I promise I will get back to it!

I haven't been putting much effort into my blog and I apologize.  This week has been very rocky! I have barely cooked, we've ordered in or had sandwiches, and I have not made anything fun nor creative.  We will however be making Valentine's this weekend!! That should be fun!

I heard from The Hubster tonight and I was on cloud 9!! He gave me his battalion number and company letter.  We talked for like 45 minutes and it was just so wonderful.  Since I had a good cry last night, everything has seemed much more optimistic!  I am sad that after tomorrow I will probably be cut off from phone calls and relying only on letters.  Because there is no guarantee that SIT will be able to call home, I have been trying to prepare myself NOT to expect any calls.  It all depends how strict their platoon is, if someone screws up and loses the phone priviledges for every one, and so on... I am just more excited to have his address so I can start sending him the letters I've written already.

I miss him.  But today I have not felt like my chest is going to cave in on itself so it has been a little more of a relaxing day.  It's funny the little things you start to realize they did before they left that you never really appreciated and now you miss them doing it.  It goes to show how much we depend on each other without even knowing it.  He really is an amazing man and I am so thankful for him and all he does.  We have our ups and downs, and it has been a helluva 6 1/2 years married, but we have made it through everything that has been thrown at us.  Some of it we made it through my the strand of a hair, but we did it.  And we are so much stronger for it.  I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world ;)

But I promise I will really try to get back to doing the crafty, foodie, thing :)

Thanks for all the reads and I hope you all keep coming back :)

I won't slob

So I'm going to try and not slob all over my blog feeling sorry for myself. Honestly I don't think it's so much as feeling sorry for myself, but more being lonely and pouting about it. It's so frustrating.

The hubster has been gone a few days and I was finally able to have a good cry. It was frustrating not crying, when you have a constant lump in your throat and weight on your chest. But I finally did and I feel a little bit better.

I got a phone call this evening. He hasn't slept in over 40 hours and he sounded drunk on the phone, but it was so good to hear his voice. I miss him like crazy and I won't lie, it's hard. It's hard having the love of your life being so many miles away. It's hard to see your kids cry because they miss their dad. Even the dog is acting out! It's hard when you realize all of the simple tasks they did and you were so used to them doing them you forgot to tell them how much you appreciate them. Having melt downs in grocery stores because of buying chicken he may want or not want. It sucks. They don't lie when they say "no matter how prepared you think you are, you are never fully prepared." Its the truth and its not that enjoyable. But, we are going to make it through this and embark on the journey that is the Army.

It's not easy saying "see ya soon"

I survived the first night without him. I slept on the couch and only got a couple hours of sleep, but at least I got some, right?!

Yesterday was hard. It's hard to let half of you go. He's going to be away for so long that's it's hard not to cry and feel like your world is crashing in. 10 weeks of basic wouldn't be so bad, but going straight on to AIT is so much harder. The kids handled it better than I thought. Hopefully we see mostly good behavior while the hubster is gone.

I am so proud of my husband. He is such an amazing daddy and husband, and now he'll be a soldier too. My heart just swells with pride for him. I love you J.A.D. And we'll be right here waiting for you when you get home my love!


Daddy and his ducklings

Murphy's Law

Well as I had talked about in a previous post, I hear many army wives talk about Murphy's Law coming into  full swing when their soldiers leave.  I am hoping we are getting ours out of the way before he leaves.  The sick dog, the eggs, my melt down in the middle of a grocery store, and now the middle duckling is sick.

So let's start at yesterdays melt down...
I needed to go grocery shopping, we went past our 10 days of my last frugal shopping (See: Frugal shopping day from an earlier post).  It pretty much means I set a budget and go shopping every 10 days.  So we were pretty much out of groceries.  Thanks to the Hubster cashing in his Vacation time, we had some extra money so I decided to stock the house yesterday on can goods and snacks for the kids.  I generally don't buy prepackaged snacks because of the ingredients and also because that is the easiest way to wrack up your grocery bill, but every once in a while I do it for them :)  Well in the middle of the grocery store I was looking at chicken, and normally I buy skinless-boneless chicken breasts because that is what the Hubster prefers.  It hit me at that moment that I could buy a whole chicken if I wanted to because he is leaving us soon and I won't be making it before he leaves.  That realization was like a bomb exploded in my face.  It felt like my chest caved in and I couldn't breathe.  It was like the weight of the world had been placed on my shoulders, and in the middle of the meat department I had a full-on anxiety attack that included sobbing.  Luckily the grocery store was not very busy at all, but there was a very sweet elderly woman who came over and asked me if I was alright.  I was so embarrassed I couldn't get any words out.  She stayed by my side rubbing my shoulder/back until I calmed down.  After about five minutes I regained my composure as best I could and I thanked the woman for comforting me and I briefly explained that my husband was leaving for the military and I thought I was prepared for all of this, but I guess not.  She was so very sweet, I wish I would have gotten her name. 

It made me realize though, that I have been so concerned with the ducklings and the Hubsters happiness and keeping the peace, that I have been bottling up so many of my own fears and anxieties.  I just wanted to make sure that the Hubsters last few weeks at home were calm and peaceful, and that we had plenty of family time and good memories.  After yesterdays meltdown I am feeling much better though :)

Then this morning the middle duckling comes into our room and says he feels like he's going to puke... Anyone who knows me well knows that after the puking episode of December 2010 I now have what I like to call stomach virus PTSD, or vomit PTSD... We had such a nasty virus that the oldest duckling was treated for dehydration and the littlest boy duckling was treated for a herniated stomach and vomiting blood... yeah it was miserable.  The Hubster and I had it too, luckily our episodes of sitting on the toilet with a puke bucket in our laps was over within 8 hours.  But it was horrific and I would never wish that on anyone I love ;)  So this morning I grabbed the puke bucket and had the duckling lay in our bed watching a movie and sure enough within 15 minutes he was puking.... (KNOCK ON WOOD) that was 4 1/2 hours ago and he has not puked since and he has kept down 2 Popsicle and some pedialyte.  But he is running a fever now.

I have been walking around wiping everything down with vinegar, and then peroxide just trying to get rid of any lingering germs!  I also washed all of our sheets, blankets, and pillow cases, just to make sure.  I sent the hubster and the older duckling to my moms to help snow blow and chop wood, hoping that getting them out of the house will save them from getting it too...

So that's that.  Praying no one else vomits and we get through the next few days without anymore meltdowns :)

Happy Saturday!

Texas Roadhouse Rolls- Copy cat recipe

One day I had a craving for Texas Roadhouse Rolls and the Cinnbutter.  After a few attempts of my own, I realized they were coming out waaaay too heavy.  So I went on the hunt for the perfect recipe.  Some of them were okay and others were just "meh".  Then I found this recipe at 365 Days of Baking and so far *I* think it's the best one I found!

I was really unfocused with my baking today.  I have heard many Army wives talk about Murphy's Law showing truth shortly after their spouses leave for BCT or Deployment... well the Hubster hasn't even left yet and it seems that Murphy's Law is starting to show it's face around here already.  After dealing with a really sick dog (we thought he had a blockage), I decided to bake today and pulled out the carton of eggs for the recipe only to drop them and break every.single.one of them! Oh yeah...awesome.  So I ran to the store and grabbed some eggs... so far, all is well, and I got to baking some Texas Roadhouse Rolls (copycat recipe) and some Cinnbutter (also, copycat recipe).  Oh and I also kept forgetting to take pictures, so the pictures are not all that great and a couple blurred... awesome... But here it is:


I made 13 smaller rolls that I froze for future raising and baking, and I made 12 HUGE ones for us to snack on the next few days.

