Wordless Wednesday

Yeah for me!!

I have to admit I am feeling great today! Finally after a good week of just feeling down and depressed I am feel like my old happy self again. Thank goodness, I was starting to get worried that I was going to be in that slump for the long haul.

I took Cayleigh-Grace in for her year physical last week and she is up to 24lbs now, her head is 18in around and she is 29.5in tall. She has 12 teeth and is even starting to run.

Kiale goes in for his appointment in October and I cannot wait to see how tall he is!! I just hope he ends up tall like his daddy, KS is 6ft 5in.

It seems the weather here is finally starting to cool off it only got up to 89 here today. I am really hoping it starts cooling off Cayleigh-Grace and I are finally able to go out and play during lunch for more than 5 minutes before she gets miserable because of the heat.

Not Me Monday/ Not My Child Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I did not catch my daughter just in the nick of time, before she put our TV remote controls in the toilet!

I did not have to stick my hand down the toilet bowl just to make sure Cayleigh-Grace did not drop a wooden block down it, and I did not see the wooden block behind the toilet bowl after digging around in the water for it. Yuck!

We did not find a wonderful home for Jackson a couple of weeks ago, and I did not get a wonderful report from the new owners saying how well he is doing now.

We did not spend a wonderful and relaxing weekend doing absolutely nothing and just enjoying each others company this weekend, and I am not going to miss these wonderful weekends terribly once Kiale leaves for basic training in a month and a half.


Colin did not have to clean his and Kiale's room that they share by himself twice this past week because he refused to help Kiale clean it.

Kiale did not make a goal this weekend to climb every tree in our yard and he did not get eaten up by mosquitoes in the process.

Cayleigh-Grace did not finally say dada again to KS, she has not refrained from saying that for a couple of months now, and KS was not thrilled to hear her say it when he got home last night.

Its coming...

As September draws to a swift close I find myself have fewer good days and more and more bad days. This month has flow bye... and once October gets here I feel that there will be no going back. Not that I regret our decision to join the military, but it is very hard to know that in just roughly a month and a half I have to say goodbye to my husband for basically a year. Thankfully he will get leave in December for Christmas, and then we will see him again in February. Its just so hard to think that I won't be able to run up to the shop and see him whenever I want to, and I wont be able to kiss him and tell him I love him just because I feel like it... he wont be here to receive it. I know I am a strong woman, but boy am I having some serious doubts right now. I don't know if I can handle this... I feel so sad inside... just miserable... Thankfully in seeing how fast September has gone by I know that our time apart from KS will go by quickly as well. It is just so hard to imagine myself without him for any amount of time, especially voluntarily away from him. Yes, we chose this life, and I know that this is the right decision for us. I know that this is what we should be doing, and I know that this is what God wants for our family. If it wasn't I would not have such a strong feeling of comfort whenever I think about it... but boy is it going to come at a price....

On a lighter note, my year anniversary of blogging is coming up on the 5th of October... I was thinking about having a giveaway to celebrate my 1st blogging birthday. So stay tuned on the 5th to see how to enter.

Happy Birthday Kiale- Part 2

I would never have guessed looking back upon the past six years of my life that it would have gone by so quickly. Kiale was my hardest labor, and my grumpiest newborn, but he is one amazing kid. The boy has a heart of gold. He has the sweetest spirit and the kindest soul, and I can honestly say he is wise beyond he years. He just does not act like your normal six year old. I am so happy to have this amazing little boy in my life, and I am so proud to be his Momma. God truly gives us the greatest gift we could ever ask for when he blesses us with children.
Today I was able to take in cupcakes to his classroom, which is always a treat. It is still so unbelievable to think that I have a son in kindergarten... I really am just so happy with our life together as a family, and birthdays just make me that much happier! Thank you Lord for all you have given us!
Kiale wanted breakfast for dinner for his birthday so that is exactly what he got! Bacon, eggs, and pancakes! The boy was in heaven, he was thrilled, and he even got a cookie cake for dessert!

Like her Momma...

