Black Friday.... or er.... Thursday???

By the time we got back to PA from MD we didn't have a whole bunch of sleeping hours before the Gettysburg outlets opened up for their deals. The outlets there opened at midnight. Our plan was to wake up at midnight and truck it out there to look at the stores. Jocelyn ended up waking me up at 12:18, that's what happens when you try to set an alarm you aren't familiar with in the dark - so we put on our shoes and went out the door. Carters, Childrens Place.... I have to say that I am VERY disappointed!! Old Navy ended up being the only place we bought anything. When we got inside and tried to look around - the line wrapped all over the store - so we ended up just getting in line and Jocelyn held our spot while I jumped out of line to look at what we were passing by at the time. Yes, guilty of shopping in line. The line went fast though and I think we were out of there about 30 minutes after we got in line. Overall, not bad. The next place in our line of fire was Walmart. We got there way earlier than 5 am though - so we looked at the ads in the car for a second. Then we realized that the things we wanted to get (most of them at least) were all day things and since Walmart was open 24 hours, we jumped in there to buy them. It was so funny to see the people "camping out" near the items that they wanted to buy. One person actually brought a chair. It was funny to see and much harder to get around at times because sections were roped off for lines. I'm sad I wasn't back home for all the ribbon and fabric deals. I missed out on all of them. I am so mad!! Oh well, I still made off with some pretty great loot. I was so tired for the rest of the weekend. I got to see my best friend Erin though later that day. I got to see her in her wedding dress - she looks SO beautiful!!! I tried on my dress, and well, let's just say that I need to keep losing the baby weight. I can do it!!!

A Thanksgiving to be Thankful for

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving. This year was our year to see my family for Thanksgiving and since Jeremiah is getting ready to deploy again (not to mention our upcoming move) he wanted to see my extended family too. So, on our way to PA we stopped in MD to see my extended family. My grandparents got to hold their first great grandson for the first time and got to see how the girls have grown. I got to see almost aLL of my cousins on that side of the family. THANK YOU MIKEY AND CHRIS for coming to visit for a bit. We were missing Little Dean and Uncle Marty's family. It was wonderful to see who we did. We sat down before dessert and shared up to 3 things that we were thankful for. Hearing everyone's responses was truly heartwarming. I love my family and I hope I get a chance to see them more often real soon. I don't think I could have had a better Thanksgiving this year.

2 months

Before he's no longer 2 months old, I wanted to take a minute and recap my memory of this stage. Hunter just started smiling this month (on purpose). He most definitely does not love his mother very much since he seems to always be awake at night these days (Just kidding about the not liking me thing...). Most of all, he HATES not being held! He could be asleep, so you lay him down, yup... 9 times out of 10, those eyes pop back open and he starts to cry. Which in turn, of course makes it almost IMPOSSIBLE to do anything around the house. I have a feeling that baby wrap is going to be attached to me most of this week as we get things ready for the holidays. On the flip side, he is the sweetest little man you ever did meet. When he isn't keeping you up in the middle of the night. We'll have to have a talk about that when he gets a little older. =0)

I found this....

One night as I was trying to stagger my older children's bedtimes, Julia asked to hold her little brother. After a short time, she got bored with holding him and he fell sleep. So, she was content with just sitting there next to him, playing the role of big sister. Then, I turned around to find this:





Yeah.... I thought she had her role a little backwards!! The funniest part was that they both just continued to sleep on - like nothing was amiss and as though Julia definitely wasn't crushing Hunter's innards!

First ever Diaper Cake

We threw a shower for Lori this past week. I decided to try my hand at a diaper cake. All in all it was a learning experience for me. We had a ton of fun and we still didn't know what she was having. However... two days after the shower, Lori had her DAUGHTER (Leah) and has given me my very first daughter-in-law!! haha. Just kidding, I wonder though......

Tara made the cake, how stinkin cute is that?? Then there is Lori with our one and only Mia Maid - Meghann! We played a couple of fun games (that I really hope everyone enjoyed): my water broke, candy bar pregnancy, baby scramble, and had a baby dressing relay. Thanks to all who came!!!

Scottish Festival

Sometime in Sept or October... not sure, we attended a Scottish Festival near us. Jeremiah and I both have Scottish in our family tree and had never been to such a festival, so we tried to walk around a bit and take it all in. Here's a bit of what we saw...



Jeremiah's favorites..... bagpipes!






What every parent likes to see.... finished lunch!! Melanie finished every last piece of their shepherds pie! Yum!



Our scary little Scottish "mutt"

We even found his family "tartan" (kilt pattern). I wasn't sure of my family clan so I didn't look that one up. Overall it was pretty neat and we had a pretty good time.

