super bear!

Since we have two December babies (3rd and 7th) in our house, we try to spread out the celebrating. We had Bear's birthday party on Sunday.

I had tried to adjust the plans to fit the kids coming (he has an autistic friend, 3 with little brothers and a friend afraid of balloons). It wasn't the awesomely creative party I had hoped for, but he had fun. We had a backdrop (sheet painted) of a city for the super heroes to fly above and pose for pictures. There was a super secret hideout with a tent, ball pit and tunnel.

All dressed up and ready for his friends to come.

His cake was a star shape with clouds. There was a Super Bear (made out of model magic) flying above the skies.

Each kid got a personalized cape, mask, super bracelets and a goodie bag with desserts.

Even Super Little Brothers had fun saving the day.

pretty please

Bear is at the age where he says the silliest things. I love that I can have actual conversations with him, and it amazes me to watch how he absorbs his surroundings.

Classic conversation

Bear: "Momma. I want more juice."

Me: "What do you say?" We've been working on our manners so I was looking for a please in there.

Bear: "Momma you look pretty. I want more juice."

Flattery works just as well as manners sometimes.

Finished!

Boys birthday & Christmas presents: Check

Christmas cards: Check

With Love Blue Christmas 5x7 folded card

Get custom photo Christmas cards online at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

December here we come!

giving thanks: 6 & 7

6. I'm thankful for Wii Netflix. Hours of snuggle time for me and Hubby once the boys are in bed is perfect.

7. I'm thankful for the nursery at church. The bell choir I'm in played twice during the service today. Hubby had duty (which is nothing new), but he couldn't watch the boys. Normally, I can leave the boys with someone for the 3 minutes we play. We had to stay up at the tables for the 7 or so minutes between songs though. Luckily, both the boys did great being able to play while I was able to play, too.

giving thanks: 5

So I'm a little late starting this up this year. For the month of November, I will post something that I'm thankful for. It works out to start on the 5th though. The first things people always list are the generics. I'm very thankful for those things, but I hope to go a little deeper this year.

1. I'm thankful for Hubby. He might not be perfect, but he's perfect for me.

2. I'm thankful for Bear who makes me laugh every day. The year of being two has taught me patience, and it has shown be time and again how God must feel about me.

3. I'm thankful for Monkey. He has his spunk, but his soul has a peacefulness about it that amazes me. He was the perfect fit for our family.

4. I'm thankful for our home. It's not my dream home by any means. But, it's our home. It's filled with trains, Cheerios and love.

5. I'm thankful that Bear freaked out today that the bottom of his pants were wet from the rain. That means that he's used to clean, dry clothes which is something not all people can claim.

fall

We're fall fans.

Fleece jackets.

Pumpkin patches.

Good friends.

Family fun.

Definite fall fans.

Shutterfly freebies

If anyone currently does not have a Shutterfly account (or has a husband/friend/child with an email address that does not have a Shutterfly account), I have some freebies for you. Leave a comment and I can get you a code for a free 8x8 book, 10 free 5x7 cards, or 101 4x6 prints.

It ends November 15th.

Anyone?

favorite photo friday

They really do love each other. And for that, I am so grateful.

christmas time is coming soon

We're a Shutterfly family. Hubby and I created a site when we got married to share pictures with our family and friends. Since we've added the little boys, our pictures tend to be way cuter.

I like personalized Christmas cards. Especially now that we have those two adorable boys to show off. Last year, I designed our cards in photoshop. While it was nice to have a unique design, it was way too much effort. (That's what happens when you're nesting with a Hubby out to sea.) I was super excited to see Shutterfly has almost 750 different designs for Christmas cards. No joke.

My favorite is this one. I love having more than one picture. It's nearly impossible to get both boys to cooperate, and this way I can showcase the best of both of them.

I'm also thinking of ordering these gift tags. When I was a kid, my mom had a coworker fill out the tags for the gifts from Santa. Having special Santa tags would be so stinking adorable.

You should go check them out. Shutterfly is offering 20% off all holiday cards. Christmas will be here before we know it. I'm not one to judge though. Those crazy cards I got all ready last November - they didn't get mailed out until the middle of January.

{Shutterfly is compensating me for sharing their new designs with you}

polygamy and the navy

I've recently become obsessed with Sister Wives. It's that crazy show on TLC about the family with 4 wives.

