Boxes and wrapping paper... check!

Oh, the headache that is about to ensue as we attempt to make this move on our own! Although the military will pay for movers to pack and transport everything, if you do it yourself, you can pocket a whole bunch of extra cash. We figure this is a good time to save up, and it is extra exciting because a couple of months ago we become 100% debt free. Yeah!!! It's so nice knowing that we don't owe anyone anything, and all this money we will make will cushion our savings account as we start our house hunt.

One of the first big expenses when moving is buying all the boxes, packing paper, etc. One nice thing about the military is that there are always people moving in and out of the area. I stopped a family a couple of days ago as their movers unloaded the van and asked for all their packing supplies. Today, Daniel picked up the first batch of moving materials. They are an older couple with 20+ years in, so I know we will be more than covered. Check this out...

And to think, there is more to come!

T minus 21 days

I went into our marriage knowing what my life would be like in the beginning... moving to a different state away from family and friends, long stretches of time without a husband, and experiencing a lifestyle unlike anything in the real world. Daniel and I would often talk about how we envisioned the future going. I was prepared for possibly giving my husband up for a career of 20 years in the Marines. I was prepared for the numerous moves, the numerous deployments, the numerous friends that would come into our lives, and I could not wait for the numerous memories we were going to make. We went through our first deployment and I believed I was made to be a military wife. I'm extremely flexible, I don't get worked up easily, and I roll with the punches -- all the things that are necessary for a military spouse. Plus, I am very independent and can handle not having a man around the house.

Then the Lord told us he had other plans.

In 21 days we are packing up and moving out of here. We are leaving our little bubble of a neighborhood, we are leaving all of our wonderful friends, we are leaving our cheap grocery store known as the commissary, and we are leaving full coverage healthcare. We are also leaving this humid state of North Carolina, we are leaving a place with dress codes and crazy slow speed limits, and we are leaving the stupid red tape that is involved in everything military.

In 21 days we are packing up and moving out of here.

Bare with me this next month as our life gets flipped upside down. I will be busy squeezing in doctor's appointments, filling prescriptions, and lining everything up for our move that we will be doing ourselves. Here's to getting every last dollar we can out of the government...

Our big baby

Compare these two pictures. They were taken at the exact same age (pretty much down to the day) for the two girls. Do you see anything alarming?

Emily

Olivia

Emily was not known as a scrawny baby -- Olivia is just that big. If you look closely, you will see that both of their heads start at the same place on the mat. Now notice where there butts end. And check out those thighs!

Just trying to survive

We have been dying over here, lately. A lot of people don't realize that this place is as hot as Texas, although we are further north. We do have mountains in this great state we are currently living in, but our close proximity to the coast (it's 10 miles away) makes us experience completely different weather than most of the state. For example, back during the winter, one weekend it was a pleasant 60 degrees, but if you only drove only one hour west, you would be in the middle of a snowstorm that dumped 2 feet of snow. It was crazy. Although, I would take snowstorms any day over what we have been going through.

For the last couple of weeks, the thermostat in our house has been registering at 80 degrees by the afternoon. Yesterday, we got up to 81. The AC just can't keep up with the horrible heat and humidity. Do you know what 81 degrees feels like inside a house with no air flow? It's horrible. I sit around feeding Olivia in the evening and we are both drenched in sweat. Two bodies close together in the winter provide warmth. During the summer, though, it is a nightmare. I keep forgetting that a lot could be solved if he had some window treatments, which we don't. Even with window treatments, though, there is not much you can do in 95 degree weather when the humidity is at least 85%. My running group went running the other morning and the humidity was over 90%. I learned my lesson and will now be bringing a towel to sit on for the ride home. Humidity is one thing that I can never get use to, no matter how long I live in it.

The only thing that has been saving us recently is going to the pool every afternoon with friends. It blows the whole afternoon and wears both of my girls out, which ensures everyone is ready for bed when we get home, leaving one happy momma. Today we are actually under a heat advisory and weather channel says it feels like 111 degrees here. Perfect.

You will know where to find us...

New adventures in parenting

Waiting for Daddy to deploy

Daniel has been gone for almost 6 weeks. Although it isn't a deployment, any time over a month really starts to wear on you. I cannot wait for him to resume his role as my partner in this adventure we call life, but most of all I cannot wait for him to experience the next couple of months with Olivia. I like to believe that Daniel was deployed the perfect time during Emily's life. Although he missed most of her milestones, there isn't much you can do with a 3-10 month old. He got home just in time to see her take her first step (the biggest milestone there is, in my opinion), develop a personality, and truly interact with us. When he gets back, Olivia will be an age that he never got to experience with Emily. Daniel will soon watch Olivia roll over for the first time, watch her sit up and start crawling, and also watch as she takes part in our family dinners.

It's going to be an exciting couple of months for him.

I can't wait!

Cupboard treasures

I was putting dishes away and found this in our cupboard. The milk had to have been in there a couple of days.

What are children doing to my brain?

We have kids for our own enjoyment

Olivia in Emily's new sunglasses.

This just cracks me up.