Thankful Thursday: PJ-RARA

So I decided to try to get back into my blogging and get back to my set up of days. So today is THANKFUL THURSDAY!!! And today I wanted to write about a special group of friends I have from our previous duty station, Great Lakes!!

For me, this little group happened by accident but it was one of the best "accidents" in my life. They have each contributed something in my life and have made it richer for knowing them. Despite the fact that all of us but two are scattered throughout the US now, we still keep involved with each other and we are even planning a PJ-RARA reunion for the spring next year (which I am so excited about).

Let me tell you a bit about the girls....

For me, it started with Anna. Meeting her was like meeting my soul-mate (friendship-wise). We happened upon each other purely out of coincidence. My friend ran a website for Navy partners and she told me about a girl who was moving to Great Lakes the same time I was. Anna was pregnant with her daughter and Little Man was about 4 months old when we first corresponded with each other. We met in February after moving to Great Lakes and our friendship blossomed from there. She is truly my soul sister and I can not imagine my life without her in it. We are opposite in almost every way but the funny thing is, we are so opposite that we compliment each other.

Next came Rose. Rose and Anna were neighbors so we met for the first time at a play-date. She, at the time, had a daughter who was 2 months younger than Little Man. She and I had a lot in common, having similar backgrounds with family and lives growing up, then spending 10 years in the Navy and lastly having toddlers close in age. I was so happy to meet her and she became my friend who kept me grounded. She prayed for me when I needed it, laughed with me when something funny happened and we were an ear for each other as we tread the waters of motherhood for the first time together!!

That summer, I received a message from a sweet girl named Ally. She was moving to GL, noticed I had a son close to her son's age and was looking to make some friends. I call Ally my "unexpected friend" meaning I never anticipated she and I being as close as we are. I am not sure how quickly she and I would have met if she hadn't contacted me (if at all) but I am so thankful everyday that she did. Our friendship has always been so easy, Ally is such a laid-back woman. She really reminds me that it is OK to let the little things go and that life is not meant to be so up-tight. I admire her so much because she really has it all together and doesn't even realize it. She isn't the type of person who brags about the things she does or seeks out recognition for everything. In my eyes, she really is Super Mom and trust me, if I had 1/2 of her patience, there would be a lot less yelling in my house...LOL!!!

I am not exactly sure who I met first between Robin and Pam but I will talk about Robin next. Robin is my friend who reminds me to have fun with my kids. She is always doing fun things like building forts, having slumber parties and playing imagination type things. She loves being a mom and she can laugh at everything (and with her boys, she really needs a sense of humor. They keep her on her toes!!)

And last but most certainly not least, is Pam. She happened upon our little group and became "Aunt Pam", the fun lady who had no kids and who loved to spoil all the munchkins. When she finally got pregnant, we were all over the moon with excitement for her and  couldn't wait for her to join the ranks of motherhood. She and I now live right down the street from each other and she has become my lifeline. She is helping me survive a duty station that I am not too happy with but because of her friendship, it is so much better. She is my "tell it like it is" friend and I know if I have a problem she will tell me if I am being dumb or if I am right. I know that with her, what I see is what I get and I love that about her. There is no false pretenses and when we do have issues, we talk them out, which is awesome. She always has my back and I always have hers (and where we live, that is important!!)

I have been truly blessed to have each of these women cross my path and now share my journey in life. My life will always be different because of each of them!! Thank you girls for being my friend (cue the Golden Girls Theme song!!!)

Here is the last picture taken of all of us together. Ally and Pam were both pregnant and it was their "going away" picture!!

Update

Wow, I need to get on the ball with my blogging. Things have been wickedly crazy for us between summertime fun and traveling. Currently, the munchkins and I are visiting my family in New York for the month of August. The visit, which we are on day 5 of, has shown me such an array of emotions!! Between what is going on in my family life and what emotions I have been experiencing, I am exhausted already. I am going to need a vacation from my vacation, LOL!!

On the munchkin front, they are great and really loving being around their cousins, aunt, uncles and especially their grandparents!! Little Man is sort of all over the place though and it is rather frustrating. It is amazing how manners got left back in North Carolina because I am constantly reminding him about them. He is spoiled by Grammy but it is all good. Little Princess is doing great here. She has not fought me for the binkie once and she even went wee-wee on the potty twice today!! I think being around MJ is a good thing especially since she sees her go potty and not have a binkie!! I couldn't be prouder of her right now!!

On the me front, being here has been a good thing and a bad thing. I love getting to spend time with my extended family. I hate that I am missing out on MJ and Ri-Ri's lives. But seeing them almost daily has been wonderful. It has made me wish at time that our lives were different. I wish we could be apart of family dinners, quick trips to the ice cream shop with everyone or hanging out with the entire gang randomly but unfortunately our life is not going down that path. I know I chose to be a military wife and I chose the lifestyle I have but it doesn't make it easier!! Oh well, I can always dream that one day we will get to do those type of things regularly!!

I hope I can get better with my blogging while I am here!! Only time will tell......

MilSpouse Friday Fill In

I miss last week's edition but I didn't want to forget this week's!! 

Here are this week's Friday Fill In questions from Wife of A Sailor.

