MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #39

It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday, It's Friday! 

*Doing a little Jig!*

MilSpouse Fill-in is on tap for today, head on over to check it out. 

 Wife of a Sailor

Hope all you fantastic followers and readers have a great weekend!

Have you and your spouse agreed to live in separate locations (a geographical bachelor tour) knowing that the short-term inconvenience would have long-term benefits for your family? How did it work for you? submitted by When Good People Get Together ............We have never agreed to living apart for more than 6 months during school. It has come up once or twice as an option, but it's never turned into a serious consideration. With 2 kids in the mix, our pro arguments were "not having to move the kids, &  being able to go visit with family & usually some sort of monetary initiative." our con arguments were "not being together, and not being together, oh and not being together". If it ever turns into something we'll have to have a more in depth conversation. 

What is your favorite thing about being a MilSpouse? submitted by Sarah Ruth Today

.......................I love seeing my man in uniform and the opportunity to visit and live in interesting places. 

If you could still have your spouse/significant other and your family, but take the military life out of it…would you?  submitted by Trust. Love. Believe. Bake. ............No. When we got married, the military wasn't even in our realm of possibility, but now that we are here, it is who we are and who I think we were meant to be.....at least for a while.

What have your homecoming experiences been like after a year long tour of separation? submitted by Army Soldier, Army Wife ............We haven't had a seperation of that length at one time, but I think on some level they are all the same. Elation (together again!), Awkwardness (will he still like me?), Acceptance (there are differences, but nothing we can't work through), & Normalcy (or as close as you can get.). I think the length of time it takes to get through these is based on how long its been since he left. 

If you have a child(ren) why you chose their name(s)? If not, why you would name your child something?  submitted by Tiara’s & ACU’s 

..............................................We named our first Squidlet after my grandfather and myself. For the 1st 7 or 8 months her name was Cecelia Finn, but it was changed last minute and I've never looked back. Her name suits her. 

Our second Squidlet's first name was the first and only name we ever considered. It was on both of our "if I ever have a son" lists before we even knew each other. He is also named after the Squids father. 

Classifieds & Flat Daddies!

Yesterday at lunch I was talking with the Squid and he told me about 2 articles in the Navy Times that he knew I would be into. (He knows me so well.)

First up, SargesList. You guessed it, a "craigslist" for military. How much do you love this idea? It's fantastic to find even bigger and better ways to support other military families! I adore that you can search for your base area, and the listings have what instillation the seller lives on or is attached to. This is a new site and the Squid says it looks like it's run really well so we'll see. I hope that it gets some good buzz going, I think as long as the administrators keep the military family in mind, it will be an awesome resource for our lifestyle. It has a jobs section which I think is great since so many of us deal with the frustration of finding quasi temporary employment. I have a bunch of baby stuff that I was thinking about selling elsewhere, but now, I think I'll give this a try. There isn't anything listed for our base yet.

The second article talked about Flat Daddies.com. Okay this is brilliant! The minute I saw this site I had several families pop into my head that I would love to send one to, aside from myself of course! I am even tempted to supply one of me for the Squid on his next deployment. So many military spouses, books, classes, articles, etc. suggest keeping a picture of your deployed loved one for your children and yourself that I am amazed this hasn't happened sooner. For a meager fee you too can have your very own life-sized bust to cuddle on those long and lonely deployments! The pictures and stories you can view on their site say it all, wives/girlfriends, kids of all ages, & family members, talking, kissing, cuddling, playing with and even dressing up their deployed loved ones. I love it!

It is great to see these things coming together to improve the lives of our military families. I know I will be utilizing both of them very soon. Will you? Let me know!

Easter Crafts.

Being the *ahem* thrifty person I am, I roamed the aisles of our local Joann's and got some really great ideas for Easter. 

 I saw some little garden decorations that are super cute, but not worth buying.

 Take felt, and while rolling it up hot glue it that way.

 I had skewers left over from one of our cookouts, I used those. They worked great.

 I pretty much just flew by the seat of my pants as far as actual shape and amount.

 They are a bit time consuming so I quit after 3, but I think they are cute and if it hadn't been raining so much lately, they would be in my garden right now.

I think this one looks more like a pink hand, but as garden a decoration, I don't really mind. I think I'll be doing more of these with our oldest. She would really enjoy it, as long as I do the glueing.

Once I had those done I realized I didn't have any baskets for the Squidlets, so I made them some.

 I used embroidery floss to attach the decorations I cut out.

 I used my favorite method of using a paper towel as a pattern then cut it out.

 I stitched up the sides, and then zig-zag stitched down the center of the seam.

I then attached the handle, which was just a piece of felt tri-folded and stitched up the middle and sides.

