Uh, Yeah, Moving Sucks

So, the move has officially commenced.  Stick with me...I'll be back with a full blown post ful of fun move details in a day or so....

I just wanted to let you know that I am still alive and kicking :)

RTT: Moving Edition

Sorry I'm so late with the normal Tuesday randomness...I'm in the middle of moving, so let's do some quick random thoughts...

**My hubby is driving my bonkers with his pre-move obsessive cleaning.

**Middle kiddo doesn't do change well.  He wants to take all his friends with him to our new house.  Yeah, honey, because 20 kindergartners under Mommy's roof won't drive her crazy.

**Is it wrong that I kinda like that Baby Girl cries when the MIL tries to hold her?

**I probably should've kept that to myself...

**I should be writing one of four essays I have coming due soon.

**I love Chai Tea Lattes...and coffee...and my crock pot.

**My crock pot is getting packed tomorrow and I won't see it for a month.

**I need a job...got one for me?

**Yes, that was a shameless plea for employment...yeah, yeah, I'll check the classifieds.

**My favorite cousin got her random on today...check it out here!

Alrighty, peeps, it's been fun but I must get some other stuff done now.

Thursday? Really? Already?

I know, I suck.  I totally missed Random Tuesday Thoughts.  How about I make it up to you with some random Thursday thoughts?  Alrighty...

**I spent almost $10 on pacifiers last night because Baby Girl had to have one just exactly like the one the dog chewed up yesterday.  Apparently, change isn't her thing.

**I am exhausted.  Baby Girl was up at 12:30 last night, middle kiddo was up at 3:30 and then it was time to get up at 6:30.  I slept like poo last night.

**Did you see that we found a place to live?!  Yay!

**I have been horrible at commenting this week.  I'm sorry.  I'm sure the blog police are coming to get me any minute now.

**If it makes you feel any better, I have been really horrible at school work this week too.

**Oldest kiddo got sent to the principal's office for the first time ever this week...he flipped a pencil across a desk at a girl in art class...wasn't really a big deal at all, even the principal said so.

**My totally awesome friend works at Old Navy and sent me a friends/family discount coupon for this weekend.  I'm totally stoked.  I love Old Navy.  Plus, the older kiddos are gonna have to wear uniforms at their new school so I gotta stock up on khakis and polo shirts.  Yay.

**Do you sometimes feel like you do everything around your house?  Like you're the only one who knows how to fold laundry, make dinner or sweep the floors?  Yeah, me too.

**Middle kiddo has his first loose tooth.  Oldest kiddo is reading a book that is probably 5th or 6th grade level...he's in 2nd grade.  Baby Girl is taking lots of steps on her own...shhh, don't tell her but it's called walking.

And I'm out.  I'm going to take my exhausted brain to do some homework now.  That should be interesting!  Hope ya'll have a great day :)

**I totally forgot this little gem:  A few nights ago, middle kiddo was going to demonstrate for us how Daddy fell asleep on the couch.  But before he could start, he ran around the living room looking for the remote.  When I asked him why, Middle Kiddo replied, "Because to start, you have to pretend I just changed the channel."  Hubby and I died laughing because I always accuse him of changing the channel then falling asleep.

We Got a House!!

No, we did not buy a house.  But, we did find a rental place.  Yay!  The housing office where we are headed has told us that it would be over a year before they got us in a house, so we started looking for a place off-post.  After sorting through gazillions of listings, telling off some scammer on Craigslist and wondering why none of these houses had a refrigerator, I finally found a totally awesome place.  Hubby called the property manager on Monday afternoon and by Tuesday morning we found out for sure that the place is ours (well, not ours, but you know what I mean).  I'm totally stoked about this place.  It has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms.  The master bathroom has a gianormous bathtub and 2 sinks!  Plus, the master bedroom has his and hers closets.  Um, heck yeah!  It also comes with a refrigerator.  Total score!  The nearby school is awesome and the area is really nice.  The only drawback is that it is twenty miles from post, so hubby's got quite a drive everyday.  But we decided that it was worth it.  Since I've got you all excited about the awesomeness of this house, I'll share the pics of it.  These aren't the greatest, but they're good enough to show why I'm stoked.

