![[loveable] chaos](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTjjojrDUPPsFzwSeKpOixQKwUn32cjgyZcguUtpshydkSIFEz4W1RPwJ58AKDeDyOQf6hx5IadPFN8U0LKHlV2mhTN0_wRXrSTNm4k8x0L-145HJcGS-RLAcmjOW7K6xvDePrN-h_J0DQ/s400/blogheader+copy.jpg)
Friday, September 30, 2011
bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s, bananas
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
We have a report date for Italy...
B applied for the job back in July, in August he had a phone interview. First week of September he was offered the job. Now at the very end of September he was finally given a report date. Whew! It's quite the process.
While he was given an exact date, I will share that it is mid December! Before Christmas but after Thanksgiving, so I'm grateful for that.
Let me just say that this whole process is confusing, overwhelming and long but I know it will be worth it. Just to give you an idea of what's happened thus far:
Very first thing we did was apply for Passports. This should have been simple but I didn't have my birth certificate, my parents still did. So they sent that to me. We gathered up everyone's birth certificates, citizenship papers, social security cards and oh wait, B's is missing. We tore this house apart and could not find his SS card. Awesome. So he had to go to the social security office and request a new one. We finally had all of the required paperwork. We chose to take the photos ourselves, have them printed, and then we had to go on post to turn those in. All four kids had to be with us and we took the oath. (Not the kids, we just signed for them.) That was the second week of September.
After the passport fiasco, I started researching what we need to do to get Rascal to Italy with us. Trust me, for a 10lbs dog, it gets complicated. First all pets coming into Italy must be up to date on their rabies shot (which he is) and be microchipped (which he is not) and have had an annual exam no sooner than 21 days before entering the county but no longer than one year. He also has to have a health certificate deeming him healthy and free of any diseases, he has to have an airline approved pet carrier that he can stand up in, turn around in AND that can fit under the seat in front of us.
So I set to work. Started researching carriers, which ones are best for in-cabin and least likely to get refused at the ticket counter/by the flight attendant. Not an easy task because each airline has strict requirements but they vary, as does the carrier sizes. Some are $20 some are $120. I know we'll be using it internationally, for at least one round trip flight but I also know that I'm going to be paying a huge amount at the vet. I want something durable but not over $50 if I can work it. Meanwhile, I get him in to get him micro-chipped at the animal shelter (just $10!). While there, I was looking around and they had used kennels and carriers available for donation. Imagine my surprise when one of the carriers was the EXACT same thing I had been looking at the day before online (http://www.petco.com/product/8232/Sherpa-Roll-Ups.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch). Only the animal shelter was asking just $10! So I was able to get him microchipped, then get his airline approved bag for a total of $20. The next day, I took him to the regular vet and had his annual exam, vaccines, a new rabies shot (they must be vaccinated for rabies AFTER being microchipped), a heart worm check and talked to him about flying with a pet. Total spent on all of the above mentioned things for Rascal to be ready to fly: almost $200. Plus the airline will be charging us $125 for him to ride in-cabin. Whew! So now that is done.
Moving forward...
Wait. We can't.
We cannot book flights, schedule movers, send the van, nothing without official PCS orders. Well just this week, the lovely Italian office calls B and says ''Hey I need the kids' birth certificates to cut your orders with the kids on the orders''. Well that's just great because we sent ALL of our birth certificates with the passport stuff to the state department. While I have copies of the older boys', I didn't think to make copies of the younger kids'. Okay, not a big deal, we now have to wait to get our passports back (should be done mid to late October), once we get those we can apply for our Visas and get our PCS orders. Once we have our orders we can do the above mentioned things like book flights (which because we're flying in cabin with a dog, we're suppose to do as early as humanly possible) and schedule the movers. Once we have the movers scheduled, I can call our landlord here and give her the mandatory 30 days required notice that we are not renewing our lease. Once I do that, then I will finally really feel like we are moving.
The passport office called today, there are four steps left until our passports will be done and ready to pick up. I'm not sure how many steps there were to begin with but at least we're processing!
So that's where we're at, a full month in from accepting the job. I'm not sure if it's more or less complicated due to us being DoD Civilians who are PCSing or if it would be the same ups and downs if we were Active Duty.
While he was given an exact date, I will share that it is mid December! Before Christmas but after Thanksgiving, so I'm grateful for that.
Let me just say that this whole process is confusing, overwhelming and long but I know it will be worth it. Just to give you an idea of what's happened thus far:
Very first thing we did was apply for Passports. This should have been simple but I didn't have my birth certificate, my parents still did. So they sent that to me. We gathered up everyone's birth certificates, citizenship papers, social security cards and oh wait, B's is missing. We tore this house apart and could not find his SS card. Awesome. So he had to go to the social security office and request a new one. We finally had all of the required paperwork. We chose to take the photos ourselves, have them printed, and then we had to go on post to turn those in. All four kids had to be with us and we took the oath. (Not the kids, we just signed for them.) That was the second week of September.
