WFT

Do you guys remember Waiting for Tuesday? That was a long time ago, and I kept it private, so you probably don't. Anyway, I found it last night and was amazed at how much things have changed in the intervening five years.

For one thing, I am shocked that I almost let Paul go to Anglico unaccompanied for a year immediately after a yearlong deployment, and I remember the primary reason for that decision was that he didn't want to move us overseas. He didn't.

2007 Liz was like "oh, ok" ...and then enter three months of stress and sadness and one heartbreaking blog post.

2012 Liz would be like "No. I've moved us alone more times than not and I've have the POA. I've got this, and I don't think we need to discuss it further. We'll see you there."

As it turned out, of course, what was waiting for us was New Orleans and subsequently Baton Rouge which turned out to be exactly the right thing (of course).

Secondly, I was waaaay better parent. I feel so bad for Bree.

Third, 2012 Liz broke into a cold sweat at black-and-white evidence of the fact that I spent every single penny I earned being a nanny. I could have bought a car with all the gas money, museum entrance fees, lunches and snacks out, Target trips and scrapbooking supplies I purchased that year. BUT, it made me feel better and nothing went on credit, so I'm calling it a wash and am not going to feel guilty.

And finally (not finally, but we have plans and I can't sit here for any longer), I had and have the most amazing friends on the planet. Four in particular were there through ALL of that and never batted an eyelash.

So now we're off to the park. Carly is mad because she's tired of wearing the same outfit all the time and Bree is mad because she has to pick up her sorting bears. I've got a travel mug full of half-decaf coffee and an insulated bag full of snacks and we are out to get some sunshine. We'll check in later...much later, if all goes according to plan. =) Yay!

Yesterday and Today

One thing I LOVE about our house is that we live in a very quiet neighborhood with a sidewalk in front of our house. If the weather is even sort of nice, we are outside and girls are playing with our garage full of pink and purple colored outside toys. Or...like yesterday...doing homework on the front porch.

And then, just in case I ever give the impression that everything is absolutely horrible and sad when Paul is gone, let me tell you about "field food" or "deployment dinner." (Of course we would rather him home, but there is a silver lining to pretty much any cloud, no matter how big and heavy.)

In a word: wonderful.

I guess it is true of our family at least that I cook those square meals just for the daddy because the second he leaves we revert to monkey cheese with peas (I have a salad) and when we get tired of that, we make french bread pizza (last night), or we do a Mediterranean dinner...like tonight...and here is Carly giving her opinion. She's a fan of field food, too. We had the other half of the loaf of bread, three different 'flavors' of olive oil for dipping, olives, grapes, heirloom tomatoes and not shown is a big chunk of Romano cheese. Lovely! Tomorrow night the kids are having hummus and veggies with homemade naan and maybe orange slices if I'm feeling fancy. After a week or so of eating like this, their hair gets REALLY shiny. =)

And, just because it's been a couple weeks since I've blessed you with a picture of Bree's fashion fabulosity...here ya go! Pardon the chair cushion - they're getting steam cleaned tonight.

Cure for Cabin Fever

I'm waiting for Bree to finish getting dressed and we are headed OUT. Yesterday was such a great reminder of all the things I like best about being a mom of small-to-medium-sized children. Snacks at the park, water bottles, running all around, starving kids at dinner and kids who actually NEED a bath because they are filthy from playing like wild animals all day long.

Does anyone else feel that way? I know it's not spring, and I know we will probably have a few more yucky days of gross, depressing weather, but for NOW, I'm just going to choose to ignore that fact. We're stocking up on park snacks (z-bars, those twisty fruit things, cheese sticks, Koala granola bars, etc) and getting the heck out of the house for as many hours per day as possible while we can. I'm hoping that all this activity will help us with staying healthy and will help distract my poor Bree from the fact that someone (me) stole all her Barbie books and replaced them with Caldecott books...

...which, btw, we already owned but she never read because Barbie books require no work on her part. She's not a fan of the change, but she'll come around.

Okay! We are READY! What are your plans for the day?

Three Things I Love

1) When a fun, two hour Chick-Fil-A playdate (yes, another one) turns into another two hours playing at a nearby park because the weather decided to surprise us and turn sunny and beautiful and perfect.

2) When my girls play together like best friends.

3) When my husband calls at THIS moment and he sounds great, and he can hear the girls laughing, and I find out he's sleeping on a cot not the hood of his humvee, and it's so good to talk to him we'll all go to sleep happier. xoxo

Jumpies, Baking and Art...

