Addictions...

As a stay at home mom I have plenty of addictions. Diet cherry coke, twitter, facebook, email and now blogs...

Of course I have my kids to keep my busy. They are always more then happy to make a huge mess for me to clean two, three and some times five or six times a day. But that doesnt mean that I dont find time to check to see if anyone has bothered to comment on my latest post and I check my email box like a woman in the fifties checked her mail box while her beau was at war. (was there a war in the fifties, I should really look these things up before I say them). Anyways, what I'm really trying to get at is a how embarrassed I would be if I actually had to add up all the time I spend on this computer, when I could really be spending it with my kids. Or doing something productive like Oh I dont know... knitting something. Dont get me wrong I LOVE BLOGS! I love that little peek into someone elses lives. I love getting to make new friends that I have almost no hope of ever meeting in person. I get a huge adrenaline rush when someone who is semi-famous in the blogging world contacts me or comments on my blog. I know its nerdy be I'm being honest her and I really do!!! How silly is that? I guess in the end my blogging and tweeting really arent addictions as much as they are a release. They are a place where I can voice my opinion on just about anything. I place where I can say all the stupid things that I want and people can take them or leave them. I love the friends I've made doing this and I love getting all these jumbled up thoughts out of my head and on to the computer. Thanks for listening, even when it doesnt make any sense. And thanks for allowing me to have just a glimpse at your addictions too...

Sticky Note Tuesday...

Family Dinners... Are they really worth it?

Okay, so I am at my wits end. Food has always been an issue around here when it comes to George. He is just not an eater. Actually thats not true, he loves to eat... sandwiches, crackers, muffins, pancakes, french toast and pretty much any other breakfast food you can think off. Plus he will pretty much eat with no questions asked at any point in the day... Any point in the day that is except dinner time. Nope dinner time is a complete nightmare around here and has been since about the time George started to talk. That was right about the time that we started expecting him to eat whatever we were eating and right about the time he realized that he didnt have to if he didnt want to and that there was pretty much nothing we could do to make him. We have tried many different approaches to his picking eating habits. I've made him take a "thank you" bite of foods, I've given him smaller portions, tried cooking only things I know he likes (that got old really fast) and just given in at times and given him something that he will eat instead... I am losing it. At this point I have no idea what to do anymore. Part of me just wants to believe that he wont spend the rest of his life eating pb&j and part of me wants to think, "well maybe he will" I just dont want him growing up remembering family dinners as a battle zone. I want him to cherish the memories that we make by making a point to always sit down as a family to eat. I want him to look forward to dinner, not dread it all day long. What is it about dinner that makes him act this way. I dont have this problem with any other meal. Granted breakfast and lunch are always pretty much stuff that he really likes, but he gets up to the table eats it all and then goes and plays. I'm in crisis mode here people. At this point I'm willing to try anything and I'm about to give up... HELP

To quote a smart man...

One of my fav blogs is Stuff Christians Like. It is hugely popular and Jon is a genius. Today he wrote a post that I just had to share with everyone. I am posting part of it here, but please check out his blog, it is amazing to read on a daily basis. He is a blogging rock star.

So here is my shout out to Jonathan Acuff:

I pretended I had boxes.

I tricked myself into believing that sin can be placed neatly inside one part of my life. That it won’t trickle out of the box and spill into every area of my heart and mind. I pretended that I possessed the fortitude to compartmentalize. Surely what I do in my personal life won’t impact my professional life. I can act out in this sector of my mind, but keep things together in these other three.

But I couldn’t and neither can you and neither could Tiger Woods.

I don’t want to go into details of what’s been alleged about his extramarital affairs. There are far smarter people than me that have already covered it.

But what I do want to address is what my friends keep asking me about Tiger Woods:

“How could he have done that?”

“How could he have been so stupid to leave hundreds of text messages and voice mails?”

“Did he think he was going to be the first celebrity who didn’t get caught? Bill Clinton, David Letterman, Frank Gifford, Kobe Bryant, they all got caught. Was he expecting to break the mold and never get found out? What was he thinking?”

What kills me about those questions is the idea that in the middle of an affair you could make smart decisions. As if, in the middle of cheating on someone you would have the intelligence and rational to make wise decisions about how many text messages you should send. As if only part of you would be broken and wounded, but the rest of your life would continue moving along perfectly.

But sin doesn’t work that way.

There’s no such thing as a “smart affair.” Or a smart burglary or a smart lie. Every decision made in that moment is dumb on some level. I think it’s because sin is like a drop of poison in water. You wouldn’t put a little cyanide in a water bottle and then say, “Only the top is poisoned, I’ll drink from the bottom.” Not at all. You’d put the bottle down because the whole thing was poisoned.

I used to think I could hide. I used to think that I could keep secrets like my lies and my porn problems and my other issues in a box under my bed. And maybe if I kept the lid on tight enough, they’d never impact any other issue of my life. But that was a lie. Ask my family. Ask the people that told me to go home from work.

They’ll tell you.

But the good news, the wild truth that proves the point of how corrosive sin is, is also the same hope we can trust in. Simply put, God makes us new. This verse has been rocking me lately and I’ve already written about it, but it’s too big to just cover once or twice.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I’m convinced that God doesn’t make us better, because better wouldn’t be enough. Improved wouldn’t cut it. There’s poison in the water. New is the only way to get fresh and that’s what he offers.

To me. To you. To Tiger Woods.

Because we can’t box up sin. And when we pretend we can, things get really messy, really quickly.

Milk... a random thought

Today I want to talk about milk.... I know this is a totally random post, but milk seems to be one of our major issues still to this day. Some of you may know this already, but our youngest, Laney, will be 3 years old in February and she is still on Allimentum. Milk has always been a thorn in our side with Laney. She cant have cows milk, soy milk, rice milk or any other kind of formula. She gets crazy sick and has numerous nasty diapers all day long. Which as a Mom (or dad) you will know always leads to horrible bouts of diaper rash. That's right I am willing to admit that we havent even started the potty training process with Laney, but thats a whole nother post.

