You don't say...

The next time someone tells me, "you have your hands FULL" I am going to tell them how rude that is. DH and I just flew from Hawaii to Georgia with our three kiddos for a wedding. We heard this stupid line all. the. time. It has always annoyed me because

1. It isn't original or witty.
2. It implies that the person has judged your abilities and thinks you are exceeding them.
3. EVERYONE says it!

While it annoys me on good days, hearing it after my 1 year old screams for half an hour after not being able to sleep in 20 hours makes me downright stabby.

What really got my goat was a mom with 2 little boys who was traveling with them by herself telling me I had my hands full. WHAT?! I may have one more child than she does, but I also had DH with me. I have flown with 2 little ones by myself before and I was worse off then than I was this time and she pulls that line on me?! Here I was telling her how good of a job she was doing with two kids and how I know how tough traveling can be with 2 kiddos alone and she pulls one of the most annoying non-compliments/insults out of thin air!

To everyone who feels compelled to say something to a mom about the size of her brood do them a favor and remark about how well they are behaving or how cute they are. Comments on how "full" their hands are only serve to annoy and provoke a response of "duh, and your point is?" Remember, Thumper's mom (who had quite a brood herself) says "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all".

DH's lightbulb moment!

As we get ready for a trip to Georgia for a friend's wedding, we have been looking for ways to make our travels easier. One of those ideas was that cart style thing to lug a carseat and child around like a dragging stroller. Like this one.

It is $80 bucks, but DH found one for $60 online, so we ordered it. With two convertible carseat to lug around, we needed some way to make life easier. Unfortunately, what we ordered has not come in time, so Dh was racking his brain, trying to figure out what to do when inspiration struck! We went to Wal-Mart and bought a rolling luggage rack for $18. When we got home, here is what he did!

He used the LATCH straps to secure it to the frame of the rolling luggage rack.

The two carseats we used were a Cosco Scenara and an Alpha and Omega. Both fit fairly well and are really easy to use this way! I'm so proud of my DH! What a guy!

Research Papers and my imagination!

I just had to turn in a research paper for my Making of a Christian Mind class. I struggled with this paper more than any other paper before, that's what 4 years out of school will do to you. :-) I did remember something as I was polishing up my formatting. I always think of the scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie turns in his theme composition and gets lost in his imagination where the teacher is ecstatic about how good his paper is. Is it sad that I imagine the same thing? ;-)

http://youtu.be/q8L86Z8YgeQ

Our new wedding rings!

After four years of marriage I have lost my wedding ring. I have looked for it for a month now and can't find it anywhere. I took it off because my eczema got really bad on my fingers and the ring was bothering it, and now it is gone. :-(  DH had lost his the month prior, but we did eventually find it. So instead of replacing his like the plan had been, we ended up replacing mine. This time we decided to look for a ring online instead of whatever was in the name brand mall jewelry shops and we found this:

at gemvara.com. It is a celtic design and I really really really like it! :-) DH does too, so he ordered it for me last night! I think we are going to have a small rededication ceremony when we get the ring, maye repeat our wedding vows to each other. It will be nice to have a ring back on my finger before we attend our friends' wedding this month and before DH deploys after that.

DH did get a new ring, not to replace his old one, but to reinforce it. Ever since we first got married he has thrown around the idea of tattooing a ring on his finger so he is still showing his devotion even when he has to take it off (work, excercise, woodworking etc). He finally got it three days ago! Here it is!

I guess I'm a permanent part of his life now. ;-)

Baby bird's onesie dress

My sewing machine has been calling my name for a while and I have been putting it off for a long time; opting to wait for a night my housework and homework are caught up. Well, I finally did it! I ignored the dishes in the sink and the chapter on Scientific Naturalism that I had to read! hehe

Here are my "raw materials". I had the fabric from an outfit my mom wanted me to make for Miss Tornado but I never got around to.

 I cut the onesi into two pieces.

 I then sewed the skirt together and then sewed the skirt to the top part of the onesie.

 I then sewed the bottom part of the onesie to the top part and the skirt.

 I added some brick brack to the shirt just because I wanted to. :-)

 Here is Miss Baby Bird in her new onesie dress! I plan to make a matching t-shirt dress for Miss Tornado to wear as well with the left over fabric. :-)

Deployment thoughts

We are coming up on our second deployment right now and I feel like it is our first. So many emotions and feelings are coming up and this is definately another log jam for us.

One thing that I find interesting that I have experienced with both deployments is how stressful the time leading up to the seperation is. Part of me wants to capitalize on all the time we have left with each other and a bigger part of me wants to "rip off the bandaid" and get the goodbyes over with. When DH is gone I miss him ALOT, but in alot of ways it is easier to function once he is gone. Routines become easier because we aren't trying to fit two adults schedules into one calendar, the Navy can't throw a wrench into our plans with the kids at the last minute, I can streamline our routines and the wet towels don't find themselves on the floor ;-).

Don't get me wrong. When he is gone the nights are long, the days are still hectic and just seeing a happy couple holding hands in public can reduce me to tears. Being a temporary single parent is a real challenge and I am very thankful that I don't have to be a permanent single parent.

One theme that got me through the last deployment was the goal of "thrive, don't survive" and I really think it set a very positive tone for the whole six months. In that time I gave birth to Mr. Man-Puppy, flew to Florida and back and lost all the baby weight from Man-Puppy plus the babyweight from Miss Tornado's pregnancy. Dh came home to a healthier and more confident wife and the kids had a healthier and more patient mommy.

I really hope I can do as well this time too. I am going to work out more, eat better, organize the house, study the Bible more and focus on thriving rather than surviving!

Baby Bird is a roller!

This morning I put Baby Bird onto the floor for her tummy time and sat down near her to check my email and facebook. Normally she doesn't like tummy time, so we bought her a mirror that stands on its own so she can stare deeply into her own reflection. :-) Narcissicism is a good motivator for good core muscles. ;-)

Today she actually enjoyed being on her belly, so I was able to relax. Soon I looked over and she was on her back! Grrr! I miss her first roll! It's all downhill from here, soon she will be rolling over to see what her siblings are getting into and I will have three mobile children! EEK!

She has her first well-baby check up coming soon, so it is nice to check that off her "baby milestones" list that they will interogate me over.