Christmas with a Capital C

Thought this was cute!

And she said he was cute!

I haven't blogged in a long time for no other reason than nothing much exciting ever happens in my life with the exception of the typical Army Wife drama which I will not bore you with the sordid details of someone else's life.
Right now I sit in my Brother-in-law's kitchen on the night before thanksgiving trying to keep my kids and giant dog quiet so that my sister-in-law can get me niece to sleep. I need a vacation from my vacation! I have realized that Army Wife drama is much easier than family drama, you can escape it easier anyway, it is pretty hard to escape family drama, they are your family for crying out loud! I will leave that subject alone, trust me you don't want to know the drama a redneck family like this can have.
Now, onto the real reason I am sitting here blogging tonight. My son. What can I say about him? He was such a cutie as a baby, and was always so sweet. Now he has turned into your typical prepubescent boy. Video games and skateboards is really all he cares about, but girls have gradually become more interesting to him. Today while visiting with an old high school friend of mine her very pretty 16 year old cheerleader daughter told me something that didn't surprise me necessarily but did make me realize my little boy is growing up. She told me he was cute! And her sister (who is the same age as my son) also thinks so. Now like I said I am not completely surprised but every Mom thinks her little boy is cute. It was just that a 16 year old cheerleader thinks so!!! Hopefully his silliness didn't ruin it for her lol. Is this a sign of what is to come?

The Kaylin Dictionary

Kee.ko.se (noun) KEE ko see - Strawberry Shortcake

Pee.pee.pants (adjective/noun) PEE pee panz - a pretty princess, or other female Disney character that wears a tiara, crown or any other bling-bling; see also pee.pee.priss

Teat (noun) TEET - tea (she loves to have tea parties)

Mice (adjective) MYSS - nice. Example: if someone spills something at the table and Mommy says "nice!", Kaylin feels obligated to top it off with "mice".

Be.be.bear (noun) BEE be bare - Pooh Bear, see also Care Bear

Sheet (noun) SHEET- sheep, and sometimes goats

Ap.a.sush (noun) APP a sush - a cold slushy, icee or other frozen drink. Does not have to be apple flavored, as the term implies.

Hel.lo (noun) hah LO? '"HELLO" - a telephone, cellular or landline.

Fi.flies (noun) fie'flyz - deep fried potatoes from a fast food establishment. Not to be confused with the English term "fire flies", which Kaylin eats a little less often than "french fries".

Me.mer (noun) MEE murr - half human, half fish (mermaid).

Me.mo (noun) MEE mow - any tropical fish. See Finding Nemo.

Buut (noun) booot' - a water vessel (boat).

Ga.go.sie (set of action type words in a question format) ga GO sye?? - a young child's attempt at conning her parents into taking her OUTSIDE. Usually used while pulling on the adult's hand briskly toward the nearest exit.



For previous entries click here

Absoutly unbelieveably beautiful!

It is like a train wreck I cant stop watching

This makes me so flippin angry!!!

This is why I NEVER watch The View!!! Everything about this makes me so angry I cant even think straight enough to put my thoughts into words! Just watch!

Grass

I love the feel of grass on my toes.
Soft and cool on a warm summer night.
I love the smell of fresh cut grass after a spring rain.
It makes my yard pretty
and gives my children a place to play with their friends.
Grass is sweet.

Getting old

Well, my son (who just turned 12) had his first middle school dance last Friday night. That makes me feel so old! I was not sure how it would go for him since he insists that girls are so gross. He didn't have a date thank goodness but went with a few friends.
Tod wanted to make sure his son looked cool for the dance just in case he changed his mind. My husband, who never gets home from work until 7pm or later, came home early to take Tanner to the mall before the dance to get a new "cool" outfit from American Eagle, including new shoes (Vans of course.) He looked so handsome when he came out with his new jeans, new shirt, new shoes, and new necklace? Yep he got a necklace too. I couldn't help but think he resembled someone I once knew (Teenage Tod) he walked out so proud of his new outfit and his even prouder daddy was right behind him. It seems that in the past few weeks since his birthday, he has turned into a young man right before my eyes. He has grown his hair out some so no more high and tight army brat haircuts, nope now he has this new style if that is what you want to call it that messy look, where you basically roll out of bed and go look. Of course I know I really cant complain much because in our day our parents complained about the hair and clothes we wore.
Well the night went fine, the boys had fun, Kevin kissed the new girl, and Jordan asked all the girls at the dance to see if any of them likes Tanner, apparently one girl thinks he is "hott". I am not sure I am ready for all this!

