Humble Pie.

The dog was caught after 8 hours and a block party. I now know all of my neighbors and owe them cookies. Haha. I met some great people. We all bonded by trying everything we could to catch the pup. We walked, ran, crawled on the ground, played dead and even tried to trick him into running into a house. At midnight he gave up and walked right to me! It was a long, fun night and I have a few new friends because of it.

I was humbled tonight. Here I am, getting frustrated by a dog. While the owner is out fighting for my freedom. How dare I. Watching a dog for a few months is nothing compared to what he is doing. I have been frustrated. I think mostly because me watching the dog has been done through e-mail from my husband "so-and-so needs you to watch their dog". It wasn't coming from the guy who was asking, but from clips of emails from J. Tonight that changed. J had gotten the e-mail about the fleas and how upset I was. He told the guy so he would know what happened(Knowing J he was uber sweet about it, thank goodness). The guy e-mailed me tonight.

He apologized for him coming to me with fleas and said he knew he wasn't being taken care of, but had no idea it had gotten that bad. Said that he will cover all cost of flea treatment and that he is so sorry. But this one part got me.....

"once again thank you and your family for everything, from the day I met you till now... I do appreciate everything you have done.. and i really hope this hasn't put a bitter taste in your mouth for helping others.

Thanks,
C"

Once again. I'm humbled and taken down a notch. I can do this. I can take care of his dog(who is well behaved besides the lack of screen door etiquette). I can do this for a guy who has no one else to take the one thing that is here for him when he gets back. I will suck it up and chase him when needed just to be sure he is being taken care of, because I know I WILL take great care of him. Without a doubt.

Stick a fork in me......

......Cuz I'm DONE!

Today my good deed decided it would run straight into and threw my screen door. Broke it. Now housing will have to replace it and I will have to pay for it. Then my neighbors and I spent the next 3 hours chasing the dog. Didn't catch him. We now have no idea where he is and it's late. We ran in the woods, down the street, crawled on the ground and even played dead. Nothing worked.

I love this dog, I do. But this is a little more then I bargained for.

I don't know if I can do this for 3-4 more months!!!!


(PS. I spent almost $100 today to get the fleas out of my house...it's been a GREAT day!)

Now I'm pissed!

Said dog has fleas. In all my time having pets I've NEVER had fleas!

I don't think the owner knows, since he hasn't had the dog in months. Besides treating them....which I'm doing tomorrow. What would you do? Tell the owner? or suck it up and deal?

I feel defeated. Here I am, doing this guy a HUGE favor and it backfires in a way. I e-mailed my husband and told him about it. Told him that while the guy gave me money, I'm going to need more now. I will have to treat my animals also not just his. It's not cheap and it's icky.

*sigh* why can't good deeds be easy?

House guest!

I said yes. The dog is here.

I love him but man, is he clingy!!!! He also doesn't let me sleep. I need to figure something out or I'm going to go CRAZY! lol.

He's taken over my couch.

What would you do?(updated with answers!)

Husband e-mails me. Says his friend (who lived with us early this year) needs a place for his dog to go(He's deployed). Long story short, guy broke up with his girlfriend and she was threatening to take the dog to the pound(because she's so mad he broke it off with her). He's had this dog for years. Loves this thing like it's his child. So since I know the dog(they lived here for about a month and a half) he asked it I would watch him.

The nice part says YES hands down, YES. BUT It's not a few weeks we are talking about. It's a few months.

What would you do?

What I'm Lovin' (In September!)

Music! Playlist for the month!

1. Dog Days Are Over by Florence & The Machine

2.Your Love by Nicki Minaj

3.Wait for Me by Theory of a Deadman
4.Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars

5.Only Girl (In the World) by Rihanna

6.Just a Dream by Nelly
7.You Lost Me by Christina Aguilera
8.Dumb Love by Sean Kingston

9.I Like It (feat. Pitbull) by Enrique Iglesias
10.Ridin' Solo by Jason

11.Toot It and Boot It by YG (It just makes me giggle every time I hear it)

Books! What I'm reading next...I think..