New Tradition

This year for Christmas, I'm thinking of doing it a little bit different. Before my children get stuck on the gobs of presents under the tree for them being in direct correlation to who is loved the most, we're changing it. I love that my children are still young enough that it won't matter much to them. I provide them with their needs throughout the year and with some wants for birthdays and special treats. I am on a quest to simplify and focus on the true reason for the season: Christ.

I've heard of people doing three gifts per family member, just like Christ received 3 gifts from the Wisemen. I have even heard an explanation of what each present was to represent. I am asking for some ideas. I was thinking along the lines of a need, a want, and something homemade. Not sure. Or, something physical, spiritual, and educational. Help me out please - I'd love to hear your thoughts! I hope this will help my children gain greater understanding and appreciation for the Christmas season as we try to adopt our own traditions. Even if you just have a favorite Holiday tradition you would like to share (and you wouldn't mind me possibly adopting/adapting for our family).

What was I thinking???

I've been thinking that more often than I should the past little bit. I know as a mother, even more so as a YOUNG mother, you tend to get in funks that bring you down. I am currently riding one. Don't you love it when the day starts with a few slip ups, you overreact a bit, and WHAM! most everything goes wrong for the rest of the day?

We finally get a chance to walk Mel to school since the weather is cooperating for a change, and I hear nothing but whining from my two children that CAN walk!! They beg me for it only to tell me how tired they are and they need me to hold them. No such luck little ones! Since my life has been a little special in the sleep department lately, I've been extra cranky. On our trek to school this morning, I kept replaying the questions, "What was I thinking having children now?! Even worse... THREE!!! I must have been extremely foolish when I signed up for all of this (Navy wife, mother of three, being "blessed" with a Julia)!" Not to mention the occasional anger that flows through me at my dear husband for leaving me all the time. (Even though I know perfectly well that it isn't really his fault - or his choice to be on the boat that he is) I know, I know... tough, that's life. Believe me, I tell myself that all the time too.

So, with Thanksgiving around the corner, I decided I was going to do all in my power to keep Hunter awake during the day so he would HOPEFULLY sleep all night, put my girls to bed ON TIME, and tuck myself in right after them. Doesn't really help me in the quest for "me" time, but I am happy to trade that for some Z's.

Neverending

Sometimes the monotonous items on my "To Do" list seem as though they will never be scratched off. Just so I don't get too discouraged with the "I have nots", I'm listing some things I have accomplished in the last week.

* Read the last two books in the Twilight saga
* Gotten an average of 3.5 hours of sleep per night
* Realized that I have a desperate need for a scale so I can figure out how my exercising is going
* Mostly organized the two rooms left in the house that really needed it
* Gotten my shopping done (even with all 3 kids in tow)
* Managed to keep my children alive
* Made a new recipe
* Gotten to the gym to work out
* Kept up with the dishes (laundry is another story)
* Maintained order well around the house for having 3 little ones

Might not seem like a lot to you - but it's progress to me!!

Wanna be Blizzard of '09

I'm not sure how many of you actually grew up on the East Coast, so I'll enlighten you. Normally when we hear (ok... so I'm an east coaster AND Yankee....it apparently makes a difference) Nor' Easter we think: BLIZZARD. This week when I heard Nor' Easter I thought someone was smoking something. Surely the temperatures were not that low to be able to welcome snow!!?? Of course they knew there would be people as dense as I was out there checking the weather/news so they threw up the definition for us. So, we buckle down and figure, what's the worst it could get? Thursday came and like a true Yank, I headed out the door with Melanie in tow to take her to school. We drove up to her school to check and see if there was indeed a school day ahead of us, only to find no cars in the parking lot. Ok... no school, check. So, I pull the car to my front door (literally) and drop Melanie off. Then I back it up to the actual street (and my parking spot) and get drenched as I come back to the house. Mind you, on our trip TO school, the umbrellas we were using blew inside out and no longer served their purpose for us outdoors. Yes, the wind was THAT strong (as I'm sure those of you that ventured out past your front of back doors are well aware). Also being a Yank, you hear that the snow to rain ratio is 10 inches of snow to every inch of rain. The reported rain fall for this wonderful bit of weather we've experienced is anywhere between 8 and 12 inches. Could you imagine 80-120 inches of snow??? That would be the biggest blizzard I have EVER seen if that happened! The last time I experienced 5-6 feet snow drifts, we were snowed in for over a week (pretty much everything was shut down). I certainly hope the earth recovers quickly because I don't want to be stuck inside much longer! Thank Heaven the wanna be blizzard never attained its dream!! Even though I would love to have some white around here for once! Plus as an upside, the base was closed yesterday and today - not sure if it would hold true for Jeremiah's boat if it was here...but we might have had him home with us for a VERY long weekend!!

