Went to the mall today to catch a GREAT sale at New York and Company... 50% off the whole store! Holler! I have not gone on an all out shopping spree in that store in years. My favorite purchase a red wool peacoat!! It was love at first sight! Took a pit stop and a second hand store called Other Mothers where you can trade in kids clothes and you get credit in the store, I am a digger and this time I think was my BEST trip there ever. I found so many cute things from Children's Place, Old Navy, an upscale dress store and so much more. Our girls are going to be SUPER CUTE this winter. Second place best purchase of the day... a jogging stroller that looks like it was maybe used once if that... only $50.00, yes you heard me only $50.00... a steal!! I am so excited to use it in the mornings, "A's" school is 1 mile away and if I take the long way back home... can you say HOT MAMA for Shawn to come home to!! ;-)
Still in shock a bit that tomorrow is Thanksgiving already, this year has zipped by, I think one of the fastest yet. I am so excited for 2011, I think it will have some amazing things in store for this family. We will be in a new home and so bless to be able to purchase with the way the market is, Tyler is graduating High School (bitter sweet), Shawn will be coming home to us and we will all be together for 2011 holidays!
Tomorrow morning is the Parade to be viewed in our PJ's, I have cookies and cupcakes to make to head over to my Dad and Step Moms to then stuff ourself and hang out with family. Hope everyone else has a fabulous Thanksgiving Day.
Another photo session posted on todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Its finally cold outside!
Its finally truly chili outside and I couldnt be more excited. This means I get to bust out all my boots, I have a weakness for shoes but an even bigger weakness for boots. I also have a scarf obsession and a jacket obsession. Today I was out shopping and found a purple wool blazer jacket with giant black buttons... I am so in love. Its on my Christmas list! Speaking of Christmas... Thanksgiving is only 1 whole day away. I usually am first in line to host events and holidays at my house but not this year, I am so glad to not have to worry about hosting. With the girls I can sit back and relax and spend some time with them. We will be going to my Dad and Step Mom's this year. I am still on the list to host Christmas though and I feel it creeping up. Were still knee deep in the process of buying our new home, lots of paper work, emails and waiting... I just want to move already. It looks like as of right now I will be spending my 12 days of Christmas moving and unpacking. Thinking I am going to make a nice hot cup of tea and will dive into the adventures of packing. Tomorrow I am heading to my old work which is still my sisters work... New York and Company to do some shopping. She has given me a heads up on an amazing sale and I can not turn away from it lol! If you dont hear from me for a while I will be lost in the mall, no worries you dont need to come find me, when I am broke I will find my way out. "Happy Thanksgiving everyone" I am thankful for my family and friends, my good health, my hero of a husband and all other soldiers who are true heros putting there lives on the line for our freedom and I am thankful for the 2 beautiful wonderful daughters that are in my life! Be safe, eat tons and "Happy Thanksgiving!"
**put up another post on Adams Photography** todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
**put up another post on Adams Photography** todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
Monday, November 22, 2010
Catching up to real time
I posted some more photo sessions on my photography blog. A Senior session of Tyler and a mini session with Tyler and Shawn. I have several more to come to stay tuned I hope to post everyday this week until I am caught up to real time.
todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Get me off this roller coaster
What a crazy wild ride I have been on these past several days. Its been a little over a week since my Nan passed and yesterday we drove up to Sedona to spread her ashes and truly say our goodbyes. For me it was a slightly stressful trip I was truly trying to play Mom and Dad. Shawn typically is the truck packer, checking drivability and route, while I pick appropriate clothes, snacks, and things for the kids to do. I had to do both and was a little flaber-gasted, I forget a few things but over all did well. "A" likes to think she is the parent sometimes so the car ride up was a little touch and go when the baby would get upset, she would try to do her own thing instead of listening to my instructions. I took good notes on the whole event though and hope the next time goes much smoother. We drove 2 hours and hiked a good 30 minutes to get to the same location we spread my Grandpa's ashes so many years ago. Having an 8 year old who has never hiked before and was a little over anxious considering the somber setting, with a 14 lbs baby strapped to my front and my 10 year old Jack Russell was quite interesting to say the least. My patience level has grown so much over the past 8 years thank goodness or yesterday could have turned out so much differently. It was a long, emotional day but we all made it through and now we can start the healing process. Props to our wonderful Nanny for helping through out the day!