After the passport fiasco, I started researching what we need to do to get Rascal to Italy with us. Trust me, for a 10lbs dog, it gets complicated. First all pets coming into Italy must be up to date on their rabies shot (which he is) and be microchipped (which he is not) and have had an annual exam no sooner than 21 days before entering the county but no longer than one year. He also has to have a health certificate deeming him healthy and free of any diseases, he has to have an airline approved pet carrier that he can stand up in, turn around in AND that can fit under the seat in front of us.
So I set to work. Started researching carriers, which ones are best for in-cabin and least likely to get refused at the ticket counter/by the flight attendant. Not an easy task because each airline has strict requirements but they vary, as does the carrier sizes. Some are $20 some are $120. I know we'll be using it internationally, for at least one round trip flight but I also know that I'm going to be paying a huge amount at the vet. I want something durable but not over $50 if I can work it. Meanwhile, I get him in to get him micro-chipped at the animal shelter (just $10!). While there, I was looking around and they had used kennels and carriers available for donation. Imagine my surprise when one of the carriers was the EXACT same thing I had been looking at the day before online (http://www.petco.com/product/8232/Sherpa-Roll-Ups.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch). Only the animal shelter was asking just $10! So I was able to get him microchipped, then get his airline approved bag for a total of $20. The next day, I took him to the regular vet and had his annual exam, vaccines, a new rabies shot (they must be vaccinated for rabies AFTER being microchipped), a heart worm check and talked to him about flying with a pet. Total spent on all of the above mentioned things for Rascal to be ready to fly: almost $200. Plus the airline will be charging us $125 for him to ride in-cabin. Whew! So now that is done.
 |
| Rascal with Tito (who is no longer with us but apparently I have no photos of just Rascal) |
Wait. We can't.
We cannot book flights, schedule movers, send the van, nothing without official PCS orders. Well just this week, the lovely Italian office calls B and says ''Hey I need the kids' birth certificates to cut your orders with the kids on the orders''. Well that's just great because we sent ALL of our birth certificates with the passport stuff to the state department. While I have copies of the older boys', I didn't think to make copies of the younger kids'. Okay, not a big deal, we now have to wait to get our passports back (should be done mid to late October), once we get those we can apply for our Visas and get our PCS orders. Once we have our orders we can do the above mentioned things like book flights (which because we're flying in cabin with a dog, we're suppose to do as early as humanly possible) and schedule the movers. Once we have the movers scheduled, I can call our landlord here and give her the mandatory 30 days required notice that we are not renewing our lease. Once I do that, then I will finally really feel like we are moving.
The passport office called today, there are four steps left until our passports will be done and ready to pick up. I'm not sure how many steps there were to begin with but at least we're processing!
So that's where we're at, a full month in from accepting the job. I'm not sure if it's more or less complicated due to us being DoD Civilians who are PCSing or if it would be the same ups and downs if we were Active Duty.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Well that's a first..
Sissy walked for the first time today! It was only about 4 steps but she walked from B to me, while visiting him at work. She has been standing up all on her own and lifting her feet without going anywhere but today she actually took the steps, hands free, on her own. I'm guessing it will be at least another week before she has the confidence to really take off but it'll be soon!
Oh also another first today, I put her hair in pigtails for the very first time:
Oh also another first today, I put her hair in pigtails for the very first time:
Thomas and his friends....
They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew
All with different roles to play
'Round Tidmouth sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends
'Round Tidmouth sheds or far away,
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends
Thomas he's the cheeky one
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let's say, he's square
James is vain but lots of fun
Percy pulls the mail on time
Gordon thunders down the line
Emily really knows her stuff
Henry toots and huffs and puffs
Edward wants to help and share
Toby, well let's say, he's square
They're two they're four they're six they're eight
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew
Shunting trucks and hauling freight
red and green and brown and blue
they're the really useful crew
All with different roles to play
Round tidmouths or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends
Round tidmouths or far away
Down the hills and round the bends
Thomas and friends
Sunday, September 25, 2011
A dinner date...
has a whole different meaning when you go with the kiddos instead of the hubs. B is working late every.single.night until the end of the fiscal year so some nights, it's just easier to grab something than it is to try to cook with four helpers. So earlier this week we made an impulse stop for dinner at Firehouse Subs. It was a first for us. While I love sub sandwiches, I despise Subway and Quiznos. There isn't a Mr. Goodcent's in these parts so I've just made do without.
Firehouse, while not as good as Goodcents, fills that void.
The subs were pretty good. There was meat and not just 5lbs of lettuce. The bread was fresh. While the sandwiches didn't totally overwhelm me, the atmosphere was perfect. The inside was total Firehouse motif. The kids were each given a free hat and received Oreos after finishing their meal. I think they each had a favorite part:
Bubba and pooks both loved the free hat(s).
