The Year After

It's a GIRL!

2012-01-06T10:45:00.000-08:00

20 weeks

Logan Elizabeth is due May 27, 2012.

I wish I could give my 2 year old his innocence back.

2011-06-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

http://thescienceofmissingyou.blogspot.com/

Military vs Civilian Relationships

2011-06-29T14:10:00.001-07:00

I posted a new blogpost on my new blog - defending the civilians and their relationships.

Anyone else get annoyed by military wives acting like their relationships are so much better than a civilians?!

http://thescienceofmissingyou.blogspot.com/

It's over.

2011-06-28T15:11:00.001-07:00

So this "year after" is almost over. And another deployment is coming. This blog makes me feel so lonely now. It was so exciting to start it, and now its depressing to come on here.

So... to fit my mood, I am moving to a new blog:

The Science of Missing You

I'd like if you followed me there.

Things that make me feel like a failure...

2011-06-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

- I am a stay at home mom, (which I LOVE) and focus all my attention on raising my child. But my child is almost 3 and can't talk. Epic fail.
**He can, however, spell his name! He will make the sound of each letter of his name, and in the correct order. He also moves his letter magnets on the fridge to spell his name. When he see's the letters of his name on other things he points to them and tells me their sound. He can't actually say his name, but he can spell it. Figure that.**

- During nap-time, I thoroughly vacuum the entire first floor, and mop all the floors (they are all tile). Seconds after Mr Maks is awake, he is crawling around on the floor and his hands, knees, and feet are all completely black with dirt/dust/sand and dog hair. I JUST CLEANED DANG IT!
**Tile floors would have been heavenly in WA where its always muddy - so much easier to clean mud off tile than carpet. But here in dusty sandy Texas, I want my carpet back :-( It would be so easy to vacuum up dust and sand off carpet, it is impossible to clean it off of tile. Impossible.**

- I do several loads of laundry, and hang them all out to dry (They dry in seriously 5 seconds in this dry Texas heat! I am finished hanging the laundry and the first items are already dry! No joke!) but it isn't till the following week that they are finally put away. I really have no excuse except distracted, exhausted, and hatred towards folding laundry.
**We have actually turned it into an end of the week family affair... Maks and Mike throw laundry all over the room in a game of war, while I try to catch flying socks to pair them and shirts and pants to fold and put them away. The war ends when mommy grabs the last item and puts it where it belongs**

- I start my own business from home so I can still be with our child but still bring a form of income... but with it only being in the first year of a business I am still in the "red" so it isn't actually bringing in any income.
**Each item at least pays for itself, so right now I am not going any further into the "red", I'm just not doing well to get out!**

- I potty train my child, who does absolutely amazing as long as he is naked. As soon as he has underwear/pants on - he pees himself.
**So far no poop accidents though! That would be super gross. And in this scenario, I am glad I have tile floors!**

- I work hard to have a nice dinner prepared for when my soldier gets home. But my child is at a stage where he refuses to eat anything at all, and Mr Mike has recently become a picky eater and prefers to just crash for a nap on the couch with Maks watching cartoons than to eat. So I eat alone.
**I have nothing positive to say about this. Maybe I should just start going out to eat alone... what a nice break that would be!**

- No matter how often I do the dishes, the sink is always full of dirty dishes. We don't have a dishwasher so I feel like I am washing dishes all day.
**Saves on energy I guess? Not my energy... but the electric bill.**

- I generally don't have time to do my hair or shave my legs during the day. And when its 105 degrees every day... Yuck. I look so gross at the end of each day. I bet my husband loves coming home to me.
**My neighbors are absolutely hideous looking. And super fat, and don't wear bras... Hopefully he sees them sitting on their porches smoking and drinking before walking in and seeing me LOL**

All of that to say - I need a vacation.

people make me sad sometimes

2011-06-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

So I have a new hero. She emailed me saying she saw someone had started a website of military themed purses and items, and was using my pictures as her "products" listed. She sent me the links to all her Facebook pictures and such. Even her profile picture was a picture I had taken in my apartment in Seattle!

Thankfully, I have a load of loyal customers who also recognized my pictures... and they all reported her. I filed a claim of theft of personal property via Facebook Security Dept. Not even 30 minutes later I received a call from Facebook Security stating that they verified all the claims and that she has been removed from Facebook.

I was devastated someone would do that.

But, God is good! She had apparently "donated" a whole load of my items to different charities and auctions. But when Facebook notified all these places of what had happened, guess who they contacted? ME! So I went from 300 Facebook fans, to over 350 in less than an hour!

Karma baby!

So now all my pictures have watermarks :-)

My Old Pony and Her New Girl

2011-06-10T14:37:00.000-07:00

My parents recently sold the farm, they are moving to a small log cabin at the end of this month. That meant I had to make a decision on where my fat little pony was going to go.

My aunt had horses before she adopted my cousin, Paige. That was over 10 years ago, but they still have the beautiful little farmette in the middle of nowhere Ohio. My cousin, Paige, has just recently begun taking riding lessons at a farm near them, and has been madly in love with my fat pony since the first time she rode her. So the obvious choice, was to send Shallea (my pony) to her in Ohio. So over Memorial weekend, my parents make the 8 hour drive from PA to OH with my pony in tow.

My sister just sent me these pictures of my cousin riding her new pony for the first time. I cried when I saw them. I miss my pony so much, so so much. But I was so impressed at how well they go together! They look like they are made for each other. You would never know that Paige had never ridden english before, she has been taking western lessons! I actually rode western too myself, but we no longer have a western saddle that fits Shallea (she needs a QH bar but a short pony size length saddle - not easy to find in western saddles!) so we gave her my all purpose saddle.

I hate sad choices that are for the best. That is one happy little girl and one very content fat pony.

Our TX Home

2011-06-09T10:09:00.000-07:00

(view from kitchen into living room)

So someone mentioned that I never updated on moving in to our new home here! I guess it's because there were so many problems and complications when we arrived here, that I lost the excitement of moving in and our new house :-(

But we are moved in! And we love our house :-) So here are a few pictures of the rooms that I am proud of :-p (notice that the master bedroom is not included!) It is so hard to decorate and fill your home when you know you may only be here for maybe not even a year. I can't wait to just have my own home and actually invest into making it look like the home I want. Maybe another day I will make a "the home I want..." post.

Front porch

Side of back yard (it's actually a very large space! Just don't have a full picture of it...) And yes, our backyard is completely sand.

Front door, dining area, and computer desk. Living room on the right.

Living room. On that blank wall now hangs my old western horse riding gear (roping rope, hat, horse shoe, bridal, some ribbons)

I hate the kitchen cabinets :-(
And that my vacuum is sitting out in this picture!

I love kitchens though. I wish I loved my kitchen more.

A small area of Maks room. He has a rather large room at this house! He has a little table and chair set in the one corner, and a full chest of drawers against the one wall. He has a large toy box, and a closet full of toys. He just got a new colorful bookshelf, the fabric kind you see in classrooms (I dont know how else to describe it?!) under the window right next to his bed! He loves his books. I plop on that beanbag at night and he hands me book after book.

tylenol and ice pops

2011-06-07T22:56:00.000-07:00

Maks and I have been so sick. I was feeling kinda crappy the pat few days, just sluggish and low appetite... but yesterday I couldn't keep anything down and could barely stay awake.

I was so thankful that Maks was real chill all day and happy to sit on the couch watching TV.

I should have realized that wasn't a good sign.

Mike gets home and picks Maks up to hold him and exclaims "oh my god he is burning up!"

101.7 temperature, and then he turns and pukes all over me.

I guess him not eating anything at all either should have been a huge clue...
That's how sick I was, I didn't even notice he was sleeping all day and not eating either.

Now I feel so bad, I am such a bad mom :-(

Today we lived on ice pops, and tylenol.
Maks had a few mini-pretzels for dinner.

And Mikey brought me home a new blender so I could have my Del's Lemonade that Pamela sent me! Delicious.

Now my neck is completely locked up, I can't even turn my head. I have no idea what is up with that! It isn't a muscle thing, cause when I rub it or poke around I can't find the spot that actually hurts... so I am thinking a pinched nerve?! Whatever it is, IT HURTS. And I can't go to the DR because Mike is in classes the next few weeks and we still only have one car :-( guuh

I feel bad that this blog is mostly me complaining... but I only ever feel the urge to blog when I need to vent, not when I am happy! Sorry :-(

Packages galore!

2011-06-06T11:24:00.000-07:00

I opened the door after lunch today, and found two packages on my front step! I love getting packages.

The first package was my gift exchange package from Pamela .

There were so many items of goodness in here, it was superb.

First the magazine... I know I told her that I love to organize - just the act of organizing gives me a rush. So that article was right on the mark. But I didn't tell her my love of grilling - my husband doesn't get to grill, that is my world! Or that I lived off crock-pot meals for a while, and then got bored of the recipes I have so I am so excited to check out these "summer slow cooker favorites"!

I loved this little package. It was so cute I didn't want to open it. I don't know if I said somewhere that my favorite flower is a daisy, but it is :-)

Inside this adorable package was handmade soaps from Rhode Island! So cool. I wish I knew this area better to have sent something that cool to her :-(
I got to admit, I was a little freaked out by the texture of the lip balm... but it felt so good! Maks approved as well, he has been smacking his lips and dancing around the dining room.

And this is going to make me run out and replace my broken blender. I am craving it SO badly right now. It is stinking hot here in Texas today, and this would be perfect. Darn you broken blender! Darn you.

Thank you so much Pamela! I loved my package.

The second package was from MilitaryOneSource.com (a must sign up for military families).
They give military families 10 free books a year! Seriously. So I got these books:

And I got a fifth book, "How to Teach Your Toddler to Read in Just Ten Minutes a Day".
My toddler can't even talk yet :-( at 2.5 years old, but he can sound out letters of words he reads! So, I thought maybe if I can teach him to read, even if its just in his head, he will feel more confident to try and talk? Maybe? Who knows... but hey, it can't hurt! Its a phonics based reading system, so it's good stuff!

B-bags packed

2011-06-03T10:08:00.001-07:00

Last night I cried myself to sleep while Mr Mike packed his B-bag.

Today, every time Maks asks me "da--ee?" I burst into tears.

Mostly because I am going to miss my husband, so much. Of course. Another 12 months away. It kills me.

But 1% of me is bawling because the military is making him buy himself all new military gear.

