I Don't Do Sweat Mom...and some snow!

Its no secret in this house that at this point in her life Taylor does not like any kind of strenuous activity what so ever.  She actively avoids anything that might cause her heart rate to increase, her leg muscles to be built up or her breathing to become rapid.  She.Does.Not.Like.Exercise!!

Trav, myself and Travi of course are all the opposite.  We enjoy hiking, long walks, running, swimming, any exercise and activity in general.  Since one quarter of our family is on the opposite end of the spectrum from the rest of us SHE is generally forced to do what we want and complains, cries and sulks while we are doing it.   She has informed us many times that she just doesn't "DO" sweating.  I ask myself, can a 9 year old girl even sweat?  I know that mine does not...at least not yet.  

We have encouraged her to try soccer...nope!  Softball...nope!  Dance...not feeling this one! Swimming...this was a mandatory forced activity that she was allowed to quit once she could swim!  Jump roping....guess what???  We have a winner!

My girl loves to jumprope and technically doesn't view it as exercise.  For her, it is totally a social gathering of friends who share a love for the jump rope.  She is really good at it, has great coordination and it increases her heart rate dramatically, don't tell her I said that.  She is part of a local club called the Sitka Skippers.  They are a competitive group and did a show at the varsity basketball game halftime last week and she nailed her routines.  She can out jump anyone in this house and Trav and I are just glad she is actually doing something that is considered exercise.

Encouraging physical activity is important for Trav and I.  It promotes healthy living, avoids being sedentary, relieves stress and we believe it is an important key to longevity.  I'm just glad that for now she has found something.

Another agreeable activity we can all partake in without whining, fighting or complaining is good old fashioned sledding.  

We found an awesome spot, which we will not be disclosing to anyone.  We had the place to ourselves and it was perfect.  We built a jump to hit on the way down.  Action shots below....

My Trav

Travi

Taylor

The only picture taken of me on the hill included a double chin and a ridiculous smile,

 not happening!  

Its getting to be that time...

There are many great things that come from existing on a 3-4 year moving rotation.  

• You get to see the country as you zig zag thousands of miles all over the place.
• Your son can smoke all the competition at a Geography Bee because round after round they ask him questions he knows based on different regions of the country he has lived in.
• You house is not filled with clutter, crap and trinkets that you just don't want to pack and repack 
• You refer to your children's growth patterns based on demographics, ie: houses, different schools, certain neighbors, various states.
• You are highly proficient in living out of suitcases and out of your car.  Packing your vehicles with enough life supplies for 2 months.  Making sure not to forget BBQ utensils, a hibachi grill, laundry detergent, dog food, passports and Benadryl for when you need to quiet the children.
• You learn to let go of the fact that its possible that a young teenage boy working summer employment is going to see and touch your extra bras, panties and unmentionables while packing up your entire house as you stand there and watch him.  
• You are an expert at checking hotel rooms for bed bugs before unpacking your suitcases.  (I'll admit I might be the only person I know who does this but I have a phobia)
• You learn that you really are not a "Home Port Pooper" when you don't have a home.  Your living out of your vehicle and hotel rooms for months at a time.  
• You know to memory which states don't have a speed limit and which states have stretches of road you hope to never traverse again.  
• You get the opportunity to plan you route of travel from the old unit to the new unit based off where you can stop to tour another Microbrew. 
• You get to travel, enjoy adventure, be diverse and let each new place let you grow to be different and better.

There are many things that suck about existing on a 3-4 year moving rotation.

• You have to say goodbye to wonderful people who you wish you didn't have to say goodbye to.
• As a spouse you have to quit your job and hope to hell you can find a new one that is just as good.
• Your children have to say goodbye to every comfort they have that makes their life feel normal.
• Your stuck in your car for what feels like a million miles with multiple children and multiple pets.
• You have to trust perfect strangers to get every single belonging that didn't fit into your car from one house to another and hope it doesn't all arrive in a million pieces.  
• Your kids have to start over with friends, schools, activities, etc.  It gets harder the older they get.
• You have to hope like hell your furniture that fit so beautifully in your old house is actually going to fit through the front door of your new home and not be overly large or ackward.
• You have to find a new doctor, new dentist and new hairdresser.  Trusting your hair to just anyone is risky and stressful.  More stressful then finding a dentist.
• You have to relearn the layout of yet another grocery store.  
• You have to remember yet another new home address and another new home phone number.  
• You have to start over....

Making a move every 3-4 years is such a mixed bag of emotions.  Its exciting, exhausting, frightening, refreshing.  I can not believe we are already heading down this road again.  (((Sigh)))

Foodie Weekend...

