Sleepless in Pensacola....

....and there ain't nothin' romantic about it!!! ha! Hubby started working an extremely awkward shift this week so he doesn't get home until about 1:30am. I'm refusing to complain about this one bit because after so many deployments i'm beyond thankful that he comes home at all! However, it doesn't mean i like it! I don't sleep well when he isn't home. Why is it that every little noise is SOOOO much louder when he's not there??? So last night i watched my dvr'ed Biggest Loser (oh my goodness is anyone else watching this??), read some of my book and finally started to get sleepy around 11:15 so i turned of the lamp and layed there. And layed there. Again, why is it that i couldn't keep my eyes open when i was distracted but turn the light off and lay there trying to go to sleep and it ain't happenin'?!? Finally i remember looking at the clock and it said 11:43 and then i wake up to Colby in our room scared because "something was pulling him in his bed". What? It was 12. Awesome 17 minute nap that was. Off to pray with Colby and try to get him settled again. Back in bed at 12:20 to start the whole laying there trying to get to sleep again routine. 1:15am and the Hubs walks in the door. Alarm system (which is great most of the time but not last night!) does its thing and it goes a little something like this....BEEP BEEP BEEP FRONT DOOR. Like really loud. Normally not an issue because i close the laundry room door before going to bed so that it won't wake the boys. Forgot to close the door. Brayden wakes up calling for Daddy. Wonderful. Go get Brayden settled back down while hubby is getting ready for bed. 1:30 i finally fall back into bed and have hubs check to make sure alarm is set for 5:45. It was close to 2 before i fell asleep. I am SOOO TIRED! But excited because i think we are going to Lowe's when hubby wakes up to get mulch and stuff for the front landscaping that looks so pitiful!! Here's to getting a good night's sleep tonight!!

ps...i totally look that awesome when i'm laying in bed sleepless! yeah..i really do! ;)

Who will it be?!?

Well ladies! The Bachelor last night was a bit different without all of the drama and such but different in a good kind of way! I can easily say this is the first season that while i do have a favorite and i really hope it is her in the end, the other girls are great and i won't be completely disappointed if he chooses any of them!

I don't think it is any secret at this point that my favorite is Mel! I just think she is so stinkin' sweet and real and their connection is amazing. Its not just attraction and its not just friendship but seems to be such a great balance of the two. I love that he changed the date so that he could be home to put Ty to bed! It really says alot about his priorities and I love it. And I love that Melissa was so ok with it and had a great time just being real! And then there was the previews for next week.....my heart broke! Not meeting her parents is a pretty big deal but at the same time i really hope it doesn't change things. *sigh* I *heart* Jason and Mel together!!

Naomi's date was great and they really seemed to grow closer but i really really don't think she is ready for everything a marriage to Jason would mean. She is such a sweetheart but I think he has very valid concerns there. And the previews of next week...ummmm....strange. Looking forward to seeing what that was all about!

Molly and him seem to continue to grow closer and i do see a definite attraction there without a doubt! It just seems to me like there is something missing and i can't even explain myself further. She is adorable, sweet, fun, outgoing, laid back....I have nothing bad to say about her. I just can't quite figure out what it is that isn't there.

And then there is Jillian. I really really liked Jillian for him early on. But it seems lately that she is really struggling with her feelings and the whole process on the show, which is understandable, but it is affecting the growth of their relationship. And i do question if she is really ready for what his life holds. She is very mature...that certainly isn't the issue but I just don't know that she is ready to jump into being a wife and step mommy. I think she is very ready for marriage but I don't know that she is ready for the slightly less than glamorous life that comes along with mommyhood sometimes. We shall see!

And last but certainly not least, Stephanie. What an amazing woman she is! I have absolutely nothing negative to say about her. She is giving, kind, loving, and truly beautiful on the inside and out but it just wasn't there. That was a pretty emotional rose ceremony and understandably so! I don't think any of them are going to be any easier! He has 4 great girls. He's got a tough decision on his hands but if anybody can handle the situation with poise and sensitivity he certainly can!

If i had to guess based on what i saw last night than my guess would be Naomi will go home next week but who knows! I am trying so hard to keep in mind that abc is only showing us what they want to and so you never know! Its down to the nitty gritty and i'm lovin' it! Can't wait to see the hometown dates next week!!

So weigh in everyone! Who is your favorite?? Who do you want it to be in the end?? Can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts this week!

**ps...I am loving how great the remaining girls all get along this season! It really seems like they are all friends and truly care about each other even though they are all falling for the same guy! Its refreshing after all the drama this season!!