We need about $500 worth of military gear to replace Mike's that was pulled off the side of a Stryker in Afghanistan. The military won't replace it because the existing platoon leader was KIA and isn't able to sign the correct paperwork.
And we don't even get to keep this gear we will have to buy... the military is going to take it right back.
I am not having a good time dealing with this. We just PCS'd, we haven't even been paid back yet for our partial self move or the temporary housing we had to stay in for a week. We also had to have major repairs done to our car before being able to drive from WA to TX. We don't have an extra $500 some to hand over to the military because they can't give someone who is serving them any compassion.

**EDIT**
Someone has provided a ruck system! That is almost $200 of the gear we need. So thankful we were able to get that today!

Party in the front, business in the back.

2011-06-01T14:10:00.001-07:00

April's Flowers would be proud of me. I cut my own hair today. I absolutely hate having hair on my neck, and it was to the point of sitting on my shoulders. I couldn't take it anymore!

So I grabbed Mike's clippers, and put on the longest extension... and went at the back of my head!
It was scary seeing the huge pile of hair, and I was so nervous when I got the hand held mirror out to check out my work...

But I love it!

Long in the front, short in the back! I call it my "tellum"!
(get it?!... nvm)

Aw way too cute!

2011-05-31T18:12:00.000-07:00

I just got an email from a customer with pictures from a memorial ceremony, and their daughter wore a dress I made! I was so excited to see these adorable pictures.

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-30T11:29:00.001-07:00

I have seen it said multiple times today, that we should not say "Happy Memorial Day". I agree that it is not a happy fact that our soldiers have died, it is heart breaking that they had to give their lives.

But, I do believe that we should be happy for the reasons that they willingly sacrificed for us. They would not want us to spend our time together with family and friends in mourning, they would want us to spend our long weekend in happiness.
Their deaths were not in vain, so we should remember them in happiness.

So I say, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY, and thank you to those who gave all!

RIP
SSG Andrew McConnell and Lt David Wright

We miss you guys.

I remember the day...

2011-05-29T10:14:00.000-07:00

I remember the day I received the news. I remember my mind going blank and thinking "wait, that can't be the correct names..." I remember the reality sinking in, and I remember immediately puking my guts out the second I realized that those men are in my husbands platoon, and worked directly along side Michael. I panicked even more realizing that it had not actually officially been announced who was included in that list of those KIA, I was only seeing the names on facebook statuses of those now widowed wives. So, Michael could actually be one of those KIA... and they just hadn't made it to my door yet. I remember hyperventilating, and my brother running to find my mom.

You can imagine my relief when later that day the official list of names was released on the DOD, and Michael was not included in that list. And my immense joy when he was able to call later that day.

The name I read that made my heart sink, was SSG McConnell. Michaels platoon leader, and a great influence in his life. Michael looked up to him. He was also from our home state, PA!
He left behind a pregnant wife. They now have a beautiful baby girl. I hope she grows up knowing how many people loved her father, and appreciated him, and miss him. I hope she knows how thankful we are to her for her sacrifices, even as a little baby - she has given us so much already.

I can't believe Michael is going to be deploying again already.

Meet Dug........ SQUIRREL!

2011-05-28T21:35:00.000-07:00

So, if you have seen the kids movie UP, you will know who Dug is. The adorable short stubby little Golden Retriever.

Several weeks ago I saw an adorable listing on Petfinder.com (I am always browsing on there, not really with any intentions, just looking at cute animals!) I about died inside when I saw his face, and impulsively filled out an adoption application. I was just following my heart, which was beating out of my chest I was so madly in love with his picture!

I heard back from them that same day, that he already had a pending adoption :-( but that they would contact me if it didn't work out.

Again, that was weeks ago. Last night I was clearing out my inbox and deleted the email I had received them, figuring he was already adopted and with some other family.

I woke up this morning to find an email saying he was still available, and if I wanted him I could get him today!

So, meet Dug.

He is a Golden Retriever Basset Hound mix. He looks like a Golden, with the short fat stubby legs of a Basset Hound! He has the deep big dog voice of a Golden though! He very bravely protected me from a blanket and pillow piled in the corner of a dark room haha.

These pictures do not do him justice. He is SO cute. He is very calm and chill. We took a walk to our mailboxes, and Maks was able to hold his leash the whole walk back! He doesn't know all the basic commands yet - sit, stay, down... but he does come when you call and doesn't wonder far from you when outside! He is so sweet. I am so excited to add him to our family! He LOVES Maks.

Half way through the terrible 2's?!

2011-05-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

He will be 2.5 next month... unbelievable! He is a pretty good 2 year old, I must admit. Our only battle is sitting and eating dinner, he wants nothing to do with the whole ordeal! Drives mommy CRAZY.

These are totally delayed, but with everything going on we only now got the time to get his 2 year old photo's done! Half a year into his 2 years of life :-)
But they turned out so cute, it was worth the wait.

Yeah, I'm big, I'm bad, and I'm 2.

Yeah, I'm a Republican!

2011-05-04T18:37:00.000-07:00

I like FOX news, and Rush Limbaugh. But I do watch CNN and NBC as well, I do not have my head in a hole in the ground.
I thought Bush was a great President, and I think Sarah Palin would have been a pleasure to have in office.
I dream of having a small farm house with a white picket fence, with a flag pole in the yard that flies our flag always!
I like cross-stitch pillows that say "God Bless America".
I love country music, and the freedom they so proudly sing about.
I have always stopped anyone I see in a uniform, and thanked them for their service. And every time I felt pride swell up in my chest as I did. (I still do this when not at a military base, I would be stopping every 5 seconds if I did that here on base!)
I love military movies, and always fall in love with the patriotic hero - and vowed I would marry one. And I did. Not the sole reason I married him though ;-)
I think world peace is a fairytale. "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." - Edmund Burke (All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.)
I have to make a conscious effort to not decorate in a patriotic theme - I can't help myself! It just always happens.
I believe children should be spanked, appropriately.
I believe murderers deserve the death penalty.

And I do not believe that the government is out to get us or lies to us... unless they happen to be Democratic ;-) *joke*

05/01/11

2011-05-01T22:08:00.000-07:00

Now I lay me down to sleep, One less terrorist this world does keep.

With all my heart I give my thanks, to those in uniform regardless of ranks.

You serve our country and serve it well, with humble hearts your stories tell.

So as I rest my weary eyes, freedom rings, our flag still flies.

You give your all, do what you must...

with God we live and God we trust!

For better, or for worse... Part II: Off to the ER

2011-05-01T14:55:00.001-07:00

If you remembered reading previously about Mikes "episodes", then you will know what yesterday was like. Actually most of this past week he has been slightly off his game. He is normally a big talker, always talking my ear off about some astronomy crap or a new scientific discovery. But this past week he has had trouble coughing up even a sentence. He stutters through his words and will stop half way through already forgetting what he was going to say.

So around 10pm last night after he had changed Maks diaper 4x in a row one after another because he didn't remember doing it two seconds later, and walking up and down the stairs several times and telling me he is looking for "the cancer stuff" (whaaaat?!) when I ask why... I forced him to get into the car and we were off to the ER. I am tired of doctors talking to him on his scheduled appointment dates and seeing him as a perfectly fine person, they need to see him like THIS.

They took him back immediately and were very concerned, but DIDNT LET ME GO WITH HIM! I understand why though, they wanted to evaluate him, and just him. But Mike doesnt realize what is going on most of the time, he doesnt even remember or realize he is doing any of it, so how do they know what they are talking to him about?!
They did a butt load of blood tests again, and some urine tests (he does kinda seem like he is doing drugs). After no conclusive tests they took some more blood and have sent it off to some specialists for further testing.

While this is all good and dandy... I have a huge question.
Why are they not even asking him about his deployment?! He returned from a very active and dangerous deployment, that many of his friends didnt return from. He starts showing obvious not normal symptoms, and they don't even act like it could possibly be PTSD?!

One doctor did suggest a Psychiatric Hospital at one point, Mike said. But she wanted to get all the other blood tests back first so they can rule everything else out first.

I am so tired.

HE is RISEN, hallelujah!

2011-04-24T18:27:00.000-07:00

I know Easter egg hunting has nothing to do with the meaning of Easter, but he was so darn cute!

Our Easter service did the coolest thing ever! They had us write in little cards the sin that is keeping us from getting closer to God, and then we were able to literally nail our sins to the cross. Just like Christ did for us that first Easter, our sins hung from a cross to set us free!

It was powerful, made me cry (and I am not a crier!)

I hope God blessed you this Easter as well!

The "D" word...

2011-04-11T19:21:00.001-07:00

Didn't I just welcome him home the other day? Didn't I just start "the year after", and close "the longest year" blog?

So why is he deploying again already?

For everything else, there's VISA...

2011-03-25T21:26:00.001-07:00

New tires and brakes, alignment and misc: $1,400.

Hitch & installation: $300.

Trailer rental: $250.

Getting out of WA: PRICELESS.

Ok so that is a Mastercard commercial, not VISA... but I have a VISA card, not a Mastercard!

The $1,400 was a HUGE surprise... I went there expecting a $50 charge for the tires being rotated, engine serviced, and windshield wipers replaced. They call me when rotating the tires, and have me come back to show me that three of my tires were bald on the inside, and I mean BALD. I had no idea. SO four new tires were added to that total! And then they highly recommended having my brake fluid drained and replaced (it dripped out like black sludge). Then they did a battery test and the battery failed... I would have been like "yeah ok seriously you guys you have gotten enough money out of me already!" BUT there have been three times since I owned the car it would randomly turn off in the middle of driving?! It would start right back up and keep on rolling, it was really weird. That explains it. So the grand total: $1400!!

Thank GOD for my tax refund.
God had other plans for giving us $5000 in our tax refund. MY plan was to buy Mike a better car, which seemed like a necessity until:

A) We were told we are moving, which will cost us around $2000, which the tax refund will cover.
B) I found out about that huge bill for my car.

I cried, I really wanted Michael to be able to get a nicer truck. But he is very graciously ok with it. And some of those expenses will be refunded by the military, not all of it though.

Speaking of truck... Michael is selling his Bronco here and getting something new in Texas. But the guy who is supposed to be buying the truck keeps just not coming to get it... and we are leaving Tuesday. Thankfully Michael said he has several other people at work who also want it, so today I had him text them all and see if they do have the cash on them (we are GIVING it away for $500!) and if the dude doesnt show up by Tuesday it is theirs!

