The Weiffenbachs

Two & Counting

2011-12-07T19:20:00.001-06:00

I must say that even though Isaac doesn't share my enthusiasm about this in the video he really is quite excited to be a big brother. I know he'll be the best big brother ever! Also, as the title suggests at least I plan on more than two children in our little family. Let's don't get crazy and assume I'm having 20, I'm more of a 17 or 18 kind of gal... yeah right. Let's be serious here, shall we? Bottom line is I'm currently pregnant with our second child and we couldn't be more thrilled!

For proof, here's the sonogram from earlier today at 8 weeks, 5 days:

Big Boy Bed

2011-11-14T17:07:00.000-06:00

I, honestly, can't believe how much my little boy has grown over the past year and a half (almost). We've been through crawling, teething, walking, eating habits, potty training (a post to come), and now a big boy bed. As of late my Isaac has been anti-crib. Whenever I would simply begin to lay him into his crib -despite how close to asleep he was- he would immediately start crying. If I did get him in the crib he would stand straight up and cry. This didn't happen every time, but it happened enough that I eventually tried laying him down in my bed for his nap, and -wouldn't you know it- he fell right to sleep.

Isaac having a nap on Momma & Daddy's bed.

I wasn't certain if his ease of sleep was due to the fact that it was my bed or for the simple fact that it wasn't a crib. I hoped it was the latter as that seemed like an easier fix rather than having Isaac in bed with us during the night and/or in my room while he naps, thereby hindering my daily routine as I'd now have to be a little more quiet while taking care of things in my room.

Either way, after discussing things with my dear husband we decided to go ahead and purchase Isaac his big boy bed. The process took three days: Day one, I searched high and low and found a cute little bed set for his new bed. Day two, I purchased a bed rail so he doesn't so much fall out of bed whilst he sleeps the night (or hours during the day) away. Day three, Curtis and I set out together this time and we snagged a darling twin bed, mattress and mattress protector. To save on money we didn't get a box spring, but we're definitely thinking that's something to grab a little ways down the road. For now, we have a perfectly good big boy bed for Isaac to enjoy sweet dreams in.

And now, the upgrade from crib to big boy bed:

At this point, it's only been two nights since the bed has been set up and things are going relatively smoothly. He sleeps perfectly fine during his naps. As for bedtime, well that's a work-in-progress as he's accustomed to waking up multiple times a night until I eventually put him in bed with us. However, now that he has his own big bed I'm hoping he gives that up and simply enjoys his own bed. The first night he woke up six times, and the second night he only woke up twice (to potty) and promptly went back to sleep. So it seems progress is already happening. Let's just hope this continues so that I get more sleep as well as my Isaac.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday we invited our neighbor-friends to join us in an outing to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. Since Curtis is generally deployed this time of year he doesn't so much have the opportunity to go to Vala's and really do any Fall festivities. So he was excited to finally be a part of a Fall, family outing. And here's a few photos documenting our time.

The best part about this photo is that
Isaac did this all by himself.
No one was holding him up to the hole.

Then we took some photos in the pumpkin patch.

Isaac was such a ham.

When we tried to get some photos of the kids amidst the pumpkins this is pretty much the best we got:

Sydney was just too enthralled with the pumpkins
to pay attention to the camera.

And we got a few family shots of us as well.

Favorite.

Playground Play Date

2011-10-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Not too long ago Kelly and I took the kids to the playground near our houses. They both rode in Isaac's little wagon and both seemed to enjoy their time. Now that Isaac's a little older he can appreciate much more that the playground has to offer besides just the swings; however, Sydney still has a little growing to do before she's at a more similar stage as Isaac. Despite Sydney's lack of independence I think both kids enjoyed their time. Just as Kelly and I enjoyed a little adult conversation during our day.

First Bike Ride

2011-10-06T08:00:00.001-05:00

For Curtis and my birthday this year my parents gave us money to purchase a little bike trailer for Isaac to ride in. We made sure to get one that two kids could fit in... you know, for someday when we have two. Yeah, that was back in April. It still took us a little while to finally get a helmet for Isaac. Then it took awhile for me to finally get that thing hooked up to my bike to finally take Isaac on his first bike ride. I've been going to these Cycling classes at my gym lately so I figured, 'hey, if I can easily ride 15 to 20 miles in 45 minutes doing hills and other drills I could easily ride out to the lake and do at least one three-mile lap and head back home... no problem.' Yeah, right! I certainly didn't understand that when you add a 20 pound baby in a 20 pound (maybe less?) trailer then proceed to drag that thing up hills is not nearly the same as working a stationary bike that I can easily lower the gear when it's getting too difficult. Needless to say, I sure got myself a nice little workout that day. Isaac pretty much slept the entire ride anyway, so he didn't get to fully appreciate his first ride; which simply means we must go out again soon... before the weather gets too cold.

p.s. my poor baby looks like his brain is too big for his head when he wears his helmet, but safety first, right?

My Whereabouts

2011-10-05T10:39:00.002-05:00

I know I don't update this little blog as often as I once did. Sure, I've posted multiple times that I vow to try and change that fact in order to keep you, readers, in the loop on my ever-exciting life. I know I enjoy blogging and sharing little tidbits from our little life. I also know that life certainly happens. Though I spend a good majority of my day at home I really don't have the time I once did to write up a blog post. I, apparently, don't even have as much time as I think I do to simply pull photos off my camera. Seriously. I took photos from well over a month ago from a Zoo trip with our neighbor and I, literally, just got around to sending her a copy of them. So, from now on I'm not going to make excuses. I'm not going to give you false promises of blog posts abound. I'm simply going to update when I feel I have the time. I'm going to write when I truly feel the need and have something that I absolutely must share. My posts shouldn't stray too far from anything I've posted before, they'll simply be more sparse.

So, for now, this is my life:

and I'm a blogger when I simply have the time.

Giveaway Winner

2011-09-19T08:00:00.009-05:00

You know, I didn't expect too many people to enter the giveaway,

so three is a good number of entrants I suppose.

Either way, it gave those three a fighting shot at winning a copy of both

Faith Deployed and Faith Deployed... Again.

Using random.org the generated winner is Holli!

Congratulations, Holli!

I'll be contacting you for your mailing information.

Faith Deployed... Again: Book Review & Giveaway

2011-09-11T23:03:00.000-05:00

Hey there ladies and gents. Thanks so much for your patience. As you've read in the title today I'm hosting my very first Giveaway. I'm a little excited and anxious to see how it all goes. So without further ado: my book review and giveaway requirements.

Review:

Faith Deployed… Again, in essence, resembles its preceding counterpart, Faith Deployed. There are plenty of quick, easy to read encouragements all written by a variety of military wives from all branches of the military. These ladies are all on the more experienced side of the spectrum, having been milspouses for several years. Not only is each branch of service represented, but there are active duty members and reservists represented separately as well.

What I love most about this book is the fact that each story comes from a seasoned milspouse. So, they’ve been through it all; they understand exactly what it’s like to prepare for a TDY, deployment, PCS and virtually everything in between. These women are all extremely inspirational with their insights, anecdotes and helpful tips. Another wonderful aspect is that these women speak from the heart, they share their stories with all the glories as well as downfalls that may have occurred.

Unlike Faith Deployed, however, Faith Deployed… Again not only covers aspects of the military marriage but the final section explains the hardships and God’s wisdom relating to being a blue-star mom as well. When reading this section I couldn’t help but feel as though the Lord could just as easily be preparing my heart for something so great in my own son’s and future children’s lives.

Not only is each story quick and easy to read, but sections are separated by category to help you find specific encouragement you may be looking for in one particular day. With plenty of scripture throughout, there is never a time you can’t tell God is definitely using this time of your life for something wonderful. Basically, if you are a military spouse of any kind you need to embrace the path God has chosen for you and know that there are plenty of others out there who have gone through the exact same situation and emotional state you’re in now.

Giveaway:

One lucky winner will be receiving one copy each of Faith Deployed as well as Faith Deployed... Again.

To enter simply leave a comment with:

Your name and
A way to contact you (Email/blog address)

That's all there is to it.

For bonus entries you can:

Share this giveaway with your friends on Facebook/Google+ leaving a separate comment letting me you know you did
Share this giveaway on Twitter leaving a separate comment letting me know you did
Share this giveaway on your blog leaving a separate comment letting me know you did

Giveaway is open until Sunday, September 18 when a winner will be chosen using random.org. Good luck to all who enter.

A Whole Lot of Nothing

2011-09-04T14:54:00.001-05:00

That sure has been my blog posts as of late. I do want to apologize for neglecting you so, and let you know that I have a slew of blog ideas to share with you; one of which includes a giveaway. So, stay tuned folks. Have some faith in me, I will blog again!

For now, my little family and I have decided to focus on doing nothing for the rest of our Sunday. And let me tell you: we're all pretty excited about that!

Have a happy Sunday dear readers!

Important Calls

2011-08-10T22:12:00.000-05:00

I swear, I can probably watch this video over and over and never grow tired of it.

My Isaac is just plain the cutest!

Before & After

2011-08-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

Who doesn't love a good before & after of a space re-do? No matter how dramatic or the intensity of work that went into the after might be it's still fun to see and compare, right? Well, when Curtis and I began our kitchen/dining/living room change all we thought we were doing was putting a fresh coat of color on the walls. When I mentioned this via twitter a friend said I should take before & after shots. Oh, what a novel idea! And why, oh why, hadn't I thought of that before I painted that first wall? Of course, to me, simply updating our beige didn't seem much like a before & after blog post worthy project. Little did I know that the simple task of painting would lead to a little more of a change in these spaces. So, I must say I am glad this was brought to my attention and I promptly took my before pictures. Please bare in mind, however, that it was technically mid-transition so one wall was already painted and we had crap strewed about in certain locations. Although, I suppose, the before pictures aren't supposed to be amazing anyway, huh? So, without further ado, here are the befores followed directly by the afters:

Living Room - Before

Living Room - After


Dining Room - Before

Dining Room - After

Kitchen - Before

Kitchen - After

Granted, the kitchen was simply the change of color, but it really does brighten the place up... although, that may be more noticeable in person.

Apple Thief

2011-07-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

Do I have you on the edge of your seats just waiting to see the finished results of our space re-do? Well, I hate to break it to you, but my husband is a busy man and has a curtain rod and two holdbacks to install before the transformation is complete (for the time being). We do have plans for other changes within one or two of the designated spaces before we may finally decide we're done renovating these spots in our home.

For now, I'll simply share a little anecdote of my day-to-day life with Isaac. See, I like for Isaac to eat fruits and vegetables. What momma doesn't want that for their babies? Anyway, in the past, I'd given Isaac small chunks of apples. I'd make sure to remove the skin then I'd chop up that apple into nice, little, easy-to-manage chunks. Well, that's apparently where I went wrong because Isaac never really cared for these apple chunks. He might, from time to time, have one or two with a meal; but I really don't think we got much further than that. However, one day I gave Isaac a little snack cup full of delicious little goldfish crackers while I grabbed an apple for myself. Just as I took one bite of that apple, Isaac comes over and just stands in front of me and stares at the apple. I figure, what's the harm he could do? So I hand him my apple. Little did I know he would nearly destroy this whole apple!

When I tried to take the apple from him
he ran to the other side of the room.

I promise you, he probably ate at least a quarter of that apple, maybe even half. But I simply couldn't believe how well my little boy ate my apple. Suffice to say, I no longer cut his apples into small chunks anymore. The most I do is cut it in half and take care of the seeds. And now he eats more apples with his meals.

Well, Hello There

2011-07-26T09:00:00.015-05:00

Hey! Remember me? I was that lady that used to blog once upon a time. Yeah, this little blog in particular used to have someone updating it much more regularly than it has been... and that someone was me.

So to catch you up on what's been going on these days. We're currently working on a little indoor project including our kitchen, dining and living rooms. It all started with us finally deciding on a color for these walls. As the paint was applied one thing lead to another and wall decor was added (well, only one thing, but it makes such a difference), and now I've finally decided some drapery is most definitely needed. Granted I realized this awhile ago, I just never got around to remedying this particular problem. But now, however, I'm thinking it absolutely needs to get done. Tomorrow I'll set out on the hunt for just the perfect set of curtains for our living room window and dining room sliding glass door. I'm quite excited about this. And, the best part, we recently had a yard sale that made us a pretty penny, which will cover the cost of these. Yippee!

For those wondering what color we've added, what decor has been added, what other plans we might have or anything like that, all I have to say is nanner, nanner, I'm not telling. But, you might get a sneak peek in the following pictures. See, we have high ceilings and a buffet-type-thing that is connected to one side of a small, but very tall wall. Curtis and I just weren't sure how we were going to paint the very tippy-top of this side of the wall since a ladder just wouldn't work no matter how you put it. Then, this avant-garde mind of mine found a way! Oh, yes, I found a way alright. You know how they say duct tape can fix anything? Well, painters tape works just as well in painting emergencies...

Yep, instead of spending that $5 it costs to purchase the edger with a location for attaching poles we used painters tape to secure our non-attachable edger to a broomstick. Oh, and I (of course) had to stand on the buffet to help with the reaching, too.

But it worked... and that's all that matters!

Unbelievable Chocolate Cake

2011-07-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

I have this cookbook titled Eat What You Love. It's a neat book, with everyday meals simply altered ever-so-slightly to fit a healthier lifestyle. Well, last weekend we had our neighbor-friends over for some dinner. While we were cleaning up Kelly saw the cookbook and started perusing. We eventually got on the topic of dessert so we looked up a cake recipe: Unbelievable Chocolate Cake. From there we just started baking. We even looked up an icing recipe just two pages over to decorate the cake with. So wasn't it typical: the women were in the kitchen -baking this delectable cake- while the men were in the basement playing video games. Kelly is a little more distinguished when it comes to cake decorating, but I helped a little.

After finishing the top and bottom borders we had just a little bit of icing left so I thought we needed a face on our cake, but I had far less leftover than I thought. So this is what we ended up with:

It certainly was delicious, but I don't know that I could say it was unbelievable. Either way, it was a fun time and I really enjoyed working on this cake with Kelly.

Frankie Say Relax

2011-07-06T22:24:00.000-05:00

Curtis' parents recently sent us a box that contained a few articles of clothing that used to belong to little Curtis. One of those articles of clothing was this shirt Curtis claims he "should have won." He's explained to me what that means exactly, but I've forgotten, and it's irrelevant to this post anyway. The size of the shirt, however, just so happens to be an Adult small. I'm sure when he used to wear this it either fit him nicely or may have even been a little big. But, these days, he's outgrown Adult smalls. So when he tried this old shirt on, only one thing came to mind for both of us:

Gosh, I love me some FRIENDS! And, I will admit, it made my heart so happy when Curtis put on the shirt and the first thing out of his mouth was, "it's like Ross."

Branded

2011-06-30T11:34:00.000-05:00

I debated how to start and conduct this particular blog post: I could go on about how some of you may be just a little shocked that I -of all people- now have a tattoo. I could go into detail about all the things that led up to finding and deciding on my tattoo. But, I think I'd much rather take this time to explain the reasoning behind my tattoo (placement and wording).

