Swings for giving me my first Bloggy Award"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find friends and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships will be propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly- written text into the body of their award."

1. Andrea at My Chihuahua Bites~ Not only is she a fellow Subbie wife but she is down to earth and a sincere person. Her blog has everything from food and crafty ideas to fashion insight and makeup tips for those of us who are make up illiterate! Add in some down home and adorable fur babies and I just can't get enough!! Andrea you and your awesome blog ROCK!!

2. Hope from the Edge~ A fellow Sub wife and mom who has been there and done that just trying to document the lives of her family so that one day they can print it out to publish her memoirs! A true southern lady who's blog tugs at my heart strings and makes me wish for my roots on a regular basis! Thank you Miss Hope you Rock!

3. Miss Ashley over at Chris Bliss~ I have just recently started reading this blog when I was "introduced" to Miss Ashley via a bloggy Valentines Swap Hosted by Andrea! We both had a fabulous time putting together things for the other! She is recently married and full of life!! Miss Ashlee is so crafty and a little random at times (in such a good way) I never know what to expect to pop up on her blog but I love the suspense of it!

4. 'K' for Life With the Rowlands~ A fabulous friend in the Bloggy world as well as in real life she helped me through many tough tiimes!!

5. Becca over at Lovely yellow Ribbons~ Her whimsical submarine and military art are beautiful! She is such a wonderful mother and person!

6. Katie of Pass the Chopsticks~ An adorable sub family and there pursuit of random flavored Kit Kats in Japan! I love finding out what new flavors and the cool things they see and do there!

7. Shelia at A Simple Life~ A very Crafty blogger with one of the cutest little girls! Her beautiful bows and craftiness amaze me she has more talent with sewing in her little finger than I will ever have and that amazes me I love to see what kind of adorable outfits she makes for her daughter! I think her Halloween costume was my favorite!!

8. My SIL Alicia or the Lewis Family blog~ I absolutely adore seeing the pictures of our niece Savannah!!!

So I have some pictures of Ernie with the girls before he left! A very sad day it was but we have almost made it through our first week (the first week seems to be the hardest on all! Thankfully before he left I bought myself a web cam and we have discovered the wonderful world of SKYPE! We video call atleast once a day and it really helps Cami to see her Daddy! We understand that there is going to be some times that he isn't going to be able to but thankfully for this first week he has been able too!

We miss him terribly but he is there with good intentions!
BRAVO ZULU Honey!!!

A Long weekend (plus some)

2009-02-16T15:21:00.000-08:00

So this has been an Incredible weekend! Long but extremely fun filled weekend! Friday we enjoyed having Ernie home and tried to finish up a few last minute things for Cami's birthday party! Not much really just hung out and had a good time with friends!

Saturday was fun filled!! We got up early and packed the cars along with 4 of our neighbors and headed out to Wailua, HI to watch a few of the guys jump out of an airplane!! It was fun to watch but I still would not do it! They kept trying to talk Ernie in to it and but sometimes I have a smart cookie for a husband and he wouldn't cave! The thing is that if he had done it and somehow gotten hurt he could have gotten in some pretty big trouble that would have cost him his career! I don't think my heart could handle my husband jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Heck it palpitated watching everyone else's husbands do it LOL!! But I got some fabulous pictures with my new camera! It is a Sony Cybershot and I am totally thrilled with it and got it for an awesome deal!! Original price 170...Sale Price 107....I love to get things that I need for such an awesome price!! Well after the skydiving excitement we went to the beach (where else would you go to BBQ with friends in Hawaii?) Good food with lots of friends in my opinion is a great way to spend a holiday that is about love!

The Plane taking off With the boys in it!
The Boys...
Robert, Brandon, and Mike

Brandon

Robert

Mike Sometimes I forget how fabulous this place is!! Not man places in the world your children can swim and play in the ocean in the middle of February!! The children having a blast

Sunday we had Cami's 3rd birthday party and she loved it! We did a small craft project and had a pinata but for the most part the all enjoyed just running around with friends and it was great to just be a little lazy and watch the kids play! I was so proud of the polite little girl she has/ is beome(ing) as she nicely opened all of her gifts and made sure to tell the guests that she was thankful for the things she received! The children played so hard and had so much fun it was everything I could have asked for plus some! We wrapped up the party at around 5ish and transfered things to the house it was really cool that we all as neighbors gathered (some drank a little) and continued just having a good time because no one wanted the weekend to end! Thankfully no one had to work on Monday so things carried on into the early hours of the morning! (I think things finally wrapped up around 12 or 1 in the morning!!!

The Tinkerbell Theme was terrific and her favorite thing by far! And her "Cake" consisted of about 48 individual cupcakes! Makes for simple serving! And it added a very cute scallop to the edges!

A nice game of touch football that ensued!

That is so my child barefoot and enoying her new life as a 3yr old!!! Such the ham for the camera! With mom as a papparazzi children shall never be camera shy LOL!!I do believe this is my favorite picture of her! In my honest (slightly biased) opinion this picture captures the mischievous, tomboyish, angel that I love oh so much! The one thing I don't see anymore though is that sweet innocence of a baby face! Oh how I am forever going to miss that when I look at her! Time flies when you are having fun!

I think the thing that I cherish most about the time we live in housing and have in the Navy is that the people we met and become close with become a family of a different kind we share heartaches and joy and the security of always knowing that when we need something (anything from a cup of milk to a friend to watch your child) they are and will be there until the military (no matter what branch) dictates where they need to go next! Unfortunately the majority of the neighbors who surround me are leaving (almost all of them within the next 6 months) it it is a really sad thing for me knowing that next year only 2 of the 6 families that we enjoyed the long weekend with will still be here! All I ask for is that the families who come in to "replace" them are as friendly and loving as the ones who preceded them!

Well I will have another post hopefully tomorrow if not at some point on Sunday after Ernie leaves:( Though expect non coherence as I go through the motions for a little bit!) I may actually just not post much of anything! The cruel cycle has begun and now I am going into that ridiculous cry at the drop of a hat phase! Those that no me and love me if you haven't heard from me or seen me in 2 weeks drag me out please!!!!!!!

A few pictures and a short blog!

2009-02-13T02:52:00.000-08:00

So I realize that my pictures have been few and far between because of the lack of a real camera lately so I have been trying to be better about taking pics with my phone since (as far as camera phones go) it has a decent capability to it! So here are a few if you are interested in seeing more pics of the girls give me your email address and I will grant you access to there blogs! I had to set them to a private setting because some weird gut started following Cami's and I wasn't comfy with that!Addisyn and I in the Car getting ready to pick up my neighbors kids from school! Isn't my sling so cute?! And she absolutely loves it!!! Sleep is a given when she is snuggled in this!!! For those who need to know it is a Peanut Shell!!

Our Visit to the Honolulu Zoo a couple of weeks ago!! Proved to be a great time! We all had a great time checking out all of the animals and I got some awesome pictures of Cami and Ernie interacting together! Also while we were there we got to see the Sumatran Tiger Cubs were playing! It was incredible and they were super adorable! They were born on September 15, 2008 to Chrissie and Berani They were allowed out in the main habitat around mid December! Honestly I think I could have sat there all day and watched them play!! But Cami was hell bent on seeing the giraffes and (Z) eebras! Crazy girl had a blast and slept so well!

So in a previous post I told all about our decision to do homeschooling! Well I have found a super awesome free online program that seems super easy not only for me to learn how to better teach my child but to incorporate her learning into everyday situations, which in my opinion will better prepare her for real life! How many of you readers out there thought in high school (or any time in your school age years) thought man how will I ever need to know this in real life?! I know I myself thought it many times over that course of time! OK so anyway I will throw a link out there for those who may be interested in checking out the program! Keep in mind what works for one may not necessarily work for someone else! But anyway one of the suggestions that the creator of the site gave was that a "Learning Poster was a great way to keep the weekly lessons constantly in the child/rens minds! So I created my own! And I was so proud I showed it off to everyone! (Now everyone includes you guys) and then the demon side of my child came out and she ruined it! So I will be making a new one very soon (We start our first official week March 2nd! Wish me Luck LOL)

I had mentioned the new do in a previous post so I thought I would post a litte before and after! The first pic is the before (oviously back in October when I had Addisyn LOL that is the last time I was captured in a photo because I am always behind the camera LOL I kinda Like it that way!) And the after! Just a little wind blown but you get the general idea! The bangs come to the end of my chin and the layers are allover (since I started growing out my hair I have only done long layers in the front but I am totally digging the whole all over layer thing!)

