Ahhh...he's 5!

That's kinda what I felt like when I woke up with a 5 year old in my bed. You see the night before his birthday, Daddy was in the field. We stayed up a little later watching The Grinch since I was letting him stay out of school. Before bed, he said "Mom, do you need something to sleep with?" I said sure (thinking stuffed animal) and he said slyly, "well, I could sleep with you...you know, so you won't be lonely with Dad gone." I melted. Our kids have never slept in our bed and never really want to so when he offered, I just couldn't resist.

He awoke at 6:30 and said "Mom, I'm FIVE!" Yeah, son, I know. Now go back to sleep or lay there till the sun comes up.

Fast forward a few hours, his special day included a trip to the Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh. It's a super fun place but you just might loose your marbles. Especially if you choose a day when an elementary school is there.

The first center is neighborhood themed with an Ambulance, Firetruck, Boat, Grocery Store, Mail Center, etc.

I didn't break his legs for talking too much, he's pretending with kid sized crutches.

Lincoln likes FISH. He liked the baby aquarium with real fish and this little train station aquarium too.

He also really liked the Yellow Submarine. It flashed and made sounds when you push the buttons. He's my button pusher (in more ways than one.)

This is when we had to leave the submarine to go upstairs to have MORE fun. Oh Good Grief!

X marks the spot, my little pirate on the wooden pirate ship. He swept the deck, checked the map and yelled "Land Ho! mates"

Upstairs had a sports theme including rock climbing and surfing. All of these were a big hit, until the school group showed up anyway.

Everybody go surfing, Surfing USA! How great is this picture, it totally looks like Lincoln conquered a Hang 10.

Just LOOK at that grumpy face! That's my little Lincoln.
You can just imagine what he did when I made him get out.

He Shoots!!

He SCORES!!

Yes, AGAIN! You guessed it. I made him get out of the shoe box.

This boy just landed in Giant LEGO heaven! We may never leave now. I guess it's time to put more money in the parking meter.

That's one GIANT quarter. This was the money playground. Here you learn about earning and saving money and baking using green balls that deposit into a giant piggy bank then he lets them all fall out.

I can hardly believe this little genius is 5. He is a smart, talkative, caring and friendly fellow. I am so proud of the young man he's becoming. Sure, he thinks he's all grown up but little does he know, he'll ALWAYS be my baby.

A day in his shoes...er, boots.

Please read carefully...you may never see me in dirty,oversized ACU's ever again. Most of you know, mud is NOT my thing. I don't mind a little sweat but mine is usually accompanied by sports bras and spandex. I don't think my day is complete without a little shimmer on the face. So Saturday I spent the day playing soldier. I was definitely not in my comfort zone. Jason's current unit is a Calvalry unit and deep in their tradition, they rode horses, wore stetsons and spurs and carried sabers at their side. Although now, they fly helicopters, which are faster and more effective, they still carry some of the traditions. In order to gain the right to wear the spurs, you must participate in a spur ride which consist of 36 hours of fraternity like hazing. This weekend, they hosted a Spouses Spur ride for us to have some of the same experiences, just in an 8 hour time span.
The weather was just right for misery. It was COLD, about 30's when we started and then it started to rain. I was assigned to 3rd Squad which we renamed Z troop. We did a 2 mile road march, rode in the back of tactical vehicles, and shot M-4's and .50 cals in a simulator.









We were taken to a field where they had enemy fire arranged to fight us and we were responsible for calling in fire power from 2 awaiting kiowas. I got to do the calls over the radio and it was the highlight of my day. I got to use all my radio jargon to call "Bootleg 29 this is Maneater 6, over"...etc.






We set up claymore mines by low crawling out to a position and crawling back to retrieve it after fire. We also participated in the obstacle course. We started out scaling over bars without using our hands, next we went over higher bars,only using our hands. We scaled a leaning wall and did a fabulous low crawl under barbed wire in RED clay pits. I can honestly say, my lips have never been closer to the ground and I've never been so dirty before. After the course, we ate MRE's while traveling to the horse stables to clean the horses. I can tell you for sure, Pioneer Woman did NOT make the veggie lasagna that I tried to consume. It had pinto beans in it and the pound cake could have used a stick or 2 more butter. At the end of the day, I couldn't feel my feet and my shower was even disgusted by me. I was so happy have hot water!




