Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Early Christmas for Paul & I




Paul and I usually get eachother something small and then a pretty nice family gift. Well this year we decided that we deserved something a little better. We have been wanting a Zune for a little while now and today they came in the mail. So needless to say we have been playing with them all day. Woo Hoo for early Christmas presents.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Trip to Savannah, Ga


My mom came into town this week and she had one request... To go to Paula Deen's Restaurant. So that is exactly what we did. Not only did we get to go and take pictures of the restaurant but we got to eat the yummy food. Let me tell you if you are ever in the mood for some good southern food and you are in the area you have to try to get into eat at the Lady and Son's Restaurant. If by chance you are not able to make it over here then I say get the cookbook and the first thing you should make is these cheese biscuits. Yummy!!! Well in the great words of Paula Deen "Thanks Ya'll"

Monday, November 3, 2008

Halloween

Now that Halloween is finally over life is getting back to normal. Busy but normal. I thought I would post a picture of our night. Isaiah was a Ninja and Patrick was a Dragon, however he hated wearing his hat which really makes the costume so we put a pin in it to the back of the costume. We had fun and now we have enough candy to last a year!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

We've Got Mail


That's right it finally came. After days and weeks of waiting to hear something it finally came the the little box down our driveway, by the street. A letter from Paul. I have never been so excited to see mail in my whole life. Among all the bills there was this little envelope with my name on it. Finally something to say that he was okay, still breathing and ready to come home. He has been through a few inspections this time around and has 1 more to go, been out there in the big ol' blue quiet as can be with out being able to talk to anyone back home, all over well for a week or so! He says that he is tired but otherwise doing well and can't wait to be back on land! Just thought I would share the excitement with all of you...

Monday, September 29, 2008

waiting for mail


So as of lately we have not been in a position to hear back from Paul. We can write him all we want to, but he can't write back. It has been this way for a few weeks now and it is really starting to take it's toll on me. Things here haven't really been all that bad Thank You God, but there I am everyday like clock work writing to him about my day and even though I know he will not be writing me back I still find myself checking my email daily like it is part of my religion and I will die if I don't check it. Of course there is no mail from him and even though I expected that, I am still deeply sad. Crazy how much power they (men) have over us... Don't tell him I said that or I will never hear the end of it!!! Remember it's our little secret. :)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Having to remember verses


Due to us being in the south we go to a southern baptist church (that is all there is) and they do things a little differently than we are used to. The boys are going to Awanas which is kind of like Royal Rangers (for those who are familiar with that) and they have to remember verses to get badges. Needless to say the boys being completely opposite of each other one is excited to try to remember verses the other not so much. He "isn't a good rememberer." Which of course I do not believe because he has vocabulary words every week he has to remember in class and always gets 100% on the tests. So my question Do any of you have advice on how to remember verses? Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Friday, September 19, 2008

Cub Scouts




I have recently asked Iah what he wanted to do as an extra activity. We have church, school stuff, mom's club stuff and boat stuff but nothing that is really his. We talked about soccer again and he said yeah but then realized that Daddy was going to be gone for the whole season and with that soccer was dead. He has decided on Cub Scouts. We did it for half the year last year and it was fun but with everything else we only picked the things we REALLY wanted to do. This year he has decided that we are going to do it the WHOLE year. So that is what we are doing. Now we have to find something special for Patrick to do. Any ideas???

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

asking for shamu already...


Today in the car on the way home from picking up Patrick from school he says "Hey mommy I know something I would like to do." Silly me asks "What is that Patrick?" then in a quiet little voice he says "I want to go on an amily vacasin!!!" In adult terms that is translated to a "Family Vacation" I said "Oh yeah where to?" That same sweet little voice said from the back seat "To see Shamu." With a big question I said "Shamu?" Silly me what was I thinking because at that moment I heard my husband ring loudly (keep in mind he is currently in the big ol' blue) "Uh Yeah you know that big whale, he's black and white." Suddenly I felt as if the word Duh should have followed closely behind that sentence.