I'm pretty sure we went to the jumpy place last Monday. PRETTY sure, but I can't really guarantee it. Either way, the girls had a blast as usual. Bree was especially awesome once she mastered the obstacle course entrance by herself. Happy kid! If you look carefully, you will notice she is also a well-accessorized kid, with pretty rings on each hand. Just don't look too closely at her outfit - she chose it herself and hasn't mastered the art of matching just yet. =)

We met the Jiabias there...this is one of the only pictures I got of Carly and Sophia, mostly because this was one of the only times I saw them the whole time we were there. =)

Okay, then flash forward past all the illness and we come to Friday. I don't know why this picture is so dim, but we made playdough. At least I think this was Friday...I'm pretty sure it was Friday. The girls LOVED that project!

Then we made zucchini bread which the girls love as long as I make sure to tell them it's cinnnamon bread.

Bree still wanted to help cook even though I was finished, so I let her stir up a little flour and water. She lives in her dressups and wears them almost all the time when we're home.

Okay! Now I know for SURE what day this happened, because it was today! Yay! Today is Monday and Carly is healthy but has a couple of days off for teacher workdays. Carly had a sleepover last night and was really excited from it, so we did a little art project to help the girls calm down before naps. It worked awesome and they each slept three hours, which gave me exactly enough time to do all the collating and accounting and reporting and ordering for Girl Scout cookies. Wahoo!!!

Here we are beginning our cactus project. You can see the puff paint bottles in the background - the recipe is on pinterest, but it's just flour, water, salt and paint.

Bree, getting bored with cacti, had fun painting. This is a (super)girl who loves her paint.

So the end result! What I love about these directed art projects is that they give plenty of latitude for an older kid who is more interested in the product and a younger one who is still fully in process mode. Bree asked for help with the puffy outlines and she loved sticking in the little cactus thorns.

Then we played Sorry! which was totally boring to Bree, but Carly loved it. She wanted a photo taken. =)

So we survived a week. Goals for next week include: all of us staying healthy, finishing cleaning out what will be the baby's room and doing a Barbie-and-Disney-Princess detox of our family library. Wish us luck!

You Know He's In the Field When...

Well, this has been a heck of a week.

Today we're working on a couple of fun projects so the pictures will be posted later. Thank goodness for Pinterest, right?

Also for phenergan (for me, post-food poisoning) and kickass antibiotics (for Carly, to kill strep). And awesome neighbors who send their homeschooled teenager to watch Bree while they drag my hallucinating, barfing, practically mummified carcass up to the hospital to get fixed up after what had to be the most disgusting night of my life. I don't remember getting out of the car or walking into the hospital and I guess I looked about as lovely as I felt because when I emerged from the treatment room six hours and three IV bags of fluid later, the guy at the triage desk was all "WHOA, well you look much better!" And I was all, "Um thanks, do I know you?" He was like, "yeah, you puked on my shoes." Awesome. I guess that's why nurses wear those solid white crocs...easy to hose off if necessary.

Anyway, they loaded me up with phenergan and sent me home with more which has been a big help in the hydration department. I'm doing a thousand percent better today. Carly is, too. Her throat started hurting Wednesday night and we got her in to see the doctor Thursday. First time anyone in our house has had strep but the antibiotics have seemed to knock it out pretty well and Bree seems to be okay for now! Thank goodness for Clorox wipes and a stash of new toothbrushes, too!

And now I'm going to peel my bug-eyed children away from Tom and Jerry and make them do something fun and creative for at least half an hour until this last dose of the magic phenergan pill makes me pass out.

Hi, Kelly!

I'm all about multi-tasking today, so after the cute little Q&A I am shamelessly lifting off another military family's blog that linked up with Kelly last Friday for her Military Families linky party, you will see some spectacular shots of my dainty ladies enjoying their lunch.

*This would be a great place for an "irony font," but if you are one of the six or seven people who stop here regularly, the term "dainty ladies" in the same sentence as a meal probably tipped you off. =) Haha.*

I don't know if anyone will actually come visit from there, but if you did, hi! Sorry about the lack of a readable title. =)

So! Onto the questions...

How did you meet your husband?
I met Paul at this skeevy bar in Lawton, OK called...are you ready for this?...the Electric Cowboy. I know. They alternated between country and hard-core rap and had coin beer night a lot. I'd never been there before but I was visiting a friend from highschool and yada yada yada Paul and I ended up talking until the bar closed. He met me at church the next day, then we went to the local arts fair before I headed back to grad school in Waco and he headed back to artillery school in Lawton's neighboring Fort Sill. That was in May. We were married five and a half months later and the rest is history.

