Happy Birthday, 'Merica!

 As the great President Ronald Reagan would say:

1. A people free to choose will always choose peace.
2. Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today’s world do not have.
3. Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.
4. Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
5. How do you tell a communist? Well, it’s someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It’s someone who understands Marx and Lenin.

 
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!


Here are some quick photos of our 4th of July photoshoot in the side yard of our house :-)

Dannika and I were invited to go to the house of one of our friend's parents up in Tustin to hang out at the pool today, but we decided with all the crazy drunk drivers out there on the road today, it'd be safer to stay in, watch movies, eat pizza, and work out (yes...I work out on holidays!).
We're hoping to catch some fireworks right outside our house....and if not, we won't be too disappointed.

Thank you to all my brothers and sisters that are overseas fighting to make days like today possible.
You are ALWAYS in my thoughts and prayers.


And lastly...
I went out last night on my FIRST girls' night out since Nick has been gone!
My friend Kim and I decided that we needed to watch Magic Mike.
umm...Channing Tatum...yes!
Thank you to Sunny (Kim's hubby) and Matt (Kari's hubby) for watching the kids so that the mamas could go get "wild".
Poor guys...we left them all alone at home with 3 toddlers and 2 newborns...I can't help but laugh.
Thankfully, the children were alive and well when we got back.
I had such a blast.
It was SO nice to just get away from "life".
When your life consists of work and a toddler, it can get a little stressful.
Kim, Kari, and I met up with Kim's older sister Molly and her friend Blanca at Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and drinks.
Of course dinner ended with tequila shots...

All of us were 28 and up with kids at home with husbands babysitting...
A buncha middle aged women doing tequila...what is going on here?! lol.
It's mom's gone wild!
I ordered a cosmo that turned out to be extremely weak.
I told the waitress that it tasted like juice, and something I would drink to get drunk off of in high school.
I think I even mentioned that it was one step above Boone's Farm.
She laughed and said, "Man, I wish my mom would go out have fun like this."
 Was she really comparing me to her probably 40 year old mother?!?!
I had to stop her, and make sure she knew, that I was only 28, and I was NOT old enough to be her mother.
She profusely apologized and gave me a nervous laugh....lol

Magic Mike....

I only wanted to see Channing Tatum.
Let's just face it, ladies....
He isn't too hard on the eyes.

All I have to say about Magic Mike is...

It was a compelling storyline....
Kinda like how guys like Hooters for their wings....

Taking Out the Trash

Dannika and I have an awesome Sunday routine when Nick is not around. 

* Wake up bright and early

* Go to breakfast (Dannika gets to have pancakes and chocolate milk)

* Make it to the early service at church

* Go straight to the grocery store to do our shopping for the week

* I work out while Dannika watches cartoons.

* Go outside and bathe the dog

* Take dog walk

* Laundry

* Cook the week's meals (this is pretty much an all day affair, and I am a slave to the kitchen for the majority of the day.)

* Relax..

 

By the time we get to relax...it's bedtime

It's funny because when Nick is home, Sundays never seem to be so busy.

I realized though, my Sundays have turned into a chaotic mess because during the week, when there are two people living here, things get done. 

We split chores.

No one likes having their spouse gone for extended periods of time (that is, if you are in a happy and fulfilling marriage!)

Any milspouse will agree that taking on the duties of mommy AND daddy can sometimes be a bit daunting.

Here are my Top 10 Things I hate doing when Nick is away.

10. Cleaning dog poop

Before we got Dozer, this was never an issue. Now it is. Have you seen how much a 100lbs dog can poop?!?! It's seriously like 2 or 3 pounds in ONE poop. I can't even use the normal doggie bags. I have to use grocery bags to throw away his poop. So sweet of Nick to get me a pooper scooper...(being TOTALLY sarcastic if you can't tell)

 9.  Dealing with grown up stuff like mortgage refinancing

Numbers, percentages, money (especially when it's dealing with refinancing hundreds of thousands of dollars), and dealing with banks are things that stress me out. 

8. Dropping off AND Picking up Dannika at daycare

I'm always a fashionably 30 minutes late to work because of Dannika's daycare. At least when Nick is here, we can switch off weeks on being fashionably late to work.

