See the joy?

We stopped at Chick-Fil-A on the way home from GA and it was as if mommy never existed:

But I'm really ok with that...for awhile anyway;)

He's HOME:)

***It's been the longest break I have ever taken from blogging. Between Tom coming home, a move from FL back to OK, two girls who keep me completely busy among other things, computer/blogging time has not been a priority in my life. But I have missed it everyday. I have fallen so behind with it though that everytime I have wanted to write, I dreaded that "catching up" part and shutting the computer was a lot easier for me. I have a ton of posts to write and I am going to mark the dates accordingly instead of having them all be in the end of September...so bear with me as a I complete two months of our lives over the next week!***

Back to one of the happiest days of our lives...our man is home! I drove out to Ft. Benning, GA on Sunday morning with the girls to pick him up as he was due to arrive late that afternoon or some time in the evening. When I was about an hour away from post, I got an email from him saying he was delayed in Germany and he wouldn't be arriving until the next morning. Can I just say my heart sank? Literally. I looked in my rearview mirror at two excited little kids and knew that another 24 hours without their dad was going to make them as sad as it made me. I hated the thought of checking into the hotel, staying by ourselves, finding things to keep our day occupied, and waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting. But I simply let them know that we were on our own for another day, but when they wake up in the morning, we will go pick up their daddy. Ella said "don't be sad, mom. There's a pool at the hotel to keep us busy." Oh Ella. I want your simple mindedness. But more than anything, I wanted your daddy in my arms so this year would come to an end. 

We did enjoy the hotel pool (very thankful that both girls can swim on their own now. Makes swimming a bit more fun with them!). We took a trip to Wal-Mart and bought nailpolish and some other goodies to give ourselves manicures and pedicures and picked up dinner. As I left Subway, I kept  thinking "I am so happy I don't have to do this alone anymore. So happy. Last time. I can get through the night." 

Tom called in the middle of the night to let me know he arrived in GA and at some point in the morning we could pick him up. I set my alarm for 6 to be prepared. I got up before the girls, showered, got ready and then woke them up so we could go downstairs and get breakfast. They were bouncing off the walls with excitement and I didn't mind the craziness one bit. Sometime after breakfast, we got the call to pick him up and I don't think I could have gotten out of that hotel faster. All three of us giddy as can be, jamming to music and hoping our GPS would lead us in the right direction to Tom:) Once we parked, the girls were out of their carseats and waiting in the front with me until Tom came out of whatever building he had to sign out of. I am not even exaggerating that when the girls saw their daddy walking toward the car the screaming and excited giggles could have broken the windows. They could not have jumped out of the car more quickly and into their daddy's arms. It was all such a blur, but I'll never forget the way my heart pounded, the way the tears fell down or the feeling of such relief as my husband hugged me. There's no way to describe such a feeling of pure happiness. 

I do remember taking a deep breath on the long drive back to FL and thinking to myself "There it is...I am breathing again." He's home, safe and handsome as ever. We are blessed. So very blessed. 

PS. I cried writing this post just re-living the emotions from that time. It was overwhelming, but a moment I will never forget. 

On our way to Ft. Benning! 6 hour road trip and the girls were awesome!

Is there anything better?

Madeline's happiness is awesome.

Our first photo of the 4 of us!

Homecoming Eve

As I sit here on the eve of Tom returning home to us, I still can't really believe it. 371 days without him. And an extra 12 hour delay due to who knows...but here we are waiting. Just waiting for morning to come so we can head out on the road to drive seven hours to pick up the one we love so much. At this point I would drive to the other side of the country if it meant being a family again. To say we are excited is a true understatement. Relieved, anxious, blissfully happy, nervous, relieved. Really relieved. My better half, my sane half, my patient half is on his way to make our lives easier and whole again. I can't wait for that pit in my stomach to go away from missing him so much.