So all in all... even though things have not worked out like I thought they should. God has provided for each and every single bump and surprise.

I am thankful.

Moving on...

2011-03-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

Everything is under way! Michael officially signs out tomorrow to begin our move. Friday we get the hitch installed on our SUV. Sunday we pick up our trailer. Monday morning we pack up our trailer, and wait for the movers to pack up our entire household. Tuesday we LEAVE.

We have a house waiting for us in TEXAS! Not sure the day it will be ready for us to move in, he is expecting to have it repainted and the carpet down by the time we get there, he said the latest would be April 8th :-) Hoping we wont have to wait though! I am so excited. I am decorating in my head already!

I hate how dark our current living room looks. I am upset that I went with dark colored furniture... we cannot afford to purchase new furniture though, so I am trying to figure out ways to make them look brighter...

I think the first thing we need to do is not put the top part on our entertainment center, it is a HUGE black towering beast. The top hutch part can be left off and just have the TV sit on the bottom part. That will make a huge difference.

These are our Ashley couches. I thought about recovering them... but they are in perfect condition still so that would just be silly. I want some new throw pillows though. I'll probably just end up making some myself, in some golds, tans, and olive greens... to make the couch look lighter.

I am thinking about sanding down our black coffee table and side tables to make them look like the chair above as well. I wanted to sand down our entertainment center too, but then realized it has a weird layer of something on it that would not sand well.

I dont like white walls, but I am afraid of painting it any color at all in the fear of making the room look darker. Unless I can find a real pale but still bright cream/gold that would brighten the room and make it seem bigger than the white can?

I dont really like empty walls, but I don't like clutter either. Maybe just a big ornately framed mirror above the couch?!

I can't wait to have my own sewing room too! I will need to get another table, and some shelving... gaaaah can't wait!

WE ARE MOVING!

2011-03-18T23:34:00.001-07:00

Progress HAS been made!! The process of PCSing really isn't all that detailed and difficult, the hard part is the freaking unit not getting things to you in time so that your move is scheduled in time.

But my dear Mr Mike was a good boy, and did not let me down with this one! He got them to schedule the move today, for the 28th! The day AFTER the day I wanted to be LEAVING... but I am sucking it up and we are leaving two days later than I planned in my head.

I booked our hotels today, and planned out our itinerary. Can't wait to see my beautiful Tinelle (the mommy of the Kaylee that inspired my business!) and family, and a great friend Hodelia - who needs to start a blog, and I need to introduce you all to her... she is a new single mother of a little boy who has Myelomeningocele (Spina bifida). Spending a day at a beach in San Diego with Hodelia and baby Aiden! Then driving through the night for 10 hours to make it to Texas. Not sure what we are doing the night we get there... I need to contact housing or whatever about temporary housing until all papers are signed for our new house!

Which I need to get pictures of btw... Its cute! Praying that it all works out though, I am worried that like the day we get there they call and are like "un nvm, we decided not to let you have the house..."

Mike is selling his truck tomorrow. Bye bye crazy old Bronco.

I just can't wait to get going. I want to pack pack pack now. But I cant.

Hopefully it will hold off on the rain for a few days next week so we can get stuff cleaned out of the storage room and car packed ect. Good luck on that one, I know... its Seattle. Guh. I will NOT miss this rain!

neglectful

2011-03-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

I havent been on here in.... forever. I seriously am so overwhelmed with "real" life lol

We are TRYING to move to Texas right now, we should have had everything completely scheduled already... we are SUPPOSED to be leaving March 27th to make it to our new house on April 1st, so he can start work on April 10th...

BUT, his unit (I would like to call it a few other names) has had him out in the field for training the past month! They only handed him his orders on Friday! That is unbelievable!! So yesterday he went to his briefing, today he went to the out-processing meeting and scheduled with JPPSO, but JPPSO isn't till Friday. His leave starts on Monday! We have to have a second JPPSO meeting too because we have to do a half DTY move.

We will see how this all works out.

We found a great house though! We have to wait till Wednesday for the owner to get home from vacation to send us the contract. I am so impatient, I want it so bad! It is a 4 bedroom for $879 a month... which sounds spectacular!!! Till you realize that our BAH goes down to only $930. Right now we are getting $1270 and pay $950 for a two bedroom, so the extra covers our bills no problem. But we will now have less than $100 left from our BAH so we will have to dip into our paycheck to cover bills :-(
It has three bedrooms upstairs, for our *hopefully* growing family!!
Downstairs it has a breakfast nook and a dining room, we have a bar height table so we will just use the breakfast nook area for our table, and the dining room will be my sewing room. The fourth bedroom is downstairs right near the kitchen, and I am planning on turning it into a crazy playroom!! I am thinking of watching a few kids again, and will be able to just lock them in there so I can do my thing ;-) (thats a joke of course!) I am considering maybe becoming a FCC provider for military families. I am going to check that out when we get to Fort Bliss.

I started a new blog for my sewing stuff! So if you dont care about my sewing you dont have to see it here :-) But if you know anyone who has little girls and boys, please send them my way!

Kaylees Kloset

Alright I gotta use whatever is in the pantry to make some dinner now! (Trying to use it up and not spend anything on groceries till after we move!)

Busy Busy Bee...

2011-01-30T23:11:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have been as busy as I have been!

I feel like I have been going NONE STOP....

Well, I kind of have!

A coworker had her baby, so I have been covering the hours...
I have been working on a TON of orders (an order of 16 aprons from a FRG in Japan!)...
There are some new items in my Etsy shop...

Here is a sneak peak:

Sweet Bliss

2011-01-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

The papers are signed. We are moving! Now to just get his orders so we can get on housing...

I'm ready for Texas.

I am also going to actually be doing my clothing full time now. I am going to start really advertising and investing into it! Since I won't have my absolutely awesome job anymore in Texas, I will be creating and selling for myself instead. So, that means I need your help. Pass me on please?! I would really appreciate it. Share me with all your military friends!
And as a thanks for your help, here is a coupon code for you to get 20% off: BLOGGER

a little shopping, and some miltiary advice needed...

2011-01-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

So first of all, I wanted to share this website: Zulily.com If I had a little girl I would go completely broke on this site... and save money at the same time?! This site puts together all sales going on with online boutiques. So you get the style of a pricey boutique at a sale price thanks to Zulily combining all the sales on their site! They also have a lot of little unique items, perfect for gifts.

I also have some new items in my shop! Cargo vests for toddler boys, and walking shoes for all sizes!

Michael signs his reenlistment papers on Tuesday. So all you military people... how many of you have moved and moved into military housing? We so far have only lived off base, but we want to move on base with this PCS. I have filled out a housing request form for the current base we are at, but not sure how to fill one out for another location! I am hoping that on Tuesday they will give him the rundown on how to take care of all that needs taken care of... so we can get our butts ready for TEXAS!!!

Sunshine and Scorpions? Yes please!

2011-01-06T19:14:00.001-08:00

We are moving!! Heck yes we are moving. Away from the RAIN hallelujah!

Mr Mike has to report to his new duty station on April 10th, to sunny ol' Texas! Hooray!! Or should I say... HOORAH! ;-)

memories...

2010-12-28T21:57:00.000-08:00

Update on Mr Mike and his "issues"

Still no results on his thyroid disease tests.
Still no call back from the Behavioral Health clinic for a follow up on PTSD evaluation.

New observations:

He will watch the same TV episode twice in a row off onDemand, and has not a clue he literally watched it a few seconds ago. I will even point out to him that when he has the episode highlighted there is a check at the name showing he had already watched it that day. He will sit there puzzled and swear he hasn't seen it, and will watch it again and still be convinced and laugh and act like its the first time he has watched it.

His driving is horrendous. He used to drive me nuts because he was the slowest and most cautious driver ever. Now... he runs red lights, drives up over curbs, turns down one way roads going the wrong way, he has no idea what is going on with cars around him he just kinda plows through and does his own thing like there are no other cars on the road. And he panics and freaks out and makes the whole situation worse. He is now banned from driving with Mr Maks in the car! He also panics because he can't figure out how to work the windshield wipers or the turning signals.

He used to be the electronics wizz... he could put together the stereo system, surround sound, the home theater junk with dvd players ect with his eyes closed! Computers were also his thing, he knew all this techy stuff and how to get into everything in your computer. Now... he cant figure out how to use the remote, or even which remote goes to which anymore.

Last night I had to type for him his own social number and information into his loan account because he couldnt even remember it and even when I was telling it to him he couldnt type it himself.

I will notice in our bank account that a purchase has been made at the 7-eleven next door, I ask him for the receipt and he has not a serious clue what I am talking about.

Random things also just make no sense to him anymore. Like time zones... he gets really confused over the different time zones now? He doesn't know what they are and why we have them?

Does this sound like dementia/alzheimers to anyone else?!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T21:33:00.000-08:00

We were incredibly blessed this Christmas. Completely overwhelmed with gifts and love. It was incredibly nice to not have to run around on Christmas day... but I wish we could have seen family on Christmas Eve and for church tomorrow morning.

Grandma Z (my mom) got him this RadioFlyer spring horse. I had one when I was little, and rode that poor thing to the ground! I was so excited to be able and share the same experience with Maks! He is a very cute little cowboy in his longjohns :-)

Maks is TWO!

2010-12-23T19:58:00.000-08:00

Maks turned 2 today! We took him to the Space Needle in Seattle to celebrate!

That's my boy!

2010-12-22T20:13:00.000-08:00

bahumbug.

2010-12-22T09:07:00.000-08:00

Don't take that wrong... I am SO super excited for Christmas!

And, I am SO super excited for all these people announcing their pregnancies! Yay for you!

But it also makes me a little sad :-( we were hoping to make that announcement on Christmas Day ourselves. But no baby here yet! It would have been great to share the journey with all of you too!

Congratulations to Kaylee (I think you will have a boy) on her pregnancy! Hope it is a wonderful experience for you :-)

the Cat in the Hat knows a lot about that!

2010-12-17T11:45:00.000-08:00

Maks had his pictures done by a local photographer, and she sent me this one as a sneak preview to the session! Way too cute. This picture wasn't even a planned one, she snapped it while I was trying to find his shoes haha but I LOVE it. His two favorite things, the Cat in the Hat, and his blankie!

Do you have a heart for Africa?

