So chill.
August 29, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Crossfit, Daniel, Eliza Dove, Friends, It's What's For Dinner, Judah, Photos | 3 Comments
Sunday was fantastically chill. No drama, no huge tantrums from anyone – parents included. There was church in the morning and we were actually early – wonders never cease! After church everyone piled on mama and daddy’s big bed for loads of tickling and uproarious laughter. Following the tickle-fest of 2010 there was a lunch that everyone finished without the need for threats to life or limb, errands, nap time, dinner, and then our highly anticipated “dessert and drinks” with friends in the park.
Daniel was able to sneak away for a bit during nap time to check out a gorgeous 1966 Chevy truck. He’s in great need of a vehicle to drive to work both here, during the winter, and once we arrive in San Antonio. New Mexico is an ideal place to buy a classic vehicle due to the roads being salt-free in winter and the price being low as a reflection of volume in the market. Time will tell what he decides to do!
“Dessert and drinks” was a blast, as always. Gorgeous perfection in the weather department, zero flies (a terrible problem here), and plenty of amazing friends…
Gingersnaps disappeared in record time…
Gorgeous Abby was showered with love…
The swings were never empty…
What’s life worth without friendships? I never want to find out.
I rounded out the day with a back squat workout. I have a tender spot in my heart for back squats. I love them, I do. But last night… no love. The muscles across my shoulders were angry with me from the previous night’s sumo deadlifts and push jerks. Laying the heavy bar onto those sore muscles was no fun… no fun at all.
I set a personal record – which isn’t much so don’t get too excited – my body isn’t built for strength. I was happy nonetheless. I did get stuck once, thankfully Daniel saved me. The last time I dumped the weight while in a back squat I did it incorrectly and hurt my back, I had much trepidation about dropping the weight again. I’m grateful for my man who lifted the bar off my shoulders like it was a feather.
Before we headed to bed, Daniel and I watched a couple of episodes of “Friends.” I love ending the night in gales of laughter…
And now, a brand new week!
Saturday.
August 28, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Eliza Dove, Eve, It's What's For Dinner, Photos | 6 Comments
I never really know how Saturday is going to play out. Sometimes Saturday is great. Sometimes Saturday just sucks.
Last Saturday… sucky.
This Saturday… great.
I think the problem lies in Saturday being a wild card day, and I just don’t deal well with that. I have the same basic structure every day of the week with the kids. Sure we change activities once in a while but each day is pretty much the same. Routine is good for the kids and good for me.
Weekends though… we flail.
I don’t like flailing.
Today I took the bull by the horns. I planned ahead and decided that I would keep the day as much like our regular week days as possible. You know what, it worked beautifully.
The only thing that changed was that we didn’t work on any school. Judah was sad and grumpy about that. I tried to appease him by telling him that we could work on a small school project but I just realized that I forgot to. I feel terrible! The boy loves school and I am stinkin’ thankful for that.
This morning and into the early afternoon all five of us worked on chores around the house. We cleaned and laundered and vacuumed and mopped; I even took the kitchen table out to the driveway and scrubbed the tar out of it. Sadly I think I may have scrubbed a little hard because I actually took the varnish off. Our poor little table looks awful now. I’m bummed!
Lunch time and nap time stayed the same, we played with friends afterward, and dinner was normal. Our day worked and I am happy.
Gosh, you know, as I write this I realize that at times I am a slow learner. I should have realized that the loss of routine was the problem way before now. I guess the saving grace is that at least I’m learning.
Daniel made sure to spend some time with each of the kids individually today. He’s been working long days and time at home has been somewhat limited. One of the characteristics my husband has that I appreciate is how he plays with the kids in the way that works for them. Today with Judah he built a high tech airplane out of legos; with Eliza he played house; with Eve he played monopoly.
Eve mopped the floor with her Daddy! And clearly, she felt terrible about it.
Daniel and Eve… two peas in a pod. Terrifically alike in every way.
Eliza and I spent some time beautifying ourselves this evening. The girl is crazy about nail polish; when she spied me painting my toes her main focus in life shifted from sucking her thumb to having her fingers and toes painted too.
The weather was pretty iffy which meant at one point we were polishing amidst sprinkles. But it was fun and she was happy as a clam. And if you’ve ever seen Eliza happy as a clam you know that there’s not much you wouldn’t do to make her be that way again. She’s delightful.
