Video

Brooklyn and my mom shot this video this morning! If it doesn't bring a smile to your face, then I don't know what will! :)

Luck of the Irish?? I hope so!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love this holiday and I don't have a clue why! Maybe it seeing these little bad things saying "come get me!"

Or maybe it is is because I can act a little bit mischevous (more than I already do!) and still get a way with it!

But I don't think the luck of the Irish is on my side today. I have one whiny child!! Sadly, I think Thompson slept too long and woke up in a BAD mood! Hopefully a nap later will help that.

Brycen, however, is still asleep from his morning nap. Gotta love the boy!

The next few days will be crazy busy for us! Atleast the weather will be beautiful, right?! WRONG. Very, very wrong. Yes it will be beautiful and in the 60's tomorrow and Friday, but do you know what the high is on Saturday? 30!!! With a wintry mix! Are you kidding me?!?! I just bought a new SPRING dress to wear to my cousin's wedding when I should have been buying a parka! And the next day is supposed to be like 60 again. Crazy Arkansas weather, you and I are done!!

Remember my post about me being in love. Well, needless to say it was short lived. Robert went and viewed the condo on Saturday. It was as gorgeous as the pictures, but the 3rd bedroom was on the bottom level (out of 3!) and the other two were on the top floor. That is just not a possiblity. I can't put the boys together because I am afraid that something would happen. So, we are back to the base housing options, AGAIN! Lord, help me!

Hope everyone has a great St. Patrick's Day! Hope you wore your green! ;)

Getting ready to head back to California...

Oh, I absolutely hate leaving Arkansas. I love getting to come a stay for a while. It's a nice treat to get away from the fast-paced California life. (Even though we really don't do much!) There is just nothing like going home!

I hate leaving this time because I know that I am not going home to relax and get settled back in. Oh, no! We now have officially ONE MONTH to be out of our house. Not kidding. Have I scheduled the packers? No. Have I scheduled the movers? No. Do we even have a house to move to? No. Do I even have a clue as to where we are going to live? A big, fat N-O!

Can we say stress much?

I know, you are probably thinking, "Well why are you wasting your time in Arkansas and not back in California getting ready?"

Good point. I really don't know.

I guess this is where the procrastination comes out in me. Maybe I secretly like to work under pressure. Who knows?

Sadly, when I get frustrated I end up taking it out on every single person around me. Does Robert deserve me getting mad at him every two seconds for things he can't control? Probably not, but I do. Thompson and Brycen probably look at me like I am a mad woman for walking around shouting things when I get upset. Poor kids, they have a loon for their momma.

Please keep me in your thoughts, for this might be the week that they might have to commit me!

Hot Springs, Basketball, and Horse Races, OH MY!!

 Well, I had a fun filled weekend! I went with my mom and dad to Hot Springs to watch my hometown team play in the state championship game. Unfortunately, we lost by 1. ONE POINT! So sad, so sad! But they played great and had a terrific season. My cousin, Jaime Nicole, was a cheerleader and she was awesome!

My Granny and I

After the game on Saturday, we stayed the night and got up the next day and went to Oaklawn to the horse races. Oh, what fun I had! It was my first time, so naturally I had no clue as to what I was doing. But I had fun learning. Even losing money was fun (insert sarcasm here!). We stayed there for a few hours and then drove back home.

Dad and I at the races

Did I mention that I was minus two kiddos?? That's right! I have 2 of the best sisters ever who kept the boys. Tara, who has 2 kiddos herself, kept Thompson. And Brittany kept Brycen. I think both were a learning experience for both, bless their heart! But I know that both of the kids had a great time.

Don't you think his dad will be proud of this picture?!?!

Happy 3 Months Brycen!

Brycen, you are 3 months old today! I can't believe how fast time is flying!

You are becoming so active. Right now you are laying beside me just kicking your arms and feet. If you could, I know you would get up and run around. I always tell people that your brother was a good baby, but you are the BEST baby. (Don't tell him that!) You never cry. Seriously. The only time you do is when you have a wet diaper, which I don't blame you...

