Bloggy friends

I've had the honor & privelege of meeting several other milbloggers in the past few years, and have made some lasting friendships..... but nothing excites me more than meeting a 'fan' of my blog in unexpected places!
Yesterday I was at the wedding of a beautiful couple in Boston - a little far from my so-cali stomping grounds. The groom served with my husband in Afg 2 years ago, and is little Bobblehead's Godfather. The bride was my online 'battle buddy' during that deployment, and neither of us knew at the time that our men were bonding with one another half a world away.  
The cool moment last night was when the groom's younger sister came over to introduce herself & told me she's a follower here! So cool :)
So, this is just a quick shoutout to Laura, who now has inside info on the 'top secret project' I'm working on.....can't wait to tell you all about that one!

Pics from our Boston trip coming SOON,

reunited and it feels so good.....

I can't possibly express my gratitude to my many blog friends who have been so patient (& forgiving!) with my recent absence.  To those who took time to contact me and check to make sure all is well, I owe an even bigger THANK YOU!

My last post promised a look at our new family portraits, so here you go:

So, the biggest new development in my life is one that I don't technically have hubby's permission to blog about yet, but I will definitely be letting that cat out of the bag SOON.  The second biggest new development is that my daughter is BACK!

Many of you already know the story of my daughter, AKA 'Airhead', leaving 4 1/2 years ago, and you also know some of the hurt this caused me.  I've missed her SO SO SO much, and can't tell you all how fantastic it feels now to have her back in our lives!  Seeing her, speaking with her, HUGGING her.....best feeling EVER.  We had dinner as a family in early June and it was so incredible to see her playing with little Bobblehead as if she's known him his whole life.  Since then I've gone wine tasting with her a couple times (yes, I love having an adult daughter!!!) and we're going to get pedicures together later this week. LOVE!

I was overjoyed to be reunited with my long-lost daughter, but just imagine my sheer happiness to learn that she works at one of our local wineries, and can get me in FREE for tasting at almost any winery in town!  Does it get better than this???? Yes, actually it does, but like I said I can't talk about that yet....still a SECRET for a little while yet.

My boys are all ecstatic to have Airhead back, too.  Bonehead passed his proficiency test to finish high school, so I finally paid off his senior pictures (will post those soon!) He's hoping to enlist in the Navy, but we won't know for a couple more weeks if that's even possible.  Knucklehead is enjoying his summer, getting ready for school to start in a few weeks. This is his second year in Middle School, and he is now my ONLY child in school.  Well, not counting Bobblehead, of course.....but he's in preschool. PRE-preschool, in fact, in the toddler program.  But in a few short weeks he'll be two years old and will move into the class I've been teaching since March, which means I have to move OUT of that class.  Not sure yet if I will be in the Infant program or the Pre-K, but either way it will be a huge adjustment for me.

My doula business is going very well, though that new secret project I'm not allowed to talk about yet is going to put the doula thing on hold for awhile.  I have three more births already scheduled, and am not taking on any more clients for the time being.  I'm also getting better with photography, which brings me to my next point - have you entered the Shutterfly Facebook Photo Contest yet?  Check it out:

Long Live Summer – Facebook Photo Contest details (US residents only) 7/9 – 8/12 Multi-week summer themed photo sweepstakes with instant win prizes. http://bit.ly/sweepS

Win a trip for four to The Bahamas and a professional photo shoot so you’ll remember your vacation forever.  All you need to do is upload your favorite photo and caption based on the theme of the week.  Get a gift from Shutterfly just for entering! You can enter at any point during the 5-week sweepstakes period.

PHOTO THEMES

•       Week 1(7/9): Americana - ended

•       Week 2 (7/16): Great Outdoors - ended

•       Week 3 (7/23): Water Fun – current week

•       Week 4 (7/30): Sports & Activities

•       Week 5 (8/6): Parties & Celebrations

PRIZES

•       Instant win prizes just for submitting a photo!

•       Weekly prizes (contestants can enter one time/week)

•       Weekly featured photos: up to 5 weekly entries will be selected from the gallery and featured on the Facebook fan page.

