Still Alive...

Yes, we are still alive :)

So much has happened lately that I really don't even know where to start. The beginning of November the boys and I moved back to California. Yes, back to California. When we moved back this summer, we had big hopes of buying a house and so forth, but we really all just needed to be a family, together, first and foremost. So that is where we are.

We moved into a little apartment downtown while we waited for a house to open in base housing. It. was. tiny. But honestly, the best thing ever! I loved watching movies and cuddling with all of my boys every night. It made my heart full. The boys missed their dad so much. I missed my husband so much. It was kinda just perfect.

One dislike... no full kitchen. I know, I know. I love to cook. So not having an oven was kind of tragic. We ate more fast food than I ever have in my whole life. Ugh. Needless to say, I am over that.

In December, Robert had his knee surgery. Almost 8 weeks later, he is still having trouble. They extended his leave time, which was nice. He has been able to stay home and keep the boys since I found a new job!!

I have been so lucky with the jobs I have had. I am now working for a property management company that is a perfect fit for me.

We did get a house on base! We moved in and are in the process of setting everything up.

Also, we have a new addition to the family! Our new Jack Russell puppy, Toby. We are in love! The boys are having so much fun with him. He is definitely my boy though. He runs to me if he gets in trouble. ;) Robert loves him too. Every night, Toby will hop into his lap and take a little nap. So cute!

Here are some pictures to catch you up on...

The boys in their Fall shirts

I made another trip across country

Our newest little guy, Toby

Cuddle time!

Momma's new boy! ;)

Thompson and Toby

Some of my flowers at the new house!

:)

Our crazy family!

My newest nephew, Rufus Tyler Dean Riedel

My Christmas gift from my boys

Cousins

Haili, Thompson, & Brycen

My super heroes!

We took many walks down to the beach

Daddy and Brycen

Momma and Thompson

Robert and I :)

Maybe now that things have settled down, I can find some time to keep up. :)

A Special Holiday Treat!

Hey Ya'll!

Thought I would let you know about a wonderful offer from one of my favorite companies, Tiny Prints. They are offering 50 free cards to anyone that blogs about them.

My favorite card that I had made from them was Brycen's birth announcement. Fell in love with it! I can't wait to pick out a fabulous holiday card!

Birth Announcement

Last year I bought the cutest metal Santa Claus card holder. I can't wait to use it and fill it with all of the cards y'all are going to send me! :)

Follow this link to find all of the wonderful Holiday cards Tiny Prints offer!

Visit this site for more information-- Hostess with the Mostess

Happy Holidays!

Happy 4th Birthday Thompson!

Thompson,

4 years, wow!

I know I say it every year, but I still can't believe you are this big.

To be honest, it breaks my heart. I see you growing everyday, but I still see you as my baby. My first born.

When you came into this world, something inside of me clicked. Everything made sense. I was young, almost 22. But knowing that the one job I would have for the rest of my life was to be your Momma, there is nothing I could have wished for more.

You, my baby boy, are the best little boy I know. I see so much of myself in you. The way you react to things, reminds me of myself. (Funny, because baby brother is just like your dad) You have such a strong will, yet you are so soft, you are so eager to please, and you always have a smile on your face.

You have matured so much over the last year. I really think starting school has helped you. Today, you were saying the "Pledge of Allegiance" and it melted my heart. I videoed it because you asked me too. You are such a ham and always love to "cheese" it up for the camera. You can turn on that smile like no other.

You love your brother more than words can say. He is your little buddy. He likes to test you sometimes, as do you to him. But at the end of the day, seeing the smile on his face when he sees you is priceless. He loves his big brother. You are learning to share more with him. Your favorite time is to play with him the bath tub. Ya'll splash and laugh and it honestly is my favorite time of the day.

Every night as I tell you goodnight, you never fail to tell me how much you love me. We do it back and forth and sometimes as I walk out the door, I can still hear you telling me it as I walk down the hall. Always ready for me to tell it back to you.

I love you, Thompson Lee. No matter how big you get, no matter what, you will always be my baby boy.

Happy 4th Birthday!

Oh, Monday!

As most of you know, I started my new job about 4 weeks ago. I love it. Seriously, love it. We stay so busy that sometimes I look up and half the day is gone. Monday is our busiest day of the week, so it really goes by fast.

Last night I was giving the boys a bath and I took this picture of Brycen.

Such a cutie!

I saw this on Twitter today. 

Oh. My. Word.

Pancakes + Cinnamon Rolls

The two together? Heaven, help me!

