I Need Your Vote!!!!

OH MY GOODNESS!!!! You guys!!!! So, most of you know that I am part of an amazing team for work, Floral & Pine. Last month we had a special raffle going and today that winner was picked and I WON!!! I WON AN APPLE WATCH!!!!! I am so stinking excited!!!!!!! I have wanted an apple watch for a long time, but knew that it was something that I just needed to wait on because of some other expenses that have come up with the move and a few other things, so when I received the messaged saying that I won, I was in disbelief!!!! I haven't stopped smiling!!! I need your help...which one should I get between the pictures listed above? I love the Rose Gold one, but I also like that the Silver one is so versatile should I want/need another band down the road. 

Okay, let me start over...this morning Madison was just the sweetest and made us all scrambled eggs! They were really good. We've really been focusing on having high protein breakfasts and so she wanted to contribute. She cooked them and dished them by herself and then set up the picture she wanted taken. 

Before we left for gymnastics, our morning was full of games. We played a lot of Mancala and Uno and I think tomorrow we'll be playing Blokus (I personally really love this game). Madison asked me to take a picture because she beat me today by 1...it was that close of a game. I really love playing thinking/logic games with Madison because we both have similar brains and so it's genuinely a tough match and so much fun! 

We also had the chance to talk to Alex for a little bit this morning, but only over audio because the WiFi connection wasn't strong enough for us to FaceTime much. We tried a few times, but ended up just switching to audio so we could actually have a conversation. He's doing well and slowly adjusting to the time. He's getting ready to start his day, so I'm looking forward to telling him about the watch. :) 

Today at gymnastics, Madison added another element to her Fly Away. This happened to be the best video I captured, but she had to pause in the middle of it because her hair got in the way....but you'll get the idea. They worked routines on the beam today also and Madison is super excited about how here routine is coming along. In her words, it has a lot of Sass!!!!

After gymnastics, we came home and went swimming to cool off. Today was extremely humid, so it made the heat feel way worse than it was, but nonetheless, a swim was in order! :) 

Once we were done swimming we got ready for our movie night. We had mini pizza bagels, sliced avocado, and carrots and hummus for dinner. Tonight we watched Pete's Dragon. I think they did that movie very well and since it was our second time watching it was I able to appreciate it. The first time, it caught me by surprise with how emotional it was, but this time I was prepared! ;) 

After the kids went to bed, I finished my weekly cleaning because I am having some of my team over tomorrow for a business class. I am so excited to have them in my home and for the chance to share a little of what I've learned over the last year as we talk and grow as a team.

He Did It!!!!

Today, a miracle happened.

Hudson has been terrified of the dentist forever. He always has so much anxiety about going and last August we went to a dentist in Yucca Valley and he had another HORRIBLE experience. They asked him to come back in October to try again and it was equally as bad. As a result, the instant anyone talks about going to the dentist, he'd start crying and start talking about how he didn't want to go.

Well, now that we've moved to where there are more options, we did some research and discovered that Dr. Okomoto, who is a Pediatric Dentist, was the place to go. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE had good things to say about the entire staff at this office. So, back in May, I called and made an appointment....this was the earliest we could get in. I guess a lot of other people thought it was great too!

Hudson was nervous, but watched sister go first at everything and then when it was his turn. He actually let them do everything. He actually opened his mouth and didn't lock his jaw shut. He had his X-rays taken. He let them count his teeth. He picked chocolate toothpaste and let them brush his teeth. He let them floss his teeth. He even let them put the fluoride treatment on. I was in disbelief. I was so proud of him and he's already talking about how he can't wait until March when we get to go back! Talk about a miracle and a change of heart. Both kids were told they had beautiful teeth. Madison only has 7 baby teeth left to lose and Hudson currently has FOUR loose teeth, one of which they said he will lose any day.

Hudson         Madison 

After we finished up at the dentist, we quickly ran over to Verizon Wireless to suspend Alex's line while he's deployed. They've made the process a tad more difficult than it use to be, but we were able to get it all straightened out. I'm almost done with all of the nitty gritty details that need to be taken care of now that Alex is overseas. 

Once we were done with that errand, we came home and ate lunch. So far I'm doing well with getting back into my routine. I had some avocado, hardboiled eggs and a string cheese for lunch. Lunch is always a hard meal for me because I get so bored with it, so when I can make it seem like a bunch of little appetizers, it makes it more fun for me. As we were finishing up lunch, we received a phone call from Alex, which always makes the day brighter. 