•       Grand prize: trip for 4 to Bahamas, 4 nights, family photo shoot

•       Shutterfly Sweepstakes - Official Rules

be careful what you wish for (and Happy Valentine's Day)

In April 2009, when it seemed my entire life was upside down, I lost my job as a preschool director.  I had been with that agency for over two years, and was miserable for at least the last year of it because of the difference between my personal philosophy and that of my bosses (yes, bossES, as in, plural.  Another headache there).

Anyway, I looked for another preschool job, initially focusing on administrative positions, but broadening my search fairly quickly to include applying for entry-level on up.  I was repeatedly told that I was 'overqualified' for so many jobs, before finally landing my current VERY PART TIME job as a school crossing guard.  Somehow my degree and credential did NOT over-qualify me for holding up a stop sign in a crosswalk for an hour every morning and another hour in the afternoon. (?)

I was 4 months pregnant with Bobblehead when I was hired for this job, so I was happy that it was so part-time.  I've kept my ear to the ground since then for a PRESCHOOL job, but wasn't searching very aggressively because I knew we didn't have many QUALITY infant/toddler child care programs in the area for my little Bobblehead.  Once he is 18 months old, our selection of viable child care choices becomes HUGE, so I started applying like crazy for everything I could a couple weeks ago. (Bobblehead is now 17 months old).

One position that I applied for was a Preschool Director position a couple towns away....about a 30 minute commute if there's no traffic.  The neighborhood is bad, the school is in a very SAD state of disrepair, and the owners don't seem to know what they're doing.  They have 30 children enrolled right now, in a program that is licensed for over 150 children!  Still, I was up for the challenge and they seemed to really WANT me, especially after I talked to them about marketing ideas, curriculum implementation, etc during my second interview with them.  They have an infant/toddler program there, though the quality is, well. QUESTIONABLE.  As the director, I would definitely have the power to turn that around, but still I was not exactly ANXIOUS to bring Bobblehead there.  I told myself I could work around that, maybe have my sister watch him for the first month or so while I worked to get the program into shape.  I just wanted the job so bad!  Unfortunately, they were only willing to offer about HALF of what I expected to earn there, so it was not a winning proposition for me.  I don't know who they finally hired to do that job, but she has an uphill battle ahead of her! (Especially since the owners clearly are not willing to spend any money to make money with this program)

I applied for several other positions, had LOTS of great job interviews, and finally this week hit paydirt....sorta.  Our valley's one-and-only QUALITY program for infants and toddlers opened just a couple months ago, and they are rapidly growing and filling that part of the school as word gets out that they're there.  They advertised looking for a qualified Infant teacher to accommodate that growth, so naturally I was interested!  Not administrative, but a GREAT program for my baby Bobblehead, so definitely something I wanted. Bad.

I wore this to the interview:

(I was going for professional, but approachable, and my hair was totally AWESOME that day, which must have helped...)

I totally NAILED the interview!  So much so, that they actually called me within about two hours after I left, to offer me the job......but NOT the Infant Room job I interviewed for.  I will actually be teaching TWO-YEAR-OLDS (my least favorite age to work with, besides of course TEENAGERS. Teenagers are the worst).  The pay is mere peanuts for someone with my experience and qualifications, but they offered me a whopping 75% discount for Bobblehead's tuition there!  That's what made it a no-brainer to accept the job, since the SAVINGS in child care costs adds up to $9000/year of income-in-kind, TAX FREE.  Also, the two-year-olds class placement for me is TEMPORARY, since they won't let me be Bobblehead's teacher, and he will be moving into the Two's room in September.  They're not sure where they'll move me in the fall, but they're working on that... frankly I don't care, ANY position will be better than teaching two-year-olds!  I don't mind the diapering, and have an infinite amount of patience for little ones......but two year olds are just so.....INTENSE.  I'll be sure to update you all in a few weeks (I start the job March 1).

