Cross-Country Move

The Mr.'s orders hit us like a ton of bricks.....not exactly what we expected, but it was quickly time to make the best of it. Having lived the Navy life in Washington for just days short of 9 years, there really wasn't much room for complaining. It was time for a big move, he had made chief so we were heading on a new adventure.

In a couple short months I had to quickly through together a move, without  knowing where our new home was going to be! It wasn't until the very end weeks we were able to update our movers with a destination of "Virginia", and just that. A state. There was no time for house-hunting leave, no time to visit the area to seek out a new home. 

Loading the truck in Washington.

The move date approached quickly, then before we knew it we were saying our goodbyes and on the road. Please excuse the crummy cell photo - I was busy throwing last minutes together to go on the truck!

We packed our vehicles to the brim, loaded up our kids and headed south on the open road. We headed down to San Diego to spend a couple days visiting with family, then off to Texas. At one of the rest stops, Cassie girl snapped a photo of Papa and I - I look beat after hours on the road! 

The Mr. and I

The best little traveler! - Kaleb

I had this fear of driving down the hwy, radio blaring attempting to drown out the screaming little man in the backseat, but soon into the drive...this sweet boy put my fears to rest when I realized this happy little boy was going to be Momma's angel! He was a trooper throughout the ENTIRE trip! It was Cassie girl who drove me nuts....lol. Love that girl, but oh.my.word - when she rode with me it was, "Mom, Kaleb took my toy" "Mom, Kaleb hit me" "Mom, I'm hot" "Mom, I'm cold" "Mom, I'm bored" "Mom, I need to stretch my legs" "Mom, I'm hungry" OhMGEE she didn't ride with me long before I shipped her off to ride in the Mr's truck!! 

He did it! - Kaleb & Cassie girl

Talking to the grandparents in Texas

This was how I distracted her! Gave her my bluetooth and let her call and pester her grandparents in Texas. They have the patience I sometimes lack, thank-goodness!

Along the way my Mazda hit 50, 000 miles! :(

As we drove into Virginia, we drove by a few potential houses, then ventured to our hotel at the Norfolk Naval Station. The next couple days we drove all over the place looking at houses, as one by one they each slipped through our fingers being rented. We were losing time, with only having a few days before the Mr had to report to his boat up in Portsmouth, NH it was important to find a home - quickly! Then, we toured the perfect dream house home which had walls and a roof! It was nothing we were looking for, except in our price range, in the boundary of one of the best schools, and in this lovely safe neighborhood! Before we knew it, our deposit was submitted....the Mr was on his way to NH and I was off to sign the lease! 

Our home for the next year & half.

With the lease underway, the Mr in NH...the kids and I spent our days hanging out on the Norfolk base. Now that base is CONFUSING! I can't tell you the many times I got lost..... But finally, it was time to leave our temporary home of living out of a hotel on base, and time to venture to our new home! It was moving day....only the truck wasn't expected to arrive for about 2 weeks! Yikes. Yes, that's right. The kids and I moved into our new home with whatever items we had from the road trip while we waited for our household goods to arrive. That's the Navy for you. 

moving truck - curiosity of the kids matchbox stash

Valentine's Day Wreath!

Instead of unpacking the house, Cassandra and I decided to head out to do a little shopping and found ourselves at Michaels... we went in to purchase yarn, and walked out with goodies to make a wreath! I've been so busy lately, I haven't had much of a chance to blog, let alone read my followed blogs.

Last night I was blog surfing when I came across this really cute Valentine wreath from Found in the "Ali". Cass was sitting next to me when she saw the photo and said, "Mom I wish we could make that". As usual, I tell her, "maybe...one of these days".

I'm excited to share one of my "maybe...one of these days" projects that we made together this afternoon.

We were on our way to check out when we passed the fun little Valentine section, with these super cute glitter hearts on metal sticks! My mind instantly jumped back to the post from Ali last night, and instantly walked over to the wreath section to grab the last one!

These super cute glitter hearts were $1.99 for the large heart with 3 sections, and the other 4 hearts were $.99 for the grouping. I already had red yarn, so I'm pretty impressed with my $5 handmade Valentine wreath!