Peanut was all about the GIANT pickle spears...he ate two!
And what was Sissy's favorite part? I mean really what does a sandwich shop have to offer a one year old? How about an Oreo....
Overall, two thumbs up! I felt like we spent more money than we would have at Mr.Goodcents and received less food but if I didn't hold Goodcents on such a pedestal, I'm sure I would have LOVED Firehouse. So if you have one near you, you should check it out. Guarantee the kids will love it!
Firehouse, while not as good as Goodcents, fills that void.
The subs were pretty good. There was meat and not just 5lbs of lettuce. The bread was fresh. While the sandwiches didn't totally overwhelm me, the atmosphere was perfect. The inside was total Firehouse motif. The kids were each given a free hat and received Oreos after finishing their meal. I think they each had a favorite part:
Bubba and pooks both loved the free hat(s).
 |
| Well if that isn't a look of approval, I'm not sure what is! |
Friday, September 23, 2011
Sissy's birthday photos
Sissy will be celebrating her first birthday in just 12 days. Today we went to Portrait Innovations and had her "One Year" pictures taken. I have had both Pooks and Peanut's first birthday photos taken there as well so it's a rite of passage of sorts. I knew I wanted the basic white background and luckily for my wallet, there weren't too many overwhelmingly cute ones. Sissy is obviously adorable and she was in a great mood but she did not want to sit still. She did not want to just sit on that backdrop. That dwindled down the ''good'' shots. We tried a bunch of other backdrops and such but I wasn't impressed. Greyish brown? Um, no thanks. I did like the black backdrop but unfortunately Sissy was over it by then. I had given myself a $50 budget and I stuck to it so overall, no complaints. I love there value package for just $9.95! Total I ended up with an 11x14, (2) 8x10s, (12) 5x7s, (8) 3.5x5s, and 48 wallets in three different poses, 2 different outfits. Can't beat PI's prices and that fact that the photos were done and in my hands within 15 minutes!
So without further ado, here are two of them. Keep in mind I scanned these...not the greatest quality, they are OVERLY exposed and a bit too bright/washed out. (not in real life, but in the scanned computer copy)
Now I'm gonna save my favorite shot for her Birthday post (Oct 4th). Her party will be October 15th, so we'll have party pics up shortly after that!
Geez, I still can't believe she's almost a "toddler"!
So without further ado, here are two of them. Keep in mind I scanned these...not the greatest quality, they are OVERLY exposed and a bit too bright/washed out. (not in real life, but in the scanned computer copy)
Geez, I still can't believe she's almost a "toddler"!
Monday, September 19, 2011
So you think we're crazy for moving to Italy?
First off, if you missed this news you can read about it: here
But if you did read that we're moving, then rest assured that we're not crazy. It does seem insane. I'm very much a ''small town'' girl. I lived in Kansas my entire life, up until 10 months ago when we moved tothis desert South Texas. If you would have told me 1 year ago we'd be moving to Italy, I'd say that you're dead wrong. It's so completely out of character, for me, that it is hard to believe. So what changed?
Well, quite a bit. First off, living in Texas has been a mixed blessing. It is 13+hours from our family and was a hard adjustment. It's hot. The culture is different, so many Mexican and Spanish influences. The food is different, the grocery stores are different (good-bye Dillons/Hy-Vee/Ray's Apple Market, hello HEB, HEB, HEB and oh yeah, HEBplus) the speed limits are different (seriously only 65mph at night?!). A lot changed moving here. Little things like our entire house being tile and bigger things like it not raining for over 90+ days (it will drive you mad!), driving on the highway with warning signs up that say "EXTREME WILDFIRE DANGER", learning about the stages of water restrictions and learning that your son doesn't get recess this week due to excessive heat warnings & poor air quality. Definitely a change up from our indecisive, but tolerable, Kansas weather.
But despite all the new but not so great things, we've learned a lot. Yes, it's hard being away from friends and family, but we're doing fine. (Yes, I realize we have been fortunate enough to have a lot of visitors!). Sure we don't have Mr. Goodcents, but how else would we have learned that our kids LOVE mexican food. Borracho beans, flautas, quesdillas and breakfast tacos.
Most importantly though, we've learned to adapt. We've learned to try new things, to do things we normally wouldn't. To explore and see what's around us. In some ways, I feel like Texas was the baby step to bigger things, like moving to Italy. If one year ago, right after giving birth to Sissy, B had said ''Hey, I got a job in Italy" I would have refused to go. It would have been a ''Either turn it down or have fun going by yourself" situation. I was VERY comfortable in Kansas but our finances were not. We needed to move, to let B ''move up the ladder'' so to speak, to be able to pay off debt, save up money and get out of a 2 bedroom house with our four kids. So, we did it. With an 8 week old baby, we up and moved 750 miles away where we knew almost no one.
