6 Months at "Home"

So we have hit that 6 month mark, that point in a military families life that you really start feeling "at home"...which if you are doing a special assignment like a school you are usually only there for a year...sad to think you could spend half your time being stationed somewhere just being busy settling into a routine. Some might think that 6 months seems too long, but after talking to other spouses and having personally moved 8 times I think it checks out. Figuring it takes at least a month to unpack and organize all the rooms, getting the kids into their routine of school and activities, figuring out how to get from point A to point B in the local area, easing into making new friends, trying to find time for working out, etc. At the six month point I think I have it all balanced, well maybe.

Snow Day

Forgot to hit publish yesterday...

So the boys are experiencing their first real snow day today. I don't remember there being one while we were in NJ, maybe there was, but all three got to experience being at home a whole day while it snowed and sleeted. It is projected to get so bad that they practically shut down the base. Non-essential personal were sent home at 11am, J showed up at home around 12:30 trying to finish off some paperwork, and the services shut down at 12:00. It is kind of nice to get a day with J, he is leaving again for over a week this time next week, he's able to interact with the boys some while he works from home and studies some of his ACSC coursework. We've been busy playing some WiiU, watching movies and peaking out at the blustery weather from our windows. I love having them home, although I know I will be paying for it...they eat a lot and make lots of messes while home!

My Sweet Valentines

I meant to post these on Valentine's Day, but with the hustle and bustle of activities that the boys are in and also enjoying a quick visit with my parents, it got put on the back burner. So the boys and I had fun picking out some Valentine's Day supplies and coming up with some creative cards, N's used this picture and a glow stick for the light saber.

My "Heart breakers" Valentine's Day morning.

Pet Peeves While Traveling

I was going through my blog posts and noticed that this one never got published from last summer....what a gem! Now that I have cooled off from all the traveling it seems like this might be perfect time to post it for all those friends of mine that will be PCSing (permanent change of station for all those civilians out there) to let them know that everyone has "those" days when one the road for long periods of time.

Written August of 2012
This seems to be our summer for many adventures with lots of time driving on various roads across the US. I started this list at the beginning of our trip as a way to vent, hope you don't mind a little negative Nelly coming out in me.

Silence

So posts have been more then a little lacking as of late...just been really busy, which is a normal thing with three boys...but just being busy trying to be more in the moment with the boys as well. M and J have started two new clubs at the Youth Center, becoming official 4-H members ;) Those that have known J and M know how important 4-H was to both of us. Even though it's not the traditional 4-H club, I love that they are becoming involved in something that uses the curriculum and program put out by the Extension Service. They are participating in SOAR (an aviation club) and Lego Robotics. So Thursday and Friday for an hour after school they can't complain that they are bored...M is also doing Judo on Thursday's. Both of the older boys will be starting floor hockey soon, hopefully they note the conflicts I listed on the registration sheet so the boys can participate in all they are signed up for. If you are military and haven't checked out your Youth Center you really should, it's just not for daycare!

Cleaning House and Scoring Deals

So since we have moved here I have been trying to keep the "extra stuff" from taking over the house. Whether it's the clothing and toys the boys have grown out of, decor that just isn't quite fitting in anymore, or just stuff that doesn't have a home and is rarely touched. Back at Travis I used Bookoo.com to unload a lot of the clutter that we didn't want to move, but found out once here that not that many people use bookoo, but instead use a specific yard sale site on FaceBook. It is a closed group and part of the "rules" is that you have to have base access...which is kind of nice, I got burned more then once in CA when people couldn't pick up at my house. Meeting off base also ate up a lot of time when we were trying to pack, load and get signed out of the house. It was a great resource, but it really wasn't  always a pleasant experience. I ended up waiting more then once for 20 minutes at the visitor center with a $5 item only to finally getting a text that they can't meet or they changed their mind.

Welcome to Our Newest Member

For Christmas J and I decided to go low key for each other due to plans of traveling next summer. A big grown up trip is in the works, no details to share yet. I opened an envelop thinking it was just a letter from my sweetie about the plans for said trip, but instead was starring at pictures of kitties. I grew up loving cats, we always had a bunch of farm cats running around. But also occasionally had a few that wiggled their way into the house. When we were first married we also adopted a cat from my brother, but with moving and being pregnant Simba ended up out at the farm with my parents. Recently I got to cat sit for a friend and loved getting to spend some time playing with them, I guess all that talk about them got J thinking.

Meet Bella, a Russian Siberian Forest Cat. She is about 18 weeks old, and really loving her new home. Diesel and her are starting to bond...as long as she doesn't run like a squirrel.

She is full of energy during her play times and is very athletic. She will be a large cat, Siberians are thought to be the second largest domesticated cat. The breed is also considered hypoallergenic...ya she is a giant fur ball and won't cause you to sneeze. I hope to post some better pictures soon, and maybe even figure out to post a video of her play sessions.

2013 Already?!

Seriously where did 2012 go? We are already days into 2013 and I am still wondering where 2012 went? So much changed this year. I thought I would share with you the holiday letter we sent out this year, the Mr wrote it and I made some additions and revisions...and for those that had difficulty reading the letter due to the small print, sorry it really was only 11 point font! As usual the names have been edited since this is a public blog.

