Random notes from a Military wife....

2 QOUTES

2009-10-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

2 Quotes I read today that I thought everyone should know about :)

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her." - Maya Angelou

Submission is learning when to duck so God can smack your husband.

Enjoy and look for your signs to duck :)

Moms For Modesty

2009-10-21T16:53:00.000-07:00

You need to check this out! Too often our little girls are grown up too fast. Please check this site out and sign the pledge!

4th of July Memories

2009-07-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

Last night was the 4th of July. As I watched the kids running around with their sparklers I thought back to my summer nights at my grandparents home. I grew up in So Cal where fireworks were illegal. I remember my Uncle bringing us the growing snakes and firedancers (the glowing fireworks that spin and change colors) we thought the were the coolest things since sliced bread.

As I watched Mikey's face light up in awe from the spraklers and giggle, laugh, and scream at the fountains I felt empowered being able to be in a place where he is able to enjoy the holiday to it's fullest. There is something patritoic and nastalic about seeing kid's running around in streets with the sparklers. I could just see myslef in a norman rockwell painting. And I think that America needs more moments like that.

Here are some pictures of the kiddos from the 4th! And yes that is a Mohawk on Mikey. He wanted to be a rockstar :)

OKAY!

2009-05-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of Keira saying OKay!
I know I cant believe it either she is talking!

I've Opened up SHOP!

2009-02-07T08:05:00.001-08:00

After much convincing from my family and friends I have opened up shop! Please come visit me at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6366912
Feel free to drop a comment about what you think of the shop :)

I know its been a long time.....

2009-01-31T10:17:00.000-08:00

Ok I know it has been a long time, but hey thats life right? Anyway here is the update on the family. We spent the holidays in TX with DH's family. It was eventfull! kEveryone was excited to see Keira for the first time. The kiddos got spoiled like always. We spent Christmas, New Years, and Mikey's 4th Birthday there. Mikey got a ton of tracks for his christmas presents. But the BIG present this yeaar he got for his Birthday. His Grandad and Mamaw got him his very own ATV. I got really spoiled with a DSLR, My new dog Scottie, and a ROOMBA! I am loving it.

On New Years Eve we were planning on doing fireworks. Rob, Granddad, Tim and Kurt all went to the fireworks store (apprently only men can pick out fireworks). When they were there they found out about the Burn Ban for the county. The fireworks store were not selling any airalle fireworks. When they came back Rob was telling us that they didnt have any at the store and just as he says this Tim and Kurt walk in with huge boxes of fireworks. So we went outside to fire them off. Right around midnight...maybe 12:30 a Sheriff comes up and informs us that there are no fire works that are to me fired into the sky or we will be fined. SO we stopped for the night. Rob and Tim decied to fire off some on Mikey's Birthday too. We are so lucky there was not a state trooper just happening to pass by.

Keira is now rolling to get things and saying DADA all the time. Mikey usually sits there and tells her that he is not DADA. I spend my day telling MAMA. She is also sitting independently and on the verge of crawling. She will get her legs under her and try to push her head on the ground. Then she pushes up with her arms and her legs slide out to the sides. I figure it will be a few weeks before she crawls but you never know.

Flags

2008-12-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

So we are driving to the mall for a playdate and Mikey see's some flags. He says "Mommy look an American flag!" I get a sence of pride, he knows the flag I am thinking. Then he contiues with " Its next to the French Fry Flag (mcdonalds)!!"

Hope it made you laugh I did :)

I Spy Bag

2008-12-17T19:34:00.000-08:00

Check out how I made my I Spy Bag for our trip to TX. Click here to check it out :)

Rolln' Rolln' Rolln'

2008-12-17T06:22:00.000-08:00

She's a rolln' fool :) The day Rob went to school she rolled onto her belly.

Cookies!!!!

2008-12-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

Ok so tonight we made cookie but these weren't just any cookies they were cookies that were colored!!! I had mikey use it like playdough. Daddy even joined us. I had a blast :) Check out the pictures that I took :)

Bush takes action on Marine preservation

2008-11-30T18:07:00.000-08:00

Bush has put forth legistation to preserve 700,000 sq miles of the central Pacific, including the Mariana Trench, and protect sea life, such as leatherback turtles and coral reefs.

