A Good Time

I have to say I love being a National Guard wife. I am proud of what my husband and his fellow soliders do for our country. I like the fact that once a month he can go off and play soliders, shoot guns, and hang with the guys.

But every once in awhile our military guys/gals are rewarded for their good deeds. This past weekend was a very good reward.

Kid Rock came to Fort Jackson to put on a free concert for our military. Yes others could buy tickets and I think Fort Jackson won't be the same but boy was it worth it. I had a fabulous time and I am sure if you were able to talk to a basic training recruit out there that night they would say that experience made the 12 weeks easier to bear.

This is not the first concert he put on for soliders and I HOPE it will not be the LAST. Just wish people had left their kids at home.

Now I did not brave the field in front of the concert because I did not want to stand for 2 hours after waiting in traffic for one hour and hiking the half mile to the field from our parking spot.

Thank you Kid Rock for a GREAT performance!

Woo Hoo!

1. I am truly excited. The house is coming together, the number of boxes is diminshing, and two cars now fit in the garage.

2. My husband comes Saturday night

3. Did I mention my husband is almost home!

I am glad this three week training is almost over. I wish my step-daughter would make time to come down and see her dad this weekend and celebrate his birthday but she's 18 and has better stuff to do.

New developments

Sorry it has been a long time since I have left an entry but there has been many events that have needed my attention.
We have moved house, my husband left for training, and my kids started a new school. With all that, I am lucky to have time to breathe.
There are still boxes around the house and it will be nice to get a second car in the garage once those are gone. The boys seem to like the new school and the daycare literally wears the baby out so he is asleep by 8 pm so I occassionally manage to get an evening walk in.
Till next time...

It's my birthday

Hoorah for me!

I still love birthdays.

I know women my age are supposed to hate getting old; but I still enjoy the celebration.

I like everyone showering good wishes on me and of course giving and receiving birthday presents is great fun. Of course, now the presents tend to be more for the house and less for myself; its still worth it. I know I pick out most of my presents and that ruins the surprise but they fit and I like the gift. Saves on returns.

Thank you to all those who wished me a Happy Birthday. It means a lot to know there are friends out there (I know Facebook helped with those).

It has also been nice since I have a GREAT AWESOME and AMAZING husband who has literally let me put my feet up and let me relax while he handled all the kiddie stuff.

Giveaway Link - Cheerios

Check out youthfultips.blogspot.com to check out her Cheerios Martina McBride or Cal Ripken Jr giveaway. I have to say that it is great that Cheerios are still around and that my kids still love them. So check it out.

Fourth of July

If you have not guessed by now I am a military wife. I am proud of what my husband does for this country even though it takes him away from us from time to time. The Fourth of July reminds me of all the men and women who make this sacrifice. Since we are located near Fort Jackson, we started last year going to the Torchlight Tattoo and while the fireworks were pretty to watch and Columbia actually had nice weather that day. It is amazing to see the sheer number of recruits surviving through basic training and then watching them enjoy having a free evening. Pizza, Mountain Dew, and candy is obviously not something they can enjoy during those 12 weeks of basic training. It also makes one appreciate the fact I can choose what I am going to wear every day (even if I complain that I have nothing to wear most of the time), what I get to eat and when I go to bed and get up (yes, my job requires waking up early during the week but I made the choice to go to that job and get up accordingly). With that in mind, not all their sacrifices are large but they are sacrifices nether the less so we should all show respect and courtesy to these brave men and women.

A great marriage experience

Now while I am a good mother, I also strive to be a good wife. I have been a wife again for all of 2+ months. I think I am doing a good job and this weekend helped. We were invited to spend this past weekend in Myrtle Beach for Strong Bonds weekend and I have to thank the South Carolina Army National Guard for providing this opportunity. I believe both my husband and I learned alot. The speakers were very informative and they should this great video of a seminar from Mark Gungor title "Laugh your way to a better marriage" and while I am not a big believer of organized religion and being preached to I have to say this preacher knew what he was talking about. Like the title says you will laugh until tears come out of your eyes. He was very honest and a lot of what he said made alot of sense. So women, when men stare blankly at the TV screen or say that they are thinking about "nothing", they really are. So I am telling everyone I know that is married to check his video series out. You will enjoy it.