INGREDIENTS:

4 tsps. active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm (directions on scalding below :) )
1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar, separated
3 TBSP melted butter, cooled slightly. (Plus some for brushing the finished rolls)
7-8 cups flour (I used about 7)
2 Whole Eggs
2 tsps. of salt

In the bowl of an electric mix, dissolve yeast in warm water with the teaspoon of sugar. I mix it with a whisk and let it sit for a minute or two, to make sure it foams and bubbles--to make sure the yeast is good! If it does not foam/bubble, dump it and get fresh yeast!



Using your dough hook, mix in the milk, 1/2 cup of sugar, and about 2 1/2 cups of flour to form a medium batter. Mix thoroughly and allow it to stand until light and foamy; about 8-10 minutes.

*FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE!*

Add melted butter, eggs, and salt. Beat well. Add enough flour to form a soft dough.



Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.
While dough is resting, prepare a large bowl by spraying it with cooking spray, or as I do, put a small about of oil in the bowl and smear it around with a paper towel, lol :)

Knead the dough until it is smooth and satiny. Place into prepared bowl and turn over coating in oil.



Cover bowl tightly with saran wrap (plastic wrap) and set to rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1-2 hours.



Punch dough down.

On a lightly floured surface, use a lightly floured rolling pin, flatten the dough into a rectangle about a 1/2 inch thick.



Fold the rectangle in half vertically, so it's now about an inch thick and lightly roll together to seal the sides.



Allow to rest for 10 minutes, then with a dough scraper, cut the rolls into desired size.

Place the rolls on a greased baking sheet (I prefer using parchment paper), cover with a damp towel and allow them to double in size, about an hour or so.



Doubles in size (I forgot to take a picture, so here's an oven shot ;) )



Preheat oven to 350*F and bake rolls for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

The Hubster and middle boy duckling dug into them before I could take a picture ;)



After removing from the oven, brush with melted butter and enjoy :)

Cinnbutter Recipe:
1/2 cup butter (1 stick, room temperature)
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter until it is smooth. Add other ingredients and whip until all ingredients are well blended, stopping to scrape down the bowl.

I left my butter too close to the oven and it began to melt...




These really are magnificent tasting rolls. We took some on a winter family trip with my in-laws and everybody loved them!! I hope you enjoy them too!!


SCALDING MILK:
Scalding milk is a very simple process! It's not something you can buy, but if you have a sauce pan and milk, you can do it!  To scald milk, you simply bring it to the brink of boiling! That simple.  So heat the milk and as you see the foaming bubbles starting along the edge and steam rising from the milk, you have now scalded your milk :)

Walk the walk...

When I know there are big changes coming I like to be as orderly as possible.  Sometimes I love the chaos of it all, but with the thought of him being gone, it breaks my heart and I am not being very orderly.  Some may have noticed I haven't added any recipes or craft stuff, or anything that seems fun for a blog... I just have been so focused on keeping my kids busy and making these last few days together as enjoyable as possible, but I feel like I am so off my normal routine that it makes things worse.  A part of me is anxious for him to leave just to get into a routine again!  But it keeps becoming more and more real that he IS really doing this and HOW long he will be gone!  When I really take a moment to think about it, it's like a 50lb weight is on my chest.  Or my shoulders.

When I try to talk to people close to me about this, it's the worst feeling in the world when they have a "you knew what you were signing up for" attitude.  But please someone explain to me why that is supposed to make this any easier?  Explain to me why I am supposed to be okay with half of me being gone for over half a year? Just because we signed up for it to better our lives?  I thought the people treating me like my husband was dying was horrible until this whole attitude started.  I am not asking for anyone to feel sorry for me or to take pity on me, but at least try to be understanding! When I really need help, please be there as best as you can be if you can at all.  But don't tell me you are going to help me and be there for me and the kids and then be nowhere to be found when I truly need someone...  Okay now that this vent is over...  I will admit I do have some pretty amazing friends and family, but I won't lie, I've already made a mental list of who I won't count on so much because of past experiences ;)

But now that I have vented and the Hubster lazily sleeps on the couch, I think I am going to go bake :)

Have a fantabulous day :)

It's days like today (and yesterday) that I dread

(This is from Yesterday: January 28, 2013, saved it as a draft and forgot to finish it)"
I knew from the moment we signed up for military life that the Hubster being gone was going to bring days of sadness, loneliness, frustrations, and so much more.  He hasn't even left yet and today I just feel sad.  I was able to bury the sadness most of the day, until I got an email from the oldest ducklings teacher.  We know he has anxiety problems, and obsessive compulsive behaviors, and all of that affects his sleep.  He doesn't sleep well at night and he has night terrors often.  It's heart breaking to think that he's struggles with so much, and the closer it gets to his dad leaving the worse it gets.  He was recently put on medication to help him fall asleep at night and so far he's done well on it. I'm pretty much anti-medication for children, in the sense I like to try everything "natural" first, like diet change, calming remedies, etc... but it has gotten to the point of really needing something for him.  It is making the Hubster feel very guilty for leaving, and it's making the household more tense. 

Today: January 29, 2013:
Finishing where I left off yesterday, I think we are all officially set for the Hubster to leave.  Our POA is done, utilities/car insurance/etc. are ready to go, everything from his list is bought and packed, and we had our big blow-out fight this morning.... I think we are ready to go. Everything is better now, but this morning was not good. Not good at all :(  I have tried my best to keep things as stress-free before the Hubster leaves, but this morning it unraveled.  Hopefully that is all done and out of the way.  

Valentine's Day early... and a "remember why" basket

It's getting closer and closer to saying farewell...

We've got our power of attorney in order, our checking is all set up, utilities are ready to go, and he's done working.  Tonight we are celebrating an early Valentine's Day and I am very excited for it! The boy ducklings are going by their grandma's and after the girly duckling goes to bed, I am cooking us a nice homemade chicken alfredo dinner and we are going to curl up with a bottle of wine!

Normally we do a lot of romantic things for Valentine's Day, we never really buy gifts for each other, we feel they are overrated, buying gifts for each other doesn't keep our love and passion for each other strong.  But we will buy something if we know it has true meaning to the other.  Instead we try to DO something romantic.  I will admit, I am usually the one who comes up with the more "fun" non-traditional ideas.  For example, the Hubster idea of romance include: taking me to our local football field and "touring" the area and then giving me a superbowl jersey signed by my favorite player... or leaving hershey kisses in a trail leading to the bedroom with roses and candles all over... so not bad stuff, just more traditional or expected ideas.

