Duh, D is for....

DISNEY!!!

What else could D possibly even be? Just as any young girl who grew up in Florida, the heart land of Disney World, I was obsessed with Disney movies. I've seen almost every one and I know a ridiculous amount of trivia. And let's face it, they are pretty much the best things that have ever happened to childhood. I bet you can go through all the Disney movies and find at least one that you love.

I mean, come on! They are amazing. And I believe that we 20 somethings and early 30 somethings grew up with the best ones. You know you still remember your favorite songs! Think of all the crap that goes on in our world daily, movies are our little break from reality. Some suck, while others expand your imagination. Disney has always taught us that a little fun, imagination, (and always) a song makes any situation better. What can be better than that? That's right, nothing.

Honestly think about it, think of your childhood; what were a few of your favorite movies? And you still remember lines or songs from those movies don't you? Hakuna matata ringing any bells? Or the beginning of The Lion King? Ahhhhhhhhhhhh ze lennnnnnnnnnya! Adda meeeeta ta baahhhhh! I love most all of Disney's melodious creations, but some of my favorite songs while growing up were:
"Part of your World" - The Little Mermaid
"I Will Show you the World"- Aladdin
"Paint with All the Colors of the Wind" - Pocahontas
"Hakuna Matata"- The Lion King
"Tale as Old as Time"- Beauty and the Beast
The Tarzan soundtrack
"Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride"- Lilo and Stitch

And some of the newest additions are "Dig A Little Deeper" from The Princess and the Frog, "Have a Dream" from Tangled, the soundtrack to Brave, and ALL the songs from Frozen.

But they are seriously awesome-sauce. And damn those movies for always making me cry. And I feel they are just getting worse! (Up anyone? I still cry every time.) But what are your favorite Disney movies? Which ones can you just watch over and over again?

I think the best part of loving Disney, is being able to introduce them to my children and relive it through them. Frozen was Briley's first movie in theatres and she was in love with it. It melts my heart every time to watch and listen to B sing "Let it Go". I think we have a long future of Disney ahead of us, and I can tell you that I'm not angry about it at all. :)

C is for Compassion

WARNING...sorry this post kind of became a rant...

Webster's dictionary defines compassion as a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.

It's sad that when a person goes out of their way to help another it has to become a huge news story or go viral on the web for it to mean anything to the public. What the hell ever happened to people just wanting to be a nice to others? Didn't everyone learn the good old fashioned golden rule? Treat others as how you want to be treated. Today this world lacks so much compassion it's not even funny. How hard is it to be kind to someone when they are down? Would you want someone to rub salt in your wound? No? Well neither does anyone else.

People that want to take advantage of others seriously make me sick. In today's society people are only focused on what can help them, until they are the ones put in the crappy situation. Honestly, when did it become a bad thing to want to be a better person? Just by taking the time to see someone else's point of view it can make a world of difference. It only takes a minute, and the sad thing is that it seems that in this busy world people don't feel they have that one minute to spare.

I hope that I can instill compassion in my girls. And teach them that feeling compassion for someone is not an act of pity but a feeling to want to help someone and become a better human being. It's the little things that make the world go 'round.

"B"

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "b". Wow, that was very Sesame Street of me. But seriously, b, and b is for babies and Briley (my B).

You think you know how your life is going to turn out. You make plans, graduate, get married have such and such a job and then have babies. It's funny how life actually pans out compared to your plans.

I wasn't sure when I wanted to have children, when I was in college it was the furthest think from my mind. But when I met my husband and I knew he was the one, I realized that I wanted children much sooner than I thought.

I always knew that I wanted to be a mother; and with that being said, my babies are the easiest and hardest decision that I've ever made in my life. When you become a parent you are making the decision to always put yourself last. And, real talk, sometimes it is really REALLY hard. Seriously. When your baby is hungry, you feed them first. When your baby is tired you put them to sleep first. When your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, so do you to care for them, no matter how tired or sleep deprived you are. YOU end up changing your schedule and life to accommodate your baby. Some days you don't get to put real clothes on, much less run a brush through your hair, and you have some form of smeg smeared all over your shirt. But when your babies smile at you, or fall asleep on your chest it makes all the other stuff melt away.

