The kids are all packed up! Time to ship them off to Grandmas!

Time to Start Packing!

Joe got the word that we will be moving in a month! He also found out that they will be paying him for his two-weeks of vacation he has saved up and they are giving him 10 days of paid "finding a home/job time". I'm really glad I get a solid 10 days of help from Joe. The Navy is also paying us to move home! I'm super excited about that! Time to start packing!

11 months old

Connor turned 11 months yesterday. I can't believe he is almost one! Connor is such a happy little guy. He is super attached to his mommy. Connor loves to play patty cake, sing songs, and his all time favorite is to climb up the stars. The baby gate is his biggest enemy. Connor can say mama, dada, uh oh, ahchoo (pretends to sneeze), baba, and he usually tries to mimic any word we are saying. He is always watching his older brother and following him all over the place. Connor and Brady are starting to play together and also fight with one another. We love our little con man.

Thinking..

I am a little stressed out right now. This is what I am constantly thinking...



This one is a biggie, when are we moving? They said 30-90 days but nobody will give any answers! I guess the navy is famous for that. I like to think the official motto of the navy is "hurry up and wait".



What G.I. bill should we use? chapter 30 (Montgomery) or chapter 33 (post 9\11)?
That's one of my problems with all the paperwork of the navy, everything has numbers and its extremely confusing to me! Yesterday I called the Green River Veterans office and they told me to apply for the g.i. bill now because it takes 10-12 weeks to just apply for it. Joe did that last night and he also applied to be a student at Green River. I'm glad we at least got two of the million steps done of this whole moving process. Our plan is to have Joe start this fall semester and he will be doing the Air Traffic Control (associate in applied science) program. Usually to be hired as an ATC you have to have a four-year degree but we are lucky and Green River has a two-year program and he will be able to get hired hopefully soon after.We are also lucky because there are only two schools for this program and the other one is on the east coast and the closest one is in Auburn! We just so happen to be moving to Auburn! We have some good friends that are also ATC and hopefully they will help us along this process.



I need to start packing up my house. I am having a hard time writing this post because a baby and a little boy keep yelling at me and jumping on me. I think getting boxes out (play toys in their eyes) and packing them would be hard. I wish I could just hire a bunch of people to come pack up everything but that might be pretty pricey and we need all the money we can get right now.



My house needs to be deep-cleaned. The company that owns the military housing we live in is known to find every single little flaw with the houses and makes you pay. Like if you have a tiny stain on the carpet they make you replace the carpet, or if your garage is dirty they make you pay for it to be pressure washed, there are lots of stories and it scares me. We already have a lot to pay for, like the moving truck and storage units, we can't afford to pay 900 dollars to replace the carpets. I hired my sister for a day a couple weeks ago to come help me clean and I am thinking I might do that again, I feel like every time I clean something it gets dirty 20 minutes later by my two little mess makers.



I need to make a bridal shower cake in the shape of a pink dress. I hope I don't mess it up. I think that this will be fun, we will see how it turns out.



I need to lose weight, but this is always on my mind. I wish it wasn't but it is.



Connor turns one in exactly one month. I'm excited for his little party but I get sad that he is growing up so fast. I want him to just stay my little baby for a little bit longer.



Overall I am excited to get out of the navy and move on with our lives.
I just need to relax and take it one day at a time!

Week at my parents..

Connor had his first hair cut. I trimmed the hawk and cut the mullet (Joe wasn't happy about this)

We had our community garage sale. Joe and I sold hot dogs, we did pretty well!

Joe's mom and sister helped bake for our little bake sale. Thank you so much! I was glad to see my friend Sam and her little girl come for the weekend!