The House of Night Series

Eragon Series

Short life of Bree Tanner

T.V! Shows I Love this month!

I LOVE Fall shows!

GLEE!!!!!!

House

Chuck

Vampire Diaries

Movies! That we are lovin'

Nanny McPhee(so cute)

The Prince of Persia! (WOW)
Letters to Juliet (LOVED it!)

Sweet home Alabama

Places to go this month!

Parks!

USS Nautilus museum!

Date nights with the little!

Places to eat!

Pauls pasta!

I want Thai food! lol.

Home! I love cooking in the Fall!

Deployment Recap: Week 18!

Week 18:


Emotional: Good! I feel like I've crossed over that "hump". I ready to get things done and ready for him to be here!

Physical: Good! I lost 3lbs this week and that's always good! I've been trying to go to bed earlier so I'm not so tired and so far so good!

Communication: A lot of e-mails! I'm surprised! I've gotten one every day this week! One was even a little mushy!

What's something fun you did this week: Went and looked at venues for our meet & greet. It seriously felt like planning a wedding. Lol. Asking about decorations, caterers and staff. It was so much fun and we found the most amazing place that has everything we want!

What are you looking forward to next week: Landon and I are going on a "date". I love planning fun things like that.

What made you happy this week: Getting things done. I've been so busy, but I've gotten things done that needed to be done. I like it when I accomplish things!

What made you sad/mad this week: Justin not being here to see Landon start Soccer. I knew he really wanted to be here for it and it made me sad to know how much it bummed him out.

What do you miss this week: Late night movie nights snuggled on the couch.

How's Landon this week: Great! He did so well at school this week! Then Karate & Soccer started up! He loves soccer! He didn't think he would like it at all and I'm surprised that he told me that he likes it more than karate! And he LOVES karate!

Pictures from this week:

Getting ready to start soccer practice! He's so cute!

During practice!

Taking a water break!

Deployment Recap: Week 17!

Week 17:


Emotional: Alright. Aunt flo makes the tears roll. lol.

Physical: Landon and I have been a little under the weather. I kept him home from school on Friday.

Communication: Quite a few e-mails. He makes me so happy.

What's something fun you did this week: Went to the Book Barn! I love going there. We spent a good 3 hours looking at everything. It was the first time I've gone without child, and it was nice.

What are you looking forward to next week: Landon starts all of his sports up again. Soccer and Karate here we come!

What made you happy this week: Being a mom. I love reading stories to Landon every night and talking at the table while we eat dinner. He loves when I snuggle every night before bed. It makes me feel like even though his dad is gone, he doesn't ever hold it against me.

What made you sad/mad this week: People leaving their dogs in their garage when it's 90 outside THEN getting pissed off when someone called housing. You're poor dog could die hunny, at least someone cared enough to get it out of there.

What do you miss this week: Just being held. I hate when I'm sick and he's gone. He's always so great when I don't feel good.

How's Landon this week: Besides being sick, he's good.

Pictures from this week:

Getting ready to go to school.

Book Barn cat! They had so many! They had about 9 all black ones! I swear everywhere we went there was a new one! Creepy!

Pirate Day!

Happy "Talk like a Pirate" Day!

We are having a blast here! So far we have.....

*Dressed up like pirates

*Made a telescope!

You need constructions paper, paper towel roll and tape.

Tape one end of the paper to roll. Roll it up! Then tape the other end so it stays.

Enjoy!

*Gone on a treasure hunt.

*Had Anchor sandwiches for lunch.

*Had slippery planks (Celery and peanut butter) for a snack.

(photographed together to save space. lol. The "Planks" can be made and set in the fridge for later. Then you're not in the kitchen off and on for little things)

*Talked like pirates.

*Talked like pirates some more....

