Hazards of Living on an Army Post and Other Randomness

I love these hands and feet pictures. I have been asked numerous times by numerous people how I ever got such beautiful pictures of my children's hands and feet. They are shocked when I tell them I didn't. :-) This is actually a set of 5 x 7 postcards I purchased from IKEA a few years ago. I just love them. They are black and white and beautiful and they have always been one of my most treasured posessions. I wish I could say they are pictures of my children, but there is no way I could ever get them to sit still and position their hands and feet like this for long enough to snap a picture.


For the most part I love living on a military installation. It sure beats the heck out of living off post in this area. I get to hear them play taps twice a day (sometimes I even hear it from the neighboring Air Force base if the wind is blowing just right). If you are out and about when they play it life stops in it's tracks while people get out of their vehicles and salute or put their hand over their heart and pay respect to what deserves it most. Where else can you be driving and have a convoy military vehicles driving right alongside you? Famous people come to the PX all the time to sign autographs. And what beats getting to see a whole lot of hot men running around in uniform every day! Whoo hoo!

There are some downsides though, and one of them is field artillery. No, we don't have it raining down on our housing area but we sure hear a lot of it when they're training at the ranges. Sometimes it shakes the ground. Sometimes it scares the crap out of me in the middle of the night. Sometimes it's non-stop for over an hour at 3am when we should be sleeping peacefully. It ALWAYS sends all the dogs in the neighborhood into a fit of barking. Last week it literally shook one of my frames off the wall and the glass broke on the way down. Do you think I can find another frame that matches the remaining four? Of course not since that's just the way my life goes.

If your spouse is a 13B, 13D, 13P, or any of the other artillery MOS's I'm sure I'm not aware of, could you please tell them they owe me one black 5 x 7 picture frame? Thank you.

Friday night I swear there were pigs flying through the sky and sure enough it snowed on Saturday! I don't know how well you can see it in the picture but it is really coming down there. It never snows here. It really wasn't enough to accumulate on more then the grass but it was beautiful. I am from the north east and snow is one thing I miss the most. You may say I'm crazy but I miss trying to drive through it and shoveling it and playing in it and all the other wonderful things about snow! Cadence got to see it for the first time and actually enjoyed it until she tried to sit down and got a wet bum. Oh well. The flakes were the size of a quarter for a good 45 minutes before it slowed down. And by the next morning it had disappeared. I did get this one crappy picture just to remind myself it wasn't a dream.

Finding Balance

Whew, has it been awhile! The holidays and the aftermath were physically and mentally draining for myself and the kids, although I think I gave them the best possible Christmas they could have without their Daddy around to share it. I have to say I'm glad it's all over. I have been telling myself since September that if we could just make through the holidays, time would start zipping along. And so far it has!

Along with the new year I have a new outlook on many things. Many aspects of my life over the last year or so have just gotten out of control and it's time to get things in order. So this year I will be focused on finding balance and getting organized. No more procrastinating (well, ok, I know I'll still procrastinate a little but nothing like I have been), no more excuses, it's just time to start getting things done.

As you may have noticed my Etsy shop is still closed. I have a lot of new and exciting things planned for this year, including a new original line of blankets that your Schmoolies are gonna love! And if you have a sense of humor you're going to love them too. I guarantee they are like nothing else on the market today. I also have some new fabrics on order and hope to have everything back up and running by the end of February. My parents and Dathan's are both coming to visit next month to celebrate Xavier's birthday (I can't believe my baby is turning six!) so hopefully I can get a lot accomplished during their visit. When the shop re-opens be on the lookout for new larger size Minky blankets, hooded bath towels, and changing mats as well.

It's also time to start getting serious about our health. Inspired by Kate of the John & Kate Plus 8 show on TLC, I am considering going organic with our diets. If a mother of eight children can find the time and money to eat organic then I see no reason why I can't give it my best shot. My weight since giving birth to Cadence has just been out of control. It may partly be due to thyroid problems, which I should have a definit answer on by the end of the month. In the meantime we are eating healthy, exercising more, and getting out into the crisp fresh air as much as possible.

I've also worked out a day to day schedule that I think balances out time with kids and time for Inspired by Schmooley, so I should be able to complete more and get things listed more often.

Do you like that picture of the scale up there ^? You can get one at Kids Unplugged. They're not handmade, but all of their toys are made from natural, safe, and nontoxic materials with consideration to their effect on the environment, and the store is owned by a WAHM!