Snow Tips

#1 If you have an inflatable Santa make sure to de-ice him everynight.
#2 Never leave Swiffer Wet refills in you vehicle overnight for it will freeze.
#3 If you get snow on your pants while shoveling they will freeze.
#4 If your not a fan of snow and ice DO NOT MOVE TO MAINE! LOL

We are having a great time. Ready for some warmer weather. This morning it was 6 degrees. I would be very happy with 35 or 40 degrees! Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

Snow Busy

With Mike traveling a lot lately and all the snow we have had I have not been on here. Christmas is coming very quickly and I am constantly thinking do I have everything? We have been very lucky to be invited to a friends house for Christmas Dinner... Woo Hoo I do not have to cook a feast! The boys are loving the weather. We are going to get hit again this week with a couple snow showers! We have already had one snow day. I am dreaming of a White Christmas! We have been receiving our Christmas cards and I will admit it now... I did not send any out. I know I am a bad person LOL! We have just been really busy. I am going to stop and enjoy the life around me. I have realized this year that life is short but beautiful and to enjoy every minute of everyday. I hope that everyone will do the same.

Happy Holidays!!!

Christmas Already?

For me there is a rule that you do not put up Christmas deco til at least Thanksgiving weekend. Well not up here!! People in my neighborhood already have Christmas deco up. My neighbor and a good friend of theirs are in a Deco competition! It is a fight to see who has the most stuff. I have seen my neighbors garage and trust me when I say I live next door to the Griswold's. I cannot wait til it all gets up and I can take pictures! Fortunately for my hubby he gets to help them!! HA HA HA! I will be sitting inside where it is warm, drinking my apple cider made fresh from a local apple orchard! As for our deco.... it will be simple and some what themed! Pictures to come soon......

Halloween

1, 2, and 3 had a great time... once we started trick or treating. #3 did not like his monkey costume and kept asking us to take off the monkey. " No monkey mama!" Once we were outside he loved it. They ended up having a great night and I have decided that next year, if they let me, we should try some really unique costumes. At one point I thought that some other kid dressed up as Remy from Ratatouille was actually my #2!!! #1 was easy to see. No one else was Peter from Narnia. Hope everyone had a great night and I am sure the dentists around the world are hoping the same!

Paintball

I swear my sweetie is the biggest kid of them all!

But I sure do love him for that!

Here he is in most of his Paintball gear!

Fall

What a beautiful time of year. We are lucky enough to enjoy the fall foilage and have wonderful family come visit. We got to go apple and pumpkin picking. We made yummy baked apples, saw beautiful sites and really enjoyed their company. We are very blessed!

With this ring...

Weddings all around! We have been blessed in this family with weddings, proposals and soon to be weddings! My baby brother was married this weekend and though I could not attend I was told that it was beautiful! For me it was bittersweet in so many ways. My baby brother is married and his mom was not there physically but she was there spiritually. I know she was looking down with pride and joy. I am so happy for him and his new wife and wish them many many years of happiness. There is also another wedding in the future that I am very excited about and cannot wait to attend! So many joyous occasions! We are blessed!

Baby Wash Waterfall

Someone left the upstairs bathroom open. In this house that is a big no no. #3 got into the bathroom and opened the big bottle of baby wash. He then poured it all over the toilet! I walked in and he says "All clean momma time to take a bath". After taking the picture I realized... I really needed to clean the bottom of my toilet!

This happens all the time!

I know what your thinking... what is that all over your answering machine? Well that would be fingernail polish. Still not sure where #3 got it from but he made sure that while I was putting towels away he made the boring silver answering machine a nice magenta color!!! Oh the life of a mom.

Apple Orchard

What a fun day! I have lived in Maine before but never really experienced this state and what it has to offer. We went apple picking this weekend. I have never been before and we had a great time. The apples are so delicious. The boys had a great time finding apples, and getting lost in the trees!

Kitchen Helpers

My boys love to help out in the kitchen! Hopefully they will become great chefs! Here are a few pics.