*Made a pirate ship!

The ship! I'm a little proud of myself!

Part of the oar and the wheel?

He's in there yelling "Land HOOOO" as I write this.

*We played in the Pirate sandbox.

We are still enjoying Pirate Day.  I will keep posting as we do everything!

Oh facebook, you will be the death of me.

I love connecting to my friends and family. I love being able to show my mom pictures of Landon whenever I want. I love stalking people I knew in high school.

I HATE how some people use facebook.

Right now these are my biggest gripes(bitchy post. Turn back now):

1. I don't care how many times your kid pooped today. I really don't. I don't care what they ate to make them poop and I sure as hell don't care what color it is. Please stop broadcasting it to the public!

2. I know I post quite a few pictures. BUT I don't post 7 of the same pose with slight differences and I don't post HUNDREDS of just my child sitting there. Who needs 7 albums of 200 pictures each of their 4 month old? I get it, you love your kid! So do I. But your captions are obnoxious and it's getting a little old. Baby talk and talking in the 3rd person all the time must get old. No?

3. I understand it's hard when your husband is away. Really I do. But we all have to play single mommy. You are NOT the only one. It's your first kid how about you enjoy it! Instead you post daily about how you are so over this sh*t and you're f*cking DONE. Really? It's a baby that you meant to have! You knew this deployment was coming and you still tried. Stop begging people to come help you daily because you just can't handle it. I did it on my own and didn't ask anyone for help, I was young and scared and had no idea what I was doing BUT I DID IT. Suck it up and love your child. I hope one day you feel bad for the negative things you say about being a mother.

4. On that note. I hate the *F* word and the *C* word. I don't mind if people sometimes say the F word around me, but on facebook can you really tell me that you didn't take the time to re-read it and think "Wow. I bet I can find a better way to express what I'm feeling"? I don't like it being shoved down my throat and it makes you sound immature and stupid. Grow up.

5. Stop writing about how much you get e-mails and phone calls from your husband. We get it. He calls and writes you. So does mine. But I don't feel the need to give everyone on my facebook a run down on how many times it's been. Just be careful, you might upset someone and while you might not care, you should. (this is not about the ones who post "Had a great talk. Now off to bed" It's the ones who post daily "Got 5 calls today, 4 e-mails yesterday a 6 calls the day before". Hun you gave us the run down yesterday, no idea why you're doing it again today.)

6. I don't care who you hang out with and what you do together. I don't care if you guys had chicken together and are having pork tomorrow. I get that you hang out everyday. Stop posting it! It's annoying. You're 30 years old and all you can talk about is who's coming over to play? I post sometimes about what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with, but I don't feel the need to do it everyday about the same person. Does it make you feel cool that you finally have someone that likes to hang out with you everyday?

7. I sometimes argue with my husband but it's my business! Why you need to tell your husband to *F*off on your facebook status is beyond me. I don't need every detail about what is going on with you two. Some things should be private.

And last......

8. If you are going to take not-so-classy photos of your self or your husband or even a video....please make sure it doesn't accidentally get posted to facebook as a status and go all over every ones update wall. My eyes are still burning.


End Rant.

I understand that I can block these people, and I'm getting close. I don't mind them as people and I enjoy some of the other things they post. It's just getting a little much. It's also known that I can just delete them....but these are the people who openly bash people for deleting them. I'm at my last straw and hidden that shall be.

(Ages have been changed to protect those who are guilty) Hahaha.

Wizard Day!

I love to do fun things with Landon. I like doing them more when it's just the two of us for some reason.

Last weekend we had a Wizard day! Right when we woke up it started!

*We played with some Wizard cutouts from a neat craft book.

*We had a Wizard snack! Wands and witches brew (pretzel sticks and chocolate milk!).
*We made a wand and a Wizard hat!