I know that when Briley came along my world was changed forever. She made me understand the true meaning of love and wanting everything for your child. She taught me patience and strength that I didn't know that I had. It also made me realize that I wanted to be the best person that I possibly could for my children.


Children are the best gift that you can be given in the entire world. You truly learn the meaning of love and awe. I am still in awe that I created two perfect beings. They have changed me for nothing but the better. Some days are a blessing, and some make me want to pull my hair out, but all my fellow parents know, we wouldn't change it for the world.

"A"

Today's post is brought to you by the letter "A". And A is for Army. Even though I am not the one in the military my life is still dictated by the Army. They tell us when my husband can use his "vacation time", when we have to pay to get his hair cut (which is every two weeks by the way!), when to donate money, and etc. Being a military spouse is not for the weak, gold diggers, glory hounds, or the plain ol' un-flexible. My husband doesn't have set work hours, he doesn't work a 9 to 5, he normally works a 5 to 6 (am to pm that is). Sometimes we don't get to see him for a few days at a time, sometimes a few weeks, being an infantryman his schedule never seems to be the same. My girls don't see him but a few hours a day during the work week. And of course it sucks when he is away from us, but we couldn't be any more proud of him! Being married to the Army gets quite ridiculous at times to say the least. But over the past 5+ years I have grown accustomed to the said ridiculousness and learned some key lessons along the way.

I've learned many things from the good ol' US Army, mainly the 82nd Airborne (all the way!):
Never write your plans in pen, always in pencil. They will change. And then change again.
When something starts at a specific time, always be 15 minutes early, even though you will be waiting at least 30 minutes for the event to begin.
Expect to buy replacements of things, multiple replacements of things.
Plan to have an extra closet, or a whole storage unit, dedicated just to all that ACU or multicam crap.
Always wash uniforms in their own loads because if you wash something else with them, it will become a causality of that funky smell.
You learn many terms, acronyms, and sayings that make no sense to you, you will know that you've officially become a military spouse when you begin to use them.
Making a meal that can easily be reheated will become second nature. (Side note: they don't care if it's cold anyways)
Some wives wear their husband's rank; why? I don't know, they sure as hell didn't earn it, and it will make you want to donkey punch them in the throat.

But in all seriousness, I love my husband and I am so proud of the soldier he is. We have met so many amazing people, seen many things, and have had great opportunities. And I'm sure that there are more to come. The Army is our life; we love it, we hate it, but we wouldn't know what to do without it. After all, home is where the Army sends us. <3

Hmmm.....

Well it's quite obvious that I suck at this whole blogging thing. I guess right now life is a little too busy to sit myself down and have a few minutes to type something.

A lot has changed since I last blogged...let's see what all happened, it's now 2014!! [Whoa! Where's my jetpack?! ;)]  I am now a mother to TWO of the most amazingly beautiful girls in the entire world: Briley Elizabeth and Kyla Everly. Kyla was born on Oct 15th, 2013; she had a very dramatic entrance into the world, but that is a story for another time. We spent the holidays as a family of four. B turned two just a few weeks ago. Brian and I are on a "lifestyle change" (mostly because I LOATHE the word diet, it's a bad 4- letter word!) And we are currently waiting on my husband's orders to drill school and then we will be moving in a few months. Did I get everything? Yup, I think I did.

Life has been a little crazy lately with having two under two. I feel like somedays I don't even get a second to think of things that I need to get done, let alone actually do them. I consider the day a real success if I manage to get a pair of real pants on. Ah, the life of a mother, eh? Maybe naptimes can beome blog time? We will just have to see! ;) I think I will start to make my posts as alphabetical posts and go letter by letter, Seasame Street style! So the next post you will read will be brought to you by the letter "A". Well my household is asleep, I guess that's my cue to follow.