On top of not being able to drink the stuff, she wont even try most stuff. She loves her stinky, nasty, way to expensive formula and has for the past 2.5 years. But today we are trying something different (again)... I found hemp milk at the store and its even vanilla flavored. I figured now was the best time to try it, since we have a full stock of formula and the rule of thumb of course is when you dont need it to work, it will. But back to what I was going to say in the first place (stupid ADD)... There are so many milks out there!!!! None of which sound very good to me, but somebody loves them because they're out there. I mean really.... who knew you could milk an almond? And is it just me or does giving Laney "Hemp" milk sound a tiny bit illegal to you? So for now... if you talk to me, dont even bother to ask if shes potty trained lol we cant even get her off formula.

Christmas Photos... the not so greats

Okay everyone! I want to see your WORST Christmas pictures. It will be my second giveaway ever and I am SOOOOOO very excited about it. I love giving things away and I love getting stuff from y'all, so a giveaway right at Christmas time!!!!

So here is how its gonna go. You send me your worst Christmas photos with a cute little caption or a short background story on the pic and everyone will vote for their favorite. I compile the votes and declare a winner on Dec 30th. That way you have plenty of time to get your (not so great) photos from this year in too!

Cant wait to see what you come up with! Good Luck!!!!

Btw... I havent decided what I will be giving away yet, but You can be sure it will be awesome! Just another chance for me to find something super cool! I love shopping!!!! I will update this post as soon as I decide.

Update: I have chosen the prize!!!! There is a great artist on Etsy.com that makes these really cool Christmas Ornaments and I think that every mom needs one. Check her out at: www.etsy.com/shop/picardcreative Here is a pic of the ornament that I thought was just perfect for this Christmas! Enjoy and SEND THOSE PICTURES!!!!

These are my struggles

As most of you have noticed I haven't been blogging much lately. When I have its be just a bit here or there to update you about important information that I mostly want to get out to family and friends, but nothing really fun or entertaining. I'm sorry about that, I have really missed it. It truly is a release for me. Like I'm so sure it is for all of you.

But I have been under what I consider an attack. Mentally, physically and emotionally... I am a very spiritual person and feel like Satan has been doing his best to take everything I love from me. Including my love for blogging, reading and spending time with my family. Some of you already know that my marriage almost came to an end in the past six months. We are not very public people and have kept our troubles quiet. I dont plan on going into the details here now. I'm not ready for that, but I happy to say that things are getting so much better. We are stronger and our relationship with our Lord is also growing. Its weird when you can actually sit back and see the things that are destroying the relationships that are the most important to you and you're helpless to change things. I struggle with depression, anxiety and ADD daily and it now looks like I have Fibromyalgia. All of which are so much harder to deal with under mass amounts of stress. I am trying my best right now to deal with the stresses that come and go daily and not let them affect me like they have been in past months. My first thought was to run away from it all. To end any connection I had and start all over again, which has always been my way of dealing with things that seemed to overwhelm me. I get a "tape" in my head telling me how things are ruined and there is nothing I can do to fix them. That "tape" I'm now learning is Satan feeding me lies in an attempt to destroy all that I love.

Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You're not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It's the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith. The suffering won't last forever. It won't be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ—eternal and glorious plans they are!—will have you put together and on your feet for good. He gets the last word; yes, he does.

1Peter 5:8

Top Ten Thursday..

This is my first time participating in Sara's top ten Thursday. But here goes! Today mine is the top ten things I meant to do today and didnt. 1. I did not brush my kids teeth before school this morning... oops 2. I did not finish those three huge loads of laundry in the laundry room. 3. I did not pay my rent on time... oops 4. I did not spend two hours on the computer looking for Old Navy boots for my daughter for Christmas this year. (Okay thats just a flat out lie, I totally did that) 5. I did not finish unpacking all the boxes in my house. 6. I did not skip lunch (even though I promised myself I would) 7. I did not call that gym that I have been meaning to call for the past week. 8. I did not take ten people off my Christmas card list because I didnt order enough cards this year. (again a lie) 9. I did not consider driving 30 miles for no other reason then just to check my mail in a different city just so the kids would be strapped into the car for all that time and not driving me crazy.... (wow I really have to get this lying thing under control) 10. And the number 10 thing I did not do today is... I did not spend a half an hour looking for a new Christmas wallpaper for my Iphone. (ok thats the last lie I swear, at least for today lol) Well there you go.... all the things I "didnt" do. You should try it some time!

Okay I wont keep you waiting any longer

Well as some of you have seen on our facebook page, Ben and I have made a huge decision lately and we couldnt wait to share it with all of you. Actually, Ben doesnt think waiting would be such a bad idea. But I am not a patient person and I just couldnt wait to share our new family news. Now I know what your thinking... The Martin's are pregnant again. Nope, we're not. We will not be "having" anymore babies, I can promise you that. But our family will be getting a little bit bigger some time in the next year or two (hopefully). Ben and I have decided to adopt. We are have been talking about this for years and finally feel like we are ready to start the process. We are still looking into what country we will be adopting from or if adopting stateside would be best for us. Like I said we are in the very beginning stages of the process and for now, we are taking baby steps. But I just couldnt wait to share the new with all of you and ask for all your prayers during this new journey in our lives. Lots of Love!!!!

NEW URL

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have changed the URL to our blog. I'm so excited to tell you that I finally have my own domain name!!!! Our new web address will be www.ourwonderfulbeautifullife.com. But you will still be able to put in our old address www.mandiandbenmartin.blogspot.com and find the blog! So please update your bookmarks!

HO, HO, HO (and a little touch of bah hum bug)

Ok, so its Christmas time and for those of you that follow me on twitter you know that I am completely 100% not ready. I havent so much has bought a single gift this year. Yea I know what your thinking... " Mandi there are plenty of people that dont do their holiday shopping until Dec. Thats when you get all the good sales." Well thats just not me. I'm a buy all year kinda girl. A go out on Black Friday kinda girl. A I have everyone's perfect gift wrapped and ready to go by the 15th kinda a girl. A... Well you get the point. But not this year. This year I will be a fly by the seat of my pant kinda girl.... And well to be honest I'm not really sure how to deal with that. Between the multiple moves, a removal of a nonessential body part and the complete change in lifestyle that we are currently undergoing I am well...I'm just not ready for old Saint Nick to come plopping down my chimney. So if you dont get a gift this year please know that it wasnt for a lack of trying, just more a lack of time and if you get a gift and its from Wal-Mart, well just know thats about as fancy as it gets for us way out here in the sticks... Love you all... Merry Christmas and Well cut me some slack people ok... lol just kidding love ya! Mandikins!