2010-12-16T10:32:00.000-08:00

As Shakira put it: "This one's for Africa"

I am going to be making these purses to help raise funds for children to receive care and an education in Uganda, Africa. The proceeds from these purses will be donated to Dwelling Places (the shipping and handling will cover the shipping and handling, the rest will go to them).

I have a very good friend, Ashley G., who is currently in Uganda, Africa serving with Dwelling Places.

Dwelling Places is a Christian, non-governmental organization dedicated to removing children from the streets, rebuilding broken families and restoring broken individuals with the love of Jesus Christ.

Vision
A society where every child has a chest to rest his head and a place to call home.

Mission
Our mission is two fold: Dwelling Places works to rescue, rehabilitate and reconcile street children with their families. And we speak out for children at risk - informing, motivating and equipping local families and communities to promote positive change in the Ugandan society.

DID YOU KNOW
• 51% of the population are under the age of 18
• More than 10,000 children live on the streets in Uganda
• Street children are more likely to be involved in stealing, drinking, and doing drugs
• 14 % of all children in Uganda are orphans

For more information, you can visit their website:
http://www.dwellingplaces.org/

To get a personal feel for the daily life of a Dwellings Place emloyee, I encourage you to visit Ashley G's personal blog:

http://declarehisgloryafrica.blogspot.com/

She will be my personal contact for the money donation, and is seen in the pictures with children from Dwelling Places.

This one's for Africa!

*Note: my Etsy is currently "closed" for the holidays! But if you would like to purchase one now with the understanding that you will not be receiving it till after the holidays, then please contact me either via here, Etsy, or email me at KayleesKloset@gmail.com. Thank you for your help and support for these little ones!

our first family Christmas tree

2010-12-13T21:49:00.000-08:00

We have been through 4 Christmas's married, and finally have gotten a Christmas tree. Our first family Christmas tree! Yes... it is fake *sigh* but it does make life easier and has a warranty and is just plain cute so I am content with it.

This picture is honestly completely not planned... I turned around to find him laying there falling asleep!

Do not watch RESTREPO.

2010-12-10T22:15:00.000-08:00

Not even 5 minutes into it I was bawling and begging Michael to turn it off. It is absolutely horrible. It is way too real.

It is a documentary following a unit in Afghanistan (oddly enough it is the same platoon and company name as Mr Mikes, just a different unit. I think that kept making it worse for me). Just the scenes of them sitting there covered head to two with dirt, holding their weapons ready for fire, wincing and searching the horizon when hearing live fire...

No thank you. That year is done, I don't want to relive it. This is THE YEAR AFTER... moving on!

We took Maks to see Christmas lights at the zoo today! And got him a new ornament to add to his "where I have been" collection. Since we are military and do a lot of traveling, we have collected Christmas ornaments from every state and fun location we have been to!

Now he has a beautiful Point Defiance Zoo ornament.

2010-12-09T21:09:00.000-08:00

I am too exhausted to write anything.
But these girls are cute. I had to share :-)

good news bad news?!

2010-12-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

I was so prepared for him to not come home alive during the deployment... I of course prayed for the opposite, but I was prepared for it.

I was prepared to look for the symptoms of PTSD and depression after deployment... I of course assumed it would be the opposite, but I was prepared for it.

But I was not prepared for there to actually be PTSD in our lives. I was prepared to know all the signs and symptoms but not what to do when I actually saw them.

BUT... it may not be PTSD after all?! It is most likely actually a health condition?! It may be his thyroid disease now becoming "hyper active"?!

Please God, please let it be his thyroid.

Blood tests Wednesday.

Oh and funny short story: When he was at the Behavioral Health Center all last week, one of the secretaries finally stopped him and said "Are you on speed?! Because you always look like you are speed. Maybe you are just doing drugs..." I find that incredibly bold and rude coming from a secretary, but seroiusly incredibly hysterical. Because she is right - he DOES look like he is always on speed! Jittery, talks so fast and fumbles his words, makes no sense at all. The Jittery shakes are from his thyroid disease, and his dry mouth is from his thyroid disease... so hopefully the rest are new symptoms of it as well! Say a prayer for us!

Oh and PS: I just got Mr Maks a little suit and tie for a super cheesy 2nd birthday picture session!

For better, or for worse...

2010-12-01T23:29:00.000-08:00

I want to first of all start off by apologizing, again, for being a really bad blogger friend. My life has been a whirlwind. Just thinking about my day makes me twice as exhausted as I already was!

But back to my blog entry: For better, or for worse...

When you got married, I highly doubt any of you actually thought about what that "worse" could possibly be. When we were getting married, my "worse" was not spending every single second of every single day holding his hand! But then when a true "worse" comes along, it makes you really think hard about those vows.

Relationally speaking, we are great. We were made for each other, we truly were. Playing Cranium over Thanksgiving with several friends just reiterated that. We played couples against couples, and they were amazed at how in-tune we were with each other :-) it was fantastic! And so much fun.

Our "worse" has nothing to do with our love for each other. Our "worse", is PTSD. It doesn't affect just the infected, it puts a cloud over all your dreams of your future together.

I drudged through the 12 months of deployment praying for him to just make it home alive, I didn't care in what condition... I just wanted him home alive. He made it home, all in once piece! He was a picture of perfection in my eyes. My hero.

But then he started sleep walking... or so I thought. It wasn't till a few "sleep walks" later that I realized he was literally standing beside me wide awake when one "episode" (as I have been calling them) started. He literally just glazed over and began pouring out our milk into various containers around the house, pushing buttons on our TV, DVD player, and gaming systems. He took Mr Maks sipper-cup away from him for no reason (making him cry) and then proceeded to microwave it. I followed him asking what he was doing, and he would say things like "I wanted to put more rounds into my (named his gun sorry I am so not gun name savy!)" or "well while we were under fire..." ect.

There are some nights he may not have an "episode", but he can't keep his thoughts straight. He will say an entire paragraph, but each sentence will have nothing to do with the last. Tonight he said "That sewing machine looks like a matchbox car racetrack" me: how? "Well there is a magician on tv" me: what does that have to do with my sewing machine and a racetrack? "well the arms room would be right over there" me: Michael what are you talking about "um. I dont know..."

It is exhausting. I am always worried about him. I am afraid to leave him alone with our child. And has the Army offered a helping hand... nope. Tomorrow he has to go to dental sick hall... and after today's long endless evening of confusion and tears, he plans to head to the PTSD support office while he is at the medical mall.

I don't love him any less for it, but yes it does put a damper on our dreams for our future. And it worries me about having someone there to provide for us... what if this gets worse and he is unable to work?

Blogger Discount :-)

2010-11-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

In celebration of Etsy's new Coupon Codes, I have created one just for all you special bloggers! Visit my Etsy and enter "blogger" in the coupon code option to receive 20% off your order! Just because you are all fabulous.

Here are some new beautiful pictures taken by Jennifer Magee Photography!

Thankful Thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

I want to wish every single one of you a very happy and full of love Thanksgiving! This is my favorite holiday of the year! (Although Christmas is starting to seem like a close runner up, it is so much better being a parent at Christmas and being excited for the joy "Santa" brings your little ones!)

We are going to be traveling to Vancouver, WA for this Thanksgiving! I am SO SO excited! For multiple reasons:
1) I get to see my beautiful Tinelle!
2) I get to see THE KAYLEE!!
3) I get to actually travel along the west coast and go somewhere I have never been.
4) I am actually going to do a little drinking with my bestie Tinelle. I am not a big drinker, but when we are together we are fun. ;-)

A local photographer and fellow military wife, Jennifer Magee contacted me about doing photo-shoots for my clothing! She has lined up little models for my clothing and has started taking amazing pictures of them! Here are two pictures of her adorable daughter in two of the dresses. I am getting emails from the other little models with their sizes and special requests (since they are paying for a photo-shoot and then modeling for me as well). I just made an adorable pair of girlie overalls with a big matching bow for one little lady! I can't wait to see her in them!!

Without further adieu, I give you a professional picture of dresses made by Kaylee's Kloset:

PS: I made this cute purse for my boss! She isn't military but wanted a purse. I am in love with it! :-)

Little Yellow Ribbon

2010-11-20T21:59:00.001-08:00

So between our power being off and on (thank you WA wind storms), sewing, my new job, and a 2 year old son... I have had no free time to just sit here on my butt and write a post. I am sitting here now looking at a pile of sewing that needs done, I just realized the laundry is ready to go in the dryer, and the dishwasher is ready to be unloaded... the list goes on.

BUT! While our power was out the other night, I sat by candle light and put this together out of scraps of fabric I had.

And it is now my FAVORITE dress I have made yet!

Maks went to see Santa today! He was so excited to see him, ran right up and climbed into his lap (not that he has any idea who Santa is... but last year he did take his first two steps to Santa!) He pointed out all the Christmas tree's and huge ornaments hanging from the ceiling, he just had to show Santa. But then of course when they went to snap the picture... this was the look we got.

Since his birthday is Dec 23rd, I have been struggling to figure out how to separate the two events. Since he has a new found obsession with the Cat in the Hat, I decided to do his birthday with Cat in the Hat gifts from us! And we are not going to put a Christmas tree up till the night before Christmas! He is going to have such a surprise on Christmas morning!!

Alright, I must actually get to that pile of things I really should be doing instead of sitting here.

AWOL & Cancer

2010-11-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

I apologize for my lack of communication with all you blogger friends. I haven't been a good follower, commenter, responder, or writer.

We have been going through some weird issues, and discovering that there are some crazy forms of PTSD that are very frustrating and really disrupt "normal" life.

I also found out this week that a very dear friend, and a big influential woman in my life, was diagnosed with breast cancer. This morning she received a call from her doctor with news that his cancer has also spread throughout her back and into her neck. They are putting surgery aside and going straight into chemo. My heart is breaking for them right now. It is hard being 3000 miles away, and I am kicking myself for not stopping in at their house the last time I was home in PA. I am sitting here in tears thinking of her three beautiful baby boys that I used to baby sit years ago (who are all in middleschool/highschool now).
I am begging you, please say a prayer for this wonderful woman. She is a beautiful and brilliant business woman who has touched hundreds of lives in her profession of horse training (she and her husband are well known world wide), and their faithfulness has always been a model to those around them. Now more than ever.

http://wecareforlori.com/

jingle bells, Shutterfly sells, really awesome cards... sings

2010-11-08T11:27:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to make a very special photo Christmas card this year, using my favorite picture from the day Michael returned from Afghanistan!