TODAY, was an interesting day filled with many challenging parental moments. Shawn called this evening and re telling him the day I was actually able to laugh so I guess thats a good sign in some aspect. Baby "J" woke me up nice and early so I decided we would go to the 9am church service instead of 10:30am, it felt refreshing to be up early and moving. Not sure if that is why my girls both had meltdowns and were acting like a full moon was out. It started with "A" freaking out that the white jeans I gave her to wear were not skinny jeans... really? I gave her a serious pull yourself together could you be more selfish talking to. She has one pair of blue skinny jeans but apparently thats not enough, I told her she better stop pouting or we would go empty her closet stuffed with clothes and donate them to kids who need them... then she would have something genuine to pout about. I told her look I was an 8 year old too once and I know it seems like in the moment with certain things you think the world is coming to an end but we need to be more sensible about that and that being able to say you own a pair of skinny jeans is better than saying you dont own any at all. So, I thought that would be it... NOPE. We get to church and its jam packed, it the Thanksgiving service apparently and there is hardly any room. We had not had breakfast before leaving so I had told "A" that she could get a breakfast item from the food table. Well my sister thought it would be better to have "A" sit and she would got get food for her and bring it to her, brilliant idea so she went. But, "A" flipped out and kept saying I want to go, why cant I go get my own food. I told her to chill out that there was nothing worth getting worked up about, does she really think that Aunt Trista would bring her a pile of poop or food she didn't like? She didn't have an answer. My sister ended up coming back with a GIANT chocolate chip muffin and a deviled egg, I made her apologies to my sister for throwing a tantrum and for not trusting her judgement. Thinking we were on 8 year old lesson over load and that we would have a good day... SO WRONG. We go to Starbucks inside the Barnes n Nobel to get some coffee with my Mom. My sister and I are looking at a magazine and we turn to a page that has some good looking actor and my sis and I both say "he's cute!" what came after that from my 8 year I am still in a bit of shock about. "A" shoves her chair away from the table, crosses her arms, puts her famous death glare on her face then proceeds to yell out loud for everyone to hear..."Why don't you just marry him then, you don't love Dad any more so why are you married to him?" WOW... um yeah WOW, seriously... I look at her in SHOCK and am like, what are you talking about? We go into one of the weirdest conversations I have every had with her, she was seriously freaked out that I could not call another guy cute without wanting to marry him. These misconceptions have to be in thanks to the horrible adults that have existed in her past. I finally calmed her down to include putting her in a corner for 5 minutes of timeout IN Barnes and Nobel, I told her hey you think Justin B. is cute and you don't want to marry him... she proceeds to tell me she doesn't like him any more. I find this hard to believe... she's obsessed with him. SO, I pull out a great one... I say well I guess you wont be needing the Justin B. CD and t-shirt I got you from Christmas... she then totally retracts her 3 times repeated statement of I don't like Justin B. I tell her too late I am taking the things back and you are grounded for lying to me. Shawn loves to instigate her and when we got home I totally pulled a Shawn, I dug out the box that is packed with Christmas presents and buried in the garage and pull the said items out and make sure to prance them in front of her. I tell her look I want you to understand that when I say something I mean it when it comes to being your Mom and putting you in your place. I know that her bio Mom went thru a lot of boyfriends so we had a talk about some of that. I hope I don't see this rear its ugly head again.
