Costume shopping

Well I'm excited, I finally got off my butt and ordered my daughter a Halloween costume... Well not that I really had to get up and do anything, I just ordered it online... But there's just something about me having to get up and dig my credit card out of my purse and then imputing my name, address, phone number, credit card number, expiration date and security code that just makes me go "blah" and never wanna actually order the thing myself. But it's ordered now, which i'm happy about since we've got Halloween parties and festivals starting up next week

KIA Bracelets & Politics

Did you see the presidential debate last Sunday? Did you see the compleatly childish remarks Obama made? No? Well here's a recap. McCain was explaining his invalvement with National Security, the troop serge and why he doesn't want to just pull all the troops out of Iraq. He says:

"So I have a record. I have a record of being involved in these national security issues, which involve the highest responsibility and the toughest decisions that any president can make, and that is to send our young men and women into harm's way.

And I'll tell you, I had a town hall meeting in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, and a woman stood up and she said, "Senator McCain, I want you to do me the honor of wearing a bracelet with my son's name on it."

He was 22 years old and he was killed in combat outside of Baghdad, Matthew Stanley, before Christmas last year. This was last August, a year ago. And I said, "I will -- I will wear his bracelet with honor."

And this was August, a year ago. And then she said, "But, Senator McCain, I want you to do everything -- promise me one thing, that you'll do everything in your power to make sure that my son's death was not in vain."

That means that that mission succeeds, just like those young people who re-enlisted in Baghdad, just like the mother I met at the airport the other day whose son was killed. And they all say to me that we don't want defeat. "

What does Obama childly shoot back with?

"I've got a bracelet, too, from - Uh - Um - Uh [Looks at bracelet] Sergeant - Uh - from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopek, given to me in Green Bay. She asked me, 'Can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through?' No U.S. soldier ever dies in vain because they're carrying out the missions of their commander in chief. And we honor all the service that they've provided."

Well aparently the parents of Sgt. Jopek were shocked by the comments on Sunday. The father gave a

Sgt. Jopek's father began by saying that his ex-wife was taken aback, even upset, that Obama has made the death of her son a campaign issue. Jopek says his wife gave Obama the bracelet because "she just wanted Mr. Obama to know Ryan's name." Jopek went on to say that "she wasn't looking to turn it into a big media event" and "just wanted it to be something between Barack Obama and herself." Apparently, they were all shocked it became such a big deal. And to spite what Obama is leading his "followers" to believe, the Jopek family actually believes in the efforts in Iraq and is not in favor of Obama's positions on the war. Brian Jopek, even said that his family had asked Barack Obama to stop wearing the bracelet with his son's name on it. Yet Obama continues to do so despite the wishes of the family. To pile insult onto injury here, the Mother doesn't even want to force the issue of telling Obama to stop exploiting her son because she wants to see him win the election. Obama is not only taking advantage of this brave soldier's death, he is taking advantage of the good wishes of the man's Mother who doesn't want to hurt the campaign.

And, why is the media not playing this story? I can only say that if the parents of the soldier whose bracelet John McCain is wearing had said in public that they want him to stop wearing their son's bracelet the news would have been coast to coast, and wall to wall, not just ignored in Madison, Wisconsin.

Obama's Car

Official Democratic Party Campaign Car

designed exactly the way Obama lays out his message.

'A NEW DIRECTION'
You figure it out. I have a headache.

I must have this...

I saw this item well over a year ago and have been keeping my eye on it with hopes that it may go on sale one day. It's called a "Traditional Scandinavian Kitchen Storage Cabinet" and it's sooooo out of my price range, right now it's being listed as £560 which calculates out to $804.21 US dollars. BLAH! If anyone lives in Norway and can find one of these for less then $100 US dollars EMAIL ME!

Ghouls Gone Wild!!!

