A store story

Fall is here.  The countdown to Halloween is on, and Bradley is going to be Superman for Halloween this year.  He couldn't be more proud to put on that costume!  And it's not the cheapie-cheap kind either- this one has real "muscles" on it aka it's 3 times as expensive.  I didn't care how much I paid for the costume the moment I saw him try it on when we got home, and his face lit up!

On that note, Bradley went on a nap strike last Sunday afternoon, so I took him with me to run some errands (getting the costume was one of them), and I warned myself before we left that taking an over-tired preschooler on a multiple store shopping excursion was possibly a recipe for disaster, so I prioritized and ran the important errands first.  You know what?  We had an absolute blast!  Or at least I did, anyways.  Sure, it took me longer to get through the stores because he stops to look (and touch) everything, but to quote one of our favorite bedtime books, Llama Llama Mad at Mama, "I think shopping's boring too, but at least I'm here with you."

I'll tell you another thing- shopping with a child is automatic spend-control!  You can't browse too long in the purse section of TJ Maxx before being urged to move on to something else.  Having Bradley with me kept me on track, preventing me from shopping for items that weren't on our list!

He was well-behaved, and he only knocked down one display at the Gap!  Yeah, I ventured in there because I had a coupon, but decided quickly that this was not a good idea, nor was it a priority today.
Knock down a sign and make a racket?  Time to go- see?  That's automatic spend-control!  I think I'm onto something here, and I'll be taking Bradley with me on all some of my shopping trips from now on!  (Hey, a girl's gotta fall into the Gap flying solo every now and then...)

Fun with friends

 I have been behind on posting reguarly, so here's a compilation of pictures from the month of May.  At the same time I can recap our busy social agenda!  Once a week, we still had Kindermusik class, which is over for a few weeks until the summer session begins.  We also met up with moms and kids from our church at different parks in the area.  I wish I had some pictures from these get togethers, and will have to do better about that.

My friend Sara hosted a Dove Chocolate party one Friday night, and even though the stuff was way too expensive to buy, it was fun to sample everything!  I went out earlier that night for sushi with a few girls from church, and then we all went to the chocolate party afterwards- it was the perfect Girl's Night Out!

L to R, Me, Tanessa, a very pregnant (and mid-laughing) Stephanie, & Amanda

Jessica, Sara, and I

Tyler and Felicia had a going away party/housewarming party a few weeks ago.  Bradley & baby Nevaeh got the biggest kick out of kissing each other!

And Bradley and Lukas played really well together.  Here they are inside, examining a bug together.  And no, that's not Bradley's empty Bud Light box.  The boys would eventually trap the bug under Lukas' snack cup, and then they would check on the "buggy" periodically!

The girls:  Me, Jennifer, Felicia, & Amy

I finally joined my local chapter of the MOMS club.  My friend Sara is now the president so she convinced me it was time to join.  Honestly I wish I done this sooner because they plan weekly activities for the stay-at-home moms and kids, like playdates, beach days, and trips to the zoo, which is what these next few pictures are from.  That's Bradley, Andrew, Sophia, and Victoria on the merry-go-round.

And this was my brilliant idea- to get all our kids together for a picture.  Not the easiest task!!!  And not the best picture either... oh well!!

One night last week our friends Justin & Jennifer through a dinner party and invited 3 other families to join in on the fun.  It was so much fun to watch the kids playing together while the adults got some quality time with friends.  Here are all our little ones on the couch.  L to R, Jospeh, Bradley, Andrew, Catalina, & Lukas.

We have made some great friends down here, and can find plenty to get us out of the house and keep us busy!

Shrimping and Saving

My sweet husband does the bulk of our grocery shopping on base at the commissary. The food there is cheaper and tax free. Since I'm the one who does the cooking, I keep a running list of what we need, and every other week I email Brian a grocery list. He shops on his lunch hour, stores the food in his squadron's refrigerator, and brings the stuff home at the end of the day. It's a win win for me. Cheaper food, plus I don't have to drag Bradley to my (not) favorite place on earth, Wallyworld.