Whenever I thought of getting a tattoo I always knew it would have to be -for lack of a better word- religious. A few weeks ago we had a guest speaker, Ty Schenzel, come to our church. Ty is an excellent speaker and I get excited every time I know he'll be speaking again. This particular Sunday Ty mentioned that his son recently got a tattoo (a verse written out near his ribs, but more so on his abs I suppose... if that even makes sense). Either way, he got this tattoo because it is an outward declaration and praise to God. While at the tattoo shop, Ty's son was able to convince his mom to get a tattoo as well (a cross on her foot). Ty goes on to explain that this is their way of being branded for God. When he said that it really clicked for me that this was my desire, to be branded by my God! I like to think I'm a walking, talking testament to the glory of God, but I now have a way to truly showcase that. Right there on my wrist:

I chose my wrist because when I first thought about tattoos I wanted something that would essentially show how I have been so blessed to have my Savior die for me when it clearly should have been the other way around. So the placement of my tattoo would be on or near a place where Christ was nailed to the cross. In essence, I felt if Jesus could endure so much pain in these places just to forgive me of my sins I could certainly endure a little pain to showcase the glory He deserves for this sacrifice. I knew I wouldn't be able to stand anything on my foot and my palm was definitely out of the question so I decided it would be on my wrist.

The two words "by grace" comes from Ephesians 2:8 which states, "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God." Essentially this verse claims: God's grace + my faith = true salvation! I chose to capitalize "grace" because it holds a lot of significance to me. Now when I look at my wrist I get a reminder that I am going through life, not on my own but with a gracious and loving God; to whom I need to humble myself for and show praise to more often!

There's Got To Be A Better Way

2011-06-27T07:00:00.003-05:00

So I've been a little obsessed with this blog, iHeart Organizing, as of late. I gather so many ideas from Jen's blog pretty much on a daily that I just want to organize my entire house. I'd really like to do it in about 20 minutes or less, though. This blog is actually what spurred my Spring Cleaning frenzy when I took on my "paper overhaul". Little by little I've been organizing here and there, this and that. But my most recent project is one that I'm currently in love with.

Now, do you remember this post about my "toy organization?" How 'bout this post about the little organizer I purchased for our buffet? Well, let me tell you, in time I realized something wasn't quite working for me. Don't get me wrong, the mail organizer still works wonderfully, but it wasn't the only change I needed. So I had the thought, "there's got to be a better way." And, you know, if you have this thought it almost always is absolutely true.

The toy situation wasn't nearly as much of an issue as the buffet and our dining room table. See, with Curtis in school and us not owning a desk Curtis does his homework at the table. I'm perfectly fine with this, I'm just no fan to his schoolwork being left on the table. He even told me one day that he was claiming two spots at the table as the permanent location for his books and things. I reluctantly agreed. Of course he's not the only one to blame since I had things that I "permanently" kept on the buffet since I had no other location to keep them handy. Until, of course, that fateful day that I decided there is in fact a better way.

For argument's sake, let's see what the problem was (don't worry we have chairs, they were just moved when I took this picture since I was about to vacuum):

I thought to myself good and hard as to what would make the best solution to not only incorporate toy storage, but storage for Curtis and my personal belongings as well. I originally thought some sort of drawer system could work, but that would more so work for Curtis and my stuff and not all of Isaac's toys. Then we found this little beauty:

Once I got her home (and Curtis returned the original for one that didn't have a huge gash in the side) and put her in place I designated spots for both Curtis and myself. Then I separated Isaac's toys into categories to determine specifically where each toy would go. Now this obviously wasn't going to work as is, especially since there was so much eye-clutter going on. So I thought to myself, "baskets!" After looking around at four or five different stores I found these little guys at Michael's:

Almost perfect. The two lined baskets were the same color (black), but I couldn't even find two baskets in the same color for the larger three. Not to worry, because there is always a way to fix certain problems:

A fresh coat of black spray paint and voila:

Everything matches nicely. It's all organized, there's practically no eye-clutter even. My buffet and dining room table are clear of anything that doesn't belong and it is glorious! Not only that, but since this is technically a media stand there are those handy little holes in the back for cords. So I plugged my laptop charger in the wall next to it and ran the cord into the stand. Now when we are storing our laptops in our little baskets one can be charging. But if we have our laptop out and come close to dying that's no problem either as Curtis' charger is conveniently located in that top middle basket there. Perfect, no?

The only thing left for me to do is figure out a cute and fun labeling system so that the baskets read as such to indicate what goes where:

To One Special Daddy

2011-06-19T22:19:00.001-05:00

Of course I love and appreciate my own Daddy as well as my Daddy-in-law, but this post is all about the main Daddy in my life: my husband. He is a wonderful man and an amazing Daddy to our precious Isaac. Over this past year he's experienced separation as well as plenty of alone time with our little man. I have to say that their bond is one that I had always hoped for between my babies and their Daddy! I know that as Isaac gets older they'll only grow closer. And I can only hope for the same relationship between Curtis and our future children as well! I love my little family, I love Curtis as my husband and as my Isaac's Daddy. He was definitely made for this part. So, Happy Father's Day to my love! Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Curtis and Isaac together (a few "classics"... if you will):

And to all you other Daddy's out there:

Happy Father's Day!

Isaac Goes to the Zoo

2011-06-09T22:34:00.002-05:00

Are you tired of reading about Isaac? No? Fantastic! Because you're in for a real treat, my friends. See, on Isaac's Birthday my sister and I took him to the Zoo for some good fun and celebration on the actual day. But what fun is it for me to simply tell you of our day? Well if the story were accompanied by cute pictures of my adorable little man, probably not so dull. Either way, I found a much more fun way to tell the story. So without further adieu:

Isaac Goes to the Zoo

By: Courtney Rae

One sunny day, Isaac went to the Zoo.

He saw monkeys and elephants, and little fishies, too.

There were birdies that chirped and tigers that roared.

In a place like this, well, who could be bored?

You can buy pizzas and sodas and ice cream in cones,

To fill up your tummy when it’s empty and moans.

Isaac checked out the penguins after his hearty feast.

Then visited with goats and a giant wildebeest.

In the aquarium he saw stingrays and small, but fierce sharks,

And a bloom of jellyfish that glow in the dark.

He saw bears that climbed trees, and some rhinos that smelled

And he rode a white horse on the fun carousel.

A lot had occurred it would be hard to remember

So he got a stuffed lion with a mane colored ember.

When the day drew to end he was quite sad to go

But he fell fast asleep on the car ride to home.

It was a hot, but fun day for Isaac, you see

And I’ll tell you what else it was quite fun for me.

Smash [Cup]Cake

2011-06-07T12:19:00.001-05:00

After Isaac's Birthday I put a photo shoot together. As I'd mentioned before we didn't do the "traditional" smash cake during Isaac's party, but I just had to take pictures of him eating a cupcake all on his own because -let's face it- babies making messes while they eat... it's adorable.

A Party for Isaac

2011-06-04T13:50:00.001-05:00

As my son turned one we planned an affair to commemorate this occasion. We invited friends and family, near and far to help us celebrate the fact that the three of us (Curtis, Isaac and myself) survived our first year together. I'd heard from others that the first year you celebrate that you made it through (so a party would be more for the parents than the child). For us, I don't feel as though there was a lot we had to endure by raising Isaac this past year. Yes, we went through some regular "hardships" that plenty of other parents go through. For example, Isaac never fully "slept through the night" until maybe a month or so before he turned one. Isaac had a few teething issues that proved trying on him as well as Curtis and myself. But anything that came our way, we took it head on and got through it... all as a family. I wouldn't change anything that's happened this past year, and I still cannot believe it's been a year since Isaac was born.

Either way, we planned a party and had an awesome turn out. I thought by planning a Memorial Day Birthday party might mean we'd see roughly four guests (besides the three of us and my sister - she flew in for the party). However, when I was getting the numbers together to plan for food and such my list included a total of 30 people. I don't know about you, but that's actually quite a large number for us. There was only one family that had to cancel at the last minute, but that was still 27 people at our house, in our backyard, all enjoying the hot, hot sun, the delicious food and cupcakes, as well as each other. All in celebration of Isaac's first Birthday!

It was quite the day. I'd be lying if I said everything went super smoothly, because -let's face it- we were planning a party. Set up alone proved to be problematic since I had planned things to be a certain way, but with the heat of the day we had to change things at the last minute to accommodate; which kind of had me in a frenzy, on edge and a force not to be reckoned with. Yet, once guests arrived things went extremely smoothly and everybody had a great time (from what I could tell).

So, what good would this post be without pictures to show the fun that was had at this little party, right? Well, dear readers, here they are:

Auntie & Isaac

Isaac & Spencer playing some bean bag toss

Isaac enjoying his cupcake!

Isaac's loot (minus his big red ball)

Taking his new quad for a spin

The aftermath (even after I'd started cleaning up!)

p.s. As you may be able to tell we didn't do the "traditional" smash cake at Isaac's party, here. But we did set up a little smash [cup]cake photo shoot the day after Isaac's actual Birthday... so, stay tuned, folks.

1st Birthday Party Invitations

2011-06-02T20:51:00.001-05:00

Due to my little boy's aforementioned 1st Birthday (yesterday) I decided to dedicated my next few blog posts to this joyous occasion.

This past Monday we held a fun little Birthday party for my Isaac! We had plenty of people show up. Lots of food and fun, but more on that later. For now, here's the fun little invitations I put together for the event:

I will admit I'm quite proud of the way they turned out. This is my newest favorite picture of our little man!

A Year Gone By

2011-06-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

It's been one whole year since my sweet baby boy made his debut. Here's a year
in photos:

Birth

Month 1

Month 2

Month 3

Month 4

Month 5

Month 6

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

Month 10

Month 11

I can't believe how fast this past year has gone by. I can't believe how much Isaac has learned. I can't believe how much he's grown. It's been a whirlwind of a year, and it's been much more fun than I could have ever imagined. The love I felt for my son was great when I first saw his sweet face, but throughout this past year that love has only grown. I look forward to many more years with my precious little man! I have this feeling there will be a day when I'll kiss his sweet cheeks and he'll pull away saying, "Mooooooom!" But until then I'll continue to embrace his welcoming hugs and kisses. Not only that, but I'll continue to enjoy the time I have with my Isaac and watch him grow and learn in the years to come!

A Mother's Picnic

2011-05-20T20:30:00.002-05:00

Yes, yes, I'm a bit late on this post, but here it is:

This year we celebrated my first official Mother's Day. Last year I was pregnant and we had Maternity shots taken that day, so last year was special because we have documentation. This year was even more special because my precious baby boy was physically here to hug and "kiss" me:

and I, him:

The night before Mother's Day Curtis had gone out for a work buddy's bachelor party. Due to such adventures he didn't get home until... maybe 2 that morning. Needless to say, I didn't get to sleep in and have breakfast made for me and all that jazz, but I didn't mind it all too much. I spent some quality time with my little man while we ate breakfast together and Skype-ed with my in-laws!

Following church we headed to Walnut Creek Lake for a little picnic. We had crescent sandwiches and some fruit. It was absolutely perfect. For desert we had brownies. Can you say, yum?

After our lovely lunch we headed to a nearby playground. There was one right near our lunch-site, but there were quite a few children already playing on it (too many big kids for Isaac), so we went to one a little closer to the house. Which happened to be completely abandoned, so we had the whole park to ourselves:

This is Isaac's "tee-hee-I-just-saw-daddy" face:

As you can tell Isaac just had a blast playing. He's been to playgrounds before, but only with me, so it was nice to have Curtis there as well. I tell you, their relationship is so dynamic it's really the sweetest thing! But, it wasn't his day, it was mine... so I'll finish with this:

I thoroughly enjoyed my first official Mother's Day and definitely look forward to many, many more to come! And I hope all you momma's out there had a wonderful day as well. If nothing else, just spending quality time with your little ones makes the day special!

Crappy Weather = Fort

2011-05-14T16:06:00.000-05:00

What started out as any typical "laundry day" in the Weiffenbach house quickly turned into a day of fun adventures! The weather took a nasty turn right around 3PM with pouring rain, lightening and thunder to boot. So, like any mother wanting to protect my precious little boy (and Dusty, too) I built a fort for us. If nothing else, it's just a safe place for us to eat snacks and watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or read our books... don't worry, this thing is rock solid. I don't think anything will knock this baby over!

Mary Kay Debut/Web Party

2011-05-04T22:30:00.001-05:00

This Saturday I'm hosting my Mary Kay debut party to get the ball rolling on my new business, right?! Well, it turns out 1) I know a TON of people who simply don't live in my area and 2) the people that do live here will be out of town or will have in-laws visiting. Seriously, at least two friends from each scenario... I suppose that's what I get for having my party Mother's Day weekend. Either way, I've decided to try and get everyone involved with my party by simultaneously hosting a "Web Party" at the same time. So, here's a little note for my unable-to-attenders:

To all my family and friends far and wide, I am writing to tell you about a great opportunity I am offering this Saturday, May 7th from 10AM-2PM (CST) for my Mary Kay Debut!!!

For those of you that are unable to physically attend my debut party, have no fear, I have come up with a solution! This Saturday, May 7th from 10AM-2PM I'm throwing a "Web Party" for all my family and friends that are just too far away to attend! Here is a brief run down on how this party is going to work:

Log on to my personal website www.marykay.com/courtneyrae between the hours of 10AM and 2PM on Saturday the 7th and do all your shopping right from the comfort of your own home! Every person that makes a purchase between those hours will be entered into a drawing where they will be registered to win a gift card that goes towards their next purchase! (For each person you refer to my website, I will add your name in the drawing that many times. Make sure the person you refer mentions your name!) If the total sales hit a minimum of $300 in those 4 hours, a $50 gift card will be rewarded to the winner! (If sales are under that amount the winner will receive a $25 gift card towards their next purchase!)

Time for the fun part! Not only will your name be registered in a drawing to win a gift card towards your next purchase, but each individual that makes a purchase of $40.00 or more (before tax) will receive a FREE Gift with their purchase!

Also, keep in mind, that shipping is completely FREE.

I’m so excited that even though I am so far away I can still share exciting news and a convenient way to connect you with products you will fall in love with just after one use!

Your way to beautiful™

Courtney Rae

Under the Sink

2011-04-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

Last weekend I took on a new (small) organizing project. This was another one of those "domino effects" I was talking about. By taking care of one thing, I then had to take care of another. So here's my latest organized spaces. And, to make sharing it with you lovely readers more fun I wrote a song with the "Under the Sea" tune from "The Little Mermaid" as my guide. So, sing it as such, would you?

The bath stuff is always neater

In somebody else's place

You dream about being that way

But it looks like a big mistake

You look at the junk around you

Right there on the bathroom floor

You wonder how so much clutter

Wound up behind that door?

Under the sink

Darling it’s better

If it’s not wetter

Take it from me

You move your meds to dryer lands

You keep them out of children’s hands

While we are searching

We’ll do some purging

Under the sink

Now all of your stuff looks happy

When organized in sorts

You made it look less crappy

By moving some things to drawers

And when you use containers

You have around the home

You keep this beneath your drainer

To store all your shaving foam

Under the sink

Darling it’s better

If you’re no debtor

Take it from me

When using things you find around

Recycling evades the money sound

While we are cleaning

We are defeating

Under the sink

Your Way to Beautiful™

2011-04-28T22:20:00.002-05:00

Well folks, as of yesterday, I am officially a Mary Kay Consultant. If you'd like any information or would like to make an order just let me know. I've included a new page to this little blog for my Mary Kay stuffs. So, go ahead... click it! I'd be honored to be your Mary Kay lady.

Daddy Daycare

2011-04-27T22:31:00.000-05:00

We babysat little Sydney again.

I tell you, we always have fun with her!

