Forever A Wife and Mother

Learning to Cook/Bake

2012-01-04T01:19:00.000-08:00

We thought it would be fun to start letting Nathan help us in the kitchen with different cooking and baking activities. We picked out a couple of simple things he could help us with in the kitchen this week. The first thing we did was we learned to make cupcakes.

We took Nathan to the store and let him pick out his own cake mix, sprinkles. and frosting and then after his nap we got started on making cupcakes. I set out everything premeasured so he would just have to pretty much dump everything into the bowl and mix. Daddy helped him crack the eggs so there wouldn't be any egg shells in them. Nathan LOVED it. He had so much fun and had the silliest happy faces the whole time he did it. He didn't even try to stick his hands or anything into the mix so that was an awesome plus :)

A couple of days later we helped him make mini pizzas for everyone for dinner and one day for lunch. He put on the pizza sauce and spread it, put cheese and pepperoni one top and then watched daddy put them in the oven.

He really enjoyed doing this and I'm going to have to look for some more easy cooking/baking projects that we can do with him in the near future. We really love doing simple activities like this that get his imagination going! He truly is a smart and loveable little man!

Now enjoy Nathan's Baking/Cooking Adventure pics :) (I do think we should get him a chef's hat and apron LOL):

Here are a few pics I'm going to have to load more later...I need to quit using the blog loader and use an outside one!

A Great Weekend

2011-12-12T03:33:00.000-08:00

We had a truly great fun filled weekend. We went to the ACES Adult Christmas Party on Friday night and had such a great time. It was our first night out together without Nathan since he's been born so it was so weird to leave him behind when we left the house. Our super amazing friend Almaz babysat him for us and I think Nathan worn her out LOL.

The part was at a very nice restuarant in Polcenigo. We played games, came home with wine, a white elephant gift and full bellies. We drank wine, chatted, took pics and just enjoyed a grow up evening out. It was fun to laugh at everyone playing the games, being silly, and having a good time together. The food was great, the wine yummy, and the company even better. We couldn't have asked for a better first night out!

First course

second course along with the gnocchi below

third

and finally the fourth dessert the hubby's looked similar to this but didn't taste as good

our loot!

Saturday was a lazy day for us until we got up and got dressed and headed over to the William's house so that the guys could brew beer. Nathan played and played and was so worn out when we left their house it was great LOL. It was also the night of the squadron party but we decided not to go. They're never really that fun, they're crowded and the food usually sucks so we opted to go to the ACES one the night before. Plus we didn't want to leave Nathan two nights in a row. Its really not fair to him and we love being with him so we stayed home ate and watched movies together which in our mind was way better than being around a bunch of people drinking :)

On Sunday the MXG had a children's party which was so much fun! It was greatly organized. Santa came on a fire truck, they had so many activities for the kids, yummy food to snack on, a bouncy castle for the bigger kiddos, and of course pics with Santa! Nathan enjoyed most of it. He even walked up to Santa and sat on his lap but he kind of froze and wouldn't move, smile, talk nothing. I think he was terrified but at least he didn't cry. So we got a couple pics of our frozen baby and then momma rescued him from Santa. It was a fun day and Nathan made a new ornament for our tree. We saw a lot of great people and their kids their as well. I really look forward to future children's party and hope our next base has a great one as well!

I am looking forward to another one tomorrow that the ACES is hosting for the kids! Hopefully this time Nathan will smile in the Santa pic! I'm sure he's going to enjoy all the activities and kids though :) He loves to follow the big kids around!

Coloring table with Jasmine and Katlyn!

and candy canes yum!

Coloring with daddy is always tons of fun!

Fishing for prizes!

He caught one!

decorating ornaments

(more pics to come...I haven't been able to post many pics lately since its not working properly for me for some reaon)

Review: The Lucado Inspirational Reader: Hope and Encouragement for Your Everyday Life

2011-11-30T22:28:00.000-08:00

The Lucado Inspirational Reader: Hope and Encouragement for Your Everyday Life

By Max Lucado

This book is a collection of quotes, illustrations & stories from all of his books organized by topic. Some of the chapters include: The Bible, Comfort, Encouragement, Faith, Family, God's Love, Miracles, Peace, Second Chances, Spiritual Refreshment & Worship. It is a great book for encouragement and when you need a bit of a spiritual lift. I wouldn't however pick this book up if I were looking for a devotional book. It is a great read and has many things from all of his books over the past 25 years of his writing and teachings. As this being the first thing I have read by him I am really impressed with it and would definitely recommend this book to others in the future. Even though it is from various different works the book just flows well together. It is a book that doesn't have to be read from beginning to end but can be read according to where you need to be getting encouragement from at that point in time. Its a great time of year for such an uplifting book to be coming out! It will make a great Christmas gift for many :). I hope ya'll enjoy it as much as I did if you end up getting yourself a copy :) I will be encouraging my hubby to read it as well!

I received a free copy of this book through Booksneeze in exchange for my honest review, and was under no means obliged to write a positive review.

LOVE Opensky

2011-11-27T12:38:00.000-08:00

Have I mentioned lately how much I freaking LOVE Opensky.com? Well I'm in love with them and all their amazing products they offer and the amazing deals you can get!! If you refer people to the site and they actually buy something from it you get a credit and for awhile they had it where if you shared a product and a friend bought it (whether you referred them or not) you got a big credit of like 35 bucks. Their deals are always changing so its good to watch out for them to see if you could earn a little something something. But if you click ont his link OpenSky you'll get a 10 buck credit to go goes your first purchase (PS free shipping until MONDAY!) But anywho I've ordered a few things so far...shhhh...don't tell my hubby!! LOL
I bought these tumblers from this previous blog post (Plastic Wine Tumblers) and I can't wait for them to come in!!

I've also got these awesome things as well!!

I just loved these glasses when I saw them and well with my accident prone hubby I needed a new set :)

A set of 10 bowls just for 38 bucks! They're made by Duralex (like the glasses above) so a great price for a great product!

I thought this was neat and would be a good item to add to our gift stash :)

I got this for my hubby. If he likes it I can't wait to get myself one. Its a personal filtered water bottle. We have the brita systems here at the house but would like something for on the go so we don't have to buy bottles of water and this looked like a great idea! I can't wait for it to come! It says it just shipped :)

So yeah I'm a bit obsessed with this site! I can't wait to see what other deals they have to offer!!

Our Last Thanksgiving in Italy

2011-11-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

Its amazing that this year is our last year for the holidays in Italy and that we don't know where we'll be next year. I am truly greatful for the time that we've spent here in Italy. I've enjoyed the things we've been able to see, that we were able to save for our adoption, that this base gave me the opportunity to be a stay at home wife and mom, and that we've grown our military family. As much as it was a pain to get use to as far as being a spouse and dependent and all that goes into I wouldn't give up the experience for anything. Even though we'd love to stay overseas another tour we understand its our time to go back to the states something I am a little excited about. I'm greatful that we'll be near family with all the rough times that have been upon us.

This Thanksgiving we have so much to be greatful for inspite of all the bad. I'm greatful for my amazing family, my own little family and my military family. I'm thankful that Tommy is doing better, slowly but still better. I'm greatful that my sister isn't doing it alone and has my mom there with her. I'm greatful that I was able to be there with my sister in the beginning and that Nathan was there to help ease her mind a bit. I'm greatful for our time in Italy, that this is our last holiday season here and that we have the most amazing people to spend it with. I'm greatful for the amazing friends who make being away from our family that much more bearable. There is so much to be greatful for even though there has been so much tragedy. Thank you everyone for being there when everything good or bad is happening!

This year we spent Thanksgiving with some of our amazing friends. We ate, chatted, played games, ate, watched the kids play, and just enjoyed each others company. It was a great time, great food, and of course some of the greatest people we know!

(more pics to come they just won't load for some reason boo!!)

What I'll always be most thankful for though is my amazing little man and my amazing big man! I don't know where I'd be without the two loves of my life in my life! (plus my amazing little doggies of course!!)

I hope everyone out there had an amazing day and continues to have an amazing rest of the year!

Katlyn's Birthday Party

2011-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

This past Friday (Nov 11, 2011) we attended another birthday party!! This one was for my amazing friends daughter Katlyn. She turned 8 years old and had the coolest Monster High themed party ever! Her mom drew her an amazing Ghoulia to play pin the glasses on and had the cutest table setting and games for her!

And Monster High is so stinking cute! I love the dolls and the story and its just adorable! The kids dressed up and Nathan was a skeleton again of course LOL He had a blast running around with the little kids and the ballons. It was just a fun time :)

The super cute place settings

The curtain Lorenzo and I put up LOL

A table fit for a Monster High Birthday Girl!

The super awesome drawing that Melissa made for pin the glasses on Ghoulia!

Super cute cupcakes Melissa put together!

Well I've been trying to post pics of the birthday forever and either blogger sucks or my internet sucks but I can't get them to upload. If you have my FB then you've seen them :) It was a fun time and as you can see Melissa did an amazing job getting all this cute stuff together for her daughter! She even made brain puffs (rice krispy treats) and other fun themed food! They're such an awesome family to be around and always doing such neat things!!

Another Great Deal

2011-11-16T04:03:00.000-08:00

I found this site called OpenSky and when I joined I got a $15 credit to spend right away! I was like ok lets see what they have and they have a ton of stuff! Tons and tons of things that I would love to have in my kitchen because ya'll know I love cooking and my kitchen but then I ran across some wine tumblers and ya'll they're plastic and oh so cute! I seriously fell in love and had to order them and with my credit I paid $2 for four! How fantastic is that?!?! Well if you click on this link or the one above for OpenSky you'll get a $10 credit for joining...I know I know its not the $15 I got which was a special deal through my email that I got from another site that I'm apart of but still a free $10 bucks is still pretty sweet and I'm sure if you look you can find something you love at a great price!!

Here are the tumblers I look forward to getting in the mail soon!!

Go now and see what you can score! OPENSKY

Leo's Birthday Party

2011-11-10T02:32:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was a lot of fun. We were invited to another birthday party for my good friends son. Leo turned 5 and had a bowling party with about a billion kids running around. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids run around, to watch them bowl, to watch them get excited over cake and of course the presents!!!

Nathan had so much fun. He ran up and down the length of the bowling alley. He bowled and clapped about it. He got excited when others bowled. He LOVED the cake. It was an all around great night with great people! Needless to say our little guy was stinking tired when we left and went to straight to bed for the night :)

Handmade Gifts

2011-11-08T03:41:00.000-08:00

Today I just wanted to showcase some of my very talented friends in hopes that you will go like their Facbook pages, spread the word about them, and even possibly order from them! They are all Air Force wives and are so very talented in many different ways.

First is LoveandKnots. She crochets the most amazing things. She can literally make you anything you want but recently she has been making the most adorable sock monkey and owl hats! She also recently did a dino one that I'm in love with. She is currently is making my little man a gray and green mohawk one!! She also makes blankets, diaper covers, and pretty much anything else you can use crochet needles to make! She is getting ready to move (as all miliary wives have too) but will be getting ready to sell items up on her page and when she's settled will be taking custom orders again!

The owl hat is so stinking cute! (the picture was taken by another very amazing AF wife)

Here is a pic of just one of the many she has done. She has done them in every size, color imaginable!

My second one is Force Fashion Boutique and she makes the cutest purses ever. She recently made one for a woman retiring from the Air Force out of a blues jacket that is just the pretties one I've ever seen. Its seriously one of my all time favorites so far. She also makes beautiful bags out of old uniform material as well as any other fabric you may like if you're not into the military bag. She is also having a giveaway so go like her page to be entered and learn how to get more entries!

Large "Standing Tall" Bag

The retirement bag made out of blues! Amazing right?!?

And this last one is Lil Doodlebugs Boutique and she can sew just about anything! She is know for her carseat canopies which are stinking adorable and a great way to shield your little one from the elements. This is something I really wish I had known about as a first time mom especially in the cold state of Utah! we put a blanket over him but it wasn't as convienent as these! These make great baby shower gifts or to just have one for yourself! She will also be offering many other baby items blankets, burp clothes, bibs and other things as well in the near future so check out her page! Oh and she is currently having a giveaway so go like her page to be entered!

Carseat canopy!

all packaged up!

They all make great quality products and there are two giveaways going on so go like their pages and win!

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T08:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone. We hope that you had a great weekend/day! This was our last year in Europe to spend Halloween and we're both happy and sad at the same time. We didn't do anything amazing for it but we did go to the Fall Festival on base and daddy and baby boy got dressed up. They both were very spooky!

We also carved pumpkins and baby boy wanted nothing to do with the guts. He thought they were gross just like his daddy so of course I cleaned out the pumpkins. They did come out amazing this year though! I think next year we'll find Mickey Mouse templates so that Nathan loves his pumpkins even more. I did roast some pumpkin seeds. They came out rather tasty :)

So overall it was a fantastic weekend! The day after the fall festival Nathan went bowling for the first time as well. He was invited to Jett's 2nd birthday and boy did he have a blast! We get to take him bowling again this weekend for Leo's 5th birthday and I'm sure he'll love that too!!