After a quick turn around, we had a dinner where we were presented with our "spurs" on a necklace and we were the first signatures in the Spouses "order of the winged spur" book. I think Jason was really proud of me for finishing this as we get ready to leave the military. I think I'll be glad I spent just ONE day walking in his shoes...er, boots and spurs.

5 year old birthday party dreams

I can't take all the credit (this time), for making a 5 year old's birthday party dreams come true. Jason helped out with this one and he really came through. It was his idea to go to MWR and rent their deluxe party package including a bouncy house, tables, chairs, a tent and a cotton candy machine. I did pull off the theme Jackson chose which was Goosebumps. And you bet I did it on the cheap! I scored all kinds of "after Halloween" stuff to use at this not so scary birthday party. The scooby doo bounce house was just the beginning. We had worm cupcakes, gummi bandaids and bloody fingers. The hamburgers and hot dogs were safe but the cotton candy was a little green! We had enough spun sugar to hype up every kid in Northridge Plantation. Jackson had a great time with all his friends at his house and his party. I was glad we had it here for him being his last birthday party here in North Carolina. It was a little chilly that day since we've had the coldest December here in decades. It was slightly better than the night before when we were getting a little worried. We had to collapse the bounce house due to a sudden surge of SLEET. Sheesh, weather, make up your mind!

Jackson got some great gifts at this party. Some of the favorites are a 1980's plug and play arcade remake and gross songs book and brain jello mold. I now know ever gross song on the CD and they constantly get stuck in my head. Lovely.
We had the party a few weeks early due to folks leaving out for Christmas. This week, I will actually have a 5 year old. I don't know if the blog is ready for those tears. Sniff!

Some of my fabulous finds after Halloween!

Scooby Dooby Doo, where are you and why
don't you have your coat on?

This is hands down what I'll miss the most about North Carolina. I'll never find another group of girls like this. We've raised our children together from babies and those are times I'll never forget!

The master carnie making tufts of spun sugar for the kids delight!

Nothing like a mouth full of GREEN cotton candy.

Just look at that kid and his extra large cone of lime spun sugar strands!

Jason trying to take down some of the orange. We had a little extra cotton to deal with.

Lincoln's favorite 11 year old babysitter, Ellin.

Some of the favorites of the day. Thanks to all who helped us celebrate my baby turning 5.

The life you choose

I was recently challenged to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up. Then I was challenged to actually think about where I THOUGHT I'd be now, back when I was in high school and college. It was an interesting thought process and conversation as I realized most people are not where we THOUGHT we'd be. Life doesn't usually go as planned. At some point, it usually takes a turn you were not expecting and most of the time, it's a BIG one. The kicker? Most people wouldn't have it any other way. The unplanned things in life are what change us, what shapes us into who we REALLY are. Think about it, where did you see yourself in your senior English class? Is it anything close to what you are doing now?
For me, I finished high school and was very driven to get into college. I never LOVED high school. I knew I was ready for college. I enrolled in summer classes the day I left for Cancun, Mexico on my senior trip (WHAT were my parents thinking?). I had a mind of my own and it was made up. I wanted to be "on my own". I wanted to life my life without the influence of anyone else (especially my parents). I was going to Auburn. I would do whatever it took to get there. I wanted to be ALONE! Sure, I'd probably get married. But for a while I wanted to finish college and get a job. You know, the one you just LOVE. (haha!) I wanted to do something that mattered! I wanted to discover something, invent something, make a difference in my work! I saw myself working in a research lab, one where we try to invent things to cure cancer or help some other incurable disease. I wanted to be part of a big, successful company. I wanted to be indisposable to them. They NEEDED me. (please note the bold phrases for later reference)
I thought I would eventually get married, at an older age (30ish). Kids were a take it or leave it thing. I didn't want to be tied down, have to stay home or be bothered with finding a sitter so that I could do "adult" things. And if I did have kids, oh, yes, you bet your bottom dollar, those kids would be enrolled in daycare. Yes, I would have such an important job that I'd have to be back at work in 6 weeks and those babies would be in the loving care of the local daycare.