Last grocery list I sent Brian, one of the items listed was Cooking Spray. In parentheses next to this I put (NOT the kind with the shrimp on it). Most people know I have a terrible aversion to shrimp. I think they're gross, and I don't even want to look at them, much less eat them. Last time Brian bought cooking spray it was some generic brand that had all sorts of pictures on the can, one of them being a gross shrimp. I had to look at that thing for a month until the bottle was empty. It was awful!

Fast forward to this past week, and lo and behold, what do I see whilst unloading the groceries one afternoon? Yep, the exact same kind of cooking spray, replete with the gross shrimp! And so okay, I pitched a whining fit!
I TOLD you not the kind with the shrimp!!
Is it really that big of a deal? Brian asked.
Well I have to look at it every time I use it! (yes, I am fully aware of how neurotic I am being.)

So my wonderful husband finds a fast solution, and I love him for it! Nothing a little sharpie can't fix! Problem solved.

Spring at last!

In the somewhat modified words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,
Spring at last, spring at last, thank God almighty it's spring at last!

What a fantastic weekend! The warm weather is finally here in Florida. Guess I had to drive all the way up to Tennessee to bring the warm sunshine back with me. Friday was Mama B's 57th birthday. Bradley and I called and sang Happy Birthday to her that morning before going to stroller class. Immediately following stroller class we went to a business meeting for our local chapter of the MOMS club. This is something I have been trying to get into forever, and for various reasons, it hasn't happened yet. Now my friend Sara is about to become the president, so I'm finally joining! They basically set up activities and play dates throughout the month to give moms and kids a chance to socialize, and even have monthly moms night outs.

Friday night Brian played soldier- at least that's what I call it. He ran around in the woods pretending to be one of the bad guys for a training exercise for his squadron. He came home exhausted and sweaty, but had fun even though he was technically working on a Friday night. I rented The Proposal and watched that after B went to bed and painted my nails. I am amazed at how all of a sudden, Sandra Bullock has become an actress I can tolerate!

Saturday was too cool for the beach, so Ann took Bradley to the zoo for a little while while Brian and I lounged around watching TLC, before heading to Zach's first birthday party later that afternoon. They had rented a huge bouncy castle for the party, which Bradley stayed in almost the entire time. Even when the bigger kids were in there he loved it and wasn't scared. We went home that night and had a low-key cookout with some of our friends, played a little corn hole, and sang a little karaoke.

Four of our little guys getting a wagon ride: Front to back, Zach, the birthday boy, Wesley, Bradley, and Joseph

Wes, pulling about 120 pounds of kiddos

Bradley in the bouncy castle

Sunday after church we had a little scare with Bradley. We had finished eating lunch, and B asked for an egg (a cadbury mini egg that he asks for by name that reside in our candy dish on top of the bar). I gave him one, and one to give to daddy. Just as he put the egg in Brian's mouth, he must have sucked the candy down his throat because he started to cry, and had trouble breathing. After a few swats on the back, and getting him to drink some water he calmed down. You could tell it really shook him up though because he was all clingy and cuddly for about 20 minutes after the incident. I'm sure it won't be the last time he chokes on something, but it sure gave us all a scare! I held in the tears during all the commotion to try and keep Bradley calm, but once everything was settled down again, I excused myself to the bathroom and shed several tears of relief!

We spent most of Sunday outdoors. We played with bubbles in the backyard with Bradley, and once he went down for his nap, I read out in the back yard, and Brian tackled yard work, pressure-washing, and washing the cars out front. I even made myself go for a late afternoon run by myself to keep up my rejuvenated commitment to becoming a skinny mini! We rounded out the evening with some homemade chicken fingers and our nightly routine of watching FRIENDS. It was a fantastic weekend, that has gone on to becoming a fantastic start of the new week. I heart this weather!

First summer bbq

What better way to spend a warm Friday evening than a barbeque with good friends? We are so blessed to have great friends who also happen to be great neighbors. Jess and Wes live next door with their son Wesley, who is 6 months younger than Bradley, and right next to them on the other side lives Kim, David, Catalina (age 5) and Andrew, who is 6 months older than Bradley.

