March winds bring April showers?

I think that North Carolina may have that mixed up, because tomorrow and saturday calls for wind and yesterday and today called for rain showers...

When I was growing up I always loved the month of March. It was my birthday, yes, but also because it brought spring! In March it started to warm up enough to wear jackets instead of coats and t-shirts instead of sweaters. It was the begining of a new time of the year, and it brought beauty and sunshine. I still love March, but this year I am looking more forward to April, which starts tomorrow. Matt is done with training and he shouldn't be in the field, or ranges or doing too much this month. He has block leave and we are taking a vacation to the mountains! We will be staying in a cabin that has 2 bedrooms, 2 fireplaces, a full nice kitchen, living room, dining room, pation and hot tub! It also has a yard and a fire-pit. We will besically be relaxing, hiking, cooking and exploring the mountains!

We will also be celebrating our third wedding anniversary early as well. April is going to bring a lot of family time and a lot of good memories! So, I say, bring it on April, showers or wind!!!

God Bless!

Spring cleaning...

I never really understood Spring cleanning. Why not just keep your house picked up all year long so you don't have to do one annual cleaning? Well, this year I got it! It isn't that your house is dirty or unkempt, it is, to me at least, a time to do a major cleaning of things that don't need to be cleaned regularly. For example, I just cleaned every baseboard in the entire house, who knew they got so dirty? But, they aren't dirty every day or even every week... Closets too; front, storage, bathroom, linen... They get dis-organized and need to be cleaned up, but maybe not very often. And Spring is the time to put out the winter and bring in the cooler clothes of the spring and summer months.

Our house is clean almost always. It is lived in, but it gets picked up (minus the playroom) every night. But, after the last two days of cleaning walls and base boards our house smelled clean! Not like febreeze or candles, or fruity, but clean like sanitary! I am turning into a cleaning freak I think!

God Bless

March is almost over, here are some photo's...

Levi put on Bruce's jeans!

Totally clueless, had no idea I snapped a photo!

What a cheesey smile! 

He stole my seat and was acting aloof.

Here is a sequence of photos with Levi and Spot aka Spot baby.

Levi was drinking some milk and wanted his baby at the table with him.

Levi decided to get up and give his "baby" a drink of milk.

The final photo, he got in the chair with Spot, put him on his lap and "fed" him the milk!

What a sweet boy!

This face screams ornery!

Finally a smile from Bruce!

A brotherly hug!

The boy's were coloring together.

Levi didn't want to share the markers and was throwing a fit!

Now he is happy and they are back to coloring!

Both of them are concentrating...

Levi is sitting in the drawer of the train table, I guess he can reach it better from the drawer?!?!

Playing at the park, he is so much bigger this year than last year!

Playing with his friend.

Bruce and Cody (my cousin). He came down here to have dinner with us!

Levi didn't care for Cody at first, but he warmed up eventually!

Levi brought a stack of books, his chair and Spot to the living room.

He said he wasn't tired, but I went to check on him when I laid him down the other day and I found him in the chair in their room like this! He is dead asleep!

Bruce with his cheese grin in the play room!

We hoped that you enjoyed the pictures and you have a great end of the month! God Bless

Why I love having boys!

I am the mother of 2 boys! A toddler boy and a kindergarten boy. They are both very much alike, yet very much different at the same time! I have been asked a few times, "Don't you want a little girl?" But honestly, I never did. Not because my mother and I didn't get along, because we got along until I was a teenager, my grandmother was just like a mom to me, my older cousin was one of the people I hung out with most and spent most of my free time with, etc... So, I had good female relationships growing up, but I know how we are! Dramatic, expensive, mouthy, argumenative, we always want to be right, it is my way or the highway, bossy and emotional! I didn't want to share my female role in the household, I know, selfish, but if we ever had a girl, I would be just as happy and be glad to not be the only female in the house!

Anyway, I love our little boys for several reasons. They are rough and tough, rowdy, smelly, gross, mean, loud and much more, but they are very sweet to their mommy! Levi was just telling me "belbow", which means elbow drop, a little while ago. Then he proceded to elbow drop me and then hug me and say, "ove you mama"! Then Bruce plays, and every so often he comes to where I am and says, "Mom, I love you, just wanted you to know!" It melts my heart everytime! Waves, blown kisses and "I love you" signs from the school bus, hugs for no reason, random kisses and love you's are all what the boys surprise me with every day. Being a mommy is hard work, being a mommy to two boys is hard work as well! Levi already wrestles with Bruce, he was giving him a choke hold the other day, and Bruce taped out so Levi let him go (are they wired to know these things?)

Boys, boys, boys!