Apparently this year little girls are trading in fairy wands for fishnets when it comes to Halloween costumes. After yesterday's trip to the Navel Exchange to search for my toddler's Halloween costume... I must say, I am completely appalled by this new frightening trend. While the costumes remained scary, ghoulish, and otherwise Halloween-themed, I noticed the costumes for little girls were overly revealing and completely inappropriate!

The skirts have gotten much shorter, the tops tighter, and short enough to reveal the mid-drift. Many costumes like cats, witches, french maids, pirates, and other characters now sport corsets and more resemble the revealing ones made for adults.

I can understand that children enjoy looking like like their older counterparts, but does that mean they should be dressing this revealing? By the descriptions of the costumes above, you might think I am describing costumes for teenagers. Nope.

These "costumes" target girls ages 5-10, but just at the PX alone, I found the "Major Flirt" and the "Bad Spirit Cheerleader" in as small as a 4t... And actually, those were the only girls costumes in my daughter's side. PATHETIC!!! Needless to say she still doesn't have a costume and I am forced to order an overpriced one online just to get a flippin age appropriate one that my daughter can wear to a church "Trunk-or-Treat"....

...Which brings me to my next "find". Costume catalogs and web sites, filled with images of pouty preteens modeling the latest in Halloween fashion, seem almost to verge on child pornography, and ooze with attitude. While searching for "Toddler Alice in Wonderland Costumes" this is what I come across...
Seriously, "Sexy"??? How can you morally call a child's costume that? I mean it's bad enough to sell something that skanky, but to flat out call it a "Child Teen SEXY Alice Costume"? And look at that sizing chart... You know what a 27" chest and 24" waist (their medium) calculates out to? The average 6 year old!!! Still think it's sexy?

These costumes would be a better fit in Fredrick's of Hollywood or a Hustler store than in the Children's/"tweens" section of our local costume shop. And don't even get me started on teens costumes these days. I'll just leave you with the following picture. Now just mind you, ALL of these costumes were listed under the "Teen/Young Adult" section BUT individually described as a "Teen Costume".
Oh and congrats to all the child molesters and child sex offenders out there. You seem to have hit the jack pot this year! So get your Sam's Club bags of candy ready! The kiddy buffet's coming your way!!!

A Worthwhile Cause

CLICK HERE to read up on and donate to a very worthwhile cause.

"Our Military Kids provides tangible support to the children of deployed and severely injured National Guard and Military Reserve personnel through grants for enrichment activities and tutoring that nurture and sustain the children during the time a parent is away in service to our country. OMK grants are made to honor the sacrifices military parents make and to ensure that the children have access to activities and support that help the children better cope with challenges arising during a parent's deployment or injury recovery."

Marine Wife

M any would not choose it
A iways faithful
R ight by her husband's side
I n moments of sadness she stands strong
N ever an easy job
E verything at home rests on her shoulders


W aits by the phone for a call
I pray for my husband's safe return
F ears for her husband's safety
E ndures long separations

A day in the life of a stay at home mom

I swear I am the most under appreciated wife/mom ever... I just wish my husband could walk in my shoes for a day and see how much work a typical stay at home mom has... Unfortunately he, and many people, seem to have the idea that a day in the life of a stay at home mom is an easy one and most feel that being a stay at home mom isn't "a real job". When you’re a mom and you work at home, most people think that “work at home” is code for watch television and take a nap; however, there are so many things a stay at home mom does during the day that no one sees or appreciates. It's not all soap operas and martinis like they think... Take today for example.

My husband wakes up for work 3 hours late... After I listened to his alarm go off for a couple minutes at 4am I finally kicked him, he proceeded to yell at me and turn off his alarm... 15 minutes later it went off again. I kicked him and told him to wake up, he proceeds to tell me to shut up and turns off the alarm. An hour later his cell phone goes off, I try to push him out of the bed, he mumbled unmentionables to me and shuts off his cell phone. I finally wake up at 7:45 to our daughter knocking on the door... And who is still laying next to me? My husband who should have been at work at 4:30 this morning. This time when I tell him to "get up" he finally listens... And then it's my fault for him not getting up sooner. I swear I can never do anything right.

