We are still alive in the land of Aloha..

And Just so everyone knows I never was good at keeping a diary!

So Cami and Addi are in ALLSTAR CHEERLEADING with Cheer808 Allstars and for those who are interested we are heading to Vegas for competition in February! Ernie put on E6 the beginning of May and there is nothing exciting going on with me just playing house and chauffeur! I really need to find something for me just not sure what yet! So here are some updated pics of the girls...

Emmi and her friend playing with bubbles

Addi running "boxcar" races at boot camp childcare.

Cami and her friend posing at putt putt!

Addi facetiming her bestfriend (or boyfriend as she calls him)!

Me relaxing at the pool!! Loving Hawaiian life!!

E sleeping so peacefully!! (Probably gonna kick my butt for posting this LOL)

Until next time...

Oops I did it again...

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

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...

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

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

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

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!!!

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 ...

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!!

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!!

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!!

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!!

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...

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!

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...

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

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

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!

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

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!!!