What is military life like?
It's just like I suspect most other people's married lives are like. You work, maybe raise kids, do taxes, buy a house, fix stuff, laugh about stuff, argue, make up, eat dinner, try to be better all the time...we just sometimes navigate those things over long distance and sometimes my husband's work takes place in unsafe locations (which, it should be noted, is also true of my friends and relatives who work on oil rigs, or are firemen or police officers, or who have jobs that require 100% travel, or who work 30on/30off schedules). We don't get the chance to take one another for granted, which is awesome, as are dress blues - can I get an AMEN?! - and those welcome-home-so-glad-you're-safe first kisses.

What does your husband do?
He blows stuff up in normal life, but right now his guys are doing different sorts of things.

Where have you been stationed?
 Camp Pendleton - beautiful and perfect, can't wait to get back.
 New Orleans - not nearly as fun to live there as you'd think, glad we only stayed six months.
 Baton Rouge - loved it! Made lifelong friends there and loved being near my family.
 Quantico - loved it!!! The DC area is SO FUN. There is no end of stuff to do and it's so pretty.
 Camp Lejeune, NC - our current location and, well...we live near the beach which is great in the summer and I'll leave it at that. =)

Do you complain about military life?
No! Stop laughing, I'm serious. I complain about some things that are a direct result of our life (such as certain characteristics of our current area that I've resolved not to mention in 2012), but my husband loves his job and he is great at it, we are provided for and have amazing friends and opportunities that have been afforded to us due to my husband's job moving us from place to place. We aren't ready to trade it in for predictability and guaranteed reasonable access to a Whole Foods and an art museum....yet.


And that about covers it, I think! =)

So, as promised...photos...

First, one of Carly so you can see what she's wearing...she was making her 'awkward' face...hilarious because she's started say "ohhhh AWKWARD" at inappropriate times, like if I forget her juicebox in her lunch or something. She's six, so I'm thinking mastery of the art of irony is a couple of years away.

And then, Bree. God bless this sweet girl and keep her ever awesome.

In addition to randomly loving cole slaw today, Bree was really digging the raw onions I put out for Paul. Her breath is LOVELY this afternoon, let me tell you. And do you see her shirt? This is why we do two loads of laundry a day. =)

Adventures in Baking

So, the college football national championship was LAST week, and yes, we've been doing stuff THIS week, but none of it got photographed. This lovely attempt at a king cake did win a moment of the spotlight though...even though it looks more like those little pillows they give hemorroid patients than an actual king cake. You're welcome for that mental image. =)

This was attempt 3...the first two didn't even rise, or rise evenly. So...I'll try again around the time of Mardi Gras and maybe we'll get something more cake-like and less medical-equipment like. =) ''

Haha, you're welcome again.

A Post As Scattered As I Am

Consider this a bloggy onomatopoeia.

I got buried by my to-do list today. Most of it did get accomplished but I couldn't tell you how or when, and the sad thing is that it wasn't just calm Mommy stuff, it was madness and Bree and Carly moving around and talking (always talking) in the background did not help matters in the least.

That's not their fault; they're kids. It's my inability to focus on more than one thing at a time that's the problem.

So while I was mentally revising my list and listening to Bree screech at me about how her carseat buckle was too tight even after we adjusted it, I missed my turn and ended up thirty miles away from where I was supposed to be, thirty minutes before I was supposed to be at the dentist. So the sitter met us there, right after Bree had an accident, and I may or may not have jokingly begged the dentist to hit me with some baby-friendly laughing gas. It's probably not a good thing that the most relaxing part of my day was the twenty-minute block of time I was getting my teeth cleaned.

Here's to getting it together.

I really just need some SILENCE, decent cell service and a personal assistant for my oh-so-important and busy life. =)

It's Not February Yet...

We got quite a few New Year's cards this year...and pretty much everyone who sent one those after-Christmas cards called or emailed to apologize for their being so late...and every time I said (because it's true) that if you just started a business/moved/had a baby within the last three years/are doing Christmas solo due to your husband's work obligations/are a normal human being with a busy life...you absolutely have until February to get those cards out. If it's before Valentine's Day, you're good.

So..with these photos, I'm doing something entirely out of character and extending to myself the same measure of grace I gave my busy friends. If you're not related to us, you probably don't really want to see a single more Christmas photo, and I don't blame you! Just consider yourself duly warned. =)

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Let's start with the rest of Christmas Day at our house and our SUPER simple Christmas dinner. We had a lot of other stuff but realized that all anyone wanted was that amazing grilled ham and sweet potatoes, so that's exactly what we had. Maybe next year we'll do roasted brussels sprouts and green bean casserole.

