There's No Place Like Home

4K

2011-09-19T11:58:00.003-04:00

That's right, my little peanut is in 4K. She just barely made the cut off, so we're just going to see how it goes and reassess in the spring whether she is ready for Kindergarten or if she will do 4K again next year.

So far, she loves it, which is amazing. She's been in a three year old preschool program in Georgia and also was in child care while I was working this past winter/spring. Neither one went very well. She would be fine for about a week and then start to get really sad. It was heart wrenching.

These days when I ask how school went she says "I loved it." in her little four year old way. Heart melting is much better than heart wrenching!

Outlet

2011-09-08T11:27:00.005-04:00

Holy smokes, it's been almost nine months since I have posted. I haven't taken the time for blogging and I'm not sure why. Busy living life instead of writing about it I guess. I got to the point that I was writing for the feedback and connection with others. Now, if I continue, it's for me.

I just had a birthday earlier this week, and I certainly didn't think this is where I would be in life at this point. I was always a great student, graduated college with an excellent GPA, and felt like the world was my oyster. Had a couple jobs out of college, and then the Army and building a family kind of took over. Here I am, 29, unemployed, and struggling to find a good job despite my education and life experiences. I got sad about it for awhile. Disappointed in myself, feeling like I was a disappointment to my family.

Life is all about choices though, isn't it? It was my choice while Zack was in the Army to raise Karsyn full time. During his deployment, I wanted her to at least have one parent around all the time that she could count on. When he got back from his deployment, I enjoyed taking care of our whole family. I liked being there on the occasional day that he got out of work early. I enjoyed taking Karsyn to story time at the libraryand to the park with our neighbors. It was wonderful to be able to pursue my photography and start my own business.

When you're out of the traditional workplace for four years, it's tough to find a job, even though life has taught me so much in those years. However, when I think about the choices I made that got me to this point, I have no regrets. I started to think about my life on a grander scale. I have an amazing husband. I have a beautiful, smart, funny, and outgoing daughter. And I like to think she is who she is, at least in part, because I was with her during those years.

I am blessed. I have what many people dream of. I will take my little family over a successful career any day of the week. I am still looking for a job, I need one, but it doesn't define me.

This is what does:

Snow

2010-12-11T13:57:00.003-05:00

Well, Stryker is no longer a Stryker. He is officially out of the Army. We are back in Wisconsin, and our front yard currently looks like this:

Apparently we're going to possibly have 18 inches before it's all said and done.

Much more to come, as this is proving to be a bit of a scary transition.

She talks to cakes.

2010-08-28T12:46:00.001-04:00

I am happy to report that Fuzz didn't have any adverse effects from the shot. Unless you count being extra sassy for the last couple days an adverse effect.

Today, we're having a little cookout to celebrate her third birthday. Um, excuse me, who told her she could get older?? I made an exchange with another local business to swap a cake for a photography session, and we picked up the cake this morning.

She keeps talking to the cake and running into the room yelling "Cake time!"
Nice try Fuzz.

just ugh...

2010-08-26T16:30:00.003-04:00

I am so mad at myself.

Today was Fuzz's three year well child doctor's appointment. She was such a big girl, did everything the doctor asked her to, and everything checked out fine. Then the doctor told me that she needed her second Hepatitis A immunization. I am not anti-vaccination by any stretch, but when she had that shot last year, she had a reaction to it. The day after she received it, she woke up and her leg was close to twice as big as it should have been.

Initially when I went in today I thought that the shot that gave her that reaction was the one for chicken pox, so I had it planned that if they wanted to give her that one again, I was going to say no. I mean, it's chicken pox. I've had it, you've probably had it, we're all still kickin. She had already had one of the series, if she ended up getting chicken pox, it would probably be a minor case, I was ok with that decision. When I realized it was the Hepatitis A one that gave her a reaction, I wasn't so sure. Hepatitis seems more serious to me than the chicken pox.

Either way, when I started to tell the doctor that she had a reaction to that shot last time, she started interrupting me. I told her again that she had a reaction, and she says "So you don't want her to get it then?". Perhaps she didn't mean it to sound like that, but to me, that's what it sounded like. I asked her if perhaps they had a different version of the shot they could give her and she totally brushed her reaction off saying "well that one doesn't usually give a bad reaction, maybe something got in it or maybe they hit a blood vessel or something." She then wouldn't give me my paperwork until she had the shot.

So, basically, I let the doctor bully me into getting the shot for Fuzz.

I'm mad at myself, because she actually ended up having to get two shots today. One that she's had before and done fine with, HIB, and the Hep A. So the nurse does the first shot (HIB) and Fuzz doesn't even flinch. No tears, no whining, nothing. Then she does the Hep A. Again, needle goes in, Fuzz doesn't flinch. Meds go in and she screams. I told the nurse about her previous reaction and she looks at me with wide eyes and goes "Nobody told me that!" with sympathy in her voice. I was about two seconds away from bursting into tears.

The doctor never said anything!

Yet, I'm mad at myself because I'm the mama, I should have advocated better on her behalf. I should have made sure the nurse knew about the reaction.

Ugh.

Little kickers

2010-04-10T16:31:00.005-04:00

On Saturday morning we went to the soccer game of my friend's son. He's in the 3-4 year old age group and it was awesome! We can't wait until we can sign Fuzz up. They were so stinkin' cute running around.

Howerver, they were also: kicking it in the other team's goal, running off to pick clover, and crying when someone kicked the ball away from them. I give those coaches a lot of credit. I know it's just for fun at this age, to give them the spark that could turn into a love for the game, but I'm pretty competitive, and I just don't think I could do it.

You can bet I'll be cheering my heart out for Fuzz on the sideline though!

I have bike butt

2010-03-30T08:18:00.000-04:00

For Valentine's Day, I got a bike. I haven't had a bike of my own since, oh I don't know, middle school? It's fun to get out and bike with my little family.
However.
The hills around here are insane. Definitely not a good place to be getting back into biking. By the time we get home my legs feel like jello and I pretty much collapse on the floor.

(Not exaggerating, unfortunately)

The baby debate

2010-03-29T07:49:00.019-04:00

Fuzz would love a little baby in our house. Two of our friends here have little ones and it has been a joy to watch her be a little mommy. Stryker and I both have the itch, but the timing isn't ideal, which ultimately just makes us want another one more I think.

Friday, I had a newborn photo shoot, and let me tell you, I fell in love. I could photograph newborn babies all day long. So innocent, so tiny, so squeaky. I forgot about those little baby squeaks.

During the dreaded first trimester of her pregnancy, Sara and I were talking about how much it sucked and how people say you forget about it. Let me tell you something. I haven't forgotten. One of the sole reasons having another baby right now makes me squirmish is because I just really don't want to be pregnant again. I had a horrible first trimester, and I didn't forget. I told Stryker multiple times during pregnancy, "I'm sorry, I know you want two, but it's not happening."

"Why would anyone have a second child?" I wondered.

I figured it out about the time Fuzz turned two. Stryker had been back for a few months, so all the responsibility of raising her wasn't falling on me anymore. Fuzz was doing and saying new things every day. I was able to sit back and enjoy her, and I was falling deeper in love than I ever thought possible. My daughter is hilarious, sweet, kind, and beautiful. That is why people have second (third, fourth...) babies. They get to that special age and just become so much fun. And then the itch begins. At least that's how it happened for me.

Lord willing we will have another baby. I'm just not sure when.

Dizzy

2010-03-24T15:27:00.005-04:00

Sometimes
it's just fun
to feel the wind
in your hair.

Cross posted from my photo blog.

Happy Monday!

2009-11-16T08:58:00.003-05:00

Wow, thanks for all the support about photographing the wedding. I had no idea that people were still keeping tabs on this blog. It had been such a long time since I had posted, it kind of seemed like I fell off the radar. Hopefully I can get into some kind of habit here again. It's a great outlet with a lot of friends and I've missed it!

Today, Fuzz and I are going to go grocery shopping and play outside. It's been just gorgeous here lately. T-shirts in November? That's my kind of winter! Although I am a big fan of curling up in a cozy sweater too.

Well, happy Monday everyone!

Our Little Elephant

2009-11-06T09:02:00.000-05:00

You probably already saw on Sara's blog, but for Halloween, Fuzz was an elephant. I'd say she was a pretty darn cute one at that. She loved her costume and even made elephant noises. This year she was afraid of crazy face paint, and masks, but she was a fan of the candy! When we dumped out her bucket when we got back home she squealed and proceeded to dive right in.

Holy Crap, I booked a wedding....

2009-11-05T08:44:00.002-05:00

Let me start at the beginning. For years it's been a dream for me to have a photography business. I loves babies and children, and I love capturing their huge innocent smiles, soaphawks in the bathtub, even their pouty faces when they don't get their way. Recently the dream has become more of a reality.

From the very beginning of the reality phase, I have said that I'm not going to do weddings yet. Weddings are a once in a lifetime thing and holy moly, I don't want to be the one to screw up wedding pictures. As you can see by the title of the post, all that is thrown out the window...

It's a special family situation, which is the only reason I agreed to do it. I'm nervous, but that's good. The nerves will push me to study study study, and organize organize organize. This could be either great, or horrible...

Eek!

Home

2009-09-02T14:44:00.003-04:00

The weather down here has been just superb the last couple days! I'm sitting here with the windows open, breeze just flowing through our house. It's great. I'm not sure if I've said it yet, but I really like it here. I've met some great people. We have great neighbors. The kind that come over to borrow aluminum foil, and watch Fuzz if I have an appointment. This is a first for me. I feel like we are home, and it's great.

Birthday girl

2009-08-31T13:23:00.003-04:00

It's been awhile! Since I've last written, Fuzz had a birthday! Can you believe she's two? Because I can't.

When I saw this tutu, I just knew it was the perfect party skirt

My mom was here during her own birthday so Fuzz got to practice blowing out candles, and as you can see, she couldn't wait to blow out her own.

