..CRASH goes the expensive camera!

How is one to blog without pictures? That is a great question, and we're about to find out. Curious George just had to pull on my camera strap, and it just happened to fall right on the open lens. SO.. the lens is now permanently stuck out and I'm looking at 150.00 in damages. Why don't kids come with an insurance plan? We will most likely not own anything nice for the next 10 years, because if it IS nice, or WAS nice..it is no longer nice. Children are Neanderthals..little cave men that happen to have that sweet, magic touch that instantly destroys an item when their grubby little fingers lay hands on it! :) Another joy of parenthood...

If you haven't noticed, I do have a little catching up to do on here..so I have some pictures in my stockpile, and luckily this Momma has now gottan with 2013 and has an Iphone. However, I am snobby when it comes to photographs, and the quality is pretty stinky, but the photos are great for those in the moment pictures when I don't happen to have my 10lb camera with me!:) Again, I am not counting on having a perfect, working condition, Iphone for too long..I'm sure it will be broken shortly.

Outside the movies...

Jack has had a lot of fun, big boy, "firsts" lately. A few Sundays ago, it was the yuckiest, rainiest day Virginia had seen in a long time. Our little town has a cute movie theater a few miles away, and was showing the big, bad movie "Planes". We decided it was time for our big, bad, two year old to see his first flick. A little nervous wondering how he'd do, so we sat close the EXIT sign, but much to our concern, Jack did fantastic! He sat in his own chair, between Luke and I, and pretty much got eaten alive by it, it kept closing on him, so we had to hold it down on each side...kinda funny. It was the quietest 2 hours of my life, at least while this child has been awake in the last 2 years. He was in awe of the darkness, big screen and loud noise. The only words I heard from him the whole show were "Mommy..I want corn...I want corn..I want corn" ..i.e- popcorn. Hell yeah I'll pay 8.00 for a medium popcorn to sit in peace...bring.it.on.  For the next five days, every time he woke up, he said.."Great job watching airplane on TV??"..our reply..which started out enthusiastic, but by the end of the 5 days sounded more like an annoyed recording : "Yes, buddy, you did a great job watching the airplanes on the big TV". It really was enjoyable to see his big blue eyes light up.

 
This past weekend, we decided to go to our local high schools first home football game. Another.."this will be interesting" event.  A little more confident with how this one would go, though, because Luke has already instilled his love of Football into Jack. They are constantly playing "blue...42..hut..hut".. a game that consists of Luke saying that "play", Jack getting into a three point stance..throwing the bite size football to him, and Jack running into the cabinet (i.e - the wooden line backer).  It was the PERFECT fall night...the wind was blowing a little bit, and it was nice and cool. So much fun! Jack was loving the game...until he discovered the beauty of bleachers...up and down..up and down..up and down. Bleachers have everything he is looking for...they make noise when he stomps on the obnoxiously ..they help him pick up high school chicks..and they make his Mommy nervous..perfection in his eyes. We always know when we've done something that he just loves..because again..we hear the same phrase over and over for five days.. "Great job watching football..he chasing him?"..."Yesssss, buddy, great job watching the football game, and they were chasing one another"...we're on day three of that. 

Watching the Gloucester Dukes play!

All in all, happy that cooler weather is on its way, which brings simple, fun, activities. My favorite time of the year here is October-December! Sweatshirt weather and crisp air..bring it on! :)

Bye, Bye 27..Hello, 28!