Review: Our Last Great Hope

2011-11-01T00:16:00.001-07:00

Our Last Great Hope
By Ronnie Floyd

Our Last Great Hope wasn't a book that really kept my attention for long periods of time and I couldn't quite get into it until towards the end. Although its a book I wouldn't pick up and read from cover to cover in one sitting it is about a topic that many feel should be discussed. I'm sure the Great Commission wasn't meant to have been read in one sitting though. I don't really have too many great things to really say about the book. I felt that some things were shortened and the full story wasn't truly shared. Its not something I would recommend to anyone to be totally honest. I just wasn't impressed and felt that the way it was written was hard to read, the bibilical stories weren't fully told, and it was hard to really get into.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com [...] book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 [...] : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Review: Wait No More

2011-11-01T00:06:00.000-07:00

Wait No More: One Family's Amazing Adoption Journey (Focus on the Family Books)

By Kelly & John Rosati

I was really excited to see this book on Tyndale's list of books to review and of course jumped on the chance to read about this amazing family's adoption journey. I literally just received this book in the mail yesterday and had it finished by the time I went to bed last night (ok so I stayed up a little longer than my hubby cause I couldn't put it down). It was a great read and so neat how God played such an amazing roll and how he spoke to them and brought each of those children into their homes. This is definitely a book I would recommend to adoptive families as well as those who are considering adoption. If you have ever considered it yourself I say grab a company and read it. I don't know if its because we've been on an adoption journey ourselves but I truly LOVE to read and hear about others stories as well. Definitely a great book and love the way its told. I also really connected with the book because we're also a military family :) so in the end yes I'd recommend this book!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Tyndale as part of their Blogger Review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

2011-10-31T08:27:00.001-07:00

Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

By: Jennifer Reese

This book is unlike any I've read before. Its a cookbook, but definitely more than a cookbook. This is something that you need to read from cover to cover before you decide how to go about using her recipes. It helps you decide what is worth making from scratch, is the hassle worth it, is the price difference even a factor. It also helps you decide if going even further and living an even more frugal life is worth it. She even explains raising livestock and the benefits from that. If you are looking for a life changing book this is definitely something you should pick up! The only thing I didn't care for was the lack of pictures. I love to see how something is suppose to turn out and this book didn't have any. Its not a must for me but something I do like to see. Other than that it was a great read, cute stories, and great recipes!

About the Author

Jennifer Reese has been a professional journalist all of her adult life, working mostly for national magazines, and has been an avid, adventurous home cook for even longer, which she blogs about at the Tipsy Baker as well as for online publications like Slate and DoubleX. A former reporter at Fortune magazine, she moved to northern California and freelanced for publications including Food & Wine, Saveur, and the New York Times Book Review. Jennifre was hired as the book critic for Entertainment Weekly in 2003, where she worked until 2008. She was on Board of the National Book Critics Circle for two terms. In April of 2008, she started her blog, The Tipsy Baker, where she writes about cooking for her finicky family from a collection of 1,000 cookbooks and making household staples from scratch. The Tipsy Baker has been listed as The Oregoian newspaper's "web site of he week" and has been featured on Marketplace.

What Not to Say to Adoptive Parents

2011-10-30T15:01:00.000-07:00

I absolutely LOVED this when I saw it and if you're an adoptive parent you probably have similar feelings.

Single Dad Laughing’s Guide to Adoption Etiquette.

Never, ever, ever, ask how much a child costs. This includes the phrase, “how much did you pay for him?” First of all, it’s none of your business. Second of all, if you’re interested in adoption, research it through the appropriate channels. Speak with an adoption agency. Adoptive parents don’t purchase children. They simply pay legal fees and agency fees. Just like biological parents pay hospital and doctor bills. Don’t turn the child into nothing more than a commodity.

Never ask if a celebrity inspired the adoption. Believe it or not, Tom Cruise, Connie Chung, and Angelina Jolie did not convince me one way or the other in the biggest decision of my life. Are you serious?
Never ask “where is his real dad?” Forget the fact that it will hurt my feelings. How do you think it will affect my son’s feelings to feel like I’m not a real dad to him? Adoptive parents are real parents. The term you’re looking for is “birth mother” or “birth father”.
Don’t say things like, “as soon as you adopt you’re going to get pregnant” when you find out somebody is adopting. First of all, there are usually many, many years of pain and financial burden strapped to infertility, treatments, and heartache. Do you really think that what you’re saying will help them? Secondly, while it is funny when it happens, it’s rare.
Never say, “why did she give him away?” Do I really need to explain why this one would hurt a child? The proper term is “placed”. A birth mother and birth father place their child for adoption. And again, it’s personal and none of your business, so don’t ask if you aren’t my BFF.
Don’t say, “it’s like he’s your real son”. This is similar to number three, but worthy of mentioning. He is my real son, damn it.
Don’t say, “do you love him as if he was your own?” Ummm… probably more than you love your little terror, that’s for sure. And again… he is my own, damn it.
Never say things like, “you’re so wonderful to adopt a child”. I am a parent. Just like anybody else with kids.
Don’t start spewing your horrible adoption stories. “This one time, my friend’s sister’s aunt’s dog’s previous owner’s niece adopted a baby and the real dad came back and they took the baby away after they had him for two years.” First of all, it probably isn’t true. Second of all, how would you feel if I told you about all the ways you could lose your child. Adoption is permanent. And in the extremely rare circumstances that something like that happens, it’s not something you should spread because the hurt that exists for all the parties involved must be immeasurable.
Don’t say things like, “is it hard for him to be adopted?” Well, it wasn’t, until you asked me that right in front of him you freaking idiot.
I don’t want to hear about your second cousin who was on a waiting list for twelve years and never got a baby. Granted, this one was much more annoying when we were going through the adoption process. Nobody wants to know that some people never get chosen. Show some kindness. Even to ugly people.

This came from a blog post titled: How much did Your kid cost? feel free to click the link to read the whole article. I personally loved it!

Sewing: Apron

2011-10-29T03:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know I love to be involved in things. I love doing crafts, baking and all that fun stuff. I've taught myself how to crochet and to knit among other things and I've always wanted to get a sewing machine even though I have an odd fear of them. Yes, I've been scared of them for sometime and who knows what I think they're going to do to me chop my finger off or maybe turn into a transformer LOL, but I got over my fear here recently.

I went to one of the ACES sewing club meeting and my wonderful friend Melissa taught me to use one! It didn't maim me or scare me or even growl or anything! AMAZING I know! (For you enlisted wives in the Aviano area ACES is the spouses group and they do many many amazing things. I love going to the meeting and volunteering which obviously I haven't done in awhile but I so look forward to starting up again!)

At the sewing club we learned to make aprons and if I do say so myself they were stinking adorable! Here's pics of the one Melissa helped me make! I'm really looking forward to the next class and getting my own sewing supplies!

Hmmm...I wonder if ya'll can guess who my model was LOL. I think it came out rather cute. Melissa made the awesome frayed flower and helped me with the gather using dental floss which is a neat little trick and of course she helped me learn how to use a sewing machine and what not :) Thanks Melissa you ROCK!

Which reminds me Melissa now has an FB page where you can order an amazing purse custom made by her! She is also having a give away so go like her page and then share it with your friends! Eash friend that says you sent them gives you another entry into the contest and it ends Nov. 18, 2011 so go to Force Fashion Boutique Military Purses and like it now! Happy Winning :)

We're Back

2011-10-29T03:43:00.000-07:00

Nathan and I are back in Italy. We were truly sad to leave Texas and get back to our normal lives knowing that Tommy, Meghan and my Mom's lives will never be the same. They will continue to fight for Tommy and get him the best treatment possible and follow him wherever that may be.

Sometimes we forget not to take the simple things for granted...I realize how much more I have now with a healthy child and husband. That we're able to go to the store, for a car ride or for a simple walk outside and that we're not confined to the walls of a hospital. Please continue to pray for them and for all who have loved ones in the hospital and lives are now changed forever.

We are happy to be back together as our own little family though. My hubby was thrilled to have us home and of course we were so happy to see him. Along with our little rat dogs being super excited to have their playmate back. I'm happy to be in my own home and what not and have gotten back into the groove of things. Thankfully Nathan and I didn't take very long to get over our jetlag and my amazing other half took time off to hang out and help us get over it :).

The day I got back it was our 7th anniversary. I truly can't believe that 7 years has gone by! Time sure flies when you're in love :) My hubby got me these beautiful sunflowers one for each year we have been married.

Nathan and I also got back in time for the pumpkin festivals. We decided not to go to the one in Venzone this year but we went to the one in Cordenons (where our amazing friends live) and ran into a bunch of super awesome people! It was a ton of fun, had yummy goodies, a couple drinks with friends, a new bowl, and then went out for a super great lunch (prob one of the longest I've had!) and it was just all in all a great day with amazing people.

Needless to say it was a great weekend and a great welcome home. We don't have too much longer here so we're trying to enjoy our friends (especially those leaving before us ::sad face::) but who knows maybe we'll be here longer than expected :)

It's Been A Year!

2011-10-08T10:46:00.000-07:00

Ok so it hasn't been a year since we brought home the most beautiful baby boy the world has ever seen more like 18 months but yesterday did mark the first full year that Nathan was officially ours forever!

We couldn't celebrate with my hubby because the baby and I are still in Texas with my family. Tommy is in a rehab hospital and is getting stronger everyday thankfully! But because we couldn't be home with baby's dada his Auntie Meg and Grandma got him our traditional Froggy cake! Last year when it became official we got him a frog cake and its something we would like to do every Oct. 7th forever!

If you didn't know the frog is our baby boys theme. We couldn't find a baby boy crib set anywhere and finally found one and it was frogs cute. Then when we went to the hospital to meet him he had frog blankets in his bassinet! And then our family found out and started getting him froggies too (plus my sister and Tommy are obsessed with frogs) so it has become his official theme! So if you ever live near us in October come on over for a piece of a froggy themed cake!

Excited Auntie Meghan and Grandma brought him a cake!

The cupcake cake froggy (it was loaded with frosting)

smiling with his new Texas plant

Making a mess!

Auntie feeding him the chocolate part so he didn't crush that too!

Review: Is the Bible Reliable?

2011-10-05T20:59:00.000-07:00

Is the Bible Reliable?: Building the Historical Case (True U)

Normally I review books but this time I was able to get a dvd series. It was a rather interesting series set up in 10 lessons. It is in a classroom type setting and was very informative. You really will learn things that you never knew. It is a great aide if you have high school age kids at home or are teaching them. It is also great for adults as well! It really is a great tool and will give you so much added knowledge.

I received this DVD for free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank You

2011-09-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank all of you that have donated to Meghan and Tommy so far! It really means the world to them that there are so many caring and giving people out there helping them in their time of need.

I am so greatful for so many amazing people to be in my life that are helping out my sister and brother in law and most of you never have meeting them. I knew I had wonderful people in my life but this truly reinforces that. Again THANK YOU all so much for your amazing generosity and caring for another!

If you would like to donate click on the widget below and it will take you to a paypal account set up for Meg and Tommy. If you have an account please select the Personal tab and then gift so that they aren't charged any fees.

Tommy is doing better. He is really ready for a rehab center and we are still waiting for him to get approved for one of about three that they've applied him for. They are one of the three best in the state of Texas and can't wait to see where he is going! This will hopefully help him have a more full recovery than if he were sent somewhere else which is what we're all praying for!

The money I am trying to raise will help with moving expenses, move in expenses, travel costs, lost time from work, gas traveling to and from the hospital and any other expenses they may incur during this whole process since they are both out of work. Meg will be looking for a job as soon as they relocate but as many of you know that can take some time! Please if you would like to help them out remember that just a small donation of just $2 will really add up and help the out more than you could possibly know!

Here is a picture of the bike Tommy was riding:

He is a Harley tech and was working on this bike and was taking it out for a test ride when an SUV turned right in front of him last minute. The driver of the SUV was found at fault for not yielding the right away to Tommy and all witnesses said that the driver did it so quickly and last minute that Tommy didn't have a chance. Tommy hit into him and was rushed to the hospital with life threatening injuries. We were unsure for the first couple of weeks if he would make it and was in ICU for a few weeks. I don't want to go into detail of the injuries because they are awful but he is suffering from a traumatic brain injury and that is why this move to one of the best Neuro Rehab centers is a must for them! We know it will be the best hope for a full recovery for Tommy.

Please while you are out driving in your cars, trucks, SUVs and mini vans remember to keep an eye out for motorcyclists. Sometimes we get too involved and distracted in our vehicles with conversations, changing the radio, eating, and whatever else people attempt to do while driving. Many motorcyclists are seriously injured and even killed daily because of accidents such as this. We are greatful everyday that Tommy is still here with us. Just please remember to be vigilant while you are out and about.