Oh yeah, did I mention this whole interview/job offer whirlwind happened on Valentine's Day?  I was worried that the stress of that whole thing could ruin our evening, but not to worry - my teenager Bonehead was one step ahead, ruining our entire WEEK.  He took off again that afternoon after a particularly heated exchange with my husband, and has not been home since.  He has called me twice, and I know where he spent the first couple of nights (not sure where he slept last night).  He is *technically* a 'runaway' right now, but I haven't reported him to police or anything.  I know he is safe (for now) but more than that, I am not rushing to get him home because I don't know how to deal with him any more!  I do know that anything I do to try to exert any kind of control over him will just push him further away.  I'm still gun-shy after what happened with my daughter 4 years ago (she is STILL not speaking to me after I took away her car to get her to stop ditching school in the beginning of her Senior year of high school).  I'm hoping Bonehead will calm down and come home on his own, and since we have a four-day weekend right now, he has plenty of time to do that.  He is such a  pain in the butt most of the time, but when he's NOT being a pain, he is so awesome with his baby brother!  Bobblehead really enjoys running around and playing with him, and Bonehead is the ONLY one who can get him to keep his superhero masks on long enough for a picture.

Back to my Valentine's though.....hubby gave me my gift a day early, a new iPad 2!  My old iPad was pretty beat up after two years of being dropped frequently, so I am thrilled with my gift.  I think hubby also REALLY liked his gift....Pinup photos of me!  

I can't post most of them here, even though they're all 'tasteful'.  I had so much fun taking the photos, and I know that hubby likes the more confident and sexy 'me' that came out of that whole process.  Definitely doing another set for him after I get to my goal weight/size! And as for our ruined evening, we decided on a raincheck to go out for a nice romantic dinner WITH NO KIDS.  Update on that later, too.  (or NOT *wink wink*)

Hope you all enjoyed some sweet lovin this week!  for my milspouse followers, I know many of you wish you could just SEE your man for special days......but while he's out there saving the world, you'll have to settle for posting something like this on your FB to make your civilian friends jealous:

Tea Time

I truly do miss this blog and all my milspouse bloggy friends!  Coming back soon with regular posts, but for now here are a few pictures my sister-in-law's baby shower today: 

I love having a reason to get pretty - especially when hubby is in a wonderful mood and takes ALL the boys shopping all day, giving me time to curl my hair, put on makeup, and even paint my fingernails.

It was a 'Ladies Tea Party' complete with HATS!  I used it as an excuse to get another wearing out of my new dress (from the Marine Corps Ball) before I shrink out of it.  It's already loose on me compared to a couple weeks ago!

The Scarlet Tea Room is beautiful, but WAY out of my own price range. I looked up their menu online ahead of time to see if there was anything 'healthy' for me to eat, and noticed that their five course afternoon tea service is normally $32 per person!  Wow.  Everything was absolutely BEAUTIFUL, though. 

I enjoyed the green tea so much, I had FOUR cups of it.  I've been drinking nothing but water for the past few months with this weight-loss challenge, so I was worried about calories.  Now I'm laughing at myself for worrying: I looked up the nutrition info on unsweetened green tea, it has all of TWO calories per 8 oz cup of tea!

I stayed away from these beautiful home-made scones......I know for a FACT they are way too high in calories AND fat for this girl.

I also skipped eating this adorable cookie:

(brought it home for hubby instead)

I tried to sip some champagne, but since I have not had ANY alcohol in three months, the first sip literally went right to my head.  Second sip was my LAST sip.

I had so much fun being GIRLY today, but I still love coming home to all my BOYS.  Life is beautiful!

Family Reunion (picture post)

Before I post pictures from my awesome week-long family reunion, I want to remind my stalkers followers that TOMORROW, Wednesday August 3, you can come meet me in person on Del Mar Beach aboard Camp Pendleton!  If you are anywhere near Pendleton, email me ASAP for more info - I really would love to see you all there!

Last week my parents and five of my siblings and I (and our respective spouses and children) descended on a timeshare complex in Oceanside, CA.  At the peak, we had 13 adults and 18 children - so we were missing a total of 5 adults and 7 children this year.  If everyone comes to our next reunion in 2013, we will have 18 adults and 27 children (since 2 more babies are on the way at the moment).  Pretty big family, huh?

I will have some better pictures to post SOON, since my friend came down with her camera and got some great group shots.  But for now, here are a few of the pictures I took:

17 cousins in Old Town San Diego

Beach Babies!  My little Bobblehead is on the right.

Bobblehead & Bonehead (don't mind the san goatee)

Knucklehead & Bonehead 'firing' a cannon in one of the museums

My neices & nephews digging HUGE holes in the sand :)

Knucklehead had such a fantastic time with his cousins ALL WEEK, especially at the beach.

