Figures....

In true Army fashion, our plans for the month of October have changed no less than 27 times.  Okay, just a few times, but they were big changes!  My family hasn't been here to visit in a while, so they're all making the trip out this weekend to see us.  We're talking, my parents, my siblings and their fiancés, everyone!

Originally D was supposed to be here and it wasn't going to be an issue at all.  Then in late September he found out that he was chosen to go to TDY for the month of October to support another unit while they did some training.  I was bummed that he wouldn't be here when my family came to town, but at least I would have a little distraction from the month alone with a 2 year old with their visit.

Without divulging too many details, the TDY for the month was scratched last minute.  Things were looking up!

A week ago D came home and told me that he in fact does have to go TDY this month, to do something else, and that the only, and I repeat, ONLY time he can go begins this weekend.  While my entire family is here.  So, D is heading out tomorrow morning, I am holding his company's first FRG meeting tomorrow evening and then late tomorrow night my family arrives.  Should make for a long, yet interesting day.

We've got some tentative plans for this weekend, but I think most of them are going to depend on how motivated we're all feeling to get out and do stuff!  I have a feeling that everyone will be more than happy to hang around and chat as well, so we're likely to do a lot of that as well.  I'm very excited to see my family, but I am sad that hubby won't be here, too.

What We've Been Up To: Instagram Style...

Since I've apparently decided to limit my blogging to once a week (unintentionally, I swear), I decided that you all deserve some photo evidence of all that has been going on around our house lately.

There has been some apple eating.

We've also done some intense TV watching.

And there was a little laying on the dog as well.

We moved most of AJ's toys from the family room upstairs into the bedroom that is connected to her room. I put her tent in there along with lots of other fun stuff and she has been enjoying the change of scenery!

My dad came to visit for a night, so AJ and Grandpa played in the tent in her new playroom.

After he left, AJ and I hung out in the tent for a while. (I may or may not have filled the tend with pillows & blankets so I can relax comfortably keep a close eye on AJ while she plays.)

I've done some running along this path (but not nearly us much as I should be doing).

And we've spent a good deal of time smoochin' and lovin' on this baby girl.

Last but not least, we had visitors this weekend (my FIL) and he bought us a deep-fryer! I know you're probably thinking, gross, that is terribly unhealthy! Well, you'd be right, but the food that came out of that deep-fryer? Delish.

I realize these don't look like pickles, but they're the sandwich stackers, so they are long and skinny.

We made fried pickles, fried shrimp and hush puppies. I'm not going to be able to take any credit for the hush puppies because they are simply a mix that you add water to, but man, they were good!

Hush puppies!

I posted the fried pickle recipe on my food blog, you should go check it out!

And yummy, yummy shrimp!

I hope you'll forgive me for not posting very much!

Every Day is a Good Day When You Run

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."
--Oprah Winfrey

I know I've been really bad about blogging lately, and for that I apologize. I haven't really been doing all that much. I'm kind of in a funk (outside the blog world) and have not really been feeling like writing about the few things we have done over the past week.

I have been running, and I'm feeling pretty good, albeit unmotivated lately. My long run on Saturday wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I am still not really looking forward to my future Saturday morning runs. I think I'm struggling with motivation because I know that I'm not registered for the race yet and that is what makes it "real" in my opinion.

Even though I'm struggling with motivation, I've still been getting all my runs in. I guess the potential for guilt is a greater motivator than I realized. In the morning I wake up and the last thing I want to do is go run, but as I start my day, I get dressed in my running clothes and I tell myself that I will be disappointed in myself all day if I don't get the run in. I'm not the type (and the weather isn't cooperating) to run in the afternoon or at night, so I have to get it done first thing. I also feel like I have to go run because we don't really have all that much going on lately, so what else do I have to do but run? I guess guilt isn't all bad. ;)

I'm pretty happy with myself so far. I've have 5 scheduled runs and I've run the full distance for all 5 of them. Not bad. My times have been hovering right around 10 minute mile pace, which I'm pretty happy with at this point. I've been mostly running with the jogging stroller, so I can't really expect race pace or anything, plus I know I always run faster in organized events.

Sundays are supposed to be a cross training day according to my training plan and so this past weekend I skipped it. I just wasn't feeling it, plus I'm not much of a cross-trainer. I really want to make sure I stick as close to my plan as possible, so I'm trying to come up with some things to do on Sundays. I bought a couple apps for my phone to help with my cross-training and I'm planning to try them out. One is a push-up app and the other is an abdominal workout app. I'll report back here after I decide if I like them or not, in case you're interested in trying them out! I don't have super high expectations, but I really just wanted something to maybe help me tone up a little bit.

