The End Of The Year...

So this will be my last blog of the year :-) It has been a long crazy year, but when I stop to think about it I wonder where the time has gone! We have been in Las Vegas for almost a year now (we finally arrived on January 8th I think). With 2 moves (3 if you count the move from Abilene to Austin for about 3 weeks), a TDY, a 4th deployment, a new puppy, the celebrating of a 1st birthday and a 4th birthday, and FINALLY closing on a house :-) There are a lot more things that happened throughout the year as well, but those are just some of the highlights. This is the farthest I have ever lived away from Florida. The farthest I have been away from family, and I am happy that I am surviving. I have a second family in my friends that I have made thru our air force connections. Being in the military really does provide you with "another family" as we do support and count on each other just like a family does.

I am always amazed at how quickly my kids are growing up. It feels like Abby just joined our family not too long ago. How is she going to be 2 in February and how is Thomas supposed to be starting Kindergarten next year? My husband proposed to me 5 years ago on Christmas. 2011 will mark our 5 year anniversary. Our lives has changed so much since we said "I Do". With the addition of Kids and Dogs ( our 4 legged kids or fur babies) we have grown our family from just the two of us. Sometime in the future we hope to grow it a little more but there are a few goals to reach first.
Where were you a year ago on new year's eve? I remember I was in Las Vegas doing house hunting with my dad. We had seen a few more houses that day and then I put an offer on a house that evening. Boy was it stressful. Dad and I rushed back to our hotel in order to park the car and have a quick run to make it to our show in time. For people that don't know, the las vegas strip closes at about 6 pm new years eve and remains closed until about 2am i think. People pack the streets to watch the fireworks from a large group of hotels and just have a good time. Well dad and I had to RUN in order to make it to the blue man group show (which was amazing!) Unfortunately by that time I had a killer migraine too. But we made the best of it I guess. After the show we grabbed a bite from the buffet and then went back to our room. Dad and I passed right out. I woke up right at midnight with the fireworks going off. We were staying at the mirage and treasure island was one of the hotels setting fireworks off from their roof. Because they are right next to each other, I had a pretty good show. Maybe next year i'll be down on the street snuggled in my husbands arms as we ring in 2012.

So here's to all the good and bad that has happened this year. To the ones we've lost and the ones that have been welcomed into the world. To the joining of 2 people in marriage or the divorce of 2 people for what ever reason. To life never stopping and always learning to adapt.

To all my family and friends who read this....

Happy New Year! Stay safe and may you always be surrounded by love in this new year.

Are The Holidays Over Yet?

So these last 10 days have been crazy. On the 14th I ended up cutting my left thumb open on a coffee cup that had been soaking in the sink. It decided it didn't want a handle any longer. So at about 4:30 Tuesday evening Tonya drove me to the hospital and stayed with me while I was there. I was hoping they could just glue my thumb back together since it wasn't that deep, unfortunately no such luck :-( The worst part was definitely when they had to clean my thumb and numb it. Tonya told me I changed several colors. I still remember how bad it hurt when I cut my right thumb open in 8th grade. So 4 stitches later we booked it out of there in enough time to pick my kids up at their school and make it back to my house where my sitter had been waiting. Tuesday was also the night of our Christmas Spouse Coffee (social). Tonya and I had both been looking forward to it for over a month and there was no way we were going to miss it. So as Tonya rushed home to change and head to the social I ran around my house getting ready and trying to get the kids settled. Thank heavens our sitter is amazing and totally understanding and helpful! I really love Kara!! So as I'm rushing out the door I can't find my phone. Thank heavens Tonya and I were talking about where it was while we were at the hospital and I have a pretty good memory when it comes to directions and addresses and numbers. So I finally end up making it to the social an hour late, but everyone totally understands. But I still made it in time for the fun! And thank heavens my phone was on the floor in Tonya's car just where I thought it was.
So I have been trying to do the best I can. I am taking the stitches out first thing Friday morning!!! It has been raining since Friday, and has been continuous since Sunday. So we have had some crazy flooding around here. I even kept the kids home today because it was raining sooo bad. It's supposed to clear up by tomorrow. I'm hoping so.
So update on the house: not much new. I finally got the ornaments on the tree and will be putting all the empty boxes into the garage tomorrow. The rest of the house has not budged. I will have a long list of things to do tomorrow and friday. I am having friends over on Saturday for Christmas dinner and this house is no way near ready to have company over.
Well I think i'm gonna cut this post short. It's just been one of those days. I'm sure you all can relate to what i mean.
I hope this finds everyone well.