Kind of a sad story but true none the less! One of my Best friends mothers (Who I am actually very close with) Was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in October of 2008! She had surgery just under 3 weeks after the initial diagnosis and shortly after that began undergoing radiation! What makes this story so sad (at least to me) is the fact that she has been going every October in the past with her elderly mother and never had any issues! In between Oct. 2007 and October 2008 Her mother passed away! A lot of people expected her not to continue with the regularly schedule exam but she persevered through the grief! This is one of the strongest women I know and I love her as if she were my own mother! My children call her Grandma! She is, has been, and always will be a part of our lives! Well my friend and I decided that to honor her and other fighters, survivors and those who have fought there hardest and lost the battle that we would get the support ribbon tattooed upon us! A constant reminder that a cure has not been found and there are people still suffering through with out due to it! My friend actually got hers at the begingin of the radiation cycle and I just got mine Thursday evening, Which this week commiserates the final session of Radiation! And hopefully between the surgery and radiation that all is and will remain extremely well! So here is the Pic of the Tattoo, which I placed just above my right wrist. My friend got hers just beow the back of her right ear! Painful but no where near what Mom was going through!
Well internetland I am off to watch a few idiots jump out of a perfectly good airplane!!

Another random...

2009-02-06T02:28:00.000-08:00

post about nothing really!

Actually I have a vent about the sun!! LOL I know it is the sun and it isn't going anywhere! Everyone should be smart (especially if you are a white girl like me LOL) and sknow that sunscreen is your friend! Apparently I forgot that minuet detail this morning before I took my girls to the park LOL! Cami has been blessed with her fathers skin and doesn't burn but turns a nice shade of gold and I always slather her down even if it is for a little bit of sun time and addisyn was fully clothed and was wearing an adorable floppy hat (which she didn't like cause it covered her eyes!) Normally in my daily routine I put a skin moisturizer with a slight spf on and I am fine but of course this morning was crazy hectic and I totally skipped that part of my routine! I now regret that and will remind myself of this time and will resume my daily application of said moisturizer!! My face is the color of a LOBSTER!! Luckily though I have had so many of these sunburns that I really don't feel them any more! But it is annoying that an hour at the park and I look like I have a tomato sitting on my shoulders!! UGGHHHH Annoying!

So a bit of good news maybe one day (not sure when) my dearest hubby will be posting a blog! I know internetland isn't it a fabulous thought!! Now my hubby (this is a small warning) is really random so be kind to him when he posts lots of comments and praise! I really want to encourage him to post some things! He has a brilliant mind and much of the time he doesn't use all of the random knowledge he stores!

This evening the children had a glorious time playing! For cami it was especially fabulous because her Mimi got her a fabulous birthday present that we were inclined to give early!
A New CAR!!!
It is a very cute purple corvette! And my baby finally earned her drivers license back! Long story but she was riding in one of the neighbors trucks and took off down the road in it (literally!) that was about 5months ago and we haven't let her drive since then! But tonight she did a fabulous job of staying in the areas she was allowed and was too cute! This car is amazing (what is up with the toys that they have come up with these days) it has an AM/FM radio and an alarm system!! Seriously it has a key that starts the thing and on the key is a button that activates and deactivates the alarm! If you bump it while the alarm is set it sounds off a voice warning to step away from the vehicle!! WTF Her car is better than mine! Add in the fact that it doesn't take gas I want to drive one of these around LOL!!! So Thank you Mimi it is a FABULOUS gift and one that will last a while!!If anyone knows how to make a PRETEND drivers license please feel free to let me know how or if you are willing to make one for me! I am just not good with that kind of thing and I definitley don't have the programs to make one LOL!!

Well it is time to sign off again my pillow has learned to talk and it is calling my name!! good night all!

Mid week report!

2009-02-05T00:14:00.000-08:00

Well it is the mid week and I figured I would post a bit!

Cami's birthday is slowly approaching and I am not excited about it LOL!! My birthday means nothing it is another day with a new number for myself! But my childrens birthdays to me mean that I am getting older! I know it is a sad thing to say but that is how I gauge my life! The achievements and milestones that I have helped my children through. Cami's accomplishments thus far are not any more important or impressive than any other almost 3yr old! But to me they are amazing! She speaks very well and clear for a 3yr old. She can ride a bike (with training wheels of course) and is very good at riding a RAZOR scooter! Her balance is amazing considering she is my child! (I tend to be slightly accident prone and my balance wasn't much better as a child though luckily no broken bones presented themselves at that point.) She has learned her ABC's and is able to count items up to ten but can count (without counting objects) to 20 though 14,15, and 16 sound very similiar! I plan to start homeschooling preschool after her birthday (probably going to start the first week of March!) Our biggest accomplishments though are potty training and learning to dress herself! Though she still has difficulty with those pesky panties! LOL sometimes they are inside out and sideways but putting on panties for her is confusing (I am sure it was probably difficult for all of us at some point!) I now look at her and her features have developed and she looks more like a little girl rather than the baby face I have seen in the past! It is very sad sometimes to look at her and see the little girl rather than the baby I have been so accustomed to seeing! Very sad!

Ernie goes back to work in the morning and it is bittersweet! As most military spouses can attest it is such a crazy time when they are working that the prospect of them taking leave is a beacon in the storm sometimes! I have enjoyed having him home and the family time that has been had! But in the same breath I am glad he is going back to work because maybe I can get some much needed house work done! for some reason that is one of the things that becomes slack while he is home! It just doesn't take precedence over the relaxing together and fun time! it is also quite sad because it means that we have a very very short amount of time left with him home!! As the days seem too become shorter the emotional rollercoaster of the deployment cycle begins! I will post more on the deployment cycle later for those who are unfamiliar with it. i just have to remind myself that time is short and that my irritations are because of him getting ready to leave!

I have not cut my hair in a really long time (I think my last haircut, trim included, was last March) and it has been something that I feel I was in dire need of not only for a change in pace but also because it was becoming quite the hinderance (is that even a word LOL!) It came to the middle of my back and was always getting in the way when doing everything so I would just pull it back in a pony tail and call it a day! Now I know this is A) not good for my hair and B) it becomes quite boring! So today I went and cut my hair! I still have no camera so pictures will come later! But I kept most of my length cutting only about 4-5 inches off of the back and about 7-8 in the front! I went with a very layered style and I like it alot! it isn't exactly what I had pictured but I am satisfied! And according to my neighbors and Ernie it is gorgeous and very suiting to my features!

So not much of a report but it is what has gone on thus far! But I am off to bed internetland! leave me some comments please!!!

Random thoughts and goings on...

2009-02-01T00:43:00.000-08:00

Well internetland, all is going well we got some much needed tax refund money and have caught up on some things as well as made a couple of semi large purchases that were much needed! Ernie got himself a snazzy new laptop (I will be getting one in a few months while he is deployed)and I am taking my desktop into the shop tomorrow cause I am so tired of it not working properly! Hopefully things will begin to look up for the old thing!! I really would rather not have to get rid of it just yet!!

Ernie and I have been discussing some of what we would like to happen for our girls in the future! We are really having to learn to compromise and work together when it comes to our girls and hopefully the mistakes that we have made (and will continue to make) won't effect our young ones! One major thing that has been on our minds is how would we like them educated! Let me say first that I have nothing against the public school system! I myself was raised in it and it did not do me any justice! Ernie on the other hand apparently thrived well in the environment! Times have changed since we were in school and unfortunately (at least from my point of view) they are not what we deem suitable for our children! There is to much going on in schools that we would prefer not to risk subjecting our children to! some of these things are starting at a ridiculously young age! One of my friends children is 11 and in elementary school some of the girls in her age group are already having sex! Cursing and fighting are additional reasons I do not want them in the public school system! Our biggest argument on why we want to home school is the simple fact of the system doesn't so much want to teach our children anymore! They are more worried about testing and scores rather than making sure our children retain the knowledge that they are learning! The spectrum of what is being taught has narrowed because of limited time, funds, and focus on competing for who has the best test scores! Private schools are just to expensive and we can not afford them (some how we are in a recession but the cost of education is still pretty high). So we have decided that we are going to Home School! We are going to start Cami now so that we can see how things will hopefully go a little bit! It is a decision that we will constantly be reevaluating and revamping! If anyone has any advice or suggestions that may help please let me know!! I am open to anything!!Oh and just to let any of those teachers out there you are not so much the system you (in my personal opinion) are being worked as much as our children are! Flame me if you feel the need! But these are my personal experiences fueling my opinion!