Cookbooks, Anyone?

The move is upon us!  And we found a house today!  When it is a sure deal, I'll share more info so you'll be as excited as I am.

Anyways, I am going through things and sorted stuff out.  I have a plethora of cookbooks.  I found two that I don't really use, so I have a deal for you.  The first person who contacts me via email (there's a link on my profile page) and agrees to pay the shipping for them can have them.  If you only want one, that's cool too.  Just tell me which you want.

Up for grabs are:

and

images from Amazon.com

They are both in new condition.  They need good homes.  Adopt the cookbooks :)

Dear Random People

Dear Girls in the Butt Crack Bearing Jeans,

I don't wanna see it.  Hike those babies up.  Please and thank you!

Disgusted,
Cole
*****************************

Dear Baby Girl,

Take a nap.  Now.  Please.  Mommy isn't begging, but simply asking nicely.  For the fiftieth time.  You are cranky and Mommy is getting that way.

Almost annoyed,
Mommy
******************************

Dear Oldest Kiddo and Middle Kiddo,

Stay off of your baby sister's ride-on toys.  They weren't made for kids your weight.  I am serious when I say that you break, you buy.  Seriously.

Tired of saying it,
Mom
*****************************

Dear Person Who Tried to Scam Me on Craigslist,

I was born last night, but it wasn't last night.  Not for one second do I believe that you are in Africa doing good and will send me the keys to your rental house just as soon as I wire you some money.  Isn't that scam a little old by now?  Really.  Get a new scam and maybe I'll fall for that one.

Smarter than the average bear,
Cole
*******************************

Dear Universe,

I need a house to live in and a job in El Paso.  And, if it's not pushing it, could you drop off a winning lotto ticket at my front door too?  That would be totally awesome.  Thanks.

Tired of reading ads,
Cole

Learning from Place to Place

Each time we load up and move on to a new post, I end up reflecting on what I've learned at the one we're leaving behind.  I find myself doing that again.

Our first duty assignment was in Hawaii.  (I know, spectacular, right?!)  When hubby and I arrived in Hawaii, we were 19, had been married for about 10 months and had been parents for two weeks.  We were babies.  Leaving Hawaii, we were a little older, maybe wiser (maybe) and had two kiddos.  During our three and a half years there, I learned that I could take care of myself and my kids.  I learned where to put brake fluid in my car.  I learned that life sometimes throws you a curve ball, but you've still got to swing.  You might miss, but at least you'll go down swinging.

After Hawaii, we moved to Texas.  We went through another deployment, too much partying and a whole lot of heartache.  I learned that I am strong.  Heartbreak happens.  Heart healing also happens.  I learned that sometimes people don't care about you.  They'll use you to get what they want and walk away without even caring about the damage they leave behind, kind of like a really bad tornado.  But I also learned that when a broken heart heals, it is stronger.  I learned what was important to me and not to care what other people thought about that.

From Texas, we moved here to Kentucky.  Our precious baby girl was born here.  I've learned that some of the best things in life are worth waiting for.  I also realized that God gives us stuff when He knows we're ready for it, and only He knows when that is.  I learned that hubby and I can in fact live together.  (Sounds odd, I know, but until here he's been gone so much that we averaged less than a year at home together before he was off on more training or deployments...typical Army life.)  I came to realize how much I really don't like credit cards.  Most importantly, I learned how to look at past mistakes and not dwell on them.  I realized that I have to be realistic about life in general.  I maintain my optimistic outlook, and I'm still a dreamer.  But I do not expect perfection.  In fact, I understand, more now than ever, that I prefer my washable marker covered, mac and cheese all over the place, laundry is never finished, chaotic life to any other.

Just Another Random Day in the Neighborhood

It's Tuesday, people! You know what that means?  If not, you've not been around here long, huh?  Well, welcome to Random Tuesday Thoughts.  It's the day where I type a bunch of random stuff and pass it off as a post.  Enjoy!  Oh, and if you like the randomness here, head on over to The UnMom and check out some more.

