Thankfulness 2013: Day Twenty-One

Having worked at a home improvement store for 5+years and my husband even longer, we both have the theoretical knowledge to get through too many DIY projects in our house for our own good.  That pretty much means we have grand plans for every single area of the house in the long term plan.

The problem I run into is absolutely the lack of hands between the two of us.  For nearly every project we have tackled in home remodel we have had volunteers.  I am so thankful for the helpers in our lives.  It has ranged from child wranglers to demo enthusiasts to go-fers to all-out-builders.  I'm even more grateful for them now that we live so far away from them all.  The vast majority of our help is now a 3 hour or longer drive away.  They still come when they are able.  We have an amazing support system that goes (clearly very far) out of their way for us.

Thankfulness 2013: Day Sixteen

Party Day!!

This afternoon we had our first HouseParty!  It happened to be a Lego Duplo event and it could not have been a more perfect event to be selected as hostess for.  I am thankful for the opportunity to have friends over for fun and in no little part am I forgetting the free products that the company gives us for having the party!

Thank-you House Party and Duplo for the chance to host this party!!

If you're not familiar with House Party, it is essentially a website that you apply to host parties sponsored by various brands (clothes, electronics, toys, food, crafts, etc) and the sponsors send you out a Party Pack.  This pack has the main pieces of your party.  In our case it was filled with six sets of Duplos (see the boxes in the photo?), paper crowns, posters, plates, napkins, stickers, coupons, etc.  You are required to share the items given at your party with your guests.  For this party, the kids come play with the blocks and take home the crowns, posters, stickers, etc along with a snack bag and coloring sheets that were printed off for them (to match the theme of planes and pirates of course).

Check out both House Party and the sponsors that they work with!  It is such a fun time!

**By the way....that pirate ship cannon actually shoots...and it is pretty fun.  I may or may not have played with it when I set up all the sets last night.**

Thankfulness 2013: Day Six

Hobbies are great.  Mine (you may or may not have noticed) is card making.  I've had a lot of fun doing it this past year.  Tonight I'm headed in to my local Archiver's to use their craft room for an evening of working on our Christmas cards.  It was going to be a girls' crafting night but schedules aren't aligning.  It very likely will be just myself there this evening so I guess I'll be thankful for Me Time.  I'm looking forward to my crafting time no matter the company that joins me tonight.  I'm especially happy to have this adult night considering the week I'm expecting coming up.  Drill has been extended for this family from two days to six days.  No Papa in the house for that stretch plus a party on that Saturday (day 5)...EEP!  Did I only say I was thankful?  I meant exceptionally thankful for Me Time tonight!

Bachelor and Wedding Cards

Mid-October we had a blast with my buddy the night before he got married.  We all went to the pool hall (very nice place called Billiards that has about a hundred tables and also a minor-friendly area so that your teens can have a game going while the party is swinging along.

I've been having fun with ribbons and that is a near-3-D glass.

We had so much fun and honestly I couldn't be happier for the couple.  I've watched my buddy go from happy, to domestically happy since meeting his other half.  I also had fun making the card for his bachelor party and their wedding card.

Tri-Folding needs some practice still...and more math.

I love this card! It was such a PITA to get the trifold to line up where I wanted it to but eventually my 'adjustments', which were total guesses after a while, began to come together.

My buddy (the groom) was impressed as he totally knows my lack of a creative ability in all prior arts.  I didn't get the bride's take as she was busy doing the important hostess work.  (We were invited to the gift opening the next day.)

It is hard to see but the suit's details are drawn on.

I'm not going to lie though, I was awfully excited that my buddy drew attention to his card at his bachelor party.  He overheard me telling another person that I had made it when they were asking me about it.  It made me feel pretty damn awesome.

On another note...we got to do all this celebrating over a child-free weekend.  Score another big point for the event!

Halloween 2013

Momma and Alyssa

This year was a bit too cool out for Mr. Wyatt to join us during Trick-or-Treating.  We skipped the costume for him since he was going to be home playing with Great Grandma and Great Grandpa who came down to visit us and man our own ToT bucket.

Auntie and Alyssa wearing witches hats!

