Hello everyone!!!

Im going to start this blog out by welcoming you into my Big Girl Bedroom!! haha! I finally got all my curtains hung & the right sizes! it feels almost complete now!!! I just have a couple more things I want to do to it, and maybe just before we move out, it will be finished. Haha! I had a heck of a time with these curtains. I wanted my curtains to match the bedding, but i get bored so easily that i didnt want to make a change to drastic that i couldnt buy new bedding to match the curtains. But instead, i decided to go with bold, and buy burgandy curtains to match my sheets. Underneath the burgandy curtains is a tan sheer curtain to tie into the bedding. When i bought the curtains I had a friend with me, and I was so caught up in what she was saying that I bought 6 panels, like I needed, but 3 of them were the wrong sizes. So when I got to the store to return them, they didnt have the right sizes, that is no suprise though, walmart never has anything you need. Then I had to order them off line and wait to have them shipped. Thank goodness for 2 day free shipping on amazon! Cha-Ching! Now i have a 35 dollar gift card for walmart still. Anyways, I guess the bottom line is that I finally have my curtains hung. Downside is, they are blackout curtains, and I sure didnt need black out curtains! haha, now I dont want to wake up in the morning! I didnt know they were blackout until we started hanging them and brian made a comment. Oh well, I guess they will come in handy on the days my awesome hubby lets me sleep in. (sleeping in is like no later than 8:30)

Anyways, I love it. I know i dont have much furniture in my bedroom, but that is just the way i love it. Just minimal. And i heard on some talk show that you arent sopossed to (who's to say that), have a TV in the bedroom, but I say who cares. I love nothing more than to snuggle in my bed to one of my favorite movies or TV shows. Plus nothing can get better than snuggling the babies in the morning in the cozy bed to their favorite toonies. I love it. Brings a sense of closeness. Might look tacky, but who cares! Its my bedroom right?!


Couldnt have gotton my curtains up at a better time! My parents are coming to visit us. They will be here sunday or monday! We are soooo excited!! I have a lot of fun things planned and I just can't wait. It will be wonderful to show them around, and the weather is suppossed to be nice! Not as warm as florida (where they are right now) but it will still be nice! Plus now we can ride in the same vehicle and not drive two seperate ones, which is one of the main reasons we purchased our truck so fast. I love my parents, and I love being able to make them proud by showing how much we have grown and how much independence we have, and I like to think that, it makes them proud watching us grow as adults. We have done a number of things to make them dissapointed, but Overall I think they are proud. Or atleast I like to think so. I mean their grandkids are pretty amazing human beings, so that in itself is a wonderful feeling to give to them.

Sis is really getting around. she is rolling and twisting, turning and kneeling everywhere. She is on the move. Just not quite crawling, but she gets where she needs to go. She stands all the time (she doesnt pull herself up yet, but she is almost there). If you stand with her or you stand her up on something, she stays there with a gigantic smile on that big chubby face. She LOVES standing. She is such a giggler, and she knows exactly what she wants, and she is not afraid to use those lungs that god gave her. Oh boy, im going to have my handsfull with this one!! Not to mention she has started steeling away sladens toys. He just cowers and cries if she takes his favorite one, then when he cries, she laughs at him and eats his hotwheel. She laughs everytime he cries, shes a little bully. She'll be thumping him in no time. He's a gentleman though, he just takes her little hand and says "sissy no" and puts her hand back on her lap. They get along great right now, but i can for-see alot of arguments in the near future. Even though slade shares good, its inevitable. Sibling rivalry .......