One saying that is said all too frequently in my household is always said by my husband... the saying goes "Her fat head got in front of her little feet again." As you might be able to figure out I am a bit of a klutz... it seems that my sweet daughter has inherited the genes. Somehow she managed to trip and fall twice in my bedroom within a span of about 3 minutes and the last fall finally did it in for her, she landed between the wall and my desk, and this is what she received as a souvenir. I have no clue what actually cut the outside of her eye, thankfully it is just a small cut. Wish I knew what she tripped over... but as my husband says it must have been those feet!

54 days...

54 days... that is what he told me yesterday.
54 days until he leaves...
54 days until I become a single and yet married mom...
54 days until I have to drop the most important person in my life off at a hotel and spend the remainder of my time with a cell phone attached to me...
54 days until I start jumping every time the phone rings hoping its him...
54 days until I see what "hard" really is...
54 days until I become the proudest wife there is seeing my husband fulfilling his dreams and becoming the person he wants to be...
54 days until I become a stronger wife and mother...
54 days until we become an entirely new family...
54 days until we become who we were always meant to be...
54 days until we put "our" family first and the rest of our family second...
54 days until we become an Army family.

Window Treatments

Well I made the curtains for my dining room today. We are six months post remodel and I am just now finding material that I love enough to make curtains out of. The fabric is from Moda's Panache line. I am going to use it for a throw blanket as well for our living room.

Happy Birthday Kiale- Part 1 a Birth Story

In exactly 55minutes my sweet oldest child will be a year older. Kiale turns 6 today!! Happy Birthday Kiale!! So in honor of Birthdays, here is his birth story!

>September 20^th 2003 was spent like any other Saturday for KS and I. Pack up grab the dog and head to the cabin for the weekend. Little did we know this was going to be far from any normal weekend. That Saturday was spent with KS fishing and me floating around in the tube in the lake out the cabin. We decided to go have dinner in Gainesville and grab a movie from Wal-Mart while we were out. We ate dinner at Captain D’s and proceeded to get the Gangs from New York movie and head back to the cabin. By the time we got back it was 11:00, and after watching the movie it was right around 1:00am. While at the shop with my husband the week before an older lady, had seen me and told KS and I how to get the baby here sooner. She said that if we really wanted him to come out soon to go home and “have some fun” before we went to bed…well KS and I decided to try out her advice, and needless to say it worked… well! At 3:30am I woke up with some pain and looked at the clock to see what time it was (an annoying habit of mine….) it happened again at 4:30, and then at 5:00. By the time I woke up at 5:00 I was having severe back pain, with intense pressure. I kept thinking I had to go to the bathroom… boy was I wrong. It took me about another 15 min to realize that hey I am in labor… and severe back labor at that. I finally got KS out of bed, not an easy task considering I think we got to sleep around 2:00… By the time we realized that it was real labor we had to decide what to do, leave the dog there at the cabin or take the 30min ride home and leave the dog there. Well me being stubborn and thinking well the contractions are only 10min apart we will have plenty of time to make it home and to the hospital, not realizing just how close we would actually be cutting it. We called my mom to have her meet us at the house by that time it was right around 6:00. Once we got to the house at right around 6:30 my contractions were 5min apart and getting stronger and way more painful with all of the back labor. Mom met us there and we called the Dr. the contractions jumped to 3min apart, and imagine that they told us to come on in!! By the time we reached the hospital at 7:45 my contractions were 2min. apart. The nurse checked me and I was already 7 cent. dilated, but there was a slight problem. I hadn’t preregistered with the hospital; I was planning on doing during my next appointment since I still had a week before my due date of September 27^th. So my mom had to run down stairs and register at 7:45ish on a Sunday morning. Once the Dr. finally got there and checked me he broke my water. All the while they are trying to fill out all of my paper work that I was supposed to have finished. Well about 8:40 rolled around and I had to push, they were still trying to fill out my epidural paperwork b/c of the horrible pain I was in. Needless to say the epidural never happened and Kiale made his grand appearance at 8:55am September 21^st 2003, after 5 hours of labor. He was 7lbs 15oz and 201/2 in. long, and looked just like his daddy. He even had strawberry blonde hair. He was perfect.

Jungle Blanket

For Patrick Christopher who is 35weeks and counting.. I cannot wait to meet this sweet baby!!

When you hear...

Party bags are not meant for playing,
Party bags are meant for storing,
Plates and spoons,
Cups and bowls,
Salt and Pepper...
So when you hear a pouring sound,
You better go and see what it could be,
Cayleigh-Grace could be playing...