So that's what we did. Wes grilled burgers, Jess made quesadillas, David brought over homemade Chilli's-esque chicken crispers, I made some velveeta shells and cheese (hey, it's what I had on-hand!), plus we had hot dogs, and potato salad. Jess bought the boys all matching shirts, and the kids played, the adults hung out, and we celebrated what felt like the first official night of summer.

All the girls, L to R: Ami, me, Jess, Kim, & Catalina

the boys in their matching frog shirts, Bradley, Andrew, & Wesley

Four friends, and sometimes running partners!

Where the Green Grass Grows

If you know Tim McGraw, then know he was talking about my house when he wrote that song.

A few weekends ago we had a yard sale. With the profits, we purchased the materials for a sprinkler system for the yard, and grass seed (yes people, I am a homeowner living in domestic bliss, I tell you). Already look what is popping up in our front yard!

Grass!!! Not weeds, and not an eye sore of dirt and dead weeds, but real, live, verdant, green grass!
It's a little sad how excited I am about something growing in our yard that most people in the rest of the country takes for granted, but here in Florida, with the scorching heat comes a great price to pay when it comes to maintaining a lawn. It's impossible to have a nice yard full of grass without watering regularly, and expensive and a pain in the you know what to water unless you have a sprinkler system and can hook into the reclaim water. With the reclaim water, you pay a flat $5 rate a month, whether you use the water or not, and it's not safe for drinking, but okay for watering your yard. This saves you an arm and a leg from an exorbitant water bill, but the sprinkler system is key. Our neighbor across the street did his own, so he helped Brian install ours, even working on it when Brian wasn't able to help him, and they knocked it out in a few days.

(Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my neighbors, and the street where we live?? It's awesome. It's like Cheers. Everyone knows your name. Everyone knows your business. But everyone is more than willing to lend a hand with your child, your yard sale, borrowing tools, or sharing a last minute cup of milk or sugar. But I digress.

This afternoon Bradley and I went to Brian's squadron's Thanksgiving lunch on base, and then when we got home we enjoyed the lovely 70 degree and sunny weather in our sprouting front yard.

One man's treasure...

Today is Day Two of the Multi-family yard sale we're putting on. For the past 2 mornings I have gotten up at 6am, pulled on sweats, and drug out all of our treasures into the driveway. We had been cleaning out closets and Tupperware bins full of things to get rid of, and finally started to accumulate so much stuff in the give away pile that we decided to have a yard sale a few days ago. We let our neighbors know so they could contribute to the effort as well.

Here's the thing though... yard sales have never been my thing. I hate watching people go through my stuff and debating over whether it's worth a piddly dollar. The items are worth so much more to me, that I can't bear to watch them be rifled through, or worse, sold to someone else! Dislike is not a strong enough word for my feelings towards yard sales... abhor is much more fitting. So I stand outside to be supportive (because hey, we're getting rid of stuff we no longer need and are making a little extra cash to buy grass seed, and a sprinkler system for our yard) but as soon as a customer walks up, in I go to take care of some "important" need. I warned Brian about my strong feelings of disdain for these things, so he was under no false pretenses before we began this shindig. He on the other hand does great talking to people and wheeling and deealing, so have at it sweetie. I'll be in here blogging if you need me!

Apparently once the yard sale is over, we have someone on Craig's List who's offered to come haul away what we don't sell, making one man's treasure, another man's trash!

Retail rant

Recently my world has been turned upside down, and I am striving to find ways to cope with the difficulties this problem brings. I literally don't know which way to turn some days, and finding my path is near-impossible. A once-menial task is now an overwhelming chore, and my patience is wearing thin. What has taken the sparkle out of this DIVA? Yes, you guessed it. Our neighborhood Walmart is remodeling!!

(Seriously people, what did you think I was talking about??)

For weeks now, our Walmart has been renovating. After one week in Tennessee back in August I returned ye olde trusty walmart, and immediately noticed something was different. (Warning flags should be popping up for anyone who knows me well, because I am about the least observant person on the planet!) As I stared at the produce wall, I realized it had been repainted a bright obnoxious yellow. This just proves that I spend way too much time in this store.