Happy Rainy Day

Just a quick peek into another sunny florida day.....

Ha! Or not! It's raining and dreary and yucky outside. (and yes i realize that landscaping looks horrible-its an upcoming project) I'm beginning to wonder how in the world i learned to function when this was my everyday for months on end in Washington. I'm tired and then add this weather into the mix and i'm just not motivated at all. I went grocery shopping this morning and it took everything in me to make myself do it. Seriously. I even sat in the car in the parking lot for a few minutes contemplating just going back home. haha....that's pretty bad! And then here is the best part of my day thus far~ picture this...I'm sitting here reading blogs and listening to the rain hit the pavement. Hubby and Brayden are snoring in Brayden's room down the hall. (hubby starts a new work schedule today so he is trying to get a lil sleep before his late night) I am fighting the urge to go lay down on the couch and find some sappy lifetime movie to get lost in, knowing that i will end up asleep. And then i decide that i am not giving into this unmotivation....i am going to sweat some calories away with the wii fit. Off i go to get it all set up and i realize that the controller i need is no where to be found. Hahaha!!! Of course this would happen! I've looked everywhere. I must wait till Colby gets home from school to find out where he might have hidden it. And perhaps my biggest achievement of the whole day is that i am choosing to find this hilarious when i would usually be frustrated. Rainy weather~you will not get me down today! Missing wii controller~ you're not gettin' to me either! I'm choosing to be happy and to not let these circumstances get to me. This is a semi New Years resolution if you want to call it that. This is something that doesn't come easy for me. I very easily get sucked into circumstances and let them rule my emotions. But not for long.....i've made it my goal to be more intentionally aware of this and to deny circumstance that power! I've got a long way to go and it is far from easy, but today is a small victory for me~on a day that i would have typically thrown in the towel and said forget it i am refusing to do that! So here's to a happy rest of this rainy day!

And lets not forget what's on tonight!! I've got a hot date with the Bachelor tonight! Do you??

Success!

Since i have posted now about how frustrating potty training can be i have to share the exciting news that it is safe to say Brayden is potty trained!!!!! He hasn't even had an accident since Monday and then it was just 1! He does still wear a pull up at night but that is ok with me. I know that will come! He is such a big boy and had alot of fun on his special trip to the store to pick undies!! He chose super heroes and cars! So cute....i love to see his little tush in big boy undies! We are so proud of him and will now be looking into preschools for him to start in the fall, which he is very excited about. A lady in one of my bible studies once told me "never judge a situation when you're in the middle of it" and what wise advice it is! While there are indeed some frustrating parts of potty training, when looking back i see that it really wasn't that bad! 2 days of him testing the limits and peeing himself and pushing on anyway and that was it!! What a big boy we have on our hands now!!! =)

My Oh My

And the drama continues on another episode of the Bachelor! I don't know about you guys but i got some really good laughs last night! Drama, laughing, a lil fallin' in love......just my kinda tv! So where to begin....

The singing competition was great. Most of the songs were silly and fun and i thought they did a good job of just going with the flow! Megan w/ her "there will be baby makin', i'm sure i won't be fakin'".....ummm...are you serious? Tacky! Thought Nikki did ok for being so not into it but a song for your future baby? I'm pretty sure the show is about him, and you and him, not about the future babies you may or may not have.

The one on one date w/ Molly. I saw the previews so i knew she spent the night but it still kinda surprises me. The date went well but i think they could have done without the sound effects after they went into the tent. Ya know what i mean? I think Molly will probably be going on a home town date.

The group date was...well....drama. And lots of it! Shannon was awkward as always and the whole picking her nose and then handing him the snot rag was gross. Like i cringed for him. And then the kiss.....and the napkin on her face. The whole thing was just not good. At all. Megan's kiss was odd....it didn't even seem passionate...it just looked like she was attacking him. I felt bad for Melissa and Naomi because they have genuine connections with him and it had to be hard to watch all of the kissing. Not such a great date idea but it made for dramatic tv!

The 2 on 1 date is always hard to watch. It's just got to be hard to have that pressure knowing that one of them is going home. I think he made the right decision but I still just don't see the romantic connection w/ Stephanie. I think they connect in alot of ways and it seems to me like he really really wants there to be more of a romantic connection but it just isn't there. Maybe the network is hiding alot so it just seems that way but i just don't see it.

