Christmas Strategery

My love language is gifts but this year I was on fire. I wasn't just about the gift itself this year, but the presentation. Two in particular.

Christmas Scavenger Hunt at NorthPark Mall

This year my Granny and Grandad moved into the "resort" (assisted living, but it's so awesome I would move there if I could). So unbeknownst to us, last year was our last Martin family Christmas at the house. Even though we were unable to do a few of our traditions, everyone came to Christmas at the resort so all the love and warm fuzzy feelings were still there, the chairs just weren't as comfy. One of the traditions we had to let go was the annual treasure hunt at the house. It made me sad that no one would be running around like a chicken with their head cut off so I made up clues for Uncle Karl to find his present at NorthPark. THE NorthPark where you can find people casually dropping thousands of dollars between Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, and Gucci just to name a few. I was pretty proud of some of the clues that had him running around the mall...Excuse the clues, they have been cheesy for years so I had to keep with tradition.

HO HO HO! Hope you're smart! Santa got lost and took your present to Northpark.
Rudolph felt bad and left you some clues, you'll find them at the mall waiting for you.

Close you're eyes and picture this, you're a 10-year old girl with no fashion sense.
Walking by this store can give you a headache, so hurry and find your clue, you have no time to waste!

Karl at Justice
Now seek out your most fashionable family member, usually decked out in sequins and fur. While she's smart she doesn't possess this degree, just a refined sense of style inherited from the family tree.

We didn't get a picture of Karl and me in front of Anthropologie, I got lost inside....here he is at another stop.
We had lots of fun that night and I'm not sure how I'm going to top it next year...

Brian HATES Puzzles

He got a big present this year, I found a groupon for an aerobatic plane ride but his parents, grandparents, and sister combined to give it to him. I just ordered the puzzle with a picture of the specific plane. I went easy on him with only 48 pieces but since it was a group present, he got half the pieces one night and the other half the next day. He was a good sport.

Chase was a big helper. I mean that sarcastically. When the puzzle came in I put it together to make sure all the pieces were there, but it was missing four pieces! Ok maybe Chase stole the pieces and left them all over the house for me to find. One under the table, one in the trash can, and two in his toy box. He was a lot nicer to Brian.

He'll have fun cheating death doing loops and spins while I'm holding my breath on the ground.

Helllllo Gorgeous!

I have been following a little vintage store called Bess & Evie's in Ft Worth and finally got a chance to go play dress up this week. I kept digging through racks and drawers of clothes wondering what type of woman wore what I was looking at and if we would be friends or not. I mean there are just some things I saw that I know I could never be friends with someone who would wear THAT! It was really fun but it smelled like my Gamma's house, aka OLD.



I had been out shopping a couple hours with Brian's sister and he kept calling asking if we were finally done yet. (I could shop for days with Merrisa, he had every right to be scared.) B&E was the last store and I called him when we left.


Me: I got a dress, now you have to find a mil ball for us to attend so I can wear it.
Brian: (obviously had only one thing on his mind) I'll find a ball, even if it's on another base just to see you in the dress if I can take it off later....
Me: It has a cape.
Brian: Oh nevermind.


While she's pretty plain compared to what I normally wear she does have a sweet little bow on the back of the cape. Still she could use a little bedazzeling. When I wear it I'll let you know....Did I mention I only paid $50 for her?

A word on Parenting

I took half a dose of Nyquil last night because I am coming down with something. Chase woke up at 7 and I was feeling pretty good and didn't walk into any walls on my way to his room so I thought the affects had worn off. Apparently not. I brought Chase to bed with me and he was being all cuddly and still sleepy so we laid down in bed. I went to sleep with a sleeping little boy curled up in my arms and woke up to find said little boy covered in my Recital Red lipstick, my mom's white berber carpet covered in Recital Red lipstick, and my hair dryer in the toilet.
Oops.