Dinner tonight was BLTs and if you know me at all you know that bacon is one of my love languages. I was a happy girl. I even had two sandwiches. I’ve cut bread out of my diet by about 95% so this was a big deal! I loved every bite.
I rounded the day out with an awesome (and hard!) CrossFit workout. I even learned a new movement – the “push jerk.” Learning it took me more than a few tries, but that was okay! I had ninety-three times to figure that bad boy out. From what Daniel, my coach, said – I got it. I’m pretty stoked about that!
I have to be honest here, I feel like I’m always saying that my day was great… Let me be clear on this, there are times in every single one of my days that are bad – maybe even awful. But when I stop in here at night to think on and write about my day, I can’t help but focus on the happy parts and thankfully, the terrible, horrible, very bad parts slip out of view.
So are we perfect here? No way! We’re just really good at forgetting the yuck.
Re-enlistment Day! Bug Club Day!
August 27, 2010 | Filed Under Air Force Life, Air Force Physician Assistant Program (IPAP), Daniel, Eve, Military Life, New Mexico, Photos | 3 Comments
Daniel has been active duty Air Force for twelve years this past July. Today he signed up for four more years. He wasn’t technically due to re-enlist for another seven months or so but since being accepted into the PA program, he needed the retainability in order to begin and finish IPAP.
Daniel has to agree to stay in the Air Force for ten years beyond his coming commission, so today wasn’t a mile stone or the result of a big decision we had to make on whether or not he would stay in for four more years.
It was an exciting day, nonetheless.
And what was especially exciting was that the kids and I actually made it to the ceremony on time. Quite a feat, I’ll tell you.
There were showers for four (that makes it sound so easy, doesn’t it? It’s not.), blow drying hair for three, styling hair for three, ironing three little outfits, breakfast for four, make-up for one, removing traces of breakfast from three sweet faces, shoes on eight feet, brushing four sets of teeth, all the necessary gear into the truck. And then, finally, the actual driving, which was difficult because I was forced to maintain my good attitude in front of the children even though I got stuck behind two incredibly slow cars. Why must that always happen when one is pressed for time?
Anyway, we are in a (mostly) loving and committed relationship with the United States Air Force for at least… well, a really long time. Like thirteen more years. But more than likely, eighteen years. Let’s not think too long on that because I might cry. Sometimes I just want a home I can call my own.
Moving right along…
Today was also a much anticipated day for Eve. Today was “Bug Club” day with her little girlfriends. My daughter (very much the planner) has had her bag of supplies packed since Wednesday. But she left it in the room that she shares with Eliza. Unluckily, at “bug club” time Eliza was napping and there was no retrieving of the bag. Poor girl was crushed. We made do with another not quite as cute but serviceable bag and all was well. Now, I’m not sure what is exactly involved with the “bug club” but I do know that I think it’s hilarious. My daughter – the one who freaks out over bugs of any shape or size, is in a bug club. Highly amusing. And so very cute.
Do you want to know how my husband made my day end so well? I had mentioned earlier in the evening that I really wanted to drive out – way out – and watch the moon rise. The nights are beautiful here and because it’s unbelievably flat and wide open you can see the whole sky for what seems like a million miles. At eight o’clock tonight Daniel burst through the front door and told me get in the truck; we were headed out to watch the moon rise. He remembered!
God bless my man, he sat in the truck with me for nearly forty-five minutes waiting and watching for the moon. He even fielded highly suspicious questions from want-to-be cowboy cops as to why we were pulled over on the side of a dirt road with our truck lights off. They totally didn’t buy the moon watching thing. Ha!
The moon was gorgeous tonight and the fact that my husband took me out there so I could watch it rise was wonderful.
An exceptionally good Friday, friends. Happy weekend!
In which I bare my heart… I mean abs.
July 20, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Crossfit, Daniel | 24 Comments
Some people mark their fitness progress by how much they can front/back squat or push press or by their “Fran” time. And I do too.
Daniel and I are strict 3 days on 1 day off main site Crossfitters. We love it. Together in our garage gym we work really hard; Daniel is a great coach and subsequently my lifts and squats and presses are getting stronger and stronger. My workouts are becoming smoother and faster and I am learning a lot.
But you want to know what else I judge my success by?
Wait for it… it’s deep.
My abs.
I know! Can you believe how scientific my approach is?! It’s just that I’ve never really had any before. And after having three kids, I was sure I never would. My abs aren’t anything special, for sure. But, they’re there. I’m no Heather Bergeron and I still have a fat layer to work through… I can see my abs, though!