I'm not surprised at all that he didn't give out the final rose and i think it was a great choice. The 5 that are left are great girls but i do have to say that i am partial to Melissa aka Mel. (so cute that he calls her Mel!) They just fit and have from the beginning. I'm torn on what will happen next week...who do you guys think will be the one to go home and why? Who will the hometown dates be with?? Can't wait to hear what ya'll are thinking!

I Kandoo this!

I'm just going to be really honest here and put it out there that in my opinion potty training is the single most FRUSTRATING part of parenting. I loathe it and it exhausts me because i can't have a loathing attitude and expect success ya know?!?

So as of my last post (on saturday morning) Brayden was doing GREAT! But then like not even 30 minutes after i posted he peed all over the kitchen floor. Ok...an accident here and there is to be expected....no biggie. Accept then every time he peed on saturday he did it on either the kitchen floor or the BATHROOM FLOOR. Yes. You read that right. On the bathroom floor and when asked if he was trying to make it to the potty he smiled ever so sweetly and said "nope". AAAAHHHHH. I wanted to scream but i kept my cool. Tomorrow will be better i told myself. And it was slightly better but he still had multiple accidents. Starting to get frustrated but holding it together. And then today it was like he was back to his old self and he went on the potty every single time. Until Daddy came home from work and then he peed his pants. I'm noticing now that when Daddy is at work he does awesome with the potty. When Daddy is home...not so much. Can't say for sure yet if this is a true pattern...time will tell. But what i do know is that i'm thankful that i made him continue to wear undies through the weekend even though he had accident after accident. It took a little courage....we tried a new church on sunday and we were very tempted to send him to sunday school in a pull up but we stuck to the undies and he did great! I spent a couple hours in Colby's classroom today and Brayden came along. It was very tempting again to put him in a pull up "just in case". But i stuck to the undies and he did great. So all in all i think we are doing ok......its just so darn frustrating. But this too shall pass and in my glass half full kinda mindset i'm going to say that a week from now i'll be telling you all about how pull ups are a thing of the past and we can safely say he is potty trained! Even with all of the accidents i think we are definitely making progress.

And for now i am going to sign off as i need to get the boys settled and tucked into bed, make a cup of hot tea and get comfy for The Bachelor!!!!!! Oh my goodness....my thoughts on tonight's episode tomorrow morning! Oh yeah...and all of you west coast chica's...don't be too jealous...it comes on here in about 20 minutes. And in like 2 or 3 hrs for you ladies. Not that i'm rubbing it in or anything but it is a pretty fantastic perk of living on the eastern side of the good ole US of A!! ;)

Potty Update!

I couldn't be prouder of my little man!!!! He wore his "supermans" aka big boy undies ALL day yesterday w/ NO accidents!!!!! He did so well! We even ventured out to the mall and did some shopping and he told us when he had to go. (yes i was a little unsure of going out on day 1 of such a huge transition but figured if he has an accident we'll change him. Right?!?) But he didn't! Oh i am so excited you don't even know! I guess i do have to say that he had an accident while he was down for his nap but i'm not too concerned with the "while sleeping" issue for now. He slept in a pull up last night but put his undies on again when he woke up this morning!!! If he continues today with no accidents we told him we would take him to the store tonight and let him pick new undies!! I think this may be it....like this may really be it! And if he does good all week i'm thinking we will have a little potty party for him next weekend! This was such a struggle the last time we tried and i finally just decided to let go of it and that when we got all settled here i would think about trying again, so this is such a huge blessing that he is doing this on his own! Keep your fingers crossed for us and i'll keep everyone updated!!!

Please say it isn't a Dream.....

So last night John and I were hanging out in the office talking and in comes Brayden. With the entire contents of his big boy underwear drawer. You know...the one we haven't used in like FOREVER because last time we tried it was a nightmare. You can read about it here. So, anyway...for the first time in MONTHS he actually showed interest in the big boy underwear again. He knows that he can't go to school until he goes potty on the toilet. He knows that he can't play baseball, or soccer, or any other sport until he goes on the toilet. He just hasn't cared. And we have tried hard to encourage but not pressure him. Its a fine line that's difficult to navigate at times but we are trying. Well last night when he suddenly showed this renewed interest i asked him if he would like to wear the big boy underwear today and he said yes. So he is. He is in big boy underwear. And we let him pick his clothes and explained that if he goes potty in his underwear it will get all over his "rockstar" shirt and his pants he chose. So we'll see! Maybe this is it! I'm cautiously excited....i don't want to get too excited to avoid being hugely disappointed but i'm indeed hopeful! Please pray for me. Pray that i will have patience, that He will give me wisdom and endless encouragement for my little man so that i can help him to succeed. I'll update tonight and let ya know how it goes!! For now i will leave you with a picture of my lil man this morning!

