Pictures are in!!!!

I am sooo excited, I got the pictures from M's homecoming today at school!!!!!! I will try and upload them as soon as possible, but with having Open House tonight at work, I doubt it will be tonight. :( boo for having to stay late at school. Hopefully this weekend I will get some time.

On other news, M has been AMAZING lately!!! Well he is always amazing, but lately he has stepped up his game. I have been super stressed lately and I know I have been snapping more than normal and probably not so fun to be around. The problem is, I don't know what is causing all of this stress. :( So over the last few days M has picked up the kids from preschool, taken them to the grocery store with him, which has allowed me some time at home to relax. He even made dinner the last few nights and did the dishes. I'm not sure what I did in life to deserve him, but I am so thankful I married such an amazing man!

Ok back to work I go. :(

My Very First Liebster Award!!!!!

I've received my very own (and very first) Liebster Blog Award from Allison at Keep Calm and Soldier On! I am very excited to receive this award!!! Thanks Allison!!!!
A Liebster is an award for up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.

Each Recipient Must:
~Post 11 things about themselves
~Answer the questions the tagger set for you
~Choose 11 nominees
~Create 11 questions for the people you've nominated to answer
~Go to their page and let them know you've nominated them

11 Things About Me:
1. I am almost 30 (yuck)
2. I am a wife, mother, daughter, friend and Army Wife
3. I am a 7th grade teacher, but I got my degree in Elementary Education.
4. My dream was to teach 4th grade, but I LOVE middle school
5. I am an only child
6. I moved to Florida for a job and it was the best decision I ever made (even if I miss my family back in Michigan)
7. I grew up in Brighton, Michigan
8. I worked for an entire month on Mackinac Island, great place to visit, I did not enjoy working there
9. I worked as a front desk clerk at hotels during college
10. My favorite movie is the Princess Bride
11. I love cats, especially Cheetahs (they are the only large cat that purrrs)

Answers to Allison's Questions:
1. When did you start your blog and why? What was your very first post(link to it)?
I started my blog just after I gave birth to our daughter and my husband was on his first deployment to the sandbox. I started it because I have always loved to journal and I wanted a way to keep my husband and family updated on what was going on at home. I was also hoping to find some support from the military spouse community. My first post is here.

2. What is one thing you like to brag about, about yourself?
I really hate bragging about myself, but I guess one thing I would say is that I am pretty good with technology and I have a pretty good memory when I put my mind to it.

3. What is the best advice you've gotten?
To relax and to not plan everything.

4. What is the best recipe you've ever tried?
I cannot narrow it down, but I love the food that reminds me of my childhood. Especially the chicken casserole that my mom use to make on my birthday.

5. What do you wish your parents had been more strict about when you were younger and why?
I cannot think of anything really. I think they were pretty fair.

6. What was your favorite thing to play with growing up?
I would have to say my chalk board. I used to play school growing up. I had a classroom set up in my basement with a chalkboard and everything I guess I have always wanted to be a teacher.

7. What is your most vivid childhood holiday memory?
I would have to say most Christmas mornings. I loved waking up early and being able to wake up my Aunt and Grandma who always spent the night. I loved all the time we spent with family during that holiday.

8. What is the "best kept secret" that you found out about?
I have no idea

9. What is one thing on your bucket list you're worried you'll never get to do?
I haven't made a bucket list yet, but I am afraid I'll never get to visit Russia or Egypt and those are on my must see list.

10. What is the best item in your wardrobe?
Anything comfortable. I also think my little black dress is the best item in my wardrobe. I don't think you can go wrong with a little back dress.

11. What unique item do you always keep in your fridge?
I'm a picky eater so unique items are not generally kept in the fridge. You will find the general staples in our fridge.

My Nominees:
1. Amanda at Somwhere Over the Camo
2. Jenn at Life with the Lieutenant
3. Amy D. at {Guarded} My Life as an Army Wife
4. Monica at The Musings of Lil Moo Moo
5. Janee at The Longer the Wait, the Sweeter the Kiss..
6. Ashley at Love From Home
7. Lauren Nicole at Killer Words from a Queen
8. Lauren at Souls to Squeeze
9. Rachel at The Air Force Wife
10. Krista at Life is the Messy Bits
11. Andrea at Life Adventures of a New Army Wife

Questions For My Nominees:
1. What made you decide to start a blog?
2. What have you learned from blogging?
3. If you could travel anywhere (don't worry about money) where would you go and why?
4. What is your favorite animal?
5. If you could have your dream job, what would it be?
6. If your iPod/radio was turned on right now, what type of music would be playing?
7. What's your favorite movie?
8. Where did you attend college? If you haven't gone yet, where would you like to go?
9. If you could live anywhere in the U.S., where would it be and why?
10. What annoys you most about milspouse bloggers?
11. If you could have an entire day to yourself, what would you do with your time?