As I've said before I don't typically share food on here often.  But...this weekend it snowed and somehow turned into a foodie weekend for us.   Aside from a slushy. wet run and a trip to the sledding hill we prepped and cooked quite a bit of food for the week to enjoy and eat all week long  You've been warned, this post is food picture heavy.

On Friday, Trav and I made delicious, amazing venison sliders with caramelized onions and truffle goat cheese.  Can I just tell you again, they were delicious and amazing.  We don't eat burgers often so when we do we love to add a bit luxuriousness to them.  I found this delicious goat cheese at the store that sounded perfect for the burgers.

 I added it to our salad as well and it was awesome.  If you don't love goat cheese, well I'm sorry but your missing out.  You could probably substitute with feta cheese but honestly goat cheese is so smooth and creamy its worth trying.

On Saturday, Trav smoked two whole free range chickens and 3 tenderloins for us to use for dinner and lunches this week.  We used our own smoker and Alder wood chips, my personal favorite for smoking.   I didn't take pictures of the process of smoking the meat but it turned out delicious and we have ample meat for the week that we can incorporate into our dinners and lunch boxes.  

We also made two batches of homemade granola bars.  Granola bars are a favorite in this house but they are expensive and I hate the added ingredients and preservatives put in them so I hate buying them.  

We decided to make them into snack cups instead of bars but its all the same.

Our first batch was a mix of oats, nuts, chocolate chips and molasses.  The second batch included oats, peanut butter, honey, shredded coconut and dried blueberries.  Needless to say, both batches are delicious and healthy.  Homemade granola bars are not that labor intensive and very forgiving.  You can add any ingredients that you like and bind it together with a variety of options.  I highly recommend trying to make them. Not to mention we made roughly 3 dozen bars for very little cost.  We used this recipe.

As well, Trav dehydrated apples and pineapples for snacks this week.  We thinly sliced the apples using a mandelin and I hand sliced the pineapple.  Using our dehydrator, the apples took roughly 3 hours and the pinapples took about 5 hours.   They are a great, healthy snack.  Trav, myself and Travi all love dried fruit, Taylor not so much.  Which just means, more for us...

Sunday night after dinner I put a pinterest recipe to the test and made Nutella Stuffed Peanut Butter Cookies.  Have I mentioned we love Nutella and peanut butter...yeah we do!!  The recipe was a little time consuming only because each cookie has to be hand formed, Nutella stuffed and rolled but they are delicious.  I will definiely make them again.  I used this recipe.

Its only Tuesday but we are enjoying the fruits of our labor and it has all helped make my evening dinner prep and nightly lunch box prep much easier.  Making lunches for every one each night is not my favorite thing in the world so having extra options is helpful.

Many high-fives and fist  bumps were had during the making and enjoying of all these recipes!!

I have attached a couple pictures from our other weekend events because who wants to just look at recipes.

Okay, so she is technically cooking in the picture but its more about how adorable she is.  She is mastering the art of Cinnamon Toast.  

                                         

                          

Travi loves to go sledding...This hill at the glorified golf course is pretty awesome!

                           

We had a power outage on Saturday night.  My girl read us passages from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein.  

Lima. Oscar. Victor. Echo

Valentines Day is not something Trav and I celebrate.  I don't need the day to know he loves me.  I don't yearn for roses or chocolate.  We are very practical people and we just don't see the sense in this holiday.  I enjoy seeing friends and coworkers get goodies from their spouse but its just not something I require and its not something Trav wishes to participate it.  I already know I am loved every day and my Trav shows me.  February 14th is just another day for us.  We will come home from work, drink together, have dinner and listen to our kids bicker and be brats.  That is what love is!

But...since love is in the air, I thought I would put our story down on my blog.  Years from now, when I am old and come back here to reflect on this life I will be able to read this post.


When I was 14 years old, my sister starting dating this boy named Robert.  Robert was really good friends with this guy named Travis.  When Robert would come to our house to see my sister he would sometimes bring Travis with him.  Travis was young, gorgeous, athletic and popular.  He played varsity football and baseball.  He had a car, was polite, very charming and had piercing blue eyes.  I had a school girl crush on him from the moment I saw him.  I adored him from afar for quite some time.  He had girlfriends, even brought them to my house and I knew I was too young and not even on his radar.  At some point in my sophmore year of high school when I had finally moved up to the same school as Travis I hit his radar.  We "hung out" and dated briefly but as I recall now it didn't last too long and eventually fizzled. Talk about a broken heart...I definitely had one.  I knew what a catch he was and it hurt my 15 year old heart to see him go.   I once again, just had a crush on him from afar and eventually moved on.