All I could do was laugh because the Nyquil had dried up all my tears. The hair dryer was the biggest casuality, the carpet was a close second but carpet cleaners are a wonderful thing and it looks great.
So it got me thinking. This is not the first time I've had a parenting "uh oh." And it happens to all of us. Even so, in order to make me feel like I'm still a decent mom, I had to make a list of my mom wins.
WINS:
1. Chase does not like tv, while sometimes it would be nice to be able to blop him down in front of a tv, as of now I love that we have done a pretty good job of keeping him away from the boob tube (as my Gamma calls it).
2. Chase loves his veggies. So much so the other dad my dad gave him a piece of cookie and Chase chose to eat his green peas over the cookie. I almost wonder if something is wrong with him...
3. He hasn't used a pacifier since he was 4 or 5 months. Really that was his deal, not mine. For two days in a row he didn't take it so I took that opportunity to get rid of them so I didn't end up on a tv show because my kid is 6 with a pacifier. Nothing against pacifiers unless your child is six.
4. He signs well. I was skeptical of baby sign language and almost gave up because Chase didn't sign for the longest time. Although once he started he loves it. His favorite sign is "outside" and when he's mad he typically signs all of his signs at once because he doesn't know what he wants.
5. He likes old people (really likes their scooters and walkers). My grandparents are in an assissted living facility and he is so good with all the residents who want to come see him, not to mention all his great grandparents.

Mom "FAILS"
1. See above.
2. Have you ever given your child a sippy cup of milk in the morning and forgotten about it only to see your kid running through the house with it 6 hours later drinking spoilt milk? It happened to me. More than once.
3. Forgetting to buckle Chase in the stroller to have him slide out at the mall. I am only telling you this story because the mom I was with when it happened later did the same thing. She shall remain nameless. Both kids are fine. It's better than the high chair right?
4. Chase has had one episode so far where he was "that kid." It was at a little sewing store where the average age of the shopper the day I was in was about 65. They had a cute little playroom for the kids but Chase would run into the playroom, grab a throwable object, then throw it in the store, then scream bloody murder when I carried him.
5. I let him play with my phone once. Now he thinks everyone's phone is his toy. So while he doesn't like tv, he loves any electronic device or machine where you can push a button and make something happen. In order: vaccum, phone, computer, remote, dishwasher, and car keys.

It's so easy to judge kids when you don't have them, and it doesn't take long after you do have them to realize that there is no reason to judge others because you will envitably do something worse than what you judge them for. I heard the other day on the news that a "Judge Free Day" was declared for moms. Are we really that bad? Because this also holds true to life in general and not only is our judgement hurtful, it's also against our calling.
Proverbs 15:4 "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."
1 John 4:16 "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them."
Be full of love this season.

These are a few of My Favorite Things!

I LOVE THE SOUND OF MUSIC! If you didn't know that about me well you do now. I love this scene in particular, it might be the dress, or the leaping around the gazebo in circles, or the kiss. I can have the movie on and sing my way through the whole thing while doing chores or what not, but when this scene comes on I will be 3 feet in front of the tv on my knees all misty eyed wishing one more time I was Liesl.

So when I found out about these gems :

I just had to get my hands on them! Yankee Candle came out with the Favorite Things collection with Moon on Their Wings, Bright Copper Kettles, Raindrops on Roses, Warm Woolen Mittens, Crisp Apple Strudel, and Blue Satin Sashes.

It's like smell-o-vision for my soul.

I promise my life has been more interesting than just candles lately but I have been in three states the past two weeks and have a final exam on Wednesday. Blogging marathon on Thursday perhaps?

All I want for Christmas is.....

Brian!

Surprise! We are so blessed to have him home already, what was supposed to be 6 months turned into 2! We expect him to go out in the spring again but at least he'll be home for the holidays. That was our awesome surprise date and I'm kinda obsessed with the picture right now.

Now I'm not complaining but...

Brian drives out to Lubbock in the wee hours of the morning and I'm waiting for him on the front porch. We did the whole movie airport hug where the girl runs and jumps with her legs around the guy and they spin around and kiss and it's all perfect. And it was perfect. Until Brian says "I have to pee." Completely understandable, long drive and lots of caffiene. So Brian goes into the bathroom, shuts the door, and I wait for him. As he comes out I see the unthinkable.

He left the seat up.

NO! NO! NO! I HAVE TO TRAIN HIM ALL OVER AGAIN!!

