Simplicity here I come!

Ohmygoodness, I think I'm having a breakthrough.

I follow a blog called Money Saving Mom.  I actually follow several blogs, but more and more I seem to connect with so much of what she says and does.  She's very much an inspiration for me.

Lately, she's mentioned her minimalist wardrobe.  So I started clicking around her site to see what all she has posted on the subject and then read the comments to see other people's ideas.  I want a minimalist wardrobe.  I want a few great pieces instead of a whole closet full of crap I don't wear.

It doesn't surprise me that I feel this way.  I'm also the kinda gal who likes a few close friends instead of 20 people you can't have a real conversation with.

Anyway, it's like I'm overwhelmed by the greatness and the simplicity of the idea.  Quit buying crap that is cheap the ends up in drawers or in the closet and I never wear it.  Or the color isn't great or the fit isn't flattering.  Why do I buy that?  Because it's on sale?  Yep.  That's why.

So anyway, someone mentions Project 333.

Me=hook, line, and sinker.  I take the bait.  I'm totally sold on a minimalist wardrobe.

It's juicy, yet a solid!

I'm such a contradiction.  :)  I'm like those Starburst commercials.

On one hand, I hate having decisions made for me.  On the other hand, I hate having to make difficult decisions. It's overwhelming, this situation that I'm in.  I'm trying so hard to do the right thing, make the right choice and it's hard for me to do because I don't know which way is right.  I do feel like I've recently been swayed one way, but I know as soon as I see my homies, I'll be swayed another.  :)

Sigh.  Being a grown up isn't always that much fun.  :)

Mom, you shoulda stopped at two.

So I feel like we were super busy today, but didn't get a lot done.  We did get to cut outta the house for awhile and see my girlies.  Robyn is supposed to be going in to the the hospital tomorrow night to have her baby and we wanted to get together one last time.  My Smithsburg lovelies weren't able to make it down, but I'll see both of them this week anyway.  We had our super fave, frozen yogurt.  It's become quite an obsession around here. Adisson worked on selling some popcorn (for Cub Scouts), so that was good!  (ps, how is my "baby" almost nine years old?! Good grief!  Next year, he'll be TEN!!!)

School was light today.  I've decided not to talk about too much school stuff here, because I've started blogging elsewhere regarding our school activities.  It's redundant to type all the same stuff out twice.

In other news, apparently I'm Adisson's den leader for scouts.  I'm not super thrilled with the idea and neither is he.  He desperately wanted his dad to do it (so did I!) but Adam travels SO MUCH for work and the future isn't looking so bright for him (or us) to be around here anymore so he can't commit to doing it.  But the den needed a leader and no one else could do it, so of course I'd say yes.  I'm nervous because I don't know what I'm doing, but when it comes to those kids of mine, I'd do just about anything!

Speaking of, there's a Pack camping trip in a few weeks but we can't go because Adam will be running the Army Ten Miler down in DC that weekend.  So, in order to cross that off of our list of Scout things to do (and work on Adisson earning his Bear badge) we're going camping this weekend.  I've invited my friends and I think most of them are going to come out this weekend to hang out but I don't think anyone is going to spend the night....apparently it's supposed to be down in the 40's overnight and they are all too wimpy!  We're checking out Cunningham Falls, so hopefully my friends to the north will be able to stop by even for a little while.

Ok, I've got tons to do and I'd LOVE to get to sleep before three am (because that has apparently become my new bedtime while Adam has been gone), so it's off to clean up a little and work on school stuff for a little while.

Awkward. :)

Remember when you were a teenager and you'd go to a party or out with friends and you'd see your ex there and it would be all awkward and weird?  What's weirder is having that feeling when you're 29 and run into someone you used to be friends with at a cookout.  :)

I hate awkward situations.  I hate avoiding eye contact because it would be weird or hanging out in the same spot all night to avoid run-in's in the hallway.  :)  Just weird altogether.  I also hate when friendships run their course.  It makes for difficult social situations and I feel like I'm too old to feel this way. :)  

Typically, when I'm hanging out with my girls, time goes by so quickly and I can't believe that hours and hours have passed.  Tonight, I felt like time couldn't be moving slower.  I already didn't want to go to the place when I found out old friends would be there and then I just felt out of place when I got there, which totally sucks because I was around my closest friends in Maryland.

Ugh. 

In other news, my dearest friend Robyn should be having her sweet baby girl at any time and I can't wait to see her precious face!  I know for Robyn that the last nine months have flown by, but I feel like I just heard the news that she was pregnant, or that she was having a girl!  And here it is, time for her to be born!  I can't wait!  I made her a baby blanket but then decided that I hated it so I tore the whole thing apart and started over.  Now I'm in a race to get it done before they come home from the hospital (I don't need to have it ready before she's born, per se, just before she comes home, but I'd still like to get it done sooner rather than later).  

I wish my husband were home.  Sadly, I know the feeling of missing him will be something I deal with on a very long day to day basis thanks to a new, crappy assignment.  :(  Sometimes, being an Army wife is way less glamorous than they show on tv.  