Thank you to everyone who made my life beautiful and full this past year. I am blessed with an amazing group of friends and family here. All of the love, support, and prayers did not go unnoticed. To my bestie, Bridget, you are my rock and my comfort. Anytime I was about to break, you were right there to get me through it. I think Tom owes you a plane ticket to Lawton...or a girls cruise;) To all of my "mama" friends, those calls, texts, messages and playdates made my heart so happy. You all kept me busy, busy, busy and my mind off of reality! To my fabulous in-laws, especially Monica and Chuckie, thank you for always checking in on us and for constantly making me laugh and helping out with the girls. To my parents, there isn't a blog post long enough to thank you for everything you have done this past year. Thank you for allowing my family to move in here and take over this house...the painters, Stanley Steamer, and Merry Maids will be here the day after we leave;) Thank you to my dad for teaching me to make an amazing pasta sauce, gravy and the most delicious chicken francese ever. To my mom, thank you for having the adept ability to know just when I needed a break. I may have shed a few tears on your shoulders this year and I wouldn't have wanted them to fall on anyone else. You are simply the best!

Last, but certainly not least, thank you my love...for everything.  You already know how I feel and you are not a fan of PDA, so I will leave it at that;)

And as for now, I will go and enjoy the rest of my evening with my girls. It's our last night just the three of us. But I think we're ok with that.

Revisiting June

We certainly kept busy in June. To be honest, I have to look back at the pictures and videos to really remember the month. Everything lately seems to be a blur. Time is going by really fast and these baby girls of mine don't want to slow down at all! Madeline is certainly preparing us with her terrible 2's quickly approaching. She loves to throw fits, and lately seems to be blissfully unaware of everything around her. In other words, she tunes me out constantly and never wants to listen. Ella is 4, going on 30. She keeps telling me she wants to be an adult. The other day she made me cut the straps off her flip flops so she can be "a normal person". She dances around the house ALL day and I find her constantly painting her nails. She is all girl. :)

Granny P reading to her grandbabies

A quick trip to Orlando to see my great Aunt Doris. The girls loved swimming with their cousins. And yup, Ella wanted to be a mermaid in that last picture!

Madeline getting lots of attention from her "great" Aunt Alison and cousin Chelsea:)

My sweet Ella. I adore all of these pics. And she took the one of me in the top left corner and told me I'm "the most beautiful mom in the world". Awwwww.

Bought this nightstand for the girl's future bedroom for $9.99 from a thrift store. Solid wood and I loved the design. So different. My mom and I refurbished it and she made two twin duvet covers out of a king sized one (thanks Stef for donating that!!) and she made some beautiful throw pillows, too! Can't wait to decorate their shabby chic room.

We had a going away BBQ at our friend's Mike and Natassja's house to bid farewell to our wonderful friends, Luke and Caroline. Ella was making lemon popscicles with Natassja here!

Mama got a night out with some friends to celebrate Emily's birthday. It was awesome seeing some of my best friends for a few hours. It's the little things that everyone else will continue to enjoy while I am in Oklahoma;) Booooooo.

First Movie

When Ella was two, I took her to see her first movie in a theater. It was Alvin and the Chipmunks. She loved every bit of it. Especially the popcorn. My dad wanted to take Ella to go see Madagascar 3 the other weekend and I thought "oh let's just TRY to take Madeline as well." She actually did pretty well for her age and her attention span. If we didn't sit through the previews, she would have made it through the whole movie. For the last ten minutes I took her to walk around on that outer aisle in the theater. She was much happier being able to dance to the music and watch it standing up!

I realized something when I was writing this post...Tom missed out on taking each of them to see their first movie. I know, it's little and petty and silly. But it's another "thing" to add to that growing list of missed firsts. Hmmmm maybe he won't mind taking them to see another movie while mommy sits at home drinking a bottle of wine, watching a movie in peace and quiet, without anyone trying to sit on her lap or steal her drink. 

Ella thought she could have total control over the popcorn...

 Until the honey badger started to freak.