I have excitedly gathering things for my swap partner, Miss Ashley!!! For those that haven't read from the previous posts A fellow sub wife, Andrea, decided to host her first ever Swap and I happily jumped on the bandwagon to participate! I won't spoil the surprise of what is inside but I hope Ashley and her family enjoy the contents. And my apologies because it is going out a day late! I "made" a special thing for her and I would love to show it off (I have actually been itching to post the pictures)but I will wait patiently till She gets the package and has a chance to blog about it herself!!!

Ugh, Ernie's leave is ending and I am not ready! The end of his leave means reality is almost here! We have done the POA's and we have made the appt to go get the Will's completed! Talking about wills and stuff has taken me on the subject with my own parental units! It is depressing! I don't want to think about what happens to my parents when they pass and I really don't want to think about what I want to happen to me if I pass I know it is something that has to be done, arrangements have to be made to make sure that my girls are taken care of!! It is so difficult having to imagine who I want to take care of them and who will give them the love and stability that I try to give them! UGH reality sucks!

Ok ladies and gentleman I need to head to bed after reading some of my Google reader!! I am really starting to love that thing I wasn't to sure of it at first but it has really grown on me! good night Internetland!

A Few Goals!

2009-01-26T02:26:00.000-08:00

Well I have decided to set a few goals for myself to achieve while Ernie is gone on his deployment! So if anyone has any ideas on how to make these things easier please share!

Try some new crafts! I would love to try to learn something new that doesn't cost much for start up! Kinda interested in crochet or knitting but there isn't much I can make with those crafts that would be useful here in Hawaii and I am not real sure I want to start stockpiling blankets and afghans! LOL Though Scrapping and card making are fun to me the cost of keeping up with projects is rather high when you go for quality rather than quantity! I would love to learn to make hair bows and cute girlie things (figure I have two girls might as well make the most of it!) I also would love to learn to sew and am willing to make the big purchase of a machine if I can actually get the use out of it!
I am going to make it a point to get out and do active things with my girls! Hiking and going to places like the beach and enjoying the age as it won't be much longer (I know I have a lot longer than I am assuming, but the time flies) before they become teenagers and won't want to do things with dear ole mom! Plus if I keep us all busy and out there the long deployment will seem to go by a lot faster!
Adjust our eating habits to a new level! We don't eat as healthy as we should and I want to change that! We eat way to much fast food and Cami doesn't get nearly enough new foods introduced to her because of it! I need to change her eating habits now before it becomes to late!
In addition I need to lose about 55lbs to get myself into a healthy weight range! Though I would be happy to lose 30! I know 2 of the previous posts will help with that as well! In all honesty I really need a "personal trainer" to keep me motivated and on track! But am to much of a cheapo to pay some schmuck at a gym to tell me how to achieve that goal! I know what you may be thinking 'that schmuck probably knows what he is talking about and you should listen to him' and I know this but it will take the right person to keep me on track! I need a program! Ugh just thinking about it makes me wanna eat some ice cream LOL!

As of right now these are my goals! I may feel the need to update and add more or adjust as time progresses! So any ideas or plans or advice feel free to share!!

Fabulous Friday!! A little sad!! A little late!!

2009-01-23T00:25:00.000-08:00

So I actually started this post a couple of days before so that I could attempt to get it out on time but yeah that didn't happen! So here is just a little of what has been going on!

Well today I graduated from the Compass course! It was bittersweet! I had a great time and learned a lot of new info that either was incorrectly given to me in the first place or I had never even heard of before! I pride myself on being one of "those " wives! I want to know as much info as I possibly can (well minus the stuff that goes against OPSEC of course!) Compass was so the course for me! Not only was the info great the ladies I met were even better! So helpful and interested in sharing whatever tidbits of info that they had come across! It was delightful! So to any of the wives that may read this I promise take the compass course! If you don't come away from it with more knowledge you will come out of it with a whole new group of friends and individuals who know what you are experiencing! Those that have been there and done that are our best resource!

The Fabulous Andrea over at My Chihuahua bites, is hosting her first giveaway! She is giving a way a fabulous e-gift certificate from one of her favorite stores...Sephora! Check out her De-lurking post to see what you need to do to enter! I have entered because I could really use some new make up since Cami seems to enjoy ruining mine, so now all I have is lip gloss eyeliner and Mascara! Ugh! Not that I do my face up often but it would be nice to be able to do something! So I know recently I have posted a couple of times singing Andrea's praises! I think she is a great woman with a FABULOUS blog!! I log on some days hoping that she has posted something! She has been very sad lately though because of budget cuts her company was doing some lay offs! Andrea was sure she was going to be one of them and is very thankful that she wasn't, but still feels bad that her co-workers lost their positions! So if everyone could please say a prayer for her co-workers it would be a nice thing to do! Andrea (if you read this!) Thanks for being a great person and having a great blog!

So I kinda realized that I haven't posted much about my girls lately! I am such a bad mommy all wrapped up in my own little world! Not really but I figure a girls update is well in order!
Camille will be 3 in exactly 1 month! I am kinda sad! She has grown so much in the last 6mnths that I look at her now and see this curious young girl rather than the mischievous toddler and innocent baby that I have seen over the last almost 3 years! It is sobering and yes I actually cried the first time I looked at her and did not see that baby I held in my arms almost 3years ago!! Ugh am I really not ready for her to be another year closer to being the dreaded (dun dun dunnnnn) TEENAGER (AHHHHH) not really but I am super mommy and I will cry in my pillow at night! I have a Mommy brag on her as well (while I am singing praises) I do believe we are POTTY TRAINED!!!!!! We have been in nothing but panties now for...about a month now, and in the last 2weeks we have not had a single potty time accident! I am sooo proud of her and one day she is going to hate me for putting this on here!!! LOL she will get over it though! If anyone does have any advice on how to get her to wipe and wipe well I would appreciate that info! I try to make sure to do it for her but she is also in the "I do it myself" stage and has learned how to lock me out of the bathrooms! The other day she told me " Mommy, I is a big girl now I do it all by myself! I don't need help to go potty!!!" I wanted to cry and put her back in diapers! I WILL NOT do that though! Any advice please let me know!

Miss Addisyn is doing so well too! She is getting so interactive (well as much as a four month old can be LOL)! She can roll now and sits so well in her Bumbo seat I swear that thing is the best investment a parent can get! She still sleeps alot and is still nursing well! I had her weighed at our last WIC appt and she was 12lbs. I am going to break out the highchair soon and start giving her some baby foods! I really wanted to start giving her food before Ernie left but I don't think she is going to be ready:( But maybe when he comes home in between school and deployment she will be!

We went to the Zoo today and had a great time! Cami loves the Zoo and even though the Honolulu Zoo is not a terrific one compared to others it is a Fabulous Zoo to a preschooler who loves animals! She has 3 favorite animals the Elephants, the Giraffes, and the Hippopotomas'. I think we may have added a new favorite to that list today! Back in I wanna say October (I am probably wrong on that one) Our fabulous Tigress and Tiger gave birth to a litter of cubs and in mid Dec they were released into the main exhibit with the mother! They are soooo Adorable and playful! Cami had a great time just watching them play! Of course she loves all of the animals but her favorite is the Elephants first and last exhibit we go and see (she has to say hello and goodbye) Her Daddy bought her a stuffed one the first time we went to the zoo here! She sleeps with it almost every night!

A realization has hit me! We have less than a month before Ernie leaves for training! I am sad!!! So I am going to go and cuddle on the couch with him!

1 more tonight!

2009-01-20T01:36:00.001-08:00

Tonight I have had a few things on my mind! 1 is how excited I am about the swap I am about to participate in that Andrea is hosting!! I am just trying to figure out what to put in the box LOL I have a couple of ideas and am excited! My Swap Partner seem super nice and kinda quirky which is pretty awesome if you ask me (I myself can be random and quirky to sometimes!)! Her name is Ashley and I am excited to get to know her!