We miss his joking, his sense of humor. Please keep him in your prayers so that him and Meg can be happy again and that he can once again lead a normal life.

2011-09-11T10:10:00.001-07:00

As many of you may know my brother in law was in a very bad motorcycle accident and has been in the hospital for over a month now. He has been out of work and my sister has had to take off to care for him, meet with doctors, therapists and a few others.

Tommy is now being moved to a hospital that is better suited to care for his immediate needs. With this move they will have to move across the state. My sister will have to quit her job and find a new one in the new city. On top of their normal bills they will have to pay moving expenses, travel expenses, move in expenses and then just day to day survival while trying to care for Tommy and trying to work.

I am asking all of you to please help her and Tommy out in their time of need by making a small donation so she doesn't have to worry about expenses but just the care of Tommy. Even the smallest of donations would truly help them out. Please consider this even if its just a few dollars. Thank you all so much!!

And please continue to pray for Tommy his recovery and my sister!

My Big Boy

2011-09-10T22:33:00.000-07:00

Nathan is getting so big. He's such a good boy. He's such a cutie. We're truly blessed to be apart of this amazing little persons life!

He likes to play under the coffee table for some reason lol

Loving Uncle Tommy's bike

Giving Auntie Meg some much needed love

He's fixing his Auntie's bike :)

Book Review: Love and War

2011-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Love and War

By John & Stasi Eldredge

I received this book free from Blogging for Books. I am not required to post a positive review just my own actual feelings towards the book.

A great thing about this book is that I never had to read any of the other books written by these authors. This book stands on its own. I choose to red this book because I was curious about the different building up your marriage type books. I know many who have great relationships that read them just keep the relationship great and thought this would be a great opportunity since it was free after all.

It was a really great book. It doesn't sugar coat marriage but lays it out there and lets you know its hard. That you have to work towards a greater marriage and that we can't do it on our own. It shows you that your marriage is worth fighting for and you have someone on your side to fight along with you.

Definitely a great read for those who need the boost or those who just want to keep their marriage on the right track.

Book Review

2011-09-09T10:57:00.000-07:00

No He Can't: How Barack Obama is Dismantling Hope and Change
By: Kevin McCullough

I'm not quite sure what I was thinking when I decided to review this book. I was probably listening way too much to my mom at that point. I guess I knew that it was just going to be one giant onesided rant. I mean if you are a die hard can't stand the president this is the book for you but if you're not don't waste your time. I won't recommend this to anyone I know so read at your own risk.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://booksneeze®.com/> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Too Much Going On

2011-08-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

I have lots of pics to update. Baby boy went to Sesame Street live on base and lots of other stuff.

I haven't updated because we had a family emergency. We had to come to the states. Its been rough.

My brother in law Tommy was in a motorcycle accident. He's a Harley mechanic in Texas and had just finished working on a bike and had to take it for a test ride to make sure everything was fixed. They normally take the bikes on a three loop ride to make sure everything is good. Not even through his first loop an idiot in a Trailblazer who wasn't paying attention turned right in front of him. It was so quick and last minute that Tommy didn't even have a chance to react and it caused a major accident.

Tommy has been in ICU for awhile now and has some major injuries. They've had to reconstruct his arm, his artery, has had several blood transfusions and just so much more that I just don't want to explain. He's had a couple surgeries already. Has a very very long road to recovery and once he gets there he'll have a long road of rehabilitation.

My sister is the most amazing person I know. She's amazingly strong through this all. She's the most caring and sweet person ever. She loves Tommy more than anything. She's by his side whenever possible. She's going to do whatever it takes to pay the bills on her own, to make sure he has everything he needs. I don't know how my sis is holding strong, working, and spending all spare time at the hospital, but she's amazing. My mom has moved here to be with her to help her in anyway possible. I'm staying with her for as long as she needs me. I really hope things turn around. I would like to ask you to please pray for them. Pray for Tommy's recovery. Pray that Meg stays strong through it all. Pray for them whenever they cross your mind because this is going to be a long road for them. They need everyones care and support (we are also taking donations for them if you'd like to help out that way as well jsut leave me a message and I'll tell you how).

I miss Tommy's jokes. I miss his teasing. I miss his smile. I miss him with my sister and I miss my sister being happy with him. I pray daily if not hourly for him. Please keep our family in your prayers. It means the world to us if you do.

This is Meg and Tommy. I miss them together like this. I hope and pray that one day they'll be like this again. I pray that he'll be able to say I Love You back to her. That he'll be able to hug and hold her again. I pray that they can lead a "normal" life after this accident and have the life and family they wanted. I pray that we see that smile again. That we hear his crazy sense of humor and have to endure his endless teasing. That he'll be able to hold his nephew again. I pray that he remembers us. I pray for so many things for him. I know things will never be exactly the same but I pray for a better than worse recovery....We miss you Tommy. We hope you get better soon. We love you.

Bread Baker

2011-07-20T00:15:00.000-07:00

My friend bought me this amazing little bread baker. Its a piece of hand made pottery and is really pretty. Its the perfect size for a small family like ours so we don't have to make full loaves of bread and then some go to waste. Its also perfect to try out new recipes (most you can just split in half) so you dont' have too much in case its just an awful recipe! I finally pulled it out to try something last night. My hubby had been going on and on about something called Monkey Bread. I had never had it so I wasn't sure it was going to be good. We saw some in the frozen food section and I didn't want my first experience to possibly be a bad once since you know some premade stuff is just icky! Well my little bread baker came with a handful of recipes and that one just happened to be one of them and that stuff was stinking easy to make! It made like the perfect amount for the three of us to snack on and will definitely be made again. And of course baby loved it as well!

More From Nove

2011-07-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

Today we got up early and took another trip to Nove. We went to pick up our personalized items and to bring friends who hadn't made it there yet and are getting ready to leave :(. We decided to take them to VBC but sadly they were closed for a wedding today so they didn't get to experience and purchase the goodies from there. (We will be going back to buy my amazing friend Ericka a cake stand though!). We then stopped off at Ancora's to check out what they had. Although not as nice as the VBC store they still had quite a bit and yes I bought a ton! We got a few gifts for family and a few things for ourselves. I would go back and check out what they had again if we do make it back to Nove before we leave. Check out our finds!

These are from the Lenox Butlers Pantry Collection (there are two) and they're really pretty. These will more than likely be gifts.

I love these! Bruschetta plates (one is a gift)

Pizza plates! So stinking cute! We got six to make a whole pizza!

I love this blue set. I bought it as a gift for an amazing person :)

The orange set are for another amazing person. My sister duh! LOL

We were able to pick up the stuff we had personalized today in Nove as well and it turned out beautifully! I LOVE it and I'm really glad we decided to have the stuff personalized. It is going to be a great reminder of our time here in Italy! Check them out!

Our platter! Isn't it amazing?!?!

I really love how this came out! I think it might be our favorite! (the hubby really liked how well this one came out!)

The inside of my bowl..so pretty!

The outside of our bowl!

I honestly didn't plan on going back one more time after we picked up our personalized stuff but VBC was closed for a wedding and I did promise a friend a cake stand from there so we will be heading back one last time in a couple months....need to give my wallet a break...LOL! I know I want two more things to complete one of my sets and the cake platter so I shouldn't go to crazy on our last trip...unless I pick up a few things for others lol...we'll see.....

Nove Finds

2011-07-04T13:05:00.000-07:00

The first time we went to Nove everything was closed. We didn't realize that on Saturdays things are only open until lunch time and then the town pretty much closes down, so we were pretty bummed we didn't get to look around that day.

So today we finally got off our heinies and got up in time to make it before things closed for lunch. Our first stop was Larry's becasue I knew I wanted some things personalized there. We ordered the poppy flower design and had it personalized. I know we could have brought a pattern in of our own but I really wanted the poppy flowers. I know the red flowers will always remind us of our time in Italy. Especially since every year the surrounding fields were just covered in them and I loved it :).

We only made it to one other shop the one called VBC and we got some pretty nifty things from there. I only got a few things but I could have bought so much more! We were going to do lunch and go back to check out a couple other stores but I had a migraine come one, so my hubby drove us to the army base where we chilled in the a/c burger king while my boys ate (and i puked in the bathroom) and then we headed home where I puked on the autostrada fun stuff I'm telling you! I did make it home and in bed where i spent a few hours before I felt like a person again! Now only if I could figure out how to get rid of these migraines! My head still kind of hurts but nothing like earlier!

Ok enough about my migraines check out the pretties I brought home with me today! I can't wait to go back later this month to pick up our other stuff, go back to vbc and check out another store or two along the way!

My cake stand...I think I'm in love!

Isn't it pretty! We got two...I have this weird obsession with serving dishes...

Another beautiful platter and of course I got two but I may be sharing these :)

My amazing hubby helped pick these out and they're pretty freaking amazing!

Nathan was completely obsessed with everything we bought and had to sit or stand on every single piece!

The beautiful mosaic platter to match my bowl! I hope they have more pieces when we go back later this month!

sitting on momma's platter my silly boy LOL

Nathan at the Park

2011-07-02T01:11:00.000-07:00

I love how excited he gets when we first walk up to the park!

Looking for daddy!

Crawling up the tunnel to get mama!

He sure does love to go down the slide!

He decided it was too bright out and needed daddy's sunglasses

Oh no its bright give them back!

I'm tired daddy can we go home now?

Walking back to the car so cute :)

We took Nathan to the park this weekend (6/25/2011) and of course he loved it! It was so cute watching him getting better at climbing up on the playground equipment. He learned to crawl up the tunnel on his own and he was a bit worried and proud too cute too see. And of course he loved going down the slide his favorite! By the end he sat down under a tree and signed "all down" because he was so worn out. He's such a cutey and such a Godsend :) I love this little man more than anything :)

My spoiled Hubby

2011-07-02T00:26:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned lately how incredibly spoiled my husband is? Well if I haven't, he is! I mean like seriously spoiled LOL. Which I don't mind so much since most of the time I'm the one doing the spoiling! I don't know what would happen if this poor guy came home and dinner wasn't done or started. Pretty much the only thing he has to do is kill bugs and take out the trash. What a harsh life right? Well I figure its the least I can do since he goes to work everyday and has given me the great joy of being a stay at home mommy while my little man is little! Although he has said he's gotten use to this treatment and I'm never allowed to work again! We'll see about that ;).

But besides me spoiling him with gifts and everything I do, but my family spoils him like crazy. They get him the most amazing gifts for birthdays and/or Christmas. He's gotten all kinds of tools, car gadgets, paintball guns, and who knows what else but some pretty neat stuff. His newest gift for his birthday this year was a beer brewing kit! How freaking neat right?!?! Well his is the proud guy with his kit! (Plus baby boy bought him an extra ingredient kit for Father's Day! Can we say super spoiled LOL) I'm glad my whole family loves him though :)

Heartsy

2011-06-25T09:46:00.001-07:00

I just discovered Heartsy and I love it! Its a daily deal program for shops from etsy! and who wouldn't love ETSY?!?!

Peach Gelato Yum!

2011-06-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

I have been so horrible at keeping up with my blog lately I know I know so here is a quick update of everything that has been going on! I had a fantabulous lunch at my home with amazingly wonderful friends Melissa, Sally and Tara and of course their amazing little people. I wish all my friends could come have come but I know some must work! Oh well. I didn't really get any pics of the amazing ladies that were at my home but I did get some of the the amazing little people!

She is soooo good with my little man! She's going to be an amazing mommy one day.

Such a diva!

Nathan was given a vtech v. smile baby from one of the hubby's coworkers and I just had to buy the power cord for it. Nathan has learned to play it with his dada...he is so cute when he's playing his video games with dada!! I was one that was against them at first but he is growing up in a world of technology so I gave in. Although he better learn to love playing outside! We don't need a little chunker like his mama!!

We took Nathan to the toy stores near our home and he had so much fun!! He found that giant ball and chased it up and down the aisles at the first toy store and didn't want to play with any other toy other than stopping to give the Mickey Mouse Doll a hug! So freaking cute! so of course we had to buy the toy for him!

We went out for dinner to Bierangel a Bavarian food restuarant with our friends Ryan and Corina for Ryan's birthday! We had a ton of fun with great company and then went out for gelato. Nathan had a whole peach gelato to himself and it was soooo funny to watch him eat it! He seriously is the cutest little man in the world!!

More Freebies!

2011-06-04T00:31:00.000-07:00

Now who doesn't love to get freebies in the mail?!?!

I joined another review site http://www.epinions.com/ and they had a promotion of ten reviews for 10 bucks and I thought why not?!?! Well I did it and I got a 10 buck check in the mail! How freaking great is that?!?!

