And We're back!

We decided to go ahead and stay an extra day since we had planned on two days from the beginning. It went very well. We spent for.ev.er. in the aquarium. We were in there for 5 hours!!!! But we saw everything we wanted to see and Hubs got to pet the stingrays 1,000 times so it was definitely worth it.

I was however disappointed with the camera. Well to be fair it probably wasnt the camera's fault, I probably didn't use the right setting for that type of low light but super bright tanks, and fast moving fish, but still. I practiced for almost two weeks taking pictures in low light conditions with Monk moving around to make sure that I would be able to take pictures at the aquarium but once we got there most pictures were blurry or too dark to see. I took 500 pictures over the two days we were gone and after going through them I only kept 183. That's a very sad ratio. And I even kept a couple of pictures that look like crap because I liked the look on Monk's face or I wanted a picture of that moment. But I guess it was good that not all of them turned out because I had a lot of pictures of crap that I dont even remember why I took it or what it was.

We do plan to do that more often. Maybe not the staying the night part but taking day trips back up there to see the Zoo and the Creative Discovery Museum, and then also seeing other sites around us in Georgia and Northern Tennessee.

Here are a few pictures from the trip that I liked for various reasons...

Well, We're Here...

Yup. We made it. Yippe.

Today was completely boring.

We walked around a little but it was raining and hailing so we ducked into one of those "Old Time Photo" places where you get an 8x10 of your family in western gear. Well the guy didnt let us pick our own outfits so we all looked ridiculous. I told him that i didnt want anything that showed my shoulders area (because it always makes me face look rounder) and he brings out this hideous dress, I put it on and it stops at the beginning of my shoulder. Apparently thats the only dress they own the isnt a saloon girl outfit :( Then we work on Hubs outfit. We want him to be an outlaw with a black duster like in ALL the pictures ALL over the walls. HE brings out this indian looking vest and light tan jacket, with a hat that looked like it had been sat on. HUGE FAIL! Then Monkey's outfit. They had this picture on the wall of a baby about Monk's age in a black shirt thing with a bandanna around his neck and a cute black cowboy hat. So freaking cute... but they don't have that outfit so they put him in railroad suspernders and a rail road hat, you know that light blue stripe :( I don't understand why they have pictures up of outfits and backdrops they no longer have. On top of all that we didn't even get to pick which picture we got. We didn't get to see any of them. He just walks out and hands us a picture and rings it up. Monk's face is all squinched in making him look rounder than he is, and Hubs is making a similar face :( And we paid $20 for that. But I told Hubs it was fine because if nothing else it gave us something to do while waiting for the hail to stop...

After that we went and ate pizza in a train car, and started to walk back to the hotel room with the intention of going swimming. Because we decided to stay tomorrow night as well, Hubs wanted to just hang around the hotel tonight and go to the IMAX tomorrow night after the aquarium. Wouldn't you know it that as soon as we got into the room Hubs saw a basketball game on so we sat in the room so he could watch it. That was at about 7 and he went to sleep at 9. Wow so much fun in one day I dont know how I got through it alive...

Hopefully tomorrow is better.

Here is a picture of Monkey today enjoying all the excitement.

Are We There Yet?

So our trip keeps getting push backed, but we are finally going today! It looks like we will only be staying one night instead of two but heck at this point at least we are going!

There really hasn't been a whole lot going on lately mainly just cleaning house trying to get ready to go out of town. I've slacked off the last three days in doing my DVD, but I've been trying to eat less and I haven't eaten junk/fast food this week.

I will probably get on tonight and post pictures from the aquarium if they turn out good at all. I'm still trying to figure out how to use this camera so *fingers crossed* they don't all look like crap :)

!Truth or Dare!

Well since I said I would check in weekly, I guess I'll choose truth. I weighed myself for the first time on Tuesday morning but think it would be easier to weigh myself from this point further on Sunday mornings.

So this "week" I lost 5 lbs. I have decided to go ahead and put my weight because it puts the losses in perspective. If I weighed 110 lbs, 5 lbs would be a lot of weight lost, but I am no where near 110. I started this weighing 245 lbs, and I currently weigh 240. My overall goal is to eventually get down to at least 145. But I will do baby step goals in between. Like my current goal is to get down to 200 by Monk's first birthday in September. We want to start trying for baby #2 in January and I want to be at least 180 before I get pregnant again.