Mini Organizing Project

2011-04-22T15:18:00.001-05:00

Earlier this week, while out with Isaac, I decided to make a detour towards Office Max since the day was so beautiful and I was just not ready to head home. While there I perused their selection of desk organizers. I immediately fell in love with two of them (a black and a silver), but just couldn't decide which I liked best. The price difference was merely a dollar. If the price gap was larger I would have definitely just gone with the cheaper of the two, but since it was simply a dollar I just didn't know which to go with. Both seemed to have their ups and downs. I stood there and pondered which I thought would fit my home best, as well as the pros and cons of each. Still unable to decide I placed both on the floor, took a picture with my phone and polled both Curtis and my momma as to which they thought I should purchase. They both, of course, gave opposite answers. But, my momma is so awesome and mentioned that the black would match better with my home (and, obvsiously, black was Curtis' choice). It just so happened to be the cheaper of the two anyway, so win-win, right?

After arriving home I promptly put my new organizer to work by organizing the buffet in our kitchen. See, we have this "counter" space that separates our kitchen and dinning room (well, part of them). With no other name for it, we just call it "the buffet." However, this buffet has become our catch-all for mail since this is where we stand to open everything. We also house our laptops here as well, since we generally sit at the buffet and play on the interwebs or whatever. And then, of course pretty much anything else can easily be placed on the buffet and lost amidst the mess. Both Curtis and I have been wanting to get this in better shape since my previous organization for the space was a little red, square-shaped vase to hold pens/pencils/stamps/letter opener... and a lollipop, apparently. When guests come over, you want to know my secret to cleaning up? I simply make a small pile of everything right next to the vase. Unless, of course, the pile is too large I will move the pile to the floor in the extra bedroom. Oh yeah, I'm that cool. Well, folks, here is the Before & After:

As you can see, it's already made a huge difference in how much more tidy my buffet looks. I did have to move the coffee maker to the other side of the outlet since the organizer is too long to share the same side with it. We also have a little coaster holder in front of our new organizer too. This holds smaller odds and ends, like gum or outlet covers from lower outlets we're currently using. It may not be the most organized or even best system in the world, but it's working for us! And I couldn't be more thrilled about it.

Mickey Overboard

2011-04-20T08:00:00.002-05:00

Just another day in the life.
Happy Wednesday, dear readers.

The Domino Effect

2011-04-18T13:42:00.011-05:00

I recently wrote about how I started getting our house more organized (starting with a paper overhaul). In this previous post, I mentioned a domino effect I foresaw occurring directly following my paper overhaul. The domino effect has in fact happened as Curtis and I were able to organize our extra bedroom (again). This time, however, we created quite the pile of unnecessary items to get rid of (we're hoping via yard sale) rather than simply finding a better location for such items. See, it started with the paper overhaul from the two trunks I mentioned were in the garage. Once those papers were taken care of I moved on to the filing cabinet in our extra bedroom. From there we took on everything in the closet as well as the dresser and two other sets of drawers we have in that room. The room looks so much better than it ever has and we now have (as previously mentioned) a good pile of items for a future yard sale. Yippee!

Our current project includes the garage more in depth. Once we received our tax refund we promptly paid off my credit card as well as put a good chunk in a savings account. With the remaining money Curtis got tires for his car, we bought more shelves for garage organization and just purchased a shed this past weekend in order to help with this organizing kick I've been on.

So we started bringing rubbermaids and other containers into the house (the basement) in order to go through them to either add to our existing "sell pile" or to simply consolidate/rearrange and label the containers. See? Organized:
And, since we only have this super-cool, old-school label maker, these are our labels:
This is all good, right? Well, here's the problem: I don't want to move containers back into the garage until the garage is ready for them. So, this is what my basement currently looks like:
And to tell you the truth this isn't exactly what it looks like anymore for the mere fact that I've grouped containers together so it's a more organized chaos. But, tell me this isn't ridiculous:
I think the military takes up more of the garage than me, personally. Those two large dark blue containers seen in the previous picture are full of military stuff too. It's crazy, I tell you.

So, even though we've got an awesome domino effect in place that we're getting stuff done around the house, I'm just waiting for our shed to be ready for pick-up. And then, of course, for Curtis to get that sucker built. Because only then will we finally be able to finish organizing that darn garage! I will admit I love how much space we have in there right now, but I do want my basement back. And, you know another awesome thing about this whole process? Well, two awesome things, really. First, by organizing and being a bit more heartless towards the things we -once upon a time- so badly felt the need to keep we actually have more space than necessary. I first noticed it in our extra bedroom as we have extra space in the dresser. But we now have one extra container and one extra trunk that can easily be used for other things we might be able to corral together from the garage or move from the house. The second awesome thing is the fact that I found all of my old toys that were too "special" to get rid of. After washing most of them Isaac now has more fun toys to play with!

This week, I'm going to attempt taking care of other domino effected spaces in the house. You know, since our garage sweep is currently at a standstill.

The Military Life

2011-04-08T13:04:00.010-05:00

For a while now I've had the headline of this little blog as "I'm a military wife, we lead a military life." Yet I don't know that I truly ever wrote about our "military life," merely our everyday life as a military family. However, today that is changing. As many of you should know there has been a lot of speculation about a Government Shutdown. During this time the military will experience a freeze in pay until everything gets situated up on Capitol Hill. Because military members have a mission-essential job they will continue to report to duty (wherever that may be, be that stateside, stationed overseas, or even deployed and TDY); however, though military personnel are reporting to duty they will not get paid until this funding issue is resolved.

A Government Shutdown hasn't officially been established as of right now, but earlier today military Leave & Earnings Statements (LES) showed that we will, in fact, only be receiving half a paycheck on the 15th of this month (covering April 1 through April 8). However, Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) later stated that "We have “taken down” all Leave and Earnings Statements (LESes) or "Advice of Pays" for Active Duty Military and Reservists. We will re-post LESes when we receive more information on the shutdown or enacted legislation that authorizes pay beyond April 8. As long as this authority becomes available, we anticipate paying both active and reserve members their full pay for duty served from April 1-15." This was posted on the DFAS Facebook fan page. But, let's face it, there was quite a bit of hub-ub when the initial LESes showed the half pay.

The fact that a shutdown has been looming over military personnel and their families has put quite a few people in a frenzy. I've read many complaints about how unfair this would be, as well as plenty of tips to try and help other military folk during such a time. There has even been a Facebook event created to try and get the point across that military personnel deserve to get paid. Which is true, in many opinions, considering they are the ones putting their lives on the line in order for our Senate leaders to continue to have the freedom to sit in their fancy chairs and argue about Government funding. But in the end, there literally is nothing anyone of us can do to stop this inevitable shutdown. As I'm typing this we are merely an hour and a half from the end of our previous budget plan; therefore, it truly does seem inevitable that a shutdown will occur.

Some people are really beginning to freak out considering they live paycheck to paycheck with no emergency funds or credit cards to assist them. Fortunately, military is generally pretty good with helping other military. So there are plenty of resources available if absolutely necessary. Not only that, but there are several banks and agencies who have already stated that they are willing to help military families during this time by certain means. Another noteworthy bit of information is that though military won't get paid for their current duty right now, they will in fact get paid (via back-pay) at some point. Of course we don't know when that will be, but know that you're not literally working for free.

Being a military family, this is our military life right now. We are in the same boat as many others out there when it comes to my husband's pay. Whatever happens, happens. It might suck, but it's what we have to go through right now so that things can finally become straightened out on our Nation's hill.

*Disclaimer: I don't claim to be a know-it-all for all military matters, nor do I even have a 100 percent view on this particular issue. I'm simply stating what information I have gathered as well as my personal opinions.

Isaac + Sydney = In A Tree

2011-04-05T15:37:00.004-05:00

My little boy is such a ladies man, let me tell you. Not only does he like them, but pretty much any lady who sees him begins to get all sweet on him... no matter how old. But I have reason to believe that our next door neighbors' little girl, Sydney, truly has his heart. He likes her and she likes him. Yep, that's right, they're boyfriend-girlfriend.

Sydney is such a darling little girl, I can't stand it! We've had a few play dates recently, and Curtis and I had the privilege of watching little Sydney a few times in the past couple of weeks as well. We all have a good time when she comes over, Isaac is so curious about her. He tries to share his toys with her, albeit a little too rough sometimes (you know, throwing them to her). But it really is the sweetest thing watching them "play" together.
As you can see from the following picture, their interaction is just too cute! And, of course, once Miss Sydney comes over Isaac's all about showing off. He's been pretty good with the walking thing for awhile, but when she showed up he took it to a whole new level. He's pretty well got this walking thing down now.When Justin and Kelly came by to pick Sydney up after their much-deserved date we tried to get a few shots of Isaac and Sydney together. And, well, have you ever tried to get a picture of a 10 and 5 month old? Yeah, not so easy. But this was our best shot.
Even better, Dusty started loving up on Sydney before she left too! I'm telling you, she is such a doll and we've been enjoying the extra Sydney-time we've had lately.

Getting Organized

2011-03-25T19:43:00.006-05:00

Last week I decided to update my little blog again. Well, I started the process first by designing a new header. Then I went ahead and started adjusting this, that and the other on the blog as well. I still have a ways to go before it’s done, but I have (obviously) started the process and that’s always the first step. However…

Sometime last week I discovered this awesome blog: iHeart Organizing. Being that I truly do heart organizing I’ve already spent quite a bit of time just perusing, admiring, and getting inspired by all the organization on this little blog. With all this new information and inspiration I’ve got the juices flowing with organizing projects and ideas for my own home.

As a matter of fact I’m very excited to finally get our garage organized this summer. Curtis and I decided that we’d like to use whatever extra money we have from our tax refund (after bills and such) towards this particular project. But, of course, I have to wait a few weeks before we have the funds to even begin this project. So I figured I could start with smaller projects until then.

When Curtis and I took the time to gather all necessary paperwork to do our taxes we finally sat down and organized the piles of papers we had and finally filed/shredded/etc. Then, this past Wednesday, I decided to do a paper overhaul in our house. I knew of at least one trunk in our garage that contained quite a few old paperwork, of which I knew not all needed to be kept.

So that’s where I started. And, technically, I didn’t really start there either. We had two trunks in the garage (one on top of the other) and I couldn’t remember which one contained all the paperwork, so I simply brought the top trunk in and decided to go through it. Sure enough that wasn’t the trunk I was thinking of, yet it still needed a good overhaul as well.

On Thursday I went through the second trunk and we now have a good amount of papers in our recycle bin as well as plenty of shredded papers, too (see picture above). I don’t think my little shredder has ever worked so hard in it’s life. But, from that trunk, I just have some paperwork I need Curtis to go through then that trunk will be done as well. It’s very liberating to be getting rid of unnecessary paperwork. Not only that, but I decided to finally go paperless with a few more of our bills. We pretty much have automatic transfer for all our of bills; so why do we really need a paper bill, right? So we could have more of this?

No thanks.

I’ve got all these intentions of how I plan to get organized. Yet it seems I have more than one project going on at the same time, including my blog redo. However, I’m thinking that now that I have household projects going on and my basement is getting more and more cluttered (being my organization central location) my poor blog will be put on the back burner until I feel as though I truly have the time to commit to getting it adjusted to my liking.

Despite all the clutter that’s accruing in my house due to my organization frenzy, I know that once everything is done I’ll be so happy with the results. And, it really seems like what I’m doing now will only have a domino effect on getting the rest of the house in order. Because, after trunk one I moved on to trunk two; from there I plan to move on to our filing cabinet and get that organized (I have files and whatnot, but I probably have papers in there from far too many years ago); then I plan to tackle the containers in our extra bedroom closet; and, obviously, once those containers are organized I’ll have to take care of the rest of the closet. See what I mean? Domino effect.

Though this may be a longer process than I’d bargained for, it’ll be so worth it! And I'm excited!

Baby Food

2011-03-17T21:55:00.007-05:00

Here's a picture of just a few of the things Isaac eats. A lot of these are store-bought, but I've got a few home-made foods in there as well (vegetable purees in the ice trays on left, and mini-meatballs in the small container on right). However, this picture doesn't even begin to show everything my little man is able, has, and does eat on a regular basis. As you might know my Isaac is nearly ten months old. Can you believe that? TEN months! That's just a few short months away from a year. I really don't know where the time went.

I digress. Being that my baby is growing up and has himself four little teefies, I'm trying to expand his food repertoire (if you will). When we first tried anything besides breastmilk I would give Isaac purees. He took to this solid food very well which gave me hope for the future. Along with the purees we tried a little rice cereal. Again, Isaac was a natural and things continued to run very smoothly. From there I determined he was ready to try his pincer-grip action on small things such as cereal puffs. I'll admit that didn't come quite as naturally, but in just a few days his impatience grew and he found a way to grab hold of these little things and get them into his mouth all by himself.

In time he's gotten so much better at this task, as well as his "chewing" capabilities that we moved on to the less-dissolvable foods, like Cheerios (and eventually Kix). I know these do in fact dissolve but they don't dissolve nearly as fast as his little cereal puffs. So I was a bit more apprehensive about feeding them to him until he got the puffs down.

Though we still have quite a few jars/containers of purees and I've made and froze a few myself, we continue to (from time to time) feed him some mushy fruits and vegetables. However, I try to give him the naturally mushy, small-in size (easily edible by a 10 month old), and mushy via cooking fruits and vegetables as well.

Making purees is really as simple as making veggies for Curtis and myself (and simply knowing how to use my Ninja), then my freezer takes care of freezing little 1-ounce sized portions for me, so those really were a breeze; however, the challenge came as I wanted to find more foods for Isaac to try. I'm always looking for different tastes and textures.

What's funny is the day I had the thought to look up recipes for such foods I got an Email with six suggestions for fun finger foods. I found a few that I personally thought sounded doable and I tried my hand at two of those recipes so far (the mini-meatballs being one of them, the other being cheesy polenta sticks). When Isaac tries new things he doesn't always take a liking to them right away, but he eventually opens up to them. For example, with the cheesy polenta sticks, he didn't seem to care for them initially; but as I kept putting them on his tray each day he gradually decided he liked them and just ate them up.

We even accidentally discovered that Isaac (thankfully) doesn't have an egg allergy so I've boiled up and cut up eggs for him; however, this is one food he recently decided he doesn't care for anymore. But, you know what, that's another thing about trying new foods for babies. You can't expect them to really know how they feel about things. So we don't push anything on him. We'll offer foods to him a few times and if he still refuses we simply move on. There was a time when he didn't want pureed vegetables anymore. He would start eating them, but decide halfway through that he didn't want anymore, rather he wanted more rice cereal or oatmeal. With things like that we simply store it away to try again later. I don't think I've ever had an instance where he continued to refuse the same food over and over (besides the egg thing). After one feeding, if he didn't finish, I would wait and offer it to him again for his next feeding. And, more often than not, he'd at least finish that serving the second time around.

After more Google-ing I found a list of more simple finger foods for Isaac to try. So I'm on a non-stop hunt for any tips, secrets, recipes, or whatever I can find to expand the things Isaac can feed himself. One of my favorite things about finger foods is, not only the fact that Isaac is learning more skills and progressing in his development, but when he feeds himself that frees me up to do what I need to do (which might even include eating myself). It's an exciting thing that my baby can feed himself and I can continue on with my own tasks all at the same time.

Here's my Isaac enjoying his pancake with me for breakfast this morning.

By the way, did you know he's also mastered the sippy cup?

Such a happy baby, happy to be enjoying his big boy foods.Do any of you, dear readers, have any tips, secrets, recipes, suggestions for
finger foods?