Well the painting was just beginning. Now they're redoing the grocery aisles, and you'd be hard pressed to find a quicker form of torture for shoppers out there, I'd wager. Nothing is where it used to be, and some items have disappeared completely (Kim complained that Walmart supposedly isn't going to be carrying kids' tv dinners anymore. I told her maybe this was God's way of telling her she shouldn't be feeding her kids tv dinners). Even the items you know are there, have gone into hiding, and no one, not even the Walmart employees, knows where they have gone. Case in point, the special Halloween Count Chocula cereal that I know I saw on an end cap just a few days ago? Vanished. I spent more than enough time going up and down aisles with Bradley today on a hunt for the breakfast specialty item, but when B's snacks were running low in his cup, I gave up my quest and headed to the cash registers. At least those haven't moved.

But of course not. The evil conspirators of Walmart want you to know where to pay for your items, but not how to get in and out quickly. The way they've arranged the store now leads you through a wild goose chase of both parallel and perpendicular aisles, so that you are forced to weave through the maze of merchandise, and undoubtedly spend more time in the store, and find more things you forgot you needed until you saw them.

Oh Walmart, how I loathe thee!

Lord, I was born a ramblin' woman

It's finally here! The late, great DIVA convention of 2009. Tomorrow little B and I head to New Orleans to visit Ariana, and Conley is driving up from Houston. It will be the first time all three of us have been together since right after Bradley was born, and he fit into his "Little Werker" onesie. (Man, I wished that thing still fit!!)

Before a trip I always think I am well prepared, until it comes time to leave and then I'm scrambling trying to tie up loose ends and leave the house in a frantic sweat. For example, tonight I am certain my bag is packed, but I know tomorrow morning I will remember all kinds of things last minute and kick myself for not taking care of them tonight, instead of checking Facebook, watching The Office, Grey's Anatomy (I wish I knew how to quit you!) and I'm about to watch the Glee episode I missed last night while at church. I will lazily wander around the house until I feel like going to bed, and wake up tomorrow doing the mad dash to get out of the house again. Will I ever learn?? Mmm, probably not. But at least I know this about myself, and knowing is half the battle they say.

Today I hosted our informal mamas' coffee at my house. Our group is a hodge podge of women who have small kids, and not everyone knows everyone, so we've started doing weekly coffees at each other's houses, to get to meet other moms and frankly escape the house and have an adult conversation for an hour or two! If I may brag, and I will because this is my blog, the event today at our house was a huge success. In the four weeks we've been doing these coffees, we had the biggest turnout today- 8 moms and 6 kids (all under the age of 3- eegad!). The house was clean, the candles were lit, the fall decor was on display, and besides the coffee and fixins, I even whipped up a batch of homemade chocolate chip bran muffins this morning to nosh on as a healthy/tasty treat. Perhaps I am finally living up to my claim of being a domestic goddess extrordinaire??

In an email the other day Brian remarked on how busy I am these days. Every time he calls I am off doing something. It's a great feeling to be busy again, after moping around the house for so many months with no real motivation to get out and about. Brian's in his final stretch of the deployment, and we expect him back sometime soon after my birthday. Things are still up in the air for him as to what new job he'll have when he gets back, but we will just be excited to have him home no matter what job he transitions to on base.

Hope everyone is having a fantastic fall evening. Thanks for putting up with my rambling. I suppose next time I could blog and just say I'm blogging to say I have nothing to say, but then again, what would the point of that blog be? The rambling is just so much more fun, don't you think? So tonight I ramble on about life, and tomorrow I will ramble on over to N'awlins.

Today I To-Did

Yes, it is I, your faithful DIVA, up late working for you, the reader. I'm working to make your reading experience of this blog a more pleasant one. I've tweaked, and shuffled, and added new features. Thanks to Rachel, I've discovered a new site with super cute backgrounds, and wanted to use them all, but finally settled on this one, aptly called "your highness." I thought it was suitable for a DIVA's page.