For now, this wreath will hang out on our mantle. I have a pretty good feeling which box holds my over the door wreath holder, then it's off to the front door!

Ruffled Camera Strap

I've had my eye on these cute DIY camera straps for awhile now! I'm so excited to finally have one done. I was a little nervous with the ruffle, as I've never made one before. I'm not much of a seamstress - I have a sewing machine and I know how to do the basics. I was pretty sure I'd have to complete one strap to realize how to really make one. So I started with some extra fabric from another project. As I started working with the print, it became too much for my eyes! I'm honestly just a simple girl, who loves simple things. Who would have thought I'd end up with my first strap a success - and of two solid colors! However, I can't stop with just one. So, I should have a new one with my original fabric scheme made soon. Who doesn't love variety?!

I started off with THIS tutorial from Crap I've Made. Love this site, love this tutorial! This is where I learned to do the ruffle, and piece mine together.

Supplies:
An old camera strap, for the hardware AND/OR upholstery-grade vinyl and 2 3/4" dog collars
Heavy fusible interfacing, the same length and twice the width of your strap
Fabric the same length and twice the width plus 1” of your strap
A longer strip of fabric for your ruffle

I decided to change the length of mine to 30", because I always wear my strap like a messenger bag - the added length would be nice for me personally.

I also used THIS tutorial from I Kat Bag to make my own vinyl covers for the ends. I wasn't about to tear my original Canon strap apart, and I had no interest in searching for an old strap. Perfect tutorial! Also, for the nylon straps that connect to the camera, I love that she used dog collars! What an easy find from Walmart or Target!

I prefer the buckles from my original Canon strap, so I just removed those and added them to my new ruffled strap.

Mojito-maddness - Mojitos and Mojito Cupcakes (And 1 of 10 #21)

While discussing my 29 things to do before 30 list with my sister-in-law, she jumped in on number #21 - Make 10 new alcoholic drinks. She was totally interested in helping with this one. Perhaps it's due to her being 7 years younger...lol. She's still in the "partying" stage of life, however...she might very well be one of the most mature 22 year old's I've known.

Now, I'm from Texas...and I'm a beer kinda girl. Bud Light to be exact. In my younger mind, drinking a mixed drink was for sissy's. I may be a short 5' 1 100lb girl, but I tend to think like I'm a 6 ft, 200lb guy. - Crazy Texas girl.

My sister-in-law Kristen, first suggested a Mojito. I decided to go with her first suggestion because 1. it uses fresh herbs, 2. it looks pretty. It also sounded like a great drink to go with this new dinner recipe. Which btw, it did! 

After dinner, and during a little blog searching, I came across this Mojito Cupcake recipe from Cream Puffs in Venice. As I told Kristen about my find, it was within minutes we realized we had all the ingredients on hand, and decided to make cupcakes! Unfortunately, I don't really recommend the above recipe. It was good, but we altered the cake recipe, as well as the frosting. It was very lime style, little mint flavor before alterations. We'll need to make the recipe with alterations again to perfect it. Until then, here's a photo of our final product.

Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta

The other day my sister-in-law told me about this amazing website she loves to get recipes from. Within minutes, I had The Pioneer Woman in Google, and her website in front of me. I was amazed at all the of recipes she has -it was tough to choose one to start with. But, this one stood out for me to try first.

I can see where next time I may add more of the pasta water to bring the cheese together for more of a melt, but...none-the-less, it was amazing! My sister-in-law, the kids and I were starving so there was no time for sauce perfection.

Kindergarten

September 2 - First day of school

  It's been a week since Cass started school, and Friday we received our first note home from the teacher. It reads, "Cassandra had a good week. She has been busy making her friends laugh! She seems to be adjusting well to our full day of kindergarten!" Fabulous. Really? I mean, isn't that what every mother what's to hear - polite words saying, "your kid's the CLASS CLOWN!" Jeez.

Hope the Mr. enjoyed his email updating him on our daughter's first week in school, and her "status".