While I am a bad share-er and the whole concept is not for me, I realized there are a lot of creepy similarities between polygamist families and military families.

*They have a rotation for when they sleep with their husband. Now that there are 4 wives, I'm guessing it's an every 4th night thing.

Hubby has a duty rotation for when he sleeps on the boat. Every 3-4 night, he goes away.

*People think they're weird. Who volunteers to share their husband?

People think we're weird. Who volunteers to go without their husband for months at a time?

*They share the childrearing duties. While they each have their own kids, they pitch in to help.

Mil spouses all help each other out. We all pitch in on the days you need the extra hand.

They generally seem happy with the arrangement. While you can always get the soundbite or 30 second meltdown, they all seem genuinely content with their lives. My favorite quote was about how they chose that life.

I might have my moments where the Navy drives me up a wall. We chose this life though. And, we're content with our lives.

favorite photo friday

Hubby had his big exam in DC this last Wednesday. It's why he was sent home early from deployment. He rocked it (as expected). The little boys and I took the train down and had a mini vacation. We got in late Tuesday night - like 11:45 pm and had to be at the train station by 7 am on Thursday. It was fun though. A little family time is good for everyone.

It's so rare that we're able to get a picture of all 4 of us. I treasure each one of them - even if Monkey is less than impressed with the most famous house in America.

it's back

Hubby's boat came back today. Like it's already docked so don't get your panties in a bunch that I'm breaking OPSEC rules or anything. (Which doesn't make any sense to me anyways since the date they come back is never classified and the actual time is declassified 24 hours in advance. That's a whole other rant though.)

It's weird to see the wives on facebook with happy status updates and decorations on the houses.

Hubby has been back for 3 months. We've been so lucky and grateful to have him home. He came back early to attend a Navy school here.

I'm a big ball of emotions though. I'm glad that all those families can be back together. 6 months is a long time. I know; we did it last time. But, it stinks for our family. Hubby is back to duty nights and long hours with some cruel co-workers. I'm so done with this sea duty.

I know the proper Navy wifely duty is to keep my mouth shut and accept it as it comes. I'm sick of it though. I'm tired of people being mean and hurtful because they can. I'm tired of not knowing what's going on in our own lives.

Welcome home, silly old boat. I can't wait until we can say good bye to you for forever.

naked momma

What age is it weird for a parent to change in front of the opposite gender child?

Obviously, when you have an itty bitty baby finding time to change your clothes at all (or caring that you're wearing the same yoga pants for the last 3 days) is a miracle. I personally am super uncomfortable with the idea of changing in front of a 16 year old son.

The Bear is almost 3. For the last few months, I've been making sure he's not in the room when I change. Should he walk in (because he's 2 and doesn't have the greatest awareness of personal boundaries) I don't scream or make a big fuss.

What age makes you uncomfortable? Is it difference for a son/mother than a daughter/father?

not expected

So it's October, and I've decided to come out of my little hole. Now all 3 of you who read will be up to date on the happenings of our little family.

A few weeks ago, my father and step-mom came to visit us. My father had been to our house (almost 2 years ago), but my step-mom never had. They live in Ohio and really had no reason to venture to the Submarine Capital of the World. My step-sister had just moved to the Boston area though, and they had helped her and her family move. We were on the way home so they spent 2 days visiting the boys and seeing the area.

They were talking about how unhappy my step-sister was. She was not a fan of moving. She was not big on being in New England; she doesn't like snow at all. It probably didn't help that the week they moved in was insanely hot (like in the 90s) which never happens around here. I love her, but she was just taking the change hard. She's 29 and has never lived more than 15 minutes from her mom.

I mentioned that I was getting itchy to move. We've lived in this house for 2 1/2 years which is crazy long in military land. We'll find out for sure soon, but there's a really good chance that we'll be here for another 2 years. Almost 5 years in one place is insane. I love the adventure of going new places, making new friends and experiencing things.

My father commented that he thought it was a difference in expectations. I knew when I met, fell in love with, and married Hubby that our life would would lead us all over. I'm game. My step-sister finally just got married in February (They've been together for a long time. They bought a house together. They have a 7 year old daughter together. Just different choices on the marriage thing.) This move caught them both by surprise. He said that she didn't expect to have to move.

I was silent. I was shocked. Isn't that life?