Check out the article here

Free Credit report dot com

2008-11-30T17:49:00.000-08:00

I was just watching TV (something I rarely get to do!) and I saw the new free credit report dot com commerical where they are at the renaissance fair and when they sing that song they sound like the old BLINK 182 band. Here is the link for the guy who sings it.
Eric Violette

Keira

2008-11-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

Black Firday: How I love thee let me count the ways.....

2008-11-29T19:24:00.000-08:00

So instead of dragging my but out of bed to get to the stores by 6am, waiting line only after I race to the toys only to find they are gone; I deiced to join the 1,000's of people shopping online this year. ToysRUS had all their Doorbuster deals online. So Robert and I bought everything we wanted to get for Mikey online and let me tell you it was worth the 19.50 in shipping to be able to stay in bed :)
This was important to me this year because for Keira (with her only being 5m by Christmas and having an obsene amout of toys due to Mikey) we decied to by her some more Cloth Diapers. My favorite site for Cloth Diaper info has to be Diaperswappers. They had a list of WAHM that were having sales on their Cloth Diapers. I also got some detergent from Crunchy Clean. I will be reviewing all the products on my site that we bought.

Keira Update and Santa Pic

2008-11-25T19:32:00.000-08:00

She had her 4m check up today.
She is 12lbs 8oz
25% for wieght
50-75% for Height
75% for Head

She has excema and we are going to be starting a new cream for it. She got shots and it seems like she is in so much pain. If we touch her legs she starts to cry even if she is asleep. Doesnt help that she is conjested too! Other than that she is right on track we are going to be starting solids as soon as her skin calms down!

Here is the Santa pic from today!

BOWS

2008-11-24T19:54:00.000-08:00

I will be posting all the bows I make from now on on the blog that I will be using for my business when it starts up.
Keira Leigh Designs

5 Love languages

2008-11-24T09:12:00.000-08:00

What's yours?

I feel loved when...

The Five Love Languages

My Primary Love Language is Physical Touch

My Detailed Results:
Physical Touch:	10
Quality Time:	7
Words of Affirmation:	7
Receiving Gifts:	6
Acts of Service:	0

About this quiz

Unhappiness in relationships is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. It can be helpful to know what language you speak and what language those around you speak.

Tag 3 people so they can find out what their love language is.

Take the Quiz!
Check out the Book

Marine Wife's

2008-11-05T19:07:00.000-08:00

So I am sitting on the couch telling Robbie about one of the threads in my group about pulling the guys out of Iraq. And I was telling him how another Marine wife was saying that if we pull out of Iraq before we are ready then we are just disregarding all of the time and effort spent there. And the men and women who have spent precious months and sometimes years away from their family for something that they believe in.

So Robbie says to me, "Amazing! Its like the Marine wife's take on the excellent quality's of their Husbands!"
HA HA HA HA

IF you give it she will play!

2008-11-04T05:08:00.000-08:00

So I was at a playgroup yesterday and I was talking to one of the moms who has a DD just 2wks older than Keira. She said that her DD was already in the exosuacer and this got me thinking....

WHY HAVEN'T I STARTED GIVING KEIRA TOYS?????
And then I though good lord I am a bad mom. So I got out some of Keira's rattles last night. She has been grabbing them and shaking them. The first few times she smacked herself in the head but shes doing really well right now. She is also doing really well when I prop her up in a sitting position.

Stumbleupon

2008-11-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

I am LOVING this site!! There are so many cool sites out there and its taylored to my intrests. You gotta check this site out. And when you get an account you need to stumble my blog :)
check out this site I just found!!
http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/gates/

Halloween

2008-11-03T18:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!

Our Big IRON MAN!

Our little Pumpkin!

New Bows

2008-10-26T19:17:00.001-07:00

Navy Marine Corps Ball

2008-10-24T18:41:00.001-07:00

Here are the pictures from the Navy Marine Corps Ball. Thanks Karisa for watching the Kids we had a great time! Raina did my hair didn't it come out cute :) Rob said it reminded him of prom

Hunt Club Farm Pictures!!!

2008-10-24T18:26:00.001-07:00

Mikey had a great time with our playgroup. Keira had a hard time it was way to cold for her and she cried the first hour we were there....poor thing!