Yesterday I was a hot mess. Today, I am superwoman. Here are all the things I accomplished today:

Friday's To-Do List

1. watered my hanging baskets (twice)
2. emptied the trash cans and took out the garbage
3. washed a sink full of dishes
4. loaded/ran the dishwasher and put those away
5. 2 loads of laundry; washed, dried, and put away
6. put the finishing touches on Brian's care package and mailed it at the post office
7. went to walmart (what day is complete without this?!)
8. shopped at the commissary on base for non-perishable groceries
9. called insurance to make sure everything was set for Bradley's dr. apt.
10. cooked and ate a fabulous Mexican meal for dinner
11. talked to a former coworker for 25 minutes today
12. talked to Conley for 2 hours tonight
13. picked up Bradley's refill prescription of iron drops
14. updated the blog
15. watched the Titans lose their preseason game

WHEW!!! This was one productive day (and this doesn't even count all the time spent on email and Facebook and playing with Bradley!), and I am darn proud of all that I accomplished. Bring on the Beach tomorrow, baby!

Dubs Down

I am still learning all the protocol for what is acceptable and not acceptable to talk about and write about concerning Brian's deployment, but last week we hit the 20 day mark of him being gone. In the long run, 20 is still a small number, but I feel like it was a good milestone to achieve. In my OCD-ness, it is a nice, neatly packaged set of 10, so that makes me feel like we've accomplished something. 20 days in reality feels like a lot longer though. It's hard to believe it's only been a few weeks, and can get discouraging when I think of how many days are still ahead of us, so that's why I count down to the next set of 10 days, so I can put another check mark in the box.

Thankfully, I've had 2 sets of visitors, first Ari, and then my parents and sister, so that has helped fill up my time. I'm still running 3 times a week with Jess and Kim, and I have still met my personal goal to get out of the house at least once a day. Brian has easy access to a phone, so he has been able to call me almost daily, and usually more than once a day. He's doing fine where he is, except that he has mentioned killing a lot of mice, and the food there being terrible.

Bradley is walking a ton now, so he is keeping me busy. More than once today he has appeared behind me out of nowhere seemingly, and silently, so I've started to refer to him as "my little ninja." I leave him in his room to play, and then BAM! out of nowhere, he's behind me as I'm folding laundry or at my feet as I open the refrigerator.

If you're keeping up with the tropics (and you know I am!), tropical storm Claudette dumped a lot of rain on us here, but nothing else to report, and it looks like we don't have much to worry about with Hurricane Bill in the coming days either. As always though, you can count on me, "Hurricane Bradley" to stay abreast of the latest tropical disturbance.

One week of deployment down...

Too many to count to go!

So far Brian and I have been able to talk on the phone almost every day. Our longest phone call to date has been 12 min 38 seconds; most average around 6 minutes. I'm so thankful for that time though. He usually sounds tired when I talk to him since he's just finished working and getting ready to go to bed, but no news is good news otherwise. I've been told that if I don't hear from him, it means everything's A-okay, and that if there were some kind of emergency, I'd be notified quickly. This has become our reality for the next 3 months. I'm grateful that the calendar now says "August" because it means November is just a little bit closer.

So far I've met my goal to leave the house at least once a day. I even went running Thursday night with my 2 friends/neighbors Jess and Kim. We ran for 30 minutes at a nearby park, with walking intervals in between. For someone who hasn't run in a long time, and to have to push a stroller while doing it, I was pretty pleased with myself. We're supposed to go again tonight, so wish me luck.

Not much else to report on the home front. Bradley is walking a little more at a time. He still would rather crawl, or have me pick him up so I need to encourage him to self-propel since my wrists are starting to act up again. Pray for that, and pray for Brian, Bart, and the rest of our troops.

It's not easy bein Green!

Kermit the frog said it best: it's not easy being green. I liken the whole global green movement to eating healthy. It often costs you more time, and more money, but in the end it's better for you. That's how I feel about the making the effort to "go green" and reduce our carbon footprint on the world. My sister in law Sarah could probably give a lot of facts to back up what we're doing (and maybe she will post a comment with some info and other helpful hints, hint hint!) but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord, and we will do our part, one thing at a time, to be kinder to our planet. Here's what we've done so far:

• Recycle. We purchased 3 recycling bins from Lowe's, and we recycle paper/cardboard, plastic, glass, and aluminum (an added perk is that since we recycle, we can share the cost of trash pickup with our neighbors b/c we don't produce as much)
• Replaced all our lightbulbs with the long-lasting environmentally-friendly CFL ones
• Installed a timer to our hot water heater. Now it kicks on twice a day, between 5:30 and 8am, and again at 5:30-7:30pm, and we still have plenty of hot water throughout the day
• Be conscious about turning off lights when we leave rooms, especially keeping the computer turned off when not in use
• Unplugging appliances like the toaster, and even the coffee maker when not in use, and phantom energy users, like ipod docks and cell phone chargers, that consume energy when left plugged into an outlet
• Installed an energy-saving shower head which reduces the water pressure, saving several gallons of water for each shower taken
• Keeping our thermostat set at higher temps in summer, cooler in winter. I'm cold natured and this usually doesn't bother me. Ours is at 77-78 during the day, and 75 at night after we put Bradley to bed. We also turn the temp up a degree or two when leaving the house.
• Run the dishwasher/washer/dryer only when we have a full load
• Use reuseable cleaning cloths in place of paper towells whenever possible
• Use reuseable shopping bags
• Purchased a special power strip for our office, so that once the computer is turned off, all the other accessories will shut off automatically
• Stopped buying bottled water, and other individual plastic bottled drinks and use refillable bottles instead
• Use tupperware instead of plastic baggies whenever possible

Now that I look at the list it seems like a lot, but Brian and I are constantly looking at ways to reduce energy consumption even more, so any ideas of your own would be helpful, and I hope our list inspires you to take steps to go greener. This site is a good place to start if you need ideas.

June Journal

I have been so uninspired to blog lately, so I apologize to the many (or the few of you) who keep checking the divadomain, only to be frustrated that you've already read the recap of our trip to Tennessee. Well to those I say, read it again; it's just like a great book. You can get something new out of it each time you read it. No? Well, I tried anyways.

Okay, so here's what's been going on with us, the Vilendrer family, Brian, Amanda, and Bradley:

Brian's mom, Ann, moved here a week-and-a-half ago, so now Bradley has his Grandma Anna just a few miles down the road. We are excited to have her here, and she's already helped us out by babysitting so Brian and I could attend a marriage seminar on base this past weekend.

Also the same weekend Ann moved, Brian and Bradley celebrated their 2nd Father's Day together. Bradley had this great idea to spell out a Father's Day message to dad, so I helped him out with it.
I honestly can't remember what we did that day! I think after church it was just a lazy day around Casa Vilendrer. We ate a quick lunch of pizza, and then I cooked for all of us that night. Here's Father and Son, opening presents. Brian received a travel coffee mug personalized with pictures of him and Bradley together, and also a "daddy and me" picture frame.


Besides those 2 events, there isn't much else to report except that it has been HOT here! I have had to be diligent about watering my hanging flower baskets twice a day (the ones I was so excited to purchase for $5 a piece). I also really goofed and watered our lawn for 3 hours one weekday after turning on the sprinkler in the morning and forgetting about it til lunchtime! Oops!

To cool off in the afternoons, and to give us something to do in between lunch and the afternoon nap, Bradley spends some time in his backyard pool. This is a rare occasion where he isn't tugging at his hat or his sunglasses!

On the Bradley front, there isn't much new happening. He still won't say 'mama' although ironically enough, on Father's day Ann and I heard him say it once, but he hasn't said it again since. If you tell him, Bradley, say mama, he responds cheerfully with da-da-da-da. Fantastic. The little guy is so close to walking, and we are hopeful we can coax him into taking those first steps before Brian deploys in a few weeks.

I suppose I should say something about that on here too. Brian is deploying in a few weeks. He'll be gone for a few months, and it will be our first deployment since we've been together. I am a wreck about it whenever I see war movies on tv, and I anticipate the 4th of July taking on a particular new meaning for me this year, but otherwise I am confident the time will fly be and he'll be back before you know it. I still don't know all the ins and outs about what's allowed to be discussed openly about deployments, and documented on the internet for all to see, so anyone who wants to know more can ask me directly.

Back to Bradley, this is a blurry picture, but I caught him with "Alfalfa hair" one day last week after waking up from a nap, so I had to take a picture.

(PS aunt Lisa, he loves his Fischer Price aquarium you got him for Christmas- I put it in his crib back when we had to take down his mobile, and he is mesmerized by it!)