Now let me explain why this was so funny to me. Every year we as military get tickets to either Sea World or Bush Gardens for free, as part of saying Thank you to those who serve our Country. So of course we go every year and due to the size of our children we go to Sea World for the sake of more stuff to do with them. Our family trips always have to work with Paul's time off which unfortunately isn't very much so it has worked out in the past to be right about now or the beginning of October, so I think Patrick is getting that funny feeling of it's time to take a Family Vacation. So in that spirit of Shamu I posted some pictures we have from our last trip... Enjoy

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Moto GP Race Canceled :(


I was so excited for this race today, but when I turned to watch it, I saw the worst news ever... It had been canceled due to rain. What the crap? I have been looking forward to this race since the season began. Why you ask? Well it is simple. My boy that I root for is Nicky Hayden and he is considered the hometown boy for the track so in other words looking for his first win of the season. I hope for everyone's sake they air the race later or Paul is going to be one upset cookie. I hate rain!!!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Gas Prices going UP AGAIN


Here in the south gas prices are a little lower than say on the West Coast however since we are in what is known as hurricane season and technically we are part of hurricane alley (even though we haven't been directly hit by a hurricane since 1994) we have do prepare and deal with all the side effects of a hurricane. Gas prices are not exception. So thanks to IKE approaching the Gulf Coast, gas prices are rising quickly and may reach over $5.00/gal. by the end of the day. It is unclear at this point if and when the prices will come down. Aw the south it isn't just good for sweet tea, it is also great for ruining the day as well!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Cooking with mom

Every so often we have those crazy times as mothers that make us think cooking with our children would be fun and it might not be SO messy!!! Well I tried it once again, silly me. Patrick came home with a school project which stated "Family Cookbook Project." At this point I believe the words "Oh No" came out of my mouth. I went on to read that they wanted the kid's favorite recipes and pictures of us making it together. Sounds like fun right? I then asked Patrick "What is some of your favorite foods that we can make together?" In the sweetest little voice he says "I like all your foods mommy." 2 questions then came to my mind...
1. What did he want?

2. How much does it cost?

I then asked well then what do you want to make. He decided on chicken tacos (odd since I have only made them a couple of times, but it is easy so I said OK.) and (oh no here it comes) Chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting oh and sprinkles. Uh huh... There it was the catch. Anyone who knows me knows I am not a chocolate person. Never really cared for the taste even when I was little. For some reason I am a girl that was born with that link in my brain missing (No rude comments needed...) But being as since it was a school project and he had come up with the clever little plan to get me to do it, I just couldn't resist. Well I will let you see for yourself my crazy moments...

Saying See Ya Later To Daddy

I have found that even though this is one of 9 patrols it never gets any easier to say goodbye to daddy. No matter how long the separation is for it is always hard. This time was not the hardest time but it still wasn't easy being as since they had to leave a little early due to a tropical storm that was "on it's way" even though it never showed up...
When they leave there is a tradition that we like to do. We go to the beach and watch the submarine leave. It is a pretty cool thing to see. The coast guard patrols the waters and by helicopter which all the kids love. Then comes the submarine and where you stand on the beach it looks like you could swim out to touch it. So here are some pictures from saying see ya later!!!

Sunday, August 31, 2008

I am ready for something new...


I am so ready for Paul to get off this God forsaken boat. After 6 1/2 years on this boat I am ready to except the changes that comes with going to shore duty and not having a group of wives and direct support there to fall back on, not having "breaks" from my husband just as he starts to drive me crazy, not having to worry that if I screw up with my responsibilities it will make Paul look bad and most of all not having to listen to nagging, complaining, crazy ass wives who can't handle deployments and take it out on everyone else. You know not that I have spelled it out like this, I have NO idea why I was so nervous about it a few months ago and ever agreed to extend until July of 2009. What was I thinking?