Night world!

Moving

Well we made it! We moved all of a few miles! But we officially got all our crap from a little 2 bedroom to a bigger 3 bedroom. So far we all love it!

The actual process felt like it took forever, but I'm so glad that's over. We wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of our friends and Army family. They guys helped go back and forth between the houses loading and unloading their pick up trucks numerous times. They also helped me pack the rest of random crap that my preggo brain may have forgotten! ;) They did all this without complaining and me not having to lift anything heavier than 15 pounds. I can definitely say that we are blessed. Oh, and did I mention that they did it all in the course of a day? I feel like beer and pizza weren't enough payment.

The next step was cleaning the house we just moved out of! That was a sucky task! I definitely couldn't have done it without the help of my friend Ashley. She helped me organize the chaos of my new house, wrangle the children, and clean my old house from top to bottom! I don't know what I would've done without you Ashley!  Thank you so much! :) And I owe you coffee next time we go out!

Now we are just taking our time settling into our new house. So far we are all loving the space and change in layout. Not to mention having a third bedroom! Woo! So now the question is, who's coming to visit? :)

All American Week

This week here at Fort Bragg is All American Week! That means last week was clean sweep week, filled with long days of "area beautification", and this upcoming weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It also means a four day weekend! Woo!

This week is filled with all kinds of activities, it kicks off tomorrow morning with a division run of about 18,000 people running together. It looks really cool, although my husband reassures me all the time that it's beyond stupid.

And to top off all the activities, we are moving! Allllll the way across post. ;) Not too far, but still have to pack up and clean a house. Its going to be a crazy week that's for sure! So I'll be sure to update after all the craziness passes. What are y'all's plans for Memorial Day?

Body image

Any other women who's body didn't go back to the way it was after a pregnancy will relate to this post. When I got pregnant with baby #2 I was not where I wanted to be with my body and weight. It was difficult to accept that my body would yet be changing again when I hadn't even gotten to my goal first.
Before I was pregnant I was one of the many girls that didn't fit into society's idea of thin. I was a year round athlete, thicker built, with larger shoulders and boobs. I never felt that I was skinny enough and always felt the need to work at being that way. I didn't appreciate the way my body was pre baby. Now, I wouldn't trade my babies for anything but I wish that I could go back to tell myself to relax and enjoy the body that I had. To be proud of the way my body was made. I should've been fine with my body and not felt the need to be embarrassed at the beach or the pool.
Not every body changes the same way during a pregnancy. I learned that quickly. I always hoped that I'd be one of those lucky girls that was all belly, nope! Not at all! I gained weight every where and looked swollen. :-/ Celebrities and models and super cute pregnant women give you false hope of what you think you'll look like. I was also one of the unlucky ones to get stretch marks, and not just a few, and not light ones either. I had quite a bit and they were purple and redish. I didn't feel horrible about the ones on my belly, they were my baby battle scars, but the ones that appeared on my legs post labor still to this day make me self conscious.
After I had Briley I did get back to my pre pregnancy weight but my body didn't get the memo. I still didn't fit my old clothes the right way, I still felt awkward and frumpy in my own skin. And going to the pool when a swim suit didn't fit right and my new tiger stripes (stretch marks) on my stomach and legs? Fagetta'bout it! I tried really hard to lose more weight and make myself feel better and after a while I did. But I didn't reach my ultimate goal before I found out that I was expecting for a second time. And now that I'm pregnant again I worry how my body will change this go round. Will I get even bigger? Will the stretch marks get even worse? If the worst happens to my body, will I ever get time to go to the gym?
I hope to eventually feel comfortable in my own skin again. I'm not sure when that will be, but hopefully someday in the not too distant future.