Next on my list of things is the fact that I start Compass tomorrow and I am excited and nervous! The Compass class is a mentoring program for spouses that hands out information to assist spouses.For those that read my blog who are Navy affiliated I highly recommend this course! I know I have yet to take it but some ladies I think awfully high of sing nothing but praises about it and so I have high hopes of becoming a mentor! Check out the site and give it a go! (if you are eligible for it!)

So I am not a christian person (I have my own beliefs but that is for an entirely different post) but I do pray and think that everyone should in some way shape or form! There are lots of people out in internetland who need help and prayers, tonight it was brought to my attention that this new family needs lots of prayers sent in there name to the one who control the fates! Kelly and Scott have a beautiful new baby girl who isn't doing so great! Her name is Harper and she is only a couple of days old! Her Mommy and Daddy are so proud of her and she has done nothing but make an appearance into their lives! Pure Unconditional, unadulterated love that knows no bounds! The best kind in my opinion! So Internetland I am reaching out to you now please say a few prayers for this lovely little family! Also Not just in this case but there are babies all over the world in NICU's and they all need as many prayers and messages to the gods that can be gotten to them! So I know that is alot to add to your prayer list tonight but please think about it and keep these families in your thoughts!

Ok so I am off to dreamland so I can hopefully feel better in the AM keep your fingers crossed that Addi is a perfect baby during this class and that I feel better for it too! Goodnight internetland !!!

Tuesday at the Table!

2009-01-20T00:59:00.000-08:00

Well as much as I don't want to post about any form of food I am obligated to my friends out there in internetland!! Ernie and I are sick flu symptoms and it sucks!!! His is a much worse case then mine! I honestly think it is because he had a flu shot and me and the girls didn't! I am sure there are those people out there who would gasp because I refused to get my daughter (Addi is not old enough for one yet) a flu shot, Let me just say that for everytime I have ever had a flu shot I have gotten RIDIULOUSLY sick within a few weeks of getting it! Had to stay over night for fluids and IV meds once! Cami's first winter we were living in VA and because we lived in such a "cold" climate I opted to get her the shot!! Let me just say 2 days later she was miserably sick and I was miserable with her not because I was sick but because my BABY was beyond sick I had to give her Tylenol Suppositories to break her fevers because if anything went into her tummy it came back out with in moments of hitting the stomach! All I could do for 4 days was let this horrible mutant flu bug run its course! All Cam wanted was her mommy! I didn't eat or sleep or pee without my baby for those 4 days!!! Needless to say I am all for shots that do good! But IMHO the flu shot is a waste! (Now don't get me wrong there are people who swear by it and get it religiously! I am in no way shape or form a dr so please take any prior statements with a grain of salt and know that they are completely opinion and personal experience based!! )

Ok so now that I am done with my rant, on our Menu for TatT this week, we have chicken stew/ soup with Rice!!! I say it is a stew and Ernie says it is a soup so you decide! Fair warning though my measurements are off on this one cause I measured nothing!!!

3-4 Frozen Chicken breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1tspn of sage
2-3cans chicken broth
1can cream of chicken soup +2cans of water
2cups frozen mixed vegetables
1cup of uncooked rice

Place first 4 ingrediants into the bottom of a crockpot; cover with chicken broth. Cook on high heat until chicken falls apart with a fork. Pull chicken out (do not remove broth!!!) and shred into bite size peices, replace chicken in crock and add remaining ingrediants, Allow to cook till rice is done! If you would rather a more soupy consistancy I recommend replacing the cream of chicken soup with 1-2more cans of chicken broth and no water!! I served with Biscuits! The next night I made pot pies with it:) I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

Fabulous Friday! A Day Late LOL!!

2009-01-17T02:41:00.000-08:00

Well our Friday was far from Fabulous! It was actually quite lazy!
We were expecting some pretty gnarly winds (55+) here in the islands so schools were canceled on five of the Islands (including Oahu)! Not that school cancellations effect us yet I just thought it was pretty funny and odd that they were canceled with out knowing for sure we were going to get them LOL that is like the school districts canceling school because they expect to get heavy snow! It was pretty cold here because of the weather but never really got any wind! I know everyone is thinking how can it be cold in Hawaii?! But to be honest if you are adjusted to the warm temperature here and it drops below a certain point (for me personally if it drops into the low 70's) it seems pretty cold and I start hunting down my hoodies!! LOL I know I should not complain considering my Parents and inlaws arre in negative degree weather! But in all honesty I commend them and anyone else who lives anywhere cold, cause VA was cold enough for me! I think if we were to move somewhere extremely cold I would never leave the house!! I am not a cold weather person AT ALL!!! For dinner to night I made a crock pot of chicken and rice stew (Ernie says it was more like soup! But he is just picky and doesn't like any kind of soup!) and canned biscuits! It was delicious check out my TatT next week and I will post my improve recipe!
Our weekend is looking pretty dull around here though to be quite honest! I am hoping to go over to a friends house tomorrow (well as I look at the clock I realize it is today) to just relax and let Cami play with their daughter and maybe even play a few hands of cards! We always have a good time hanging with Jess and her crew! So hopefully they will be available to hang out!! Sunday we have a birthday party to go to Our friend Eli is turning 5 soon and is super excited about it! Unfortunatly his Daddy is leaving before his actual birthday so the party is being held a little before to include him! We are going to be doing the same for Cami!
I will probably attempt to finish cleaning the house this weekend and fold all of our clean laundry that is daunting and making fun of me from it's overflowing in the baskets! For those that know me, know I hate laundry! I do good with the washing and drying part but when it comes to the folding and putting away part I completely suck!! As much as I want to be a June Cleaver or Martha Stewart type home maker, I am slowly beginning to accept the fact that I am not and nor will I ever be! But hey we can still hold hope for me right I am getting progressively better! Well we have filed our Taxes so keep your fingers crossed that we will get that back soon! We have lots that we need/want to do with those funds.
I am super excited to be participating in my first bloggy swap!!! One of the AWESOME Subby wive that I am privileged to "know" (I met her on my sub wives message board but never in person though I hope one day I will meet her in person cause what I know of her I love!!) Andrea over at My Chihuahua Bites is hosting her first Valentines day swap and I have signed up I am super excited to see who I am sending a fabulous package to as well as I am trying to think of some fabulous things to fill her box with! I will keep everyone posted on how it goes! I am making a shopping list of things I want to put in there! I am thinking I will do a romantic evening in as a theme for it!!! Not sure yet though!! Hmmm Contemplations!!!
It is official Ernie now is on Leave until the 5th of Feb. and other than a few appts and random things we need to get done so that we are prepared for his IA tour he is all ours till then and I am super happy about it!!!
I am not a religious person and I hate to ask but if you are a religious person would you please say a few prayers for him?!? He recently found out he may have High cholesterol and is really apprehensive about it he is going to get his cholesterol checked on Monday! If it comes back bad he will be ineligible to go IA! He really wants to do this (the IA not the tests) and would really hate to be disqualified from it because of high cholesterol at such a young age (he is only 25)! So for his sake please keep your fingers crossed that it comes back ok! TIA!!!!
Well I am off to bed now I hope everyone's weekend is FABULOUS!!!

Tuesday at the Table!

2009-01-13T15:23:00.000-08:00

Routine is good right? Why is it that some people thrive off of doing the same thing day after day and eating the same things over and over again! I get the fact that some people are just not adventurous in what they try and some things are just quick and easy but to me it seems if I ate the same thing every day I would get quite bored! I dunno it was just a thought that crossed my mind! Last night we had a great dinner and I guess stepping out of our proverbial box made it even better!
Most every night I cook a protein (typically chicken, beef, or pork of some sort) a veggie, and a starch. I do variations on how things are marinaded and prepared but usually it is the same thing over and over again! I really am interested in trying new things but my question is how do I get my family to LOL!!

Ok So last night I made baked Italian chicken and I threw together a pasta salad that was FABULOUS!!!

For the chicken I just stuck it (frozen) in a baking dish and topped with half a bottle of Zesty Italian Dressing. Allow Chicken to thaw and marinate! Preheat Oven after chicken is thawed to 450degrees F. Bake for about 30min I like to do mine till the chicken starts to brown and kinda crisp up on top!