I am so tired of listening to people talk about how they "value my time on the boat." Not to mention they say that they need my help and me to get something done, but not give me any information on how or when they want it done by, but then proceed to lecture me when it doesn't get done the way they wanted. Having to listen to promises that I know for a fact wont happen, but get told over and over that it will and then having to take the heat when my prediction of it not happening comes true.

Now I know what you are all thinking. I knew what I was getting myself into and it is my own fault for getting involved when I heard tons of warnings, but I guess I had to learn for myself, had to see that it is the same now as it was 22 years ago and that I was going to have to deal with stupid people. Man I hate life lessons. 2 more patrols to go and I can't wait!!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

I have decided that Doctors really don't have a clue!

As some of you may know my left side has been hurting a lot lately and I gave in and went to the doctor to try to "figure out what is wrong with me." My mistake! Now thanks to the military we have to go and see the clinic first and then go from there. I went and saw a "temp" doctor who examined me and then said he wants me to get an ultrasound of my kidneys because he is pretty sure I have kidney stones. So I go to the hospital on Monday only to get no answers because they are not allowed to tell you anything you must wait for your doctor to give you the results. Well my doctor finally says that I need to be on antibiotics to help with the severe kidney infection. GREAT! As my pain grew worse I finally went to the ER to get some answers only to find out they don't have a clue there either. Now I could be wrong but aren't all those years in medical school supposed to teach you something? After about 4 hours and tons of tests, plus blood work which by the way hurt like Hell, the doctor comes in to say well he may not be able to tell me what it is, but he can tell me what it isn't. Are you kidding me? Well I do not have kidney stones, but a severe kidney infection. As if that was bad enough he hit me with the news that I have cysts on my ovaries. Great thanks Doc. Now I am on a new antibiotic that is supposed to help with ALL my infection(s) and percocet for the pain. Woo hoo for me! What a great way to spend your day in the ER.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

First Day Of School



OK so we have finally passed the first week of school and I am now getting time to actually sit down and talk about the first day of school. Man that is sad! At any rate the boys had a great first day of school. Isaiah was a little less excited than Patrick was but all in all they were both looking forward to a new year. Patrick got dressed super fast and was so sure he would be late if we didn't leave right then and Isaiah took his time and brushed his hair, meanwhile Patrick is in the other room yelling at Isaiah to hurry up so we could go. Paul had duty the night before so he called to talk to the boys and wish them a great first day. Isaiah spent as much time on the phone as Patrick would allow and then Patrick said "Hi daddy I am going to school today, bye."

When we finally got to Patrick's school to drop him off I said goodbye and that I would miss him and he said "Mommy would it make you feel better if I said I will miss you too?" Oddly enough it made me laugh. We had a great first day!

Monday, August 4, 2008

Back to School Night

We had back to school night to have a meet and greet with the boys teachers and as I went to walk to my oldest to his class I started down the usual hallway and he looked up at me (no short jokes here please!) and said "Hey mom my class is down the other hallway on the other side of school." I couldn't believe it he was growing up and he moved to the "big" side of campus. 3rd grade is apparently a Big Deal! As I was trying to get over the shock of my oldest growing up all a little faster than I wanted to, I had to take my youngest son to a meet and greet with his teacher. There I was taking my baby to Pre-K. Did I just say that out loud? They are growing up all to fast!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Sometimes she drives me crazy...


We have this very loving dog named Violet. She is a 1 and a half year old mini schnauzer. I love her to death and she is amazing with the boys. Cuddly and protective, however she is very curious and loves to explore. Are you seeing the problem yet? She loves to find ways out of the backyard fence and go running around the neighborhood. She also got out a lot in California which was a whole other challenge. Anyways this morning Patrick thought he would be a big "helper" and let her outside to go potty. She of course saw that as her chance to push on the gate and get out and go exploring. Patrick then comes running in to my room telling me "Um mommy you might want to go and get Violet, she got out again." Great. Sometimes that dog drives me crazy.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Finally back to 2 kids!!!