Random Observations

So...as i work on adjusting to this new state, city, neighborhood, etc. there are just a few things that i have observed. And i'm going to share them here if for no other reason than to just get them off my chest!



* Apparently there is an unspoken 30 second red light rule...as in...once the light turns red most would stop right? Not here! The unspoken 30 second rule must be something like this....While the law says that a red light means stop, here in Pensacola you can still go for approx. 30 seconds after the light is red. SERIOUSLY. It scares me to death....i'm getting used to the other side of that unspoken rule which is wait a while after the light turns green before you go. That way if somebody in the "practicing the unspoken 30 second rule" club happens to be approaching the intersection your at they won't plow into you. CRAZY! Like SCARY crazy!

* While we're on the subject of driving here....i'm becoming more and more convinced that they do not teach turn signal usage in Florida driving schools. I'm just sayin'! For the love of all things good could these people just use a turn signal?!?



* Florida schools are WAY advanced compared to Washington schools. I am just amazed at how vastly different the level of curriculum and expectations are. This has made for a bit of a tough adjustment for Colby. And an overwhelming couple of weeks of trying to figure out how in the world to help him catch up and adjust in the midst of everything else that has been going on. Thankfully, we have been blessed with a wonderful teacher who has been in constant contact with me and is all for working together with us to make sure he is encouraged w/ positivity and that we are all doing what is best for him. Colby is doing well and is improving each day. I can't ask for anything more from him. I am consumed w/ the thought that there should be some kind of national standard for curriculum that would prevent this from being an issue.



* I despise unpacking. It is hands down the worst part of this lifestyle. I don't like having to spend so much time trying to figure out what will work where and what we have that we can use and what we can't. It's exhausting and i'm so ready to just be done. Like completely done. Anybody out there happen to be a good motivator?? I think i need a swift foot up my rear to get motivated to finish this whole unpacking thing up!



* I'm pretty sure i always hear this state referred to as "sunny Florida". And i guess i mistakenly thought that meant that it wouldn't be cold here. The key word there was mistakenly. I've had to scrape ice off of my windshield more times than i can count on one hand in the couple of weeks we've been in the house. Not a big deal but very unexpected!

* It's dangerous to have Sonic and Chick-fil-a around again! Neither of them does me any favors in my quest to lose weight. But after 3 years of not having them it's a fierce battle i'm facing! Fierce indeed. And for the most part i'm winning but sometimes i just can't take it and i give in. Like right now i'm craving a big fat sonic burger. Will i give in or stay strong? We shall see!



* I need a girls night. Or a girls morning of coffee and girl talk. Or just a girl friend period. In the last 2 and 1/2 weeks i've talked to a whopping 5 people. My husband and kiddos make up 3 of that 5. I've also talked to Colby's teacher (which isn't very "fun" talk right now) and to a friend of ours from Whidbey Island who is here now. Only that friend is a single dude....not exactly someone i can call up and hang out with. *sigh* I'm really missing all my girlfriends right about now!

I guess i'll stop rambling now! Oh it feels good to get all that off my chest! I must go fold laundry and put away the growing pile of folded clothes!! Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!

The Sweetest Words

It was a typical weekend night. The boys were all tucked into Colby's bed and excited that Colby didn't have school the next day so they could sleep together. We said prayers and sang and then as i tucked them both in one last time Colby said the sweetest words i've ever heard. With an ear to ear grin on his precious face he said "Your the best Mommy and Daddy ever!" Tears filled my eyes as i kissed him and told him how very much i loved him. I am so humbled by such unconditional love. I am so far from perfect in any way but most definitely as a Mommy. I lose my cool, my patience runs out at times, I forget to send lunch money or a snack to school....oh how far i am from perfect. Yet in this little boys eyes i'm the best. How blessed am i that God chose me to give this child to?!? I am overwhelmed with gratitude that God has given me the opportunity to love and nurture these lil men and i am ever so grateful for the love they have for me. I never knew love like i do now until i held Colby in my arms that first time. And so when i am tempted to lose my cool, when my patience seems to be running out...I will pray. Pray that i can be all that God would have me be for these precious gifts I call my sons. Pray that He would give me the strength to not lose my cool, to be patient and do my best to live up to being the "best mommy ever"!