She is a beautiful girl.....

But its time people.... It is time for Laney to be potty trained. I'm not sure how this is going to go over once we inform Laney of this fact. But we will soon be entering PottyTraining BootCamp...

As of wednesday until sunday she will only get diapers at night. It will either be panties or nothing for the rest of the day. I will follow her around with a potty as ever much as I need to. But I will have her peeing in that potty at least once before the weekend is over.

Now you explain all this to this super sweet face...

What Just happened here?

Well it all started Wednesday afternoon when I told Ben that I wasnt feeling very good. I had a tummy ache and really just didnt feel up to anything. I went to bed that night thinking it was indigestion (from my very healthy diet) and that I would take some pepto and be fine in the morning. Well my tummy ache kept me up all night and by the next day it was just this huge pain in my side. We had promised the kids we could meet them for the Parent invited Thanksgivings lunch they had planned at their school, so I popped a Tylenol 3 and headed to the school. By the time the lunch was over I was in pain again and quickly headed home to put laney down for a nap and lay down myself. Ben came home at 5pm to me curled up on the couch in some pretty serious pain. So I went begruningly to the ER (thinking they were going to tell me I had gas or something equally non serious) and send me home. Turns out, not so much. My appendix as double its normal size and had to come out NOW. So I was taken via an ambulance to another hospital 30 minutes away and rushed in to the OR. It all actually happened so quickly that by the time my MIL drove a hour to our house and then Ben drove a half hour to the other hospital I was already out of surgery. They got the whole thing out and I only have three little scars to show for it. The only scary part really was that I almost just went to bed instead of listening to Ben and going to the ER. I really thought it was going to be a waste of time. Thank God, that I made myself go up there. Because from what I've heard a burst appendix is a whole lot worse then appendicitis. So here I am laying in bed taking it easy and trying to prep myself for the next crazy week we have coming up. Leave it to me to have minor surgery the week before a birthday, move and Thanksgiving... I'm such a drama queen. LOL

A true love of nature...

So I tried to convince myself to get up last night and write this post. Since I was just laying there thinking about everything I had to say and how I wasnt going to fall asleep anytime soon I might as well put the time to good use. Then the worst thing that could possibly happen to you when you're having one of those "words spilling out of your mind" moments happened... I fell asleep, so quickly in fact that I had dreams about what I was thinking about writing. So... Now I have to try to remember all the details of the quirky and funny story I was wanting to tell you last night. Since we are living on a farm (Ben's dream home... it even has a pond on it) Ben has taken advantage of the rural landscape to show the kids some of the things they just dont get to see as much living in the city. One day he was taking the younger two out for one of their nature walks (Carolina, like her mother, prefers to stay inside) and there were grasshoppers everywhere. They were jumping around so much one of them actually landed on George's hand. They all held very still and got a real good look at it. Finally after they had seen and talked about this cool new bug Ben and George decided it was time to let it go. So George moved his little hand and the grasshopper jumped right off onto the ground. Well I guess Laney wasnt done looking at it quite yet and she ran over to the rock that Mr. Grasshopper had landed on and with all the force she could muster... stomped on him. Yep, thats right... she killed him. LOL Ben said "Laney you dont kill the grasshopper, you set it free." To which she replied "Nope, he's deaded." Then she proceed to run inside to tell me all about the deaded bug outside. "Guess what Mommy!!!! The bug is deaded! I smushed him! He jumped off Georgie and I and I killed him!!!" She was so excited that she had gotten the better of this poor little grasshopper. Not quite the true love of nature moment Ben had intended it to be, but a memorable moment none the less. God, thank you for my beautiful crazy little children...

Three day weekends...

Well today is the first day of our first 3 day weekend. What do you do with a husband that only has to work four days a week? Well you put him to work of course. You make a huge list of all the things that have to be done on that one day. Thankfully I have plenty to keep him busy. I mean I wouldnt want him to get bored or anything. lol So today we are off to play catch up. I will get my official TX tags for the Sub and maybe even my very own TX drivers License!!! I'm so excited! I've never had a TX one before, but have always wanted one. It really makes it feel official, I'm really a Texan now... And speaking of being a Texan... I have news on that front to. At Tarleton State University they are called the Texans and as of Jan 19th I will be one of them. Thats right I'm going to a real University! I'm so excited about it, actually I'm not the only one... Ben's pretty excited to (partially because he will also be a student for the next 6 months at work) but mostly because I will be the first person in my family to get a degree. We decided that the older the kids get the more we need to be a two income family and we are blessed with the fact that the Navy is footing the whole bill. Thats right, something great is coming out of Ben's 12 years of service to the US Navy... a free degree for me! Thank you Post 9-11 gi bill!!!!!! I am planning to major in communications and minor in finance. I'm not really sure what kinda job that means I'm gonna look for after I graduate, actually at this point I'm just thinking about getting thru 4 years of school. Its been a long time and since I didnt technically finish school, I have a lot of catching up to do. But we are very excited about it and I'm very excited to have such a great support system. I'm a pretty blessed girl...

"Hey, lets let someone else move in our house!"