Toys, Toys & More Toys

2011-03-11T17:35:00.006-06:00

We have been so blessed when it comes to Isaac’s toys, because if I think about it we might have paid full price for maybe four or so ourselves (including the wagon in which our downstairs toys currently reside). So it’s amazing to me, to see how many toys Isaac really has; which, in comparison to others can seem like nothing, but to us it’s a great amount. And the fact that we received a lot of them for free or for only a dollar at a yard sale is just plain awesome.

As for organization, we obviously keep toys in a simple blue hamper in the living room, and we use Isaac’s cute, little red wagon for toy storage in the basement. Allow me to clarify that this isn’t the purpose of purchasing the wagon, we simply needed a place to put toys (since we have to keep some downstairs, you know) and his wagon was not in use at the time (being that we gave it to him for Christmas). So now that the weather is taking a turn for the better I’m not sure how we plan to store these toys as we make more use of the wagon in the conventional sense.

Though I do love having these easy-access toys for Isaac I’m looking forward to when Isaac’s old enough that we can get rid of his changing table and replace it with a wonderful toy-storage-unit of sorts. I’ve got my eye on a particular set of storage bins at Target, but I’m holding out ‘til it’s a bit more vital to have. And I do kind of desire for a nicer-looking storage spot for the living room: even if that simply means a darling, little wicker basket. Plus, I miss being able to use that little blue hamper; it made taking laundry upstairs so much easier

For anyone that knows me, might know that I adore a well kept, nice and tidy home. Of course, I do have my moments where I might neglect a chore or two and the house does, in fact, become a little groddy, but still. I can have a little OCD with certain things that can easily be managed, such as making the bed or simply putting things away.

With that being said, I’ll also say that: Yes, I am that Momma who picks up every single toy Isaac has played with each and every time he goes down for a nap or bed, we leave the house, or we simply leave the room. Not only do I make sure the toys are picked up, I make sure they are in the appropriate location. I make sure all the puzzle pieces are in the right slot, I make sure every single block is in the block-bag. I make sure the stacking rings are not only stacked, but in the right order; I make sure every thing else is in order before putting anything away.

I understand this may not be reasonable when I expect Isaac to put his own toys away. I just like everything in a certain order, but I will need to come to the realization that a toddler and a Momma might have a different idea of that particular concept. So until then I’ll continue to do things my way. However, another realization that I have to come to terms with is that my Isaac will be one in a little under three months. So I will soon be able to teach my little guy how Momma likes things put away.

Happy Retirement

2011-03-05T20:54:00.011-06:00

Well, folks, after two and a half weeks I'm finally back to my blog. It's so funny how I always talk about wanting to blog more often, yet when I feel the desire to truly blog I either A. feel as though I have nothing to blog about or B. have a hard time finding the time to do so. Well, these past few weeks have been pretty hectic, let me tell you. We traveled all the way to the East coast to visit my best friend, my family, some more friends, and some of Curtis' family. Boy, what a time it was. But more on that later. For now I want to focus on the reason we made such a crazy drive with a nine-month old.

My Daddy finally retired from the Air Force, after 25 years. There was a beautiful ceremony that took place at Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina. Daddy gave a beautiful speech; all the women were in tears; Joshua and Curtis (even Isaac) were able to refrain themselves. I only have a few photos to share documenting the ceremony. A few things I can't document for you was how delicious his cake was, or the laughs and chats shared with all family and friends present (both before and after the ceremony).

It was wonderful that so many of Daddy's family were able to come as well as friends. It truly shows how blessed my Daddy is to have such amazing people in his life.

Though I was seated in the front row, I was off to the right, so this was the best I could get (picture-wise... you know, with the angle and all).Momma got to pin-on his "retired" pin.And Daddy presented her with orange flowers.He received plenty of pictures, certificates, and what have you, but my favorite is this shadow box.I think I tear up nearly every time I look at this picture.(besides the sunglasses on Joshua's head, I think this makes a lovely family photo)

We all couldn't be more proud of Daddy. We are so thankful for his service these past 25 years and I can't believe (as of 1 April) he'll no longer be in the military; considering he's been in my entire life. My parents are anxious and nervous and anything you can think of for this next chapter in their life and I simply pray that they find peace and comfort in knowing that their lives are in His hands and that they will continue to be blessed post-military.

Thank you, Daddy, for your service.

I love you.

A Valentine For Isaac

2011-02-14T21:08:00.005-06:00

Yesterday, at our Life Group meeting,

Isaac received his first Valentine's Day card.
It was the sweetest thing.
Of course Isaac's too little for the lollipop, but it's the thought that counts.
The card has a cute little hippo on it and it says,
"Hip-Hippo, Hurray! Jesus love you!"I was honestly so touched by this sweet little act.
Now I can't wait for Isaac to be old enough to hand out little Valentine's Day cards too.
For now he just enjoys playing with them on the floor.Happy Valentine's Day, lovely readers!

Guns and Cracker Barrel

2011-02-10T15:16:00.012-06:00

When you think of a date (the activity not the fruit), what do you think of? Restaurants, nice food, maybe a social activity such as bowling, men opening doors, things of that nature, right? Well, Curtis and I had a chance to go on our first date since his return from deployment this past Monday. And, to the Weiffenbachs, a date sometimes means guns! Curtis was able to get a day off (since he scored over a 90 on his last PT test), so he took Monday off and he took me shooting.

We recently set up a deal with our next-door-neighbors that (at least) once a month they'd watch Isaac while Curtis and I go out and we'd, in turn, watch their little Sydney while they go out. So we finally got that ball rolling when we asked Kelly to watch Isaac this past Monday. Now we get to watch miss Sydney this coming Saturday (and we're so looking forward to it... you know I'll have pictures).

Anyway, back to our date. Or something of the like.

Curtis recently bought a little pocket gun: a Ruger LCP .380. And he more recently purchased a laser grip for this particular gun. I'm not entirely certain, but I think Curtis might have taken this gun shooting at least once before, but he hadn't taken it since he got his laser. So we took that gun so we could both test it with the laser (of course). While we were at the shooting range we rented a Smith & Wesson 38 special; it's a double-action revolver so the pull is extremely long, which made shooting a little bit difficult for me, but it was nice to try out a new type of gun at the same time.

After shooting we headed to good ol' Cracker Barrel for some delicious southern eats for lunch. It was really nice to get out just the two of us, again. Since I didn't bring more than a shirt to change into after shooting and my wallet we didn't take any pictures while at the range... or at lunch for that matter. But we certainly had a lot of fun. We're definitely looking forward to our next date. Let's keep the love alive... guns or no guns!

Hey, I Know That Person

2011-02-02T11:35:00.006-06:00

It was nearly a year ago I went to my first BLooM (Building and Lifting Moms) meeting at my church. A friend of mine invited me since they were doing their first-ever kids clothing swap. I, of course, didn't have any kids clothes to bring in for "swapping," but I was allowed to rummage through and pick out several little items for my unborn Isaac.

I hadn't really gotten involved with church activities since Curtis and I got married, primarily because of work. Not just mine, mind you, but Curtis' as well. Certain events would occur when it wasn't good for one or both of us, so we didn't participate. The only thing I'd really done in the past was working in the 1st and 2nd graders room one summer. And, what really drove me to do that was because I needed some sort of volunteer work for my civic project in the particular class I was taking at the time. I've worked with kids at churches plenty of times before, that's why I chose to do that; however, I haven't done much of any helping out at church or anything since High School.

I'd always wanted to get more involved, get to know more people from the church; but, again, schedules conflicted and I never really tried to do anything about it. Until, of course, I heard about the clothing swap at BLooM. Since every little bit helps, I so badly wanted to go to this meeting that I worked it out with my supervisor to make it. From then on (since BLooM only meets once a month) I was able to work it out to make it to the following meetings until BLooM took it's Summer break.

By attending BLooM I met a few ladies which was nice because I now knew a few more people, in general, but more importantly from church. There were now more familiar faces other than the two couples we knew, that we rarely run into at church even (I'm guessing we just make it to different services). Either way, it was a little lame initially, because we really like our church, but we just hadn't gotten to know too many people.

After having Isaac and making the decision to stay home I now had plenty of free time to participate in numerous activities. So, I signed up for BLooM again (once it started back up in the fall) and I also signed up for another Bible Study (which was great for more reasons than meeting more people). From these two "venues" -if you will- I've met a plethora of ladies that attend our church that I can now stop and have small chats with after church, before church, or even during. Allow me to clarify that last statement, because I don't just go moseying through church and start up conversations with people in the middle of the sermon, but there was this one time that I took Isaac to the bathroom to change him (this was, obviously before we started dropping him off in the nursery) and I ran into two ladies I knew. I thought it was a little funny how as big as the church is and I happen to run into these two ladies in the restroom.

In the end I'm just thrilled to be able to know more people. But Curtis isn't getting to know more people from church since I'm attending ladies events and he's... well, not so much a lady. However, at the beginning of January, whoever happened to have spoken that first Sunday mentioned the start up of a new study through our Life Groups. He also mentioned there was a brochure-type-thing in the back that you could pick up to find out when and where particular Life Groups met. After looking it over, I found one near our house that offers babysitting and works with Isaac's schedule. So I quickly got us signed up, and by the following Sunday we were participating in some super fun games with a group of people we seem to fit in with pretty well. Granted we're still getting to know everyone, but it's nice that we both now recognize more people at church. It's fun just knowing people sometimes. I'm sure that sounds crazy to some of you, but that's just how I am.

Finally, I'm going to be a greeter this coming Sunday. I met a woman at another ladies event and she said I look friendly and, essentially, have a great demeanor that would be wonderful for greeting people to our church. Curtis will be watching Isaac since (as I understand it) nursery workers won't necessarily be there as early as I'm supposed to be; otherwise, he'd be greeting with me. And, who knows, maybe one day he will be. Basically, I'm thrilled that I'm able to attend events and other types of activities these days. And I really love that I'm getting a little more involved as well (even if that simply means saying "hello" to everyone who walks through the door on Sunday morning).

Blocks

2011-01-28T11:57:00.006-06:00

As promised, here is the mini photo shoot from a week or so ago.

It was a snow day and, even though I had no reason to leave the house, I decided to make our stay inside the house much more fun.

I bought these blocks awhile ago with the intent to eventually use them in photo shoots,
while Isaac played I decided to do a little playing myself.

It started out as me taking pictures of him playing,
then I eventually started actually setting up for it to be more of an actual shoot.
He's just so fun!

Sledding

2011-01-26T20:02:00.004-06:00

This past weekend we took Isaac sledding for the first time.
He didn't quite understand the concept, but we enjoyed taking him out for a little bit.

Isaac's first actual encounter with snow.
You know, up close and personal:

Daddy and Isaac headed up the hill to turn right around and slide down:Here's the video of Isaac's first time sledding:

We didn't stay outside very long at all;
Curtis and I both took turns taking Isaac down (from half-up the hill),
then Curtis went all the way up (it's a pretty big hill).
Directly following Curtis' entire-hill slide I took a turn.
It was plenty cold out, and nearly nap time, so we really had to get home asap.
It was 30 minutes well spent.
Curtis and I are really excited to take Isaac out next year
when he's old enough to comprehend sledding and truly enjoy it.

We Are Fans

2011-01-24T16:21:00.004-06:00

We have friends who have family down in Texas. Because of their geographical location they have the advantage to purchase certain memorabilia for Texan sports teams. When said friends traveled to said state they had such the opportunity to make said purchases.

We’ve never been big on sports; watching, you know. Not to say we don’t like to watch, because we will. However, we’ve not so much associated with any particular team. And despite our particular location we are not giving in to the Cornhusker craze. In fact, at some point during the early stages of our marriage Curtis and I decided to associate with the Texas A&M Aggies. We really don’t follow them in any true way, though Curtis could tell you more about their football team than I could.

Because of said newfound sports team to associate with we finally figured a way to acquire said memorabilia. During our friends’ latest visit to Texas we requested they purchase a few items for us. So Curtis and I now have a hoodie each. We have a T-Shirt that is a little too small for Curtis, but a little big for me… so, probably a lounging shirt for me. And we even have a cute little shirt for Isaac as well.

Despite the fact that I wear my new A&M hoodie nearly everyday (it is super comfy), I think our new salt and pepper shakers really put us over the edge from moderate spectator, to a more direct “we are fans” type of status. I only say this because having these A&M salt and pepper shakers sitting directly on my stove might be a sign for guests to think that we are honestly fans of some sort of team and that we avidly follow their sports antics.

So, for anyone interested, we are Aggie fans.

A Day in the Life

2011-01-19T13:02:00.010-06:00

I know no one asked but I'm sure some may be curious, so I thought -to go along with my scheduling-themed blogging- I'd fill you in on my daily routine. However, I'd like to start with a little precursor explanation, if you don't mind.

When Isaac was roughly three months old he had a pretty good sleep/wake schedule down. It was nothing too precise; as in, we didn't have specific times that he would be awake or asleep (other than at night), but it was easy to predict when his next nap should take place since he had reached a point that two hours of wake time would suffice before needing another snooze. When we visited my parents this past November he was still taking three naps a day with about two hours of wake time in between; however, by this point he was now sleeping until maybe an hour before starting his bedtime routine... and, on occasion, only half an hour prior. I'd figured by the time we got home (Isaac now being six months old) we'd eliminate one nap; thereby, keeping Isaac up longer than two hours at a time. So that's just what we did. I took note of his sleep patterns and tried to figure out a pretty regular schedule for him rather than simply keeping track of how many hours he's been up to anticipate his next nap.

Not only that, but I like to keep Isaac's eating on a regular schedule as well. He's been eating every four hours for quite some time (I want to say around two or so months this started). He'd eliminated a midnight feeding all on his own and slept through 'til four for an early morning feeding relatively early on, too. Eventually, we got rid of the four a.m. feeding as well.

I'd read somewhere that having a regular schedule is good for babies because there's predictability, for one. Plus, as I've noticed in my own experience, their little bodies get used to it and everything just seems to fall into place at some point. Another great quality to having a pretty set schedule is being able to plan around your predetermined schedule rather than making plans and hoping everything works out in the end. Plus, for me, schedules are just plain fun.

So, without further adieu, our daily routine. I'll, first, give it to you with explanations and whatnot, then I'll simplify it for you:

Around seven in the morning Isaac wakes up for the day. I immediately put him in bed with me where he might fall back asleep for another half an hour or so, which simply gives me a little more sleep as well. Otherwise, we just hang out in bed playing and watching TV (on DVD). Either way, we don't get out of bed until eight in the morning. Between eight and nine I fix breakfast for the both of us and we eat. As soon as we're both done eating we hang out in the living room and play until ten-thirty, at which point I put Isaac down for his first nap of the day. Once Isaac is down I begin my workout. Directly following my workout I grab a shower and finally get ready for the day. On a normal day it's noon when Isaac wakes up from his nap and I'm generally done getting ready for the day, too. Sometime between twelve and one we have lunch. If we plan to run any errands we're usually out the door by one. From one to three it's usually a hodgepodge of either running errands or playing at the house. At three, Isaac's usually ready for his second nap. After putting him down, I use this time to take care of my main chore for the day. On a normal day Isaac's up by four (and with Curtis on day shift he's usually home by now as well). Between four and five Isaac gets his dinner and commences playing with Daddy or simply playing in/near the kitchen. Between five and five-thirty (depending on what's for dinner) I get cooking. By six, Curtis and I are eating our dinner while Isaac sits by in his highchair eating a few cereal puffs or playing with toys. Following dinner we play some more, maybe watch a little TV together, basically just all hanging out as a family; although, lately, Curtis has homework and CDCs to work on, so Isaac and I spend a few nights just the two of us. That is, until seven-thirty which is bath time for Isaac. After his bath he's prepared for bed. I feed him, read to him and put him down for bed. Once he's out for the night Curtis and I get some alone time to play games, watch movies/TV then we head to bed, too.

