29 May 2011

27 May 2011

25 May 2011

White Fang

Cora's teething again. She's got the two bottom and then instead of starting in the top middle, she's sporting a fang off to the side. After extensive googling, I've decided this is normal. The top four teeth generally break around the same time, so as long as she doesn't drop the other fang, I think we'll be okay. (Although that would make a pretty funny vampire baby photo. Oh! She could be Renesmee!)

Jesus Loves Me for an iPhone

24 May 2011

Hello Susan!

It's so nice to meet you. What?  That's not blood?  It's leftover coloring and meconium?  Well thank you for telling us.  We wouldn't want anyone to think y'all were hemorrhaging or were in pain of some sort.  Hey, would you mind telling your brothers and sisters to take their time coming out?  We literally turned our backs for twenty minutes and you were out and exercising your beautiful wings.  

(Now I'm afraid to take Elayna to Story Hour at the library.  We missed Susan coming out.  I'd like for us to witness at least one butterfly making its debut.)

23 May 2011

Our Garden

It's growing!  I'll have to post a full shot of the garden when everything's matured and yielding.  Our neighbor gave me the zucchini, which was not in the original plans.  I had originally wanted tomatoes there, but I couldn't turn them down.  I'm so excited and can't wait to have Elayna "snapping" beans.  Joy!

Here, we have zucchini on the top row and okra on the bottom.  And a green bean to the far right.


Here are all my green beans up top and squash below.  Some sprouts are way taller than others, but they're all there.  Each seed I planted is growing.

There's so much space between the two rows because that's where rainwater plummets from our rooftop.  We don't have gutters (nobody does), so the water free falls and would kill anything we plant right there.  

19 May 2011

Jesus Loves Me for a Pancake

Elayna's favorite song is Jesus Loves Me.  And now that she can sing the entire song, and I mean all of it, I bribe her as often as possible just so I can hear her sweet little voice sing it.  Tonight, it was for a pancake.  She didn't sing the song in its entirety, but you definitely get an idea of how precious she is.  Enjoy!

18 May 2011

On the Road Again

How much fun can two girls have in one cozy coupe? Seriously.

Road trip!

Cozy Coupe


Isn't she cute?  When Aaron got one for his first birthday, it was the hit of the cousins.  Every time we go through a toy section and she sees one, Elayna just HAS to drive it around the store for a bit.  Okay... well it was time to get her one of her own.

We got this for free folks.  Like a coupon-crazed lady, I've been saving our Pampers Gifts to Grow promo codes.  After just a few months (seven and a half to be exact), we've accumulated more than enough points to earn this cozy coupe!  All along, I've been redeeming points for photo prints, baby announcements, books, etc.  But this is the first big thing we've ordered.  Absolutely free, didn't even have to pay for shipping.  So if you're a Pampers person, and let's face it, they are superior to Huggies, save your points!  And if you don't feel like it, I'll take them.  Gladly.

But I have a question.  Should I put the goofy-looking eyes on or not?  Maybe I'm just partial to the not-so-cheesy look of my generation's Cozy Coupes?  I dunno.

Since I've put it together and let her play with it, Elayna has gone to the gym four times, shopping once, and Bible class twice.  I'd say that's pretty accurate to our lifestyle.  

Goofy eyes and grin or not?

The Chrysalides

17 May 2011

Shimmy Shimmy Shake


Well these guys are ready to be transferred from their cup to the pavilion. When I removed the cup lid, one of them started shaking like something scary. I could see the innards moving around and it was just plain freaky. It reminded me of when I was preggers and could see my babies moving around.  Creepy.  It violently shook the whole time I was pinning the paper to the enclosure and for a few minutes afterward. Is this normal?

In the other cup, four caterpillars have become chrysalides and we have one late bloomer.  He's been crawling around on the others for a few days and just now started hanging upside down this afternoon.  I hope he STAYS upside down this time and that the others don't break free before I can get them all pinned in to the pavilion too.

This is so exciting!  We're totally doing this next spring too!

Elayna has even decided to name a few: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G.  Mabes, you better decide now if you want to name any butterflies!  There are still a few left nameless.  Aaron?  Eli?