Moving

We're moving! No not to Oklahoma,  or another post, we are moving across post to a bigger house. Woo, three bedrooms instead of two! I'm excited to be in a bigger house but I LOATHE moving! I've done it three times by myself, with some help from family and friends. And let me tell ya, it sucks. Luckily this move isn't an 800 mile move, just a few miles.

I always feel overwhelmed when I have to move. I know all the packing and cleaning and painting that is soon to be in my future. I just see the overall picture and tasks that I have to get done and it feels daunting. I think with this one, I'm going to go room by room and pack up what I don't use on a daily basis and then stuff from other seasons. What are y'alls packing methods? Any tips that you feel make it easier?  This is the first time I will be packing up a home with a child, so packing and such has to be during nap times which limits what I can get done in a day by myself. Oh well, I guess I better get cracking then, huh? ;)

By the way, thanks everyone for the love and support on my blog. ;) ♥

For all the wrong reasons

I have been having an internal argument with myself over my lack of volunteerism lately. I mean with one toddler and being pregnant I feel like I don't have time for myself, let alone strangers that I don't know. But there are other people that do and it makes me wonder if I am (or sometimes others) doing it for the right reasons. My husband tells me often that I have the best heart, and I don't know why he says it honestly. I just try to help others when I can.

When my husband was deployed it was easy to be at every single FRG function and help set up and run it. But I feel now that he's home I want to spend my time as family time. Is that wrong? Part of me feels selfish and the other part feels justified. My main question is where do you divide your time between helping others and helping your own family? It's not just the FRG that I like to help out, I like to do other things as well, when I wasn't pregnant I would donate blood every 6 weeks, I am always a sucker for the kids at St.Jude's, and I feel like I'm always getting rid of spare change or one dollar bills in those donation boxes by cashiers. I don't do it to promote my selfworth, but it feels good to help others that have less than I do.
With that being said I do know some people in other companies that have been very public about their "selflessness" and dedication to the FRG logging so many of their hours just so they can get the recognition. And those kind of people make me want to vomit. How hard is it to just be a nice person and a decent human being? If we were all selfless just once a month imagine how many people we could help.
For those of you that dedicate your time and money to helping others, I applaude you and look up to you. I hope to be more of a helper and less selfish. But mostly I want to teach my children to help those that need it. ♥

Ch-ch-ch-changes

Well if y'all don't know by now from my Facebook page, I am currently pregnant with baby Dutton #2! It was a big surprise for both of us, to say we weren't trying is beyond accurate. God definitely threw us a curve ball with this one. Brian and I had actually just discussed how horrible the timing would be for a baby and about a week later those two pink lines showed up. We are both scared and excited. Scared because I feel that I wasn't ready for another baby yet, and ready to be a mother of two when I had just mastered mother of one. But excited because there is no better joy than bringing a baby into this world. <br>
I am currently 16 weeks pregnant with baby Dutton #2. My estimated due date is October 10, 2013; but we all know this baby wil arrive when it wants to. Brian and I think that this baby will be a girl, due to the pregnancy being identical to Briley's and because of the infantryman's curse. ;) Sometimes I forget that I'm pregnant but then I have the slight bulge in my middle that looks like I hate a dozen donuts too many. I don't have many symptoms but I didn't have much with B either. And I thank sweet baby Jesus for no morning sickness so far (*knock on wood*) because I'm not sure how caring for a 15 month old and puking my guts out would coincide.

I can say that now I am getting more excited about my second pregnancy. I have my next doctor appointment in 2 weeks and I get to schedule my ultrasound for the anatomy scan around 20 weeks. So soon we will find out if baby #2 is a she or he. :) Any gusses?

