Change Of Plans

Well, we are officially packed and ready to vacate Louisiana! 

This week did not start out the easiest when it came to the packers but everything ended up smoothly and our stuff is gone. We were scheduled for Monday-Tuesday as packing days but because of no communication and another job that needed to be finished we didn't have packers until Tuesday. That made for a very frustrating day on Monday. 

The guys showed up bright and early on Tuesday and quickly got to work. E had fun climbing on and inspecting the boxes. I'm sure she is wondering where the heck all her toys went.

The packers pretty much had everything packed on Tuesday so when they arrived on Wednesday all they had to do was load the truck and take apart beds and furniture. Emma and Fishy were clearly not ready for their beloved couch to go away.

One of the hardest thing about military moves is coordinating delivery of your household goods. If you aren't heading to your destination right away your items will go into storage courtesy of the military. We have always had to do that because our timeline was always a little off. However, we found out that the driver would be heading to Kansas on Sunday and could deliver our stuff on Monday. Well, we weren't leaving Louisiana until next week. 

A few phone calls were made and some things were shifted on our part. Now, E and I, plus the furry kids will be heading to Kansas on Sunday, picking up the keys to our house first thing Monday morning and getting our goods that day! Kyle and my Dad will follow later in the week.

We are so relieved that our stuff will not sit in storage for lord knows how long! So this is officially my last post that will be written from my living room in Louisiana, sort of surreal. 

We will also be running our last race here on Saturday morning, we are looking forward to it. Nice way to end my time here.

I hope you all have a great weekend! 

Oh and in case you're interested I was part of a get to know you series with Jen at It's my Life. Check it out here!

Water Safety

One thing that I have been thinking about lately is water safety when it comes to E. With my family living close to the water and how much Kyle and I love water activities we knew we wanted E to be prepared. Our niece and nephew love the water and we know E will be just like them but safety is so so important.

However, when I read Erica's story about her daughter's near drowning I knew that swim lessons were something that we needed to do for E. I am so relieved and happy that her little girl is okay!

My sister and I had previously talked about a video that was circulating of a baby that learned how to float in a pool at 6 months old. While it seems scary these techniques can do wonders! The videos I have seen are incredible, the way in which these babies learn to float is amazing.

Kyle and I talked about it and we decided to enroll E in lessons once we arrive in Kansas. There are a few options but one jumped out at me. Kansas City's Infant Aquatics start lessons at the age of 6 months old. This is exactly what I want. Studies have shown that kids who are not introduced to the water early enough are likely to develop a fear of water around the age of 2. I do not want that for her. I want her to be confident in the water and to enjoy it. 

We will also be getting re-certified in CPR/First Aid (both Adult and Pediatric). We as parents have to be prepared for anything. 

I am hopeful that with these lessons she will gain confidence as she grows older and that it will give us piece of mind.

Have you ever taken swim lessons? Or enrolled your kids?

Weekend in Pictures

How is this weekend already over?! I feel like it just started. We had a pretty busy weekend for the most part and it was great! 

We started out with donuts for National Donut Day. I mean how could you not?! I am certainly going to miss Leesville Donuts. They are always fresh and to die for.

After we headed to Lake Charles for Kyle to get his tattoo. While he got that done, E and I did some shopping and enjoyed some Mommy/Daughter time.

He wanted something to honor E and it turned out amazing. It's very Louisiana and depicts a Cajun Princess. Which is what our precious E will always be.

That night consisted of binge watching House of Cards. I swear that show never disappoints. It's my favorite season yet.

We were supposed to have family photos done on Saturday but the photographer cancelled last minute. I had some fun and snapped photos of our sweet girl instead. Can anyone tell me how this precious little nugget is already 9 months old?!

Sunday was spent prepping for the packers. They start today and we think we have everything ready to go. This trash bag tip is amazing! I've seen it a few times and I knew I had to try it for this move.

Let me just say that it's hard enough deciding on what to keep for adults but when you add kids to the mix it's a game changer. Haha. Fingers crossed the first day of packing goes smoothly.

I hope you all had an awesome weekend and here is to a magnificent Monday!

Moving Right Along

Well, it's official! We have a house! 

On Friday as we were driving to Florida, our friend at Leavenworth got called that there was a home available for her to look at for us. She headed over to the house and we linked up on Facebook video chat so we could see it. We had heard that there were a few homes in this neighborhood that had hardwood floor, as soon as she opened the door we could see that this was one. 

She walked us through the whole thing and it's beautiful!!! It is 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, with a partially finished basement, tons of closets/storage, and a fenced in backyard. Once we said yes, she headed back to housing and they told her they would email the documents to us so we could sign them. We virtually signed everything, paid the deposit, and everything was good to go! I received copies of our documents yesterday and they processed the payment. Woo hoo! We are so so grateful to our friend who was willing to do this for us. I hope I can return the favor for someone in the future.