Baby "J" must have been taking notes because as soon as I had "A" under control, she lost it. She was super cranky and took a short nap with no luck in convincing her to go back to sleep. So I decide to feed her rice cereal, she turned 7 month old on the 17th so this is the next step per her doctor. She wants nothing to do with it, she's pushing the spoon out with her tongue and gagging and dry heaving every time I try to give her a spoonful. I am at my max with "A's" behavior and am almost ready to throw my towel in. I put her down to have a scream it out session and get on my email and facebook for a few minutes... quick response to my full moon status. My really good friend Andrea who lives like 10 minutes or less away was over in the blink of an eye to take over and give me a chance to cool out. "J" of course starts eating her cereal with no problem. The best part for last... she has some serious gas for Andrea and starts to grunt... NEVER a good sign. Several times Andrea and I thought she was done with her business when she would surprise us and start up again. Finally, she's done and I take her from Andrea, holding her at arms length telling her she smells, at which time she smiles followed by something warm splat-ing on my foot. No not spit up like I was hoping for, but POOP. One nice drop of green liquid poop on my FOOT. No where else on the floor or on the baby or on Andrea whom she had been tooting and grunting on... only on MY FOOT. By the time Andrea got to me in the hallway to help I had no choice but to cry and laugh at the same time... I wasn't sure what else to do. If she had not have been here I would probably by laying in the hallway crying. Thank goodness for wonderful friends! I thought she wasn't eating and so cranky cause she could feel my tension but Andrea is also a NICU nurse and has a wealth of knowledge in the baby department... baby "J" is teething!! Whoo hoo what a way to cap off my day. When Shawn called tonight and I told him all this... if he WAS missing home he WAS NOT any more LOL! I am just glad that the day is over I don't know that I could have made it much longer. Interested to see what tomorrow holds. I have heard that God does not give us more than we can handle... I think I was standing on the threshold of that limit today ;-) Hoping everyone else had a much better day than I did. I am off to bed to detox and turn my brain and body completely off.
TODAY, was an interesting day filled with many challenging parental moments. Shawn called this evening and re telling him the day I was actually able to laugh so I guess thats a good sign in some aspect. Baby "J" woke me up nice and early so I decided we would go to the 9am church service instead of 10:30am, it felt refreshing to be up early and moving. Not sure if that is why my girls both had meltdowns and were acting like a full moon was out. It started with "A" freaking out that the white jeans I gave her to wear were not skinny jeans... really? I gave her a serious pull yourself together could you be more selfish talking to. She has one pair of blue skinny jeans but apparently thats not enough, I told her she better stop pouting or we would go empty her closet stuffed with clothes and donate them to kids who need them... then she would have something genuine to pout about. I told her look I was an 8 year old too once and I know it seems like in the moment with certain things you think the world is coming to an end but we need to be more sensible about that and that being able to say you own a pair of skinny jeans is better than saying you dont own any at all. So, I thought that would be it... NOPE. We get to church and its jam packed, it the Thanksgiving service apparently and there is hardly any room. We had not had breakfast before leaving so I had told "A" that she could get a breakfast item from the food table. Well my sister thought it would be better to have "A" sit and she would got get food for her and bring it to her, brilliant idea so she went. But, "A" flipped out and kept saying I want to go, why cant I go get my own food. I told her to chill out that there was nothing worth getting worked up about, does she really think that Aunt Trista would bring her a pile of poop or food she didn't like? She didn't have an answer. My sister ended up coming back with a GIANT chocolate chip muffin and a deviled egg, I made her apologies to my sister for throwing a tantrum and for not trusting her judgement. Thinking we were on 8 year old lesson over load and that we would have a good day... SO WRONG. We go to Starbucks inside the Barnes n Nobel to get some coffee with my Mom. My sister and I are looking at a magazine and we turn to a page that has some good looking actor and my sis and I both say "he's cute!" what came after that from my 8 year I am still in a bit of shock about. "A" shoves her chair away from the table, crosses her arms, puts her famous death glare on her face then proceeds to yell out loud for everyone to hear..."Why don't you just marry him then, you don't love Dad any more so why are you married to him?" WOW... um yeah WOW, seriously... I look at her in SHOCK and am like, what are you talking about? We go into one of the weirdest conversations I have every had with her, she was seriously freaked out that I could not call another guy cute without wanting to marry him. These misconceptions have to be in thanks to the horrible adults that have existed in her past. I finally calmed her down to include putting her in a corner for 5 minutes of timeout IN Barnes and Nobel, I told her hey you think Justin B. is cute and you don't want to marry him... she proceeds to tell me she doesn't like him any more. I find this hard to believe... she's obsessed with him. SO, I pull out a great one... I say well I guess you wont be needing the Justin B. CD and t-shirt I got you from Christmas... she then totally retracts her 3 times repeated statement of I don't like Justin B. I tell her too late I am taking the things back and you are grounded for lying to me. Shawn loves to instigate her and when we got home I totally pulled a Shawn, I dug out the box that is packed with Christmas presents and buried in the garage and pull the said items out and make sure to prance them in front of her. I tell her look I want you to understand that when I say something I mean it when it comes to being your Mom and putting you in your place. I know that her bio Mom went thru a lot of boyfriends so we had a talk about some of that. I hope I don't see this rear its ugly head again.