Ok, I feel like I am on the side of the road, with a huge smile on my face, waving obnoxiously, goodbye to the age of 27. You know, the year of the golden something or another - when you turn the age you are (27) on the date you were born (August 27th)... well, whatever it was..it kind of stunk. It was just one of those years of lots of changes (moving, friendships, motherhood) that were kind of draining and overwhelming. A year ago I went through this kind of "1/3 life crisis", where we bought a house that we absolutely loved, almost our dream house.....so beautiful...acres of land....peace and quiet..so many pros, and then realized that it just wasn't the right purchase for us at this moment of our life. It is too far away from Luke's work, it involves too much driving, and just isn't kid friendly, in a neighborhood aspect. Anyways, the realization of this mistake put me into a hugeeee slump. I just couldn't believe we had this beautiful house at our fingertips, yet I was waking up with this overwhelming guilt of making a hugeeeeeeeeee mistake. Luckily, Luke so badly just wants to make me happy, that he agreed to let me find a realtor and stick a big 'ol FOR SALE sign in the yard. Well, here we are almost 11 months later with that big 'ol FOR SALE sign still sitting there (except now it has weeds growing up and around it). Countless showings, three offers that have fallen through...and still a whole lot of guilt. Why am I rambling about this? Well, because it is pretty much why I haven't been blogging for the last six months. It has taken a lot out of me..both work, trying to keep up with a two year and a show-ready house..and made me emotionally fragile. We just keep praying, and hoping that it will sell so that we can move on with our life. IF/WHEN (a little glimpse of optimism), we are planning to move onto Fort Eustis - the actual military post. The housing there is beautiful (on the outside, not so much on the inside), and we are excited to say farewell to the driving, and inconvenience and "hello" to more time with Luke (breakfast, lunch hour and right after work!), a grocery store a mile away AND sidewalks! The process has really sucked the life out of me. However, I am ready (tryng) to bring in 28 with a new attitude and what better way to start than with a birthday blog!

Where shall I start?

How about with how ridiculously cute that kid(^) up there is? But, don't be fooled...this picture should really look like this:

O.M.G...what a little fire cracker he is. Someone once told me.. "You know, if he is that sweet of a baby..watch out for when he is a toddler..you'll pay"...I remember thinking "yeah right, I could NEVER see him being naughty!" Um, they were right. Jack is a very, very opinionated fellow. He knows what he wants, when he wants it, and doesn't stop until he gets it. He repeats things over, and over, and over again until he is completely satisfied that we understand where he is coming from. What a handful!

On the flip side, he is a kind, kind boy. He LOVES to play, and jumps into any and every opportunity to have fun. He is not shy by any means, and is such a little jokester. He and Luke have such a great time rough housing... He keeps up with the big kids, and will run until his little legs can go no more. He is constantly laughing and making sure his little friends are having fun, too. I know his sweet, little, soul is just buried beneath that terrible two behavior. Needless to say..Momma is exhausted! On my toes at all times..it is scary when it gets quiet in our house because it means he is up to no good...he is either sticker-ing, drawing on, using deodorant and or chapstick to color the walls with, ripping or destroying SOMETHING when it is quiet. My heart skipped a beat the other day when I was making dinner and realized I hadn't heard him for a minute. I rushed out of the kitchen to find this:

And thennnn my heart melted. There is my little guy going through every book in the basket...reading each one to the tune of Eric Carle's Brown Bear :"brown bear..brown bear..what do you see?", but interchanging the words for whatever the picture was ("dump truck..dump truck..what do you see?"...) And THOSE are the very moments you realize that being a Mom IS the greatest job in the world. Kind of how when you go up and check on your sleeping child, and see how sweet and peaceful they are and it makes you just love them so much! (Let's get real..mainly because they are sleeping and are peaceful and you know you have 8 hours of uninterrupted time to think, shower, pee..whatever you want to do in peace.and.quiet ).

We have really had a summer filled with fun, though! We live in the coolest area, ever! Who can say that they have weekly playdates at Elmo World in Busch Gardens, or spend Monday mornings at Water Country USA riding the lazy river, or running alongside the beach? We are super thankful for this area..it has been a BLAST with all it has to offer...no matter where the Army takes us, this place will leave us with a lot of special memories. We have really tried to embrace the opportunities, and I am so happy that Jack has been able to experience all of these fun things. I've made some awesome friends here, all with young kids, which makes

Jack and his best buddy, Maddie who is 3!

