Laminin

I found this on Kelly's blog and thought it was amazing. I hope you take a little time to watch this video.

Greetings from the sick house!

My title should say it all. Robert is now battling what Thompson had this past week. Poor baby! And I swear (and any woman will attest to this as well) that anytime a man gets sick, the world is coming to an end. Robert has battled (in his head) fever, dehydration, chronic high blood pressure, cancer, etc. the past few days. LOL! No, I really do feel bad for him. I know he doesn't feel good. So I shouldn't make fun. :)



On happier note, my friend Stephanie just found out Friday that she is having a baby BOY!!! I know that her and her husbad are excited! Boys are the best! I know that I wouldn't trade mine for anything!


Speaking of my little boy...as we speak he is shreiking at the top of his lungs for the fun of it. Well Mommy's headache is not liking it. But it is cute. And a new funny thing he is doing lately is saying "No" to everything! You ask him if he is hungry? "No." Thompson, do you want some juice? "No." And right after he says it, he runs wherever expecting it. I know that he doesn't know the exact difference just yet, but it is still funny listening to him sometimes.



This coming Friday we are going down to Robert's brother's house to help him move. I know that they are dreading the deployment, but hopefully he will be home before Christmas. Honestly, I think Robert is dreading his brother's deployment worse than his own. It is his little brother and he is upset that for once in his life he won't be there to protect him. It really is hitting him hard, so please keep him in your prayers as well.



On a happier note... we will be back in Arkansas in less than 3 weeks! YAY!!! My wonderful sister, Brittany, is getting married in Florida!

Yes, that will be me!!

So we are getting to go back for that and to visit! I know my parents are extremely excited! Thompson has learned to say "NaNa and Papa" and I know that they are anxiously waiting to hear it in person.



I hope everyone had a great Spring Break! I felt like like I really didn't even get one seeing as to how I still how had assignments due? What the heck?! Anyways, school will be over in a month (YAY!) and it will be time for summer school (Boo!). But hopefully this will be my last year! Cross your fingers!



Ok, here is a video of the little man on his slide today. Ignore the tornado that went through the living room today! :)

Fruit Loops!

Thompson still isn't feeling the best. So today he wanted to sit in the big chair and eat some fruit loops. And he just looked so cute! So here are some pics.

Look how big he is!!!


Cheese!

Wild Weekend Windstorms!

This weekend Jeremy, Shanna, and Haili came to visit! YAY!!! We were very excited! With them moving in a couple of weeks I was afraid that they wouldn't get the chance to come up. Saturday, Stephanie and I had a garage sale. Well she had one and I pitched in a few items. :) But it turned out good and we both made a few extra dollars. The boys ended up going to play golf and Shanna and I took the kids outside to play. It was so pretty out and the kids had a ball. They both are quite the little dare-devils. Thompson had to go in a little earlier due to a poor attitude and running off. So, a quick nap later and he was up and at it again. I made some yummy ribs for dinner and went to bed with a migraine. This now has been 3 nights in a row for migraines...any suggestions of why and how to get rid of them? I am not a huge fan of ibuprofen but I have been taking one when it happens....so?

Yesterday was eventful. I thought we were going to get blown away by the huge wind storm, but luckily we all survived. I heard there were 50 mph winds. Eesh! Then Thompson battled a big case of the (WARNING, WARNING...Possible TMI) diahrrea. Eewww... And the vomits. Anything I would feed him would come back up. Let me tell you, blue raspberry yogurt all over me was not particularly the most appetizing thing in the world. But as of 8pm last night things had subsided. Thank you, Lord! Not much else going on here. Robert was supposed to leave for the field on Tuesday for 3 days, but luckily his Ssgt told him that he isn't having to go. YAY!

Just watching my DVR'd Desperate Housewives waiting for Thompson to wake up. Gotta get moving. Laundry, dishes, you know...the usual! :)

A little bit of this, a little bit of that!

I am starting to come to the realization that I have a problem...a grocery buying problem. It seems like everytime I talk to someone on the phone and they ask "What are you doing" I am always headed to the grocery store. Granted, we go through a lot of necessity items like milk, yogurt, fruit, etc...but I sometimes go a little overboard. Just a little.

Meet my freezer! Eesh!

And this may not look too bad, but let me tell you...every inch of this freezer is full! And somehow I always feel like we have nothing to eat! My pantry is just as bad! Not kidding.

As you know my friend, Steph, is moving. So last night I was helping her move some stuff when I heard her talking to Robert. I caught the tail-end of the converstation, but heard her offering a bunch of frozen veggies and stuff that she was needing to get rid of. Of course, Robert says "Have you seen our freezer?" But, I tell her that I can make room. :) Needless to say, I came home with about 3 bags full of groceries. And I somehow made room. ha!