Until next time my friends...

Just Trying To Survive...

So it has been almost 2 months since my last post. Sorry!! The hubbs left on 1 November and it hasen't really been the same around here. The one constant is that the kids are still in school. I have been busy working on getting the house unpacked and readjusting to being a "single" parent again. And this time it has not been easy. Because both of the kids are old enough now to realize that daddy is gone for an extended period of time, they have both voiced their dislike of the separation. The last time Richard was gone Abby was almost 4 months old and Thomas was just turning 3. Thomas understood as much as he could that daddy was gone but didn't really act out. Abby of course didn't really have a clue. This time it has been especially hard for both of them. Thomas is constantly having little breakdowns where he cries and expresses how much he misses his daddy. Abby says one full sentence. And that is " I want my daddy!". I hear it all the time. She is either throwing temper tantrums and crying or cranky or she only wants me to hold her and cuddle with her. It's a 50/50 split and it's starting to ware on me. This also makes it hard to get anything done when the kids are home. We are able to skype with daddy and play some online games with him which helps, but of course it is no replacement.
I've been busy getting the house unpacked since I'm not working any more right now. My flu shot gig is up for the season, and I haven't been able to find other work yet. The garage was the first thing to get done. It is all organized and things are finally stored away in the cabinets in the garage. Once we get rid of the grill and the broken patio table we'll be able to park the cars in the garage again!! YEA! The front room has been unpacked as well. I still need to pick up another bookshelf to finish unpacking most of the books we have. The area rug is down in the front room, and I plan on adding some seating and a coffee table or something in there. That is a project for my mom and I to do when my parents come out next month, hopefully. I was able to get the Christmas tree up. I already got the lights on it, now it's just time to get the ornaments on. The next project on my list is to get the guest room/office finally organized and put together. Hopefully I will have that done this next week and then it will be on to finishing up the master bedroom. One thing that has been holding me back has been my legs. I have had awful pain in my shins since September. First I was told it was tendinitis. Now it turns out to be plantar fasciitis. I'll be seeing sports medicine on thursday at base to see if i'll ever be able to run and work out without pain again. It is just so frustrating beyond words.
I have been in a very bad "funk" since the end of November. I am just not in the holiday spirit this year. In all honesty I wish I could just go to sleep and wake up at some point in January. But I'm gonna pull it together and be as "merry" as I can for my kids. We started a tradition this year of having a little "guest" in our house until Christmas eve. His name is Zander the Elf :-) If you have little kids, I would definitely recommend Elf On The Shelf. It really is great.
Pictures of kiddos will come later. I think I need to get to bed. In my next post I'll also put a link to my 365 project that I have been doing. But I have to update it first.
I hope this finds everyone well.

Until Next Time My Friends...

What's The Date Again?....

So I can't believe how fast these months are flying by. Catch up time:
So these last two months a bunch of my friends have been popping out their gorgeous little babies left and right. I am sooo excited for each and every one of them. Some are expanding their families while others are just starting theirs. At the same time it has given me baby fever, worse than ever before. But I am torn. Part of me wants to have another baby or start trying for another baby while another part of me (i think the sane part of me) wants to go back to school to finish my RN and work for a while before adding another little one to the mix. For now I am trying to focus on getting my health issues under control and loving on my two kiddos.

