Mothership Confessional

So I've been thinking a lot lately. About "swim suit season". And this new "mom body" that I have. Has anybody else been thinking about this?! Grab your 2nd cup of coffee, surround your kid(s) with all the toys they have, and attempt to sneak away to reflect with me for a few minutes. I delivered Ava 9 months ago. On paper, 9 months seems like such  a long time! But the reality is, is that it has flown by faster than I ever thought it would! I had planned on getting into a workout routine once I was feeling normal (hahaha normal... what is that?!) so that I could lose all my gained weight during pregnancy and get some muscle tone back. Well, that didn't pan out like I had hoped. Most of my weight simply fell off. I think I sweated and peed half of the weight off in the first week! But now I still have this extra 10 pounds on me with my muscles buried somewhere underneath. Boo. And it really frustrates and annoys me. B...

Is it just me, or is there always a never-ending list of things to do around the house? No matter what I do, I can't seem to ever get to the point on the list of chores where I can plop down on the couch and say, "There. It's ALL done." In fact, I've already plopped  down on the couch, and now I can't get up and get motivated to do anything.  I've heard the quote   "Life's too short to spend it cleaning".  And I agree. But I've also heard the quote,   "Work hard, play hard". I agree with that, too.  It's a tough balance between the two.  I'm most productive on busy days, but I'm often ready to just relax after work. And on my days off, I have a hard time getting started on my incredibly long to-do list. And the weekends are no better! My husband and I both  have what I lovingly call "the hidden lazy gene" in which we are both great at our jobs, but put us together at home...

On this day, one year ago, Chris and I awoke on a bed sheet on the floor of our dining room in Lenexa, Kansas. All of our belongings were packed in the moving truck parked out in front, save for perishables, cleaning supplies, and our bags of items we needed for the day. It was moving day! It so wild  to think that we've already been here for a year. I still catch myself telling customers that I "just" moved here, when in reality, that's not really true anymore!  I've learned a lot since moving to Ft. Campbell. This whole living on the state border makes EVERYTHING confusing.  Address is Ft. Campbell, KY.  But we physically live in Tennessee.  Cable bill says we live in Clarksville, TN.  Order from a few random websites that try to tell me I live in Ft. Campbell, Tennessee . And now my car is tagged in Montgomery County, Tennessee. But Ft. Campbell is in Christian County, Kentucky. I don't know. I become extre...

Yes, this post is really going to be about vacuums .  We got our first vacuum as a wedding gift off our registry. It was just over $100, and I was surprised we got it because I thought it cost so much! I was very excited.  For a vacuum of my own. Something about having things for your own place is very exciting to a female, even if it is a vacuum. Or a blender. I think that long-standing "insult" of gifting your wife a domestic tool is not that terrible. If it's an awesome blender, and it will make my life easier, I'll probably love it! Go ahead, get me that new washer-dryer duo. I won't complain! Anywho, the vacuum was great! Until it wasn't.  Not the highest quality, and it failed to suck well.  Having multiple cats, dirty Army boots, and now a new puppy made suction very important. My vacuum was starting to run weird. And was abnormally LOUD. I was trying to decide whether or not to invest in repairing the thing, or to just bu...

It was very different to not attend the fireworks in Corporate Woods in Overland Park, KS for the 4th of July this summer, a show that I have attended for almost every 4th for as long as I can remember.  This year, we made plans to go to Nashville to watch a show that makes the top 10 list in the nation! We had all sorts of activities planned for the 4th. But it rained ALL DAY! So gloomy. Not a great way to celebrate. We were supposed to go for an hour long horseback ride at the stables on post early in the morning, but waking to thunder and pouring rain told me that would be canceled. We did go to see Despicable Me 2 and had to walk a thousand miles in the rain to get inside the Opry Mills Mall - that place was packed! The movie was hilarious and very enjoyable, despite the lady that would not stop talking next to us. She was less well-behaved than all the children in the theater! Hate that. This was the view we had from our hotel room. We had a good view of Broadwa...

So I drove home to visit my Kansas people a few days ago. It was a great time! I decided to schedule people during my visit this time, instead of trying to wing it like we did around the holidays. That was hard. We got back on the road to Tennessee again feeling like we didn't make it around to everyone.  Scheduling in advance was definitely much less stressful. Chris was supposed to come home with me, but there was a training mission that got scheduled last minute...and then canceled even more last minute...oh well. So it ended up begin a solo trip. Which I guess was okay, but we were supposed to go to a wedding and a baptism together. So I ended up spending every meal with my family and friends. It occurred to me that if we both went home, we'd probably have fought over who got the car for the day! I spent the 6 days eating. Shopping. And talking. I got to spend time with my chubby niece. Lookit those thighs, girl! Just love those...