By the time I got my husband off to work and finally let our daughter out of her bedroom, she had taken off her "poopy" diaper and smeared it ALLLLL over the carpet in front of the door! UGH. And I'm not talkin a little poop, I'm talkin chunkyness embedded DEEP into the fibers of the carpet. I go downstairs, wipe her off, change her and prop her up in front of the TV with a bowl of cereal while I go upstairs to work on the stain.

All I gotta say is thank God we've got a steam vac... I think I went through half a bottle of Resolve and a hour later the stain was FINALLY gone.

I come down stairs only to realize in the excitement of the morning stain that I had forgotten to let the dog out to go to the bathroom... What do I find? He's peed on not one, but 2 legs of our diningroom chairs AND left us a nice (not so little) turd! UGH, all I wanna do is sit down and drink by damn coffee, but noooo... I have to move all the chairs and spray and scrub all their legs... I then have to drag all the dining room furniture into the family room and then mop... Everything... UGH! And just as I'm finishing I hear "Mummy Pee! Mummy Pee!" I shout back to the toddler "You gotta go potty?" Nooooo of course not... WHY? Because she already took it upon herself to use our leather couch as a toilet and just pee there! Yay, one more mess to clean up...

I finally finish everything at like 11:30... Finally get my coffee and sit down to enjoy some Backyardigans with the kid. An hour later it's nap time, so I lay the little trouble maker down for a nap...

She was a little hesitant at first but after two trips in there and spending 10 minutes explaining the importance of a nap to a freakin 2 year old I thought I finally had her down. So I went down stairs to warm up my coffee, reorganize a couple shelves in the cupboard, make a batch of Flan and un-load the dish washer. As soon as I finish (about 30 minutes had passed) I went and sat down in my big cushy chair and started my TiVo'ed 'The View' only to hear stomping upstairs... I peaked up there and saw she was still in her room, so I went and sat back down thinking maybe she was just going through her toy chest looking for a doll or something to sleep with. After 15 more minutes passed and I was still hearing the little foot steps up there I went upstairs and opened the door only to find this...

I think this picture says a thousand and one words! Which was good cuz I was completely speechless. The trouble maker got tossed in the empty tub for "time out" while I pre-soaked the carpet with the remaining half bottle of Resolve from earler today. I went in hosed the chunkyness off her, then washed the tub and filled it with half a bottle of shampoo to create the biggest bubble bath that little trouble maker had seen... And she sat in there and soaked for the WHOLE hour that it took me to clean up that mess she made.

Now she sits on the couch, in time out... Every once in a while she'll look over at me and I just give her that "Don't mess with me" look... She gets it. But anywayz, the point I was getting to... My husband will NEVER know the day I had... As far as he knows the house looks just like it did when he left at 7:30 this morning... He won't look or notice my organized cupboards, he'll never know the mess that Makayla made on the carpet and the walls, he never realizes when I mop or clean our furniture or scrub the tub. What will he see? He'll see a dishwasher that needs to be unloaded and just assume it's the same load that was sitting there this morning, he'll see that there's no dinner on the table and that the dirty pan sitting in the sink I should have scrubbed this morning, he'll see that I've still yet to shower and am wearing the same PJ's that he saw me in at 7am. This is why he thinks I need a job... Because I "do nothing all day". Heh.

I just wish our husbands could spend a day in our shoes and see what REALLY happens in a day in the life of a stay at home mom... They couldn't survive!

Frugal Fridays: Haloween Wreath

Looking for a way to make a quick and CHEAP Halloween decorations? I found this beyond awesome wreath from Own Two Hands that I just HAD to share! It worked out perfect for me since we had almost a full bag of black trash bags that don't fit in our new trash can. I love love love this craft!