My ideas can be "traditional" but I always try to put a fun spin with sentimental meaning to it.  Our first sweetest day together he had to work, which it was only Sweetest Day, so I was not too concerned about it.  Instead I decided to go to his place of work, break into his car and fill it with streamers, balloons, a HUGE stuffed dog and a card.  I was nervous that he would find it too lovey-dovey, but he loved it and took pictures so he could show his mom.  So that same year for Valentine's Day we went to a small Italian restaurant that his parent's friends own, and it was the most romantic setting with dim light, Italian music, and candle lit dinners.  He bought me flowers and then took me back to our place where he had the Hershey kisses example above waiting.  Well to lead into my story, after a few years of being married and having ducklings, I wanted to rekindle our romance.  I decided a scavenger hunt would be fun, but I had to figure out how to do it, where to lead him, and where to end.  I decided to use the GPS, roses, and the Italian Restaurant from our first Valentine's Day.  He thought I had to work that night so he was not expecting much.  I put 6 locations in the GPS and labeled them clues 1-6.  I left a rose at 4 different locations: his sisters house (she was the reason we met and he was dropping the kids off there); the place he kissed me for the first time (my parent's front step); the place he proposed; and the place we were married.  On each clue I wrote about what that moment or place meant to me.  The last clue led him to the Italian restaurant where it made him believe he was just picking up dinner to bring home and I put our home address as clue 6 in the GPS to make him believe it more.  The catch was, I didn't have to work and I was there waiting at the restaurant for him.  The smile on his face when he walked in and saw me was heart melting and priceless.  We enjoyed a very romantic dinner and went home and had a very romantic evening together.  He said that was the best Valentine's Day he could ever imagine.  It's those moments that keep our love alive and remind us how much we mean to each other.  If we just went to dinner and bought each other something like jewelry or tools, it shows nothing IMO other than be able to buy each other something.  Instead we are reminded exactly why we fell in love with each other.

Tonight, since we are celebrating early, and he knows the plans, but I have thrown in a small surprise.  Army life can be hard.  It's scary to think that his duties are going to come above the family, that he can be called out at anytime and he has to go, no matter if it's our anniversary, birthdays, Valentine's day, etc. I know it can put a strain on many marriages, so tonight after we eat, I am going to have us curl up in the living room with a bottle of wine and we are going to put together a "remember why" basket.  It will entail letters we write to each other of exactly why we love each other, some of our most favorite memories, cherished memories, and it will include a bottle of wine.  If we ever feel things are getting too hard, we will pull out our "remember why" basket and spend an evening doing exactly what we are going to do tonight, but we will read our letters instead of write them. 

In 6 1/2 years, if there is one thing I have learned, it's that marriage takes a lot of hard work, and whether we want to accept it or not, so does love.  We have to work hard to stay in love with each other.  I had a very hard time accepting that, I felt being in love with each other shouldn't take hard work, but after fighting to save our marriage around year 3, I have learned how much romance needs to be a part of our lives, with kids or without.  We need to work to remind each other no matter how hard love is, we are still in love with each other.  It became even more real after I watched my mom lose my dad, the love of her life.  It made me appreciate what I still have and made me think of what life would be like with him gone.  It really made me realize how much I want to fight to keep that love, my love, my best friend.

I know we will get through our time apart and hard times to come, and we will have our "remember why" basket just in case we ever start to forget.

So enjoy your love, no matter how hard it seems.  Put pride aside and think about how much that love means to you and how hard you are willing to fight for it.  Happy early Valentine's Day ;)

Busy Bee!

We had a very lazy morning! We are watching our niece who is almost 2 and she is a wild one, in a good sense, but between her and our littlest duckling, we have been on our toes.  I finally got motivated and now I just bleached the heck out of the boy ducklings bathroom!  It's the only thing I don't like about having boys, they pee all over, and sometimes on purpose. . .   Like my almost 5 year old who thinks it's okay to try and kill flies with a stream of urine (o.0) That's mah boy...

My next project is our front closet/utility closet.  Then it's on to the kitchen.  I am thinking Chicken Alfredo for dinner and then I want to make some homemade cinnamon rolls for tomorrow since the ducklings don't have school (records day), oh and also because it's supposed to be -8 with windchill tomorrow :-(  Not a big fan of the cold here!

I will try and post both recipes.  I admit the Hubster laughs at me when he sees me taking pictures of all my foodies as I cook them.  He's such a putz, which is why I fell in love with him! He also only has 3 days left of work and then he's off until he ships out.  Sigh.... I am trying not to think about it.  It's such conflicting emotions to think I am sad about him leaving, but yet I am anxious for him to leave because the sooner he does, the sooner this all done and over with and we can move onto the next phase of our lives... Alright, well I am going to get back to cleaning, just thought I'd check in.

Banana egg pancakes

Having a lactose intolerant child can be frustrating sometimes. I am currently drafting an entire post on it that I will turn into its own page about lactose free recipes and snack ideas. I always feel frustrated when I find lists of toddler snack ideas and half of them she cannot eat because of dairy. Milk and ice cream are her worst, but cheese and butter affect her too. I haven't tried sour cream or yogurt, but when I was nursing they didn't seem to have much of an effect on her, but neither did me eating cheese, but her eating cheese is a different story, but if I even took a drink of milk, she'd be screaming all night.

We generally substitute goats milk for her and I cook with rice milk also. The issue is how expensive goats milk is. Right now I pay $3.98 a quart, so it adds up quickly.

I found this pancake recipe on Pinterest and she loves them! We love pancakes but I prefer them made with milk and it got costly making them with goats milk. So I made these for her and they were a big hit!!

Ingredients:
1 banana
2 eggs

That's it! Mush the banana and beat in the eggs! Fry in a pan!

Enjoy!

Shopping is done! And I was under budget!

It feels good to have food in the house again! And I am exhausted to say the least. I took the littlest duckling to the doctor, she unfortunately has an ear infection :( but afterwards we went picked middle duckling up from school and hit the stores.

I always go to Walmart first. 1. Because their prices are usually a little cheaper and 2. They price match! I spent the most money there, but got most of my groceries there! I don't buy meats there because I cannot help walking past the chicken and singing "chickity china the Chinese chicken, you eat a drum stick and your brain stops tickin'" lol I don't know why their meats bug me so much but they do. I also picked up a few things I forgot to put on the list and that always worries me because of going over budget. But today I actually stayed under budget ($170) by.... $10 dollars!! Whoop whoop! It always excites me when I pick up a few extras and still end up under budget!!!

We then hit up Pick n Save. I only bought stuff I had coupons for and they had on sale for less than what I can get at Walmart. I spent 48.06 at Pick n Save and 110.56 at Walmart! I saved 16.94 at Pick n Save.

As you will notice in the picture below, much of my stuff is generic brand, and I take no shame in that. I use to hate buying generic but I learned to doctor it up and deal with it. When you save .20 on 5 things, that's a dollar saved and if you keep doing that, it adds up.

So this is how I do it, my shopping trip prep that is. I go through all of my cupboard, my fridge, and my freezer the day before.  I take stock of what we have, get rid of anything expired, and take note of what is about to expire.  I then go through the grocery store ads and figure out what is on sale and make a shopping list from there.  On my list I write the items needed on the left side of the paper and then I make two columns on the right.  One is for MY estimate of what that product will cost and the other is for writing in the actual cost while at the store.  Yes, I am one of those ladies who is in the store with a binder, my list, and a pen in my hand, and I manage to do it with children with me ;)  But I enjoy it and it saves us money :)  By writing down what *I* think the price may be, I can see how close I am to our budget, and I ALWAYS try to estimate up because I would rather be under my budget than over! By writing out the actual cost, I can better plan for the next trip when I need the same product!