 Then some awesome gingerbread house destruction.

***

The next three days consisted of me studying for my personal finance test on the 28th and Paul and the girls being outside playing baseball, football, tennis, riding bikes and roller blades, jumping rope, running around and doing sports stuff for eight hours a day.

***

Before we left, I noticed this. We got some cool Santas and a creche from my Granny and someone set them up like this, on their way to visit the baby Jesus. Love!



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Round One in Philadelphia the night we arrived! The girls were so excited about their wonderful gifts!

 I don't know who that ten year old kid is, but she's wearing Carly's pajamas....and you can see a little bit of the aftermath! It was a tornado in there. =)

***

Round 2! Aunt Amanda and Uncle Pete came over the next day. The girls had SUCH a blast unwrapping everything!!! This Barbie head (one of my all time favorite toys as a kid!) was a big hit. This kind came with hair coloring AND makeup....when Bree heard that word, she whipped her head around, dropped what she had been playing with and joined the hair party. Bree also loves that big white horse you can see on the left - it came with a dozen tiny little animals that can ride on its back - Bree calls them her babies and tucks them into her bed every morning. =)

***

Round 3!!!

Uncle Pete came back over and we saw Aunt Diane and Uncle Mace after the girls and Paul got back from touring PopPop's work.

Reading her Ladybug Girl book with Aunt Diane - I hadn't ever read this book before but I love it! It is just right for Bree!

Hahaha - love this! Part of the girls' gift were these little clip in colorful hair extensions! Everyone tried one on, and the girls have been wearing them around the house.

***

Round 4 was at Aunt Louise's house on New Year's Eve...I'll have to put the pics from FB on here. Auntie Lisa gave Bree a bag FULL of old jewelry and Bree fell in love with it! The girls are actually right this second (7am Sunday) in a bath with the fancy bubble bath they got, and they enjoyed playing with their nearly-cousing Trevor for four hours. It's always a miracle to get three kids to play together for any length of time, but these three get along great; it's so nice to see!

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Round 5...I know...was with Auntie K the next day! She and I went out to a fabulous brunch and, since we were the last customers and the bakery was closing for a week, they sent us home with lots of free goodies. Paul and the girls spent the day with Amanda and Pete in South Philly, watching the Mummers parade and eating lots of yummy goodies. At some point Carly called as asked me for $40 so she could play fantasy football...I'm sure that was totally her own idea, too.

***

And then, back to regular life. Carly working on homework from school and getting ready to dive into homework from home, and Bree (in fairy wings, an apron, a hula skirt and princess shoes) rotating between painting her nails and making art. =)

Photos Uploading Now! Yay!

I think we probably could have used an extra day before our little trip and jumping back into the real world.

There are emails I need to send, packages I need to send, a certain cable company who needs to be reminded that yes actually I DID pay them last month here's the cancelled check to prove it, tennis to sign up for, cookie sales to manage, laundry to fold, baseboards to paint (because they look like garbage) and that weird smell to track down. Also four different things for Paul's work, two days of volunteering and a bunch of health appointments.

Item #1 on my "list" for 2012 is to not get overwhelmed by all that stuff! Haha, the truth is, I don't have resolutions for this year because the only thing I can think of is getting my family through this impending deployment in one piece. That's still four months away.

As is the, you know, birth of our third child. I did just buy that poor baby her carseat and I wonder if I'll regret not getting an infant carrier and opting instead of the top-safety-rated-yet-still-budget-friendly convertible one that will let her hang out facing backward until 40 pounds.

So anyway, I'm either doing it right, by focusing on just the two major things I need to accomplish this year, or I'm getting it completely wrong by being so wrapped up in two things I have zero control over that I'm letting all the minutia that I COULD control quite well get all piled up and crazy.

I'm going with right, just because this is my blog and it sounds better to start off the new year winning. =)

Happy New Year!

In 2011....

Carly tried basketball, did swimming, dance, gymnastics and reads anything she can.
Bree just about taught herself to swim and started dance which she loves above all else.
Paul graduated from his school and picked up battery command.
Liz (finally!!!) finished all the requirements to be a financial counselor.
Spring was busy.
Summer was epic.
Fall was fun.
And winter has been so far, and thankfully, nonexistent weatherwise.