So, it is not just me!

Everyone who has ever met me knows how I eat. I dont try to keep it a secret, that is just not possible, because eventually there will be a time where a new friend will say "Is that all you are going to eat?!?" At that point I have to explain myself.

Hi, my name is Cheri, and I am a Picky Eater.

Now, some people will say something like "Oh yeah I am too." Really? Ya think you are picky? at which point I explain just how picky I am, I cant possible list all the things I DONT eat the list is too long, it is so much easier to list the things I do.

Almost in order
Peanut butter
Pizza (only pepperoni)
pretty much anything coated in sugar ;)
French Fries
Baked potato (PLAIN, just butter and salt)
bacon
ham
some chicken depending on how it is served usually something like a chicken strip from Dairy Queen or something
Salad, but only with lettuce, carrots, and bacon bits NO DRESSING!!!
Very few fruits
even less veggies

Basically if its healthy I cant eat it. Yes I said CANT. I have tried foods over the years and I usually end up gagging on them or no matter how hard I try I cant swallow it.
For years I believed I was the only one like this! And for years I would ahve to explain the whole story to every one and go through every food they can think of and tell them "nope I cant eat that" Somehow people just dont get it. Ther is always some jerk who is determined to get me to eat something and will make a big deal about it. I am who I am, there is nothing I can do no matter how much I want to I cant just fix this little "problem" I have. I WISH I could just snap my fingers and be normal! I would love to be able to enjoy a romantic dinner with my husband without stressing over will there be something on the menu I can eat.

Recently MSN posted an article about me, ok well not about "ME" but about people like me. Guess What I am not the only one!!!
The Grown-Up Picky Eaters Club
Check it out you will be suprised how many of "us" there are.

Here is a poem a fellow picky eater wrote hopefully it will help you better understand.

Confessions of a Unique Eater

Take a peek-a-boo glance, into the interesting life …
Of a picky-eating mom and happily married wife.
I refuse to be ashamed, of the way that I am …
and why do you care - if I love jelly, but hate jam.

I adore peanut butter, and I eat a ton of nuts …
but can't stand veggies, no if's – and's – or butts.
I'm a chicken finger fool, as long as they're fried -
but you better not put any sauces on the side!

Tomatoes are forbidden, yet somehow I like chili –
and I know other folks, just think that's really silly.
Hamburgers are okay – if plain and totally dry …
& DON'T scrape off the cheese – just don't even try!

I do love my oatmeal – and can enjoy tuna fish -
but of course, never together, not in the same dish.
My drinks must have ice, but no lemon in my tea -
& even though I love the smell – I never drink coffee.

I hate pasta, I hate rice – and like very little bread …
and truth be told – I prefer plain pancakes instead.
I hate the smell of eggs, but can eat French Toast…
and since I hate to cook, I am not the best host.

I have never eaten Pizza – or Italian food of any kind …
I never eat Chinese – the smell alone, makes me blind.
Forget about Mexican – those rice and beans are gross - -
no chips or salsa for me, not even the smallest dose.

No salads for this lady. No casseroles – no quiche.
And if I say " no thanks" – I actually mean it – SHEESH!
Now I do love bananas, and apples and oranges too -
and I might eat some grapes, but only just a few.

Now this is just a "taste" – or a "sampling" of who I am…
a gal who hates hot dogs – but doesn't mind spam.
If you understand me – GREAT - if you don't, oh well …
I just pray you're never plagued
-- - with such sensitivity to texture & smell.

Written by: Debra Sue Higginbotham
http://www.freewebs.com/50toefamily

Making new friends

Make new friends.....

But keep the old.......

One is silver........

And the other is gold!

I love making new friends, and I guess since we move so much and our lives are constantly changing that would be a good thing. So here is to all my friends, new and old, I love you all, my life wouldnt be the same with out you!

