Landon's first "Daddy Gift"

I think I've mentioned this before, but when Justin goes on deployment he gets Landon a gift for every month that he is gone. I love that he does this and it's so special for Landon. The gifts always go along with something that is happening that month.

Landon's first gift came last week. It was supposed to be for May but it came a few days late due to the time it takes to make them (which is fine, he will just get two gifts this month!).

He was sooooo excited when he got home from his last day of school and had a package waiting!

Opening the package......

His face was priceless.

It's a Daddy Doll! He packed it around all day and told me he wanted to wrestle with it. lol. He's excited that he gets to sleep with it and that he even gets to take it home to Grammy & Papa's house in a few weeks!

I know they are a little creepy, but all of the kids I've seen that have them absolutely love them! You can even put a voice box in them if you want to (no I didn't.....it would have made the creepy factor way too high for me).

Go here to see the dolls and order one. They also make stuffed animals with picture T-shirts on or pillows and pillow cases.

An apple a day......

Landon's tooth has been loose for a few weeks now and I knew it was going to fall out at some point. Last night was it. He was wiggling that thing all day! Then he asked me for an apple (because that's how teeth come out). lol. And I got him one.

This is the apple......

So be bit in and I helped him pull it out. The tooth was hanging there *shudder* and he finished pulling it out.

The tooth is tiny!

What made it really special was Daddy called at the perfect time! I'm glad Justin got to be on the phone for it, I know he misses a lot while he's gone and it's nice when he can still be there in his own way.

Talking to Daddy.

When Landon showed me his tooth was loose a few weeks ago, I got online and let him pick out a "tooth pillow". He wanted the bat. I got it from a super cute Etsy Store (they have bats, monsters, princesses, pirates, dogs, cats and just cute normal ones!)

Tooth Bat with the tooth!

Putting the tooth in!

The back of the tooth bat.

Landon with his tooth-less grin! He's so excited!

He couldn't wait to go to bed last night and even wanted to watch The Tooth Fairy (with the Rock!) while he was going to bed. Everyone who asked Landon what the tooth fairy was going to leave, got the same answer "Maybe a dollar or a coin" haha.

Justin happened to call again when I was getting ready to go up to put the money in his pillow. We decided to do $1.50 so he would get a dollar and a coin. lol.

When he woke up this morning he was beaming! "MOM the tooth fair IS REAL!!!!" it was so cute to see him so happy.

My baby isn't a baby anymore.....

Deployment Recap: Week 3!

Week 3:

Emotional: Feeling good this week! Knowing phone calls were coming made me anxious. I was busy all week so that helped pass the time.

Physical: Landon and I are both getting sick! The weather here can't make up it's mind, so colds are coming on.

Communication: PHONE CALLS! I love hearing his voice and skype-ing with him. It's so great to see him!

What's something fun you did this week: We did a few fun things. It was Landon's last day of Karate and School!  We also went to the pool for the first time this summer! We had fun even though it was on a kind of icky day.

What are you looking forward to next week: Talking to J more. My SIL is also coming out to stay with us for a few days and it's going to be a lot of fun!

What made you happy this week: Landon's first Daddy gift came in the mail. He loves it and it makes me so happy that Justin had planned all of these things for him.

What made you sad/mad this week:  It was really sad going to Landon's class and watching them say goodbye, I've been helping in his class and going on all the field trips this year so I've gotten close with the teachers and some of the kids. My baby is growing up! lol.

What do you miss the most: Hearing his voice. Talking to him on the phone made me realise how much I miss talking to him. I miss telling him about my day and what happened.

How's Landon this week: Great! He's so excited to talk to his dad(J called at 2 am while Landon was sleeping). He loved his gift and packs it around the house with him.

Pictures from this week:

The Ice cream man came to our neighborhood(which never happens) and I surprised Landon while he was playing outback. He loved it and talked about it for days!

Last day of Pre-K! It's a little sad.

Landon's first gift from his Dad. A Daddy doll. He loves it!

BBC ladies

Most of you said you didn't care....two asked to wait.

So wait it is.

Don't read too far ahead! Also I wanted to open it up and see if anyone wanted to "guest host" the post for next week on their blog? I will help you get the link all set up and such, you just have to do the first post and come up with a prompt. If no one does, I will continue to do it. lol.

First weeks post next thurday!

