Texas, Here We Come!

Today's the day!

HOORAY!

After a month here in Massachusetts without hubby, close friends, or family, D and I are getting on a plane today to go spend 6 glorious weeks in my wonderful home state of TEXAS!

Hubby is going to be joining us there for a week in July after he graduates his company at OCS, and it will be the first time since 2010 that we have both been at my parent's house at the same time!

We are so excited!

I'm a little bummed that my parents no longer live in College Station (where I grew up), but I'll take Houston over Boston any day (or any other place in the U.S. that is not Texas)!

I can't wait to blog about our adventures this summer in Houston...100 degree heat, humidity, and everything else Texas!

A ton of you have been asking for belly pics. I keep forgetting that not everyone that reads my blog is my Facebook friend! I post random pics daily on Instagram, so please follow me (@mrsromer)!

Here is my 28 week baby bump!

If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that it becomes a ritual for D and I to go on a "mommy and me" lunch date once a week when the hubby is gone. It started on his last deployment.  I love that she is old enough now to actually have a conversation with her over food! We went to the Olive Garden last Sunday after church because I was seriously craving their gnocchi soup, salad, and bread sticks. yum! I think it's safe to say I had the cutest lunch date ever!

D was born a completely bald baby, and her hair growth has been at a snail's pace. In fact, she didn't get her first hair cut (more of a trim) until this past December (she's 3). Nick and I both had no hair as babies. As for me, I had no hair until Kindergarten, then all of a sudden, I woke up one day with this thick luxurious "Asian" hair.  Her hair is finally long enough for me to put it in cute pigtails, and I even attempted a side french braid last Sunday.

 For those who don't know, my hubby has spent the last two summers training Marine Officer Candidates in Quantico, VA. He's basically back to being a drill instructor for Officers instead of Enlisted recruits. Basically, he yells at people all day. In fact, he was told he had severe vocal chord damage by the doc last year from all the yelling he's done in his career (3 years on the drill field and 2 summers in Quantico). He's got a permanent rasp to his voice (that I find kind of sexy). He was told to go see a throat and speech specialist. He hasn't gone because he is stubborn, and he's been down in VA yelling and screaming all day. He sounds terrible. Can we stay, stubborn?!

My pedicures last so much longer since I've gotten out of the Marine Corps! Wearing combat boots everyday really take a beating on your feet and your precious toes! 

(Sally Hansen's "snappy sorbet...in case you were wondering about the color)

And now that I no longer have to adhere to Marine Corps grooming standards, I get to paint my nails fun colors all the time without having to worry about removing the polish before going to work! 

(Sinful Nails' "In the Limelight"....with gel technology...LOVE THIS polish!)

I hope everyone is enjoying their week so far!

I can't wait to blog about my trip back to God's country!

smile :-)

Tomato Avocado Salad

We've been experiencing a bit of a heat wave the past few days in New England!

When temperatures hit above 85, I find myself always craving a cool salad.

Especially with my hubby being gone, I think I could live on just salad.

The last few days, I have eaten this delicious tomato and avocado salad every night for dinner!

It's very "summery", healthy, and SO FREAKING DELICIOUS!

I can't wait to make it for my husband and serve it as a side with dinner!

I figured I'd share my recipe with all of you!

I used to have a food blog, but I stopped blogging in it because it wasn't something I wanted to commit to.

I think I'll just start posting recipes every once in a while on this blog when I feel it's worth sharing!

I am OBSESSED with this olive oil that I bought at Whole Foods!

It is SO delicious!

It's a little bit pricey, but in my opinion well worth the splurge!

Ingredients (serves just 1...me!)

1 avocado

1 vine ripened tomato

1/2 of a lemon

1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

fresh ground sea salt

fresh ground black pepper

*1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame (optional)

Directions

1. SEED YOUR TOMATOES! (I hate when people don't seed tomatoes in a salad because it makes the entire salad really watery).

2. Dice your tomato and avocado into chunks.

3. If you want to add edamame to your salad, I like to just add a handful of frozen shelled edamame to my bowl first. I let them thaw out in the salad.

4. Add your tomatoes and avocado chunks into the bowl with the edamame.

5. Drizzle your balsamic vinegar and olive oil over your salad.

6. Squeeze the lemon on top

7. Season to taste with fresh ground sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

8. Toss and refrigerate for an hour!

9. ENJOY!

Five Beautiful Years...

This post is for my hubby, but feel free to read it :-)

I want to shout it on the rooftops! 

If you want to catch up...
Here's our 4 year anniversary...   
3 year anniversary...
2 year anniversary...
and I don't have a post for our first year because I was still new to blogging then :-) 

I love blogging because of the fact that I can look back at things that I wrote in the past and see how much I've changed!

To the most perfect man in the world for me...