I love when DIY projects turn out right :)

I am really proud of how this DIY project turned out. I've seen this all over Pinterest and just had to try it myself. I actually found a way to make it myself on Word.
I have never considered myself crafty by any means. But give me a base to go off of and as long as I can create it on the computer, I'm good to go. :)

This was my inspiration:

And this is what I made.

 

My biffle is even asking me to make her one. That is one of the biggest compliments I could have gotten.

I am going to get two frames from Michael's and paint them. M and I are thinking of painting them dark blue and light blue. I think they will look cute once we get them on the wall.

I'll post pictures once we get them on the wall. Now I must get ready for bed, I have work in the morning, it sure was nice being off today for our "hurricane" day. I say it that way because we only got some rain and some wind, we've had worse wind with our regular thunder storms. Not that I'm complaining to have an extra day with my family. :)

First Ever Guest Post

Good morning everyone!
I am sooo excited to share my first ever guest post today. You can find me over at Military Mental Health Blog. I'm pretty proud of it. :)
Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!!

Man Crates Contest

I have never done a contest or promoted anything before, but I thought this was kind of a neat idea that I just had to share.
I was recently contacted by Lucas from www.mancrates.com. They are doing a contest and they are seeking nominations for servicemen who'd enjoy a totally unique kind of care package. They are taking nominations through September 1st, and then picking a favorite (or two) and shipping that serviceman a Man Crate. They are taking just one nomination per person, and it's open to anyone who wants to nominate an active duty or reserve member of our armed forces (both deployed and based here in the US), as well as retired members. Man Crates also donates a portion of their profits from their APO/FPO orders to the Wounded Warrior Project. How cool is that?
I visited their site and they have some really cool crates that I think a lot of men would love to receive, whether they are stationed here or overseas.
I recommend going to their site (linked above) and see what their company is all about and if you think your servicemember would like this really unique crate, go ahead and nominate them here.

I hope you all had an amazing Monday!!!!!

Where I've been

Whew! I've gotten busier since my amazing husband returned. I didn't think that was possible, but it is. I'm waiting on my pictures from his homecoming before I write about that day. :) Since M came home last Tuesday we've been busy. Some of the major highlights have been:
Spending lots of time together
M sleeping a TON
threw him a party that ended in DISASTER
M and I went jet skiing in the Gulf together


Me before we went out



Jet Skiing

Storm, we had storms all around us

We bought a hand gun and went to the gun range

Shooting our .22 at the range



M shooting our .22 at the range

Took the kids swimming at my mom's house



happy baby swimming



M and Baby E swimming, she's wearing my sunglasses

 We went with his platoon to a Bucs game. I am not a football fan, but it was fun.



Bucs stadium



M and I at the game

Reintegration isn't easy, anyone who says differently is lying. Don't get me wrong, we haven't had any major issues, it's just been an adjustment for all of us. I did have to go back to work last week for pre-planning. Tomorrow the kids start back. I cannot believe another school year is starting. This will be my 6th year teaching. I still have a hard time believing that I've been teaching for 5 years already.
Well, I am going to finish watching Army Wives with my hunny and then I'm off to bed, tomorrow is the first day of school. :)

Mote Marine

The weekend before M came home I took Little L to Mote Marine for a mommy and Little L day. We had a lot of fun. Little L loved seeing the fishes. I was a little disappointed that we couldn't see the dolphins, but it was still fun to spend some quality alone time with my little guy. We went to McDonald's for lunch afterwards. I think Little L really enjoyed himself.

Little L tried to make friends with a little girl

Overall we had a fun day. I sure wish M could have come with us. We will have to go back one day with him.

Welcome Home Sneak Peek

My amazing husband finally landed in Florida this past Tuesday! I was fortunate enough to finally find a photographer to take pictures for M's homecoming and she did an AMAZING job!!!! She is done editing the pics and posted a slideshow of some of them on Facebook, so here is a preview for you. I hope you enjoy, I know I did. I will tell you the story of our amazing day hopefully soon!


http://video214.com/play/Tz1oLIV6kw1orDZk4k2Jaw/s/dark

ABCs of Me

I am still waiting on the husband to return......so I found something to keep me busy, for a little bit at least. I had seen this on Liz's blog at The Optimistic Army Wife and thought it was cute, so I decided to do it as well. I hope you enjoy

A. Age: 29 (not looking forward to my next birthday :/)

B. Bed size: Queen, but hoping to move up to a King soon

C. Chore you dislike: cleaning, especially bathrooms and the kitchen

D. Dogs: We don't have any. I'm more of a cat person than a dog person, however the husband is trying to convince me to get a dog at some point.......he will probably win, as long as HE takes care of the dog :)