Air Show 07'

Sunday I took 1, 2, and 3 to the air show. Yes I braved the 140,000 people cramming into 3200 acres, fighting to get that big turkey leg, yelling at their children to stop ramming the play airplane in the back of their sisters head, and of course looking at me and my children like we have lost our minds. Why you ask, well that would be because we have a family tradition, that we do every game day. We wear our Bengals jerseys. Yes in Patriots country we wore our Bengals jerseys with pride! So we find our friends who saved us some great seats and we sit and wait for the Blue Angels. My children could careless about the old replica planes dogfighting, they could give a hoot at the Army Parachute Team who might I add were in Orange and Black! They WANT the Blue Angels. Finally the time has come.... They play the Top Gun music and you hear the engines turn, louder and louder as they race down the runway and BOOM take off. The music just makes the show that much better. It is amazing what these pilots can do. Flying so fast right at each other, then one small maneuver, and they barely miss each other. The fly in formations, fly a low as they can over you, zooming left and right and up and down, I highly recommend going to an air show and seeing them. So we are sitting there and watching in amazement when Andrew very loudly says, "I am going to do that one day! You watch mom that will be me!" The very thought makes me worry. But of course I told him he can do anything he puts his mind too. After the show was over I stayed so the boys could meet a real Blue Angel pilot, someone who flys these beautiful jets, and has had many hours of training in this sophisticated machine, and Andrew says to him, "You look like Woody from Toy Story." Yes that would be my son!

Thanks Vim

One Thanksgiving a few years ago, my family was watching Wheel of Fortune. Solving puzzles became a game in the house that night. Who could solve the fastest! I have to say that my cousin Vim was really good at this game. My hubby tried to get in and give Vim a run for his money. It made for an interesting night. Since then we have made is a tradition in the Land of South to watch Wheel of Fortune and see who can solve first! Every time we watch we wonder if Vim is sitting down with his beautiful family and seeing who can solve first!! Tonight I am watching alone as my hubby is out of town with work but tonight I have the advantage, no one to compete with so for once I will win..... HA HA HA!

Life's Questions

Everyday my boys ask me, what they call life changing questions.

Example - "Mom why don't you like Star Wars? Is it too scary?" my response"No I like scary movies, I just don't like Star Wars." "Well if you like Scary Movies you will love it mom, I promise. I just don't understand how anyone can not like Star Wars especially my mom!"
But today walking into Walmart I hear a little girl ask her mom the most important question that I know keeps everyone awake at night.... "Mommy why does Captain Hook hate Peter Pan?"

So excited about school supplies

#1 starts his first day of 2nd grade tomorrow! We started packing his new backpack with all the wonderful school supplies when he proceeds to scream from the roof tops! He is so excited, "New crayons, awesome scissors, washable markers! Your the best mom!" "This glue is the best I hope I do not run out" Who knew school supplies could be so WONDERFUL!!!

#2

#2 comes to me and says, "Mom I feel that you are not ok. I feel that your heart has a piece that is broken." I say, " I feel great and my heart feels fine." #2 then says, "Nope you are not ok but I can fix it".......... " Here is a book and it will make your heart ok again." The book was called the World and it's Wonders. Kids are very funny.

Military Wife

As a military wife you have to be ready for the unexpected. It is what I think, keeps me on my toes. I am ready for the unexpected when it comes to the miltary world. There have been many times that we had to postpone trips, had to postpone the day we were going to get married, or the boys and I had to do many things on our own. All because of the times when the flight runs longer, or the normal eight hour workdays turn into twelve or fourteen hours. It is just part of the job that I love. The one thing that I do it make a list of to do's and when that unexpected call comes that says, "We are leaving tomorrow and do not know when we will return" I have a ton of things to keep us busy........... Do you think it is too early to put up Halloween Decorations??????