weekdays so much fun! We meet up a few times a week, at different parks, or houses and just let the kids exhaust themselves, yet at the same time relate about our crazy, military lives. It is positive therapy! You are always "supposed" to make a "Battle Buddy"-someone who can be like your family away from home- or two when you move..to 1. help with your sanity and 2. be there for you during emergencies. Thank gosh I have found that here, or else I would really be a hot mess! Luckily, one of my dearest friends, one of the nicest, kind hearted people you will ever meet, lives right down the street from us. She has four kids, 2 of which they adopted (if that doesn't tell you how loving she is!), all of which LOVE Jack. He calls them "da kids".. "wanna go see da kids"..and his face just lights up when they all pile out the front door! If we do eventually move, we will surely be back over here for 2 reasons..1. Autumn and "da kids" and 2. Chic Fil A! :)My other BFF, Joni, lives right on Fort Eustis, so I might be leaving one fantastic neighbor, for another! Joni is Jack's friend, Maddies, momma and what a lifesaver she is! Jack never leaves their house hungry or thirsty, and neither do Luke or I. She'll feed anyone who walks through her front door. She made Luke stop by after work today to pick up her homemade eggrolls that she made specially for my birthday. AMAZING.they.were!  Def. a keeper of a friend!! :)

Because I have been on such a hiatus, I really wanted to share some pictures with our families because our sweet, chubby cheeked baby is now a rambunctious, full of life, daddy's boy!

High five for riding his bike down a ginormous hill!

Jack's obsessed with mud trucks..so, what better place to stop than "Grave Diggers" on the way to the OBX

Luke: Jack what did you like the most about the zoo?
Jack: "I saw giraffes poopin'"
He sure did!

Watching our dead tree get cut down. Jack's friend, the woodpecker, loved that tree, and he still talks about '"the weed-cacker" fall and go boom!'

It isn't a Saturday without this sight!

Jack's motto for the summer: No shoes. No shirt. No problem!

Too cute to leave out..

Sometimes Luke and I look at one another and cannot believe what our lives have come to... On most Saturday mornings..WE are the ones wearing the fireman and policeman hats below. Jackson insists on US wearing the hats. Normally, he wears one, and we wear the other. He used to wear Luke's construction hat around, too..which, yes, totaled three hats..one for each of us. However, Luke had to pack that up in his deployment gear (thank gawd). So, our Saturday morning goes like this:

Luke: "Bring the hat to Momma"..

Me: "Bring the hat to Daddy"...

Luke: "Bring the hat back to Momma"..

Me: "Bring the hat back to Daddy"...

Jack: running back and forth just trying to get someone to wear the other hat..HAHA.

It kind of funny to see yourself in a kids, dollar store, fireman hat, in your bleach stained, frumpy pajamas while unloading the dishwasher at 7am. Good times!

Notice how in one picture he is wearing the fireman hat, and one the policeman? Yeah..that's because Luke is wearing the other..and 5 minutes later..he is wearing the other-other. 

Now..THIS is cute! Press PLAY!

Heart Breaking Cookie Monster!

Oh, Valentine's Day..how I love you! Seriously, one of my favorite holidays. Something about the simplicity (well, and maybe the chocolate) makes me love February 14th. It's just a fun day to do special things, and boy, do I do every thing special. I think I love it MORE now that I have two special Valentines. Luke on the other hand, well...he can't wait for Jack to go to school so he can stop getting the "special" Valentines Day lunch.. he pretty much feels like he needs to eat in the closet when he opens his special lunch :) This year he admitted that the red colored ranch dressing (which I do every year) is just too much, which he can't force himself to eat ..sigh. 

This picture is really for my SIL's who are always admiring my "fresh deli sandwiches"
And yes..that is string cheese I made into a heart shape with a toothpick. Need a life much?

Little Jacky-poo was not left behind, though..he did have a delicious Valentines themed breakfast.....whichhhh ended up on the floor.

Jack and I then moved on to our heart shaped cookies...it went a little something like this:

1. Mommy cuts cookie and puts on baking stone. 

Jack takes slobbery fingers and mauls cookie.

2. Jack eats cookie

3. Jack licks fingers

Repeat. We ended these shenanigans with about 5 cookies :)

His first Valentine came from his Ggma and Ggpa Burns! He LOVED! :)

"OH..WOW"

"tank -ou"
(thank you)

Unfortunately, our Valentines didn't show up on time for all of Jack's grandparents. They are still in the mail from Shutterfly..maybe they'll be there by next Feb. 14th? However, I couldn't resist posting the pictures from his "shoot"..

