Monday, February 28, 2011

I'll Be Back

The movers should be here soon to pack up almost everything in the house. We are also turning off the cable and internet today so that means that I will be MIA for a few days. I haven't completely figured out my new phone yet so we'll see if I can blog from there but....I don't count on it.

We'll be cleaning and getting the house ready for inspection on Thursday morning. After that we leave straight for Florida. It's a 13 hour drive, which should be a piece of cake after the 4 years of driving 27+ hours straight to Austin.

Once we get all of the utilities turned on and the movers deliver our stuff on Friday, we will be leaving straight to Austin Texas for a little bit before Ethan has to start EOD school. Aiden's birthday is next Tuesday so we'll be having a birthday party for him back home with our family since we haven't met anyone in Niceville yet. He's pretty excited.

And then Jennifer and Tristan will be coming back to Florida with us to stay for a while. Not sure how long yet, but I'm gonna guess a month or so.

So I will be trying to keep up with everyone while I'm gone, and hopefully next week I'll be able to blog about the move and all that fun stuff.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Things I'll Miss

I have been saying for months that I can't wait to get out of here. There are a lot of bad things that happened at Cherry Point that I'm going to love to not be reminded of every other day by a familiar name or mention of a memory. I'm going to love to not have to face another drama-filled weekends with IPAC Marines that I don't like or respect. I'm going to love not having to drive 27+ hours just to see our family. There are just so many things that I can't wait for once we are gone, but last night {after a few drinks with my Boo} I realized that there are things I'm really going to miss about North Carolina...even just Havelock...

This is where Ethan and I started out. This was our first home together, the place we learned to be a family. We built our marriage here. Twice.

what an awkward angle for my pinky..
 This is the only home that Aiden has ever known. He was born in New Bern, North Carolina on March 8, 2008. The doctors and nurses at Craven Regional Medical Center kept him alive. We brought him home 2 days later, and except for a move to a different part of the same neighborhood, he has never lived anywhere else.

he had complications when he was born...

I'm going to miss the beer pong nights. Since we have a kid, we don't get to go out to bars and clubs all the time like our kid-free friends. Instead we take part in a great old pastime....beer pong and king's cup. It's a great time for us to let loose and have fun, while not having to worry about finding a DD or paying for a cab to take us home when we get a little too inebriated. Obviously when we play at our house we just go to bed, and when we play at the Gonzo's we just walk a block home. No big deal at all.




Our friends are here. Yes this is the military and we all move around a lot and we're not even the first of our friends to go, but there is just something about you being the one to say goodbye that just sucks. From the people who are left in NC with us, I'm especially going to miss the Gonzos. Kris and I have been through a lot together, and over the past 6 or 7 months we've gotten really close. Our sons love each other {although they beat each other up all the time} and honestly I don't know what I'm going to do the first time Aiden asks cries and throws a fit because he can't go play with Damian. I'm going to miss the twins growing up from squishy little babies to little people with their own personalities. I need to stop...I'm gonna cry before it's even time to say goodbye....
Aiden and Damian...the destruct-o boys

And I'm going to miss Skip Waters, the weather man. He's my favorite.  

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I'm Going To Pull My Hair Out...But At Least It'll Smell Good While It Happens

So I feel like I haven't blogged in FOREVER, even though in reality it has only been a few days. Today post will just end up being a ramble of what has been going on lately because I for once have a few minutes to myself to actually put things down on paper...um well figuratively.

Things have been going so quickly with the move coming up in 1 week! Now that we're getting down to the wire it doesn't even feel like we're really moving. I'm just waiting for "Oh just kidding" like last time we did this. I hate to admit it, but I'm actually going to miss this place.

I have reached my first goal for myself since signing up for Scentsy. I have recruited another Consultant and I have earned over $600 within 15 days of signing my contract. I am super stoked about it, and this proves to myself that I really can do this. I also got my first party order from UPS last night and I have sorted through everything, and have it all ready to be delivered this afternoon when everyone gets off work. I can't wait to move to Florida so that I can share these awesome products with other people. If you're interested in Scensty, or just want to find out what it is, check out my Scentsy website.

Aiden has gotten to the stage where he wants nothing to do with his parents. I thought that started when kids turn 14, but no it has begun with my 2 year old. He doesn't want help doing almost anything, unless it comes to taking his shirt off. The boy just can't figure out which way to pull his arm out and then he gets all tangled and before you know it Mama help me! can be heard all through the house. His favorite thing to do is play alone in his room with an occasional movie and the door closed. What?? When we first moved into this house a year and a half ago he was petrified of his room. He would literally scream bloody murder if I so much as walked into the doorway with him.