The silver lining was, we actually don't mind living here. B is getting paid more, cost of living is less. We have more house (almost 500sq feet more) for only a bit more rent. We made friends, got to know our neighbors (something we never did back home). We are much more comfortable here financial than we were in Kansas. Are we debt free? No. Are we no longer paying just the bare minimum? Yes. And that is a big step when you have some credit card debt, student loans (but no degree) and a car note. We were also able to do fun things like get a Sea World pass, explore a whole new area, take our kids to the gulf or ''ocean'' as they call it. We bought a new washer & dryer (our old set was on it's last leg but we made it work for over a year, running everything for 2 dry cycles and sometimes washing one load of clothes twice to get the detergent stains out) and got Peanut a big bed...something we wouldn't have even had room for in our old house.
So if we're so comfortable here, why move? Well, in short, because we can. Because an opportunity like Italy, comes up once in a lifetime if you're lucky. We didn't think we'd really like Texas, we thought it would be hard on the kids and us. We thought we'd be here a year and move right back to Kansas. But we adjusted. So yes, Italy will be hard. It will be an even bigger adjustment. But I really do feel like having this year in Texas to act as a buffer between ''home'' and Italy, has helped tremendously.
Please know that we're not going into this blind. We've asked questions every step of the way. We've researched and read up on our new area. We've chatted with other people who have been there, we've read blogs, books, websites and watched youtube videos. We have applied for passports, started sorting our belongings into ''trash/donate/sell/take with us/store here". We've gotten Rascal micro-chipped, vaccinated and his health certificate started. We've been stalking the military housing website looking at rentals, discussing the the benefits of living in different areas, what we are hoping to find, what is essential (some yard space) versus what isn't (a garage/carport, 2 full baths[like we have now]). We've looked into the school system, the bus routes...we're really doing all that we can stateside to prepare ourselves and the kids for this move.
If you're interested, here are a couple blogs from other Americans who are currently living in Italy. Two of them are military as well, one is in Rome.
PCS Italy-- super informative. Peggy, the author, is also from kansas, married to a civilian and she has two kids.
New Girl on Post-- Melissa is a 20 something girl from Oklahoma that has spent a few years in Oklahoma, one by herself while her husband was deployed. She loves to travel and has the pictures and tips to prove it!
An American in Rome- a California girl who dropped everything and moved to Rome for graduate school. Good pictures, funny and informative.
But if you did read that we're moving, then rest assured that we're not crazy. It does seem insane. I'm very much a ''small town'' girl. I lived in Kansas my entire life, up until 10 months ago when we moved to
Well, quite a bit. First off, living in Texas has been a mixed blessing. It is 13+hours from our family and was a hard adjustment. It's hot. The culture is different, so many Mexican and Spanish influences. The food is different, the grocery stores are different (good-bye Dillons/Hy-Vee/Ray's Apple Market, hello HEB, HEB, HEB and oh yeah, HEBplus) the speed limits are different (seriously only 65mph at night?!). A lot changed moving here. Little things like our entire house being tile and bigger things like it not raining for over 90+ days (it will drive you mad!), driving on the highway with warning signs up that say "EXTREME WILDFIRE DANGER", learning about the stages of water restrictions and learning that your son doesn't get recess this week due to excessive heat warnings & poor air quality. Definitely a change up from our indecisive, but tolerable, Kansas weather.
But despite all the new but not so great things, we've learned a lot. Yes, it's hard being away from friends and family, but we're doing fine. (Yes, I realize we have been fortunate enough to have a lot of visitors!). Sure we don't have Mr. Goodcents, but how else would we have learned that our kids LOVE mexican food. Borracho beans, flautas, quesdillas and breakfast tacos.
Most importantly though, we've learned to adapt. We've learned to try new things, to do things we normally wouldn't. To explore and see what's around us. In some ways, I feel like Texas was the baby step to bigger things, like moving to Italy. If one year ago, right after giving birth to Sissy, B had said ''Hey, I got a job in Italy" I would have refused to go. It would have been a ''Either turn it down or have fun going by yourself" situation. I was VERY comfortable in Kansas but our finances were not. We needed to move, to let B ''move up the ladder'' so to speak, to be able to pay off debt, save up money and get out of a 2 bedroom house with our four kids. So, we did it. With an 8 week old baby, we up and moved 750 miles away where we knew almost no one.
The silver lining was, we actually don't mind living here. B is getting paid more, cost of living is less. We have more house (almost 500sq feet more) for only a bit more rent. We made friends, got to know our neighbors (something we never did back home). We are much more comfortable here financial than we were in Kansas. Are we debt free? No. Are we no longer paying just the bare minimum? Yes. And that is a big step when you have some credit card debt, student loans (but no degree) and a car note. We were also able to do fun things like get a Sea World pass, explore a whole new area, take our kids to the gulf or ''ocean'' as they call it. We bought a new washer & dryer (our old set was on it's last leg but we made it work for over a year, running everything for 2 dry cycles and sometimes washing one load of clothes twice to get the detergent stains out) and got Peanut a big bed...something we wouldn't have even had room for in our old house.