ENTER THIS GUY:


I'd never even considered marrying an ARMY guy. Honestly, I didn't even know there was an elite school for the Army. I thought Army football was just a bunch of enlisted guys playing good football. (yes, some natural blonde) And this ARMY lifestyle wasn't exactly going to fit into my "ever after" plan. So maybe it wasn't the day we met, or started dating. I do know it wasn't long into that "this is THE one" relationship that I knew things were going to turn out differently than I had imagined. I still had NO idea how much.

Fast forward 10 years.

Here I sit, blogging away. I'm also addressing Christmas cards, folding clothes, eating lunch and making chex mix for friends and neighbors. It's called maximizing naptime.
My life now is a full time employee of deFoor and sons. My bosses are 2 boys under 5. My BIG work projects are enduring year long deployments. It's NOT how I saw my life played out in high school.
It's SO much better! (Told ya I'd say that!)
It's not what I had planned but it's everything I ever wanted. Let's recap...
I LOVE my job.
I'm doing something that matters.
I discover new things. (Just last week I discovered that you CAN mess up jello)
I'm doing something important.
I'm indisposable.
THEY NEED ME!!
See, everything I never knew I wanted.
When I began this SAHM thing, I was worried it would be viewed negatively. I was afraid I'd wasted my college education. That I wouldn't be challenged, intellectually. I was afraid I'd be ALONE! Yes, I just said that. I quickly learned that when you are a mother, you are never alone and I mean NEVER. You also are continually challenged and my college education is INVALUABLE. I'll always have it and be able to tell my kids about the importance of higher education.
Another pivotal point in my life (before kids) was September 11, 2001.
It was life changing for all of America but none as much as those directly affected. I consider the United States Armed Forces directly affected.
Jason graduated West Point in an Army that had not been in a full combat war in decades. Peace time Army was the term used for years. That day, in mere moments, our life changed. We were not married yet, but we knew we would be. It meant he and his comrades would see combat and we had no idea then just how much. His first deployment came just 6 months after we were married. He was gone for nearly 7. Remember how I said I just wanted to be...ALONE? Yeah, I got just what I wanted...but I didn't want it so much then. But, it did shape me into an independent person and made me a better mother during deployments I didn't know we'd have to endure.
I could go on but I was just amazed at how people over and over relayed that this wasn't the "life they chose" but it's just the one they always wanted. So in essence, it IS the life you chose.
You just didn't know it yet.

Thankful week 4

So what if it's December and I'm just now finishing up my Thanksgiving blog. It's been a whirlwind week that encompassed a lot to be thankful for. Just a few of the highlights will give you a glimpse into our Thanksgiving as well. So the way I see it, this is 2 blogs into one!

Monday-
I'm thankful that daddy found a slighly shady tire place to get me 4 brand new Michelin tires for the cost of about 2!
I'm thankful that Jackson has daddy to take him to the middle of nowhere on the four wheeler. It's his favorite place to be.
I'm thankful thankful that mom lets me destroy her kitchen cooking, and then she cleans it up for me.
Tuesday-
I'm thankful my parents love my kids enough to let them play in the rain in their pajamas and eat suckers for "desert" after breakfast.
I'm thankful to be drinking daddy's coffee that some people find distasteful but if you add enough peppermint mocha cream, it will REALLY be the best part of waking up.
Wednesday-
I'm thankful for the slow paced life in my hometown of North Alabama. Traffic is more than one person in the $3 car wash lane or having to wait more than 3 minutes for your loaded pork baked potato. Seriously folks.
I'm thankful my family chooses to change their Thanksgiving meal to Wednesday night so that I'm available to be with them. They love me! (or maybe it's just my kids they love)
Thursday-
I'm thankful for Jason's family. Especially the ones I don't get to see very often. I'm thankful we have facebook so they don't all feel like strangers when we do see them!
Friday-
I'm thankful to be a graduate of the WINNING team! It's great to be an AUBURN tiger. I'm really thankful that Jason's Aunt and Uncle gave us tickets to such a great Iron Bowl. I may have been the only one happy with the outcome but they all have to admit, it was a FUN game!

Saturday-
I'm thankful for GREAT weather in the last part of November. It's sure to change soon but me and the boys SO enjoy playing outside in it.
I'm thankful for Yogurt Mountain. I LOVE overpriced frozen yogurt and here, you have all the choices you could ask for.

