Back to Blogging

Its snowing.
Alot.
This cold snowy day is beautiful! I wish I could enjoy it the way I would like to, however, I broke my fibula (leg bone) on New Year's Eve when I took my children rollerblading (one of my favorite things to do!).
I am hoping I can get the kiddos out to sled, but its not that easy. Oh, and now I have a toddler in tow. Our beautiful 18 mth old who is growing like a weed!

I am hoping to have some beautiful pics to share of sledding, but now, I can just show you the amount of snow dumped since yesterday:

Crazy, huh? Well, there you have it. Snow. Everywhere. 

So even though I am slightly unable to function normally, I am going to try to get all the kids out of the house with sleds, in one piece. But first, we must wake the toddler.....

Dress A Girl Around The World - VA: Little Girl's Panties - A Tutorial

Dress A Girl Around The World - VA: Little Girl's Panties - A Tutorial: This is a tutorial for making a comfy, modest pair of little girl panties.  These panties are easy to make, are upcycled and earth-friendl...

1st and 2nd Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
I have a very extended family.....very.
This Thanksgiving was spent with my father and his fiance and her kids and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. My brother also came. It was amazing to see how everyone has grown and changed. I haven't  seen everyone in years. All the kids diapers I used to change and now they are having babies of their own (and yes, I got in there and changed them too!) I just love babies!

So my niece Amanda found a tape from 1991 and 1992. It was a couple of the grandchildren's birthdays. Their 1st and 2nd birthdays. So I was eager to watch...not to mention my kids being able to see mommy as a kid herself (10 to 12 yrs old at this point).  Funny thing though, every time you saw me, I had a baby in my arms. Or I was playing with the kiddos. (At one point there wasn't any babies to hold so I held the dog...a pug mix).  It was very surreal to see those videos and go back. I was joking with the now 19 yr old Taylor (AKA: Bug), that all I wanted to be was a mommy when I grew up and that's why I just loved holding the babies. But that's not all; I insisted on changing diapers and feeding them too. I was really gung-ho about taking care of the kiddos back then.

All the while we are watching the videos of Amanda's first birthday, I was cradling her newborn baby girl. How strange time is and what a funny feeling to have come full circle. That was our 1st Thanksgiving of this year.

So now I have just come home from our 2nd Thanksgiving, of this year, with my father-in-law and his girlfriend and my brother-in-law and his wife, and I realize that nothing has changed in the short 7yrs I have been in this family. We talk about the first time we all met, what we really thought of each other and how everyone had doubts about Jeff's and mine whirlwind romance into marriage.  Its quite the insight to see what everyone first thought about when we first got together, but look at us now! No one really thought it would last, but here we are 9 years later (8 years married) and we aren't going anywhere.

So thankful for both of my families and so thankful for such a brave, wonderful, smart and hardworking husband. I wouldn't change anything for the world. So this year, I am once again reminded that my life is awesome, my kids rock (they aren't perfect, but they totally rock!) and I love my husband with all my heart!
God is so good!!

Full Day

Ever have one of those surreal days that seems to go by too quickly, but then when you get to bed and recall the day you cant seem to believe that it ALL happened on that same day? Yup. That's today.

It started out fine. Kids up, fed, out the door to school. My friend Melissa then drives me directly to my doctor's appointment....for my knee. I was all proud because I dont need my crutches anymore (its only been about 2 weeks since the ACL surgery) and so I go strutting in, give my name, wait my turn. When I am called back and the doctor comes to check on things, he takes my leg and says "bend it". Um, ok. See, that part I haven't gotten so good at yet. So it wont bend past 90 degree angle...well, without me passing out that is.    
So then he looks at me and says, "That's not good". WHY???? Its only been 2 weeks! Apparently, what I was not told was that scar tissue forms and inhibits movement. (I don't wanna hear a single "duh" from any of you! You wouldn't have known if I had not just educated you, so phhhttttt)  Anyway....so I have some more work to do on my leg. *sigh*

THEN: Off to deliver Girl Scout cookies!  I had to go to Rochester General Hospital (I tried to hit every doctors office, that I went to for my surgeries, to get orders!) And while parking, I accidentally rubbed my side view mirror against the vehicle next to me. Go fig. So I got out, cleaned off the rub and after much debate, left a note with contact information. And prayed......and prayed some more.  I was really worried.
Well, after about 4 hrs, the lady called me back and left a message saying that she didn't see any damage and  not to worry about it, and to have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Well, I just broke down and cried. My prayers had been answered.

THEN: Off to another doctors office with more cookies....no incident there, but I did have some italian wedding soup. Very good!

THEN: Squeeze in a quick run to BJ's to get more supplies for the kids lunches.

THEN: Met my bro-in-law at my house to grab a few things, kids came home, went through their stuff, had Brenden make pancakes for dinner, I made eggs and banana bread muffins and we ate!

