So my kids have to be growing, right?!

I feel like alllllll my kids do is eat anymore! Like, Allie has always been bad with snacking, she is definitely more of a grazer than a meal eater...but the girl can also clear her plate. My girls are fantastic eaters, they aren't picky in the least. Allie knows what she likes, so she can be a little hard to please, but Emily literally eats anything. Lately, they both want to eat all day everyday. Today after a discussion with Adam, I feel like I really can't even keep up with their eating and they go thru certain snacks so fast anymore. So I decided, I am going to attempt to make some snacks for them instead of buying everything. I have an endless, well not really, supply of flour and plenty of baking things left from the holidays. So I have found recipes for gold fish, cheez its, oreos, pop tarts, pretzel bites, and graham crackers. Tomorrow, I plan on trying out of the pop tart recipe and maybe the pretzel bites. I also need to work out some new lunch recipe ideas for them. I planned our meals for the next week, and am planning on a good food shopping trip to further meal plan and make more homemade snacks. Hopefully it all comes out yummy!

Meal Planning...Here I Come!

Well, after a very expensive food shopping trip...I have realized, I really need to meal plan. Last week, we ate out two nights in a row, very not the norm for us. We were just "out of food". Well, I didn't have any meals to really create. Then I got creative and I found one or two things I could make with what we had...then, finally Sunday we went shopping and spent TOO much money. However, it should give us meals for at least week...and we also stocked up on things like "sides" you know, like rice and noodle sides that you make in a crunch. I just really need to get real with the situation of meals. Sadly, I still have to go food shopping AGAIN this week, but I am working on finding some meal planning resources and I will shop with a LIST instead of just buying what I see. It's also hard, because we have still only been in our house for a little over a month now, so we still do not have all of those essentials that we normally have. So, I am going to attempt to meal plan and see if I can't cut some of these food bills down a bit and also make my life a teensy bit easier! I am enjoying the process of looking for recipe ideas and finding resources online with the process. I just wish I was as good as some of these moms!

Post to a friend and some thoughts

So a friend of mine posted about feeling like everything was a test...and I couldn't agree more, especially about this past year of our life. So I responded because I wanted her to realize she could totally handle whatever was being thrown at her.

Just God trying to make you stronger ;) Go with the flow, show Him you can handle it. I felt like this past year of my life was a giant test, I tried to stay positive about everything (and I mean EVERYTHING, including a lumpectomy) and really, I came out better because of it. My kids were constantly sick, Adam's leave was switched because of his bad back (big emotional thing to handle since he would miss Allie's birthday), my grandmother passed away, I found a lump, he had to come home for my surgery (which messed with Allies head), more kid sickness, moved half away across the country with my kids and unpacked half of the house on the own, way, way (2 types in the month we waited for him) more kid sickness (including throwing up on the way to his homecoming ceremony!) and patiently waited and prayed for my husband to make it in time for Christmas, and God delivered. I felt like most days I couldn't handle anymore without Adam by my side, but each day...I proved myself wrong. So whenever you think you can't handle anymore, dig deep, you can!! Believe in yourself :) After this past year, I firmly believe God does not and will not give what you cannot handle and he is just trying to show you just how strong you are! So whatever is getting you down, don't let it! ;) You got this.

A lot of times during this deployment, one a certain wife and I would talk to each other, and we would often say to each other "You got this". It's the truth, we did. We handled anything thrown at us, especially when we thought we couldn't. Sometimes I feel like I took the easy way out by going home or, because Adam got sent home on emergency leave for my surgery, that like things were easier for us. Then I need to remind myself of how far we have been as a family in general, his first deployment was FIFTEEN months, I gave birth WITHOUT him, raised Allie alone (while yes living at my moms) but I did it without assistance, every feeding, every diaper change, every time she cried during the night, I did it alone without any even emotional support from my husband being with me (other than phone calls, computer IMs and letters). He missed her whole first year of life, he met her at 4 months old and had the strength to leave her and came home 2 weeks before her first birthday and was an amazing father. We had another baby 2 years later and he managed to have the strength to leave us all again (after packing our home up for 2 weeks straight to send us back to NJ so we would be happier). In that year, he dealt with so much physical pain left over from his last deployment, lost two friends over there, had to handle everything going on at home and miss his kids. I can't even comprehend that. Then again, I don't think he could sit home and wait either. How I don't think we've been thru enough, I don't know...but when push comes to shove, I guess I look at what other families have been thru. My mom kept saying to me after I moved back here, I don't know how you are doing it all alone with two little kids and then the girls got ear infections and nasty colds. That cleared up and they both got the stomach virus, days within him coming home, Em even threw up on the way to his ceremony. I prayed and prayed I wouldn't be sick for his ceremony...and I wasn't...but at midnight on Christmas...it hit me! However, God answered my prayer, Emmy didn't get sick at the ceremony and either did I!