I also made the mistake of telling Aiden that we are moving very soon. He now tells me at least 3 times a day, "I have to go to my new house. I need to go to the beach." Yeah it was super cute the first few times, but now...I just regret telling him. He tells everyone he talks to that people are going to come to take his stuff away and put it in a truck and then we'll go to his new house.

Now that we have told everyone at home I can share the happy news...WE ARE GOING BACK HOME IN 2 WEEKS!! Can you tell I'm just a little bit excited?? Oh were you expecting some other type of news? Yeah we can't start trying for that type of good news that involves bundles of pink or blue, until we figure out what is going on medically with me. So from the way things have been going....that won't be for a while. :-(

I went to the doctor for the 3rd time since January and because we are leaving in a week he has decided not to help me. He was going to write me a prescription for some more bitch pills as I fondly call them, also known as Provera, and he wanted to schedule me for an ultrasound. I told him that was fine, but that it would have to be done before we leave. He looks at his nurse, looks back at me and says that I should just go to the hospital down at Eglin AFB then. He shook my hand, said good luck, and walked out. Are you fucking serious?! Oh man once again I came home pissed as hell at the stupid doctor, all the while still not knowing what the heck is going on with my body. All the labs came back normal so no thyroid problem or brain tumor, and obviously no pregnancy...great.

So yeah that's what's been going on lately. I could write and write and write, but then I'd have nothing to write about tomorrow. I'm really looking forward to this move being over so that life can get back to normal. Our days in North Carolina are numbered...8 more days to sunshine and beaches!!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

These photos were taken last year while Ethan was deployed, but they're too cute not to share! I love themed photo shoots.



Hold on Mama, I gotta fix my hair.


These are my valentine's this year ♥

Monster dressed himself...

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

I'm A Business Woman

This month Ethan signed me up to be a Scentsy Consultant. I have been a regular Scentsy buyer for over a year, and I know a lot about the product, and I love it. There are so many wonderful things about Scentsy. With the move to Florida coming up, Ethan saw Scentsy as a way for me to come out of my shyness shell, branch out, and meet new people. I think it is the best thing he has ever done for me.

When we moved to North Carolina I didn't get a job at first. I was young and dumb and a (not so) tiny bit lazy. I had had a job since I was 15 years old when I dropped out of school. I wanted to take a break from work while I had the opportunity. Three months after moving here, I got pregnant and didn't see the point in getting a job when I would quit once it became uncomfortable to work anyways. Ethan and I had decided that I would stay home with Aiden until he starts school.

There have been times since then where I have felt like a bum just staying at home all day with a kid. Now don't get me wrong, I'm definitely not a bum, nor is anyone else who stays at home with their kids. It is a job all in it's own where there is no break. You are a chef, nurse, counsellor, chauffeur, maid, parent, and friend all in one. But going from working 40 hours a week since the age of 15 to not working at all...I just miss working, but I wouldn't give up the wonderful hours I have alone with my son each day to teach him new things and see the world through his innocent eyes. It really is a very special thing to be a stay at home parent.

With Scentsy, I work from home so it truly is the best of both worlds. The only time I actually go to work is to go to a party. How cool is that?? Who else gets to say that they go to parties and they just make money?

Yesterday I had my first Scentsy party. It was so much fun! I was really nervous at first, but I pushed through and did a great job. It feels so liberating knowing that I am in charge of my business and that I have the potential to bring in extra money, which is always a plus. After I saw how easy it was to make money with this business I am just so pumped. I want to just share this amazing product and company with everyone.

Just since yesterday I feel more confident in myself. I have always felt that I don't fit in here, and that I'm just floating around not really doing anything, but just being here. Now I feel like I am contributing to our family while not giving up my belief in staying home with my son. I am just so happy that I have an amazing husband who supports me and believes in me. It really is an amazing feeling.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

We Have A House!

We officially have a house when we get to Niceville!! I am so excited. It is half a mile from EOD school and within walking distance of a lot of places for Aiden and I to go to during the day while Ethan is gone. It's even close enough to where Ethan can ride his bike on nice days so that Aiden and I can have the car.


It's has two bedrooms and two baths, a play room, and a fireplace! My favorite part of the house is the kitchen. It is big {at least bigger than our kitchen now} and it has the laundry closet in there. I love the yellow paint and the color of the appliances. To me it looks so cheery. We'll only be there for like 8 months, but there are so many things I can see myself decorating to make it homey. 

I'm just happy that we have somewhere to call home that meets our needs really well. It is a decent price and a decent size and we like the neighborhood and the area around. So yay!!

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is not a joke. It happens everywhere and most of the time it is never reported. Although it happens more often to women, men can also be victims of domestic violence. I have friends who have dealt with this issue, and I have experienced it myself.