So here is my loot and for $160 I think I did fairly well, especially picking up quite a few extras that were not on the list.  It should feed my family of 5 for 10 days, and then some, but I have two boy ducklings in a growth spurt, so we'll see ;)

Happy Birthday Papa Bear

I know I was excited about my grocery shop in the last post, but I woke up this morning noticing the date right away and I have a bittersweet sadness hanging over me today.  Today would have been my daddy's birthday.  He's been gone for almost 3 years now and I can't say the pain has gotten better, it's just more tolerable.  He was the best dad a girl could ask for and he was a great husband to my mom.  We miss him everyday and I hope he is celebrating up in Heaven today, because he sure is loved <3




This picture is from either my freshman or sophomore year high school homecoming :)



RIP Daddy.

Frugal shopping day!

Today is my most favorite day: grocery shopping day! I budget about a $300 grocery budget for the five of us. I like to shop every 10 days, so I make about 3 grocery trips every 10 days, meaning I spend about $100 each time. With the Holidays everything was thrown out of our loop, so we are a pretty empty nest when it comes to food.  So today I will get back on track.  Because our budget was a little off over the holidays and because we went through so much of our stocked food, I have budgeted about $170 for today's trip. So I will be buying 7 days worth of home-cooked meals, 2 nights are planned out to be left over nights --They are not my favorite, but I dislike, I mean HIGHLY dislike wasting food-- and also a "whatever" night where we might just make sandwiches or use up random ingredients in the house, or even better, breakfast for dinner on those lazy nights I don't feel like cooking.

I was actually kind of shocked talking to a different recruiter at our local recruiting station because he feeds a family of 3 spending almost $700 a month! He was just as shocked when I told him I feed a family of 5 at $300 a month!  He asked me how I do it.  To me it's simple: 1. home cooked meals generally cost less then boxed meals; 2. we do not spend an abundant amount of money on pre-packaged snacks (They will bring your grocery bill up REAL fast!!) and 3. I enjoy the challenge of finding the best deals and figuring out ways to lower our grocery bill every month.  I always--usually-- grocery shop on Thursday because our ads come in the mail on Wednesdays.  Sometimes I have to wait until Friday or Saturday depending on when our 10 days are up, but I ALWAYS like to go through the ads first. 

I also make out a 7 day menu.  Normally I go through our food stock to see what I have available already and what needs stocking.  I then plan my meals around that.  I should add right away that right now we are spoiled when it comes to beef and pork.  My mom and her boyfriend bought part of a cow and have a lot of ground beef, roasts, etc. in stock to share with their kids.  My brother also decided he'd raise a pig and gave my mom and I each a quarter for mothers day last year (although we didn't get it until like September ;) ) but it has lifted a lot off of our grocery bill as for buying meats.  This has allowed me to spoil the duckling a little more with pre-packaged snacks for school.  They get upset with me because I have snacks for them that are strictly for school and snacks that are for at home, which usually consists of fruit ;)

Anyways, here is our 7 day menu for this week:
-Cheesy potato casserole with ham
-Tacos/Chimichangas
-Roast - with mashed potatoes and corn
-chicken enchiladas
-Chicken Alfredo --homemade sauce--
-ranch chicken lasagna
-sloppy joes --homemade sauce--

So that is what our menu looks like.  Many of those will provide an abundance of leftovers!! I also only buy enough to feed our family.  This took some getting used to for me because I was so used to buying sooo much food, that we would have enough left overs from one meal to last us another 4-5 days!  At one point we were throwing away a lot of food and it made me sick! I hate throwing away food! --maybe a little bit of a Christian Grey thing going on here ;) -- But I have learned to proportion our meals to feed us, and maybe give us one day of left overs! I will cook the meals that require food that goes bad quicker than others.  This weeks menu doesn't have a lot of vegetables in it, but I usually add them as sides anyways.

I enjoy doing this, and I used to grocery shop every month, just once a month.  I found we were wasting a lot of food that way and that I could bring our bill down more and not waste as much food by shopping every 10 days.  I stick to my list as best as possible, and I try to never go shopping hungry! That is the worst!  And that plays a lot into the B.E.D. too.  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this and I feel like I am forgetting something, so if I remember, I will come back and edit it.  Look for the update later today to see how my shopping excursion went!

Sassy puppy's....

...They are my favorite ;)

My poor sassy puppy decided he wanted to go for a run this morning... Except he wanted to do it by himself without a leash... After a little over an hour in 20 degree temps he decided to come home... Shivering. Now mama covered him and is giving him some love now that he's out of timeout!

My dog really is like one of my ducklings. The Hubster said he is absolutely NOT allowed to sleep in our bed while he's gone, but I think I'll be sleeping on the couch more than anything :) so the pup can sleep with me there :)

I did learn a good lesson when I got this dog. No matter how strong you are, there will come a point when you take your child to the humane society for a monthly visit and leave with an animal. Middle duckling and I went to play with some of the dogs and kitty's and never before did I feel the urge to bring an animal home like I did with our puppy. He was 10 weeks old and he was amazing with middle duckling. He gave him kisses, he would just sit on his lap and lick his fingers, he let duckling poke and pull and explore him and did nothing but kiss him and sit on him or right at his side. I had tears in my eyes and before I could realize what was coming out of my mouth I said "we'll take him!" The lady just looked at me and went to get a counselor to get the process started. Needless to say, we left with a puppy. An hour later the Hubster came home from work and I was scared to death of what he'd say, and although he was mad to say the least, by the end of the night he was in love with him too. The pup has had his moments of trying us to the point of almost getting rid of him (chewing through the side of his crate and taring the side of our bed apart!) but we love him and went and got him a metal crate, lol. He's 10.5 months old right now and other than his car anxiety he's a great dog.

He also reminded us exactly how poisonous raisins are to dogs... I came home last week to the vomit massacre of 2013 and realized he'd eaten the baby ducklings raisins for her that morning, but now he's well and happy again!

So remember, raisins and grapes are toxic to dogs, if you're going to keep visiting the humane society to please your child--you're not always as strong as you think lol, and finally remember if you adopt a pet, you are a forever home, not just a home until they're naughty enough or you get bored with it.

And if you or your spouse are enlisting or already enlisted, remember to check out laws about what areas (FDS and PCS) don't allow aggressive breeds. It sucks, but most bases won't let any breed considered aggressive to live on base :( and some cities have ordinances against them.

In case you're wondering our pup is a lab/hound mix. He's a howler :)

Event Planning!

So after spending a crap load of money to get my business degree and study event planning, I am finally putting it to good use... I am planning events again!  Okay, so they are all personal events to me, ones that I am personally apart of, but I love event planning and I can use them to start building a portfolio.

This year I have a baby shower, wedding shower, and bachelorette party to plan.  Also, helping with any wedding plans my best friend wants me to since I am her Matron of Honor! I am thinking I will be kept fairly busy this year while the Hubster is gone!

