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.