1) Gather your materials:
- plastic bags
- a wire clothes hanger
- a sharp pair of scissors

I used three 66cm X 82.5cm (26" X 32.5") black garbage bags, but you can use just about any kind of plastic bag in any colour, depending on your preferences. If you want to be environmentally conscious, you can use recycled grocery/shopping bags.

2) Bend the hanger into a circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, as the volume of the wreath will hide any imperfections.

3) Fold your plastic bag so that you can cut more than one strip at a time. I used strips that were about 4cm wide by 17cm long (1.6" x 6.7").

For a fuller wreath, cut longer strips; for a skinnier wreath, cut shorter strips.I cut one bag at a time so that I was sure I wouldn't waste any bags.

4) Using a simple single knot, tie each of the strips onto the hanger. Tie them snugly, but not so tight that the plastic stretches.

5) This is what my wreath looked like after one bag worth of plastic strips.

6) After two bags worth of plastic strips.

7) After a little less than three bags worth of plastic strips.

8) All of your knots will have probably been tied in the same direction, leaving a flat ridge where the hanger is. Twist and fluff the plastic strips to hide this ridge.

9) If you don't like the look of the hanger top or, like me, you didn't use a matching hanger, you can snip the top off. If you don't have a pair of wire snips, you can bend the hanger back and forth until it snaps off.

10) There are many ways that you can decorate your wreath: hang miniature ornaments on it, weave beaded garland through it, add miniature lights (make sure they're LEDs -- the plastic may melt under higher temperatures), etc. You can also leave the wreath plain as it is. Then you're done!

Contacting me...

I receive emails every day from readers on one thing or another. This week in particular, I received three emails inquiring as to why no one can comment on my posts. I'll address this here and how since it seems to be the number one reacquiring question I get.

It's really as simple as I disabled the ability. Why? Because I find it hard to police all the content others write. I have a hard time going through reading all the comments and deleting the spam. It's just a lot easier for me to post my email address and take questions directly.

With that said, If you have a question, comment or concern about anything from: My page, Military life, or Parenting... Don't hesitate to shoot me an email. My actual emails come through on my Blackberry and it's a lot easier for me to respond via that then come on here and sort through comments.

With that said, here's my email incase you don't feel like looking under my profile information:

WifeMomBlogger@yahoo.com

Palin Baby Name Generator

Sarah Palin has picked out an All-American set of names for her children. There's Track, Trig, Bristol, Willow, and Piper.

Ever wonder, What would your name be if Sarah Palin was your mother? Well now you can find out!

Clicky Clicky

P.S. ~ I will now be known as "Beans"

The umbrella lady.

{ From the Air Show last Saturday}

I saw this lady and was just a bit confused. What's up with the beach umbrella? It wasn't raining and it wasn't even sunny. What's the point of going to the air show if you're gunna sit there hidden by an umbrella, not looking at the planes while plugging your ears?

Pink Pink Everywhere...

After spending all day doing laundry... I can officially say that we own waaaay too many pink clothes!

Vote No on Prop 8!

Ellen DeGeneres has posted the following on her official website. And as a natave Californian (Yes that's where i'm still registered to vote) I was origionally confused on prop 8, which i'm sure is that the prop writers intended.

"My Political Point… And I Do Have One

You know how usually I talk about cell phones or kitty cats or cheese pizza… well, this is sorta like that… without the cell phones, the cats, or the pizza.


There’s a California Proposition on the ballot that’s a little confusing. It’s Proposition 8. It’s called, “The California Marriage Protection Act” — but don’t let the name fool you. It’s not protecting anyone’s marriage. Not yours. Not mine.

The wording of Prop 8 is tricky. It’s like if someone asked you, “You don’t want dessert, right?” But you do want dessert so you say, “Yes,” which really means you don’t want dessert. And if you say, “No,” which means you do want dessert — it sounds like you don’t. Either way, you don’t get what you want. See — confusing. Just like Prop. 8.

So, in case I haven’t made myself clear, I’m FOR gay marriage.