I have cut out sodas, so I only drink un-sweet tea and water. I have cut back on junk food. I won't cut that out completely because that will just make me want it more, so I'm giving myself that in moderation, once a week. I have also been trying to make sure that I do my slim in six DVD everyday. I knew I was out of shape, but holy crap!

Well I better get off before the computer over heats and turns off again. I still need to go figure out what I'm going to do about that. I either need to get a new computer or get this one fixed... I'll start shopping around this week.

So I've told you where I'm at and where I want to be. I'm on the right track, but I have a looong way to go.

{Isn't This Craptastic}

So I woke up this morning and my computer was turned off. I have been trying all day to get it to work but it keeps over heating and turning itself off after 15 or so minutes. Hubs has to have a computer to turn his homework in every Sunday. I guess my job for tomorrow will be finding us a new computer :(

...Holding Myself Accountable...

So I have decided to shame myself into losing weight! I know nobody really reads this, but I will use the possibility of someone reading it to embarrass me. Here is a picture of Hubs and I when we were still dating. I had recently lost like 50 lbs or so. We shall call it the "before" picture.

And here is me a few months later trying on wedding dresses I was deliciously thin here (or thin by my standards I was like an 8/10 here I was very pleased with how I looked).

And now to show you what I have become. The "after"...

This is after eating my way through a deployment, a pregnancy and the isolation associated with having no friends, no where to go, and being a stay at home mom who's only form of communication consists of talking to her husband when he's not at work or extracurriculars, and my family on the phone. :(

I have one friend here and she has a job, a husband, a child and one on the way not to mention she has other friends... so I guess I'm trying to say that she actually has a life.

I have gained 100 lbs since that picture was taken of me in the wedding dress and I plan on losing it! I'm tired of looking at pictures of me thin self hoping for a genie to grant me three wishes! I'm going to get off my butt and do something about it!

I have dug out my Slim in 6 dvd and will begin working out today! I was reading the message boards at beachbody.com and it looks like after completing this workout most people lost around 10 lbs and a total of 14 inches. Now I dont know about the inches thing, but I know 10 lbs doesnt seem like much. The way I figure it though is kind of what me and my mom always say, " This time will pass by whether I lose weight or not, so even if it's only 5 lbs, that's weight that's gone that I didn't gain!"

Monkey's first birthday is in 4 months so roughly 16 weeks=almost three rounds of this dvd. So if I do multiple sessions of the dvd a day (mixing start it up with shape it up or something) than maybe I can maximize the effectiveness and lose 15 lbs a round instead of 10. That puts me losing between 30 and 45 lbs by Monk's birthday (when I have to go home and see everyone). Also we will be going to the Frio to float that same trip home and it would be nice to not be paranoid wearing shorts and a tankini top. I won't be anywhere near regular bathing suit body yet, but hey its better than nothing!

So I start today and will post once a week progress... I won't be posting my weight though... that's a little more embarrassing than I really want out there, I'll just be posting pounds lost. At the end I will post a total pounds and inches lost.

Well Crap! I Guess Our Plans Are Changed...

So Hubs just remembered that Young Marines graduation is this weekend on Saturday. He couldn't remember that two days ago before I made our freaking reservation! So now instead of leaving Thursday and getting back Saturday afternoon like we were supposed, I have to call and try to reschedule for Memorial Day weekend. All that means is that everything is going to be packed and probably more expensive. But it's either reschedule or cut our trip short. If we cut our trip short we will still get to go to the aquarium but any window shopping or sight seeing is out of the question... I'm leaning towards cutting the trip short and then using Memorial Day weekend for the other trips like going to the Jack Daniels Distillery, or the Lost Sea Caves...

We never go anywhere, that's the only reason I'm leaning towards splitting it up because then it's like getting two mini-cations for the price of one (not really for the price of one but that would be cool too).

As part of my new rule that each blog post must have at least one picture here is today's.

This is what happens when I try to sleep in, he corrupts my child and turns him into a chubby gamer haha!

ALL ABOARD!