You are what you Eat

2008-10-20T19:32:00.001-07:00

Lately I have been watching You are what you Eat on BBC America. It has really changed the way I see my food and what I am putting in my mouth. Robert too has watched it and agrees with me that we should change the way we eat. I am from now on going to try to change the way I eat. So for the next few months I will be adding more fruits and veggies into our diet and I am gonna try to do this as frugal-ly as possible. I am also keeping a food diary. I have been borrowing cookbooks from the Library and copying down the recipes that I think will be good for us as well as keeping us on budget. The first think I am going to try to make is Energy Bars (since we eat alot of granola bars) from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger of the Food Network. They are only 133 calories and have 5g of protien. I will post an update with the results from the guys in the house.

Man Names Daughter Sarah McCain Palin

2008-10-20T19:22:00.000-07:00

Good lord what s this world coming too. I understand wanting to support the campain but dude, dont mess with the kids. They are too precious to invole in something that can become so ugly. Heres what the story says:

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. -- Mark Ciptak is doing more than putting up a yard sign for the McCain-Palin ticket. He's named his daughter Sarah McCain Palin.But he might get some flak at home. The Tennessee man said he ignored the name he and his wife had picked out for his daughter, who was born Friday night, which was Ava Grace.Ciptak said when he filled out the paperwork for his new daughter's birth certificate, he substituted Sarah McCain Palin.

Ciptak, a blood bank employee for the American Red Cross, said his wife will still take some more convincing. He told his wife of the name Monday, after he was contacted by the Kingsport Times-News newspaper, which learned of the name through a routine birth announcement area hospitals give to the media. Ciptak told the Kingsport Times-News he hopes to get the word out about the McCain-Palin ticket, thanks to little Sarah McCain Palin. A representative of the Vital Records office told the newspaper that under Tennessee law, a birth certificate name can be changed within one year if an affidavit is filed with the office. Although Ciptak has heard from many news agencies after selecting the political name, he hasn't heard from the baby's namesakes themselves."There's no hard feelings if they don't call because they've got other things to worry about. This is something they don't really need to speak on," Ciptak told the Kingsport Times-News.

Personaly I would be pissed and DH would be sleepig on the couch for a year!!!

FIRE FIRE!! TRUCKS that is......

2008-10-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

Today we got to see firetrucks with our playgroup :) Check it out!

Just another reason I am a Granola Mom

2008-10-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

Ok I was surfing the web and reading up on Momdot and they had a post about The Keirsey Personality Report. This report asks you questions and determains what type of personality you have. To take the test go here
Heres what I got:

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Idealists at Work
Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. They are naturally drawn to working with people and are gifted with helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potential both on, and off, the job.

Conscience looms large for you; in almost any situation, you feel compelled to measure yourself, other people, and the conditions of the environment against your personal morality. You have a tendency to perceive questions of meaning in even trivial matters and to worry about far-flung consequences of your actions. In your ideal job, you are free to pursue depth rather than breadth and quality rather than quantity. You feel rewarded when your projects and daily tasks allow you to immerse yourself in your process as deeply as you "need to" in order to satisfy your inner standards of quality. You are uncomfortable with the notion of authority per se and may avoid leading, as well as being led, either consciously or unconsciously. As you experience them, adhering to fixed roles and rules amounts to an abdication of your responsibility to exercise your conscience.

What did you get??

Momdot is giving away a Babycape!!

2008-10-11T20:45:00.001-07:00

Theses are so cool for kids who dont like wearing jackets. Momdot is giving away a free Babycape. All you need to do is pick your favorite one and post! While you are at Momdot be sure to list your blog and grab a button.

Book Review - Will you carry me?

2008-10-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

I just got the chance to review Will you carry me? by Heleen Van Rossum Illustrated by Peter Van Harmelen from the Kane/Miller Publishing company. The company publishes Award winning children's books from around the world. They believe by exposing children to books and cultures around the world they are making better citizens for our future.

Here is an quote from their website about the books they have chosen and what they hope to accomplish by choosing these books:

"We believe that children's books should comfort and challenge, that they should awaken the imagination and the conscience. We publish books we think are important to bring to American children. We truly believe in bringing the world closer to a child and the children of the world closer to each other. We want books that capture life's and lives experiences and present them in a way that will make children say both "wow, that's just like me" and also "wow, that's different."

As for my review of the book, WE LOVED IT! Mikey really enjoyed the book and tried to guess what the mom would do next in it. It was very true to life for me. The book is about a Mother and Son who are having to walk home from the park. The little boy wants to be carried and the mother finds ways to get him home without carrying him. I defiantly recommend this book for anyone with a child about 2-4. And the best thing is that this book is not very expensive as well. Most of the books on the Kane/Miller website are not very expensive which is great for Mommy's looking to fill their at Home Libraries with books that are educational and entertaining.
I hope you are able to check out Kane/Miller Publishers Award winner books for your Christmas gifts!