E. Essential start to your day: Shower and a smoothie

F. Favorite colors: Blue

G. Gold or silver: White gold, or silver

H. Height: 5'6"

I. Instruments you play(ed): Clarinet

J. Job title: 7th grade Civics teacher, mommy and wife

K. Kids: 2, one boy who is 3 (Little L) and one girl who is 7 months old (Baby E)

L. Live: In the sunshine state of Florida

M. Mom’s name: Rebecca

N. Nicknames: Kat

O. Overnight hospital stays: For me, just when I had the kids, recently for Baby E to find the cause to her wheezing

P. Pet peeves: People who cannot drive, those that never take responsibility for their actions, the uneducated who act like they know everything when they don't

Q. Quote from a movie:

R. Righty or lefty: Righty. But I can do a lot with my left hand too

S. Siblings: none, I am an only child

T. Time you wake up: When the kids wake me up, between 6 and 8

U. Underwear: Nothing too special here :)

V. Vegetables you don’t like: I'm not a huge vegetable fan, I prefer fruits and my list of vegetables that I like is smaller than the one I don't like :)

W. What makes you run late: The kids

X. X-rays you’ve had: On my knee, my ankles, my back, my sinuses

Y. Yummy food you make: I LOVE to bake so I think anything I bake is yummy :)

Z. Zoo animal you like: Cheetahs......for one because I love cats and two they are the only large cat that purrrsss, which I think is pretty cool.

I hope you all enjoyed! I'm off to keep myself busy until it is time to go to the airport and pick my amazing husband up!!!!!! Ahhhhh!!!!!!

Hurry up....waitin on you

That is a song I hear my husband sing to me every time I am getting ready for us to go out somewhere. (I actually don't take THAT long to get ready, but he likes to bug me about how long I take) I actually miss hearing him sing this, and now I have caught myself signing it the past two days. I'm kinda over it.

My amazing husband is in Texas....yup that is American soil and he STILL isn't home....dang army! His unit has returned to Orlando and I am still waiting......and waiting....and waiting. We are waiting for medical clearance and then hopefully he will call me with his flight time. Ahhhhhh!!!!!!

Things I have done while waiting:
* Cleaned and organized our bathroom
* Cleaned and organized our closet (I had to put my clothes back on my side of the closet) :)
* Cleaned and organized our bedroom
* Cleaned and organized the kids bedroom
* Cleaned the living room and kitchen
* Organized our new to us desk.
I am in love with our new desk! I have been wanting a new desk for like ever and we got this one for FREE! Our good friends are moving and getting rid of a lot of their furniture, I was just glad I saw her post this on facebook before someone else got it. Yea me!

cute right???

 * I got our long haired cat groomed :) tee hee

I'm pretty sure every cat that gets the "lion cut" looks pissed off, haha, my cat is no different (and I say "my" cat because I had him before I met my husband and he likes to remind me it's not "his" cat, joking of course). I'm so happy with it though, I don't have to brush him, which is AH-MAZ-ING!!!!!

* Baby E is cutting two new teeth (really girl??? you couldn't wait another week for daddy, so he could experience this with us???)

Good thing she is so darn cute! She has her bottom two teeth already, now the top two are working their way in. Of course she can't get just one at a time.....nope our children get multiple teeth at a time. Lucky us. (Little L did the same thing, never cut just one tooth)

*Baby E has learned how to shake her head "no" and does it all...of...the...time, and thinks she is quite funny doing it.

* I finished one really great book Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

via

and started One Breath Away by Heather Gudenkauf. (I used to read at least a book a week in the summer before kids, now I'm lucky if I get a book in a month. Thankfully I've had more time to read this summer, I have really missed reading)

via

* I've played cars and trucks and colored I can't tell you how many times with Little L.....but I just can't turn him down when he asks so nicely. :)

You know he's thinking "mom! get that camera out of my face!" tee hee

* I've washed 8394757393 loads of dishes

* Painted my toe nails

* and picked up every toy 100 times over.

I have run out of things to do. I feel like I'm in a holding pattern and I think I might just go crazy. I'm a planner and I'm not able to plan when the Army won't get its crap together. I know you are all VERY well aware of the Army and the hurry up and wait policy, but this is ridiculous. I am just hoping that my husband will make it home in time for his High School reunion on Saturday.

Maybe a trip to Mote Marine Aquarium with Little L tomorrow will help pass the time. I've been thinking of taking him somewhere just mommy and him for some time now, maybe this will be the perfect time.

Anyone have any other ideas to help me pass the time until the Army gives me my husband back?

Happy Friday!!!!!