She is getting to be so fun and verbal and just such a joy.

She currently loves animals and can make nearly any animal noise. She loves to say hi and buh-bye. As a matter of fact we went grocery shopping today and she said buy-bye to nearly every person we passed. Seriously. She also loves to blow kisses. We probably need to work on that - teaching her who it's appropriate to blow kisses to and who it's not...like complete strangers. Fuzz also has a friend! Our neighbors have a little boy who is a little older than her and they are best buds now. It's so cute. They also have a little baby, and Fuzz is crazy about her too. She probably would like a little brother or sister of her own, but thankfully she's not the one who gets to make that call!

It's not good news...

2009-08-08T22:26:00.003-04:00

Right before I left Wisconsin to return to Hawaii, our computer died. I took it as a sign that I needed to get off my butt and start packing, so I just packed it up, and it came with us to Georgia. We took it in today to see what the damage was and I got a call this afternoon.

"Hello, Kiki? We had a chance to look at your computer this afternoon, and...it's not good news. The main board is dead, so...it looks like you'll be looking for a new computer." Yippee!! Another expense I was hoping to avoid.

We did go and pick out a new one, and let me tell you, I'm excited to get working in Photoshop again.

The support forward

2009-07-30T09:20:00.003-04:00

There is this girl who I went to high school with who still emails me from time to time. Here's the funny part. She only emails me when she has a military forward to send. Does anyone else have this? I think it's completely funny. Like, "ooh, I'll send this to Kiki, her husband is in the Army!" Does that count as supporting our troops? Sending mass emails that you know you just want to delete the second you see the "FW:" or even better, the "FW: FW: FW: FW: FW:...." you get the idea.

The farmers market was a little pathetic, only one farmer, but he was nice and had some beautiful looking produce. If it's any indicator of how good it was, Fuzz ate a WHOLE peach last nice in addition to her dinner! I don't know where that girl puts it. Sometimes I swear she eats more than I do. Although she's growing, and I'm hopefully...not.

Farmers Market

2009-07-28T20:55:00.002-04:00

I gotta admit, I'm pretty excited to go to the farmers market with Sara tomorrow! Are any of you farmers marketers? I think they are great. The produce always looks amazing, and you're almost always guaranteed a good story to take home. Once at the farmers market we went to in Hawaii there was a guy with a mohawk that must have been 18" high. Seriously, it was the biggest mohawk I've ever seen.

Stryker is heading out to the range tomorrow and may or may not have to stay overnight. I guess it will be a surprise whether he makes it home for dinner or not!

Blue

2009-07-24T19:25:00.003-04:00

The Mrs. mom is so talented! She makes purses, wall art, and now little bags! In honor of her impending third little boy, she's hosting yet another giveaway, and I missed the last couple, so I'm not missing this one! Go check it out!

How I almost lost an eye

2009-07-24T14:51:00.003-04:00

Picture this. I'm in the kitchen, browning chicken for dinner tonight. It's smelling good, I start to flip the first batch, as a drop of oil spits out of the pan and lands right on my eyelid.

Talk about a close call.

Anyone else have a scary kitchen mishap?

Upgrade

2009-07-24T09:09:00.000-04:00

In pursuit of my career in photography, I got a new baby yesterday.

So far, I love it! I am still learning some of the things on it that are different on my old camera, but I'm excited. Here's one of my first pictures on it.

The greatest part is that shirt is from my mom. The grandma who thinks that Fuzz can do no wrong.

Yeah, I was the mom who made her sit as if she was in time out so I could take a picture of her in her time out shirt.

My big date

2009-07-23T13:18:00.003-04:00

Yay! I met my first blogging buddy! Sara, Fuzz, and I met up yesterday, and it was so fun.

I can't imagine how it sounds to a non-blogger. "I met this girl on the internet, and we're going out for lunch." But it was very un-weird actually. She was taller than I expected, but other than that, there were no surprises. Her true spirit just shines on her blog, so I felt like going out for lunch was something we had done many times before.

After lunch, Fuzz and I got to meet Jagger. I'm willing to bet Fuzz liked Jagger more than he liked her. About 5 minutes after dealing with Fuzz, Jagger was hiding by Sara begging her to get rid of the crazy little girl.

She got some great pictures of all of us playing at her apartment complex, go check them out!

*Disclaimer* Although it looks very much like I had it out for Jagger on the slide picture, Sara assured me it was alright to let go. Don't listen to what she says. :)

Mmm...food....

2009-07-22T08:25:00.001-04:00

A whole post about food...loosen your belt.

For Father's day, my sister and I prepared a brunch for our dad, grandparents, and Stryker. We included a strata, and it was delicious. I prepared it the night before except for adding the bread, and it turned out great.

Father's Day Strata

INGREDIENTS
3 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cups chopped zucchini
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup half-and-half cream
12 eggs
4 cups cubed day-old bread
3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, zucchini, onions, green peppers and garlic in oil until vegetables are tender. Drain and pat dry; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth. Beat in eggs. Stir in the bread, cheese, salt, pepper and vegetable mixture.
Pour into two greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dishes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

We've also been grilling a lot. One of our favorite marinades comes from this Southwest Turkey Breasts with Avocado Salsa. We have used it on both turkey and chicken, and it's phenomenal. The avocado salsa just puts it over the top! The salsa is a lot like my guacamole recipe, so it's a big hit in our house. If you only try one recipe from this post, try this one!

I get a lot of my recipes from blogs. We love trying new things, so whenever I see one I think looks good, I bookmark it. Then when I plan our menu for the week, I go through and pick whatever sounds good at the moment. Last week we tried this Tequila Lime Grilled Chicken. Spicy, but yum! I added some cooked white rice to the beans and it was great.

I'm not a huge meatloaf fan, but every once in awhile Stryker requests it, so when I came across Martha Stewart's Honey Mustard Meatloaves, I thought it was worth a try. They are surprisingly good, but very filling. A little onion in the mixture wouldn't hurt either. We've already tried them a couple times, and next time he requests meatloaf, I'll probably make them again!

You didn't think I'd leave you without any sweets did you?? Stryker's brother graduated from college this year, and for his party I made these:

They weren't really anything special, just chocolate cupcakes with ganache frosting, but aren't they cute?? I got my inspiration from Brown Sugar Bee.

Finally, when we went last weekend to help some friends move, I made these Cookies and Cream Rice Krispie Treats. Yum, yum, yum. That's all I have to say about them.

So tell me, do you try new recipes every week or do you have old standby's that you always make?

Speaking Spanish

2009-07-21T14:20:00.003-04:00

The phone call never happened. My friend had emailed him and he never got back to her, so she didn't pursue it. I was nervous about it, but completely willing to help my friend out even if it meant making a fool of myself. I figured..they are in Colorado, I will never meet this guy, if he laughs at me after we got off the phone, oh well! I think I could have held my own though.

Stryker and I have been trying some really phenomenal recipes lately. Stay tuned for a post of my favorites!

No recuerdo...

2009-07-16T15:04:00.003-04:00

Holy moly!

My best friend from way back is trying to buy a car. The owner only speaks Spanish, and she wants me to translate on a 3-way call tonight. Yikes! I mean, I minored in Spanish, but I haven't spoken a lick of it in years.

This could be interesting....

Fuzz loving life

2009-07-16T11:16:00.000-04:00

To ease your withdrawals of new Fuzz pictures, I present: The Watermelon That Lost.

31 out of 50 + a Canadian

2009-07-15T14:55:00.006-04:00

The beautiful thing about this is that all of these, with the exception of Kentucky, were seen out of their home state. And the Wisconsin plate isn't ours. We saw all of these between Louisville, KY, and Columbus, GA. Lots of travelers out and about while we were driving. We also saw a few more that we were unable (ahem, Stryker), to capture. Maryland, New Jersey, Minnesota...maybe more? I don't really remember. This was by far the most fun car game I've ever participated in!

Good to be back

2009-07-14T14:47:00.006-04:00

Wow, it's been over a month since I've written! We have been very busy with visiting our families, house hunting, moving, and unpacking, but it's also a case of the longer you go without writing, the less you feel like you have to write about. I'm hoping to get back in the habit of it, even when I don't think I have anything to say.

Stryker and I took a couple days to drive down here. We left on the 29th, and only hit a little of this:

It was a pretty nice trip. As nice as an 18 hour road trip can be. On day two we decided to start taking pictures of all the different state license plates we saw. We saw so many! I am going to try and compile them into a collage. We must have gotten close to half. It definitely kept the trip interesting. Quick lane changes to catch a new one, tailgating, yeah...driver of the year! Not to mention what the other people were thinking when they saw a crazy man from Wisconsin trying to take their picture. Quite a few laughs that day.

We spent that night in Atlanta and had the most amazing dinner at Il Mulino. The food was amazing, and the service was even more amazing. Stryker and I like to go out to nice dinners occasionally, and this was a great pick.

Well, I'll leave it at that. It's time to go wake Fuzz up from her nap. Sleeping through the night has taken a hiatus, and we're trying everything we can to remedy that.

Sicky

2009-06-11T23:59:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was our anniversary, we were woken up at 4:30AM by a sick Fuzz. Poor little bugger.

Of the four years we've been married, we've only actually been together for about two. And even those two were littered with field training, schools, and other separations. Such is the Army life. I think this was probably our hardest year yet. Here is to hopefully our best year yet!

We leave tomorrow. We're hoping Fuzz is feeling better by then, and that we don't contract it in the meantime.

Auntie Love

2009-06-06T16:17:00.004-04:00

My sister's visit was awesome. It felt like we were never apart, and when she left, I missed her before she was even halfway to California. Her spending time with us makes me a little sad that Stryker reenlisted. I know that it the best decision for us right now, but spending time with her makes me realize that I want to just be closer to our families. Granted, being in Georgia, we will be closer to them, but I doubt we will see them any more often than we did while we were here.