I can't believe we're already close to getting through our first weekend. For those of you who aren't military, there are some big milestones that we like to count down as we go through a deployment: first weekend under the belt, first week, each new month, when the calendar year changes and it becomes the year your hubby will be back, and then I like to start counting down by which holidays we still have left. This deployment, we are blessed to have several holidays and milestones to help us pass the time quickly: school starting, Labor Day, my birthday, FALL, Thanksgiving, CHRISTMAS (and everything that includes), New Year's, Start of Gymnastics Season (which means a lot of meets on weekends), Valentine's Day, Hudson's birthday, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, and our dating anniversary. Praying this time goes quickly. 

Tonight I had the privilege of videotaping some of Madison's Fly Aways off the high bar so that Alex can see them. Here are two of them: 

Thank you again to all of you who have and continue to reach out via text, email, Facebook, etc. It means so much to me to have all of your support and simply to know you're there and praying for us. We feel your prayers and are grateful for them!

To Do Lists...

Today was a day full of odds and ends.

Our morning started out with the kids playing nicely for a few hours while I read, did some chores, and worked. Then, we were pleasantly surprised by another FaceTime call with Alex. It is always so wonderful when he calls. Since he hasn't been there that long, we don't know when to expect his calls, but hopefully soon, we'll figure that all out. We learned that there are definitely some items that Alex didn't bring that he needs, so I'm working on getting a care package together to send him. He's going to be getting a driver's license out there....crazy isn't it?!? As a result, I have to send him some civilian clothes and shoes.

After we were finished out call with Alex, we had to head to the auto body shop. A couple of days before Alex deployed, he was on his way to Camp Pendleton, driving on the 15, when a HUGE piece of metal came bouncing down the lane he was in and bounced off the top of the hood and kept going. When he finally arrived at his destination, he saw the damage it had caused. My goodness, we are so thankful it didn't hit the windshield. Anyway, I had to go take the care for them to take pictures and whatnot, so that we can get it repaired. I have included some of the pictures below.

Once that was taken care of we came home and had lunch. I used some leftover, homemade meat sauce and made Organic Zucchini Lasagna Boats. Here is what I did if you are interested in the recipe:

Sauce:

The quick version is:

2 cans of organic tomato sauce
Grassfed ground beef (sometimes I use turkey)
1/2 a large onion, minced
4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
Parsley
Red Pepper Flakes

Cook ground beef with salt, pepper, onion and garlic and drain. Then add sauce and seasonings to taste and let simmer for at least 30 minutes, but if you can let it simmer for over an hour, it deepens the flavor. 

**You can also roast 8-10 large organic roma tomatoes, some garlic cloves and sliced onion and then add to a blender to make your own tomato sauce***

I make a big batch of sauce and then I cut a zucchini in half and hollow out the middle. Then, spoon on sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella and throw in a 400* oven for 15 minutes!

Once we were finished with lunch we watch an episode of American Ninja Warrior. My kids were introduced to that show by my parents when Alex and I went away for our Anniversary in July and we had a new episode that hadn't been seen yet. It's so fun to watch them get all excited when someone makes it. Madison keeps saying she wants to be on that show! 

 When the hubby leaves there are still a few things that need to be taken care of, so today was the day I worked on those things. Aside from getting the process started for fixing his car, I had to call our auto insurance and put him on "deployed" status...saves us a little money. Then I had to call Verizon and suspend his number while he's gone. This was easier said than done, and actually didn't get accomplished today because of how difficult they were on the phone. So, I will go to the store in person and do it. 

Tonight, I'm missing Alex extra. I simply want to just give him a hug and have him here. I know from past experience, this feeling never goes away, but I'll adjust. 

Well, it's getting late, so I'm going to go fill my diffuser, read a little and go to sleep. Thank you to all of you who have still been sending lovely Facebook messages, posting sweet messages, and sending text messages. Knowing all of the support I have means so much to me. 

Until tomorrow....

He Made It!!!

Refreshed.

When you finally get to sleep after 41 hours of not sleeping, you feel so refreshed when you wake up in the morning! It's glorious.

I woke up to a text from Alex letting me know that he'd made it to Germany and that he had converted a little bit of money for the kids so that he can mail them some foreign money to add to their collection from the last deployment. This is always such a big hit when it comes in the mail. I'm keeping it a surprise until it arrives, but I'm excited at the thought of the look on their faces.

Also, the day before Alex left, we received a beautiful gift in the mail for the kids. I saved it and let the kids open it today. My dear friend Erin, that I've known since I was in 4th grade I believe, sent my kids the sweetest, most thoughtful care package. She wrote them a card and sent them some fun gift cards to Chuck-E-Cheese, Regal Cinemas, and Barns & Noble. She said that this was to help pass the time and to cheer them up. I'm truly touched by this gesture and blown away by the generosity. Thank you so much Erin. The kids and I are already planning for when we can go and let them use their fun gift cards.

