Nanny, Paw, and Avery visit!

 These boys just can't seem to get healthy. They were sick the whole time daddy was gone and had started to feel better before the weekend. But today... We are back to green snot, and "the blonde one" has pink eye. Yuck! I know that it's not my fault that they are sick, and kids will get colds, and blah blah blah but I can't help but feel guilty as their mama. I should have disinfected surfaces more often, I should have washed Jack's hands that extra time, I should have kept them inside and not gone out that day. The list goes on and on. I think, as mothers, we are never truly satisfied with our "work." yet, maybe that's a good thing, keeps us on our toes and encourages us to do better? 

This past weekend we were lucky enough to have Nanny, Papaw Ricky , and aunt Avery come visit! Jack had so much fun with Aye, he misses her so much! 

 We ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel where Nan got LOTS of Jonah lovin'.

We went shopping at the mall where Avery got cool new shoes and the boys got new pajamas.

(Jonah's pj's are size 12-18 months! I got them thinking they would be big and he would grow into them but nope! He's gonna outgrow his bub soon at this rate).

And we ended the night with pizza while the kids watched movies and the adults played cards. All the fun stuff you do when family is in town. Avery even said she wants to come visit us this summer (:

 We also have some exciting news! Jonah has two teeth! 

 They are little but they are there. Our baby is growing so fast. I was not expecting to see baby teeth so soon since Jack didn't cut his first tooth until 10 months old. But yet again, Jonah is showing me just how different they are. He will be walking before we know it I'm sure!

Vday fun!

Testing out my fun new iPad blogging app called Blogsy to post this. I like it so far, it has lots of features so I'm still learning how to use it. 

Posting about Valentine's Day a little bit late, but we definitely had a good one. 

Jack, Jonah, and I started our morning with heart-shaped cinnamon rolls.

And I must say, they were yummmmmy. I was even nice enough to let Jack have some (: You can go ahead and just keep ignoring that they turned out looking less like hearts, and more like boobies. 

 The boys and I then finished up our huge card we made for daddy. It's sort of a tradition now, he gets one from me (and now the boys too) every year.

 They actually both had a blast! Jonah was just kinda D.O.N.E. at the end. We used homemade paints so it would be safe for both babies (and the doggies!) if they decided to eat it. Find the recipe for them here! I liked the recipe, and felt safe letting my 7 month old play it the paint. It makes about four different colors liberally. Be careful though if you are using it for something "serious" it tends to cake and crack when it dries. Or maybe that was just because my boys really liked the paint. Either way, it was perfect for our project. 

The afternoon was the best part if the day for us! We got to go pick up daddy. Jack had been talking about it all day. When I said it was time to go, he raced to the door! He put his socks on all by himself and attempted his shoes as well. We got out to the car and as I was putting Jonah in, Jack screamed "Waaaaaaaait! I forget I forget!" and ran back into the house. Before I could stop him he came speeding back out the door carrying the huge card we made saying "I got it mama, no cry!" I love that boy (: 

Seeing my boys reunite with their daddy was the best Valentine's day present I could have ever wished for. They love their daddy. True to our family's fashion, we kept Vday low key. We went out for Chinese food (daddy's choice after eating MRE's for 3 weeks!) and then went to the commissary and Jonah rode in the "cool truck" cart for the first time beside his bubby.

After all that commotion, Jeff and I were getting ready for bed and he surprised me with a gift. Back in 2010, I sent a book to him in Afghanistan called "What I love about you". Written by Kate and David Marshall, this book helps you say what you want to say to you spouse with fill in the blanks. I filled out the book for Jeff 2 years ago on Valentine's Day. This year, he took it with him to field (without me knowing) and filled it out for me!) He gave it to me just before bed on Tuesday. And if it's possible I fell even more in love with him (:

The beard hat!

Ladies and gents, I present to you, my own personal version of the beard hat!

Freshly crocheted and getting presented to one of my good friends' Zach tonight as an anniversary gift from his wife, Amber. I had such a good time making this one for you guys (: I hope you like it!

What does it all mean?