Sunday-
Are you sure you are ready for this? This much thankfulness could only come from a mother of 2 toddlers on a 10 hour trip back to the promised land (or at least the land you are never promised to leave).

I'm thankful my parents are willing to keep my dog while I visit my in laws and then return her to me at my convenience.
I'm thankful for Target where you can easily blow 2 hours waiting on the parents.
I'm thankful for ok, ok, ok...this is not working...
My parents return my dog and off we go on the lovely 10 hour drive up I-20. The kids are tired and I am thankful for that. I have the latest Nicholas Sparks book on CD and I begin to listen. This is now the end of the peaceful 10 hour drive. There are only 9 hours left to go.
Lincoln wakes up and points profusely at the screen to watch a movie. I realize the dual screen dvd player is not working. I take one of them down, check all the plugs, change the movie, etc. I then take the other one down and have both screens in my lap to try and find out why it won't work. I'm still cruising down I-20 because Jackson is asleep and I don't dare wake the talkative child in the midst of an electronic crisis. I figure out that it must be the fuse inside the car charger part (this has happened before). So I look at the other devices I have in the car. The GPS, phone charger and Ipod dock. Well, the ipod dock doesn't unscrew so there's no fuse there. The GPS or the phone charger. Well...I know the way home but I'm not sure I can get there without the phone to talk on so the GPS looses it's fuse to the DVD player. IT WORKS! So both kids are watching a movie and I go to change CD's in my ever so exciting book on CD and the car CD player won't eject my CD. Seriously, I'm 4 CD's into the book and I can't listen to the rest. So I get the idea to stop (it's about time anyway). I get out my laptop and plug in my headphones and begin the next CD. I have to plug the laptop into the converter because my battery life sucks and as soon as I plug it in, the fuse in the converter blows. Different fuse than the DVD player. I'm in technology malfunction OVERLOAD. I used the last bit of GPS energy to find me a Wal-mart in lower Columbia, SC. We get off, go into Wal-mart with my entourage and ask for help finding the fuses. They don't have EITHER of them. So, in motherly fashion, I instead purchase a Discman and batteries. Yes, I mean the OLD ones, (before ipods) that you actually carried the whole CD with you. Don't laugh. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, everyone has their entertainment for the rest of the 5 hour trip. We go to get gas and this station is CLOSED, 4 minutes ago. On the bright side, I did manage to get Krystals (mini mystery meat burgers for you non-southern types) and we all enjoyed a supremely healthy dinner on the road while listening/watching our electronic devises. Needless to say, I'm thankful for books on CD and DVD players in the car. What did we do before them? Oh wait, maybe it was Discmans!

Thankful week 3

For the sake of it being 130am, I'm going to jump right in.