Your ABCs

2008-10-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

♥ A is for age:
24

♥ B is for Beer of choice:
ewww tastes nasty

♥ C is for career right now:
Wife and mommy

♥ D is for your dog's name:

Panda Bear

♥ E is for essential item you use everyday:
My Happy pills and my no more kiddos pills :)

♥ F is for favorite TV show:
CSI, Law and Order SVU, NCIS, Grays

♥ G is for favorite game to watch:
um in person its baseball but I can watch football on TV

♥ H is for Home town:
Carlsbad CA or CBad LOL

♥ I is for instruments you play:
Nothing right now but I wanna learn the piano

♥ J is for favorite juice:
Rasberry lemonaide from minute maid

♥ K is for whose butt you'd like to be kicking:
hahaha um...cant think of anyone right now....

♥ L is for last place you ate:
Home we made Pizzas Yumm

♥ M is for marriage:
Going on 7yrs

♥ N is for your name:
Mary Jane

♥ O is for overnight hospital stay:
Last one was when I had Keira

♥ P is for people you were with today:
Mikey, Keira, Robbie, Erin, Jenn, Tim, & Colleen

♥ Q is for quote:
F(ather) A(and) M(other) I L(ove) Y(ou)

♥ R is for biggest regret:
Not working harder at my direct sales businesses

♥ S is for relationship status:
HAPPILY MARRIED.

♥ T is for time you woke up today:
Woohoo I got to sleep in till 7am (thats when Keira got up. She slept through the night from 9pm!)

♥ U is for the type of underwear you have on:
Hanes I think?

♥ V is for vegetable you love
Broccoli and Carrots

♥ W is for worst habits:
eating after 8pm (could that be why I am not losing weight?)

♥ X is for x-rays you've had:
Both wrists and my right foot

♥ Y is for something yummy you ate today :
pizza

♥ Z is for zodiac sign:
Scorpio - Watch out for my sting! :)

Would you like to review products?

2008-10-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Would you like to get Free products to review? Check out Connecting Moms. I have signed up and I already have 2 products to review. I am reviewing Babylegs and Kane/Miller Publisher Books. I recieved my Book today. I am going to read it to Mikey (it looks super cute!!) and write my review tomarrow. Keep an eye out for them!

Domestic Diva

2008-10-08T20:45:00.001-07:00

In my attempts to become the domestic diva I know is inside me somewhere I am doing a few things: 1. teaching myself to sew, 2. Cooking more things from scratch, and 3. Taking a cake decorating class.

When we went to the Lumberjack computation last month I found out that the Wilton Cake decorating classes at AcMoore where 1/2 price this month. So I deiced to sign up. Tonight was our first night of class. We learned how to icing a cake so that it looks smooth and professional. I come home excited to tell Robbie what we learned and all my insider tips and he says oh yeah I already new that. GRRRRR Hello I am sopost to be the one who tells you stuff about cooking and cleaning and domestic type things and YOU are sopost to say, "Wow honey I never new that YOU are awesome."

Anyway next class we take we are going to learn how to trace an image and transfer it onto the cake. This will come in handy if Mikey wants a transformer cake :)

I also learned why my moms (totally delicious) Icing always falls apart :) She 1. doesn't use the Maurine and 2. puts too much milk.

So mom if you are reading this that's what you need
Love you ;)

Now I just have to make sure that I can make the roses better than Robbie. (He took Home Ec in High School.)

Bows

2008-10-04T20:12:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some bows I made tonight while Robbie was watching the fight.
I made them using this youtube video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQtSeF2IbuE&feature=related
I love them!!

The debate....

2008-10-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Ok I thought I would post about the debate last night.

I am not one who really follows politics and I never get into politics with any of my friends but I was really impressed with Govener Palin. I found her approch to the debate very refreshing. And I also think that she will have a strong pull with the younger generation that is voting in this election. Robbie always votes Republican and most of our friends are Republican as well. I try to stay nutural in the political world because I know I am ignorent on this subject. But after the Debate that was on last night it is the first time since I turned 18 that I actually want to get out and vote.