The dolphin swim was amazing. We bought some of the pictures, but we don't have a scanner here, so I will have to upload them later. Fuzz loved it too. It was a really neat experience, I recommend it to anyone! We got to kiss her, dance with her, and Stryker got to feed her a fish. That was right up his alley.

By the way, do you think she likes Fuzz much?

Whirlwind

2009-06-05T19:15:00.002-04:00

Talk about a whirlwind lately! My cousin's visit, my sister's visit, our lease ending on the first and us moving to a hotel until we leave, selling stuff... I have been one busy lady, and it's not going to stop any time soon.

We're getting settled into the hotel just in time to leave again. We'll be spending a week in Stryker's hometown, a week in mine, and then driving down to Georgia and hopefully finding somewhere to live quickly. We're already looking, but it's hard to commit to something without knowing the neighborhood, and more importantly, the smell. I have done enough apartment/house hunting to know that pictures of the place might look great, but nothing is worse than walking in and getting slammed with a smell that makes you believe cats, and only cats, lived there without a litter box for years.

Thankfully, Stryker's mom is going to fly down with Fuzz a few days after we leave. She does well in the car for about 20 minutes on a good day, so we're lucky we don't have to suffer through 15 hours with her. I would probably be bald by the time we got there. I don't do well with ear piercing screeching in small spaces. They don't seem to bother Stryker, which adds to the irritation.

How can that not drive a person to unthinkable acts?

Yay!

2009-05-22T14:22:00.000-04:00

My sister gets here today!

On the schedule:
* Run with Stryker
* Shower
* Pick up lei
* Pick up one of my favorite people!

We don't have a lot on the agenda, although Stryker & I are surprising her with a dolphin swim on one of her last days here. She is going to flip. Should be a lot of relaxing, and quality bonding time. I can't believe how much I've missed her!

Take 2

2009-05-21T17:35:00.002-04:00

I can't believe that my sister will be here tomorrow already! That snuck up so fast, and I am so very excited. When I think about what Fuzz was like when we left in February, and what she is like now, I realize how much she has changed. My sister is just going to eat her up. I can't wait!

Today has been a potty training day. Don't worry, it hasn't been nearly as ~~traumatic~~ exciting as last time. Not that I'm going to test it with piggy-back rides or anything. The last few days she's been wanting to sit on her potty a lot. Mostly right after she's gone to the bathroom in her diaper, so I think it's starting to click. So today, after I took her first diaper off this morning, she wanted to sit on it, peed, and I decided today would be a no-diaper kind of day. So far she's doing well with it. I've yet to get a decent picture, but she likes to read while she's on the potty. How funny is that?!?

She's on or she's off

2009-05-20T17:42:00.003-04:00

Just got home from possibly the worst walk with Fuzz ever.

I found this training program in my Fitness magazine, 6 weeks to a 5K. Supposedly it's for a beginner. Anyway, I'm on day 2, doing the 3-5 mile walk, and Stryker has a PT test tomorrow, so he said he probably wouldn't want to do it tonight, so I thought I'd go with Fuzz this morning. She enjoys our walks. Her latest craze is flowers. Loves loves loves flowers, and wants you to pick one for her at every corner. Hibiscus are her favorite, but maybe that's because there are so many of them around here.

So at about a mile and a half, there is this beach. Fuzz was starting to get a little antsy, so I thought, we'll stop at the beach, dip our feet in for a little bit, and then head back. I thought it would be a nice break for Fuzz. Well, apparently, 15 minutes wasn't long enough, because when we left she threw a huge fit. Arching her back in the stroller and the whole works. About a block into the way back, I stopped to talk to her and she had snot all over her face, her sunglasses, her fingers. That is how hard she was crying. I'm walking past people who can clearly hear her losing it, probably wondering if they should call CPS, smiling and saying "she wasn't ready to leave the beach".

She settled down a little bit, but whined and cried the whole way back. Right now she's eating lunch like nothing ever happened.

I need a nap.

Fender Bender

2009-05-19T19:39:00.002-04:00

There was one not so fun moment while my cousin was here. He and Stryker got into a little fender bender. After their shark diving, they were waiting to pull out of a driveway and some lady just ran right into them. It wasn't serious, but she did do damage to our car. Sounds like she was quite the person to deal with.

She was nice at first. They both parked and she got out of her (rental) car and said "Did I just hit you?" Um...no kidding Sherlock. She offered to pay Stryker a whopping $200, when the damage will probably cost more like $1000 to fix. He said no, and then she started getting all crazy. Tried to claim that the damage wasn't caused by her, even though she did in fact hit them. Said they were trying to screw her. Even told my cousin "F*** You", and my favorite "FYI, I hate you". How 5th grade is that?

Anyway, Stryker has been in contact with the rental company, and surprise surprise, she hasn't reported the accident to them yet. The rental company is going to take care of it it sounds like, but this lady was quite a trip!

No business like show business

2009-05-18T19:38:00.005-04:00

Holy moly, I just had a busy busy weekend! My cousin arrived on Thursday, and left last night. He packed in a lot of excitement in four days. Waimea Valley, Luau, Pearl Harbor, hiking Diamond head, rock jumping at Waimea Bay, shark diving, and dinner out in Honolulu. It was so nice of him to come and visit, and we really had a great time.

Friday evening we went to the cultural center and roamed around there and then took in their luau. Best one I've ever been to. It was amazing and our seats were stellar. Fuzz loved it. She was dancing and doing the arm movements and grunting like the men were doing. It was pretty funny.

Between the dinner and the luau, she was standing outside an Elvis exhibit, listening to the music and dancing her heart out. Before long, Stryker is knocking on the window of the gift shop my cousin and I were in waving us to hurry and come out. We head out there and here's Fuzz.

You can see her crowd starting to develop on the right. On the opposite side of those people there were about 15 others watching her shake her stuff. Not kidding. They were cheering and clapping for her, and the more they cheered, the bigger she smiled and the harder she danced. One lady even gave her money. After about 3 songs we finally dragged her away, even though the crowd was yelling "again! Hana hou!" It was hilarious!

Afterward, some guy came up to us and said that when his son was her age he was the same way, and today he's a 29 year old musician who is very successful here in Hawaii, "so be careful, you're headed for show business!" he said. Yikes! I mean, I know I referred to her as a moviestar, but I didn't think it was actually reality.

My Moviestar

2009-05-13T18:43:00.004-04:00

Not only am I her biggest fan, but she is apparently mine. Fuzz has taken to introducing everyone to me. As if she just believes everyone should know me. At least that's what I want to believe. Grocery store, park, parking lot, it doesn't matter. If there is someone around, she goes up to them, points to me, and says, "Mama!".

One of the best mom moments to date.

24 and a half

2009-05-11T23:12:00.003-04:00

My sister loves her birthday so much that she even celebrates her half-birthday. Yes, my sister is 24 years old, and still celebrates her half-birthday.

Because she celebrates it, I made her these.

Happy half-birthday sweet sister!

Mother's Day

2009-05-10T22:43:00.003-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all you hot mamas out there!

I feel so blessed that the Lord has allowed me to be a mom. And to be a mom to this little girl:

is especially wonderful.

You know those moments that make your heart sing when you first start falling in love? I have those every day, as I watch her grow and learn. I fall in love every single day. How awesome is that? Being a mom has also been a test in patience, but it's good. She's making me grow just as much as I am helping her do the same.

I can't wait to see what this next year in motherhood holds.

Bad connection

2009-05-08T19:39:00.002-04:00

We are having issues with the internet and it's so annoying! Every page takes forever and a day to load. My complete annoyance is clearly a sign that I am far too reliant on the computer.

I'm ok with that.

A new definition

2009-05-06T19:10:00.003-04:00

I think the Army was confused when they said PCS stand for "permanent change of station". I think they actually meant it to stand for "pretty crappy situation". PCSing..what a pain!

Poor Stryker. I mean, we're excited to start a new adventure, but are three different transportation appointments really necessary?? We do have a strange situation because we are in Hawaii, but our household goods are in Wisconsin, but it should be that difficult.

During his first appointment, the lady scheduled his unaccompanied baggage pickup (his army stuff that needs to be transported), but told him that he should get in touch with his next duty station to schedule the household goods pickup, because that would be easier. Easier for who? Yeah. Her.

So he called to see if they could schedule it from here or if he really had to call the next duty station. The woman on the phone told him that the lady at his first appointment should have done it and that he should come in to schedule it. So he went in last week and they sent him away because he didn't have yet ANOTHER copy of his orders. Wait, he's there to fix YOUR screw-up! Not to mention the fact that they already have 32ish copies of his orders. So he left, made another copy of his orders and went in there today. He sat in the waiting room for over an hour and they made him ANOTHER appointment to schedule the pickup. Nothing was accomplished today other than making him an appointment.

Really? All because the first lady didn't do her job? Wow.

Wordless Wednesday - A Day at the Beach

2009-05-05T18:47:00.002-04:00

*Ok, so I screwed up and posted these a day early. Sue me...

One crumbles, one thrives

2009-05-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

Sometimes when I think about the deployment, I wonder how we got through it. Not only did we get through it, but we got through it almost unscathed. 15 months is a long, long, time. Yes, it was hard. Yes, we lost a friend. Yes, we had reintegration issues just like everyone does. But we made it, and we are stronger because of it. We appreciate each other more. I enjoy being a mom more. We cherish our time together more. I could probably go on all day.

So many couples don't make it through one deployment, much less multiple ones. We are close friends with a couple who did not, in fact, make it through this deployment, and it still blows my mind daily. I can't believe they are in the situation they are. I'm certain there is more to the story than what I know...there has to be.

It brings me to the question: What makes one seemingly strong couple crumble while one thrives? Is it faith? Because I'm certain that during some points in the deployment there were only one set of footprints in my neck of the woods. Is it love? Is it personal strength? Is it determination and pure will?

