Lost In The Woods With Nowhere To Hide

WW - I'll Be Brave This Christmas

2009-12-16T00:00:00.001-06:00

I found this from Airman Mom's Blog and since I know alot of families who are apart this year at Christmas this song is perfect for them.

head on over to to read more WW Posts.

WW - She's off

2009-11-18T12:58:00.007-06:00

So this weekend while MFS and I went to Springfield to do a little Christmas shopping Michelle kept our kids. We brought Megans bike over so she had a bike to ride with the others when we put the bike on the porch Megan told me one her training wheels were lose I made an off hand comment that the last time we brought a bike with training wheels over I came back to a kid riding a 2-wheeler. We all laughed and while we were out we got these videos. My baby is not a baby anymore!

We are so proud of her thanks Michelle for teaching yet another one of my kids to ride a bike.

I'm joining for Wordful Wednesday read what others are saying as well.

WW - Remember to Say Thanks!

2009-11-11T11:30:00.004-06:00

Today is Veterns day ... Veterans Day is an annual American holiday honoring military veterans not just a day we dont have to work or go to school. If you see a Vetern please remember to say thanks!

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!

I'm joining for Wordful Wednesday read what others are saying as well.

Our Family Just Got Bigger ...

2009-11-07T00:31:00.005-06:00

And boy do I mean bigger! No ... No we aren't expecting but we did adopt but unlike my friend we arent adopting a baby. Meet Duke he's a 2 year old Great Dane puppy we adopted him from my friend who loves him dearly but just felt she was stretched to thin to continue to give him the attention he requires. When we found out she was looking for a good family for him to go I jumped at the chance to bring him home. We brought him home tonight and so far its been an interesting night, the kids are excited and I think maybe a little scared at the same time. Our little puppy and our big puppy arent loving each other yet but I am hoping in the next few days they will become the best of friends. Im sure the next few days will be interesting for us all.

Isn't he cute?

Soldier's Angels

2009-11-07T17:57:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

I'm copying this directly from That Officers Wife blog to help spread the word!

I just received this email from the Soldiers' Angels organization on how we can all help the families involved:

SOLDIERS' ANGELS STANDING BY FOR FT. HOOD--
We are collecting cards and NEW stuffed animals for the families and children of the fallen/wounded heroes.
Please send cards and stuffed animals/blankets/anything NEW that may brighten the life of a child to: Soldiers' Angels Warehouse

4408 PanAm Expressway
San Antonio, TX 78218
As you get excited about the holidays please remember the families of the fallen. This holiday season will surely be difficult one for them.

Beyonce Video - It's Back!

2009-09-24T20:23:00.006-05:00

As you may remember I posted a couple videos of Beyonces' All the Single Ladies ... (they have since been removed from youtube cause I guess Beyonce didnt like people showing her up) but this was passed on to my by a friend and I had to share it!

Well it looks like youtube and Beyonce have struck again and yanked another cute video!

I've added a second video even funnier than the first ...

WW - Hinder & Saving Able

2009-09-23T08:16:00.003-05:00

Every year our post hosts a concert this year was Hinder & Saving Able. I really liked both bands so before my favorite soldier even came home from Iraq I bought us tickets to go.

This year we were all supposed to meet at Michelle's house and then we would all go to the concert together well things didnt work out that way first I could find the shirt I wanted to wear then I found what I was looking for and we were out the door we got to post only to realize I didnt have my ID or my wallet so I didnt have any form of ID at all we had to turn around and go back home so I could get my ID. We get to the concert and were waiting for the gates to open and every year when they open the gates everyone makes a run for it to be the first to get the seats they want this year we decided to send our hubbies to run and get us seats BAD IDEA!! We were very close to the stage which was fantastic but so were about a million other people all pushing thier way to get closer. I was felt up, rubbed against, knocked down, oh yeah lets not forget about the beer that spilled all over me and all this was before the concert started I guess I am getting to old to be ~~sitting~~ trampled on in the front rows.

However being that close to stage I did manage to get some really good pictures!

Saving Able

Hinder

Hinder

For more Wordful Wednesday Posts head over to

GGGGRRRRR!!!!