Not a perfect world

I know that life's not fair, it was one of the first lessons I learned from Disney (thank you Lion King). And I know that this world is very far from perfect. I am trying my hardest to be a good person and to make the best choices and actions for a better world. But when other people can't even try to make the same choice it totally grinds my gears. I try to do right by the world and not add more bullshit to it, but I feel that after one too many times that you have been taken advantage of you start to just want karma to bitch slap that person in the face. I am over trying to be nice to a certain lack of a person and her beyond ignorant husband and her two not so cute boys.

I realize that this is not a nice post, no where close to it, but sometimes a a girl's just got to vent. Anyone else have experiences where you just wanted to ruin someone's life but took the high road? Please share, and please tell me that karma was swift and just in the long run?

A bit of randomess

Where has the time gone? I tried to be a better blogger (last year), but this year I will be a better blogger. It's one of my goals, I don't make resolutions, but goals and to do lists, yes! So this is my first post of 2013 and yes I know that it is January 23rd.


I feel like it was just yesterday that I was making my last preparations before my baby was due to arrive. She ended up making her entrance earlier than her due date, but she was still early by 4 days. ;) And now here I sit, alone on the couch going over her last minute party plans and making decorations. I honestly can't believe that in less than 48 hours my baby will be ONE! Where did the hell did time go? And why did it take my baby with it? For all of you ladies that are pregnant, or have newborns, enjoy everything of having a small baby: all the baby snuggles where you do nothing but stare at your baby; soak up the sleepless nights where your baby wants to be fed and held all night long; even soak up waking up a few times a night. Because before you know it, your baby will be sleeping through the night and will be too busy crawling, walking, or running to want to snuggle.


I feel so lucky to have been blessed with the gift of motherhood. Briley has changed my life in ways that I didn't know that I needed. I could be having a horrible day and then when I look at B's smiling face my world instantly is better. I love her more than words can say and I can't believe that my body created something so perfect (with a little help from Brian ;] ). People that say that they don't want kids honestly don't know what happiness they are keeping from themselves.

"There's no place like home"

Now that I am an adult and have a child of my own, this saying could not be any more true. When I was living in Fort Walton Beach, Florida I always knew that it was home to me; I was not worried one bit about leaving for college and not returning for 4 years, or even longer if need be. I knew where my family was and where I would always have a place to stay. Now that I'm a parent I feel like maybe I didn't really appreciate how great my home was or how often I miss it. Being married to Brian (and therefore the Army) and only being able to travel home when we are given time has made me realize how much I really do miss home and how it wouldn't be so bad of a place to come back to and raise Briley (and future children).

I think, perhaps, I was a bit spoiled by living 10 minutes from the prettiest beaches in the world. That's right, in the world. Try to top white sand beaches and emerald waters. What's that? Oh, you can't? I didn't think so. (See, like I said, spoiled. ;]) We always had the ability to go to the beach, from April all the way until October. So you better believe that on the weekends and after school we were there. The beaches are one very important part of home that I know is great and I never had to think twice about it. The other parts you don't think of as a kid: homes, real estate market, schools, jobs, cost of living. Those parts seem to fall by the wayside until you have a child to make you take these things into consideration.

While I was in school I didn't give a rat's ass about being there more than I had to. I also didn't care how great the school system was that I was in. Looking at it now from a different perspective I use my old schools as a measuring stick of how I would like the schools to be for Briley. I don't want her to be sold short on any opportunities. (After all, isn't that the intent of being a parent? To want our children to have more and do better than we did?) I want her future schools to have the option of taking AP (advanced placement) classes or IB (international baccalaureate) classes. I want her school to have an "A+" rating, her teachers to be intelligent, caring and to give a damn. I want Briley to have the option to play any sport for her school that she wants to. And I also want her to be in a diverse enough school where people have a difference of opinion but can still be friends. (Sounds like I'm describing a school out of a movie right? Well I'm not, I actually went to PUBLIC schools like this.)

