Just another Girls Night Out

One of the most important things every military wife has is friends.  They are there to share moments of sadness, frustration, but also joy.  Spending numerous months away from your spouse just plain sucks sometimes, especially for holidays and birthdays.  Lora and I took a weekend getaway back in June to Charleston, SC where we both decided to force our husbands to retire there and share a row house together in downtown.  So, when it came time for her birthday, I knew it needed to be fun.  Since the hubby and I had so much fun at Zip Quest, I figured it would be the perfect thing for Lora and I to do!

Since I didn't have pictures of me & the hubby , here are some great ones of me & Lora!

It was 2.5 hrs in the treetops with amazing zips and great conversation.  We actually had one of the same guides, Amanda, both times and so far everyone has a great sense of humor and making sure you have a great time is their job.

So, if you want to come visit Fayetteville, NC be sure to check them out AND hit up Pierro's on Hay Street, you won't be disappointed!

Come join the fun!

The AMAZING Jessica G. is hosting a True Colors Swap on her blog & I'm so excited to finally participate!

I've been super busy lately, and subsequently, super unhappy. I realized I wasn't taking the time to do the things that I love! I haven't been blogging or reading as much, so that is why I was so excited that Jessica put together this swap! I wanted to participate last year, but LIFE happened...so come join us & maybe you'll get a kick-A package from me...so you KNOW it will be good :o)

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"Bitter Is The New Black" GIVEAWAY!!!

Let me start by saying I have two seriously Kick-A little sisters! With months of whining, threatning to disown, and begging subtle hints, these two fabulous ladies waiting in line for 2 hrs to not only get me a signed copy of Jen Lancaster's first novel, "If You Were Here," but they also got a signed copy of her first memoir "Bitter Is The New Black" so I could give it away to one of my fabulous readers!

Here is my original review.

So, the rules...hmmmmm...

You don't have to be a public follower, because I track you with sitemeter anyway!

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Getting dirty with the girls

0600: wake up
0625: really wake...put on Eric's old BDU pants, one of his under armor shirts, and pull on my old work boots
0645: do a mental check, did I forget anything??
0655: meet Terri & Kayla outside
0700: load in the truck and head out to Camp Rudder...the Florida phase of Army Ranger School
0730: awesome breakfast in the DFAC...all for the low low price of $2.70!
0830: the start of an HOOOOOAH day!!

This year I once again braved the swamps in NW Florida, and brought along my neighbors, Terri & Kayla, for the experience. I knew that this would be my 4th, and final, appearance so I wanted to make it count!

We had a blast, and I have to say that Terri was probably the most excited person there! She was always at the head of the crowd when moving from place to place, and touched every snake and alligator she could get her hands on.

We shot guns...

crossed the water on a rope bridge...

attached to our safety lines...

ate MRE's...

paddled down the Yellow River in Zodiacs...

and brought a little of the swamp back with us...

We then headed to the showers to get ready for the BBQ. And...I jinxed myself. I kept telling the girls that every year I forget something (bra, underwear, shoes). I was so proud of myself at the beginning of the morning because I packed my bag the night before. So, all clean I take my bag to the bathroom to change...which is when I discovered I shouldn't have been so confident. I always say "go big, or go home," and I did just that. I forgot my jeans. I was mortified, and laughing hysterically. One girl suggested I just wrap a towel around my waist and people will just think I have a swimsuit on. So, I did that, but headed to the little shopette to hopefully buy some shorts or pants...and they were closed. I then did the walk of shame back to the truck, opened my filthy trash bag with my swamp clothes, and put my nasty pants back on.

We hung around for about 30 min but they were running behind on getting the food ready, so we decided to just grab our t-shirts and head home.

I had a great time, and look forward to this event every year. Thanks ladies for going with me!!

View all the pictures of our adventure here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=465403&id=736160042&l=ddc972e449

Visiting friends

For the 4th of July we headed over to Kelly & Carolyn's house to celebrate mine, Eric's and Carolyn's birthdays (they all happen within a week of each other).

Carolyn did some awesome Army decorations for Eric, and I brought Hannah Montana themed everything for Carolyn. We all had a great time, had amazing food...and I'm not just saying that b/c I made awesome baked beans, layered jello, and the best pineapple upside down cake known to man :o) We watched a horrible movie, and talked and talked and talked.

Carter LOVED the fireworks, he squealed and smiled the entire time, but the noise kind of freaked Cooper out.


The next day we invited ourselves over accepted the invitation to visit my buddy from work, Molly. She lives out in the country and I don't ever get to work with her enough, so we did a lot of catching up. I was greeted at the door of my car by her "smiling" dog Zoe, who freaked me out at first, but she was wagging her tail and wasn't growling, so I figured I'd be safe.

I don't know about most of you, but I'm quite scared of most farm animals...especially the one's that are bigger than me. I've been bitten and chased by them throughout my childhood years, so you can imagine how surprised I was that all her animals were nice! Her mule, Rusty, literally followed us the entire time and nudged and bumped until he got the attention he deserved.

I got to hold some brand new baby chickens, play with her kitties, see the snake and tarantula (I get goose bumps just typing that word!), and her dogs. She remembered a conversation we had many moons ago at work, and made me a chocolate haupia pie garnished with homemade whipped cream! I was in heaven, and the boys took a great nap while I was there and were all around on their best behavior.