Circa: 1994-The is the dreamy 16 year old boy who I loved from afar

This is the oldest picture I have of the two of us together.  Trav was purchased for me at the High School Senior Auction in 1995 for $80 by my girlfriend Talia.  He was my slave for the day!

In 1995 Travis graduated high school and moved away to Santa Barbara to go to college.  I graduated a year later in 1996 and moved to San Diego to pursue my own education.  We would not see each other again until the summer of 1998.  At that point, Travis had moved to San Diego and as fate would have it we would wind up on the same overpopulated beach in San Diego on the same day.  I truly tried my hardest to ignore his advances and really tried to be guarded but within two weeks I would once again find myself adoring him.  He was still the gorgeous, athletic, popular guy, with piercing blue eyes who had just grown and matured a little bit more.

As luck would have it this time around nothing fizzled out.  We were not kids anymore and within six months we moved in together and our life together became a blur of working, college and enjoying life together in San Diego.  We rode our bikes to a little shanty for cheap breakfast burritos on Sunday mornings, lived in a beach condo with a huge jacuzzi tub, watched the sun set a thousand times at our favorite spot, crossed the Mexico border almost getting carjacked and we just enjoyed playing house!  We paid bills, cooked dinners and worked our butts off to barely get by.


 In late 1999 Travis approached me and said he felt like he was at a crossroads in his life.  He needed a secure path and after serious consideration had decided to join the US Coast Guard.  I was honestly stunned and was worried he would be leaving me.  He asked me to follow him and relieved I quickly agreed.  So on February 14, 2000 my Trav was sworn in and shipped off to basic training in Cape May, NJ.  Definitely my most memorable and gut wrenching Valentine's Day ever.  At this point in our relationship there were a ton of open ended questions.  What would we do?  Would we stay together?  Would I really pick up my life and follow him wherever he landed?  We were young, lacking tons of life experience and basically jumping head first into some serious unknowns.  I had never lived more then 3 hours from my parents and now I was crossing state lines for my "boyfriend".  This is where I can honestly say my parents were slightly freaked out and trying to talk me off the ledge.  But...while at basic training in about week 6 when he finally was able to make a phone call he told me he was being stationed in Port Angeles, WA on a 210 foot patrol cutter, didn't want to be without me and he said he wanted me to marry him.

Bootcamp Graduation April 7, 2000 Cape May, New Jersey

Trav graduated from bootcamp in April 7th and came back to California for a very short 14 days.  With my dad's blessing, he proposed to me using his grandmothers ring and we were married in a small ceremony with only a handful of our family members.  From that moment on, the Coast Guard would dictate and define our lives.  Our honeymoon consisted of a road trip up the west coast so that he could report for duty and head to sea on the cutter for the next 3 months.  Within 6 months we would make our second PCS move to Oregon so that Trav could pursue his CG career in avaition.  His miliary career would finally take shape and be set into motion.

 Married April 17, 2000

Since that time I have followed Travis thousands and thousands of miles, zig zagging all over this country.  We have said our share of goodbyes and enjoyed our share of homecomings.  We have never lived close to family and never lived in one place for more then 4 1/2 years.  We have endured separations, hardships, adventure, laughs and deep love. We have created a beautiful life together and we have done it all on our own.

Our early days

1st Class Petty Officer Promotion 2006

Boston Marathon Finisher 2009

Our 10th Anniversary-2010

Hawaiian Vacation 2007

The very best part of our life together

At times I catch myself looking at him just like that young school girl I once was.  I am in awe that I some how managed to secure that gorgeous, athletic, popular guy with piercing blue eyes from high school who I have loved since I was 14.  He is the father of my children and truly my soulmate.  He is mine and I feel like fate knew we were supposed to be together all along.  It was all just a matter of timing.

I always remind my Trav that he is and will always be my B'sherit.

~Oh yeah...that guy Robert who was the catalist that set all this into motion, he is now my brother in law.  Who knew...right!?!

Back in the Saddle...

We are all back in the saddle and the kids are thankful.  Their dad is back and they are relieved to not here the work "No" quite so much.   The lake in town began freezing about 14 days ago.  The kids have been asking me to take them out on the lake to skate and sled.  I refuse!!  I would remind them that this born and bred desert rat does not do frozen lakes.  I wasn't raised around frozen lakes and I have seen those shows on television.  You know the ones where the ice breaks, the kids fall in and fireman are on their bellies inching out on the ice to save the kids and not fall in themselves.   I never stepped foot on a frozen lake in Kodiak, Cape Cod or here.  I think its crazy and dangerous.  The thought makes me stomach turn.  Trav took the kids out onto frozen lakes on the Cape.  I was terrified and stayed on shore just in case an emergency arose and I needed to rush off for help.  

