the ball

Over the weekend, Brian's Army base hosted a Father Daughter Ball.  Knowing Rowan's intense love for pretty dresses and dancing, we knew she'd love to go.  I actually thought it was all a little silly, all this fuss for a 3 year old.  But then Brian told me that the idea behind these balls is for the little girls to understand the way they should be treated by the men in their future lives.  Now that's an idea I can get behind!  We waited to tell Rowan about the ball a week before, and then made a calendar for her to cross off the days.  She has never, and I mean NEVER been more excited for anything!  It was so sweet watching her and Brian together, getting ready and posing for pictures.  Brian and Rowan even picked out that dress together when we were in Chicago.  It's a good thing for my purple-sparkle-loving girl that I wasn't with them at the time, but as it turns out, it did look pretty on her.  Even if it's not my cup of tea, it's definitely hers!

And I could not narrow down the pictures any more than this, so forgive me for the self-indulgent amount of pictures.

 

 She looked quite sweet, and I do believe that husband of mine gets more and more handsome each year that passes.

Fletcher and I had our own Mama-boy date.  We went to see the Lego Movie (my first time, his second) and then went out to dinner together.  It was a treasure for me to spend time alone with him, hearing his thought and conversations uninterrupted by Rowan.

I look at these two kiddos and realize just how good we've got it.  One day I won't have to remind myself daily of the blessings in my life, but for now, these gentle reminders are doing my heart so good.

thankful

Happy day after Thanksgiving, friends!  Wow, we had such a wonderful day, full of family, food and fun of course.  It is tradition in the Army that on Thanksgiving Day all the commanders serve meals to the soldiers who cannot make it home for the holiday.  I didn't think I'd be able to make it with Brian, the kids, and his parents because of all the cooking I'd be doing for our own dinner.  But I kind of thought, what the heck!  We put the turkey in a roaster instead of the oven, set a timer for it, prepped the rest of the dinner, and just left.  I'm so glad we did.  It was fun seeing Brian serving his soldiers.
And it brought back memories of visiting Brian while he was training on Thanksgiving and having his commander serve us at Ft. Benning.

He looks pretty sharp, right?

We got back with plenty of time to make our own dinner.  My mother-in-law did a lot of the cooking, so it was a team effort!  I got out all the nice china and silver that's been handed down from both sides of the family, and set the table, which is my favorite holiday chore.

 We had another soldier over that couldn't make it home to his family, so it felt like an even bigger family holiday.  I always worry when we do have a stray soldier over he/she will be disappointed with what I make- that it won't match up to his own family's meal.  But this soldier seemed very happy with the meal, and gladly took a big bag of leftovers home with him!

This morning we all moved a bit slowly, slept in a little, and just relaxed.  Brian and I made homemade donuts to round out the overeating that is the Thanksgiving holiday.  They were delicious.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday!  Today we're decking the halls for Christmas, listening to Christmas music, and thinking about going out for a matinee to see the new Disney movie.  Not a bad way to cap off a great day.  One day I'll get out my big girl camera again, and take real pictures, I promise.

*If you were thinking about ordering something from the shop, now's the time!  Take 20% all orders today through Monday with the coupon code "smallbiz."  Tomorrow is small business Saturday, so even if you don't buy from me, please consider an order from an etsy shop, or venture out to your own local community shops!

veteran's day

Although I have a long line of veterans in my family, I'm not sure that Veteran's Day would mean much to me if my spouse weren't serving in our military.  It's easy to take veterans for granted if you aren't impacted in a personal way by them.  It's easy to just assume that someone out there will take care of us and protect us should the worst happen.  It's easy to go to bed each night and forget that there are thousands of soldiers not sleeping in their own beds tonight because they are across the world, working to keep our lifestyle intact, here in America.  It's easy to forget just what they give up every single day to serve our country.  Unless it's your own soldier in some other bed across the world from you.  Then it's impossible to forget.  It's impossible to take for granted.  It's impossible.

So thank you.  Thank you Brian, for your continued service that now spans over two decades.  Thank you to all the men and women who have served.  I won't forget your sacrifice.  It's impossible for me to forget.

In honor of Veteran's Day, I am donating 25% of ALL sales from my etsy shop today to Homes for Our Troops.  They are a disabled veterans charity that coordinates the building of handicapped accessible homes, and then gives them to disabled veterans and their families.

cousins

I was never close to my cousins.  Geographically and otherwise.  We had fun playing together when we were together, but we didn't have relationships outside of family get togethers.  And I have a LOT of cousins.  I wish we could live closer to my brother and Brian's brother so that our littles could grow up together.  When we visit home, Fletcher and Rowan just fall right into playing comfortably with their cousins, but I know this can change in just a few short years! 

I'll try to enjoy it while I can, watching these kids play together so freely.  I hope their cousins can become their constant friends since we will be moving every few years with the Army.  It's not going to be a perfect life for these littles, trying to find new friends everywhere we go, but hopefully they can always rely on cousin friends back at home.

We Remember

And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier's tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.

- Joseph Rodman Drake

                                             MAJ William Hecker 

                                             CPT Christopher Petty 
                                             SFC Stephen J. White 
                                             SGT Johnny J. Peralez, Jr. 
                                             PVT Robbie M. Mariano

And the thousands of others who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

10 years!

It has officially been a decade!  Brian and I got married 10 years ago on a sunny but cool day near the shore of my beloved Lake Michigan.  My family and friends were all there, and life was beautiful.  4 months later he deployed to Iraq, so we had to make the most of those 4 months.  We traveled in Europe for a honeymoon, visited friends in far-flung states, and burned through all our wedding money.  It was bliss.  The rest of the year proved to be the opposite of bliss.  They say that the first year is the hardest.  Well, we spent most of the first year apart, across the world from each other, one of us in a war.  Talking on the phone infrequently, and writing letters until my hand would cramp.  

Funny enough, although we've been through two deployments in our marriage, and Brian has missed more birthdays and holidays than I can remember, he has managed to be around for our anniversary.  A well timed mid-tour R&R.  Or making it back home from deployment just the month before.  I know we have a lot of years ahead of us, and we may not always get to spend our anniversary together from here on out, but we got that first 10.

And it has been a full, blessed first 10.  5 states, 2 apartments, 3 houses, 2 kiddos, 1 dog, 1 fish, and all the joy that a full, blessed life can afford.  It has been the best 10 of my life, and I'm excited for what the next 10 hold for us.  

During Brian's first deployment he sent me a poem that he wrote just for me.  It is something I treasure, and read often, especially if we're going through a rough patch.  It always softens my heart.  He said I could share it here.

I belong next to you.
Of all of the places
that I have longed for,
the place that I want most,
is the place that I can't have.
So I content myself
to live with you
inside my mind.
In there I give you
all of the things
I want to give you myself.
We build a house
and we choose each stone, brick,
tile, beam and piece of wood
very carefully.
Because this house has to last
a long time. 
It's big and strong and solid,
because this is where we continue
the process of going from you and me
to us.
We spend a long time 
finding just the right size
Table. One that is big
enough for noisy Children
and noisy Grandparents
and noisy friends. But,
one that is small enough
that I don't feel too far
from you when it's just us
We spend a long time
finding just the right
Bed. One that is big
enough for us and sleepy
Babies, and small enough
that you are always close to
me.
We find lights to talk by,
and lights to make love by,
and pictures to sit under and
a couch that is too big
because I want to snuggle with
You.
We fill it with things,
even though we don't really
like things. As we become
us, we accumulate the
trappings of our new
improved self. And so
our house grows and matures
and so do we. Our trees grow
and our children grow
and we grow together
and one day there is just
us:
you, me, the house, the kids, the dogs
and all of the stuff that makes us us.
And one day one of us isn't anymore
and the next neither is the other
and that's OK because the larger part of
US
Will go on being us,
The stuff, the dogs, the kids and
the house,
that I am building in 
my mind.
Until I can be with you and
we can start being us,
together again.