So we have been MIA lately so I thought while I had a couple of minutes today I would let you all know why... Isaiah is finally home. That's right I am back to having 2 boys well 3 including Paul ha ha. I am feeling more complete now. So back to being a referee, a chef and an maid of two. Ahhh the things you take for granted huh? So there you have it, our excuse for being MIA.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

The Cost Of Children


I have seen repeatedly the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up $160,140! That doesn't even touch college tuition. For those with kids, that figure leads to wild fantasies about all the money we could have banked if not for (insert your child's name here). For others, that number might confirm the decision to remain childless.But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into $8,896.66 a year, $741.38 a month, or $171.08 a week. That's a mere $24.44 a day! Just over a dollar an hour.Still, you might think the best financial advice says don't have children if you want to be "rich." It is just the opposite.What do your get for your $160,140?


1. Naming rights. First, middle, and last!

2. Glimpses of God every day.

3. Giggles under the covers every night.

4. More love than your heart can hold.

5. Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.

6. Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.

7. A hand to hold, usually covered with jam.

8. A partner for blowing bubbles, flying kites, building sand castles, and skipping down the sidewalk in the pouring rain.

9. Someone to laugh yourself silly with no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

10. For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to finger-paint, carve pumpkins, play hide-and-seek, catch lightning bugs, and never stop believing in Santa Claus.

11. You have an excuse to keep: reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh, watching Saturday morning cartoons, going to Disney movies, and wishing on stars.

12. You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

13. For $160,140, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof, taking the training wheels off the bike, removing a splinter, filling the wading pool, coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

14. You get a front row seat to history to witness the first step, first word, first bra, first date, and first time behind the wheel.

15. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match.

16. You get to be immortal.

17. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren.

18. In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there with God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

19. You also have the wonderful benefit of eating (low calorie) egg salad sandwiches for 2 weeks straight...after Easter Sunday each year!


So after that list it kind of makes things worth it!!!

Out with the old... In with the new


Isn't it weird that you meet someone with the perceived notion that you will never really get to know them, they will always be acquaintances and then they move away or move on to better jobs and really look at the time you spent around or with them and are kind of sad to see them go? T0day is one of those days for me. You see we just had our "Goodbye" ceremony for our Captain. We also welcomed our new Captain today. Saying goodbye to the "old captain" was a little sad for me. He has been my husband's boss for the last two and a half years and a personal friend of mine. Being involved with the wives group like I am I have had many meetings with the Captain and have developed a friendship with him. I have watched the crew change and the wives change in the past two years and now to be saying goodbye is weird, good but weird. So with that I say Welcome Aboard new Captain, may you have wisdom to teach us new things, understanding when we need you to listen and patience in dealing with all of us.

Monday, July 7, 2008

Chores... Yuck


You ever have that feeling that you are doing something that is completely pointless. Chores I can't stand chores. I never could stand them as a kid and I have grown to hate them even more as an adult. When I was a kid all I had to clean was my room (ahh the gold ol' days.) If only I could go back and only have to clean my room. Well today Paul went back to work and my days are now going to go back to normal. Ha ha whatever that might mean! So back to cleaning and laundry. I have discovered that I think I hate laundry and trash the worst. It's not the washing and drying part that bothers me because lets face it the washer and dryer does most the work. It is the folding and putting away part that gets me. Trash ahh my other enemy. How is it that 3 people can create so much trash? To think that we were saving so much stuff "memories." Nope it's trash. So I decided that I needed to vent and low and behold I think I found a new favorite quote so I thought I would share it with all of you who are parents and understand what I am talking about. Until next time Happy Cleaning!

Friday, July 4, 2008

Happy 4Th




Our 4Th of July started out with a parade. In the little town that we live in they have a big parade in downtown. The kids line up all down the street and all the people on the floats throw out candy and beads. Patrick was so excited and he wanted to show some American pride and being my kid he had to match his whole outfit including his hair... So here is one just for Grandma, who we knew would love his hair!!!