So we just made our reservation for the Chattanooga Choo Choo Hotel! It's really neat. We were going to stay inside one of the train car rooms but those were 60 dollars more expensive :( We might see if they have any available when we check in and see if it's cheaper, but if nothing else our regular room should still be pretty nifty. I'm having fun looking through the different attractions to see what else we might go do. We will be staying the night Thursday and Friday and heading back Saturday. On the way back we will be going to Lynchburg to get a tour of the Jack Daniels Distillery. Or at least we will try. They don't want you bringing bags and things so I don't know if its just because they don't want you trying to steal stuff, or if it's the bulkiness of the items. So that might depend on whether we can use the carrier or stroller...Heck they might not even allow children. I guess we'll see.

As for the attractions in Chattanooga, of course we will be at the Choo Choo so Im going to get pictures of the train (maybe even with us inside *fingers crossed*), and they are supposed to have beautiful gardens. We will also be going to the Aquarium (duh!), but I have also been looking at the Ghost Tours, the Coolidge Park Antique Carousel, or maybe a Lost Sea Tour... I don't know yet. Maybe we will just stroll around downtown Chattanooga and buy stuff :)

I took Monk to the park today and took a few pictures, and of course I need to share...

And here is one I took during naptime, cracks me up! I just love how he sleeps with his butt in the air!

*Monkey*

When Monkey was born like all babies he had a lot of "crud" that always seemed to be in his eyes. And after awhile his left eye cleared up but his right eye just never did. The doctors told us to just keep massaging it and that eventually the clog would go away (they were convinced it was just a clogged tear duct). Well we massaged it for about 5 months when I got tired of listening to them tell me that was all it was and switched to a new MD. Pretty much the first thing she did was order an eye culture, so they swabbed his eye and sent it off. It may have started out as a seriously clogged duct, but it ended up being a mild staph infection. First she prescribed Monk Bacitracin and when that cleared it up a little but didn't make it go away she prescribed Gentamicin and put in for a referral to an off base Ophthalmologist. We just got approved today so I will call the new doc's office and get Monk an appt to see if we can get his eye fixed. My main concern is that something minor would keep getting overlooked until it became something major... But at least now we are getting somewhere, and look it only took 8 months! Good news though is it seems like this new prescription might be fixing the problem. With the Bacitracin Monk's eye would get real raw looking on his lower lid, and this new stuff doesn't seem to have that same affect, although I will say that with the "B" his eye gunk was non-existent after the first two applications, and now on the "G" its still there a little... I don't know I guess we will find out next week at his appointment.

Random Pictures because I thought this post should have some...more fun that way!
(Disregard the spaghetti sauce on his onesie, he decided his daddy's dinner looked good so he tried to climb into it)

I just love his "Huh?" expression!

On a better note, Monk just cut his 7th tooth! Yay for my kiddo! And I received my Ergo in the mail, and Monk LOVES it! Hubs still won't comment one way or the other about whether or not he'll use it. I have decided though that Im not going to take it to the Aquarium. I want to be able to take a lot of pictures with him standing next the glass and stuff and I think it will end up being a pain to take him in and out all day. At the aquarium he will be in his stroller, but when we go site seeing and to the Military museum and stuff I'll wear him. I'm super excited to get to use it someplace other than my apartment. Oh and I ordered my camera and it should be here Tuesday, so that will give me two or three days to play with it and see if I like it :)

Sarah Smiley ROCKS!

If you want a GREAT blog about military families and kids, you should go to

http://www.whysosmiley.blogspot.com/

MUST READ!

I'm a Material Girl (Living in a Material World)

So the Hubs gave me permission to just repurchase the Olympus (E420) that I already had and we had to return. Then he starts kinda hinting that he would prefer not to spend so much :( Well, frankly, that sucks! But I was already used to the idea of getting a cheaper (not so great) camera so I'll be a good sport. I changed my mind and instead of getting one of the two cams listed below Im going with this one because when I compared it to the others, it's specs looked better (not that I really understood anything).

Fujifilm S2550 12MP Digital Camera 18x Optical Zoom & 3" LCD

So I'll order this one Friday because Walmart has free shipping to home but if I "next day" it to my house its only 6 dollars and then I'll have it by our aquarium trip. If this one is crap Ill go with the Nikon from below. I was able to play with it in store and it wasn't bad.

Here is where Im uber materialistic. I figure I will get this camera and then next year or maybe the year after I'm going to ask for Christmas/Tax Return for him to get me the other camera.

