Making Bryce's Halloween Costume

For the first time ever I am making a Halloween Costume.  Bryce and her friend are going to be clowns--not the typical red nose, big shoes clown, but a cute trendy clown.  I would have had no clue how to make a costume, or rather, I wouldn't have wanted to figure it out on my own ;).  However, my friend Shari, just happens to be the friend's mom, and is super crafty.  She already made her daughter's costume and is helping me make the jacket, shirt, and hat for the costume and she taught me how to do the tutu and umbrella.  So I'm going to share with you my progress, because instead of cleaning today I spent the day crafting. 

So I start with my supplies:

 I had already cut some of the tulle, but still had about 8 rolls to cut.  Before this picture I had measured the elastic to fit around Bryce's waist and hot glued it. 

  

This is the mound of tulle I had after cutting it all.

 

 Here is the skirt after the first color

 and then I added Green

 And here it is with 3 colors--purple, blue and green.  I would have been happy with it at this stage for a normal tulle skirt, but because its for a clown I wanted it super fluffy so I kept going.

 Here is a close up to what the band looks like.  It doesn't matter so much how you loop it around the elastic as long as you do it the same for the whole skirt.

 Here is the skirt with all five colors.  I love how all the colors look together.  However, the elastic had stretched out so I needed to fix it so it would still fit Bryce.

 Here is a close up of the elastic that was stretched.  I cut out the extra and reglued the ends together.  Then I took some extra tulle an covered up the exposed elastic.

 and here it is...the finished skirt. 

 Then I started with the umbrella.  First I cut out the flowers from the lace.  I cut 25 from each of the four colors. 

 Here is the pile of cut out flowers.

 Here I am getting ready to hot glue everything onto the umbrella.  I found the umbrella at Michaels in the wedding section.

 First I hot glued the mini pink boa around the edges. 

 Then I hot glued on each of the flowers.  Needless to say my fingertips have a few blisters.  The hot glue kept attacking me.  ;)

Since I spent the day crafting today, I suppose tomorrow will be spent on cleaning.  After I spend some time volunteering at the school in the morning.  

Football Care Package

I promised a week ago that I would post about the last care package I sent Danny as soon as he got it and he received it today.  I went with a football theme care package since its football season.  Since it is our anniversary I put a little extra love into it :) 

Here are the pictures: 

 Jace decorated this side of the box. 

 Bryce's side of the box.

 And the last two sides were for me to decorate. :)

 You have to have summer sausage, cheese and crackers to watch a game.  I couldn't send cheese so I sent cheez-its ;). 

 A few of the football themed things I found.  I was looking for the football oreos and didn't see them until after I sent the box. 

This is Dallas Cowboy.  The kids went to Build-a-Bear and made Daddy a bear.  They each recorded a message for him.  So, when you push one paw you hear Bryce say, "I love you Daddy and I'll always be your little girl" and the other paw is Jace saying, "I love you Daddy and the Cowboys ROCK!"

 Here's his birth certificate.

 Every football player needs to show some team pride so here is a flag for him to hang on his wall.  I'd say door, but I'm not sure he trusts his neighbors not to take it ;)

And this is the anniversary gift.  A new Cowboys shirt! 

And there you go, a football care package!!

I have never understood bullying.

Bullying mystifies me. I just don't get how someone gets such great enjoyment out of making someone else miserable.  I have been hearing all week about how its happening in Bryce's classroom, in the lunchroom, and on the bus and I am fed up.

 I am so thankful that Bryce isn't the focus of the bully.  I'm even more proud that she is sticking up for the poor child who keeps getting bullied.  The poor boy even went home early and missed school today.  It breaks my heart because I know this boy is nothing but sweet and shy.  I keep encouraging Bryce to stick up for him and do it so loudly that he knows he has someone defending him.  Unfortunately I also had to warn her that it might make her a target of the bully.  I hope that doesn't happen, and she doesn't care about the risk (she is much braver than me sometimes), but I still wanted to be clear there could be a backlash. 

Then today, my neighbor came came off the bus crying.  Bryce told me that the 5th grade boys were picking on him on the bus.  Same group of 5th grade boys doing the bullying.