And in order to protect that right — please VOTE NO on Proposition 8. And now that you’re informed, spread the word. I’m begging you. I can’t return the wedding gifts — I love my new toaster."

Clear now? Vote NO on Proposition 8

Equality for all!

NoOnProp8.com / VoteNoOnProposition8.com

PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk

I think it was maybe 6 or so months ago that I posted a blog about making cheese and ice cream out of breast milk. I thought it was weird enough then... But yesterday, PETA sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk. Seriously?

Sadly yes. "PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves." Remind me to never visit that restaurant.

Hey, I'm all for the ethical treatment of animals and all... Hell, I'm a member of PETA. But if PETA's seriously gunna sit there and point their finger at Ben & Jerry's claiming that it's the milk that's causing childhood obesity, maybe they should pick up a carton and look at all the sugar and chocolates and other candies that are added to the ice cream... You could make Ben & Jerry's out of breastmilk... Hell, you could make it out of water and it would still make ya fat with all the additives.

Anywayz, check out the letter:

September 23, 2008
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,
On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's.

Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers-and cows-would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease-America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President

It's ok, he scares a lot of us.

While going through potential Halloween costumes online with my toddler, we stumbled across this picture of Obama [see left]. She completely flipped out yelling "No! No!" and ran out of the room. Now she's curled up on my husband burying her face in his side every time I turn the laptop on her direction...

I told her, "It's ok, he scares a lot of us" ...I don't know what she's gunna do if he gets elected president.

Bless their hearts!

This is just one of those things that made me go "Aww". I watched these two wheel chair bound Vets remove their hats and strugle (especially the one of the left) to stand for the singing of the National Anthem, to spite their wives requests to stay seeted. Bless them.

Blue Angels

I didn't get the memo...

This being our first fall here in VA... I didn't know there was no middle ground between summer and winter. You see, at our previous duty station, Yuma AZ, the average summer temperature was 120 degrees... Now around this time, mid September, it cools down from 120, to about 110, and in another 3 or 4 weeks it will cool down to 100 degrees. In fact, last year, on November 2nd, the day we left Yuma (for Norfolk) it was actually 98 degrees at 10am that morning.

So this brings me to today, September 20th. Seeing how last weekend it was 90 something and beyond humid, I really expected today, being overcast, to be about the same... Boy was I wrong. Stupid me had the brilliant idea to wear a tube top to the airshow to try to get rid of my tan lines for the Navy Ball in 3 weeks. Stupid stupid me... I apparently didn't get the memo that there is no middle ground between summer and winter here in Hampton Roads. Even though it was 90 degrees last week, nope not anymore seeing how it's like 2 days till fall. 65-70 degrees. CRAZYNESS. Yes, that's me below, the idiot in the tube top... If you were at the airshow I'm sure you saw me! I was the ONLY idiot out there WITHOUT a jacket or sweatshirt... and in a flippin TUBETOP!

Marine Wife's Prayer

Give me greatness of heart to see, the difference between duty and his love for me. Give me understanding so that I may know,when duty calls him, he must go. Give me a task to do each day,to fill the time when he’s away. When he’s in a foreign land,keep him safe in your loving hand. And when duty is in the field, please protect him and be his shield. And Lord, when his deployment seems so long, please stay with me and keep me strong.

A Marine Wife has so much to bear, She's everything at once, no one could compare, When God made her, he had perfection in mind, For nowhere on Earth is another of her kind. She leads a life not many would choose, For her job is the hardest in the military to do, She is courageous and strong, one would say made of steel, But way deep down is a heart that can feel. She stands by her husband, so proud and so tall, And waits many night by the phone for a call, She's Mommy and Daddy all rolled into one, She'll never rest easy until her job's done. She sits all alone and in silence she cries, Did I do a good job, is my family alright? But deep in her heart she knows that it's true, God is right beside her helping her through. Marine Wife

Frugal Fridays: Recipe Binders

My most important tool in the kitchen is my recipe binder. Back when I was a single girl, I got a subscription to one of those recipe magazines where they show a picture of every recipe. I had to have the picture, since I'm rather picky, and I like to see whether something is going to "look" good. So, when I got married, I had a box of these magazines, plus a loose stack of recipes that I had torn out of magazines, printed off the internet, etc. Every once in awhile, I'd go through the magazines and try to highlight some recipes to try, but it was rather overwhelming, and I rarely used any of them.

