Don't try this at home

I love to dye my own hair, I really love it. however, it always backfires and I have had countless box dye fuck-ups. I achieve the brassiest of blondes or total skank red, sometimes when I feel super mom-like I go for the mousy conservative brown which sucks too. Anyway, I just can't help myself. I get this itch to poke through the boxes of hair dye and I just go for it. I haven't done red since college and since I am living my whole 29th year as an aloof youngster I figured red was up for rotation. So I chose a conservative red called "dark copper blond". My hair turned a lovely shade of pink, which sent me into a mild panic and resulted in a trip to Walgreens for my soccer mom mousy brown.When I say "mild panic" I really mean that, it seems that one would really panic given the severity of this disaster, but honestly I have done this so many times that I really don't get upset by my hair folly's. So, I picked out my brown and began the process over again, hoping to drown out the pinkish hue. Here is how I ended up...


Love those crazy webcam effects!

I actually kind of like it. Sort of ended up a reddish brownish blondish soup..Anyway it was so worth it to experience Shelby's reaction to my having pink hair, hilarious!! I feel quite confident that after a shampoo or two it will be akin to watered down ketchup. Okay, so when you see that skanky red head out in the n'hood, it's just me;)

What About B.O.B.?

Getting back on track after life's hardships is a daunting task. Luckily, I am a firm believer that the very best methods of recovery involve getting outdoors and doing something to move your body. For me, that means running. So, throughout it all I have taken to the road...
How can she do that, you ask?
What about those two crazy children?
The dreaded double jogger, That's how!!


The BOB Ironman

It's kind of a funny story.
Anyone who is a remotely athletic mom knows what a B.O.B stroller is and that it is the "elite" among fitness strollers. I admit, I have bob envy. But they cost a freaking fortune and I just can't bear to spend that kind of money on something that I can't wear! So, I have maintained a rigorous running schedule striding along with my babytrend jogging stroller. The babytrend has served me well enough and I have laid down HUNDREDS of miles with it.
What sucks is my ego, because when I see someone pushing their beautiful bob strollers around I think, "well this sucks..that lady has a BOB, she probably doesn't even run, and here I am with this stupid babytrend looking like a damn novice"...that's how it goes down.
So before Jamie deployed we thought long and hard about how I was going to run with Shelby out of school and Piper with me. The answer, A double BOB stroller!!

Trash Jogger. What kind of person throws out a double jogger?

No, just kidding, we found a double jogging stroller in someones trash pile!!! Believe me it is no BOB. It was pretty nasty and old, and I think a cat may have died in it, but it had good bones and ran straight. These strollers aren't even made anymmore, it's a true dinosaur.

Get in and hush, Momma's gotta run!

After a wash cycle and new handlebar tape, it was do-able, and I have since run my ass off with this monstrosity. But the decision has been made. When Sheb goes back to school I am going to sell off all of these various jogging strollers (not the trash one, I'll give it to some other poor fool) and buy a single ironman BOB!! Then, I will join the stroller elite..
I pushed my friends once, and it was so amazing.

Leslie

In order to move forward I have to go back. My sister died a drug addict. She overdosed on Methadone. It was not a fluke, she was an addict. She was so sick. She looked so old, there were no signs of the girl she used to be.

I hurt, but this is part of the process. The support from my friends has been wonderful. The ones who picked up the phone and made a call to me, although they didn't know what to say...You are all so amazing. It takes courage to even begin to discuss a death like Leslie's. It isn't neat and tidy. There are no easy and simple words to say.

Now that I am back in my home I think that I can enter into a new stage of grief. It would be easier to remember her as she died but when I look at my own girls, in the perfection of childhood, I know that it is time to give Leslie more. So, I am ready for a healthy dose of grief and right now this is my next big thing...so bear with me.

Pre-deployment nesting

    Busy busy busy, we Walton's have been. That is the name of the game when it comes to getting prepared for a deployment. While all of my ARMY wives know this process quite well, I thought I may share a bit with my civilian readers (I am positive there are just TONS of you). 
     Getting ready for a nine month departure of your bff/love/partner/furniture mover/dishwasher is a daunting task. In my case I like to have everything as streamlined and organized as possible. This means compiling all the financial stuff and organizing a long-term calendar, settling up kids school, vaccination records, all that stuff...serious business. But more importantly;), I want to have my house and the stuff it in as organized as humanly possible. So, we were super busy at a yard sale, where we unloaded tons of stuff. After the yard sale we took two truckloads of good stuff that we never used to Goodwill (it just feels so awesome to de-clutter, my favorite pastime)!
     What now, you ask?
Well now Jamie goes on what we refer to as "block leave", he gets two weeks off before heading out. Some folks go on vacay, visit family etc.. We decided that we would take some day trips, visit the ATL, but mostly just stay at home and enjoy each other as only a family can (we are intolerable to others!!). That, and I have several furniture re-do's that may require some hubby muscle.
      Pre-deployment in a nutshell. No, it is not easy, but it is part of ARMY life, and this is a life that we love. I think of our life as a type of year-round school. Just because my husband is here, doesn't mean that he is actually "here" per say. There is lots of field time and late, late nights, combined with training exercises and trips out West. But, amidst all of that there may be a whole week off, and several four day weekends, so it evens out...a little. Right now I am most concerned with my sweet Shelby, who is at an age where she knows and understands her Daddy is leaving for a long time and she is none too thrilled. We plan to stay busy and have great and exciting things coming our way, so I think my girl will do just fine.
Ok, so here are a few pics from over the last couple of weeks! A lot of my garden, which for a teeny little thing is just so great.