Brian has started his C school or is it Sea ? hmm, i dont know, either way its pronounced the same. haha. He just started it today.I think it is a month long, and its preparing him for his job and his deployment. ugh, that word. Its like the most burdening word EVER. i hate to hear it, and i hate to say it even more. Although I am really excited for him to see the places he will be seeing, and getting the experience he will get.... And I love when you get to see them for the  first time after they have been away for so long, but what I do not like, and what i am not looking forward to, is the sadness sladen will feel when daddy is away, and Keni not knowing who daddy is when she finally gets to see him again. He will leave her at 10.5 months, and wont see her until she is almost 17 months old. Thats what military life is like, doesnt mean we have to love that part of it though. Its just something we have to deal with. Brian missed a few firsts of Slade. But he will miss almost all of Keni's firsts. Good thing I document EVERYTHING! he will miss Fathers day, Her first 4th of july, her first birthday, Sladens 4th birthday, His own birthday, halloween, thanksgiving, our anniversary, and the list goes on. But he missed slades first bithday too, and his first steps, first words and stuff like that, and he will miss hers too, so in a way it will be fair. Brian was gone for 5 months but sladen got to see him inbetween bootcamp and training. sis wont see daddy. But i will do the same thing i did with slade, show her pictures and let her watch video's of daddy so she is familiar with him, so when he gets home, she will still be afraid, but atleast  he wont be completely foreign to her! Hopefully she will warm up to him as quick as slade did. Okay enough of this dreary subject.

Brian and I are starting the Insanity Challenge. Which you have to be completely INSANE TO DO! we should be getting it in a few days, and life as I know it will change. I really want to get into shape, im not wanting the abs or anything like that, but i want to actually have muscle structure like i used to have and KNOW that i am capable of pushing myself to that limit. plus you cant go wrong with losing body fat....we all know I have enough of that just sitting ontop of my muscles. Anyways, we are excited about it.

Anyways, thats what is new in our neck of the woods!!

Springs a coming !

Well hello there!

Im finally starting my morning with a cup of coffee! I hadn't had any coffee for 2 whole days and quite frankly I was having withdrawals! Every time we were out and about and would pass a starbucks, Mickey's, or especially BK for the WONDERFUL mocha joes (or in slade vocabulary *coca-joe*) My mouth would water and I would want to stop, but never did! I guess I have my coffee loving Momma to thank for this disease.....hahahahaaaa! I really think you would have to lock her in a padded room if you made her give up coffee!! ;) Anyways, i am already passing the coffee gene down to Sladen. He loves coffee and thinks i dont realize that he takes massive amounts of "sips" when i have left my coffee on the table or something. But i dont think coffee could stunt his growth anymore if it werent actually an old wives tale!

OKay well we have had quite the couple of days! Brian and I have decided that we need a bigger vehicle. We decided that a while ago, but it's scary to take out that big of a loan. Yes it is necessary, and yes we had a large down payment, but did that ease our minds of jumping in? no. The thought of adding a payment into our lives sends me into the sweats! I am terrified of falling under again, we dont want to fail or disappoint....AGAIN. BUT with that being said, we CAN afford to take on this payment, and we CAN do this, we know 100 % that we can, but boy are we both like deer caught in headlights staring at each other throughout this process of purchasing a vehicle. We went and checked out around 10 mountaineers. Our vehicle of choice. It has 3 rows, seats 7, and its a very nice looking SUV. Plus its in our price range, and a good truck! So the last one we checked out, when we pulled up was gold.....ick, not a color we wanted but once we test drove it and seen its potential, and low milage, we considered this car ours. Not to mention slade wanted it because it has a DVD player in it ;) hahaha! (kids!) Brian was approved for the loan and we were set to go! YES WE HAVE OUR VEHICLE WE WANTED!!! it needed some work so it had to stay at the dealership, and we were to pick it up a couple days later. We got the phone call to pick it up so off we went. When we got there nothing was done to it that they said they were going to do, and it was still filthy! Long story short, ive never seen Brian this angry. We left the dealership and our car unsatisfied. Brian said if its not ready to our standards when we go to pick it up tonight, the deal is off. So keep your fingers crossed the deal will not be off!!!

Sissy finally got her 6 month pictures taken last night. Let me tell you, she is beautiful in them, and what a ham! Of course she is beautiful in them, every mother thinks so!! Anyways, my other camera ham was very distraught that he couldnt be in his own pictures......Next time bud.. haha. The diva had 3 outfit changes, and of course she had her namesakes (my grandmothers) jewelry on for her "main" picture. She also had a sailor dress my mother bought for her on, in support of her daddy, and the last outfit change was a diaper cover, a matching flower (of course) and her baptism cross necklace from my parents! I try to make the kids pictures have things of significance in them, dont know why, i just do! Hopefully sears will make them available to post soon. On a different sis note, she has sprouted her top 2 "eye" teeth. both have popped through so we should be seeing those pearly whites soon!! She had a couple of rough nights while breaking those in, but compared to her bottom 2 teeth, these were a sinch! She is really spinning in circles and rolling to where she needs to go. She tries to crawl, and shes doing everything right, she just doesnt understand that she needs to start on her knees. She'll get there. Standing is her favorite thing now, she likes you to hold her hands while she stands, or if you put her standing holding on to the couch or something, she will stay there with a big old smile on her face! Time sure flies, and i need to baby proof and put gates up, like yesterday! She is already finding stuff on the floor and to the mouth it goes. Vacuuming once a day isnt going to cut it! Her hair has yet to catch up to the rest of the growth she is doing, but maybe she will be bald until her teen years, well at this rate she will.