Tuscan Pasta salad
1box Piccolinni noodles (Mini Ziti)
2ripe Avocados (make sure they are still pretty firm though if they are to mushy you will get the wrong texture and I don't think it would be as good!)
2-3 ripe Tomatoes
1can whole black olive (drained and halved)
1small can of mushroom pieces (drained)
1bottle of Kraft Tuscan house Italian Dressing

Cook noodles according to package directions! (be mindful that a good Aldente is perfect for pasta salad!) Dice Avocado and Tomatoes. Combine halved Olives, mushroom pieces, Avocado, Tomato, and Pasta in a large bowl add 3/4 of the bottle of dressing toss gently serve slightly warm or chill until ready to serve!

Sorry this week was nothing fancy but I have a sick 2yr old so meals and such have been limited to what is super quick and easy to throw together in a pinch! Have a great one!

Fabulous Friday!!

2009-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Well Friday has rolled around again and I am happy and sad about it!
I am back! Maybe not in completely full force but I am trying! It has been a long past few weeks and I haven't really felt up to anything! For some odd reason I have been overly tired and feeling very alone in this world! Though I have many fabulous people to talk to Ernie's impending deployment is looming and as much as I support him in this I can't help but be depressed because even though we are very much married I am essentially becoming a single parent again! Let me just say now Deployments of any kind suck!! Whether it is 2months or 15, They just plain capital letters S*U*C*K!!!

So in preparation for everything upcoming Ernie and I have been discussing minor minuscule details of everything from communication to care packages! I am trying to come up with some fabulous ideas of things to put in his care packages! But am really drawing a blank! We discussed how often I am going to send them and so I don't go totally crazy we agreed on 1-2 a month depending on his needs and such! I am just not sure of what kind of things to put in there! Does anyone have any fabulous ideas for care packages?! Let me know just remember no chocolate! He is going to be in the desert so chocolate does not like to hold it's form very well LOL!! Ideas and lots of them are needed!

Ok So this weekend we have no fabulous plan of action it is on an as we feel kinda basis! Seeing as this is the weekend before payday funds are really short so it may just be a "lazy" weekend at home just hanging out together! I know I have SEVERAL housework projects to complete and since Ernie has the weekend off he can take care of at least one of the girls (because contrary to his belief he is perfectly capable!!) so I can get at least 1 or two of them done! I almost always feel as if I am beating my head against a brick wall when it comes to housework! I love having a clean house and when I clean I really CLEAN!! But the daily maintenance is irritating especially with two small children!!

Ok all you bloggers it is time for me to log off and make dinner! Have a great weekend!!

Tuesday at the Table!!

2008-12-16T03:27:00.000-08:00

Hello all you blogging buddies! It is time for another weekly installment of TatT! (UN)fortunately I have fixed nothing extremely fabulous to share so a family favorite in my household this week it shall be!!

I remember one of my favorite cafeteria lunches as a kid was Baked Spaghetti! Looking back now I realize how incredibly gross it truly was, but as a kid almost all of the cafeteria food was Fabulous (not) !! So I realize in my (not so) old age that there is a fabulous way to pull it off and it truly be fabulous (hence why it is a favorite and just a regular sight on our kitchen table LOL! Using whole wheat pasta and a Chunky vegetable sauce I am able to get my family to eat some extra vegetables that they normally turn there nose up at LOL

Baked Spaghetti

1lb Ground beef
1lb Ground sweet Italian sausage (some times I use links and just cut them into 1in pieces cause when they are cooked they look like little meat balls!)
1 jar Ragu Chunky Spaghetti sauce (my fave is the Super Vegetable Primavera)
1 can traditional spaghetti sauce (I only add this if I am using ground beef and ground sausage, because otherwise the sauce to meat ratio is way off)
1lb spaghetti noodles (I use whole wheat noodles from Barilla)
Approx 1lb of Mozzarella cheese,grated (depending on how cheesy I am in the mood for I add more LOL)
1/2 cup Parmesan-Reggiano cheese, grated (I use the stuff that comes in a jar from Kraft!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Brown ground beef and sausage (If you are using the links then brown them separately cause the cook times are different and you don't want to over or under cook them) drain and add sauces, mix together so it is all combined. While your meat is browning start a pot of water for spaghetti noodles (I add about 2Tbs of EVOO to the water just to help prevent the noodles from sticking) Cook you noodles to your preferred level of doneness (I prefer them Aldente) Drain cooked noodles. Combine noodles and sauce and fold in cheese, reserving approx 1- 1.5c (this is for the top) Poor mixture into a casserole dish (I don't know what size I use a medium clear glass Pyrex that is approx. 2-3in deep and a little over/under a foot, my bad for not knowing LOL)
Top with remaining Mozzarella and the Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
Bake until dish is heated through and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown! (No approx time because we like ours browner than others may!) Let the dish cool for approx. 10 min so that the cheese has time to set. You can Dr. this recipe any way you like it because some like it saucy and others don't make it your own LOL I did!!!

Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread!

Tooting my own horn here!!
My bug Girl is almost done with potty training! She has slept through the night for almost a week (the first few nights I would wake her up when I went to bed to take her potty) without any accidents!! I am so proud of her!! I hope one day she looks back on my blog and knows just how proud I am of her for this because I know potty training is hard not just on me but it is rough for her to figure out those funky urges and realize oh that is me I have to potty! #2 is coming along with a little more difficulty then #1 but hey what can you do ( make sure you have lots of panties and patience!!!!)
Addisyn is doing so well she is sleeping and eating and pooping! She is starting to teeth and that is not fabulous but hopefully Target will open soon cause they have some FABULOUS teething drops!! I know some of you are like OMG no Target! I know I used to not be a huge fan of Target but now I see the IMPORTANT stuff that I need and where do I need to get it from LOL of course Target!! So any of you buddies out there that have Target and would like to get my baby some drops please help a girl out cause our Walmart's here do not carry them!! Target opens in March so hopefully March will come quickly and I will be doing a happy dance in the parking lot waiting on those beautiful red framed doors to open LOL!! Well off to bed now seeing as it is 2:30 my time and many of you are up and starting your day!

Enjoy your own TatT!

Since the Computer is working I present you with Fabulous Friday!

2008-12-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Well sorry all the Computer was not working last weekend for me to post! Sometimes technology Sucks LOL!!

So anyway our weekend is looking pretty lax! Right now I am doing laundry and being kinda Lazy! I really should probably doing something other than making a blog but I don't feel like it!
Tonight we are watching a friends daughter while they go to there ship Holiday party! And we are probably going to take the girls to Pearl Harbor's Winterfest celebration! They will have Santa and a boat ride around the harbor to see all of the lights on the ships! Sounds like fun doesn't it!
Tomorrow is Saturday! I get to sleep in til Ernie has to go to school! But I think tomorrow is his last math class of the semester (he still has a politics class on Monday)After his class I don't know what we will do probably make dinner and play some Wii as a family maybe a walk around the neighborhood! Sunday I am kinda hoping it is nice cause I would love to go do something! I dunno what but I just wanna get out of the house for a change!!!! What we do may be very dependent on what the weather is doing because we here in Hawaii have entered into the winter months and that means bring on the rain!! Everywhere else gets snow and we get rain yay! I like the rain as long as it is warm outside and I can listen to it beat on my bedroom window! (which means I get to stay in bed!) But that rarely happens so I don't care for it too much LOL especially if I have to drive in it! An honest me though very much prefers rain over snow! A cold weather person I am not!!

So is everyone ready for the holidays? Whatever religous pfrernce you may have please remember the reasons for the season! Enjoy spending some quality time with your families and friends, and try to remember those who are with out this year! Many of our nations foodbanks are getting quite low and can not help those who truly need it! So please even if you can only give one item it counts and if everyone gave just one on a regular basis the amounts would keep growing! So please use this link to find your Local Food bank and give back to your community! With today's economy you never know if it could be you one day who needs help, so please Pay it forward!
Have a great weekend see you for some TatT!!

Tuesday at the Table!

2008-12-09T16:11:00.001-08:00

Before I get into my TatT, I just wanted to tell you that I have some pretty fabulous friends! My dear friend Stacie has loaned us her computer mouse (she isn't currently using her computer) and her old Camera! Which just happens to be a slightly older version of the one my darling child broke! She is a fabulous friend I would link her but she blogs on Myspace and is private! My other friend Brandon is computer savvy and is going to try and pull all of my pictures that went into a very good hiding spot when my hubby decided my computer needed to go back to factory settings! So keep your fingers crossed that he is successful!! I thank god that I am an avid Myspace user and have been religiously uploading almost all of Cami and Addisyn's pictures!