16 May 2011

Things You Should Never Say to a Military Wife

If you read this on The War Report, substitute the article photo for an image of a wife sitting in the driver's seat of her Jeep Grand Cherokee trying really, really hard to not break out in hysteria because her husband is going to war and her 9 month old daughter is in the back seat watching her every move, absolutely clueless to what's going on.  That would be Elayna and me the day we said our deployment goodbyes to Ryan in 2009.
1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
This one comes in at number one on the "duh" list for every military wife. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers in the backs of our minds -- but thanks, brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.
2. "I don't know how you manage. I don't think I could do it."
This is intended to be a compliment, but it's just a little annoying. Here's why: It's not like all of us military wives have been dreaming since childhood of the day we'd get to be anxious single moms who carry cellphones with us to the bathroom and in the shower. We're not made of some mysterious matter that makes us more capable; we just got asked to take on a challenging job. So, we rose to the challenge and found the strength to make sacrifices.
3. "At least he's not in Iraq."
This is the number one most annoying comment for those whose husbands are in Afghanistan. What do they think is happening in Afghanistan? An international game of golf? Guys are fighting and dying over there.
4. "Do you think he'll get to come home for Christmas / anniversary / birthday / birth of a child / wedding / family reunion, etc.?"
Don't you watch the news? No! They don't get to come home for any of these things. Please don't ask again.
5. "What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while he's gone?"
Short answer: try to keep my sanity. Maybe there's a military wife out there who gets bored when her husband leaves, but I have yet to meet her. For the rest of us, those with and without children, we find ourselves having to be two people. That keeps us plenty busy. We do get lonely, but we don't get bored, and drinking massive amounts of wine always helps keep me busy.
6. "How much longer does he have until he can get out?"
This one is annoying to many of us whether our husbands are deployed or not. Many of our husbands aren't counting down the days until they "can" get out. Many of them keep signing back up again and again because they actually love what they do or they VOLUNTEER AGAIN and AGAIN to go back to Iraq because there is work that needs to be done.
7. "This deployment shouldn't be so bad, now that you're used to it."
Sure, we do learn coping skills, and it's true the more deployments you've gone through, the easier dealing with it becomes. And we figure out ways to make life go smoother while the guys are gone. But it never gets "easy" and the bullets and bombs don't skip over our guys just because they've been there before. The worry never goes away.
8. "My husband had to go to Europe for business once for three weeks. I totally know what you're going through."
This one is similar to number two. Do not equate your husband's three-week trip to London/Omaha/Tokyo/etc. with a 12–15-month or more deployment to a war zone. Aside from the obvious time difference, nobody shot at your husband or tried to blow him up with an IED (improvised explosive device), your husband could call home pretty much any time he wanted to, he flew comfortably on a commercial plane, slept between crisp white sheets and ate well, paying for everything with an expense account. There is no comparison. We do not feel bonded to you in the slightest because of this comment and, if anything, we probably resent you a bit for it. Comparing a 12-month combat deployment to a business trip is like comparing a Ford Taurus with a Mercedes convertible.
9. "Wow, you must miss him."
This one also gets another big "duh". Of course we miss our men. There are some wives who do not, and they're now divorced.
10. "Where is he exactly? Where is that?"
I don't expect non-military folks to be able to find Anbar Province on a map, but they should know by now that it's in Iraq. Likewise, know that Kabul and Kandahar are in Afghanistan. Know that Muqtada al Sadr is the insurgent leader of the Mahdi Army in Iraq and that Sadr City is his home area. Know that Iran is a major threat to our country and that it is located between Afghanistan and Iraq. Our country has been at war in Afghanistan for nine years and at war in Iraq for seven years. These basic facts are not secrets, they're on the news every night and in the papers every day -- and on maps everywhere.
11. "Well, he signed up for it, so it's his own fault whatever happens over there."
Yes, he did sign up. Each and every day he protects your right to make stupid, ignorant comments like that. He didn't sign up and ask to be hit by anything -- he signed up to protect his country. Oh, and by the way, he asked me to tell you that "You're welcome." He's still fighting for your freedom.
12. "Don't you miss sex? I couldn't do it!"
Hmmm. Seriously ... military spouses learn quickly that our relationships must be founded on something greater than sex. We learn to appreciate the important things, like simply hearing their voices, seeing their faces, being able to have dinner together every night. And the hard truth is, most relationships probably couldn't withstand 12 months of sex deprivation.
13. "Well, in my opinion ..."
Stop right there. I didn't ask for your personal political opinions. Hey, I love a heated political debate, but not in the grocery store, not in Jamba Juice, not at Nordstrom, not in a restaurant when I'm out with my girls trying to forget the war, and CERTAINLY NOT AT WORK. We tell co-workers about deployments so when we have to spend lunch hours running our butts off doing errands and taking care of the house, dog and kids, they have an understanding. We do not tell co-workers and colleagues because we are inviting them to ramble about politics or because we so eagerly want to hear how much they hate the president. Especially while we're trying to heat up our Lean Cuisine in the crappy office microwave.
Last but not least ...
14. "Oh, that's horrible ... I'm so sorry!"
He's doing his job and he's tough. Don't be sorry. Be appreciative and please take a moment out of your comfortable American lives to realize that our military fights the wars abroad so those wars stay abroad and you stay safe.