Where does bullying begin?  With the parents? With the friends they choose?  I wish there was a cure.  Bullying doesn't just hurt in the midst of it.  I still carry scares and insecurities from being bullied in 7th grade.  I think about that time in my life and cringe.  It makes me a little more overly sensitive to bullying--because let me tell you--if what happened to me starts to happen to either of my kids--I will be a permanent fixture in that school.

I sit here and am thankful that at this moment my kids aren't either the bully or the one being bullied and pray for the parents of both to find a way to help their kids. 

What makes deployments survivable?

Friends ....and family...and friends that are more like family...and definitely prayer.  But this post is about friends--which are an answered prayer so I guess its all interwoven.   I know I have probably mentioned it before, but I need to say it again.  I was struck again today at how valuable a good support system is during a deployment.

This weekend I finally took some friends up on an offer they made me when Danny first left in January.  "If you need anything just ask" is a line us deployed spouses hear a lot...and appreciate.  Some of us are better about asking for help than others.  I'm so-so about asking for help.  If its something I think I can do--its just a pain to do, or a struggle to find time to do--I won't ask for help.  I feel like its showing weakness or something.  I feel like its my responsibility to get it done.  I feel better if I can pay someone to do it, because then I feel like I haven't pawned my chores onto someone else and burdened them.  At any rate, I finally got over it and took Brett and Amy up on their long standing offer of watching the kids so I can have a weekend to unwind.  It was great!

They watched my little ones while I went to a deployed spouses retreat in Savannah.  I got a fake tattoo that said, "US ARMY APPROVED." So now I'm army issue :)  The joke behind that for you civilian folk is that the whole time I was in the Army, and Danny has heard it too, is that "if the Army wanted you to have a family it would have issued it to you."  At any rate, hung out with some great ladies for Ft. Gordon during the day, and since it was in Savannah I was able to catch up with an old Army buddy from my Ft. Stewart days.  Lisa and I got to go out to eat and stay up and chat like teenagers.  It was a much needed break.  So thank you Brett, Amy,  and Lisa for making my weekend!

Other people that are making my life easier right now are Jace's football coaches.  I love seeing Jace get some good positive time in with such great men.  In addition, both, but especially Andy, are willing to help me out in whatever way I need in regard to getting Jace to and from practice in games.  Andy's wife is also awesome and welcoming.  They both have full schedules, but are always willing to help out.

Tonight Bryce started golf, and it was the first night so it had the parent meeting.  This meant I had to stay there until 8 and couldn't get Jace from their scrimmage (which they won by the way).  Andy took him home and Jace got to chill with him.  It was great for me, but it also gave Jace some more time with a great positive role model and some guy time.  As I was picking Jace up tonight Andy said again--we'll take Jace anytime you need help.  Since I need help Thursday, it was a great time to let him know ;)

But in addition to these fine examples, I have some great friends & fabulous church family.  Besides my hubby being home, what more could a girl wish for :)  Thank you to all my friends and family that are making this year so much more bearable!!  

Yep..I finally broke down and did it...

Yep, I finally did it.  I finally broke down and paid for my house to get clean.  Well, its not clean yet.  Augusta Daily Deals was having too good of a deal to pass up--55% off of house cleaning.  I checked what all they cleaned and I was sold.  Instead of spring cleaning I'm getting some good fall cleaning :) 

I finally decided to bite the bullet and pay for help cleaning this one time because I have been so overwhelmed with everything else that needs to get done that the cleaning just gets pushed to the back burner.  Now, I do keep the house neat (most of the time LOL) but its the deep cleaning I really want.  Things like cleaning off the ceiling fans, doing base boards, behind the toilets, walls--you know--all the things you see that are dirty but can always wait. 

So now I just need to schedule when to have them come clean ASAP--and hopefully they'll have another deal right before Danny comes home ;).  Actually, I think I could just buy another deal and hold onto it..consider it a Christmas present to Danny to have the house clean, right? 