Sladen learned to spell his name this week!BIG BOY!  and if you can't annunciate a word correctly, dont you worry cause slade will save you. The other day I said "gas" but in my michigan accent, the a is drawn out so slade says, "mommy say "gah", so of course i repeated him. then he says "now mommy say "ssssss" so i did. then he said now say "gas!"....hahaha!!! why thank you slade, mommy didnt know how to say that very large word! haha!!  he does it with all words now. He taught daddy how to say "ambuwance" yesterday! he's too much!! He's so inquisitive. and he has an astonishing memory. it truely is remarkable. We took him roller skating on saturday. and yesterday we passed it again. mind you he had only been there that one time, and passing it yesterday he said," are we going rollerskating daddy!?" and he pointed towards it! i was like!! OH MY GOSH!! i was lost, but my little boy wasn't.... wow! he also can hear something like a story once, memorize it and read it back to you another time. wow! I love that boy! Last night he smashed his finger badly in his closet door in his room. Its one of those slider doors that suction closed, so once it hits a certain point it suctions and closes tightly and fast, so his little pinky suffered the consequences, of him just doing what mommy asked of him (putting his toys away before bed). Ive never heard him scream so loud in my life. And instead of opening the door again to get his finger out, he just yanked it out. His poor pinky as smashed flat as a pancake, and began to swell immediately. His nail will fall off I am pretty certain. Poor kid. I thought it was broke at first, but he can bend it, so im pretty sure he just smashed it really good. !

Brian is doing well. it is almost time for him to go back to working long days, since the det is almost over. I have to say it will be bitter sweet. I will be able to go back to my daily routine, but yet at the same token, i love spending the extra time with him. like i said, bittersweet. I know 2 of his biggest fans that will miss not having him around pretty much all day everyday again. His deployment is creeping up fast on us. But he put in for leave yesterday for 2 weeks in april, so if all goes according to plan, we should be home for easter!

I am doing well, my diet is going really well, Ive lost 6 pounds and 5 total inches. I know its not much, but its definitely a good start!! Im looking forward to all the excitement and visitors that february and march and even april are bringing us! This friday our friend Ali is spending the night, then the last sunday of this month my parents will be here for a week, and then when we get back here from leave, our friend chris and his wife Kim will be out here for the weekend to visit! Pretty exciting times!! I love to share our "new" life with our loved ones, its a great feeling to show them what we are up to, and where we live. Our friend chris has visited every place we have moved so far, and I just think that is so neat! He visited us in our tiney 800 square feet apartment in Landover MD, then he visited us in our tiney house in morningside MD, he even slept in our laundry room!!now if thats not a good friend...haha and now he will be visiting us here at the beach! he's a dedicated friend and its great to be able to spend time with him, and now his new wife! Its always neat to show my parents where we are living, and in the 2 years we have been out here, they will have visited us 3 times!!

Well i think that is all the news right now, or that is all i can think of, and sis is waking up from her nap. She is talking to herself up there just cooing and giggling up a storm. I love to hear that.

I hope you all have a great rest of the week, and a wonderful weekend to  follow!!

Time for this.......

UPDATED WEIGHTLOSS IN PURPLE!!!


These passed 2 weeks i havent been so strict with my parents being in town and well i just had the snackies this week so..... i havent been doing too shabby, but its time to kick it up a notch!