A real Laugh

As opposed to a fake laugh this guy actually made me laugh out loud! LOL

What did she just say?

I love the way a toddler talks when they are just learning new words!

We will sometimes hear a random "UCKIE" or "UHOH" but by far some of the funniest things she will say most people have no idea what it is and there is one thing even we dont know what it is all about.

We have the inevitable words that sound close to words that I promise she is not saying!!
"BUSHIT" = Push it, Daddy lets he push the car door closed.
And for a while she said
"OH MAN DIS" = oh man this, which a daycare worker swore that is not what she said.

"GOG GOG" = hot dog= Mickey Mouse
IT took me a while to figure it out, but at the enod of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, a new cartoon on Playhouse Disney, they sing a song "hot dog hot dog hot diggety dog"

"AHCO" = cold= ice
She loves to play with ice, and we would tell her it was cold, then when she started calling it CO we realized what we had done, and are working to fix that.

She has some words that have double meanings:

"KIKIN" could be Kitchen or Chicken
Understandable they are similar

"BUMMY" has several meanings tummy, bunny, and Barney
and one really close is "POMMY" = ponny

At least 2 or 3 times a day we hear "UHOH WHAT DO?" Which means she has done something wrong.

But the thing we still cant figure out is something she says often in a singsong tone is
"COOKIE SANNA"
If anyone knows what she is saying please let us know.

Maybe because it has been so long since the big kids had baby talk but I dont remember much of thier funny words, Tanner did call everyone with dark skin "KIGA WOODS" = Tiger Woods, Tod wanted to make sure his son knew all about golf including the players, starting with Tiger Woods, well Tanner didnt get that there was only one Tiger Woods.
Savana was pretty quiet, but boy has that changed, what I wouldnt give for peace and quiet these days. I will even go as far as to go to Wal-mart at 9:00 at night just to be able to buy groceries with out the kids.

This guy makes an intresting point.

The Carnton Plantation, Franklin TN.

If you live anywhere in the south you most likely have seen some historical landmark from the civil war. We had family in town last week and we all loaded up into 2 cars (because there were so many of us) and went to Franklin Tn to see the Carnton Plantation, if you have not yet been there......... skip it! Not because it isnt worth the drive and not because it is not beautiful! (because it is both) but because the people running it are the rudest people we have ever met in our lives! We were a large group of 10 (just our family) that included 4 kids (2 older kids and 2 babies) well apparently the tour guide for the day did not like kids and espically not babies, he made a sly little comment to our inlaws about their baby before we even went into the house, then said somehting to them about her wiche resulted in my brother in law and sister in law leaving the house with their baby. Next it was our turn, Kaylin was not even fussing just noticed the fake fruit on the table and kept saying "apple, apple" The guy said something again which at that point Tod left and took Kaylin out. Then my Mother in law's Fiance went out to offer to watch the babies so we could all see the house that left only Myself, Tanner, Savana, and my Mother in law on the tour. Savana got sick to her stomach as soon as we went upstairs and the guy started talking about all the soliders that died in the house during the battle, so I had to take her out. We paid $10 bucks for 10 people (each) and only 2 actually saw the whole house!
Needless to say Tod waited for the tour guide and let him have it for being so rude :)

So I am no longer Unoriginal

I finally got around to changing the name of my blog, I struggled with it for about 10 minutes sitting here trying to come up with something catchy, still nothing but at least I am not unoriginal anymore :) YAY ME!

Mullets and Billy Ray

If anyone watched Dancing with the stars last night you saw Billy Ray Cyrus attempt to dance to this song, well lets just say I havent laughed so hard in a while!

Crazy Army Wives

What is it about us? Maybe it is just not enough alone time with our hubbies (if ya know what I mean) but Army wives tend to get a little crazy when we get out of the house to have fun. We are ALL over-emotional at times. We move every 2-3 years. We raise our "brats"as best as we can when our husbands are gone half of the kids lives. We are so different yet we are all the same, we come from all over but we have that one common bond, our solider husbands. And that is what makes us special, not because we are better than anyone because of what our husbands do, but because when they are gone and we are here to fend for ourselves we always pull together and help each other out where we need to.