This week I am trying to switch out our winter clothes to make room for our summer wardrobe! As I am going through Thompson's clothes, I am realizing just how many outfits that he did not get to wear. I am always the one that thinks that he has nothing to wear, so I buy more. Well, atleast HALF of his closet still had tags on them. I will admit that a lot were still a little to big, so I am crossing my fingers that they won't be too small for next winter. But I really need to get him some t-shirts to wear for this summer... :)

I am anxious for the pool to open next month. I think Thompson will have a blast. Thankfully, it is right across the street from the house so we don't have too far to go! We played on the playground yesterday and it is unbelievable how I can see him developing more and more each day. He is just getting so big. His favorite thing to say right now is "Uh Oh!" And let me tell you...everything is an uh-oh to him! But it really is cute. And he loves trying to sing his ABC's. Yes, I know, my child is gifted! :)

On a side note... Robert's brother, Jeremy, is deploying at the beginning of April to Afghanistan. He will be gone for about 7-8 months, so please keep him and his family in your prayers.

It's never easy to say goodbye...

Lots of running around we have done lately. We went to Palm Springs friday night for dinner. We ate at this great Mexican restaurant called Maracas. They had a live Mariachi band and Thompson had a blast!!!




Like father, like son! :)







The Palm Springs Strip



My dinner... Mmmm...

And Robert's


This is the way we felt afterwards....


Until we saw Coldstone!!!



Last night, we had the joy of celebrating one last time with our friends, Stephanie and Tony. As I have mentioned before, they are getting out of the Marine Corps and returning to Iowa. They are expecting a child in August, and it makes me sad that I won't be there to see this little baby when he/she is born. And in the Marine Corps, you make friends knowing that in a few years you probably won't have the chance of seeing them again. This job moves you whereever and whenever need be. I have made a few lifelong friends. Some that I know I will keep up with over the years, and hopefully be able to visit one day. But it still makes me sad. These are the women that you rely on more than anything. They understand everything that you are going throught because they are living this life too. They are the ones that keep your sanity when your husband is in a war zone. They are the ones that together you learn how to live in the crazy life. They are the ones that help you grow as a person.


Stephanie and I


Christina and I




Me, Christina, Steph, Leah, and Beth


Thompson's favorite, Mrs. Christina!


The guys playing the Wii


So how do you say goodbye to someone knowing that things will never be the same?

And so this question got me thinking...

If you would have asked me 5 years ago how my life would be, I would have never pictured this in a million years. I remember when the war was starting and I would see pictures and videos on tv and just feel an overwhelming sadness for the families of the military. I couldn't even envision myself in their position. So never did I think I would become one of them. But it really has changed me. I never thought I would leave Arkansas. I never thought I would leave my parents. I never thought I would leave my sisters. I never thought I would leave friends. But isn't that what life is preparing us to do? Leave? One day, we are all going to leave and not have the joy of stepping on airplane for a short ride home to see mom and dad. And it just hurts sometimes to think that one day Thompson is going to be leaving me. (Hopefully to go to Medical School:) ) But one day he will leave. And how do you deal with it? It breaks my heart everytime I drive away from my parents knowing that I don't know when I will be back. And each time I go, is just as hard as before. It never gets eaiser. Things happen so fast. I can't imagine the pain they felt seeing their daughter drive off to California to start this life she knew nothing about. But they trusted me, and they loved me. And they knew that I had to go. So, everyday we are faced with leaving in some way. Whether it be your spouse walking out the door going to work, your child leaving for college, seeing your dear friends leave to start their own lives, or saying goodbye to a loved one that we know we will see again someday.

Just be prepared, life never turns out the way you have planned and eventually, you will have to say goodbye.

It's Friday!

Hopefully, many of us have realized by now that our economy is just pitiful. I woke up this morning and was watching the news to learn how California is passing out over 26,000 pink slips to their teachers!! WHAT?! California is in a major, major crisis with over $40 Billion deficit, and they are wanting to cut out over $8B of it by cutting teachers! As someone whose mother is a teacher, I would be devistated to learn that from the lack of responsibility from our state, she was losing her job! Friday, March 13 is "Pink Slip Friday", so throw on your favorite pink item and show your support for our teachers!!!

All of this economy talk leads to my next topic...

I have seen many, MANY tv shows, news articles, blogs, etc. talking about how to be a fashion-ista during this recession...da da duh... A RECESSIONISTA!! ha! Anyways, thought this was great. Many bloggers are adding their budget shopping 101 to their blogs, so I thought I might as well too!

If you know me, you know how much I love a $deal$... If you find something for $20 I guarantee I can probably find it for $14.99...and here is how! It is called Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Gordmans, and Ross, my friends. If you have yet to discover these fabulous stores -- shame on you! Just kidding ;) But seriously, they are awesome! They have tons of name brands for probably half of what you would pay at a dept. store! No joke. Sometimes, you really have to look for some things, but trust me...it is worth it!