The housing market everywhere kinda sucks in this recession, am I right? But most of the houses in my old town are affordable, and not ridiculous. No one needs 6 bedrooms anyway, right? But since a lot of the homes are older and ranch style they are more affordable to the average person. Because no one needs a mortgage payment that they can't afford. *Another added plus, they feel homier* :) Maybe it's just because it's what I grew up with, but I like the way the neighborhoods and homes are designed. It feels more "old school" and like a community, which I want B to have. To have friends in the neighborhood and to be able to run around and run amok. :)

I could go on forever, bottom line: I've realized that I love and miss my home. I come to realize that it's an amazing place to raise children. Both Brian and I have decided that we love and miss it, and want to raise our children there if we have the opportunity.

Days go by, and then it's Halloween

Oh hey there world, I forgot, I have a blog. Apparently it's not as great as I hoped it would be, but eh, it's still a blog. It would probably be easier to do if I didn't have a child, two dogs, a cat, and a husband to take care of. :)

I don't know how this is possible but Briley just turned 9 months old yesterday!! That's 40 weeks! 270 days!!! That's as much time out of the womb as she spent inside. I just can't believe it. It seems like just the other day I was going to the hospital to have her and poof, here we are getting ready to celebrate her first Halloween.

Speaking of Halloween, how is one supposed to celebrate Halloween with a 9 month old? I don't know about y'all but I am taking my super adorable baby out to get a little bit of free candy! ;) What do y'all do with your young kids? I think that you should always go, unless you are super sick or giving birth. It makes for such great memories. I can still remember back to some of my earlier Halloween's with my mom, my brother and my sister. We always had a great time even if it was 32 degrees and snowing! A few of the years my siblings and I had matching costumes, other years we kinda were a group thing, and other years we went as whatever we wanted to be that year. Bottom line, Halloween makes for some great memories, and I'm going to do my damnedest to take my kids every year :)

One of my favorite things about Halloween was that my mom would make our costumes. It was fun to see her work on them for a month, sometimes two, prior and to watch them take shape. I personally think that all the homemade ones are WAAAAAY better than the store bought. They always seem to be a little more creative and they always fit just right. I hope that I can be just like my mom and muster up the creative gusto and learn to sew for the sake of Briley's memories. :)

Needless to say, I am excited to celebrate Briley's first Halloween. What are y'all excited for this spooky Halloween?

USA! USA! USA!!

Is anyone else a fanatic about the Olympics like I am? Or should I ask, is anyone else as sad about the Olympics being over as I am?

I am a FREAK for the Olympics! As in, I recorded all of the televised events to watch at my own disposal while avoiding Facebook updates, search engine spoilers, and even the news so that I wouldn't ruin my own Olympic experience. I have an Olympics bracelet, and I even changed my ringtone to the Olympic fanfare. I did say freak right? ;) I love watching all the different events and cheering for the US athlete or the underdog. I hate that they only come around every 4 years. WHY do they have to be so far apart?!

I love so many of the events. My favorites have to be the events that involve the pool or any gymnastics! They are so much fun to watch and I get very into them; I normally end up jumping and yelling and screaming at the TV trying to cheer on the athlete. This year I really got into the "random" events such as rythmic gymnastics, trampoline, synchronized swimming, and indoor cycling. I never realized how much training, practice, and effort go into the events that go so unrecognized. For instance, have you seen the throws in synchro? The team launches a member into the air while they stack up and can't touch the bottom of the pool! Talk about strength! And rythmic gymnastics, have you ever seen someone so stinking flexible?! If you didn't get a chance to see these events I suggest that you google or youtube them; I promise you won't be disappointed.

Another great aspect of the Olympics that I love is that the entire country comes together to root for our team. It seems that for two short weeks we can forget about the little problems in our life and watch in wonder and amazement at how the human body can be trained to perform. After emursing myself in the games for 2 weeks, I have decided that when Briley is 3, she needs to pick a sport to start. :) So maybe you'll see her in the 2028 Olympics!

So tell me, what were your favorite parts of the Olympics? :)

Never Will I Ever...