In other news, my Dad had some business close by, so he came down and stayed with us Monday night and left Tuesday morning. We had fun going out to Red Robin for dinner and playing with AJ. D's Dad and cousin are coming to town on Thursday for the weekend, so we'll have more fun and pictures to come. Hopefully some family time can pull me out of my funk!

AJ and I also have playgroup on Thursday morning, so Thursday will likely be a busy day for us. In the afternoon we have to drive the hour north to pick FIL and cousin up from the airport, so its looking like minimal nap for AJ. Hopefully she holds up and isn't too fussy for me!

So there you have it. That's the recap of what I've been up to. Not super exciting, but life isn't always fun and games, is it?

Do you ever run into writer's block? What do you do when you get into a funk?

My Memorial Day Weekend

The entire weekend was a complete whirlwind!

Amidst thunderstorms, my family arrived in town on Friday afternoon. I had planned on grilling bratwurst and enjoying a nice afternoon/evening outside, but since the weather was not cooperating we moved the party indoors! We still grilled, but instead of hanging outside we enjoyed lots of cocktails inside.

My mom and I made an appetizer for our party we were throwing on Saturday night and we really just enjoyed being all together.

AJ hanging out with her uncles!

Saturday we got up, made a big breakfast and then some of us hopped in the car and headed to post to check out the memorial, a museum, and some of the planes on the Air Force base. My family likes that sort of thing, so it was a nice way to spend the morning. We came back and the boys all went to the beach while my mom and I started cooking! We hosted an engagement party for D's best friend and his new fiance who got engaged this weekend. (You can read all about the recipes on my food blog, This American Kitchen.)

The party was a huge success! D's friend knew that we were planning this party, but his new fiance did not, so when she came in and realized that the party was for her, she was very excited! I was glad we were able to pull it off and that everyone had a good time.

Sunday started slowly after the partying from the night before, but as soon as we decided that we wanted to go to the lake, people started moving! We even took AJ over to cool off a little bit. She continues to think she can swim and tries to dive face first into the water, which makes me incredibly nervous. Luckily she doesn't seem to be fazed, so I guess we'll have to find her some swim lessons!

After some time playing at the lake and in the sand, we came home and stripped her down and let her play in her little plastic pool in the backyard to get some of the sand off of her. I got some of the cutest nekkid baby pictures ever! She just loves water, she can't get enough of it!

Swimming in the backyard!

We were all exhausted Sunday night and I was all cooked out after making all the food for the party on Saturday, so we ordered Chinese food and sat around and relaxed. We played in the yard for a while and my brother, sister, brother-in-law, Dad and sister's boyfriend all walked down the street to the vacant lot to get back in the lake.

Memorial Day began with pancakes and bacon and then we decided to check out the neighborhood pool for an hour before the fam had to hop in the car and head to the airport. We had a nice time sitting in the sunshine and tossing the frisbee around. AJ had to stay home because she needed a nap, but D and I took her back right before dinner so she could swim around a little bit. I think that AJ and I are probably going to try and go at least a few times a week to get out of the house for an hour or so.

All in all, we had a great weekend! We hosted a successful engagement party and had a great time spending quality time with my family. Its always sad to see them go, but I know that AJ and I will be back in Hometown, USA soon for a wedding, and we'll get to see them all again then!

How was your holiday weekend? How did you spend your time?

The Fun in Gift Giving

Do you have any big plans for the long weekend?

I mentioned that I would be MIA until after the weekend, but I have a few minutes while AJ is napping so I thought I'd check in with y'all!

My father-in-law and brother-in-law came into town last weekend and FIL headed home early this week while BIL is staying with us for the summer and working here.

Today my parents, brother, sister and sister's boyfriend are coming into town for the long weekend. D and I are currently trying to hash out the final list of what booze we're going to need before their plane lands! Just typically of my family, we make sure the important things are taken care of.

I've been cooking up a storm (mostly so that I can keep myself busy all day while waiting for them to get here!) and I'm making a few things that I cannot wait to try and will totally be posting on This American Kitchen when I get a chance, so be sure to check in there if you see a new post from me!

I am so incredibly excited to see everyone, but most of all, my sister. She has been in Australia for the past 3 months and I haven't seen her since Christmas. Even though she is 5 years younger than me, we're pretty close, so its been hard to not be able to text her anytime I feel like it! I also have her birthday gift that has been sitting in my bedroom since it arrived in late April. I will post a picture of it here after I give it to her.

Let's just say that I bought the same one for myself, as well. There's really nothing that Abby and I love more than shopping for gifts for each other. Its so much fun to buy a gift you know someone is going to love (and honestly, she is the only person I know will LOVE the gifts I buy for her).