I don't know all the answers, but I think it's a combination of all those things. Here are a few of the things that I think helped us get through our deployments.

#1. Realization and acceptance of the fact that you can't change it. He will deploy. It will be a long time. You can't stop it. Find a way to deal.

#2. Faith. I am a Christian woman. I believe that each of us has a set amount of time on this earth, and that it's predetermined. This was a huge thing in helping me get through this deployment. I believed that if Stryker's time was supposed to be up during the deployment, it would have been up whether he was deployed or not. This prevented me from worrying so much. Of course I still worried, but it wasn't as extreme as the first deployment, and thus, resulted in less stress.

#3. Faith. Faith in our marriage. Faith that despite the length of time apart, our marriage would survive, and we would be ok.

#4. Care packages. I wanted to make sure that Stryker knew I was thinking of him, and loved him, and sending care packages was one of the ways I could best show this. I loved sending care packages because I knew he and the guys enjoyed them, and it also helped me feel closer to him. I knew that I was touching something he would touch.

#5. Being understanding of weirdness. Sometimes while Stryker was deployed, he would go through periods of weirdness. He wouldn't have much to say while we were on the phone, he seemed down, he just was not himself. It's not a cause for panic. They go through ups and downs during the deployment just like we do. It's normal.

#6. Finding something to look forward to. When we started making plans for R&R, conversations were great. We smiled, we laughed, we made plans that involved us actually being together. It was fun.

#7. Living life. I kept on living life. It helped pass the time much more quickly. Yes, sometimes I felt guilty about it, but it was better for Fuzz, Stryker, AND me live life instead or wait for it.

These are just the big ones off the top of my head that helped me, and us, get through deployments. What is something that helps you get through a deployment?

*Here's what I was sending to Stryker one year ago today.

Family runs

2009-05-04T18:59:00.002-04:00

My legs are finally on the mend. Yowzers that was rough. Must make sure I don't go that long again before doing lunges. Not a good feeling.

I did manage to go for a couple walk/runs with Stryker and Fuzz last weekend. Definitely loosened the legs up. And can I just tell you how much more fun it is to run with your family than it is to run by yourself on a treadmill or elliptical? The last time I went to the gym I seriously considered visiting a Dr. to see if I had ADD. I'm going on the elliptical, this is my thought process. "Only 2 minutes? This is boring. La dee dah... What? Only 4:25 minutes? I wonder what that paper on the bulletin board says, maybe I should go check it out." You get the picture. It wasn't pretty.

I will admit it. I'm not a runner. I have asthma, and pounding on the pavement doesn't agree with it. But I want to be a runner. Going out for a run, even if it's half run, half walk, with Stryker and Fuzz is fun. It's great family time, and it's great for Fuzz to see us being active. So I'm starting slow, seeing if I can build up some endurance. We'll see.

In other, completely unrelated news, we grilled pizzas on Friday. If you've never done it, you need to try it. Easy, fast, and so yummy!

Legs like Jell-o

2009-04-30T09:10:00.001-04:00

After being inspired by Biggest Loser on Tuesday, I thought it would be a great idea for Styker to come up with some workouts I could do. Not only do I get stuck in a rut and keep doing the same things over and over, but I push myself harder if I have a plan and am accountable to someone else for it. (Who isn't?)

Yesterday was my first one, and my legs felt like jello afterward. I'm rethinking this idea....

Actually I'm not, it was fun to do something different than I usually do, and he enjoyed thinking some up for me too. The best part is that he made some for me to do at home (or outside), and some for the gym. So on days when going to the gym isn't an option, I have a back up.

Fuzz got a kick out of it too. Squat jumps induce giggles, and her trying to replicate. And really, how does that not make a workout more fun?

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-29T17:03:00.002-04:00

And the award goes to...

2009-04-27T16:53:00.002-04:00

...Kiki for Mother of the Year!!!

Wait, what? Why are you taking my trophy away? You mean mothers of the year don't turn their backs for two seconds as their child kicks herself away from the kitchen counter and falls backward while strapped into a booster seat in her chair?

Seriously. We were having a nice morning, she was eating a good breakfast while I ate next to her. I was done so I got up, threw my plate in the garbage, asked her if she was done, she wasn't, so I turned around, and BANG! Chair hits the floor (and breaks), and Fuzz screaming ensues. She has a little goose egg, but she's fine. I'm still traumatized (and mad at myself). Well, she might be too. For about an hour after it happened, everytime she walked by the chair she whimpered.

Poor thing.

Pretty in pink

2009-04-24T21:03:00.002-04:00

We had a girly kinda day.

Banana Bread Recipe

2009-04-24T17:52:00.003-04:00

Teresa requested this recipe, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. Make sure you bake it long enough! I didn't bake mine quite long enough and when I transferred it to the wire rack it pretty much collapsed. Also it wouldn't hurt to leave it in the pan for a little longer.

Special Banana Nut Bread Courtesy of Taste of Home

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
2 cups granulated pure cane sugar
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 4 medium)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped pecans, divided

ORANGE GLAZE:
1 cup Domino® or C&H® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in bananas and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Fold in 1 cup pecans.

Transfer to two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 350° for 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients; drizzle over loaves. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves.

I love food

2009-04-23T01:42:00.005-04:00

Another great thing about having Stryker home is that I am cooking for more than myself and an occasional guest. It's great. I've been able to try several new recipes, and most of them have been wonderful.

I've been really into making homemade bread lately. I'm not sure why, but I love it! I've tried a couple different recipes for french bread. I've found a really great recipe for pizza dough (seriously, it's d.e.l.e.c.t.a.b.l.e). Homemade cinnamon rolls anyone? Best I've ever made. Even better than the ones out of the can.

My mom gave me an awesome recipe for banana bread with an orange glaze on top. It sounds like a weird combo but it's the best banana bread I've ever had, and I already had a great banana bread recipe. I've also tried an applesauce bread with a cream cheese filling that I found on this website. It was good but very spice-y. Very Thanksgiving/Christmas. I'd cut back on the nutmeg next time. This is what it looked like:

We've tried great seafood recipes like ginger-glazed mahi-mahi, and awesome grilled recipes like a southwest turkey breast with avocado salsa. Italian, Mexican, American....you name it. The best part is that we have so many more to try!

Alright, I'm hungry...gotta go.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-04-22T15:21:00.002-04:00

Beauty

2009-04-21T18:34:00.003-04:00

We've been incredibly lucky since Stryker has gotten back. He only took a handful of leave days during block leave, so while everyone else was on block leave, Stryker "worked" for a couple hours a day and had four day weekends. Can you say family time?!

It's been great, and so relaxing. I don't know about you, but block leave always has been a huge runaround for us. Being pulled this way and that, so many people to see, and so many things our families plan for us to do. By the time we get back we're exhausted. Not much of a "leave". So this time we decided we'd just stay put. And it was amazing, not to mention a lot less expensive! Besides, who needs to go anywhere when you see this across the street...

Now everyone's back and they are back to work. It will be two months since he got back on Thursday. We've been lucky to have all this family time, and we're getting back to normal (whatever that is).

Next month we're having some visitors. My cousin is visiting from California for a long weekend, and shortly after he leaves my sister is coming for about a week and a half! I can't wait for her to get here. I miss her a lot, and she needs a Fuzz fix.

Goodbyes

2009-04-19T16:52:00.003-04:00

PCS season has begun. This past weekend we partook in a little get together for a friend who is leaving this week. Yummy Mexican food and a homemade cake (by me of course). It was fun. After dinner I came home with Fuzz and the rest of the guys went out for a few drinks. Well, maybe more than a few. Stryker got home and had the hiccups for about an hour and a half before he finally fell asleep. Haha.

This was the first close family that I have had to say goodbye to. I've been pretty lucky I guess. Married almost four years and this is the first one. Stryker and I aren't far behind, and neither are the other families that I've grown close to over these four years. I just hope at our new location I meet more couples and families like the ones I've met here. Maybe I'll meet some of you!

Assignment #1

2009-04-06T21:03:00.003-04:00

For assignment one of my photography workshop we were instructed to capture motion. I've taken two pictures that I like and can't decide which one to use. Check them out and let me know what you think. Which one speaks to you?

Ceiling fan:

Running stream:

Photography, dates, and bunnies

2009-04-03T23:30:00.004-04:00

I had my first class of the photography workshop last night. She talked a lot about things I already knew, but I did learn a few things and got to ask some questions. Apparently it just keeps building on, so next class should be lots of new stuff for me. She got into photography much in the same way that I have, and is doing what I would ultimately love to do. We'll see where this leads!

Stryker hooked up a baby sitter for us for tonight, so we are having a date night (which I should be getting ready for). He asked this guy to watch her without even talking about a date night with me first. I love that. I love when he makes an effort without having to hear 43 hints first. It really makes me feel loved and special. He did something nice on his own. Love it.

We're going for sushi and then we're switching to Easter bunny mode and going shopping for Fuzz. It will be our first holiday that we've been able to truly shop for her together. Fun stuff!

The dish

2009-04-03T15:05:00.002-04:00

So here's the scoop. Like I said, last night we were awoken by fighting, and then I clearly heard someone slam into something, followed by crying and yelling. The initial fighting sounded like it was down on the street, but they ended up in her apartment (no, we don't live on post, but he was military) where they continued to fight.

Apparently she pushed him first and then he pushed her. I'm not really sure of all the details.

Just a few weeks ago a man killed his ex-girlfriend, so I think everyone was on high alert and called the cops right away. I was frightened by it, especially after hearing the story about the killing. I didn't want Stryker to be outside waiting to get the keys back. I didn't know how crazy this guy was or if he had a weapon. I didn't want him to see Stryker. I mean, he just got home safely after 15 months in Iraq, let's not get hurt by a crazy domestic abuser.

In the end, Fuzz didn't wake up, Stryker came back safely, and eventually we did fall back asleep. So all is well for us. The girl was obviously ok too. There was no ambulance or anything. There is no excuse for that. There are resources out there for people in her situation. If you find yourself there...please use them!