And that to me spells: progress.
Want to see? Look hard and maybe you will (*smile*)!
Progress is progress no matter what you choose to judge it by. And I’m proud of you when you make progress! I love hearing other people’s success stories. I get totally inspired.
If you have one or you’re making progress, please share with all of us so we can be happy with you! Some of us need the encouragement to start or to keep going, so don’t keep even the smallest victory to yourself!
Want to know another reason why I am working so hard?
Because I’m married to this guy:
And I’m just trying to keep up!
(P.S. The Fudge sauce recipe is found here. I left out the cinnamon and used raw sugar rather than white sugar. Head’s up – it was way too sweet so my advice is to cut down on the sugar by at least 1/4 of a cup.)
Celebrating 12 years of active duty Air Force. With a cherry on top!
July 19, 2010 | Filed Under Daniel, Military Life, New Mexico, Photos | 9 Comments
Daniel’s twelve year anniversary of being in the Air Force is on the 22nd. Hard to believe it’s been that long!
I remember being seventeen years old, Daniel standing in front of me promising to write while away at boot camp. I told him, half-laughing, “if you write to me, I’ll write to you.” I was scoffing in my head, never believing that he would actually write to me.
But he did. I received three letters in one week. Three!
I was shocked, to say the least.
Hard to believe that within three years we’d be married, living in Alaska. Within five years we’d be parents of a tiny baby girl named Eve, living in North Dakota. Within ten years we’d have three (!) kids, moving from Vermont to New Mexico.
My mind would have been absolutely blown. Because honestly, I didn’t even really like this scrawny half-grown boy-man standing in front of me.
Twelve years from that muggy summer night, not realizing how our futures would collide, here we are… celebrating.
I am a firm believer in celebrating every moment. Little or big. Daniel thought it was silly that I insisted we celebrate this anniversary. But how do we know if this is our last day? Life is far too short not to find joy in the little moments. Don’t you agree?
So, hot fudge sundaes and strawberry daiquiris for a twelve year anniversary. We ate and drank in the park with friends, laughed, and watched all the kids run off the sugar. It was the perfect way to mark this moment in time.
We should all celebrate the even the littlest moments. There will be no regret in taking the time to enjoy life. We only have one go-around, after all. I know I’m making the most of mine.
Bring on the fudge, baby!
I love my people. And Crossfit.
July 11, 2010 | Filed Under Crossfit, Daniel, Eliza Dove, Judah, Love is..., Uncategorized | 6 Comments
(addendum) Looking back on these photos… this is definitely a “We do Crossfit” themed post!
Vote for me, please!
June 21, 2010 | Filed Under Daniel, Eliza Dove, Eve, Military Life, New Mexico, Photography | 18 Comments
I submitted a photo in the “My Air Force Life” photography contest today!
This one, in fact:
Since this contest is vote-based, would you consider voting for me, please? The contest ends on July 4th so I am a little pressed for time. But, the good news is it takes a little less than 1 minute to vote and there is absolutely no registering or sharing of information. They could not possibly have made it any easier! Just click on “View and Vote!” my number is *673* on page 7 and click “Cast my vote!”
You can actually vote once a day if you are so inclined.
I appreciate you and your vote (and your friend’s and your grandma’s and your neighbor’s vote) very much! I would surely do “the happy dance” if I won!
Oh, the irony.
June 19, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Deployment, Military Life | 9 Comments
I have found a babysitter. Finally. This is big news! I think it was a headline on CNN, actually.
Gosh, it’s hard for me to find a babysitter in a place where I don’t know lots of teenagers. I have issues with letting just anyone watch my kids. I get nervous and jerky about the whole leaving my kids with a (very young) stranger, you know? Anyway, we have a babysitter now. And she’s a jewel.
Daniel and I had a date scheduled for tonight to celebrate that he is home this year on the day I had to leave him last year. Did I lose you with that wordy explanation? Basically, we were celebrating that he’s home and we’re together this summer.
Sweet, huh?
Guess who got a call this morning about deploying? In an extremely short amount of time. You know, on the very day we finally had a date and we were celebrating being together. Oh, the irony. It was an emotionally taxing day to say the least.
We found out at the very end of the day that Daniel’s boss is going to go instead. Daniel is happy to go… wherever, whenever, however his Air Force needs him, he’s there; he is healthy and completely prepared. But this other guy really, really wanted to go. And I am thankful for him.