I was so excited to hear that Shutterfly is having a holiday card promotion for bloggers!

I have been browsing through their holiday collections the past few days, and honestly have been completely overwhelmed with which one to choose. At first I thought I wanted only a single Photo Card like these:

But I am kinda very in love with this one!! So maybe I will find a good second photo to go with it as well...

Ok but now I am looking at their Holiday Cards line, and I am loving this one! It is so perfect for us, considering we are thousands of miles away from all our family this holiday!

I think we have a winner!
But then again... I am seeing a lot more I like as well.

Browsing around at all their products I found these Christmas Thank You cards... what a great idea! You can send thank you's to all the ones who gave you gifts, with a unique picture card capturing the special moments they helped make for you. I will be using those as well after Christmas, it will be a great way to share the special moment family wasn't here to share.

All of you should head over and check out their products and sign up for their promotion!!

A "scrapbook" in progress

2010-11-07T22:02:00.000-08:00

Bad Blogger - sorry :-(

2010-11-03T19:24:00.000-07:00

I have been SO busy! I have been going kinda crazy with my sewing (a good kinda crazy!), my job keeps my evenings now completely busy (which I LOVE), and my mornings are spent on giving the little man my undivided attention!

Number 1: Sewing purses.

Number 2: My job.

Maks is obviously miserable at work!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T20:33:00.001-07:00

Just when things are great...

2010-10-27T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mike talks of the serious possibility of moving.

When he first got back from Afghanistan, I wanted to move. I wanted out of this state!

But now I have an AWESOME job, I really do love this apartment, we finally found a babysitter we like, and we know the area so well now. I don't really have any friends here, but I will meet people through work now, and I am never going to find a job this awesome again.

I get home from this said wonderful job, and Mike says "I am going to be talking to the officer tomorrow about my reclass."

Dang it. I can't believe I am actually saying this, but I am happy here. For the first time ever, I am happy in rainy old Washington State.

less blargy :-)

2010-10-26T19:51:00.000-07:00

So since my last post I sold a dress on Etsy! That is 10 sales through Etsy so far for one month :-) I am pretty happy with that! It is another Christmas dress!

We also went to our marriage counseling class "checkup" thing... I was honestly worried that going there would actually dig up things that I didn't realize bothered me as much as they did and make me discouraged about our relationship... so I went really expecting the worst. And instead, it was SO good! We both left feeling really happy about our current marital status, and the counselor said that he thinks we have a lot of features that compliment each other. It was good to have someone who is unbiased to bring up points and dissect our feelings. I mean of course there are things we need to work on, but when isn't there?

And Maks did great with the babysitter! We got home to find him curled up on the couch with Eden (his babysitter), and was snorting at her and cracking up at himself. She said he was really good and they had a good time!

blarg blog

2010-10-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is a "blarg blog" day. I am just so not into being interesting right now. There is too much going on in our personal life to try and pretend to be interesting and full of excitement and good news.

I start my new job tomorrow though... that will be exciting.

Today I am leaving Maks with a babysitter I hired for the first time. I have had people baby sit him before, but I have either known them or someone I know knows them... I hired this girl through Care.com/SitterCity.com. I liked her, and her references raved of her, but it is still scary realizing that she really is a total stranger and she is going to be caring for my baby. But I just gotta bite the bullet and it's now or never!

We are getting a baby sitter tonight because we are going to marriage counseling. For a variety of reasons we felt we needed a "marriage checkup".

Oh it has also been pouring for the past two days. It is miserable and disgusting and freezing cold. Hate it here.

Meet THE Kaylee!

2010-10-24T22:07:00.001-07:00

This beautiful baby girl is THE Kaylee! She is the reason I started making ACU dresses. She is wearing the first dress I ever made in this picture! Isn't she the most beautiful thing in the world?! I am so jealous of her mommy! The military just had to go and move them two hours away only a month before she was born :-( I miss her mommy so much, and I wish so badly I could hold this baby girl! I can't wait to see them on a long weekend!!

A job - SAY WHAT?!

2010-10-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

I am sitting here sipping pumpkin spice coffee (thanks to Sarah), I just finished test 15 in my medical terminology course (it was a tough one, very time consuming and I was totally unmotivated to do it).

I open my email to find a very lovely surprise... I was just hired to work a part time retail job! I will be working from 2 -5, Monday through Friday, for $10 an hour. This was a very very hard job to find, and I am very nervous about working again since I haven't been in the work field in 3 years! We calculated and discussed options when I was pregnant with Maks, and found that even if I was working full time, after paying child care + gas + quick cooking groceries, we wouldn't be making enough to make it worth it. Plus, we both agreed raising Maks was my most important job anyways. So why am I working here and working now... *drum roll*

Maks is going to be working with me!

I got a job at a children's clothing and consignment store, called Hand Me Round. It is personally owned and run by a mother of three, and she now needs help with a few hours a day so she can leave early if needed and to just have someone else as a backup if her kids end up sick, ect. And this store is literally walking distance from where I live, so it would be so convenient for her if she needs to just give me a last minute call to even cover a full day!

I am so excited! I start on Wednesday :-)

Celiac Disease - NEGATIVE!

2010-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

So Maks had his endoscopy today. I was nervous, but not as nervous as daddy! Omg it is unbelievable how much a wuss big soldiers become when their baby is crying. He was sedated while sitting on daddy's lap, and then the doctor carried him away for his procedure.

About 10 minutes later we were called into a recovery room and he was wheeled in to us! He was still sound asleep, and probably would have just taken his 2 hour nap right then and there if the nurse hadn't pulled his IV out which woke him up! He was so limp and floppy when he woke up! He was like a 30 lbs newborn, just dead weight in my arms and grinning at me. And then he started talking up a storm! He rambled on and on and on about nonsense and pointing at everything in the room. He was hysterical! Oh he also immediately insisted on having his ZhuZhu pet slippers put back on when he realized they were not on his feet. He had some apple juice and a popsicle, and they sent us home!

The doctor who did the procedure showed us pictures of his stomach and small intestine, and said that he does not think it is celiac disease! I am thrilled that we will not have to do the whole gluten free life, but at the same time I am frustrated that we don't know what is wrong with him still. They still need the results from the biopsy of his intestinal tissue for the final result. By Tuesday we should have that answer.

Purses?!

2010-10-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

So I had to go on post yesterday... I don't even remember the last time I actually went on post! Honestly! It felt really weird. I live literally like outside of the one gate, and have somehow managed to avoid going on post for almost the past two months. Well yesterday I had to go, and I was thinking "man I wish I had a way to like advertise my company while walking around base... but I am not going to dress Maks in a dress to walk around!" So I thought I should make an ACU purse! So I started on this purse that morning, and did not finish it in time to get to actually take it with me :-( but I finished it this morning and kinda love it! A lot! Maybe I will make more...

yay! The picture uploader is now working :-)

Fall Favorites Swap! My package is here!

2010-10-19T16:22:00.000-07:00

I was paired with dear Sarah (Mowenackie) for the

Maks was very excited to open this box with me, probably because most packages are for him so he assumed this was the case once again. And as you will see, he also though each item was for him! Especially the coffee... he is in love with that bag of coffee. Strange child.

I don't know if she gathered from my package as well, but I love red. My living room is mainly in reds as well. This is such a fun crafty decorative fall piece! Maks thinks its to be carried around in his mouth though... He puts the stem in his mouth and marches around the room. Ok now its to be played catch with...

So excited to get this!! I love love love handmade knitted/crocheted scarfs. And every year I intend on making myself one and for others... I generally get a few rows into it and then get too frustrated with how slow it takes (I crochet... it takes me days and tears of boredom to get a scarf this size). Thank you so much for this Sarah! It's the same color as my favorite pair of flats too!

mmmm YUM! Maks thinks he likes it too... he doesn't even know what it is. I am so looking forward to waking up tomorrow. Pumpkin Spice coffee.

Yankee Candle. Need I say more?!

We had discovered that we are both country music fans. And she doesn't realize how bad I am about updating my music play lists... this gift was beyond perfect. I have an ipod... but I never remember to bring it in from the car to add anything to it! My country playlist on there is so last year.

Oh and yes... she even handmade me a card with pictures she took! Oh Sarah, you make me long for the beautiful colors of fall. (Why does WA not get the beautiful fall foliage??!!)

And to torture me a little more, two beautiful framed photographs as well.

And Mr Maks was incredibly thrilled to finally pull something out that was for him!
This kid loves books. Thank you Sarah!

Facey-Spacey

2010-10-16T15:10:00.001-07:00

If you have a Facebook page... could you very kindly click on the picture above and "like" Kaylee's Kloset on Facebook! I just opened a business page for myself on Facebook, and it would be really truly awesome if it would help spread the word among military families around the world wide web!!

I also have a question for all you wonderful bloggers out there... how many of you glorify your relationship with your spouse on here? I love reading about all the love between spouses on here, but sometimes it honestly does make me feel discouraged. Our marriage isn't always so beautiful. Of course I don't post about the bad parts of our marriage, I only post about the good... how many other only post about the good or make the bad seem better than it is? Honestly? I know I do.
I love Mr Mike, but marriage is hard work and this whole "year after" business has brought on a lot of icky sticky situations. I think we are going to have a beautiful life together in the long run, but I see a lot of hard for this year. But I guess the harder you work on something the better it becomes!

2010-10-15T14:59:00.001-07:00

Today is Oct. 15th, the National Day for Infant and Baby Loss remembrance. We remember all the babies born sleeping or whom we carried but never met, those we held but did not come home & those that came home & didn't stay.

"I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always.
As long as I'm living,
My baby you'll be."

holiday dress

2010-10-14T12:03:00.000-07:00

I know, I am the worst mom ever... but he was the same size as the little girl who this dress was for, and I needed to make sure it was fitted correctly around the waist! And then the buyer wanted to see the dress to make sure it wouldn't look like a "bag on her like most homemade dresses do" (her words). So I took this picture to prove to her that it is absolutely adorable. I need a little girl... haha

This dress is available on Etsy now too, in a few different sizes! And can also be made in ACU. This was my first holiday dress and first ABU dress!

pumpkin, baking, and aprons, oh my!

2010-10-13T10:25:00.000-07:00

So after making Sarah her own apron, I decided to make a few more! Here is the result of yesterdays apron experiment:
It is available on Etsy, and can be made with different color variations for the ruffles! Check it out! I also just found someone who can make me little clothing tags, so I can sew those into my clothes! So excited to get those!!