 Lastly, I cut a circle of cereal box to put in the bottom, making it more stable.

I must admit, I love the boys way more than the girls. It was done last, so it was a little easier and a little better. They aren't the best ever, but they worked out great and the ones I make next year will be even cuter.

Easter Eats.

As with most of our holidays, we had a little block party thing the Saturday before Easter. We had a great time even with the crappy weather, there was a lovely brunch, and an egg hunt, and great company.
It was a potluck brunch and I made 3 things.

1. Classic Deviled Eggs.

2. Creme Brulee French Toast.

3. Cake Balls.

The eggs turned out yummy as per usual. The french toast was awesome, and the cake balls were a hit. I really don't recall where I got the recipe, I am NOT claiming I came up with this, but here is how I did it.

 First, I baked a cake. Our favorite is Funfetti, so that is what I used.

 Then, I demolished the cake in a bowl, worked in 3/4 of a tub of vanilla icing, and rolled it into balls.

 After refrigerating the balls overnight, I used melted white chocolate from Joann's and covered the balls.

 To make sure they dried and stayed round, I cut holes in the bottom of an empty egg carton and stuck them in after dipping.

 I used white and purple, since those were the only Easter-y colors left.

Using one of the 300 medicine squirters we have (okay, we don't have that many), I decorated them with leftover chocolate.  I think they turned out real pretty.

They are delightful little white chocolate covered sugar bombs, and everyone seemed to really enjoy them. I think they are going to become a staple. YUM.

Easter.

When I was a kid we always had the standard egg hunt, but we also had a treasure hunt for our Easter goodies. We had so much fun figuring out the clues, (my mom and granny came up with some hard stuff!) getting gifts at the end was just bonus.
I knew that when we had kids I wanted to continue this tradition whether or not we were able to get home for Easter. Our first year we didn't do anything, our oldest was about 1 month old. The following year the Squid was deployed so we spent Easter at a friends house. I found out I was pregnant with our second on Easter Sunday in their bathroom.
Last year was the first year we did it and to make sure that everyone had fun I alternated written clues and picture clues. I'm glad I took the time to do it again this year, everyone had fun and the Squid even commented that it was the best part of Easter.

 One of my drawn clues.

 Deciphering the clue.

Easter trinkets and one big gift.

 Easter trinkets: Strawberry cartons filled with cut up green and white streamers from our last party, bubbles, toothbrushes, animal crackers, bandaids, some money and a wind-up toy.

 New skates for Squidlet 1

 Thomas for Squidlet 2, his new favorite.

Hope you all had a great Easter!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #38

Hello there my loverlies! It's Friday again (and the crowd goes wild!), once again Wifey over at Wife of a Sailor is hosting her weekly meme. Hop over and hang out for a bit!

How many pets do you have? And what type? submitted by Life and Times of a Displaced Jersey Girl............................We currently have 2 fish. One female beta, Scarlet and one random silver thing who I have decided to call bullit. I am not a pet person so this was a big deal for me, but I have to say it's not all that bad.

What are your favorite projects to do while hubby is away? submitted by my-inspired-nest.................I like to do anything really that occupies my time, but sewing is usually the way I go. I love to stay up late and work in the quiet while the kids are asleep. It's very therapeutic.

What are the must-haves in your deployment care packages?  submitted by Christine’s Little Blog...................We don't get to send care packages, but if I was able to send them I would make sure it contained the following. 

1. Sour candy, probably skittles or jellybeans or something.

2. Most recent pictures of the kiddos.

3. Some letters, cards, and drawings from family and friends.

4. Some kind of inside joke.

5. Maybe a nudge, nudge, wink, wink while I was at it.
6. Lastly, some sort of fun toy or game.

If you could star in any TV show, which would it be? submitted by Just a Girl..............I'm sure if you have read my blog at all before you know the answer to this. Gilmore Girls. Although I will say that How I Met Your Mother is climbing up my love ladder. (that just sounds dirty.)

What was the biggest hurdle that you faced during your/your significant other’s first deployment? submitted by The Pavlik Perspective....................Learning to ask for help, and I still struggle with it. I think alot of wives have this problem. No one wants to feel like they can't handle a situation or that they are a burden.
(The big secret, we love to help each other, at least I know I do.)

My Log Is on Fire!

One of the Squid's favorite stories involves him loading up hundreds of pounds of logs from a fallen tree on base in order for me to use them in a sort of craft. Here's the thing, I saw some really pretty logs on base where a tree had fallen during a storm. I wanted them and begged the Squid to get them for me, wood is expensive! He did in fact get me about 6 in different sizes that sat around in our yard for at least 6 months getting gross from lack of crafting before he hatched a plan to rid himself of the eyesores. Every trash day he took one out and sent it on it's way, soon we only had one large log left. The plan for this log was to smooth it out and make it a sort of side table in our house, it's really beautiful and the Squid has taken this over as his next project.