I have always loved planning events and throwing parties.  As soon as someone says "a _____ shower, or a wedding, or a birthday party"  my mind starts running wild of so many different ideas!  I love making people happy and impressing people, but that is exactly why I haven't pursued my own business or even working for some else yet... I love it so much, that when they don't like it, it crashes through my heart and I feel like I let the whole world down.... again, a bit dramatic, but I take it very personally knowing I put my most creative, heart-felt effort into planning the event.  But for now I will sit back and be super excited about the events I have to plan this year :)

This past summer I decided to go ALL out on the princess ducklings first birthday this past September.  She is my last baby and the last first birthday I will have for one of my ducklings, so we did a milk and cookies party.  For putting it together on short notice and on a very tight budget, I think it turned okay... I was pleasantly surprised how everything turned out.  Her party was a Sunday and I spent 12 hours in the kitchen the day before baking EVERYTHING!  I then gave up and just ordered sub sandwich platters from Cousin's Subs and put those out as the "entree" with chips.  They went over GREAT!  I was pleased! So here are some pictures from our Milk and Cookies First Birthday party!

This is what we got set up the night before. My neighbor stayed up and helped me until after midnight, and we got the table set up!


Here we were starting to get the table all put together. We had 5 different flavors of cookies, whoopie pies, funfetti cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with cookie dough in the middle and cookie dough frosting (amazing!), redvines, pixie cups full of blueberries and strawberries, take home bags, the tub with ice for the milk, and mini milk jugs for milk.! Oh and the sugar cookies with fondant "S".




Also, the cupcake stand was destroyed by a naughty puppy, so we just put them out on the table, but it worked well



Here is the final outcome of the dessert table:


I don't have one of the table with the sandwiches and strawberry lemonade, but it all went over so well! Everyone loved it, and everyone loved taking home cookies. All of the print outs and labels I got from HERE

And the straws, cupcake papers, and sticks for the chocolate dipped oreos, and to go bags came from: HERE

The mini milk jugs, I just got people to drink a whole lot of starbucks store coffees, and the cookie jars were cheap at walmart, resale shops, and the drink tub is from target!

Getting ready for the long distance relationship...

Well, it's officially getting closer until we say "see you later"... and I am getting more and more anxious every day! We've been trying to get everything done, from switching to a national banks-to our POA (power of attorney).  Next week Wednesday is the Hubsters last day of work and then he's off until he leaves... I am going to miss him so much!  But there is still so much to do!

I am hoping to have our taxes filed before he leaves, but if not that is okay, we'll have it covered with the POA.

I need to get him the items required on the army packing list for basic.  Then I am also sending along a few toiletries, some envelopes, address labels, pens, and paper.  I want to make sure he can write whenever he gets a chance!

We will meet with his recruiter in two weeks to write up our POA so right now we are just making sure we have everything listed that we want to include in it.

I know there are a few other things, but I cannot think of them right now.  We are also going to be doing things like going out to dinner with family and spending as much time together as we possible can.  I have some fun things planned for us.  I have also been trying to plan out two trips, one with his family to Florida, and the other to see him graduate from BCT.  The boy ducklings will be missing a fair amount of school, but oh well, such is life.  We will go to Florida for two weeks in March/April with my in-laws and I figure it will help them keep their minds of daddy being gone.  The Hubster is disappointed he'll be missing out, but he's excited for us to go.  They'll only be missing a week of school for the two weeks we're in Florida, thanks to Spring break!

So that is where we are at.  There is a lot going on in the next 7 months and I am just trying to wrap my head around it all.  It's pretty sad when I find myself getting jealous of women whose husbands are about to graduate BCT, and mine hasn't even left yet.  oh well.  I will survive this and all will be well.

M.I.A. and Sh*t's getting real...

Sorry I've been M.I.A. we've had an intestinal thing come through the house and luckily the littlest duckling and I have been the only ones to be infected, but I'm sure the other two ducklings will have their share soon enough :(

Hubster ships out for training eventually.   The past two days the ball has been rolling and my nerves are growing more and more... Sh*t's gettin' real.  I received my first email from FS (Family Services) and joined an online forum for new Army Wives and it's seems pretty cool, but it's all so nerve racking.  This whole process has been.  I am confident in our insurance choice though, and I am feeling more confident in moving, etc. when our move date comes.  I have also been looking into hotels, etc. for his BCT graduation.  I need to figure out who is all coming with me. . . Hubster wants me to bring the ducklings... which is okay, it's just going to be hectic.

We meet with the recruiter in a week and half to write of a POA (power of attorney) and we also need to change our banks over to a more national chain...  It really does feel like sh*t is gettin' real....

Chili, or is it Chilli? It's Chili...right? Whatever, it's a Wisconsin Chili

I always spell chili wrong...I can never remember if it's "chili" or "chilli", but either way, it tastes amazing. Or at least the Hubster says so.  The problem I am going to have with sharing this recipe with you is that I never measure the ingredients.... well the seasonings at least.  I go by taste, so what I will do is give you a rough estimate of how much seasoning goes into it, and you can do your best to judge the flavor.  Also, I generally make a large batch at once because we freeze some, or we have guests over to eat, especially for games, so if you want just a single meal for approx. 4-5 people, just cut it in half.

I do not care for kidney beans, I cannot tolerate their texture, so I make mine with macaroni noodles, which I cook and add to each bowl as I eat it because the Hubster doesn't like noodles in his.  But for all my Big Bang friends out there, according to Sheldon Cooper "...Real chili has no beans in it, but you're from a foreign land, so your ignorance is forgiven... Mmmm, this is good... whatever it is" HAHA, I love Sheldon, but my chili is "foreign" too I suppose as it is not a Texas Chili... I'll call mine a Wisconsin Chili... :)



Ingredients:
3lbs ground beef (I use ground chuck)
8 Stalks celery, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. Chili Powder
2 TBSP Onion Powder
1 TBSP Garlic Powder
3 TBSP Ground Cumin
Salt and Pepper to taste
(These seasonings listed above are for seasoning the meat, so you can alter them to your taste, and again they are estimated)

3 - 29oz. cans of Tomato Sauce
1 - 15oz. can of Tomato Sauce
1- regular size can of diced tomatoes (not sure exactly how many ounces)
15 ounces water (I used the small tomato sauce can)
1/3 cup chili powder (estimated to taste - could be closer to a 1/2 cup.  Sorry, like I said I never really measure)
1/4 cup Cumin - estimated
Salt, Pepper, and Onion Powder to taste.

2 cups macaroni noodles or 2 cans of kidney beans if you prefer.

Start lighter on the seasonings because as the meat and sauce simmer together, the flavor will become stronger.

Put about 2 tbsp oil in the bottom of a 12 quart pot and heat it over medium heat.  cook celery in oil for about 5 minutes and then add chopped onion.  Cook for about another 5 minutes or until onion is tender and then add the ground beef.  Add seasonings from the first list and cook meat until completely browned.  Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and water.  Stir until meat mixture and sauce is blended.  Add seasonings and stir.  Simmer over low-medium heat for about 20 minutes.  Check flavor and add more seasonings as needed. Simmer another 20 minutes.
Like I stated above, I keep the macaroni noodles on the side but you can add them (cooked) about 10 minutes or so before you serve.  Also, the noodles will absorb a lot of the liquid, so if it sits in the fridge over night, the chili may appear "thicker" because of the noodles, another reason I like to add them into each bowl instead of the pot.

I love cheese and sour cream in my chili, generally I use a shredded cheddar, but since I need to go grocery shopping, I improvised with monterey Jack today and substituted sour cream with plan greek yogurt.  The hubster eats his chili straight out of the pot, no additional ingredients needed.