I will say, I never prayed harder than I have in the past year and my prayers were answered. When it came down to my lumpectomy and Adam possibly coming home, at first I prayed for him to come home...but then I thought, how selfish of me to pray for that. So I prayed for God to take care of our family how He saw fit, let him lay out the route we would need to take. If Adam didn't come home, I was waiting until after the deployment to have the surgery and I would just get the biopsy done. Sure enough, Adam arrived the day before my surgery, enough time for me show him the ropes with the girls and with Allie's school schedule before he had to take over the next day and for a solid week or more after before I could attempt to lift the girls again. Thank God he did, I was not expecting the pain meds to not work after my surgery. I was not expecting to be so miserable, or have to have him lift me out of bed because I couldn't even do that. So God knew him being home was a huge blessing and he made it happen.

End my rant on my thoughts on this past year and how much my prayers were answered. I'm not one who goes to church every week, but this deployment has most certainly renewed my faith and instilled some more in Adam. He has even discussed becoming Catholic. We also know going to church as a family is something we want to start doing, hopefully our kids will behave. It's amazing, how when you think the most challenging times of your life, you would think God is challenging you or maybe even punishing you, I promised myself to stay positive and I found a blessing in almost each challenge. It made this past year much more bearable, when it could of just been miserable.

He is HOME!

Finally, our hero is home! We prayed and prayed he would make it in time for Christmas...and we got our prayers answered. We picked him up at 4:30 am on Christmas Eve. Talk about just making it in time. What a blessing. I still can't believe its over. It's weird as the days pass, to not dread them passing, like it's ok that its already late in the week because he isn't leaving us again anytime soon. The girls are just so happy to have daddy home. It is still an adjustment with him here, but a very welcome adjustment. We so look forward to this next year of family time, although he has 2 months of school ahead of him down in Benning, so that stinks...but we will handle it, just like anything else. Right now, we are just happy to be normal for awhile, it feels so good.

Life just gets too crazy to keep up sometimes

Well, I wrote about us getting on the housing list last time. Well, if not 3 weeks later, they called us offering us brand new housing that I could sign for via fax. How perfect did that work out? We even have our desired garage. I sat there desperately trying to work out plans on how I could manage to move my entire storage unit with my sister and maybe recruit my friend's husband to help. Adam repeatedly told me I was crazy. I cried on the phone explaining to him that I was just trying to keep our family together when he was home instead of apart. I had thought of hiring movers, but was afraid he wouldn't go for it. Finally, he said, "Just hire some movers, I won't have to do anything when I get home and you guys will be waiting for me, it will be perfect". Three phone calls later, the movers were scheduled for November 19th at a really reasonable rate. The guy on the phone claims they will be done in about 5 hours...lets hope he is right! Now, instead of me attempting to fly to KY and spending hundreds of dollars on airfare, a rental car and hotel (while leaving the girls behind and coordinating childcare) we will ALL be together for his homecoming. Now, we hope and pray he makes it in time for Christmas.

This is the big weekend, I am heading to KY with my sister to handle the movers and move most of our stuff from here. I am hoping to get SO much done this weekend so it won't be too bad when I get back with the girls. I will then come back to NJ, spend Thanksgiving with our families, and then head out a couple days after Thanksgiving to KY and stay there and wait for our soldier (while unpacking, organizing and making our house a home). Allie is very excited about all of this! She gets a big girl bed out of the deal, so she is pretty pumped. A new bed, daddy and Santa all in one month, what else could a girl ask for?!