There are days I have to pinch myself to remind myself that I really am married to the man of my dreams. Looking through some of these old photos makes me feel like five years was forever ago, when in reality, it's just a minute fraction of forever. When you pack so many experiences and memories into such a short period of time, it feels like an eternity. In the five short years that we've been married, I feel like we've experienced and have gone through more than some couples go through in a lifetime of blissful marriage. Many couples struggle in a marriage with one person in the military, and we have done it with both of us serving in the "not so easiest" branch of service. I'm not going to lie and say that being married to you has been the easiest life, but I can say honestly that loving you has never been difficult. The days are long, the nights are sometimes lonely, and there are times when I wonder why this life of constant separation and sacrifice was bestowed upon me instead of someone else. I've come to the conclusion that it's because God knew that I could handle it, even when there are times when I feel like I am falling to pieces. Your constant patience, support, and love for me keep me going on the toughest days. I know that being married to me can't be the easiest job either, but I thank God everyday that you have enough love and generosity in your heart to keep me close when it seems that I am trying to do it all on my own. In 1 Corinthians 13:4, it starts with "Love is patient". I think our love has been nothing but constant patience from day one, and we are proof that patience can endure all. I think Dr. Seuss said it best:

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

I know we'll have our trials and tribulations in the next five years of our marriage, as we have in the first five. But I am confident in the strength of our love and our bond that we will endure whatever obstacles are thrown in our path. Thank you for giving me a beautiful daughter, a son on the way, this beautiful life, and the best five years of my life.

Thank you for a wonderful five years of marriage. Through all the ups and downs, there isn't a moment I regret, and a moment that I wouldn't relive again if it means another five years with you. I can't wait to see what our next five years will be like with another precious gift from God added to our family. I love you so much, and there isn't anything I wouldn't do to make you happy.

Happy Five Year Anniversary, Nicholas!

(Kill!)

Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini

After all this rain we got, we FINALLY got some real summer time weather here in New England!

It was 81 degrees outside today, and the perfect day to play outside in the Sprinklers!

 I seriously thought we wouldn't be putting on a bathing suit till we got to Texas with the way the weather has been here, but hooray for a hot summer day!

This is her "superhero" pose

D and I went to Target today with an agenda.

I only needed TWO things that were going to total around 30 bucks.

$160 dollars later and a Starbucks frappucino in hand, I was walking out of the store. 

I can't control myself there.

I know I'm not the only one.

This pretty much sums up most of my trips to Target...

And last...

I had the share this pic with y'all.

Yes, that is my daughter eating her supper in time out.

No, don't feel sorry for her.

She normally isn't a picky eater. 

Since she was very young, I made sure I introduced her to all kinds of foods so that she didn't end up being a "mac and cheese" or "ramen noodle" kid.

However, she's at the age where she likes to test her boundaries and independence.

One day, she'll eat an entire plate of broccoli, and the next day, she'll tell me till she is blue in the face that she's "ALWAYS hated broccoli".

I refuse to be the parent that makes "special" meals for my kids just because they don't like certain foods.

As a child, if I didn't like something my mom cooked, I didn't eat....it was as simple as that.

I am raising my daughter with the same philosophy. 

I've sent my kid to bed without eating dinner.

She wakes up starving the next morning.

I try and give her whatever she didn't eat the night before in the morning, and normally, she's hungry enough to eat it.

She understands that she can't have snacks or anything else until she at least tries the food I made her.
 I've been doing this method for as long as she's been on solid foods, and for the most part, she's not a very picky eater. 

My biggest thing is that she needs to at least TRY something before I let her have an opinion on whether she likes it or not.

For the most part, she likes everything I cook with the exception of shrimp, but she has tried it.

Last night, it was cauliflower and beets that she did not want.

She's had both vegetables before and loved both of them, so I knew she was just being stubborn and testing her boundaries with me.

After 15 minutes of reasoning with her to try it, I told her to take her plate to time out.

I told her she could leave time out once her plate was clean, or at least until she had tried it.

An hour later...

She ate her plate clean....

She even asked for seconds :-)

FaceTime Parenting

One of my favorite things (amongst the million gazillion other things) that I love about my iPhone5 is Facetime.

It has totally changed the way my hubby and I communicate with each other when he is away (to include Skype). 

He "facetimed" us tonight just as D and I sat down for dinner.

I propped the phone on my dining room centerpiece, and it almost felt like a normal dinner with our entire family around the dinner table.

The conversation flowed while D and I ate dinner with "daddy".

After the conversation ended, I took my phone with me into the kitchen and continued my conversation with my hubby while I did dishes and cleaned up.

Hubby wanted to go for a quick run, so I hung up with him.

By now, my daughter was busy in her playroom watching a movie.

She had an absolute meltdown when she realized I had hung up without giving her a chance to say goodbye.

I quickly "facetimed" him back to give her a chance to say bye, and of course, I tried to rush her into saying bye so that my husband could go on his run.

My husband told me it was ok, and that he wanted to talk to her for a little bit.

I handed the phone to my 3 year old, and she was as happy as a lark.

She had "daddy" (my phone with hubby on Facetime) sitting on a chair in her playroom, and she was going to put on a new movie for him to watch with her.

I sat there and watched her for a minute while tears welled up in my eyes.

I just kept thinking how this can't be normal for a 3 year old to think it's normal to spend time with her father on a silly iPhone. 

For more than half of her short life so far, this has been her normal.

She has thrived and grown into such a happy little girl.

If you didn't know her situation, you would never know that she had an amazing father whom she's had a relationship with via Skype and Facetime for the majority of her life.

It kind of breaks my heart, but at the same time, I am so thankful for technology. 

Feeling pretty blessed today for Steve Jobs...lol.