You are wearing a size 1 diaper. I will probably be moving you to a size 2 here in a few weeks. You are so long. We went to the dr's the other day and you were already over 24 inches long. I have a feeling you are going to be tall and slim. Thompson is built the same way, but I think you will be taller. We won't have an official weight til your 4 month appointment, but according to our scales, you are atleast 12 pounds. Could even be 12.5!

You are eating about 5 ounces at a time now, but there are sometimes you will eat 6. You are a hungry boy! And boy, do you get mad when its time to burp. Goodness!

You are sleeping better than I could ask for. Your bedtime now is around 10-11 at night and you sleep anywhere from 7-8 in the morning. You then wake up, eat, play for about an hour, then it is time for another nap. You are usually out til about 11 in the morning. Yes, I know how blessed I am!

You are also laughing out loud! You have a great big chuckle! And a squeal!! You sounded just like your brother did. And you look so much like him as well.

This is a big month for you. You are going to get to see daddy again in about a week. And I know how much he has missed you. You talk to him on the phone a lot. But, honestly, I don't even think he is going to recognize you! You have doubled in size almost!

We love you, Brycen! Happy 3 Months Baby Boy!!

Video

Here is a video of the boys that I got the other night. Thompson loves talking to Brycen and playing with him! Such a good big brother!

Is it too early to fall in love?

I am probably jinxing myself, but I can't help it. I have fallen in love... with a condo. It is perfect! The price is great! The location is amazing! I am definitely getting butterflies!

I remember our first trip to Oceanside and me looking up from Interstate 5 and saying "I WANT TO LIVE THERE!!!" and everytime I drive by I just stare! They are so pretty. They are perched on a bluff, overlooking the ocean. Could it get better than that?

Oh yeah...

The inside is just as beautiful as the outside. When I lived in Fayetteville, I lived in these condos right next to the mall and just loved them! They remind me of these.

It even has a 2 car garage! That is a big step up from our 1 car one :)

This kitchen is to die for! Granite + Stainless Steel = LOVE!

I am still contemplating if Robert's tv will fit in that hole!

Hardwood floors!

Dining area

I am guessing this is the master bedroom. I just love the big windows!

A bright, clean bathroom!

Have you understood why I am in love? I talked to the agent today and about 10 people have already called about the house. The people have til March 31st to be out and then it would take about 10 days to get it ready to the new people (hopefully us!). She is seeing if she can get in and show it sometime this weekend, so I am hoping Robert can stop by and talk to her. And then we will put in our application. Oh goodness. This is so stressful. We have to be out of our house by April 15th. So, it will be a little tight. I am definitely praying hard about this one!

Today, for some unknown reason, both of the boys wanted to be a tad bit whiny. Brycen cried for about 40 minutes straight, fighting sleep. And then when I get him to sleep, he wakes right back up!! And Thompson was just plain mean! I swear he had this devilish look about him all day long. You could just see it! Here is to hoping that tomorrow goes better!

Here are some pictures from Brycen fresh out of the tub! Such a cutie!!

Great Weekend!

We had such a great weekend! Friday, my sister Tara and I took the kids out to eat in Fayetteville at Logan's. It was really good. And then we did a little shopping at the ol' Target. It was a great night! Saturday, I made the long haul travel with the kiddos to Hardy, AR to watch Huntsville play in the semi-final game of the state tournament. My cousin, Beau is the coach at Farmington and his team was also playing that day! Unfortuanately Farmington lost in an "oh-so-close" game by 3 points. Huntsville won their game, so you know what that means...

Hot Springs and the Horse Races!!

I have never been to the races, but have always wanted to go! It looks like a ton of fun! And maybe Hot Springs isn't as upscale as the Kentucky Derby and the frilly dresses and big hats, but I still want to go! I guess I will have to put up the Julia Roberts' chocolate polka dot dress and hat for a later time! :)

  

While we were there Saturday, we drove up to Mammoth Spring to eat lunch and play at the park. Thompson had an absolute blast!