In short, a typical day looks like this:

7:00 - Wake up
8:00 - Fix/eat breakfast
10:30 - Nap for Isaac
Workout/shower for me
12:00 - Wake from nap
Fix/eat lunch
1:00 - Outing (if applicable)
Playing
3:00 - Nap for Isaac
Chores for me
4:00 - Wake from nap
Dinner for Isaac
Curtis gets home
5:00 - Cook dinner
6:00 - Dinner for adults
7:30 - Bath time
8:00 - Story/late night feeding
Isaac is down for the night

Here's a photo to sum up a Day in the Life of the Weiffenbachs

(and a sneak peek at another photo shoot we had the other day):

Shedules

2011-01-14T09:43:00.006-06:00

Schedules are a big part of my life. They have been for quite some time. I used to make a schedule of how I would conduct my day during summer vacation back in Elementary/Middle School. Yes, I'm a dork, but I thrive on organization. I believe that schedules make the day much more predictable, for one, and it helps with time management, too. I'm not saying that I like to know exactly what's going to happen and when, I'm merely speaking in terms that some predictability is nice (especially with a baby, let's face it).

I keep track of schedules in my head, on my phone, on my computer, and occasionally I'll keep track of things on a paper calendar as well. Although, I'll admit with my computer and phone I really have little need for a paper calendar these days.

If you're curious, here's a glimpse at my iCal for the month of January:As you can see, on the left hand side is all the categories of things I like to keep track of on my iCal, including Birthdays/Anniversaries, appointments, "fun" (which generally includes activities such as parties, Bible Studies and other activities that have a definite start date that I deem as fun), and most importantly payments. The payments section is the primary reason I started this calendar in the first place. With the settings of iCal I am able to set up reminders for everything I enter into my calendar. So, I always get a reminder 15 hours beforehand when a certain payment is due. I've titled everything, first, by the company we owe, and secondly how they are to be paid; for example, I have "OPPD - Autodraft" that way I know that OPPD is due but I don't need to worry about doing anything since the money will be automatically withdrawn from our account. Another example is: "Mortgage - Check" (ok, so this one isn't labeled by the company rather the reason we pay the company, but oh well), and when I see "check" that reminds me that I need to mail them a check.

On my phone I primarily keep track of appointments. I love how I can set my phone to remind me of an appointment a week in advance (if time permits), then a day in advance as a last minute reminder, then I finally have it remind me an hour before start-time. This has truly saved me on several occasions. Because I have so much going on sometimes it really is difficult to try and simply remember everything. So it's nice to get that reminder, plus when I make an appointment it's extremely easy to whip out my phone and go ahead and program it right in, that way I don't even have to worry about writing it down to remember to put it into my iCal even.

Finally, in my head, I generally keep track of my daily/weekly schedule that pretty well stays consistent. For example, I keep track of the times Isaac generally wakes, sleeps and eats. As for my weekly schedule this primarily pertains to a cleaning schedule I keep track of in my head, since I've never written it down, but simply kept it up I have it embedded by now.

It's so funny to me how schedules are such a key part of my life that I forget that some people don't really stick to schedules for a lot of things that I do. For example, I read people's Facebook statuses or tweets about how laundry has piled up or how someone took an entire day to clean the entire house and I basically think how silly, because, in my mind, it only makes sense to stick to a schedule to ensure your house becomes and stays clean. For example, I do laundry on Wednesdays; therefore, every Wednesday, no matter the amount of clothes I still have that I could easily wear I do the laundry. With such consistency I never run out of any clothes. I used to not be so consistent with laundering (or any cleaning for that matter) and I would simply wait until I was nearly out of socks or something before deciding I should take time to do laundry. And that, my friends, is why it's funny to read or hear about others who do things differently. I have started and stuck to this schedule for the past eight months (at least) that it's completely second nature to me now and I just don't understand why others don't do it as well. I'm not saying that my way is the right and only way things should be done, I'm merely saying that I find it funny how I forget that everyone does things differently.

We all have certain aspects of our lives that seem silly to others but are perfectly sound to us, and scheduling is just one of my many, many quirks.

Blogging

2011-01-13T20:57:00.004-06:00

A strange title for a blog post, don't you think? Well, I've been thinking about blogging lately. I just feel completely out of the loop these past few weeks... months, even. Things have definitely changed since Isaac was born. Which may seem weird to others, considering before I had school and work; although, there was at least six months between my last day of college and when Isaac was born, so I solely had work to worry about outside the home. With so little time at the house to sit down and reflect on my days, and upload photos and what have you, you might think that I would have much more opportunities to update this here blog now that I'm home a good 90% of the day (on average). Ok, that may be a bit extreme, but I am home a heck of a lot more than I was. But, you know what? One of the biggest problems these days is that I don't have the time to simply think up something to blog about. When I worked, I sat at a computer all day and my mind definitely wandered during certain monotonous jobs (or even standing... filing or something, you know). The other thing about working at a computer gave me the opportunity to quickly write down a few of my ideas before hand. I would then Email those ideas to myself and I would only have to take a few minutes to fix up what I'd written and add to it before posting it on the blog.

You know what else? I honestly miss blogging. I know, I generally keep it updated at least once a week, but I miss taking time to write out crazy little musings that have been going on in my head. I miss sharing our adventures with you, dear readers. I'd really like to make it a goal to blog three times a week. I think if I could just take the time to write three times a week (on average) I'd feel more in the loop and I'd possibly have my groove back. I'm very big on schedules; so, perhaps, if I plan to blog on, say: Monday, Wednesday and Friday of each week I might be able to work it into my schedule a lot easier than simply trying to just find time any day of the week to finally get something out to you. And, funnily enough, writing this just gave me another idea for a blog post. I can feel the creative juices flowing, folks.

I suppose another problem I may have is that because I spend all day with my precious Isaac it seems I primarily think of fun anecdotes to share with you about him yet I feel like that would be a bit much to strictly talk about him and share every detail of his life, of which I'm sure plenty of you may not care that he's able to feed himself little cereal-puffs, or that he was able to get the ball in the net of his little bathketball net. Because, in all honesty, I get excited about these little things and I feel the need to share that with the world sometimes.

Either way, I know I write these types of silly posts sometimes saying that I plan to post more, that I plan to update you on our little life more, and that I don't intend to primarily write about one sweet little topic. But this is what's on my mind, I found some time, and I wrote it out.

Psalm 115:1

2011-01-06T18:17:00.007-06:00

"Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" (ESV)

A few months ago our youth pastor (as we are currently without a senior pastor) spoke one Sunday morning. The message he spoke of revolved around this verse: Psalm 115:1. For me it was one of those messages where -in a room filled with people- I was secretly the sole audience of it. (I know this isn't the case, I'm merely trying to help you realize that it was a message I needed to hear). It's essentially about humbling yourself, and giving credit where it's due.

In the past few years it seems my life has really taken a turn for the better. Not to say that I was headed anywhere bad, but I've really accomplished a few great things in the last three and a half years: starting with my wedding. I look at such accomplishments, like my wedding, buying our first house, graduating from college and having a baby all as great things. I'm not trying to say that I or my life is perfect; it's far from it, but with the things I -along with Curtis- have accomplished we've made quite a few people proud... including ourselves.

My attitude, however, was not the best when it comes to this. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled with everything that's happened and I definitely wouldn't have it any other way. But when it comes down to it my attitude is one of "look what I did" or even "look what we did" (referring to myself and Curtis, of course) with a "be proud of me" tone, rather than giving God the praise for these things in my life. Because, in all honesty, I wouldn't have been able to get through any of these without Him.

Not only do I need to more appropriately give God the glory and praise, I need to thank Him more often for all the blessings in my life (both big and small). So...

Thank you, Lord for providing me my best friend with whom I was able to marry. Thank you, Lord for blessing our marriage over the past three and a half years. Thank you for the wisdom we've gained in order to better our marriage and grow in our relationships with you while we grow in our relationship with one another.

{in case you were wondering, we don't have pictures from our wedding, so this is all you get}

Thank you Lord for providing us with the finances to purchase our first house. Thank you for helping us make wise decisions to prepare and maintain such a lovely little home.Thank you, Lord for being with me through every class. Thank you for giving me the rest I needed after staying up far past my bedtime working on projects. Thank you for providing me with the strength I needed to reach that finish line (and cross that stage).And, thank you, Lord for providing me with my precious baby boy. Thank you for your perfect timing as he came at the exact time that You intended. Thank you for giving me patience in waiting to finally conceive him. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to birth at least one of my children. Thank you for placing him in our lives, making it only richer and fuller.If you think my life is so great and I really do have a lot to be proud of, I can only give credit to my Lord and Savior, and I hope you will do the same.

Present Peeker

2011-01-04T21:53:00.004-06:00

While visiting my parents (in November) Isaac discovered the ability to move on his own;
he wasn't very fast at first and didn't get very far,
but in time he's really learned a good military crawl.
After returning home I set up our Christmas tree and wrapped
every present in the house to place under the tree.
Soon I'd found out that presents are good incentive to crawl.
Isaac got pretty quick once he saw the shiny bows and whatnot under that tree.
And, oddly enough, he always knew which presents were his.
If I'd move his presents away from the front of the tree, he found one on the side.
He's a smart cookie, that baby of mine.Of course nowadays he's only faster and found new crawling incentives
(like Dusty's food bowl). Not cool.
Plus, he's right on the verge of crawling on his knees.
We expect this to happen in full swing any day now...

p.s. I'm really hoping he's not like his Daddy and peeks at his presents before Christmas. (Although, for the record, Curtis doesn't peek anymore, but when he was younger... I'm told he was quite the peeker).

Here's What Happened

2011-01-01T16:26:00.013-06:00

Here are a few highlights from 2010 in the life of the Weiffenbachs:

We found out we were having a boy and we promptly got the nursery ready.
Little Mabelyn turned six and we received letters and drawings from her.
My parents came to visit.
I walked across the stage commemorating my completed Bachelor of Arts degree.
My belly button popped.
I had dates with my dear husband, he bought me flowers and left me messages.
We took Dusty on walks and he chilled in our bed.
Curtis graduated ALS and made Staff Sergeant.
I gave birth to my sweet Isaac Matthew.
We had an eventful first month with Isaac (you can read about it here, here and here).
We installed handles and knobs in our kitchen.
I finally decided to be a stay at home momma.
I did a few photoshoots with my Isaac (this one and this one).We took Isaac to his first air show and football game.
Curtis participated in the 2010 Mud Run out in Lincoln.
Isaac dressed up as Mickey Mouse for his first Halloween.
We spent a lot of time on Skype.
Isaac and I visited my family for Thanksigiving.
My sister stopped by for a short visit on her way home for Christmas.
We introduced Isaac to solids.We celebrated Isaac's first Christmas.
Finally, we ate fondue with some friends and shot off fireworks in celebration of the new year.
I hope last year was as good to you as it was for us.
We definitely look forward to what 2011 has in store.

Tour of Duty: Book Review

2010-12-31T13:56:00.010-06:00

I'm thrilled to just have the opportunity to review this book for you, dear readers. I found out via Facebook that Sara was looking for bloggers to review her book, so I gladly offered my blogging assistance.

Tour of Duty: Preparing Our Hearts for Deployment is a wonderful study for military spouses who are preparing for or experiencing a deployment. Granted, all deployments are different, this book has plenty of tips and guides that can help everyone.

Sara begins the first chapter by explaining that "less than one percent of Americans serve in our nation's armed forces." Among that one percent we, as the milspouses, serve as well. Sara explains a lot of great insights that can help you realize your purpose and your role as a milspouse. For example, she mentions that while God has a plan for your life, He has a plan for you as a milspouse. This is something I don't think even I had thought about before; that marrying a man in uniform was His plan for my life.

Rather than going into too much detail about everything in the book I'll simply review it as I should, because -I tell you what- if I could I would probably just go chapter by chapter and explain the book in its entirety to you.

This is a wonderful study book that would be perfect to go through in a group with other milspouses. The book is seven chapters long and each chapter is broken down into smaller sections, usually with five or so main points. The book itself is extremely easy to read and there isn't a lot of military jargon or anything of the like that would have you even more confused than before reading it.

I, personally, enjoy the fact that Sara inserts personal questions about deployment that not a lot of people may have thought about before. If you take the time to answer the questions truthfully it can be such an eye-opener to help you realize your own feelings and the things you might be able to work on and need to pray about.

Sara not only provides you with thought-provoking questions that can help you come to an understanding about your personal feelings and such she also includes plenty of scripture to back up what she's saying and to help encourage you during this time. She makes a great point that even before your spouse leaves for duty you have to not only prepare for the deployment physically and mentally, you need to prepare spiritually as well. She uses plenty of Biblical examples that might mirror any particular circumstance you may be facing at any given time.

Finally, at the beginning of each chapter Sara includes a personal example during her husband's first deployment of things she went through that many of us might have or will be going through at some point, making the chapters that much more relevant and easier to relate to.

I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone who is or will be experiencing a deployment. You can purchase the book at any LifeWay store or online here and here.

I'd like to end this review with a quote. I found that many things Sara had to say can be applied to all military and nonmilitary as well, because sometimes we all just need to be reminded of Gods love and strength -even His presence- in our lives. Though strength is a common word used when describing a milspouse Sara states that "only through God's strength ... do we find our true muscle" (page 17). So, remember that even if you're not a milspouse, you can find your strength through God alone, we are merely human and are incapable of withstanding life's hardships by ourselves.

Merry Christmas-ish

2010-12-27T21:30:00.003-06:00

So... it's been awhile, eh? I, honestly, can't even believe it's been, what, two weeks since my last post. My goodness, that's just unheard of. Either way, I'm here now, and I'm trying to get something up on this little blog for you, dear readers. I'm just so stinkin' happy my husband is home. Isaac wasn't scared of him when he came home or anything, he just wasn't sure who he was. But after just a day or two he realized that Curtis is someone special to Momma and now him too. Their relationship really had to start from scratch (for the most part). At least on Isaac's end since he probably doesn't even have the faintest memory from three months ago. But they sure do love each other and have the best time together. It's really the cutest thing.

At the end of the day our little family is back together and we're all readjusting. Not to mention with the previous Holiday and upcoming New Years weekend all the hubub that's about, things will get jolted. We did have a fabulous Christmas. The picture above is from Christmas Eve as we were on our way to the Christmas Eve service at our church. (Pardon Isaac's white socks... that's all we have. Not to mention we put him in a 6 month-sized outfit, so they're a little short these days). I'll certainly try to get back in the swing of things here real soon, but I'm not promising anything. Until Curtis goes back to work our schedules will all be a little obscure; plus, who's to say what shift he's going to be on, so schedules may shift yet again. It's all about creating our new normal. For now, our normal is simply abnormal. As in, it is what it is.

We hope you all had a wonderful Holiday, we sure did!

Faith Anew

2010-12-12T21:20:00.004-06:00

Well, folks, it's the final day of the Christmas Blog Carnival. Day 7 topic: How does your faith refresh at Christmastime?