Baby "J" must have been taking notes because as soon as I had "A" under control, she lost it. She was super cranky and took a short nap with no luck in convincing her to go back to sleep. So I decide to feed her rice cereal, she turned 7 month old on the 17th so this is the next step per her doctor. She wants nothing to do with it, she's pushing the spoon out with her tongue and gagging and dry heaving every time I try to give her a spoonful. I am at my max with "A's" behavior and am almost ready to throw my towel in. I put her down to have a scream it out session and get on my email and facebook for a few minutes... quick response to my full moon status. My really good friend Andrea who lives like 10 minutes or less away was over in the blink of an eye to take over and give me a chance to cool out. "J" of course starts eating her cereal with no problem. The best part for last... she has some serious gas for Andrea and starts to grunt... NEVER a good sign. Several times Andrea and I thought she was done with her business when she would surprise us and start up again. Finally, she's done and I take her from Andrea, holding her at arms length telling her she smells, at which time she smiles followed by something warm splat-ing on my foot. No not spit up like I was hoping for, but POOP. One nice drop of green liquid poop on my FOOT. No where else on the floor or on the baby or on Andrea whom she had been tooting and grunting on... only on MY FOOT. By the time Andrea got to me in the hallway to help I had no choice but to cry and laugh at the same time... I wasn't sure what else to do. If she had not have been here I would probably by laying in the hallway crying. Thank goodness for wonderful friends! I thought she wasn't eating and so cranky cause she could feel my tension but Andrea is also a NICU nurse and has a wealth of knowledge in the baby department... baby "J" is teething!! Whoo hoo what a way to cap off my day. When Shawn called tonight and I told him all this... if he WAS missing home he WAS NOT any more LOL! I am just glad that the day is over I don't know that I could have made it much longer. Interested to see what tomorrow holds. I have heard that God does not give us more than we can handle... I think I was standing on the threshold of that limit today ;-) Hoping everyone else had a much better day than I did. I am off to bed to detox and turn my brain and body completely off.
Friday, November 19, 2010
New photos
Posted an older but fun photo session with my sister... were actually out the door in a few minutes to do a photo session for her for Christmas! Adams Photography hard at work!
todaytomorrowforeverphotography.blogspot.com
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Veterans Day 2010
Waking up every morning there are a slew of thoughts that go through my head. Today was to make sure I thanked the heros in my life because today was Veterans Day. My Husband and siblings are my heros, I have met many heros in my Army career and my life would not be the same without them. Thank you to all those who have served and sacrificed so much and those that are serving and sacrificing. My heart goes out to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I have so many people who I have met that say "I could never do what you do, I couldn't leave my kids of my family." My kids and my family are WHY I leave. I would rather my daughter be told that her Mom died a hero willing to give her life for people she doesn't even know. I tell "A" all the time she is so lucky to be a young girl in school, many countries don't even let there girls go to school. I want her to know she can do anything she sets her mind to. Growing up with brothers for most of my life and several bachelor uncles I tend to want to do what the boys are doing. I swell with pride knowing that I can keep up with men at war its a great feeling. My hear truly bleeds red white and blue the girl in me gets very sappy at anything patriotic. "A" now has parents she can be super proud of and an Aunt and Uncles who are selfless beyond belief.