Okay so this ones gonna be a rant... So sit down, hold on tight and prepare for maybe some bad language. About four months ago Ben and I had an Epiphany. Since we cant sell the house, lets just rent it out. We'll find some super nice people and let them live in our beautiful home for a monthly payment, that I'm sure will always be on time (if not early) each month. Lets post an ad, meet with them and maybe even become friendly with them before they move in just to get to know them. Check, check and check... So month one arrives and hey, something funny happened at the bank and the direct deposit didnt go through. Well thats weird, but she's gonna wire us the money ASAP (one week later and 200.00 dollars short) and everything will be fine next month. She'll even change banks if she has too. Month two rolls around and wouldnt you know it, rent doesnt show up again. You know rent, plus the 200.00 dollars that she owes us from last month... Okay, well just send me a check. waiting....waiting....waiting... NOTHING. Then out of the blue one day 1200.00 shows up in my bank account. Then a couple of nights later (like 10) she shows up at Ben's house with 800.00 cash...and assures us that this will NEVER happen again. October 1st rolls around and thats right you guessed it, NO RENT!!! Only now we are waiting for her rent to pay our rent and things are starting to get ugly. I have to call the property manager and actually ask her to hold the check that I wrote her so that it doesnt BOUNCE!!!! UMMM Can you say embarrassing... Finally we get a hold of her "husband" (we're still not really sure about that) and he wires us 1500.00 dollars. Great, thats only 300.00 short of what rent is... I guess in their little world you just pay what you can and assume the universe will take care of the rest. So the decision is made that these people have got to get the H**L out of our house. Not to mention that we cant sell it with them in there. Oh and lets talk about selling it for just a second. They also told us that they wanted to buy our house and we went thru a entire month long process with them to close on the house, which they backed out of at the very last minute... So on Oct 15th we told them they had 2 weeks to find somewhere else to live and that we would be putting the house one the market. Meaning that they would be moved out by the 31st. Well the 31st came and went and they were still in there. Ben and I get a phone call yesterday ( the 1st) telling us that they house they were supposed to move into was suddenly bought over night, with cash, oh my!!!! And now they have no where to move :-(

So not my prob. So Ben spent the better part of yesterday watching them get all their shit stuff out of the house until 1am. Well all of their stuff except for the HUGE pile of trash in our garage and when I say huge, I mean taking up a whole parking spot huge and the broken furniture off our lawn!!!! But this is actually a good thing, well sorta...

They are gone and out of my house and it can now be placed on the market will we will NEVER EVER EVER rent out again...

Its a whole new world...

Ok so this post will most likely be premature. But I felt the need to say a few things about the fact that in just a few short hours my husband will no longer be active duty in the Navy and I will no longer be a submariner's wife. This change, as with all changes, will come at a cost. There have been many many many times over the past 10+ years that I have wished that we never had to have anything to do with the Navy again. A fact that ALL of my military wife friends can agree with. Being a military wife is HARD to say the least. We are the moms, the dads, the taxis, the bookkeepers, the maids, the chefs and the cheerleaders for our husbands. Some days it just comes naturally and when someone says " I just dont know how you do it." You smile and say " You just do." Luckily for those people that is usually a good day. Most of the world doesnt see the bad days. The days that you spend most of the day crying and telling your kids you just dont feel like coloring today. The days that you serve cereal for dinner because you just cant bring yourself to make a full dinner when the only other person that would eat it is gone. Those are the bad days, the days we as military wives try our best to hide and only share with each other.

But each other is what we have. I cant say there has ever been a time in our military life that I havent had a shoulder to cry on. The submarine force has always been like a family for me. Theres the family members that you love and feel like you were truly related to and then the family members that you "avoid" at the family reunions. Ha ha ha Theres the family members that take charge and make sure everyone is doing okay while the guys are gone and then ones that need that extra bit of help getting thru it all. But in the end the only word that comes to mind about my fellow submarine wives is... family. A family I now feel like I am losing. I have so much respect for all the wives of the guys that are "career" guys. They will do 20 years doing things everyday that women in the outside world would never understand. I'm proud to say that I was part of that. That I was strong enough... To all of my friends out there that are still doing the Navy thing, I love you, I'll miss you and just always remember.... YOUR DOING A GREAT JOB!

A Texas pumpkin patch

So every year we take the kids to a pumpkin patch. There has never been a year that we missed and even though Ben isnt here with us, I decided to hitch up my big girl panties and take the kids myself. Wow... I so should have rethought this idea. Not that we didnt have a good time. We had a great time! Despite the fact that there was NO pumpkin patch! Thats right there was only a big barn with a bunch of pumpkin sitting in rows. But thats not even the worst of it. After driving for about 45 minutes we were greeted at the gate by a nice lady (with a cash register) informing me that it would be $9.00 for me and $8.00 for each of the kids to get into the "pumpkin patch". Well we were there and its not like I could have looked at the kids and said something along the lines of "Sorry y'all, but mom isnt paying this outrageous fee just so y'all can roll around in some hay." Nope I gave the girl the money (after asking if they had a military discount, which they didnt. But the nice lady did say "But we sure do appreciate y'all" to make her me feel better) We went in and I paid yet another 18.00 for pumpkins for the kids to paint and 10.00 for a pumpkin to carve. So all in all it was a very expensive day...

That being said it also ended up being a great day for pictures. I got some really beautiful shots of the kids that day.

A castle of cardboard...

So we have been living in a much smaller house then we were in before. Which has meant that we have had to leave a lot of our stuff in boxes, Lots of boxes. We currently have one whole bedroom, the office and a storage unit filled to the brim with said boxes. At first I thought it would be no big deal, that in fact it would teach me to live without so much stuff and help us in our attempt to downsize our life. Which is something that we have talked about doing for quite some time now. Dont get me wrong I am still all for downsizing and I still truly believe that we have WAY TO MUCH STUFF. That being said I feel like daily something I need is in one of those boxes. Which I am trying very very hard to not unpack. Some of them just cant be unpacked due to the fact that in our current temp house we have not garage, but some of them we have just decided arent needed right now. But the problem with a box is that although you might not need 95% of whats in there.... that other 5% would really come in handy. So between living without and convincing myself NOT to buy something to replace something I know I already have life has been trying to say the least. I will be happy the day I dont have to see a single cardboard box in my home again. Even more so, I will be extremely happy the day I am no longer in a "temp" house and finally in our home.... So pray for us, keep us in your thoughts or just wish us luck. This to shall pass....

Welcome to Texas Y'all!!!!