- I am providing this review of my own free will and was/has not been compensated for my opinion.

Learn something new all the time

I am the first to admit that I do not know everything about being a mom. I learn just like everyone else. With this in mind, I learned something this morning that was a big help and wanted to share.

My youngest has had a severe diaper rash the last couple of days due to the 1st year molar coming in. I don't understand how a tooth coming in causes diarrhea but it does.

After using Desitin that last couple days, my mom suggested letting him sleep without a diaper last night. With that in mind, I did not want to get Desitin spread all over the towel he would sleep on; I was afraid he would get this in his mouth since he moves around in his sleep. So I put Aveeno lotion on his behind last night before putting his diaper on while he played before bedtime.

Of course, we forgot to take the diaper off last night.

But this morning when we changed him, the diaper rash was drastically reduced! I was amazed that it worked better than the Desitin.

It is great to learn something new.


(This is not a review of a product and I am not endorsing a product. I am jsut sharing my opinion.)

Battle of the driving test

Today was an interesting day at work. While I did get alot accomplished, we had a great time with the Battle of the driving test.

What was this you ask?

One of my co-workers emailed a driving test he found online and that started the battle.

As it was passed around, everyone was determined to earn a higher score than the person before.

What did I score? A 90. So I guess it is safe for me to be on the road.

What to see how you do? Check out http://moneycentral.msn.com/quiz/driving-skills-quiz/home.aspx and see how you do.

Getting out of Dodge

Yesterday was one of those days that should go down in the books. Logan has been teething and the tooth has broken through. This means two days of fever, screaming, and short nerves. And that is just the toddler.

What topped the day off was just as Logan calmed down and had some nice mint chocolate chip ice cream and the world seemed right again. He threw it all up ALL over me, Tommy, and the couch. Of course this was not a good experience for all three of us. This is also the moment Daddy and Chris got back from their Carowinds field trip.

So what did Tommy and I do you ask? I cleaned up Logan and myself, cleaned the couch, and handed Logan to Daddy. Then we got out of Dodge in a Firebird!

We took the T-tops off, turned up the music, and drove to the nearby Sonic for Sodas and quiet time. IT WAS NICE!

Don't get me wrong I LOVE BEING A MOTHER. But I am the first to admit that sometimes it gets the best of me and I need a break.


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Mother's Day

This past Sunday was Mother's Day. For a mother's day it was good but it was also tiring. My husband came back from his National Guard annual training, the baby has his 2 top front teeth coming in which resulted in him being a crying fussy baby. We started with running errands and cleaning my middle child's bedroom on Saturday and then my parents house and the boat on Mothers Day. So by Sunday afternoon I was ready to DROP.

My boys were sweet and made me Mother's Day cards. I love a homemade gift over flowers and jewelry any day and my husband got me a "proud Army wife" charm for my bracelet. So I am good for another year, and just waiting for my well-deserved nap.

I have to say that I am definitely not a perfect mom and I have been out of the loop since my next youngest is 7 years old. But I am learning along the way. I think this time around because I am older that I have more patience and am definitely calmer. I also have learned from other mothers and the daycare teachers on what works.

I am a true believer in daycare. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than a mother's love but not everyone is blessed with a husband that makes enough for them to stay at home comfortably. I have to work, I like to be an adult and have something else to worry about instead of playdates and diapers. I also think my children have learned more and acquired skills quicker because they had other kids to learn from. Case in point, my youngest was just moved into the one year old room last week. He is already pulling up and standing; he will even walk with assistance. He was not even attempting to do all this two weeks ago. On the other side of the spectrum my sister's oldest is 3 and on last check is still wearing diapers and not potty trained. She is a stay at home child and rarely has interactions with other children to see that using the potty is what she should do. So this leaves my sister to deal with two kids in diapers. I feel for her because that has got HARD!

My husband and I are still learning and we don't claim to perfectjust doing our best and making sure our kids are well-loved!