Alyssa however, was ready to get out that door with her Auntie and Momma and Papa.  She used her light-up wand (a Harry Potter wand from Barnes and Noble because I was sick of the umpteen breakable cheapies turning me into a frog or rabbit daily and splurged as the only required costume piece for her).

Unicorn Rider and Witch (who happens to be wearing a unicorn!)

We were just ready to get out the door and the big surprise showed up...FRIENDS!!!!  Now we had a Unicorn-riding costumed buddy to go trick-or-treating with so the night got infinitely better!  The adventures ranged from potty training requirement #1: Momma sacrificing pride and asking to use a stranger's bathroom (I did remove my mask before requesting entry to her house), all the way to a three-year-old totally 'burning' her father when he runs into something and she offers up her lighted wand "so you can see where you going"!

It was a great night and we were so happy to have our trick-or-treating buddies with us to make our night great

Candy Crafting

We had a 30th Surprise party for a very good friend of ours towards the end of February.  We wanted to get her something special but as her passion is for her horses and we know nothing about them, I went the more crafty route and decided to satisfy her sweet tooth instead.  Get yourself some cake pop sticks or sucker sticks from your local craft or party store, hot glue the favored Fun Size chocolates onto the ends and start filling up whatever vase you love.  Accessorize in any fashion!  I used some glittery spiral sticks, spiral holographic confetti, and holographic tissue paper plus some curling ribbon as a topper.  It was a big hit as I kept overhearing people talk about it in such a positive light.  Talk about an ego boost that night!  So I present to you, my first ever, Candy Bouquet!

Our Three Year Old!

Just a little glimpse at a THREE year old!

There is an indoor play place with inflatables and a small ball pit where we went to play with a couple friends.  Other than the obligatory 1/2hr adjustment to new experiences (ball pit) and one fairly fun-ending collision with another excited running toddler that effectively sent us back to our place for cupcakes and ice cream a little early, well, you can see that she had a blast!

So excited that her birthday was blood free and the guest list actually was able to make it!  2012 was a good birthday year!  (For those who noticed and were wondering, there was an outfit change due to a lunch spill....Ah the life of toddler clothes...)

Big Week!

With Christmas pretty much done (we do have one more group rolling in this weekend for a mini holiday) we have to cruise right along into BIRTHDAY season!

This year Alyssa turns 3 and she is ready to eat her body weight in cake if we let her!

This year is going to be a small little party but we are used to that.  Our family parties have been all but cancelled for her in the past.  Born into the snowy winter, turned one during a blizzard where we made it to my grandparents' house just barely where the party was going to be (obviously no one else made it there), turned two and the blizzard held off until that night and was only slippery roads and light snow during the day (we called that a success because everyone made it to that party!).  This year we aren't even asking family to come down.  Between Christmas trips and shortly to be followed with at least a good chunk of them coming in January to meet the little boy...well, it seems pretty tough to pull off.  Instead we are having a little friends party!  Alyssa is SO EXCITED when you talk about parties but she has no idea what is in store for her this weekend.

There is a place near us that has those inflatable jumping things, you can take your kids (ten and under) to jump for a small fee and let them at it.  We invited a couple other toddlers to join us there for a couple hours of jumping and then we will come back home to eat cupcakes and ice cream before the day is over.  It should be a great time even with such a small group!

In the meantime we have plenty to keep us busy until Sunday.  Monday we had our little Christmas Eve, Tuesday was the Santa Christmas and we went to Wreck It Ralph that night (big hit!), Wednesday some family came down for a playdate at Chuck E Cheese's, Thursday brings a growth ultrasound and doctor appointment, Friday we close on the house followed by buying paint and probably getting the first coat up in Alyssa's new room to prep for Saturday's painting too.  We also have more family down Friday night to celebrate a mini holiday on Saturday and hopefully some extra hands painting too!  That is plenty for one week, right??

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Thirty!