2009-08-20T18:15:00.003-05:00

OK seriously enough is enough ... I know I'm not the worlds best driver but come on Murphy cant you pick on someone else. First my car gets backed into by a friend no biggie not worried about it I hadn't had a fender bender in years figured it was bound to happen sooner or later .... fast forward 2 WEEKS yes you read that right 2 WEEKS and some lady pulls out and hits the back end of my car grrrr what a pain in the butt ... but come one I am on my way to get my kids from school and the car in front of me stops short I manage to stop in time to avoid hitting the car in front of me but the car behind kept on going and rammed right into the back of my RENTAL car yes I was driving around in a rental while my car was being fixed from the previous accident. So I am pretty sure I wont be driving anytime soon or maybe ever again (or atleast til hubby deploys again) because that's 3 accidents this summer. I just want to say GGGGRRRRRR!!!!!

WW - Paintball Warriors

2009-07-28T21:55:00.001-05:00

Saturday the kids decided they wanted to go paint balling so being the cool parents we are we loaded up the kids and drove to our posts sportsman center, rented the supplies we needed and headed off to the field for an afternoon of fun.

My Brave Warriors

A Real Father Daughter Moment

Sending Them Off
Of course there were some casualties.

He had his helmet on but somehow he still got shot on the skin

His only injury of the day

Just too funny not to post

Thankfully her mask took the shot!

Fun was had by all who played although I fear Santa will be asked for lots of paint ball supplies this year.

Click on the link below for more Wordful Wednesday Posts

I Dont Think Tiger Has Anything To Worry About From This House.

2009-07-24T07:49:00.012-05:00

Last night we took the kids mini golfing and other than a snot nose teenager who really ticked me off we had a great time. Its been years since the last time we've gone mini golfing in fact the last time we went Megan wasnt old enough to play so this was her first time golfing. I dont know much about golf but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Tiger has nothing to worry about from this household.

Harry Potter VS Voldermort Rap

2009-07-19T13:44:00.003-05:00

I love the Harry Potter series and will be seeing the latest Harry Potter movie later tonight if things go as planned. I was once again fueling my youtube addiction when I came across this rap off between Harry Potter and Voldermort and decided I should share with everyone. Enjoy!

WW - He's Home!!

2009-07-14T23:35:00.006-05:00

Ok so thing have finally calmed down enough for me to post about homecoming.

So we found out MFS (my favorite soldier) was coming in on Monday and our welcome home ceremony was to take place between 2300 and 000 (for those who aren't familiar with military time that's 1100 & Midnight) I told the kids that daddy was coming home and they were excited but still pretty skeptical cause we had already been told a couple other dates and they had been pushed back for one reason or another. Monday morning rolled around the kids and I got out of bed and headed on post to help put up welcome signs.

After we got our signs up we took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and to kill some time ... I realized later that we took the kids there after the daddies left to distract ourselves that we were going home to an empty house. Eventually we had to leave so we each went our separate ways to get our personal errands done. I came home hung up our welcome home signs in the yard and on our windows did a little bit of cleaning then we headed to Michelle's for dinner. While we were eating dinner we got a call saying our guys had landed in St Louis they were only 3 hours away from us we could hardly contain ourselves. We all lost our appetites the excitement was too much, so we headed up stairs and started getting ready. We got to the gym way too early of course but we weren't the first ones there the place was already crowded with excited families waiting for their soldier to return.

Finally the buses arrived at the gym and one by one they filed in the gym to thunderous clapping and screams of excitement, after the Colonel said a few words on their bravery and sacrifice they were released to us. He finally made his way thru the crowds to us and we welcomed our soldier home with hugs and kisses and hand shakes.

We have been enjoying family time its so nice to have him home again!
Thanks again to all of you for your support and prayers for MFS and his buddies and thank you for counting down the days with me during this deployment.

Join Angie for more Wordful Wednesday Posts.

Give Me Your Best Shot.

2009-07-10T18:43:00.003-05:00

I took this picture of Megan out in our yard, she wanted to take pictures to be honest I think she just wanted to dress up but she let me take a few pictures before she got bored this one is my favorite of her.

Check out others best shots.

He's Home!

2009-07-08T11:53:00.005-05:00

Monday night after a VERY LONG seperation My Favorite Soldier came home to us safe and sound! We are enjoying our time together so I dont have a lot time today to write about homecoming but I promise I will soon. I wanted to thank those of you who have been counting down with me and praying for his safe return and to let you know HE IS HOME!!!!