Well its final, we are actually living in a house in the little town of Glen Rose, TX. And by we I mean the kids and I, Ben is still living up in WA finishing up his tour in the Navy. We have (officially) 33 days to go until we tell active duty to kiss our good-bye. Ben will continue his military service in the Naval Reserves, which we have heard is quite the cake walk compared to active duty. No more sea tours, no more duty (which we havent done in a while) and no more underways! These are exciting things to even think about... We have found our dream home and cant wait to move into it. Actually we can wait and we will be until December 4th, as this is our closing date. I know what your thinking. Dec 4th!!! But thats so far away... As most of you know we rented out our house in Bremerton. Well it turns out that our renters love our house so much they want to buy it. Thats right, we are currently under contract with them to close on the house on the 15th of October. We are very excited about this and it really feels like a blessing. Then we will be waiting for Ben to leave the Navy on the 30th of October and then start the drive down here. He will be starting his new job on the 9th of November. And since the new job will be giving us such a generous signing bonus we have decided to wait till we get that to use as a down payment on the home we plan to live in for longer then two years our kids will grow up in. Until then we will be living here... 101 Hunter Dr... Our cute little 1300 sq ft home for then next two months. I only mention the size of our "cute" little home because as of friday we will be trying to squeeze 2600 sq ft of stuff into it. Part of me has no idea where we are going to put everything and never wants it to arrive. Then the other part of me just wants to wake up every morning look around and see my stuff again, it feels like its been gone forever. Thankfully Ben will be here to help me out (theres a navy first I'm sure some of my navy wife friends will be jealous of) and we are hoping that everything we dont need will fit into the garage. Its only three bedrooms, so we are trying to introduce the shared room concept to them. I havent decided yet who it will be that shares a room. I tried Carolina and Laney first (sisters sleeping together of course) and that didnt work out well. It actually ended with Carolina crying begging for me to take her out. Soooo then we tried Laney and George and that actually went a bit better. And since somebody will be sharing their room when we more into the new house, now seems like the best time to figure out who the better roommates are. So as of right now we are living with two air mattresses, a futon, a folding card table and $11.80 worth of thrift store household goods. Wish us luck, pray for us and keep us in your thoughts...

I'm about to scream....

Ok heres the deal... I finally got around to editing all my pics and writing my blog and getting ready to post it. Anddddddd then my stupid computer or stupid blogger decided that it wasnt going to upload them. So I have been sitting here for the last 30 minutes trying to get anything... anything to upload to my blog and nothing has worked. So I am going to take little break and come back to it... Maybe I can fix it later. So I just wanted y'all to know that there are pics on the way, today. Just not right now....

Dang it!!!!!!

Award winning stuff here!!!

Okay so I just got my first award! I'm so excited. I love this whole blogging world. I ramble on about stuff that bugs me and I get an award for it! How cool is that??? I'm actually quite the lazy blogger. Most of my blogging friends have something new posted everyday. I on the other hand only get something new up every few days. So to get an award even thought I'm not constantly on my blog (thanks for the heads up Tiffany, I swear I was heading over to your blog tonight to read up) is saying a lot. Tiffany is one of my two regular commenter's on my blog and I love seeing something new from her in my email every time she does. Y'all should really check out her blog at Paging Doctor Mommy. She is one that gets something new up all the time and I love reading all about Reagan, shes adorable!!!!! Thanks again Tiffany for the great award! Also check out these other blogs that got awards from Tiffany!

Disturbing

So most of you know about my son Trevor. But for those of you who dont here is the back story. When I was 16 years old I hit a bit of a, well lets call it a rebellious period. I started dating much older guys and well to be blunt partying all the time. I thought at the time I was so grown up and was as they say 10 foot tall and bullet proof. I met this guy that I thought was so cool. He was 21 and he really liked me. It took us all of 2 months to get pregnant the first time. He convinced me that because he was Catholic it was a sin to use protection... haha So getting pregnant didnt take long. But once I got pregnant everything changed. Anthony and I started arguing all the time and I moved in with a friend. With in about two week so finding out I was pregnant I had a miscarriage and was devastated. I blamed Anthony, but didnt break up with him. Instead I started acting out even more. I moved back in with my Mom, but she had little to no control over me. And to be honest I think she felt so bad for me that she just didnt know what to do. Anthony and I continued to date even though by this time I really couldnt stand him. My mom has said many times that she thought I was just trying to get pregnant again. I've never really agreed with this, but looking back now I cant recall anything that was going thru my head at the time except grief. Even at 16 losing a child really did effect me greatly. I lost the first baby on Dec 12th of 1995 and found out I was pregnant again in Feb of 1996. The doctor said that I got pregnant the first week in Jan. I decided the day I found out I was pregnant again to break up with Anthony. I told him he had to move out and he told me he was going home to Minnesota. He packed up his car and left and I resolved to only talk to him when I had to about the baby. About 30 minutes later is when we heard the sirens going off. I made an off the cuff remark about it being Anthony.... and it was. He had run his car into a tree down the street from my house and my whole life changed. 

Anthony didnt die that day. Actually he wasnt even hurt, but it was enough to make me take him back. He left two days later and I ended up following him up there...

I was a lucky one. I could tell you all the crazy things that happened over the next two years. But its a long crazy story. I'll just say that I couldnt have made it through with out my wonderful mom and sister. Fast forward and Trevor is going to be 13 years old this year. He has spent 90% of his life living with my mom. Which over the years has left us answering lots of questions from nosy strangers. For some reason when you have a different situation in life people assume that they can ask you anything and they do. Everything from "Will he ever come live with you again?" to the much more invasive "Dont you miss him?". Its always amazed both me and my mom what people thought it was okay to say to us. I will sum it up quickly by saying this. At 17 I had no health insurance and little money. Then 4 years later when I did I felt like he was where he was happy and belonged... with my mom. The two of them have always shared a special bond. 