So busy! I've been busy trying to get everything ready for all the company we're expecting and get school stuff ordered. I'm still not ready for company and definitely not ready for school. I don't know why I'm waiting so long to order the things we need...I'm running the risk of not getting our things in time for school to start and that's frustrating...because it's my fault. :(

On Friday, Adam will be taking Adisson to the Grand Prix races (it's actually just practice laps on Friday) in Baltimore and then his parents will be arriving sometime in the evening. We'll all head to the local Harley dealers last Bike Night of the year and then we're hoping to take them to our fave place for treats, Yogi Castle. :)

On Saturday, the plan is to head to Home Depot so the boys can build their kids projects, grab brunch at Denny's, and then head to DC for a walking tour of the monuments. Back home for some grub and then downtown for First Saturday.

Sunday, we'll have breakfast at home before heading to the Renaissance Festival (yay!) then home again for dinner and Big Brother.

Monday, some Waffle House before they head home and we head to Baltimore. In Baltimore, we're taking the boys to Urban Pirates (it's a secret and I'm SO excited!!) and then to Port Discovery.

Tuesday I have treatment.

And Wednesday, MY MOM COMES TO VISIT!!!! :) She's not been here in over a year and I can't wait to see her!!

While she's here, we plan on doing some outdoor stuff (giant bubbles, fishing), Maryland Science Center, downtown street festival, IKEA, and whatever else we can get into! Adam leaves while Mom is here and then as soon as she leaves, we start school.

Busy, busy, busy!

Last week we were invited by friends to go to the local minor league baseball game and sit in BOX SEATS! :) We had all gone to a game together earlier this summer and when we were there, our friend Kevin entered a drawing to win a box for a weeknight game. And he won!! :) And because they are such nice people, they invited us to attend the box game with them. And oh did we love it! Adisson was a little disappointed because his two goals (among many, many others) this summer were to 1. be shown on the scoreboard and 2. catch a foul ball. And I was *certain* he'd catch a foul ball when we were in the box seats. But the whole game...only one foul ball was hit to us and way too fast to catch! And no scoreboard for Adisson either. But we had such a great time in the nice seats!! :)

We've been working hard to declutter and organize the house. I'm trying so hard because I know how important it is to Adam. And to me. I just don't have the motivation for execution. But I'm trying. My in-laws are headed over to see us in a few weeks and I can't wait! The boys will be so excited! School starts in a few weeks and I'm kinda excited about that. I'd be more excited if I had finished planning and purchasing, but that is my goal for tomorrow.

So I'm tiiiiired as I just finished working out so I suppose going to bed would be the best idea. :)

So we tried camping. With 13 other people (15 if you count my sweet little nieces on the way!). We drove to Cooper's Rock, West Virginia to meet up with my Dad, his wife Heather, and my little brothers, Zach, Jeffrey, Randy, and Blake, my brother Jordan, his girlfriend Jana (who we were meeting for the first time), and his sons Boden and Cooper, and my brother Lucas, his lovely, sweet, and pregnant (WITH TWIN GIRLS!) girl Sarah and their son, Landen.

It seemed to be an almost central meeting place for all of us coming from three separate cities (two different states, none of which are WV). It was so amazingly beautiful there. It's a small campground having only 25 sites, but they are large, nice sites with electricity (not a must have, but it was nice). And it's just so beautiful there. In all likelihood, we'll never camp there again, due to its location, but we all just loved it.

We got there around 1:30 on Friday afternoon and set to work on getting our tent up. We were made fun of a little (good-naturedly, of course!) for bringing air mattresses and sheet and blanket sets, but roughing it in a tent is one thing...sleeping on the ground is another and not for me. :) We just barely got all of our stuff set up before Luke showed up and Jordan was shortly thereafter. My "middle" brothers were super nice and helpful and helped all of us get our stuff set up (my dad and his family had arrived at the campsite two days prior). It wasn't long before we were all together and having fun!

We quickly decided to head to Cooper's Rock since the weather for the weekend was uncertain and we didn't want to miss the chance to see the impressive sights in good weather. Oh.my.gosh. Sometimes, we all take for granted the marvelous beauty God has created until we take a second to look at something so amazing and impressive, you know there's only one possible explanation...God's hand at work. :)

We had a great time hiking the trail and then playing on the playground afterwards. It was fun trying to keep up with 10 kids (well, 9...Jax was sleeping in his carrier)...I felt like I was constantly counting them! We headed back to the campsite for dinner. Dad was our chef for the weekend, which was nice. :) Maybe next time, he can make his world famous sloppy joes. He did, however, make the best baked beans I've ever had! :)

Friday night went ok. Jax wasn't thrilled with camping. He wasn't the only one, either. My nephew Cooper wasn't too keen on tent sleeping, or anything camping related at all. :) But they are the youngest kids, just 2 and 1 (and just barely a year apart as their birthdays are just 10 days from each other) so I'm not surprised that they weren't overly thrilled with all things camping. Jax whined, fussed, and cried for awhile until I could get him to sleep. Then he was up throughout the night, but we made it through.