For me, there are several things that help refresh my faith at Christmastime. The birth of Jesus Christ is a gift; it's a blessing. Remembering such a blessing reminds me of the other blessings in my life. I have especially had the blessing of the return of my husband from deployment the past two years (and sure hope to have the same this year); however, because I'm reminded of my blessings I (on a daily basis) thank the Lord for yet another day that my family is still alive and well.

During Christmastime I'm also reminded of how God used a tiny baby boy to save us all. It's such a wonderful story and I'm awestruck every time I hear it. God gave us His son for the sole purpose of saving our lives, and in the same way He gave us life with a purpose as well. If nothing more, we are to love and praise Him over all.

Finally, remembering the hardships Mary and Joseph went through just to have this baby, helps me realize that whatever hardships I may face probably won't even compare to this; yet God will still be there for me as well to take care of me during such times.

That's why I love the Christmas season and hope that you, too, are able to refresh your faith as you're reminded of birth of our Lord and Savior.

How is your faith refreshed at Christmastime?

Christmas for a Military Spouse

2010-12-11T21:43:00.004-06:00

For today's topic some of the other ladies that have already participated through the Christmas Blog Carnival generally have a more extensive list than I, but that could easily be because I've only been married to the military three and half years. Although, if I think back to my days as my Daddy's dependent I could think of more, but for today I'll simply draw on my own experiences as a milspouse. So, here goes: You might be a military spouse at Christmas if ...

...you've had to decorate the house, put up the tree, etc. by yourself three years in a row (due to deployments).

...you've taken your Christmas photo at least three months in advance.
...you've photoshop-ed a picture to make it look like a Christmas picture. (see image above).

...you've taken your husband out to buy you Christmas presents on Christmas Eve because he just got home that day.

Obviously my experiences generally involve deployments... for now. I'm sure I'll have more stories and such as time goes on.

What makes your Christmases unique?

My Meaning of Christmas

2010-12-10T20:22:00.005-06:00

I know, I know. I missed a day. But I feel some slack is to be cut on my behalf. Isaac and I were under the weather as of late. Plus, I've been preparing for my darling sister's visit. Which, by the way, she gets here tomorrow. I simply cannot wait. Either way, I won't be making up for yesterday's post, sorry. I'll simply proceed to today's topic: What Christmas means to me.

The true meaning of Christmas obviously comes to mind. You know, how Jesus is the reason for the season. As cheesy as that sounds and all, it is completely true. I'll admit, I do enjoy the commercial side of Christmas, with the presents and the twinkly lights. But the root of it all comes from the gift of Jesus Christ. My born, beloved Savior. And one of the greatest gifts we have is family.

So Christmas also means family to me. Growing up I mostly lived overseas, so hopping back to the states for Christmas to be with extended family was out of the question. So, Christmas was always spent with my immediate family. Sure, on occasion we'd spend Christmas evening with family-friends, but for the most part it was spent just the five of us all day in the house enjoying each others company. That's why I originally mentioned to Curtis that I wanted Christmas to be "just ours." I wanted our Christmases to mimic those of my past, because that's what Christmas meant to me. It was a time of joy and fun spent with my family. We did spend a lot of time together in general, but Christmas was different considering pretty much everything is closed that day, so there's really no place to go; therefore, we would spend all day at home. And I loved every minute of it. (Obviously I have stories that won't measure up to what I've just mentioned, but that's for another time). In the end Christmas is about spending time with your family, while remembering the reason for the season. As a matter of fact one of my fondest memories of Christmas was all of us kids climbing into my parent's bed the morning of Christmas and listening to my Daddy read us the Christmas story; reminding us that it's not about the presents, but about the birth of Jesus Christ. Not only that, but because we were all huddled up together in one small space it gave me that sense of togetherness among my family that I loved and hope to one day experience with my own little family.

What does Christmas mean to you?

Worst Christmas Song Ever

2010-12-08T18:29:00.007-06:00

I apologize for the poor photo quality, it was taken on my Momma's phone. I did the best I could at redeeming it, but the blurriness is just not going to go away, so putting it in black and white was the best way I could help that...

Either way, here's the topic for Day 3 in the Christmas Blog Carnival: The Worst Christmas Song Ever (but you must mention one redeeming quality of the song, too!)

Hands down, the worst Christmas song ever (in my opinion) has to be "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer." I've never liked this song. Never. When I was in Middle School I remember the 6th graders sang it at our Choir concert and I was simply counting down until it was over. So even when I was younger -the time of my life that I would like this song- I didn't.

I don't think the tune is catchy, it's more annoying than anything. Plus the plot is completely unrealistic, I mean, unless Grandma's walking along rooftops she more likely than not won't be getting run over by any reindeer. Also, since when do we advocate for Grandma getting sloshed on eggnog and it's all honky doory? It just isn't right.

As for the redeeming quality of the song... it encourages a special bond between children and their grandparents...?

What do you think is the worst Christmas song ever?

It Just Isn't Christmas Without...

2010-12-07T16:19:00.006-06:00

My dear husband.
{photo of him on our wedding day. taken with one of those super cool disposable cameras on the tables.}

It's day 2 of the Christmas Carnival, folks: Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without ______ . (This is taken from the first line of Little Women, “‘Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.”)

Trying to come up with what to write about today actually took some thought. I figured I could go on the lighter side of things and discuss my love of Christmas songs. I could even talk about how much I crave snow at this time of year. But, when it all is said and done, I have to have my husband home to truly enjoy this holiday.

Due to my husband's career in the Air Force let's face it, there is always the chance that he won't be home for Christmas (you know, because of TDYs or deployments). And since we just don't know, I've made a vow to never have Christmas without him. No matter what. If he's away during Christmas and doesn't return until April, so be it. We're not having Christmas until he is home. Christmas is the one holiday I told Curtis I wanted to be "just ours". As in, no out of town relatives visiting with us or vice versa. (However, I'll admit, now that we have Isaac I'm reconsidering this thought). Either way, even if we were to spend Christmas with our families I'd still like for us to have our very own Christmas so we can establish and keep true to our own traditions as well as simply have that time just for us.

I'm sure I may bug a few of you, lovely readers, by constantly talking about my adoring husband, but with a love like this who wouldn't. I love my husband so very much. After God, this man is my everything. He and Isaac truly make me complete and I couldn't imagine my Christmas without either one.

What makes your Christmas complete?

Favorite Christmas Ornament

2010-12-06T17:52:00.008-06:00

Isaac and I finally made it home last Thursday. After three whole flights and a long layover in Milwaukee we're now safe and sound in our own home. Now, since I've pretty well been out of the whole blogging thing for a while I thought I'd participate in the Wives of Faith 2nd Annual Christmas Blog Carnival to get me back in the groove. So this week that's what I'll be posting about rather than my usual. Hope you don't mind, dear readers. And, if you feel so inclined why don't you take time and take part in it as well. It'll be fun!

Today's topic: Your favorite Christmas tree ornament or Christmas decoration – Do you have a favorite Christmas ornament or decoration? You know, the one that once it is in its rightful place, you know it’s Christmas.

For me, this kind of seemed like a no brain-er considering this is the only ornament that really came to mind. Of course I did think of our "Our First Christmas Together 2007" ornament and our newly acquired "Baby's First Christmas 2010" ornament as well a few others; but my little "Crayola Bear" -as I rightfully called him since I can remember- has been my favorite for years. I can't even explain why I've always liked him with his little crayon organ. There's just something about this little ornament that draws me in. I made sure everyone in my house knew this was mine every year and I made sure he had a spot right up front on our tree. It's funny how we sometimes can't really explain why we like something so much, yet we can't shake the feeling just the same.

Do you have a favorite ornament or decoration?

Away for a Bit

2010-11-23T20:02:00.004-06:00

Dear lovely readers,

I'm sure you've noticed I've not so much been updating my blog as regularly as usual. I apologize, but there's reason behind such madness, folks. Isaac and I have traveled cross country to the beautiful city of Charleston, South Carolina. We've spent the last week and a half with my parents, and will be spending about one more week with them until we finally fly home. We've had such a wonderful time with them already, and I'm looking forward to simply having more fun with them.

I don't necessarily intend to even attempt at keeping up with my blog during this time as I'm much more focused on my family. We'll be traveling tomorrow up to North Carolina to spend Thanksgiving with family. We're all very excited.

Now, since I won't be updating you for a little bit you might need something to do to keep you occupied until I return to my little blog. Simple suggestions are as follows: catch up on some reading, spend time with your families, or even watch a few movies... like Cars.
Isaac seemed to enjoy Cars, I think you might like it as well.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving, dear readers. Enjoy your loved ones as we will do the same. Until next time...

xoxo,
Courtney Rae

Military Baby

2010-11-12T20:25:00.006-06:00

Not long ago I decided to do a military-themed photo shoot with my Isaac.
I absolutely love using him as my subject.
He's just so darn cute, he makes anything look good.

It was close to naptime, so he was pretty well done early on,
but I think I still got a few good shots.
Don't you think?

p.s. this was all just practice, so please don't criticize my wrinkled sheets.

Our Veteran Hero

2010-11-11T17:39:00.005-06:00

This man, with all he does, not only for our family,
but for our country, is my hero.{photo taken a couple deployments ago}

I love his dedication to his job no matter how many bad days he has,
or how many days he has to deal with "stupid people,"
or even how many days he spends away from home,
he continues to do his job to the best of his ability.
Every member of the US military has a part in the grand scheme of things.
Some may never literally see war,
but all continue to work for the safety and well being of every American.

In honor of Veteran's Day, Isaac and I thought we'd show a little appreciation.
So...

I put Isaac in this onesie,
and we made a little poster for Daddy.
I know that one day Isaac will be able to vocalize that Daddy is his hero, too.
Until that day comes, I will continue to help him out.

p.s. did you notice Isaac's tootsies made the "heart?"

A Not-So-Good Day

2010-11-09T21:48:00.005-06:00

From what I can remember, the day itself really wasn't all that bad.
About a week ago
I was on Skype with Curtis, when a loud thud startled me.
I was sitting at the buffet between our kitchen and dinning room, so I look to my left
and see this:That's, right.
The wind was so strong it blew our grill over.
I decide I should pick it up, so I head over and start dealing with it.
Of course, at this point all the little pieces have fallen out and my hands are getting dirty.
I come in to wash my hands a little before continuing
and Curtis mentions he wants to see the damage,
so I put my laptop on the dinning room table and he watches me
pick this stupid thing up all by myself.
He also got to witness the grill cover fly off, followed very closely by me scrambling after it.
Boy, that sure was an adventure.
And, get this, it fell over the very next day as well.
The second day, I noticed my neighbors have their grill tied to their deck. ha.
I simply repositioned our grill so it doesn't catch wind.
So far so good.

Either way, later that first day (since I wasn't feeling well),
I'd decided to have a bath.
As the tub was filling up I stepped away briefly and heard a new loud noise.
Uncertain of what made the noise I investigated to find this:

The entire shower curtain rod had fallen.
What's that all about?
The builders apparently simply glued one end of the rod to the wall
(since they didn't have the proper adhesive material for both ends),
which wasn't sufficient enough for a long-lasting effect (obviously).
So, down she went, taking the curtain with her of course.
Ridiculous.

Finally, later that evening, I broke our Shadow Lake Community Church mug.
Not a big deal, sure, but it was our largest mug
and probably both Curtis and my favorite (because of it's size).

What a day.

Dusty in a Basket

2010-11-08T16:48:00.005-06:00

Ok, not really a basket per se, but the basket-part of our stroller. See, Dusty's an old man; he's 12. Though we've probably still got a few good years with him, he's old. Either way, long before Curtis deployed, we took a family walk around Walnut Creek Lake (near our house). It's roughly a three mile trek and if you're not up for it, it could be pretty harsh. For a little, old dog like Dusty, it was very taxing. He certainly loves going on walks, but after so long the poor guy gets tuckered out. We noticed a decrease in his enthusiasm early on (it didn't help that the sun was out that day), and by the first mile we already felt bad for him. But we certainly couldn't turn back. We found a shaded area and tried to give Dusty some water, so we all rested for a short bit. However, Curtis and I were more into getting some kind of a work out in so the rest was short lived, and we decided to press on figuring the sooner we finish the sooner Dusty will be able to rest for a good long while.

I think we made it somewhere between one and a half and two miles before Curtis decided we should try putting Dusty in the basket of the stroller. (He'd mentioned it before, but I was certain he wouldn't fit). Well, guess I was wrong! He fit just perfectly. The only problem was that we had the carseat in the stroller, so that was an added challenge when attempting to get Dusty up under there. Mind you, I was pushing the stroller, so by putting Dusty in that basket we added 20 to 25 pounds of dead weight to my push. Awesome. I don't think I complained... much. But I did, in the long run, appreciate the added challenge because at the end of the day I got the better work out. ha.

Suffice to say, we won't take Dusty to Walnut Creek Lake anymore. He'll just have to be happy with short walks around the neighborhood.

Thanks to Skype

2010-11-04T16:20:00.003-05:00

We can get the whole family in one place at the same time to hang out and chat.
Oh how I love my little family... and miss my dear husband.

Wednesday Confession: Nuisances

2010-11-03T21:17:00.005-05:00

Well, folks, it's time for another confession from yours truly.
So, here it is:

I get annoyed really easily.

I know what you're thinking. Pa-huh! But allow me to explain. Most people wouldn't know how annoyed I am because in my own mind I also think pa-huh; I realize the feeling from annoyance is silly and should simply be let go, ergo, I don't let these feelings be seen to anyone... except Curtis from time to time, and Dusty sometimes picks the short straw, too.

I'm sure you think I'm probably overreacting and everyone gets annoyed by little things, but trust me I can be extreme. Curtis could totally back me up on my irrational annoyed-ness. Here's a classic example of how erotic I can be: earlier today, while I was perusing the internets, Dusty decided he was hungry, so he came to his food bowl (sitting under the counter which my laptop sits) and I became annoyed with how loud he was eating. Sometimes I get annoyed when he's so thirsty it seems he's lapping up water for 10 minutes straight (I'm exaggerating, of course, but you catch my drift). These are only a few things my dog does that I get annoyed with; nevermind the things people do that annoy me. One of my biggest pet peeves would have to be poor grammar or spelling. I know I'm no English whiz, but I guess I figure that if I know how to spell something, you should too.

Either way, I understand how crazy this may seem, but it's something I have to deal with (internally) day in and day out. I just get annoyed, then fight the urge to say or do something. I don't even understand why. Am I just on the edge so much that it only takes something so small to push me over? I just don't know, but I sure do wish I didn't get annoyed over the littlest things so often. At least I, generally, have a good handle on it and don't act on these feelings when they arise.

Anderson Maternity Photoshoot

2010-11-02T22:15:00.005-05:00

About a month and a half ago I took my neighbor and her husband out
for a maternity photoshoot at the lake near our houses.

Here are 10 of my favorites (in no particular order):
(sidenote: I stole two pose ideas from Kathryn's maternity shoot).

They were great models for my first maternity shoot.

I had such a good time with them,
and I hope to one day have a cutesy shoot with their baby girl.

My Little Mickey Mouse

2010-11-01T20:43:00.003-05:00

For Isaac's first Halloween, he got to be Mickey Mouse!
I think he makes the cutest little Mickey ever.
Wouldn't you agree?

I got the outfit from a friend who never got to put it on either of her two boys,
it happens to be a 6-9 month sized outfit,
so I was afraid it would be a little big for my little man
(seeing as how he wears 3-6 month sized clothes on a regular);
however, it fit him pretty perfectly.I found time for a self-portrait with my Mickey
whilst we were out trick-r-treating.