 And all was well in the world again.

Slumber Party!

My things have changed since my BFF Bridget and I had our last sleepover. Back in the day there was plenty of booze, boys and partying. Now we took away the booze and partying and added five kids 4 and under and a lot of the Disney channel. But nonetheless, we still had a blast. Nothing beats being able to spend time with my true blue and her sweet babies. I love being around to hold Lily and steal hugs and kisses from my godson, Aidan and listen to Ethan and Ella have conversations about their first date. We asked Ella what happens on a first date and she told us "Well you get dressed up fancy and go have some fun!" That's right, Ella. Keep it G-rated forever please:)

Aidan licking Oreos off of his face...Ethan tying Ella up and Miss Lily just taking it all in!

It's Summertime!

Well really summer is the only season in FL. Ok, I will give them a touch of fall, too. But that's stretching it. This is NOT a complaint on my part. I LOVE this state. And all of it's warmth, sunshine, and rainstorms...I could, however, live without the humidity, and lovebugs. Still not complaining though! I especially love the month of June because it is THE last full month we have before our man returns home to us!

We started off June with a birthday party for Ella's friend, Lily. She's the little petite thing in the Hello Kitty swimsuit. The girls loved her pool party and especially the goody bags! I love, love, love the picture of Ella with her G-ma in the top left corner and then of Madeline chatting it up with Lily's great-grandma in the bottom left. So adorable!

Auntie Monica stopped by before Ella had her dance recital pictures to make her look very Toddlers and Tiaras-like. As much as I hated having to glam her up, it's a must with the dance studio. And she ended up looking beautiful. She later asked if she could wash it all off with a Magic Eraser. Ummmm no, my child.

I love this girl. 

May Wrap-Up!

Here's the rest of how our May went in a quick post...

My girls are Swim School graduates! Ella is a rockstar in the water. I WILL brag. Thankyouverymuch. She picked up on it so quickly. It's awesome to watch her in the water. She can dive for rings, hold her breath, and float, too! Madeline learned to get to the edge of the pool at least. I am super proud of her as well. She still makes me nervous though. Apparently her lack of fear for the water = doing cannonballs randomly into any part of our pool.

Here Madeline is swimming with flippers on:

And here she is getting to the edge of the pool!

I am also beginning the dreaded potty training process. And no, I am not one of "those" moms who want to get their child potty trained before the age of 2 just to prove how awesome my kid is. I am a firm believer that potty training at an early age has nothing to do with how smart your child is. With that being said, Madeline just really loves the darn potty. And who am I to stop her?

MAJ Maddie...on Memorial Day. These girls love to wear their daddy's beret.

Ella is learning to read. I bought these BOB books for her last year and she showed zero interest in reading them claiming they were really boring. Thank goodness, too because I felt the same way. But she recently discovered them and learned quickly to memorize *ahem* read them to anyone who would listen.

We appreciate you checking in on us. We *pink puffy heart* our readers:) 

Now bring on JUNE! 

QT with "Unca Byinn"

That title really says Quality Time with Uncle Bryan. But the way the girls seem to say it makes me smile even more. My brother and I are 14 months and a day apart. What my parents were thinking having babies that close in age...I haven't a clue. But I am grateful for it now because we have always been pretty close. He was even my roommate in college for a little while. The girls adore him and they were so excited to go to his house and spend time with him. It's certainly a plus of being in FL this year that my children got to know their Uncles more. Makes my heart happy;)

They never leave him alone when they are there! But I know he loves it!

We swam in the pool there and the girls got to show off their new swim skills!

Afterwards, we fake camped in the living room. Complete with a fake fishing trip and ghost stories. And then headed out for some much needed frozen yogurt and a playtime at the park. I love keeping our days fun and busy! 

Memory

One of Ella's homework assignments this past week was to draw her favorite memory from school this year for a scrapbook. She chose this memory:

When her daddy read a book to her class. And if you can't tell, those are his army boots. :)