Impatience...

I have always had some sort of patience, but since having children and marrying Matt I have had to grow a whole new brand of patience. I have to wait a lot, but thanks to my growing patience, it isn't too bad. I have to wait for phone calls, wait to make vacation plans or date nights, wait to see where Matt will be, wait to make plans to go back home to see our families (which doesn't happen as much as we would like) wait for the boys to nap or wake up, or eat... Most of my waiitng now is Army related. I have to wait for phone calls or texts, information, days off at the last second...

I do this with minimal complaints, just the random, "Really, of course this would happen..." or something similar to it, most of the time. All of the patience and waiting that I do pays off, I get to see/spend time with/ enjoy Matt and the kids. But, it doesn't mean that it makes it any easier sometimes. I have learned that things will happen when they are supposed to no matter how much complaining or yelling or impatience we have or do.

God Bless

In the blink of an eye...

At Levi's 2 year check up the doctor reccomended Levi going to speech therapy since he wasn't saying 3 word sentences. I thought that on his second birthday that was a little too much for an average 2 year old, but that they started longer sentences later on after their birthday. Well, the appointment was made and the speech helper came to our house to give him a check to see if he needed it. To quote her, "he passed with flying colors". She informed me that "uh-oh" is a 2 word sentence, and "mama, dada" is as well. So, I wasn't worried anymore and I knew he was developing pretty quickly in the other areas since she tested him on those as well. Fast forward to 1 week later... "Mama, uh-oh, bubba no bed". A 6 word sentence! And it makes sense in a way. Translated: "Uh-oh mama, Bubba isn't in bed yet". When I layed down Levi without Bruce. And it is getting better every day. "Bubba bab boy me" is "Bubba is being mean (bad boy) to me". We are so impressed with his progress and we can't believe how quickly he is developing from a mumbling toddler to a talking little boy!

We are also surprised on his height. He goes up to Bruce's chin now! He is 36 inches tall, and the average height for a 4 year old is 37 inches! He is right on for his weight though, so he is a stick like his mommy! He also wears bigger clothes, which is a challenge with his skinny waist. And he gets himself dressed now, just backwards and upside down. He can open the refridgerator, which is not ideal, because he brings us things out of it that he wants! :) He can also open the car doors, which is also not ideal because we don't want him to ding into somedody else's vehicle! He is also the typical 2 year old. He throws a few fits, crys when he doesn't get his own way and takes toys from other kids sometimes. He is also attatched to my hip and it can be difficult to get him to play with new kids sometimes, it usually takes a little bit for him to detach from me...

Bruce is getting so big too. I am still baffled that we have a 6 year old! He is reading constantly now. Everytime he sees letters he has to read them! He does his homework with less help now (per his request). I still watch him like a hawk, but he wants to read the directions by himself and then figure out how to do it and then he will ask me if he is correct. He gets all of his school work done before lunch most of the time, so he gets free time at school.

He is making a lot of friends at school and loves going! He likes his teachers and I think he really enjoys riding the bus. He tells me everyday that he had a great day, but he missed dad, mom and Levi. He just started writing better also. His hand writing is also more legible that some grown adults!

I just wanted to update about our kiddos! They are both so intelligent and loving (most of the time)! ;)
God Bless

Day 28- My biggest pet peeve

I have a lot of little things that get to me. Lying, gossiping, alcoholics, self centered people, etc...

One thing that bugs me more than anything, and I would get rid of it if I could... SMOKING. Smoking cigerettes is nasty. It smells, it rots your teeth out, it spreads second hand smoke to innocent bystanders, turns your teeth/house yellow and most imporantly-it kills.

My mother has smoked since she was 13 or something like that. She is 49 years old now, and still smokes like a chimney. She is "disabled" and is always sick. I blame it on, and know it is for certain, from the cigerettes. She coughs like crazy and is probably sick 10 out of 12 months. I am surprised she still has lung function at all. Not to mention all of the cancer and death from cigerettes. I understand that they really rake in the money, but I am sick of people wanting to sell harmful and hurtful things for a buck. (For example, trying to legalize marijuana so they can tax it and get the money from it).

I will never smoke because I am stressed, bored or trying to be cool. I actually think smoking makes people less cool and defiently less attractive.

God Bless

Day 27- A picture of something pretty...

When we moved here, we noticed that we had a tall pine tree next to our house, another kind of pine tree near the edge of our yard and an ugly looking tree that was bear and empty right outside of our sliding glass door's view. Well, last March, the tree bloomed and we realized it was a beautiful dogwood tree with pretty pink flower buds! The picture below is the first day that it bloomed this year and the next picture is an edited version of the same photo. The only bad thing about this tree is that it will only stay bloomed and pretty for about another month and then it will be bear and empty again...