We went and got 1st birthday pictures taken last week, so for all of you who sent birthday presents and cards, I'm sending pictures along with thank you notes, so that's why you'll get them a month late!

The month of June has given us many opportunities to see family. Last week Bradley and I were able to drive out to PCB and visit with Michael, Missy, and the kids. We spent the day with them at the beach while they were down here on vacation. I feel horrible because I brought my camera, and I know that Michael took some pictures, but the only one I have to document the day is Bradley sacked out on Michael's lap at the very end of the day! It was so great to be able to visit with my aunt, uncle, and cousins.

And what is new with me, the Domestic Diva? Well I fixed my own stopped-up kitchen sink this past week. Apparently the garbage disposal can only handle so much, and the white rice was a bit too much. With Brian's blessing to attempt to fix the sink on my own, and with my dad talking me through it over the phone, I was able to unclog the sink myself, and I was darn proud of myself for doing it! Brian was also a handyman around the house this weekend, but that's going to have to be saved for a separate blog because it's an entirely different topic that I want to cover.

Blessings to you all, and happy anniversary today to Bart and Ari who are celebrating their 2nd wedding anniversary! Love you, Snake, and Sceptre!

Palms Away!

Today I feel as though I became an official Floridian. Brian bought us a baby palm tree that we now have planted in our back yard. I have been wanting one for FOREVER, and he happened to see these on sale today for 6 bucks! You can't beat that! So here is me, lounging "under" my new palm tree before it is planted! Ahh, this is the life!

The Little One has a cold, and I decided that wiping snot and sand off Bradley's face together wouldn't make for so much fun in the sun, so we forwent the beach for a little time at home today. Brian did yard work, I layed out in the backyard and read in my lounge chair, and Bradley played in his pack-&-play in the shade. We had a grand old time listening to music outside and just hanging out. Brian even made me a fruity drink to sip on while we were at it! (Yes, it's ginormous, and no, I didn't finish it!)

Bradley at the back door!

I love this picture, because you can see all 3 of us in the reflection.

He is still such a happy baby, even with the sniffles.

new season, new leaf

Spring is here, the weather is getting warmer, Bradley is getting more mobile, and I'm making every effort to get us out of the house more. When Bradley was a newborn (and for many months therafter) I was so overwhelmed with being a brand-new mom, not to mention being a new wife in a new place, that I sort of spun my wheels every day trying to accomplish menial household tasks, and never getting "enough" done. This led me down a spiral of shame for not accomplishing more, and left me feeling guilty about wanting to pursue activities and friends outside the home when I had so much left to do here on a daily basis.

No more. I have turned over a new leaf. Bradley and I are still doing Kindermusik once a week, but I've also got my brand-new library card, and have several opportunities looming in the background through church activities and military spouse's clubs. I vow to get out of the house and make new friends in order to keep my sanity! I'm researching yoga classes in the area and have just started to get to know my neighbor 2 houses down who's also a stay at home mom who has a little boy 6 months older than Bradley.

I refuse to get bogged down by all the "stuff" I have to do and base my self esteem on what I accomplish each day, because at the end of the day, I know it is so much more important to spend quality time with Bradley than keep a clean house if I have to choose.

Reality Bites (and HITS)

In the wee hours of the morning as I was snuggled in bed sleeping, I was petting Lego, one of the dogs we are currently watching for our friends Wes & Jess while they are gone. As I pet Lego, he bit me suddenly, causing me to act swiftly in popping him good on the bottom. And pop him good I did, only as my hand made contact with the dog I became faintly aware of my surroundings, and then heard a bewildered Brian say, what the H-E-double-hockey-sticks??!!

Yes, it turns out my incident with Lego was a dream, and in real life, I slapped the heck out of a sleeping Brian! Whoopsie! I apologized profusely to my husband, but couldn't stifle the giggles that came pouring out as I did. It was just too funny not to laugh, and also too funny not to share, so there you go!

