Getting Ready

I've got some posting to do of what we've been up to, but sadly its on hold for a little while longer.  We've been super busy helping out a new Sailor and her husband and getting ready for Jay's upcoming deployment.  We're trying to get everything, or as close to that as possible, onto the ship before they actually leave so that the morning of the deployment I just have to get up and take him to the ship and say our good byes.  This upcoming one will be our longest time apart to date.  Each time he's gone out its been a little longer than the last and now we're about to do a actual 6 month deployment.  The nice thing is we already know that they will not be extending due to budget cuts in the defence budget.  So once things have settled into a routine I'll sit down and post all that we've been up to.  Oh, and on top of all this, Kaden is in his final week of summer pre school. 

Bedtime snacks and First day of School

With so much going on its going to take me a few days to fully update all that we've been up to.  So while I have some time this morning I thought I would start with the biggest change in our family, Kaden started school.  I know its summer, but he was accepted into a special summer program and its to help him with his autitism.  And honestly he is thriving at school.  He got to pick out his backpack and loves getting to ride the "yellow school bus" (his words).  In just the short time he's been in school he's already showing so many signs of growth and improvement.  My fridge is getting plastered with all of his art work which is not a bad thing.

Part of his school program he is also learning about potty training.  We've been trying for a good 2 years to get him to communicate and use the toliet for going with nothing but failure.  In the last week and a half he has gone from not communicating to doing so and actually knowing how to recognize that he needs to go.  Its been great.  We have high hopes that by the time Jay comes home from his deployment (he's still here, things changed so we don't know when he's going out now) that Kaden will no longer be in diapers.  He is learning so much in this program that I can't wait for him to actually start school in the fall.

These are just a few shots from his first day of school.  He had to show off is backpack which has ended up being the best decision he could have made.  The rest of the boys in his class have Spiderman backpacks.  He has his obsession Transformers.  And yes, I do mean obsession.

Another thing that has been going on is Annabelle's late night snack.  About an hour after the kids are in bed Jay and I will make popcorn to munch on while we relax.  Now, we make our own using an air popper, not microwave, and the last few times we made it someone would wake up and demand a snack.  So the other night I grabed the camera and took these.  As you can see, she is quite proud of herself.

4th of July Fireworks

This year our 4th of July celebrating consisted of a bbq with my mom (who's visiting us at the moment) and then heading over to watch fireworks from the flightdeck of the Nimitz.  It was by far the best firework show I've ever seen!  We watched 3 different shows happen all at the same time from the flight deck. (I have video, sadly it wont load on here).  The kids did awsome.  They had very patriotic music playing over these speakers they had set up on the flight deck as the fireworks were going off which made it all that more cool.  They were huge and even Annabelle who has never seen fireworks before did awsome.

Here we are waiting for the show to start.  My mom is the one with the back to the camera.

Here are the kids, happily having fun.  At one point they were dancing to the music with Jay and just having a blast before the show started.  The only sad thing was getting off base.  That took forever since there were so many people there watching fireworks.  But the night was incredible and will become a favorite for our as long as we're on this ship and able to do so.  We're already making plans to do it next year as long as Jay isn't off on deployment.

Happy Independence Day, America!

This is the day we celebrate our Independence from tyrany and oppresson of England 233 years ago.  We created a Delcaration of Independence and a Constitution of the United States of America.  These two precious documents have shown us the path to freedom.  We have seen wars and peace as a nation.  Our nation was and always has been a nation of laws.  Our founding fathers created these documents with God as the one who gives us our freedoms.  I encourage all to go back and read both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States of America on this day that we celebrate our Independence.

Please also keep in your thoughts and prayers those who have served and gave their very lives and those still serving in the Military.  My own husband does and since he joined the Navy 3 years ago I've felt a deeper love for this great nation and than I did before.  This is a day in which countless lives were lost just to give us the very freedoms that some in Washington D.C. are now trying to take away from us.  Let us remember that our Freedom didn't come free, there was a price.  Happy 4th of July Everyone!

More to come

So we've been on the go lately so soon I'll take some time to post all that is going on.  Right now we're focusing on getting my health back up again, long story, Kaden settled into his new routine and preparing for Jay's upcoming deployment.  So once things have settled down some I'll post about all that has been happening of late.

A Letter

Have any of you felt frustrated or angry with the direction this country is heading in? I have. I can't count the converstaions Jay and I have had over this of late. Well just yesterday as I was listening to my favorite radio program, Glenn Beck, a letter was read that expressed exactly how I've been feeling. Well today a petition was created to go with the letter for those who feel the same way that the lady who sent the letter in does. Click here to see the link to the petition. I'm not going to be silent any more. This is my country and I love it too much to stand by silently and let these dirty politicans have power to ruin it any longer.


GLENN: I got a letter from a woman in Arizona. She writes an open letter to our nation's leadership: I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?

Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.



Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.



Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.



Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!



Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.

Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.

Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why ‑‑ what do you have against shareholders making a profit?

Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.

Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band‑Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.

Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try ‑‑ please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.

Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.

Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.

I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.

From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.

We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when hewill rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.



Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.

The new me

Over the years I've learned one thing about myself, getting pregnant takes a huge toll on my body.  With both pregnancies I've had I gain over 50 pounds and its all in the last few months of being pregnant.  And it takes me almost 2 years to lose it all.  Well after seeing photos of how I looked at my BIL's wedding I was shocked.  I know I'm a little on the fat side, I've felt unhealthy for a while now, but seeing how I looked 2 months ago was the last straw.  During Jay's last underway, he's been home for almost 2 weeks, I decided instead of just saying "I'm going to change" to actually do something.  I cleaned out our cupboards of all the junk food (minus our Gradelli brownies) and bought all sorts of healthy foods.  One of the foods I found was Fiber One granola bars and muffin mixes (I have the cereal too, but I have yet to try that).  I love them!  They are super good and one muffin or granola bar is all I can eat at a time.  I changed my eating habits entirely over the last week.  My kids about died, Kaden especially, when we didn't get chips or soda or cookies when we went shopping.
And then this morning I started round 2 of changing my lifestyle.  I wake up at 5 am, even when Jay is not here to have the alarm set, naturally and usually I go crash for 3 more hours on the couch while watching the news.  Not this morning.  I got up made the Fiber One muffins for myself and blueberry ones for the kids and while they cooled I exercised on my eliptical for a solid 30 min!  I have it programed for my weightloss and of recient I would only do 10 min and quit saying that I couldn't do it.  Not so this morning.  I managed in that 30 min workout to burn 150 calories which is a huge acomplishment for me.  Normally I'll only bury 80-90 calories in that time. 
And I got all this done, and showered and ready for the day before my kids were even up!  I am so pleased with the changes I am making in my life not only to lose weight, but to get healthy.  I'm not doing some crazy diet I'm changing my entire lifestyle.  My goal is to be back to my original weight before the pregancies, by the time Jay gets home from his upcoming deployment.  I have 6 months to lose 27 pounds and it is something I know I can do.  I've set up short term goals and a reward system for metting those goals.  I'll keep ya all posted and with pictures of my progress as time goes on.  For now, I've got to keep working on my house and getting ready for Jay's leave that starts up next Monday!