**I'm considering one of those shock collars for my dog.  I'm seriously tired of her obnoxious barking.  She barks everytime the door opens, the UPS truck goes down the street...oh but the best is when she starts barking because I put something on the counter.  Yeah, she needs a shock collar like Lindsay Lohan needs rehab...

**Speaking of Lindsay Lohan...have you seen this??  Uh yeah, she didn't even cross my mind when I saw that little milkaholic on the ad.  Personally, that ad cracks me up.  Nothing about Lindsay Lohan cracks me up.

**I should be doing homework, but my computer hasn't been cooperating.  So, I've taken it as a sign that I should blog instead.

**Hubby called the housing office at the post we're moving to yesterday.  They told him the waiting list for housing is a year long.  Seriously?!  So I'm now looking for acceptable apartments for us to stay in until our name comes up on the list.  That'll be fun...3 kids, 2 dogs and hubby's plethora of tools in an apartment...but at least it'll make for some good blog posts.

**I was looking forward to this move, but that feeling is quickly fading.

**I love having a little girl to dress up.  Let's face it, baby girl clothes are way cuter than baby boy clothes.

**Oldest Kiddo and Middle Kiddo got Happy Meals last night.  They wanted the iCarly toys instead of Star Wars toys, so the lady gave them each an iCarly magic meatball.  Think they would notice if I destroyed those damned things with a hammer?

**Oldest Kiddo had a fabulous birthday (and thanks you all for the birthday wishes, I'd make him write thank you notes to each of you but I'm pushing it with the notes to family, so sorry).  He got a bunch of gift cards from family which he thinks is awesome because he can get whatever he wants.  He said that getting older was cool because people don't send you baby crap anymore.  Where does he get this stuff?

**Middle Kiddo walked around all day on Oldest Kiddo's birthday telling people that he was being nice to his brother on his birthday because "it is a rule that you have to respect your olders [he meant elders] even if he is just my smelly brother".  Yeah, I love that kid.

**I took the boys to see Alice in Wonderland on Friday.  I now remember why I don't go to the movies...I'm not very tolerant of rude teenagers who believe that they own the theater and yell things like "Hey fag face, over here" or "F*ck, I lost my phone again, guess the stupid parents are just gonna have to buy me a new one" or (my personal favorite) "Could you move your effing cup so I can put my phone there?"  And, no, I didn't move my effing cup.  But the movie was good.

And that's about it for today folks.  Hope you enjoyed my random thoughs and have a great Tuesday!

I've Bought My Last Can of Formula...

...or at least, I hope I have.  Baby Girl is going to be 1 in a few short weeks.  So, I have decided that this is the week to begin the transistion to milk.  With the boys, I started a few weeks before their first birthday.  The first week I mixed an ounce of milk with three ounces of formula.  The next week, I increased it to half milk and half formula.  During the third week, I mixed three ounces of milk with just an ounce of formula.  Then, ta da, they were completely transistioned to milk.  Really, I don't know where I came up with this method.  Probably some random literature from the doctor's office (that I actually managed to read).  But it worked well for them.  So I am going to use it with Baby Girl too.

When I did my grocery shopping this weekend, I bought a can of formula.  A couple of months ago, I switched her to one of those second step formulas for older babies, and they only come in the huge cans.  Well, I forgot that I bought it.  I was at Target yesterday, armed with some coupons, and bought yet another can of formula.  Normally, Baby Girl goes through about one of the bigs cans each week.  Since I'm going to start transitioning her, I know she'll go through less than that.

So, I have quite possibly bought my last can of baby formula.  Yay!  (And a little not yay, because she's growing way too fast, dang it!)  All you other mommies out there know the excitement of these milestones.  This one isn't quite as exciting as realizing that you've bought your last box of diapers, but it's right up there!

Love and Shrimp

The hubby and I watched Forrest Gump last night.  It's one of those movies that makes me boo-hoo every single time I watch it.  I think Forrest Gump is one of those movies that tugs at everyone's heart at least a little bit.  How can anyone get through the part at the end when Forrest is talking to Jenny's grave without crying?  Seriously.  As I watched last night, I realized why the love story in the movie gets me so much.