I'm sorry about the estimated measurements, I figured since I made it, I would blog it, so the next time I make it, I will try and remember to measure things out.  Then I will make changes here as necessary, but I'm pretty certain I got it fairly close. *Oh I should add, you can add peppers or ground red pepper to make yours hot! I don't like it too hot, the chili powder is usually enough heat for me!

Blueberry Muffin Bread!

Phew, life has been hectic! With the New Year approaching we are preparing for a family game night with my mom and her boyfriend, my nephew who is visiting, and my not-so-little family :)  I have a couple recipes for you today, right now I am just posting one of them, I will post my Chili recipe a little later as I am making it for the Packer game today! *GO PACK GO*

I have been on Pinterest a lot lately.  As I think about our move in 7 months, I realize I want our Army home to be welcoming and nice so I have been looking through the Home Decor and have found some super cute ideas!  But I still have to look through food and drink because I am always up for some amazing recipes!  I found this blueberry muffin bread recipes here and they call it Erna's Blueberry Buckle, but to me it's an amazing blueberry muffin bread.

She recommends using a 1/2 cup of sugar instead of 3/4, which the original recipe calls for, but I still used a little more than a 1/2 cup and I personally will use 3/4 cup next time, but 1. it comes down to how sweet you want it, and 2. I used frozen blueberries because that is what I had on hand, and with fresh blueberries it may not need to be as sweet!  I also think this bread would be great with different kind of fruits, I am imagining cranberries or raspberries :)

My middle duckling is on his second helping of it, he absolutely loves it! He may be pickier because of his texture and sensory issues, but he is always up to try new things and we often find that he loves many new things and this is one of them!  I will repost the recipe in my recipe section, because this is something I will make for a brunch breakfast with the family, or even like she suggests, Easter morning!  I am also curious to try this with plain greek yogurt!

oh and I also used a longer glass pan because I couldn't find my 8x8, and it turned out a bit more thin, but it still tastes delicious!




The middle ducklings second piece :)

Chobani Chocolate Cake

This recipe is no secret, but it's my first time trying it.  A friend of mine told me about baking a box chocolate cake with plain greek yogurt and water, instead of oil and eggs... She said it saves on calories and it still tastes amazing... so why not give it a shot when you have a random box of chocolate cake in your cupboard and one container of chobani plain yogurt left?!

I used one chocolate cake mix, 1 cup chobani yogurt, and 1 cup water.  I baked it according to the directions in two 9in pans, and frosted it and enjoyed.  The little boy duckling loved it! And so did I! I won't lie, I totally destroyed the calorie friendly thing by adding a scoop of ice cream ;) lol.  It was delicious.  I also want to find a better chocolate frosting recipe to make it even healthier... that will be my next project.

So in conclusion... the chobani chocolate cake... was AMAZING!

Recovering!

I hope everyone had a fantabulous Holiday!  I am recovering from all of our festivities! I have something very exciting in the oven that I hope to share with you!!! Keep an eye out for details to come!!

Homemade Gifts and Merry Christmas!

It's been a busy few days!! The fruit roll ups I tried to make didn't turn out so well.  The pan I was using to make them "popped", so all of the blended fruit ran to one side. So one side was over dried and hard to chew and the other side was still goopy... I was highly disappointed.  I was even more disappointed to find out that I managed to screw up my fudge too... The outside of it set beautifully, but the inside was like a thick chocolate frosting... It tasted amazing, but I couldn't package it for gifts. So I am going to remake the fudge tonight!

We have a busy day here, we have to clean, cook, do some laundry, but I have everything wrapped, minus the homemade gifts that need to dry....Oh and it's Packer Day!! *GO PACK GO*

So we always make homemade gifts for grandparents, teachers, bus drivers, and so on.  This year I was really trying to think of ideas to give to our parents knowing that their hearts are heavy with the thought of Hubster enlisting in the Army and us moving away before next Christmas.  My in-laws were hard to make for and they ended up with two gifts.  One I had made here and it turned out great.  It's a sign that is personalized with all of the grandkids and their birthdays and then I sent it to walmart to be printed on a canvas.  Unfortunately I didn't put the order in at walmart soon enough so we won't get it until after Christmas.  The Hubster had a gift certificate to Best Buy and decided he wanted to buy my in-laws a webcam.  I think it's an amazing idea and I really hope they appreciate why their son bought it for them.

My mom is an avid baker, cook, and grandmother.  She loves her 4 grandchildren so much and is completely heartbroken at the thought of us moving away.  So I thought we'd do the salt clay hand prints, but the boy ducklings have such mitts for hands, ornaments would be a no-go.  So I found a cute idea on pinterest and went with it, and this is what we came up with:

Oldest Duckling:



Middle Duckling:



Littlest Duckling:



I personally love them! I think they are going to mean the world to my mom. There names, current year, and age are on the bottom, but I kept that out of the picture for now.


I think one of my most favorite gifts I had made was for my brother who is an engineer, and he is amazing at math, but horrible at spelling, so I had a shirt made for him that says:

I'm an
Engeneer
Enginere
Enginere
I'm good with Math

lol I am so excited to give it to him, I think he will find it hilarious! I am just so excited for Christmas. Spending time with family, eating great food, and watching the joy on every one's faces as they open their gifts. Hubster and I decided the year the oldest duckling was born that we wouldn't give each other gifts until the ducklings are grown. Our gift to each other is the joy on our children's face Christmas morning. We find it important to teach them about Christmas and they know Santa is for fun and Jesus is why we celebrate Christmas, but no matter how much we do not want Christmas to be about presents, the joy on our children's faces on Christmas morning is heartwarming.

So enough babbling, I have rolls, fudge,and bread to make and a house to clean. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A Christmas Tradition: Cousin Christmas Cookies!

For the past three years my sister-in-law and I have gotten together with our ducklings to make Christmas cookies for Santa! We just make sugar cookies and let the kids go crazy decorating them, and this year they did!!

This year we cheated and just bought tubes of sugar cookies and waited to the last minute to get decorations, but they still turned out great! The kids just went a little heavy on the frosting.

We sat talking about what will happen next year after we move because of the Army. I plan to fly home for Christmas if we can so I told her all will be okay. We'll keep our tradition going some how. I made a joke that she should just move with us wherever we go and she said she's seriously been thinking about it..,. I consider it a blessing to have one of my sister-in-laws as a best friend and she is the whole reason I even met her brother when we were in high school. Anyways...

The kids have a lot of fun together and although things get chaotic, K and I love every bit of the chaos.

Snow Day!

Well it's more of a Mother Nature cannot figure out what she's doing day... But the boy ducklings were called off school. Right now it's raining turning the snow to slush! eww.  But it's supposedly going to turn back to snow this afternoon.  The Hubster had to go into work because of inventory, and that made me one nervous wife...but he got there safely, and he will have off tomorrow and all of next week for Christmas break, that's the nice thing about his current job.

So what do we do on a snow day, seeing as this is our first school snow day?! We started it off with a delicious home cooked breakfast of eggs and bacon!! The little duckling is lactose intolerant (to all dairy, and it's horrible when she even takes a single drink of milk :( ) so I specifically made the scrambled eggs with goats milk so she could have some too... now for anyone who has seen the prices of goats milk, it is NOT cheap.  I noticed yesterday that the price went down .20, but I am still paying $3.98 for a quart... a QUART! It's ridiculous, but the baby loves her milk! Well my dumb-butt added cheddar cheese to the eggs *face palm*, so I had to pick the cheese off of hers and they were fine.  The bacon... the best bacon ever...home-raised pig! No we do not raise pigs, but my brother raised one last year and as a belated Mother's Day gift to our mom and myself he gave us half of a pig, so we have plenty of organically raised pork in our freezers!! The ducklings loved it.