It was a bit brisk out, so I was glad he had such a warm suit,
with a hood even!
We didn't actually go up to the houses,
we stood back and watched Tateum and her dad
(both dressed as Spongebob) collect candy.
I've never been big on Halloween in general,
but all in all it was a fun night.

Low on Sweets

2010-10-26T20:58:00.005-05:00

A few days ago I was really craving something sweet.
Not a rare occurrence for me.
Either way, I rummaged the pantry, the fridge, the freezer,
for something, anything sweet,
but to no avail;
I found nothing to my liking.

Then I realized I still had a mini box of Rice Krispies
from who knows when.
And we had a few marshmellows left from our last
attempt at s'mores.
(By "our" I am, of course, referring to Curtis and myself).
Then it hit me:
Mini Rice Krispies Treats!

I quickly looked up the recipe for such treats and discovered
I had just enough ingredients (the cereal, the mallows, and the butter)
to cut the recipe into one sixth of the original.

I was so excited, I quickly got to work on melting the butter and mallows.
Then I hastily added the cereal to my butter/mallow mix.

And, next thing you know...
I've got three mini treats!

And, let me tell you, they are delicious!

Just the right size to curb my cravings, too.
Pair one of these with a small glass of milk and I'm in sweet-tooth heaven.

Oh, the things we do for simple pleasures.

One Last Date

2010-10-21T22:28:00.005-05:00

{please excuse my silly expression, I was smelling the goodness that was the brownie on my plate}

One Sunday before Curtis left, we dropped Isaac off at our neighbors' house
and headed out on a date.

I need to make a sidenote here: that this was the first time
we left Isaac with someone other than my momma.
And for those of you who know me might be shocked to here
that I didn't even mention Isaac's name during our date.
I thought about him plenty,
but I didn't worry, I didn't cry as we drove away
and I didn't call to check in.
I was quite proud of how well I handled it.

Back to our date.
We went to a local restaurant for lunch, Nebraska Brewing Company.
Then we headed to Wheatfield's
(just around the corner, if you will)
for some dessert, where I got that delicious chocolate atop chocolate brownie,
and Curtis got this delicious strawberry crepe.{He humored me for a photo, how sweet.}

Following the sweetness, we headed to
the closest putt-putt course we knew of.
Enjoyed a few holes in what turned out to be heat.
We did sit outside whilst we enjoyed our dessert,
but the shade and cool breeze fooled us into thinking it was the perfect day.
Mind you, we had fun on the astroturf
and the weather was absolutely beautiful,
but we did get a little hot out there.

More than anything, it was nice to enjoy some alone time.
I'm definitely looking forward to enjoying
more dates when he returns.

Wednesday Confession: Contradictions

2010-10-20T21:14:00.006-05:00

First of all, it's been a week since my last update, so I feel as though I just needed to write something on my blog just to keep this somewhat updated. Kathryn over at Singing Through the Rain started a Wednesday Confession link-up. I liked the idea and thought I'd jump on board, too. So here's my confession:

Even though I'm working with Isaac on learning to soothe himself to or back to sleep I have contradicted my work more than once already. I know this isn't much to confess, and you probably think I'm being silly, but still.

In working with Isaac to self-soothe I try to make my part in putting him down either for bed or nap minimal; however, there was at least one time that I held him until well into his nap. I justify this by the fact that he won't be this little forever and I won't always be able to hold him (especially all cuddled up comfy cozy in my arms) for so long either.

Another contradiction occurred two nights in a row when Isaac decided waking up in the middle of the night was fun. The first night it started around two. He generally wakes up closer to four for his early feeding before waking up for the day between seven and eight. Since he woke up crying I simply went in and gave him his paci which was sufficient enough to help him fall right back to sleep; however, it wasn't even 15 minutes later that he was up again. This went on for at least an hour before I gave up and put him in bed with me; to which he slept soundly until about five. The very next day Isaac woke up at 11, then 11:20, then 11:40. We were back where we were the night before just three hours earlier. I tried to trick him and simply put him in the bassinet in my room so he's closer to me, but still sleeping on his own. After waking up only a few minutes after placing him in there (he did fall asleep after I placed him in the bassinet, mind you) I immediately put him in the bed with me.

Don't get me wrong, I love having him right next to me (especially now that Curtis is away), but I really don't want him to think that I will always give in every time; that's why this is my confession. I love the independence my baby has gained in our progress towards self-soothing. I love how easy it has been thus far. I love how well he puts himself to sleep most of the time, but I hate that I contradict my own work. I, especially, would hate it if I ended up back-tracking from where we've gotten in our progress. So far, however, we're back on track as far as our work toward completely self-soothing goes. I'm just hoping I can stick to my guns even early in the morning when I am barely awake enough to walk without staggering to Isaac's room.

Whew. That's quite a confession, don't you think? Either way, I'm just glad I finally got something new up on my blog. I'm really hoping to get back into the swing of things. I've stinkin' still got pictures from before Curtis left that I could share with you, dear readers. So, stay tuned, I've got plenty of out-dated topics to blog about.

Sleep Adventures

2010-10-13T14:22:00.003-05:00

If you've been following my latest tweets you'd know that I'm in the process of working with my Isaac on self-soothing. I'd really like for him to be able to soothe himself back to sleep more than simply soothing himself to sleep. However, the best I'm able to do is help him simply fall asleep on his own. Plus, it seems, no matter what I do once he wakes up from a nap he's up until the next one (or bedtime).

He does really well in the evening and has slept through the night since... I really can't remember... two months, maybe, three? I recently learned that the term "sleeping through the night" means six hours of uninterrupted sleep (i.e. no feedings in between). Isaac seemed to set up a good four-hour schedule of feedings during the day. He pretty well kept with this same schedule at night, except would skip the midnight feeding, and sleep straight through to 4 am. As a matter of fact, that's the same schedule we're on now (for the most part); granted, everyday is different. I, actually, helped him with this earlier on. In the middle of the night when he would wake, he didn't always make his "hungry" cry, sometimes it was more the "I'm awake, but don't want to be" cry. So I wouldn't feed him if he woke earlier than 4, I would simply help him fall back asleep by other means (nursing always works like a charm in these situations, but I didn't want him to get used to that). After which he would generally sleep until closer to 4 then make his "hungry" cry. It wasn't long before he was able to sleep straight through (nearly every night) from 8:30-ish to 4:00-ish, at which point he feeds (I change his diaper) then sleeps for an additional three to four hours.

One tactic I used to help him sleep longer was, after a few nights of pulling him out of his crib, changing his diaper, rocking him, among other things I eventually stopped taking him out of his crib altogether. This is a tactic I use from time to time to help Isaac fall asleep for naps as well. When he looses his paci while trying to fall asleep he gets upset and can't fall asleep, so I simply go into his room, place the paci back in his mouth, roll him onto his left side (his favorite sleeping position), and (on occasion) pat his back a few times before walking away.

I originally stated that I'm more interested in getting my Isaac to self-soothe himself back to sleep rather than simply fall asleep, yet that really isn't the case. Though I'd like for him to self-soothe himself back to sleep I'm enjoying being able to have him self-soothe himself to sleep in general as well. It seemed I was doing pretty well with putting him down for his naps or for bed as it was. For the most part, I would hold/rock him until he came to the realization that he was tired, then I would place him in his crib (help him find that comfy position) then walk away. However, let's face it, sometimes that realization wouldn't come for awhile and I'd be stuck holding a cranky baby for a good 20 minutes. I'm not one for the "cry it out" method, and neither is my Isaac. I did try letting him "cry it out" while lying right next to me, but he didn't let up even though I was literally right there. That was the one true time I attempted allowing him to cry himself back to sleep, but of course all it did was break my heart and may have even worsened the situation for him; though he fell right to sleep when I picked him up and snuggled him close to me. I digress. I'm enjoying the fact that I am able to place Isaac in his crib (fully alert) and know that in a few minutes he'll be asleep. We are still working on fully self-soothing because , as previously mentioned, he uses a paci and once that sucker pops out (before he's fallen asleep) he's unable to get it back in himself and won't be happy until the issue is resolved.

We haven't even been working on this for even a full week yet, but are making tremendous headway already. I'm thrilled with how well Isaac is able to fall asleep on his own. As a matter of fact, there are times when it seems he prefers to simply be placed in his crib since he's fussy while I'm holding him, but shows signs of comfort and immanent sleep once he's in that crib. We have our ups and downs and will continue to work on this for awhile (I'm sure), but for now I'm enjoying how smoothly things are going.

p.s. in that second picture his sheets are actually brown... I have no idea why they turned out looking red, and I have no intention of fixing it -simply because that is not the point of the picture. So enjoy the off-colored photo of my little man.

You Know What's Funny?

2010-10-11T21:22:00.006-05:00

I was just reading some of my old blog posts, mostly about school, work and what have you. While reading I noticed a shift in my posts from then to now. I had quite a few posts day in and day out about the stresses of my life and I almost always had questions on my mind about what the future would hold for me. I wrote about the simple pleasures in life from time to time, to keep my cheery disposition. Now it seems I only have good things to write about. I primarily write about my sweet Isaac (obviously, since he is now my world). It seems I no longer have questions on what the future should hold. I no longer have stresses worth blogging over. I'm simply living my life as I never have before: day by day. The only true planning I do is what fun activities may be in store for me within the next couple of days, bringing me closer to the return of my dear husband.

As I was reading these older posts I felt my stresses through my writing, I could sense the things I was feeling back then; but, I now have much fewer stresses in my life. I just seem to be living the life I'd always dreamed of living. This is the life I've wanted since I was a little girl. I finally have it, and it seems to only be getting better as time goes on. I'm not trying to portray that we're the perfect little family (though the above picture might imply that), with perfect little lives, I'm merely saying that I'm enjoying life with what I've been given. We all have trials and obstacles to overcome, but as of late I'd much rather relish on the sweeter things in life. I'd prefer to spend my days enjoying the present rather than worrying about the future. And, if nothing else, I'll simply feel excitement for what the future holds for me and my little family.

"Nean Up"

2010-10-08T20:34:00.004-05:00

Three days this week, and two last week,

I had the pleasure of looking after this sweet little girl, Tateum.
She recently turned two and is a toddler through and through.
Isaac and I enjoyed her company over the past week.
She's very rambunctious, loud, and cute all at the same time.
This week I watched her from roughly 7:30 to about 5:30,
so you could imagine I had my hands full.
I went from having a four month old to
a four month old and a two year old.
This is why we don't become parents overnight.
We just don't have the time to prepare for such a life.Because she was here for so long each day I decided I wouldn't neglect my chores,
simply because she was in the house.
Yes, she does need to be supervised (obviously),
but she doesn't need me to run around behind her all day either.
Funnily enough, she was always curious to know what I was up to,
so we were almost always in the same room at the same time anyway.
Monday, I took the time to clean my bathrooms.
Tateum came in not long after I had begun and started saying,
"Nean up! Nean Up!"
(which, of course, is her version of "clean up")
I'm pretty sure she learned the clean up song at the CDC (Child Development Center)
on base... you know, the one that goes,
"Clean up, clean up, everybody, every where.
Clean up, clean up, everybody do your share."
She oh-so-proudly sings this (as best she can)
when I ask her to pick up the toys.Either way, she seemed pretty excited that I was cleaning up the bathroom.
As a matter of fact, when I had finished wiping down the counters
she gladly applauded my work, and exclaimed, "Yay! All done!"
And you know something?
It made me feel good when she did that.
It made me feel like my mundane, housely duties are something more.
Let's face it, if I didn't do it, it wouldn't get done.
(This isn't to say that Curtis isn't helpful, I simply mean that while he's deployed it's solely up to me to get it done.)
I suppose, over time, it feels as though I'm simply going through the motions,
and that it's not for any benefit but my own.
When Curtis is home he does let me know what a great job I'm doing
with taking care of the house and Isaac,
but while he's away I guess it just becomes very ordinary
and may sometimes seem pointless for me to keep up the house just for me.
So, dear readers, the point of this tale is to say
that it took a two year old to help me realize
that what I do on a daily basis is something to be proud of.
I definitely signed up for this job,
and I truly do love it, but sometimes I, like you,
need a reminder or a simple acknowledgment
that the things I do are worthwhile.

Squishy, Puffy Cheeks

2010-10-07T21:27:00.003-05:00

I couldn't decide which picture was cuter, so I included both.
I'm not entirely sure where the phrase, "squishy, puffy cheeks"
originated, but I do know it was said often in my house growing up.
For those of you unaware, I've got the squishy, puffy cheeks
my sweet baby boy inherited.This boy is my world,
and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Mud Run 2010

2010-10-06T18:15:00.003-05:00

Gosh, you know I'm behind on my blogging when I'm
still creating posts including Curtis. ha.

Either way, here's my post.

The morning before we went to the Air Show this year,
Curtis participated in a Mud Run.
I'm sure you may be wondering what a Mud Run is exactly;
well, allow me to elaborate (as best I can):
this was either the first or second annual event.
You can sign up for a 10K, 5K, or mini mud run (I believe is what the last was called).
Geez, I should have written this post sooner,
the details are eluding me.

During your run you have a few obstacles to overcome,
such as... something with tires... maybe a tractor... I don't know.
Of course, being one that did not participate I wouldn't have really known anyway.
But, I knew all about this:

the mud pit.
This was strategically placed towards the end of the run.
If you can't tell, there are wire-type-things to keep you from literally
running through the pit...
they are there to encourage you to crawl through it instead.
Although, there were plenty who would simply raise the wires above their heads.
Lame-o's.

Well, Curtis got down and dirty,
while Isaac slept and I sat around waiting for him to come through the pit.
I know this picture is a little hot, but I refuse to fix it (or I'm feeling a little lazy. whatev.)...
This is simply Curtis and Isaac before the race
(yes, I am a dork who planned Isaac's outfit to show his Daddy support, simply because his onesie said "Daddy's Allstar"):In this next photo, if you look directly above the lady with blond hair,
you'll see Curtis.
I forgot to bring my SLR, so this is the best my point-and-shoot got of him.
I was too far for a decent shot while he was actually in the pit.

Finally, this is Curtis and his buddy Phil.
Curtis did the 5K while Phil did the 10K.
You can't really tell by this picture, but Curtis was pretty dirty, too.

Because we still have the Email in our Inbox, here are Curtis' stats:
Distance: 5K
Time: 27:37
Pace: 8:54
Overall Place: 49 of 407
Place in Gender: 36 of 160
Place in Division M2029: 13 of 50

Curtis really enjoyed himself, and I had about as much fun as you can
just standing around waiting. ha.
The sun felt nice. Though, by the end of the day my nose was pretty red.
I think this is something we may want to keep in mind for next year.
And, perhaps, we could plan it out right that I might be able to participate as well.
We'll see.

Daddy's Still Funny

2010-10-01T14:06:00.004-05:00

As promised, here is the screen shot picture Curtis took
when we were Skype-ing with him the other day.
I thought Isaac was smiling when Curtis took the picture,
which would really show how sweet they are together (even via webcams).
Either way, we enjoy our Skype dates.

p.s. I updated my 101 blog for those interested in keeping up with my progress.

Daddy's Funny

2010-09-28T20:56:00.006-05:00

You know, most times when Curtis leaves I have little to do
besides work and school... which would only keep me busy for so long.
Granted, last year during this time I had a lot to do
being my last semester with final projects to work on and whatnot.