For Brian

It's been two months and we're going strong, not to say we don't have bad days and I haven't had any meltdowns. But I have been so thankful that both of us have been able to stay positive, motivated, and connected. Still I know we have a long way to go.
I stumbled upon this song the other day and it really reminded me of why I do what I do as a wife and military spouse. I miss you babe.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the cutest Bam Bam you've ever seen! This being Chase's first year to dress up, it didn't take long for domestic diva to kick in and convince myself to make Chase's costume. So what ended up happening? My mom made the entire thing, I made the zig zag cut on the skirt and bought the dog bone. One of the perks of being home - my mom can do anything. Bad news is we were out for almost 2 hours, good news is we didn't get any candy and we were only at 4 houses, all family friends.

I don't know what it was, but I loved Chase in these little black stockings. He has the skinniest legs I've ever seen and just couldn't fill out the little stockings.
Cute little grin in this one, probably because he is obsessed with cords and remotes and cameras and chargers and computers. He tries so hard to figure them out before I whisk them away to a shelf he can't reach and he was probably thrilled to be getting away with playing with the charger.
Can Chase dress up alone? Of course not! So even though the wig was pretty awful, I was Betty for a night. My mom was able to snap this picture in the second before the bat came into contact. He didn't get to keep the bat very long, he took his role too seriously.

Can Bam Bam and Betty dress up alone? Of course not! Wilma and Pebbles had to join us! Our dear friends Hailey and Kate had the perfect red hair! Our sweet little babes were due on the same date and while they don't share the same birthday we hope we'll always have the same special relationship no matter how far we move away.

This is Chase laying down the law with Kate on how to play with his piano.
This is Kate keeping an eye on Chase as he plays with her toys. Can you just imagine the bickering these two could do if they were brother and sister?

And here is Chase with Uncle Hunter, not scared or freaked out one bit.

On to some fun pumpkin carving from earlier, looking very thoughtful about taking the guts out of some pumpkins.

You never know what Uncle Austin will do next...

Hmm, there's stuff inside.
Hmm, I think I'll look a little closer.

Maybe a little closer...
I still can't quite see enough...

Ah screw it. Mom was real thankful he decided to dump the insides on my leg.

Finished product, two jack'lanters, one Frankenstein, and one Texas flag in honor of Brian.

We thought they turned out real cute!

We also went out to the local corn maize but it was FREEZING so we just opted for the hay ride and called it quits. Seems like he's grown up overnight!
We love our Aunt Kayla soooo much!

One of my newly married friends was asking all about having babies and what that means for your married and social life. I made the comment that I got out and did more things after I had Chase than before, and it's fun little things like pumpkin festivals and corn maize's that I probably wanted to go to before but didn't have a good excuse as a reasonable and sensible adult. I remember the first Halloween we were married Brian was on a TDY and I was out in Florida by myself. I had some invitations to go our trick or treating and what not but I'm not much of a Halloween person anyways. Since it was a pretty chilly night for Florida, I ended up sitting on the couch watching Young Frankenstein three times in a row. But I didn't have kids so what did it matter that it was the most boring Halloween ever? So I do think it is amazing how kids keep you busy and bring out the little girl that is still in you no matter how grown up you act. I am really looking forward to Christmas this year with Chase because I am a crazy person at Christmas and I think I might become verifiably insane with everything I have planned for the next two months! Gotta pass the time somehow - 2 months down 4 months to go till Brian comes home!

Friday Night Lights

I went back to old Frenship High for a wonderfully chilly night of Texas football. I have bought Chase the cutest little football outfit thinking he would wear it to all these football games and I looked at the calender yesterday and realized it was the last home game of the season and we hadn't been to a single one!! How does that happen??

So we got ready (and you better look good because you know that small town will be judging you from head to toe!), found some old classmates to go with and headed out to the stadium.

Everything was different but nothing had changed.