Full Circle

As many of you know my family has been though many things this year. Somehow we managed to come out on top. My family is amazing. For some of them they found true love, some are getting married, some celebrated 5 years of marriage, some dealt with tremendous loss, and for one his life has finally come full circle. The year started off with tragedy but we have all survived it and come out stronger than ever. It is wonderful to me that all of us are all over the U.S. but somehow we stay close and talk. With this I hope that if you read this you will take a moment to realize that even though life can be hard look at the wonderful people in your life and be thankful. Life is full of the unexpected! can't wait to see what is yet to come....................

Little Racoon

#3 has been in rare form the past few days. As I understand it as terrible two's, my hubby says that it is Gods way of getting back at him for all the things he did when he was a child. #3 has been into EVERYTHING! I have a very nice Vera Bradley beach bag and in it are all the contents as to which you would take to the beach. #3 got the sunscreen and covered the wood floors, himself, the bag and the bottle. Vera is a smart lady, all her bags are washable as if she knew somehow that many moms would need that. After a good laugh we got it all cleaned and got him to bed. The next morning, as if he was planning this all night, he snuck into the bathroom. He somehow managed to get Andrew's orange hair wax and Andrew's toothbrush. With the toothbrush in hand, he turned it on and put it in the wax. The wax was on the floor, toilet, shower curtain, my nice towels, and of course on him. Had to get him back in the bath while cleaning all the orange wax up! After that I thought oh he is done for today no more tricks or accidents...... I thought to soon. He tried to get on the couch and somehow fell of onto the wood floors. He landed head first and his feet were still on the couch. Rushed him to the Dr and had him checked and he is fine. Dr did suggest wrapping the house in bubble wrap and locking everything in sight! So today I am off to Target to get those door thingys.

5 year Anniversary

Once upon a time two people fell in love......... They got married in a beautiful little town, at sunset, in a cute gazebo on Maine St. It was a priceless day. Then the wonderful prince suprised the princess with an anniversary that could never be forgotten. He had set up a little table in the same area they got married. He had brought yummy food, candles, and some bubbly. It was 5 years later at the same gazebo, with what seemed like the same sunset. They enjoyed a wonderful romantic dinner, followed by dancing with no music, something they do all the time. They walked around the beautiful little town and just enjoyed each others company. It was a perfect evening!

True Story!

"2" is getting married......

One of my best friends and her two beautiful children traveled up here this past week. "2" is in love with her daughter "A" and talks about her all the time. While they were here "2" and my future D-I-L talked about getting married and having 99 boys and 2 girls! Of course we made sure that they know you have to finish college and travel the world first. So yesterday "2" very seriously looked at me and said, "Mom! I forgot to marry "A"!! He was very upset and I reminded him that he can not get married til he is 30. He was fine with that.

Mentos Experiment Bust

Talked to 1 last night as he is at his grandmother's house in Texas. They were going to do the mentos in a 2 liter of soda trick. He was explaining to me that you drop a few mentos in the 2 liter and it will erupt like a volcano straight up in the air. Well he called back to tell me it was a bust! He was very disappointed but I told him that not to worry, Daddy will research this experiment and when he gets back here we will retry! I hope to have pictures of this!

Make life easier

I have come up with an easy way to make my life a little easier. I am going to nickname the kids "1, 2, and 3". If your a mother you will appreciate this..... One of them gets in trouble and you call everyone elses name before you say theirs! So maybe if I just nickname them "1, 2, and 3" it will be easier! Of course you can probably figure out which one will be "1, 2, and 3" Just go in the order they were born. Yep it is decided that their new nicknames will be numbers! Ahhh life just got easier.