This time I was expecting to be pretty bored since I would
"just be sitting at home all day,"
mind you, a SAHM's job never ends, so I'm not literally sitting (well, sometimes I sit).
Anywho.
Curtis has now been gone for almost two weeks
and I've hardly had a dull day.

I think I'm making more of my days this time around.
I'm attending two separate Bible Studies at my church,
I've already been invited to three different parties in October,
I've already got plans for Thanksgiving and early December.
Not only that, but I've also got my regular errands to run weekly,
plus, I've taken a more active role in attempting to spend time with my friends.

I'm telling you, though my husband is gone, I'm still loving life.

And my cutie, baby loves life too.
He obviously had a good time with Curtis while he was here,
now he enjoys our Skype dates with him, too.

It seems like Isaac recognizes Curtis' voice (if nothing else),
because he smiles a lot when we Skype with him.
I love it!

p.s. Curtis took a screen shot picture of Isaac on Skype yesterday. I'm hoping to get that picture to share with you as proof that Isaac enjoys Skype-ing with Daddy.

First Football Game

2010-09-22T17:10:00.003-05:00

A few weeks before Curtis left we joined our friends, Scott and Miriah,
to Miriah's little brother's football game.
It was Isaac's first (obviously).
He slept well for being surrounded by a bunch of screaming fans.

It was a lovely evening; a little chilly.
We had a great time overall, plus we were rooting for the winners.
Woot.

p.s. not that you care, but that day was the first day Isaac wore a 3-6 month outfit. He's getting so big so fast.

Bye Bye, Daddy

2010-09-21T15:11:00.004-05:00

As previously mentioned Curtis left on his (technically) fifth deployment.
(I say "technically" because he once pulled a double, therefore, after this trip he will have left and returned only four times. Three since we've been married).
When I last wrote of his "pending deployment" we still weren't sure
when he would actually be leaving,
because -on several occasions- the jet broke.
Which isn't much of a stretch for his squadron.
It seems every time he goes on any trip,
be that deployment or TDY,
the jet breaks at some point which delays his departure or return.
Either way, he finally left Wednesday night,
but Monday night (the night before his original departure date)
he spent some time with Isaac before he went to bed...
then with me the rest of the night.
Here are a few of my favorite shots from their time together:

This is Curtis and Isaac Tuesday around 1-ish (I guess);
this was what we thought would be the last time we'd see Curtis until his return.
Little did we know he'd be spending that night with us. ha.

We were sad to see him go, but are now looking forward to a sweet reunion with him.

p.s. Isaac was wearing his "My Daddy, My Hero" shirt I had made in this last picture. Curtis thought I was a dork for having him wear it the day he was suppose to leave, but I did it anyway. Isaac just wanted to show his support too.

My Apologies

2010-09-15T20:46:00.004-05:00

With Curtis' pending deployment I've been a little preoccupied these past few days... er... weeks.

Either way, I wanted to extend my apologies for neglecting my blog,
and not updating you on the excitement of our lives lately.
I'm sure you understand.
I intend to jump back into blogging in the near future.
I promise.
I've got a whole slew of things to share with you,
and you know I have pictures to boot.

For now enjoy this adorable picture of my handsome little man,
with those big brown eyes.
Love.

Isaac at the Air Show

2010-09-05T21:47:00.005-05:00

As we got to the Air Show we realized that our poor baby boy can't stay in his stroller the entire time. But he didn't have any added protection besides his baby sunscreen. Fortunately, Daddy ended up wearing his hat out there... so Isaac borrowed his for the few hours we were out.It was a perfect fit.

Don't you love how Curtis sat in my pretty, pink chair?

Isaac got very tired just a few hours in, so we tried everything we could to calm him,
but nothing seemed to work.
So we finally decided to pack everything up and head home.
And next thing you know...

...he was out for the count.
Apparently all he really needed was his Momma to cuddle.
However, by this point we had committed to leaving,
so we headed home for the evening.

Air Show 2010

2010-08-31T22:20:00.009-05:00

This past Saturday we ventured to base for the 2010 Air Show.
For those of you that missed it, here is the highlights of the 2009 Air Show.
This year, the Thunderbirds made their way to the show.
We didn't go to the flight line and see the planes up close and personal
or anything, but we did sit on base for a good view of all the flying about.
Here are some shots I got this year:

Here are the Thunderbirds.
We left before they started doing the more interesting stunts.

I'm A Great Catch

2010-08-30T14:11:00.008-05:00

I did a mini photoshoot with my Isaac not too long ago.
A baseball-themed photoshoot.
He was wearing a cute little baseball jumper-type-outfit,
and out of nowhere I got this idea to take his picture...
over and over.
I thought it would be good practice for my photography skills
as well as my Photoshop skills.
I plan to set up many more photoshoots in the future.
So, be prepared for many more photos of my adorable baby boy.
For now, enjoy these baseball-themed photos.

p.s. I'm completely open for your constructive criticism and/or ideas and suggestions for improvements as well as your positive feedback, too (of course).

Squirrel on My Fence

2010-08-26T19:24:00.005-05:00

It's kind of like a game of "I Spy."
Do you see the little squirrel?

Hey there, little guy.
He seemed to enjoy running up and down the back of our fence.
I find joy in the little things from time to time.

What little joys fill your life?

No Work For Me

2010-08-25T17:22:00.007-05:00

Boy, is that the understatement of the week. So, it's not that I don't have work to do, because -trust me- I have plenty of work here at home: I've not only got my wifely duties of cooking and cleaning the house, laundry, etc. I also have a 12 week old to tend to.

But this post isn't about the amount of work I have these days, it's actually about the fact that I no longer work outside the home. I blogged the day I officially became a full-time momma, however, yesterday was the 12 week mark of when I gave birth to my Isaac. Because I had originally decided to take 12 weeks of FMLA leave from work I would have had to return to work no later than yesterday.

Curtis, Isaac and I did make it to my old office on this day, yet we left with a box of my personal belongings in hand. Now that I no longer work for Bellevue University and have taken all personal belongings I have no ties to the Foundation office other than the personal ties I've made with other employees. It's crazy to think that I now have no real reason to ever return to this particular University.

It's another thing to think that the things that have accumulated during my time there is now stuffed in a box with no purpose of giving an office a personal touch. These items were used to give my provided space with a touch of me, and now all they have become is a hodge podge of items in a box. It's almost as if the time I worked at Bellevue University can be summed up in one small box. I am kind of like the things in this box; I was worth enough to put in the office, I was meaningful enough to fill this space, I had a part in making the office what it is. Now, I am pretty well just as meaningless to the Foundation office as these items are to my old office. They have no use for me as I have for these particular items (as of right now). And in the same way that I will find a place for these items, the Foundation office will find someone to fill that space again (should they choose to do so).

I think the purpose of this post was for me to come to the realization that this part of my life is officially over. I've turned the page and started a new chapter. There were times that it seemed this chapter had ended already; by the fact that I had left my work behind when I had my baby, or when the day came that I finally resigned my position. But, now, with this little box of stuff I think this chapter has finally come to an end and it is merely a thing of the past.

Arts & Crafts

2010-08-23T21:22:00.003-05:00

As previously mentioned,

the husband recently found out he made Staff Sergeant.
Well, to show how proud we were,
Isaac and I did a little arts and crafts before he came home.
Fortunately, that week, the husband was on day shift;
so he was completely out of the house while I was running around
trying to put this together for him.

I had the idea around the time he would've been home...
had he not gone to the gym.
So, I wasn't sure when I should expect him
-I tell you what-
I was a little frantic.

It seemed like a fairly simple project;
however, the only paint we currently have in the house
are those we've painted different rooms with.
I'm sure you could imagine how much fun that was to figure out...
Not only that, but since it had been so long
nearly all of my markers were dying. ha.

In the end this is what we came up with.
I taped it to the door in the garage, so it was the first thing he saw,
and he loved it!

p.s. please disregard my terrible drawing of SSgt. stripes. Also, I think I'll invest in some finger paints... and maybe some new markers, too.

Bathtime

2010-08-21T14:46:00.006-05:00

With appointments and dealing with a stomach bug this past week,

I haven't so much been up to blogging as often.
However, with a little bit of time on my hands I figured I could share a little weekend love.
Enjoy the photos of my cutie baby in his bath robe and slippers:

Enjoy your weekend!

SSgt. Select Weiffenbach

2010-08-19T13:08:00.004-05:00

For those of you who were unaware, the husband tested for Staff Sergeant last year and missed the cutoff by 1.89 points. He claims he wasn't interested in actually making SSgt. at that time so he wouldn't have been disappointed not making it; however, learning that he only missed it by just a few hairs he quickly became slightly disappointed.

Earlier this year, as some of you may recall, the husband participated in Airman Leadership School (you can read about his ALS graduation here). Not long after his graduation he tested again for SSgt. Just this morning the stats were released and low and behold... he made it!

Yesterday, Curtis and I were talking about how we kind of wished the day would go by a little faster so that we could find out if he made it or not. I know that Curtis doesn't have good cell coverage in his work building and he's not supposed to have his phone with him when he's on the flight line so I figured I wouldn't necessarily get the news at 0801 (since he would be finding out around 0800 - just as the results were released). Funnily enough, I got a call from my Momma around 0945 and she asked if I had gotten the news or not. I told her that I didn't know yet (though I figured he'd made it) and she said that she knew. Apparently, my Daddy looked it up at work and passed the news on to my Momma and I was still in the dark. Lame. Either way, I eventually found out and I couldn't be more proud.

My Momma did tell me that his line number is 3000-something, which is pretty high up. So he should be sewing on in the next few months (according to my understanding). Of course, once Curtis gets home I'm sure I may have to retract and/or correct some of these statements since he has a much better grasp of the entire situation.

Either way, I'm so proud of my husband. And I wanted to share the good news with you!

Big Brother

2010-08-11T19:13:00.005-05:00

No, I'm not pregnant.

Boy, that would be a trip, wouldn't it?

Anyway, this is not a post about Isaac being a big brother,

rather a post about Dusty being Isaac's big brother...

in a sense.

Here's Dusty just hanging out as Isaac plays:My poor bubby has felt a little neglected since Isaac was born.
We definitely try to reassure him that we still love him.
Though, let's face it, we do favor our Isaac.

Dusty likes to sit behind Isaac's swing and look pathetic:
There has been a few times when I've had to run to the store
real quick-like, and with Curtis home (and awake),
I leave Isaac with his daddy and I take Dusty along for a ride.
I noticed the first time I did this that
if felt as though Dusty were the older child and I was
showing him some personal attention,
doing something that he loves to do.
After that one time, Curtis and I now make more of an effort
to truly reassure Dusty that we love him.
So, we take time to pet him and give him our undivided attention.
And I still take him for rides from time to time.

Isaac pets Dusty, too:Not only does our efforts make Dusty seem like the big brother,
but he seems to have taken on the role himself.
When I'm feeding or rocking Isaac in his room,
Dusty has to be in there as well.
When Isaac is upset, Dusty has to know what's wrong.
There was even one time when Isaac woke up from a nap
and started crying;
Dusty went in to check on him then came and stared at me
as if to say, "Don't you hear him crying?"
He didn't leave me alone until I went to get Isaac.

They're going to be great buddies one day:He's a good big brother.

New Logo

2010-08-10T20:48:00.007-05:00

Recently, I've decided to spruce up my photography logo.
I, basically, stole the idea from my 101 in 1001 "logo."
Oddly enough when I created that one
I favored it over my previous photography logo anyway.
With a few changes here and there
- especially one to the main font -
I now have this one.

I'm, personally, pleased with this new logo.
What do you think?
Any suggestions for changes?

The Hardest Job

2010-08-09T13:14:00.006-05:00

I am by no means an expert in hardly any subject. I don't believe I deserve praise for the life I live. I'm not one to toot my own horn... often, if at all. I don't feel as though I am superior. But I am grateful for those who may feel as though I possess such qualities that deem me worthy of such praise. I will admit that my life isn't always the easiest, but we all have hardships and troubles from time to time, so there really isn't much to such a statement.

Growing up I was a military brat through and through. I've lived in five different countries (including the US). I've never lived in one place for more than four years at a time. By the time I was 20 years old I'd lived over half my life in Europe. My dad was (and currently still is) in the Air Force, and I didn't know any other way of life. I understood the benefits of living as a military family (especially those of health and dental care) so I yearned to one day be a military wife. I wanted my kids to one day experience the things I was able to experience growing up. I wanted my family to have the benefits I knew and was accustomed to.

Meeting Curtis was God's way of telling me that what I wanted was what He wanted for me as well. Within the first week of officially dating I learned of Curtis' desire to join the Air Force. My heart was so happy because at that point I knew that he would be mine forever.

I recently read a blog post by Naptime Mama over at Life Happens During Naptime, about her thoughts on the ways of a military wife. She expresses her appreciation for women such as myself who take on the life of being a military wife. It always touches my heart when someone shows how grateful they are for my husband's service to our country and our freedom. But, I think it means so much more when someone acknowledges the sacrifices we - as the woman who stands behind her husband with pride in her heart - have made and continue to make on a daily basis.

Several months ago I read a poem that I think I originally found on a fellow military wife's blog, about what a military wife is made up of (essentially). You can read the poem here.

When Curtis and I got married I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, especially since he had already joined the military by that point. The poem previously mentioned is another example of how God would not put us in circumstances that we are not capable of handling. So, with that, I'd like to show my appreciation for my fellow milspouses, not just wives, but all who stand behind their spouse and support them in their military career. We all make sacrifices, some greater than others. And, I think, to an extent we may understand the idea of freedom a lot better than others, too.

Full-Time Momma

2010-08-06T14:11:00.005-05:00

As of today I no longer work for Bellevue University.
I still have two weeks left of my FMLA leave from work,
but I figured there's no point in prolonging the inevitable.
I set my "last day" a week in advance
for psychological reasons I suppose.
I'm still slightly nervous about the fact that I won't have a job now
considering we've been a two-income family
since September 2007; only months after getting married.

When I sent my resignation notice I was so nervous
for the reasons stated above.
Now I feel like I've stretched it out longer than I needed to.
It's time for this to come to an end,
it's time for me to take on my new job wholeheartedly.
These past 10 weeks I've truly enjoyed just being home with Isaac
and actually having time to take care of the house, groceries, etc.
rather than waiting for the weekend.
However, this entire time still felt only temporary.
In the back of my mind I think I knew I would be resigning,
but because it wasn't official I, technically, still had a job.

That has all changed now.
I am officially a stay-at-home-momma,
and I couldn't be more thrilled to be spending my days
with this little goober:

Drab to Fab

2010-08-04T12:27:00.005-05:00

Thanks to my handy husband
-and help from our handy neighbor-
our kitchen got a face lift.

Curtis and I have been wanting to install handles and knobs
in our kitchen for quite some time now.
As a matter of fact it's task number 17 on my 101 in 1001 list.

Well, this past Saturday our handy neighbor, Justin,
stopped by and showed Curtis his tactics for knob and handle installation.
After installing at least one knob and one handle
Curtis was left to finish the rest on his own.

And off he went measuring, drilling, and installing.
I didn't get an official "before" picture of the kitchen,
but in this one you can get the gist of what it looked like before.

Curtis was able to use the dremel he got himself with his
Father's Day gift card to Lowe's from my parents.
He loves finding projects to use his new toys.

The finished product
(click the image to enlarge):

I'm very pleased with the outcome,
but I keep forgetting we have handles and knobs
so I continue to open everything as if they aren't there.
I'm trying to train myself to use them.