I doubt that anyone ever has their life go exactly as planned. I doubt that when my parents got married they expected to get divorced, my mom end up in Chicago (she hated big cities), and my father in Ohio. We have all these expectations for how our marriages and lives will go, but sometimes it doesn't work that way. No matter how much you plan, there are things out of your control. It irks me that people use that as a crutch. Make the best of what you've been given.

You might move. You might have to leave your mom. You might have to take an awful job. You might end up with no job. You might end up with no kids. You might end up with them a little closer together than you had thought.

Even the best movies have a twist in them. It's what makes life interesting.

favorite photo friday

Since I haven't done this in a while, this is actually my favorites of them for the last month or so.

Favorite of The Bear: This picture just melts my heart. He's going to be a heart breaker.


Favorite of The Monkey: We were outside playing in the yard. He was so fascinated with the empty bucket.

tired

Feeling worn down. By a bunch of things. A bunch of small things. And, a few major things.

Tired. Not the sleepy tired. The exhausted don't want to move or think tired.

Hoping it all gets better soon.
Or as better as it can get.

teeth

Monkey is teething. It's rough. Like crazy, insane, makes me want to hide in the closet rough.

His first tooth finally came through Saturday. The second one is almost all the way through.

He's in a lot of pain. The mellow child could currently be in a commercial for colic. He's been up since 2 am screaming in pain. The only times he's hushed where while I was nursing him.

I've done the Orajel. I've done the cold washcloth. I've done the pressure on his gums. I've done the magical melting tablets.

The only thing left recommended by google is whiskey. I'm not sure I'm ready for that. The Bear was a bad teether; this is nothing new. He did get comfort from the other things though. Nothing seems to be helping. The constant crying breaks my heart (and hurts my head).

I really try to limit the chemicals and yucky things that get into the boys bodies. Which is worse? Whiskey-ed qtips on the gums or being in that much pain for that long? If anyone can find actual evidence that the alcohol is bad, please pass it along.
When my grandma suggested it for The Bear I thought she was insane. Now, I just might be insane.

silhouettes

My Family from WiddlyTinks.com

I'm loving all the silhouette art work around. I'm a fan of personalized things - for the boys, myself and the family in general. I found this and I'm wanting to make it bigger for something. It's not our real silhouettes so I'm sure if it's lame.

Does anyone have any suggestions or links for something I can do with our silhouettes?

sahm

We've been having lots of fun family times lately. It's so weird to have Hubby home and not have the boat home. It's actually slightly amazing and giving us a taste of what shore duty will be like.

Since Hubby is actually awake in the evenings and able to have a coherent conversation, we've been doing a lot of planning and dreaming and just generally trying to figure out where our lives are going.

I love being a SAHM. Insanely hard and much harder than expected for sure. I like that I know my children though. I know how they think and can typically predict their behavior. They grow up so quickly and I don't want to miss it. My opinion is that I would gladly give up some luxuries now to be able to be such a part of their daily memories.

How long can you be a SAHM before it's just weird? I would like to point out that being a mom is only part of my job. I'm also a cook, maid, laundress, personal shopper, dog walker . . . once the boys are bigger I know I'll be adding chauffeur to that list. I had a friend in high school who was an only child and her mom still stayed at home. Then, she went to college. Her mom still stayed at home.

I am in no way putting down SAHMs of bigger kids. I also want to feel useful in life. So what's the cutoff? Where does it cross the line? I'm sure if you have family with disabilities this could also change the age.

favorite photo friday

Favorite of The Bear: He's currently obsessed with "hoops". Probably because it's something he can do with Daddy. We're not calling the NBA yet though. His current skills involve running around with the ball and then throwing it in the air. He does look pretty cute doing it though. Dream big, little Bear.

Favorite of The Monkey: He loves his Daddy. And, Daddy loves him.

yes, Virginia

I do still exist.

Life has been crazy busy. And, honestly it is still crazy busy.

A special someone was sent home from deployment to attend a school at the base here. Who knew that he could be gone for a little over 3 months (2 of which we had no communication at all), and I could say it wasn't really that long.

Which has meant lots of splashing

A trip to Sesame Place

And just generally readjusting to being a family of 4 again.

I'll be back relatively soon though. Hubby starts having to work full days and hopefully the boys will start napping at the same time again.

favorite photo friday

Favorite of The Bear: He found his Mickey Mouse ears from when we went to Disney World last August. Bear felt the need to wear them all day. And, he wanted at least 3,874 pictures of him taken in said ears.