When I was younger, before I started dating Ethan, I was in a very unhealthy relationship. This guy {we'll call him Freddy} was a freshman in high school and I was in the 7th grade. Yes I was way too young to be "seeing" someone with that much of an age difference, but when you're young you think you know everything. Sadly, Mama had no clue until things got really bad. She had an idea that something wasn't right, but she didn't know what exactly.

Freddy and I had a few mutual friends, but we mostly talked on the phone and online. That's what a relationship is when you're that young, mostly though the phone and internet with maybe a few "dates" at the mall with a bunch of friends or something. Nothing too serious, and nothing to really account for a relationship at all. Even with the small amount of contact that we had he still found a way to make me feel horrible. If I had fun with my friends he would make me feel guilty for it. After a while he started telling me that I was lucky to have him because I couldn't get anyone else. He would put me down, he emotionally abused me, made me feel like I was nothing. He put his hands on me once, but I never told anyone for a while.

This went on for about 4 or 5 months. I just became more and more quiet. I kept to myself. I didn't have as much fun as I used to. I wasn't me and I was so unhappy. After listening to Freddy tell me these horrible things about myself I began to believe him. I thought that I was this ugly, disgusting person, who needed a man to take care of me and tell me what to do. At twelve years old. How pathetic is that?

It got really really bad before it got better, but it did get better. Only after an incident that could have ended my life, did I see what I was doing. I couldn't stand to be the person I had become and I knew that I had to change that. I had to get rid of Freddy and relearn how to be a normal, happy girl again.

Eventually I went back to normal. Every time I hear someone with Freddy's name I think about how stupid and young I was. How I should have told someone what was going on. I still have issue with my body that I think has stemmed from this incident and from a few other things that has happened over the years, but I am stronger because of what I went through.

If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence don't keep quiet. Don't try to deal with it on your own. Let someone in and get help.
  • One in every four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime.
  • Boys who witness domestic violence are twice as likely to abuse their own partners and children when they become adults.
A friend of mine posted this question the other day and I was surprised with the people's opinion. Now I'm curious for your opinion.

A girl is backed into a corner with her son crying, shaking and clinging to her legs, and her spouse is in her face screaming and cussing at her. She is scared and angry that he is scaring their son. She feels trapped. She doesn't know what to do and her body just reacts by slapping him as a way to get him to snap back to reality and to stop yelling for the sake of their child. Is it alright for her son's father to slap her back? Not only slap her back, but hard enough for it to leave a mark hours after he leaves? Did she deserve it?

Monday, February 7, 2011

A Few Random Things From Over The Weekend

♥ We put in an application for the house we really want. Hopefully we'll hear something back this week!

♥ Ethan surprised me by signing me up to be a Scentsy Consultant! I love Scentsy and I've been thinking of becoming a consultant for a while. I should be getting my kit today or tomorrow and I can't wait to get started!

♥ Super Bowl XLV really surprised me this year. I wanted Green Bay to win, but I really expected the Steelers to win. I didn't get first pick in our annual Super Bowl bet, so I was stuck with the Steelers, and in the end they just let me down. Now Ethan gets to take a nap anytime for however long he wants for the next week and I can't say anything to him or wake him up unless he tells me to. That's alright I'll get him next year.

♥ Was it me or did a lot of the commercials this year just suck? Or they had nothing to do with the product the commercial was for (like the Kim Kardashian Sketcher's one) My favorite was definitely the Volkswagon Darth Vader one.



♥ We got a few things from Cherry Point Yard Sales this weekend. Best find? Lord of the Rings Box set for $10. I really hope there's something similar to that when we get to Niceville.

♥ DMO is coming in exactly 3 weeks to pack up the house.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Roasted Red Pepper Alfredo

Sometimes there are just days when you have no plan for dinner at all. You honestly don't even care to make anything, but dinner time is sneaking up on you fast. The hungry bellies are growing and the tempers are shortening. The boys are asking over and over again "What's for dinner?" "I'm so very very hungry Mama." And then you just start grabbing things and throwing something together and just hoping it's edible.

No? That's just my house? Well last night was one of those nights. It had been a really crappy day and I just had no energy. If we hadn't had KFC for the very rare chow time together, I would have ordered pizza or Chinese. Sadly I felt guilty about eating out twice in the same day when we are trying to be a healthier vegetarian family, so I grudgingly made my way to the pantry. We had one jar of regular alfredo sauce {which I don't really like on it's own} and a ton of pasta. I totally pounced on it. Something fast and easy.

What ended up coming out of that pan was one of the best alfredos I have ever had. Seriously it was that good. I don't have any pictures because I wasn't expecting it to be anything to write about, but even a picture wouldn't do it justice. This fed Ethan and I with sauce left over. Aiden had a few bites but was full from his habachi leftovers. If you need to feed more people, just double the recipe.