On that note since election day is always around my Birthday I need to sen in my renewal for my licence and get my absentee ballot.
Hope everyone enjoyed the debate.

Banners and Buttons

2008-10-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

I was fooling around with my new adobe photoshop program that Robbie got for me and I made some banners for my site and buttons. I also made one for my friends site Gal On Politics Check them out. I had alot of fun doing them. If you like them let me know and I can try to make one for you :)

Orders

2008-10-03T20:12:00.001-07:00

Robert and I have been talking about where we want to go on his next tour. I said EUROPE :)

So In light of that decision I am going to post all the places I want to travel too IF we get stationed there :)

1. Italy - I was saving up to go to Italy before we got married. I spend my money on the wedding. I was even practicing Italian.
2.Ireland - My grandma is from there and I would love to go see the town her family was from
3. Scotland - For the beautiful castles
4. If I am going to be in Scotland I need to go down to London :)
5. Spain - I want to go see a bull run (from a balcony of course)
6. France - This will be a hard one to get Robbie to go to because he is bitter about the role they played when we invaded Iraq. But I really want to go to the Eiffel tower
7. If it is safe enough to go I would love to go to Israel.
8. Cruise the Mediterranean
9. Greece - My dad was a history buff and drilled the COOLNESS of all the historical sites into me.
10. Egypt - This will be a tricky one. I would love to go but I don't think it would be too safe with 2 kids. I would love to go see the pyramids.

Paper Mache

2008-10-03T18:04:00.000-07:00

We did Paper Mache today. We made it by mixing flour and water together till we got a paste. We added alittle salt so that it would not mold also. Mikey did a good job tearing the paper into strips. He thought the paste felt funny though. Here are some pictures from the fun!

Keira Oct Update

2008-10-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Keria is only 2m but she has quickly outgrown her 0-3m clothes. This is kinda a good thing since its turning colder here and all her 0-3 outfits are summer ones. So as I sniff and put away her tiny clothes I am rejoicing in the fact that she is starting to play and interact with everyone. She loves to stare at her big brother. And he loves to entertain her. Keira is rocking back and forth on her back to try to flip now and will probably flip in about a month. She reacts to all of our voices now and is laughing allot. She has some really big feet too! Shes into 6-12m socks! Can you believe it? But they aren't fat just long. That means she is gonna be tall right? She really does not like the Mei Tai so I think I am gonna need to bring out the ring sling. She wants to see more of what is going on I think. Just like Mikey she has to look at everything.

Paints.....

2008-10-02T16:23:00.000-07:00

So today I gave Mikey some paint to do Finger Painting while I cooked dinner. I turn around from chopping veggies and He is smearing paint up his arms!

Me- What are you doing???
Mikey- Painting Mom Duh....
Me- Um you are so post to be FINGER painting...
Mikey- I know Mom my fingers where painted so I arm painting. :)

Hope that made you smile!

Falling leaves....

2008-10-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I find Fall to be the best time of year for me. I tend to be a morning person so getting up earlier and having shorter days appeals to me. Cooler days are also a welcomed plus. I love being in the Mid Atlantic right now because of the trees. Back in North San Diego we never really got "Fall" You would have to go to Julian to feel the fall. I really enjoy the fact that I will be able to show my children what fall is, the Cooler day and the Rainy days that make you just want to curl up under a big blanket and sip a cup of cocoa (with marshmallows of course). Maybe it because the fall is filled with so many memories. You have the start of School, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Football games and sleep-overs. I always feel closer to my family in the fall too and I think that has to do with the days becoming shorter we don't stay out doing "things" till too awful late. We tend to sit down to dinner and talk also. So I guess to me Fall brings a mindset that is quiet and calm. Go out and enjoy the fall leaves while they last!

Took this pic last year on a road going to Jamestown....

Wedding China

2008-09-29T10:29:00.000-07:00

We all register for it so why don't we use it. My husband and I have been trying to cut down on the # of boxes that we have in our storage area. Since we are planning on keeping all the little girl clothes we now have incase we have a girl next time. We came arcoss a box that had our wedding china in it. Now this is really nice stuff! Royal Doulton We have just had it sitting in a box! So I guess I am just wondering why it is that we dont use this china. Yeah tradtional it is used only when you are having guests over or having a dinner party. But why not use it every day. Most of the fine china is dishwasher safe now. We are going to break out the fine china and give ourselfs a treat for dinner.