So now what do we do?  The baby duckling is napping and the boy ducklings are playing cars, doing crafts, and watching movies.  I am thinking today is a good day to make more homemade goods! I am thinking of making some fruit snacks, fruit roll ups, fudge, and more cookies!  I will post next about our Christmas cookie making adventures of last night with my sister-in-law and nieces.  I didn't get to take as many photos as I wanted because 1. I was busy assisting ducklings, 2. I was baking cookies and 3. my phone died, but we had a lot of fun!!!

I will post later about my homemade goods!!

Last night I decided to attempt my own acrylic nails, and they didn't turn out horrible.  My house still smelled like a nail salon this morning, but my nails look some-what pretty.  I figured a $8.00 Kiss Nail kit was cheaper than $35 to get my nails done, and on top of that, my favorite place to get my nails done went out of business :(  So I attempted it myself.  They aren't horrible, and the cheap kit wasn't too bad, but if I keep it up I am going to have to get a better brush for applying the acrylic...





They look better in person, in my opinion, but they will get me through the Holidays!

Remember to check back over the next couple of days for fun Christmas baking adventures, homemade goods, and the randomness that is me <3

Help me! Ahhhh

Dramatic title may be a little much... But I really need to find my motivation. I've been bugging around online all morning and cleaning in between. The pretty princess duckling is sick :( and the two prince ducklings are at school so I need to find my motivation. I did post my banana bread recipe under the recipe link, but I just found like 377272910 recipes I want to try from Pinterest! Darn you Pinterest. I do have to get the house cleaned though because my beautiful sister-in-law is bringing her ducklings over to bake Christmas cookies tomorrow!! Pictures to come of course!! I also still need to make all of our homemade Christmas gifts!!! Ahhh yeah I'm a little behind. . .

On another note: we had our Army orientation last night. It went fairly well. It's a little more exciting now that I have a better understanding of how things will work. It just seems surreal yet. I do have eight months to continue getting rid of crap and because I'm so OCD and refuse to let a moving company pack my things I also have eight months to pack lol.

On a better note from Sundays post: I have not heard back from my doctor yet but I'm assuming that may be a good thing. I know it takes a while to get the results, but I'm guessing if something really bad had shown up he'd have called me right away.

So recap: no motivation, feeling more secure about the hubster's decision to enlist in the Army, and I'm assuming nothing horrible showed up on the MRI. OH! And don't forget to go check out the new recipe!!!

Rough weekend...

Thursday night, I thought I was having a stroke... no joke... over dramatic, sure, but seriously, no joke.  I was sitting down and I had a stabbing pinching pain in my head and within a few minutes the right side of my body was tingly and numb.  My husband got me calmed down and I eventually fell asleep.  After talking to some friends, it seemed that flash migraines can cause stroke-like symptoms and it's not horribly uncommon.

To make myself feel better I went to see my doctor.  I waited over an hour from my appointment time and was starting to freak out because I had to get the oldest duckling off the bus.  I finally got a hold of our neighbor and she got him off the bus for me.  Finally my doctor came in and I told him about everything, all while trying to keep the younger ducklings in order, and Doc started to do some strength checks.  It really started to freak me out when I realized I didn't have much strength in the right side of my body.  I couldn't grip his fingers, I couldn't push or pull his arm, and I couldn't rock on my heels or stand on my tip-toes.  As I tried each new task he asked and realized I couldn't do it, I started to panic.  I knew from the look on his face that something was wrong.  He told me he wanted a CT scan of my head right away.  I told him I'd have to set up for babysitters, and while he called over to the hospital to set the CT scan up, I called my mom and asked her to go get older duckling from my neighbor.  I told her about the scan and she went to get him right away.

The doctor came back in and we had a little discussion about why he wanted the CT scan right away.  He told me that strokes are not likely in people my age, but a bleed in the brain or a tumor are.  He apologized for being so straight forward, and then told me if they see a bleed he is admitting to the hospital right there on the spot.  At this point I started sobbing.  A bleed in my brain? Are you kidding me? I left his office and called my sister-in-law asking her to take the younger ducklings and told her why, and she freaked.  I dropped them off and then went to the hospital.

The CT scan was easy-peasy I have had them done before because of my kidneys and ovaries.  At least they didn't have to give me the dye that makes you feel like you're peeing yourself ;)  The doctor asked the tech to tell me to wait there until he got the results and could call and talk to me.  The tech informed me that because it was Friday after 5pm it could take about an hour...whoopee! It actually only took about 35 minutes and my doctor called.  He said they spotted no bleeds! I let out a sigh of relief and he told me that the radiologist even double checked it when he explained my symptoms.  My relief dissipated a little when he told me he wants me to come back for a MRI.  He explained that it could very well be flash migraines, but usually your symptoms go away after a few hours, it had been over 16 hours and I still had not regained strength so he wanted to make sure there was no other underlying cause.  Which, in case there is, I should be thankful for.

I went back to the hospital on Saturday for the MRI.  I'm claustrophobic so I was very nervous.  Luckily they put that awesome face guard over my face and it has a little mirror on it that looks out towards your feet, so you actually feel like you are not so enclosed.  They put headphones on me and played "Cher Lloyds" station on Pandora.  The noises didn't bug me so much until the machine started making a really high pitched beeping noise.  I was ready to squeeze the little ball she gave me to squeeze to get her attention because I thought the noise was going to make me start convulsing.  I was starting to panic and thought I was going to black out.  Since I got pregnant with the littlest duckling I have had super sensitive hearing, for example our local walmart has an aisle that is eggs, yogurt, butter, etc.. and the cooler makes a high pitched noise that nobody ever seems to notice and I cannot stand it, it makes me feel like I'm going to black out... crazy, huh?

Anyways... The rest of the MRI went fine, it lasted about 45 minutes and then the MRI lady walked me back to the Hubster.  I was so intent on asking questions about why the machine makes different noises, I forgot to ask her when my results should be in... hahaha of course I'd be the one to side track and ask questions about a fascinating machine!  Today I have had a headache most of the day, at one point I was in bed with all the lights off and no kids allowed, so I'm really thinking it's just migraines, but who really wants to live with migraines? :(

So if you're passing by and read this, say some prayers or send some thoughts.  I am really optimistic that nothing will show up, it's probably just the migraines and maybe a pinched nerve I'm thinking...  But this week I am hoping to post about our homemade gifts for the grandparents and also some new yummy recipes!!

Why the Army, and the bumpy road enlisting

Back-track story:
In 2009 the Hubster was laid of work for almost 10 months.  He struggled to find work and decided to enroll in school online.  Finally, in 2010, he found a job at a local factory, but he was miserable.  He decided to look into the Military.  He did a lot of research on the Army and the Air Force.  He spoke with an Army recruiter in late 2010 but decided at the time it wasn't for him when he landed a new job at a company better suited for him.

