California Dreamin'.......

Well, I know I suck really bad at this whole blog thing. I have had so much going on in my life recently that a little blogging release would have done me some GOOD!!!
So tomorrow morning I board a flight to Cali for 4 days 3 nights! It will be the 1st time I will have been away from my babygirl Ashlyn for more than 1 night at a time..... I'm going to miss her so much. I figure if my amazing husband can go 6 months at a time without seeing her I can grit through 4 days. :)
I am super excited for the trip, its also a little bittersweet. I have never really taken a trip like this, for this long without Joshua. It will be nice for the little mini-vacation and helping out with the convention but I would have enjoyed it far more if he was in tote!
So tomorrow will be the two month mark since he left for his new job excursions overseas.
Some days it feels like WOW, 2 months already! Its flying by! Then other days when I realize it's been almost 60 nights without him, with no kiss, no hug, it gets a little rough. The decision for him to go was a joint decision for our future and I thank him as often as I can for doing this for our family.
He is going to try and get leave to come home on R & R in February sometime. We figure everyone else will try and go home around Christmas and New Years, if he waits til then hopefully his chances of getting to come home will be better. :)
Ashlyn is growing so much everyday! She learns something new all the time and is such a joy to be around. I'm sure my facebook friends get tired of new pictures up of her all the time but that is my way of sharing with her daddy her progress and growth.
She is so adorable when I show her a picture of him on my cell phone, she points directly at his face on the screen and says "Da-da-da-da" at the TOP of her lungs in a screechy, excited voice.
My mother-in-law taught her "patty-cake" in about 30 minutes..... now everytime you say "patty cake Ashlyn" she claps her little hands together and then I always say "YAY Ashlyn" so now she is starting to say "yayyy" at the end of patty-cake! :) Its TOO cute!
I am pretty sure I have everything packed for my trip, but knowing me I will forget something important! I almost considered a smaller carry-on for all my shoes! I narrowed it down to my Nike shocks, two pairs of flip flops, a pair of strappy flat sandals, a pair of black dress heels (for business attire at convention), and black boots. I know I know...it's only 4 days! My husband would NOT be surprised that I am taking that many shoes! :)
I will have TONS of pictures to post after my trip. A good friend and fellow veteran from Operation Iraqi Freedom II of Joshs' will be my chauffer on Saturday so that I have a chance to see some of the sights of the area.... I'm not only excited to have someone else drive in their horrific traffic, having someone thats a good friend of Joshs as well so I'm not spending the day with a bunch of strangers is a plus too.
I wouldnt have been able to go on this trip without my little ones sitters! Thanks Stacy for picking up/dropping off at daycare as well as my mother-in-law keeping her saturday til I get back on Sunday eve. You guys are awesome!
Well..........until I write again (which if we know me, may be a month or more!).................

It's Been a While.....

I really thought I'd be better at this blogging thing than I have been so far. I haven't written in quite a while. Miss Ashlyn has cut 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. She will be 10 months old on Friday and is standing all by herself now....anyday she will take off walking and my house will look like a tornado went through it! LOL
My wonderful husband has been gone for a month now (it was a month yesterday). The "single parent" thing isnt all that hard so far, but then again...she's NOT walking yet and it has only been a month. Ask me again in another month or two. I miss him like crazy, all the silly little things, and all the things he helped with out around the house. I miss him running my baths for me when I had a bad day or just because. I miss curling up next to him on the couch to watch TV (even if he spent most of that time playing poker online, LOL).
He is so determined to make a future for our family and I have so much respect for him for doing what he is doing for us. :)
I know this blog is short and sweet but he will be getting online soon, so Im gonna go. I'll try really hard to start blogging more often.

Feeling underappreciated.......

This is going to be a short and sweet blog. Sometimes I wish there were 2 of me.... so that I could get all the things done in one day that everyone expects of me. I've been having a very under-appreciated feeling lately. I am not one to want a ton of praise... I don't expect a cookie everytime I do something good, but a "nice job" every once in a while or a little appreciation without having to pull teeth would be AWESOME! I'm done, just needed to blow off some steam. Thanks for listening blog followers!

5 questions......

I was tagged in a blog to give 5 answers to 5 questions, so here goes!

Question 1: Where were you 5 years ago?
Josh had just returned from Iraq and we were living with his mom and step-dad
I was working at the Mineral Area Board of Realtors office as an Office Assistant (making like $6.50 an hour! That job didnt last long when after a year I asked for a $.50 raise and they denied it saying it 'wasn't in the budget', too bad to because the hours were great! M-Th 9-5 and Fridays 9-1).
We started looking for a place of our own
5 years ago my biological clock was ticking and Josh didn't know if he wanted anymore kids, we had a rough way to go for a while with that, I had to prove to him that I wasn't going anywhere and that I wasn't his ex-wife.
I was only 25 years old and had decided to start college back up part-time


Question 2: What is/was on your to do list today?
I need to pay bills for work
I need to refax paperwork to some physicians (for work)
I need to do some billing & coding (for work)
I have to run to walmart and get a few things for the office (coffee cups, trash bags)
I have to pick up some business cards and paperwork we had printed at Blake Graphic Arts.

Question 3: What 5 snacks do you enjoy?
Chips & Salsa
Popcorn
Anything chocolate
Double Stuffed Oreos (dont buy them that often but I love them!)
pickles!

Question 4: Name 5 places you have lived.
Belgrade, MO
Caledonia, MO
Irondale, MO
Park Hills, MO
Farmington, MO

Question 5: What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?
I'd pay off every bad account on Josh & my credit report (I know I know, who needs credit when your a billionaire, but that would be the 1st thing)
I'd purchase some simple CD's at the bank and set them to draw interest until the kids each turned 18.
I'd buy some property somewhere and we would build a dream home (probably a log cabin type house and I'd decorate it with all the cute stuff I always wish I could buy out of the Cabela's catalog!)
We would both get new vehicles
We would help out our families financially the best way we think would benefit them in the long run (sometimes just giving $$$ isn't the best strategy, you'd hafta help them with things that they could benefit from in the long run (home, car, college, property).

Wednesday thoughts........

Time is such a crazy thing. Some days major life events like births, deaths, and marriages seem like they are/were forever ago and other times it feels like yesterday. The other day I had a short conversation with a friend about how smells can trigger event flashbacks.
The smell of Old Spice aftershave always makes me think of my dad, all dressed up for church or an event (and trust me it was a major event if my dad fixed his hair and threw on the old spice, lol). If I catch a wiff of my grandma's laundry detergent concoction (she mixes special soaps/smells together) it reminds me of spending the night with her when I was little, and Crystal and I fighting to stay away til the midnight train passed through Irondale (which was always before midnight, thank goodness).
I love the smell of Ashlyn after a bath and she's all lotioned down in baby lotion. I can't get enough snuggle time, sticking my nose in between her shoulder and neck and listening to her giggle. :)
I know that things that seem like they take forever will feel like a blink of an eye sometime down the road. I can't believe I have already been married a little over a year! The 1st year flew by! My step-kids are growing like weeds and Ashlyn learns something new every single day. I feel so blessed, I have wonderful step-kids, a loving, devoted husband, a new beautiful daughter, a great job, a wonderful family, and awesome friends. I am truly greatful to be so blessed! Okay, okay... thats my Wednesday thoughts! :) (thanks for my 2 new followers!) ;)

My first BLOG!!!

I thought now was a good of a time as any to start a blog. I have blogged sporatically on other social networks but decided to start one that I intend to keep up with more regularly. I'm just learning so bare with me! There is more to come very soon! :)