BBC Week 1

Ok, quick question. Who wants to wait till next week to start the posting? I know a few people are behind and need to catch up. Do we want to continue? Or wait an extra week?

Please, everyone let me know. I Don't want to change everything just off of one person. I want it to be a group thing.

Father's Day gift.

When J is deployed I like to get him one gift for each month. For June, we made him a pair of PJ pants.

I couldn't find plain color PJ's so they had to be made. Just a simple PJ pattern was all it took (and the hunt for the right material).

Then we took red and yellow fabric paint (you can use any color, we just needed it to match a shirt we had), put it on Landon's hands and went for it!

These are the supplies before we started. Make sure you put bags inside the pants so it doesn't bleed through.

We started with one color on side one, did color two on side one, then switched to side b.

Not the best picture of Landon. Lol. But he had a lot of fun making these for his Dad.

We sent a few cards with him for Father's Day also.....and I let him know that I understand the creepy factor is high with these pants, but it's the thought that counts.

Food Quest: Jasmine Thai

After the old folks home Thai place we went a month or so ago, I wanted to go to a better place. Mandy had heard of one that had GREAT reviews, so we went(twice). Thai is my new favorite!!!! This place was really great. The staff were amazing from the get go, not in your face but they cared if you were alright and taken care of.

 

Jasmine Thai

 

What we ordered:

Shared- Jasmine sampler.Spring roll(2),curry puff(2),fried wonton(4),crab rangoon(2)shrimp tempura(2)Served with sweet and sour sauce. (The sauce was AMAZING. We loved everything except the crab rangoon just because we don't like that type of dish. The curry puff was great, tasted just like the curry I had in Bahrain!)

M- Mango curry.With bell pepper,basil,red curry paste,mango,coconut milk and choice of meat. served with steamed jasmine rice. (As always, we shared our main dishes as well. We got this HOT which was good but had a little more kick then we thought it would. lol. We also got it with Chicken. The mango was an amazing touch!)

K- Amazing sauce.Sautéed with peanut sauce on the bed of steamed broccoli,tomatoes and choice of meat.served with steamed jasmine rice. (Got this with Chicken as well. I have a love for peanut sauce....really, I have dreams about it. This was AMAZING. Just perfect. The tomatoes were a little out of place, but oh well!)

Shared dessert-  Ice cream with fried banana (This was really good! I've never had anything like it).  Thai donut (Mandy & I can't stop talking about this dish. It was the most amazing dessert I've ever had! The sauce was sooo good that came with it to!) 

 

 

*Sampler

*Amazing Sauce

*Mango Curry

*Fried Bananas

*Thai Donuts

Big picture is the main dishes together

 

Pros:

Amazing staff

AMAZING food!!!!!

Great atmosphere

Lots of seating

Child friendly (no children's menu that we saw)

Lots of food for your money

Great prices!

 

Cons:

Hard to substitute on things like the sampler

^^that's it^^

Hand-made Calendar

When Justin deploys, I like to make him a gift for every month he is gone (sometimes even two depending on what happens that month). Last deployment I made him a pocket calendar and he LOVED it. He said he carried it in his back pocket every day and it was used many times daily. I marked everything on it for him, special dates to when to open his next gift! So I knew I had to make him a new one this year, but I wanted to do it better. lol.

Here's what you need!

A paper cutter(you can use scissors if your that gutsy)

Card stock

Enough pictures for all the months you want to do

Scissors

Glue (I used a glue stick)

Laminating sheets

Hole punch

String or key rings to hold it together

Blank calendar pages (I printed mine off the computer and added in the days)

Here's what you do!

Cut your cardstock to the size you want it. I like mine to be 5x5 1/2. I also added scrapbooking paper over the top of each to give it a more personalised feel.

Then add your calendar pages to each page (make sure you really look to make sure once it's put together they won't be upside down, same with the pictures).

Once I had all of the things glued on and the glue set. I laminated them (you can go get it done or buy the sheets to do it yourself)

After I laminated them I hole punched three holes at the top of each page, trying my best to make sure they all lined up right. lol.

Last time I used string to hold it together but wanted to do something else this year. I bought key rings at the craft store and they worked perfect! If you do use the key rings they are a little time consuming since you can only do one page at a time. I'm sure you could get the easier ones that open and close, but they were a little bulky for what I wanted.