Washing lettuce is a bitch, but I haven't bought any in weeks!

Baby Face



Kick Push Coast with Uncle Rhett

Shelby's first dance recital

Potted plant boner



Twenty-Something

Prior to Shelby's party

Today I am twenty-nine years old. There are several ways in which I am going to celebrate this momentous occasion, but first let me just recap the crazy past couple of weeks.....
Shelby had her fourth birthday, which we literally dragged out for two weeks. First, she had her actual b-day and Jamie and I constructed a play set for her, an all day affair. She absolutely loves it, and Piddy loves it too! Since it was Spring break week at preschool her party was scheduled for Friday the 13th.....Scary... She had six little friends over for a pajama party, not a sleepover, from 6-8. All of the mommies got our wine drankin' on and we had a great time..I think..It was a rager.

After Shelby's party and several glasses of survival wine.

Enough about her..Let's talk about me.
I have decided to live out this last year of my twenties as twenty-ish as possible. For starters, I think that I will pledge to wear as little clothing as possible. I am currently in a state of post-baby skinny fat...This is when you look awesome in clothes, but horrifying in the Dillard's dressing room. That being said, I can rock the heck out these tank-tops and cut-offs. Now given my current state of domesticity there is only so much I can do in my twenty-something year however, I will try to be less of a stick in the mud and get less caught up in my attempts at household perfection.Enjoy life's chaos every now and again, in an unmade bed/frozen pizza kind of way. I will also continue, as always, to pump as much rap music as humanly possible through the speakers of my swagger-fied Honda Pilot. So when you see my kids head-bobbing to Rack City with the windows down don't hate, I'm just in my twenties. This birthday is awesome and I have more than I could ever dream of or want, and I'm only 29!!! Now excuse me, I have some jeans that are in need of a booty short modification, and a box of pinot grigio;)

P.S. If my poor neighbor is reading this, who I think I have greatly confused with my weirdness, the aforementioned blog-post is my real
29th year plan...And...when I say my back hurts from playing with my Rubik's cube it really does hurt from playing with my Rubik's cube..get your mind out of the gutter!!

She's my Piper Cub

A few people have asked me about Piper's name and aside from being cute it carries some major meaning for me.
My dad has been building and flying Piper Cub airplanes for as long he could hold a screwdriver. I have never known a time when my dad didn't carry the scent of airplane parts and have hands that were stained a particular shade of "cub yellow". His devotion to building these cute little tail-draggers was a wonderful part of my childhood and I had the privilege of spending countless hours beside him in the workshop helping fit into the nooks and crannies of a Cub. I have then had the pleasure of riding in the cub, which I think is akin to puttering around the sky on a riding lawnmower. I have associated both of my pregnancies with Cub rides. I found out about my first pregnancy right after a beautiful Cub ride, and a more harrowing ride in a WWII German bi-plane....(might have skipped that if I knew). I also visited the little Piper Cub when Shelby was two and I was pregnant with my own little Piper. I knew in my heart that I would have this little girl and be able to give her the name Piper, which represents all of the wonder and delight of my own childhood. I look forward to her first trip to the airport.

Spring Break Ya'll

This week has been a wonderful reprieve from school. Finished with one course and eight weeks left to go in Grad. School, I hope (there is still some impending massive, ugly exit exam). So, first I wanted to revisit the ghost of Spring Break Past. This would inevitably include a drunken jaunt somewhere in Florida and probably involve my friends pulling me away from a sloppy fight with another drunken young woman...Since there are still no time machines I guess I'm screwed...

Anyway, I would rather be stung by a thousand Tracker Jackers rather than return to those days. It is true there is a season for every stage of life. Speaking of seasons, it is Spring, or Summer if your looking at the temp. 88 today whaaa? This Spring Break was filled with an amazing development. Obviously I read all three books in the Hunger Games Series. Next, I dug a small veggie plot in my backyard. It is small, but I have a great plan to get some serious yields from my wee little plot. I also have room for more veggie/herb combo plots along the side of my house, which I promise not to make ugly...

Shelby had a great time picking out her seeds. We went with early Spring Stuff: carrots, peas, radishes, lettuces. Later in the season we will do tomato, squash, cucumber. I have a good plan for cukes which involves the use of a trellis (refer to pic.) So I dug out the grass, back still sore. Mixed in some organic manure mix, added organic garden soil, mixed again, then put up a wire fence to keep the dog out. In the time I went to Lowes to pick up some stuff he had already taken a steaming dump right in the middle of the new garden...So the fence had to go up. I added an Army and POW flag and just to take the Victory garden theme a bit further, another patriotic yard flag. Let's hope something grows...