Tyler's tooth pillow

Tyler lost his 3rd tooth on Tuesday. He was so proud and excited. The shirt in the picture is one that I bought for him to wear when John came home from Afghanistan in 2008. He loves this shirt so much that try as I might he will not let it go. I decided to turn it into a tooth pillow for him so that he can keep it forever. If I can find some complimentary fabric I just may get ambitious enough to make blankets for his bunk beds.

First I turned the shirt inside out and pinned it in a rough square. I'm not a perfectionist and definately not an avid seamstrist so I wasn't too worried. The whole time my little slave driver was asking when we were going to get to the sewing. I decided to use the button from as a way to insert and remove the pillow so that it can be washed. So once we pinned and cut we were 4 straight lines from a finished product. The front pocket on the shirt serves as a place to put his tooth for the tooth fairy. He actually put his tooth inside his Lego treasure chest and put the chest in the pocket.

Here is my happy little man and his finished pillow. The tooth fairy brought him $2.00 and he is already trying to find more loose teeth.

My Bag (inspired by Susan)

For years I had to carry an enormous bag to carry everything that I needed for myself and the kids. I had everything but the bathroom sink in my bag. I would regularly pull out Match Box cars in my search for my keys. John would refuse to even attempt to find anything in there. All of those were cheap bags. I never spent more than $20 and all of  them were washable. I would always end up with juice or milk leaking from sippy cups or random fruit snacks melting to the inside. That has all changed....

My wonderful loving husband bought me a Coach purse this spring and I'm now building a small collection of nice expensive handbags. It is so nice to say that I am beyond needing diapers, wipes, juice, snacks, binkies, and small toys. I now carry my cell phone, wallet, 3 reusable shopping bags, sunglasses, a pen and notebook, chap stick, my Kindle, and lipstick. The Kindle helps me be patient when I get stuck waiting forever for my husband (each Army minute is more like 10-15 actual minutes) Occasionally, I will have a Nintendo DS or 2 with a collection of games but that is all it takes to make my boys happy now. I can buy silence for hours with video games. How has your bag changed over the years?

My Poor Tomato Plant

My poor tomato plant was so beautiful growing so tall and producing so many tomatoes. The past week or so it just hasn't looked very good. I took this picture this morning. I'm going to let Jay pick the tomatoes when he wakes up. The leaves are all covered in brown spots and the leaves are disappearing. I have found caterpillars on my potato plants already and picked them off. I lost all of my basil leaves on one plant to them. Both are recovering. I searched the tomato several times and didn't find anything until today...

I found 8 caterpillars and 1 chrysalis on my plant this morning. I took them all off and moved the plant to the covered part of the porch. I read that the brown spots could mean that it is getting too much sun. I'll keep you updated on my tomatoes status. I think we'll make caprice with the tomatoes and some of my basil tonight. I can't wait to tell you how they taste.

Memorial Day ( I know it's late but I needed to think)

Memorial Day finds it's roots in post Civil War Charleston, SC. It was called Decoration Day and started by freed slaves. They exhumed the bodies Union Soldiers, slaves and even Confederate prisoners from a mass grave and gave them all proper funerals. This was done regardless of which side they fought for or what God they prayed too. It was done out of respect not just for human life but respect for the dead. The day is set aside for us to honor our men and women who defend our country and its ideals around the world.
This Memorial Day was definitely one of reflection in our house. The release of "War" by Sebastian Junger put the holiday into perspective. Junger followed 2nd Platoon Battle Company 2/503 173rd Airborne over a 15 month deployment in the Konar Province of Afghanistan. My husband was on the same deployment with Destined Company. His company was spread across the valley and some were with Battle Company. I knew what happened on the deployment from the family perspective. We received red line messages (emails or phone calls when a soldier was killed or seriously injured) with terrifying regularity. Reading this book showed me the other side. Now Restrepo was a unique outpost with a very unique group of men, it could be called the extreme of what can happen over there. I think that this book should be required reading for every American. I think that the real cost of freedom is something that most people just don't understand.