Let me know if I let something out!

Dig it?

Are you a "dig it"?

I think I'm somewhere in the middle. I love the navy, and what it's done for us........but I don't have navy stuff plastered all over my house. I have a few sub paintings here and there and I have pictures from last homecoming framed on the wall. But not much else.  I've met some people who HATE the navy but for some reason have more navy stuff then I thought was made. lol.

I don't wear "Navy Wife" clothes or have stickers on my car......but I do consider myself a Proud Navy Wife. I am proud, not only of my husband but of his work and the things that go along with him being in the Navy.Also, as you can see, my blog is all about being a Navy Wife, but not much else is.

What do you think makes someone a "dig it" what they have in their house? Or their attitude toward the military? and where are you on the "dig it" spectrum?

I don't care what you say......

Leggings ARE NOT pants. Cover your cameltoe, please.

Seriously.

I wear leggings sometimes if I think a dress or skirt it a little too short (which for me is right at the knees). But at Little's kindergarten open house a mom was weaing leggings with a shirt....nothing else. I could see wayyyy too much of this mom and I swear every kid that walked by was staring straight down the hatch!

Just because little girls can wear stretch pants doesn't mean you can do.

Deployment Recap: Week 2

Week 2:


Emotional: I'm still about the same. I've been so busy this week I have tried my best not to think about it all. Once Landon is out of school I think I'm going to crash.

Physical: Blah. I'm tired. I really want to start working out and getting healthier for myself (and J and I have 1,000 on the line for who loses the most this deployment). My neighbor is a trainer so starting next week I'm going to be working out!

Communication: A few more sweet e-mails. He told me he's proud of me for all I do and all that I have to take care of while he's gone.....it was exactly what I needed to hear.

What's something fun you did this week: Landon and I made dinner together every night this week. We tried a few new things and made some old favorites.

What are you looking forward to next week: Picnic field trip with Landon's class and Casey coming home!!!!

What made you happy this week: Taking meals to a new little family. They just had their first baby so we brought a few meals to keep them going for a bit. It was so nice to see them and see the precious baby, and I love doing things like that for people.

What made you sad/mad this week: I had a little run-in with a punk kid on a bike. FB friends know the story.....but he got mad, blocked me in and started kicking my car. Thank God we were able to follow and the cops got him. I was really shaken when it happened...but can laugh about it now.

What do you miss the most: Sleep. It's been really off this week. We've been busy so I've had to get up earlier and can't seem to go to bed at a decent time.....vicious circle.

How's Landon this week: Great. He got stung by a bee on his forehead so for a few days he looked like Sloth from the Goonies.....he didn't understand why I kept yelling "HEY YOU GUYSSSSS!!!" I thought it was funny. After a few days of Benadryl he's as good as new!

Pictures from this week: Cooking dinner and Field Day at Little's school.

Cooking Dinner (his face is messed up from the bee. The bridge of his nose looks HUGE! lol)

Landon & I at field day for his school.

We had a blast. I'm so blessed to be able to go to all of these fun things with him.

Book 3 "Thanks for the Memories" Start.

Book 3! I really enjoy reading with everyone. I know the middle of the last book got hard due to most of our husbands deploying, but I hope this one will be a little easier (we can hope). Let me know if you want to see any changes made to how we do things. I do know that I'm going to put what we are reading on every post so people don't have to go back to see what pages they need to be reading and I hope it makes it a little easier.

So here we go! This book has 371 pages in it, so I think we are going to take 4 weeks for it. That okay with everyone?

Week 1- read chapters 1-11 (stop when you get to 12)
Week 2- read chapters 12-20 (stop when you get to 21)
Week 3- read chapters 21-30 (stop when you get to 31)
Week 4- read chapters 31-end

Happy reading!

"House Rules" Final week!

We're done with book 2! I will post tomorrow about the pages and such for next weeks book.

We are going to do something a little different again this week. I have final questions I found for the book online for us to answer.

Here we go.

Week 5 (final week) Prompts:

Spoiler Warning: These book club discussion questions on House Rules by Jodi Picoult reveal important details about the book. Finish the novel before reading on.


1.Did the title of the book, "House Rules," clue you in to the solution of the murder? Why were the house rules so important to Jacob? I started to really see the connection. He kept saying over and over that he was following the rules and he HAD to do it.