15-I'm thankful that it's almost Christmas time. I love Christmas music, I start listening to it in October, sometimes earlier. I love the decorations, the season, what it means.
16-Can you be thankful for an awesome hairdresser? I mean, I am. She makes my hair look great and I get to spend 4 hours kid free while she does it. I always leave feeling beautiful so that counts for something, right?
17-I'm thankful to be another year younger! I turned 31 today and spent the day shopping with my favorite 18 month old. I'm thankful that he tolerated trying on boots and jeans so his 31 year old fashion forward momma could sport the latest trends successfully. We wouldn't want to get arrested by the fashion police, now would we?
18-I am thankful for our SUPER soft bed. Getting that bed was a fiasico. It's a good story really. It's Feburary 2008, Jason's home on R&R and we are out to blow some money (that what R&R really means). This time we are blowing it on things that we REALLY need. A front loading washer, dryer and a new bed to replace the one that's OVER 20 years old and we've been sleeping on for the last 5. We go to Sears. We purchase the washer, dryer and a top of the line Stearns and Foster mattress. We were told to hold no bars when it comes to bedding, sleep is PRICELESS! So, we set up delivery and day after day ticked by and it was always SOMETHING wrong, no drivers, wrong address, wrong products. It was a bit ridiculous and the DAY before Jason left we really got serious and later that day, they showed up with the washer, dryer and 2, yes 2 boxed springs. Yep, kinda hard to sleep on that. So, after so much confusion, I went to cancel the order and reorder the mattress. A few days after the cancellation, a delivery guy calls and says they have it ready to deliver. They set it up and it's wonderful. Then, a few more days later, I get a message that says they will be delivering my mattress later today. Well, sure enough, later that day, a Sears delivery guy pulls up with ANOTHER mattress. I'm way too honest and I told him, "you know they've already delivered this mattress to me right?" and he says, "Ma'am, I just deliver what I'm told, please sign here." I waited a few days to see if they would want it back and that was all I ever heard from that. We ended up with not one but 2 fabulous mattresses. All for the low low price of NOT having your husband sleep in it with you for nearly 6 months. Poor Jason, I had this fabulous bed that he paid for and he still slept on a cot. Ahh, yes, I like my bed!
19-I'm thankful for coffee. Mostly I love it on mornings when sleep had eluded me for some reason or another but sometimes I just love it for it's sweet, creamy, warming qualities. I'm speaking of the coffee in my cup. It's more of a kahaki coffee with lots of cream and some sort of flavored creamer. I like to mix it up but coconut cream and peppermint mocha are my tried and true favorites. It's like a little piece of heaven right there in my hand. It's like the calgon of the morning. It's one big starbucks mug of HAPPINESS in the rush, rush of morning routine.
20a-I'm thankful that Jen and I successfully ran 10 miles today. It was a TOUGH trail race and my knees and ankles curse me for ever making that decision. Today, I am one step closer to running a half marathon and at the 9 mile marker, when I turned my ankle one last time and nearly cried, I decided, I'd RATHER run 13 than tourture myself with another long trail run so Nashville Marathon, here I come!
20b-I'm SO thankful for my neighborhood girlfriends. Most of them know and feel the same way but I don't know where I'd be without this neighborhood of Army wives/SAHM's that I've befriended over the past 7 years. Some of us have come and gone but each of them has play a special role in my life, in raising my children and in enduring some of the hardest trials of my life. There have been more playdates, walks, jogs, and dinners than I could possibly count and it seems they always know just when you need them. I don't know if I'll ever find this kind of circle again. It's a rare gem, but I love the wives of Northridge Plantation. (hey, that's catchy, maybe we should start reality show!)
21-12 hours DONE! Drive to ALABAMA, DONE! It was a terribly long and boring ride. It always is but it's DONE and I'm finally in Alabama. I'm enjoying Mama, full time daycare and chicken stew. And tomorrow, I'm going to enjoy the freedom to sleep late since I chose to stay up until 2am and hopefully entertain you with this longwinded blog.

Obsessed.

I'd like to introduce you to my new best friend, Ree Drummond. We became friends back in April when she decided to spill her guts about her love story to me late at night when Jason was still away. I still owe her BIG for helping me pass that time. Then when Jason did finally get home, she showed me how to WOW him with some amazing dishes. Some possibly even too delicious for words. Then she went on and developed some rad photoshop actions for my personal use and I just love them. She is always willing to share her recipes with me and tell me all her cooking secrets.

Yes, she's my new best friend.

Except she doesn't know it yet.

She may never know it.

She's the pioneer woman and I very well may have a female crush on her. It's probably to the point of stalker if she lived any closer.

Lucky for her, all I've got is her fabulous blog and the faint idea that we really are friends...one day...a long time from now.

The recipes that I've successfully checked off the list include:
Chicken Cacciatore

Ginger Steak Salad

Olive Cheese Bread

The Best Lasagna. Ever.

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Goat Cheese Polenta

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever.

and last but not least...

Cinnamon Rolls

So first, I should thank my trusty friend Mari, who introduced us. I owe you big, like 6 pounds of butter big!

I've made new friends with these recipes. Everyone wants to eat at our place and I have the neighbors offer grand favors just for a taste of these cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven.

These recipes are GOOD, easy and easy to find. Sometimes, I even have everything to make it!

I did go out and buy one of those fancy dutch ovens. I like it and it makes me feel more like Ree. Told you, SWF, that's me.

I would like to highly recommend if you would like to stay up all night long and read one of the best love stories since Song of Solomon, then you should really read hers. It's that good, for real!

And if you think about it, we really are friends...


on Facebook anyway.