Oh--and here is all the stuff they will be cleaning..yay!!
Kitchen
Remove cobwebs
Sweep & mop floor
Spot clean outside of cabinets
Clean baseboards
Clean outside stove
Vacuum or sweep kitchen rug as needed
Clean outside refrigerator
Clean and polish sink & faucet
Clean the outside of all appliances
Empty trash
Clean inside/outside of microwave
Wipe down all windowsills
Clean counter tops
Clean all blinds
Light fixtures, ceiling fans, & switches
Wipe off electrical outlets
Clean inside of windows

Bathrooms

Clean mirrors & sinks
Clean exterior of all vanities
Clean light fixtures, switches, & ceiling fans
Polish faucet
Spot clean the outside of cabinets
Spot clean the door on both sides
Clean soap holder
Clean toilet and behind toilet
Clean tub & shower
Remove cobwebs
Clean baseboards & floors
Clean all blinds
Wipe down all windowsills
Clean inside of windows

Living Areas/Dining Room

Dust all corners (high/low)
Dust all horizontal surfaces
Dust mop wood floors
Sweep/mop tile (if applicable) and clean baseboards
Remove cobwebs
Clean windowsills & blinds
Clean sliding glass doors
Clean all glass & mirrors
Clean light fixtures, switches, & ceiling fans
Clean inside of windows

Bedrooms

Dust all horizontal surfaces
Light fixtures, switches, & ceiling fans
Dust mop wood floors (if needed)
Vacuum and/or Mop tile
Dust all corners (high/low)
Make all beds
Clean all glass and mirrors
Clean blinds & windowsills
Clean baseboards
Clean inside of windows

Freezer meals rock!

Alright, I admit it...I had a semi lazy day today.  I did have to do some running--take Bryce to the orthodontist (She gets her braces off next month!!!), take care of some stuff at the kids' school for the fundraiser, and run to The 1st Tee to make sure we are ready for registration tomorrow.  I had planned to come home and clean and start cooking right away, but I decided I deserved a little R&R so I took a nap. 

No TV today--I am fasting TV on weekdays during September.  Why?  Our church does what we call 9/30.  We are encouraged to fast something (not necessarily food) in order to get closer to God.  Last year I fasted facebook, but since I use it to chat and stay in touch with Danny I had to find something else.  TV seemed to be taking up too much of my free time (what little I had) so I am fasting it during the week.  So today instead of turning the TV on, I took a nap and then, while I was doing my freezer meals, I listened to some great Christian music.  I'm also fasting soda (pop for all my SD friends). 

So, after my nap I did end up getting productive.  I had it on my schedule to do freezer meals today.  Since I was feeling overwhelmed by the busyness of every week night from now till November, I figured that having the meals taken care of would take some of the stress off, and I was right.  I did 13 freezer meals in 2 1/2 hours.  I think it was more like 2, but since I'm unsure as to when I really did start, I'm adding a 1/2 hour.  I found the recipes from two different pins on pinterest.  I moved one to my "finished pins" board, but can't find the other one now. 

Making these meals was super easy.  I started off with the list of meals I wanted to do and the recipes I had printed from pinterest.  I also printed off a calendar so I could plan all my meals for the month.  I made sure I had my freezer bags and sharpies ready.   

Then, I went to it.  Everything mixed inside the baggies, so I had very little mess.  I also had hardly any dirty dishes!

Like I said, I ended up with 13 Freezer meals.  They were:
Sausage & Peppers (x2)
Teriyaki Chicken
Savory Chicken (x2)
Lazy Day Stew (x2)
Sweet and Tangy Meatballs (x2)
Chicken and Rice
Hawaiian Chicken
Teriyaki Pork
Garlic Honey Chicken

All of them are made in the crock pot--so SUPER easy and fast dinners. 

After I got done making the freezer meals (and some how managing to find space for them in the freezer), I got even more organized by planning the meals for the whole month of September. 
See:

So, now I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for actually following through on making the chart.  I only hope I can follow it all month.  This is also going to help me with the food bill because I have everything I need for all the meals through the end of this month, and actually have 3 freezer meals left over to start off October.  Bryce is really good about taking leftovers in for lunch the next day--Jace is okay about it sometimes.  So the only thing I'll really need to get on my shopping trip on the 17th or 18th is snacks and kids' lunch stuff and cereal.  I'll be saving money AND time--shopping should be an in and out trip!

A good decision

Today started with me stressing about having enough time, and is ending with me feeling the same way.  In a morning that I had over scheduled, the first thing (Jace's doctors appt) I did went an hour over.  The whole time I'm sitting in the waiting room the panic was starting to well up in me.  After the doctor's appointment was over, the rest of the day went pretty well.  Until the kids came home from school ;)

The kids weren't bad, it was just all the stuff we had to get done after school.  Between homework, football practice,  and more homework I've realized the kids' bed times have to be extended.  Its not a big deal, but in the midst of it--on the way to football practice--I started to panic again.  I even called and woke Danny up so I could vent.  I am so glad I have such a great hubby!