Favorite of The Monkey: He's just so freaking happy. I can't believe how lucky we are to have such a good baby.

Favorite of them: I know this is cheating the system, but I am so very glad to get a good picture of both of them.

genius

Newton discovered gravity when he was 24 years old.

The Monkey has it down before he's 7 months old.

My child is a genius.

tweeting

I have recently rediscovered Twitter. I can now say I'm a fan. Half the battle was finding a good app to use it for my non-iPhone phone.

It's like facebook status updates on steroids. Or something of that nature.

Now that I check it more than once a month, it would be nice to have people to follow that have updates. I've been hunting through some of the people's followers to find new friends.

I do find it amusing that Obama (I know not the actual Obama, but Obama's "people") is following the Kremlin. I'm glad they keep in touch :-)

I'm @NavyFamily06. Who are you?

negativity

Dear Negative People,

Please stay away from me. I really don't need you to constantly point out how awful your life is and how it's not fair and you're just so overwhelmed.

In case you missed third grade, let me catch you up. Life is not fair. You will survive. Someone always has it worse. Shocking correlation - the more you whine the worse you feel.

Please put on your big girl panties and deal with it. I need positive people in my life. No room for bad attitudes here. The Bear has enough attitude for all of us.

Thank you,

Stephanie

milspouse friday fill in

Wifey at Wife of a Sailor is hosting a weekly fill in to meet other mil spouses . . . er mil wives since I have yet to see a military husband's blog. But maybe they do exist.

Because honestly who doesn't love these things. They bring me back 1998 when AOL was the only way you got online.

This week's questions:

1. How did you and your spouse meet?

In college. We met twice. I don't remember the first time, but he does.

So his us meeting story was in October 2004. His roommate was running a marathon. I wanted to go to Olive Garden. I convinced his roommate to go to there the Thursday before to fill up on carbs. I told him to invite his roommate (future Hubby) while I was listing a bunch of people he could invite. We were poor college kids; Olive Garden was an event. Hubby came - along with 13 or so other people. He remembers me. Not so much remembering on this side.

My us meeting story was in September 2005. He was joining the service organization I was in (which was how I had known his roommate). I constantly invited him to things (I'm an inviter), he constantly said no (he's a bit more studious than I). Eventually, he invited me somewhere and we've been inseparable ever since.

We started dating in November of that year and were married October 2006.

2. What's the best thing about being a MilSpouse?

The adventure. We get to go places and experience things most people never do. The Bear was on 4 continents before he was a year old. I love that. We get to re-fall in love every time he comes home. There aren't many marriages out there where you get butterflies like we do. And, while he is gone a lot, we jam as much into his time home possible. We appreciate our family time and really cherish that.

3. What's the hardest thing about being a MilSpouse?

Not knowing what's going on. I'm a planner. I need to plan. I remember our pastor said how great it was I was marrying someone in the military because I do well with stability. I'm not sure what military he was thinking of, but it sure wasn't the US Navy. Where are we moving? When are we moving? When is he coming home? Can we go to this? You never know.

4. What is your favorite dish?

Going to show my classy nature with this answer. Honestly, grilled cheese (or toasted cheese for you southerners), french fries and a Coke Icee. I guess that's not a dish, but it's more of a meal. I'm a french fry fanatic. Like if FFA existed I would be there. Highlight of my trip to Paris was not the fancy schmancy meals. It was eating french fries on the Eiffel Tower. (Yes, I am really that lame.) Yes, I know they aren't really french. Pizza wasn't created in Chicago, but you have to eat it while you're there, too.

5. If you could change one thing in the world, what would it be?

I would like all mean people to have a giant M on their forehead. Some people are mean and will never be happy. I've accepted that. We're all different, and I don't think I would want to change people. But, a little warning that a mean person is coming at you would be nice. One of those "it's not me, it's you" things.

jump

Let me start with reminding you (and myself) that I love my child.

This story is reason 4,378 why planning ahead really just creates more work for me.

Saturday, I realized Hubby's car hadn't been driven in a while. It had been about 3 weeks which is really longer than I had intended. The Bear has a car seat in it, but I have to switch The Monkey's over to drive it. It really was just a hassle I didn't want to deal with.