Ok so my second addition of TatT is...

Bisquick Ultimate Chicken Fingers
4 servings

3 Boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb), cut into crosswise 1/2in strips
2/3 cup Original Bisquick mix
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp salt or garlic salt
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 egg slightly beaten
3 tbsp butter or margarine, melted

Heat Oven to 450 degrees
Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with a nonstick cooking spray.
In 1 gal resealable bag combine bisquick mix, cheese, salt, and paprika.

Dip chicken strips into egg and drop into bag of dry mixture. seal bag and shake vigorously to coat. Place Chicken on cookie sheet. Repeat to use up remaining chicken. Drizzle butter over chicken.

Bake 12-14 min, turning halfway through with a pancake turner, until no longer pink in the center.

These were ridiculously simple and all together (cook time included) took about 30min to make! I hope next week to have more yummy kid friendly recipes for my TatT!
Enjoy!!

Update on the Computerery soon! situation

2008-12-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

My computer is not the issue... it is the mouse. My husband borrowed the neighbor's mouse and tried it of course after he ran a system recovery! Bless him for trying but sometimes I really wish he would leave it to the professionals. I will be back online ASAP I miss it LOL!!!

Stupid Computer!!!

2008-12-07T01:20:00.000-08:00

Well my computer is screwed...
Again!!
Ernie tried to fix it...
But god love him he isn't as computer savvy as he likes to think he is...
So now I will be off line for a while!
Yes it sucks but I will survive!
One of my neighbors is a self proclaimed geek and is going to take a look at it for us!
Will update more later...
If you need me call or text me!
I will also be checking my email via my Cell phone periodically!
Sorry buddies I was just starting to get into this whole blogging thing and now the Computer craps out! UGGGHHH!!!!
I will try to keep everyone updated!

Tuesdays at the Table

2008-12-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

Well this is the first "Official" installment of Tuesdays at the Table for me and I am really excited to post it! But first off let me explain why I have no pictures!! My Darling Darling 2yr old has now broken 2 digital camera's!! I totally thought each time that they were in a safe place and yeah they weren't!! The first camera (a Kodak c something, nothing extremely special, but got the job done) apparently needed a bath! It took a nice little swim in the toilet courtesy of none other than my darling Camille! I was mad and of course the first person I called because I was DEVASTATED, was my mom! Who of course proceeds to start laughing HYSTERICALLY!! I was near tears because we couldn't afford to replace it at that point! And this crazy mad woman I call my mother is laughing! Really mom thanks, She then proceeds to tell me that congratulations you begin to pay for your raising! Apparently as a small child I enjoyed throwing my mothers POTATOES in the toilet! Again I say really mom! I was 2 and potatoes looked like poo to me, I guess! Thankfully this time my camera did not take a bath but will turn on and when you turn it off the lens part that spins into and out of the camera will not do anything and I get a total error screen whenever I attempt to take a picture of anything with it! UGH Now it is probably wrong of me to accuse my seemingly innocent daughter without the solid proof that she indeed did it but I am 99.9% sure she had something to do with it!! And Well I know that Santa can't afford to get me a new one maybe the Tax Fairy will find it in her heart to allow me a new one! I think I may just get the Fisher Price kid tough one cause now that thing is even waterproof!!
Wu sah...

Ok...so...about this TatT.
I am truly all about quick and easy recipes! I don't like to bake. Typically the only time I bake is the beginning of the last trimester of my pregnancies! And I will bake for like a week (or 2) straight, But I don't eat any of it LOL! I am not a big measuring person and baking has to be pretty exact or it could seriously alter the recipe and not always in a good way! I know sometimes substitutions are made in baking for random ingredients but still there is an exact science to it and for those of you who know me personally I am not a brilliant person and seriously suck at science and math LOL!!

A friend of mine (thank you marshmallow!!) Totally hounded his mom for these two recipes for like a month and has asked me to make them for him! I dunno when I will make them for him but I promised at some point in the reaming time he is stationed here that I would make them for him!! (He may get them as a going away gift before he goes on Deployment next year LOL! But I promise buddies I will make them and post a picture (see top of post)

chocolate pumpkin muffins

1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 c milk
1/2 c solid pack canned pumpkin
1/4 c butter, melted
1 egg
one 6-ounce package (1 cup) Nestle Toll House semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1/4 c finelyl chopped nuts

Pheheat oven to 400. In large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, make well in center.
In small bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, butter and egg, add to well in flour mixture. Add chocolate chips, stir until dry ingredients are just moistened. spoon mixture into greased muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon nuts over each muffin. Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes, remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

Now this Recipe I have made several times during holiday seasons past! They are a favorite among many of my family and friends!

Chinese Chews

1 bag chocolate chips
1 bag butterscotch chips
1 bag chow mein noodles

Melt chips over double boiler. Add noodles until covered. Drop teaspoonful on wax paper.

Tonight we are having a Taco Lasagna! It is Fabulous!

1lb. Ground beef (chicken or turkey sub well!)
1 Taco seasoning packet
1 can Refried Beans
Jar of Taco sauce
2cups grated cheese (What ever your preference is I just use cheddar)
4 or 5 Soft Taco shells (I actually use burrito shells)
Taco Toppings (These are totally whatever you want)

Pre heat oven to 350 Degrees.
Prepare ground beef according to Taco seasoning packet. When meat is ready begin to layer,Taco shell, Refried beans, Meat mixture, Taco Sauce, Cheese...Repeat. Once you have placed the top layer be sure to put remaining ingredients ending with Cheese! I usually reserve some of the cheese to add extra to the top!! Place in Oven until cheese is bubbly and dish is warmed through about 20min!

Well Everyone Enjoy your family time at the table!!!

Happy Thanksgiving aka Thoughtful Thursday

2008-11-26T23:20:00.000-08:00

This is the start of my Thoughtful Thursdays!!

I myself have many things I am thankful for this year!
1. I have a loving family who no matter what distance is between us has found a way to stay in touch!

2. I have 3 BEAUTIFUL children!!
Hunter, You are and will always be my first born and booger boy! I love and miss you!! I hope you are having a wonderful life! You deserve the world and all of the knowledge it holds! Your Daddy and Christy mean well in keeping you from me, I wasn't the best momma I could have been for you and I am sorry! There isn't a single day that goes by that you are not a thought in my head!!! I love you and always will!! One day I hope you understand and forgive me!!
Camille, My little Momma! You are beautiful, vibrant and full of life! Please never let anyone put out that beautiful light in your eyes!! I love you very much and even though some days you push me to my limits, I know that no matter what you seek to do in life you will succeed as long as you put your heart and mind to work as one! (Though please my darling 2yr old try to refrain from climbing upon my counter tops and yelling obscenities at drivers who you feel are in your mommies way!! I must remember to refrain from the same while you are in the backseat!)
Addisyn, My dinky doo girl! You are so new, yet I feel as if you have always been a part of our lives! I love every part of you and the person you will become! (Though please refrain from learning some of your sister's bad habits!) I hope and pray that your life be full of laughter, because that is what you deserve! Amazing things are yet to come for you little girl!

3. My Amazing husband!! You make my life worth something! I enjoy most every minute we spend together (even when you are playing an annoying video game)! Just knowing you are home safe is something to be thankful for! I am going to miss your stupid drawn out stories, sometimes they are what gets me through the night when you are gone! This next year is going to be nothing short of difficult, but we will be ok in the end! You do amazing things for this country and this family! Your sacrifice does not go unnoticed!! I love you!!!<3

4. Amazing friends throughout the world who have been through H3!! and back with (me) us! These individuals and families are not friends in my eyes! These people are family!! We are blessed enough to be able to pick some of our own families and I have to admit I have created myself an amazing one!! I am not going to name them because they know who they are and if they need to make sure they know how to contact me! I love you all and couldn't have made it to this point in my life with out all of you!

5. The health of myself and my family! Where it isn't always the best I am thankful that it is still (for the most part) intact and none of us are ridiculously ill or incapacitated in any way! I look forward to many more moments in the next year to be thankful for and many more after that!

