Toes in the grass

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day...the type of day you just can't help but go outside. Jeremiah and I headed to Mt. Trashmore Park to enjoy the lovely weather with a few friends. ♥

We took a walk and afterwards settled under a nice shady tree for the kids to play. Jeremiah had a wonderful time crawling around in the grass and trying to pick up the leaves.

 He's such a boy and I love it. ♥ There is something beautiful about watching him experience new things and learning each day.

Oh how I love those eyes and that sweet smile. :) Melts my heart every time. I am sure going to miss this place when we move. ♥

Dear Son,

"A mothers love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity. It dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path." -Agatha Christie

I had often heard people talk about the love they have for their children and thought that I grasped the concept. I even thought I understood while I was carrying you in my womb, but to be honest I had no idea. The love I immediately felt for you the first time we met, and each day I've spent with you since continues to amaze me.

You are the biggest and most beautiful blessing in my life. I will love you each and every day until my very last breath. Happy 7&1/2 beautiful months little man! You are my sun and stars. ♥

Hello again

Well, I did it again. I fell off the face of the earth as far as my blog is concerned. I have no idea if there is anyone still even following my blog, with how little I've written over the past year. I miss it so much. Sometimes before bed I have so many thoughts running through my mind that I think to myself, "I should write this down..." but most nights I'm just too exhausted to, so instead I say my prayers, count my blessings and snuggle with my beautiful baby boy.

 So much has happened the last few months and I can't even believe it but somehow my son is already seven months old. And did I mention he is crawling already? Yes....oh how fun that has been! It has been so exciting seeing him learn new things each day and watching his little personality develop. He makes me smile and laugh more than I ever thought possible, but he also tests my patience and pushes me to be a better mama each day we spend together. I know I don't always tell my husband this, but I'm extremely grateful for the chance to stay home with him and witness all his firsts. It's something my mom never got to do with me or my sisters so I don't take it lightly.

Other than staying home and taking care of my little man I have also been trying to find us a house. We are getting ready to pcs here in October and are moving down to Jacksonville Florida! I am very excited for the change but also sad to be leaving so many wonderful friends behind. The military lifestyle is very bittersweet sometimes...

We really wanted to do base housing but only had two months notice for these orders. The wait for housing is 6-9 months so it looks like we will have to rent a place out in town. I am amazed at how much house you can get for your money out there though. You can rent a three bedroom house for the same amount or less than what we pay here in Virginia Beach for a one bedroom apartment! It's pretty crazy, but I am so looking forward to getting out of this cramped apartment and getting us into a nice house.

Husband's house hunting leave just got approved so we are going to drive down to Florida next weekend and look at a few places. I really hope we find something nice in our price range not too far from the base. Wish us luck! Well that's all for now but I will try to be better about keeping my blog updated. I really miss writing everyday. Hope everyone has a great weekend. :)

Flashback Friday: Newborn

Today's flashback Friday is all about Jeremiah when he was a newborn. 

Aahhhh....I just can't stand the cuteness. ♥

I love how small he was back then and still remember how special it was holding him for the first time and kissing his sweet face. I can't believe my baby boy is almost four months already. 

Time sure does fly.

 For all the mamas out there, what special moments do you remember from your baby's newborn days?  

Happy Friday everyone! 

xoxo 

Trying something new

My husband has been asking me for awhile if I could try some new recipes and this week I decided to give it a go. I guess I had fallen into a rut when it comes to cooking, mostly because I am a new mama and my little man takes up most of my day. So naturally I would cook what I knew best and I have to admit even I was longing to jazz things up a bit. Finding time to eat or cook a meal at all has been a challenge for me since he was born, but now that hes technically not a newborn anymore I am finding it a tiny bit easier. Making the decision to try something new was the first step, then I actually had to locate some recipes that were affordable with our budget and "mama friendly," as I like to call it, (meaning they don't take too much time to cook).