Why am I still thinking about spaghetti? I never really liked spaghetti. Okay that's a lie, I did. The spaghetti sauce said "just marinara" on the label, but there are always those little pieces of mushroom and onions in it. I hate those little pieces. Every time I eat spaghetti, I strain out those little pieces first. So then it really is "just marinara". But only to me right? Everyone else still eats the onions and mushrooms. I finally got sick of it and tried a different sauce, and I've used that sauce ever since. But sometimes, I still want that "just marinara" because without the dreaded little additives, it was soooo good! But the truth is, I can't waste my time picking out the pieces. I can try all I want to get that sauce to be as good as I want it to, without everything else. But the manufacturer hasn't got the hint yet, and I don't think they ever will. But yes, sometimes I do still buy that sauce, for good measure I suppose. But it's just not for me, I hope someone else can find the good parts of it, even if the parts they like the best are the mushrooms and onions.

Good morning to me!

Welllll here's how our morning started. Jack woke me up and Jonah was still asleep . I figured I had time for a shower so I sat him on our bed with his "The Monster at the End of This Book" book on the iPad. I was in the shower for literally 6 minutes. When I got out of the shower Jack had busted open Jonah's door, threw all of Jonah's toys and the crib and some of his own. He went downstairs, got the milk out of the fridge and poured it all over the kitchen floor while trying to get it in his cup (which still had the lid on). Duke (our beagle puppy) peed in a steady line all the way up the stairs. And I only got out of the shower when I did because I heard a "kerplunk" followed by "doooo, pee on pah-yee" and opened the curtain to see duke flailing in the toilet. I kid you not. I could not make this shit up.

Ew Boogies!

This is what I've been hearing from my two year old all day. Why? Because everyone in this house has "boogies" right now. Whatever the crud is that's going around has caught up with us. Jack seems to be on the tail end of it (taking sudafed, great stuff!), Jonah is just starting to catch it, and I'm somewhere in the middle. But of course I have already made a trip to the ER, insuring that asthma has turned my simple cold into bronchitis. At least I got sent home though (with a bag full of an antibiotic, steroids, and a narcotic cough syrup). I'm not sure what I would have done if they decided to keep me, seeing as Jeff is in the field until next week. *must make a plan for that situation before deployment*.

Jeff seems to be doing fine playing. In the dirt/mud, as he explains it to Jack. He is mostly attending some classes given by their PA and pulling medical coverage for the other units that are out there training. I have been joking around about them coming in for showers (they get an hour to shower and be back) every three days, saying that's how you know the unit is predominantly women. That never happened with the all male unit we came from before. Haha. None the less it's nice to see him every few days even if it is just for an hour.

While daddy's been gone, I have been trying to keep busy, as I usually do. I took the AFTB (Army Family Team Building) instructor course and will soon be completing an interview with the program director so I can start teaching! I am excited and nervous about that, but mostly just happy that I've been allowed the opportunity to help the military community in this way. Specifically spouses, most of you reading this know how much I thoroughly enjoy helping other spouses in any way I can and this will be a great way to continue that. As Alex has said, when you take AFTB you become a huge resource for others. He is so right, I feel compelled to help others not feel so... Lost... Like I once felt. Once again, if you are a new Army spouse, or even if you are not new, you should definitely look into taking AFTB. The Army had provided you with this great program, take advantage of it.

I also have begun to crochet more and more. Friends have found things they like online and ask me to make them for them! It's a challenge, finding the pattern, trying to decipher and modify the pattern to my needs, learning a new stitch with almost every pattern. But I enjoy it! Projects are getting done slower than usual (kind of hard to sit down and do anything with two sick babies) but I'll get them done. I have even sold quite a few headbands so far as well. 11? 12? Not sure anymore. Some have suggested I open a business, an etsy page, a photographer friend of mine has even been helping me out with a logo. And she's offered to help with "advertising" by using my creations as props in her business. Jackie is a wonderful photographer btw. If you are in the Ft Campbell area or Ozark, AL area highly recommend her. Check her work out, -Photography by Jacqueline on Facebook. I can't wait for her to take some pictures of my boys (: Anyways, maybe in the future, I will open an etsy page, I just don't think I'm that good yet. I mean have you seen some of the things people make on etsy, makes me green with creative envy. We will see where things go (: I would definitely need to devote more time to my work though. But as long as Jeff is okay with that, I am too (:

Insomnia,
There... I have blogged, may I go to sleep now?
Sincerely,
One tired and sick mama named Kate.

P.s. t-4 days until Vday which happens to be the very night my husband comes home (: