Hi Bloggy Friends

I am kind of MIA right now

and probably will be for another week

school is INSANELY busy but I am working really hard

to get the grades I want and KNOW I can get...

and I am spending a lot of time focusing on God and my relationship with Him

somewhere along the way in the last 6 months

I lost some of my focus because of the craziness this world has thrown at me

but... God is good ALL the time

and HE has really been working in my life lately

on top of that the house is crazy as always

and my baby girl is 18 months

and deserves way more attention and fun than I have been giving her

AND

we are going to Ohio for 5 days for thanksgiving to see babygirls

GREAT GREAT GRANDMA

you read that right great times 2!!

Sooo look back for me in a bit when things slow down

and... have an amazing blessed happy filled with love and family Thanksgiving

Miscellany Monday

1. It's that time of year where all the stores start putting out their Christmas stuff
the hubs and I were walking through walmart tonight and I noticed the Christmas goodies were out

which of course led these bad boys to catch my eye

except in the huge 1/2 pound bar...

I definitely had to buy one..

yum!

2. This weekend we went on a family day out to DC

it was so much fun 

we packed a picnic lunch

and ate it in front of the National Monument

and then explore some of the Smithsonians

we will definitely be doing it again ASAP

3. Now that fall is officially upon us

our backyard is kind of out of control

we have like 20 trees total just in our yard...

so it's pretty crazy

the last few days the hubs and brother in law have been working on it

I pretty much just watch and open bags

but it's been fun 

because I can catch moments like this one..

4. My baby is loosing all her baby features

and headed full force into toddler hood

and it's really fun!

She is officially trying really hard to eat with her own utensils,
(we started this one late!! bad mommy)

and today

we bought her a toddler bed

no more crib for this girl! 

We also bought her her first pair of REAL shoes

not just the soft baby shoes

and

they were a success!!
She loves them!
Doesn't want to take them off

(So cute right?!)
5. To go with toddler hood 

she is officially 18 months old!
Craziness!
To match the new found 18 month old

the hubs and I are trying to really cut back on the binky useage

the doctor wanted us to a long time ago

but I didn't feel like she is ready

and now I definitely think she is ready

we still let her have it for sleepy time

or any time she is really upset

but overall I have been trying to keep it away from her to just suck on randomly

she would just find them and stick them in

not cause she needed them

but because they were there

so that's what we are working at eliminating

I'll keep you posted!

6. I will be 16 weeks tomorrow

and that is mind boggling to me!

I will start taking pictures to document the belly

that is definitely starting to grow!

Anyways,

check back this week for some fun and serious updates about my life

until next time,

My new best friend... and worst enemy.. Pinterest!

This weekend I met my new best friend

and probably my worst enemy

Oh yes it has officially begun.

I know I am behind on the times

and most of my bloggy friends

have been pinning for ages

but 

at least I am finally on board! 

Next I will have to figure out how to get that cool little

"follow me on pinterest" 

logo thing on my side bar so all my bloggy friends

and followers can see all my fun pins too

but... 

one battle at a time!

Our week was so crazy that we decided to take yesterday off

and have some family time

we took a trip into DC

so I will be blogging about that this week
but when we got home

my hubs and I agreed

we just wanted to relax and vegetate on the couch

and that's just what we did.

We played his new Skyrim game 

that we preordered and paid for months ago

and I pinned to my little hearts desire.

At bed time I couldn't even sleep right away

because my brain was in over drive

with all the sensory details,

creative juices,

plethora of ideas,

and excitement about my newest pins

and projects!

Since I haven't linked up my boards yet

I thought I would share with you a FEW of the fun things I have found

literally I am in love with all my pins

and after 2 days...

I have just over 400 pins..

KIND OF INSANE

but... 

exciting anyways.

I have recipes for all sorts of goodness,

ideas for decorating the house, the babies room, and outside,

craft projects and DIY decorations,

mommy ideas,

kid projects,

organizational ideas,

cleaning tips,

and sewing projects

out the wazoo

and I can't wait to get to work!!

So here are some of my new finds:

I am obsessed with mozzarella sticks and pretzels
So there was no way I could pass on these
mozzarella balls and pretzel bites
I plan to make them in the near future so I will keep you posted on how they turn out.