We got Remember the Titans bluray from the Disney Movie Rewards club!

Now ya'll know this is a freaking great movie and just had to add it to our collection!!

We are now waiting for Glory Road to come in the mail from the same points program!

It is another great true story that is a must see!! (PS if you do this rewards program type the word Believe in for 10 points!)

From the Pampers rewards program we are waiting for a Melissa and Doug wooden puzzle!

It's stinking cute right?!?! And just couldn't pass up such a cute puzzle for my little man and who doesn't love Melissa and Doug products?!?!

I finally got something from the huggies rewards program and I think its pretty stinking cute!

Not that Nathan needs a lunch bag for anything but it was just too cute to pass up since I had the points and Huggies rarely has anything to spend your points on! Which right now they have a ton of stuff if you just have points sitting there!!

I am also apart of bzzagent.com which is an amazing program that gives you all kinds of free stuff for word of mouth advertising which I do lots on amazon.com and on twitter! So far I have recieved a box of cleaning supplies that included a glade candle, lemon pledge, scrubbing bubbles mega shower cleaner, scrubbing bubbles toilet gels, and a glade plug in. I also get a ton of cover girl stuff which I give to my amazing friends!

I was part of their Lip Perfection campaign and received two full size lipsticks.

I was also part of their Natural Luxe campaign where I recieved a full size foundation and a lipgloss. Great stuff by the way!

I am currently part of their Lawry's seasoning campaign and we get to try out a couple new marinades! Still waiting on that box to come in the mail!

I also received free Campbells Harvest Select Soups from vocalpoint.com about six of them if I remember correctly and they're super yummy!

I also do book reviews for a few different companies and I have about four more books I've received in the mail and need to read and review!! I think that is all the goodies we've received in the last couple of months! There are so many opportunities out there from different places to try out free products and to get free books try them out yourself one day :)

Book: Mamarazzi

2011-06-01T03:21:00.000-07:00

Mamarazzi: Every Mom's Guide to Photographing Kids

By: Stacy Wasmuth

In my previous post I told ya'll about my new fabulous toy and even posted a couple pics I've taken with it. Well I have this fabulous friend Jennifer who sent me this book as a gift. She knows my obsession with my son and knows I bought the camera because of him, so she sent me this book. I'm not done with it but I love it already! It is so helpful and has so many tips and I can already look at the pictures I posted and see what I could have done differently. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to take fantabulous pictures of your child(ren). I can't wait to finish it and learn even more!

I am going to buy one more book it just hasn't released yet. I want to get the book for my Nikon D5100 from the dummy series so I can learn how to properly learn to use the different functions. The manual it comes with is helpful but I'd like to see examples and what not from it. I'm very excited to have such a neat camera and am excited to learn how to use it! We're going to have such great family pics and travel pics from now on! Love it!

My New Toy

2011-05-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

My new toy! I love it! I bought it at the BX on Friday because I wanted something with a faster processor to get pics of my crazy little man! I know I'll never be a photographer like so many believe when they start into the world of dslr cameras but I'm excited to have something that is nice and will with stand time better than the point and shoot I've been carrying. I am also excited to learn how it works properly and even add a lense or two to our collection and have beautiful pictures that will last us.

The hubby and I read and compared cameras for awhile and we decided on the Nikon D5100.

Here are a few pics that I've taken with it and hopefully I'll get better with it as I learn how to use the different settings :)

Not now mama too early!

amazing people!

love this pic of him!

our amazing host and wonderful friend

the love of my life

Quotes

2011-05-18T05:04:00.000-07:00

I just loved this one and had to share:

He is mine in a way that he will never be hers, yet he is hers in a way that he will never be mine and so, together, we are motherhood. -Desha Wood

As many of you know we adopted our son. He is the most amazing person we have ever gotten to know. Its amazing to watch him grow and learn. He is so smart. He is so sweet. Its hard to express all that he is into words. He's just simply amazing....

What I'm Listening too....

2011-05-17T14:52:00.000-07:00

I had a couple country songs that I would have liked to add but they wouldn't let me :( I know I'm random but I just LOVE all music!

Follow Me Back Tuesday

2011-05-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

Well I haven't done one of these before but I was telling my friend about this so that we could get her moms blog involved. She is this amazing artist and makes these floor cloths that are to die for and has a gallery where she sells tons of amazing stuff. I seriously would have bought a billion things from it if I wasn't so freaking poor! Her blog is called In Color by Laura Harmon and just thought I'd give this follow me back Tuesday a shot before I had her try it out! You know I didn't want to go on and on about how its the greatest thing to get more readers and works magically, so I'm giving it a go!

I found this blog hop on a blog I follow and if you look to the left you'll see her button for Boobies, Babies, and a Blog. She has all sorts of neat stuff on her blog as well and is always having amazing give aways! Now only if I could figure out how to have people give me stuff for giveaways! I know I know what you're thinking I get all kinds of stuff but its just not the same!!

If you're here for the first time you'll see how random my blog is...started out for family and then its started to grow! I have followers I never thought would follow me since I don't know them personally, I started doing reviews for books which I love to read and I've found a few other ways to earn stuff! Plus I still keep my random ramblings and I like to show off stuff I love, will love, or have loved! We'll see how this whole follow me back thing works and maybe I'll do another in the future!

Summer Twizzlers Contest!

2011-05-16T12:07:00.000-07:00

Disclosure: I am entering a contest for a Twizzlers Landmark Summer promotion prize pack as a member of the Mom Bloggers Club.

If you're like me you absolutely LOVE Twizzlers and it is always packed in our bag of snacks! LIke for my friend Jen and I its a serious obsession LOL and so of course when I saw this contest I just had had had to enter. I mean a Twizzlers freak like me not enter thats just sad! Oh and don't get me started on Pull and Peel yum!

This summer we hope to travel to the Leaning Tower of Pisa!! I know how exciting right!!! Its only about a four hour drive but we just haven't found the time to do it but oh how I'm praying that next month we'll be able too!! I mean how can we live that close and only have a year left living over here if we don't make a road trip there?!?!? Plus it will be yet another amazing place that Nathan has visited in his short life so far! He'll have visited more places than most adults!!! how freaking cool is that?!?! Thankfully we're military overseas and I can still get my Twizzle on LOL and shop on base for all our Twizzler needs...I wonder if they even sell them on the economy. Pisa and then Rome I think are the last two places we'll see before we leave Europe, but Rome will be in the Spring with my BFF forever JEN!

These amazing Twizzler sites I hope to see one day when we're living back in the US (next year baby we'll be back! so excited about that!) I really never realized how much we've missed traveling in our own country and I can't wait to start that adventure for summer trips when we're back there!!!

Thanks Twizzlers now when I see these images in real life they're going to make me hungry!

Book Review: Deeper into the Word

2011-05-14T08:34:00.000-07:00

Deeper into the Word

By: Keri Wyatt Kent

This is a great book for those who would like to study and understand the New Testament more thoroughly. It is beautifully written and a must have for those in the field of theology and those who just want to learn more. The author takes 100 words that you see over and over again in the New Testament and gives them more meaning to us the readers. We learn the origin and that things aren't always what we think they mean. You really can learn so much from this book and at the end of each section she brings the meaning to Christian living. A really great book to own and recommend!

**I recieved this book from Bethany House Publishing Group to read and review.**

Book Review: REGGIE: You Can't Change Your Past, but You Can Change Your Future

2011-05-14T06:38:00.000-07:00

REGGIE: You Can't Change Your Past, but You Can Change Your Future

By: Reggie Dabbs w/ John Driver

I choose this book to review because I was interested to see how being adopted impacted his life. We have adopted our son and its rather interesting to see how adoptees deal with this knowledge. I didn't care for the fact that it took him so long to find out he was adopted. I'm sure back then though many people didn't want to approach the subject and its wasn't as open back then as it is today but adoption is a daily topic in our home and our son will always know that its a positive word in our world. I also don't care for how he found out how he came into the world and that he thought that was the reason he was here. He came into this world in a different means to be with the family that rasied him, but thats just my way of thinking.

He does tell an amazing story overall though he though he uses a lot of fluff to fill in some biblical stories. Its a great story for people to see that they can break free of the past and become something even greater. That the past doesn't have to hold us in place or drag us backwards. Its a great story and one I'm glad to have read.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

Book Review: Beneath the Night Tree

2011-05-14T06:25:00.000-07:00

Beneath the Night Tree

By: Nicole Baart

Well apparently when I picked out my books to review I didn't do my homework very well because also for this book I picked one from a series and this book just happens to be the end of this series and ya'll know me I prefer to start from the beginning! OH well I have learned from my mistakes let me tell you!

I will be honest though when I started this book I had no idea that it was the third and last part of a series. The story is beautifully written and truly stands well on its own. It really captured my attention and I couldn't put it down! This is definitely a book I would recommend to family and friends in the future and I can't wait to get the first two in this series now!

Its a story of an unwed mother who has a five year old son and how his father came back into their life. She also has a 10 year old half brother who is more of a son to her as well and she lives on a farm with her grandparents. Its a beautiful story of a multi generation family and how they work together and pray together. It truly is a great book and a great story and even though it doesn't have the happy ending many books have it still leaves you quite content with the ending. A definite must read!

**I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review.**

Book Review: The Corruptible

2011-05-14T06:01:00.000-07:00

The Corruptible

By: Mark Mynheir

When I choose this book to review it looked like something my husband would really love to read. He loves all those crazy mysteries and thought this would be something fun for us to read together. Little did I know that this was the second book in the series! I really would have liked to have known that when I was reading the description, so I was a bit disappointed when I found this out. The first book if you're curious is The Night Watchman (Ray Quinn Series, Book 1).

I will say that the back story was really easy to pick up as you were reading along with this book and honestly you wouldn't have to go back and read the first one if you didn't want to. I'm just the type of person who prefers to read from the beginning and not in the middle :).

It is about a dirty ex cop accused of stealing corporate secrets and is found dead in a motel. Ray Quinn is also an ex cop and his former colleague is hired by the corporation to find the secrets and in turn ends up investigating the death in the motel. Its an okay story with lots of suspects and police procedure. Not exactly what my husband and I were looking for in a mystery. Maybe for someone else this would be a great book but for us it was just so so. I honestly probably wouldn't really recommend this to many of my friends and family who enjoy a good mystery.

**"I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”. **

Welcome to My Randomness

2011-05-14T05:23:00.000-07:00

We have 1 year left in Italy! I know to some that sounds like a long time but considering we've been here for 3 already one year will just fly by! Which if you haven't already noticed 2011 is already doing! Seriously we're five months into the new year and some how I missed almost half of it! My child is getting bigger and smarter by the day, I'm trying to collect the last few things we want to bring back with us and plan our last trips overseas. Sheesh May 2012 will be here before I even lay my head down for a nap!

We have had our ups and downs but more ups than downs while we have lived in Italy. We will miss alot about Europe and Italy since we've been here for so long but at the same time there will be so much we won't miss! It really sucks that we'll have to go to a new base and leave so many amazing people behind and I do mean MANY! I just truly haven't realized the amount of amazing people God has brought into our lives while we've been stationed here! Our family has truly grown grown grown! Its truly exciting!! I can't wait to one day bring Nathan back to see some of these amazing people who are from the surrounding areas! The others hopefully we'll run into again after all the Air Force is truly a small world!

Nathan is at that age where its monkey see monkey do and his dad thinks its the greatest thing ever! He dances so that Nathan will mimic him and does all sorts of things to get him to follow. Its truly freaking adorable to watch those two at play! He is also playing pretend...well has been for a couple months but I really didn't know that started at such a young age! I really thought at the earliest 18 months! He likes to play that we're talking to Grandpa on the phone, we pretend to eat the food from his pot that Ms. Rhysa got him, and we hall stuff in the trucks, and so much more seriously fun stuff! And he sits down and will read you a book! I seriously wish I spoke baby when he sits there flipping through pages telling us a story!

Such a good boy cleaning up his mess!

as you can tell I don't feed him often enough!

he thinks this is so funny!

look at that face! and its scary he can stand in the highchair now!

he loves playing with his dada

and he loves to put everything on his head and i mean everything!

doesn't he look like such a big boy watching his signing videos!

he tried to put mama's shirt on his head and ended up putting his head through the sleeve!

my goodness he doesn't look like a one year old!

Nathan is also doing amazingly well with his signing! If you have ever thought about doing it check out Baby Signing Time for the little ones and then there is Signing Time for the ones that are a bit older. Nathan doesn't really watch TV all that often but boy does he loves his signing videos! He does a handful of signs as well and is starting to talk still no Mama though :(.

I never realized how many children were on this base until we started getting invited to birthday parties! I think if we wanted to we could go to one like every weekend! Its insane and kind of expensive! Nathan loves them though because he is a social butterfly and totally loves to walk up to people and just start talking away! Hmmm....that may not be such a good thing now that I think about it!