Thankful by the week-2

Did I mention I think I'm too lazy to blog every day about being thankful? I can conquer thankful by the week though (I hope).

November

8-I'm thankful for my hubby. He works hard, long hours. He always takes good care of us and makes wise financial choices. He is always willing to help me with the boys and is the greatest father to them. I'm thankful he wants to eat lunch with me(like today!) from work and thankful I'm available to eat with him.

9-I'm thankful for good insurance (for now). I can hardly believe I'm saying this. I've rarely had good things to say about TRICARE. They can be a REAL pain sometimes but when they come through, it's fabulous and I've never paid a DIME for medical care issues. So I guess I'm saying it's worth the headache. This week I had a dermatology "check-up" because I'd never had one and I was seamlessly referred and seen by a dermatologist free of charge. Now, the ordeal was that I had to dress in fancy paper drapes and clothing while chasing Lincoln around an exam room. I should have taken friends advice and took it all off and laid it on the floor for him to color on. It would have served a better purpose.

10-Maybe one of the things I'm MOST thankful for, My Parents. They flew in tonight to see us and the boys, ok, just the boys. Either way, they hardly let a month go by without seeing them and I'm thankful that they have made such a big impression in their lives. Even 700 miles away, my kids know them and love them. Almost as much as I do!

11-It wouldn't be right if I wasn't thankful for my veteran and all the veterans past and present who have fought to make this country free and great. This is a special day for us because we have walked in those shoes and personally know those who have paid the ultimate price for this freedom we have. I'm especially thankful for 3 safe returns from a war zone and continually pray for the safety of the friends we have still there. God Bless America!

12-I'm thankful my mom is a photographer. Do you know the copious amounts of money Jason would be out if I didn't have this little luxury? I LOVE photographs. I like BIG canvas photos all over my walls. I like to have a picture of my kids in nearly every outfit they own. Christmas is coming. I need Christmas cards. Mom came to the rescue and we painfully made photos of the boys. You can read all about it here . So thanks to mom's photographer eye and my mad photoshop skills, we have a few (like 4) photos to choose from for the highly anticipated Christmas Card.

13-I'm thankful for 4 day weekends. We will soon be leaving the military and all the woes it's responsible for but there are a FEW things I will miss about this life. Truth be known, there are MANY things that I will miss but that's another thought. These 4 day weekends don't come as often in the civilian world and I'm thankful we have them together.

14-I'm thankful for a night away! My birthday is soon and we took mom and dad up on some babysitting to spend the night in Raleigh. Jason found us some friends to hang with and a GREAT little sushi place in downtown Raleigh. We then went to The Oxford for drinks and dessert. I had a fabulous chocolate chip cookie dough tiramisu. We sat around for several hours watching college students and reminiscing of our younger days. It was fun, for a night but I that we're passed that phase!

It ain't easy...

Making Christmas card photos has always been a part of my November. My mom was making Christmas card photos of us back in the early 80's before photo cards were even cool. I will never forget some of the dreaded Christmas card photo shoots. Some were at the mall in front of tons of people, others in cold outdoor locations or best ever was us posing in our pajamas and being forced to be nice to my younger sister. Well, I'm carrying on the time honored holiday tradition by torturing my boys with uncomfortable photos in public places with the promises of candy, playgrounds and ice cream. Believe me, you do whatever it takes when the perfect photo is at stake. Yes, I know I'm lucky enough to have a MOM for a photographer and that she travels 700 miles to help me with this endeavor. Even with the help of mom, and my dad, it's still an enormous undertaking to get just ONE good picture of the boys, together, with smiles on their faces. So, just know, these seemingly fabulous photos certainly come at a price. And for the full effect, I'll show you what MOST of the photos look like and then a few of the better ones we were lucky enough to get.