Nikon D5000 Digital SLR

My thinking is that the camera I purchase now will be a huge step up from what I'm currently using and serve as a great back up once I get the Nikon D5000. Like in a year or two when we get the bigger camera, if there is a special occasion like Monk's birthday or Christmas, I can get someone else to take pictures with the Fuji and then Ill use the Nikon and the result will be a lot of great clear pictures :)

I might also go get some canvas so I can make my own backdrop for Monk's "month" pictures. I'm kinda behind on those :(. I told my mom that I'm going to scan in the month stickers she got me off etsy into the computer and play around with them on pixlr and see if I cant find my favorite picture from each month black and white it, then put the month sticker in the corner in color. This way I have a month picture but since I have forgotten a month or two to put the sticker on a onesie or shirt all the pictures will match. :) The only thing I'm not sure of is if I can get the sticker to have a clear back ground... I'll play with it this weekend and post whatever the outcome is...

So Much To Say and No Words To Use...

I feel like I have a lot to get out and write about but really nothing interesting ever happens. I guess I'll just keep writing un-interesting stuff...

So Hubs finally got back from Reno, he had fun at the convention and learned a LOT. He thought that his Young Marines were getting the easy way out, but he found out that the regulations for Young Marines are actually a lot more lax (sp?) than they have been. Nothing bad but stuff like "you can't yell at YMs", "You can't give YMs pushups as punishment" yadda yadda, blah blah!

Anyways, I got some pretty cool loot (well Hubs got some cool loot and I claimed it). Since he wasn't here for Mother's Day he did bring me a cute poker chip magnet, a shot glass and a piggy bank. But he got a coffee mug, a YM pin, and a couple of specialty chips. I tried to take a picture but I don't have a good enough camera so its kinda fuzzy...

So as far as the camera hunt goes... the cameras I wanted from Walmart are not in stock within 50 miles and I plugged in several locations and they aren't in stock there either. I guess I'll just go into the store and see what they have and I'll go to Target and Best Buy to look. I don't want to buy from those places though because typically they are more expensive there, but it will give me a chance to get my hands on some and play with them and give me an idea of which to pick.

Happy Mother's Day to Me :)

Early this morning Monkey was playing on the floor and I was sitting right next to him folding some laundry. I turn around and Monkey has stood himself up and started pushing the basket around the living room. It took me a second to find and turn on the camcorder but this is what I was able to catch on camera!

Oh and on another happy note, the Hubs will be getting home this evening and he is bringing me presents from Reno! I hope he brings a key chain... he was supposed to bring me a key chain from NOLA but he forgot :(.

And we have talked about it and since we have been saving our "fun money" from our tax return for our trip to Chattanooga and the aquarium, Hubs has said that since I returned my nice Olympus camera back in January that if I can find a another camera somewhere in the middle that I can get it. So Since my Olympus was $400 Im looking for one around $250-ish... and after looking extensively on the Walmart site I think I have decided to just get an upgraded digital instead of trying to find a DSLR on sale... I just want something that is going to give me really nice, high mega pixel pictures. Im not going to try to be some "wanna-be"professional so Im not thaaat worried about it... but here are some that Im looking at...

Nikon Coolpix L110 Black 12MP Digital Camera

Olympus SP-800UZ Titanium 14MP Digital Camera

Now granted if price was not an option I would want either the Canon Rebel, or the Nikon D40, I have heard awesome things about both of these and that they are really user (IE. beginner) friendly. But alas price is important...

To ALL the Mommas

Whether you are holding a baby in your arms, in your belly, or in your heart...
Happy Mother's Day! +

Feelin' Crafty

I've always enjoyed doing craft projects, whether it be for school, work, or just for fun. Before Monkey was born I would make random things like picture frames, mattes, pillow cases, etc. I taught myself how to crochet using Youtube videos (just type in crochet and you should see some) about two weeks before I delivered. I made two beanies (both of which were disasters) and started making a beanie for my sister but just haven't been able to finish. I have found myself more and more just getting on the computer and playing games, reading forums, getting on Facebook, yadda yadda yadda. Yea, not very productive. So I have decided to get back to my crafting!

So first I would like to finish some crochet projects, like the beanies for my sisters or some of the little crochet animals for Nolan. I have also been seeing these crochet necklaces and beads and I would love to make one {or some} of those...