And since I was making aprons, I figured I should do some baking as well... especially after being tagged in that fill in and talking about pumpkin whoopie pies, I just had to make them.

PUMPKIN WHOOPIE PIE RECIPE:
*3c flour (I used rice flour)
*1 1/2 c sugar
*2 tsp baking soda
*2tsp baking powder
*1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
*1 tsp nutmeg
*1 tsp cloves
*1/2 tsp salt
Mix all the dry ingredients well. In separate bowl mix the following:
*5 eggs
*15 oz canned pumpkin pie filling (I found a gluten free one, Libby's Canned Pumpkin!)
*1/2 c water
*1/2 c veg oil (I used corn oil)
*1 tsp vanilla
Mix well, and then add to the first dry mixture.

Grease baking sheets and place a table spoon size of mixture on the tray (like you are making cookies). Bake for 8-10 min @ 350 degrees (preheat oven!). I baked mine for 8 minutes, because I like them a little gooey!

Place them on a rack to cool. When they are cool spread a giant glob of cream cheese icing (or just plain cream cheese) between two cookies... and enjoy!

And since I had all the ingredients out, I made some of the pumpkin bread from the recipe I gave you in an earlier post! This will be Maks and I breakfast for the next few days :-)

Why gluten free today? Maks may have celiac disease. If you have been reading my blog, you know he has been in and out of Mary Bridge Childrens Hospital seeing a gastric specialist, because he has not been able to empty his bowels since he was a wee little baby. He just fills his colon and gets so backed up and compacted. It has changed the shape of his colon from it stretching to hold so much! So he is going to be tested for celiac disease next Friday, he will have to go under anesthesia to have tissue removed from his stomach lining to test for celiac disease. Please keep him in your prayers! We really want to figure out why the poor kid can't poop!

Tag, you're it!

2010-10-12T10:27:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by the fun and fabulous Skinnie Piggie to answer some questions she came up for me and the others she tagged:

What is your favorite room in your house, why?
My living room. It's were we live really. And I just love my couches! And my 51" TV.
What book are you currently reading, would you recommend it to others?
"Love Dare" - and yes, totally completely recommend it.
What is your favorite outfit? (either post a picture or describe in detail)
I wore this dress the day after we were married, for our "wedding reception" garden party. I had in my head the dress I wanted to wear, and couldn't find it anywhere... I finally found this one on EBAY! No joke, EBAY.
This picture was taken at our 2 year wedding anniversary, 7 months after having our baby! I was so happy to have lost enough weight to squeeze into it for our pictures!
What is your favorite dessert to bake, can we have the recipe? (if you don't bake, just your favorite baked good...)
I love pumpkin bread! My family has a great pumpkin bread recipe (and I just bought pumpkin to make it this week!). Here is the recipe for ya'll! (BTW, it won in the county fair in Lancaster, PA - heart of home goods. It is seriously that good.)

PUMPKIN BREAD - from my Aunt Tammy Evans (linked to their families chocolate store)

* 4 eggs
* 3c sugar
* 1/2 c oil
Beat the above ingredients till creamy.
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2 tsp cinnamon
* 2 tsp baking soda (I just realized on my recipe card it says "backing soda" haha)
* 2 tsp nutmeg
Add and mix well.
* 2/3 c. water
* 3 1/2 c flour
Mix in slowly to above mixture.

* 2 c pumpkin
Fold into entire bowl.

Bake 1hr @ 325 degrees in butter/floured bread pans (cover entire pan with a thin layer of butter, then add a little flour to the pan and shake it around until the entire thing has a thin coating of butter/flour).

Also, a very common local Lancaster County, PA desert that I LOVE are Pumpkin Whoopie Pies. It's pretty much pumpkin bread in cookie size with cream cheese icing between two of them. Absolutely delicious!
Where do you consider home?
Well, that's a hard one to answer. I mean obviously home is where Mr Mike and Mr Maks are, I always make my home with them (which is wherever the Army puts us). But I lived my entire life, and my family is all living in Lancaster, PA. So I get "home sick" for there often. However, there is another place in this great country that whenever I enter I get overwhelmed with this feeling of "I want to be here FOREVER", and that is in Chincoteague, VA. I worked there at the Chincoteague Pony Centre for a summer during college, and just loved the little town it was located in. They literally had streets of crushed shells. Beautiful white streets of crushed shells. It's a little old fisherman's town and it always smells like salty seaweed... I am in love with it.

I am going to tag the following:

Miss Jodie @ Two Cents & Nonsense
Mrs T @ April's Flowers
Jamie @ Counting Stars
Sarah @ Mowenackie

Here are their questions!

1. What is one "little thing" you have to do for yourself occasionally to keep from going insane?
2. What is your biggest pet peeve?
3. Where would be your dream place to live, and why?
4. What is your favorite movie, and give us a summary of it and an explanation of why it is your favorite.
5. What is one thing you would like to change about yourself? Not about how you look... something about who you are.

now I've got it too...

2010-10-10T21:05:00.000-07:00

I feel like death is calling my name. I feel absolutely horrible. I feel so bad for Maks, this must be how he felt these past few days too. My throat is killing me, nothing soothes it. If anyone has any good ideas for a sore throat, please send them my way! I have been practically living on hot lemon/honey water. Today Maks and I colored our HUGE poster size Handy Manny coloring book daddy got us (I have a huge crush on Handy Manny btw). We colored one and added a mustache to Manny to send to my dad (he is Mr Fix-It himself).

The most disappointing part of this whole sick deal... we were supposed to dedicate Maks in church today! Thankfully our pastor was real cool about it and is going to schedule another one soon for us.

Luke 2:40

"And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. "

What does fall mean to you?

2010-10-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

Fall always means baking for my family. Today I opened my fridge and saw some very brown ripe bananas, and thought "oh... it is fall. Time to bake some banana bread!"

So after going through all my banana bread recipes, this is the one I tried today, and it is DELICIOUS!

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Tomorrow, pumpkin bread.

It's Fall!

2010-10-07T16:29:00.001-07:00

And flu season...

Poor baby is sick. A fever of 104 all night, and he must have a headache today, he keeps hitting his head and rubbing it hard against things. In the past 24 hours he has only eaten two ritz crackers and a few pretzel sticks. I've been forcing sippy cups of water and apple juice on him all day.

Aren't his slippers adorable! He thinks they are the bomb.

Kaylee's Kloset in a photoshoot!

2010-10-06T12:55:00.000-07:00

I sold this dress before I actually made it... and after I started making it I realized I charged her way too little for it. BUT... then I found out what she is buying it for, and it totally made it worth it.

This dress is going to be worn for JCPenney Portraits of Love for the Military! Hello free advertising.

If you have little kids and a deployed daddy (or mommy) you should head to JCPenney and take advantage of this deal! Pass it on to anyone you know who has kids and a deployed parent!

"aww" moments

2010-10-03T20:42:00.001-07:00

I never have pictures or video's of the two of us. I am always the one behind the camera. Thank goodness daddy was paying attention tonight and caught this for us.

Also, in honor of Mr Mike's 25th birthday tomorrow, I am going to tell you 25 things that I adore about him:

1. He chose me. Above all other women, he chose me to be his wife. He values me, he see's me as someone of such importance that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me.

2. He always takes out the trash, without asking, and without failure. The first few days after he was deployed, I was amazed at how frustrating it was to have to collect the diaper trash and kitchen trash and bathroom trash cans, and then try to lug them all out to the dumpster while carrying a baby. I didn't even notice this service he gave me until he was gone, and now that he is home and has picked up right where he left off, I thank him every time I see him with a trash-bag in his hand!

3. While he is not very good at seeing things that need to be done around the house, he is more than happy to do everything I ask if I make a list for him. I hate making lists... cause I feel like his mom when I do, but he appreciates that I make a list and I appreciate that he always does everything on them!

4. He has the most honorable job in this country. He serves not only his family, but his country. I am so proud of him. I do not know one other girl friend that I grew up with who has a husband as honorable and strong as mine. Sorry ladies, but mine is better than yours!

5. He is so creative. He always comes up with these crazy ideas how to handle things or to do things. Sometimes I get frustrated with this, because they are generally more difficult than how I would have done them and don't really make any sense... but his mind works in complicated ways, not with common sense!

6. While he doesn't handle money well, he is more than happy to allow me to handle our finances! Most men would be too proud and stubborn about "I'm the one who goes to work, it's my money...", he doesn't let his pride get ahead of his care for his family. He provides so much for us, and we always have everything we need because of him. He sacrifices so much so we can live comfortably.

7. He prefers to run straight home to me, than to go out and hang out with the guys. When invited to go somewhere, he always asks if he can bring me along.

8. He is sexy. Seriously. Sorry people... you may find this to be TMI, but I LOVE to look at him.

9. He is so patient. I am not. I am hot headed, loud mouthed, and have high expectations. I say so many things that I always immediately regret. He always just takes a deep breath and tells me that he loves me and forgives and forgets.

10. He is fair, honest, and unhypocritical.

11. For all the time's I have compromised for him, he has compromised for me 10x more.

12. He wants to have a "real wedding" someday. I would have been happy with just how we were married (court house and small family party afterwards), but he is still set on giving me a real wedding someday. He hates attention being on himself and making big deals out of things... but he wants to give me a real wedding someday.

13. He is such a little boy. Some days it makes me so angry that he can't just grow up... but then I remember that those little antics and silly grins are exactly what made me fall for him in the first place!

14. He never criticizes me. He only encourages and lifts me up.

15. He always has some witty comment to make about every and any situation. Sometimes not always appropriate... but still funny. My parents think he is a riot, and when in front of them the witty snark remarks are generally directed towards me... and they all love it. So not fair! But I love seeing my parents laughing at him and enjoying him.

16. He never harbors a grudge.

17. He is a complete disorganized slob, which is not the part I love about him... I hate that part. But he tries so hard to keep things clean and put things away to make me happy! He tries to find easy ways to keep his stuff organized.

18. He is so so sweet with Maks. I love watching the two of them together. It has been a hard change for him to leave a little baby and come home to a toddler... but he is trying hard to adjust and catch up.

19. He is a peace maker.

20. He doesn't try to be some tough guy. He doesn't care that people see him as "the family guy". It is hard for him with his job to not play a tough guy role, but he doesn't care what the other guys think of him.