Yesterday after we all got up and moving, Trav agreed to take the kids out on the frozen lake.  I was actually comfortable with the idea until we go to the lake.  Travi of course has no sense and charged out on the ice without even contemplating that if the ice cracked he could die.  Taylor and I stood on the shore watching with hesitation.  Trav followed Travi and my stomach was in knots.  

Taylor eventually warmed up to the idea after watching about 100 other people have fun and scream with excitement. She headed out towards the middle.   I of course still hovered close to the edge, thinking if something happened I could scream for help. So I stood, watching my family, surveying the ice for cracks and weaknesses.   Did you know that a frozen lake makes noises?  I did not...That lake made noise.  It scared the shit out of me.  So as I am standing on the edge, trying to creep out towards my family the ice is making a god awful noice that sounds like an echoing, radiating crack.  Not to mention the ice also moves.  A friend creeped over and reassured me the ice was safe and was roughly 4-5 inches thick.  I was not completely convinced but did evenutally get out far enough to take some pictures of my courageous, fearless bunch who proceeded to call me a chicken.  Remember I said...I'm a bit of a worry wart.  I was definitely worried!!

 Frozen Bubbles!!

The highlight of this excursion for me was getting off the ice and heading to the coffee shop for hot cocoa and lattes.  

Homecomings...

It doesn't matter how long he is gone for, the kids and I always make a big deal about Trav coming home.  When he is gone, we count down every single day.  Its helps us to see we are plugging away at the time.  When the kids were babies we used homemade countdown chains to keep track of our days.  When we got close I would start to really talk a lot about daddy coming home soon.  Now that the kids are older and have modern technology we used a countdown app. on our iphones/ipods.  The kids could check the countdown app. whenever they liked and could see to the second how much longer we had.  We have enjoyed watching the countdown go from months, to weeks, to days, to hours.

When 1/4 of your family is gone and you are living very far from everyone else time apart feels huge.  You think about the void in your life, what is missing and you think about how long it has been missing.  I've thought about my Trav being gone every single day.  While I was working, chaperoning the kids all over this town, on the weekends when we were trapped inside our house due to weather and on the walks we would take when the weather would break.  Its been a long time, I am glad to have my better half back home.  I am glad that the kids have their dad back and that there is someone else to talk to and make decisions. Perhaps now I won't have anyone talking to me constantly behind a closed door in the bathroom, while I shower, while I try to go pee.  Someone else to talk about homework, someone else to pick up a kid from an activity, someone else to decide what is for dinner.   Now when I come home at the end of the day I will know that another person, my best friend will come home, share a glass of wine with me and I will have someone to talk to.  Adult conversation is a good thing!!

I have missed this man.

Here are a couple of things I can tell about my Trav being gone.  Him being gone definitely always confirms that "Absence Does Make The Heart Grow Fonder."  Trav ALWAYS reminds me when we are preparing for an extended separation that other married couples who never endure separations don't get the opportunity to understand what it is like to truly miss their spouse.  They don't get the opportunity to think about if they are taking their spouse for granted.  They don't get the chance to reflect on how much they miss not only the person but the persons essence. Even though I hate when he gives me that speech and I roll my eyes, he is correct.  I know what he does for me and I know what is missing from my life when he is gone.

Also, I always learn a great deal about myself. What my strengths are, what my weaknesses are. Over the years my perspectives have changed and my tolerances have changed too.  Who I am now after many years of this lifestyle and it's challenges is different then the person I was at 21 years old or 27 years old. I am stronger, more patient, more tolerant but I have some of the same weaknesses I have always had. I don't thrive in these situations, I still miss my husband and my weaknesses show more when he is away.  

I am glad to have him home.  Back were he belongs.  He makes me happy and I see a sparkle in my children's eyes that isn't there when he is gone. I took Monday off and the kids aren't going to school.  We will be able to catch up, enjoy one another and daydream about being in Maui together on a well deserved vacation.  

Random Odds and Ends in February..

So things have been quiet around here lately.  This past week I have been mentally preparing for Trav to come home and get back into our normal routine.  I get giddy just thinking about it.  On the not so far back burner are a mish mash of jumbled thoughts and things.