So now to why I am writing this post. The other day I was folding laundry and looking for something to watch on tv. I came across this show on MTV called Sixteen and Pregnant. Watching it I see so many of the same things I went through, but that part of what worries me. I was really blessed with  wonderful family that supported me so much. Most girls dont have that and will a show like this make having a baby in high school seem like fun... like a good idea. Will it make them think it makes you look more grown up? I mean I guess it does make you look more grown up, since you look tired all the time, your constantly working and you cant go anywhere with out finding a sitter, oh and dont forget you never have any money. Why cant we have a show about teens that are saving themselves for marriage? Why are there no shows about the kids that are working hard to go to college or make something of themselves? Am I just getting old? Are there really that many more girls out there getting pregnant these days or is TV just getting more and more disturbing? I know that stuff happens when your young, I know that girls still get themselves into the same situation that I did, but do we really have to have a show about it. Should we really be making these girls feel like their pregnancies are going to make them famous? Dont be ashamed girls, thats so not what I'm saying. I have never been ashamed of Trevor and I love him more then anything. But I do know that if MTV had showed up at my school and said they wanted to put me on TV it would have put the wrong idea into other girls heads. Suddenly getting pregnant would have been so cool and not something that was going to make life so much harder. Because no matter how much I love Trevor, having him did make life harder. My life is still harder to this day simply because I am constantly wondering if I am doing right by him or if by not living with us I am hurting him. I will always worry that I didnt make the right decision... I know that I will be there for my kids if anything like this should happen to them just as much as my mom and sister were there for me, but at least I know that I will never let MTV or any other channel show my kids this glamorized version of teen pregnancy... 

3222 Chantel Ct NE

Well here it is folks... I thought y'all might like to see what my house looks like clean. Oh and if you know anyone who's buying in the central kitsap area give me a call!!! http://locator.nwmls.com:80/scripts/mgrqispi.dll?APPNAME=Locator&PRGNAME=MLSLogin&ARGUMENT=I9xUF6hi%2BAmcF%2B8gU%2BqONoOGzDp5pUwu2N3a6q%2FlSn8%3D&KeyRid=1&Include_Search_Criteria=

Our first Graduation

Our sweet Carolina is now officially done with preschool. Can you believe it? Just yesterday she was learning to crawl on Matt and Michelle's floor in CT and now she's 5 1/2 years old and moving on to "real" school (as she calls it). When I enrolled her in Silverdale Lutheran Preschool three years ago it was because they had a two's program and she didnt have to be potty trained. I wasnt thinking at the time that it would be where she would spend her entire preschool life at. I didnt know it was going to become our preschool family and where Carolina would actually have schoolyard friends for three years. I'm sure her graduation was like just about any other one going on this week, but being a super proud Mommy I just had to post all about it! 

 They sang songs:

They received diplomas and their very own bibles. At which point all the kids forgot we were there to see them and all of them began looking through their bibles. They had to be reminded that they got to take them home with them and could actually look at them later.

Afterwards we all went all over to the fellowship hall for cookies and some arts and crafts for the kids. All three of them ate their weight in cookies and lemonade and I bid on Carolina's class quilt and won it! It was 20.00 bucks but totally worth it since it has all the kids hand prints on it from her class. Most of the kids have been with her since they were in the twos class and I'm so happy to have that to treasure. We got to see the kids "person" that they drew. Which Carolina has been very excited about for some time now. They actually laid down on the floor and the teacher traced them. Then they decorated it... Carolina is all about anything that has to do with art, so she was very happy to have something up on the walls! The first picture is of Oliver and Cara. They are two of the original kids from the two's class and have always been two of Carolina's best buddies. Oliver was actually Lina's boyfriend they year (which totally freaked me out) and Cara is the other cheetah girl! Our last part of graduation was our annual trip to Evergreen park. I will miss not making that trip every year. This year was by far our most beautiful day that we've had in three years. But I will be doing a whole seperate post because I took some really beautiful pictures that day, even though we were in horrible light...

I've done this a hundred times...

Okay, so this moving thing is really getting this best of me this time. Whats up with that? Ben and I have moved 5 times in the 7 years that we have been married and all of those were in the first 4 years for pete's sake. So when it comes to moving I have it down to a science... Well until now that is. For some reason I just cant seem to get this one going. Every time I walk into a room to get it ready for taking pictures and having the realtor come out it, well it pukes on me! I mean I walk out of every room with it looking worse then when I started. Oh and the kids... Dont even get me started on how much help a 5 year old, a 4 year old and a 2 year old can be while your trying to "organize" a room. Apparently a child's favorite place to play is a nice (mostly) clean room! This morning they thought it would help me out so much if they removed every piece of tupperware and pots and pans out of the cabinets and put them all in the living room. Which would have been a huge help if I had say... needed to clean out those cabinets (just did that last week) or had been having maybe a tupperware sale. Other wise it was not help at ALL! 

I just keep looking at different rooms realizing how much still has to been done and then walking back out shaking my head... To make matters worse I am completely out of ADD medication! So I'm just floating from room to room like a damn space cadet not really getting anything done. Okay, well I guess it back to getting nothing done. 

Its about time...

Okay, so I've had almost two hundred hits today (thank you Dr Laura!) and so I thought it was about time to make my own button. So here it is: Let me know what you think and if you post it on your blog. I would love to see it and mention your super cool blog on here!

Mandi! So just copy this code and add it to an HTML code box in your layout. <center><a href="http://mandiandbenmartin.blogspot.com"><img border="0" alt="" src="http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss337/mandi3067/OWBCLbutton.jpg"/></a><br/></center>

Laundry... it will be the death of me

There are a lot of things about being a mom and housewife that I am so not any good at, laundry is one of them. It is the thorn in my side, the cross I have to bear, the kryptonite to my superman powers... Okay, maybe I'm blowing it a bit out of proportion, but its hard. Its always there. I spend entire Saturdays doing it just to wake up Sunday morning to a new pile. Seriously what could be more uninviting then five peoples dirty underwear (ok four peoples undies... my youngest still blesses me with five or six dirty diapers a day) waiting in a huge pile outside the laundry room taunting me... I mean I should have known something was up when the house we bought came with a whole room dedicated to laundry. I'm in my mid-twenties a grown woman and I still enjoy my mother coming to visit just so she can catch the stupid laundry up. Which is great until two days after she's gone and we're right back to where we started. I did learn a valuable lesson recently... If you dont want your mother in law to know what kinda underwear you wear, dont ask her to do your laundry!!! 

So here I am writing a post about doing laundry instead of actually going upstairs and doing laundry. That would be much to productive for me. I would much rather sit and ask the question of why laundry has to be d0ne, then to bite the bullet and actually get it done. Oh and here is another question for you. Why do we hate to put laundry away so bad??? I mean once I get started it really only takes me a couple of minutes. But its like pulling (my own hair) to get my lazy butt up and start putting the stuff away. I would rather look at it in the basket and get stuff out of the basket then to take the five (oh my word FIVE) minutes it would take me to put it in the drawers...Whats up with that? I cant be the only one that feels this way. Oh well I guess I have drug out this topic for all its worth and now I have no choice but to go up  there and tackle the pile that I know will return tomorrow.... Being a housewife is hard!