We are no longer cloth diapering! I'm giving myself a much needed break. I did great though and lasted one whole year but the hubby decided it was time to end it and I sold them. Its killing me buying diapers for him but he doesn't really go through that many unless he's sick and he no longer gets a rash from them and I'm no longer behind on laundry! The hubby thought it couldn't be healthy for me to have to clean all that poo all the time and asked me to stop and I gave in....oh well....

I have been checking things off my 101 in 1001 and I think I'm at least half way down with my recipe count down woohoo. I'm getting excited for our trip to the states in August so we can be there for the birth of our niece! I love shopping for stuff for little girls and already have an order in for like 6 or 7 custom made bows! so excited! I have three boxes of stuff to ship to her and I can't wait to see how big she is so I can start the dress shopping! Needless to say baby girl is going to be spoiled by her auntie Kelly!!!

Well I've rambled on and on but I do have a few book reviews to post here in the near future. I'll also share about bzzagent and let you know about all the free goodies I've gotten from them and if you check out our recipe blog you can see how I've become obsessed with the Pioneer Woman's recipes!!! Ciao!

Nathan's First Swimming Pool

2011-05-04T03:32:00.000-07:00

Nathan got his first swimming pool! He got his first swimming trunks when he was an itty bitty thing from one of the hubby's cousins but now he can put them to good use! He is such a cute little guy!

I have two blogs...

2011-04-26T03:27:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if I ever posted that I have a recipe blog. Its called Recipes to Live By and I love trying new things so I update it frequently. Right now I am obsessed with the Pioneer Woman and her yummy goodness she posts so I have quiet a few of her recipes posted on there at the moment. I've also changed the blog by adding my friend Jen who also loves to cook and bake so she can post all the yummy recipes she tries! So go check it out! If you love to cook and want to be added to the list let me know!

Base Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T06:18:00.000-07:00

Today was Aviano Base's Spring Fest and Easter Egg Hunt and boy was it nuts! They have the egg hunt divided up in ages and Nathan was in the 0-2 age group. Let me tell you it was nothing like we expected. We were expecting the kids to toddle around and pick up eggs at their leisure and put them in their baskets but oh no that is definitely not how things are done here! It was like a mad dash for eggs and by the time Nathan picked up a couple the whole field was almost completely cleared! I really couldn't believe so poor babies left without any eggs! Parents were filling baskets and some even snatched them away from one year olds! Like seriously come on!! Nathan was nice and shared an egg or two instead of being stingy. We were really hoping for what we thought was going to happen though because it really took the fun out of the whole thing for us. We loved watching Nathan stop look at the eggs and pick them up and examine them before he dropped them in his little basket...oh well at least we know what to expect next year and we'll guard a handful of eggs for him to do just that with lol. We did have a good time over all after we got past the shock! They had different booths handing out all sorts of things. He even got a new toothbrush from the dental clinic, Aviano Photography Club took pics with the Easter Bunny and lots of other goodies as well :) Here are a few pics from the day (oh plus we had awesome company as well!)

I'm ready to hunt eggs!

Yay eggs!

I wanna play now!!

Yay the Easter bunny again!

Ok mom enough pictures arleady!

Playing Catch Up!

2011-04-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

Oh man so much has happened since my last blog! Nathan's first birthday party, my mom coming to visit and the places we went with her. Nathan's first pic with the Easter bunny and then this weekend his first Easter egg hunt. We also went to a birthday party and Nathan picked up his first candy from a broken pinata! I'll try to be good and not overload this post with pics, but we shall see!!

As many of you know Nathan just turned one! We were suppose to have his party at area D and decorate it cute and have the playground for the kids to play on but as things turn out someone didn't pick up the key in time. I mean I can't be mad at him since he had been working crazy hours was on night shift and what not but I was still pretty pissed, so last minute we had to switch the party to the house. Our tiny little house, but in the end it all worked out pretty well. Nathan had a blast, ate a cake himself, made out with a billion and one gifts, kids ran around like crazy, helped him open his gifts, sang happy birthday to him. It was great!

Decorated birthday table

My amazingly hot hubby playing with baby's toy after he put it together.

The birthday cakes I made. The top one was just for Nathan :)

He makes the funniest faces!

Told ya he made out and he's still getting more stuff! what a spoiled little man!

Then Grandma came a couple days after his party and he got to open another gift. We took grandma to Venice, Trieste, and Fregona. My wonderful hubby took a short day trip with her to Croatia and they had a blast. We spent a lot of time at home because we were all exhausted, it wasn't fair to baby to drag him everywhere, and plus grandma just wanted snuggle time with the most handsome little man alive! We had a great time with her here and Nathan just adored her. It was hard for Grandma to leave her tiny man behind though...

opening another present from grandma! #4!

Trieste

Nathan doesn't like to walk in those sandals

on our way to venice

Venice with a happy little man!

He is always such a great sport when we're traveling!

Fregona! its so neat there!

Mother and Daughter at Lake Barcis

Nathan played on the playground with grandma and grandma helped him learn how to gather candy from a pinata! He had a blast and freaking loved the swing! After the birthday party we went and met the Easter bunny for the first time! He loved the Easter bunny! Sorry Santa we know he balled his eyes out when he saw you!

watching the other kids gather candy

then he figured out what to do but had to taste everything first!

He loves the swing!

learning to climb the steps to the slide

peaking out the window! so cute!

eating a yummy birthday cake!

He loved the Easter Bunny!

so cute!

We've had a lot of fun over the last month with birthday parties, grandma visiting, meeting the Easter Bunny. My poor baby boy even had to get shots while grandma was here! He absolutely loves his grandma even more now that he got to hang out with her for a couple weeks! Now we're looking forward to the Easter Egg Hunt and a quiet Sunday home together :) I will definitely post pics tomorrow after the hunt!

More Birthday Stuff!

2011-03-31T13:55:00.000-07:00

These are super easy and super cute to make! Google pretzel hugs and you can find many many directions and variations :)

I found them on a blog called Kelly's blog or something like that and thought they were sooo cute!

Baby boy enjoying some of his birthday party goodies! Tomorrow chocolate mice and get the cakes baked!

Opening a card from our friends the harpers!

1st Birthday Officially

2011-03-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Today is officially Nathan's first birthday! He is such a big boy now :(

We had yummy Soft Chocolate Cookies (the recipe can be found on my other blog) for his birthday and they were so yummy! We had pot roast, taters and carrots for dinner which he LOVES and then he got a present or two from family that was sent in the mail :).

A tunnel from Auntie Meghan which him and the doggies LOVE.

A recordable book that his Godfather/Uncle Stevan recorded for him. Bright & Beautiful A Child's Blessing and he loves listening to it!

A VTech Winnie the Pooh Book from our good friends the Baxters

A Mickey Mouse Card with some Cash from his Great Grandma (on my mom's side)

Plus he has more gifts from his Grandma and Auntie from my side that he doesn't get til his birthday party! So of course more pics to come! He did get a lot of phone calls with singing and happy birthday messages that he truly enjoyed and also lots of FB messages from everyone!!! Thank you all!!

One Whole Year

2011-03-27T04:26:00.000-07:00

I honestly cannot believe its been almost one whole year since my baby boy was born! This first year has seriously flown by and I'm not entirely sure where it all went! I can say that it has been an amazing year and I couldn't be happier that our little man is in our lives! He truly brings out the best in everyone (well not Peanut but if you know my chihuahua you get it! LOL).

It has been amazing watching him learn and grow in this year. Its amazing how big babies get so quickly and all the amazing things they learn along the way. It has also made all the difference having a husband involved that really truly wanted to be a dad. Its amazing to watch him with his son and get excited over every little thing he does. It truly makes my heart happy having a partner in life who wants to do all these things with me and our little man!

Now if you know my husband at all he truly gets worked up when baby does anything! Like seriously excited yelling jumping and I swear at times it looks like he tears up but he totally won't admit to that! He was so worried that when he was TDY to the states that little man would start walking and thankfully he waited for dada to come home!

Baby boy has had a lot of first this year including all the normal ones like rolling, crawling, walking, first food, bath, and what not. He's also had first that some children will never get at his age like a passport, his first stamp from Ireland, his first trip to Venice, Italy, his first Gelato in Venice, Italy, he's been on more plane rides than your average adult, his first trip to Carnivale, his first signs (I love that he can communicate with us!), and so many more firsts that most babies this age would never get to experience because he's an Air Force Angel :) and some sad first like Dada having to go TDY.

I just can't believe that my little 20 inch 6 lbs 4 oz little tiny baby boy is now half my height and about 25 lbs already! As you can see he's more than likely going to be as tall as his dada! This little man fits so perfectly in our lives and we thank God daily that he is here! We love being with him, holding him, loving on him, and everything about him. We love that he's a good eater, that he can entertain himself, that he thinks spinning is hiliarious, that he learns things entirely too quickly, that he smiles when we walk into a room, that he loves to give us kisses, and so many other things that he does that make our hearts just melt.

I have learned many things as a first time parent as well and I've learned that no two children like the same thing, behave the same way, and that a lot of advice given to me will not benefit me in anyway. If you ask me for advice I'll tell you what worked for my child but there is no guarantee it will work for yours :) so don't expect miracles when asking for advice from others. I have also learned many first time parents think they know all which I find hiliarious but I'm going to ask the mama of at least two kids for tips and guidelines but thats just me lol.

Things that didn't work for us:

1. He hated the baby swing. We got one because we thought all babies loved them but wrong! Couldn't get him to stay in it for longer than like two minutes.

2. Vibrating bouncy chair. He would sit in it for short periods as long as you didn't turn the vibrating part on. If you did he would scream his little head off!

3. Infant carseat for us was a waste of money because our mini giant grew out of it way too fast!

4. Nuby sippy cups were a waste of money.

5. Stuffed animals aren't really necessary.

6. Pacifiers never worked in our home. He spit them out from the beginning (which really isn't a bad thing no fighting later on to take it away!)

7. Mobile- He would never sleep if that thing was on and eventually dada broke it anyhow.

Things that we love:

1. Cart Cover- I was told many times over that it was a waste of money and that we'd never use it but we use it all the time and love the thing! When baby is teething he always tries to chew on the cart which is gross and this stops him from that and also gives a place to connect toys.

2. Boppy Pillow- We LOVE this thing for not only feeding him, but tummy time, to set behind him when he was learning to set up, he uses it as a pillow when he wants to feed himself a pillow, we lay him in it when we change his diaper, and even the dogs love it! We still use it to this day.

3. Convertible Carseat- what an amazing thing! Plus we can keep him facing backwards up to 35lbs! I may even look for one with a higher rear facing weight (haven't decided yet).

4. Tilty Sippy Cups- We decided to go with something that was more designed for baby and no they're not spill proof. We decided against those sippy cups as well since they wouldn't be good for his teeth. But he hates those cups anyhow and LOVES his Tilty!

5. Exersaucer- He actually loved this toy and would sit in it and play and play. One of the only toys you could set him in that he would freak out over!

6. Baby Signing Time are the most amazing dvds ever and he LOVES them! He can tell us when he's hungry, wants milk, and a few other things. He started signing at 7 months :)

Things I learned as a Mommy:

1. Teething sucks!

2. Bath time is freaking hiliarious

3. If a baby is crying its for a reason

4. I'm not as grossed out by baby poo now that he's mine

5. Baby vomit smells bad and I can't deal with it no matter who it comes out of

6. Hair care isn't that bad once you figure out what works for you :) (oh and to write a T.O. for dada so he doesn't use the whole bottle of $12 leave in conditioner in one sitting!)

7. Babies learn things very quickly and when they're ready not when you're ready

8. Babies can crawl really fast

9. they grow out of their clothes quickly so hand me downs are always welcomed!

10. They just grow up entirely too fast and I wish I had a pause button sometimes!!

I'm sure there are many other things that didn't work for us or did and I'm sure I've learned many many more things but I could sit here writing all day for that but instead I'll end here and leave you with a birthday pic preview! We had his birthday pics done this month by Tammy Leach in the local area and she sent me a couple preview pics that are just adorable! Can't wait to see the rest!

OH yeah we're Dallas fans! Go Cowboys! LOL

Eating some of that yummy birthday cake from the previous post!

Baby's Birthday Month so far....

2011-03-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

As most of you already know Nathan is turning one this month!! I just can't believe my little giant is going to be one and that a full year has passed since he's been alive! It really does amaze me how quickly time flies!!

So far this month he has gotten all sorts of neat gifts from family and friends!!

He got his first gift from Auntie Meghan!! A Thomas the Train tunnel which he loves to play in with the dogs! I've been slacking an having taken a pic of him in it yet!! I'll do that soon!!

He got his first birthday card in the mail from one of the hubby's good friends Jamie with a gift card inside! How freaking awesome right?!?!

He's also gotten a few gifts from my mom but they're wrapped waiting for his birthday!! So no pics yet!