Update

So much has happened since my last blog. Andrew finished first grade! He was ready for summer. So we had as much fun as we could til he was going to leave for Texas. We got the boys an inflatable bounce house! They love that thing. My dad came for a surprise visit! It was great to see him. The boys had no idea he was coming and they were very surprised. We went to a carnival and craft fair while he was here and he even had a Maine Lobster lunch!! Now Mikey and Logan are counting down the days til Andrew gets home (we all are!). Logan wakes up every morning and looks for Andrew. Andrew gave Mikey his room til he gets back! So I am trying to keep them busy this month. My good friend Lisa is coming up soon with her kids so that will be great! Her daughter Ava is Mikey's future wife! The weather has been a little rainy so we have been at the base Rec Mall a lot! Its a great place to take the kids and let them run and play. There are big tubes to climb through and little toys to play with. Logan has a new buddy. Our friends little son and Logan love to chase each other. Colton will lay on the floor and they will giggle forever. They also love the train set we have! Mike and I are great. Our 5 year anniversary is coming up and he has something planned but its a surprise! I am very excited! I promise to get better about blogging!!

Baseball

Logan must have alot of my grandfather in his blood. He loves baseball. Mike plays for the sqaudron softball team and we go to as many games as we can. Logan cheers and woo hoo's! When daddy is up to bat he yells go daddy! Anytime the ball is hit he gets really excited and bounces. When someone gets out he responds with an "AWWWW". We went out for dinner the other night and Logan was just staring off and I could not get his attention. Then I saw that the Red Sox and Yankees were playing. He was zoned in on the tv. Well if anyone knew my Grandpa Vallely they know that he was called the Father of Little League. He brought little league to the area in Arizona and he even has a field named after him. He loved baseball! Well Logan was born on my grandfathers birthday. God help us!! :)

No touch

Logan has become very vocal and is in his terrible two's! He loves to get into everything! Example... He was getting into the fridge and I politely came to his level and asked him to please close the fridge. He responded with slapping his leg and saying NO TOUCH! We went to the store yesterday and he did not want to sit in the basket. I told him that we are going shopping and that I need him to sit like a big boy. He slapped his leg and said NO TOUCH! Anytime he gets in trouble or you have to talk to him he says NO TOUCH. Still not sure where he got that from but its kinda funny.

Finally time to type...

It is early AM and the only one awake is Andrew. Mike is at work, yes on a weekend. Poor guy has worked his butt off since getting here! I am making orange sweet rolls and enjoying the quiet. I feel like I am finally slowing down after the move. We are all settled and unpacked. The boys love it here. They have a nice backyard with lots of toys, and we go walking as much as possible. Last night it was cold and rainy and our neighbors had a little get together. The husband works with Mike so he and a friend came by last night to invite us over. We politely declined as it was almost bedtime for the little ones and Mike had to work today. We chatted a few more minutes and learned a little bit about the people who lived here before us. I guess one couple was a screamer, and not in the good way! And the ones after that were a little nutty! They were kicked out and rather quickly from what we were told. Interesting. I can only imagine their thought when we pulled up, OH NO what now more crazy neighbors? I guess it was refreshing when they came by last night cause they saw we were pretty normal. With the exception of the three yahooligans having their own WWE wrestling tournament in our living room! Logan was tackling his big brothers and taking them down very easily! Who needs cable when you have 3 boys! What will we do when they grow up? We will be so unentertained! We are blessed and life is good.

Mother Nature of the Beast

Well Mike will not be home today as we thought. The weather is very bad up North and for some strange reason the airlines do not wish to take off in 40-65 mph winds! I don't get it! Mikey is very upset and has been sitting on the couch sniffling. Mike is scheduled to come home very late wednesday night so we will just wait and see!! The movers will be here tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

The big move

Well the time has come to move to Maine. Mikey is counting down the minutes til daddy gets home tomorrow. The crazy, hecticness (is that even a word?) has begun. Today the boys and I will make a final Walmart run, clean up for the hundreth time, wash all the linens, wipe down everything in site and pack our bags. We are praying that the storm does not interfere with our plans but we will just wait it out. Moving can be so hectic but I am trying to make it fun for the kids. I have a little box in the car that will hold a few toys so I will tell them to choose wisely. They can each bring a blanket and pillow and a few books oh and don't forget the ever so important DVD player! I hate to use tv as a babysitter but on long road trips it is essential. We have had such a busy week between school, our going away party, and Disney on Ice that we are now down to the wire. I tried to keep them busy this past week. Looks like it worked. Mikey has had just a few emotional meltdowns!! That is amazing. Soon he will be reunited with Daddy and hopefully the night terrors and meltdowns will subside. Wish us luck!!!! We love you all!