 Here are all the logs, and the large one before the Squid got started.

Here is the log so far, complete with fire burning out the middle, (yep, we are burning it out, cheap and fun) so it isn't so heavy. This will be the bottom and when it's light enough, he is going to level off the top. I think it will be really pretty when it's done.

Weigh-in Wednesday.

If you want to look young and thin, hang around old fat people.

-Jim Eason 

So this week is my first week back to weigh-ins since our vacation. How did I do?

Today's Weigh-in(since 3/16): -4 lbs.

Um Yeah I did a little dance! Woo Hoo! Woo Hoo!

A Little Off the Bottom.

While in Texas at my moms house, I was instructed to go through a box of kids clothes and see if there was anything in particular that I was interested in. I picked up a good sized bag of stuff, and plan on bending most of it to my will in an attempt to creat something new. The first and easiest piece was this cute little onesie. I really hate onesies on bigger kids, I don't think they are as helpful as intended, I hate tucking in my kids shirts, and this one was a little small. 

 This is the original.

 This is after I had turned it inside out, cut off the snaps and turned it right-side out again.

This is the shirt on the boy. I didn't finish the bottom, I like it this way, all rolled up at the bottom. I also like how long it is, I hate baby belly shirts. What are some parents thinking? 

Total cost: $0.00

Sweet.

(PS Weigh-in Wed after lunch. I feel like it's going to be good news. I hope.)

The Time Has Come to Talk of Many Things....Cabbages and Kings.

Everyone knows that, as many military families do, we are preparing for a pcs. We have gotten to the point of the process in which we "pick" where we will be headed. I use the loosest definition of pick since you all know how much of a choice there is. This time around the picking is going a little slow for us. Here are the reasons. When choosing your next duty station, should you be lucky enough to be given decent choices, how do you pick?

Best for career? 

Worst for career, best for family? 

Proximaty to family? 

What if it's somewhere you want to enjoy with your family, do you wait until 

your kids can at least remember it or just jump in and take alot of pictures?

Least sucky of the sucky? 

What happens when you don't have a choice and you HATE your next duty station 

because you've been there before? 

If you have the option, do you stay where you are for stability sake?

What if it is somewhere that you want to go your just don't want to deal 

with the current situation?

We are dealing with our fair share of these questions and anyone who has been fortunate enough to have dined out with me knows I am very indecisive. We have some very good options, but deciding the best is a rough one. My head hurts.
How do you pick?

Late Night Crafting.

Dangerously close to our departure to Texas I was up late working on things I wanted to take back with us. For instance, some time ago my mom sent me two pieces of fabric, and two t-shirts that were given to my grandparents. They sponsored the local football team, but the phone number was printed wrong on the shirts so no one could wear them. As a sort of surprise, I made them into reusable grocery bags for my gran. I covered up the wrong phone number and lined them with the red and white fabric my mom sent so they wouldn't stretch. They turned out great and huge!

One other last minute project was a gift for my oldest nieces birthday. She is an avid reader like most of the girls in my family so when my mom had me pick up a couple of books she wanted I figured a great gift would be a book bag. I used a remnant my mom sent me and some left overs from a bag attempt for the Squid that went horribly wrong. This bag, I think turned out well and she loves it!

So, all in all, both projects were well worth the late nights!

MilSpouse Friday Fill-in #37

It's Friday and after a few weeks off I am once again participating in MilSpouse Friday Fill-in brought to us by Wife of a Sailor. Feel free to go over and check her out.

With PCS moves happening every few years, do you take the time to paint and decorate your home? submitted by Life as Mrs. JPT.....I don't paint, but I do hang up stuff. I wasn't planning on it, but the Squid hates plain walls, so it was either hang stuff or paint. Hang it is.

If you could live in any home on a television series, what would it be? submitted by Standing By Him...Easy! I'd live in the Stars Hollow Gilmore house. I love their house and if they lived there too, so much the better. :)

What inspired you to start your blog?  submitted by Pink Combat Boots...When we moved here I realized that being a stay at home mom was way different than I thought it was going to be. I wanted to connect with other military families, I needed to get organized and inspired.

What is the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen on base? submitted by Adventures in Life...I didn't actually see it, but one morning at 3am on my neighbors way to work, she had to get out and physically smack a deer on the butt to get him out of the road. I don't doubt it, they are fearless here.

Which historical figure (politician, writer, artist, scientist, actor, etc…) would you like to have dinner with?  submitted by Army of Two  ...I'd love to have dinner with Dorothy Parker. I love her work.