So, we celebrated tonight, as we had planned but with a little extra. And I will continue to live with a thankful heart for every day that I get to spend with my husband. And for every night that I lay down in our bed and reach my hand out and it bumps into his body. I think that is one of the greatest gifts that as a military spouses we have… extremely thankful, grateful, hearts. We don’t take any of life’s moments for granted. We just never know when it may be the last… for a little while, a long while, or perhaps forever.
Here’s to many more date nights!
And the answer is….
April 26, 2010 | Filed Under Air Force Physician Assistant Program (IPAP), Daniel, Military Life, Photos, Texas | 55 Comments
(he has big brains in that handsome head!)
YES!
Daniel has been accepted into IPAP which is the military’s Interservice Physician Assistant School.
Man! They (still not sure who “they” is) really made us SWEAT it out!
We still have a long road ahead of us… about 11 months left here in New Mexico before we head to the school in San Antonio (HURRAY for living in a real CITY) and then a 29 month program (14 months of school in San Antonio- 103 credit hours – and then 15 months of clinicals at another base) after which Daniel will have a masters degree and then commission to a First Lieutenant (he’ll skip 2nd Lt. aka “Butter Bar”). After all of that the Air Force will station us at a base and Daniel will start practicing.
Phew.
It’s going to be a long, intense road but we’re happy. The feeling I get is that we are stepping into the life that we are suppose to be living. This is our future and it’s sure looking bright! Thanks for being so happy for us!
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
March 19, 2010 | Filed Under Daniel, Eliza Dove, It's What's For Dinner, Photos, Recipe | 20 Comments
I literally have 2 minutes to write this. Quality. (But apparently not quantity, as has been evidenced by lack of blog posts.) That’s what I’m all about here on the blog.
Ahem.
Speaking of quality, Eliza was Daniel’s quality assurance tonight. She was making sure Daniel was doing a good job making ice cream with a “missing crucial parts that I didn’t notice when I bought it at a garage sale for 2 dollars” ice cream maker.
She is all about the quality and the quantity when it comes to vanilla ice cream. She gets that quality from her father. The ice cream MAN. He would eat a pint of Ben and Jerry’s a night back when we lived in Alaska and North Dakota. The man was an ice cream machine and never gained a pound.
This is me hatin’.
But whatever.
Nope. Didn’t work. Still hatin’.
Moving on.
All she wanted was a bite. Daniel kept telling her no. No. No. No. But she’s persistent. And way too cute for her own good.
Daniel, her Daddy, could not resist her. I am the opposite of a push-over, and even I can not. Except when I can. And boy, do those times make her mad.
Apparently, it was good to the last drop.
We ate our vanilla ice cream with cherry pie. Happy tummies tonight!
Jealous.
March 11, 2010 | Filed Under Daniel, Eliza Dove, Eve, Military Life, New Mexico | 10 Comments
Mornings with Daddy rarely happen. Unless it’s the weekend. Early morning is our time; I get up with Daniel at an ungodly hour to make his lunch and feed him a hot breakfast. We have a few quiet moments together before he heads to base with coffee in one hand, food in the other, and a kiss on his lips.
I’m jealous of this time we have together. I don’t share it with the kids even though I know they would love to see Daddy before he leaves for the day. Yesterday was an exception. Daniel was catching a ride into work with his boss who was running a bit late. So, everyone was up together while I made Daniel breakfast and got his lunch packed.
It was special and I mostly enjoyed it. But it’s not going to become a regular event.
I’ve never been very good at sharing.
It’s Friday! Amazon Delivered!
February 27, 2010 | Filed Under Daniel, Eliza Dove, Eve, Judah, Love is..., Photos, Sewing | 17 Comments
I present to you….
My new sewing machine:
I’m excited. I think. More scared, to be truthful. I waited like five hours to open the box. It frightened me.
When I bought my first dslr camera, I opened the box and was able to start taking photos. Not good photos, but photos nontheless. With the sewing machine, I opened the box (it was a struggle, man. I think I broke out in a sweat trying to pry the freakin’ machine out of the box!), took the machine out and stared at it. And then I took a photo of it. Because that’s what I do. I think I heard it laugh at me, actually.
I’m not sure what my next step is. Perhaps buying some of the accessories I need? Reading the manual, for sure. Fabric?
Yikes. I’m intimidated. But excited too!
But I was (and the kids too!) more excited to see Daniel come walking through the door. Best part of the day (any day), hands down.
And he brought me flowers. Because he loves me.