It was nice weather and the boys were both in relatively good moods when we got home Saturday afternoon. I decided to pull Hubby's car over and switch The Monkey's car seat so it would be all ready for us to go to church today.

I pulled Hubby's car into the drive way (he parks it across the street since we live in a duplex and only have a one car driveway/garage. I opened up all the doors to air it out while I was installing the car seat. The Bear climbed into his car seat and had fun in "dada's ar". He thinks he's a big shot now that he can get into the seat by himself.

I went to sleep proud of myself for being so well prepared and saving us from the inevitable Sunday morning rush.

This morning, we get ready and are on way to early church on time. Does this ever happen? I get the boys both in their seats and go to start the car.

It sounds funny, but I'm not really paying much attention to the car because The Bear is screaming for his Cheerios.

I put the car in reverse and realize we're going backwards. But, only because our driveway has a slight hill. The engine is off and thus the gas pedal (and power steering) has no effect.

I stop the car halfway into the street. Turn it off. Try again. And again. And again for good measure. I then get the boys out of the car. We live on a quiet street, but I'm not a fan of leaving them hanging out in the middle of it.

Call a friend who is amazing and comes over in 10 minutes to help me jump it. She teaches me how to jump a car.

I take it an auto place and they check the battery. They said it's fine. Something was a bit low, but nothing major. They asked if it had sat for awhile, and I'm silently cursing myself for letting it sit there for 3 weeks.

Come home because we have now obviously missed church. Hang out at home all day.

Tonight, I was taking The Puppy out and saw the light on in the car.

The back lights. The ones right by The Bear's car seat. The ones he can reach when he's getting into this seat.

The ones that he turned on Saturday and caused the battery to die.

The ones that stayed on all of Sunday and caused the battery to die again.

I went inside to grab the keys to check to see if I could start the car. Nope. It was indeed dead again.

We'll be jumping the car again tomorrow morning.

And, checking the car lights every time we exit the car.

too fast

There have already been a million and two times when I'm glad that both my kids are boys. It just seems . . . easier?

I think there's an overprotective part of parenting that makes boys easy. Bikinis on little girls drive me nuts. Short shorts are gross. Keep that little baby skin covered up, please. It made me sad to realize that size 7 girl shorts are shorter than The Bear's 2T shorts. Seriously.

I'm all for fun momma & daughter bonding. Spa days aren't in the future for the boys and me. I did find it a bit odd that moms seem to be taking itty bitties to get their nails done. What age is it appropriate to get a manicure or pedicure? No experience on this one; I just think 2 and 3 seems so young.

Are little girls growing up too fast? Or am I not going fast enough?

father's day

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy we know! We're sad you're working far away today, but remember how proud we are of you. Thank you for keeping us safe and raising us to be men you will be proud of.

Daddy meeting his first boy

Daddy teaching The Bear one of the quirks of Navy life - hotel living while waiting for a home

Homecoming snuggles after last deployment

Daddy passing on the love of the Cubbies and how to cheer them on

Meeting the littlest boy

We can't wait for all the things you're still going to teach us!

Love, The Bear & The Monkey

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there - and all the moms pulling double duty whether by choice or circumstance!

mattering

You know those days that diapers and temper tantrums don't stop coming . . .



Remember you do matter. People are watching.

favorite photo friday

Favorite of The Bear: He's discovered that my computer has a camera on it. He loves to lay down next to me and say "cheese". We don't end up with a ton of fantastic pictures, but we do have fun being silly together.

Favorite of The Monkey: It amazes me at what a happy and mellow little boy he is. He's growing up so fast though. He's about 2 months ahead of when The Bear hit all his milestones. I know you aren't supposed to compare children, but I am constantly shocked with how fast he's doing things. Yes, my child is a genius :-)

What are your favorites from the week?

bathtubs

The Bear loves water. He's not a huge fan of going under the water yet, but he loves to splash.

This winter, I started filling up his bathroom sink with water and giving him a cup and a bath toy. He would spend a good 45 minutes playing in it.

Earlier this week, I found his new favorite pastime. I fill the tub up with less than an inch of water and let him stomp and splash and have fun. It's cheap, fast and fun. Because there isn't much water in the tub, he can't splash any out so there's essentially no clean up.