This year many more places were honoring Veterans and many events were planned. My sister took "A" to a Veterans Day parade, we were able to eat at Subway for free for lunch, and Applebees for free at dinner. It was a small nice gesture.
Today did take an unplanned turn. I have two widowed Grandma's and have had such for years. They are both getting up there in age and age has been kicking there butts. My Mom's Mom gave in today and departed this world at 1300. She was surrounded by family, she was un responsive after a while, but we are pretty certain she knew we were all there. I struggled with letting "A" into the room but she was such a big girl today, she was upset, she has formed a quick bond with my Nan her Great Grandmother. She was so brave though and held her hand and even kissed her goodbye. She had made a bracelet for GG as she called her and she insisted the bracelet stay on her. It was all so bitter sweet to see my daughter with my Grandmother and my Mom surrounded by family holding hands and supporting each other in a difficult time. The Chaplain came in to pray for and with my Nana and family, after he said Amen she took a few more breathes and left us. I know she is now with my Grandfather who she has missed so much for several years. My Nan was born and raised in England and met my Grandpa while he was there during World War II, she became a war bride and rode a ship with my Uncle as a baby to the states. She had my Mom and they lived in Pennsylvania for some time before moving to AZ and made this a permanent home. She was a stubborn very outspoken woman but she will be greatly missed. I am glad she is in a better place and without pain, in the arms of my Grandpa. Thank you Nan for being a awesome Grandma.
This year many more places were honoring Veterans and many events were planned. My sister took "A" to a Veterans Day parade, we were able to eat at Subway for free for lunch, and Applebees for free at dinner. It was a small nice gesture.
Today did take an unplanned turn. I have two widowed Grandma's and have had such for years. They are both getting up there in age and age has been kicking there butts. My Mom's Mom gave in today and departed this world at 1300. She was surrounded by family, she was un responsive after a while, but we are pretty certain she knew we were all there. I struggled with letting "A" into the room but she was such a big girl today, she was upset, she has formed a quick bond with my Nan her Great Grandmother. She was so brave though and held her hand and even kissed her goodbye. She had made a bracelet for GG as she called her and she insisted the bracelet stay on her. It was all so bitter sweet to see my daughter with my Grandmother and my Mom surrounded by family holding hands and supporting each other in a difficult time. The Chaplain came in to pray for and with my Nana and family, after he said Amen she took a few more breathes and left us. I know she is now with my Grandfather who she has missed so much for several years. My Nan was born and raised in England and met my Grandpa while he was there during World War II, she became a war bride and rode a ship with my Uncle as a baby to the states. She had my Mom and they lived in Pennsylvania for some time before moving to AZ and made this a permanent home. She was a stubborn very outspoken woman but she will be greatly missed. I am glad she is in a better place and without pain, in the arms of my Grandpa. Thank you Nan for being a awesome Grandma.
Rest in peace Emil and Joan Spacek we love you both...
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
3 days
Shawn got to come home this past Thursday for 3 whole days on a pass. It was a nice surprise. I knew he was supposed to come in Friday morning but he called me Thursday afternoon and said he was coming in that night!! I picked him up around 7:30PM and we went to pick up Krispy Kreme... Shawn woke "A" up Friday morning... she flew out of bed and said "How did you get here?" She was so surprised and excited, plus Shawn had brought her Krispy Kreme, so he was the hero of the day! It was nice to spend Friday together while "A" was in school. Saturday morning we went and got family photos done. Something I had been pushing for, I wanted "A" to have family photos to look at to solidify that we are her family now! She had a blast! Saturday night we stayed home and ordered pizza and snuggled in to watch newly purchased Toy Story 3 as a family, it was a perfect Saturday. Sunday we went to the state fair for a couple hours, "A" claims she had never been to one so she had an awesome time. On Sunday we also did a walk through for an inspection on our new home. The sellers bank has accepted our offer so we are moving forward, we hope to close beginning of December and will most likely be spending our 12 days of Christmas settling into our new home!! Sunday night was spent at home together but with a somber tone knowing Shawn had to leave Monday morning. Goodbyes are never easy, but Shawn & I have agreed that whenever the Army gives us time to go home we go home. Any minute or hour with family at home it worth its weight in gold. We are an Army Strong family and we will make it through this deployment!!