Anyway, this post has turned into the most random post ever, and not at all what I set out to write about! Stay tuned for a real post, hopefully soon! No promises, though! ;)

Shift Change!

If you've ever worked anywhere that worked on shifts, you know how crazy things get at shift change. People are leaving, they're anxious to get home. People are coming, they're not as anxious to get into work.

We've had D's dad and brother here for the weekend and FIL is heading home today. (D's brother is staying for the summer.) Friday my parents, brother, sister and their significant others are coming to town for the long weekend. Essentially, we've got our very own shift change going on here this week!

Ours is a little different though. The people heading home are dragging their feet, while the newcomers are chomping at the bit to get here!

We've had a great time with Grandpa and we're sad to see him go, but I'm also very excited to see my family (especially my sister who has been in Australia for the last 3 months) and spend time with them. We have a busy weekend planned, so you may or may not see me for a few days! Ha!

I have to get the house cleaned up, guest rooms ready for the new visitors and laundry done! Not to mention the food that needs to be prepared before Friday.

Like I said, I'll see ya next week! Ha!

4 Day Weekend

As many of you know, today is President's Day and lots of military service members had what is known as a 4-Day (in other words, they had a 4 day weekend off work). We are no exception in this house, D has been here at home with us for the entire weekend and its been great.

I remember a time, not too long ago, when, due to the nature of D's job, a 4-Day typically meant more work and not less. I'm glad to be past that, even if I know that the day will come when he has to work all the time again. It just stinks to get called in on a long weekend because someone messed up again. It comes with the territory, I guess.

Back to the weekend! My parents came into town this weekend. This was the first time they've been out to see the new house. I'm pretty sure that they really came so they could see AJ and my dad could do manly things with D and his buddies. Since my siblings and I have all moved out, my parents are officially empty-nesters and I think my dad really enjoyed going on a trail run with D and a few other guys.

We were able to make a trip out to a neighboring town for lunch on Saturday and it was so nice! The weather was beautiful all weekend! My parents bought us a fire pit, garden hose, sprinkler and an axe as house-warming gifts. The axe was promptly used to chop down a dead tree in our backyard. Don't worry, we stocked up on extra bandages at the store and had 9-1-1 already punched into the cell phone, just in case. ;)

All in all, it was a good weekend. My parents flew home yesterday and we are back here, hanging out, D in the garage, me stuffing cloth diapers in the kitchen. I've got a trip to the grocery store planned for the afternoon. Oh, the exciting life I lead!

I hope everyone else is enjoying the long weekend and hopefully y'all got some of our nice weather, too!

Mamarazzi Monday!

AJ's Grandpa was in town for a visit this weekend. Needless to say, she was spoiled with lots of new toys, play time and photo shoots! Here are a few of the highlights!

Snuggling on the couch with Grandpa!

Playing with all her new toys from Grandpa!

Trying to break out!

Hanging out with Daddy, watching football.

Hamming it up for the camera. Pretty girl!

I'm A Big Slacker

First off, I want to thank everyone who stopped by my blog from Kelly's Korner, as well as all of my regular readers, new and old! Thanks for stopping by!

We've had a pretty uneventful few days, so unfortunately, I haven't felt like I really had all that much to blog about.

The excitement for this weekend was that my parents came to visit! They have to drive through my brother's town to get here, so they stopped for dinner there Friday night and then my brother and his girlfriend also came over on Saturday.

We had a lot of fun just hanging around the house and watching football yesterday. For lunch we grilled out because the weather was beautiful! Last night we ordered pizza and salad from a local restaurant and just ate here at the house. We made it over to the PX to shop for a bit and then took my Dad to the Commissary with us when we picked up stuff for lunch.

Have you noticed that civilians are always very interested in going to the PX or Commissary when they come to visit? I guess I can kind of see the appeal, no sales tax and all, but its really just a grocery store! Not to mention the fact that it was Saturday, so the PX and the Commissary were both packed!

Yesterday afternoon we walked over to a local park and AJ got to swing on the baby swing and go down the slide with my Dad!

This morning we got up and met everyone at Cracker Barrel for breakfast before they headed back home today. We had a nice breakfast and AJ even had part of a pancake. She has just recently started sitting in high chairs when we go out to eat. She really likes to sit and be a part of the group at the table.

All in all, we had a great weekend and I'm really glad that we're close enough to home to be able to see our families more often. D's Dad is coming out in two weeks, so we'll probably have another fun-filled weekend then. For the time being, I think we are going to lay low at home next weekend.

I hope everyone else had a good weekend as well!

Weekend Recap

My in-laws were in town this weekend. We had a fun and relaxing time and the trip was all too short! They had to work on Friday, so they didn't get in until late (well after I was in bed) and they left this afternoon.