This is our first Memorial Day in the States in 4 years and I was horrified at how little was said about the true reason for the holiday. There were sales on everything from flip flops to cars advertised everywhere. When I looked for some activity to do in the Fort Campbell and all the way to Nashville area I found "you can watch Boy Scouts place flags in a cemetery. We made a point to discuss the day with our children. They told us about the soldiers that they know. I was so proud when my 8 year old said that the day shouldn't just be to remember the dead. He rattled off a list of people the he knows and how they were hurt in Afghanistan. He told me that it changed their lives. One friend lost both of his legs, whether he knows it or not he is a real hero to my boys. They talk about him frequently and think that his "robot legs" and wheel chair are so cool. I just wish that civilian kids had some idea of why we celebrate Memorial Day. My 15 year old sister told me that the pool opens that day and it's her last long weekend before the end of the school year. So sad.
If you forgot the meaning of the day. Not hard to imagine with a president that didn't even go to Arlington because he was on vacation. Take a few minutes now and be thankful for the men and women past and present that allow you to enjoy those sales and swimming pools.

What I've been up to...

It seems like time flies and sometimes it is so hard to keep up with my blog. Here is what we've been up to.
Baseball, Tee ball, and Softball has started for the kids.
My veggies are taking off. I'll have tomatoes soon. One hot pepper is almost ready and I have a bunch of sweet peppers that will are tiny right now.
We are currently trying to come up with a schedule for summer vacation. More posts soon.

Mother's Day

When I was a child Mother's Day gifts were hand made at school, a simple bouquet of flowers or flowers picked in the yard and breakfast in bed. I can remember bringing my mom soggy Cheerios, burnt toast, over sweet hot tea, and a glass with flowers picked outside. I was surprised by people over doing it. There is no need for extravagant jewelry or expensive meals out. Handmade jewelry, pictures drawn at school, and a home cooked meal prepared by someone else is all it takes to make me happy.
My husband and children always make breakfast for me and let me sleep in. This year I got wonderful handmade gifts from the boys, coupons from Avery, and a purse from everyone. The kids played a board game nicely at the table and I added a new blueberry bush and strawberry plant to my garden. It was a perfect day. John made a gourmet meal. This isn't out of the norm for a weekend for John though. He made prime rib, roasted potatoes seasoned with fresh chives, green beans with sauteed onion, and followed up with creme brulee. He is an amazing cook. To me the thought, time, and love put into a home cooked meal is one of the best gift a person can give.
To all of the Mom's out there I hope your day was a full of love and surprises as mine.

I have been neglecting my blog

My husband has been home for a few months now and I know that true to my habit I fell off the face of the earth for a while. Since his return we have started brewing beer, planted and herbs and veggies, gone on vacation, and decided that he will not reenlist in the Army if we can help it.
Brewing beer is fun and a much more cost effective way to have a ready supply. I like to have things to do but you can only bake so often without gaining a million pounds, crafts are great but can quickly turn to clutter if you don't have either people to buy them or just give them away too. Brewing beer on the other hand takes time to make and time to consume. It isn't ruined by forgetting about it for a few days at any point in the fermenting or carbonating process. This is my kind of hobby. Between kids sports (a blog for another time) keeping up with the ebb and flow of military life and maintaining a happy home who has time for hobbies that require constant up keep?
All of my plants are in pots. Unfortunately, we live on post and you aren't supposed to have a garden. My herbs are doing well. We have used lots of basil, cilantro, and chives. They taste so much better when you cut them right before you cook with them. This is the first time that I have grown potatoes. I found instructions for growing them in pots online. I have 4 pots going right now and they are doing better than all of the other plants. I can't wait to show them to you. I keep dreaming of the day that I can have a huge garden in my own yard.
Getting out of the Army seems like the best step forward for us. John has been stagnant in his career for a while now. Promotion points are high and he doesn't have the spare time for college courses. He was looking at ways to further his career while we were in Italy but our forced move to the Special Forces community at Campbell has made it impossible. He is no longer happy with his job. On our vacation to California we decided that we need to end up there. John was happy truly happy the whole time we were there and not just because he was away from work he was finally home. You can see the change in him as soon as his feet hit the sand. Now we are looking at jobs and cost of living. Trying to plan for our life after the Army.
My goal is to update at least once a week and include some pictures.