1. What food reminds you of your spouse? Steak!!! I swear the man would eat steak every day of the week if I allowed it!! He is the only person I know who will go to any restaurant and order a steak!! 
2. Who would you rather sit next to in a cross-country plane ride: an irritating non-stop talker, or a quiet stare-er? A non-stop talker. I am a talker myself so I would love to see who could get more in!! LOL
3. What are your best tips on how to save money? Don't go to Old Navy during Stuff n' Save....LOL. But seriously, get rid of the credit cards and only spend what you have. Make sure you put 10% of your earnings into savings every month before you do anything else!!
4. What is your favorite summer memory? Going camping with my family as a kid, especially when we went to Canada's Wonderland. I love camping and everything about it (and yes, I am a true camper...tent, sleeping bags, roast marshmallows, everything!!)
5. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes I do very much!!!! There is too much that happens that is unexplained!!!

I will try my best to do next week's edition. We are traveling to NY on Thursday so hopefully I will be able to blog on Friday!! 

 

Earning it....

My kids are inundated with toys. It seems like everywhere I look in my house, there are toys of some sort!! I spoil them, the grandparents spoil them, everyone who knows them spoils them but that is okay in my book. I enjoy seeing them play and using their imaginations with their various Little People, Matchbox cars and, most recently with my Little Man, Legos. Little Man has really taken to Legos which makes me extremely happy because I really think they are a great toy. It is interesting to see him take them apart, put them back together in different ways and be so proud of the creation he has made!! I love it but that is where my newest dilemma comes into play.

Little Man started receiving allowance several weeks ago and has been saving every penny without fail since then because he is saving to get a $50 Lego Fire Boat. I have been encouraging him, praising him for doing such a great job savings and I have even been "helping out" the savings by giving him a quarter here and there for being a helper around the house. However, at $4 a week, saving for the Fire Boat seems like an eternity in the eyes of a 4 year old.

So we came up with a deal. 

We went through his room and picked out older toys he no longer plays with and then picked out things in the garage that were once his but have gone to the way side. I promised him that we could have a garage sale to help him earn the rest of the money since I wanted to have a garage anyways. I told him that he could have all the money that was made from the selling of his old things. I figured this was only fair especially since all of those things were not bought for me nor were they mine to sell so it was only right for him to have the money. He has been so excited about the garage sale and keeps asking when we can have it.

Which is where the problem lays......

I have run out of time!! We leave in a week to go to the "Roc" for the rest of the summer and there is no way I am having a garage sale in that time frame. I promised him he would be able to buy the Fire Boat when we got to Grammy's house but now, since we won't have the garage sale, what do I do? Do I give him the rest of the money he needs since it is my fault he is not having the chance to "earn" it himself  especially considering I was going to cover the difference anyways if he didn't earn the whole $50 or do I tell him he has to wait even though he has been doing everything he was told to do to get the Lego set?

What do you all think?

Thank you with a Cherry On Top

I just received the coolest award from my awesome friend Ally @Have a Great Navy Day. Thank you so much Ally for thinking of me!!! 


The rules of this award are simple. 1) Thank the person who sent you the award (Thank you again Ally) 2) Post 3 things you like about yourself. and 3) Pass the award to 5 other people


So my 3 things:

1) I love that I have been devoted to serving my country in one shape or another for over 14 years now. I joined the Navy in May 1996 and ended my active duty service in June 2006 right before Little Man was born. However, I continue to serve in the "silent ranks" as a very proud Navy wife!! I love our country and am proud to live here!! 

2) I love that I am devoted to my family and not just my husband and babies but my entire family. I come from a larger family and despite living so far away, I trying to remain involved in their lives as much as possible. Nothing in this world can replace family and I want to make sure that my children always understand the importance of family ties despite the miles between you. 


3) I like that I am a strong woman and can survive just about anything. My mother showed me how to be strong not only by what she taught me but by leading by a good example. I see what she has gone through in her life and I see what it takes to be that kind of woman and I try to emulate it as best as I can in my life. I also know that my husband's job is stressful when he is away, especially on deployment. So I want to do my part by reassuring him that he has nothing to worry about when he is away and that I will do my best to "hold down the fort". Being a military wife makes you experience things you never thought you would and you realize that God is never going to give you anything you can't handle. 


So the people I am going to pass the award on to are:

1)Kamryn @ All Pop No Corn
2) Amber@ The Cordero Family
3) Robin@ The Misadventures of Jack and Luke
4) "Mrs. P"@ A Little Pink in a World of Camo
5) Ana@ Sunrise on the Water

MilSpouse Friday Fill In

Here are this week's Friday Fill In questions fromWife of A Sailor 


1. Tell us about your dream job… one that you could do regardless of pay.
I would love to be an event planner. Birthdays, weddings, any party type event, I love to plan them!! If I had the money to back my ideas, I would be able to throw some kick-butt parties!!!!


2. What is your most prized material possession (kids and pets don’t count!)?
I have a few: 1) my parents wedding picture. My real father passed away when I was a baby so it is one of the few pictures I have of them together. 2) A collectors plate that was my grandmother's. It is of "Annie", which is one of my favorite musicals but more importantly, it reminds me of very happy times in my childhood because it sat in the same spot until she packed it up and gave it to me last year. 3) My family necklace my husband gave me for christmas.

3. What has been your favorite duty station and why? 
 I would have to say Jacksonville, FL (Mayport). There was so much to do there and I loved the area so much!! We want to go back so bad!!


4.What is your least favorite household chore? 
 Doing the dishes!! I hate how my hands feel afterward!!

5.If you could give one piece of advice to a teenager today (not specifically a MilTeen), what would it be? Make school your main priority. Friends come and go but your education will never leave you.

I hope everyone has a fabulous Fourth of July weekend. I know I have been non-existent this week but I promise I will update soon!! It was a crazy, busy week and I am in need of some rest!!! Be safe and have fun this weekend!!!