I feel like I have a little bit of PTSD about phone calls from my parents and Trav right now.  When my grandma passed away early last week, my parents, my uncle and Trav tried calling and texting me multiple times on my cell phone while I was at work.  I do not answer my cell phone at work.  Rarely does my family ever call my main line at work.  On that day, my dad did call the main line since I wasn't responding on my cell and I got the news that Mema was gone.  Now, when I am at work and I see that my parents have tried to call me I have this immediate need to call them back and make sure everyone is okay.  I told my dad yesterday when he called my phone at 8:36am while I was working, which is not the norm that I feel like I have PTSD about phone calls.  If my parents call I am worried.  If Trav doesn't answer his phone and I don't know where he is I am worried.  I have always been a natural worry wart but damn...I have been quick to answer and respond to any calls that I am getting right now out of fear.  I assume it will subside but clutching my phone at night when I'm laying in bed, trying to sleep is getting a little frustrating and inconvenient.  

Trav headed to the mall the other night looking for a few items for me.  Can I just say it pains me to have to send my husband to do my shopping.  I will not likely see a mall for many months to come so desperate times call for desperate measures.  Lucky for me he obliged my requests.  

I recieved a Yankee Candle Catalog in the mail.  It was one of those scratch and sniff ones.  I asked him to try and find a store to buy me a few small candles.  These are what he is bringing home for me.  

Are you getting a sense for my current state of mind with these candles...Summer, Warm, Beach

Yes Please!

With that said I have been researching sunscreens to buy for our vacation.  I don't buy your run of the mill Coppertone displayed on an end cap at the grocery store.  I am picky about sunscreen.  The list for the best and safest sunscreens in 2014 won't come out until the Spring but I have been reading reviews from last year and based off my own product knowledge these are the ones I will be going with on our vacation.

I love products by Kiss My Face.  They are safe for kids, environmentally friendly, have no harsh, dangerous chemicals and this company does not test on animals. 

The Honest Company was started by the actress Jessica Alba after she became a mother and had concerns about products and their safety for her family.  This will be the first time I try one of their products but this sunscreen got great reviews from many reliable sources and fit the needs I feel we will have on our vacation.  

My grandmother gave me this table cloth years ago when Trav and I visited Texas together.  I am not a huge tablecloth person and I have had this specific one packed away for a few years now for safe keeping.  It has great sentimental value to me and I have been leery to have it out at all while the kids are still prone to spilling stuff and eating like savage animals at the table.  I brought it out this past week to brighten my spirits. It does not fit the size of my table and it is by no means my style but I love the bright cheery colors and the fact that is was hers means so much.  It has a hole in it, stains on it but I honestly love that.  It was used by her, at her table to feed her family.  How can I not appreciate that!

I folded it up so that when my son sits down at the table and food ends off falling off his plate it doesn't end up on this partially white tablecloth.  I have to be realistic here, he is not the cleanest eater on the planet.  

Lastly,  I know this picture might seem silly but I love it.  Aside from the fact that it shows 4 months worth of winter weather build up on the outside which FYI... I won't clean the windows outside for at least another 3 months.  It shows something we don't take for granted up here.  The sunshine!!  Its such a simple thing but when I looked this morning at these last few flowers from a bouquet I got last week I noticed the sun reflecting off the water in the vase.  Its beautiful!  We have had fantastic sunshine lately.  Its freezing cold up here but the sun is shining and these flowers, the water and the vase just seem to glow.  

Well, I'm off to get this house cleaned, pick up my kids and get ready for this day.  I have a man to meet at the airport tonight at 5:51pm.  

Gratitude....

I have so much gratitude this past week for people.  Its has been difficult and at times I felt like I just wanted to lay on my couch day after day and loathe in sadness and self pity.  It would have been easy to do.  Ok, so maybe on Tuesday I did lay on the couch all day, staring at a recessed light fixture in the ceiling loathing in sadness and self pity.  But...there were definitely some wonderful people who really took the time to extend themselves.  Aside from my Trav who has really tried to be as supportive as possible from so far away and my wonderful children, it has been friends who have helped me bear the weight of this week.  

~Whether is was a little gift left on my doorstep with a homemade sympathy card and heart shaped Dove chocolates.  Thank you!

~A beautiful bouquet from my coworkers letting me know they cared.  Thank you!

~My son making me homemade southern style biscuits the way Mema used to make them.  Thank you!

~My husband sending me little supportive, motivational messages throughout each day.  Thank you!

~My friend who was the first person to open her arms and give me that warming hug I really needed.  Thank you!

~My friend who cooked us dinner so that my poor kids didn't eat breakfast for a third day.  Thank you!

I am grateful for everything this week.  Including the sun that has been shining every single day since my grandmother passed away.  Sitka was gloomy and dark for over 50 straight days and since she went  to Heaven the sun has shined every single day.  Now my rational mind knows the weather is not affected by her death but my heart is telling me that those warm rays of sun on my face are from her.  Mema, Thank you!