A little editing..and this is what we came up with!

Coloring on everything, but paper...

Jack has found his inner artistic ability. However, he is not taking after his Uncle Patrick, and drawing pictures of flushing his sister (or mom, in this case) down the toilet. Rather, he is using his coloring tools to color on everything but the paper. :) Good times... It is so funny that ALL he wants to do is color from the second he wakes up until the second he goes to bed. Every time I pick Jack up from the daycare at the gym he comes out with markers all over his hands. Luke has looked in on him through the little peep window a couple of times and caught him coloring with the older girls...ha. He's definitely a lefty, he holds everything, and throws everything with his left hand. This week, Jack has colored my BRAND NEW couch, my leg, my living room rug...and his Dad. 

JI went to get a pizza and came home to this..I asked "Um..what did you guys do while I was gone?" and Luke replied, "We colored each other"... mmmkkk :) Def. a funny memory...


Then, having a snack and coloring turned into coloring with the snack..

 

"Maybe she won't notice.."

I caught a few cute snapshots of Jack before Music class this week.. of course while I get ready to go he plays in everything he shouldn't...I found him in the closet like this:

I swear, my child has a million fun toys but would rather play with my hairbrush and Q-tips. It boggles my mind. He cannot resist the inner demons that tell him to get into the freezer and pull out every frozen item in there, or the demons that tell him to unravel an entire roll of toilet paper and run around the house with it...or the demons that say to empty my entire jewelry box..shall I keep going? Never ending..it sounds to me that he might even have a little cousin who does the exact same thing..watch out for Jack's clone, Anthony. He's up to the same antics Jack is..the good thing is I can give Jessica advice because I know all of this breeds tricks. hehe

Then he looks cute, like this, and I suddenly forget what a monster he is :)

but, not for long......

2013..whattt??

Happy 2013, family and friends! My blog has actually been down so my New Years Resolution is starting a week and a half late. What are the odds? No pictures and it kept saying "redirecting" and then I would just sit there and stare at the screen for 5 minutes. SO, rather, I redirected my tail end to the couch and turned on The Bachelor :) What's a blog without pics?

Well 2013 is here, and have you stuck to YOUR resolution? In our house, it is hard to keep track because we made about 400 resolutions EACH. haha.. Luke kept saying.. "that is your 5th resolution and it's only 10am" on New Years. I guess it is a good excuse to change things in your life and try to be better....must be I had a lot of better-ing. My BEST resolution, which has actually cleansed my soul, has been simple:

Care more about the ones/things that matter, and less about the ones/things that don't! 

I found myself spending time worrying about people and things that really have NO relevancy in my life. When I sat down and thought about it..it hit me in the face..like "MOLLY, YOU ARE WASTING ENERGY THAT COULD BE SPENT ON THAT SWEET BALL OF ENERGY THAT IS RUNNING AROUND AND LAUGHING, RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE"..Could it be any easier of a resolution? NO..because that moment solved it all for me. It's a great thing, too, because it makes me appreciate my daily life and the simple things...like the fact that is was 60 degrees out today and Jack and I ran around the playground without coats on, or the fact that I got Dove shampoo at the Commissary (military grocery store) for 1.28. I mean, come on...what beats that?  It has also made me reevaluate the people I surround myself with. It's nice to reflect and realize how many wonderful people I have met and befriended because of the ARMY. We have friends in so many states now..that we could probably go on a trip across the country and never have to pay for a hotel. That is the coolest thing about the ARMY..you have friends all over the map! Nothing better than genuine people that truly want the best for you and your family, and help bring out the best in you. SO, my advice to you, my friends, is surround yourself with people who make you feel good about YOU! :) Hop on my soap box..you'll feel 100lbs lighter, and you'll kill two birds with one stone (lose "weight") :)

I saw this article posted on Facebook earlier today, and it sums up exactly how I feel. It is as if I wrote it myself, except with bigger words that I would normally use. LOL. (Side note: I used the word "funner" in a conversation today). Click on it, and it should get bigger.