Wishy Washy Weather

It is March. In the past 9 days we have had shorts, jeans, t-shirts, jackets, coats, tank tops, boots, sandals and sweaters all mixed in. Now I don't mind the changing weather, but when it is 80 degrees one day and the next day is 45, that is drastic! I am ready for the boys and me to no longer have runny and dripping noses, which the changing weather is not helping with.

We have been in a drought here for a while as well. We had so many fires occur in the past few weeks that I thought we lived in CA for a moment. Acres and Acres have gone up in flames, house because of yard fires and even other sorts of buildings. We had a main road closed last week due to a fire even though we have been advised to do no burning. We did get rain a few evening ago and it made a huge difference in colors outside. When we got up the next morning I looked outside and the redbud tree had bloomed and the brown grass had turned to bright and beautiful green!

I talk about the weather a lot, sometimes I feel like I am a 70 year old who goes to bed early and always knows what the weather will be. I feel like my calling could be a meteoroligist sometimes! Today should be a cloudy 70, probably light winds if any at all and no rain until later!

God Bless and if you are reading this, thank you!

Some pictures that I took...

The day after Levi got his stitches we played football and soccer with the boys outside.

Dad tossing the ball to Bruce!

Levi was very happy to be playing football!

Trying to catch the ball.

Our morning coffee, Levi had to join in.

Silly faces from Levers.

A pretty tree that every where around here!

Levi with his friend Mia at Panera Bread.

Bruce's school play.

Levi was not happy that he had to be quiet.

Momma and Levi.

Grouchy face Levi with daddy.

Bruce

He was blowing us kisses!

He was one of the 50 states and he happened to be Arkansas.

Levi loves to bowl!

So does Bruce!

His granny shot.

Yes, Levi beat all of us! (This was our second game).

Our pretty tree that just started to bloom, it only stays in bloom for about a month or so.

Raining here, we have been in a drought so this was nice.

March is here...

There is an old saying I learned in Kindergarten that goes, "March winds, April showers, May flowers". Well, the last week of February was super windy, so if that is an indication of anything, March will be just as bad! I don't mind the wind, Levi hates it though! Last year I saw that here, March brought flowers too, more specifically trees and bushes with flowers! We have a redbud tree in our back yard, and it was only in bloom the months of March and April pretty much, along with our flower bushes too. Another thing that March brought us last year here was pollen... Ick! Not your normal little pollen flowers, or a little pollen in the air, NO! The whole state turns yellow from the nasty dust! We are full of trees here; every where you look you will see pine trees of all kinds among others.

March also brings my birthday! I am a huge fan of birthdays and I get a little bit sad when I meet people that don't want to celebrate theirs. I love getting older, celebrating the day I came into this world and getting cake! I also like to get birthday cards, because I just love cards in general! This year I will be 25 and I am looking forward to it very much!

March this year is also bringing Matt getting some training in, which is the norm. for us.
March should be full of fun, entertainment and getting things accomplished!

God Bless.

Day 26: Where do you want to vacation?

I have several places I want to visit. Some of those are closer than others, and some may never happen, but that is ok.

First, I want to visit New York and New Jersey. New York because I have always wanted to visit since I was a little girl and first watched Good Morning America or any other show filmed in NY. I have always wanted to go to Times Square, just to see it once! I want to go to New Jersey because Matt and I have really started to enjoy the show Cake Boss, and we would like to visit Carlo's Bakery and meet the family and have some yummy desserts! I also want to visit Canada, preferably Nigara Falls on the Canadian side. I want to visit Washington state, because I love rain! I want to visit Las Vegas becaue I want to see what the hype is all about. I want to visit Flordia, but mainly to see Disney Land and Sea World for the kids. I want to go back to Pennsylvania for a real Philly cheesesteak and to take Matt to gettysburg (because I have been there and it is amazing) and Indiana to see a Colts game! Dallas TX to see a Cowboys game, and then the Mall of America.

Out of this country, I want to visit Italy. Matt lived there, so I would love to visit it with him! I would also love to visit Germany, Spain, Greece, Sweden and Ireland. The one country I have always wanted to visit since I was in girl scouts and we had a foreign exchange student helping out, New Zealand.

There are a lot of places I hope to be able to visit one day! I always wanted to visit NC, and now I live here! This state is full of historical things and facts! I wanted to visit the ocean, and I finally got to do that last year, and the mountains I will get to see next month!

But, if none of this places get visited by us, or all of them, either way I wll be happy!

God Bless!