Why have I not thought of this before?

embrace the camera: june 17

Emily has turned her week long challenge of including Momma (meaning you) in pictures to a weekly thing. It really isn't that hard to take a picture of you and one (or more) of you kiddos once a week. So join on in on Thursdays. The Bear's a bit egocentric right now, but I'm hoping in a few (or 40) years he'll love pictures of our whole family.

I started by taking a picture of The Bear and me.

Then, he wanted to include "baby" meaning The Monkey. I thought it was really sweet he actually wanted to include him. Sometimes he's such a good big brother. Don't mind the messy bib; The Monkey was eating his dinner.

He then wanted his picture taking with a million and two different toys. I'll spare you those. Seriously, he found every cheap McDonald's Happy Meal toy and felt it was a treasure. I was no longer thinking it was sweet.

Finally, he remembered The Puppy and had to have his picture taken with him. Totally worth the 3,000 McDonald's toys picture to get this one.

opinionated: baby names

After yesterday's honesty, I'm not feeling as heavy today.

Same disclaimer of sorts. These are my opinions. Not any group I'm associated with. Not the Navy's (because you know there are crazy people out there that make connections like that at then yell at me - that's a whole different post though). You're welcome to disagree. In fact, I welcome it. Just be polite.

I'm a name snob. I love traditional names for people. If you want to be weird and spell things wrong, get a dog. He won't be applying for any jobs.

I love classic, traditional names. I like names that you can spell when you say. It's the yearbook editor in me. While there are fine names like Kristin, you will constantly be going through life as "Kristin with an i". And, please do not take a normal name like Christopher and spell it Kristafer. Seriously. Just don't.

You can be different without being weird.

But that's just my opinion. What's yours?

rocks

I collected rocks when I was a kid.

The Bear is now very big into collecting "ocks". We have multiple piles of them outside our house.

It's really not that cool.

I know realize how lame I was as a child.

i heart faces: babies

I heart faces is one of my favorites photography websites. The challenge this week was "all about babies".

I love my babies. I took his right after The Monkey was born. Like at most 45 minutes after he was born. One of the thing about babies is that they make mommas, too. I love his squishy face laying right next to my mom necklace.

Check out the other entries for more snuggly little ones.

opinionated: abortion

Following my warning yesterday, I decided to jump right into the heavy stuff.

Disclaimer of sorts. These are my opinions. Not any group I'm associated with. Not the Navy's (because you know there are crazy people out there that make connections like that at then yell at me - that's a whole different post though). You're welcome to disagree. In fact, I welcome it. Just be polite.

I am pro-choice.

I find it odd that we can do a myriad of things to our bodies that harm ourselves and others, but abortion is so taboo.

Personally, it's not a choice that I would make. It doesn't fit me. I don't feel like I have the right to tell others what is best for them. Some people are not meant to be parents. Or parents at the time in their life when they get pregnant. Ideally, there would be a great support system in our country to provide great prenatal care, amble information on adoption, plentiful birth control, knowledge on how our bodies work . . . But, there isn't. Until there are these things, I don't feel it's right to demand that no one can have an abortion. Remember Nebraska's safe haven law? Great step in the right direction, but it didn't work. There are people practically shouting that they need help. Provide the help before you add more kids to the mix that need it.

There is nothing more damaging to a child than being told point blank that they were not wanted and they are not loved.

A mother not wanting her child (even if she gets adequate prenatal care) puts that child at a higher risk for learning disabilities.

Can society provide the emotional, physical and mental support to kids coming from these homes?

Yes, the Bible says that God made us and knew us in the womb. The Bible says lots of things that people seem to gloss over to fit their needs. Leviticus 19:27. We all have no problems ignoring that one. I am a Christian, but you have to take things with a grain of salt. God gives us children. And, he gave us knowledge to do what was best. Sometimes we need to do painful things because they get us to the end result God intended.

I said earlier that I would not have an abortion. I'm sure there are circumstances in which I might change my mind. Would you have an abortion if it would save your life? If it would save the lives of your mom, husband and other children? I don't know. But, it's my right to make those decisions - not the government's.

That's my opinion though. What's yours?

being real

I like to be liked. I'm thinking most people do.

I used to be fairly honest with my thoughts. At least with my close friends. The whole Hubby in the Navy thing has taught me to bite my tongue. Holy moly have there been times where I've almost lost it. Hubby, don't worry. Not completely destroying your career with my honesty. :-)

I've noticed myself holding back my opinions sometimes even on here. Seriously, how lame is that. I'm not writing things because I'm afraid of upsetting people out in the world that I don't even know. Am I seriously that much in need of approval?