Knucklehead tried on an od steel helmet like the ones the Conquistadors wore. 

Home, sweet home.....isn't it crazy that I can fit TWO longboards on top of my tiny litle car?

This historic lighthouse is next to the harbor - we could see it from our room, which was pretty cool.  Definitely made the blackout shades necessary though

(I never would have slept all week with that

rotating light flasing into my room over and over all night long.)

ha ha ha!  and I thought MY surfboard setup was crazy!

This guy has surfboards AND a bike, all with his little convertible.

Cute, huh?

The teenagers - Bonehead on the right, age 16.

Kaid in the middle is 17, and Tayla on the left is 18.

Viral Video linkup, WEEK 3

I can't believe we've already reached WEEK THREE of this linkup! I am loving sharing videos, and so far the bloggers who have linked up have all shared AWESOME new (to me) videos!

This week I have been thinking back to when my hubby and I got engaged (I proposed to HIM, not the other way around).  Of course most of us don't have video of our marriage proposals, but this guy does, courtesy of CBS!

I am also completely ADDICTED to The Price Is Right.  Or was, at least, until I had this baby.  I've been in the audience 17 times, trying to get onstage.  When I took my mom and a bunch of her crazy friends for her birthday, she got called down!  Three other times that I have taken groups down (two groups of milspouses and one group of teachers) one of my girls got called down - and only one of them won their bid to get onstage.

There is no theme for this linkup, just whatever 'moves' you.  Something silly, something sad, something incredible/impossible, whatever.  THAT BEING SAID, IF YOU ARE AT A LOSS for an idea of what to share, answer one of these questions and find a video that goes with it:

1. What was your marriage proposal like?
2. What are you 'addicted' to?  Guilty pleasure?
To join in, just post a video on your blog, then come back here and link up! The linky tool stays open until 11:59 PM Monday night (Pacific time).


Thanks in advance for sharing - I can't wait to see what you all have this week.

Make-up sex!

We have a loooooong way to go, but it looks like at least hubby and I are back on the bumpy road of marriage again. Even better, we're both facing in the same direction, ready to 'keep moving forward'.

Hubby has agreed to go see a counselor, and we had the BEST time apologizing to each other in bed. ;) I have to remind myself we're getting old, though. I did something to my knee while 'changing positions' and now have a hard time climbing the stairs! Ha ha ha.

I'm cautiously optimistic about the outcome of this.....and starting to feel a little better about my meltdown, because without it we might still be where we've been for weeks: miserable and lonely, and unwilling/unable to do anything about it.

yet another picture post

I was checking my blog stats the other day - and in addition to some cool stuff like 67% of you are viewing this blog using Explorer, and 17% view it through firefox, etc etc etc, I noticed that the posts that get the most hits are my picture posts.

So, in a roundabout way, you've told me what you want - and I am giving it to you! 

I might make this a regular monthly or weekly thing, but for now, it will happen whenever I clean up my camera.  Or whenever I can't think of anything to write about.  Or both.

So, here is a sampling of the pictures I have taken in the past couple of weeks:

My neice Gracie hiding under the table in her playroom

Bobblehead sleeping in his second favorite spot - on Daddy!

(his first choice of course, would be hooked onto my breast)

The 'perfect brownie pan'...first use

They really are PERFECT!  Crazy. 

My boys say the brownies are a little small.

Bobblehead with his cousin

(Bobblehead is on the right)

Loving this Pooh Bear!

Had a bottle of breastmilk left from the babysitter's

and gave it to him to play with in the highchair

while I made dinner - smart baby managed

to drink most of the milk by himself!

Mommy's little 'gadget guy'....watching Baby Einstein clips via YouTube on my iPad

We had Bobblehead baptized a couple weeks ago,

and he wore the same outfit his daddy wore many (MANY) years ago!

And yes, I do know that I could have used a little makeup that day.

Tell that to Bobblehead, he makes the schedule around here!

Cousins hanging out again :)

Finally enjoying 'tummy time'!  YAY!

Wrestling with Curious George

Looks like George won.

Our new bedroom furniture. 

This is the picture on the box,

not a picture of my actual room - but you get the idea, right?