Hoe-O-Ween

Yes two posts in one day. I was looking at old pics on facebook and decided to do a post showing my Halloween costumes in the past year. I love love Halloween. I love carving pumpkins, reading scary stories and watching scary movies. I never went out for Halloween much in college, only once my senior year and then when I worked for the Police dept the city I worked in threw a huge party for all Fire Dept, Police Dept and Dr's and Nurses in the city. It was always a lot of fun.
And I did take ample opportunity to dress as sexy as possible on Halloween!!

So here is a look back
Halloween 2006-Senior year of college


Work Party 2007


House Party that my friend and I threw


I would do anything to be that skinny again. Hello abs please come back. Oh and this is the first pic the hubs ever saw of me!!

Work Party 2008
This was during our first deployment and I had packed on some massive weight due to stress. It was horrible. I look back \at these pics and cringe


Halloween party 2009- Party at a friends house


2nd Halloween Party of the year


The hubs was actually home for this party so we were finally able to celebrate our first Halloween together

This year however there will be no costumes. The hubs has to work so I'm heading over to a friends house to pass out candy in her neighborhood and have a Saw movie marathon!!

Thank you

Thank you to all who commented and sent me messages on my post yesterday. Your kind words really meant a lot and helped me know that it is ok for me to be upset and that I'm not the only one going through this

I did have a few private emails I received and one helped me put things in perspective. She said that I should also look at my friends point of view and understand her side. That it may be difficult for her to be around me. That because she doesn't want to upset me that she may hide her feelings. And I def don't want to begrudge my friend this truly awesome experience.

Yes do I wish it was me. Of course and yes did I need to vent yesterday and let out steam yes. But I have still talked to my friend everyday, heard the story of how she found out and told her hubby and am hanging out with her tonight. So even though of course I am still a little sad I am not going to let this get in the way of a friendship.

So again thank you all so much for your comments yesterday. I am so grateful to have such great blogger friends!

Hope y'all have a good weekend


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Whose Pregnant?

Everybody but me it seems. Both blogger friends and real life friends. And yes as you can probably tell I am throwing myself a pity party. I'm hoping by blogging about it I can release my frustrations and emotions that are bursting inside of me to get out

As I've told y'all before. I've web off bc for about 8 months and the hubs and I have been trying to conceive for a little less than that. I was for sure it would have happened by now but it hasn't. Until about a month ago I did everything I could to get pregnant. I've been taking prenatal, i chart my cycles and have apps on my phone that do also, I've read every book on getting pregnant and have spent a fortune on ovulation kits. No luck. So right before this last cycle I said screw it. I decided to go with the flow and not worry so much about it. And wouldn't you know it, I was late! A day went by then some more and I thought this was it. We did it. I ran to the grocery store last Friday night for a pregnancy test and a celebratory bottle of wine. Only to take the test to have it be negative. Saturday I woke up with my dear friend. I shoved the disappointment aside and tried to stay positive.

When on Sunday a friend from back home texted me saying she was pregnant I was a little envious but genuinely happy for her. It took her over a year to conceive for the first one but two months with this one so I truly was very happy for her. And it also helps that she lives in a different state so I won't have to be around her too much. Selfish I know. But I'm an emotional girl trying to conceive

I was ok until about Wednesday. The hubs and I had spent all night watching movies and at about midnight I just so happened to check my email. I had a message from a close friend here in town. It read sorry you had to find out the way you did, but it's true I'm pregnant.
I immediately burst into tears

Now before I continue on with this story let me explain something. This girl and I went off bc at the same time though she wanted to wait another year to actually try since she is finishing up her degree. So they used other forms of contraception. About month ago we had a girls night where more than a few glasses of wine led to me breaking down and crying to her about how emotionally stressed I was, how hard it was actually trying and how it seemed to push M and I farther apart than closer together. We then discussed her waiting until after she graduated to try and how she wished I would wait so we could be pregnant together

Well I guess she beat me to it. I was able to respond to her message saying I hadn't found out but congrats. Apparently her husband who is away on training jumped the gun and sent out a mass text. My Hubby didn't et it since our phone service is horrible inside our apt. So I had had no idea. I also know she called our other friends but not me and I'm going to assume it's because she was afraid how I would react

So I cried that whole night and most of yesterday. I walked around in a daze, couldn't eat and even left work early due to being so upset. I was able to put my selfishness aside and call her to officially congratulate her. Apparently the same day I peed on my stick she peed on hers. And I was also told it happened on their first try. And I was given the advice of just going with the flow. That worked for them. I bit my tongue and again wished her congrats and also texted her Hubby. I know I have 9 months of hearing about pregnancy ahead of me and know that I cannot be mad at her.

So I took last night to wallow and cry. M thinks I'm being irrational, emotional and selfish and have no reason to be upset. So clearly I can't talk to my husband about this. So I went to bed and prayed that I can overcome my feelings of selfishness and understand that when it's my time it will happen

I woke up feeling better and even set some goals for myself. I had wanted to get back to my pre wedding weight, about ten pounds to lose before getting pregnant anyway so I vowed that starting this weekend I was making that happen. No if ands or buts about it. And I also told myself that I wouldn't want short hair in my maternity pics so now I have more time to grow my hair out. Vain I know but hey I'm trying here

So all day I was fine, ignoring that empty ache in my stomach and vowed to be a good supportive friend. Until I got a text from her asking which obgyn she should go to. Hmm why ask your not pregnant trying to conceive friend when plenty of our other friends have recently had kids. I was unsure as to how to take this text. When I told my Hubby his response was And. So clearly I am overly emotional right now

I know I need to get rid of my negative feelings and start being a better friend. I cannot become upset every time a friend get pregnant. It's going to happen and in the grand scheme of things we haven't been trying that long. So I made plans with my friend for tomm and even ordered her a pregnancy book of military one source

I guess what just bothers me the most is that she was so not prepared to try or get pregnant. No prenatals, first time trying and no books whatsoever on the topic. Yet here I am with my prenatals, TTC charts and apps and books galore. I guess it's true it will happen when you are not trying.

The hubs and I are stopping after this month due to a deployment and a pcs but when we resume I am def not going to be ad anal and rigid about ttc that go round. And until we are expecting our own I can enjoy a glass of wine and more couple time with the hubs while enjoying my friends kids without the stress of parenthood. Ok done venting! And thanks for reading




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All About Me

Since I have some new followers I thought I would introduce myself to y'all and tell you a little bit about me! So thanks for commenting and reading everyone. Hope you enjoy the randomness that makes up me!

1) I met my husband in November of 07 and we were married in April of 08. Yes we were that couple that met, dated, got engaged and married all within a 5 month time period. The hubs deployed in May of 08 and we didn't officially start our married life together until April of 09 when I moved to NC where we are currently stationed.

2) I am a behavioral therapist and work with military families who have children with autism. While some days this job is frustrating, I get kicked, bite, hit and punched on a daily basis and end up coming home from work exhausted, I love the kiddos and families that I work for. They inspire me every day and I'm thankful and grateful to have a job I love

3) Blogging for me is an outlet. I started my blog as a way to journal and vent about life as a wife and a mil spouse. It turned it so much more. I have met so many people through blogging and love all my blog friends. I used to sit down and pre write my posts trying to make them sound educated and well thought out. However when I actually sit down to type, words just come outta my mouth and I just type. So sometimes my posts will be filled with mis-spelled words, run on sentences and sentence fragments so bear with me

4) I love reading. I am constantly buying books and always looking for something new to read. So feel free to throw me any suggestions

5) I love musicals. My Hubby jokes that I wish life was like a Glee episode. And he's right. I can watch musicals any day. Phantom of the Opera, Fiddler on the roof and Jesus Christ Superstar are some of my favorites

6) I am originally from Wisconsin and miss living there every day. I am used to living in a big city with lots of things to do. So moving to a small southern town was quite an adjustment for this Midwestern girl

7) An ideal night for me and the hubs is renting a movie and staying in. We are pretty low key and just like to spend time together. We do however like to splurge every once in awhile and treat ourselves to a fun night out at our favorite restaurant or go away for the weekend. We love to travel and like to visit different areas of the country.

8) I am a shopaholic. I am addicted to bags, shoes and jeans. However my wardrobe usually consists of children friendly clothing that can handle getting stained by playdough, finger paint and food. So my closet has tons of high heeled shows begging to be worn and super cute tops still with their tags hanging on hangers

9) I am addicted to candles. I always need to have candles going throughout my house. To me it makes our apt homey

10) Other random facts about me- I love the beach, talking or texting on the phone, getting pedicures, wine, my two puppies, movie nights with the girls, my family and friends and of course my adorable Hubby

TGIF


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Who Loves to Shop

Every once in awhile I get the urge to totally redecorate my house. Last year around this time the hubs was gone and I spent every weekend shopping for new things for the house. Hobby Lobby, Pier 1, Kirklands and Marshalls are some of my favorite stores to hit up for home furnishings and decorations. Now I'm feeling the need to redecorate again though this time I probably should hold off since we will be moving in a few months and then hopefully I will have our first house to decorate

A few weekends ago we did get some new things for our house. A new tv and a new bed! Woohoo. That got me started on the need to redecorate. One thing that we have been meaning to get are barstools. We have this gorgeous marble bar in our apt that overlooks the dining room and all that's missing are the stools. We have been looking for some to purchase but haven't come across any that we really like.

So while I'm going to hold off on new furniture for the apt until we move I still always love shopping for new appliances and home furnishings for our apt. And what's even better is that I was contacted to do a product review for CSN Stores. Such perfect timing since I am on a shopping kick for some new stuff for the house. Now I just have to decide what to pick. I can't wait!

Do You Believe in Ghosts?

I do! In the spirit of Halloween I thought I would share with you my real life ghost story. The house I grew up in and where my parent's still live is haunted. You can ask anyone in my family and they will all agree

My parent's bought the house in 1988 when I was 4 years old. The house had been built in the 60's and my parent's were only the second family to occupy the house. The home is a L shaped ranch style house with my bedroom and parent's bedroom taking up the rear of the house, jutting into our backyard. My mom said that when we moved in my dad and her constantly heard voices coming from the attic and the roof and my mom swore someone had broken into the house. My dad would go outside and check along with searching the house but no one was to be found. My parent's would frequently hear voices but chalked it up to the fact that it was the house settling.
My brother and I also heard voices and what sounded like people talking in the house. My dad worked nights and on nights he was off stayed up very late watching tv. This meant as kids that on nights he had off we would sneak out of bed and stay up late watching tv with dad. So many nights my brother and I would be sneaking into the living room cause we swore we heard the tv on only to walk in and find the tv off and no one in the room. Other weird things occurred, my dad saw a figure of a little boy standing in my brother's room, pots and pans would fall and the voices continued.

The scariest incident happened when I was in 5th grade. My mom started work at 7am and it was up to me to get my brother and I dressed and ready for our neighbors to pick us up for school. I remember this very clearly. My brother had been sleeping in my parent's bed, I had just gotten out of the shower and was reaching for my towel when all of a sudden the hairs stood up on my arms and neck. I remember feeling very cold and my heart started beating furiously. I opened the bathroom door and peered out into the hallway only to hear the sound of what sounded like heavy work boots walking in our kitchen. My dad worked until 8 so there was no way it could have been him. The footsteps continued until they reached the carpeted hallway where I was standing. All of a sudden, our dog who you should not was very aggressive to anybody but the 4 of us ran down the hallway stopping where the hallway met the kitchen. The hair was up on her neck and she was on her back legs clawing and growling at nothing. Eventually she stopped and I immediately called my mom who tried to convince me that it mush have been the wind.

But I knew better. As we continued to live there the weird occurrences slowed down a bit. Probably until my brother and I was in high school. I remember getting a stereo system for my birthday and hooking it up in my room. At random times the stereo would turn on and off, the volume shooting up and down. Always in the middle of the night. Sometimes the back of the house would lose all power yet no fuses were blown . Even our two dogs would sometimes sit at the end of the hallway and refuse to walk down it, both staring at an invisible thing across from them. Freaky stuff

My parent's report that since we have moved out the ghosts seem to have calmed down but sometimes they will still hear what sounds like people having a conversation. And being strictly catholic my parent's still have holy water fountains in certain areas of the house

This past week the hubs and I have been watching alot of horror movies. One night I woke up and swore someone was standing in our living room. Then an hour later I woke up because it sounded like something was rattling in our dryer and I even got out of bed to check it. It was empty. The next night I was telling my hubby and our friends this and they could not stop laughing at me. Well I had the last laugh today. Last night my hubby woke up screaming my name, Katie, Katie and shaking me awake. I woke up and looked over at him, asking What, What's the matter. He just kept staring at the hallway and finally said Oh never mind and went back to sleep. When we woke up he said it had felt like someone was stabbing him in the leg and he wasn't sure it had been a dream. So all day today I have been teasing him, asking him if his leg is red from where someone stabbed him!
So I ask all of you. Do you believe in ghosts? Do you have any creepy ghost stories?

Proud of my Soldier

We found out this past weekend that the Hubby will be promoted on November 1st. We knew back in March that he had made the promotion list but have been waiting for his number to come up. And it finally did! I am so proud of my soldier and how far he has come in his career.

Another thing that excites me about this promotion is the ceremony. The hubs had been in the army for five years already when we met so I never was able to attend any promotion or enlistment ceremonies that he had. I never attended his graduation from basic or any other school since we were not together at that point so this promotion ceremony is not only important to him but to me as well. It is my opportunity to show him that I support him in all he does and will continue to do.
I am very excited to participate in my first official army ceremony or function because even after 2.5 years of marriage I have yet to attend one. Every ball that has been put on we missed due to deployments and most of the units functions are for the families. You can bet I am going to buy a brand new outfit for this event

Though thinking about the ceremony also makes me nervous. What exactly do I wear? I don't want to be over dressed but I don't want to be under dressed either. And should I give him a gift? Yes he has had promotions before but this is his first since we have been together. I thought of getting him something cute and personal but I have exhausted all options since he has every cute and personal gift I can think off. Then I thought of getting him something he would really love but in the past few weeks he bought a new tv, an iPod and a car so what can I get that tops that

So to you mil spouses that have been through this before. What did you wear to your husbands promotion ceremonies? Did get him a gift and if so any good ideas?
I'd appreciate all your help!



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Blogger Meet Up

This past weekend I was able to meet up with two fellow mil spouse bloggers in my area!

Saturday I met Meg from Meg's Life As An Army Wife. I met her at the Sara Horn event. Waiting for her to arrived I felt like I was in high school all over again. I was so nervous. It's always nerve racking for me when I meet new people. I tend to either talk to much or become very quiet and appear standoffish. But I didn't have to worry meeting Meg. She was so nice and down to earth. We had so much fun talking and even had similar experiences when it came to meeting people in this town. The Sara Horn event was amazing and it was so nice to know someone else there with me. I hope to def hang out with Meg again

Sunday I met up with Sara. Her blog is now private so I will not post the link. BUt we met at Applebees for dinner. What's even better is that the hubby's got to meet to. Her hubby and mine will be in the same unit. So not only was it great to meet another mil spouse but it was great to meet some couple friends. The guys seemed to hit it off and Sara is super friendly and sweet with the most adorable little boy. We had so much fun chatting and my husband even commented on the car ride home on how similar in personality we are. I hope to also get together with Sara again too

Sara and I were talking over dinner on how it seems we know our blogger friends more than we may know some of our actual friends and how it's weird that we have never met some of them. We even talked about how our hubby's hear about our blogger friends because we talk about them like we actually know them.

I had a blast meeting these two girls and hope to get together with them some more

Weekend Wind-Up

Why do the weekend's fly by so fast? I think the work week should be 3 days and the weekend should be 4. Oh well I will start work tomorrow already wishing it was Friday!!
So now for my weekend re-cap

Friday- The hubs and I babysat for out two favorite boys. Caden is 6 months and Bryce just turned 2. I kind of expected the hubby to zone in front of the tv and leave the babysitting to me but he was amazing. He played with both boys, even singing head, shoulder's, knees and toes and sat through episodes of Go Diego Go and the Backyardigans. He even changed his first diaper. After the kids went home for the night we both looked at each other and asked, Are you ready for this. We each responded Yes but I don't think you are! It def was a glimpse into the future with kids. And even though our TTC is on hold until after the deployment and PCS I def wish we were expecting and starting our own family

Saturday-M got up and went to work. I tried to do a yoga dvd in my living room but the furbabies weren't allowing it so I ended up taking them for a nice long walk instead. Then off I went to Rockfish church to see Sara Horn speak. She was amazing. I got so much out of listening to her. She gave many good tips about making it through a deployment, building a strong marriage and trusting in God when you are down. I also met a fellow blogger which was alot of fun
After the Sara Horn event the hubs and I rented some more scary movies such as Village of the Damned and the House of 1000 corpses. We then carved pumpkins and roasted pumpkin seeds. It was the perfect way to spend a Saturday night

Sunday-I got up early this morning and headed off to Church. I ended up going to Rockfish church for their mass. It was my first time at a Non-Denominational church. For the most part I really liked it although there are some things I will have to get used to.
After church the hubs and I ran to target and barnes and nobles. Now we are just relaxing before heading off to dinner where I am meeting up with another fellow blogger. I will post more on that tomorrow.

Happy Sunday everyone!

Scary Movies

Last night the hubs and I had planned to finally go see the movie Life As We Know It. However I started getting a migraine after work and decided that we should just stay home. So we ordered Pizza and watched these two movies


Children of the corn was awful! We ended up fast forwarding through most of it. We then rented Young Frankenstein. I love this movie. It is hysterical and reminds me of my childhood. My family and I always used to watch it every Halloween along with other old horror movies such as The Wolf man and Dracula. What are some of your favorite horror movies?

Tonight the hubs and I are babysitting our two little "nephews". M even swore that he would change a diaper. His first ever! This shall be interesting.

M works this whole weekend and I have been itching to go shopping. I want to lose a few pounds before I go out and buy new clothes but feel the desire to go shop anyway. We shall see what wins out. The motivation to lose some weight or the desire for new winter clothes!

I am so glad it's Friday. This week has gone by slowly and I am looking forward to sleeping in and laying around the house. Have a good weekend everyone

Random Thursday

My Random Thoughts for the Week

1. I am so ready for the weekend to get here. Only two more days of work! Friday night we are babysitting for some friends of ours, Saturday I am going to that Sarah Horn event and then the hubs and I are going to carve pumpkins and watch horror movies. Sunday the hubs has to work so I plan on going to church and working out

2. I get to meet two blogger friends this weekend. I am so excited. I love being able to meet the people whose blogs I read daily. Then in a few weeks I get to meet another one of my favorite bloggers! Woohoo

3. I finally learned how to use our coffee maker. For our wedding we received a nice coffee machine. I had no idea how to use it so left the coffee making up to my husband. In the mornings when getting ready for work usually its up to me to take the dogs out at least twice and feed them before leaving for work. The hubby waits till the last minute possible to get up and then showers quickly and rushes out the door. The one job of his in the morning is to make the coffee. Well this weekend I had him show me how to use it and have been making the coffee every morning when I wake up. This morning he woke up and went straight to the coffee machine. When he saw I hadn't made it he asked me to make some. Guess I added another thing to do in the mornings

4. My neighbors just got a yellow lab puppy because they thought our dog was so beautiful. What's even funnier is that they named her Kenley. Our black lab is Kenzie! I did run into her the other day and she said she changed the pups name to Daisy so the two dogs wouldn't have similar names

5. I missed seeing someone get tazzed yesterday. I stopped at Blockbuster during my break from work. I pulled up and saw a cop car in the parking lot. I went in and didn't think anything of it. When I went to pay for my movies the cop left and the cashier told me that I just missed him tazzing two guys who I guess had been taking pictures of the store and refused to calm down when the cops came. Never a dull moment here in town

6. I have mentioned my hubby's addiction to video games. As soon as he gets home from work he turns on the playstation. I was joking with him yesterday about his "hobby" and he said I shouldn't make fun of it until I tried it. So I did. I sat down and played Call of Duty and I was horrible! I couldn't get the concept down of using one button to move and the other to look around while also keeping track of your targets. Needless to say I was 0 for 6! But I must admit that it was fun

7. The hubs and I watched the movie P.S. I Love You the other night. When the hubs was deployed for the first time I stayed in Wisconsin with my parents. I worked second shift at my job there and always had a hard time falling asleep. So I started having to watch movies at night in order to fall asleep. I think I watched P.S. I Love you every night until the hubs came home. When he finally came home I made him sit down and watch it with me and he actually liked it. The other night we were looking around for our copy of the movie and realized that I left it in my dvd player at my parent's house. So off I went to buy another copy. I have to say that movie really puts things into perspective. I found the following quote off another blogger's post this weekend which she had received in an email and thought it was fitting

"
One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't "anymore". No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say"I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage.....And old cars... And children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it.
Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a sister-in-law after divorce. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special.. And so, we keep them close!"

Happy Thursday Everyone!

The Story of the Jack O Lantern

The following story is an Irish folktale.

There once was a stingy man named Jack. He stole from the people in his village and took whatever he wanted from them.

On the night of Halloween he met the devil. He wanted a large meal and couldn't pay for it. The devil bought it for him telling Jack that he would have to repay his debt the day he died. Jack agreed. Walking home from the pub he stole two pumpkins from
His neighbors pumpkin patch. Once home he started carving the pumpkins. Suddenly the devil appeared telling Jack he had to repay his debt. The devil threw a burning coal at Jack which Kack caught inside the pumpkin. The devil told him that although he wasn't dead yet that when he did die because of his thievery and greed he would be condemned to wander the earth in search of a home. Legend has it that you can still see Jack searching for a home carrying a pumpkin to light the way

Some people believe that Halloween is the night ghosts and spooks leave their way and wander the earth. They dress up in costumes to scare them away and they light a jack o'lantern to remind them of what happened to Jack

This story was from the book The Story of the Jack o'Lantern by Katherine Tegen

Hope you enjoyed it. My Hubby is Irish and I love hearing different Irish folk tales


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Free Books

I was on facebook the other day when I saw a fellow milspouses status. It said she was sitting down to read the book Water for Elephants which she had received free from military one source. I clicked on the comments to see how she had done so

Apparently if you create an account on military one source.com you are eligible to receive 10 free books a year. I went and created my account and started searching for my free books. I was excited to get Water for Elephants. I had looked at that book ever time I went to a book store but never picked it up. I hear it's amazing and is being made into a movie with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson.
I guess the books change frequently so that was the only one I ordered. Some books you could get for free was You on a diet, What to Expect When Your Expecting and Army Wives by Tanya Biank. The books take about 7-14 days to arrive. I can't wait to get my book and keep searching to see if they've changed the book list yet!

Word of advice- if you go on to register or have an account, it's a little difficult to find the site for the free books. So after I signed in, I was taken to the home page and clicked on the tools button. Then I typed in free books in the search box and a listing for free paper back books came up. Then you were brought to the library page and all you have to do is click on fiction or non fiction and start searching!

Anyway I just though I'd let y'all know. This book nerd is so excited to get free books!


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Far from Home

Lately I've been feeling a pang of home sickness for WI. I miss my family and friends and wish I was able to visit more often but an 18 hour car ride doesn't make that possible.

I normally don't let myself dwell on being away from home. I love my life here in NC but there are so many things going on at home that I am missing

One of my oldest friends just had her first baby. I keep in close contact with her and made sure to visit her everytime I was home but that's still not enough. It was sad to see on facebook various postings from our group of friends commenting on how they had met her little one and posting pics of their visits. We've experienced a lot together and to miss out on this was hard

I have another friends that's facing a difficult time in her life and various phone calls and emails just don't seem to be enough.

And finally my grandma is taking a turn for the worse. She has congestive heart failure although she is not in heart failure yet. Symptoms are starting to increase to show that she is slowly fading. Her mind is not but her body is. My mom is a nurse and is going to decrease her time at work so she can spend more time with her mom. While nothing can be done yet I still can't help but worry about her. My grandma and I have always been close and I hate being so far away from her.

Anyway sorry to unload on everyone. Just needed to destress by venting.


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What Makes My Heart Melt

This weekend was full of activity. Yesterday we celebrated our friend's son's 2nd birthday! One of the things we miss most about Wisconsin is being away from our family,especially our 4 year old niece. Our closest friends here in town have two little boys, a now 2 year old and a 6 month old and needless to say we have adopted them as our nephews. We do weekly dinner's with our friends and the kiddo's and our weekends are usually spent at their house just hanging out. I love these boys

Friday night we stopped over there to give little B one his presents early. I have to say nothing warms my heart more than seeing my husband play with him. It's just so sweet and I can't help but picture it when we have kids of our own. So here is B with the little kitchen set we got him






The hubs had to get in there and play with him too


B dancing to the ABC song


Then Yesterday was the big day. B had a ton of fun opening up his gifts and playing with all the other kiddo's

The Hubs playing with all the kids. He's going to be such a great dad!



The Cupcakes I made for the party. I'm getting good practice in before I have kids of my own and parties to throw!


Great friends!


The birthday boy and I


The hubs putting together B's toys!


It was such a fun party. As you can tell we take our role as adopted aunt and uncle very seriously! I seriously can't wait for the day we have kids of our own and can go all out for birthday's and holidays and so forth. Until then we will spoil our nephews! And nothing is cuter than watching your hubby with other kids.

Hope y'all had a great weekend

Weekend Recap

Why is it that the weekends always fly by. We spend all week counting down the days until Friday and then Sunday morning we wake up dreading Monday and heading back to work

This week was jam packed with activities. Friday night we stopped at a friend's house for Pizza night. It's their son's 2nd birthday party today and M has to work so we wanted to give him one gift on Friday night so M could see him open it. These are our closest friend's here in town and their son is like our nephew. I had so much fun shopping for this little guy!

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to hit the garage sales with a friend. One downside about my job is that every toy I have to buy for a kiddo comes out of my own money and I don't get refunded. Since I have 8 clients all different ages that is a lot of toys and materials I am buying. So I thought I'd find some cool toys at the garage sales. Unfortunately I only found 3 toys, not too many garage sales going on yesterday. After that my friend and I went to a Lia Sophia Jewelry party. The party was hosted by my friend's neighbor and we were the only two to show up. So of course I spent way more than intended since I felt bad and then we got suckered into hosting our own jewelry party. Ugh sometimes I need to grow a backbone and not be so nice!!! But I love the jewelry I got so it worked out

After the jewelry party I ran errands and headed out to a Pure Romance Party. That's right one of those parties that sells lingerie, lotions and sex toys. My friend was hosting one and also turned it into a girl's night with wine and snacks. It was alot of fun

This morning I meant to get up and go to church but I wasn't feeling good last night and didn't get much sleep so I slept in. In a few hours I'm heading off to my "nephew's" actual birthday party. And then home to relax for a bit before starting the week all over again

Starting tomorrow I am hitting the gym every day, no questions asked. That is my goal for the week. Now I will just have to find the motivation to get my butt out of bed at 530 am so I can work out before work. Wish me luck

And on other news, I am in a book funk. Any book recommendations?

Tattoo's and the Mil Spouse Weekly Roundup

Hey guys

This week Mil Spouse Weekly Roundup is being held over at one of favorite milie's Expat Girl's blog. So be sure to stop by and link up

Tattoo's- I have 8 of them. Yes 8. Only one can be seen at all times and the rest are only visible if I'm wearing a swimsuit. Some I regret getting, other's I don't. But my favorite one is the one that is visible and I wanted to share the story behind it

Daniel Anthony was born in 1983 at 28 weeks weighing in around 2-3 pounds. He was born with some heart complications and at one month of age underwent open heart surgery. Shortly after the surgery he slipped into a coma. At 3 months of age while being held by his mom, he opened up his eyes for the first and last time. This is my older brother.

I always knew about my brother. I'm not really sure when my parents told me about him but I remember every night as a child talking to him after saying my prayers. I also have a younger brother and I envisioned my older brother and I ganging up on him. I was def a naive little girl because if my older brother would have been alive, I would have been the one being picked on. The one pic my parent's have of him remains on our fridge to this day. It was taken shortly after he was born. He is covered in cords from the various machines and wearing a diaper that is too big for him. To this day my parent's get choked up talking about him.

My brother Michael and I always talked about what we could do to commemorate him. A few years ago we decided to get tattoo's in his memory. I already had 7 tattoo's but decided to get one that finally meant something. I have always loved crosses and decided a rosary tattoo would be perfect. So off my brother and I went. He got this tattoo


My brother's initials are in the middle of the tattoo and underneath it is a saying in Latin that translates into Only God Can Judge Me

And my tattoo looks like this. I thought I had a pic of only the tattoo but I don't so this is the best one I could find




Not only is this tattoo important to me because it represents my older brother who I never got a chance to know, but it represents my bond with my younger brother. I don't really share the story of my tattoo. Most people just assume I'm Catholic when they see it. NO one really asks and I don't offer. But I wanted to share this story today. I also decided that my first son would be named after my brother. The hubs and I compromised and although we are not expecting yet we know our son's name will be without a doubt Ethan Daniel.

Sara Horn is Coming to Fayetteville

I mentioned in my post this past Sunday that Sara Horn is coming to Fayetteville next weekend. Sara is the author of




I had purchased God Strong awhile ago and just started reading it this past weekend. By coincidence as I was researching churches in the area to attend I came across a Sara Horn event at a Non-Demoninational church close to my house.. I am so excited to hear her speak and thought I would share the information with all you ladies in the Bragg/Fayetteville and surrounding area's

The event is Saturday October 23 from 1-4 at Rockfish church which is located on raeford road. Check out Rockfish's website to register.
If anyone is interested or planning on going and want to meet me up, shoot me an email at Katie.finn411@gmail.com I'd love to meet ya'll

Show Us Where You Live

I've seen alot of people doing this every week and decided to hop on the bandwagon even though I'm a little late. So here is a little tour of my apartment. We live in an apartment off post and for an apartment I am pretty happy. Though I am dreaming of when we pcs in a few months and we are able to finally buy our first home! Then I can decorate exactly how I want. But for now enjoy the tour of our home!

Our Front Porch-decorated for Halloween. We live on the first floor and our porch overlooks the volleyball court which basically acts as a kids playground so I didn't put out as many decorations as I would have liked but I still think it looks cute




Walking into our front door

I wanted to add a decorative console but there isn't enough room. To the right of our entryway we have our laundry room and to the left we have our kitchen


For an apartment kitchen I think it's great!The kitchen looks out into the dining and living room. I don't have pictures of our dining room since it is covered in boxes from our bedroom furniture and tv

Our Living Room and some inside Halloween decorations





As you can see I tried taking pics from every angle!








This is our photo hallway which leads to our bedroom, guest bathroom and guest bedroom(aka the man room) which desperately needs to be organized but which we rarely straighten until we have company!


Here is a glimpse of our guest bathroom. I can never hang my towels straight hehe





Our Bedroom



I love our new headboard and footboard. I feel like such an adult!


Excuse the pile of laundry on my floor


Well hope you enjoyed my mini house tour!!