7. Getting my car washed

This was something Nick used to get done for me on Sundays as a surprise. He'd get it washed, and fill up my tank. Now my car just stays dirty till I can't stand it anymore. I also HATE when I start the car up on Monday morning to go to work and realize I have no gas. That sucks.

6. Going to church alone

I hate sitting alone, and it's always super awkward when it's time to greet people around you. It was just easier when Nick was with me. Then there's always that thought that people are thinking, "Poor girl. Her husband must not be a Christian, so she comes to church alone."

5. Cooking Dinner

I don't have as much motivation to cook fabulous meals when I'm cooking for just a 2 year old and me. 

4. Folding Laundry

I am so fortunate to be married to a man who willingly pitches in around the house. Folding laundry is my least favorite chore, and with that knowledge, Nick would always fold the laundry. I didn't mind folding laundry so much when we were doing it together, talking, and watching tv together.

3. Not sleeping in...ever

Anyone with a toddler knows that they never sleep in. During the weekday, I am up at 430am for work, and Dannika is woken up at 530. On a weekend, no matter how late I make her stay up, she is up at 630 (AT THE LATEST!).

2. Taking Dannika EVERYWHERE with me

There are days that I just wish, I could leave her at home with Nick so that I could just run to the store in peace and run a few quick errands. Dannika is extremely well-behaved, but getting her in and out of the car, clipped into her car seat, etc. is annoying when you have a ton of things to accomplish!         

1. Taking out the trash, and taking the trashcan out to the street on trash day. 

Look, I get that this may seem so menial, but I really hate it! In my world, it's a man's job...ahem...NICK's job. I hate opening the lid to the giant garbage can. I hate the smell. I hate carrying out giant bags of trash. I hate when my little trashcan in my kitchen gets so full that it takes an act of God to get pull the bag out without ripping it. I just hate it.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Sunday!

I had a great weekend, and a great sermon in church!

I am looking forward to the week and doing my daily devotionals!~

Enjoy some pics from my weekend!

I took Dannika with me to the hair salon. She was SO good for the ENTIRE 2 1/2 hours we were there. I really am a lucky mother of such a mellow and well behaved toddler!

The "do". I didn't do anything new to it....just got my roots redone, and a trim.

Before church

 Church parking lot. She was being such a ham.

There he is...my handsome man....even with no hair :-)

Getting Older

It has been slowly dawning on me that I am fast approaching the big 3-0.

It hit me even harder when I realized my 10 year high school reunion happened just a few weekends ago.

10 years.

WOW!

It doesn't seem like that long ago...

Well, until I started to really think about what has happened in my life in the last 10 years.

It's scary to think that since the age of 18, the only life I have known is this crazy life as a Marine.

I've never been in a Marine Corps during peacetime, and I will be a civilian before I ever get to experience it.

Now that is crazy!

I feel fortunate and sad all at the same time that while I got to serve in Iraq, I won't get my shot at Afghanistan.

I am thankful that I won't have to leave my baby girl, and I give such MAD PROPS to military moms who have the strength to leave their little ones when they deploy.

However, I can't help but get out wishing that I could have experienced Afghanistan too.

Since getting promoted to SSgt in January, I've felt older than I ever have.

I think some of it is the fact that the rank of SSgt holds some sort of mysterious power to it.

I feel WAY out of touch with my Marines most of the time.

In my current work center, my assistant supervisor is 22 years old...a Corporal.

TWENTY-TWO!!!

I remember me at 22, and that was not a good year...lol.

I was immature, selfish, and a partying alcoholic.

I was young, single, and worked in an organization where I felt the need to be able to "hang" with the guys every time we went out...that meant, if the guys were doing shots, I was doing shots. If the guys were doing beer bongs, I was doing beer bongs.

Me being the 120lbs girl that I was back then...you can imagine, I had some nights I totally regret.

Now, at 28 years old young, I feel like the old lady in my shop.

I yell at my Marines almost daily about the loudness of their music.

I yell at them about the type of music they're listening to (I'm sorry, but the overly synthesized voice of Lil Wayne is not my idea of good music).

I had no idea what "dub step" was until one of my Marines played it for me, and I mistakenly called it "techno".

(I got an earful about the difference between dub step and techno)

I give them long winded talks on Fridays about the dangers of drinking and driving and having unprotected sex....or premarital sex at that....(I know, right?!?!).

I give them financial advice about saving and investing that I know is going in one ear and out the other. 