I am starting to gather up ideas for when I start to decorate the kids' room

Kaylee and the new baby will be sharing one of our larger rooms

so I want it to be extra special

and extra awesome

to function for a toddler

and as a nursery

I think this set up
with the little chair

and garden baskets for books, stuffed animals, and toys

is a super fun way to make an area

all for Kaylee!
Super cute right??

I love the idea of decorating with things that are personal

and really cute/functional

so when I saw these adorable little prints
I was totally sold on recreating them.

I know they will work with what I want to do with Kaylee

so now we just have to wait and see what our newest little peanut is
(which fyi in dec we find out!!)

I could literally go on for hours with the millions of awesome things I have found..

but that would make this post a mile long

and it would take me forever to write and link everything

and I want to get my devotional time in

before I go to bed...

I pinned a little too long this evening ;]

So I will leave you with these two little sewing projects

I plan to try and conquer

a pillow case/pillow mat for kiddos

Awesome right??
Kaylee would totally love this!

And

this nifty little toiletry travel buddy

 I think this thing is stinking awesome

and will be making one ASAP

for the next time we travel

because I personally hate putting things in plastic bags

and hate those icky plastic makeup/toiletry bags
Plus... this is totally washable

just toss it in the washing machine

and be on your way!

Amazing!

Anyways..
Happy Pinning...

and if you aren't pinning yet..

get over to

www.pinterest.com
RIGHT NOW

first leave me your email

so I can send you a personal invite

because

they sort of take forever to get you one

and I wasn't able to pin for a while

and finally asked someone to send me an invite

and oh boy am I glad they did

until next time,

Veteran's Day 11/11/11

As I sat up today I noticed a ton of people posting about how today was 11/11/11 and how cool that was and not how today was VETERAN'S DAY and how thankful they were. 

This made me think about last years post on Veteran's day which you can find here
and the fact that

last year I said there would be no venting 

that no one could take away the meaning

of this special day. 

I posted this on facebook this morning

and it seems fitting to blog as well:
"Today is so much more than a date that reads 11/11/11... it's a day in which we take the time to honor, remember, and be thankful for ALL who have served this great nation. To my great grandfather's, to both my grandfathers, to my step grandfather, to my uncle, to my dad, to my husband's grandfather, to my husband, to my brother in law, to so many of our friends, to ALL who have served, are serving, will serve, and paid the price for our country... THANK YOU. Thank you for making a commitment to protect and serve regardless of the price and for standing up for the freedom of this country."

This country is the best in the world. 

I truly believe it

and 

I will always proclaim it.

And part of what makes it the best

are the forces that protect it!!

Our sailors,

marines,

soldiers,

airmen,

coasties,

national guardsmen,
active duty and reserves,

retired and current, 

past and present

put their lives on the line

so that we can live the lives we do.

A Veteran is someone, 

who at one point in their life,

wrote a blank check 

payable to the United States of America

for an amount up to,

and including,

their life.

So please,

honor, remember, acknowledge,

and

THANK a Veteran today

for the sacrifices they have made.

Last year I found this quote and found it suiting for this year as well:

“With bravery and strength they serve,
with dignity and pride they stand,
with courage and hope they fight,

the life they live is
dangerous,
treacherous,
rough,
and hard going

but when the fog clears they are the one who will still stand.”

Thank you from the bottom of my heart

Aghhh Bathroom problems galore... and the Duggars are on baby 20

Hey bloggy friends...
things around here have been sooo crazy

I mentioned a few posts back

that our ceiling was leaking for the (THIRD) time since we moved in

well...

they started the work

and literally every hour there is some more bad news

we are literally swimming in problems with this house

I feel so bad for my husband who is stressed beyond belief

but we have been leaning on each other and on the Lord

and it'll all get worked out

we are having to sue the man who we bought the house from

because all of the problems

are because he did a bunch of improper installs

life keeps going

and we are getting through it one foot in front of the other

the only way we can

I am not as stressed as the previous Amanda would be

the Lord has really changed me

I continually cast my anxiety on Him

and He truly has provided every time.

anyways... that's the update on my life..

not really but it's kind of encompassing my life right now!!

Another thing I really feel the need to talk about are the Duggars
This morning I saw a post on a popular blog page on fb about the news clip saying that the Duggars

are expecting baby 20

I read the article and watched the clip

and then I started reading the comments people were posting below on this feed on FB.

And all I have to say is HOW DISGUSTING people are these days.