(To make the wand: Take a straw(not a bendy one) and roll one corner of construction paper around it. Then roll it all the way up the paper till the end. Then tape or glue end. The star is 4 stars(identical) cut from paper. Then I bent each in half and taped them together. I cut the end of the wand stick into 4 parts. Then taped each of the ward parts onto the star shapes)

I didn't take pictures of the steps to make the hat and as I was just typing them out, I realized that it didn't make any sense. Sorry! I really should have taken pictures of the steps. In quick terms. Two pieces of paper. One in a giant circle, the other as a big rainbow shape(with the middle). Cut out center of circle but leave room to bed the paper(easier if cut) up into the other. Wrap rainbow piece to form cone. Bend cut pieces up into cone and tape or glue! hahaha. I told you it doesn't make much sense!

*We made some potion (vinegar, green food dye and baking soda....no pictures(way too messy for the camera))
*For dinner we had Wizard Pizza with toadstools(mushrooms), Lizard guts(sausage) and Dragon tongue(red peppers)! He loved it!

*Then we watched a movie and even had movie tickets! We watched The Sword in the Stone! Perfect for our theme!

I loved doing a whole theme day. I think we are going to try to do one every other weekend while J is away, then once a month when he gets home.

Remember.

Thank you to all the service members who are fighting to keep our country safe. May you be in every ones thoughts while you fight for everything we hold so dear.

Please take a moment to remember those who died nine years ago in that tragic event.

I remember where I was on 9/11/2001. Do you?

(photo from topside of the USS Alexandria)

Deployment Recap: Week 16!

Week 16:


Emotional: Better! I'm still not quite where I want to be. but I feel like I'm getting back in my groove!

Physical: This weather gets me every time! Hot to cold, hot to cold.....my sinuses are draining and I haven't felt the best. But I've gotten back into my routine! Cleaning and working out are my friends again! Now if I could just stay away from the pasta I would be fine!

Communication: A few phone calls early this week. I got a few surprise ones, which are always the best.

What's something fun you did this week: Landon and I went out for ice cream one day after school. It's not often that I do things like that, but it was a fun treat. I'm learning that I don't always have to have someone with me to do things and that it's nice when it's just little and I.

What are you looking forward to next week: A little get together with some of my mommy friends. It should be fun!

What made you happy this week: Justin. He called late one night(like 1-2 AM) to say goodbye. Talking to him is always amazing, but I love it when I don't think he's going to call and he does. We both got a little teary. He told me how much it meant to him that I was always excited to talk to him, like it was the best part of my day. I told him that it was and went on to say how much I love him and how proud I am of him. I can tell when he gets really quiet that he's getting choked up. He makes my heart happy.

What made you sad/mad this week: Nothing really. Landon has been doing really well in school and while he's tired and can be testy at home, he really is great. So I have nothing to be sad/mad about!

What do you miss this week: My heater! It's starting to get cold here and J is the best bed warmer there is! I miss snuggling in bed with him and putting my cold feet on him to warm up.

How's Landon this week: GREAT! He started full day Kindergarten today! I had 6 hours to do whatever I wanted! lol. I didn't know what to expect when I picked him up.....he was soooo happy! He loved it! He said he had the best day and loved that he got to buy hot lunch. He told me about everything he did and had nothing bad to say, he didn't even say that it was boring or too long. I think it's going to be perfect for both of us!

Pictures from this week:

We had a Wizard day!

Going to school! I love that purple shirt!

School dilemma.

My son is in the half day kindergarten program here. It's PM so he goes from 12:40-3:20. I don't mind this. I don't like that he's considered a walker so I have to drive him everyday. I mean, I don't mind driving him, but it would be nice to have a little more time since driving to and from, walking him in and saying goodbye takes almost 45 off the time I would have to get things done. Well, my little more time prayer was answered today. I got a call that a spot had opened up for the full day kindergarten class and if we wished to take it, it was ours.