Sunday we went over to Robert's family in Fayetteville to visit them. Thompson always has the best time playing with all of the kiddos. They went to the park yesterday, ate ice cream, and played baseball.

I came home battling a head ache with the hopes of getting into bed early. I should have known better. Brycen got bright eyed about the time I put Thompson down. So we sat up and watched the rest of the Academy Awards show.

I am going to call about a place to rent today! I am so nervous that we won't get it. I have wanted to live in this community since I saw it. It is absolutely breath taking. So here is to hoping and praying for good news on that!! I will post pics later if we get it.

Pictures!

Here are some pictures of the boys' photos that I had made. Not the best of quality due to the lovely scanner!

Sick baby boy!

Here is a little catch up from the past couple days...

Thompson has what I refer to as "the crud". (I don't know if that is even a technical term, but it is what I have called it forever!) You know, the runny nose, cough, congestion stuff. Poor thing. He just feels awful. So I took him to the dr. today and he told me what to give him. After a trip to Wal-Mart, the kid is set on medicines!

Have I told you lately how great Brycen is??? He is the happiest baby I know. He is always full of smiles and is always trying to talk to me. I just love it! Thompson was such a good baby, I just pray that Brycen is the same. People tell me how lucky I am, and trust me... I know it! I definitely VERY lucky!!

Robert is doing great in school. He graduates in 2 weeks!! We are definitely getting excited. It looks like he will have a busy schedule, but I have no doubt that he will do great at it! We are also getting close to moving too! The latest we can be in our house is April 15th, so now we are just deciding what do about our housing situation. We can either move into a smaller house immediately and right now they are giving $200 back each month if you do this. OR... We can move into a 2 bedroom apartment until a house comes available in this one housing district that we really want. The only problem with that is that we have no clue how long we will have to live in the apartment. We will be paying out-of-pocket for what the BAH does not cover. And we will also have to get a storage unit. Ugh... Decisions. So, that is what I have been pondering on for a while now. Any advice??

Other than that, we have had a pretty good week. This weekend will be full of rest and Thompson hopefully getting better! I promise to put some new pics up. I am just kind of enjoying this laziness that always takes over me when I come to Arkansas!!

Friends

I am so thankful for each and every friend in my life. There are those friends that I have known since I was a baby, since pre-school, since grade school, and there are those that I have met later on in my life.

When I married Robert back in 2006, one of the things that scared me the most was that I would be so alone in California-- I would have no one to hang out with, no one to go shopping with, and of course no one to gossip with :) Well, it just so happened that I have met some of the most wonderful girls I have ever known in my four years in California.

As soon as I arrived in California in June 2006, the first person I met was Samantha. We automatically clicked and formed an instant bond. We were both newlyweds and knew absolutely nothing about being on our own. We grew up together, our husbands deployed together, and we ended up having our babies 2 weeks apart from one another. I cherished her friendship more than anything. Unfortuantely, she and her husband ended up getting a divorce and moving back to Northern California. I was crushed. And our keeping up with each other came further and further apart. I knew that she was going through a rough time in her life. And honestly, I think that I was a reminder of the life that she once had. I don't blame her. She had to worry about supporting her son and herself. Today, I decided to write her an email telling her that I still thought about her and hoped she was doing well. Tonight, I received an email back with her new number. So I called her and it was just so good to know that she was doing so well. We laughed and caught up on all of the overdue gossip. God places people like that in each one of our lives.

In 2008, God blessed me with another friend. I have mentioned her quite a few times on here, Mrs. Christina. If I didn't know any better, it was like she was my other half. She is a southern gal like me, so of course we had the necessity fave in common-- you know, the love for sweet tea! :) Seriously though, I have always felt like we had been friends our entire lives. She and Heath has been the best to me and my family. They have recently moved back to Texas and I am so happy for her. I know that they are going to do great things and have the absolute most beautiful kids. I am already anticipating my trip to the Big "D" to see her!

I am so thankful for these women in my life. Each friendship has helped me grow as a person. In the times of my lowest low, these girls were here for me. There is definitely nothing like the bond between military wives.