21. He is my best friend.

22. He always encourages me to do things for myself. When he gets home from work he asks if I want to go out and have some time for myself. Even though he just worked a long hard day, he is willing to take over for me and let me have some time alone.

23. He honestly works hard, all day. He gets up at 5 am for a long, hard physical work out. And then works into the late evening.

24. He wants to please me. Most of the time he is so far off the mark, but he tries! The first week we were married he bought me a rice crispy treat every day, and would bring them to me pleased with himself for doing a little something for me. Little did he know... I don't like them at all. I didn't know how to break it to him! He still does things like that all the time, unfortunately, I no longer feel so "cute" about it and right out say "why do you buy me this?"... I should probably keep my mouth shut and just enjoy his giving heart.

25. He is amazing in bed. I can't think of an elegant way to say that, so I'll just give it to you straight: he rocks.

Tiny Baby Boy

2010-10-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

Second post today... I know. I don't normally like doing this, but I just found this picture on my computer and just had to share it.

Guh I love those butt cheeks!

Look at that adorable baby boy. These were his newborn pictures. Also... look at how HUGE he was as a new baby! He was no little baby. He was just a little over a month old in this picture.

October Fall Swap: a little about me

2010-10-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

I signed up to do a fall themed swap, and it made me realize I have never really done a post telling anything about myself. I feel kinda silly doing it now though... Mowenackie, this is not directed specifically for you! It just was prompted by the swap :-) and a realization I have never talked much about me.

Me: I grew up on a little 5 acre farm in Lancaster, PA. I am a Christian, and was blessed to be raised in a Christian home. I am not a Christian because my family is or goes to church, I am a Christian because I believe. I have always been a horse fanatic. My parents were nuts and got me a pony when I was 5... ok seriously parents, when a little girl says she wants a pony you arent supposed to go out and buy her one! But they did, and we have had a horse on the property since. I love cattle dogs, and miss mine terribly (there is no way I will pay a $500 non-refundable fee to have a dog in an apartment). I have a fat cat named Paco, he is so fat and so lazy... yet did manage to catch a squirrel recently (my sisters cat just did too... we have talented cats). All my animals are with my parents in PA. About 3,000 some miles away from me here in WA :-( I miss my horse the most. Sugerr Shallea, an 18 year old Arabian mare (who thinks she is a fat Quarter pony). That is my brothers cattle/hound dog mix, Ruger, chasing her.

My family: My parents, are awesome. Seriously. They are the kind that always have their doors open to everyone, and an extra plate at the table for whoever shows up for dinner. My friends always felt like part of the family when over, and never felt uncomfortable to raid the pantry or the fridge! Even my husband has stated he feels "home" when at my parents and enjoys being there... and he is so anti-social so that is HUGE coming from him! I have a little sister and brother, Melanie is 18 *edit, 19 almost 20... sorry Melanie*, and Tommy will be turning 16 (holy crap!).

Of course my dear hubby Mr Mike, and our precious child Mr Maks.

Military: Mr Mike joined the military in 2006. He had been a close friend prior to leaving for basic, I actually met him at work... I was his secretary ;-) I always found him to be a total pest, but lots of fun. We hung out with other friends outside of work, but nothing much more than that. But when he left for basic... I realized how much I really relied on his friendship. I missed him terribly. During his Christmas break after basic training, we spent every waking moment together and realized how much we had missed each other, and began "dating"... not much of a good dating period considering he was then sent to Fort Lewis, WA after that break, and we were 3,000 miles apart! So we said: lets get married. And we did, just a few months later when he was on his two week leave. He literally drove across the country with his closest friend (our bestman) and we got married.
Seven months later, I found out I was pregnant! December 23, 2008 Maksym was born! You can see pictures of him plastered all over my blog. He is beautiful, and absolutely hysterical. He looks just like his daddy! Acts a lot like him as well...

July 2009, Mr Mike was deployed to Afghanistan. He is Infantry, so it isn't an easy deployment. But he sure did make deployment look sexy! He returned at the end of this past July, and has been home for a little over two months now! We are slowly getting back into the routine of being a complete family, there have been some ups and downs... but I see great things for our future!

Likes: I love fall! It is beautiful. My living room colors are fall colors, all year long. Dark reds, golds, and greens. I love fall. I like horse back riding, hiking, rock climbing, dogs (missing mine), and decorating. I prefer to be barefoot, and outside. I love the beach! I love trouser leg pants, and am thinking of bringing back the wide leg jean ;-) I like to crochet, sometimes. I like babies, but don't want another one until our enlistment is over. So in like maybe three to five years? And I love to sew. I have started "Kaylee's Kloset", named after my best friends baby girl (who was actually just born Monday!) I have been making childrens military themed clothing for the past few months, and have been pretty pleased with the amount of orders and sales I have done!

So that is me, in a nutshell.

Deployment Woe's... continued.

2010-09-30T22:30:00.001-07:00

So those overalls for the twins had me thinking about their daddy...

Their daddy has been going through surgeries for the past year (had another this morning) and has major spinal injuries. Their daddy was on my Mr Mikes team in Afghanistan last year. September 14, 2009 an IED hit Mr Mike's teams Stryker, killing two and injuring the rest.

I remember on Sept 15 seeing wives posting on their facebook that their husbands had been injured... and by the end of the day it hit me: "those are all men on Mikes team. Omg. I havent heard anything... I havent heard from Mike. They haven't publicly released information... that means not all the next of kin have been contacted yet." I turned and puked. Right in my mothers living room I began hysterically crying and vomiting.

I spent the next day or two sitting by my door waiting for those "visitors", my phone in hand praying for at least just an injury. Finally, two days later, the names of the deaths were released. That's good news right? Well, not good news, it is devastating news when you know those men. then, a four digit number is calling me. Afghanistan! I braced myself for the worst, he is injured but not too bad.

I answer the phone, and he says "I'm fine. I'm sure you heard what happened... I should have been there. I should have been with him." He sounds so guilty. He had stayed behind that day. THANK GOD is what I was thinking... but he felt left out.

The end of that month he was able to come home for his R&R, really early. But letting him go back was harder than the day he first left. Now I was sending him into an obviously deadly job. When he first left I had this whole "oh they are just gunna be as lazy over there as they are here" attitude about the deployment.

October was the longest month in the world last year. I had to send Mr Mike back to Afghanistan, and barely heard from him at all that month. It drug on, and on, and on.

Stuff like this still haunts me several months after the deployment is over. I totally understand PTSD, because I swear I have a form of it myself. If I hear the word deployment, hear a song about soldiers or patriotism, if something comes up about deployment (like Mr Mike accidentally saying he saw Sgt McConnell today - one of the Sgts that died in that IED), I have an emotional break down. I feel so lonely the rest of the day, I forget that he is home, I have nightmares... I feel like the affects of the deployment will never actually leave me. It will haunt me for eternity... that feeling that tomorrow could make me a widow and my son without a father.

Deployment is life changing.

Maksym's Military Overalls

2010-09-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

I just finished these adorable overalls! Two actually, for twins in Texas.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KayleesKloset

Five Plastic Army Men (least useful in combat)

2010-09-26T13:28:00.000-07:00

This is a must read for anyone military, or anyone who grew up playing with Plastic Army Men! (Click on the picture to enlarge)

Fall Favorites Swap!

2010-09-23T23:00:00.000-07:00

I have decided to take part in a blogger swap! I have never braved one of these before, but I love love love fall, and everything about fall. So I decided to give it a try!

I made a pair of little boys ACU over-alls to add to my new clothing collection! I really like them, they are so soft lined with fleece.

blog award

2010-09-21T21:31:00.001-07:00

I just got my first award!
I received this award from Mrs. Z's Field of Dreams! She is a very lovely blogger and has bestowed her loveliness onto me. Thank you Mrs. Z! (Hey... I was once Miss Z! And I am going to be passing this one to a Miss Z!)

1. Accept the award. Post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2. Pay it forward to 5 other bloggers that you have newly discovered.

3. Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen

Aprils Flowers

Two Cents & Nonsense

Skinnie Piggie

Introspection of the Ordinary

And last, but definitely not lease: my bestie, and she is the bestie of the restie.
Declare His Glory: Africa (a MUST read!)

despite two difficult men...

2010-09-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

We got a decent family picture!

It is rare he does not have that blankie in his hands.

And it is rare that he does not have cars in his hands!!

bad day

2010-09-18T23:59:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days that whatever I touched either broke, burned, ripped, spilled, cried, or tore. And I had a lot I needed to get done today! It just did not happen. I think day's that MrMike is home actually end up more stressful for me, because I just assume he is going to help and take over some of my daily tasks and will be a second set of eyes to watch MrMaks... but it doesn't actually work out that way so instead I just have to do double the work because I have slacked off and the work becomes even bigger and MrMaks gets into even more trouble! I need to stop assuming that MrMike is watching MrMaks at all.

I did get one dress completed that turned out great!

Kaylee's Kloset

2010-09-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

So I decided to start using my time at home. I don't have a little girl, but I love little girls dresses, especially making little girls dresses... so I am trying something out!

Introducing Kaylee's Kloset!

Girly with a hint of HOOAH (or HOORAH or HOOYAH) in support of their mommies or daddies!

If you know a little Army Brat, please pass this on to them.
Spread the word!
Army wife to Army wife :-)

What a boy.

2010-09-07T21:02:00.000-07:00

I cannot believe how fast this little boy is growing up. And he is turning into such a typical boy! Cars are his life, he always has a car or a tractor in his hand. If it has wheels, it is a hit.

Books too, he loves his books. He will run back to his room and climb up onto his bed or his rocking chair and pull a book up with him. He can entertain himself for hours with a pile of books. Maybe he isn't speaking because he is just teaching himself t0 read... (far fetched, I know!)

I WON!

2010-09-02T09:25:00.001-07:00

I actually just won a giveaway! Thank you Skinnie Piggie for the $50 gift card for CSN!

Thanks to this gift card, I just purchased Maks a birthday present for his 2nd birthday in December!

I miss my pony

2010-08-30T23:08:00.001-07:00

Maks as MAX

2010-08-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

Ok so here is the finished costume, not so Elvis anymore!

uh huh... I'm all shook up

2010-08-24T21:35:00.001-07:00

So I was making Maks a "MAX" costume, from "Where the Wild Things Are"... And I went to slip it on him quick to make sure it would fit before adding a zipper ect.

And this was the little dance he gave me in his outfit, which made me realize:
holy freakin goodness he looks like Elvis!