But I feel guilty. I don't need him to be in all day. I'm a stay at home mom and I'm more than happy taking care of Landon. What if a working family needed it more? Is it my fault? Do I say no just IN CASE someone else needs it? All these thoughts were going through my head. So here is my pro & con list.

Cons:
*We will have to wake up earlier and go to bed sooner (we like to sleep in. lol)
*We won't have the time we did have in the mornings together before school (after sleeping in, it really wasn't much)
*I'm worried all day might be too much for him.
*He likes his teacher and his new class now. What if he doesn't like THIS new one?
*What if I don't like this new teacher?
*I really like the teacher he has now.
*I love that his class size now is TINY! Only 14 kids (but everytime I new kid comes into the district, they will go right into this class). The new class will have more kids(I think 20).

Pros:
*He is way excited for "nap time". Haha.
*He will get to have a "big" lunch everyday and I would let him buy once a week (which he thinks is AMAZING!)
*Longer amount of time to learn the same things in the shorter class.
*Playground time. While this doesn't matter to me, it REALLY matters to him.
*It gives me more time to get the things done that I need to get done.
*I won't feel like I'm running around trying to make sure I pick him up on time since I will have enough time to get everything out of the way. No more dragging him to my Appt.
*The class students won't change as much. Unless a kid has to leave, no others will come in. Stability is NICE!
*I feel like he will learn more.
*The teacher has been teaching for a while so she knows what she's doing.
*He's only had 4 days of school so it won't be a HUGE upset to move him.


I think I'm just freaking myself out. I wish I could talk to J about it. But I know what he would say. "KK, he doesn't need all day, but you know he would love it". And he's right. Landon would love it. Before I made the decision, I talked to Landon about it. All he wanted to know was if they had nap time(no idea why) and once I found out they did, he was sold. He's also excited about everything else....mostly the lunches and the playground time.

So tomorrow he meets the new teacher and visits the class, then he will start all day on Friday.

I hope I'm making the right decision. I just need to shake this guilty feeling.

Swim Lessons!

We finally made up the last two sessions of swim lessons right before we headed back home. Landon had so much fun learning how to swim. I don't trust him in deep water by himself, but he is comfortable in the water now and doesn't get scared quite so quick.

This was the first day. He was still a little scared, but he did great!

They did back & front floats, then back & front kicks in the water.

By the end he was so comfortable in the water that while his cousin was out doing the drills he would be on the side dunking his head and swimming along the edge.

Doing the drills with his teacher. She was so good with them...but she never even told me her name. lol.

Landon & Skyler on their last day. They did so well. I'm so proud of them.

Deployment Recap: Week 15!

Week 15:


Emotional: Drained still. Coming back from WA and Landon starting school the next week was a lot to take on. J is in port, and I find myself acting a little off. I know I'm tired and I know he's been busy and tired also....I just seem to be whining and tear up at any moment. I caught myself doing this and yesterday was a lot better.

Physical: Exhausted! I don't know what is going on! I know I'm not really sleeping that well, but I'm so tired during the day. I need to get moving and get into a routine. Casey and I are starting at the gym next week so that should help.

Communication: Lots of Skype! He's in a hotel so he has Wifi in his room. He calls after they are done with dinner and we talk for a few hours before he goes to bed. The connection isn't the best so I can see him but sometimes our camera messes with his connection. But it's been nice.

What's something fun you did this week: Landon and I have done a lot of things just the two of us. We went out on a date night to dinner and it was just so much fun. I want to do date nights at least once a month with him.

What are you looking forward to next week: Nothing. And by that I mean HAVING NO PLANS! I feel like everything has been soooo planned that last 3 months. I want to do whatever I want when I want. Lol and go to the gym.

What made you happy this week: Landon started Kindergarten! He's growing up so fast! He loves his teacher and already has some friends. I think it's going to be a really good year.

What made you sad/mad this week: I was sad that J wasn't here on Landon's first day. But he was here last year so I guess that's good. J did call right as we were heading out the door and got to talk to Landon before he went to school. He also sent him a really cute e-card for his first day. But it was hard not to be sad.