Then, a couple of years ago, I came up with the idea to go through all my recipes, and cut out the ones I was interested in. I taped both the picture and the recipe to a piece of paper and put it in a sheet protector in my binder. And then...I recycled the rest of the magazine. The recipes are organized in my binder by appetizer, main dish, salad, dessert, etc. It takes up much less space than a boxful of recipe magazines, and best of all...I use it all the time!

Got a lot of kids shoes?

This has got to be the coolest shoe rack I've ever seen!

I want one!

Urks me...

We get a note on our front door on Thursday saying that we needed to be "available" because we had an "irrigation inspection" and "representives" would need access to my house.

When? I don't know.
Why did they need to inspect our irrigation? Still don't know.
Who were these "representives"? No clue

Well I was out and about Thursday and figured they had just come by while I was gone... None the less, I cleaned the house, half expecting them to come by Friday... No one ever showed up... So I blew off the letter...

Did they come by Saturday? No. Sunday? No. Monday? No. Tuesday? No. Here is it 4:15pm on WEDNESDAY! Nearly a week after they put the letter on my door. Now they decide to show up! It just urks me. And they expect me to just let them in my house now? Don't think so.

Good advice

Words for the wise:

Don't go hiking in stilettos

My feet are still bleeding.

Frugal Fridays: 10 ways to save on groceries

In these tight times it is more important than ever to have a shopping strategy and a few tricks up your sleeve!

Here are some of the ways I save money on groceries:

1. Meal plans! If you plan out what you will eat for the upcoming week your house will be full of everything you need to eat healthy meals and snacks at home. Otherwise you're bound to wind up spending extra on fast food and convenience store snacks.

2. While you are planning, check out the grocery ads. I plan my meals based on what's on sale or can be bought cheaply. Ground meat is on sale? I feel some meatloaf and chili coming on! Whole chickens become roast chicken, chicken soup, and chicken salad for the week.

3. Clip coupons and use them wisely. Don't clip for products you know you'll never use. And try to match up the sales with the coupons. Much success can be found if you look at the coupons that come in the newspaper 3-4 weeks after they are distributed. This is when the stores tend to put those items on sale. Extra savings all around! If the idea of trying to match them up on your own fogs your brain, not to fear! Many frugal and thrifty blogs gladly share when they do!

4. Don't be brand loyal. Most of the time generics are just as good as brand names, and sometimes they are even made by the same companies that charge more!

5. Be careful where you look! Many stores put the most expensive items at eye level, so be sure to check high and low on the shelves. And don't be so quick to toss items from the aisle endcaps into your cart. Just because they are there doesn't mean they are all on sale!

6. Ask for rainchecks. When a sale item is out of stock, be sure to go to the customer service desk and see if a raincheck is available for the item. Be sure to get the writer of the raincheck to put the limit you may buy on it, so when they get it back in-store you can still get the 4 (or however many) you would have been able to get when it was still on sale.

7. Sign up for those store savings cards. It is free at every single grocer I have ever been to, and by simply handing over your key chain card you can save a lot.

8. Don't be afraid to try out your local discount stores for groceries. You may be pleasantly surprised by the quality (and price) of their goods. My favorite is Aldi, but I've been known to step out over to Save-A-Lot from occasionally.

9. Keep an eye out for good deals at places you wouldn't think to buy grocery items. Drugstores often have the best price for basics like milk. Dollar stores and chains like Big Lots, Dollar General, and Family Dollar can be great sources for snack foods and beverages on the cheap.