ABC's

2009-06-30T11:52:00.006-05:00

I stole this from That Girl and since I havent posted in a while and it was fun and simple I figured why not.

A-Age: Its really not polite to ask a lady her age (34)

B-Birth date: August 8 gifts are appricaited

C-Chore you hate: sweeping or mopping anything.

D-Dog's name:Piper and Bentley

E-Enter or Exit: whats the question here? do I enter or exit well at some point we have to do both but there are plenty of places I will NEVER ENTER and Heaven is the only place that I will NEVER EXIT.

F-Favorite color: I love Pink and Purple but I love color so sometimes my favorite color changes daily

G-Gold or silver: Gold

H-Hair color: Brown with blond highlights that need a good touch up

I-Instrument: I have serious skills playing the guitar on Rock Band does that count? If not I played the clarinet in school but I bet you 50 bucks I couldnt remember a single thing about it though.

J-Job Title: Stay at home mom / wife - daycare provider to two other small children who call me mommy somedays its cute some days NOT SO MUCH.

K-Kids: No thanks! LOL I have 4 and if thats not enough I take others in M - F for fun or payment.

L-Living arrangements: Live with my 4 kids I think I have a daddy for them but he's been gone so long I am beginning to wonder if he really is in Iraq or if he didnt decide that this zoo was too much.

M-Monkey or Moose: Monkey

N-Nickname: Babe, Honey, and mom

O-Odd thing about you: I dont think theres anything odd about me I feel completely normal all the time.

P-Pet Peeve: Don't get me started, I might not shut up.

Q-Quote from a movie: Frankley my dear I dont give a dam.

R-Right/Left Handed: Right

S-Siblings: 1 sister 2 brothers - 3 sister in laws and 1 brother in law now ask me if like any of them lol no seriously I think I like them all but maybe 1.

T-Time you wake up? 6:27 yeah that's AM

U-Underwear: I have some

V-Veggie you dislike: Im gonna go with most of the green ones.

W-What makes you run late: Having a certain time I need to be somewhere ... lol.

X-X-Rays: I've never had an xray oh wait the take xrays for your teeth right then just my teeth then.

Y-Yummy food you make: fried chicken, baked ziti or stuff shells.

Z-Zoo Animal: Elephants

WW - An Afternoon Wedding

2009-05-19T23:16:00.009-05:00

May 17 2009 was the perfect afternoon for a wedding.

The Beautiful Bride

The Handsome Groom

The Ceremony

The Wedding Party
>>They even had a cake with thier favorite colors.

The happy couple had a bbq dinner reception filled with family, friends, laughter and even a little bickering. Everyone had a great time even if everyone thought we were more than a little crazy ... we know we're crazy and we are ok with it. You can watch the wedding video on Michelle's blog.

For those of you who are completely confused you can read all about the proposal below.

Join Angie for more Wordful Wednesday Posts.

PSF - Look Mom We're Engaged!

2009-05-14T21:10:00.006-05:00

Tonight at dinner Michelle's little blonde boy Korbin bought my Megan a ring out of one of those quarter machines and said "Megan will you marry me" ofcourse she said "Yes!" Megan is smart enough to realize that Korbin is quite a catch as far as 6 year old boys go. A little later while we were playing at Amber's house Megan asked "Korbin if he would marry her" and since they were already engaged he said "Yes!" then Michelle said Megan would you like to have a wedding and every little or big girl loves a wedding so on Sunday thier getting married your invitation is below.

Brandy and Michelle
request the pleasure of your company
at the marriage of my daughter
Megan Avery
and
Her son Korbin Daniel
On Sunday afternoon, May the seventeenth
at three o'clock
at the park at the end of the road

Please note this is a formal affair and proper attire is required.

There will be a dinner to celebrate the occasion immediately following the ceremony.

Hope to see you there. Instead of gifts please feel free to donate to our Relay For Life Team, The All Nighter's.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Click to see what others are sharing.

Writers Workshop - Incomplete

2009-05-14T09:43:00.007-05:00

Its once again for Mamakats Writers Workshop the prompts this week are ....

The Prompts:

1.) Define goodness...joy...sorrow...and anger using pictures you've taken.

2.) Tomorrow I will do it differently. Here's how...

3.)Describe a 'sound' from your childhood. What was it? When did you hear it? What does it bring to mind?

4.) I remember when...

5.) Right now is the best time to start. What's your first step?