THEN: Off to their school for Bingo and Books (family bingo night and book fair going on). Was fun! Then a quick stop to Walmart to get a couple of things, including a new filter for the furnace and Christmas cards.

When we finally got home and I changed the furnace filter while the kids took out the garbage to the road, Jeff texted me that he was available to Skype. So upstairs I "flew".....more like flopped...and booted my computer as fast as a 3yr old computer can boot. An hr and a half later, I am writing my blog.

Personally, I am exhausted just reading this.....I did alot today! And this isn't unusual for me. Guess I better get to sleep...got plans with the sis-in-law tomorrow for Christmas shopping! Good Night!!

No One Ever Told Me

As I sit here and contemplate life (and how long it will take for the pain meds to kick in and knock me out) I start to ponder about what I know now that no one ever told me....

When I married a military man, I knew he might have to go.....but not when.

No one ever told me that the first year of our marriage would be spent apart. Or that the 2 weeks you got together between military schools was all it took to get you pregnant (surprise!).

No one ever told me that the closer we got, the further he would go and longer he would be away.

No one ever told me that I would do ALL the housework sometimes and most of it the rest of the time.

No one ever told me that I would feel incredibly lonely some nights and not be able to talk to him.

No one ever told me that the hardest part during deployment would be comforting my kids.

No one ever told me that the hardest part after deployment was reintegrating him back into the mix.

No one ever told me that when I needed him most, I wasn't allowed to have him.

No one ever told me what it would take to survive a deployment, let alone two.

No one ever told me that one day I would miss him dearly and the next I would resent him for not being there.

No one ever told me I would need a heart of gold, nerves of steel, quick thinking and common sense to get through another week/month/year of being alone with the kids again. (Forget the sanity....)

No one ever told me that the greatest gifts would come from people who barely know you, but want to help you because they actually are proud of your husband they never met.

Being a military wife and a mother of 4 has got to be the hardest job I have ever had....or plan on having.
I am so proud of my wonderful husband for all he does, but sometimes I just want to lock him away and keep him for myself. I'm sure you understand.

Truth be told....I am glad no one ever told me. Otherwise, I might not have had the guts to try....

Perhaps, if I got the chance to meet a newlywed military wife....I might not tell her either.

So tired

Can I just say that doing this whole "single-parent" thing is extremely draining? Even with the kids gone for most of the day for school, I am finding that I am growing more and more tired every day.
We are half way through our deployment period. However, its not getting easier. It seems as if it is actually getting harder. Between a couple of my babes having trouble in school and my injury that needed surgery and being tired all the time....its just a struggle every day.

Is it wrong that I just wanna go spend a day to myself at a spa or some secluded island? Is it wrong that I am  hoarding all the chocolate that comes into the house?

Anyway, seems I have some house work to try to do. (Cant do much b/c I am still healing from my ACL surgery, but I can definitely try!)  Then nap time. For everyone. :)

Has It Been That Long??

Has it really been 8 months since my last blog? Wow. Fail. Ok, so apparently my life has gotten a bit busy. A few changes, along with a couple surgeries. Surely I could be forgiven for not blogging, right?  
So let me relay that which is currently my life....
May: Husband deploys, leaving me with all the babes and alone...oh boy.

July: Travel to Michigan with mother-in-law (who flew in from Texas) and meet husbands side of the family. Then travel down to Texas. Yes, we drove with all 4 children.  And apparently the border guards aren't so bad....Brenden took a picture of the border patrol guy on the Canadian side (both thumbs up nonetheless!) And when the border patrol guy asked Dean if he could have an apple (from a bag of them on the floor), Dean looks at the guy and says "No." I about died from embarrassment and then from laughing after we went through. Kids are a riot...
Spent approx 2 wks in Texas at sis-in-laws and mom-in-laws. Got to see hubby for 4 days. Whoo hoo!

August: Celebrate 32nd birthday. Then 3 days later tore my ACL playing football at VBS. Ambulance ride! Oy. So I spend the next 2 mths in PT working the other muscles so my recovery from surgery is faster and easier.

October: Large lump appears on wrist. What?? Squeezed in for wrist surgery to remove what appears to be a ganglian cyst. Turns out to be an irritated fat bubble....go fig. Surgery goes well. Heals fast. No problems. (Was really concerned because ACL surgery was coming and I couldn't put pressure on my wrist and thats not good if you're on crutches.)

November: Surgery on ACL. Healing very well. Kids are trying to help...but its a struggle. Thank God for friends who come over and clean and help with kids! And thank God for the wonderful ladies who are bringing me dinners until I can make them on my own again!  

So now you are caught up. Such a wonderfully busy summer. Not everything happened the way I hoped they would, but its all good! God's got this. 

Hopefully it wont be 8mths until I blog again.....lol