Saturday was overcast and a little sticky out but we were still so happy to just be spending time together. Each of us getting to spend time with our own families and together as a big family. We decided to head to a canoe rental place and head out on the water. All 18 of us AND Heather's dog!! :) 4 single kayaks, 2 double kayaks, and 2 canoes later...we were setting sail! Several of us (uh, no, absolutely not me!) jumped from the rope swings we found and Riley (the dog) decided to give swimming a try! Even Adisson jumped from the rope (which he LOVED and scared me!). Dad jumped from the rope and as he landed in the water, started groaning about his hand. We all made fun of him and brushed it off...until Sunday...more on that in a minute.

Afterwards, we headed back to the tents for Dad to make us some grub. Adam had also wanted to try some camping recipes he had seen so he did that as well. Oh, we also had an auction with some play money the kids had been earning that weekend and it was LOTS of fun! The little kids didn't know exactly what was going on, but we all had fun bidding away! After another evening of sitting around a campfire and enjoying time with brothers, cousins, uncles, and what not, it was time for bed.

And then it stormed. A LOT. And intensely. And long lasting. Dad, Heather, and their kids had to flee their tents (as they camp a lot and the tents were a little less sturdy than us newbies were dealing with...and because they hadn't expected to be camping this summer since Dad shoulda already deployed...). Luke brought a tarp after I mentioned it might rain so he covered their tent for extra protection...which seemed to do the trick. Jordan and his family got a little wet in our old tent, but it wasn't toooo bad. We had some leakage, but nothing much (uh, we bought some seam sealer after we got back...a few days later than we should have!). I was so worried all night that my boys would wake up in terror, but by the grace of God, they slept through the whole thing. :)

Then on Sunday morning, Jordan and Adam were called in for surgery. :) Ok, not really, but they had to cut Dad's wedding ring off because he had injured his fingers the day before on the rope swing and his fingers were VERY swollen. After a few minutes, they managed to get it cut off. It was pretty intense to watch...I felt so bad for Dad! We also had to work on tearing down our campsites...with everything soaking wet.

We drove into Morgantown to have lunch at Cici's with everyone before going our separate ways. Then, drove home, in the pouring down rain and horrible thunderstorms. With our luggage on top of the van in a soft sided cargo carrier. So if it wasn't wet from thunderstorms the night before, it was soaking wet by the time we got home. :)

But it was such a fun weekend. I got to see all of my brothers. I got to play with my adorable sweet nephews. And the five of us had a great time camping. We're ready to go again! :)

Oh, I've been so stressed out trying to get things figured out for our school year. Like, how do I not have things ready? We start school in a month?!?!?

I've gone back and forth a hundred times it seems...trying to figure out what to do.

I think I've got a good idea now. Mostly.

I've got to work on what Zander is going to be doing for preschool. I mean, he'll mostly follow along with Adisson's unit studies, but on a very basic level. But he needs to start working on his handwriting and letter comprehension. He learns a little differently than Adisson did when he was four, so I've got to change things up a bit. So glad I'm afforded the opportunity to do so. :)

And I'm trying to get things ready for this weekend. It's a little difficult to remain excited as two of my brothers, you know, the grown ones, can't seem to get along this week. Makes me wanna not go. But I want to see my nephews so bad that I can deal with pretty much anything. I miss them terribly. There's a few more things we need to get before our trip but we should be able to pick those things up this week (read: on Thursday night after Adam gets home and I don't have to take the boys to WalMart).

Ugh...screaming toddler calls......to be continued

Just hanging out this evening enjoying time with my boys. We watched this evenings Family Movie Night movie mostly because Adisson is OBSESSED with being a spy and I knew this movie would be right up his alley. He loved it!

I spent some time doing my nails as I never seem to have uninterrupted time to complete them. And I really didn't have that time tonight either as Jaxon was intent on touching every single nail I painted. But finally, all twenty nails painted. Which will last about fourteen seconds before it all starts chipping away. :)

We have our big family camping trip coming up this weekend. It will be my Dad and his wife and kids, Lucas, his girlfriend (who is five months pregnant with TWIN GIRLS!!), and their son, and Jordan and his sons. We're meeting up in West Virginia to camp at a place called Cooper's Rock. It looks AMAZING and it's also super cool because my nephew's named Cooper. :)

The boss is outta town this week so I'm hoping we can try some new crafts everyday while we're getting for our camping trip. There's definitely a few things on our Summer Fun List that I'd like to cross off.

That's about all that's going on for us. Suppose I'll get off of the computer as I'd still really like to get my hair dyed this evening. When I dye it black, my scalp ends up purple and I'd like for that to fade over the next few days before I have to be seen in public again. :)

So tonight when I was browsing pinterest, after facebook it's my most favorite place on the net, I found a quote that I really loved that said,

"Sometimes God calms the storm, sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child."

Dear Lord, can you help me find the calm?