Unfortunately I know not everyone is as fortunate as we are and would like everyone at this point to please donate to your local food banks! There are homeless people/ Families everywhere who could sometimes use a little extra help! I know that times are not great for everyone but if everyone would donate a can it truly adds up!! Remember in the Yule/ Christmas/ Kwanzaa/ Hanukkah Season that there are less fortunate people out there and donate to them! If you are unsure of your local Food Bank click here to find one in your area!

Ok So now that I have blessed everyone with my thankfulness Feel free to leave me a quick note on a couple of things you are thankful for!
Have a Great Turkey Day!!!

So I am totally getting into this blogging thing!

2008-11-26T03:21:00.000-08:00

I have discovered a few new things in this bloggy world that I find completely awesome, and I feel I need to start participating in some of these things in the blogging world! SOOO...

COMING SOON!!!(probably starting next week)

1.Tuesday at the Table (aka TatT)
I am super excited because as much as I like to cook I find myself being way lazy! So if I have interesting foods to cook because my many readers need to know what we are eating than it gives me a purpose!
Let me just go ahead and say now that I by no means am a "healthy" eater! I am a fat kid (Paula dean is one of my idols) and I like my cake!! Sometimes I may come across an awesome recipe that is healthy and quick and easy, I promise to share! But I do not cook for healthful reasons, I cook because I like food! And I like to eat! I am a subscriber to Cooking light magazine so occasionally expect to see something from there! If I find something on someone else's TatT that we try and enjoy I will share and give credit to that person and if I make a adjustment (or a flat out change) I will link (note to self learn to link) to the original recipe and post my version!

2. Thoughtful Thursdays:
Sometimes I have a bunch of random thoughts that just need to be set free! So I am designating Thursdays for those! In the same breath I am a very thankful person and have many things to share my appreciation for! So expect to see some things that I am thankful for in with those random thoughts!

3. Fabulous Fridays!:
Friday is a Fabulous day of the week! And I would love to bask in all that is Fabulous about Friday. Whether it is showing off pictures of my BEAUTIFUL daughters or sharing whatever weekend plans my family may have with my blogging buddies!

Bear with me as I experiment and try out different things!
Thanks blogging buddies I look forward to sharing our stories with you!

I have been holding out to post this one!!

2008-11-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

Because I wanted both of our families to be informed first! I know that some of the family has not been informed about this and I have been holding off posting this because of that! But we have waited a little over a week and have not gotten a return phone call so...

Ernie volunteered and is being deployed, he is going on what is referred to as an IA (Individual Augmentee) deployment and is going to assist the Army or Marine Corp in their operations.! He leaves for 3mnths of school the end of February (To be more exact he leaves on Cami's birthday), he will possibly be able to come home for 10days before officially heading to Afghanistan. Then he will be getting a 2week R&R period at some point!

This was a decision that Ernie and I sat down and discussed before he decided to volunteer and I support it 100%! It is going to be rough but I do not want my husband to regret not doing something. And this is something that he feels the need to do! I respect that!

Thank you all for your Love and Support! It isn't going to be easy but we will make it and be better for it in the end!

Time for a change!!

2008-11-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

I saw that some fellow bloggers were changing up there profile look... SO I decided to jump on the bandwagon LOL!!! In all honesty I had been wanting something different but didn't know where to even start looking!! And the thought of making my own completely scares the beejeezus out of me LOL!! Maybe one day I will learn to make my own! Until then I will utilize everyone else's creative juices!! I am also giving the Girl's pages a new look as well so bear with me as I toy around with those!! Hope all is well around the world!!!

New Car!!!!

2008-10-27T00:09:00.000-07:00

Well it isn't a car it is a SUV!!

We are the proud new owners of a 2008 Hyundai Sante Fe!!
And it is BEAUTIFUL!!
I am in love!!!

Hormones are driving me crazy!!

2008-10-23T18:15:00.001-07:00

My hormones are so out of whack and it is really starting to frustrate me!!!

I know that this is so totally normal, but I don't like it! It seems like I have absolutely no patience for anyone (except Addisyn)! Cami has been so defiant!! Don't get me wrong I know it is a normal part of being 2 and then add in the new sibling (which I am sure has something to do with it) and you have a diabolical combination! Also in this defiant age we have also reached the "I Can't" Phase! For those of you reading who have yet to reach this phase I wish you the best of luck it is a difficult one to survive, and those of you survivors out there please share your pearls of wisdom!

Ernie and I are constantly in some idiotic argument because I am picking a fight! I don't want to fight with him, and I don't want to get angry with him but sometimes he just doesn't get it!! Over the last week I have had to return to the hospital for myself 3 times!! The first and second time because I developed an allergy to surgical adhesive after having Addisyn!!! Which means that all of the areas that they used any type of adhesive on me during my surgery now itched, and burned ridiculously. Apparently I also had blisters in those area's also (but I couldn't see them so I was oblivious to it till I looked!!) The 3rd time was because my incision started to come open and was getting infected!!! Well to remedy that problem my Dr put in a prescription antibiotic (Clindamycin), and sent me home with gauze and betadine!While I was already there I mentioned the Crazy back pain I had been having! I show him the vicinity of the pin and he "highly" recommends me calling the SAC ward and speaking with an anesthesiologist! Apparently they can fix it with a "blood patch" not quite sure what that entails but I will share more after I talk to the nice people in SAC!!! Two days later I am back at the hospital again with my 23day old baby girl!!! She has a yucky nasty Viral cold (which for those of you without any knowledge of small children there is nothing that can be done for her except let it run its course!) Though of course before we were told that she just had a cold we went through the dreaded RSV/ Flu possibility in which the Dr advised me that we were going to be hospitalized overnight when the results came back positive!!! Of course I got emotional and cried thinking OMG I am a bad mom because I let my 2yr old get my new baby sick I should have done this and I should have done that!!!! The thought process was never ending!! Thankfully I have an awesome mother who calmed me right down and told me there was nothing I could have done different and that sometimes these things just happen! She also told me just take a deep breath and relax that all would be well!!! And everything was (well sorta) Addi is still sick but it is just a cold and it is getting a little better!! Stupid doctors sometimes they just don't think before they make an idiotic comment to a hormonal mother!!!

UGH it feels like the stress is never ending!!!

My View on the Vote!

2008-10-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

I have found myself more interested in political things this year than in past years! I have never known much about politics and there for have never voted cause IMHO if you don't know anything about the topics you are voting for (in other words what the people running stand for and your own personal view on those issues) than you probably shouldn't make an uneducated vote!!
That being said I have been researching the candidates for this election cycle and am torn. I am really not overly comfortable with either becoming the president of our country ! How do you make a decision like this? How do you decide who is qualified and stands for the right things if you can not agree 100% with the values that the individual stands for?!?! How do you make a decision that will not only effect the immediate future but the future of the world our children will inherit?!
Ugghh I am off to wallow in my thoughts of who to choose! I myself will refuse to vote if it comes down to flipping a coin in my own head! And the reason for that being I feel that if you can't 100% stand behind the decision you make than you should not make that decision till you can!! Just my 2cents good luck to everyone else in making there own!!

And another one is born!!!

2008-10-12T02:01:00.000-07:00

Yes I did it!!!
I gave birth to another healthy, beautiful child!!!! Addisyn Makaia came into the world at 9:01 am on October 1, 2008!! She weighed a healthy 8lbs. 3.2oz. and was 18inches long!!
Everything about my C/S went well and recovery started off simple! I was up and walking around within 12 hours of my surgery (as soon as the spinal wore off) and the cath was removed soon after that! Recovery in the hospital was smooth sailing until I (like an idiot) decided I needed to lay flat on my back to get some sleep! Well anyone who had ever had surgery on there upper bodies know that if you lay flat on your back all of the gas that is inside of you travels to places where you do not want it and causes a great deal of discomfort and pain!!! So yeah I was an idiot and wound up causing myself a great deal of discomfort that was unwarranted! I got out of the hospital on the 3rd (Happy Birthday honey!!) and came home to an absolutely fabulously clean house (Thank you Wesli and Rachael!!) I was doing well till my incision started itching and driving me batty!!! Come to find out I have developed an allergy to surgical adhesive!! The reaction has almost completely healed up and my incision is doing great!

Cami is a wonderful big sister and has surprised us all with how well she has adapted to her new role!! Potty Training is still a process but we have not yet regressed any (knock on wood) and I hope that we continue on this forward path!!