Fast Forward to October 2012:
He was still at the job he started working at in 2010 and was still going to school for criminal justice (bachelors degree).  Although he wasn't done with his degree yet, he had been applying for multiple policing jobs.  In our area the policing jobs are very competitive, and with so many officers being laid off, it made it even harder to find a job.  He became very discouraged and as his graduation date (Dec. 3, 2012) grew closer, the stress of finding a job grew as student loans were going to need to be repaid.

I don't remember the exact date, but it was about the beginning of October when he got a random phone call from an Army recruiter.  They called him while he was at work, so he didn't take the call and didn't get a chance to return it right away.  That evening he came home and we casually went about our evening -- me having no idea yet that he even got this phone call-- and after the kids went to bed we curled up on the couch as usual.  He randomly brought up that he had gotten a call while at work from an Army recruiter.  I thought nothing of it and sort of laughed it off.  Then he said enlisting was back on the burner... I was honestly shocked.  There had been no word of the enlisting since 2010.  We pulled up the computer and started to do some research together.  He was really torn, so we made a pros and cons list.  I told him his best bet was to talk to the recruiter about any information he can get, but to remember that recruiters are like car-salesmen.  He started working with a recruiter and as he became more sure about enlisting, I became more unsure.  Our families are having a really hard time with his decision, and although I have my worries and fears, I will support him 100%.  We finally explained to both of our families that the more they put us down and discourage Hubster from enlisting, the more appealing it is...

The whole process of enlisting for us has been stressful.  The Military doesn't like when you have more than two dependents under the age of 18 and well... we have 3.  So we have had to provide all the usual information and get multiple letters from DH's school saying that he will finish school December 3, 2012, and he cannot leave for BCT until he has his diploma in his hands --and well handed to the recruiter-- otherwise he will go in as a lower pay grade and that will do us no good...  We also misplaced the oldest ducklings SS card, so I had to go through the process of getting a new one.  We then discovered that one of the ducklings used our marriage license as a coloring book, so I had to go get a new copy of that.  It was all starting to feel very stressful.  So after the Hubster got his final grade on Monday Dec. 10, 2012 we could order his diploma... well something went wrong and it didn't give us the option to rush order it -- otherwise we risk not getting it before he leaves-- and we had to go through three or four phone calls and a few emails just to get the rush put on it, including paying $$ for it...

Oh and for him to go to MEPS was a whole other stressful situation.  Hubsters boss was giving him a hard time about taking off of work, so the recruiter sent Mr. Bossman a letter stating that if he penalized the Hubster in anyway he faces a lawsuit from not only us, but the government too.  Well that shut him up! Then the Hubster took off two unpaid days of work to only get a call an hour before he was supposed to go to the recruiters office to go to MEPS to find out they bumped him from the list because he wasn't leaving for BCT right away... So he missed one day of work, went in for the second day, but then had to get two more days off for the next week.  Then at MEPS, they "ran out" of time and he didn't get to choose a job that day, so they sent him home and told him he'd be going back the next week to sign contracts and be sworn in, and that is was he did yesterday on 12/12/12... Sigh, it's been a long process... and Monday the 17th we go in for orientation.

It's a little sad to think the ducklings and I will be living alone for 7 months (with BCT & AIT), but I am sure we will do just fine.  I am actually thinking of getting the Hubster an iPhone after BCT so we can facetime with the kids and each other.  I'm excited for this new journey, but scared to death of moving away and being alone.  I just hope I can find one other Army wife near me who isn't catty, and is a true friend... and that the Army doesn't make me more bat-shit crazy than I already am ;)

Revamped

My blog is officially in the process of change! The big announcement I told you about the other day... The Hubster has joined the Army.  I was waiting until he was sworn, which occurred yesterday.  He leaves for BCT in February, followed by AIT for 15 weeks.  So you are literally getting a look into my life as an Army Wife from the very beginning.  I will still focus a lot on B.E.D. but I will broaden my blog to so much more (I hope!)

Lots of Loves xoxo

This is me. This is real. It's my life, not an excuse.

Every once in a while I like to click on my blog and try and perceive from an outsiders point of view.  When I think of someone I do not even know reading about me and my issues with food, it actually doesn't bother me as much as knowing that someone I know is reading about it.

I try to keep my posts up beat and to be honest about what I deal with, but the thought of sharing my posts on Facebook makes me cringe.  I have shared a few of the recipes and I know that will lead people to look around my blog, but it's hard for me.  I feel embarrassed about my eating disorder and I often sit here and think about what people I know must say about me after reading my blog and it nearly breaks me.  The sad part is, I don't even know what they are saying.

I know my disorder is not as bad as some, my episodes don't occur as often as some peoples and they aren't always as bad as other peoples, but they do happen and they make it really hard to manage my weight.  Having three ducklings hasn't helped in the weight area either, I knew I wasn't going to be one to just "spring" back, but I want so badly to have my confidence back that I had long before having children.

So if you know me and you read my blog, please don't judge me or think poorly of me.  B.E.D. is not an excuse for people who like to eat, it is a genuine disorder that works like many other addictions.  It's real and I am trying to do something about it because I know I am better than this.  Every time I feel someone is putting me down for my weight, it leads me into a whole new spiral of self doubt and even self pity, which often leads to one step back.  I know it has been said by the wonderful Eleanor Roosevelt that no one can make you feel inferior without your consent, but as I struggle to over come so much, I need kindness and support, not snide remarks and judgmental comments and looks.

I will do better, for myself, my children, and my husband.  And I owe a huge thank you to my wonderful husband for standing my every step of the way.  He has never put me down for my weight gain, nor has he ever expected me to lose weight for him.  he is supportive and wants me to do well, for me, not anyone else.  He may drive me crazy, but I couldn't ask for a better husband.

If you have any questions you can email or leave a comment here with your email.  I am always up for a good chat.

Family Trip...but pants still fit!

Every December we go on a family trip with my in-laws to the Wisconsin Dells.  This was our third year doing so, and every time we come home, we get hit with some kind of illness.  The first year we ALL got hit with a nasty nasty nasty stomach virus.  The oldest Duckling was nearly hospitalized for dehydration after 3 days of severe vomiting, the middle duckling was taken to the ER with a herniated stomach and vomiting blood from severe vomiting, and the third duckling was a few weeks from being conceived ;)

Last year, only the middle duckling was effected.  He had pink eye in both eyes... poor kid, his eyes were swollen shut and then I had to bust my butt to keep everyone else from getting it.

This year, the Hubster started a cold before we even got up there and by Saturday had pretty much lost his voice.  The oldest duckling started the cold Saturday night and today is Monday and he is home from school.  I have been stuffy, but no cough or anything.  But now... My stomach is super queasy... and I am praying to the Lord above that it does not involve any kind of vomiting.  Especially because the youngest duckling has her 15 month check up today...

On a better note, after 3 days of family filled fun and lotsa of comfort food, I am still fitting into my pants just fine!  I actually didn't eat as much as I would have in the past.  I am loving this new supplement I am taking.  I will get into more "public" details about it soon! Some business is not everyone's business, yet.

So I am living on pepto and praying nothing more comes of this queasiness, and still trying to drink my 120oz of water for the day, but the tummy is NOT helping!

Oh and Wednesday or Thursday I will have an announcement to make.  This announcement may actually lead to a complete overhaul of this blog including the title.  I will still focus a lot on B.E.D. but I may have reason to incorporate a lot more of my life into it.