Back to the Future-Halloween Edition

This year we celebrated Halloween for nearly a month. Jackson LOVES Halloween so I decorated JUST for him. I hate spiders and scary things but we did the whole, orange lights, pumpkins, spiderwebs all over the front porch. He loved it. We listened to a Halloween CD so much inthe car that even Lincoln could sing some of the Addams Family song. We went to 3 "trunk or treat" events and even "trick or treated" twice. It was candy OVERLOAD.
Jason and I were invited to an adult Halloween party and had fun choosing our costumes. I was Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile and he was a Roman toga wearing Cesar. The boys were the future part. Jackson wanted to be an astronaut and I was lucky enough to have a friend that offered a cool nasa suit and another friend let us borrow an awesome helment. He was quick to tell me that the helment is actually worn with the WHITE suit and a ball cap is worn inside the ship with the orange suit. Well EXCUUUUUSE me. Lincoln was an adorable alien from the Toy Story 3 movie. We watched that movie the day it came out and loved it. We bought the only costume I could find and it was for 12-18 months. I'd say it was more of a 12 months since I had to PIN it on him it was so short. Either way, I was lucky too go get at least one cute picture of them in the costumes. Jason helped. He's learned I won't give up until everyone is crying so he tries to make it quick and painless. So without further ado...here's the photos of the festivities.

Thankful by the week-1

So I've wanted to join the "thankful" bandwagon for a few days now but it's either busy or lazy or possibly both that have prevented me from it. This morning I had a revalation. I'm more of a once a week blogger so I could blog ALL my thankfulness into a weekly blog. It counts right? I just hope I can keep it up throughout the month. I found it easier and more intresting to do it by the day of the month so I'll start with the 1st of November.

November
1-I'm MAJORLY thankful that today my husband was promoted to MAJ in the Army. To most this means bigger jobs and more responsibility but for us it mainly means a temporary pay raise before we get out, which is much needed AND appreciated!

2-I'm thankful for sushi. Trivial, yes, but I really love it and I love to find friends to enjoy it with. I used to HATE seafood and HATE sushi. I was totally missing out and I'm happy to have had Jason push it on me until I now love it more than even he does.

3-I'm thankful for Christian friends to talk and have fun with. My MOPS moms, who help me parent in a more Godly way and share all their mothering secrets.

4-I'm thankful for hourly care on post. I had a dentist appointment to get a cavity filled and I knew I'd feel like crap when it was over. Not only was it a miserably rainy day but I was also miserable with a numb mouth and I didn't have to deal with a miserable baby with a cold for a whole 5 hours. And at 4.00 an hour, I know it's a steal for us both!
BONUS: I'm thankful for internet on my phone. I depend (sometimes a little too much) on internet access, I google things, I cook dinner, I get world news thorough Facebook of course! Well, my dinosaur modem went out and I had to get a new one. At least I had my phone to keep up with all the most important celebrity gossip and facebook happenings. I wouldn't want to miss what all my friends are having for dinner!

5-I'm thankful for FREE medical care. As much as I sometimes complain about the Tricare insurance, I'm so thankful that when I have a kid coughing all night and wheezing in his sleep and I decide to take him in to have something done only to discover there is NOTHING they can do for him, at least it didn't cost me $30 or MORE for them to say that. I walk out and the only thing it cost me was a little time.

6-I'm thankful for my dedicated running partner Jen and the sheer ability to run. We ran an 8 mile on saturday in about 78 minutes in preparation for our 10 mile trail run comming up. Jen and I have been running off and on for about 4 years now. As of late, we get up in the 5 o'clock hour and run anywhere from 4 to 8 miles and it's a fabulous way to start my day. Me time, adult conversation and miles behind us.

7-I'm thankful for Target. I know, they don't always have the best reputation for a chain store but they always come through when I need to waste a few hours and usually I come out with something useful to add to my wardrobe. Many a pair of "depoyment shoes" have been purchased at Target. I think this is called retail therapy. Try it, it works!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle?

This morning, we went on a walk with our good friends Mari and her Caroline, Anabelle and baby Grace. Monday morning walks are always exciting because we might get a glimpse of the trash truck. There's always the chance in a military town of discovering some sort of treasure in the trash. I guess things are more disposable when you move every 3 years. Today we happened upon some great storage containers in perfect condition, some odd cups/silverware and a large piece of styrofoam. To the kids, you might have thought Santa came. For nearly an hour those odd treasures kept them busy in the driveway. We have moving plans for the storage containers but the kids treasures luckily made it to our trash right before the trucks came by. That's reusing, right? I'm thankful for Mari, the only friend that wouldn't give a second thought to recycling someone's trash with me! I'm going to miss her when CA calls her home.