2.Did you guess what happened at Jess' house before the end of the book? I didn't guess. I knew due to a shabby review I read early on. Stupid people should put warnings. lol.

3.Was it believable that Jacob would try to cover for Theo without understanding that he was implicating himself in the murder? Yes. Without a doubt. Not only was it  his element  to notice something like that but to twist it that way he wanted it. He almost made it into a game. But it was a rule. He's very serious about the rules and he knew he needed to watch out for his little brother (and get to be the big brother for once).


4.What do you think happened to the characters after they went to tell the judge about Theo being at the house? Were you upset that there was not more of a conclusion to the story? I have no idea! But I really wish they would have told us! Jacob should have gotten off of the murder charge, but you never really know.


5.Do you think an insanity defense if appropriate for someone with Asperger's? Why or why not? I don't know. I can see the point they had about how he just "snaps" and can't help it. But he's not insane.


6.Do you know anyone with Asperger's syndrome? Did the descriptions of Jacob fit what you know of that person? All I know is Jordan, but not in a way that I could really judge it. All I know is he is super loving and loves dinosaurs (or was it just animals?).


7.Did you learn anything new about Asperger's syndrome? Tons. I never knew everything that went with it. I'm sure not all of this was 100% correct but reading from Jacobs point of view was really neat. Knowing what he was thinking made things different while I was reading.


8.What did you think of Oliver's romance with Jacob's mother? I loved it! I think he's so good for her and he really cares about both of the kids. He understands Jacob is different but tries to treat him as normal as he can.


9.Rate House Rules on a scale of 1 to 5.  4. I wanted more of an ending.

Halfway box.

On my husbands boat (and all the subs I know about) they do halfway boxes for the guys to open on the halfway mark of Deployment. I can't tell you when halfway is, so I'm going to share the box now.

Not every ones husband would want the same stuff as mine, so change it up to fit your husband. I couldn't put movies since he has all the ones he wanted, games are for other months and he has a kindle for his books. lol. So mostly it was snack-ish.

Picture of all the stuff that went in the box.

Here is what I put inside.

• 
  
  Candy, and lots of it. My favorites are sour patch kids & sweetish fish (my hubby always steals them from me so I got him his own). Then I put in Carmel apple sugar babies (since we LOVE Carmel apples), I also put a ziplock bag of 3 different "types" of jolly ranchers.
• 
  
  Drink mixes. Lots of cool aid then hot mixes that he likes (my husband isn't a coffee drinker so I sent 3 different kinds of cocoa and Apple cider mix)
• 
  
  I got this neat cup from the dollar store here that you can put your own pictures in! It's really neat! I'd seen them before at other stores but for a much higher price tag. This was a buck! I printed the pictures out on normal paper(since photo paper can "melt" when it's hot. I made a collage then printed it and cut it to the size I needed.
• 
  
  New tooth brush & floss (you never know when you will need more)
• 
  
  His favorite seasoning for when the food starts to get bland.
• 
  
  Bacon bits  ^^for the same reason^^.

Here is a close up of the cup.

There you go!

I will be posting the other things I made him at some point.

Fell free to add what you put in your husbands halfway box!

Memorial Day

While you might be out camping or BBQ-ing today. Take a moment to stop and thank someone for their service. I'm so humbled by the sacrifices our military make. Here or in Heaven they are protecting my freedom, our freedom!

And just remember:  Freedom isn't free.


When I married my husband I never thought this is the life we would lead. Besides a cousin in the Army I had no understanding of the Military life. One day while driving in the car, my new husband told me he wanted to go into the Navy. He wanted to do his part not only for our family but for our country. "OK" were the only words I could get out of my mouth. I never fought him, I could see the passion in his eyes.

He left for bootcamp with a new wife and an 8 month old baby at home. Seeing him again 2 months later, I felt like I wasn't looking at the same man. He had grown and changed, our lives would never be the same.

Four years, four moves & four states later, we are living 3,000 miles away from home. I am a survivor of a submarine deployment (on the wife side, that is) and countless underways. My husband is gone more then he is home. But I would never trade our life. The work my husband does amazes and humbles me everyday. He risks his life to make sure his family sleeps safe at night.

So, I say this with the most respect and love I can. Thank you. Thank you to all who have served and who are serving. Your dedication and determination have made our country a better place.

Thank you for fighting for me.