Domestic Disturbance

2009-04-03T09:10:00.002-04:00

Totally just woke up to some guy beating up his girlfriend. It's 2:30AM...do you think alcohol was involved? Stryker is outside waiting to get our keys back that he tossed down for the cops to get in the gate. I'm not sure I'll fall back asleep.

First Haircut

2009-04-02T07:52:00.003-04:00

Yup, that's right, Fuzz got her first haircut. We took her to a children's hair cutting place. You would think the stylists are kid friendly...not so much. She knew it was her first haircut, and she just rushed right through it and I even had to collect hair off of the floor for a keepsake. No ceremonious "here's your lock of hair from the first snip", but "I can give you a bag for the hair you so frantically picked off the floor before I swept it up".

I digress...

Fuzz loved sitting in the car until the stylist put the cape on her. She hated the cape. She hated the blowdryer even more. And yet the stylist kept blowing it dry, despite Fuzz being in a complete panic about it! I should have told her to knock it off but I was busy trying to calm Fuzz down. She was over it as soon as she got her little cup of animal crackers.

Anyway, the pictures speak for themselves.

It turned out cute and looks so much cleaner, but I doubt we'll be going back to that place...

The Plunge

2009-04-01T19:19:00.007-04:00

I have a cousin who has a son with Down Syndrome, so Special Olympics is near and dear to my heart. He has gotten to participate in many different Special Olympics events, and it's been a great thing for him. Stryker shares my love of the organization, and was honored to be able to do something good for the organization by doing the plunge. Besides, who really does the "polar" plunge in Hawaii? Crazy right?

Special Olympics Hawaii ended up raising over $20,000 from the event. It was funny, men and women in t-shirts and shorts hauling wheelbarrows full of ice to dump in the pool they had set up for the plunge.

They had a DJ and Fuzz danced... Here's my commentary, "shakin' it, shakin' it, ooh she's taking my picture!, oh who cares, I can't help it, the beat moves me!, wait, new song, can't find the beat, can't find the beat, oh, there it is!"

And as promised, pictures of the costume.

Polar Bear Plunge in Hawaii??

2009-03-25T15:48:00.004-04:00

Coming from Wisconsin, I've witnessed a polar bear plunge, and hear of them often. In Hawaii, not so much. Yet they are doing one here for the Special Olympics, and Stryker has signed up! It's this Saturday, and he's wearing a costume... Don't worry, I will be posting pictures. If you're so inclined, you can donate to the cause. I put a little widget over to the right.

Potty training riddle

2009-03-24T16:08:00.003-04:00

I have a riddle for you.

How does potty training lead to an ER visit?

Stumped? Well let me tell you...

Last night after dinner, Fuzz grabbed the travel pack of wipes and laid on the floor because she had a stinky diaper. Stryker and I laughed and as I carried her off to change her diaper, I said that if she could do that, she probably is getting close to being ready to be potty trained. Famous last words. So, after I changed her, I left her diaper off. I said, "now next time you have to go pee pee, you just tell mommy or daddy and we'll take you to the potty" And she squatted down and peed. Again, we laughed as I raced her into the bathroom but it was too late, but then she kept wanting to sit on it. It was like it finally connected for her, pee = potty.

So off and on we kept going and sitting on the potty and she wouldn't go once she was on it. Pretty soon she goes to the diaper bag and grabs out a diaper and starts to take it to Stryker. He said "Oh, you want to wear a diaper?" and she peed and then she was kinda sad. So we cleaned it up, no big deal, and put a diaper on, calling it a night on the potty training.

Pretty soon I was sitting on the couch with Fuzz while Stryker was doing dishes (love it) and she climbed on my back like she wanted a piggy back ride. So I take her around, go to do one more loop around the coffee table and slip in what we are assuming was an unnoticed pee puddle. Somehow, I kept holding Fuzz on my back, but I bounced off the corner of the coffee table before landing on the floor.

My first thought was "first broken bone, possible dislocated shoulder". It was immediate pain from my wrist to my shoulder. Once the initial fall I knew my shoulder was ok, but my arm was immediate red and starting to swell. I got lightheaded and nauseous. Stryker sprung into action. Ice, garbage can, ibuprofen, all while holding Fuzz. She got a little scratch on her leg but was more scared than anything.

Since it was about 8PM by this time and it was either go in and get it checked out or put Fuzz to bed. I thought better to get it checked out than go in in a couple days and find out it was broken and have to have it re-broken or worse. Icky.

My wrist/arm is not broken, but yowzer it hurt. I since have discovered I must have landed on my hip when I hit the floor because I felt that a few times while rolling over in the night.

So all is well at the Kiki house. I have a lumpy wrist, and a huge red mark from my wrist to the middle of my forearm that will probably eventually bruise, a bruise on my bicep, and a bruise on my hip, but it could have been so much worse. It is a glass table, if I didn't hit on the corner, I could have broken it. Fuzz could have gotten hurt worse, etc, etc. Again, lucky and blessed!

Potty training is over for now....

Sisterhood

2009-03-22T02:11:00.011-04:00

Katie, I promise I didn't forget! Katie gave me this amazing award for my attitude (which I am very unsure of at times). But either way, thank you, it really means a lot.

I'm not sure how Katie and I got acquainted either, but I'm so glad we did! Her and her mom and awesome supporters of our troops and sent multiple goodie boxes to Stryker's company during the deployment. Love you girl!

The rules for accepting the award are as follows:
Put the logo on your blog or post.
Nominate at least 10 blogs with great attitude and/or gratitude.
Be sure to link to your nominees in your post.
Let your nominees know they have received the award by leaving them a comment on their blog.
Be sure to link this post to the person who nominated you for the award.

I feel like I have a lot of "sisters" in this Army life we lead. So many of you have gone through or are going through deployments right now. It is hard to stay positive during these times, but so many of you do it...and with grace. The people I nominate are:

1. D.A.R. - She is an amazing woman, student, and military wife. Murphy has not been nice to her this deployment, but she takes every crisis and turns it into a learning experience. I admire her, and hope one day I am lucky enough to meet her in person.

2. Lindsay - I haven't been reading her for that long, but she is so in love with her soon-to-be husband that it just makes me smile. I'm so excited for the wedding pictures!

3. More than an Army Wife - A new mom, with a deployed hubby. She posts pictures of her little "Mootz" frequently, and I've yet to hear her complain about being a mom by herself while Stonewall is gone.

4. Tucker - Tucker is doing a kitchen remodel while her hubby is deployed. Love it! What a great accomplishment during deployment. This girl is clearly not sitting and sulking. Head on over and help her pick the kitchen sink!

5. The Mrs. - Despite being constantly plagued by a crazy phobia of her trunk flying open while she's driving, she trucks on raising two wild young boys, incubating a third, and cooking without eggs, all while her husband flies in and out of town... And get this, she does it without complaint!

6. J.L.S. - Her sweetie just left home after R&R and she's trying to get her bearings back after getting used to having him around again, yet her attitude remains grateful for the time they had together.

7. JLC - JLC's "Bumbee" was just home on R&R and she had some pretty amazing time with her hubby. Don't miss her "humps and pumps" story. It's sure to make you either laugh til you cry or pee your pants.

8. KD - I am inspired by KD's recent attack of CrossFit. All of a sudden she decided she wanted to try it, and now she's a CrossFit machine!

9. ens - Her man deployed recently, and despite not hearing his voice in 6 whole weeks, her attitude has stayed AMAZING!

10. Teresa - She just passed the halfway point in deployment. She blogs daily and is thisclose to R&R.

Goings on

2009-03-21T20:14:00.008-04:00

Lots happening in the last couple weeks. Stryker's official redeployment ceremony. It was for the whole brigade so the amount of soldiers there was awesome. It's hard to believe that that many men and women were over there.

We had a battalion picnic where Fuzz learned how to be completely independent on the playground equipment. She now goes up the stairs and down the slide repeatedly until you make her stop. The car ride home was quiet.

Stryker got promoted.

And block leave started. He only took a few days since we are staying here anyway. We are saving some up for PCS leave. It was a nice week having him home though. Should be short days even when he goes back, at least until block leave is over.

We went to the beach today that always has sea turtles sunning. We took Fuzz right up to them, but I think she thought they were rocks.

Life is good over here. We are blessed.

Green

2009-03-16T01:31:00.003-04:00

I'm jumping on the bandwagon! This week's theme is "Green" so I'm using this previously posted picture! Go enter your Green photo!

A Girl and her Chapstick

2009-03-11T21:31:00.007-04:00

When I take my chapstick out of my purse, Fuzz gets a little sparkle in her eye. The girl loves it. She takes the cap off, or makes me do it, puts it to her lips and shakes her head back and forth like she's applying it. Adorable. Ok, so once in awhile she digs her finger in it or takes a little bite. Like I said, she loves it.

So imagine her joy when her Auntie sent her some all for herself! Well, you don't have to imagine. Here is the evidence. After these pictures I had to pry it out of her hands to put it away.

Classic lipstick on the tooth moment

Conundrum

2009-03-11T15:27:00.003-04:00

First of all, thank you for your supportive comments on my last post. I know that these feelings are normal, and they make sense, but hearing your validation helps tame the crazy.

On to my conundrum. As we all know, the economy leaves something to be desired lately. For the last couple years, I've been a stay at home wife and mother. I'm really passionate, and interested in photography, and would love to pursue that as a career. I'd like to take some classes, invest in some equipment, and make this dream a reality. I'm actually trying to sign up for a workshop in April.

However, in just over two years, Stryker will be getting out of the Army. At least that's the plan. Once he's out, he's very serious about going back to school. So the question is, do I get a job at our next duty station in the field that I have my degree in so I'll have a little experience by the time Stryker gets out, thus leaving me making more money to support us, or do I keep on (selfishly?) pursuing the photography dream?