I'm hoping the extended bedtime (only 1/2 hour later) doesn't make the kids cranky in the morning.  I'm also hoping that the medicine that Jace starts tomorrow will help him stay focused on homework and help it go more smoothly.  At first I thought that maybe it was just my parenting that was causing the homework fiasco--but then the football coach said Jace hasn't been focused at practices.  The doctor said his medicine is probably wearing off by the end of the day--hence the added dose in the afternoon.  We also have a referral in for Jace to visit the child's psychiatrist to confirm/change his diagnosis.  Unfortunately it will probably take 3 months to get the appointment.  So, if any of Jace's behaviors are aggravated by the fact that Danny is deployed, we'll get help just in time for him to come home ;) 

Needless to say there was some yelling tonight trying to get everything done and keep the kids on task.  In the midst of me feeling like a horrible parent, Bryce helped me see something I've done right lately.  Remember the Momma & Me journal I created for them a while ago?  Well, Jace hasn't done any of it, but Bryce and I have been writing in hers.  It has been working out great.  Tonight after I had yelled at her, she went upstairs and wrote in her journal.  She told me how she feels sad when I yell at her, but that I am a great mom.  I am so excited that she is using it to express her feelings!  It made my night to see that one thing we've started is working the way I had hoped it would. 

football, golf, and lots of projects.

I'm about ready to loose my mind.  I just received the schedules for the upcoming golf session and football season and am overwhelmed at how my calendar went from blank to busy in no time at all.  Games and golf don't really start till Mid September, but once they hit, I won't have a free weeknight at all.  I know for sure Tues and Thursdays are football games, Tues and Saturdays are golf.  Wed is church.  Football practice's also have to fit in there somewhere--don't ask me how.  Oh, and did I forget to mention that golf for Bryce is 6-8pm on Tuesdays and Jace's games are either at 6 or at 7 on Tuesdays.  Doesn't look to good for me being able to watch football or golf--I'll be driving from one end of town to the other and back again.  And gas prices just happen to be going up again...lovely.   However, I am extremely thankful for a great coach who is always willing to help out--even though I know they are just as busy as we are!

So, as I looked at the calendar, I realized the kids and I have to really work as a team.  So, I sat them down, showed them the calendar, and said that in order for this to all work we need to work as a team.  No more arguing about helping me clean--we'll need to get it knocked out quick when we have time.  No more arguing about homework--we're coming right in getting it done.  And, as soon as I said it, Bryce and I got into an argument about how I never come and watch her play golf but I ALWAYS watch Jace.  I try to explain the differences to her, but it doesn't quite cut it.  I understand where she's coming from, but the guilt I feel from not being able to meet her need to have me watch her golf all the time makes me get angry.  I can't wait till Danny is home and he can go watch her, and play a round or two with her, etc.  I did promise her that on the few nights Jace doesn't have a football game that I would watch her.  She seems to be better now, but my heart still hurts thinking she might think I love Jace more than her.

Okay, on a more positive note.  I have been a crafting fool lately.  I wasn't able to post the pics of everything I sent to Danny until he got his last box, but he got it today so now I can show it.  I know it may look like I am sending him a lot, but since I didn't send him anything last deployment I really needed to spoil him this deployment to make up for it :D.  Plus, since they can buy almost anything over there, I have to be more creative in what I send him.  Okay, so here it goes.
Project 1:  Daddy and Me book.

Please notice in the above picture what Jace said Danny's favorite hobby is---sleeping HAHA! 

Project  2:  A day in our life.  I spent a whole day taking pictures of everything.  I started with a pic of me with my coffee and Bible, and ended with the kids in their beds and me in mine with a book--and documented everything in between. 

 Just a sample of one of the pics.  If you want to see all of them, I'll have to make it its own blog :)

 Project 3:  52 Reasons I love You. 

And today I started a new project--the Family Rules canvas--and its looking good, but not quite ready to be posted.  Maybe next week :)

I love pinterest!