I have now turned back to our daily routine and preparation for a move, lots of paperwork to do and then packing. This week I am not in a huge rush though... I have drill this weekend and drill weekends are always rough... physically, mentally and they wreak havoc on my sleep. Thank goodness we have a Nanny, she is watching the girls, keeping up with house chores and making meals this weekend!! If you don't hear from me this weekend it is because I fell into the black hole of the Army (not a good or bad thing per say) Everyone enjoy your weekend!!
I have now turned back to our daily routine and preparation for a move, lots of paperwork to do and then packing. This week I am not in a huge rush though... I have drill this weekend and drill weekends are always rough... physically, mentally and they wreak havoc on my sleep. Thank goodness we have a Nanny, she is watching the girls, keeping up with house chores and making meals this weekend!! If you don't hear from me this weekend it is because I fell into the black hole of the Army (not a good or bad thing per say) Everyone enjoy your weekend!!
Saturday, November 6, 2010
World, meet our daughter Alexus!
This is a sneak peak at the debut of our daughter! The adoption should be finalized by February and that is right around the corner, we are all so excited. Today we froze a moment in time, a moment to commemorate a family in the making. I found Ace Fanning photography through a friend and I could not be happier... he is AMAZING. He was awesome enough to send us a sneak peak only hours after our photo shoot. I am only posting this on my blog for the time being, once we get more pictures from him you can all see more on facebook. Enjoy...
Monday, November 1, 2010
Time flies when your... Busy.
Busy is an understatement. Today is the first time in days that I have actually had more than 5 minutes to myself and as much as I feel a little guilty its more important to take advantage and go with the flow. I finished a book I have been reading, got to take a nice relaxing bath and have been doing a little of this and a little of that around the house. Thursday I completed my Chemistry class, of course the teacher decided to make the final the longest and hardest test all semester, but I made it through and am still pretty confident I pulled off a "C". As long as I did that means my BA should show up in the mail before the end of the year, I cant wait!! I feel like this weekend I was a pre programed robot. My mom stayed the night Friday night and Saturday night working on "A's" Halloween dress but this meant more people at the lunch and dinner table so I felt like if I wasnt cooking I was cleaning up a ton of dishes. My poor dishwasher is still trying to keep up and help me catch up today. In a small way this is good cause we have a ton of left overs... which will be what we are having for dinner tonight!
Saturday "A", myself and my sister went and volunteered for almost 3 hours for Angel Tree, we filled out tons of cards with kids names and the presents they want as well as help set up a warehouse to store all the toys and clothes in. We are probably going to go back when its time to deliver the gifts and help get them to the people who need them most. It was a great learning experience for "A" and it was good for me knowing I am teaching my daughter great values. My sister says that I am always trying to save the world... I do what I can, when I can. Helping others is truly a great feeling. I managed to get some baby shopping done too, "J" has become an avid bouncer now when you hold her so I had to finally give in and get her a bouncer. Initially I wanted a walker but the one I wanted I would have to have shipped and "J" needed something asap. I settled on one for $40.00 at Walmart of all places and its so far the best money I have ever spent. She loves it which means I can now walk away from her and actually go get things done around the house, its awesome!!