Moving to Maine

It's official.... We have a house in Maine!! Mike gets the keys on Wednesday and the kids and I will be there as soon as the movers get here. We are all very excited about this move but for me it is bittersweet. I have made some amazing friends here and without them, these past few months would have been harder on me than they were. So to all my great friends..... I Salute YOU!!! Love you guys!

ALL A's!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!! Andrew got all A's! He has always been on the A B honor roll but he was working on his writing so he could get all A's!! He worked so hard and trust me he got rewarded from a trip to the toy store, to many calls of congrats!!! WAY TO GO ANDREW!! Words can not express the joy and pride I feel!!

Spring Break

What a week!!! We have been so busy. We went to the zoo, parks, the trails, and a field day today!!! The boys have had so much fun! We went to the college trails and walked about 1 1/2 miles and Logan walked most of it too!!! I have a great group of friends and we came up with all kinds of fun for this week. Today we had a field day with potato roll, sack races, balloon toss, playground time, bubbles, Frisbee's and tons of food!!! The weather has been perfect this week!! We also figured out that Mikey and Logan hate carousels!! Go figure!! Now its time to get back into the school schedule!! Wish me luck!

The Navy Wife

I wear no uniforms, no blues or whites, But I am in the Navy cause I am his wife. I'm in the ranks that are rarely seen, I have no rank upon my shoulders. Salutes I do not give. But the military world is the place where I live. I'm not in the chain of command, Orders I do not get. But my husband is the one who does, this I can not forget. I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line. But my job is just as tough. I'm the one who's left behind. My husband is a patriot, a brave and prideful man. And the call to serve his country not all can understand. Behind the lines I see the things needed to keep this country free. My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do our kids and me. I love the man I married. Soldiering is his life. But I stand among the silent ranks known as the Navy Wife.



The good Lord was creating a model for Navy wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared, She said, "Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model"? The lord replied, "Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both father and mother, be a perfect hostess to four or fourty with an hour's notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant or disabled and has the flu and then she must be willing to move to a new location ten times in seventeen years. And oh yes, she must have six pairs of hands". The angel shoke her head. "Six pairs of hands? No way". The Lord continued, "Don't worry, we will make the other Navy wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride of her husband's achievements, sustain the pain of separations, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say, "I understand, when she doesn't, and say "I love you', regardless. "Lord", said the angel, touching his are gently, "go to bed and get some rest. You finish this tomorrow". I can't stop now said the Lord, "I am so close to creating something unique. Already the model heals herself when she is six, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave goodbye to her husband from the runway and understand why it's important that he leave". The angel circled the model of the Navy wife, looked at it closely and sighed, "it looks fine, but it's too soft". "She might be soft", the Lord replied, " but she has the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure". Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak", she announced. " Something is wrong with the contruction. I am not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model". The Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of confidence. "What you see is not a leak", he said, "it's a tear". "A tear? What is it there for"?, asked the angel. The Lord replied, "Its for joy, sadness, apin, disappointment, loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she and her husband held dear". "Yes you are a genious!", exclaimed the angel. The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there".

Miderman

Logan has now named his blanket Miderman. Everynight at bedtime we call for blankie until we find it. Tonight when we were looking for blankie Logan started saying "Miderman (spiderman), Miderman where are you." It was so cute. I went in to tuck him in and he said, "Night Night Mommy and Miderman "

Meltdown in the Kohl's Womens Dept.