Also, I am a self-professed jewelry freak! I admit it. I do not want to go and pay $20 for a pair of earrings that I (and my mother) know that I am going to lose 2 months down the road. One of my favorite places for jewelry is Forever21!


For example:


These earrings: $3.80


And while you are at it, go ahead and get these babies in gold too to match your new $14 top from Wal-Mart!

I am probably not the only one that at age 14 would have DIED if I had to shop at Wal-Mart, BUT this store has come a LONG ways since then. They have very trendy clothes and I enjoy frequenting their aisles when I can! Here is a great summer dress from there for only $15!

And when it starts to get cold out, layer it with a longsleeve and some boots, and there is your new winter outfit!

Another hot-ticket item right now is chunky jewelry...a big cocktail ring, chunky necklace, chucky bracelet, etc.

This bangle bracelet is again only $3.80 at the lovely Forever21And how about these stackable rings? All 5 for...you guessed it! $3.80 It is so easy these days to find some cute, trendy clothes and accessories! You can easily put together an out fit for under $40! Now go check out some of these stores and tell me all the bargains you got!

Lazy Sundays

Oh, have I told you how much I love Sundays? I think they are pretty much my favorite! UNLESS...you have a 5 page midterm due. Uh-huh. Luckily, I woke up pretty early and got to work. I whipped it out in about 4 hours or so! Not bad. Especially when you have a stickler for a professor. Ewww. After that, I told Robert I needed to run to the store. When he suggest that he and Thompson go, I should have known something was up. Of course...he wanted to wash his truck which requires a little help from me. So, 2 hours later his truck was washed, groceries bought, and I was home cooking dinner. We had a great dinner tonight! If you haven't learned by now, cooking is kind of an obsession of mine. I LOVE COOKING! I made meatloaf which really isn't that hard and my yummy gruyere au gratin potatoes! They are delish! Gruyere cheese is a stronger, nuttier cheese but really good. Not much else going on...I am sitting here watching Extreme Home Makeover. Desperate Housewives is next!!! I will admit, I haven't watched the past few episodes, so I am dying to see what is going on in Wisteria Lane...dun dun dah! :)

Makes you wonder...

8:00 p.m....do you know where your husband is? Mine? Well he is STILL working. I swear, the Marine Corps has nothing better to do than make their Marines stay late. Gees! The past 2 weeks he went in before 4am and didn't get off til around 7pm every night; friday he worked til 11:30pm. And it is for stupid, stupid reasons. Oh well. I have learned many things from being a Marine wife for almost 3 years, and well, this is one of them. The Marine Corps has its own mind, good luck changing it.

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Didn't get to go on my walk today...or yesterday. I know, I know. But, I will hopefully be out there tomorrow! Here are some pictures I took from the other day...

It really is such a nice walk.

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Thompson is doing so good on learning to feed himself with a spoon! This morning he ate a whole bowl of cereal all by himself! He loves to use the "scoop" method. It is so cute. And once he gets the spoon in his hand correctly, he will not put it down. :) Here are some pictures of that.

Thompson is asleep for the night. I really, really do have such a sweet baby boy. He is so loving and so smart. Sometimes I think he is TOO smart! We are definitely blessed. :) I definitely couldn't ask for more!

By the way...Robert just walked in the door...9pm!

Good Food + Good Friends = Good Times

Last night we had our cookout. We had tons of food and and some great friends to share it with. I made pork baby back ribs and beef ribs cooked in the oven. This really terrified me because 1) Robert wanted beef ribs which are a tougher meat than the pork ribs 2) I have cooked ribs once before in my life and that was in the slow cooker, which you can't really mess up! BUT....they were good. Well atleast I thought so. :) Even the beef ribs turned out. So, if you are scared about trying a new recipe or new food...go for it! I forgot and didn't take any pictures. But I thought I would share my rib rub that I did for them....

I just combined 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 tbsp each of salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and chili powder. Mix together and rub on both sides of the meat. *** Make sure to remove the "silver skin" on the back of the ribs before you put your rub on them. This is a layer of skin that is very transluscent but kind of silverish ***

After you put the rub on, wrap them in foil and place them in the refrigerator overnight. About 30 minutes before you bake them, take them out of the fridge and let them sit. I baked mine at 300 degrees for about 4 hours. I basted them with a bbq sauce every hour or so. Low and slow is the key.

Another favorite of the night was the cherry limeade punch!

This is not my picture, but this is what it looks like! It is so good and could definitely give Sonic a run for their money!

Here's the recipe:

1 can of limeade concentrate

1 jar of maraschino cherries with juice or grenadine

3/4 of a 2 liter bottle of sprite

2 limes

I cut slices in 1 lime for decoration and use the other for the extra lime juice in the punch. Just add all ingredients together and serve of ice. I adjusted mine to just 3/4 of the sprite instead of the whole bottle...totally your own preference.

You can thank me later! :) ha!

So, Thompson and I are going for our walk. I thought I would take pictures along the way to show you of our wonderful morning ritual.