*Tip: I always chop my veggies before cooking to save time.

1 jar       alfredo sauce (I used Classico)
1/2         onion - chopped
3 tsp       minced garlic
2 Tbsp    olive oil
1/2-1 c.   roasted red peppers (from the jar) - drained and chopped
4-5          kalamata olives - chopped
1 shake    cayenne red pepper
sm pinch   crushed rosemary
salt and fresh ground black pepper
pasta (I used angel hair)

- Cook pasta according to box directions.
- While water for the pasta is getting hot, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet. Saute chopped onion 3-4 minutes until it starts to brown. Add minced garlic and cook about a minute longer. Add alfredo sauce, roasted red peppers, kalamata olives, cayenne pepper, and rosemary. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook sauce on medium low heat until pasta is cooked al dente.
- Pour sauce over pasta and serve.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Houston We Have A "Problem"

I posted a few weeks ago about my weird issues with my body. Last week I finally went to the doctor after one last pregnancy test that came back negative. I promised Ethan and Mama that I would go so I grudgingly took myself to the lady doctor to figure this whole thing.

I still hadn't had a period yet, and she was concerned about that. She checked my ovaries and then prescribed a pill that would force me to start. She specifically told me that it would make me start. If it didn't then we would have a "problem."

Then she told me to get dressed and sent me to the lab so that they could get some of my blood. Ethan and Aiden met me right before I got my blood drawn and Aiden was so worried for my sake. "They took away your blood. Tell them give it back!" She ran a pregnancy test {I think by this time it's a bit redundant}, a thyroid panel, and my prolactin level.

The pill that she gave me a RX for is called Provera and it's just full of hormones. I haven't taken any type of hormone birth control or anything for over a year and a half so these five little pills really messed with me. I was a total bitch the first few days. I craved food...I was irritated all the time...I didn't want to do anything. Ethan and I dealt with it though because it was all so that my body could do what the doctor wanted it to do.

No such luck. The pills ran out on Friday and there has been no change in me, except that I'm not a bitch anymore. It didn't work. Not even a little bit. So now I go back tomorrow to figure out what exactly the "problem" is because it's obvious that this isn't normal anymore.

I'm trying to keep an open mind, but I'm a little worried. I stupidly looked up everything that the doc had said about the possibilities of what could be the problem. If my prolactin levels are too high I might have a pituitary tumor. Since I had no idea what that was {hey I only made it to 10th grade} I brushed it off. It's an effing BRAIN tumor. The pituitary gland is located at the base of the brain near the spinal cord. Umm really? So I'm just pretending that she never even mentioned that one to me.

I might have a thyroid problem, which I think I'd take over cancer or a tumor. It runs in my family so it also makes the most sense.

It has been mentioned to me that I might have to start eating meat again. I really don't want to. I switched from veggie to omni over the summer and it made me feel so dirty and heavy inside. I like being a vegetarian. I don't want to eat meat!

I guess we'll all find out tomorrow. Pray for me because as nonchalant as I'm trying to be, there's that nagging in the back of my brain (no pun intended) that something is seriously wrong. Whatever happens I know that I have a great support system, but with Ethan leaving for one of the hardest schools in the Marine Corps in a little over a month....could been better timing. He needs to be worrying about school, not about his wife.

But I'm getting too far ahead of myself. First I go back to the doctor tomorrow. She figures out what's the deal, and then I learn how to handle it.

Florida Here We Come!

It's official. We gave the housing office our 30 day notice and scheduled our final housing inspection. We officially leave Cherry Point on March 3rd for Florida. I'm so excited!!! I can't wait to leave this place and get started somewhere new.

We found a few houses that we really like. I'm learning not to get my hopes up just yet though. Our favorite house was just approved for an application yesterday. :-( That's okay though. There are plenty of houses in the area, and that just means God has a better place for us. We were told that this week there will be more houses available because it's the first week of the month because people will be giving their 30 day notice.

This week a friend of Ruthie's who is stationed at Eglin will be going around to the houses we have called about so that he can tell us what the neighborhood is like and send us pictures of everything. I can't wait to really get into this house hunting. We've never done this before. We decided to live on base when we moved to NC so housing just chose a house for us. It's fun to say "No I don't like this one. The kitchen is small and I don't like the washer and dryer next to the toilet.," or, "This one is pretty. The yellow kitchen makes me smile." Who puts the laundry room in the bathroom?

Ethan is going to a moving class tomorrow and then from there we'll schedule our TMO pick-up date. We decided after the fiasco in August that it was better to just have someone else move us. That way all we have to worry about is getting the house super crazy obsessively cleaned for the housing inspection.

It's so crazy that it is already February. It seems like this year is already beginning to fly by!