As we started our day we filled our diffuser with Family and Valor to help support our emotions. Everyone has been good so far, but there has been a tad more bickering than usual between the kids and I know it's the stress and emotion of the transition, even if they don't recognize it, so I am doing what I can to aid in this process. These two oils are amazing and really help the mood and release the tension. I thought the best part was that my little monkey came up to me after smelling the diffuser and he was able to identify these two oils with his little sniffer.

The kids have really been wanting to watch the original Beauty and the Beast, so we took some time to watch this movie today. We had a picnic on the floor while we watched it. I really love this movie. The new live Beauty and the Beast is beautifully done, but there is just something nostalgic about watching the Disney Cartoon version!

After lunch, I had the privilege of teaching a Back to School class on line. It was so much fun! People were active today and had a lot of questions. I love when people engage during the online classes and I get to help them there on the spot.  Here is the Class if you're interested in taking a peak at the Back to School tips I shared (bit.ly/BacktoSchoolClass)

....we're just about done with summer over here. We find out who the kids' teachers are next week and then start school on the 24th.

As promised yesterday, I'm going to share with you the amazing gift Alex bought me for our Anniversary. I have never seen anything like this, but it's just the sweetest. So, he found these lamps that are called Filimin. These lamps are WiFi based and you program them so that each lamp (we each have one) knows your color (I chose the purple spectrum and Alex chose the bluish/green spectrum). When I touch the lamp it will change BOTH lamps to Purple and when Alex touches the lamp it will change BOTH lamps to the bluish/green color. This will allow us to know when the other person is thinking of us and help us know when Alex is in his room and able to talk. I'm posting a little video below to show you how they work.


Filimin: A Wi-Fi enabled touch light that gives you a beautiful, unobtrusive way to connect with the people you love. from Filimin on Vimeo.

Earlier this evening, my parents came over and we had a fun visit with an old friend that I haven't seen in ages, Dorothy! She is just the sweetest and it was so wonderful catching up with her. Right after she left I realized I forgot to get a picture with her, but just know she's the sweetest and I've known her practically my whole life.

Before bedtime we had the opportunity to FaceTime with Alex. He was able to borrow some WiFi from someone already there, since he won't have his own WiFi until Monday. He's officially in Kuwait and all checked in. Please keep praying that he adjusts to the time difference quickly and doesn't get sick in the process. He has his first staff meeting in a couple of hours. Below I've included a picture Alex took from the plane as they were flying into Kuwait and then there is our first FaceTime picture!

      

After the kids went to bed I took my first bath at our new house. The tub is amazing and I made homemade bath salts (I used Epsom Salt and Ylang-Ylang). I also added a Stress Away Bath Bomb...my skin feels so soft and like all of moisture is back in it. It was so nice to relax and read one of my books. 

And Just Like That.....the Countdown Has Begun!!!

He's gone.

I didn't know if this day would ever come. It has been looming over us since last October and the closer the day came, the heavier it felt.

Most people dread this day. Yes, it STINKS, but there is a Silver Lining: we are no longer dreading the day Alex leaves, but now counting down the days until he's back home. Even though we are just in the beginning, we know that taking one day at a time makes the months fly by and before we know it he'll be back. Homecomings are oh so sweet. For those of you who have never experienced a homecoming, I can't tell you how highly I recommend you finding one near you and going to witness it in person. There is something magical about seeing a family reunited. I have been to dozens of homecomings and everyone is unique and special.

Anyway, as with our last deployment, I will be keeping a daily blog. This helps us stay connected with Alex and allows him to see the ins and outs of our days and have topics of conversation for when he talks with the kids. It's also very therapeutic for me. We welcome anyone who wants to come alongside us on this journey.

Our timeline was a bit crazy yesterday and I didn't get home until 6:15 this morning, which is why I am just now writing about our farewell.

We were blessed to get to spend the day together  so I'm going to share some photos recapping our final day together up through today.

Alex and I prepped our necklace pieces...his goes on his dog tags and mine goes on a necklace Alex bought me before the last deployment.



During the morning we had homemade breakfast burritos. Then we went swimming and played a lot of family games and the kids and Alex played Star Wars!

Alex wanted one more meal at Chipotle, so we headed there for lunch and then we ran to Target for a few last minute odds and ends that Alex needed.