Anyone who has ever seen the movie knows that Jenny is not always good to Forrest.  But he always loves her.  She doesn't always make good choices.  But Forrest loves her anyways.  Throughout it all, Forrest just loves her.

Forrest loves Jenny completely and without judgement.  You see, I think that's what we all wish we had in our life.  Or what we all wish we could do.  I have no doubt that we all love.  We love very deeply.  But can we honestly say that we love completely and utterly without judgement all the time?  If I'm dead honest, I cannot answer that question the way I would like to.  And that right there is why Forrest Gump always gets to me.

8 Years Fly By So Quickly

Today is Oldest Kiddo's 8th birthday!!  So, Happy Birthday Oldest Kiddo!!  I'm really not sure where the past 8 years have flown off to, but I do know that they've been great.  Here are some pictures to prove it...

 

8 years ago

 

 7 years ago

 

6 years ago

 

5 years ago

 

4 years ago

 

3 years ago

(sorry kiddo, but this pic will stick with you for the rest of your life...consider it a life lesson)

2 years ago

 

1 year ago

 

Just a few days ago

I just can't believe he's growing up so fast.  It seems like they put him in my arms for the first time, I blinked and now he's 8.  I love this kid with all my heart.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

As I've mentioned before, we are coming up on a move.  The lovely part of moving is that I have to empty out my cabinets.  Sometimes, the movers will pack some food items, but I really don't like to for a few reasons.  Moving is a good excuse to use up everything and start with new stuff.  I also don't like the idea that our stuff will be in storage for an unknown amount of time and any number of multi-legged critters could be attracted to our boxes if they have food in them.  Anyways, in my attempts to get rid of everything, I start making random things with whatever I have.  The other day, I decided to try some Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes.  I'd seen recipes for them before, so I googled it and went from there.  Here's what I came up with:

Cupcakes

2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your pans for 24 cupcakes.  In large bowl, beat together sugar, eggs, milk, oil and vanilla until blended.  In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until it starts to come together.  Then add the boiling water very slowly.  Mix until smooth.  (The mixture will be thin, so don't freak out)  Scoop into pans (do not, I repeat, do not fill the cups more than 3/4 full).  Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the middle comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack until cupcakes are cool.  Then frost...

Frosting

**I didn't have much powdered sugar, so this recipe doesn't make much...it's just enough to put a fairly thin layer on 24 cupcakes.  If you like mounds of frosting on your cupcakes, just double this and you should be fine.

1 stick butter at room temp.
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Beat butter until creamy.  Stir milk and vanilla together in a measuring cup.  In a bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon.  Starting and ending with the powdered sugar mixture, alternatively beat the powdered sugar and milk mixtures into the butter.

Yeah, Yeah, I'm a Little Behind

I have been a very bad blogger the last week.  I'm very sorry.  I would like to say that I'll be better, but with the move coming up I just can't promise that.  I will, however, try :)

So, I know you're all expecting some randomness, because it's Tuesday and that's what we do around here on Tuesdays, so here it is...

 

**I got myself an iPhone...oh yeah...it rocks!

**Apparently, oldest kiddo will now be riding the same bus as middle kiddo...found this out today when oldest kiddo didn't get off the normal bus and hubby called the school looking for him...I couldn't call because it's hard to speak coherently when you are hyperventilating.

**Baby girl is starting to take more little steps on her own.  She would still rather crawl though.

**Oldest kiddo is going to be 8 on Friday!!

**We are officially on Transportation's list to get moved later this month.  I'm glad that's scheduled.

**I'm reading a book called Taking Sides: Religion for a course I'm taking this semester.  It is really interesting.  Controversial issues are argued in "Yes" and "No" essays.

**Currently, I need a good 4-5 quiet hours to catch up on my school work...yeah right, there are no quiet hours around here.

**I made some cupcakes today...Mexican Hot Chocolate cupcakes...OMG they are fab!  Recipe coming soon.

Well, dinner is about to burn and the kids are losing their danged minds (neither of those things are new around here...), so enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!!