Love always,
Your Brian

commander

I just have to do a quick post letting you know just how proud I am of Brian.  He just became a Commander last Friday in a ceremony while his mom and dad, wife and children, and lots of friends watched.  I am so proud because in his particular division, he does not have to actually take command to continue on in his career like most of the Army.  But it was something he wanted to do, something he wanted to achieve in his career, so he worked hard to get into this command.

I had to take just quick snapshots in between wrangling the littles, so I don't have the best quality here.  After the ceremony we rushed to get ready for an Army ball while my wonderful in-laws took the kiddos home for dinner and bed.  I just have a couple of snapshots of us all dressed up from my phone, but I love the one of Brian beside his unit's sign.  With his name!

It was such an exciting and exhausting day.  We celebrated more with friends and neighbors on Saturday evening, and then spent the day yesterday in the sunshine and fresh air, raking leaves and planting flowers.  It was a tiring weekend, but our hearts are happy and full.

the busy before the storm

We had a pretty busy weekend.  Brian's unit had a party last Friday to raise money for the ball.  The littles had fun running around with other littles, Brian had fun throwing a pie in his commander's face, and I got to meet a few more of the families.  I was asked to bring a dish to share for lunch, and so I made a big pan of baked ziti.  Unknowingly, I placed the pan on a table designated for dishes being judged for a prize.  I should have known when the soldier behind the table handed me a card to fill out about the dish.  And it won 3rd place!  If only I had known it was a competition, I would have put forth some 1st place effort, ha!

Also, I entered a custom portrait into the silent auction for the fundraiser.  If you read last Friday, you would know I was nervous no one would bid on it.  So I put the starting bid at $10, just in case.  Luckily it got bid up to $60, so I don't have to feel like such a loser.  And I've heard that the winning bidder wants a portrait of her dog, so that should be fun!

If you follow me on instagram, you've seen this, but here is the portrait of Rowan I made to use as an example.

And my trophy, of course! 

Brian worked hard to get the yard winterized, putting away hoses, raking leaves, letting the littles jump into the leaves.  And I worked hard getting the house ready for Thanksgiving this week.  Can you believe it's Thanksgiving week??  Oh my, do I have a busy week ahead of me.

Are you hosting Thanksgiving, my American friends?  Or do you get to relax at someone else's home?

Veteran's Day

Veteran's Day is on Sunday.  If you know a veteran, or someone currently serving, please thank them.  It will make you feel good, I promise.

And because we have a 4 day weekend, we're off on an adventure!  We're spending the weekend with one of Brian's fellow veterans and his family.  Hope you have a great weekend, everyone!  

missing papa

Over two weeks ago, Fletcher helped Brian pack up all his gear for a two week training mission.  Tonight he comes home!  We've missed him.  A lot.  We all show our missing Papa a little differently around here.  I might snap a little bit more at the littles.  My patience gets fragile.  I feel easily frustrated.  Fletcher gets teary and cries at the drop of a hat.  And then there's Rowan.  She is solidly in the doldrums of the terrible twos.  Oh boy, can she throw a tantrum.  The screams.  The screams.  And God bless my parents, they came to enjoy all our wonderful moods!  And to help out.  Without them, we would all have been a screaming, sobbing mess. 

So what I want you to know is that while our military men and women are the deserved public heroes, the family that stays behind are the unsung heroes.  I'm not trying to tell you that I am personally a hero.  I am not.  I just do the best that I can.  But as a group, every military spouse left behind, every child missing their parent for 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years, is heroic just by virtue of getting by without a vital part of their family for so long.  My heart breaks a little for everyone going through a deployment.  Our country has been at war for eleven years now. That means that next year, a whole generation of children that have been in school from kindergarten through graduation will have only known a country at war.  And so twelve years means many, many deployments.  And many, many families left behind.

These two weeks are just a fraction of what's to come.  Two weeks now, a month a little bit later, and then who knows how long coming at some point.

So for you civilians.  I have a few pointers and requests on behalf of the families left behind.

Helpful: Offer to babysit.  Then insist when we don't take you up on your offer.  Bring a dinner sometime.  Call before you go to the store and see if we need something while you're going.  Just check in.  Text, email, call.  Let us know you're there if we really need something.  We don't want to need help, and we will try not to take it, but we do need it.