A friend of mine had made a delicious meal for us one night while we were over for dinner and I was dying to try it myself. It was delicious! I actually went back for seconds it was so good! It's called crescent chicken and it was tasty. I found the recipe over at Comfy in the Kitchen  and I can tell you that we will be eating this often in our house! It was also husband approved so that's always a good thing. :) If you are looking for some tasty recipes head over to her blog and check it out. I actually found most of my recipes for this week on her site.

So here's what the crescent chicken looks like....Mmmmmmm! Writing this post is seriously making me hungry right now. ;)

[Note: This is not my image, credit is given to Comfy in the Kitchen]

All you need is:

-A package of crescent rolls (I use the big Pillsbury crescent rolls with 8 per can)

-2 chicken breasts (boiled for 25 mins)

-Grated cheddar cheese 

-1 can Campbell's Cream of Chicken soup (I used chicken & mushroom & it was delish!)

-Pyrex dish (I use an 11x7 but she recommends a 13x9)

First boil the chicken for about 25 minutes. Once fully cooked cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Unroll crescents and stuff with chicken and grated cheddar cheese. Wrap the crescents up and be sure to pinch the sides of the dough so they are sealed. Place into pyrex. In a bowl mix 1 can cream of chicken with a can of milk. Once mixed thoroughly pour over crescent chicken and then top with salt and pepper. Pop it into the oven at 350 degrees uncovered and cook for about 35-40 minutes. I usually cook mine for 40 just so the crescents arent too doughy, but you will be able to tell by how they look on top. They should be golden brown on top. Now let cool a minute or two and enjoy! :)

Mine didn't come out as pretty as the picture above but it was still delicious so in my book that's all that matters. I also made some roasted Brussel sprouts to go along with the chicken and they were so yummy! It was my first time making Brussel sprouts and I was pleasantly surprised. I got the recipe for them over at Comfy in the Kitchen as well.

[This was how my crescent chicken & Brussel sprouts turned out. Success!]

I am excited to post about the rest of the new meals I've made this week and have a few more posts lined up already! What recipes are you trying this week? :) 

xoxo

Hurry up & wait...some more

So we all know the navy loves to play the "hurry up and wait" game. In fact I believe it's their mantra. We waited an entire year to find out if my husband was PTS approved, (for those of you not affiliated with the military it stands for perform to serve) and now that we have that good news we are still waiting on our orders. The frustrating thing about all this is that my husband has been on sea duty for the last three years and WAS supposed to be at his new command as of March 1st. 

Seeing as he wasn't even PTS approved until April that obviously hasn't happened. I am so anxious for him to get off that ship I can't even begin to tell you. We've been through two back to back deployments, one of which was nearly 11 months and the longest naval deployment in history since WWII. Lucky us right? 

Now I try my best not to complain about my husbands job because I know it could always be worse and I am thankful he has a way to provide for us and that we have healthcare and a roof over our heads. However, even with all those benefits sometimes it would just be nice to know where you will be living in a few months. Will you be closer to family, will you be able to go somewhere new and exciting...? I only wish I knew. On top of the long wait we've already had we just found out they have extended my husbands stay on his ship until October. :( 

Now I'm still trying to stick to my goal this year to "live in the moment" and be happy in the here and now, but I am so upset about this. I really wanted to be moved out of VA by this summer and go on to the next chapter of our lives. I am so tired of this place. Three years here is more than enough for me. Right now we are in a tiny one bedroom apartment and its very cramped with the three of us and all our stuff in here. We desperately need to move into a two bedroom so Jeremiah has his own space but it looks like we're gonna have to wait another six months until that's possible. I might just lose my sanity by then! 

I really wish the navy was more organized sometimes. When they put us through all this "Hurry up and wait" it really takes a toll on the sailors and their families. I know I shouldn't let it get to me but its easier said than done. I am trying to leave it in god's hands and not stress about it too much. Hopefully we'll at least know where we're going pretty soon so I can start planning our move. 