Well everyone Ernie is back to work and I need to get some rest!! So I will add more later love to everyone!!

Frustrated!

2008-09-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

Let me just post to any OB/GYN's who in the future may read my blog!!! It is not nice or polite or even funny to give a very pregnant woman a C/S date and then change it!!!!
For those of you who have not gotten an update as to what is going on I apologize! I went back to the OB yesterday for my pre-op appt and was informed that someone else was taking priority on the date of my scheduled C/S! So I have been bumped back 2 days! Really not happy about this and really upset about it to be honest! Frustrated because all of the planning I have done is now having to be rearranged the people who have rearranged there schedules to accommodate me and my family in our time of need are now having to rearrange their rearrangements! UGGHH I don't even know if that last sentence made any sense! So now my scheduled date is for the 1st of October. If I go into labor naturally before my scheduled date they will just take her then! So please everyone sends lots of labor dust my way! As I am waiting impatiently for Addisyn to get here!!

Not much longer!

2008-09-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!! I hope everyone is doing well and staying out of trouble! Things here in Hawaii are going well just puttering around trying to get things in order. We recently added a new addition to our house hold her name is Princess! She is a Lab mix who is just over a year old! Well behaved and well mannered (for the most part, we still have a bit to work on in that department). She has been a great addition to the family and Cami loves her very much! She has even started helping to feed Princess and let her out in the morning!Lets just hope that this willingness to care for her continues as Cami gets older! Also being added to our family (shortly after Addisyn) is Rambo, he is a Shitzu, whom we are getting from our friends Channa and John! Rambo has always been a welcome member of our household and I am extremely happy to be getting him!

Cami is doing well ornery as ever but still doing well! Potty training is still a work in progress as I am sure it will be for the next few weeks(if not longer!) But she is doing good with other things she throughly enjoys playing with her friends in the evenings. Any ideas on how to get her to eat the meals that I prepare are very welcome!! She is proving to be a very picky eater and if I try to "make" her eat what I fix she gags herself! Frustrating terrible twos! On the brighter side 3 is right around the corner!! And for anyone interested in purchasing Christmas or Birthday gifts for my girls they each have a wish list on Etoys Camille
Addisyn

Well Addisyn is growing stronger every day!! We went back to the Dr on Monday and things are looking great they did a quick ultrasound to check on her positioning (which is head down) and she is slowly making her descent into my pelvis to prepare for "natural" birth (which I won't be performing). The Dr did the GBS test and since I have been having so much pressure he went ahead and checked on my cervix just in case! I am still closed but I am 50% effaced. It doesn't seem like much but to me it is a huge thing!! I don't think I am going to make it to the 29th when I am scheduled for the C/S! The Dr didn't say in so many words, but I don't think that he thinks I will make it to the 29th!

Ernie and I are doing well just ready for Addisyn to be here! Ernie is up for his E6 exam and took it last week though he doesn't think he did very well he said it was really hard! I haven't been doing much just hanging out and cleaning house like crazy . I know the end is near because I have become a baking fiend and anyone who knows me knows I don't care for baking (I love to cook but baking is to exact for my taste!)! Well I guess this blog is getting a bit long and I need to get Cami down for a nap! I will post another update soon!!
Hugs and Kisses to everyone!!

Just an update!

2008-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok so the picture is a little old sue me LOL It is only from last month so no worries! I have lots of pictures from our fun Hike at Makapu'u point and I want to share them LOL!

Things here in Hawaii are going ok just kinda slow waiting 8 more weeks for Baby Addisyn to arrive and Cami is hitting the high point of her Terrible 2's (and not the good high point!!!) I am tired all of the time and it seems like sometimes I have NO patience whatsoever! Thankfully I have made some pretty awesome new friends and in the evening between them and there children I become a sane (semi) relaxed person LOL! Cami really enjoys playing with "her Guys" in the evenings and I can actually tolerate the heat! I thought I would be alright with the heat after being preggo with Cami here but it seems so much hotter now than it did then! I am sure it is because I had time for my body to adjust to the heat before I even got pregnant with Cami! And now I just freeze everyone out of our house LOL! Thank god housing picks up the electricity bill LOL I would hate to see what that looks like!

Well I guess I should update the munchkin blog! Hope everyone everywhere is enjoying life! We love and miss everyone!

Just a quick update

2008-07-23T03:17:00.000-07:00

Ok so things have been crazy but not too crazy! I really have no excuse for why I have not blogged to let everyone know we are alive other than the fact that I am now 29 weeks pregnant and lazy LOL! For those who don't know we are having another girl her name is going to be Addisyn Makaia! Addisyn was a pretty easy name for us to come by we both aggreed on it right away now Makaia however was another story!! We tossed around Ideas like we were playing basketball, and nothing seemed to fit it was such a difficult decision and Thanks go to our good friend (and one of Cami's many Titi's LOL) Leslie! I am sure we would still be heeing and hawing over what our poor daughters name would be had you not suggested Makaia! We both wanted it to sound Hawaiian (I would love to find a meaning for it but have yet to find one) but it had to fit between Addisyn and Williams. So many thanks to you hun if you read this!!
Addisyn is developing nicely I am now 29 weeks and go back to the Dr next Monday the 28th to see how she is doing and hopefully I will discuss the process for planning our c/s.
So far we are enjoying being back on Island and LOVING the fact that we still have some friends here! It has been awesome to reconnect with them and hang out! We have also made some amazing new friends in our neighborhood and can't wait to see what kind of adventures we find ourselves in with them!
Cami is doing great she has made the adjustment like any true Military child and is really getting into the swing of things! We are trying to potty train it is going ok I could ask for it to go better but I am not complaining about the progress we have made already! Now we are just going to finish putting the house together and get ready for "baby sister" to come. Once we getinto the swing of things with Addisyn Cami and I are going to stat working a little harder on preschool type learning! We may even start before then it just depends on how long it takes to get the house fully set up and unpacked!
Ernie is enjoying his new job for the most part I know I am enjoying the hours. He is excited about the fact that they push the guys to go to school and do volunteer work while in the command! He is looking into different schools in the area and is thinking about maybe doing online schooling. Whatever he decides to do I am here to support him over and beyond 100%. All I ask of him is that he be a good husband an amazing father and an awesome man!
Wish us all luck as we are all going to be busy busy busy in the next few months but we should (hopefully) find our groove rather quickly! I hope this comes to everyone in good health, and high spirits! We love you all!
The Williams Family!

I am working on figuring out how to post lots of pictures without it completely bogging down the page!!! As soon as I do you all will have lots of pictures to see on here!!!

Spring is in the Air!!!

2008-03-15T12:34:00.000-07:00

Well everyone spring is less than a week away and we are so excited! Spring means new beginnings and we shall be having on very soon (well not so much a new beginning as it is somewhere we have been before.) Ernie has spoken to the detailer and we are headed back to Hawaii! We are excited apprehensive and a little sad! We were really hoping to be heading to San Diego so we could experience a new duty station. I am excited because as much as Ernie really wanted to go IA and spend some time in the east, I was not to excited to have him go! It will be nice to be stationed somewhere we have been and are familiar with! As soon as we have dates we will be sure to let everyone everywhere know!

As far as everything else things are going well! We are 12 weeks pregnant now and things are going great, our little peanut is growing big and strong! We have been bouncing names back and forth but we have come no where near a definitive answer for either sex!

Cami is getting big , bad, and cute (and she knows it!) She recently turned 2 and had an amazing birthday! Ernie unfortunately wasn't home for her birthday this year but that is how things go sometimes! I have a lot of pictures that I am currently putting into a few slide shows and will put on here as soon as they are ready! Each slide will have a range of photos from each year and I will continue to add and update them as time goes by! As well as I plan on doing specific slides for different events and family outings that we may do!

Well I hope this blog finds everyone in good health and good spirits! We all miss everyone and send our LOVE!!!!

Welcome to our Family!

2008-03-14T11:03:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!
The Navy can and has taken us to some amazing places that we would love to share with everyone! I have created a blog so that no matter where or who you are in our family you always have a way to make sure we are doing well. Here you can get updates, see pictures,watch videos and find out all of the new and sometimes exciting things that we do individually or as a family! My main goal of this is to make our family seem like we are not as distant as we truly are!