This week I weighed a day early to avoid extra weight from "mother nature" ... you know what I am talking about....But it looks like im already bloated and such, so my weigh in wasnt exactly what i was looking for. BUT a pound is a pound I quess, just not what I wanted to see. But inch loss and my weight loss almost equals...thats pretty exciting!! Im getting happy with my progress so Im trudging along :)

Right now is time for a couple of things. Time for my to stop eating everything in sight just because I may be bored, or it looks yummy. So, my fat ass is Eating healthy. And only 7 days of eating like this the change in the way i feel is awesome. I remember when i lost my 40 pounds 2 years ago, the changes i am going through now, and what i went through then are the same, yet so liberating. In just a week, i already see and feel changes. Im really not worried about people seeing me heavy, but its the way i see myself that makes the world of difference. If i was happy with all this weight it wouldnt be an issue. but i am not happy with the way I look, nor with the way I FEEL! So, I took it upon myself, for me and my children, to go back to the healthier me. It won't only benefit me, it will benefit them too. Im not at my heaviest, ive been  15 pounds heavier (im not counting being pregnant). But Im not happy. Anyways, I started eating healthy and cutting alot of carbs and sugar out of my diet, just as before. I feel way more energetic! Ive been doing exercise whether it be a run, a walk, a bike ride or whatever, I try and do it once a day. Being away from family is hard, and apperantly it drives me to eat. eating everything.  So with all that being said here are my stats:

Starting Weight: 161.2, 157.4,155.0,154.0         Now: 150.0   Total loss 11.2 -pounds

Measurements:            
Arms-                11.5, 11,  11,10.5, 10.5            - 1
Theighs-              24.5, 23,  22, 22,21              - 3.5
Butt-                 42, 41, 41,  39,38             - 4
Bust-                 36, 36, 35, 35,35             - 1

        

So my first goal is to lose 20 pounds! If I shed 20 pounds by our april visit home, the family gets treated to great wolf lodge, and mommy gets a spa day. That is my reward from the hubby. And I am looking forward to that....Very much so!! so 20 pounds YOU ARE GOING DOWN!!!

This is my goal. Nothing to skinny, or irrational, just healthy. I felt awesome this way....so this is my goal

our Neck of the Woods

We've been quite busy here in Our Neck of the Woods.....Well city more like it, but you get my point! We have been Chasing around our newest toddler, Wolfie and Our every growing Infant Keni, and not to forget Mr. Sladen who has a personality all of his own. Plus, Taking my car to get it repaired, My new healthy eating regimen, and Brian's work schedule, or lack there of.

his favorite spot

Wolfie is in the process of being trained. He has bad manors, well let me say, puppy manors. He is a very well behaved dog, but he lacks simple manors such as stealing slades toys, and not leaving you alone while food is present. He is getting better with the training but he is still a toddler. I forget how puppy-ish he is, due to his large size. But all he is, is a big child! I love him to pieces and I already couldn't Imagine not having him. He has grew  to be a major part of our family and he is loved 100%, okay lets say 90% to sladen some of the time... hehe. They are best friends, they play together all day and Sladen doesn't do anything without Wolfie. But the second Wolfie does something wrong in Slades eyes its like "back to the pound with you!".   After Wolfie gives him kisses It's all said, done, and over with. Back to best friends. I on the other hand  aren't that easily persuaded. Even his ice blue eyes, the batting of the eyes, and the ears pinned back when he does something wrong, cant change the fact that he was bad and needs to sit outside in Time out! Wolfie is my little Shadow. Okay, big shadow. He follows me around, just how slade follows him around. Its like my  very own entourage! haha. When I am on the old leather couch, so is he. if I'm doing dishes, so is he and so is slade tugging at his tail, if I'm going potty he's right outside my door and so is Sladen yelling "WOLFIE!!!!". Its cute, but a tad annoying at times! But that's my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Although I think I'm allergic to his fur. Even though he isn't a bad shedder, I have been wheezing and coughing in the last month, more than i have have in my entire life. Its not to the point where i cant breath or super uncomfortable, but its definitely there. He's learning how to walk and run beside us without tugging. Not saying he still doesn't tug a tad, but he doesn't yank us around. He makes me walk at a very speedy mall walking pace.  He is doing a very good job! Brian just ordered him his custom fitted harness. That should help out too. But for the most part Wolfie is doing excellent.