Dr Laura... Is this crazy or what???

Hey Y'all, So a couple of weeks ago I got this really cool description of a Military wife on my facebook page from another fellow Navy wife. I thought it was pretty cool and very accurate. So, because I liked it so much I decided to post it on my blog and let everyone else see it. I didn't write it and would love to know who did... if for no other reason then to say Thank you... Thank you for writing something that touched me and so many other women that have visited my blog. Thank you for going through it with me and knowing how it feels to be a Military wife and thank you for bringing so many women together. Oh and thank you for getting me on Dr. Laura's website! Next stop Oprah.com lol! Anyways here is my 15 seconds of semi-fame. Notice my blog is at the bottom of the letter!!! So very very cool. Thank you family member to Leeann that sent this in for me. If you havent read this post you can check it out here at What is a Military Wife? Mandi You can read this and the rest of my blogs on OurWonderfulBeautifulLife at www.mandiandbenmartin.blogspot.com

My new baby has a name...

So this post is going to shock some of you, make some of you smile and make the rest of you shrug your shoulders and say " There she goes again..."! As of this week it is official, I am running my own business. No, I did not sign up for yet another direct sales job. I am not selling make up or jewelry or even cooking supplies. Nope this time its all me, my talent and my passion that I'm attempting to make a living doing or at least enough to pay for this equipment I purchased over the weekend...

Okay no more stalling here it is. I am now the official photographer of AJ Photography. Business cards are on the way, my camera is bought and I am even looking into working with a couple other girls that already have  a studio space. I am planning something with the church and maybe even something with my mom's group. I am working on my portfolio and have lots of "plans" that need to be worked out and put into action this summer before we leave. I am so very very excited and cant wait to share all the ups and downs with you. I wanted to make photography my job and now I am. Ben has been super supportive and even questioned why this took so long. Oh and my new camera for those of you that are interested is a Canon EOS 50D. I have been very snap happy since I got it and even took a trip up to Bellingham to hang out with my really awesome photographer friend Chad, from DeRosa Photography, and his girlfriend. They showed me an awesome time up there and I learned so much just from following him around. I cant wait to do it again. Here are some of the pics I took up there. 

ADD... my reason or my excuse

Okay so let me start this post by saying that I do actually have clinically tested and treated ADD. Anyone who actually knows me or talks to me for longer then ten minutes or tries to keep up with me when my mind is going a hundred miles an hour or even relies on me to do something that could possibly (in any way) resembles doing something on a regular basis, can attest to this. So tonight I thought I would give y'all a little glimpse into my head. Some of you will walk away saying "Hey that sounds just like me!" and others will be thinking "Theres no way one person is that flighty!" Let me assure you there is... I am constantly bouncing from thing to thing. I love stuff and when I love it, its all I can think about. I'm going to be the best at everything. I am passionate about everything from the type of toothpaste I use to my photography. Problem is I'm only passionate about stuff for about a week... Do I still feel the same way about my toothpaste? Yes, am I still willing to drive all the way to Tacoma to get it like I swore I would from now on last week... ummmmm no. Am I on my blog everyday? No, but do I constantly think about my blog, even think thoughts like I'm writing a post. Absolutely!!! Do I ever actually write them down or make a point to get on here two or three times a day...ummmm no. Do I make friends everywhere I go only to lose them because I am the worst caller/emailer/facebooker/comment on other's blogs friend ever.... ummmmm yes. Do I spend hours online looking for classes to take only to get bored by the time I actually find the one I want.... ummmm yes. Was I told to take it easy this week because of surgery and then have one of my most productive weeks in months? ummmm yes What is it about someone telling you to relax that makes you want to do laundry? I never want to do laundry, but this week I actually got satisfaction outta putting all the laundry away. (Maybe my husband is slipping something in my tea, that just doesnt sound like me) haha that totally rhymed y'all! Want to know whats happening at this very moment in my head: well, theres a song playing (forever by Chris Brown fyi), I'm wondering if its this week or next week that the kids are outta school, did I feed the dog dinner?, what time is it?, is anyone going to read this, does this make sense?, im itchy, "i wont let ya cha fall, let ya cha fall, let ya cha ummm girl" (sorry its that damn song) Well there it is. Not much to look at but hey thats me. Tomorrow you get to hear all about my kids running from my camera and see the resulting pictures! Also, check back to see if I managed to talk Ben into the Canon 50d + accessories! lol

Not Me Monday

Are you feeling guilty for pretending not to notice your toddler playing with the dogfood? Feel like a slouch for staying in your jammies all day? We'll don't! Not Me! Monday was born out of MckMama's desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing! Enjoy this weeks Not me Monday and head over to MckMama's to check out all the other ones from around the world!!! Okay, so this past week was not one of my craziest yet. I did not at any point get my belly button peirced and then turn around two days later and get a tattoo on my arm. I am way to old for that kinda stuff and there for would never do that. But if I did, it would be way cool looking and I would so post about it later. Oh, but I didnt so do dont look for it. I did not get a text from a girl that was watching my kids asking if my kids could swim in their undies. I did not tell her that I couldnt care less if the kids swam in their underoos, I so dont raise my children like that people. I did not arrive to pick them up and quickly strip my 2 yr old down to a diaper, only to decide that it was going to fill up really fast and then remove said diaper. So I did not end up with two kids running around in dirty underwear (from sitting on the ground, not from me not washing them) and one completely naked. Who does that, I mean really have some class... Oh and then when we were leaving I did not decide that it would be better for everyone (well not me) to ride home naked since their clothes were wet. I was not worried the whole ride home of getting pulled over or in a wreck simply because my kids were naked in the back seat. lol I have not been trying to figure out how to convince Ben that I need a new Canon 50d soon. I'm not currently looking online to see if I can find a really sweet deal on one and I'm not trying to figure out how to make it seem like buying it was his idea. The thought of telling him that I really want this other much more expensive camera and then convincing him that I will be willing to settle for the canon hasnt crossed my mind at all. I dont think that way and I would never try to intentionally manipulate my husband like that. What kinda marriage would that be????