I cannot stop laughing at this picture!!!

3 YEARS

2010-08-24T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today is our 3 year anniversary!

my HUSBAND

2010-08-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

Little random rant... some people probably do not at all agree with this but its a personal preference not really an across the board thing:

I hate when people refer to Michael is "your soldier."
He is not "my soldier". He is my husband. Soldier is his job title, not his identity. He is a soldier for the United States Army, not a soldier for me. For me, he is my husband.

This does not mean I am not proud of him! I am SO proud of him, and incredibly thankful for all that he does for us. While he was deployed I flew that service flag proudly.

But I just don't get the whole "army wife" and "my soldier" and stuff. I mean honestly... do you see ladies walking around with "carpenters wife" shirts, and calling their husbands "my store manager", ect?!

I love the military, I love how well it has taken care of us and I love that my husband is serving. But it's not our "life style", its his job. It's not our identity, its his job. He is not "my soldier", he is MY HUSBAND!

my baby bulldog

2010-08-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

So Maks is known for his "bulldog" smile. It is so cute, and he will even growl at you! I adore it.

(Maks 12 months old)

Till tonight, when he was asleep and I noticed (looking down from the top of his head) that his jaw sticks out a little forward when he is sleeping. I stuck my finger in his mouth and rubbed against the front of his teeth, and discovered that the bottom come out really far in front of his top teach. I massaged his cheeks and jaws to relax them hoping he was just clenching them like that for some reason, and even when he was sound asleep and relaxed, there was still an obvious underbite.

Now I am freaking out. Hello years of orthodontic bills. I am so anxious for it to be morning so I can call the dentist and get in ASAP. He has already been to the dentist and they didnt say anything then... guuuh I am so not happy right now.

too cute to shoot!

2010-08-12T11:45:00.001-07:00

Here Come's TROUBLE!

2010-08-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

Maks insisted on holding the reins by himself. He is going to be a pro when he gets older! He loves Shallea. She is so good with him too.

My sister picked up a new horse on Sunday. I was very glad to convince her to go with a camp horse for this season, since the free lease she had last didn't work out so well and it was hard coordinating and communicating with the owners what the problems were. With a camp horse, they automatically go back at the beginning of the summer. If you really like the horse, you can request to get it again next August. Or... everything has its price!!

So this is Double Bubble, who we will be calling Trouble (because Bubbles is just gay). He is some sort of gaited pony, and is SO much fun! And very sweet. He is tiny, so Melanie feels a lot more secure on him. I think this will be a good match! And Shallea is happy to have a boyfriend again!

how perfect.... NOT

2010-08-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

So I am a bit of a freak about security. I check locks constantly and am always making sure things are in their place.

We are about to go away for a week, so I have been busy putting valuables securely away and locking everything from our patio in the storage room.

Then Mr Mike announces to me: "I lost my set of keys". So we tear the house apart, I mean literally. Pulling the washer and dryer out from the wall and turning mattresses over. We have to find these keys. For numerous reasons, number one: it has the only set to his Bronco; number two: it has a remote to my Buick SUV so someone could push the alarm button and find which car it goes to; number three: the last to use it was me at the mailbox so if I lost it there then the person who found them knows which apartment it goes to!

I have never cried so hard and so long before than after several hours of looking for those keys and not finding them. I almost cancelled our trip. How can I fly away with the keys to our lives (literally) in some strangers hands?! What if we come home and find out house completely stripped of all our belongings?! What if they steal both cars?! What if, what if, what if...

Finally I had to force myself to stop crying because my child needs to be put to bed (and daddy is a failure in that field haha). And after laying in bed with him and reading books and singing his little bedtime songs I was able to think a little clearer and we came to this conclusion:
We will drive my car to my friends house and leave it there for the week, that way nobody can find my car. Mikes car keys don't have anything written on them so they would have to try the key in every car in the parking lot. And his car uses a different key for the door than for the ignition, so they will have two keys to have to try in each car in the whole parking lot. I will call the apartment office in the morning and ask if anyone turned in the keys anyways, and if not, ask them what they want to do about our apartment keys... maybe they will just have the locks replaced (for a fee I am sure, but oh well).

I can guarantee you we will do all this and then find them the second we get home, sitting out in plain sight in the apartment. And I will be furious.

So I just discovered...

2010-08-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

I have OCD

Since I was little, I mean... I can't even remember a time that I didnt do this... I have been picking at my nails and the skin around my nails. I have always been so embarrassed when they would be red and swollen or bleed.

I've always just thought it was a bad habit that I wasn't good about stopping, but recently I have been really trying to stop because I don't want Maks to see me doing it and form the same habit! But I can't. I sit there craving it. I stare at my nails and start to panic when I can't pick at them. My cuticles scream to be ripped off.

It's all a struggle to be perfect. I always want things to be perfect, and because they never look perfect I keep picking at the blemish. Which then causes even a worse blemish, and it becomes an endless cycle that never heals. And my nails are never even or the same shape and size, which drives me insane so I pick and file and chew at them constantly to try and make them all look the same.

I would have never thought of this as an OCD until I made a deal with my husband: if I could get my hands to heal, he would quit smoking. They were both bad, unhealthy habits that we didn't want to influence our son with and we were going to quit them together. So I started to search online for help to quit adult nail biting. And doing so I found an article on "finger picking". I have NO IDEA other people did this! I thought I was just gross. I read the article and was floored at all the other symptoms that they spoke of that are totally ME... and that they are all OCD habits stemming from perfectionism and anxiety. Maybe I will have to actually talk to a dr about this, maybe going back on my anxiety medication will help me quit the habit?

What a shocking realization. I have an OCD habit. I'm one of those crazy people who washes their hands a million times in a row?! Me?! Wow.

busy family of THREE

2010-07-29T20:28:00.001-07:00

We have done so many things this past week!! Maks has been loving life lately. He totally deserved the spoiling he is getting from his daddy. We have visited two different children's hands on museums, went to the zoo, swam in the pool, and learned to ride a miniature four-wheeler in the backyard!

The most exciting... Maks moved into a big boy bed!! I can't believe I am the mother of a boy who sleeps in a real bed.

It is now truly THE YEAR AFTER

2010-07-14T22:22:00.000-07:00

Michael is home! He is finally home!

could it be?

2010-07-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

Is tomorrow the day?! Is my husband coming home?!!!

Honestly, I have no idea.

But I have hunch!

KOMO News photo's!

2010-07-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

Maks on KOMO News

2010-07-02T14:05:00.000-07:00

We had our photo's taken by a photographer a few weeks ago, and today the picture was posted on the KOMO News website!!

It is only a thumbnail size photo, but the full pictures are on their way in the mail right now! I will post them as soon as I receive them.

"the paycheck"

2010-06-30T10:18:00.000-07:00

This is it... this is "the paycheck"! The last paycheck we will receive during this deployment! Next paycheck will be a stateside paycheck!

As they say in Little Einsteins: "I-can-not-be-lieve-it!"

*does a little happy dance*

On another note... Maks is going through the "nightmare stage". He wakes up pretty much nightly with a nightmare. I go in and pick him up and sit down to rock him, and he eventually just cries himself to sleep and then we are (usually) good for the rest of the night. It is getting old though. I am looking forward to him sleeping through the night again. I really hope it ends before his daddy is home! That would be fantastic.

My rings are done! I can be married once again! I had them sent to be "dipped", the white gold was turning yellow... but I am going to right this immediate moment pack up my child and head to Kays to retrieve my rings! I have been lonely without them.

Next post... will be even closer to Mr Mike's return!!!

Our WA home!

2010-06-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

We have made it to our new home. And we have been working our butts off to make it a "home"! Today we had our new dining set delivered, very excited about that! I love it. I hated our old dining set and got rid of it right before packing our stuff into storage. This one is a keeper.
I need to head to Big Lot's and get Maks a toy/storage chest for his room. He just has a pile of toys/hats/shoes on his floor that need a home.

More pictures to come as rooms are completed! (the dining room is missing one mirror, I broke it :-( seven years of bad luck right? yuck

night and day

2010-06-01T19:08:00.001-07:00

This past week I have gone through the same sinking feeling every night when I try to go to bed. That tight feeling in your chest, and the heavy pit in your stomach. I get to talk to Mr Mike almost every night before I go to bed, as he is getting up and on his way to do whatever it is he is to do that day. How do you lay down and go to sleep knowing that the love of your life is headed out to do who knows what in a dangerous war zone?! At least when I wake up in the morning and talk to him he is headed off to bed, and I can go through my day knowing he is just sleeping.

The end is so near, and each day keeps getting slower and slower. I would love to sit and relax saying "we made it this far, we are at the end!" But I can't do that, because tomorrow is just as dangerous as yesterday.

Memorial Day

2010-05-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

I believe, for just one day, political opinions on war should not be mentioned. For this one day, let us not state our reasons for believing whether we should or should not be involved. The decision has been made, action has been taken. There are 364 other days to debate this.

Whether wartime or not, military personnel are subject to dangerous missions and are often times in life threatening situations. It's the nature of the business. Some lost their lives in that business. Some lost limbs, organs, eyes, ears, noses, senses, a wide variety of other wounds.

At some point this weekend, whether it be Monday or not, take time to say "thanks" for people who have given their lives. People just like us, who over time have left loving family and friends, possibly a perfectly good job or education, their belongings and chose to serve this country in our military.

They are the reason the United States of America IS what it is today! They are the reason there IS a Memorial Day and that you get that day off work!

So, whether you believe our military or political stands have been right or wrong, honor the memory of our fallen Americans.

We love and miss you Sgt Mac. I will remember you this weekend.

Sgt. Andrew H. McConnell, 24, of Carlisle, PA was killed, the department said. He was a member of the 5th Stryker brigade based at Fort Lewis, Wash., that deployed in July.

The death was announced the same day as a memorial at Fort Lewis for three other 5th Stryker brigade members killed Aug. 31 in Afghanistan.

lasts...

2010-05-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

Maks had his last tractor ride with grandpa.

Grandma just put him to bed for the last time.

He had his last meal cooked by his grandma, and ate his meal sitting on grandpa's lap for the last time.

We are headed off to our last vacation as just the two of us, this is a good last!

My parents leave tomorrow to drive my car across the USA, packed full of all my belongings! It is PACKED full.
We will be spending the weekend at the beach, till Tuesday morning.
The following Monday we will be in the state of Washington.

Oh and, I have a stomach ulcer. No surprise there!