What do you miss this week: Feeling safe at night. I've been scaring myself at night and I think that's why I'm not sleeping. I know I have nothing to worry about, but I always feel safe when J is home.

How's Landon this week: Testy. Lol. Part of it might be my fault. I really haven't been doing much when we are home. But he's pushing his limits with not listening. We had a good talk about it yesterday and I hope things get better.

Pictures from this week:

Talking to Daddy on the phone right before going to school!

So cute! Gosh I love him! Getting ready to go!

After school we went to the splash park with his friend Adrian. The boys had so much fun!

Then last. I love getting surprise pictures from people of my husband. This is when they were on top pulling into port. I guess it was VERY hot.

I love that you can see the flag in the background!

Back to School Traditions!

I love doing fun things for Landon. I love doing things year after year.

Growing up I never really had any back-to-school traditions. So I knew I wanted some for Landon. Some we did last year and some are new this year!

1. The last day of summer I let Landon pick any one thing he wanted to do.

This year he picked to go to the "Really big, fun park" that he went to on his field trip in school a few months back. We were there for almost 2 hours playing! He had so much fun!

2. I make him a mock hot lunch for dinner! This was new this year and he loved it! I think he liked it mostly because he doesn't get lunch at school only being half day. lol. He thought it was the most amazing dinner ever! I bought the trays to complete the "Lunch" feel at walkmart for only $1!

For dinner we had: Chicken nuggets & french fries, canned peaches & pears, a brownie and milk!

3. I take him to and from school on the first day. This is something my mom did and I always loved it. I liked knowing that she was there with me.

4. After his first day we have date night! I take him somewhere special then I let him pick anywhere he wants to go for dinner! So last night we went to the splash park then off to dinner at Friendly's. It was so much fun just being the two of us at dinner. I think we are going to do a "date night" once a month.

(my camera battery died....so the one picture I could take, sucks. sorry!)

Does anyone else have anything fun they do for going back to school?

Birthday-in-a-Box!

This year was the third year in a row that Justin has been deployed. I always try to do something to make up for it, and this year I think I did. I sent him a Birthday box!

Inside the box were all sorts of goodies....

Like....

Birthday Cards from all of the family (I let them all know what date to have them to me by).

Some of his favorite (non-melting) candy.

Insta-party goods! (birthday badge, party hats, party blowers and balloons)

A cupcake with a candle!

Gifts! A DVD of Landon and I wishing him Happy Birthday!(yes it says "Watch me") Then a crown and stickers.

We always take a picture like this for his Birthday.

And the shirt I knew he wanted!

All of the good stuff!

I packed the box up tight and made sure nothing could break or be smushed. The cards were from his family and mine as well as one from me and one from Landon. Landon did a recording card so he could wish his dad a happy birthday.

I waited to post this since J was in port. But I talked to him and he told me that he loved the box! He wore the headband and the badge for a few hours the night of his birthday and when I was talking to him I could see that he was wearing the shirt I sent him. He even said that him and a few other guys had a mini-party with everything before going to dinner.

I loved getting it together for him and I know it meant a lot to him. It's a neat way to send the party to them.

Landon & his bike!

When we came here for the summer Landon had never been on a 2-wheeler bike. We don't have anywhere that I feel is save enough for him to ride in CT,  he has a scooter that he rides everywhere. 

So when we first got here he found a bike with training wheels and started riding it. After almost 3 weeks of that he asked my dad what those little wheels were for, when my dad told him that they were for people learning how to ride a bike....Landon asked him if he could take them off. so he did. Landon started riding that day and is now a pro! He did great camping and is doing even better now!

We took a little video for Daddy to see how good he was doing. I put it on facebook but J asked if I would put it on here so he could find it easier next port. So here it is!

Landon says he will be asking Santa for a bike this Christmas.