My mom did send this LeapFrog Birthday Cake to him which is so stinking cool!! The candles light up and it sings and you actually low out the candles!! How stinkin' cool is that?!?!

The hubby's parents have sent him a card and gift as well that he's already opened hehehe...yeah I can't wait for the most part so I let him open stuff lol.

Reading his card from Grandma and Grandpa

Opening his present from Grandma and Grandpa :)

Then he got a card in the mail from his Grandma Teddi (my mom) and of course she filled it with glittery stuff and of course being Nathan he thought it was pretty gosh darn tasty!

Eating Birthday glitter

He just got another gift in the mail today from our good friends Brandy, Herman, and Joy!! Dada said he couldn't have til his birthday though :(

It's stinking cute and yes I did play with shhh....don't tell baby!

We also had baby boys pictures done and we're still waiting to see how they turned out :) but I ordered him a cake and this was his first birthday cake of the month :)

made by Cakesby Colleen

And I've been working on stuff for his party. We are doing goody boxes instead of goody bags and I made centerpieces with his pictures (the ones I ordered they couldn't fill so I had to come up with something!)

I'll post more at the end of the month cause I'm sure he'll get more things! Plus his birthday party is coming up as well :)

My Little Man is Getting so BIG!!!

2011-03-17T04:17:00.000-07:00

He is just getting so big! I can't believe he is almost one! He looks closer to the size of a two year old than a one year old! Someone make him stay my baby a little longer :(

Deals Deals and more Deals!

2011-03-13T04:51:00.000-07:00

Well if you know me at all you know I have an obsession for deals. You can see these deal sites in my last post Everyone Loves Free Stuff and the different sites that I use to earn stuff well since we've had baby I joined a couple points earning sites and I was kind of skeptical of them at first but hey they really work!!

I joined the diaper ones that are available Pampers Gifts to Grow and Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards .
I'm not really a fan of the Huggies program it takes forever to earn points and then they never have anything to choose from when you do have points, so I've pretty much given up on that one. I do use the Pampers codes all the time! I love that one!! I just redeemed my first prize and already got it in the mail.


Go Diego Go soft potty seat free from Pampers Gifts to Grow program

Now this program I should have joined a long time ago!!! Why I never did I'll never know and because we don't keep cases I wasn't able to use a lot of codes booooooo!!! Now that I know I'm looking everyone for my Disney Movie Rewards points to earn free stuff!!! I am getting my first reward in the mail and I"m super excited!!


Free DVD with Disney Rewards Programs

The cool thing with all three of these rewards programs is that you not only get the codes/points from the products you buy from them but you can also get extra points online! If you just google which rewards program you are looking for points for you will find tons of places to find the extra codes :)

Another site I signed up for is Viewpoints and you don't really get a lot of free stuff from them because it is a product review site but everyone now and then they'll run a deal to earn free gift cards. The last one I did was in February and it was 10 reviews for $10 amazon gift card which I thought was great! I love amazon so I thought what the heck and did it. I wasn't sure if I'd get the gift card or not but shortly after the promotion was over I got the code in an email. I was excited!! I of course already spent it and on something for baby boy!! Dada has been wanting sunglasses for his little man so I finally broke down and got them and it didn't hurt since they didn't really cost me a thing!

Free Kid Banz with a free amazon gc from viewpoints!

I just thought I would share some ways to earn free stuff with all of you because I know I love free stuff too!!

These next to sites are for parents and people buying for kids. They have some of the best daily deals I've seen. Totsy and Zulily are the two sites. You have to sign up to these deal sites and they will send you emails when they have new shops offering products for 50% off and more!!! Name brands, eco friendly brands, stuff for mom and dad, stuff for kids of all ages. They're really neat :)

Carnivale!!!! Venice, Italy!!! Freaking Amazing!!

2011-03-13T00:43:00.000-08:00

We have been in Italy for a few years now and this year we finally made it to Carnivale in Venice, Italy!! I have been hesitant in the past because of the crazy crowds and if you know me that can totally stress me out! This year we had an amazing group of people going and invited us and we agreed. And boy are we glad we agreed! It was so much fun!! It was also a lot of firsts for our little man as well!!!

Baby boys first train ride!

Wine for the train ride :)

Boys deep in conversation...

Nathan hanging out with the ladies!


Baby boy in his own seat looking so cute!

The train ride has been one of the best I've taken to Venice so far! We were with an amazing group of people. We had fun. They drank. We chatted. We had a blast! Its definitely one for the books! When we got to Venice you could definitely tell that it was Carnivale with all the costumes, people, masks, and colors everywhere it was amazing!

Nathan's first cannoli thanks Tio Raul!

Those are men dressed up as cheerleaders by the way

These are just a few of the many pictures from that night! We had such an amazing time and this group of people seriously rocks! They have been amazing to know and we have been truly blessed to have been stationed with them! They've made our overseas just that much more bearable! They were amazing when my hubby was gone and even when he's here! Seriously glad to know them all and look forward to knowing them for many more years to come! We LOVE you guys!

Carnivale Masks

2011-03-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to Carnivale for the first time with lots of amazing people. It took us like six hours to finally make it to the square but boy oh boy did we have a great time!! We took tons of pics and we're still sharing them with each other. As soon as I get them all I'll pull the best out and share!

Until then I'll share our masks with you :) I was on a mission to find baby boy a little mask that wasn't full of glitter. Its so easy to find little girl shit everywhere! I was very happy with the couple we found and picked out a super cute one for my little man!

Baby Boys Carnivale Mask

Dada's first mask of the night

Dada's second mask of the night

Mama's only mask of the night but I love it! so pretty!

Then Sings My Soul (special edition)

2011-03-03T16:09:00.000-08:00

This is a book review for Then Sings My Soul which I received free from Book Sneeze for this review. I may review this book the way I see fit and it does not have to be a positive review.

Then Sings My Soul Special Edition
By Robert J. Morgan

This is a beautiful book with 150 hymns and songs. I did not read this book in order and am actually still going through it but I found it so interesting that I decided to blog about it before I have completed all of them. Its not one of those books that you sit down and just have to read from beginning to end but you can go through it and look for what you want depending on the season which is super nice. It is even sectioned off into holidays like Christmas and Easter which makes things super easy to find. It is really fascinating to find out facts and how songs came to be. Each song has two pages one to the history and one to the sheet music which just makes it that much more exceptional. If you are a music lover and love history this is definitely a book that needs to be added to your collection.

Book Review for Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued

2011-03-03T15:45:00.000-08:00

I have really been slacking when it comes to my book reviews. I have two other books and just have been busier and not feeling well, but I'm finally getting around to it! Yay me! Plus I'm ready for some new reading material and who can pass up free books?!?!

This book review is for: Blind Hope: An Unwanted Dog and the Woman She Rescued
by Kim Meeder and Laurie Sacher

This book can be purchased at many stores including online at Amazon.com

This book started out differently that I had thought it would and I was simply amazed from the beginning to the end! It is such an inspirational and motivating book about how this mangy broken down animal was made whole again by an amazing woman. Its also a story of how this amazing animal made a believer out a mangy broken down person!

This book shows how Laurie realized her relationship with God was very much like the beginning relationship she had with her dog Mia. Mia being blind and hurt had to learn to trust what she could not see and in doing this struggled and rebelled against her master. Mia found herself in many different obstacles because she couldn't trust her masters voice. She slowly began to trust Laurie and build an amazing relationship and can trust in her full heartedly now. Laurie was able to see through this relationship how she had strayed as well and needed to put her life with God back on track and allow him to lead her through life as she must do with Mia.

Through this relationship and learning process she grew to know that God loved her even when she strayed down the wrong path.

This was such an amazing story that I would recommend to anyone and I believe dog lovers such as myself would love it even more! Its such an amazing tale of a growing relationship!

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”.

Everyone Loves Free Stuff

2011-02-25T04:38:00.000-08:00

Ok so I know I love to earn free stuff and I always wondered if any of these paid email sites, these earn points by searching, earn gifts by shopping, websites were for real. I was a big chicken when it came to all of them but I got brave and I've finally tried quite a few! I have learned which ones are for real and which ones aren't. Now I'm going to post them here for those of you want to know but haven't tried them yet. These are for real. I would never post anything that couldn't be used.

My personal favorite is SWAGBUCKS. This site you join and you get a buck for the toolbar, a buck for doing the daily poll, a buck for looking at the survey page (more if you do the surveys and profiles), 2 bucks for NOSO page which you can skip all the offers, five bucks for watching short videos and some are actually quite interesting, and then you earn bucks for just using their search engine. And occassionally they put out swag codes worth various amounts. Now I use this one all the time I've gotten lots of gift cards and so has my sister! We are addicted lol.

The second one I use a lot is MyPoints and they are similar to swagbucks, but once you hit 30 searches you get 75 points, they send emails to you for surveys that you'll get an automatic 10 points for or 60 if you complete it, you get 5 points for each email offer they send you and click on, and then you can shop online and earn points through them that way (for example I send pictures through one hour photo to the in laws and I earn 2 points for every dollar I spend when I send them through walgreens). I have enough points to get a gift cards but I'm saving for a big one! LOL (Oh and you can refer a friend so send me your email so I can earn 25 more points! LOL)

This one, ZoomBucks, I just started but is similar to the ones above, you get emails and click them
for points, you can do surveys, search through them and do may other offers but its not going too well since all my offers are in Italian! This one will more thanlikely be great in the states so I'll continue to do the email points and what not until then.

InboxDollars is one of those read emails and earn money and you can do offers and earn even more. This one does take a bit longer to earn money before you cash out but its possible. If you sign up now you get a $5 bonus! I am doing this one even though it will take awhile and you can also search 5 searches a day for 5 more cents I know doesn't sound like a lot but it will all add up!

The last one I do is Hit$4Pay and this one you get a $10 sign on bonus and its strictly emails you read. This one will also take awhile to add up but i figure it doesn't hurt to click on them while you're doing the others!

I do recommend having an email just for these if you plan on doing it because you will get a bunch of emails daily from them! I have joined a few others but I'm waiting to see if they're for real! Let me know if you try them out and what you think! Also let me know if you any any others that work! (I know there are a few more that may work but being in Itally they don't work, but I'll save them for future reference!)

Some Baby's First w/ His Dada

2011-02-23T12:00:00.000-08:00

Dada came home this past weekend! Baby boy has been so stinkin' happy about this!! The are just too cute together! Words can't even describe! I love my two boys like crazy!!!

This past weekend baby boy went in his first jump castle and to the park! How stinking cute is that?!?! Check out the pics below!!

First time in a jump castle with dada of course!

Hayden's birthday was batman themed and baby boy came prepared!

He says Hey! only pictures of me duh!

Dada and baby at the park!!

Dada and baby having a blast on the swings!

don't embarrass me dada!

oh no I'm not sure about this!

Ok baby it wasn't so bad...

Planning Baby's First Birthday!!!

2011-02-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

I'm getting so excited and sad over baby boys first birthday!! I am planning already and the party isn't until the end of March! We've already bought him a couple cute gifts and so have a few others we know :) I'm making gift boxes instead of gift bags to hand out. Check out the pic below!

These boxes are made out of a 12 x 12 piece of scrapbooking paper and the top is trimmed just a little so it will fit over the bottom. I think they can out super cute and you can even make your own gift boxes. Now I just need to buy the goodies to put in them!

I'm going to attempt to make his cake as well!! I'm totally excited to see if i can do it!! This is what I'm going to use as my guide. I will take pics to show you how mine turns out!

We are doing the party after lunch so I'm going to have a bunch of finger foods. I'm going to order a veggie tray, fruit tray, and a meat and cheese tray. We're (we being me and my friend Justina) are going to making a bunch of goodies and I'm so excited about it! Here are some pics of what they're suppose to look like but we shall see what the final products look like and if you have any ideas let me know!


Veggie Pizza

Pretzel Hugs

Martha Stewart's Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes Recipe

Chocolate Cherry Mice


Lovely Lollies

Beautiful Songs

2011-02-15T00:49:00.000-08:00

If you have ever struggled with getting pregnant or found out that you never could carry a child this song is amazing about our struggle and trials. It really tears me up since it hits so close to home. Although I did feel like this at one time its not currently how I feel anymore I just remember the feelings and memories. I am a mommy now to the most amazing baby boy there is! I do feel truly blessed to have such an amazing child and we are a family finally! I love you baby boy! Thank you God for finding us worthy to raise such an amazing little person!

This song makes me cry like a little baby because I know my own baby boy will feel like this one day. It breaks my heart to think that he may one day believe his birthmom just gave him away but we will go through life trying to let him know how much she truly loved him and what she did was one of the most selfless acts a mother could ever do! This song was written by an adoptee for his birthmom when he finally understood what she did for him. It is one of the most amazing and beautiful songs I have heard. It will seriously bring you to tears!