For those of you who are mil spouses have you been through anything like this when it comes to re-enlistments or orders? 

xoxo

Enjoy it

Can you believe it's May already? Where has this year gone??? I feel like I was just hugely pregnant and waiting for my son to arrive and now we are already five months into the year. It seems like every year time speeds up a little more...slow down time! 

One thing I am trying to do this year is to "live in the moment," hence the name of my blog. I feel like the last few years of my life I've spent too much time wishing things would hurry up, (that's often the case when you're a mil spouse) but now I am realizing how important it is to enjoy the here and now. 

Each day is filled with trials but there is also beauty among the hardships. I get to watch my son grow and learn new things all the time and it amazes me how much he continues to surprise and delight me. 

So today I am thankful that we have this time together and I have a feeling May is going to be a great month. :) The pool is opening this month and I can't wait to take Jeremiah and see how he likes it. I am also just plain ecstatic about the thought of warmer weather and  hitting the beach as a family. 

Well lovely readers, I've got a pile of dishes and laundry that awaits me, and lots of snuggle time with my little guy on this gloomy day, but I will post again later. I have a few more California posts to share with you and lots of photos from our vacation so I've been working on that this week. Can't wait to share them with you all! 

Happy Wednesday! :) 

xoxo

Making Memories

One of the highlights from our trip home was actually being able to attend my niece's birthday party. She is three and I've never been able to be there for her birthday so it was something very special to me. 

We got pizza and breadsticks for dinner and all the Nieces played together and ran around the way kids do. I got to see some old family friends there as well and it was nice just chatting and catching up with everyone. 

My favorite part of the night was when Bella opened her presents. I got to hold her on my lap and help her open her gifts. It was so special! Seeing the look on her face when she opened the present we got her was priceless! It's a memory I'll always look back on and cherish. 

I  am very thankful for the opportunities we had to make new memories with our loved ones over the last week. :) 

xoxo

Flying with baby

I'd be lying if I said the thought of flying with a 3 month old didn't frighten me, but to my surprise my son was an excellent little flyer! :) 

Bubby & I on the plane :)

The flight out to LAX was horrible. We were supposed to just stop in Atlanta to pick up some more passengers, (which is exactly why we selected this flight) however when we landed in Atlanta the flight attendants nonchalantly informed us we had to get off the plane and get on another one. There was also a two and a half hour delay until our next flight would be leaving. Needless to say it made traveling with an infant even more exhausting! 

We settled into our new plane only to end up sitting next to an entire basketball team. Oh how lovely that experience was. They were loud and obnoxious to say the least and I had to resist the urge to backhand them on several occasions. My mama bear instincts were kicking in since they kept waking up Jeremiah with their loud music blasting on their iPods. Some people just have no common sense or courtesy towards others! 

We ended up landing in Los Angeles around 10:30 pm (1:30 am to our bodies which were on east coast time) and it took us three hours to get home! There were a bunch of exits closed for construction and we couldn't even get on the freeway we needed to take. At that point I was so exhausted and could barely stay awake. 

My little munchkin got up bright and early at 7 am on Friday so that was fun! Ok, I'm being sarcastic here if you couldn't tell. ;) But even though getting to California was not an easy task my son did so well! He didn't cry at all and just nursed and slept the whole time. The flight attendant and several passengers commented on how well behaved he was. 

One woman told me "It was so nice not to sit behind a crying baby! I just have to compliment you on your son's behavior." I was such a proud mama. He did just as well on the flight back to Virginia and again we received more compliments. I am so thankful everything went smoothly with him. :) Have you ever flown with a baby?

xoxo 

We're Back!

Hello everyone! We're back from our trip to California and I can't wait to tell you all about it. I have a few posts lined up and lots of pictures to share. :) 

But for now I have a hungry baby to feed, a mountain of laundry to wash and a house to straighten up on this rainy Monday. Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! :) 

xoxo