home sweet home

All you Navy families are very familiar with the phrase: "Home is where the Navy sends you" and for us that is so true. We have moved - and are setting up another new home. The packout and delivery of goods went well. There were a few minor "issues" but nothing that a quick call to the PPO (personal property office) couldn't clear up in a jiffy. Big shout out to Andy over at the Groton, CT office. If you ever have a problem with a move while you're there...he's your guy. The kids and I packed up and arrived at our new house last week. My parents came for the weekend to help with unpacking, which was a HUGE help to me. There is still a lot of work to be done, but I figure I'll get to it eventually. Maybe some family will make a trip up here to visit and I can put them to work...hint hint hint to all you reading.

Anyway, I was counting the other day - this is the our (hubby and I) 7th home together (it's my 8th but that was because I also had a quarter of school to finish somewhere in there) - and this fall we will have been married 8 years. Wow...when you put it that way - 7 homes - 8 years!! Some people might find this, well, insane. But for a lot of the people I know, this is the norm - it's just "what we do" and I can honestly say, I love it. I enjoy setting up a new place, meeting new people, making new friends, exploring new cities, and just seeing all the hidden treasures the world has to offer. We've only been here a week, but I've already fallen in love with this place. There is so much to do here, the people are SOOOO nice, and they have Chick-fil-a...really I ask you - what's not to love??

I know this post is short, but I'll be back soon with more. For now I should get back to unpacking and hanging with the kiddos. Currently I have one asleep on my chest, one walking around in a jedi halloween costume of the past and another enjoying his 20 min of DS time. I certainly don't have time to be bored. Love it!

PS. will post pictures of the house once I get some of these boxes out of the way!!! I currently live for the recycling truck!!!

season of change

Hi folks!!

Before I get to posting - I wanted show y'all a little something. I get lots of comments from our friends and family that our little girl looks so much like our boys - I happen to agree. So last night I did some digging and found pictures of each of them at about the same age. Check it out.
Can you tell which one is which?? Isn't that crazy?

It is HOT here today. Summer is rolling in and we are getting ready to roll on out. It's that time again...moving time! That's right folks, time to move on. I find myself thinking "didn't I just do this??" a lot, but we are all really excited and are looking forward to what adventures our next destination holds. The packers come on Monday, we load Tuesday, and if all goes well we will be on the road Wednesday after lunch. I'm thankful my parents are meeting us down at the new house to help with the unpacking and settling in. The hubby will have some busy stuff going on for work, so he won't be around much (read: at all) during the day so it will be awesome to have some extra hands to help with the kiddos.

I just love settling into a new house. And I can't even tell you how excited I am to cook in this kitchen...

Isn't it fabulous!! And in case you are wondering...that is their dog (owners of house), not ours.

We had a big day here yesterday. The big kid graduated from Kindergarten!! It seems like just yesterday I was sending him off to his first day, now the year is (almost) done and he's ready to move on up to the 1st grade in the fall. He's grown so much. He even got an award for losing the most teeth in one school year - the grand total: 5 yes FIVE teeth. The tooth fairy was busy this year.

First Day

At Graduation

Our middle man also finished up his first year of pre-school this year and is really looking forward to starting pre-k next fall.

The next few weeks will be busy with the move and settling in, but I hope to post again after we get all set up. But until then - stay cool my friends. :)

2nd month-aversary

Our baby girl has hit (and past) her two month "birthday". It's mind-blowing to think that on Monday she will be 10 weeks old! Where has the time gone?? Then again, I can't believe my oldest will be 7 in less than 6 months. SEVEN?? Really...What??!?!! It goes by too fast!! So, baby girl (and all of you out there reading) here is what you are up to these days:

At your 2 month check-up you weighed in at 13lbs 15oz and 23.5 inches tall. You have adorable chubby cheeks and I can't seem to get enough kisses on them. You have moved up to a size 2 diaper and are sporting 3-6 month old clothes (very cute ones I might add).

On May 5th you gave me your first 'real' smile. It was nothing short of amazing - that smile just makes me giddy. You are also sleeping through the night as of May 24! You eat around 10 and then are out until 6ish. It's bliss. You also have warmed up to your crib and sleeping in a room by yourself. Bedtime is also getting easier. You still cry, but you don't scream for hours in the evening anymore.

You still love the bath - maybe even more now than you did before.

You took your first "road trip" last weekend to see Daddy. It was 12 hours (one way) and you were awesome. You slept most of the drive, just waking up to eat or if you needed to be changed. It seems that your car seat is one of your favorite places...

You're talking now - making those sweet sweet baby cooing noises. You adore your big brothers. You smile whenever they are near. You like to be outside when the weather is nice and I can tell you are curious. Now that you can really see clearly, you watch everything and take it all in.

You are a sweet, good natured (although maybe a bit stubborn) baby girl and we love you to pieces. Such a blessing you are.

a little mommy humor

Things have been busy...so I haven't been posting much. A friend of mine posted this joke the other day on facebook and it made me smile. I'd heard it before, but with things being the way they are these days it seemed appropriate.

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess.A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world do I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it."

Haha! I love it...for all you SAHM's you know this feeling. I wake up many days and think how nice it would be to have a "day off" from my gig. Not that I want to NOT be a mommy, but every now and again a break is a good thing! Last night I got just that. My neighbors offered to let the boys have a sleepover at their house and gave me the night off with just me and baby G. It.was.awesome. I went for a long walk before dinner with the dog and baby, had a quiet dinner, puttered around the house, changed my sheets, and this AM went for a nice run to start the day with my running buddy...baby G. I haven't been able to start my day like that in a long time. It's amazing what a little break will do for a person.