So if we're so comfortable here, why move? Well, in short, because we can. Because an opportunity like Italy, comes up once in a lifetime if you're lucky. We didn't think we'd really like Texas, we thought it would be hard on the kids and us. We thought we'd be here a year and move right back to Kansas. But we adjusted. So yes, Italy will be hard. It will be an even bigger adjustment. But I really do feel like having this year in Texas to act as a buffer between ''home'' and Italy, has helped tremendously.
Please know that we're not going into this blind. We've asked questions every step of the way. We've researched and read up on our new area. We've chatted with other people who have been there, we've read blogs, books, websites and watched youtube videos. We have applied for passports, started sorting our belongings into ''trash/donate/sell/take with us/store here". We've gotten Rascal micro-chipped, vaccinated and his health certificate started. We've been stalking the military housing website looking at rentals, discussing the the benefits of living in different areas, what we are hoping to find, what is essential (some yard space) versus what isn't (a garage/carport, 2 full baths[like we have now]). We've looked into the school system, the bus routes...we're really doing all that we can stateside to prepare ourselves and the kids for this move.
If you're interested, here are a couple blogs from other Americans who are currently living in Italy. Two of them are military as well, one is in Rome.
PCS Italy-- super informative. Peggy, the author, is also from kansas, married to a civilian and she has two kids.
New Girl on Post-- Melissa is a 20 something girl from Oklahoma that has spent a few years in Oklahoma, one by herself while her husband was deployed. She loves to travel and has the pictures and tips to prove it!
An American in Rome- a California girl who dropped everything and moved to Rome for graduate school. Good pictures, funny and informative.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
the craft bug has bitten...
So a few weeks ago I posted about my awesome freebie find. I'm pretty conflicted as to what I want to do with it so for now, it's sitting in the garage still. Untouched. Then with school starting, B's new job, and planning for Sissy's first birthday...the dresser was most definitely pushed aside. But last week, I *needed* to craft. It's like an addiction, I swear. So I decided to make my version of the balloon wreath that is floating all around Pinterest. {feel free to follow me, I linked a button over in my right sidebar}. I love it!
Of course I was interrupted no less than 1 bajillion times, but split over 2 days, it took about 2 hours total. So then I was like ''What else can I make???".....a Pinterest search later and I was directed to these little guys:
They are "Pajama Eaters". Perfect little stuffed animal guys to feed your pajamas to in the morning, so your kids actually wear them more than once before tossing them on the floor. Well, I think they are adorable. But I couldn't help but think ''those would make AWESOME pillows". See my boys are sorta obsessed with Pillow Pets. And I may have told them that maybe we could get them each a mini-pillow pet for the plane ride. {this was only after they said they were taking their big ones on the plane}. But then I actually looked at mini-pillow pets and they're little, littler than I thought. And they're $13....do the math, times it by four and suddenly I'm shelling out $52+ tax on four pillows.
Get out of town, that is not happening. Not for something that is seriously, 6x8 inches.
So when I saw Jodi's tutorial for her Pajama Eaters, I immediately bought it. I looked over the tutorial {seriously one of the best tutorials ever! so easy to follow and cute} a few times, decided that instead of stuffing the little guys (sized 13x13 inches) with fiberfil, I could make them a bit bigger and instead use a travel pillow. So with that in mind, I showed the kids. THEY LOVED THEM!! So I explained that mommy would make them a ''pillow pet'' Monster instead of buying the baby ones. Done, they loved it. I set out for the fabric store.
Once there (with all four kiddos in tow) I had them each pick out a solid color for their monster. Then we loaded up on the necessities like fabric for the mouths, zippers, heat & bond and thread (I have a ton but it was on sale and I wasn't sure what colors I had, yada yada). They did SO incredibly well. Especially when you take into consideration that I jaunted to the fabric store at oh, 11:15am which is when we usually eat lunch. And then the cutting table line..oh my word. I think we were in line for over 30 minutes. Took forever. So we finally get our stuff, pile up in the van and I reward them with lunch at McDonald's. YAY!
So, besides the fact that I'm the coolest mom ever, my real reason for McD's was it's location; inside of Wal-Mart. We ate then went and grabbed 4 travel pillows from the bedding department. I felt like I hit the jackpot...each pillow was $3.00. Oh yeah, saving money, woot woot!
So we get home, figure out what size my monster pillows will be (14x20 was the pillow size, I cut everything to 15x21 and it fit like a glove) and set to work. A bit easier said than done since I had all the kids home while B was putting in overtime. But we popped in a video, got Sissy down for a nap and Mommy went to work. It wasn't a difficult project at all, but time consuming measuring and cutting all the pieces. Sissy's was finished first, followed up by the boys the next day. The end result? Some pretty freaking happy kids:
In order: we have Pook's yellow monster {complete with Barry nametag), Sissy's hot pink monster (complete with bow), Peanut's green monster (complete with m&m horns) and Bubba's blue monster (with a silly nose and monsters all on his legs).