Kindess of a Stranger

Saturday was, well, shall we say.... difficult. Alright, so ALL of last week was pretty difficult! My most challenging days though, were Friday and Saturday.

Friday because I was trying to get my string bean of a daughter some new pants for school and shirts that would be long enough so she could raise her arms in school. Off to the mall we went....and I dreaded almost EVERY minute of it! We get to Gymboree, Mel: "Mom, I have to go potty", so off to the elevators we go to hit the 3rd floor for the restrooms. After her freaking out and NOT going to the bathroom.... I drag them down to the first floor again.... about 15 minutes later, Mom... I have to go potty. Well... too bad, you missed your chance. We finally get done with Gymboree and I decide to let them have a few minutes to play. We do that and then we leave the mall for the night, off to get some dinner. After dinner we ended up cutting our outing short because Julia spilled her soda all over herself, it was dark, and I didn't feel like fighting them the whole way through Walmart and then maybe a thrift store. We go home and hit the beds.

Saturday we wake up WAY too early (yes, that is life with MY children), and finally get off to the store. We stop at Target first.... As soon as we get in there... Julia: " I have to go potty...." Me: "Well, you'll just have to go in your pull up" Julia: "I can't breathe!!" Me: "What do you mean??" Julia: (getting sick all in her new coat from Old Navy) We book it out of the store, as quickly as possible without looking like we just shoplifted something. Once outside, we clean Julia up. I didn't have a spare jacket in the car though... so, the poor girl had to sport a t-shirt in the chilly weather. Mark my words... I will be better prepared with extra emergency clothes for the next time. She tells me she is ok now and she's not going to be sick anymore. I'm thinking, "Good, because we were going to go back in there anyway... I have SO much to get done!!"
Back in the store we go... finish our shopping (put a bunch of whining in there too and you'll be pretty much on the nose for that trip), and off to BJ's for salad - after that one, they told me how hungry they were. I roll my eyes and think, wow... maybe you should eat some breakfast for a change! The last stop on our run was Walmart. After the stress of that and the waiting in line thing was finally done, I take BOTH carts to the car (one for kids, one for Melanie to push) and lecture them on how hard it is for me to take all three of them shopping. An older man was walking towards the store as I unloaded my children. When I got done buckling Melanie in (she is #2 of the buckling process - those of you with more than one child will understand what I mean), I come to get Hunter and see the man standing near my car. "I'll go ahead and take your carts for you once you unload that precious bit of cargo" he says. I grab Hunter and start walking him around the car, the man notices that we have out of state tags, "Is your husband military, Are you military?" Me: "Yes, my husband is." Him: "Wow, well thank you very much for your service."

Yeah, TOTALLY cried as I was buckling Hunter in the car and the man walked away. All because he offered the simplest bit of assistance! I like to park as close to a cart corral as possible to make the distance I have to walk after loading my children in the car the shortest possible. I was literally one parking space away from the cart corral and this gentleman offered to take my carts the WHOLE way to the store for me. Then, to Thank me AND my husband for our service to our country. I will be forever grateful to him and people like him that notice us young mothers struggling. Whether we are at the very end of our extremely stressful day of shopping, errand running, etc or in the middle, thank you all for noticing and lending a hand! Sir, you made my day with that bit of service you showed me AND my family. Thank YOU!!

Taking some advice from the Young Women

Today's lesson was on the Word of Wisdom. Before you start thinking about what kind of great dirt you can get on me, I'm sure it is one we ALL struggle with. I need to decrease my consumption of sugar. Yes, that's right.... sugar. All things in moderation...right? Plus, that whole... "run and not be weary, walk and not faint" promise sounds really good for a girl trying to get back into the swing of things at the gym. BTW Jocelyn and Mom - they do have Zumba at my gym! Should I take it?

Since my new-found freedom (i.e being 6 weeks postpartum), I have been on a quest to lose that baby weight, as quickly as possible while still being healthy. I am making it official by sticking it up on my blog..... I AM ON A QUEST TO LOSE WEIGHT!! I don't want to say how much for fear of putting myself in a bad light...lets just say that my goal is to weigh 10-15 lbs less than I did before getting pregnant. So, I have a nice number to subtract from my current weight. =o\ I'm giving myself until mid-May to reach my goal. PLENTY of time! I'll periodically update with how much weight I've lost to date. So long nightly ice cream pow wows and sweet "highs". I will have you in moderation, maybe even just on Sundays. Good Bye American portion sizes, seconds, and prepared foods, from now on... it's realistic portions and "whole" foods for me! Oh how I'll miss you!!