Wow, I was looking at the date of my last post and its been a month since I last posted!  Wow does time fly.  Part of that is that in the busyness of my mom visiting, school starting, subbing, and PTO, I was too exhausted or still working on projects and didn't even think about the blog. 

The other part of it is I hit a negativity slump, got jealous and insecure and I refuse to post blogs when I'm like that.  I don't like posting it on facebook, so I'm definitely not going to blog about it.  I was feeling like I did way back when I was 26, Danny and I were young and low ranking, and the Army was always screwing us over (or at least that was our attitude at the time).  I don't like feeling like that and its been YEARS since I've felt that way.  I'm sharing this because part of writing this blog is so that young(er) military spouses know that sometimes it happens--we can't be happy, perfect Army wives all the time.  We are allowed to get disgruntled every once in a while.  The key is to not stay there for long. 

So, I'm on the way up out of my negativity, thanks to some great friends and have been a craft making fool lately.  I meant to do all sorts of crafts all summer, but instead I did zero!  So I'm making up for lost time.  There are three things that I made for Danny's box that I just shipped and can't share yet.  In about a week I should be able to share those.  But, I did do a project to start with the kids.  I did some Momma and Me Journals, thanks to http://www.mamajennblogs.com and pinterest.  Here are the pics:

 Bryce's Journal

 This is the opening letter that I wrote in both of their journals.

Jace's Journal

I'm hoping the kids are excited about doing this as I am.  I'm also hoping that it is something we get into the habit of doing.  I really am looking forward to this helping me become closer with both kids--but especially Bryce--since I'm so hard on her all the time.  This will be a good way for me to remember and focus on the good she does.  Its also a good way for Jace to work on his writing.   (sneaky sneaky LOL).  I'll keep you up to date on whether they are working or not.

The kids are back from camp!

I am sitting here trying to decide what to write first--to complain about the ac issue or to tell you about picking up the kids.  I'll start with the bad first so that I'll end on a positive note ;) 

Soooooo, on Wednesday night I noticed that the thermometer upstairs was reading that it was hotter than the temperature it was set at.  We keep ours at 72 and for two years that is what the AC kept it at.  So when I noticed it was going up a little--at first just to 74--I figured I'd call someone sooner rather than later.   I talked to Danny about it and he agreed I should call someone so I asked around and called.  That phone call made me feel like the biggest idiot out there and sent me over the edge.  The gentleman I spoke to, whether he meant to or not, talked to me like I was 5 and proceeded to explain that hot air rises so our upstairs is going to hotter.  I explained that in the two years we've had this house its never happened like this before and he told me he could come out but he didn't think there was anything wrong.  Well, I don't want to pay someone to come over and look at the AC if his mind is already made up that nothing is wrong.  I just thanked him for his time, hung up, and started to bawl. 

I'm not sure if it was that he made me feel stupid, which I absolutely hate, or if it was just the straw that broke the camel's back.  I think it was a combination of the two, but at that point I was just upset/mad--whatever you want to call it--that I had one more thing to fix.  To be honest, at this point I am sick to death of being "strong" and dealing with all the fix it issues, the yard, selling the golf cart, etc.  All the things that are typically Danny's responsibility-- I don't want anymore.  I am not Danny--things he does with ease--like even being able to explain what is wrong with the AC--are not easy for me.  Danny, like always, talked me off the ledge so to speak.  He called some AC people for me and he walked me through some of the things to check to make sure it wasn't something I could do myself.  There are moments during a deployment where I am so proud that I can do things on my own and revel in proving that I can make it.  However, this wasn't one of them. 

At any rate--the AC people he called gave him the run around too and said there was probably nothing wrong.  But, last night and today it got up even higher upstairs.  So I called another company and they are finally sending out someone tomorrow.  I am praying its an easy and relatively cheap fix. 

Now onto the good news--the kids are home!! If I had any doubts about whether or not I should have sent them, they were erased when I picked them up this morning.  Neither of the kids wanted to leave and both of them asked me right away if they could come back next summer.  They talked for about a half hour about the things they did, before Bryce fell asleep LOL.  They have talked almost all day about the things that happened at camp.  They got to pet snakes (they loved it), go tubing down the river, zip line, flying squirrel, rock wall climb, slide down a waterfall, swim in a pond, look for gold in a creek, make some great friends, and do KP (Jace actually liked doing this).  They keep singing songs that watched the counselors perform--its awesome.  The counselors said both kids did fine--their only comment about Jace was he was extremely hard to wake up in the morning (just like his Daddy) and Bryce was a sweetheart and helped a girl that was really homesick decide to stay.    I do have to say though--both kids look like they have grown over the last week.  I guess I better start researching camps for next year--the kids are so revved up to go again :)

The kids are at camp!