I know that after payday, all they're thinking about is how they're going to ration out their meager pay for 2 weekends of barhopping and partying...oh yeah...and pay bills....and sometimes, those bills get put on the back burner because partying comes first.

On Monday mornings, I usually ask all of them what they did, and their replies are almost always about the bar they went to, the girl they hooked up with, and the crazy hangover they had on Sunday.

I tell them about taking my kid to the science center and going to church on Sunday.

In my head, my weekend sounded AWESOME....that is...until I say it out loud.

Then I realize how lame I sound.

The icing on the cake was when I was driving my Marine somewhere one day, he gave me a strange look and asked, "SSgt.........(*LOONNNNGG PAUSE*)........are you listening to talk radio?!"

My reply was, "What's wrong with talk radio? That's how I keep up with my current events."

That's when it hit me....I sound so OLD!!!!! OMGosh!!!

But you know...

With all that said, I can't help but think of my days as a young LCpl, Cpl, and a brand new Sgt.

Those are the days where all my hilarious stories come from.

Those are the days where I learned some of the most important life's lessons.

I'm totally happy where I'm at in life, and I wouldn't trade my weekend at the science center and church for anything my young "devilpups" are doing on their weekends.

So all I have to say to them is...

"One day, you'll be the one in my shoes. You can't avoid getting older and gaining more wisdom..."

Quick Post

I woke up this morning with a little bit of anxiety.

I have no idea why or where it came from. 

I have been doing a lot of thinking about my uncertain future...

The possibility of having to rent our house out...

The possibility of moving to Boston...

The possibility of Nick getting selected for WO, and having NO idea where we'll be until NEXT April....

Or maybe....

Maybe it's just the Monday blues. 

Nick and Fatherhood

I was doing my usual blog stalking today, and was reading all the really sweet and mushy things people were writing about their daddies, their baby daddies, and whoever else in their life they consider a father figure in their life.

In the past, I've always done the same, and last year's blog post was no different.

I could go on and on about how much I love Nick, and how I think he's a wonderful father (he really is!).

I could go on and on about how I think he's the ultimate "Super Dad", and I very well could go into the "my baby daddy can beat up your baby daddy" spiel....but I won't :-)

Most fathers know that being a first time dad is one nerve wracking task and an experience of a lifetime.

Let me just recap 3 short stories that come to mind when it comes to fatherhood and Nick.

(Don't worry babe....I won't be too brutal)

1. My labor and delivery was HORRIFIC. I am pretty sure Nick is traumatized for life from what he experienced and saw when I gave birth to my 8lbs devil angel. While I won't go into gory or graphic details, I'm pretty sure Nick (and the L&D staff) heard every bad word that could come out of my mouth, and he had the scratches and bruises on his arm from me to prove it.

2. His first time to ever really deal with a complete diaper blow out happened after he came home from Afghanistan the first time when Dannika was just over 1. Dannika had an explosion, and Nick had a bright idea that he would take her in the shower, undress her in there, lay her down on the cold tile (on top of her own poop)....ehh...just watch it here. Needless to say, it was painful and disgusting to watch.

3. Nick and I used to take turns taking Dannika to daycare in the morning so that one of us would be a few minutes late to work every other week. I went to go pick her up one afternoon on a day that Nick took her in. She was dressed in a hot pink dress with white polka dots and an orange collar with black leggings with silver horizontal stripes on them....all topped with her baby pink Mary Janes. I apologized profusely to Ms. Kathi about her lack of taste in wardrobe and made it a point to tell her that it was Nick that dressed her....not me. 

And to Nick...

No, you can not take Dannika to her homecoming dance and prom.

No, you can not chaperone on every date she ever goes on.

No, she will not go to school dressed in a zipped up parka and ski boots every single day.

No, you will not always be the only man in her life.

Yes, one day she will start wearing make up.

Yes, one day, she'll probably wear something that you disapprove of.

Yes, one day she'll probably tell you that you are ruining her life

Yes, you will have to walk her down the aisle one day and give her away to hopefully a man that is at least half the man you are.

With all that said, I know with your guidance and love, she will grow up to be a smart, charming, beautiful woman inside and out.

Happy Father's Day to my baby daddy.

Thank you for being the father that Dannika deserves.

Thank you for working so hard to give her the life that you want her to have.