I would also like to start a scrapbook off all the stuff we are doing as a family. Even though this is "just another duty station" to me and Hubs, this is Monkey's birth place.

And finally I love to sew and make stuff but without a sewing machine it takes forever to finish anything. I would eventually like to buy a sewing machine and take a few lessons because I would love to be able to make Monkey some quilts and then as he gets older a "t shirt blanket" or just be able to sew stuff up in general!

As a matter of fact I think tonight once I put Monk down to bed for the evening I am going to pull my crochet bag down from the top of the closet and start working on it :)

*Your Attention Please*

This post is solely to show off the adorable-ness of my little guy! $ (that and I went a little "mama-razzi" today)

I'm So Excited (And I Just Can't Hide It)

So we have been using an Infantino front to back carrier, and a Moby wrap, but now that Monkey is so big neither one of these are usable options. I tried to use the Infantino the other day when we went to the Vipers game, and his weight wasn't distributed right so my back hurt, he couldn't have been too comfortable because he was too tall for it, and his chunky little legs barely fit through the leg holes. When I try to wear him in the Moby he ends up around my knees just outside of an hour haha. (here's a picture of Hubs for memories sake)

There's no picture of me wearing him since I'm the only one who knows how to use the camera apparently haha. But I will fix that. The reason for my excitement is *drumroll please* I just ordered an Ergo! I am so excited for it to get here! I've been wanting one for a while but couldn't justify it since we had the other carriers. I just bought the plain Khaki/Camel because I figure that is the most neutral. That and if I want to get Monkey's name embroidered on it, or possibly decorate it somehow it is a light enough color it won't be an issue.

A Little of This and a Little of That

I have been way freaking emotional lately. Everytime I read a blog with a sad story, or a really great uplifting story I start to cry... and I'm not talking my eyes water, I mean actual tears. I'm a loon, I'm aware of that.

So... Hubs left this morning for a Young Marines conference in Reno, of all places, and will be back Sunday night. So now I am left with entertaining Monkey for 5 days, and 4 nights all by my lonesome. It's ok though, this happened last month too. By the end of it I'm pretty tired and ready for Mike to be home.

On a more fun note I hadn't been feeling too great the last two weeks... nothing serious but I've had a bit of a stomach bug. But the upside to being sick is that I have lost 15 pounds! Yay me! Too bad I've been feeling better today :( Now if I can just keep the pounds off and make them take a few 100 of their buddies with them. The only thing I can't figure out is that I lost a small child/large baby in weight and my clothes are still tight... I went shopping today and bought a pair of capris a full size smaller than I the pair I currently own. And yet the pair I bought fits great, the pair I own still a little snug... go figure! (and if you're thinking hmm... emotional and "bug-y" no I'm not pregnant)

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

So I'm pretty sure I'm having more fun decorating my blog than I will actually writing it. I did however figure out how to use my three favorite sites today. Pixlr, Photoshop, and Photobucket. For being free I can do a heck of a lot. I also went to Whatever Life and looked through her tutorials and found out a few more cool tricks. Like how to make a picture black and white but pick certain objects to be in color :) Also you should check out Shabby Blogs and look through her site and blog. She has a tutorial that shows you how to spruce up a few things as well. Ya'll probably already knew how to do that but I had a whole bunch of fun reading and trying it out this evening.

This afternoon however was not near as much fun. Me and Hubs were cleaning the house and Monkey was bouncing in his horse jumper happy as can be. (pictures are not from today haha you wont see poo in these)

Then all the sudden this smell hits me. I mean WOW! So I check the baby and it has leaked out the bottom of his diaper down his leg and onto our carpet, where he then proceeded to jump in it! AYFKM! So I give the stink butt a bath while Hubs starts to steam clean... it took forever to get it all up, or at least that's what he said as he went over it like 30 million times. I don't blame him. For having happened in a matter of three minutes that spot was huge! The positive is that the area where he pooped was a dirty part of the carpet anyway so Hubs steam cleaning for so long and so thoroughly got the area super clean. Yay!

So after an afternoon of cleaning and slightly re-arranging the furniture my house is half cleaned. It wasn't that our place was that dirty, I think it's just that we clean that slowly haha. Cleaning the other half will give me something to do this week...