The final day in November and we are still in our month by month apartment.  With a close date finally settled and contracted we have an end in sight to the expensive apartment contract!  We will be done and out of the apartment by the end of January (actually we are aiming for mid January so we are settled into the house before Baby Brother joins us but we have to pay through January).  I am so thankful for all the things that have allowed us to do this monthly apartment and be together.  Chris' job, pet sitters (!!), (sadly) our savings, friends who let Chris couch-surf for months, the sale of our other house, family that gave Alyssa and I a space for a little more than a week to live, and so many other things that eventually fell into place.  Of course we didn't escape completely unscathed (see savings....) but we were able to live together for the last 3 months (and the next month and half that we wouldn't have if we didn't have the apartment).  It has been a blessing for our family albeit an expensive one.  I guess it isn't officially over but the light is visible and we are excited!

(On a completely side note:  I never thought I'd actually make it through the month without missing at least one Thankfulness post!  Yay me!!)

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-two

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. and across the nation families are gathering around shared meals, football games, or other traditions that they cherish.  We are doing the same and are also prepping for the shopping madness that is Black Friday (now starting on Thanksgiving night).

But as we all settle into our various family activities I'd like to remember with y'all that not everyone is able to 'come home' for the holidays.  There are those who don't have traditional homes to go back to (hurricane victims, homeless, orphans, etc).  There are those who are out there protecting the rest of us as we celebrate (cops, firefighters, ER staff, soldiers, and more).  Can we take at least a minute to be thankful to all those who try to make these holidays special for all of these people?  I am thankful for the volunteers, the coworkers, the adopt-a-soldier families and classrooms, and anyone else who takes the time to do something to recognize these people during the holidays.

I don't have any Thanksgiving pictures from any of the deployments but the Christmas and New Years ones give you a pretty good idea of what our group did to keep the happy times going.  I also happen to not have pictures of those volunteers who sent packages full of holiday goodies to soldiers, or of soup kitchen workers, but I'm sure y'all can find someone you know who has been that heart of kindness previously.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Twenty-one

I am so thankful for supportive family and friends.  I've learned that as much as you can love someone, if they don't support you in both good and bad times then you need to love them from a little further away.  Surround yourself with a support system and you can find your strength and happiness in the toughest times.  Honestly, I can't say much more than this without sounding like a Hallmark movie (instead of just a simple card).

Dancing Santa 2012

Wow!  Alyssa, like many other toddlers, gets really excited about seeing new people or things.  Along with those experiences comes her nerves though.  She was so excited to go see the Santa Parade (a parade that welcomes Santa to the local mall) last night so we got ready and made our way to see everything.  The parade was a bit unexciting as it was made up of one group of tap dancer ladies making their way from one end of the mall to the other (Santa was at the end of the mall that the parade ended at and wasn't actually a part of the parade itself we found out).  There were workers passing out jingle bracelets and Alyssa's nerves kicked in as soon as someone offered her one.  She loves the bracelet now of course (starting a whole 5 seconds after the lady walked away).

She was still really excited to go see Santa though so we walked around while the line was long and waited for Papa to make it back from his drill.  We had supper at the food court with Papa and then saw the line was gone for Santa so we headed his way.  Alyssa was very excited, until she rounded the corner and actually saw Santa sitting there.  She turned tail and ran back to the room behind Santa (part of the path that the line winds through normally).  From there she could hear the music from the celebration still and was dancing away.  We were trying to convince her to go talk to Santa but there was no love for the idea anymore.  Thankfully we had waited until the bitter end of the line and no one else was held up by our fickle toddler.

The cameraman was wondering where she had gone so I went back towards the front/Santa and told him she was dancing in the back instead.  Santa stood up from his chair and hopped the little fence and when I got back to the room, he was dancing next to Alyssa (well, until she noticed him anyways!).  Can you say BEST SANTA EVER?!  Over the next 10 minutes with no other kids trying to see Santa, Alyssa was slowly coaxed into being friends with Santa which included a toddler-led tour of Santa's area and I believe two more dance parties.  She never sat on his lap though they shared the chair for a little bit (not long enough or still enough for the pictures).  We did get her to be held by him while standing right at the end and got three pictures during that--one "huh?", one straight faced, and one "Cheese!" with the cheesy smile.

So thrilled to have had that fun night to hopefully make future Santa trips easier.  I only wish I had snapped a cellphone video of them dancing together!

**Note: With my purchase of last night, copyright was transferred to me as the buyer.  So no, I am not violating professional copyright laws by posting this picture.