There has been lots of working, volunteering, house painting, Girl Scouting, glitter, driving and sand.

In 2012 (as far as we know)...

Carly will keep dancing, do tennis, swimming, weekend sleepover camp and probably art class during the summer.
Bree will definitely keep dancing, do swimming and probably art class in the summer. She's on schedule to read at the same age as Carly; the girl literally cannot wait to know what all those words say and she'll start preschool at the best place we could find.
Paul will train like crazy, deploy, and come home again.
Liz will keep volunteering, doing the Girl Scout thing and the taxi thing and, oh right, have a baby.
Spring will be crazy busy.
Summer will likely be rather sleepless.
Fall will take too long.
Winter will be joyful and amazing. Can't wait for THAT Christmas card. =)

I predict lots of working, care-packaging, Skyping, learning, glitter, poster paint, sand, diapers, monkey cheese for dinner, houseguests (please!!!), disco dance parties, happy and sad tears, adventures, less traveling for most of us and a significant increase in the sand quotient for one of us. It will be a good year - not easy, but good.

Merry and Bright!

Santa came to our house!!! Those stockings were PACKED...we went a teensy bit overboard on stocking stuffers this year; it's a hazard of starting your Christmas shopping in September. Also - the "Oops" book is a flipping riot, but it's a funny cause-and-effect book, which is better for Carly's age - Bree was completely lost but she laughed when we laughed anyway. =)

Possibly Bree's favorite gift - four pairs of dress-up shoes from Carly. Bree has been wearing them all day.

Carly's favorite present - her Silly Hair Lalaloopsy!

Unpacking their cool art bag from Grammy! The book is a huuuuuge hit and the bag was full of supplies for making the projects - so easy to gather when we were already at the store and not forgetting one thing or another like I would do if we had waited to get them all together! I'm so excited to see what cool things these girls make.

Paul and his Kindle! He figured out how to work it and he likes it! I got spoiled totally, completely, absolutely rotten with a new set of pots, new knives (that CUT! Hallelujah!!!) and a very cute, VERY pink purse. I love it so much! And I had to laugh because I had this giant stack of huge boxes and bags and Paul had this eeeeeeety bitty Kindle. Poor guy! =)

Making our rounds of the Christmas presents, here the girls are coloring the roof of their cardboard gingerbread house they got from our cousins. Well, Carly is coloring. Bree is painting her nails for the tenth time this morning.

Santa also brought packages of stick-on moustaches for the girls and I personally think they are HYSTERICAL. Carly added a 'stache to her penguin. Awesome!!!!

And two collages...the first is Carly playing with her totally RAD Rory's Storycubes game...it's such a cool thing! You roll the dice and make up a story about what is on the dice. It gets her little brain going...this is MY favorite gift so far. =) The second collage is Bree, the fabulous. I love that kid and all her sparkle, even though she's upstairs right now crying pitifully because she can't have her lollipop yet. She hung her head and dragged her face all the way up there, but she'll be down in a few minutes, happy again. Yay!

Christmas Eve!

We went to mass at 5:30 Christmas Eve instead of trying to rush out the door this morning. It was a beautiful service and our priest read a letter from Santa, which I thought was incredibly sweet. Here's my pretty girl on the way to church. Napless Bree fell asleep on the way, but it was one of those magic ten minute naps that helped her make it through the service and some marginally successful Christmas-light hunting afterward.

This is pretty typical. I believe we saw this exact scenario at Halloween. What's funny here is that Carly is directing her dad on how to light the fireplace. =)

Then Paul saw Bree and told her Santa doesn't bring presents to pouty girls...and MAGICALLY Bree was happy again. It's a Christmas miracle!

Snuggling with Daddy before bed. We laid out cookies and milk and an apple for the reindeer. Just so you know, Rudolph has retired from flying and is now a reindeer teacher. That fact arose during a conversation about how old the Rudolph movie is and whether or not Rudolph is, in fact, real. Paul had some quick thinking, and fortunately our logical girl thought his explanation made perfect sense.

We did have our traditional Feast of a Bunch of Fishes, but we didn't make it through all seven courses this year. We had smoked salmon tea sandwiches on pumpernickel, fried calamari, linguine with clam sauce cooked with anchovies and crab cakes...we didn't make it to the shrimp or the flounder this year. Does that still count? Maybe? Haha - either way we got our National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation watching in and it was fabulous. We found it much more difficult to go to sleep because of excitement than the girls did...I will hold to my theory that Christmas as a parent is EVEN better than Christmas as a kid. =)