10. Checkout your area's discount circuit. Our town has a great outlet store that sells breads and cakes for much less than the grocery stores. We also have a discount bakery that sells delicious baked goods for a fraction of the price of other bakeries.

First day of ballet!

So I have to start off by saying that I was awake till 3am this morning... Not cuz I was doin anything else, but just because I couldn't stop thinking about today. I was seriously so gitty I felt like I was 6 again and it was like the night before we went to Disneyland or sumthin. I honestly never thought I'd be this excited for Makayla to start ballet. Before she was born I sat there and had planned on gettin her in little league and Pop-Warner Football and all these sports. I was TOTALLY against anything like cheerleading and ballet and girly stuff cuz I was never into that kinda stuff. But oh man, this morning, getting her ready for class, I was just such a proud mom! Makayla was just so beyond cute in her little pink leotard, skirt, tights, and pink ballet slippers, I could hardly contain myself!

The first 30 minutes is ballet, and the last 15 minutes is tap dancing. Each class is color coordinated. The younger classes (Tiny Tots, 2-3, and 3-4) is all pink. The older kids wear Lavender outfits and then the competition teams wear burgundy. In addition to the dress code, they're also strict about the girls having their hair up in a bun. Unfortunately Makayla's hair is too short to pull back into a single bun, (and I didn't want to use hairspray - she's too young for that), So I tried pulling it up in two pigtail buns, but still couldn't get it all up.

I'm preferential of course, but I thought Makayla was the cutest girl there and I had a smile on my face the entire time watching her.One thing that's not ideal: there's only a small window high up to watch the girls, so you have to stand the entire time in a narrow hallway, crowded by other parents, to watch them. And the window is covered with some film, which makes taking photographs nearly impossible. (I think it's there so the dancers aren't distracted.) But that doesn't really matter I suppose cuz I was approached by the director after the class and informed I am not allowed to take photos, even of my own child because all the material in her class is copywrited and if I wish to have a photo of my child, I will need to wait till picture day in like 2 or 3 months.

Anywayz, other then that, today was great. Makayla had so much fun. I was shocked to see that Makayla wasn't that far behind the other kids... Especially seeing how Makayla was placed in the 3-4 year class. There's 5 kids in her class... Makayla's the youngest BY FAR... Makayla doesn't even turn 2-1/2 for another 2 months... And the next youngest kid in the class turns 3 next month... So they're all OVER 7 months older then her... The other 3 kids in the class are 3-1/2... But Makayla's just as tall as the rest of them... If not an inch or so taller. The only barrier there, is the language one. Makayla still babbles a lot and the words she does say it's near to impossible to understand unless you really really listin... Which the instructor clearly doesn't have time to do.

Where were you on September 11th?

It's one of those questions our children and grandchildren will ask every year. Where were you on the day we were attacked, where were you on 9/11, and where were you when those planes hit the towers.

On September 11th, 2001 I had just started my 2nd week of Junior year in high school. I woke up like I did every morning at 5:55am, walked into the living room to make some coffee and found my mom already sitting there with the news on. She asked "Did you see this? Some idiot hit a building with a plane." The first plane had hit the World Trade Center at 8:46am EST, only 5:46am California time. We made a few jokes about "How can they not miss something the size of a building" not fully understanding the severity of the situation. ABC news kept playing replays of the first crash. Finally I got up and said "I wish they'd stop playing replays, I'm gettin tired of watching that" just as I got up to poor a cup of coffee the news caster states "This is not a replay! A 2nd plane has just hit the World Trade Center in New York City!" At 6:03am (9:03EST) I still don't think it had really sunk in, I mean I was more confused then anything. I never thought it was possible for US to be attacked, so that just never crossed my mind. I asked what the chances of 2 people hitting the towers were... My mom had no answer. We sat there for the next 30 minutes watching the news casters replay those images that have forever been burned into our minds... People jumping from the building, people standing in disbelief... My mom and I sat there until 6:37am (9:37EST) until the news reported "We are now getting reports in that the pentagon has been hit" it wasn't until then that I realized our country was under attack. I just remember feeling numb, not really scared, but just in shock... We sat in disbelief as the news casters reported there was possibly a plane headed for the White House and as those words left his mouth, the first tower fell at 6:59am (9:59EST). My mom and I sat there in silence till the 2nd tower fell at 7:28am (10:28EST) and we finally got word that there may have been a related plane crash in Pennsylvania 20 minutes prior (Flight 93). My mom and I sat there in shock for nearly 45 minutes... Watching people run from the smoke clouds... First responders pull bodies out of the rubble... Watching people weep in shock.