Stryker is very supportive, but it's hard being an adult! I know that it's probably smarter to get a job in my field, but I know it wouldn't make me as happy.

Hopefully after the workshop in April (if I get in), I will have a better idea. At least I have a few more months to stew over it. What to do, what to do?

Ugly

2009-03-10T19:06:00.002-04:00

Although I have tons of other pictures I could post, I figured maybe words would be nice for a change. There have just been so many photographic moments lately that I haven't been able to resist.

Fuzz acts as if Daddy has always been around. I, however, am not so quick to forget what life was like before redeployment. It's very strange. Pre-Fuzz, reintegration was a snap. Post-Fuzz, not so much. It's frustrating to me.

I am completely grateful and blessed that Stryker is finally back home with us. It's wonderful having him here. The house stays cleaner, I'm not drop dead exhausted by the end of the day, Fuzz has a mommy and a daddy to pay attention to her throughout the day, etc. etc. There are so many benefits to having him home.

I spent 15 months wishing he was here. I longed for his touch, I wished that those "Mwa!"s at the end of every conversation were real, I couldn't wait to feel his skin against mine. So how messed up is it that now that it's finally real, those touches and kisses I so longed for sometimes cause irritation?

I'm not used to being touched and kissed so much throughout the day. When he was gone, I had to adapt to not having those things, and now that they are reality again, I need to adapt back. I guess I'm not quite there yet, but it is getting better daily. We talked about it the other night, and since then I haven't been stressing about it so much, and things have been much better.

I love my husband, and it's hard for me to accept that this is normal, even though I know it is. I know we'll get there, I just wish it didn't take so darned long.

Wordless Wednesday aka my new favorites

2009-03-04T21:42:00.002-05:00

Day Two

2009-02-28T21:04:00.003-05:00

On day two, Fuzz turned 18 months old! We spent the morning running errands, and the rest of the day was spent playing. They are still trying to catch up on all that play and tickle time.

Day one

2009-02-27T18:31:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, Stryker's first full day back, we went to the park for a picnic. Fuzz chased the birds, we ate lunch, played on the playground, and left when it started raining. It was a great day.

Just a part of the package

2009-02-27T18:20:00.003-05:00

Wow, you guys rock! Thanks for all the well wishes on Stryker being home. We've read every single one. I think he finally understands the support you have all given me throughout this deployment.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in bliss at the spa in the fancy resort up at the north shore. It was, according to Stryker, my Valentine's Day/you never got time to yourself and you deserve it, gift. I have to say, I wasn't feeling all that worthy. I just considered going through this deployment a part of our life together. Not fun, but necessary if I want to continue to be with, and love, Stryker. He and our relationship, is more than worth it.

I told him after I got back my feelings about it. He took my hand, pulled me out of the chair, and started dancing with me right in the living room, as he started rattling off all the reasons why he thought I did in fact deserve it. No wonder why I missed him so much! It's easy to forget all those little romantic things they do everyday when they have been gone for so long.

We are not really having any of those reintegration problems that we did during R&R. I think we must have worked the bugs out at that time, and now it's smooth sailing. Fuzz is getting better with the change every day. I mentioned how hard of a time we were having at bedtime and naptime, and as of yesterday, she's going down without fighting it again. Loving it.

You mean it's real?

2009-02-25T22:14:00.004-05:00

Finally, two days after Stryker got home it is beginning to feel like it's real. I felt like after 15 months of separation, the little ceremony (although exciting) just didn't do the whole deployment justice. Where was the parade, the confetti, the champagne spraying all over?

It's only occasional moments that I realize that he's not on borrowed time. I don't have to give him wholly to lady Army in two weeks. It's still hard to wrap my head around.

Fuzz is adjusting, but not as quickly as she did on R&R. Yesterday she fought naptime and bedtime like you wouldn't believe. This is a big adjustment for her. She's not used to sharing me. But it is cute, when Stryker kisses me she trots right over and watches and smiles. Cutest thing.

I am so relieved he's home. I'm incredibly blessed to be so in love.

15 months

2009-02-24T15:52:00.003-05:00

He's home...he's finally home.

15 months in which we both grew as individuals. 15 months in which we went through things alone that we wish we never would have, but made us stronger. 15 months of our lives, over.

What I've been doing today...

2009-02-23T17:47:00.004-05:00

And trying my hardest not to do this to Fuzz...

That girl was up at 6AM and would not go back to sleep. So she's been clingy and whiney all day. I just laid her down for a nap and she's fighting that as well. If you remember from a previous post, she has radar when something big is happening.

Hmm...I wonder what that "something big" could be?

Not so typical

2009-02-22T02:40:00.004-05:00

*UPDATE* It's true, I talked to him this morning!!!

Seeing as how it's Saturday and on the weekends TV is crap and no one blogs much, I am bored and therefore incessantly checking the division website for updates. Updates that I know won't be there because they don't really update until they actually are on their flight back.

So imagine my surprise when I note that both, both "tentative" chalks that Stryker "could, maybe" be on have been bumped up by a day. Yes, you read that correctly. Bumped up, not back.

If that isn't unarmyish, I don't know what is.

What is armyish is that after the initial flutters in my belly of excitement, my brain told me to hold on and not get so excited. See...they don't just train our husbands, they train us too.

Typical

2009-02-20T19:09:00.003-05:00

In anticipation of our guys getting home, we have been getting a lot of emails from FRG with information. On the division website, their ceremony dates and times are listed according to Chalk #. The FRG keeps reiterating that in order to find out our husband's Chalk #, we need to call Rear Detachment, and they will tell us. Then we can track their arrival on the website. Sounds too easy right? Apparently it is.

My friend T, whose husband arrived yesterday, got into town on Sunday night. I picked her up from the airport and she stayed with me for a couple days while she was getting their place set up. I was witness to her phone calls with Rear D, and they went something like this.

T: Hi, can you tell me my husband's chalk number?
Rear D: I'm sorry ma'am, I can't give you that information.
T: Well I was told to call you.
Rear D: Once your husband knows his chalk # I can tell you.
T: They don't know their chalk numbers.
Rear D: I'm sorry, then I can't tell you anything.

They went around and around in circles until eventually he told her that if she came in to the office and showed her ID he could tell her. So she went in the next day, and...you guessed it, they don't have that information. They apparently aren't telling anyone anything until they are actually on their way back to the island.

So we have FRG telling us to call Rear D, and then Rear D telling us they don't have the information. Of course this is completely expected, because, after all, it is the Army.

I called today just to see what they would tell me and he said, (without even asking me Stryker's name) that he is tentatively on either Chalk X or Chalk Z. Tentatively. Gotta love it.

Little explorer

2009-02-19T23:28:00.004-05:00

Fuzz loves it outside. We went exploring today, and I had to bribe her with supper to get her to come in.

I'm baaaaack

2009-02-19T19:45:00.002-05:00

We made it! Still no Stryker, but we are here. Fuzz was really good on the flights, although she slept for less than three hours between the three flights. Out of 10 hours air time. Yes, she was good, but that's a long time to entertain a little one. And let me remind you, she's busy.

Apparently, she's also entering the terrible two stage. It's wonderful. Shrieking, tantrums, biting, slapping, you name it, she probably does it. Yikes, I am so not handling this well. I am so happy Stryker is almost home to help me. I feel like nothing I do to try and curb the bad behavior works. Worse yet, when I do reprimand her, she smiles or laughs at me. You moms out there who have a baby AND one Fuzz's age...bravo. Bravo.

She is doing some fun things though. Starting to talk more. Her favorite phrase is, "good girl". Yes, she has high self esteem and praises herself regularly.

Completely unrelated - does anyone know how to do the equivalent of a right click on a MacBook? I just got one (yay!), and can't even tell you how thrilled I am to finally be connected again. Let the reading, commenting, and writing resume!

The end is near

2009-02-11T16:02:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow morning I leave cold, wintry Wisconsin, and welcome warm, tropical Hawaii. I am both excited and nervous. I'm nervous about the long flight with Fuzz by myself. I know my nervousness won't make it any better though, so I'm trying not to dwell on it. I'm taking the approach I did with labor. It's one day out of my life. Even if it's horrible, it's only one day, and then I get to move on. With labor and with this flight, I have beautiful things waiting for me at the end of it.

I just have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this deployment is almost over. We have done 14+ months apart. I have done 14+ months by myself raising Fuzz, and we've both lived to tell about it! Wow.

At the same time, I know that the end of my journey is just the beginning of other's. I know how they are feeling, but they will get through it, no matter how hard it often seems. Day by day, you just go through it and you do it. Usually you can't explain how you're doing it, you just are.

I attribute getting through this deployment on a few things. The Lord, Fuzz, and you guys. Let me explain.

When Stryker was on leave before the deployment, we were leaving a hotel in his hometown, and the TV was on. Neither of us were watching it, it was just noise in the background. It was one of those televised sermons. We never watch those, I don't even know why it was on. But like I said, it was background noise, and all of a sudden it was like the pastor was speaking just to me. He was talking about how people exercise and eat right, and think it's going to make them live longer. He said that of course exercising and eating right are important to make your quality of life better, but that your number of days are already predetermined. God already knows when your time is up, and all the exercising and eating right isn't going to change that.

This isn't the first time I've heard this message, but all of a sudden it hit home. What use is it for me to worry about Stryker while he's there, when his destiny is already written? I no longer worried about his death, because according to this belief, no matter if he was here or there, the day would be the same. This single thing is the difference between this deployment and his other two. Of course I prayed for him and his comrades, but I didn't have that deep underlying, debilitating fear like I did during the other deployments.

Fuzz's presence is pretty self-explanatory. She has given me so much joy and kept me so busy during this deployment. Yes, taking care of a child by myself was difficult, exhausting, and often frustrating. But oh, she is so worth it. And the sense of accomplishment I feel from doing all of this on my own is oftentimes overwhelming.

Finally, I have been reading blogs for quite a while. In April, I finally decided to start writing myself, and this community that I fell into has been so amazing. I did not know about the blog community during the first deployment. I didn't know that my feelings were normal, and expected.

Reading your stories, and getting so much support and encouragement from you all has made a huge difference. I feel like you are my allies. At times, you know me better than my own family, if only because you often feel the same ways that I do.

So thank you. Thank you for helping me get through this one journey of my life. Thank you for your support, encouragement, and love. You have become a special part of my life that I will forever cherish.

Your questions, answered

2009-02-08T20:54:00.006-05:00

Loquita wants to know more about my family and my wedding (she's planning her own, go check out her ideas and help her with her dilemmas!)

Well Loqi, I don't have nearly as big of a family as you do! I have one sister (who is amazing) and that's it! She is two years younger than me and isn't married yet, and doesn't have any babies. Stryker has a brother, sister, and a half sister. His half sister has twin boys, so I have two nephews through our marriage.

My parents divorced when I was 17. My mom has seven brothers and sisters, so I have a lot of cousins. Christmas is crazy! My dad only has one sister, who has one son, who was born just one day before me. We've never been very close though, because they have always lived far away.

My wedding was amazing. Even if I could, I don't think I would change a thing. Traditional ceremony in the church I grew up in, pictures along the river, reception with mediocre food, fabulous friends and family, and lots of dancing.

The girls in the wedding party wore a dark pewter, even in the summer, I loved it. They each carried three long stem calla lillies. My bouquet was white calla lillies surrounded by pink roses. Our friend played the piano and sang two songs, "I Will be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman, and "More than Anyone" by Sarah Kelly.

In a break from the limo tradition, we had old cars transport us from the ceremony to the reception:

Our first dance was to Stevie Wonder's, "For Once in My Life". It's a little jazzy, we rocked it.

And after it was over, we went to the hotel and ordered pizza. After pizza we took a bath and Stryker took every single bobby pin out of my hair. It was a wonderful day despite the rain.

KDwants to know more about Fuzz, what I wanted to be when I grew up, and my favorite meal to cook.

Yes, Fuzz was a planned baby. I think we practically talked it to death before we finally decided to do away with the birth control. I always thought it would be nice to have a boy first and then a girl because she could have a big brother, but when it came down to it, I didn't really care. From very early on in the pregnancy though, I thought she was a girl. In all of the dreams I had where I had a baby, she was a girl. And let me tell you, I had some WEIRD dreams while I was pregnant.

I was in labor with her for almost 24 hours, and she came into the world at 7 lbs, 8.5 oz, 19 inches long, with her daddy's mouth, and a ton of hair:

It is fun to dress her up all girly, but to be honest, she doesn't seem like a girly girl. She's a wild daredevil, she's tough, and she likes to get dirty.

She's starting to get sassy, and starting to throw tantrums, and I question my parenting many times a day.

When I was younger, I always wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I still think I might. I made my sister play "school" in the basement with me where we had chalkboards, easels, and old school desks. I even gave her tests and homework. Haha, I am was a nerd.

My favorite meal to cook is a tough one. I love to try new things, but I love to make Shrimp Scampi because it is Stryker's favorite thing (so far) that I make, and it's so nice to make something that is appreciated and loved (and raved about).

Well, that was fun. I hope everyone had a great weekend. Only 4 days to take-off!

Housekeeping

2009-02-03T15:16:00.002-05:00

I have a few things to share. First of all, I'm still taking questions until Friday for my 200th post. If you feel so inclined to ask a question about me, Stryker, Fuzz, or our wonderful little life, please do!

Next, it's giveaway galore out there lately!

Sara is giving away her favorite perfume, and although I've never smelled it, it sounds amazing!

KD is doing a giveaway with options, imagine that! You can either choose a subscription to the CrossFit journal, or a Dior makeup set.

These ladies are spoiling us...or teasing us, I guess it depends if you win or not. Good luck!

Beautiful belly

2009-02-03T01:39:00.006-05:00

I love pregnant bellies! While my cousin was here for a baby shower last weekend, we did a little maternity photo shoot. It was fun and awesome. It was pretty funny trying to improvise hanging sheets in different areas of the house to get different light angles. It would have been even better if we could have waited just a couple more weeks, but unfortunately, I'm leaving, so we had to do it now.

I'm sending her a disk with all the best ones, I hope she loves them. Here are a few of my favorites.

200

2009-02-01T21:21:00.003-05:00

Ta da! Did you think I disappeared?? Well I did...kind of.

First things first, this is post 200! You know the deal, ask, and I'll tell. I would love to have you get to know me better.

The main reason I haven't written is because the computer died. How dare it?? Although it's a ~~slight~~ definite possibility that it's God's work, forcing me to get off the computer and start packing. Because after all, once it died, I got the whole house packed up, and today my sister, her boyfriend, my dad, and I moved everything into a storage unit. My journey to reunite with Stryker is beginning folks!

Let me tell you a little about the storage unit. I had been calling around looking for one when I saw the ad in the phonebook for the one I chose that said "heated". This was a requirement because, well, it's February in Wisconsin, and I have a pretty new washing machine that I don't exactly want to freeze up.

So I go, sign the contract, she give me the unit number, and I go and check it out. Yeah, it's cold in there. So I call and ask about the heat. Here's a recap of our conversation.

Kiki: Hi, this is Kiki, I was just there to sign the contract, and I'm at the unit and I'm wondering about the heat. Is there a place to turn it on, or how does it work?
Lady: Oh, I meant to tell you about that. It's not exactly heated...
K: Wha..?
L: Well, what did it feel like, because we've been having problems with that.
K: Cold, what is it supposed to feel like??
L: Above freezing.
K: Well that's pretty misleading, because the ad says "heated" right in it.
L: Yeah, sorry about that, I meant to tell you about that. So we're ok then?

Are you flippin' kidding me?? Yes, I'm glad you had me sign the contract and pay the money before I actually got to go see the unit and notice it's not really heated. By the way, how can a unit be heated without actually being heated? Does anyone have the answer? Because I'm stumped.

When life hands you lemons...

2009-01-23T12:05:00.002-05:00

I got this amazing award from D.A.R. at first comes love, then comes marriage. Thank you so much. I feel like I'm complaining a lot on here because that is usually what I have to vent about, so thanks!

In continuing on passing the award on to one person who has a blog that shows an amazing attitude and gratitude, I would like to nominate T from The Quest for T. She has been through a lot in her life and she refuses to shut down or put up a protective wall for her heart. She's constantly looking for ways to be the best person she can be, and I love that!

Ponytail on a monkey

2009-01-21T01:03:00.001-05:00

In case you didn't know

2009-01-16T09:45:00.001-05:00

Prices to mail packages are going up starting January 18th from the USPS. Maybe you can send out that next package a little early and save a little change!

More things about me

2009-01-13T22:11:00.004-05:00

I finally got tagged by Katie to do the random truths about myself. I had to think really hard about this one! I think everyone has done it by now, so I'm not passing it on, but enjoy learning a little more about me!

I have allergies...lots of allergies. Allergies to food, animals, and outside weeds, etc. However, while I was pregnant, I did not have one allergic moment. It was one of the few great things about being pregnant!

I am a night owl, always have been. It's not that I'm up late because I'm busy doing things, I just don't like to go to bed, and I love to sleep in. (This doesn't work well when you have a child)

I get more emotional about other people's big life experiences than I do my own. Engagements, weddings, babies... I can watch stranger's stories on TV and cry my eyes out, but I didn't cry at any of these events of my own!

My mom can guilt me like no other. I'm working on that.

I have a completely irrational fear that when the dentist uses the pick thingy to check for cavities it's going to go right through my tooth. Now that makes me emotional.

My biggest pet peeve is when, in the winter, people walk in the house with their shoes on and I step in a melted snow puddle while wearing socks. Stepping in liquid with socks on at any time is gross, but for some reason melted snow puddles irritate me more.

This is the story of the hurricane...

2009-01-10T20:28:00.003-05:00

I only got a few questions about the journey, but without further ado...

Did it go by faster than you thought it would? (Jenny)
Yes and no. My first reaction is yes, absolutely it went by faster than I thought it would. Fuzz has been such a joy and has kept me so busy that I haven't hardly had time to miss Stryker.

But.

When I look back on things that happened during the deployment, it seems like they happened a long, long time ago.

Did you get your BAH changed to where you lived or did it stay to the base he was stationed at? (Kati)
Our BAH stayed the same as it was for his duty station.

When does he come home? In 2 months or are they getting shortened too? (Sara)
They are not getting shortened. Boo. He will be home, at most, 2 weeks before the 15 month mark.

I have to admit, now that the end is near and I have to deal with all this moving stuff before I head back, I'm getting a little overwhelmed. So much to do, and so hard to do it when as soon as I pack something up, little Fuzz hands unpack it. Which leaves nap time and bed time, and I prefer to have those times be relaxation time, not work time!

I am seriously considering a moving company to pack for me after I saw how amazing it was when they packed our things in Hawaii. It.Was.Amazing. Three guys came in like a hurricane and had the whole house packed up and on the truck in 3 hours. However, it would save a lot of money for me to do it myself, especially since I'm not exactly sure of the cost since they charge by hour and I can pretty much guarantee if they are getting paid hourly, they aren't coming in like a hurricane.

It's been quite a ride

2009-01-06T23:45:00.002-05:00

Yay Loqi, bonus points for you on the Tom Petty guess!

13 months ago, I said goodbye to Stryker. 13 months! Wow... Here's a recap, month by month, of what has happened.

December 2007
After Stryker left, my dad flew out to help me pack up and move back to Wisconsin. We celebrated Fuzz's first Christmas, the first of many holidays without Stryker.

January 2008
Not much newsworthy in January, just getting accustomed to life as a twosome just as we were enjoying life as a threesome.