This is about the making of the song Everything to Me by Mark Schultz (song above). Just simply amazing. Adoption is amazing! I hope my son knows how much both of his moms loved him as he grows :)

He Loves Him Some Mac & Cheese!

2011-02-12T02:06:00.000-08:00

Baby's Hair Care Products

2011-02-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

Okay so as many of you know I am slightly obsessed with my baby boys hair. Who would have thought that I'd be so worried about a little man's head of hair! I was really worried that we'd have a girl and I wouldn't know what to do with her head of hair but our little man surprised us when he was born with a full head of hair!! I of course started researching hair care lines and trying to find a good natural baby line and let me tell you that was no easy task! There really are not many baby lines other than like the store brands and I really didn't want to try that stuff since its so drying and not natural.

After many many searches I found this website Curls and they have a baby line with a tear free shampoo called It's A Curl . I was so stinking excited to find this line so of course I had to try it all and ordered all four products from the line. I will say that I'm not crazy about about all the products, I LOVE the Peek-A-Boo Organic Shampoo. It is an all natural, sulfate free, tear free shampoo and does a great job for what I need it to do. The conditioner didn't have enough slip for what I was looking for and is way too expensive for the tiny bottle to cowash with so it probably will not be purchased again in the future. The leave in conditioner I'm not crazy about either. It just wasn't moisturizing enough for our purpose and will not be used again in the future as well. The last product is the Itsy Bitsy Spirals Organic Curl moisturizer and I kinda like this product. It is a great curl reviver for like second day hair. Its a bit pricey for the tiny bottle since you can do the same with a little water and a leave in. I'm not sure if I'll buy this again but I will def be getting the shampoo again! Although this line didn't work great for my baby boys hair doesn't mean it won't be fantastic for another hair type. I would def suggest it to others as an option.

I have also been given a couple different products that you can find in the store. I'm not crazy about them since I prefer the more natural, organic stuff for my little man's hair but I always welcome new free products so of course I tried them! The first I got from a really good friend (people we consider family) and I actually don't mind this product at all. It does have a scent that I'm not crazy about but for the price the product is great and can be used daily Lustrasilk Right On Curl Activator Moisturizer and its actually cheaper in the store, but this is my go to product while I'm waiting on stuff in the mail. The others are a spray and hair dress from soft and precious. I wasn't crazy about the hair dress, its almost like a lotion and just not my cup of tea, but I love the spray. I'd share links but I can't find them! But this can easily be picked up at your local BX or drug store and its reasonably priced and maid specifically for the little ones. These smell clean and powdery fresh but unfortunately this stuff didn't agree with my little man and made his neck break out in a rash, so we will not be using this again. But for those on a budget and whose baby doesn't have sensitive skin go for it!

The newest stuff we're using and so far my favorite is from Darcy's Botanicals (she also has an Etsy Store and sometimes you can find stuff in stock on there that isn't in stock on the website!) and I ordered quite a few things when they had their black Friday sale and everything was 25% which doesn't happen often with her products! The products I bought were:
Organic Coconut & Aloe Moisture Pudding
Pumpkin Seed Moisturizing Conditioner
Coconut Lemongrass Transitioning Creme
Coconut Cupuacu Butter Natural Hair Pomade
Natural Coils Curling Jelly
We have tried almost all of them. The only one that hasn't been used is the pomade because I got it so we could braid his hair which I don't know how to do yet, but boy oh boy does it smell good and I can't wait to use it! I ended up sharing the pumpkin seed conditioner with a friend since I knew there was no way we'd use both leave ins before they went bad. Plus its a bit too girly smelling for my little man and too thick for my hair. We kept the lemon grass one which works amazingly in his hair with either the moisture pudding or the curling jelly on top. This this the firs time I've used products like those so I can't compare them to anything but I will tell you that my boys hair looks amazing! I get compliments all the time and his hair is super moisturized between cowashing and using these products! I don't even have to oil his scalp because his natural oils are enough and I'm not stripping his hair or drying out his scalp! I am honestly pretty proud of how soft and beautiful his hair is coming about! I would highly recommend her products to anyone!!

If you have favorites please share! I'd love to try new things out for my hair or his! I'm a bit of a product junky now!!

Calling All Hair Product Junkies

2011-02-10T02:48:00.000-08:00

Over at Beads, Braids, & Beyond she is having a giveaway for Kinky Curly hair products! Its a giveaway for three of her readers!! How exciting!! I know I am personally going to be trying to win because I have been so wanting to try this line! I have tried a few others and a combination of hair product lines and store bought ones as well and I just would love to try this line! If you'd love a chance to win and to try this line head over to her blog now! You only have until the 18th of this month to enter!

My Silly Boy

2011-02-06T11:29:00.000-08:00

Well baby boy thinks dada lives in the computer while he's away totally cute and sad all at once I know! So sometimes he wants me to pick him up so he can look at the computer and he'll get really close and ask for dada seriously breaks my heart! And he gets sad when he doesn't magically appear so to cheer him up I turn on the webcam so he can chat with the baby in the computer which he thinks is so great! here are a couple pics I was able to get from our little game!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures!

2011-02-05T05:47:00.000-08:00

My mom of all people took my hubby to Hooters and then told the girls it was his birthday. As you can see from the red face she embarrassed him good!

If you know my hubby you know he loves CSI and MGM Grand Casino does a CSI attraction!

So my mom and Larry went with him to be a CSI Looks like they had fun!

Baby boy and I making faces at the webcam for dada LOL

He really thought this was tons of fun!

Well dada was off in Vegas we were having a wonderful time with these amazing ladies!

one of my favorite pics I'm sure I've posted before :)

my lumberjack baby!

showing off his teeth and crawling all over dada!

They seriously love each other :)

I seriously love them both!

He had learned to use his toys as a stepping stool

second time meeting Santa this time it wasn't so traumatic.

He loves to crawl through things and got stuck silly boy!

Randomness

2011-02-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

Well the hubby has been tdy and its the first one since we've had our son. Although this def wasn't our first as a couple I am gonna say it was one of the hardest and yet easiest separation so far. Which yeah yeah I know that makes no sense but it was one of our shortest separations therefore not the worst for being longest but one of the hardest because of our baby boy. Now I really didn't think it would have affected baby boy the way that it did because I figured he was young enough to go with the flow but boy was I wrong! He def loves his dada time and dada was a big part of his night time routine which totally threw him off when he left. We are finally adjusting and just in time for dada to return sometime in the near future.

This tdy also felt backwards because normally I'm left alone in the wonderful US and my poor hubby is stuck in some foreign country without his family and well this time the luck SOB got to go the states! Yes, I am jealous! What I wouldn't give to shop at an actual children's store with cute clothes for my little man! Although with the hubby being in the states we were able to get necessary car parts without having to order them and the hubby will be home well before baby boys first birthday woohoo!

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My chihuahua Peanut is turning 6 years old this month! I can't believe I've had my little ball of evil that long already! And yes I said evil! If you know Peanut you know her true evil self that i would trade in for anything in the world! Which means my other baby dogs are getting older too, which makes me super sad :(

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Baby boy is turning 1 in a couple of months can you believe it?!?! I know I sure the hell can't! It seriously doesn't feel like a full year since we brought this amazing little man home! he's grown so much! He is learning things so quickly! I love to just sit and watch him think and you can see the little wheels turning in his head! Oh my oh my you should see the way he eats already as well! I'm terrified to see him as a teenager! I'm going to have to work to just keep food in the fridge! He is such a big boy, he is amazing, smart, beautiful and more than we could have ever asked for in a child! We have been truly blessed with the most amazing son in the world!!!!!

*******************************************************************

I have also learned so much about curls and hair thanks to my darling baby boy and my BFF Jen. She is seriously obsessed...in a good way....I think. But my hair pretty much lost its curl while living here in Italy and I just have not known what to do to bring it back. Well my friends I tell ya cowashing is the key! Seriously shampoo is awful for your hair daily. Conditioner has enough cleanser to clean your hair! Who would have thought! We get so obsessed thinking that lather is what makes things clean but boy are we wrong! We're just stripping our hair and making it icky! Oh the damage we have done to our poor poor hair!

Mine and Nathan's hair gets shampooed two times a month and we deep condition afterwards to bring back the moisture and we only do this because of build up from hair products. Otherwise every other day we cowash. First we wash our hair with Vo5 kiwi lime clarifying conditioner and we use this because it doesn't have any silicones, its cheap, and we can use a lot of it (you will seriously feel like your hair is cleaned after this and yet not stripped!). Then afterwards we use another conditioner to actually condition our hair a better one still silicone free. After we get out of the shower we will gently squeeze our hair of some of the excess water but not all of it cause we still want a soaking wet head and then apply a leave in (sometimes just more vo5 but not a ton) and then a hair product like an alcohol free gel or mousse and then wrap our hair in a tshirt not a towel and finish getting ready as the tshirt absorbs the excess water (the tshirt helps with frizz and maintaining moisture who knew?!?!) but there are several other ways to do this as well and each persons does it a little differently. Oh and there are lines like Devacurl that work amazingly as well with a no poo or low poo! I also really want to try kinky curly hair line!

Okay I've gone on long enough about hair! LOL But seriously try it!
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Oh I do have about three book reviews that I'm going to have to post here in the near future and they're all Christian book so keep your eyes out for that as well. I know I know I've been slacking with my posts and all but this was my first experience as a single mom and well it was interesting when little man would throw a fit for dada!

I'll also post another blog about hair product lines we have bought and tried and which our our favorites and why! Oh Check out Darcy's Botanicals as well she has a ton of awesome stuff all natural, organic and a lot of stuff is even vegan!

Amazing Artist and Gallery! A definite must see!

2011-02-01T11:24:00.000-08:00

So as many of you know I have amazing friends and family and I love to read blogs and well obviously blog myself. I also have a love for art. Although you'd never be able to tell from the state of my home! But I've been chatting with an amazing woman here to find out that her mom has her own gallery and is an amazing artist. Like seriously talented. You can check out her new blog In Color and see some of the work she has done and to hear about some of the local artist that she showcases.

For those of you on facebook she also has a FB like page that you can find under In Color as well. Oh and you can find her on etsy as well! (sorry I don't have the link available at the moment but def search for her!)

Check out these amazing things she has done so far!

Pampers Village: Connect with real parents like you!

2011-02-01T10:33:00.001-08:00

"Hey guys! Just wanted to share a free way to earn prizes! There are codes on everything pampers you buy and don't forget to google search for some as well!"

On Pampers Village, you can share tips, support, and experiences with real parents like you. You’ll discover more about parenthood through articles, videos, and online tools, and receive offers, samples, and coupons!

View >>

2011

2011-01-04T00:49:00.000-08:00

I seriously can't believe its a whole new year and a whole new decade!

I've been thinking about starting a new years resolution, but I know that a whole new year doesn't mean that a whole new mean just pops up. LOL I've decided to just stick with my old goals that I've been working on plus my 101 in 1001 list. I have lost 15 lbs from my last goal and have successfully kept it off go me! Now to lose another 15 and keep it off. Yes its baby steps and may take awhile but I like the small goals and I'm actually getting somewhere with it!

So the next time I step on the scale I hope to see progress. Go me! LOL

I'm slowly getting rid of the clutter in our home. We have entirely too much stuff and I'd like to just simply simplify our life. I have been doing a great job of it!

I am also gathering things that I have kept putting off while we have been here in Italy because its our last full year thank goodness!!

I am also determined to make handmade gifts for everyones birthday this year. I'm off to a good start and I'm making accordian photo albums for the ladies...I'm trying to think of something to make for the guys but I'm at a lost.

This is the one I'm working on for my mom's birthday. I have added the pink paper with brown dots on the inside of the album as well. I just need to add a piece of ribbon and I think its complete. I'm also working on two others for January birthdays. I hope I'm not leaving anyone out! I do need to come up with a guys gift before next month and another album for my sister in law. hmmm....guys gift....any ideas?!?!

I also am going to start making things for my baby boys birthday party. I think pin wheels will be a cute decoration, maybe handmade cuties gift favor bags, and I'm trying to think of what else needs to be made....

I just know that overnight all the problems and things we'd been working for since last year are not just going to disappear with the new year and I'm very grateful for that! I love all the great things we've been able to bring forward with us as well! I can't wait to blend my two years :D

2010 The Most Amazing Year Yet!

2010-12-31T03:24:00.000-08:00

I cannot honestly believe that today is the very last day of this most amazing year they call 2010!! Seriously this year changed out lives so much but we couldn't be more grateful for all the changes!!

2010 is the year we finally became parents to the most gorgeous baby boy ever! And man oh man has he grown up quickly! I can't believe the child we brought home from the hospital is the same little man! Both equally as cute but the things he can do now!! It just blows my mind how quickly he has grown in 9 short months!! I truly understand when my mom told me time flies and we grew up way too quickly!!