Post in your comment if you use yours and why or why not.

My Nine Names

2008-09-28T18:40:00.000-07:00

My Nine Names

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Mary

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle)

Marizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color and favorite animal) Blue Penguin

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (your middle name and street you live on/or
Neighborhood if it's a number) Jane Porter

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2
Letters of your first name) Ellma

6. YOUR SUPERHERO/CRIMINAL NAME: (Your 2nd favorite color, and favorite
drink) Blue Punch

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your Last
name, 1st letter of your last name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden Name, 3rd
letter of your dads name, 1st letter of a siblings first Name, and last
letter of your moms first name). Malearce

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (parents middle names) cant do it dad doesn't have a middle name

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one of your pets)
Black Panda bear

Post what yours are in comments :)

How to make a Treasure box

2008-09-28T10:42:00.000-07:00

We made this treasure box with an ordinary shoe box.

First get some contact paper that looks like wood. You are then going to cover the box with the contact paper.

Then let your kiddos decorate it and fill it with treasures. Make a map and hide the box. Its a great way to improve there listening skills and problem sloving skills.
Enjoy!

Giveaways!!!

2008-09-26T18:12:00.000-07:00

Check out some of these awesome giveaways that I found :)
Hurry they wont last long!!

Check out Frugal mommy of 2 girls for
Truly Mom Planner Giveaway All TrulyMom Planners come complete with my day pad, my list pad, a note to pad, a post-it note pad, a pull out spiral bound calendar that goes until January 2010, a handy pocket, pen, address booklet, and a heart clip.
Giveaway from Carolyn's Kitchen"So whether you're a gourmet chef or can't boil an egg, nobody will even notice when you're wearing one of Carolyn's hot and spicy apron sets." -these are super cute and sexy!!!
BOWS, ECT. "Each bow or headband is handmade with grosgrain or satin ribbon, and comes attached to a fastener of your choice. We have several sizes and styles to choose from - something to match any outfit or personality!"
There are 3 clippies to win here :)
While there be sure to bookmark her site to come back :)

An Ordinary Life has a Rose Pedal Cottage giveaway on her site. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

Joe Schmos BBB

2008-09-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Every have really bad customer serivce. Or have you been completely pissed off at a company you have to deal with? Well now you can voice your frustration with Pissed Cunsumer. You can post about any company here.

Carry your baby

2008-09-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Back in the day before the time of cars and strollers when we had to carry our babies we used baby carriers made of cloth. In most 3rd world countries this is still the norm. Here lately there has been a boom in sales for cloth baby carriers. They range from just one piece of cloth wraped around you to ones with buckles that are sopost to be better for your back. I personaly love the moby style wrap and mei tai which is an Asian form of baby carrier.

According to Dr. Sears some of the benefits of waring your baby are less crying, they learn more, get "humanized" earlier, and they are smarter.

I personally own a mei tai made by one of my friends she has an ETSY shop where she sales them. She also made me a nursing cover to match :)

Now I just need to learn the nursing hold in the carrier.

My battle with purees....

2008-09-24T19:10:00.000-07:00

Mikey has become more of a picky eater so I have deiced to become a SNEAKY CHEF. Robert is very particular about the veggies he puts into his mouth as well. But little does he know hes is getting spinach, carrots, and broccoli at almost every meal hehehe. As some of you may know Robert is a meat and potatoes kinda guy. The less ingredients after that the better for him. I made chili with carrots (he refuses to eat these at all) and red peppers.

For most of these recipes you must make all of your veggies into purees. When I started my recipes earlier this week I only had a blender (due to the lack of motivation I have for unpacking any more boxes) . This was such a disaster. I boiled and steamed my veggies as it said in the book. As I was reading about that the consistency should be I saw "less water is better". So I think ok this should be easy, right. Wrong! First I put the veggies in but every 2 sec. I have to open the blender and push the veggies back down to get chopped. This was very frustrating. Thinking that I will mess the puree up if I put in more water then written I struggle through making 4 different types of purees. This ends up taking 3hrs!!!

Well today I made Turkey chili from another great book, DECEITFULLY DELICIOUS. This is the book written by Jerry Seinfeld's wife Jessica Seinfeld. She has a recipe for Browines that is to die for and it has SPINACH in it!! It was actually reviewed on OPRAH as well. I highly recomend these books if you have picky eaters in your home.