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Twelve

I am thankful for my online connections to my friends.

Being in a new city without a job outside the house leads to a more isolated Momma than normal.  I am more introverted than extroverted though I have taught myself to be more balanced between the two over the years.  [Note:  by introverted, I mean more that it takes me a while to warm up and open up--once I do you can't shut me up without walking away.]  Luckily through those same online connections I actually met another mom back in the months that we were both pregnant with our daughters.  She just so happens to live in this city we moved to.  Seriously small world, right?  Our daughters now get to play and we get to have some adult time while watching them interact at the parks or other get-together's.

Alyssa (in purple) and her local friend

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day Ten

I am thankful for used and abused toys who have been loved too much.  The toys that witness every stage of development that our children go through and comfort them through every bump, bruise, change and every night of good and bad dreams.  The love for a toy that can protect a child from the dark or from being overwhelmed by sad feelings.  The toys like this one:

Elephant Lovey

Great for Travel

Perfect Baby Size

Or this one:

Horsey is a very big lovey.

He is a toddler favorite.

Poor Horsey has had many paw surgeries but gets snuggled every night (and most of every day).

Social Media Disrespect

I really didn't want to go there...I REALLY did not think I'd feel the need to go there.  Fine, I'm going there!

I am absolutely horrified by the reactions I have seen not only directed at the winner of the presidential race but almost more so at the insults being hurled at voters from across the aisles.  I have never thought I'd be disappointed in knowing some of my friends and family in this way.  I would never have imagined that people I have known and loved and respected would use sweeping generalizations to insult my and others intelligence or morals based on a single (albeit crucial) vote.

Besides those offending social media posts (which thankfully I had no one in my sphere personally inciting violence or wishing death on voters)  I have seen mentions of moving countries.  I'd never be so disappointed in a single race result that it would make me give up on the REST OF MY VOTES.  We have the three branches of government to give us that balance to protect our interests.  BTW--moving to Canada to avoid the 'socialist USA' is probably not the most logical choice...consider a different option for your happiness.

Lastly--I am not in the military.  The President of the United States is my husband's highest boss in this country, not truly mine.  I may not have voted for Romney but I was prepared to respect him as the President and Commander in Chief.  This is what I feel the spirit of an American should do, EMBRACE the President.  You can't change the election results now.  We need to work TOGETHER to get anything done and it has been a very long time since that has been a common goal on most things in government.  I am shocked at the disrespect I saw last night and today directed at the Commander in Chief by military members specifically.  Not only is that generally frowned upon but some of the comments could easily lead to backlash as behavior unbecoming of a military member.

All of this ranting aside, I recognize the freedom of speech and I respect the obvious fact that their opinions and beliefs were on the 'losing' side last night and that would clearly be disappointing to anyone.  I would not wish for my friends and family to simply "shut up and sit down" as I've seen a few people respond with or any of the other disrespectful responses from this side of the aisle!  I would wish them to be more respectful of others though.  I would wish them to realize that their words, though able to be deleted from the Facebook walls, cannot be unread and CAN be hurtful or impact a relationship offline.

Please, I ask you on ALL SIDES to CALM DOWN and BE RESPECTFUL.  Everyone has their beliefs which led to their vote.  Everyone is entitled to this.  No one is stupid, immoral, or a moron for those reasons.  No one should be shot, deported, blown up, or even simply unfriended on Facebook based simply on how they voted  (though constant mockery and bullying remarks are grounds for social media blocking in my opinion)!

Thank you for allowing me to rant here and bearing with me.  Now let's get our Congress to work together and get some things actually accomplished this term that will be good for our nation as a whole please?  Kumbaya anyone?

30 Days of Thankfulness: Day One

Welcome to November everyone!  So glad to see you made it past the candy-induced daze (hopefully you continue to win that battle as the hauls begin to dwindle).  I've seen this November project two years now and each year I thought it was so neat and that I'd remember to do it "next year" since it had already started. Thankfully someone else was on top of it this year again and I happened to see it right away or I probably would have missed it again.

So my first Thankful is for timely Facebook posts...okay, so maybe I'm more thankful for friends who have much better memories than myself.  ;)