So...back up to the holidays. Phew.. let me give you a little insight on our Christmas. Us + a toilet bowl + the bathroom floor + near death = Christmas vacation. We got the plague and it was r-o-u-g-h. Luke was the first to drop..about 3 days before Christmas. The guy who NEVER gets sick, which in retrospect I am thanking God...he's the worlds worst patient (he begs to differ:)) His lasted about 24 hours..just in time to feel better for Christmas. I shouldn't complain too much because we DID get Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.. Jack was so much fun this year at Christmas. His favorite saying was "OHHH, WOW!" He loved everything! It was such a nice change from last year when the highlight was the wrapping paper. He was spoiled rotten by both of our families, and of course "ho ho". We stayed at my parents this year, and Uncle Patrick and Jenna stayed the night, too. It was sweet to come down the stairs on Christmas morning and see Nana and Gaga sitting there waiting for Jack. The innocence of a child brings out the child and excitement in EVERYONE. It's just so refreshing to have Jack..he's a breath of fresh air and really transformed the meaning of Christmas. He's so much fun, and makes everyones hearts happy! We went to Mema and Papa's after, and had Christmas Breakfast..followed by round 2 of gifts! It never gets old! :) Ahh..a brief break from barf..until Christmas night. Poor Jack woke up from his nap COVERED in throw up..I mean, like the child's stomach can't possibly be THAT big. I just stood there, looking at his scared face, like...what the hell do I do next? And then it came to me .. "LUKKKKKEEEEE!!!!"..haha. So, we had a sick monster on our hands. His lasted the rest of the night..and he woke up the next morning good as gold. Oh, but don't forget about Mommy. We were dropping like flies. Mine was a near death experience (totally kidding..that was child birth)..but it was bad. Mine, of course, hung on for days. Ugh! Just in time to get Nana sick, and little cousin Dominick....and then Uncle Patrick..and then Jenna..and then..it just kept going..and going..and going. I think Aunt Jessica and my dad ended the streak last week. Nick and Gary were the only ones to make it out alive. The good news was that when your appetite came back...it seriously came back. Just in time for Christmas cookies and candies to be eaten up! :) We were sad that we didn't get to visit family and friends while at home, but they should all be thankful. Christmas 2012 is one to remember....not! :) 

Here are a few sweet moments from Christmas. Unfortunately, my memory card was full and I couldn't bare to delete any of my pictures..so, they are few.. Grandmas seemed to have their cameras out in full force, so I am SURE there are lots more floating around out there..

Christmas Eve before church..oh, the church that we didn't even go to because it was standing room only! UGH. Mass was at 4..my parents went down at 3:30 to get a seat..we show up and I see my mom on corner (At first I wondered what the heck she was doing on the corner? Trying to pay off the Christmas presents? teehee)..She said there was NO room. I mean, to gear yourself up to go to church with an 18month old is enough work, and then to get there and not even go! We did make it to Luke's church for the 7pm service..thankfully, we had a nice seat!

handsome man!

attempting a cute picture, but someone couldn't part with the wa-wa!

Running around like a crazy man because Uncle Patrick arrived (with 2 dogs!)

"The elves" always bring Jack this special basket on Christmas Eve. It is filled with Christmas stories, Christmas PJ'S and an ornament. A fun tradition!

Ride um cowboy - Jack got this interesting blow up toy from Ga and Nana..he loves!!

 Sharing a Christmas cookie (at 7am) with Mags!

...and then, my memory card was full!! UGH! I could die now that I don't have more pictures of Christmas morning..and family pictures..and cousin pictures..

..and then, I found a little inner strength to delete a few pictures so I had room for these gems after Christmas day!

 Sleigh riding in the first snow of the year at Aunt Haley and Uncle Josh's with his cousins! Priceless!

 Big hill for little legs (including mine!)

 J loved every second..except going inside!

Oh, Graham..the cutest sledder there was!!

These are some pictures my mom shared with me of Jack's nighttime snow fun..where was I? Oh..thats right..on the bathroom floor!! Thankful that Nana is picture happy!

the end.

Yaye for blogger working again, and yaye for resolution #426 starting on January 14th! :)

Get going on your resolution or CPT. Wheeler the 2nd is going to give you a swift kick in the behind! ;)