This our new home and I couldn't be more excited!

Of course now that we have an address, it means ordering moving announcements. This is something that I always look forward to doing. I chose these ones, they are postcards which is awesome. Vistaprint never disappoints with their selection. I also ordered Emma and Fishy their new tags so I can switch them out once we arrive.

I can't believe that we are about 13 days away from moving! We have family photos scheduled for this weekend and then movers arrive on Monday! Time has flown by that's for sure. We went to a BBQ yesterday with Kyle's intel team and they did a little impromptu farewell for those who are leaving. It was nice to say goodbye to everyone.

Here is to making the most of our time left in Louisiana!

Long Weekend of Fun!

A few months ago we decided that we would head down to Florida for this holiday weekend to spend it with my family. It was our last opportunity to visit before the move and the last easy drive there.

We arrived Friday early afternoon and the fun began. My sister bought E a little pool and while she played Kylie and Grayson played on their slip n slide. It was nice to watch all the kids have fun and it was nice for the adults to just relax.

Early Saturday morning, Kyle, Lisa, and I got up for the Gate to Gate Memorial 4.4 miler at Eglin Air Force Base. My Dad stayed home with the kids because it was too early to drag everyone out. It was such a fun time. Every participant received a red carnation to drop at the memorial as we ran by, it was pretty amazing.

Their post race setup was awesome! They had everything from free beer to Popeye's Chicken. Kyle ran out ahead of us but Lisa and I had a great time chatting and enjoying the scenery. Not bad for our 76th race.

We hurried back to the house to get ready to head to the beach in Destin. The weather was perfect even though it was a red flag, the kids still had fun playing in the water. We have a tradition of going to Joe's Crab Shack afterwards and it never disappoints.

Sunday, we had a fun celebration planned. Friends and neighbors came to enjoy time together and a ton of good food!! Everyone had a great time and it was nice to just relax and hang out.

We decided to give E some cake to see what she would do with it. Haha, it's safe to say that she absolutely loved it!!!

It was such a great weekend spending time with my family! We will see my Dad in a few weeks because he is helping us transport Kyle's car to Kansas but it was hard saying goodbye to Lisa and the kids. I know we will have plenty of visits but it has been great being so close.

Time with family is priceless.

Celebrate, Honor, and Remember

For most this weekend is a long weekend. We are heading to Florida to see family and we are thankful that we get to enjoy this time together.

It is also a time to reflect. To honor and celebrate those who made the ultimate sacrifice as well as their families.

If that means being with family/friends and raising a beer to them, then so be it. Cherish this time you have together with your loved ones and don't take it for granted.

To Be Honest

People often say that honesty is the best policy, well I thought it would be fun to share how I'm honestly feeling about some things.

To be honest this move has me sufficiently stressed out. Not because of the movers or our timeline but solely because of the housing situation. For anyone who has moved to a new location you know how stressful it can be. Kyle is not a MAJ yet so renting off post is not ideal because most homes are priced for that BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing), which would likely force us to come out of pocket. 

Our ideal is living on post but I swear it is like the Hunger Games. I promise you I am not exaggerating. Student housing at Leavenworth is first come, first serve. Meaning that you better be at housing at zero dark thirty to see if there are any homes available. The problem with this is, everyone is arriving at different times so who the hell knows how many houses are available daily. 

Now, they do offer a "virtual" signing option. If you are lucky enough to know people there you can entrust them to show up at housing to view a house and maybe sign for it ahead of time. However, that means if you sign for a home you are paying rent on 2 places haha. I would rather do that than stay in a hotel for a week or more. Thankfully, a friend has agreed to do this for us but there is a chance a home may not be available for who knows how long. Fingers crossed and may the odds be ever in our favor.

To be honest I've been terrible about giving Emma and Fishy enough attention lately. They are perfectly content most of the time just laying on their blankets on the couch but I know they need love and snuggles too. As I am writing this Emma has made her way into my lap, so clearly she is agreeing with this.

To be honest I've been watching the news far too much lately and it really is a downer. Over the last year I've started watching it more at night after E goes to bed whereas before I would rely on Kyle for the news. Unfortunately, I can't handle it anymore so back to Food Network I go. Even though I have seen every possible episode of Chopped, it makes me happy. 

To be honest I am denial that our niece and nephew are growing up haha. Today is their last day of school and next year they will be in 5th and 1st grades. Umm when did that happen?! I feel like they were just born, I certainly didn't give them permission to grow up. :) Lord, help me now when it comes time for E to go to school.

To be honest I've seen far too many people commenting on the parenting styles of others. Unfortunately, we live in a time where people tend to say things even when they are not warranted or needed. I'm of the mindset that if no one is being injured or harmed then it is none of my business to comment. Even if I am asked, I tend to shy away from answering because I just don't want to go down that road. This really pertains to life in general not just raising kids.

I have to say writing this post was pretty fun! I may have to make this a regular thing.