Yesterday we hung around the house, rearranged some furniture (my father-in-law is an interior designer), hung some art on the walls, and basically just enjoyed each others company. Everyone always dotes on AJ which is nice because it gives me a little break from the everyday routine! We also ordered gyros from the yummy restaurant in town for lunch (yum-o...ew, so not a Rachael Ray fan, but whatevs).

Last night we watched the movie Where the Heart Is with Natalie Portman and made some frozen DiGiorno pizzas to have along with our cocktails. ;) (We seriously never order pizza because these are so good and at between $3-$5 each, why would we spend $10+ on something that tastes pretty much the same and is soggy by the time it gets here?)



This morning the plan was to head out to Cracker Barrel for breakfast before I had to volunteer at the USO and the fam headed back, but we got kind of a late start, so I just made breakfast for everyone here at the house. I made blueberry pancakes, plain pancakes and bacon. Mmmm. I love breakfast and its kind of my specialty! I can make a mean breakfast! The best part about having a big Sunday breakfast is that we have extra bacon, so that means we're having BLTs for din din tonight! Yipee!

Great Weekend!

We ended up not going to the consignment sale on Friday. After we met D for lunch we were both tired and since we had to pick Grandpa G up at the airport later that afternoon I decided to skip it. We did make a trip to Babies 'R' Us yesterday and got AJ some super cute outfits and a bottle sterilizer. Some of the clothes we got for AJ are so cute!

Today D and Grandpa G made pasta sauce and manicotti for dinner. We also had some guests stop by to see the baby! Grandpa's friend Leslie's mom and aunt, Fran and Jan, came to visit, socialize and eat with us. We had a fun time chatting and hanging out and AJ was a very well-behaved girl the whole time they were here!

Grandpa G Comes to Visit!

AJ will get to meet her Grandpa G for the first time tonight! D's dad is coming to visit for the weekend and spend some time with the little lady! We don't have anything big or exciting planned, but I know that for him, just seeing and meeting her is big and exciting! I'm hoping that she semi-behaves while he is here, but if not, I know he'll understand!

The last few days and (especially) evenings she has been really fussy and almost inconsolable. She has also been spitting up a lot every time she eats. I feel so bad for her because it seems to bother her when she spits up. I'm just hoping that she doesn't have reflux. She has a doctor's appointment on Monday though, so if she does have reflux we can hopefully get an antacid or something from the pediatrician while we're there on Monday.

Right now though, we're off to meet D for a Teriyaki lunch and then possibly heading to a huge baby and children's consignment sale at the fair grounds. We don't have anything specific we're looking for, so maybe we will find something that catches our eye! I'll post pictures if we end up bringing anything home!

Tomorrow Is The Day!

After a fun weekend hanging out with Abby and Zach, I am glad to hang around on the couch with D and watch movies and eat left over spaghetti for dinner! Today after we dropped Abby and Z off at the airport we went to a gymnastics meet that 1SG's daughter was competing in. She did pretty well and we all went out to lunch afterwards!

This weekend we went to Seattle and walked through Pike Place Market. We had lunch at a little cafe called the Sound View Cafe. It was very good and fun on a typical Seattle day. We also stopped in at the original Starbucks that is across the street from the market. After the market we went to the flagship REI store, which is also in Seattle. We browsed for a while and then came back to Tacoma for dinner. We went to a restaurant that I've wanted to go to for a while, Johnny's Dock Restaurant and Bar. It is right on the water and we had a perfect table! They had awesome seafood!

Today is Mom's birthday! Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tomorrow we have our gender determination ultrasound (first thing). Hopefully the tech will be able to tell if the baby is a boy or a girl. I'm sure that after the appointment I will head out to the store and buy something in the color, either pink or blue, depending on what we're having. So exciting!

The Killer Wait!

We had a fun weekend! Saturday evening we went to dinner and watched the Iowa v. Michigan game with D's 1SG. Iowa won (of course) and it was a fun time! Sunday we went to a "tailgate" party on post with a bunch of people D works with. We had hash and eggs, teriyaki kebabs, steaks, tons of stuff! We watched a few of the games, but the Bears weren't on this weekend, so we left and went to Cabela's during the afternoon game.

Now that Monday is done and this week has officially started we are just waiting for Abby and Z to come to visit on Thursday, the next prenatal appointment on Friday and our 20 week ultrasound on Monday. I think Saturday I am going to take the kiddos down to Seattle and do the whole REI thing and Pike Place Market. We will have to see what they want to do. D has a competitive shooting match Saturday, so he will be there for part of the day and will join us later for fun and excitement (and probably dinner).

Abby had some excitement this weekend. She got a new toy since Monkey Man passed last week. The only problem is, she can never find it! LOL.