Friday, April 30, 2010

This dog is more work than my child

Katie, our 3 year old Yorkie, should be grateful to still be a part of this household. She was crying/yelping from her crate 3 times last night! She had me up for 3 hours! Nothing is more anger producing than having to get up in the middle of the night for a yelping dog.

Hopefully tonight will be better or she and her crate will be moved into the garage for the evening...

Monday, April 26, 2010

This pity party has ended.

There is always this mental adjustment period that I go through when Chris leaves town for an extended time period (more than 10 days). The first 5 days or so after he leaves has come to be known in my world as "Molly's Pity Party." Now that Chris is back with a fleet squadron his schedule demands that he will be out of town A LOT.

What is A LOT? We are talking 10 out of the next 11 months. I'll give you a second to let that sink in. For my fellow military spouses who read this, I know you can 100% relate. For all of my civilian friends, I don't expect you to fully understand. I did not get it myself until, back in 2004, I dropped Chris off to go on his first deployment. I drove home and walked in the garage door of our home in VA Beach and it hit me: he will not be walking back through this door with me for another 6 months.

This next year is going to be an interesting adventure. We have already done 2 deployments in the past. But this was at a time in my life when I was working full time and during the second deployment I was also in school working towards my MBA. Seeing as this is the third deployment, this should be a breeze right? I don't think so. I think they only get harder and more challenging.

The demands of raising a busy toddler on my own, with no daily reprieve at 5:30 pm or on the weekends, feels daunting. It most certainly makes me appreciate what single parents do every day, 24/7/365. I say a special prayer for all the single parents that I know.

Will we get through this? Absolutely. But it wont be easy and it won't be without tears. 3 1/2 more weeks till Daddy gets home from this month-long trip. You better believe I am counting down the days.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Food for thought

Last night I watched the final episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. You can catch all of the episodes here on Hulu.com. I think it is pretty amazing what this guy is doing and it really seems to be making a difference.

I feel like I have been bitten by the healthy food bug since watching Food, Inc. We have always eaten pretty healthy, we are not people who go to McDonald's, Wendy's, or In-and-Out Burger every month. I would estimate we hit up those places once or twice a year. We cook at home a lot and make healthy meals. But after watching this food documentary on where our food comes from and how it gets to us has made me think more about the quality of what I am buying. Yes, regular (hormone filled) chicken and (corn fed) beef are cheaper, but as my Mom always told me: "You pay for what you get!"

The one story line that stood out to me in Food, Inc. that really made me change my purchasing habits was the story of the 2.5 year old toddler who died after eating a burger tainted with e-coli or salmonella (I cannot remember which one). I could really put myself in that Mother's shoes. That poor child passed away after eating a burger! And our Federal Government did not do a recall on that beef quickly, at all. Leaving an untold number of people exposed to this deadly germ. Crazy and yet so sad. I absolutely cannot imagine losing a child, but losing them because they ate a burger?

I encourage all of my friends and family to watch Food, Inc and Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. They are so shocking. I would be surprised if these shows did not move you to make smarter choices too.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The best money we ever spent

Is on lawn care and housekeeper services.

Back when we lived in VA Beach and Chris was on deployment I could not justify paying someone else to mow the lawn or clean the house because I had the time to do it. Well, now with a busy 13 month old, the last thing I want to do when he naps or goes down to bed for the night is clean the house! I want to sit on the couch and catch up on TV shows or curl up with a good book and read.

And the house looks so much better, outside and inside, than if I were trying to do it myself.

The little things in life that make me happy :)

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

It's crate time!

Since moving to CA, the dogs have been a little off. In NV, we had a doggie door that they could use all the time to come and go to the bathroom outside. In this new house, we don't have a doggie door :( Frankly, it is no big deal for me to let them come and go during the day. It is the night time potty breaks that I get a little angry about. Michael is sleeping through the night, yet the dogs were waking me up to go outside to go pee 2x per night!

I had to crack the whip. Lay down the law. Put my foot down. I set up the crates 2 nights ago.

The dogs are now spending the evenings sleeping in their crates. Thank God for dog crates. After the first night of restful, uninterrupted sleep Chris finally agreed with me that this was the best solution. (The other solution would have been to spend $400+ on a doggie door that fits into a 96" sliding glass door. No, thank you.)