It was so nice to get out of the house and interact with adults!!

Happy Birthday to my homegirl V!!!

Most of you remember my buddy Vanessa, the one that helped throw me the baby shower and did a blog post about it, well today is her 25th birthday (I'm not saying how many times she's turned 25, but she still looks it!)

Last year I schemed while she was at clinicals and helped her kids make a giant birthday card for her out of poster board folded in half, and she loved it. So, I knew I had to step up my game this year, and I think I accomplished that.

I picked up her two youngest on Monday after school and we ran to Walmart to get cake supplies and each one got to pick out a card. They picked a strawberry mix & a devil's food mix, and each one picked out candies & sprinkles. Then Wednesday I picked up the oldest from soccer practice and we headed out for his turn to get supplies.

With much discussion from the kids, they wanted a star & heart shaped cake that was stacked like a wedding cake. And, I have to say how impressed I was with how well the 5 & 7 yr old kept the secret from Vanessa.

Thursday I started on the cakes, and it took all day because I had to take frequent breaks. I decided to do a square cake on the bottom that was a mixture of the strawberry & chocolate, and I was very pleased with the outcome, before the kids decoratedSo Friday, Vanessa had to work 6a-6p, so I got the kids off the bus, went over homework, and then started decorating.





Vanessa called to say she was getting off early so we rushed to finish and clean up before she got in the door. And here is how it turned out!
And here is Vanessa opening up her cards. The youngest picked a singing Hannah Montana card, "because Mom likes Hannah Montana," the next oldest picked a Little Mermaid card "because Mom knows that song," and the oldest picked a hilarious card with those green and pink bunnies on it that are crazy.
She knew I was up to something but I'm pretty sure she was surprised, and appreciative that I had a pizza in the oven and she didn't have to cook after a long day of work.

What can I say Vanessa, I love ya girl!! I wouldn't have made it through Nursing School without you, and I'm a better person having you in my life!

My crafty side

I started scrapbooking in High School, which really just consisted of cutting me pictures into weird shapes and lots of construction paper. To say that the art of scrapbooking has changed over the years is an understatement!

I'm not an incredibly crafty person, but I can copy almost anything :o). But, I'm happy to say that all of the following (aka boring) creations are my own.

Eric started mentioning in December that we should do something with the ultrasound pictures or they would inevitably end up in the bottom of a box somewhere, or possibly damaged. So, for Christmas he let me pic out some little things I needed, and each month I'm spending a VERY small amount to add to my scant collection of paper & things.

I really got motivated at the end of last week and decided it was time. I went to a local scrapbooking store, A Scrap In Time, and picked up a few sheets, and some ultrasound embellishments that I knew I would use.

Vanessa, aka the scrapbooking QUEEN, just so happened to get motivated at the same time, so I spent two days at her house praying for some creativity. She was nice enough to let me use her Cricut (I want one soooo bad!), and I am pretty pleased with the outcome.

Now, like I said, I'm not super creative & I don't really have the funds to be, but I'm happy with how the pages turned out! We also printed out some of my belly shots & plan on doing a "watch me grow" page in the future :o)

My baby shower!!

So I know everyone has been DYING to see pix from my shower, so brace yourself because I am seriously one hot mama ;o)

Vanessa made me pose by her amazing spread of goodies...she did a sweets theme, and it was AMAZING!! (if you look closely you can see the sock monkeys her MIL made for the twins, in their matching camo vests & hats!)

striking a pose

baby food game (Gina & Sonya)

Molly & me (it was a really bad one!)

Amber & Desiree

Me, dog-Molly, Vanessa, & Jayden

my neighbors Kayla & Kendra

Guess what candy bar is in the diaper...I didn't really lick it!

Guess how many toilet paper squares it takes to fit around my belly...everyone guessed way higher than it really was

Ornament from Gina & Terry (my FL parents) was says "parents to be, 2009"

my "RAWR" face b/c the onesies were jungle themed

Some great Pooh stuff from Amber & Gina

Kelsey taking notes

Blankets from Kelsey & Jake that say "got milk"

adorable onesie

matching!!

Aloha onesies from Vanessa

handmade plush/satin blankets from Molly...don't you love the camo!!!

This is from fellow blogger Jeannie, these are what I would call deployment dolls. You put a picture of your service members face in them, so they won't forget what they look like....a must for any Army brat!

a Boppy from Amber & Gina!!!

And, Vanessa & Kelsey got me this Pooh carseat, one down & one to go!!!

And, Sonya wrote down everything I said while I was opening presents, then read it as what was said the night the twins were conceived:
'ok'
'that's so cute'
'i like it'
'oh yeah'
'i love the blue'
'i love blue'
'it says remove before you try me'
'noise makers'
'thank you so much'
'like, how dare you'
'oh my gosh'
'holy crap'
'really'
'thank you so much-oh my goodness'
'that's not a bad thing'
'exactly!'
'isn't that adorable'
'thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you'
'are we done?'
'Yeah!'
-this produced the most laughes of the night! Sonya also gave me the amazing gift of a photo session with the twins, once they are born!

I didn't post pics of everything I received because that would take forever, but I am set on clothes for the first three months (check out my facebook page for more pics)! I had a great time am so thankful for everyone that came & especially Vanessa & Kelsey for throwing it all together, and Desiree for helping them!