Wow, so I've been MIA for a hot minute...and I apologize for that. I've been super busy taking care of a baby that doesn't care to sleep. *sigh* Which makes for a very sleepy and not so all together mama. But now that I have a free minute, I decided that I would update my blog that hasn't been updated in *gulp* a little over 3 months! :O

Not too much has changed, hubs is still defending our freedom down range, I'm still a mom, and Briley is still a baby. Albeit a very quickly growing baby. I can't believe that she is almost 6 months old already. Where the hell has time gone? In the very quickly passing last few months, I've learned so much about becoming a mother and even about doing those things you swore you'd never do.

*Now just a little note for the next section: we are all different people, and that being said we are all different parents and out parenting styles are different. I do what I do to raise Briley because she is my child and what I've found she likes and works. So obviously you can agree or disagree, and you are free to do so, if you disagree just be respectful about it if you decide to voice your opinion.*

Before I actually held Briley in my arms I, like many parents, started listing off things that I swore that I'd never do. And again, like many parents, started doing those things left and right as long as they kept my baby calm and helped her sleep. I always swore that I never would have my baby sleep in my bed, let alone in my room; yup you guessed it, scratch that one off the list. I have had Briley sleeping in my room since night one and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love having her so close to me, and it is SUPER convenient considering she is exclusively breastfed. When she started her sleep regression and decided that sleeping was so no fun, it was also the best to be able to pull her into bed with me and let her sleep with me. There are so many people that are against co-sleeping for many reasons and I respect that, but I personally love it. Briley will only be littlr once and I take every chance I get to snuggle with her. And for those of you who are saying, "Don't! She will get used to it, then she will only sleep with you." She sleeps just fine on her own in her own bed for night time and for naps. The co-sleep cuddling is for me, not her. Whenever she wakes up in the night, we co-sleep for about 30 minutes and she will go back to her bed. Works like a charm.

Something else that I swore that I never would do was cloth diapers (will be referred to as CD). I told myself that it wouldn't be worth the hassle. We really wouldn't be saving that much money. That I was never going to be able to do the laundry every third day or so. I would never put my hands near a CD full of poop. I would never like them any more than disposable diapers.  Well now I am eating my words. I LOVE my CD. I have been able to keep up with the laundry (which is not bad by the way) and I like them so much more than disposables. A box of size 2 Pampers (my preferred brand)diapers today costs $49.99 for 200 diapers. I change Briley an average of 7-8 times a day. So you do the math, and those diapers will last me maybe 25 days, so less than a month. I spent around $200 total on my CD and all the stuff to go along with them; I will be using them until Briley is potty trained and for my next children as well. Money saver? Hell yes! Not to mention that the patterns are absolutely adorable! Needless to say, I love my CD.

I think that there are many more things that I am currently doing that I swore I'd never do, and I'm sure that there will be another post about them. But alas, my child awakens, motherhood calls...and I should be updating more frequently again.

Also, any ideas for future posts? ;)

First Plane Ride

Chello y'all!

It's been a while since my last post, it seems even though I don't have a job or school right now, I am busy busy busy!

Yesterday there was a new experience that my little girl had. Her first plane ride! The first plane ride was amazing. I took a picture to document it, but unfortunately I couldn't reach my video camera to document it further :( Briley slept the entire flight which wasn't far (just from Fayetteville to Charlotte), but still the entire flight. And I was one proud mama. I as so fearful that she was going to just scream the entire time, but she just conked right out.