Family Day Out

I wish I had been able to find my camera before we left the house this morning! First we went to a 6 year olds birthday party at a skating rink/fun center. The Hubs decided that him and his friends (a fellow Marine, a former Marine who was the b-day boys dad, and three other party goers) were going to take on a group of 6-8 year olds at laser tag. WooHoo, was that a challenge! Can you smell the sarcasm in that statement? But it was fun to watch the little kids scurry behind stuff, only to step right out in the open a get shot, and really cute watching Hubs think he was a cool guy.

Then to make the day even better he decided to go roller skating! Seriously where is the camera when you need it! He went around a few times wobbling like it was his first time walking. Then he tried to stop right in front of us and WHOP! Fell flat on his butt! The look of surprise on his face was priceless. I knew he was going to fall and was just glad he went backwards instead of forwards. I tried to get a picture with my phone but it wasn't bright enough so the picture sucks :(

After the fun activities of the afternoon we went to our first ever professional(ish) arena football game. That was soo much fun! We have been wanting to go to the semi-pro baseball games that they have here because Hub's unit always gets free tickets but haven't been able to make it. We had it all planned that we were going to get t-shirts for us and a jersey for Monkey. Well to our surprise they gave us a voucher at the door to get Monk a free jersey! We got there late so they only had a child's L or XL left so it will be awhile before he fits into it, but once it slightly fits he's going to look so cute! We did end up getting one t-shirt and figure we will either get a ball cap or another shirt the next game we go to that way we can take a picture of the three of us supporting our team (the Alabama Vipers, baby!) We will also be doing that for the Stars the class AA baseball team that's located here, and the Havoc which is part of the southern professional hockey league. We have two university basketball teams as well, but I try to stay away from the college teams from around here and focus on the ones from back home UT & ATM!

So that's what we did today haha. It was soo much fun, I can't wait until the Hub's gets back from his short road trip. We have a little arts and crafts project involving the monkey's hands, feet and plaster that we are doing for Mother's Day (and we are going to go ahead and do the other half of the project for Father's Day a little early) but for my actual Mother's Day gift Hub's is taking me to the Tennessee Aquarium. I'm super excited and hopefully I will have some great photos to show off!

Where to Begin

I haven't decided if this will be a "secret" blog or if I will post a few times and make sure I keep up with it and then send links out. Either way I won't be sharing any deep dark secrets (maybe a vent here and there) so I guess it won't matter.

I'll just start with some basics for this post. I have been a Marine's wife for almost 4 years now. My husband and I met before he joined but didn't start dating until after he completed boot camp and school. We have essentially been together ever since he got to Camp Pendleton. About a year ago we got orders to a tiny reserve station in Northern Alabama, it's been interesting... It's weird not having a large support system. I mean we live in a "military community" as there is a large Army base and NASA center here, but as far as Marine's and their wives go, the pickings are slim.

On September 17, 2009 I became the proud momma of a healthy baby boy. Monkey is getting so big, and I don't even mean that fact that I can't believe he's almost 8 months old (that's just 4 months away from a year!!!!) But at 7 months old he is 23 lbs. Now that may not seem like a lot but at 5 months he was not mobile at all so I was lifting and hauling around a 20 lb (he was 20 lbs exactly) baby all day. That gets heavy quick! Thank goodness for crawling. He's starting to bear crawl and enjoys doing push-ups. He does them all the time.

My other baby, my husband, is actually a bigger handful haha. But I'm use to him by now. He has been in the Marines for 6 years and we are currently making the decision as to whether he will re-enlist. The main issues are with his GI Bill, he won't be able to finish his degree before he gets out, and I am still in the process of finishing off my BA. Hubs is currently going to college online with American Military University to get a degree in Game and Wildlife Management. He would like to become a Game Warden when he gets out. I want to start taking classes again as well but I can't find a school with the degree I need. I am going to school for Early Childhood Education and all the schools in the area only offer Masters degrees and I don't need anything that advanced. AMU offers a bachelors in Child and Family Development that I'm thinking about taking but I'm just not sure what the practical application is. Although if I did complete that degree and we moved back to our hometown there's an agency that you go through and do 6-12 months of training and they give you a teaching certificate as long as you already have a BA.

OMG this post is boring, but I guess it's necessary so if I vent about being stuck at home and lonely it makes sense lol.