Not helpful:  Telling us, "I could never do that."  Or, "I don't know how you can do it."  And any variation on that theme.  I know you think you're being nice.  It's not nice.  It makes us feel like we've chosen a lesser life that normal people would never chose.  Also, do not compare our spouse's deployment to your spouse's business trip.  (This doesn't apply to training, of course)  Unless your spouse is in mortal danger on his/her business trip, there is no comparison.  It is not only about missing them, or the hardships of having them gone.  It is also about fearing for their lives.  Every. Second. They are deployed. 

Ok, I'm off my soapbox.  It all comes from a place of love for all the support I am given when Brian is away.  I know I'm extra lucky in that, and there are plenty of families that don't get the same support and help. 

neighborly

Up until very recently, we had become acquainted with one of our neighbors.  ONE.  In almost 3 months.  I was starting to wonder if we had moved into another un-neighborly neighborhood like we had for our brief stint in South Carolina.  We had such an idyllic experience with our neighborhood in Illinois, that it was a shock to be basically ignored in South Carolina.  And we tried!  We did!  We waved, took neighborhood walks, practically accosted people at their mail boxes, but it was NOT a neighborly neighborhood.  So I was kind of afraid the same thing would happen here.  But the one neighbor we met has been so so wonderful to us.  He brings us fish that he catches, produce from his garden, and most recently, honey from his his honey bees. 

Have you ever had honey fresh from a hive? Oh my goodness.  Heaven.  I've been eating it on toast sprinkled with cinnamon every morning.  So good.  He's a treasure of a neighbor, and we love him already.  His wife still works, so we don't know her very well, but we're fully prepared to love her, too.  Brian has a fishing outing planned with him for the weekend.  

And just a couple days ago, we met another neighbor!  She brought over a cake for us that said "welcome."  So sweet!

Rowan didn't wait for her to leave, she just started dipping fingers into the cake, much to my embarrassment.  But she just laughed, so that's a good neighbor, right?  We're invited over for dinner with her and her husband this weekend, and so I guess that means I'll have to give her back her cake plate.  Even though I've been looking for one JUST like it- so cute!

Dang it.  But I wanted nice neighbors, so now that we found them, I better keep them by giving back their kitchenware. 

It's always hard finding new friends and finding your niche when you have to move every couple of years.  We are 40 minutes away from base, so it's just a little far to get together with the other Army wives.  It's another painful truth of being a military family.  Just when you get settled and find friends to enjoy, it's time to pack up and move on.  But who knows?  Maybe by the time Brian retires we'll have friends all over the world.  And THAT would be a definite perk of this life.

springfield, mo

Brian had a 4 day weekend (more like 3 1/2, but that's the Army for you).  So that meant one thing.  Well, maybe more than one thing.  But it DID mean that we'd be going on an adventure!  So we decided to take a day trip out to Springfield.  I got some last minute advice from a couple former locals on what to see and do.  Brian and I got the car packed up the night before- which NEVER happens, so we were pretty much ready to hit the road once the littles woke up.  First we headed to the historic district, perused a farmers market, and took in the architecture that all old downtowns in a America have.

And that was when Fletcher spotted a train yard down an alleyway.  And so of course we gave into spending a chunk of time looking at train cars.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  My husband is 12.  He not ONLY pointed out this sign, but INSISTED I take a picture.  We're also super responsible parents and let our littles stand up on a train car.  At least it wasn't connected to a moving train or anything, right?  Fletcher loved it and we had to DRAG him away.  The day was heating up to be a scorcher, so we ducked into a coffee shop to cool down.  Fletcher was pleased that he could watch the trains come and go through the back window of the coffee shop.

It's out of focus, but the sign below the menu said "Decaffeinated coffee is kind of like kissing your sister." Ha!  We had a good chuckle at that one.  After we cooled down, it was mama's turn to spend a chunk of time at Red Velvet, which was right next door.  It's a great vintage shop, carefully curated, and full of fun things to see.  They had the most lovely little collection of darling little girl dresses. 