Happy weekend to you!!
The Weekend.
February 22, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Eve, It's What's For Dinner, Judah, New Mexico, Photos, Texas | 16 Comments
It was fun.
It was busy.
It was supremely tasty.
Friday night we ran lots of errands and then Daniel took our family to a local Mexican restaurant. So fun! We ate our dinner while listening to live music. Loved that.
The food was mouth-watering delicious and authentically New Mexican.
We had a wonderful time until Judah melted down in the parking lot. Such is life.
Saturday we headed out to the Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo. Amazing. Seriously breathtaking. It’s a wild sensation to be driving across the plains, surrounded by enormous fields and stinky cows, and then BOOM. A huge canyon. Red walls, massive rocks… a refreshing change of scenery.
The kids had a fantastic time “trailing.” Daniel and I realized that I don’t do so well with “off-trailing.” I’m not so adventurous, apparently. Along the trail we saw some interesting animal tracks; some that struck large amounts of fear into my heart. Like, the fresh ones that looked like them belonged to a large cat. I got the chills looking at those! Yikes! Good thing Judah brought his “trusty ‘ol gun,” as he fondly calls it.
Daniel explored a cave and took the kids up the side of a cliff. Fun times in the beautiful weather. Unfortunately, because the trail was so low, we lost the sun and warmth fast. Brrr! I couldn’t get back to the truck fast enough. Eliza and I were popsicles! Daniel and I took a second before leaving to take a couple of photos, proof that we were actually at the canyon with our kids. I live with a goof-ball. A mean goof-ball. These photos were right before he stuck his ice-cold hands onto my back!
Since we were so close to Amarillo, and Target (!), we headed into town. Hiking made us very hungry so we stopped at Blue Sky for some burgers. Daniel had heard it was great and indeed, it was! I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of grease.
And the Anaheim chili sticks… awesome!! Wowza. I wanted to lick the bottom of the basket. I refrained. It was touch and go, though.
Sunday, we recuperated.
An awesome weekend! I am so thankful that Daniel is home. Life is so much happier, goofier, tastier, and more adventurous.
P.S. Not so sure about the big photos. I’ve never really cared about them. But, with the (blasted, horrid, I am horrible at making them) blog boards, bigger was better. We’ll see about the bigger photos… I find it annoying to have to scroll down to look at the whole thing.
My Funny Valentine.
February 15, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Lovers, Photos, Valentine's Day | 13 Comments
My funny Valentine
Sweet comic Valentine
You make me smile with my heart
You’re my favorite work of art
Don’t change a hair for me
Not if you care for me
Each day is Valentine’s Day
How was your Valentine’s Day? Do anything special? We didn’t. But it was still sweet ’cause I’m with him.
P.S. Lyrics from the song, My Funny Valentine
Daniel and the kids re-unite video…
January 7, 2010 | Filed Under Andrea, Daniel, Deployment, Eliza Dove, Eve, Judah, Military Life, Perspective, Video | 44 Comments
I thought you all might like to share in our joy.
I video-ed on my mighty little Flip video camera when Daniel and the kids first saw each other at my parents house.
Just try not to cry.
Untitled from andrea hub on Vimeo.
This video is after a few minutes had passed and Eliza was in the process of warming up. Thank the Lord for Skype! Daniel and I directly attribute Eliza seeing him and talking to him via Skype to her recognizing and quickly being comfortable with him.
Eliza warms up from andrea hub on Vimeo.
The “reintegration” process has been absolutely seamless. The kids have fallen right back into rhythm with Daddy; the only issue I can see is that they have to learn to trust Daniel again. Trust that’s he’s here to stay… they tend to get a little frantic, asking for him when he leaves the room or to run out to the truck. Especially Eliza.
Right now I am laying on a couch on Columbus AFB in Mississippi watching the Texas/Alabama game with Daniel. We are well on our way back to New Mexico and it has been a wonderful trip thus far. I will write a detailed blog about our trip once it’s over but truly, it has been an amazing time as a family. I am thankful for every minute I sit next to Daniel in our truck. The kids have been complete angels and we have made some great memories.
This is the first time I have been on my computer since Sunday (I KNOW!) so to say blogging has had to take the back seat would be an understatement but this family time minus any distractions has been a blessing. But I am very much looking forward to getting back into a rhythm. I am so much happier and peaceful now… as my brother David said today, I am a “totally different girl!”
And I really am. Daniel does that to me. I’m so thankful for my magnificent husband!