Just Plain Sick.

So, the last 3 weeks of traveling and taking care of sick kids has caught up with me and I am just plain sick. Lame, I know. What can you do?

Cloth Across Texas.

I was really nervous about going on a 3 week vacation while cloth diapering. But, as I said before, I have read tons of articles and blog entries containing families that did it, sometimes with more than one in diapers(Yikes!). All in all, I have to say though that it was really easy. I took 20 diapers, 3 wet bags, 1 bag of Rockin Green and used disposable wipes. I asked everyone in advance who was uncomfortable with me doing diapers in their washing machine, so I knew when and where I was able to wash. We drove at night which made for a quiet trip and since there was a lot of sleeping I only used 3 diapers on the actual drive. I had diapers ready and waiting for anyone who sat for us, so they could just put the dirty diaper in the bag like a daycare would. I was so pleased with how well it worked out, with the only negative thing to be said was figuring out everyone elses machines, but that was not a big deal. Knowing that we are PCSing soon, this was a great trial run considering we went so far. It's hard to believe that we've been in cloth for a year now. If you asked me a year ago if I wanted to go on a 3 week road trip to Texas using only cloth diapers I would have given you a very wierd look and as kindly as possible told you "no, no I wouldn't, not in a million years". Who knew? 

On my trip I was really jazzed to show all my diapers to a great friend of mine Thomasina. She is hoping to use cloth on her next kiddo if she can get her hubby on board(come on B it's easy and saves money!!). I really hope seeing all the types I have and talking with the Squid and I about it will help her in her choice. It was great to get The Squid in on the discussion, we haven't really talked about it, but it's nice to know that his favorite diaper is the black Happy Hieny since I bought it along with 2 others right before our trip. Why? Because it is easy to use, clean and my brother said it looked like a baby diaper tuxedo. Sweet!

Just My Cup of Tea!

While we were in Texas we visited the huge Round Top Antique Fair, some antique malls in the town of Brenham and then an Antique mall in our hometown all looking for anything cool as well as teacups. The Round Top Antique Fair, as anyone who has been can tell you, is nothing short of amazing! Its one of those things the locals hate because it takes over the small town and people from all over the states come to sell and all over Texas to buy. I bought a Tea cup from Virginia, and heard overheard several conversations that started with "Hey! I remember you! You were here last year from Dallas and bought my china cabinet circa 1870! Come look at the amazing vanity complete with orginal fabric on the stool!" The otherside of that conversation went several ways, but my favorite was a gay couple that said, "Oh honey we'd love to, but I know I'll want it and I simply can't fit any more into our tiny little trailer." It was amazing!

It was a wonderful mixture of food, antiques, folk art and junk. In the end I left with quite a few new additions to my collection. My favorite one I think is the one from Russia, most blue and white cups that I've seen are so dainty and delicate. This cup looks as though someone took a blue magic marker to it, it's gorgeous. The designs are so beautiful I just adore it! So, without further beating around the bush, here are my new teacups!

From Russia pd $5!

Hand painted and gorgeous!

First cup I've ever seen with stars!

Made in Germany, so dainty!

Love the green inside!

Given to me by my Granny! Love the square saucer!

Beautiful colors and love the fruit inside!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnddddd, We're Back!

Hello everyone! We are finally back from our trip to Texas and I must say we all had an amazing time. Stressful as it was, crazy as it was, it was so nice to see all our family and friends. I am sure you remember, we drove down, making it in only 25 fun-filled hours of driving with 2 kiddos, but the kids were great and it wasn't that bad, really, it wasn't.

In total, we put over 4,000 miles on our trusty, dusty Matrix Sophie, we saw 5 different cities, I read 4 books. We dealt with a double ear infection with a busted eardrum, we messed up everyones sleep schedule(I actually slept until 10am one morning!). We went to a very old kiddie amusement park,  I bought tons of postcards and teacups, at the same time we tended to busted faces on both my boys!
We played in sand pits, we visited 2 zoos, The Squid watched The Source Code with my brother, I watched the movie SuckerPunch with my sister. We ate at a joint that serves only MacNCheese (YUM!!), tons of Mexican food, and visited a Laundry mat/ice cream parlor/car wash restaurant. We participated in a family wide fishing tournament(I took home award for least fish caught.....0), not to mention going to a huge antique fair! We found awesome deals at some local kid second hand stores, and brought home some awesome momentos that included a beautiful clock, a tool box, and a box of new legos!

 It was an amazing, long, exhausting trip, we are all so glad to be home, but I miss everyone already and can't wait to see everyone again. We did alot of amazing things and I'll elaborate on some of them at a later date, right now I am just trying to get caught up and back in the swing of things. Yay for being home!