This week I chose Prompt 1.) Define goodness...joy...sorrow...and anger using pictures you've taken.

This was us a little over a year ago ... TOGETHER AND HAPPY!

The next day we woke up and sent our soldier off to war.

We cried - Actually we still do sometimes.

We tried to squeeze in enough hugs and kisses to last for 15 months - It didn't work - I would give anything to feel his arms around me right now.

We tried to be brave but we cried some more.

We have been incomplete for 377 days - this deployment is almost over and soon we will be complete once again!

Click to read what others are writing.

Barbie Has A New Profession

2009-05-03T20:43:00.007-05:00

Imagine my surprise tonight when I was wondering the isles of Walmart with my girls and we come to the barbie stuff and this is what I see. Im wondering when Barbie went from the a toy that we as kids loved to dress up to this. I just dont think this is appropriate for my 4 and 9 year old daughters to play with maybe its just me and if it is I am OK with it. What do you think?

Writers Workshop - My Role

2009-04-08T22:00:00.002-05:00

It's time once again for mamakats Writers Workshop.

The prompts this week are ...

1.) Describe a moment when you realized you and your spouse were SO different.

2.) What is your role in the household?

3.) Write about how you felt when you discovered you were lied to.
(creativewritingprompts.com)

4.) Describe a hard time you gave a teacher...what would you say to them today?

5.) What is an unpleasant experience you had eating? Write a poem, paragraph, or something else about the experience.
(writingfix.com)

I chose prompt 2. What is my role in the household?

My role in this house changes from day to day many of you might think thats wierd but my family and friends and fellow military spouses all understand I wear many different hats and during times like now when MFS is deployed I wear many different hats at the same time. The truth is I have no idea what challenges each day might bring.

My normal role: I'm a WSAHM (working stay at home mom) to my 4 kids and the perfect wife to MFS (My Favorite Soldier). I run a day care during the day and at the end of the day I send my extra kids home and try to squeeze quality family time into what time is left before bedtime.

My military role - When MFS is away:

When Dad's away, Mom's the Commanding Officer

When Dad's home, Mom's the Executive Officer,
coordinating and executing actions for the Command
Team

Keeping track of the kids, she's the S-1

Collecting the neighborhood news, and relaying it to
Dad, she's the S-2

Making plans for the entire family and training the
kids, she's the S-3

Stocking food and supplies for the family, she's the
S-4

She answers all the family correspondence and makes
appointments for Dad, that makes her the Adjutant.

Worrying about the family budget makes her the
Comptroller

Paying the bills, and accounting to Dad for the
paychecks makes her Disbursing

Looking for a new place to live when we move, she's
like the Billeting Officer.

Assigning us chores to do, getting us fed, bathed, and
put to bed, she's our First Sergeant.

Serving the food and doing dishes, she's the Mess
Hall.

Carrying small children, she's the Ammunition Handler

Driving the family to all our appointments, she's the
duty driver

Cleaning the house and making the beds, she's an orderly

Looking like a queen when she goes out with Dad, she's
a Soldier's Lady!

Doing all the things well, all the time, she's a true "BIG GUNNER!"

Gosh, Mom's the whole darn Military

Thats my life in a nutshell and I wouldnt have it any other way!

Click to see what others are writing about.

WW - Look Out World She's Got Some Wheels

2009-04-07T22:28:00.003-05:00

Megan got her very first big girl bike and she is in heaven. She feels very independant being able to ride to the corner and back with the big kids. She asked me to take pictures and send them to daddy I hope she doesnt mind that Im sharing them with you all too .... na I doubt it.

Check out Angie for more Wordful Wednesday Posts.