Tomorrow I am working a 1/2 of a day because I get to go pick up a special fella from the airport. :) I have calculated that we have spent 10 days together in the past 6 months. Not the most ideal thing I had in mind. We are surviving. Being married and raising 2 kids together 1500 miles apart is frustrating at times. We have been utilizing Face Time. The boys LOVE it!! They show off for their dad, which melts both his and I's hearts. 

We like to wake dad up extra early! ;)

Saturday will be Thompson's birthday party! He is so excited! He reminds me about his cake and his party every day. Love it!

That's about it. I will probably be quiet for the next few days! Hopefully, I will have lots of pictures to share when I come back.

Sick Kiddos!

Beware if you have a weak stomach...

Thursday evening, I took the boys out to dinner. Thompson had to go to the bathroom a few times while we were there. Brycen was having a bout with diarrhea himself, so I had a hunch that this wouldn't be good. I bathed the boys, put them to bed and I went to bed myself. I woke up at 4:00 to Thompson yelling from his room. I went in there thinking he had woke up early, but as soon as I got to the door I could smell it...

Vomit. Everywhere.

Lovely, let me tell you.

Surprisingly, he wasn't too upset. I got him up, cleaned him up, took the sheets off his bed and let him come lay down by me. When we woke up at 6:00, he had awful, awful diarrhea. (Sorry if this is TMI)

Brycen woke up with it too.

So I asked Brooklyn if she would stay home that day and take care of them. I hated to miss work seeing as I had only been there for 3 weeks.

The boys were fine all day. They didn't have any problems yesterday evening too.

At 4am (again!) Thompson was up with diarrhea. Brycen woke up covered in it too. Ugh. So off to the bath again this morning. Thompson seems to be better, but Brycen is pitiful. His little bottom is raw from having it so bad for 2 days. So today we are trying to rest up and hopefully will start feeling better.

I am hoping so because this week is an exciting one for us--

Robert will be home and Thompson is turning 4!!!

Where I work!

So I thought now would be a great time to tell you a little bit about where I work! I have found an incredible place. The people truly make it so enjoyable. 

We are an e-commerce company. We have around 10+ websites where we sell everything from baby items, to scrubs, to cowboy boots, to fishing poles, to blenders, you name it we probably got it! We are adding more and more brands every day!

Some of my favorite ones (which could get my wallet in a lot of trouble!) are from our site, Hectic Gourmet. We just added Kitchen Aid to our list! You all know how I love Kitchen Aid. If I hadn't already bought a stand mixer, I would be getting one now. One thing that I have been needing for a while that I will probably be asking for for Christmas is a new blender. This one looks like a great one from Cuisinart.

One of my favorite things is that any orders over $100 qualifies for free shipping! 

Oh, and a great site you should check out is Fat Chance. 1out 10 orders is completely free! Pretty awesome! 

So if you are wondering about some of our sites, here are a few!

Musket Creek
All Around Dance
Scrub Shopper
Trail's Edge
Toughweld
Country Outfitter
The Baby Habit

Definitely check them out!

10 Years Later...

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. It still feels like yesterday...

I remember being in 10th grade English, Ms. Shinn's class, when our librarian ran into the room telling us to turn on the tv. We saw the other plane hit the 2nd tower. I didn't fully understand at the time what was going on. I knew it was bad. We watched the coverage throughout the day-- when the towers fell, when the Pentagon was hit, and when the plane went down in Pennsylvania. Surreal. That is the best I can describe it. Everything seemed like a dream. America was the safest place I knew, how did this happen?

I honestly thought the world was going to end. I have never seen everyone in such hysterics. I remember there being an hour wait just to get gas because the gas stations were packed. I never knew that this one day would affect me so much years later.

Robert's birthday is on 9/11. He turned 18 that day. And that day, he decided to go into the military. He tried to join right out of high school, but couldn't due to recent knee surgery. So he waited til he was 22. We had been dating for about 9 months and I remember the exact moment he said he was joining the Marine Corps. I cried for hours. The war had been going on for 2 years then, so I somewhat knew what he was going to be doing. (You never fully understand war, I still don't) I knew that I loved him with all of my heart and I would be right there by him no matter what.

We are the lucky ones. Al Qaeda not only took the lives of those on September 11, 2001, but has taken all those killed while trying to find survivors of the attacks and those who have fought in the wars against them. Robert made it home. I know too many that haven't. It's not fair. It's not fair that our innocence was stolen that day.

Here we are 10 years later. Still fresh on our hearts, I believe it always will be.