Once we arrived home, we had just a short while before it was time for Alex to say "see you soon" to the kids and for me to take them over to my parents for the evening. Here are some of the pictures from this time together:



  


Once I dropped the kids off at my parents, I came back to the house and my amazingly thoughtful husband had the most touching gifts for each of us set out. (I kept the kids' a surprise until we came home from Grandma and Grandpa's). For those of you that remember, Alex became quite the amazing letter writer and made my heart flutter extra from all of his thoughtfulness. Well, he's already started. He left each of us a personalized, hand-written note and a sweet little gift.

I did not read the letter then, I saved it for after I got home from dropping Alex off.

Alex had requested to go to Burger Lounge for dinner. I had never been there, but the closest one to us was in Temecula. So we loaded up the car and headed there on the way to Camp Pendleton.

For those of you that live near a Burger Lounge.....IT WAS DELICIOUS!!!! (Emma and Jordan, they just opened one in Vegas in the Aria ;) ).

Next, my amazingly romantic man gave me directions and he ended up taking us to the beach where we were able to sit in chairs under a cabana and just sit and talk and enjoy the beautiful waves crashing in the moonlit sky! It was gorgeous....however, it was hard to capture the beauty of it, so we have some sandy toes and a nighttime selfie to document our amazingly refreshing time. Isn't God so good!?! Seriously what my soul needed before we headed to our final destination!

While at the beach we looked at the clock and it was about that time. Alex changed over into his uniform and we headed towards the area where Alex was going to leave for his deployment.

Once there, we had to carry his gear to his line. He had to get it weighed, go to the armory, and do a few other formalities. Once he was done, we were able to spend some extra time together before they had to load the semi with their gear and get on the buses. 

Once the buses arrived, emotions amped up and we knew what was coming, but before we said our "see you soons" the Patriot Riders showed up!!! They escorted the buses to their next location! I love the Patriot Riders....another reason I think everyone should have a chance to come to a Military Home Coming...they escort the buses home too!!!!

Then, came the final farewell. While this was the hardest part of the day, by far....it was also the sweetest because we were able to exchange some amazing words of affirmation with each other, as well as words of encouragement for this next journey we each will be on, together, but separate. We count it an honor to serve our country this way and now the COUNTDOWN IS ON UNTIL HOMECOMING!!!!

The buses finally pulled out around 3:50 and I headed to my car to drive home. I listened to two podcasts from Donald Miller's: Story Brand...if you haven't listened to this podcast, I love it and have learned so much! I arrived home at about 6:15 in the morning. I read my beautiful letter from Alex and then quickly changed and headed over to my parents for a few games of Pickleball. The kids had a blast. I think we all did. 

Afterwards, we all went to breakfast and then came home and relaxed. I was dog-tired, but didn't really get a chance to sleep like I'd hoped. We watched Summer Magic, per the kids' request and then we had a light lunch, since we'd had a later breakfast. 

The kids then went to their rooms to read and do some summer math and I did a little bit of work.  Then we received a phone call from Alex letting us know he'd made it to stop number 1 and would be boarding in a little bit for stop number 2. Then, Hudson and I took Madison to gymnastics. I don't have a video (but hopefully I will soon)....Madison did her Flyaway on the bars to night without a spot!!!! This is a big deal...she's been working so hard!

We then came home and the kids are both passed out and I'm about to join them. I just wanted to finish this recap so that when Alex lands he has something to look at. 

We love and miss you babe! Working on your first care package! Love you to the moon and back!

***Tomorrow I'll share with y'all about the amazing Anniversary gift Alex got me to help keep us connected on the deployment....it's seriously on of the coolest things I've ever seen! My hubby is such a romantic! Love how he knows what speaks to my heart, often times better than I do. 

It's About That Time Again

Well, it's been awhile since I've consistently blogged, but once again this will be a place where Alex can keep up with us while he's away. Right now, the world is quiet and I'm sitting here thinking about what today holds. It will be a hard day of "see you soon," but God is always faithful. While today will be rough, being able to finally rip the bandaid off and start the count down is encouraging. We have had a lot of fun making memories during pre-deployment leave. Our buckets are overflowing and we are ready for this chapter. We all have big goals while we are apart and I, for one, am excited to get started on them and see where God takes me.

Since our move, my routine has been off and I've just been winging it. Those of you that know me, know that I operate best in routine. I am able to fly by the seat of my pants, if need be, but I thrive in routine and consistency. As a result my diet and exercise aren't quite where I'd like them to be, so that is a big goal for while Alex is away...to establish new routines and implement life changes that I will be able to maintain once he's back too! I have also been working really hard in my business and have some big goals I'd like to reach before Alex returns home. I'm super excited to see God move in and through these big goals. I have some others, but these are the two big ones.

I hear the house waking up and my time today is extra precious, so I'll be back to share some more later. We would love any prayers God puts on your heart. Thank you for all of your love and support.