We packed a picnic and headed out to the park to watch the fireworks over the river. So pretty. They just waited forever to set the fireworks off so Patrick was getting a little restless and lets be honest Paul and I were too. But as the excitement grew the fireworks finally started. Patrick kept saying "Ahh that is a big one, it's so totally awesome!" Hope you all had a great 4Th.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Happy Birthday!!!



Yesterday was my birthday 25 to be exact. Wow I can't believe I am 25. My day started off by my 4 year old knocking on the bedroom door asking if he could get a snack and watch cartoons, oh and Happy Birthday Mommy. Super cute way to say Mom could you get up and get me something to eat. After breakfast we went to see Wall-E. Cute movie, Paul and I really enjoyed it alot. Patrick was a little bored at first when it is kind of like a silent movie. Anyway after that we went to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Now those of you who have never been to Cracker Barrel may be saying what is that. Well it is yummy southern food. Ummm. After that we went to Michael's Craft Store so I could spend some birthday money... hehe! Follow that wonderful trip up with some Coldstone Ice Cream and man it was a great birthday. A huge Thanks for all the birthday cards and wishes and phone calls as well. I am thankful for the part you played in my special day. Love you all.

~Tiff

Friday, June 27, 2008

Boy by day Punk rocker by night

Patrick has been in a serious need of a haircut for some time now and Paul has been spiking Patrick's hair after he gets out of the bathtub every night, so being the kind of kid that Patrick is he says "Mommy I want a spiky haircut." Paul looks at me and I say "Why not it's only hair, it will grow back." Right about now Paul is giving me this odd look like who are you and what have you done with my wife. I guess usually I would be the one to veto an idea like giving our 4 year old a Mohawk, but since it is still a month away from preschool and his hair grows so incredibly fast, I couldn't help but wonder what would he do if I actually agreed to cut his hair that way. I still don't think he believed me that I would do it, so today that is exactly what I did. I charged up the hair clippers and told Patrick it was time for a haircut. I sat Patrick down in the kitchen, took off his shirt, wet his hair and started cutting away. Well low and behold our 4 year old has his first of I am sure many Mohawks! Ahhh the joy of having a boy!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

AHHH Homemade!





OK to some this might look like a bowl of mush, but to me it is a bowl of sweet victory. A huge accomplishment... While on our visit in California we got a great find. A pasta machine. This is not just any pasta machine, it is the mack daddy of all pasta machines. So it being the "new toy" in the house we have to play with it. 2 nights ago we made peanut butter cookies. They were very easy to make, so tonight we decided why not make homemade spaghetti and meatballs, after all that is why we got it. It took a while to make, but man that was some good spaghetti. This machine made spaghetti and then we turned around and made meatballs. I just couldn't wait to share the pictures. So here it is my sweet victory... Ahhh homemade spaghetti and meatballs. Enjoy!

Enjoying the better times of life

So Paul has been on vacation or as the Navy says "stand down" the last few days, which I thought would be the perfect time to get stuff "projects" done around the house, instead we have been well lazy for lack of a better term. That's right sitting on our behinds doing nothing, zelch, noda. Today it hit me, that we don't do that enough. Here I was watching a girly "chick" flick on my laptop while my loving husband watching a manly movie on the big screen tv, that way we could both get what we wanted and neither one of us had to suffer though the other's movie. Perfect and yet at the same time I was completely happy. I love my husband and spending time with him and today it made me truely value doing NOTHING!

Sunday, June 22, 2008

New at this

So we are just creating our web page so you have to give us a little bit to figure all this out! We just got back from vacation in California, which was a blast. The trip out there well was... um long to say the least. 4 people + a dog in a car for 3 days = crazy car ride! We had a lot of fun visiting with our family though and it was a much needed break from our normal ( if you can call it that ) busy lives. Paul had not been "home" in 3 years so as you could imagine he was very excited. After all the visits and 5400 miles we are safe and sound back in Georgia. Ahhh back to life and reality. Cross your fingers for another visit during Christmas, only this time I think we are going to FLY!!!