Sucky Salesmen

Remember the good ole days when I always seemed to have a random, funny story to share?  Turns out you only have to go as far as your neighbor's house these days to experience the hilarious blog-worthy anecdote.  Jess called me the other day just as I was about to start dinner, asking me to come over for a minute.  I was worried b/c she didn't day what she wanted, so I scooped up Bradley and off we went.  Turns out she had been hoodwinked into watching a demonstration for Kirby vacuum cleaners, and didn't want to be in the house alone with a strange man who really creeped her out.  (As in, loosening his tie, creepy!)

So I pulled up 2 chairs, and we watched for an agonizingly-slow hour and a half, as the vacuum cleaner salesman version of This Guy tried to sell us an overpriced cleaning machine.  Now I did sales for 3 1/2 years, so I did not envy the job this poor kid was trying to do.  He was obviously nervous having 2 lovely ladies stare at him in silence as he feebly attempted to show us how wonderful this kirby vacuum cleaner was.  He began sentences and trailed off, and  I could see the script he was trying to go over in his head, striving to cover all his bases.  He came dangerously close to catching his necktie in the "easy to use" vacuum several times, so I couldn't help myself when I asked him if he ever got it caught.  No, he said.  Not yet, I thought.

While he went through all 150 attachments the vacuum came with, it was glaringly obvious that this guy had no idea what he was doing.  Poor Mr. Boom-Goes-the-Vacuum at one point mistakenly labeled the dusting attachment as the pet groomer, realized his mistake as he saw and identified the real pet groomer, then commented, but you could also use this one as a pet groomer too.  It was embarrassingly painful to watch, and for his sake I hoped the demonstration wouldn't take too much longer since it was obvious from the beginning that neither one of us were going to buy a vacuum cleaner.  No such luck.

As he struggled to get the vacuum apart, I sarcastically remarked "looks easy," which fell on deaf ears as he agreed with me enthusiastically.   It was all I could do to keep a straight face the entire time as he went through his pitch, tried to demonstrate the poor quality of Jess' vacuum, but not being able to figure out how to turn it on, then couldn't get his own vacuum to start, asking Jess if the plug worked, then realizing it was because part of his vacuum wasn't attached! 

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, his boss, and his boss' boss showed up as well.  Apparently there was a car-full of them working the entire neighborhood.  Each guy tried to help our kid out, and attempted to one-up each other in salesmanship, but only managed to come off smarmier and smarmier.

And all for the bargain price of twenty-ninety-five (that's 2 thousand dollars, he clarified for me, thanks) and 2 hours of your time that you'll never get back, you too can be the proud owner of a Kirby vacuum cleaner!

Painted Love

Monday Brian had a day off of work, so he and I tackled a home project I've been dying to complete.  We finally painted our guest bathroom!  It's a little brighter color than what I'd anticipated, but I've never been one to shy away from bold colors, so I'm satisfied.  (Any of you who know Amy Helms, this is the same shower curtain she has in her bathrooom!  What can I say?  We've got great taste.)

Brian called the experience a Team Building project, and for us that was about right.  I only threw one tantrum, and he only flung one paintbrush.  Yes, I am openly neurotic and OCD about getting paint on the baseboards and floor, and the way I think the painting needed to be done. A guy can only take so much 

neurosis in such a small space!  A few pages of my vampire book later, and several deep breaths, and I was ready to paint again!

Afterwards during the "clean up process" we had more fun than the actual painting project!

Cart Query

Calling all moms, friends of moms, or anyone smarter than me who can find a solution to this problem of mine:

When taking Bradley to Walmart, I am having a lot of difficulty navigating through the store with Bradley's carrier cautiously positioned on the top of the basket near the handle.  Am I doing something wrong?  Is there a better way to shop with an infant?  I implore your help.

My biggest problem is that I am a mere 5'2", not tall enough to see over the carrier, and that's with the canopy and carrier handle bar down!  I have to crane my neck and look around the basket to make sure the way is clear, and inevitably I am going to run over a small child who darts out in front of my cart without my knowing.  Already I have hit food displays and wet floor signs that come of of nowhere, causing me to back up my novice, cart-pushing self, and retract my steps.  I feel like an idiot, and it makes grocery shopping even less fun than I normally find it, worried the whole time that Bradley's carrier is going to slide off, or like I mentioned previously, that I am going to run over a toddler.  Any ideas??