The pee chronicles...

So we have had many adventures potty training our little man. Potty training Carolina, while not easy, was pretty straight forward. Sit on the pot, pee or poop, wipe, wash hands and flush. Easy right??? Well not so with George, because of a little thing called "standing up to pee"! Who came up with this nonsense? At first we of course told him to sit to pee, it was easier and he really wasn't interested in standing up. Things have gone on like this for some time now. And I will be the first to admit that I'm the one usually asking "George don't you want to stand up to be like a big boy?" But what the heck was I thinking? It goes EVERYWHERE and by everywhere I mean, on the back of the toilet, on him, on me, on his feet, on the floor, on the seat and then just the very last little bit makes it into the toilet!!!! Its pure craziness people, oh and its also one of the grossest things ever. I thought after the whole spit up thing was over I wouldn't have kids spraying bodily fluids at me anymore! Boy was I wrong. Plus its not like its something that I can just tell Ben he's in charge of. No the boy demands to go pee, even if his dad is at work!!! We have tried different things to get the aim a bit better, but so far nothing kicks in until he's half way done already! So I'm off to mop the floor, again and hope for a better shot next time. 

I will keep you up to date on the progress of our little man and his peeing habits. I know your on the edge of your seat... lol

Is there a future in this.?.?

So photography is starting to take over my life... I'm am so absorbed in it, reading everything I can get my hands on, walking around with my camera everywhere I go and taking so many pics of the kids they actually whine when they see the camera come out! I dont know what this all means yet, but I do know that my life has changed since getting a DSLR and photoshop. I spend almost as much time editing pics as I do taking pics. I think I see a difference (for the better) in my photos now and it just keeps spurring me on. I am sticking to the fact that I am very happy with the camera and lens I have now, but I've heard that upgrading can become quite an obsession in this field. I am planning on working towards the goal of actually being paid to take pictures. But for now, I am willing to take anyone's photos anytime FOR FREE, just to get the practice. I cant promise you any great ones, but I might get a few pretty good ones out of it. Here is a couple I have taken and edited or some that Ben has taken and I have edited. Let me know what you think!

Not me Monday, the Tuesday edition!

Okay, so I did not get so behind this weekend that I didn't find time to write my Not Me Monday!!! That would just be so lame of me! I am not so addicted to writing this really awesome post that I am so going to do it anyways and post it on Tuesday. I in no way wondered if anyone would notice that I hadn't posted it yesterday. How vain would that be??? Okay, so here it goes and don't forget to head over to MckMama's blog mycharmingkids.net to read all the rest of the worlds (seriously people I'm pretty sure the whole world reads her blog!!!) Not Me Monday post! 

So the most impressive moment this past week was when I didn't even consider pulling a pair of (not that dirty) undies out of the clothes hamper for my son George when he ran out. That would never happen for two reasons A) my kids clothes never get so behind in the laundry cycle that I run out of stuff B) I would never ever think about putting (not that dirty) clothes on them. Who would do that??? Not ME!!! I am not thinking, as we speak, if the kids would mind pb&j for dinner tonight. No, I don't make that kinda junk for my kids. Oh but I did sneak some wheat germ in George's oatmeal the other day... hehehe I love it when I get away with stuff like that. My five year old did not use a permanent marker to "be creative" in her bedroom this weekend, meaning that I did not have to spend part of my Sunday scrubbing black sharpie out of my 10,000 dollar carpet! I so did not just tell the world how much I over paid for our carpet. I did not answer a question asked by my oldest this week without even realizing what the question was. Seriously people, an answer did not just jump from my lips before the question had made it to my brain. I am not that checked out around my kids sometimes! I am always present and attentive to what they are saying each moment of the day, I do not want to miss a single moment in their precious little lives...

Even as I am typing this I am not sitting on the couch in the family room with my headphones on so I cant hear three little voices trying to stay awake in their rooms. Its not like I cant get anything done if I don't have the headphones on... I am not so ADD that I just wander from room to room until I look up and its 3:30pm and time for my wild ones to get up whether I like it or not.

Last but not least I am not ending this post because I forgot to write down all the funny things that happened over the past week. I am not that much of a space cadet and I do not forget things ten minutes after they happen! 

Wait what was I writing about...

What is a MILITARY wife????

Update: I wanted everyone to know that I did not write this. It was sent to me on facebook and I wanted to share it with everyone that always asks how we (military wives) do it. This is pretty close to the truth... I'm so glad that so many of y'all have enjoyed reading it and learning more about us (military wives) or just sending me an Amen from my fellow military wives. Y'all are all awesome and I love hearing from you! 

What is a MILITARY Wife?They may look different and each is wonderfully unique, but this is what they have in common.Lots of moving---Moving.Moving.Moving far from home.Moving two cars, three kids and one dog----all riding with HER of course.Moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house.Moving curtains that won't fit.Moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours.Moving away from friends, moving toward new friends.Moving her most important luggage; her trunkful of memories.Often waiting-Waiting, waiting, waiting for housing; waiting for orders; waiting for deployment; waiting for reunion; waiting for phones calls; Waiting for the new curtains to arrive; waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better.She can balance a checkbook.Handle the yard work.Fix a noisy toilet.She can put together a WOODEN swing set.She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, -- all with ONE Power of Attorney.She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.Reinvents her career with every PCS; locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.She MAKES them all home.She is fiercely IN-dependent.Military Wives are somewhat hasty.They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships.They don't have 15 years to get to know people.Their roots are short but flexible.They plant annuals for themselves and Perennials for those who come after them.Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.Military Wives have a common bond.The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands, his commitment is unique. He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit. He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most unreliable guy in town!His language is foreign:TDY,PCS,MOS,FOB,ACU And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.A Military Wife has her moments----She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia...But she pulls herself together.Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.And she goes.She packs.She moves. She follows. Why? What for? How come?You may think it is because she has lost her mind. But actually it is because she has lost her heart.It was stolen from her by a man...Who puts duty first.Who longs to deploy.Who salutes the flag.And whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military husband,She will remain his Military wife.