Sunday kids were encouraged to wear there costumes to church, so mine did and they got to do some early trick or treating there. It was fun. We cam home and ate some lunch... Halloween shaped mac n cheese, then all took naps to rest up for the nights events. We went over to my brother and sister in laws house so the boys and "A" could trick or treat together. It was a decent gathering of some family and several friends. I got some pictures of "A" in her costume out trick or treating so that we can show Dad through email. We called it a night around 7:30 so we could go home and pass out some candy at our house and enjoy that side of the night as well as get kids into bed on time. "A" got to hand out some candy to several older kids that were still out. My Mom got a really great picture of me and the girls in our costumes as well as the dog in his. I found myself looking at that picture this morning thinking about 1 year ago last Halloween. Last year Shawn was home, we went to my sister in laws cause my brother was deployed, we watched the nephews trick or treat then went home to pass out some candy and dress up both dogs. This year sadly we are one dog shy, I am a husband shy but I have 2 kids. Sometimes its so se-real. I have not been a parent long but one day I am not and then next I am, to an 8 year old and a 6 month old, just like that. It makes me wonder what next Halloweens photo will look like??!! I am excited to find out!
Today I am relaxing before jumping into a giant to do list the rest of the week with a few appointments for the girls. It will be nice to not have school on the schedule this week, and I can only continue to hope for some news on the new house so that we can pack up and get this move behind us already. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend as we did. I look forward to a relaxing weekend this up and coming weekend, then I have a drill weekend which those are always tiring but the following weekend will be Thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas will be upon us. Hope you are all done Christmas shopping. I am almost done, just need to tackle our Christmas cards! Enjoying today first!
Saturday "A", myself and my sister went and volunteered for almost 3 hours for Angel Tree, we filled out tons of cards with kids names and the presents they want as well as help set up a warehouse to store all the toys and clothes in. We are probably going to go back when its time to deliver the gifts and help get them to the people who need them most. It was a great learning experience for "A" and it was good for me knowing I am teaching my daughter great values. My sister says that I am always trying to save the world... I do what I can, when I can. Helping others is truly a great feeling. I managed to get some baby shopping done too, "J" has become an avid bouncer now when you hold her so I had to finally give in and get her a bouncer. Initially I wanted a walker but the one I wanted I would have to have shipped and "J" needed something asap. I settled on one for $40.00 at Walmart of all places and its so far the best money I have ever spent. She loves it which means I can now walk away from her and actually go get things done around the house, its awesome!!
Sunday kids were encouraged to wear there costumes to church, so mine did and they got to do some early trick or treating there. It was fun. We cam home and ate some lunch... Halloween shaped mac n cheese, then all took naps to rest up for the nights events. We went over to my brother and sister in laws house so the boys and "A" could trick or treat together. It was a decent gathering of some family and several friends. I got some pictures of "A" in her costume out trick or treating so that we can show Dad through email. We called it a night around 7:30 so we could go home and pass out some candy at our house and enjoy that side of the night as well as get kids into bed on time. "A" got to hand out some candy to several older kids that were still out. My Mom got a really great picture of me and the girls in our costumes as well as the dog in his. I found myself looking at that picture this morning thinking about 1 year ago last Halloween. Last year Shawn was home, we went to my sister in laws cause my brother was deployed, we watched the nephews trick or treat then went home to pass out some candy and dress up both dogs. This year sadly we are one dog shy, I am a husband shy but I have 2 kids. Sometimes its so se-real. I have not been a parent long but one day I am not and then next I am, to an 8 year old and a 6 month old, just like that. It makes me wonder what next Halloweens photo will look like??!! I am excited to find out!
Today I am relaxing before jumping into a giant to do list the rest of the week with a few appointments for the girls. It will be nice to not have school on the schedule this week, and I can only continue to hope for some news on the new house so that we can pack up and get this move behind us already. Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend as we did. I look forward to a relaxing weekend this up and coming weekend, then I have a drill weekend which those are always tiring but the following weekend will be Thanksgiving and before we know it Christmas will be upon us. Hope you are all done Christmas shopping. I am almost done, just need to tackle our Christmas cards! Enjoying today first!
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