His first ever picture from the hospital :)

4 months old taken by Sandra in Aviano :)


Almost 8 months old taken by Fritsche Photography also done here in Italy :)

Its really amazing to just see how big he has gotten over the last several months. Simply amazing!

Our son really has made our year but we have also just had a great year!

1. We were matched in February with our birthmother! The day changed our lives forever!
2. We left for the birth of our son at the end of March and he was born during our travels.
3. The beginning of April we met the most beautiful baby boy ever!
4. We also made several new friends throughout the adoption process! Its amazing how adoption can bring together so many people :)
5. My hubby got a new job which has made our little world that much better!
6. My sister got a new start :)
7. We've celebrated many firsts with our baby boy! Can't get more exciting than that!
8. Became part of an adoption support group that is amazing and we LOVE the people who are part of it!!

We are also very grateful for our amazing family (yes you friends know you're family too!) and all they do for us! They love the newest addition to our family to death and we couldn't honestly ask for much more than that, but they are all spoiling him to death which he is thoroughly enjoying! I'm just so thrilled with this past year its not even funny and I'm kinda sad to see it go :( Its brought so much new life changing things that were amazing I can't even wait to see what 2011 has in store for this little family!!

GOOD BYE 2010!! YOU WILL NEVER IN OUR FAMILY BE FORGOTTEN! YOU BROUGHT US OUR FIRST BORN AND THE FIRST GRANDCHILD INTO BOTH FAMILIES :)

Wonderful Weekend

2010-12-13T02:14:00.000-08:00

We had the greatest weekend :)

On Saturday we got to meet the cutest newest baby girl ever (there are several adorable baby girls we know) and I had almost forgot how fragile a newborn baby can feel! Baby boy has gotten so big so fast and it was only 8 months ago he was smaller than this baby girl! I can't believe my little tank use to be that tiny!! I loved holding her and she ALMOST I stress the word ALMOST because as many of you know we've decided not to parent another infant but more than likely toddler to young child age the next time we adopt :) I adored holding her though and truly missed when my little man was that little!

Afterwards we had kebabs from our favorite shop with our friends the Petraes. They're one of our most favorite people over here (we do have a few so don't worry you may be one as well LOL). They brought baby boy some super awesome gifts! My favorite a Dallas Cowboys shirt! Yes they rock like that! So we had an enjoyable evening with them.

On Sunday we woke up to a surprise of no power for over six hours! We didn't let it get us down though. We enjoyed each others company and played with baby boy until we were able to shower and go out for the day.

Once we were able to shower we headed up to Udine for our friends little girls 1st birthday party! It was so fun! Our friends little girl kept giving our little man Kisses it was soooo cute! He also got to meet Santa Claus (our friends dad dressed up for the kids) and Nathan just wasn't having that! If you know him you know he is a very happy go lucky baby and LOVES people so it was odd to see him cry! He really did not like Santa at all and balled his eyes out. Daddy did rescue him and he'd bury his face in daddy's chest and then peak at Santa and start to cry all over again. It was so cute and so sad all at the same time! I did get pics of everything but I'm waiting for my new adapter to come in the mail so when it gets here I'll do a giant post with tons of pictures!

I hope everyone else had a fantabulous weekend :) I know we did and we're blessed to have all these amazing people in it to make it so great!

I LOVE Shutterfly

2010-12-11T10:33:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love love Shutterfly and I seriously just discovered them. We made our Christmas Cards through them and so far everyone has loved them! I also placed our first order of pics through them and they came super fast even living all the way overseas! This is the Thank You Card I've created for all his gifts he's getting this year the little stinker! Seriously check them out you can do so much more as well!

Glitter And Gold 2011 Holiday Thank You 3x5 folded card

Create modern holiday cards at Shutterfly

View the entire collection of cards.

Coming to End

2010-12-09T04:25:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe Christmas is almost here! Someone find me a machine that slows down time and keeps my baby a baby :( He's going to be one years old before I even know it and I'm not too crazy about that idea!!

I will admit though I am super excited about his first Christmas and yes I probably got him way too many toys for his age but he is our first and only child for goodness sake! I can spoil him all I want within reason of course. Don't worry I didn't go into buying him gifts and I certainly didn't charge anything :) But he is definitely a spoiled little man! And the gifts we have aren't even including the ones our families are going to send man oh man is he going to make out this year LOL

I do think some of the toys daddy picked out for his son are ones he would like to play with which I think is freaking hilarious!

Well what have we done this month?

Nothing too exciting. We did get to go and see the Harlem Globetrotters live on base and that was sooo much fun. We of course took lots of pics and of course my comp will now no longer read the damn card! The hubby is going to get a new adapter and hopefully that will fix the problem and if it does I'll post more recent pics of the cutest baby boy ever and pics from that night as well :)

2010-12-04T13:46:00.000-08:00

I started this once and then changed my blogs and started new ones and it got lost in the shuffle. I am going to try it again since I've been pretty faithful to this blog!

Here are the rules if you missed the first round:

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

To make quilted Christmas ornaments
To make a quilt out of Nathan's 1st year of clothes
To make Nathan a scrapbook/lifebook (made an album and first year book)
To make an album of our travels
To make a cookie salad
To get brave and make a yeast bread
To try 50 new recipes (1. Mint Brownies 2. chicken spaghetti 3. soft chocolate cookies 4. truffle pie 5. sloppy joes 6. meatloaf 7. beef stew with beer and paprika 8. Alfredo Sauce 9. pasta alla vodka 10. parmesan chicken brocoli 11. another mac and cheese recipe 12. pepper jack mac and cheese 13. chocolate chip kiss cookies 14. upside down pepperoni pizza casserole 15. chili cheese potato bake 16. beef tostadas 17. lasgna soup 18. noodle bake 19. knock you naked brownies 20. Hershey's chocolate chip cookies 21. easy granola bars 22. michigan granola bars 23. No bake granola bars 24. white chicken enchiladas 25. spicy dr. pepper shreddedd pork 26. BBQ Chicken Pizza )
To make truffles yum!
To make Irish Carbomb cupcakes
Make a homemade cheesecake
To organize the crawl space and get everything into plastic tubs
To get Nathan a toy box/bin something! (I found some bins that could be utilized for this instead of tossing them Jan. 2011)
To work on my weight! 50 lbs sounds reasonable in this amount of time! (3 more off go me!)
To pay off some bills! (May something 2011!! YAY!)
To save x amount in savings
To see Rome
To see Pisa/Florence
Take the Crotia Boat Tour
To go to Oktober Fest
To allow a friend to baby sit Nathan (we're not too fond of this but it will have to happen eventually) (I left him with some friends while I ran an errand. It may have been for an hour but hey it counts!)
To pass things Nathan outgrowns/doesn't need to those who need them (done regularly)
To thin our home out by at least 300 items :) (1. Blender, 2. stand mixer, 3. exersaucer, 4. highchair, 3. suitcases 4. glasses 5. bookshelves 7. glider 8. baby bouncer 9. bottles/sterilizer 10. ps2 11. xbox 12. desk 13. diapers 14. moby wrap 15. old clothes 16. highchair (another one) 17. books 18. flower pots 19. license plate holder 20. vases 21. purses)
To Not Drink coke for a whole month! or sobe! no caffine!
To finish all my teas before I add to my collection
To make a playdate a month for Nathan
To take Nathan out for a walk everyday for one month
To have a Christmas angel whether it be from the tree at the bx or donations to somewhere like Reece's Rainbow
To get a better camera so we can get this little turkey on camera better! he's too fast for the one I have lol (got a new one!! Yay! see new toy post! may 2011)
To finish the third blanket I started to crochet
To actually knit a blanket or scarf just to complete something lol
get Nathan a new bedroom set when we move to the states
sell all Nathan's baby things before we move (sold his moby wrap, cloth diapers, giving away/donating clothes, handing down toys and bottles to cousin, sold the glider from his room)
spend a christmas with family and not military family but actual fam ily
pay off my car
look for an affordable truck
start having a movie night with my boys :) (love movie night with my boys)
plan like a monthly game night with friends (well its not games but we eat together monthly so that counts!)
to go to a concert!
to get my monthly budget on track with the hubby's approval (budget on track woohoo!)
to make a meatless meal a week
to get a better cleaning routine down
to read the entire bible
to read at least 10 books on my bookshelf that I haven't read (on hold til after move)
to cook something with coconut oil
to stop using paper towels (we stopped for awhile but the hubby refuses to stop)
to stop using paper plates (we are officially done with paper plates woohoo!)
to get some plastic and/or non breakable cups (my mom sent me some for nathan and his little friends woohoo Dec 2010)
to get a couple bread pans (I bought some Paula Deen metal ones that I LOVE! DONE!)
to clean the kitchen out and get rid of things I don't use (yay done!)
to get some more storage containers for the kitchen
to start fixing up the Mustang so it can be a daily driver
to get at least one in classroom class done
get a tattoo in honor of Nathan
Watch 26 movies I've never seen starting with each letter of the Alphabet
go camping
go sledding
build a snowman
run a 5k
donate blood
become a bone marrow donor
make pasta from scratch
send a post card to post secrets
make a living will
have a family potrait taken
try zumba
do p90 and actually finish it
to go to Carnivale in Venice (went this year 2011 with a bunch of awesome friends!)
to attend one of the high school plays on base
open a savings account for Nathan
to frame all the pictures of nathan we have so far
get a new hair cut
dye my hair
go a whole week without complaining :)
make my own cleaning supplies (loving the laundry soap, using baking soda instead of comet)
make Nathan's Halloween costume
learn Spanish
start to learn to play the guitar
get a sewing machine
have a family picnic
take a cooking class
take a cake decorating class
decorate my bedroom (just got a mirror to redo for it, now to find some artwork)
cross stitch something
give a friend a homemade gift (I made accordian photo albums for bday gifts this year three done! I gave friends handmade bracelets this year as well)
not log onto facebook for a week!
give up junk food for a month
participate in a charity walk/run
start the adoption process at our next duty station!
learn to make my own curtians
do a cleanse
start a family tradition
no fast food for a month (done while the hubby was gone)
visit my sister in Texas
visit friends in South Carolina
write a list of important people in my life and send them all cards :)
ask 10 people to recommend a book and actually read it
write one new poem
rewatch every season of Gilmore Girls
find 5 movies that relate to adoption in a postive way (1. Meet the Robinsons, 2. Despicable Me 3. Tarzan 4. Hercules 5. Angels in the Outfield)
try five new restuarants in Italy (1. chinese 2. Japanese Osaka)
go geocaching at least once!

Ok so this is starting today Dec. 4, 2010 and should end around August 31, 2013 (wow that seems forever away!)

Book Review: Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball

2010-11-30T04:49:00.000-08:00

I literally just received the books Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball in the mail yesterday and finished it before lunch time today. My son fell asleep in my arms and I really couldn't move and I honestly didn't want too because I was really enjoying this book!

Two Tickets to the Christmas Ball A Novella Written by Donita K. Paul

It is a super sweet story that was mixed with a bit of magic which I honestly found a bit odd being a Christian fiction book and I wasn't quite sure if the characters in the book were a form of angels, but I truly enjoyed the bit of magic that was seen through out the whole book. I loved the story of two very different families, two very different people and how they came to find God, and how they came together.

I also really loved the character Sandy. She truly is an angel and I love how she talks about being a true child of God and being childlike. It was amazing. This is definitely a book I'll be telling friends about and recommending to them to read! Especially those who have special angels of their own at home!

“I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review”

My Little Man is Getting Teeth!!

2010-11-30T04:03:00.000-08:00

So our little prince is getting his first teeth at 8 months old! He's not getting one, or two, or even three but four at the same time! My poor little man! He has not been sleeping well and I'm sure he's in pain from all his fussiness, but he's a trooper and as long as mama is holding him he's a happy camper which makes me happy since normally he is totally a daddy's boy!

We did have his pictures taken over the weekend and from the previews I've seen so far they are stinking adorable!

Here is a little preview for all of you!

They were done by a wonderful photographer here in the local area. You can totally look her up here at Fritsche Photography and trust me you won't be disappointed with her work!!! Plus it helps that I have the cutest baby boy in the world!!!

Other than teeth and pictures not much else is new in our wonderful little family :) We had an awesome Thanksgiving. My little man ate a TON and loved every minute of it. We have decorated our tree and hung our stockings and I'll post pics of that later since they're on the other computer! Baby boy already has a whole tree full of gifts and I still have to wrap a couple more and wait for all the families to get here in the mail. As many of you can imagine being the only grandchild on both sides of the family is going to make for a very spoiled boy! I can't wait though :) Today is also his 8 month birthday :( means he's going to be 1 in four short months. Oh and Nathan is pulling himself up and standing and is practicing standing on his own which means walking isn't far behind which I'm terrified of!

Well I hope everyone is having an amazing time of year! I know we are enjoying it teething and all :)