My sister-in-law got married last week so we made the trek out to Austin for the week for the big event and to spend some time with family. The house is still not near to being completely unpacked. I have been working a lot and the hubs is now on a different shift so he's only home part of the day. We make little dents in it weekly, but I am excited for the day when I am not looking at stacks of boxes in the house.

Abby at the wedding Thomas trying on his tux

As this month starts to wind down (where the heck did it go?!?!?!?) our family is preparing for yet another deployment. The hubs will be gone until Marchish which means he will be missing quite a lot. I know the kiddos will have a tough time with this deployment, especially him not being home for the holidays. But these are the things you deal with when your married to someone in the military. So even though I hate it, he knows I support him in everything he does.
So while he is gone I have started on some projects around the house to make time pass quicker. One of my major goals will to be getting the house completely unpacked, the garage all organized and use able again. Once I get everything unpacked I am treating myself to a weekend in California shopping at Ikea!! Let me know if you wanna come along.

Tonight was another milestone in our house. Abby is currently sleeping in her big girl bed!!! Kyle transitioned her crib to the toddler bed today after the kids went to school. He got all the boxes out of her room and I put the last few things in her closet so that her room was completely safe and she couldn't get into anything. After I picked the kiddos up from school we went to Target to pick out a pillow and toddler bedding for her bed. She chose some really cute Tinkerbell bedding and kept getting in and out of her bed while I was making it. She was very excited about her big girl bed, so much so she didn't want to come down for dinner! So after her bath and rocking for a few minutes I asked her if she was ready for night night. She jumped off my lap and walked to her room and she got in bed. I tucked her in like I always do and then walked out of the room, closed the door and put the baby gate up outside. Hahaha, i should have known better. While I was reading Thomas his bed time story all I heard was her screaming for mommy at the door. So after I put Thomas down I went back in her room, climbed over the gate, put Abby back in bed and sat beside her while I pat her back. After about 5 minutes and her rubbing her eyes and settling down I left. She got up and cried for another 10 minutes. Now it is quiet. I'll check in on her when I go to bed, but I think tonight was a success. Hopefully it will get a little easier each night.

I will try and post a bunch of pics once I get everything downloaded to the computer. Hopefully my next post wont be 2 months away. Time for me to call it a night.

I hope this finds everyone well.

Till next time my friends....

Time For An Update!!

So a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. We ended up getting the keys to our new house 2 days after we signed and I promptly moved deliveries and estimates for work back to original days. Our first delivery was of our appliances, and I was like a little kid on Christmas. We had been waiting since May to finally get them and enjoy them. NO MORE SQUEAKY DRYER!! We then had the couches delivered. We weren't told that one of the end pieces on back order, so we just got that on Tuesday (August 3!). We celebrated Thomas' 4th birthday on the 19th and went to Disneyland to celebrate later in the week. It was such a great break from the heat! While we were gone the painters took over the house and did such a fabulous job. I couldn't be happier. Since the hubby had almost an entire week off, I figured what a better time for us to move! So we moved and are still getting settled into the house, unpacking slowly, but we have made a dent.

We have also currently had a new addition to our family. We have a new puppy in the house and once she finally settled down and started warming up to us it has been mostly joy. We are still working on the potty training. I think once the yard gets completed it will go a lot more smoothly. The name of the new puppy is Penny. She is a Pearl Piebald Rat Terrier. She was the runt of her littler and is a lot smaller than even the breeder expected. They are known as "tiny tots" because once she matures she will be 5 lbs or under. Now before I get harped on about buying a dog rather than adopt one, i'll give you the reason for that choice. After doing a lot of research on dog breeds that are good with other pets and children I came across the rat terrier breed. While doing more research on the breed I learned that they are very hearty dogs, love to please their owners and are easy to train. The only main issue I found with the breed is that they carry a genetic disease call PLL ( Primary Lens Luxation). This can cause the dog severe eye pain, blindness and even possible loss of the eye. A genetic test came out last year and breeders are testing all of their breeding dogs. If the parents both test clear, then their litters will be "clear" by parentage. Both of Penny's parents tested clear so I will not have to worry about this devastating disease. If we were to adopt a rat terrier we ran the risk of the dog possibly having this disease. So that is why we went thru a breeder.