Confessions Of A 4Y/O Mario Kart Addict

2009-03-29T13:19:00.005-05:00

ESRB Rating E for everyone game description Comic Mischief ... SO TRUE!
So for Christmas we bought a Wii!(and by we I mean ME, since hubby was conveniently deployed during Christmas time and didn't have to help shop .... boy the things some men will do to get out of shopping! LOL) A few weeks ago Michelle said "Hey go get Mario Kart cause we can play online." So like any ~~idiot~~ good friend would do I ran out and bought Mario Kart, its such a fun game where you can torpedo your friends with turtle shells and run them off the road all in the name of FUN! Well us moms thought it would be a good idea to let the kids play their friends online too well somewhere along the lines my 4 y/o became an addict. Its not pretty to hear her scream and yell and cry when I say "No you cant play Mario Kart." I know I'm horribly mean and should let my kids rot their brains out by playing video games 24/7 but I just cant do it I'm just not that cool. I thought I'd heard all her pleas to get me to give in and let her play Mario Kart until today! She came upstairs crying cause she hit her not so funny bone on her purple thing (which I am assuming her bed but you know what they about people who assume things so I am letting it go)as I was snuggling with her she said "can I play Mario Kart?" I said "maybe later" she said "BUT mom it will make my bone feel SO much better!" How could I say no to that? I gave in and let her play Mario Kart.
My reward for being an awesome mom ...

Twilight - Movie Review

2009-03-23T09:16:00.003-05:00

After reading and instantly falling in love with the Twilight series just a few short weeks ago I was excited to see the movie. So when the movie came out this weekend I went out and bought it.

At first I have to say that I thought they cast the wrong guy to play Edward, BUT as the movie went on I actually found that I liked him, he played the tortured soul that is Edward very well! There were a few parts of the movie that I loved like the scene with them playing baseball (it was one of my favorite parts in the book too) I love it when characters just get to have fun even if its just for a little while, makes them more real in my opinion. Even though it wasnt in the book I really like the scene where the bad vampire tells the other one "Lets not play with our food" for some reason even though thier food was a human I laughed does that make me sick? I have to say Edward in the sunlight was just about spot on to what I imagined he looked like they did an execellent job with that!

In my opinion the movie doesnt do the book justice at all! Well truthfully I have yet to see a movie based on a book that does. It touched on the important parts of the book but alot of things were off from the book, if you are one of those people who want the book and movie to match up perfectly you will be disappointed. I thought the movie was good and I am sure that I will watch the movie again and probably again and again ... lol.

WW - Merry Maids To The Rescue!

2009-03-18T12:05:00.003-05:00

These ladies came in and did so much more than I was expecting and wow my house smells so clean and more importantly it is CLEAN I dont know why I didnt think of this sooner!

Join Angie for more Wordful Wednesday Posts!

Im Back! Did You Miss Me?

2009-03-12T13:24:00.001-05:00

I know I've been gone a while and its not usually like me to ignore my blog for so long but trust me when I tell you I have a REALLY good reason well reasons.

At first I was out of town for a couple days the kids and I went on a retreat with our FRG. We had a great time except that I think maybe our soldiers told who ever coordinated this trip that they were worried they were going to come home to fat wives and could hey send us to a fat camp disguised as a resort ... there were stairs EVERY WHERE and if there weren't stairs there were hills you couldn't walk 20 feet with out having to go up or down some stairs some where. I definitely got a work out while I was there. We learned about some single parenting skills and for the newer wives what to expect when our soldiers come home! Can you believe it we are starting to think about homecoming its still 4 and half months away but its no longer just an elusive date somewhere in the far off future its approaching and some days its coming faster than others. I am starting to get a little antsy thinking we have 10 weeks til the end of school and then roughly 11 weeks after that My Favorite Soldier should be home!
Then we came home and while we were gone it snowed and not just a little bit but 11 inches so I had to shovel my drive way just to get in to park and then shovel the stairs just to get to the house. I am sad to report that the scale showed NO weight loss due to all that stair climbing, hill walking, & snow shoveling sure did seem like a waste.
Monday morning was back to work and school as usual then can you believe it I wake up on Tuesday and I'm sick not just a little sick but so sick my only desire was to be put out of my misery unfortunately none of my friends would do that for me and they call themselves my friends GEEZ!! For 4 days I laid in bed and tried not to focus on the fact that I was so sick that I secretly wondered if dying was more humane.
In between sleeping and all the other fun stuff that comes with being sick I decided that I would catch up on my reading list and first up on that list was Twilight - I know, I know EVERY ONE but me has already read it but that's not the point. I picked up Twilight and I didn't put it down again til it was done I was hooked almost from page one. I was so hooked that as soon as I felt better I drove 25 miles to the closest real book store we have and bought the remaining 3 books in the series and proceeded to read them as fast as my little brain could digest the words. I finished the last book Wednesday morning and I feel a little sad that theres no more. I rarely find a book or a series of books that pulls me in so completely but the Twilight series did and now I am anxiously waiting for the movie to come out next week to watch it.