So obviously this project was a huge success. First off, I conquered my irrational fear of sewing with zippers. Secondly, even after buying Jodi's tutorial, then the fabric, then the pillows I still spent less than the $52 I would have spent on pillow pets. Woohoo!
And the best part? The kids like them BETTER than their pillow pets! All kids slept with/on their monsters. Do they use the pockets for pajamas? Eh. Bubba does but Peanuts typically has paper in it, or hot wheel cars, or crasins. I plan on putting a pair of sweats and a tshirt in each one for the plane ride...never know when you'll need an extra outfit (or four).
So yesterday I finished those and today, I started a Halloween Rag Wreath. Watch out, stand back, I'm on a roll....
 |
| source |
Get out of town, that is not happening. Not for something that is seriously, 6x8 inches.
So when I saw Jodi's tutorial for her Pajama Eaters, I immediately bought it. I looked over the tutorial {seriously one of the best tutorials ever! so easy to follow and cute} a few times, decided that instead of stuffing the little guys (sized 13x13 inches) with fiberfil, I could make them a bit bigger and instead use a travel pillow. So with that in mind, I showed the kids. THEY LOVED THEM!! So I explained that mommy would make them a ''pillow pet'' Monster instead of buying the baby ones. Done, they loved it. I set out for the fabric store.
Once there (with all four kiddos in tow) I had them each pick out a solid color for their monster. Then we loaded up on the necessities like fabric for the mouths, zippers, heat & bond and thread (I have a ton but it was on sale and I wasn't sure what colors I had, yada yada). They did SO incredibly well. Especially when you take into consideration that I jaunted to the fabric store at oh, 11:15am which is when we usually eat lunch. And then the cutting table line..oh my word. I think we were in line for over 30 minutes. Took forever. So we finally get our stuff, pile up in the van and I reward them with lunch at McDonald's. YAY!
So, besides the fact that I'm the coolest mom ever, my real reason for McD's was it's location; inside of Wal-Mart. We ate then went and grabbed 4 travel pillows from the bedding department. I felt like I hit the jackpot...each pillow was $3.00. Oh yeah, saving money, woot woot!
So we get home, figure out what size my monster pillows will be (14x20 was the pillow size, I cut everything to 15x21 and it fit like a glove) and set to work. A bit easier said than done since I had all the kids home while B was putting in overtime. But we popped in a video, got Sissy down for a nap and Mommy went to work. It wasn't a difficult project at all, but time consuming measuring and cutting all the pieces. Sissy's was finished first, followed up by the boys the next day. The end result? Some pretty freaking happy kids:
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| yes, sissy's monster pillow is bigger than her. and yes, bubba just shoved an entire stuffed animal in there. |
So while I let the kids pick the color, I then also gave them free reign on how many eyeballs their monster would have. Well, except Sissy, I just gave her's two. Bubba saw Sissy's and said ''I want LOTS of eyeballs...like TEN!" and I said...."um, 10 is a lot of work, if you want this before bedtime we need less than ten." "Okay, three silly eyeballs." Okay, three. Pooks said he just wanted two super tiny eyeballs. Well I made them super tiny, showed him and he said ''bigger than that mom'' so he got normal sized eyeballs I guess, but still two of them. Peanut wanted "ONE GIANT EYE". Easy enough, I swear it's something about being the third child that just makes things easy! Each kiddo also got to pick some scrap fabric I had lying around as a accent.
Want to know how you can tell that your kids genuinely like something? They request to have their pictures taken. A lot of pictures. Here they are ''going night-night''. Right before the picture took, Sweetcheeks was actually laying on her pillow too. By the time I focused the shot, not so much.
So obviously this project was a huge success. First off, I conquered my irrational fear of sewing with zippers. Secondly, even after buying Jodi's tutorial, then the fabric, then the pillows I still spent less than the $52 I would have spent on pillow pets. Woohoo!
And the best part? The kids like them BETTER than their pillow pets! All kids slept with/on their monsters. Do they use the pockets for pajamas? Eh. Bubba does but Peanuts typically has paper in it, or hot wheel cars, or crasins. I plan on putting a pair of sweats and a tshirt in each one for the plane ride...never know when you'll need an extra outfit (or four).
So yesterday I finished those and today, I started a Halloween Rag Wreath. Watch out, stand back, I'm on a roll....
Monday, September 12, 2011
Visitor from home!
Last week we had the pleasure of having Auntie Michelle visit us...it was a very special treat indeed! She voluntarily chose to spend her vacation hanging out with me, B and our yahoos.