The girls had a fabulous Halloween. Em was tinkerbelle and Allie finally decided on a bumble bee. They loved trick or treating and Em seriously walked so much I was shocked. I am so glad we were here for Halloween, and grateful we will be here for Thanksgiving. However, I cannot WAIT to get back to KY and get things started. I can't believe it is only days away!

Well, well, well

Well, if life didn't throw us yet another curve ball. Before I knew it, September was over. Now, it is thankfully October! I am so very grateful. The weather is nice and chilly, and we are only 3 months away from this deployment being over. I just got us back on the housing list, so I am hoping and praying we will get a house by the end of December.

We got Emily's Halloween costume, she is going to be Tinkerbelle. Allie keeps bouncing around on ideas. She saw Lalaloopsy costumes, but I am trying to get her away from that idea. It is a cheesy costume and way too expensive. She kind of liked the Olivia costume. This morning she mentioned being a Wizard. I am telling you, we will be deciding two days beforehand!

She started PreK in early September and she loves it. She goes 5 days a week from 9:20 until 11:45. I drop her off and the bus brings her home. She loves taking the bus. It's so sweet to see her get off the bus and see the happiness in Emmy's face when she sees her. I really do think they are each other's best friend.

Other than that, we are just rolling right along. I am so ready for this thing to be over with. Just 3 more holidays to go. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Adam will most likely miss Christmas, so it will be the girls and I at my parents. We will do a belated Christmas with the BIG Santa gifts when we get back to KY. Keep on keepin' on!

I am SO "Old" now...WAH!

Well, I turned 27 over the weekend...I am now on the downhill slope to 30! Actually, age has never bothered me one bit. This is probably because Adam and I have been together for 10 years. We started dating a month before my 17th birthday...but were really good friends for about a year before that. Essentially, we have grown up together. Sometimes I feel like we are still those 22 year olds, just married...but how did we end up with 2 kids?! Then I think oh my goodness, how am I 27? It seems unreal. But here we are...10 years later in life, 2 beautiful kids, married for 5 years...but yes I still feel like we are 17.

I had a pretty good birthday, probably the best I could of had given the circumstances. It was the 2nd year in a row Adam missed my birthday. He was home the year before that, and we actually went on a date. The year before that...I was insanely busy packing for our trip to the states, while he laid on the couch in severe pain because he cut his cornea on Allie's first birthday. The year before that, he was deployed, before that we were living seperate (I was in the states, he was in Germany trying to get me moved over there), the year before that he was in basic training. So basically, since my 21st birthday, he has only been home for 2 of them! Its crazy when I think about it, but its also why I really could care less about it.

Allie was the sweetest thing. She was so excited about it being my birthday from the moment she woke up, until she went to bed, she was wishing me a HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYY! We went to the dollar store with my mom, and she went down the aisle and found a pack of beaded necklaces and hid them behind her back. She went running over to my mom and said, "Mom mom we HAVE to buy these for my mom, she is just going to love them! Hide them in your basket." When we got home, she proudly took them out of the bag and said, "These are for you mommy, I think you will love them!" I wanted to cry right then and there. She really was so proud of her gift. I went out to get a pedicure and manicure (after getting a birthday call from my husband!) and my mom and sister said she was so upset over not having a birthday card for me. So my sister went out to get a cake and a card for her to give me. Like I said, my birthday has not been a big deal to me for years. I never ask for gifts, I can't even think of what I would want when my mom hounds me asking. However, Allie made me love my birthday this year. She really reminded of how sweet and genuinely loving she is. She has such a big, big heart. She is my biggest helper, and even on the days when she is my biggest trouble and stressor, I do not know what I would do without her! She even has the "Spit it out!" and putting her finger in Emily's mouth to search for what Em just ate that she shouldn't of, down pat! I love my girls, and I am blessed to have such loving girls, even on the days when I want to cry because I feel like I can't take another day of doing this alone...they are the ones that get me thru, they make Adam being gone a little bit easier. They will get me to December.