Merry Christmas!

Fair warning this post my be overloaded with pictures of cute little boys excited that it was Christmas Eve and Santa was coming to visit them. We had a good time taking pictures and the boys also had an excellent time being silly and running around shocking each other. I guess it is time to find that humidifier that we had stashed away for 3 years will in CA. I hope all our family and friends out there had a wonderful Christmas!

Displaying Christmas Cards

Once again I find myself in a new house for the holiday season. Last year we displayed our friends and family's letters and cards to us on a bulletin board that was in our dining room, which with an open floor plan was easily seen also from the living room and kitchen. Our current house is a little more divided and I am using that bulletin board in the laundry room...it is pretty bare, but I wanted to display the cards and not hide them away.

So after going to Pinterest for some inspiration, I then double checked my craft supplies and was lucky to find I had everything for the display. I started off with making a burlap wreath. I then hung it, arranged the pictures, and then started hanging the rest of the cards off the garland already in the handrail.

I think it turned out great (although my pictures of it is pretty crap-tastic), and I'm enjoying getting see all the love that has been sent to us this holiday season.

MN Thanksgiving Part 2

 While back in MN we had the opportunity to not only celebrate Thanksgiving, but also J and N's Birthdays. We celebrated first with my side of the family with cupcakes, pies, ice cream and finishing up with presents.

Christmas Card Finally Ordered!

Snowy Window Christmas Card

Custom Christmas cards are always available at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Thanksgiving Party With Family Part 1

Now that we live closer to home we are actually able to spend an occasional holiday back with our family in Minnesota. We started out after school and work, spent a night in a hotel halfway, met my parents in Owatonna and left Diesel with them and then headed up to Grey Eagle. 

The boys were excited to spend some time with the "ponies" and even got to help train a brand new 2 year old that was  getting her first "lesson".

J helping Grandpa

Beginning to Look Like Christmas

More on what I'm doing for holiday decorations later, but here is a sneak peak if what I put together with things I mostly had. The only thing new are the birch branches that I brought back from visiting family in WI back in October.

Being Eight is Great!

We have enjoyed watching you grow up these past eight years. Growing up isn't always easy, and you have had your share of bumps, bruises and broken bones. But you always know how to put a smile on our faces and how to give the best hugs when needed. You are the best cuddle-bug and I will never turn down your request to tuck you in at night...and when you get older I might have to request to tuck you in and sneak a hug or two. I hope you continue to enjoy the crazy adventures we have, I know I enjoy watching you experience new things. Happy Birthday buddy!

Happy Birthday Lil' Man!

Crazy how this guy...

is growing up to be this guy.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Sally Hansen Salon Effects Review

So I don't know about you, but I just don't have the time to do some of those little things for myself as I use to. Having three little boys I don't have the time to paint my nails, and when I have in the past the it just didn't last long enough to make it worth it. I had seen the Sally Hansen Salon Effects "sticker polish" before, but looked at the price wrote it off as something that probably would be a waste of time and money. Boy was I wrong! 

I was at Kmart (scooping out all the clearance items since our store is closing) looking for some inexpensive Christmas and Birthday gifts for family and friends. I had picked up a cute 31 purse on a virtual garage sale for our base and wanted to put some goodies in it for my oldest niece. What tween wouldn't love some fingernail bling, so I picked out some polish for her and happened across a good selection of the Salon Effects by Sally Hansen...for 30% off of $4.99 (which is already a good price for the little box). A couple of days later I decided to try it out.

It was super easy to apply and I actually used only one set out of the box so I got two uses out of one box. I applied one rounded end and carefully filed the end off and turned it around and applied it to the other hands matching nail. I did have one tear, but there were extra "scraps" that were still stick that I pieced it together to cover the full nail. Once all nails had the "sticker" applied I took it one step further and used a clear top coat to my nails. The box said it would last a week, but I wasn't going to chance it, I am really hard on my nails and didn't want to go through all that work (30 minutes the first time) and have them scuff off when I loaded the dishwasher after supper. 

Day 1 after application

That Ugly Monster Named Anxiety

Anxiety, we all have some form of it...some little thing that we aren't confident about and worry about. Some **raising hand** may have anxiety about things in more then one area...Doctors, Dentists, driving on unfamiliar roads at night, driving with less then a quarter tank of gas, moving, meeting new people, writing on the blog that I have been contributing to for five years (ya, this one. Do you know how many posts I have saved and never posted, or posts that I end up deleting because I don't think they are worthy of being read by others? I may be a little crazy.)...do I need to go on ;) 

Project: Creating a Tween Boys Room

So M is nine and a half, going on thirty it seems. He is far to old to have a little boy room, but still wants his room to have a theme of some sort. He picked out his paint color and has had a lot of input on what decor is going up on the walls and on the bookcase shelves. In his past rooms we have gone with airplanes, so we are reusing a lot of that collection over again, but giving it a more sophisticated look. Well after looking at his room I felt like his room was a little to blah and not enough fun. I saw that Hobby Lobby had some the mini metal airplanes in stock and picked a bunch up when they were 40% off thinking I could use them as shelf filler...then I saw that there were rings on them for hanging, so I got some supplies and went to work.

I used some fishing line and tied on end to the airplane.