By the way I have since found my food processer and it works perfectly to make my purees. Also if you are using the blender I found out that you must use more water because of the blades being at the bottom and the area being so small.

Update on the kiddos

2008-09-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

Keira is now 2 months old. I cant believe it. She is also sleeping through most nights. She has the adorable little coo that she does once she is done nursing. It sounds like she is saying "ah ooh".
I will try to get a video of that soon. She can also roll up on her side. Its amazing what you can accomplish at such a young age. Its so funny cause I think back to when Mikey was that young and all I remember is him being so small. Its funny what you tend to recall about the past. As for me I cant remember anything in my childhood till about after the age of 4 I think.

Anyway....
Mikey is doing considerably well with the lack of attention he has been getting from me. I feel so guilty allot of the time for not spending time with him when Keira is asleep. I really cant do that much when she is awake because of her need to be held. Mikey has gotten to the point where if I turn to just make sure she is still asleep he will cry no mommy play with me. And because of this we are going to start a schedule to help him have more focused tasks and hopefully give me the time I need to be able to clean the house.

Being eco-friendly

2008-09-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Robert and I have deiced to become more Eco friendly. We are currently using our appliances at night to save more energy during the day. But our biggest step we are doing is switching from disposable diapers to cloth. Know I know what you are thinking EWWW stinky! and Why would anyone want to do that? To tell you the truth they are really not that much more work then disposables. Things have really advanced since the old days of cloth diapering (at least the diapers have). There are the Prefolds and Flats (these are probly what you used if you were CDing or what your parents used), Contours and Fitted, Pockets, and All In Ones (AIO). These are the most common types you will find.

Prefolds and flats are the most economical way to go. You don't need to much with them except your covers. We have 3 dozen prefold diapers. 1 Dozen newborn (which I just put away sniff sniff shes getting so big!) and 2 dozen regular Gerber premium cloth diapers. We chose to go with the premium diapers because they are more absorbent then the regular Birdseye.

The next type are actually my favorite; Contours and Fitted diapers. The contours are shaped to fit your baby. They are structurally made like a prefold with the soaker in the middle but curved on the sides. The fitteds are contours that have elastic on the sides and the back. These are very convenient when you have blow out diapers or really watery poop.

The prefolds, flats, contours and fitteds all require covers made from a waterproof material. The most common material used for covers is PUL (Polyurethane Laminate). This is a soft, polyester knit fabric laminated with 1 or 2 mil polyurethane on the back. Another good choice for a cover is fleece but it must be high quality such as Michael Miller fabric. You can use fleece from walmart but you may have to double it. Allot of people use wool as well. I am not using it at this time so I don't know allot about the care of these types of covers.

Pockets are a Daddy favorite. They cost less then a the AIO but when stuffed are exactly the same. Pockets consist of a Waterproof barrier on one side and a soft lining on the other. The diaper is sewn together to have an elastic opening at the top back side of the diaper. This is where you "stuff" the diaper with a soaker. A Soaker can be made out of anything that is absorbent but the best thing to make them out of is mirco fiber because its super absorbent but is thin. Thust you get rid of the bubble butt problem.

AIO's are exactly like disposables but you don't throw them away. They have the pul, soaker, and soft inner liner all sewn together.

All of these types of diapers are great and easy to work with (Some require more work then others, duh!). They come in a variety of fabrics with the most popular being of the Organic variety. Prices range from $7-$30+. If you choose to cloth diaper your child you are making a great investment in their future buy keeping their bums and their world clean.

Our church caught FIRE!!!!!

2008-09-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here is the news link for the story.

It was caused by a faulty extension cord. I will update when I know about any fundraisers for the church. As of now the church is completely shut down. The preschool will open next week.

SOCCER MOM!!!!!

2008-09-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of videos from Mikeys soccer practice. Enjoy!

Playgroups!!!

2008-09-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Meetup.com? Its an awsome site where you can host a playgroup and find people in your local area to meetup with (hence the name meetup LOL)
Anyway my two awsome groups are

Click here to check out
The *~Lil' Learners~*!

You must have a child 18m+ for this one
and

Click here to check out
The Norfolk/Virginia Beach Moms and Tots!

Any age welcome!! You have babies or kids in school come meetup with us!! We love new members!!!!!!

Hello everyone!!

2008-09-22T11:31:00.001-07:00

This is my blog to keep the family and friends updated with everything going on with the family!
Check back often to see whats up!