I did get one treasure- a sweet capelet that I won't be wearing anytime soon in this heat!  After my little shopping trip, it was Brian's turn.  We found out there was a classic car show last weekend, so we headed that way.  We all started melting pretty much instantly.  Poor Brian.  He was trying to look at all the cool old cars, and the rest of us were a whiny, sweaty mess.  Fletcher perked up when he laid eyes on "Mater." 

But then the littles hunkered down in a patch of shade and refused to get up.  So we did one last mini-lap on the way back to our car.  It was hot, hot, HOT.  And somewhere on those fairgrounds I lost one of my favorite turquoise necklaces.  Sad.  We all needed a cool-down and something to eat, so we headed to Aviary for a late lunch.  Such a great recommendation from Rachel!  They have really delicious crepes, and there were so many fun things for the littles to look and marvel at.  I wish I had taken in my camera, but you can see a glimpse below from our instagrams, bottom right.

We had lots more we wanted to see and check out, but the littles were toast at this point.  So we packed it in, and drove past the Pythian Castle, as promised to Fletcher.  He has a thing for castles, apparently.

We all had fun despite the heat, and I'm looking forward to spending a little more time there again.  It's a fun little city that seems to have lots of little gems sprinkled through it.  We spent the rest of the weekend in the pool, trying to beat this heat! 

How was your Memorial Day weekend?

Memorial Day

MAJ William Hecker
CPT Christopher Petty
SFC Stephen J. White
SGT Johnny J. Peralez, Jr.
PVT Robbie M. Mariano

Thank you. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. Your family's sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Thank you to the thousands more that have paid the ultimate sacrifice for my country and my freedom.

the ten.2

1. Since starting this new job in March, Brian has had a reduced staff due to pregnancies, injuries, and people just plain up and leaving the Army (not blaming them!).  So we're lucky when he makes it home in time to just see the littles before they get tucked into bed.  And when he actually gets home early enough to play with them before bed?  We're all in heaven.

2.  I have been laughing at all her posts, especially dealing with a busy little boy and a newborn girl.  Been there!  Plus I can commiserate with being a sahm AND an Army spouse. 
3.  I got to spend the whole day out and about in Jefferson City last Saturday all by myself (thank you, Brian!!).  I hit a couple of thrift stores, ate a leisure lunch out, stopped at a craft store, Barnes & Nobles, a couple clothing stores, and topped it all off with a trip to Target.  Yes, our closest Target is 1 1/2 hours away.  Sad times.  It was an awesome day, and I snagged a couple of gems thrifting, including these Pyrex refrigerator dishes that match some of my hand-me-down Pyrex.  Cute!

4.  I'm so looking forward to a long visit from my parents next week- especially because Brian will be in the field the whole time.  This is like a business trip if you don't speak military.  It's so much easier to be a mom when your own mom is around.  True story.
5.  I realized when I saw this recipe that I have never cooked with beets before!  Crazy!  Probably because Brian detests them, but since he'll be gone next week I think I'll try them out.  Looks delicious.
6.  I'm looking forward to planting my herbs and maybe some lettuce this weekend!  And I think Brian will put in his pumpkin patch.  We missed doing it last year due to moving, but it's a tradition with him.  He puts in a massive pumpkin patch, finding new and interesting pumpkins, and then we have a harvest party to share.  The year before, our yield was around 40.  Can we skip over summer and just head toward fall?  No?  *sigh*

7.  Speaking of planting and such, we are still lucky with our new house and all the wonderful things that come up blooming!  I'm not even sure what these are- they look a little like flocks?

8.  My children are not angels.  But they can sure look angelic in the right light!

9.  Not to be a last minute procrastinator, but I'm still trying to figure out what to do for Rowan's birthday this weekend.  We don't really know anyone here yet, and family is far away.  Brian votes for camping.  I vote for staying home while he's camping with the littles.  Sounds fair, no?  On a side note, how is my baby turning 2?!?!
10.  I love when dinner turns out so pretty, I feel compelled to take it outside in the waning light and take a picture of it on our deck.  Pretty.  Oh, and tasty, too!