Lucy, our 5 year old Yorkie, is not too happy with the situation. She has been pretty spoiled for all of her 5 years. So for the last two days, she has sulked during the day by hiding out underneath our bed. She is normally very social with us during the day, wanting to play catch and tug of war with her rope toy. So it is going to take some time for her to adjust. But she will get there, hopefully.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Strawberries and cheese

These are two of my very favorite foods, so when I first introduced them to Michael I was shocked that he did not like or want them! I thought, "How is it possible that he doesn't want to even try these fabulous foods?!?" So, like all the baby books say, keep trying. So I did. And he never took to either of them until this week.

My discovery: he only likes strawberries and cheese at room temperature. He is now chowing down on strawberries like they are going out of season - and thank goodness the season is only starting! I bought a big clam shell of strawberries from Costco and it is already half-gone!

The particulars of Michael's like's and dislikes are always amazing to me. It is so fun to see his personality develop every day.

Love this picture too!

Here is another favorite picture taken recently. We had these shots done for Michael's 1st birthday. He was not happy about a big, black camera being in his face, but we got a couple of cute snapshots out of the session. I did not plan on planting lipstick on his cheek, it just happened! It left him with one rosy cheek for the rest of the day.

It has been pretty uneventful around here. We are pretty settled from the move, so now we are just trying to get into a good daily routine. Today, I think, we are headed to the park to hit up the bucket swings then to run a few errands around town.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Boys!

This morning turned out to be a little hectic, and I am not sure how that happened. Our internet was down so a tech from Comcast showed up at 9 am. Chris did not have to go into work until a little later so we both were fielding phone calls trying to get some paperwork completed and catch up on e-mails from the last 24 hours. Next thing I know, Chris is out back with Michael, who crawled his way out there while Chris was on the phone (in the backyard). Michael was sitting in the mulch in the back yard digging in the dirt and mud. It has been raining the past few days.

Chris was beaming. Michael had mud on his face, hands and feet. It was so cute.

Now, I have to figure out how to get the dirt out of his fingernails without him squirming all over the place!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

A favorite photo













We had this picture recently taken and it is one of my favorites! Years ago, one of my cousins told me that some of her favorite childhood photos are of her and the family with her Dad in front of one of his Air Force jets. Since she mentioned that to me, I always make it a priority to get family pictures like this one. I know that they will be treasured favorites many years from now. These days we are just taking advantage of every minute of our time with Chris. Soon he will be on work up's and deployment and we will be praying for his safe return. For now though, we soak up the love and make every minute count!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Michael's new car




















We just recently bought this blue push-buggy for Michael and he LOVES IT! I literally have to have it out of sight if we are not using it because he wants to be riding in it or climbing all over it if he sees it.

Here are pictures of us hanging out in the backyard. We have had really beautiful weather recently and we have been taking advantage of being outside as much as possible! I love the pose on the last picture. So funny!

P.S. No keys are needed for the push-buggy. Those are my keys he is playing with!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Happy Easter!

What a blessed weekend! We had a great Easter weekend! Church and then brunch with some good friends. I planned on putting some of the plastic Easter Eggs around the back yard and seeing if Michael would crawl around to pick them up, but it was way too cold for that! I think it was in the 50's on Sunday! So after church and brunch, we climbed into our sweats and lounged around (inside) our toasty warm home.

Today we did some shopping at the Navy Exchange and Target. Michael sat, shotgun, in the shopping cart and decided that he wanted to hold the push handle, which was a good 4 inches farther distance from the seat. It was so cute. I did get a pic and will post it once I get it uploaded. When I tried to move his hands closer to him, he would just not have that. He moved them right back the the higher handle. I just love his little personality and I thank God everyday for the wonderful family I have. I am so blessed.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Sorry...


...for the lack of blogging recently! It has been crazy around here getting unpacked. Michael is also at a very busy age so I am constantly chasing him around. He is not walking just yet, taking steps here and there, but he is a speed crawler. We have dubbed him Hurricane Michael as he blazes a path of destruction wherever he goes!

You all know I cannot pass up posting a new cute picture. This was taken on our last night in Fallon, hence the blow up mattress. He loved crawling on it and as you can see he is in trouble mode with the look on that face.

We have an upcoming fun Easter weekend! Grandpa Jack is coming into town and we have plans for Easter Sunday service, brunch after church, and hunting for Easter eggs in the afternoon. Happy Easter to everyone!