Finally, I had no choice, it was 8:15, class had started 15 minutes ago, I finally got up, showered and got ready for school. My mom had called in sick from work because she didn't know what else to do. I was over an hour late for school, as were most students. I just remember sitting in our classes watching the news coverage, talking about what happened. Later in the day we were pulled into the chapel (I went to a privet school) and we prayed and watched more reported news coverage until around 1pm and they finally just sent us home (school wasn't scheduled to end till 2:33).

Driving home from school, I remember seeing people standing on every street corner waving American flags and holding signs saying things like "Honk for the USA". It's the little things like that I wish I had a camera for. It's something I'll always remember, but can never fully describe to someone else without a picture.

Totally made my day!!!

So the hubby came home a couple days ago to tell me that we've been invited to the Navy ball next month... Well I had originally thought I had till the beginning of November to find a formal dress for the Marine Corps ball... But now I need to find one by the beginning of October... Well the hubby had already told me that he's tired of looking at my little black dress that I bought 4 years ago and have wore to every Marine Corps ball since and he was wanting me to buy a new one this year. UGH. Well it just kills me to go out and spend $100 on a dress that I'm gunna wear once a year and then just put in the closet to gather dust... So I went in and dug out all my old prom and formal dresses from high school... All 7 of them... Now let me tell you, I was completely floored when I put on my 1st dress of choice (My Jr Prom dress, see right)and IT FIT!!! Oh man I'm stoked seein how that was 7 years and a kid ago... Now I just need to get on my crunches cuz mt stomach's not as flat as I'd like it to be... Oh and get rid of my MAJOR tan line.

My New Laptop

Seriously, you'd think we're made of money or sumthin... Well after the Tropical Storm fried my internal cooling system we decided to take it to Best Buy today to see how much Id cost to replace the fan. Well... Unfortunately we were told they'd have to send it off to the regional office and I'd take 4-6 weeks to get it back AND they required a $80 on top of the probable $300 charge to replace the whole motherboard. Ehh... I mean our computer was nice... But it was like a 3 year old (most likely refurbished) Toshiba that was just giving us problem after problem. So really, putting another $380+ into it didn't really sound like a good idea. Soooo... We went to take a look at the laptops and found a cheap Acer (yeah I know, we had never head of it either) with a decent amount of memory and ram for only $399 ($419 with tax). So it just kinda made more since to buy a new one.

Hannah and my laptop.

So sad... So Tropical Storm Hannah hit yesterday... Stupid me was sitting here on the computer not even thinking about the power surges or anything like that... Well 3 happened back to back and all of a sudden I started gettin pop-ups about the computer overheating... And then it donned on me... I don't hear the fan. UGH! The power surge(s) musta fried it. Gay. So now we have to wait till Monday to take it in. Hopefully it won't cost too much... And hopfully that's all that's srong with it... Cuz right after buying a few hundred dollar camera, I really dont feel like buying a new laptop now.

Blogger Choice Awards

So I just got an email notifing me that I've been nominated for the "Blogger's Choice Awards" HaHa. I didn't even know such things existed. Anyways i've been nominated for "Best Blog About Blogging", "Best Hobby Blog", "Best Parenting Blog" and wait for it... Wait for it... "Hottest Mommy Blogger" HaHa. I think that last one totally made my day. HaHa. Anywayz, here's the links to vote for me...