Happy Birthday Cayleigh-Grace: Part 2

Well our little princess is 1... it still amazes me everyday when I look at her how fast she has grown. She now has 11 teeth... 12 any day now, just waiting on that last molar to break through. This girl is into EVERYTHING!! Its crazy, if she isn't supposed to touch or go near it she is all over it! She has been getting quite an attitude lately as well, I'm not sure if I like that part though. She is still nursing an average of 6 times a day and she is still in size 4 diapers. Her are some pics from her actual birthday. She had yellow rice and chicken for lunch with a side of chocolate cake, and for her birthday present she got a brand new Tinkerbell chair. She LOVES this chair, I am so glad we got it for her!! She is also pointing at everything!! It is so cute, she will point and then say some sort of baby babble, its just too cute!

Still here!

I promise I am still here!! It has just been a CRAZY couple of weeks, and it seems like I just cannot catch a breath. Last week was my mom-in-law's wedding and this weekend is Kiale and Cayleigh-Grace's 6th and 1st combined birthday party... here is the pic from their invatation. I feel so behind on things but hopefully I will be able to catch up next week!! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Everything happens for a reason...

~Where God wants me~

As you might remember, the head of a company survived
9/11 because his son started kindergarten.

Another fellow was alive because it was
His turn to bring donuts.

One woman was late because her
Alarm clock didn't go off in time.

One was late because of being stuck on the NJ Turnpike
Because of an auto accident.

One of them
Missed his bus.

One spilled food on her clothes and had to take
Time to change.

One's
Car wouldn't start.

One couldn't
Get a taxi.

The one that struck me was the man
Who put on a new pair of shoes that morning,
Took the various means to get to work
But before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot.

He stopped at a drugstore to buy a Band-Aid.
That is why he is alive today..

Now when I am
Stuck in traffic ,
Miss an elevator,
Turn back to answer a ringing telephone ...
All the little things that annoy me.
I think to myself,
This is exactly where God wants me to be
At this very moment..

Next time your morning seems to be
Going wrong ,

The children are slow getting dressed,
You can't seem to find the car keys,
You hit every traffic light,
Don't get mad or frustrated;
It May be just that
God is at work watching over you.

May God continue to bless you
With all those annoying little things
And may you remember their possible purpose

I copied this from Married to the Army's blog. I felt it was too beautiful not to share.

Quick Pic

My Mother in Law got married over the weekend, here is our family picture from the event... many more to follow, as soon as I am able to get them edited.

Happy Birthday 1st Cayleigh-Grace! - Part 1

Wow. I am still not sure how I feel about today... I knew it was coming but it was just too hard to actually believe, but when I awoke this morning I knew it had finally come. One year ago today this precious baby girl was placed into my arms, this little princess that I carried for exactly 40 weeks and birthed in 2.5 hours of labor and 30 minutes of pushing made her grand debut. If you would like to read about how I birthed this 10lb 7.8oz baby girl into the water birthing tub at my local birthing center you can read about it here. Today is turning out to be a very hard day for me emotionally... I honestly wished that I could turn back time and experience the labor and delivery just to have the chance to do this past year all over again... what I wouldn't give to be able to turn back time...

Everyone has their "favorite times" when it comes to raising children. For my husband and I that favorite time is from pregnancy to year 1. I knew it was going to be hard on me to see September 3rd roll around but I didn't think it would be as hard as it really is. Don't get me wrong I am so happy that it is her birthday and I am so thankful and blessed to have a wonderful, healthy, and sweet spirited daughter, but to me once they turn one it is the end of a chapter in their lives, and to me that chapter is the sweetest chapter of all... I have already been on the phone in tears will my Mom today. Neither of the boys 1st birthdays hit me like Cayleigh-Grace's has, and I do not know if it is because I have no desire to have anymore children at this point (a feeling I have NEVER had before) or because I am scared that once she grows I will never get to experience all that goes on with her needing and depending on me like she does now. I am so excited to see and experience all of the wonderful milestones that will be coming in the next few years, it is just so hard to let go of all the amazing thing that happen during the baby phase, because in my opinion it is the shortest and sweetest phase of all.

~ I promise that Part 2 will be the happier side to her birthday and all about our little birthday girl!