It was senior night and it brought back all the memories of my senior year and how exciting it was and for all I knew I was on top of the world (ok my little 4A pep rally world). The names were different, the faces were different, the uniforms were different, and the stadium had a huge video screen, but everything else was still the same. The coaches wives that have been cheering for decades still had their same season tickets, the cheerleaders were still more concerned with their hair than the game, the student section still made fun of the band, the fans still held a moment of silence for a prayer, the old guys still talked about what players would make it to the big time, the wives still said hi to all 500 hundred other wives they knew in the stands, and I still knew the words to the school song. Chase made the game a little different than it used to be but I was pleasently surprised that after going into sensory overload the first quater he settled down in my lap and was content to watch the game all huddled in a blanket. The guy sitting next to us bought him hot chocolate and gave him oreos, when I asked him if he was going to give my son a bath he started laughing and gave him another oreo. I will say that while on the one hand I still felt 17 when I walked into that stadium, I also felt insanely old when one of the Seniors was a friend's sibling who I remember runing around in diapers. I guess I have to mention that the new Tech coach Tubberville (aka Teletubby) was there watching his son at quaterback, while he was pretty close at one point, not close enough for me to tell him how I really feel about him and his "SEC defense." It made me sad I haven't made it to any more games but because the Tigers are in the play-offs hopefully it won't be the last. I can't wait till Chase is big enough to play and my little world can once again revolve around Friday nights because I know whether the AF brings us back to Texas or up to South Dakota, I want Chase's memories to be as nostalgic as mine.

Right Place, Right Time

Do you love those occasions when you know God has put you in the right place at the right time? My favorite story to tell is one of us driving cross-country to Florida. We left the DFW area and got on the interstate like we always do. Being all in love like newlyweds, we were too busy talking with googly eyes to notice we were going the wrong direction. 2 hours later at the Arkansas border we turned around. A few states over we hit some major road construction in Mississippi, putting us at a grand total of 5 hours behind schedule. Being all in love like newlyweds we were still just happy to be with each other and we weren't driving one another crazy with our driving yet. So we were still happy. It had long been dark once we got through the construction work and not many cars were left on the road. Going through a small town I watched the lone car on the other side of the road come at us, and for some reason I followed it behind us. A few seconds later I see the car swerve off the road and flip over.
I screamed at Brian that we had to turn around! He didn't see anything and kept on driving and I told him he had to turn the car around now! Kept driving. NOW!
As we're driving back, he can't see anything and neither can I, I don't see a car on the side of the road! Then I started looking down and see that the car had flipped over into a deep ditch and was laying upside down. As we call 911 and rush over to see if we can do anything, a bloody guy comes crawling out of the ditch. Apparently it was the cat's fault (we could hear the poor thing meowing). What a great reason not to own a cat. While there was lots of blood we both feel confident that this guy was going to make it but have no idea what would have happened if we hadn't been there to call for help. I had no doubt in my mind that God had directed our path in all kinds of crazy directions that day so that we would be in that exact moment for His purpose.

I have felt that Lubbock has been my purpose. So many crazy things have happened in these two short months, many tradegies and close calls, but the fact that I have been here is nothing short of a miracle. Sometimes I forget that God calls us out of our routine to learn valuable lessons and to be blessings to others, not that He can't use us in everyday situations. But the next time I wake up thinking how in the world did I get here? I will know the answer.

Isaiah 28:29 "All this also comes from the Lord Almighty, whose plan is wonderful, whose wisdom is magnificent."

Two last examples of being at the right place at the right time.....

Walking around the corner to see that Chase has taken off his diaper for the third time today.

Driving from Oklahoma to Lubbock at the perfect time to drive through the historic Haboob. Ok so I didn't quite figure that one out...Ok if you haven't seen the video you seriously need to watch this. Watch from like 1:15 to around 2:30. The building right in front of the guy videoing is my old dorm. But really I had to drive in it for an hour and a half. And I'm still alive. Seriously watch it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfuDFEZYHTE&feature=player_embedded#!

3 Things I never thought I'd say

1. Don't play in the toilet.
2. Good boy for not playing in the toilet.
3. Quit playing in the toilet!

It wouldn't be so bad if I was saying these things to the dog, but alas it is my son who has a facsination with the toilet. He loves water more than any human being I have ever seen so I think he is drawn to the water and he wants to figure out how to make the big noise and splash. On top of that, every time I catch him near the toilet we have to run and wash our hands. But guess what? He LOVES to wash his hands because of the water. So the thought has crossed my mind that maybe he plays with the toilet so he gets to wash his hands. Can he be that sneaky already? If the house is quiet and I don't know where Chase has run off to, good chance I will find him in the bathroom.

***Thought I would clarify - I don't allow my son to play "in" the toilet. The is always down but he thinks that part is a drum, but he does like to try to flush it and climb over it. If he actually got in the water I would probably start using an outhouse.***

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair...