February 2008
Signed the lease for a duplex for Fuzz and I. Started moving in on the 29th, finally received my car after a long (and still ongoing) fiasco with the transportation company.

March 2008
Enjoying life in our own place. Fuzz was learning to eat solids, and I'm pretty sure this is the month she started sleeping through the night!

April 2008
My sister and I had an intervention for my dad. It's been a hard road, but he's doing really well so far! We got snow, even at the end of the month.

May 2008
I got to celebrate my first Mother's day this month. I also ran the garbage disposal with a glass baby food jar in it...

June 2008
Our 3rd anniversary, went on a road trip to meet a fellow military wife in Chicago.

July 2008
Reached 50% in the deployment donut! Stryker and I had our first big fight of the deployment over him missing out on Fuzz's "firsts". Took a road trip to visit family in upper Michigan.

August 2008
Fuzz turned one! And then the lowlight of the whole deployment, we lost Gibby.

September 2008
My wonderful birthday with my mom and sister. Stryker was home for R&R, the highlight of the whole deployment! We celebrated Fuzz's birthday, and we got a weekend just to ourselves in Door County.

October 2008
I tackled my first big sewing project and made Fuzz's costume.

November 2008
Went to California for my cousin's wedding. Fuzz had her first experience playing in the snow. Spent Thanksgiving with family in upper Michigan.

December 2008
Found my necklace! Had a wonderful visit with a friend. Our first holiday that Stryker has missed twice in a row, Christmas. That was tough.

Well, there we are so far. Any questions about the journey so far?

Breakdown, go ahead and give it to me*

2009-01-05T23:38:00.005-05:00

Since Saturday is the last day to send packages to Stryker (you know what that means :), I broke down and baked him some M&M cookies (family recipe, yum yum) and made him the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites.

He actually was appreciative of the Christmas goodies, he just needs an edit button sometimes before he speaks. In actuality though, how many of us aren't guilty of that on occasion? The problem is, that's a trait he got directly from his mother, which I guess just makes it worse for me.

Anyway, they turned out great (will definitely be making the pretzel bites again!), and I didn't tell him that I snuck some baked goods in there, so I know he'll be excited...he better be excited. I didn't even write them on the custom's form, because he always cheats and looks on there first (shhh, don't tell the feds).

*Bonus points for anyone who knows the artist of the lyrics in the title.

Where did December go??

2009-01-05T00:04:00.002-05:00

Seriously...where? When Stryker left at the beginning of October, I looked ahead at the months left in the deployment. I noticed there was something going on in every month, and used that as my kind of count down.

October - Halloween, and I had to make Fuzz's costume
November - Thanksgiving
December - Christmas
January - Cousin's baby shower
February - leave to go back to Hawaii

I never expected that those milestones would fly by like they have. There have been a few days that felt like we were just crawling along, but overall, it's been a whirlwind.

Lately, I've been stressing about getting everything ready for our move out of this place. We are leaving for Hawaii the second week in February, and I'm moving all of our stuff to my mom's basement to hold for us until we move to Georgia. No sense renting a place while no one is living here.

Moving...don't get me started. Ick.

I've been keeping myself busy. I made it to church 3 out of the 4 Sunday's in December, and am getting back into working out. I'd been slacking off and it's a great time for me to just...be. Relieve some stress, time away from Fuzz, and good for me. It doesn't get much better than that.

Of course as soon as I start doing something good for my body, I get a cold, and give it to Fuzz. Or maybe she gave it to me...the other day when I dropped her off in the child care area at the Y the first little girl she went up to and started smiling at had snot running out of both her nostrils.....

New recipes

2008-12-30T14:20:00.004-05:00

After slacking off for awhile, I've made two more things from my list. I made the Bacon Appetizer Crescents for Christmas and Asparagus Beef Stir-fry last night.

Both were hits! I cut the Bacon Appetizers into three triangles (four would probably work better) per rectangle though. Twelve seemed too tiny.

Both recipes were fast and easy!

Sledding sweetheart

2008-12-28T20:17:00.006-05:00

Fuzz got a sled for Christmas and not only was it fun in the house, but it was fun outside as well! I wiped out once during the ride but Fuzz did great! She loved it and didn't want to come in.

Christmas Eve...check

2008-12-24T23:42:00.001-05:00

Everything

went

perfectly!

Ready for round 2

2008-12-24T17:34:00.004-05:00

One family Christmas down, one to go today yet! Stryker's family got her around 1 and just left about a half hour ago. We got a GPS! I'm excited about that.

My dad, grandma & grandpa, and sister and her boyfriend are coming here for supper yet tonight, and then tomorrow is lunch at my mom's. It's nice having 2 out of the 3 here so that I don't have to be running all over, especially with Fuzz, but it's a lot of work.

Speaking of Fuzz, why is it that she sleeps like an angel at night except when she knows something big is going on the next day when she should be rested up? Last night she was awake from about 10PM until 1:30AM. That girl. At first I thought maybe it was tooth related (she's getting a molar or two), but as soon as I would go in there she was all smiles and thought it was time to play. Clearly not a pain issue. Oh well, she slept in until 9:30 this morning, so both mama and baby weren't completely exhausted today. She definitely keeps it interesting.

Good thing I took D.A.R.'s advice about procrastination and had most everything done for today before her antics. And, as we've established, I'm queen of procrastination, so yay! Crisis avoided.

Well, I'm off to do a little cleaning up before the next round. I hope everyone is having a great holiday so far!

My first dinner party

2008-12-24T01:01:00.000-05:00

Is it ever enough?

2008-12-19T22:12:00.003-05:00

One thing I will vent about though, is Stryker. Remember all those fabulous Christmas goodies my mom and I sent him? Well he got them yesterday, and do you want to know what the first thing he said about them was?

Stryker: We got mail today, and I got the boxes. It was weird, everything in them was broken.

Yeah...not, "everything is awesome, you're the best wife ever!", but "everything was broken". Talk about feeling unappreciated, because everything after that, even the ranting about how good everything was, sounded like "blah blah blah". All of that time and love that went into making all of those things, and the first thing he says to me that everything was broken. Ouch.

Possibly the worst part is that he completely couldn't understand why that was hurtful to me. He said "It's not like I was criticizing." Well honey, actually you were. "Well, I didn't mean it." Well honey, that doesn't really matter, because you did it. Is this a guy thing? This is definitely a "his mom" thing. She does things like this all.the.time.

I will not be sending any more baked goods. They are too time consuming and too much of my heart goes into them to have them just be criticized almost every time.

Where's the support?

2008-12-19T22:06:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure where I misled you guys about the last post, but the family I've been having the most problems with is my own. My sister is the only one who is outwardly supportive, and even fakes a little excitement for me. My dad is the worst, and my mom is happy for us to be together, but doesn't hide well the fact that she's upset we are leaving.

All of this is mostly about Fuzz. They are crazy about her, and I can't really blame them, but it's like they are completely blind to the fact that Stryker will have been apart from her for 15 months while they got to be here for every milestone. They just are thinking about themselves, and not Stryker, nor the good of our family, and it's irritating and disappointing.

Stryker's family doesn't seem to be that phased by the whole thing. His mom actually said "Well at least he'll be closer." Um...not to mention the fact that he won't be in a war zone?? That woman. Having issues with her and her "visits" again. But I'm ~~maintaining~~ faking a positive attitude, so I'm not even going to get into it.

Hiding the excitement

2008-12-18T22:12:00.003-05:00

You guys came through big time with the last post. I even had a few de-lurkers! Hello SFPM, toodydolly, and Aly! Thank you for recognizing my need for info, you all were awesome. I am especially excited about the restaurant suggestions. Stryker and I will probably have 6 months worth of dining out before we have to think for ourselves where to go!

I am really excited about the move. I'm ready for a new adventure, and even more ready for our family to be together again! I feel like I can be truly excited here with you guys. It's harder to be so excited when talking to my family. They are sad we are going to be moving again. They have been spoiled by this year with us close by, watching Fuzz grow and change.

With the exception of my sister, they also don't have an edit button. I understand their disappointment that Stryker isn't just getting out of the Army, but getting called back through IRR was just too risky for us. Instead of being excited for us to be together as a family, they make it all about them and how sad they are that they won't get to see us Fuzz all the time. I just want to shake them and say, "You've gotten to see Fuzz for over a year, Stryker hasn't. Stop being so selfish!"

So instead of being excited around them, I hide it and sometimes even pretend that I am a little disappointed as well. I will miss them, don't get me wrong, but my excitement for our family to be together again and knowing we made the best choice for us trumps that...big time.

Looming PCS

2008-12-15T15:30:00.006-05:00

First of all, thanks for the great recipes and tips! I'm still not sure what we are going to be eating. My friend De has the final say.

So, I have some news. After 6 years in the army, we will be embarking on our very first PCS. We're headed to Ft. Benning next summer. Although I know that a lot of people would never want to be stationed there, I have an open mind about it. I don't know anything really about that area, so I'm determined not to hate it before even giving it a chance. I've heard bad things about the area, but I've heard good things too.

I've never been down there. So, my faithful readers, what do you think of it? Don't worry about sugar coating for me, we are going to be there together, as a family, and that would make even the worst place sweeter.

Any great restaurants, must-see places, advice on nice places to live, or bad places to avoid, anything? Fill me in!

Anyone fluent in vegetarian?

2008-12-11T22:42:00.002-05:00

Wow, I am really surprised by how many of you also have missing jewelry! Mine did have a pretty stellar ending, I hope yours do as well.

One of my friends from college is coming to visit next week. I'm so excited to have her. The last time she was here I had just moved in and had to go digging through unpacked boxes in the garage to find the wine opener. I'm happy to report we will not have that problem this time!

She's a vegetarian, so if any of you have good dinner recipes, send them my way! I love to cook, and I'm not bad at it, I'm just not very fluent in vegetarian dishes, I like meat! So if any of you ladies (I don't think I have a single male reader) could help out, I would appreciate it.