What a day! Me and a few friends decided to take our kids for a picnic lunch and let them play at the park. It must have been drop your children off and leave them unattended day! There were a few children with no parents in sight. Our children could not play without a little boy coming up trying to kick things around them. 2 of the children were throwing a football and almost hit Logan. OK THAT WAS IT. We all asked to boys to please stop throwing the ball. Of course they did not choose to listen so we packed up and left. We ran to Kohl's and Mikey decided to have a major meltdown! He has been very emotional since Mike went to Maine. He was crying in the store and nothing was helping. He wanted to hold his friends hand but they were miss behaving so I told him to walk with me. You would have thought I told him that his favorite tv character was no more. He was hysterical. I tried to talk to him, hug him, tell him he was going to time out. Nothing worked. I know that the store workers were happy to see us leave!!! When we got in the car I asked him why he was not listening and what was the reason for the fit...... "I don't know Mommy you just were not my favorite mommy" What does that mean??? Kids are so confusing!! I tried to explain to him that we do not act like that anywhere and that we respect mommy and listen to her. Maybe if I say it enough he will get it. He has been having a tough time this past week but unfortunately we are a military family and he has to get use to it. I just keep asking God for patience. Rhonda use to always say Lord give me strength and I now say it 10 times a day!!!

Rhonda aka Gammy

This is a picture she once took and I had it blown up and it is hanging under a cross I recieved at her funeral. To me this picture brings me great peace. I just wanted to share it with those I love and maybe if you are in need of peace you can feel it in this picture.

Logan's 2nd Birthday

We did not have a party or make a big to do. With everything going on that week we decided to just have something small. Mike made birthday cupcakes! We got Logan a few toys and did not even wrap them! We had recieved a package in the mail from Gammy that she sent a 2 days before she passed. In it was a birthday present for Logan! She always sent the boys a movie, popcorn, and kool aid. In the boxes would be a note that said have a movie on Gammy and Gampa. So for Logan's birthday Gampa sent him two movies, popcorn and some cars!! Thanks Gampa! When it came time for the cupcakes Logan smiled as we sang Happy Birthday to him and he tried to blow the candles out. Then he wanted all the cupcakes! He did not want to share them he wanted all of them. He pulled the plate towards him and made sure to touch any many as he could!!!! I think he ended up eating 4 cupcakes!!!

Andrew's school play

Andrew had his first school play two weeks ago. He played William Clark. He worked very hard to memorize his lines. I swear he was saying it in his sleep. The night of the play came and I was in Arizona. Mike video taped it! Thank goodness he did. Andrew gets up to say his part and made the entire crowd laugh. He starts speaking his part, "Hi My name is.......... (deep breath) OH MY GOD.....(another deep breath)(the crowd is laughing) My name is William Clark....." and he went on and finished his part. The video is great and if I can figure out how to load it up I will. He did not get embarrassed he just kept on. He told me later that he got up to speak and saw all the people and said oh my god but he thought he said it to himself. It was very cute!!

Mikey's first plane ride!!

Recently Mikey went to Arizona with me. It was his first time flying! What an adventure. We boarded early and the pilot let him sit in the cockpit and make the alarms go off. He got wings and a certificate for his first flight. He loves to fly. He pretends that the seat back button is a missile launcher!!! He sang a song the whole way there... "Arizona, Arizona, We are going to Arizona!" It was so cute. When we landed we saw Gampa and he was excited! Then he was ready to get back on the plane and go back to Florida!! He did not want to stay in Arizona. When we got to my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Billy's house he really missed home and was upset that we were not going home yet. Aunt Nancy really made it better! She had gotten him snacks and little cereal boxes. She also had lots of fun toys so he finally warmed up to being there. By the end of our visit he said he loved Arizona and wanted us to move there. The day we left we went to say goodbye to my Grandma. Mikey had not seen her out of bed or her chair and she was always covered up. She got up to give him a hug and he asked her, "Why are you so small?" Kids say the funniest things!!!

Welcome!

Welcome to our page! I wanted to have a great way to update everyone on the South Family Happenings. So much happens everyday and now I can blog it!! Thanks Kate for the idea!!