It's the best state fair in our state!!

Howdy Folks!

This is Big Tex welcoming you to the Texas State Fair and I just wanted to remind you about our friends at Mattress Warehouse........Not even kidding. We were so excited when Big Tex started talking to us but we had no idea he had sold out to advertisers.

Uncle Karl and Andy flew out for the weekend and the time is always too short when they come into town! Here we're about to go blow some money on the midway...

Chase wasn't sure what to think about the Dumbo ride, by the time he figured it out the ride was over. You should see how many pictures they took to get this one good picture. Chase looks like sucha big boy!

While he may have been in sensory overload for the Dumbo Ride he was in heaven on the carousel! He was hanging on so tight we had to rip him off at the end.

My money was on Mia, unfortunately Uncle Andy pulled out the win...

But Chase loved his new puppy! By the way, if anyone ever tells you to use a carrier instead of a stroller at the fair assume they don't have kids. Take the dang stroller.

Apparently the car show was just too much for this little guy. Maybe he's dreaming about horsepower and shiny paint.

While thats the end of the pictures it's not the end of the fun, we spent a while in the arts and crafts pavillion where I can dream that I'm an eighty year old lady with nothing better to do but knit and craft and cross stitch my way to a blue ribbon. We enjoyed some delicious Fletcher's Corny Dogs and Hans Mueller saurkraut dogs and other unhealthy things, but no crazy fried food. I only rode one ride that was pretty tame and cold not open my eyes for fear of puking, I used to be brave and have a stomach of steel. Kind of disappointing but overall and amazing day!!

Mental Image Nightmare

Chase had a reaction to pineapple in the middle of the night a few nights ago. He woke up screaming and kicking around 11 and my mom came in to see what was going on. We go to put him in the bathtub and my dad came in to see what was going on. So there were the three of us huddled around the bathtub waiting for Chase to gives us a theoritical thumbs up. My dad was in his whitie tighties, my mom was in her night shirt and I was in a nightgown. So the question is how many half dressed people does it take to comfort a spoiled little boy with a tummy ache? Three.

Chase turned one!

He might have turned 1 three times. Once in Texas, once in OK, and once for his official 1 year pictures. And it was all over a month ago, how did that happen??
First birthday was in Dallas with all the family and we also baptized him on that day. Crazy and fun and so special because Rev. Willis was the one who baptized me with water from the Jordan River. Apparently all that Holy Spirit wore him out.

All but one of his Great-Grandparents.All of his immediate family minus an Aunt who just had to be on her honeymoon!
Like any good little boy he woke up for cake.
And then he destroyed it with a victory yell.
Moving on to OK - if you have never seen the inside of my house, here it is. What's so special about this picture? Why the paper airplanes of course! Here's the story about the paper airplanes.
I tell Brian at least a week before that I want paper airplanes hanging from the ceiling, since we don't have a ladder can you call Isaac to borrow his? "Sure I'll take care of it"
11:30 PM the night before the party I ask Brian when he is going to hang the paper airplanes. He says we don't have to have the paper airplanes. I don't remember what I said but I remember what I was thinking and it was along the lines of "If we don't have these paper airplanes you will ruin our sons first birthday and it will be all your fault!" So Brian and our new brother and law Austin decided they can cheat and hang one string of paper airplanes across the living room. I'm pouting in our bedroom and he comes in all excited saying we figured something out and your going to like it! So I walk in and my mom is laughing already because she knows I'm going to hate it and as soon I i turn up my nose the string falls down. Brian sees my face and says "Fine I'll go get the ladder." So Chase and I had our multi-level scattered paper airplanes and the party was perfect. The kind with lots of kiddos running around and lots of food. Ok I made enough food to feed the troops but it was still fun!

I am getting everything ready to ice the cake and Brian comes over and asks if he can decorate the airplane on the cake. I don't know whether to laugh or cry but I give him the go-ahead and I'll be damned if his wasn't better than mine was going to be.

Chase was nice enough to share some cake with mama.

I don't think he ate any of the cake, just disintegrated it. I know it's blurry and poor Isaac's eyes are closed but he was having so much fun!

Lots of fun airplanes for everyone!