So the day that I have been looking forward to since May finally arrived!  Today I dropped the kids off at Camp Corral--a camp for military children sponsored by The Golden Corral.  The big surprise?  I didn't think it would be so hard for me to leave.  I had a lump in my throat for about the first 40 minutes worrying if they'd be okay, did I pack enough for them, and going through some "what ifs" until finally I just gave it up to God.  But I was really surprised at how hard it was considering how much I've been looking forward to 5 days of no tattling, no worrying about babysitters or dragging kids around--just some peace and quiet.  It may sound a little bad that I have been looking forward to a break, but doing mom and dad duty is exhausting, and with no family close by, there aren't very many breaks to be had.

I could kick myself that I don't have any pictures to post of dropping them off, but after the 3 1/2 hour drive to camp and waiting in line to check in the kids weren't showing me some happy faces.  Plus, I think the kids were a little unsure.  Bryce has been excited about it like I have been.  And why not--I mean they get to go zip-lining, and something called a flying squirrel, and do a lot of other adventures.  Heck, I wish I was young enough to go!  Jace, on the other hand, hasn't been dreading it, but he has been a little hesitant about wanting to go.  So at first there weren't any pics because I didn't want and pics of pouting kids. 

The pouting changed pretty quickly once we got to their cabins.  They were so excited!! They barely wanted to wait for me (but they had to).  We went to each cabin to check in and the kids picked out bunks--I was so happy there was a friendly kid in each of their cabins that welcomed them and said hey--sleep next to me!  As soon as that happened we couldn't get their luggage fast enough.  I was supposed to help them unpack and get settled, but neither of them wanted my help.  I left Bryce organizing her bed and luggage and walked Jace to his cabin where I tried to help him get settled.  I got him to make his bed up.  Then the cabin counselor told him their swim time was coming up if he wanted to go get his swim suit on--and he grabbed it and left without saying goodbye!  What a stinker ;)  I was just happy to see them happy.  Until I got to the car and almost started crying....almost.  Now to plan my week--maybe I can work in a pinterest project or two :D

Next time we buy a house...

So in the two years since we've bought this house I have been learning about a lot of things I need to make sure I watch out for next time.  I keep saying I'm going to write them down but haven't actually put them down on paper.  I keep thinking I'll remember them when I get around to doing it, but I know my memory isn't that good.

I started thinking about my house buying list again today because I was woken up early ( a lot earlier than I wanted) to the neighbors building a fence.  First, let me explain why this is upsetting.  The lot next to us was not developed for about a year after we moved in, and only after Danny and some other neighbors help clean it up from the hazardous pit it that it had become.  The lot never looked big enough for them to build on, but the minute it was clean up, they started developing it.  When they started developing it, they added about 2 to 3 feet of height to the lot making it so that their back yard is practically level with the top of our fence.  The whole time during the building process Danny kept talking to the builder and contractor about his concerns with how they built it up and connecting to our fence.  There are some other minor issues about how much we had to pay for our fence, the fact that the builder didn't even give us a courtesy notice to let us know they'd be doing it, etc.  At any rate, Danny did not want them building on the fence and since he was gone it was my job to enforce it--not something I'm good at.

So at 7:30 this morning when I'm woken up by the sound of them using an auger to dig the post holes I run outside were I meet up with the other neighbor who is concerned about them using her fence and we get into a discussion.  I found out some useful things.  One, no one has any clue where the property lines are--including the fencing contractor.  Two--no one was given a survey map at closing.  And three--the real estate agent/developer/builder are no help at all and are quite rude.  So, my neighbor takes on the task of getting a hold of Jag, while I get a hold of Danny and a surveyor.

By lunch I have found out that there is some friendly fence clause in some sort of document--not sure which--that allows builders to just use a fence on the property line without asking.  I have also found out that our fence is on the property line--I got lucky and found a great surveyor (by chance) who gave me a good military discount and I now have my property dimensions.