wolfie napping on my feet

strawberry girl

Sis eating my tomato soup

Kendal is really trying to learn how to get around. She stands when you hold her hands or hold her up and if you put her standing against something, she stays there quite well, she just doesn't pull herself up yet. If she is on her tummy, she spins herself in circles, and tries to get up on her knees. I've been working with her by putting her on her knees and she stretches her arm  in a crawling motion scooting about, so She is starting to understand. Soon enough she will be crawling all over the place. Baby gates are my next investment. She is almost 7 months old and very interested in food!! She still won't eat veggie baby food. I try with no avail. she spits it out and does a shutter with a very disgusted face! She does well with all the stage 2 foods and seems to love the breakfast foods with granola and such the best. Her net is her very best friend lately. She loves everything but apples in it so far. Apples must be too much work! haha. But she loves banana's, strawberries and Grapes in it so far! Blueberries are to come probably today! She has also tried her puffs but the texture is a no go! haha. Oh she did have some of my tomato soup the other day and she kept saying "mmmmmm" and reaching for the spoon! She sits up in the bathtub now, for about 2 weeks she has control and doesn't tip with the waves from her brother anymore. She cries for bath-time in the evenings. She'll sit in there for an hour! Yep, she is a girl. Although I love to dress her up and all the fun things about having a girl, but this attitude she is developing......WOW! she points her toes and stiffens her legs and does this very loud grunt while making her face as red as a cherry, when she doesn't get her way or wants us to do something for her! Her naps are diminishing. She is too nosey to sleep. She wants to be part of the action all day long! Fighting sleep is her newest quirk! Although she still sleeps well all through the night so my complaining will stop here! LOL!

making daddy pancakes

riding in the baby seat lol

Sladen is doing well. He finally grew out of his 2T jeans! and his 18 month shirts!! He is now in all 2T shirts and most 3T's fit too. He is also wearing 3T jeans so he is getting taller! YAY! He tells me all the time that he is getting bigger! and I think he is right. Although he is still a little midget, he is getting taller woot woot! He is getting big boy mannerisms. And his favorite thing to do is help. He made daddy pancakes the other morning. He mixed the batter, and ladled it into the pan, with his Makers on! (thats an apron by the way). I am bound determined to make him a good cook!! I think thats a great quality a man can have. Slades attitude is getting to be something else. He is such a positive, happy, unique little guy, but he is very much into testing his boundaries lately...with no success.






Brian and I are doing well, great actually. He is enjoying his work schedule while the planes are out on the Det. He has very short days, which leads to me being off my schedule. I love him being home, because he is such a big help, but at the same time it makes my job a bit harder! Never the less, i love him spending all this time with us! This month is a big month here at the houts hold! We have holidays, anniversaries and company coming! My friend Ali is coming to say on the 18th, and my parents are coming the last sunday or monday of this month! We are so excited!!! Its just very very nice to have company and people whom you love to come see us! So yay!

That's all for now, I'll leave you with a couple more new pictures! everyone have a wonderful week!

watching toonies together

bouncing in front of the boys

the best toys are non toys!

hitching a ride

he's a big boy!

family bike ride

reading goodnight moon

The Suprise Date!!

okay so yesterday you all read my blog about the surprise date! It was soppossed to be next friday because it would have been closer to valentines day and Our wedding anniversary, but When Hillary arrived, she had informed us that she couldn't come on friday, but she could come on saturday. When she had told me yes, she had dates mixed up so she had felt bad telling us that friday wouldnt work. It was really no biggie, but I didnt think that the person we were sopossed to go see would be working on a saturday.......So i just told brian we would do my suprise date, right then.

Off we went. This time it was different because sis wasnt in bed. Everytime Hillary watches the kids, sis is already in bed, but she wasnt tired nor ready to be in bed before six last night, so it was our trial run with sis and the babysitter! But apperantly it went well and no tears of fear and she went down easy hillary said.....so YAY!

 But Backto business.... We headed out to dinner. We ate down by the boardwalk at a great little italian place, we had ate there this summer with the callies and it was sooo good!! when we walked in you could hear crickets!! We were the only guests in that whole restaurant! talk about service ;) We ordered our food an chit chatted, it was soooo nice.Until this dad came in with his 4 heathen boys and he was letting them yell and run around, brian and I would just giggle and do the "huge" eyes to eachother. CHECK PLEASE!! hahaha!

yummy dinner!