Once we got to Charlotte, it was a different story. We had a 4 hour layover and man was it hell. Whatever I did Briley was just not a happy camper. I changed her, fed her (which was an experience in itself, I'll explain later), tried to sit and pat her butt, walked her around, drove her around in the stroller, carried her in the carrier nothing was working. She was exhausted and so was I, yet she was fighting sleep horribly. Granted it was her bedtime and we were in a loud and bright airport. The lifesaver in this hell of a layover? Rockingchairs. The Charlotte airport has them everywhere in the terminals, and I love them! They are the perfect seat to have with a baby. I sat, put Briley's pacifer in her mouth, and rocked. In five minutes she was out! It was a miracle. She continued to sleep all the way through boarding the plane, take off, and the entire flight. She only woke up when we landed in Fort Walton and taxied to the gate. However she did fall right back asleep. I was one proud mama, considering there was a ridiculously loud 5 year old with a pacifier on the flight and my 2 month old did not make one peep! :)

Okay, so back to feeding my daughter. Now I'm a breastfeeding mama, and I'm proud of it; however, I am not comfortable with just whipping my boob out anywhere in public, I am the kind to cover up when I do it. (Nothing against the mama's that do, more power to you ladies!) I looked for the calmest place in the airport, with any form of comfortable available seating. Do you know how hard that is?! I must've looked for a good 20-30 minutes all the while with a baby who was threatening to scream. After looking and finding the best place to feed her, I had to wrangle my screaming child and my tanktop along with my bra and the blanket to cover. It was a sight to see. As soon and I got Briley and myself situated and she was eating, I got the most ridiculous looks from people. They were staring at me like I had two heads. I don't know if they have ever seen a woman feeding her child, but they made me feel super awkward, and if you know me, you know that that is hard to do. *Sigh* I'm just glad that the experience is out of the way, until 10 days from now when we will do the same thing going back home. ;)

Moral of my story: try not to have a ridiculously long layover. It will be better on you and your child(ren). :)

And the countdown begins..

Well, my amazing husband has been gone for a little over one week. I don't know if I should end that sentence with an "already" or "only". This deployment so far has been completely different that the last one. I think the biggest change is the fact that I have a daughter. I thought that I would be really sad at this point, but Briley has kept me smiling and busy all day long; not to mention my bestie Brooke and her son Newt have kept us both entertained. :)

The hardest thing is going from living with someone to living by yourself with a baby. Ugh, sometimes I wish that I had an extra arm just to be able to let the dogs out or to shoo the cat off the couch. It is difficult to have to do everything by yourself. Now that we are getting better at our routine I think that it'll get easier. But I guess that we will see :)

Oh, and I have Brian's address so anyone that wants it please contact me.

Here we go again

So yesterday my husband left for deployment. And with him he took my heart, and my soul, and what feels like half of my body. I love him more than words can say and miss hom so much already. This being my second deployment I thought that it would be easier, right? Wrong! If anything it feels just like I'm doing this for the first time all over again.
I know that Brian and I both felt like this deployment crept up on us some how. I don't know where the time has slipped away to; I feel like just yesterday we were at the hospital holding a just born Briley. And next thing we know, there were are standing on Devil Field in 82 degree weather surrounded by multi-cam. This time saying good bye wasn't any easier for either of us. I felt my heart literally breaking as Brian was holding Briley and kissing us both good bye for last time for 9 months. Watching Brian holding his 6 week old daughter, I could see the realization on his face as it registered how much he was actually going to be missing in the next months. I think that moment is what truly hit me the hardest and made me cry like a baby.

Going through the rest of the day wasn't so bad because I spent it with Brooke, one of my newest best friends. And we went to see our friend Monica's brand new baby boy Bryce. (By the way he is a beautiful baby boy.) But after the whole "keeping myself busy" for a few hours, I  had to do what I dreaded most: go home. As soon as I walked through the door and took care of the animals, I saw the  note that my amazingly sweet husband left me I lost it. I just leaned against the wall and let myself cry. I gave myself only 5 minutes, and then I held it together pretty well until Briley's bath and bed time. Going to sleep in my queen sized bed all alone was a sad realization that this deployment is real.

So here we are again, this time I'm not just a wife but a mother. And I  have to be strong and set an example for my daughter. We love and miss you Brian! We are so proud of you! Stay safe and come home soon. <3