So there is nothing we can do about the fence--unless I wanted to take it down and move it fully onto my property.  Not saying it wouldn't have happened if Danny was here because he was pretty hot after the way the realtor spoke to him, but we probably won't worry about it after he comes back.  On the positive side, I no longer have to worry about when the fight about how they build the fence is going to come (because I knew it was going to come at some point) and its over and decided.  I am also happy that I know my property dimensions since the fencing guy tried to tell me that my fence was actually on the neighboring lot.

So, while I'm thinking about it I'm going to start my list of things to remember next time we buy a house.  Feel free to chime in with anything you've learned the hard way.

1.  Research the builder--do not take the realtor's word that they are a long respected community based builder.

2.  Research the realtor--if possible find someone I already know and trust.  Definitely make sure my realtor isn't from the same company as the realtor trying to sell the house.

3.  Make sure to negotiate to have them put up gutters.  I never remember to look for gutters until after the first heavy storm.

4.  Have it in writing and in the contract that there will be a 30 day walk through for cosmetic and other issues.  My builder washed his hands of us the minute we walked out of closing.  Don't take the realtor's word for how its standard operating procedure.

5.  Have it in writing that there will be a walk through 30 days before the end of the year.

6.  Get all phone numbers for the people to call when something doesn't work within that year before signing closing paperwork.

7.  When in closing do not let the attorney try and rush you through the paperwork and don't assume that just because it was part of the contract that the builder and closing attorney are making sure you get it.  For example--contract stated the builder agreed to a 2/10 warranty.  I saw a home owner's warranty--asked if it was the 2/10--was assured it was, signed it like an idiot--needed the 2 year wall to wall warranty, went to get it and realized it was just the 10 year structural.  And there is nothing I can do about it but make sure I read everything with a fine tooth comb next time.

8.  build the fence inside my property line.

9.  Make sure I get any HOA paperwork at closing so I don't have to beg for a month to get it.

10.  Make sure I get a plot survey of my house at closing.

11.  Get a landscaping diagram of the sprinkler system.
 

Okay--I think that's it for now.  I'm sure there is more but I'll add it to the list as I remember or learn about them. 

Far from home

Wow I can't believe it's been so long since I have blogged.  It isn't because I've lacked the opportunity.  I've just been lazy.  In fact, I spent the whole weekend in either a swimsuit or my pjs.  I've actually been doing that quite a lot.  I feel like my life has been dealing with extremes--it's either I'm extremely busy or extremely lazy.  I'm trying to learn moderation but so far it's not working so well ;).

So lately I've really been feeling how truly far away from home I am.  You would think I would be used to it by now.  Almost 11 years of being an Army wife plus the 4 years I was in the Army before I got married means I haven't been close to home for almost 15 years now.  I haven't been home for a summer since 2003.   I carry a huge sense of guilt that I haven't been home more often.  My family never makes me feel guilty for not coming home, but I still feel it.  I try and think of it in that even though I haven't been home that often, they haven't been to see me much either, but that doesn't really help the guilt either. 

Maybe it isn't so much guilt as much as I feel that I'm loosing opportunities.  Opportunities for my kids and my brothers' kids to get close.  Opportunities for my kids to know their great grandparents and grandparents.  Opportunities for my kids to know what South Dakota is like in the summer. 

 I've been a little envious of friends who have family close or visit often.  I have friends who have parents that are able to take the grandchildren for a weekend, week, and some for even a month.  I don't need them to take the kids, but it sure would be nice for them to have some of the same experiences that I had.

This weekend I've been feeling especially guilty because I had planned to go to South Dakota at the end of the month, but decided this weekend to not go.   It really started to hit me that I would be traveling over 24 hours by myself with the 2 kids--both ways.  Plane tickets are outrageous.   Add that to the fact that Jace has a football camp starting sooner than I thought (so less time at home).  I mentioned it all to Danny and he expressed his concern about me traveling alone with the kids, so with our combined concern I figured it's better for me not to go.  I did make him promise we would go next summer though. ;)

Now I just need to break it to my family.

I'm giddy...