What amazes me about being an army wife is that I can go to the mall, or the grocery store, or even Pizza Hut, and instantly make a new friend, it is like we have a radar or something you are just sitting there minding your own business and someone makes a comment about how cute your kids are or something and next thing you know you know everything about that person and come to find out they are Army wives too.

I guess it has a lot to do with the fact that we know we don't have time to mess around when it comes to making friends so we find them wherever, and whenever we can. Knowing that you only have 3 years at the most to live in one place means that if you want to build a good circle of friends you better hurry up and do it before you have to move again.

Which brings me to my next point, once you have made that friend they are your friend for life. Because you never know when you might see them again at another post, or need a place to stay on the way to your next duty station. Every time we move my Christmas card list grows, after almost 15 years as an Army wife I now have friends all over the world (literally) and I love it!

Now that our years are starting to wind down and come to a close (only 5 years left) as an Army family I feel torn. Yes, it would be nice to stay put in one place for a while. Yes, it would be nice to live close to family for a change. But, I will miss my fellow Army wives desperately, even with all our flaws. We are a great bunch of ladies, who lovingly care for our heroes, and wait patiently for them to come home when they are gone. We lift each other up when one is having a hard time, and help her get back on her feet.

We raise our "brats" and try to help them understand why Daddy is gone for so long. We try to make up for it by doing special things and buying them cool stuff like it will make up for it or something, but the truth is NOTHING can replace Daddy in a child's life. Maybe that is part of the reason they are known as "Army Brats" they accumulate all these cool toys from all over but in the end it is just STUFF, nothing more, the only important thing is Daddy coming home safe. Everything else is just a distraction so that we can make it through yet another year with out Daddy.

Friends , dress up, and Wii

What could be more fun? Hanging out with friends playing dress up, and of course playing Wii.
What is it with boys and video games anyway? It is like automatic that boys want to play video games, don't get me wrong girls do to (myself included lol) but boys can so easily become addicts, it is like the world will come to a screeching halt if they don't play hours and hours of video games a day.




And girls on the other hand are perfectly content to dress up like grown ups and have tea parties even when they are 10 years old, OK OK so Savana doesn't dress up unless Belle is here, but she loves to dress Kaylin up and have tea parties with her.

Heros

I got this in an email this morning, I have no idea who wrote it but it touched my heart and I wanted to share it with whoever will read it. By the way the Hero to the left is my hero, my husband.



Two teams have now played their way to the Super Bowl and it got me to thinking. My hero wore a helmet, too. It wasn't a gleaming helmet with a team symbol on the side, though. It was covered in a camouflage pattern and bore the marks of the months of use it had seen. The dirt on my hero's face didn't come from a field of grass in a stadium in America. It came from streets and foxholes in a far off land. My hero didn't have a ball zinged past him. Instead, he felt hot lead whistle past his head and shrapnel rip at his clothes. When the skirmish subsided, my hero didn't get doused with Gatorade and head to a hot shower. Instead, he collapsed, exhausted, next to the wheel of a truck, hands shaking from what he had just experienced. He didn't get any cellphone calls congratulating him on a big win. Instead, he shook the hand of his buddy and thanked God they both had survived. My hero didn't get a shiny trophy or a ring or a million dollar contract extension. My hero got the satisfaction of knowing that he had made a difference for freedom and liberty in a way most will never know. My hero didn't lay down the ball after four quarters. My hero fought the fight until he laid down his life. Today, there are men and women in places around the world, wearing a uniform with the Stars and Stripes on the shoulder, who are REAL heroes. Their stories won't make the front page, they won't be talked about in every restaurant and bar in town. But their impact on the life that you! and I k now will far surpass that of the sports figures that will get the attention. I hope we, as a society, can keep it all in perspective.

Only two defining forces ever offered to die for you:

Jesus Christ and The American Soldier

One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.



Shouldn't YOU live a life worthy of the sacrifice?

So cool!

Ok people I want to teach my pup to do this it is the cutest thing ever!!!!

Bunny vs the snake!

I am not sure what is funnier the fight or the redneck talking in the background! LOL I love it it reminds me of home!

Kodak

this clip speaks for itself. LOL