I actually took a ton of photos but apparently I moved them all to the laptop and right now I'm on the desktop, so I only have access to this one. But trust me when I say, we had fun! More pictures will definitely coming soon. Seeing how she arrived on Sunday afternoon and by the time she left for the airport on Thursday afternoon we had went to Corpus Christi, Gruene, the Riverwalk, saw the Alamo, shopped at Market Square/El Mercado, hit up the Tanger Outlet malls, obviously we dined at Taco Cabana and Rudy's BBQ, plus we went shopping here in town--it was a busy trip. AND we did (most) of it while Bubba was in school, meaning we were home by 2pm each day. Whew! I promise to get the pics up soon!
Thanks for visiting us Auntie Michelle, we loved having you!!!
Thanks for visiting us Auntie Michelle, we loved having you!!!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Can you guess what we did this week?
Sunday, September 4, 2011
11 Months...the countdown begins...
In just 30 days, Sissy you will be one year old! That is crazy that you are already so big! It was almost impossible to even take your ''monthly pic'' this morning because you are just so "go-go-go" all of the time. You are a huge happy ball of energy. What are you like at 11 months? So glad you asked...
At ELEVEN months old you:
-have SIX teeth! Four are completely down and pearly white, the other two incisors are through the gums. Since all these teeth have arrived, you are finally sleeping better.
-typically go to bed around 8pm, sleep until 1am, wake up to nurse, go back to bed til 5 or 6am when you nurse again.
-you still wear a size 4 diaper, 6-12mos clothes and 18month leggings/stretchy pants.
-you have recently began ripping out any hairbow/headband that we place in your hair. In order for you to keep it in, you have to be greatly distracted as I clip it, then you forget about it being there at all.
-you are talking more! you say: hi, bye, mama, dada, whoa, and uh-oh
-you are still pretty shy/bashful to people you don't know. now if they are giving you food, you seem to like them just a tiny bit more.
-you are still cruising furniture but show no signs of walking on your own just yet. you go hands free for a bit but then reach back for the wall, furniture, person, etc.
-rarely sit in your highchair, we typically have you eat in your booster seat up at the table with us.
HUGE changes are coming to our family....
If you've noticed the lack of posting around here lately, just know that it's not you, it's me. Obviously we keep pretty busy just in our day to day life but there is *something* going on here that is MASSIVE. I mean news of EPIC proportions. Like, when you finally read what it is you're all going to go...."What?! Seriously?....Are they nuts?" But hopefully in a good way.
I will say, no we are NOT pregnant. We are NOT trying to get pregnant nor adopt. Our four little munchkins are just the right amount for us.
I will go ahead and share our news right now but just know that I don't know all the details yet. Here is what I DO know....
1. B has been applying for other jobs in his field due to the fact that his office is severely understaffed, he is completely overworked and his boss is less than stellar. (seriously when we moved here there were 20 people in his office, now he is one of six. everyone hates it).
2. Most of his applications were right here in Texas, in our same town with the exception of two.
3. The exceptions were: one was in Oklahoma and one was overseas.
4. The overseas one was a total long shot as while completely qualified, he knows no one over there. But the opportunity was there and after many evening discussions between he and I, he applied for it. We knew that in him applying for it, there was no backing out. It's not often that a civilian position in his field opens up and we knew we weren't going to waste anyone's time by backing out/changing our minds.
The Oklahoma one was mostly due to the fact that we both like the Midwest, it's closer to family and it gets him out of this job that he dislikes so much. Again, he knew no one in the office so it was somewhat a long shot.
5. So weeks past and he has one phone interview, it was casual and short but they said ''okay, you'll hear from us shortly''.
6. Two weeks go by and we hear nada. B is getting discouraged, another co-worker takes a different job and now his office is down to five.
7. On Monday he received the official email saying the job was his if he chose to accept.
8. He called me, we were thrilled (yet nervous about moving, again) and he emailed back that he accepts.
So we're moving! Again, lol. That's pretty big news in itself, I mean we only just moved to Texas 10 months ago. But it's more where we're moving that's the big news.
It's overseas......a flight of 10 hours.
It's in Europe.....and it's not Germany.
I'll tell you now but please say nothing on Facebook until B announces it...
Are you ready!?
We're moving to:
I will say, no we are NOT pregnant. We are NOT trying to get pregnant nor adopt. Our four little munchkins are just the right amount for us.
I will go ahead and share our news right now but just know that I don't know all the details yet. Here is what I DO know....
1. B has been applying for other jobs in his field due to the fact that his office is severely understaffed, he is completely overworked and his boss is less than stellar. (seriously when we moved here there were 20 people in his office, now he is one of six. everyone hates it).
2. Most of his applications were right here in Texas, in our same town with the exception of two.
3. The exceptions were: one was in Oklahoma and one was overseas.
4. The overseas one was a total long shot as while completely qualified, he knows no one over there. But the opportunity was there and after many evening discussions between he and I, he applied for it. We knew that in him applying for it, there was no backing out. It's not often that a civilian position in his field opens up and we knew we weren't going to waste anyone's time by backing out/changing our minds.