I am really happy top be back in Oak Harbor. Connor doesn't sleep at my parents house so it was a rough week. The weekend was even more stressful with the garage sale and some other things. One trip to the Doctor and a day of my husband spoiling me with cupcakes and back rubs I am back to normal. Thanks Joe!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Navy Life Coming to An End

Today is Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I have been a Navy wife for a about 3 years now and I do have a lot of respect for our armed forces, a lot more than I did before we embarked in this adventure. The Navy has been good to us. It helped us feed and clothes our kids. I think I had to pay twenty dollars to have my babies, for that I am grateful. Our time in the navy is coming to an end, in 30-90 days we will no longer be a navy family. Joe was able to get an "early out" and get out of the navy two years early. We chose to get out because Joe knows that the navy isn't in his future and why waste the next two years when he would be done with school by the time he gets out. I do realize that our pay will end and our free health care, housing, and perks will end. But we will be stuck in this same situation in two years. It will be really hard but we have great support from our parents. Joe qualifies for 100% of his G.I. benefits so he will be using the G.I. bill to go to school to become an Air Traffic Controller. The school is a year and a half to two years. The next two years will be hard but I think its the right thing to do for the future of our family.

Thanks Navy, I wont miss you!

In honor of Military appreciation day I am posting a talk from Master Chief Petty officer West.

WASHINGTON (NNS) — Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON)(SS/SW) Rick D. West and his wife, Bobbi, Ombudsman-at-Large, released the following Military Spouse Appreciation Day message to the Fleet May 6.

“Shipmates and families,

Bobbi and I would like to say thank you to all Navy spouses and families for your steadfast support of your Sailor, our great Navy and our nation.

We know that the lives of a Navy spouse and Navy family are unlike any other. The Navy asks for you to give us your husbands, wives, sons and daughters for months at a time. The Navy asks for your support and understanding of weekend duty, deployments, missed holidays and birthdays, and we owe you a huge debt for the sacrifices you make.

Your role in your Sailor’s life and the Navy is vitally important to family readiness and has a direct impact on your Sailor, their job satisfaction, performance and retention. A strong family support structure enables your Sailor to excel both personally and professionally. Our Navy simply would not be the Global Force for Good it is without your contributions.

Communication is key. It’s important that you stay engaged with your Sailor and your Sailor’s command through your ombudsman and family readiness groups, as well as each other. We encourage you to take advantage of the numerous command, and fleet and family support center Web sites available, as well as Facebook pages and other media to stay up-to-date on the issues. Through these channels, you will be better connected to the programs and policies that affect your lives as Navy spouses.

Thank you, spouses and families, for what you do every day and for your continued service and dedication to your Sailor, our Navy and the United States of America.

Very Respectfully,
MCPON and Bobbi”

Potty Training

Brady never wants to sit on the potty. I will try to bribe him with treats but he doesn't care. He doesn't care that all of his older cousins use the "big boy potty". What do I do? I really can't stand his diapers anymore and I need to get him potty trained asap. I have decided to only give him treats if he uses the potty. I will have snack time full of healthy snacks but the candy and cookies are for him if he sits and at least tries to potty. Do you think it will work? Any advise would be great!

Brady loves baseball

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

I have been attempting to go on a dairy and gluten free diet for the last week or so, I'm thinking I can't do it. I have gained weight and I have way less energy. I have two small little boys, I need the energy to get me through the day. So anyways, I'm going back to my diet of wheat pasta and low-fat healthy foods. Maybe if my RA gets worse I will have to change my diet but for right now I will not be following my Doctors orders. It's just too expensive and I miss good tasting food. I kinda took a break from loosing weight for a little bit but I am jumping back on the wagon today. I need to take advantage of our wonderful gym right by my house. I am wanting to lose 20 more pounds. Every ten pounds I lose I will blog about (it helps me lose weight if I can blog). Wish me luck!

Gluten free cupcakes

I made some gluten free cupcakes today. They turned out really well! I love cupcakes!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

Connor Birthday photo shoot

I wanted to get a couple pictures of Connor so I can put them on his first birthday invites.

It went really well...

That was a lie, It was horrible.

I finally gave up and went home..He did a little better.

I will be trying this again on the next sunny day.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We celebrated my moms birthday on Saturday because her birthday is next Sunday (mothers day) and Joe has to work so we can't come see her. She was very happy to get her much wanted Ipad. Happy Birthday Mom!

Holland Happening 2011

Oak Harbor throws a Holland Happening celebration every year. It is a fun time with a parade, carnival, and a street fair. My family came and stayed with us for a couple days. We met up with the Stuarts, it was a fun!