This story originally appeared on The War Report.

13 May 2011

12 May 2011

Some Fun in the Sun

Hummingbird!

I finally bought a hummingbird feeder for our house down here.  And it's really cool!  It's a double-decker with wide mouths, so it's easier to clean.  I found it at KMart and definitely did not pay $17 for it.  More like $5.  (Shout out to the person who didn't pay attention and stocked the shelves incorrectly!)  It's been hanging for a few days and just as I'm googling if Georgia even HAS hummingbirds, one flies up.  However, the visit was very brief because Elayna was sitting on the counter helping me make pancakes three feet from the feeder... and we spooked it.  I'm sure he'll be back now that he knows where another feeder is.

11 May 2011

Booksneeze Review: Fasting

As part of Booksneeze Bloggers, I had the opportunity to read a book of my choice and it was even mailed to me for free.  However, the review will be very brief.  While I love to read and learn, I could not focus whenever I'd start to read Fasting, written by Scot McKnight.  This is a topic I have a deep desire to learn more about and thought this series would help me to learn about many aspects of worship and Christianity.  I never got past the third chapter in any of the three books I started to read.  I hope you have better luck than me.

10 May 2011

Mati's Allergies

Who knew owning such an awesome dog would be sooo expensive?  Mati is THE most accident prone and ailing dog I've ever seen.  Last year, we went through a whole tick ordeal where she contracted three diseases, two of which were deadly and happened to be pushing her to that brink.  You can read about it here, here, and here. Oh and here. Not to mention the time I hit her with the jeep and skinned her lip.  Or when she ran into a concrete bird bath and shaved half her face.  Or all the equipment we buy and training we do with her.  Okay, that last one is something we actually want to spend money on.  But the others? Come on, Mati.  

Here she is recovering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever AND Ehrlichia.  That head tilt is very much NOT intentional.  It's one of the symptoms she had and has since recovered from.


Here are photos from her most recent vet check.  She's covered in hives.

Hates being at the vet.

Has a fat, swollen face and neck from... something.  The vet never did figure out what was going on, except she knew it was an allergic reaction to something.  Probably a wasp or a bee.  (She's been known to chase them all around our back yard.  Maybe she finally actually caught one.)  It's taken three days of benadryl to reduce the swelling and get her back to normal.  She no longer has a gobbler-- really wish I'd gotten a photo of that. Her neck was droopy and a gangly fat (if that makes sense) hanging from her chin.  It was very unattractive.

04 May 2011

Painted Ladies

Caterpillars have been ordered!  Now we just wait... I'm SO excited.  I really really REALLY wanted to do butterflies with Elayna last summer, but it never happened.  So I've waited an entire year to be able to share this experience with my girls!  I decided to order directly from Insect Lore because they ship the caterpillars with the kit and all... no excessive waiting.  I've been hyping it up to Elayna and now she's eager to see and hold her butterflies.  I'm thinking I'll have to order a Monarch in a Jar to keep her happy after we release them. (The butterflies we'll be releasing are actually Painted Ladies, but they resemble Monarchs.)