The Oklahoma one was mostly due to the fact that we both like the Midwest, it's closer to family and it gets him out of this job that he dislikes so much. Again, he knew no one in the office so it was somewhat a long shot.
5. So weeks past and he has one phone interview, it was casual and short but they said ''okay, you'll hear from us shortly''.
6. Two weeks go by and we hear nada. B is getting discouraged, another co-worker takes a different job and now his office is down to five.
7. On Monday he received the official email saying the job was his if he chose to accept.
8. He called me, we were thrilled (yet nervous about moving, again) and he emailed back that he accepts.
So we're moving! Again, lol. That's pretty big news in itself, I mean we only just moved to Texas 10 months ago. But it's more where we're moving that's the big news.
It's overseas......a flight of 10 hours.
It's in Europe.....and it's not Germany.
I'll tell you now but please say nothing on Facebook until B announces it...
Are you ready!?
We're moving to:
Italy!!!!
Is that not huge news!? I mean it's no pregnancy announcement but still, big changes! Right now we're in the midst of paperwork and security clearances then we'll be getting passports and visas and working out packing dates and AAAAAAAAGH, SO much stuff has to happen. We don't have a date yet but it will all most definitely be before the end of the year.
Not only is a huge opportunity for B, I mean it will look wonderful on his resume but we feel it's an amazing opportunity for our family as well. It's a chance of a lifetime. With four kids, we would never have the ability to just take a trip to Italy. It's unrealistic to even think so {unless we were to win the lotto, ha!}. So we really feel like we've been given a gift. And to pass at the chance of living there? Geez, that's something that if we passed on, we'd regret forever. And we won't be living there forever. We will be there at least one year but no more than three. (As a civilian, B could stay up to five years but we know that we will not ask for any extensions in our stay; doing so will no longer assure him a position stateside. Three year "tour" means they will give him a position of equal pay here when we return).
So yes, it will be chaotic. And yes we will all at some point get extremely homesick I'm sure. Yes we may be nuts. But is that reason enough to pass it up? No, not at all. I cannot wait for the food, the culture, the history, the wine, the beaches...I mean, it's ITALY. And if it makes this whole thing seem a bit less crazy, B will be working on a US Military base. The boys will go to school on base, we can shop at the commissary and PX there. Medical care will be on base. I can use the daycare and gym on base. We will get Italian drivers licenses and live off base (no choice, there is no on base housing) but there is an American community as well.
So what do the boys think? Well they are really excited too. We watched a show on Netflix all about Italy, we've shown them pictures and where it's at on the map. They know that it's far, far, far away. They know that instead of being in the car for 13 hours, we'll be in a plane for 13 hours. They know that things will be different and that the people there will talk different. We've talked about how there won't be Wal-Mart, Target, Chick-Fil-A but there will still be IKEA, and there will be a lot of pizza restaurants. How they'll get to eat food like spaghetti, chicken alfredo and pizza when we go out to eat but not food like Taco Cabana. We talked about how we won't be able to just get in the car and drive to visit Nanaw and Papa. But how we can talk to them on the computer still, and mail them pictures and drawings. We even explained how instead of ice cream there will be gelato. Instead of car trips we'll take train rides to places like Venice and Milan (both about an hour away from the base where we will be stationed).
Do they really understand? No. But they do know that change is coming. They do know that things will be different. And they are excited, as are we!
So that's our BIG EPICALLY HUGE news. Did it surprise you?
So yes, it will be chaotic. And yes we will all at some point get extremely homesick I'm sure. Yes we may be nuts. But is that reason enough to pass it up? No, not at all. I cannot wait for the food, the culture, the history, the wine, the beaches...I mean, it's ITALY. And if it makes this whole thing seem a bit less crazy, B will be working on a US Military base. The boys will go to school on base, we can shop at the commissary and PX there. Medical care will be on base. I can use the daycare and gym on base. We will get Italian drivers licenses and live off base (no choice, there is no on base housing) but there is an American community as well.
So what do the boys think? Well they are really excited too. We watched a show on Netflix all about Italy, we've shown them pictures and where it's at on the map. They know that it's far, far, far away. They know that instead of being in the car for 13 hours, we'll be in a plane for 13 hours. They know that things will be different and that the people there will talk different. We've talked about how there won't be Wal-Mart, Target, Chick-Fil-A but there will still be IKEA, and there will be a lot of pizza restaurants. How they'll get to eat food like spaghetti, chicken alfredo and pizza when we go out to eat but not food like Taco Cabana. We talked about how we won't be able to just get in the car and drive to visit Nanaw and Papa. But how we can talk to them on the computer still, and mail them pictures and drawings. We even explained how instead of ice cream there will be gelato. Instead of car trips we'll take train rides to places like Venice and Milan (both about an hour away from the base where we will be stationed).
Do they really understand? No. But they do know that change is coming. They do know that things will be different. And they are excited, as are we!
So that's our BIG EPICALLY HUGE news. Did it surprise you?