All bets are off this week though. Should you be easily offended or can't close a window when you think I'm wrong, please don't check back until next week. Feel free to express your own opinions in the comments. Just be polite. I love a good debate; I don't love name calling or just being mean.

ready, set, go

I am so not ready for The Monkey to crawl.

The Bear is so not ready to share all his toys.

Apparently, our opinions don't matter.

super bear!

I decided The Bear needed a cape. Despite all my fears of raising little boys, I've decided it pretty much rocks.

And, seriously, what 2 year old boy doesn't want to be a super hero? Heck, what 30 year old boy doesn't want to be a super hero?

I was putting away laundry while trying to figure out something to sew and realized we no longer need the 3,012 swaddling blankets. The Monkey is too big for them, and he doesn't spit up on 27 each day anymore anyways.

Using

2 swaddling blankets - the cheap kind that come in a set from Target

A small piece of velcro

30 minutes

I made him a cape.

Figure out the size you want. I ended up cutting about 5 inches off one of the sides. I could have skipped this stage, but I needed to get the elephant off. Not quite sure the small, peeling elephant screamed super hero.

Using the part I cut off of the patterned blanket I cut out a "T" like the "S" for Superman. You can make whatever letter fits your child (or husband).

Stitch the letter onto the plainer blanket (solid green in our case). You get all fancy and put interfacing before you sew. I realized this was for a 2 year old and probably not worth the effort.

Sew the right sides together almost all the way around. Flip it right side out and sew the opening closed.

Cut some velcro tabs (or use those handy dandy velcro squares). Put one on each side of the fabric. So top right corner of patterned and top right corner of the plain. If this makes no sense, but the cape on you and you'll get why you need one on each side.
Insert your future super hero. Enter a phone booth should you feel that necessary. Or know where a phone booth still exists.

*I know the color in these pictures is way off. It was late and I was using my old camera. You get the idea though :-)

officially uncool

I just told The Bear to stop jumping on the bed.

He looks at me and musters up as much distain a 2 1/2 year old can muster (which is actually quite a bit). He slowly turns to look at me and says "not cool".

I thought I had until he was 6 before he learned I wasn't cool. Apparently, he's advanced.

6 months

The Monkey is 6 months old already. Well, actually 6 months and a week now. It seems like it went much faster this time. I can only imagine how time flies for the Duggar family :-)

We had a mini photo session at home to celebrate the big event. I love my camera.

He always has to have something in his mouth. Silly boy.

The laundry basket shot. I did this same thing with The Bear at 7 months and everyone loved them. Why not try to recreate it?

My baby. This is totally him. I just want to give him hugs and keep him this small forever.

The Monkey is wearing a few of the larger 3-6 month clothes, but is mostly in 6 months now - especially the one piece romper type outfits. He's a long boy.

He's nursing 3 times a day and eating 1-2 meals of "solid" food. He's a big fan of sweet potatoes and applesauce, but he makes a displeased face at peas. He'll eat them but not happily.

He takes a short morning cat nap and a longer afternoon nap that lasts an hour or so. He's sleeping 11-12 hours at night in his crib.

He's the happiest kid in the world.
And, I love him a lot.

bp irony

found on flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/therachelmaddowshow/4667450260/

remembering

I'm reposting this from last Memorial Day.

I have been blessed with many opportunities to travel and experience things. The summer between my sophomore and junior year of college I went to Paris to take a history class. There is nothing that compares to learning on the same soil things happened.

Here are some of the pictures from when we visited Normandy. There is something immeasurably powerful learning about D-Day while you yourself are struggling up the beach. And, I was dry, not hauling pounds of gear and there were no bullets being shot at me.

The actual beach the US troops landed on. The lucky few who made it to land still had this climb in their way.
I kid you not the sea of headstones went on into the distance. And, these were just the men whose families chose to have them buried in France instead of brought home.
There were too many of these to count. It's so sad for their families, but the thought that they are known by someone brings peace to my heart.
It was all for a reason though. This flag was made by a grandmother in her attic while German troops ate and slept in her home. She wanted to welcome the American troops and thank them for saving her. It was made from scrap fabric and candy wrappers for the stars.
Summer is fantastic, but that's not all we need to be grateful for this weekend.