How hateful, judgmental, mean, and outright wrong of people to say the things they are saying

((let it be known now these are MY opinions on MY blog and if you post a nasty comment on here I will delete them and ignore you because this isn't about hating on each other))

Obviously everyone is entitled to their own opinions

and I am all for positively and NICELY stating your opinions

I think debating and sharing views on things is healthy

but to instantly start judging, saying hateful things, and bashing people you DON'T EVEN KNOW. 

is just not okay

these women on this page are cursing them for their decision,

saying they can't afford their kids and when their fame runs out America will be supporting them too

saying that other women can't have kids so they shouldn't have any more

and saying all kinds of other much worse things that I don't care to repeat

I guess my biggest problem is that unless we actually know our facts on something

how can we even say such mean things? 

This family has always taken care of themselves...

Jim Bob is a solid hard working man,

they have lived debt free for years and well under their means

and without many modern luxuries we have (including something as simple as tv/cable)

do they work as a family unit where the older kids help with the responsibilities? 

yes they do 

and yeah they are an abnormally huge family...

but that doesn't make them wrong

or deserve to be hated.

They are very good parents who LOVE their kids

Their 20 kids (esp the older ones) are more well behaved then some families who have 2 kids

they have raised their kids to have morals, values, and be well behaved

sure they are old fashioned and very traditional

that just makes them different.

I could go ON AND ON AND ON about this one

but the last thing I will say

is the whole point of this

is just because someone is different then you 

because they are able to and want to have a lot of kids

because they desire to follow God 

and desire to live an old fashioned life

just because you don't UNDERSTAND or AGREE with their life

does NOT give you an excuse, an okay, or a free pass to hate on them.

People hate to be judged and yet are so quick to judge and bash people.

If everyone just learned to show people a little love and respect and courtesy 

we would live in a much nicer place. 

Those are my two cents on the whole thing.

I think the worse part for me reading all these nasty comments

and the fights being started

are all between a bunch of military wives

C'mon ladies!
We are one of the MOST stereotyped community groups out there

people are ALWAYS talking trash about our "large" families,

having too many kids, having them too soon,

being too young when we get married,

being too young when we have kids,
having kids too close in age,

the list goes on and on
and we as a group should learn

we hate being judged

so why are we the first to jump up

and judge this family.

Anyways,

What are your thoughts?
And remember...

be nice or I will delete your comments.

BY THE WAY, I am fully aware of the health concerns and risks etc after her last baby

but in the clip she talks about it being cleared with her doctors to move forward

and that's something that everyone needs to respect is their decision. 

Taking a Time Out

I was doing good about blogging everyday which has really been a goal of mine

so I was pretty happy about that.

But Monday I set myself some goals to get a ton of homework finished before my dr's appt to see the baby

and then that evening we headed over to our neighbors for some chili 

and then out for trick or treating with this little cutie

I know you are dying at her cuteness because I sure was!!!
Anyways I had really wanted to blog but obviously... those things took priority!!

Yesterday the hubs left for some military stuff for a few days

so it was just me and my little.

I had a lot of errands to run and decided to start our day off 

by having a mommy baby lunch date at Red Lobster

As you can see..
she was enjoying those biscuits..

she had her own

and still kept stealing mine!
Silly girl

So after lunch we ran some errands and
then spent some time at home cleaning and taking care of business

but she was soooo whiny the rest of the day

I think she now really notices when daddy isn't around

I have been feeling super drained so by the end of the day I decided I just needed to

take a time out.

I put Kay in bed a little early

I turned my phone to silent, turned off my laptop, and stayed off of FB and blogger
I went into my room and I just enjoyed the silence

and solitude.

I pampered myself with some stuff around the house

took a long hot shower

did some reading in my new book

Following God with All Your Heart by Elizabeth George
(which is amazing fyi)
prayed

read my devotional

and just recharged my batteries

mind, body, and soul

And that was EXACTLY what I needed.

This morning everything is still the same

the ceiling still has a hole from the master shower's leak

my husband is still gone

my  daughter is still whiny

the errands still need to done

and the homework is still stacked up

and the list goes on

the difference now 

is that I am at peace

my hair is nice and soft

my nice are nice and shiny
(which is huge because the old laqcuer was yellowing since I never got it taken off after my sisters wedding...

in JULY... sad I know)

my teeth are white

and my feet are soft

and my heart and mind are rested and happy.

So please... do yourself a favor 

and take some time for you.

Put the babies to bed a little early

and stay up a little later

and enjoy some mommy only quiet time.

You will be so glad you did