No, it's not because Danny is coming home (although when that day gets close I will be).  It's actually because of the most simple of things...down time.  Yesterday was the first day in I can't remember how long that I had nothing to do after work.  The kids and I could just come home and relax.  Today made it two days in a row without anything to do.  Nothing on my to-do list that was pressing.  And you know what I did?  Absolutely NOTHING.  Okay, I did actually make the kids dinner and helped them with their homework...but really, I did NOTHING.  I turned on the TV for maybe the second time since Danny left in January and vegged.  AND I don't feel guilty about it one little itty bitty bit. 

Summer is almost here and I love the way my schedule is looking empty.   It will leave room for some impromptu fun with the kids.  Those that know me will know that I am a scheduler by nature.  It's not unheard of for me to have my calendar planned out a month ahead.  I will still be scheduling out some things, but I really want to give my kids the experience of having a summer were we have some last minute fun.  It's taken me a long time to enjoy last minute events and I don't want my kids to be so uptight they can't enjoy some spur of the moment adventures.  Soooo, I have a bucket list for the summer, but if you have any ideas for cheap summer fun let me know! 

Bryce's 10th Birthday

I am exhausted. Physically and mentally.  I do not know what I was thinking when I agreed to let Bryce have a sleepover for her birthday party.  It might have been the fact that Bryce had started asking me in January.  I did bring the number down from the 10 she originally wanted to 5.  I also made sure that the 5 were girls I knew would get along as well as any group of 6 girls can. 

Maybe if it wasn't for the fact that in addition to Bryce's birthday party, we had one to go to before hers and two parties--one for Jace & one for Bryce--today.  Or maybe its the fact that there were still girls up at 4 in the morning and back up at 8.  Whatever the reason I'm done--stick a fork in me done.

I am pretty happy how the party went over all.  The only plus side to Danny being deployed for the party is that it got to be really a girl fest--something he would not have enjoyed.  He might have suffered through it, but not enjoyed ;).  I'm extremely thankful that Jace had a friends to go to since it was such a girlie night. 

We started the evening out with some hair chalking I found on pinterest--basically dying the girls' hair (and skin on some of them :\  I don't know if it was the type of chalk that we used but some of them didn't show up as bright as it was on pinterest.  Oh well, the girls had fun.  The moms did too.

At the same time as we were dying hair, a Just Dance contest was going on in the living room.  That game was one of the best video game investments I've ever made.  The girls and two boys that were over here loved it.  It was so cute to see all of them dancing in the living room.

We did pizza, cake, ice cream and  presents in between dying and making lip gloss.

After we ate it was time to make lip gloss.  Another fun project that I think went well.  I'd change some things when doing it next time but it was fun.  I really enjoyed spending time with the group of girls that Bryce had over. 

Finally, it was time for them to calm down, do their nails, and go to sleep.  Needless to say I went to bed a little after midnight.  I had to get onto the girls to quiet down around 2ish and then woke up to a girl wondering around about 4ish.  After that you'd think they'd sleep in, but of course not ;) They were up and at 'em by 8:30.

The last girl was picked up by noon and then we raced to get ready and headed out the door by 1 for birthday parties--Jace's at Chuck-e-cheese and Bryce's at the Ice skating rink.  We got home at 5:30.  I knew Bryce was exhausted but was hoping that she could hold it all together but she finally had her melt down over who got to take a shower first.  And after that there was no consoling her on anything.

She managed to pull herself together eventually and we did one song as a family of Just Dance.  The winner of both songs we did--Jace.  I guess our little man can move it ;)  He was so sweet he told me that I was a good dancer before he went to bed ;)

I did learn some things this weekend.  One--having Danny here to help get ready for a party is a must.  I kept finding myself thinking over and over again how many little tasks he does that I don't have to worry about when we plan a party.  Two--thank goodness for Battle Buddies (BB).  My main BB had to go out of town this weekend, but thank you Ashley for being another great BB!  I do not know what I would have done without you!  Not only did Ashley take pics for the party (since I always forget to do it) but she ended up staying the night with me.  It definitely helped when making the lip gloss and during the girl drama moments.  Sabrina, Erin, and Penny, you also were a huge help and I appreciate you coming and letting yourselves get suckered into helping.  You girls rock and I am so thankful I had you there to help me keep my sanity! Three--I am never having a sleepover with more than 2 other girls again.  Four--If Jace ever wants to have a sleepover I'm throwing them in the yard with a tent and flashlights and his Daddy can keep track of them :D.