We've had a lot going on around here with getting ready for the move, and the boys wrapping up the school year. There is still a lot of work to be done, but it's coming along. Not too much longer and we will be moving to our new home and enjoying a very full summer!

That's it for me today. I'll be back soon (hopefully) with some kiddo updates and pictures. Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

life in mommy-land

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
~Franklin P. Jones

I love being a mom - everything about it. OK - that's a lie, I could live without the diapers, but because they come wrapped around the sweetest little babies, I'll include them as well. I think it's the most amazing "job" anyone could ever get. It warms my heart to know that my kisses can heal everything from paper cuts to hurt feelings, that I am the one who knows how to make a pb & j sandwich the "right" way, and when one of them wakes up in the middle of the night and needs something, I'm who they call. It's a 24/7 kind of gig, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love kissing on baby G's sweet chubby cheeks, I love my snuggles from my little middle man, and can't get enough of reading books with my big kid - listening to HIM read to ME! Hubby and I are so blessed.

The joys of mommy-hood are never ending - it's also quite the learning process. There are no classes you can take...you just have to figure it out as you go. If you meet anyone who has it all figured out they either A. don't actually have kids, or B. are in denial. It starts from day #1 (some could argue before that even) and as far as I can tell never ends. In my 6.5 years on the job I've learned many valuable lessons. For instance, never leave the house with a newborn without an extra change of clothes, NO diaper is 100% leak-proof, and ALWAYS have a plan B ready...just in case. Just when you think you've got things covered, a curve ball will come flying.

Today was Mother's Day as I'm sure all of you are aware. It was just me and the kiddos again this year. I say again, because of my 7 official days of celebrating being a mom, the hubby has only been able to be with us for 1 of them. Again...crazy military life coming at you. But all in all it was a great day. The boys were wonderful, well behaved, and gave hugs and kisses galore. They even let me sleep in while the baby was still sleeping and I got to stay in bed until 7 which is a treat for me! We went for walks, played outside, had pizza and now they are both snoozing in my bed and I'm waiting up to give the baby her next meal before I call it a night.

So, to wrap this up...Happy Mother's Day to all you Moms out there. I hope you have had a wonderful day. It's a busy job, and at times not the most glamorous, but one of the most important ones out there. And, if you're not a mom...go find or call yours if you can and tell her THANK YOU for all that she does. :)

Wonderful Weekend

This weekend is what dreams are made of. Nobody was sick, the sun was shining, and best of all...the hubby was HOME!

The hubby took leave on Friday, and drove up to see us for the weekend. Boy were we all in heaven, especially the little boys. They were SUPER happy to have daddy home for a few days - and I was happy to have an extra pair if hands!
We filled up his time here doing lots of fun things. Friday the big kid got to play hooky from school (sshhhh - don't tell the teacher!!) and around lunchtime we packed up some food and took off for the park. It was a beautiful day here - sunny and in the mid-sixtys. I know that both my parents and my in-laws are probably shaking their heads in disbelief because the time that they were here it was cold and rainy...THE ENTIRE TIME. But it's true, we even came home with pink cheeks from all the sun. Well except for baby G who was under her shade the whole time.

Saturday was a little cooler and cloudy (sounds more believable eh??) and so we took the kids to the aquarium. Everyone had a good time and we got some neat pictures.

Me and the boys in front of the whales...and yes, my jeans have a huge hole in them. I'm going with the "it was laundry day" excuse - which is actually the truth.

Checking out the sea lions

lion fish

And of course - We found Nemo!

Today (Sunday) we went to church, brunch, and then home. We decided that because the hubs won't be here next weekend to celebrate Mother's Day, we would celebrate this weekend. This is my new toy:
Just look for me bouncing off the walls after drinking too much caffeine while trying all the different K-Cups that came with the machine!

After we got back to the house, hubby had to pack up and hit the road to get back for work tomorrow. We miss him already - it's been less than an hour. I realized recently - 7 or so years after it began - that we have quite the unique lifestyle - but that is another post all in of itself...

Crazy or not...I wouldn't change a thing. Hope you all had a great weekend.

Happy Day!

We had a milestone yesterday...little Baby G is now ONE month old! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. Here is an update on what our little girl is up to.

Little girl - you have grown by leaps and bounds this first month. At your appointment you weighed in at 11 lbs 3 oz and were 22 and 3/4 inches long. So it's no surprise that you are a good eater. Even better you go 4-5 hours at night, and let mama get some sleep.

You are a very good baby, sweet and happy. You're even a good sport about putting up with all the silly outfits and hats mama puts on you. Of course we love you more and more every day, and your brothers think you are the best.

You just recently moved to your crib and while you're still not 100% sure of it, I think it's starting to grow on you. You LOVE taking baths now that you can sit in the warm water. I think you would stay in there for hours if we let you.

You are not such a fan of the entire hour of 6PM. I know this because you cry the entire hour until around 7 or so you finally fall asleep.

You spend your days taking everything in. While you are awake you are so alert. You like to swing and play on your baby activity mat. You are a trooper about going from here to there to keep up with all that your bothers have going on. Car trips put you to sleep almost instantly. You love to snuggle up to mommy in the morning before we get moving for the day.

You're an absolute joy and we couldn't imagine life without you. We love you baby girl.