Ok, so we are finally getting the yard started tomorrow. Then I will be calling out a pest company. I saw 2 black widow spiders in the backyard while letting the dogs out and promptly sprayed them with the pest killer I had near by. I hate spiders!!

On other news, they hubby has had to go to Virginia for a TDY (temporary duty assignment) until the end of august. Hopefully by the time he gets home I will have most if not all of the house unpacked and find a place for everything. As well as have the backyard done and enjoying it. It is going to be a busy next few weeks with him gone. Between doctors appointments, working out (2 months till Carolyn's wedding!), getting Thomas fitted for his tux (he's the ring bearer) and finding Abby a stunning dress to match her personality, we will be plenty busy. I am also signing the kids up for pre-school and daycare next week. I got hired on with an immunization clinic for the flu season, giving shots at flu clinics from september thru novemberish.
But I need to get to sleep, the landscapers will be here bright and early and I already have 2 snoring dogs on the bed. Time for me to sleep so I'll have enough energy for the long month ahead.

I hope this finds everyone well. I miss everyone!

Until Next Time...

Tick, Tick, Tick, Tick...

Lately I feel like there is a clock constantly ticking away the time. So Today is Tuesday the 13 of July. We have finally signed the papers for the house, Yesterday. We were supposed to sign on Friday, but someone did not follow thru with their job and actually ended up not being in the office on Friday, knowing that what they said would be at the title company by Thursday afternoon was not going to be at the title company Thursday really pissed me off. So Monday ended up being signing day. Unfortunately out here the same day you sign is not the same day you get keys. So surprise surprise, we left the title company with no keys to our new home :-( I am hoping we have the keys by Friday. All the things that I had scheduled for delivery for today and tomorrow I have had to cancel and reschedule for Monday. So Monday will be a big ball of chaos! AND....
MONDAY THOMAS WILL BE 4!!! When the heck did that happen? My little man (LM as we lovingly call him) will be 4 years old. He will be starting pre-school once we get settled in the new house. Then it is only one more year till he starts school! WHERE IS THE PAUSE BUTTON???? Time is flying by so quickly!
The next few weeks I will have to remember to BREATH!

So tonight I went to my first spouse social out here. They call it "coffee's" that are held on a monthly basis. I got to meet a lot of women and some that have just recently moved out here like us. I know/hope that I am able to form bonds with them the same way I bonded with my Abilene spouses! There are a lot of things in the works and I can't wait to experience it all with these women.

Well, the hubby is at work, the kids are in bed and the dog has gone on his final walk of the night. I think it is almost time for me to hit the bed myself. I am really hoping that we get a call tomorrow saying we can come get the keys!! That would totally make my day! I can't wait to be moved in so that we can start having company. I am really missing all my family and friends being this far west. I've heard there are some pretty good deals flying to Vegas! I miss everyone!! I hope everyone is doing well.

Until Next Time My Friends...

Are The Days Getting Longer?...

Now that we are in the final days before closing on the house it seems like the days are getting longer and longer. They are changing the work schedule at Kyle's job and are now working a 6day on 2 day off schedule. The only good part is that on their 6th work day if they do not have any appointments or things that need to be done it is like another day off. So with the potential of him being off 3 days in a row is nice. But he also switches to the night shift next week which I think is one of the worst rotations. Can't wait for the month to be over with (yes, I know it is just beginning!). So as we get ready to close on the house our plans have changed yet again. We are no longer going to put down hardwood floors downstairs. It just isn't in the budget or the time frame we are trying to accomplish before moving. We are now planning on doing some of the painting ourselves. So all that leaves is the landscaping. I am excited to get that project started and over with so we can start enjoying the backyard. Well, when I started this blog both kiddos were sleeping, now they are both up, so I will have to finish this posting at another time :-)
Until Later My Friends....