After dinner we were headed to "ocean mystique" .....it was friggen cold out but its so pretty down by the ocean front so the walk was nice....until we realized we were at the wrong location and that blustery walk was for nothing, well i guess not nothing...we did get 10% off coupons! So with directions in hand, i chauffeured Brian off to the next location! Ahhhh here we go "ocean mystique TATTOO".......He knew what we were doing by this time and we were both excited!!

Add caption

We walk in and the guy was expecting us, he drew up our tattoo's and was discussing certain things about the wear of the tattoo and designs so on and so forth! He drew them up and said "who wants to go first?!" Brian looked at me in hopes i would say "ME" and i was all ready and excited so ofcourse i said "ME!!" "Sure, ill go!!" With their insurance policy, you cant go back with eachother. So Brian had to wait for me. He put the stencil on and got ready to start....i was so excited not worried at all. The first line burned but it wasnt unbearable or anything like that. i rather enjoy tattoo's! But as soon as he started my thought in my head was to giggle and think that brian was going to be a big baby and be saying ouchie! hahahaha. Thats what happened. LOL! It didnt take long at all. And we were both really happy with the results. and We would go back in a heartbeat. Very clean place and very pleasant attitudes. Very exciting date!!! 

 After our tattoos we went to the mall to do a little shopping. It was a great end to the date, we really enjoyed it!!

Brian at dinner...thumbs up!

our rings! finished!

Where the Heart is!

Howdy!

Is everyone getting ready for Valentines day?! This grand Hallmark Holiday?! I actually like it. Im not going to lie!!  I dont care if I get flowers or Candy or anything, But i like to spoil my kids and Hubby with a heart shaped day! Valentines day just reminds everyone to treat their loved ones to a great day and make them feel special. Some people need days like that, So i go all out. However I couldnt find my oodles of window clings so I just have a heart wreath on my door. Hmmmm wonder where my window clings ran off too?! Probably in the many totes in the storage closet. Ha! Someone want to dig through them all? because I sure as hell dont! So a wreath it is!

Today I went out and purchased the gifts for the kids and Hubby. Nothing spectacular, just a little something something to make them smile! Smiles are the best! So i took today to do it because Sladen is Playing at a friends house for the morning and No better time to shop for him, than when he is actually not with me. Imagine that! haha!

I am doing something special this year for brian. Our 3rd wedding anniversary is the day after Valentines day, so we have a double whammy. We have been doing date nights on most friday nights for the past month and a half. Just dinner and some browsing and movies but for next friday when we are celebrating valentines day and our anniversary, I have a great date planned for that night. Nothing all super romantic, no candle-lit dinner, no walk on the beach, nothing like that. Its going to be fun, and radical! okay not too radical, definetly out of the ordinary and nothing people do on a date (normally). So it will be so much fun, and very suprising to him! are your wheels spinning yet?! bahahaha! Just the way I want it! I SO CANT WAIT! I wish it were tonight actually. But I guess we have to wait....Darn!

Its so lonely without sladen here. Its so quiet and peaceful! sheesh! no car noises, i dont hear mommy being shouted from the rooftop and NO TOONIES! ahhh so relaxing, but i miss him. i think that is how it always goes. But he left me plenty of work to do when i got home from dropping him off....especially the back yard!! sheesh, he has 3 bikes, all of which he uses, and a scoot board. h had daddy's bike tipped over and he was "fixing " it with my mop. Wolfie of course is outside when slade plays so there is mud and poo everywhere. yeah....not a pretty picture. So i had to vaccum all the mud chunks off my carpet and i have yet to sweep off the concrete, but everything is in its proper place, until the monster gets home!

ATTENTION SPOILER ALERT!! IFF YOU ARE A GREYS FAN AND HAVENT WATCHED LAST NIGHTS EPISODE DO NOT READ THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!

Sis and I took the time to watch Grey's from last night. Oh wow that was a good one! Definetly worth the 2 week wait! I love that Callie is pregnant with Marks baby. I called that one a LONG time ago! But poor lexi! eeeek . Im not a huge fan of arizona. i was actually glad when she "left" but now she is back.....she bugs me for some reason. Karev is my ultimate favorite. and I love Yang too. Im glad shes back to her old self. Okay enough babbling on greys. Can you tell I am bored?

Thats all for now! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!