February 23, 2014 by Stephanie

Dear Grace and Crosby

Oh my lovely doggy babies,

It has been awhile since you have been on the blog, but you two have been ruling my Instagram. I know you both get tired of me snapping photos of you, but you are just too darn cute.

You both have been so good lately. Dad and I are so proud that we can leave you out of the kennels now while we are out and about. Let’s be honest though, you haven’t been perfect angels have you? Grace, you like to dig through Mom’s lady trash and strewn it about the upper floor. Let’s talk about how gross this is girl. And Crosby, you like to get on the counters and pull down dishes that may or may not have remnants of the last meal we ate. That’s how we have lost a shaker cup and a few Tupperware items. But we have more days that you don’t do any of this than the days we do, so there is a plus. And Mom and Dad have gotten smarter about where we put things and what doors need to be shut when we leave. It is usually our lazy fault when we forget that you usually decide to get into stuff.

You sure do seem happy when we get home though!

I am sorry we haven’t gone on many walks lately. There have been so many things prohibiting it. The freezing temps, my constant sickness, and Dad’s training, haven’t really been nice to us schedule wise have they? Hopefully here soon, I will start feeling better, and we can take advantage of the warmer temps. Unfortunately, it looks like it will be just us for awhile since Dad has a lot of training to do. We will try to get out as a family every weekend, especially to take advantage of the weather. We know you both love your time outside!

I know that you all miss Dad when he is gone. You all whimper and pounce up at any loud truck that goes through the cul-de-sac hoping it is Dad coming home. And the way you all love on him when he is here shows me how much you cherish your time with him. Crosby, you do a great job ensuring that he is clean too with your constant licking.

Things are going to continue to change around here, and I know you two will be troopers and make the best of it. Grace, you have been through a deployment before. I know it was hard on you. I watched you lay on Dad’s clothes so many times hoping he would come home soon. Crosby, you have no idea what is in store for you, but you a pretty laid back, so I am sure you will do fine. On the plus side, you have each other now, and I know that helps during the day for you two to comfort each other. Although this time around will be different for all of us for so many reasons. So with the deployment and all the other changes that are going to occur in the upcoming months, I know you two will be just fine! And I know you will be a huge comfort and rock for Mom!

Speaking of you two together. You all just crack us up. You really have embraced each other as companions. You groom each other, you play together, and you take turns eating. I am usually rolling with laughter when you two groom each other. It is a cross between the sweetest and grossest thing I have witnessed. I often feel that I should leave you two along for your privacy. As far as sharing toys, Crosby, you tend to steal them from Grace quite often. However, I think Grace likes the chase and lets you do it sometimes because she never seems to put up a fight when you come in to grab the toy. When you cuddle together on the couch or chair upstairs it just melts my heart. I just love that you two are getting along so well.

We have figured out a pretty good sleeping routine. You both sleep in the middle of us. Grace you take the spot up by our heads and are sure to snuggle in real close to one of us. Crosby, you sprawl out at the foot of the bed like you own the place or something.

Crosby, you don’t seem to like the neighborhood kids. You bark at them every day when they are coming home from school. I know you are being a good guard dog, but I think we can handle a few 3rd graders.

Grace, you still sometimes will get jealous when Dad and I are giving Crosby some love and not you. We love you just a much, and please know that we haven’t forgotten about you!

You both make our days, and there is so much love for the two of you! We couldn’t be happier that you came home to us.

Love,

Mom

PS. We are not always nice parents, and sometimes we like to tease you. Our latest tricks are to enitce the whimpers out of you two. Crosby, we have learned that you do not like Maroon 5 since you bark every time Dad sings their songs. Your whimper gets me every time because it sounds like you are going hoarse and trying to force out a grunt or cough. And Grace you just don’t like being teased and want us to pay all of our attention to you, so you cry if you don’t get your way. Plus I think that it annoys you that Dad can imitate your whimper to a tee.

See example.

February 21, 2014 by Stephanie

Friday Filter: Band of Brothers

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image via

Right before Tom deployed, I found this TV series on sale and scooped it up. I knew that I was going to love it so I figured I would buy it before I even saw it.

Then Tom deployed, and I decided that it was in my best interest to wait until he returned home to watch it.

I knew if I watched a series about the brutal truths of war plus the added fact that the unit is 101st Airborne, (Tom’s division), it was just a recipe for disaster for my emotional state.

We finally got around to completing the series this week. It is short with only 10 episodes, but each one was jam-packed with goodness.

WWII was my favorite period to study. I took every elective in this time period during college. I was enthralled by the facts and details that they threw into this mini-series.

It was a pretty great cast, and the acting was pretty stellar which made you feel like you were watching a documentary almost more than a show. They did a great job with the scenery and the details of the costumes. They really picked up on the subtleties of the time.

I appreciated the realness of the series. They showed how leadership can affect the troops, how things are communicated, the morale, the conditions, and even the deaths and wounded. This was not an easy war for our men, and many were there for years.

If you imagine the things that are seen in that amount of time….mind boggling.

My favorite part was that they had the real soldiers the story was based on do interviews and tell snippets of their tale. So you saw men in their 60-80s talk about the harsh realities of war before each episode began. I mentioned this the other day to Tom too while we were in the pharmacy and seeing all the older gentlemen there picking up their meds. Some of these men have done unimaginable things, and yet they lead perfectly normal lives now and are sweet old men. (At least the look like sweet old men.) During these segments you saw these soldiers years later get choked up and laugh about memories. You saw real emotion in their eyes and their lip quivers.

I also really liked how they showed the relationships and how the war affected them over time. You watched them go from training days to when they heard the war was officially over. So you see growth and all kinds of transitions occur over that time.

I love when a story impacts you and shows you that rawness of humans. And this series did just that.

I will say it is not the easiest show to watch, but it is a great show to watch. I loved it for what it was. The history told in these 10 episodes was awesome, and better than any textbook. Although, I will say it was better for me maybe because of the context that I have from all those textbooks. However, I am sure you would enjoy it just the same.

Also it won a lot of awards, so other people think it is good too. Just saying.

We love watching war documentaries/shows in our house. Obviously.

Do you have any to recommend to us? Have you seen Band of Brothers? What did you think?Have you ever bought a movie/series without watching it?

Friday Filters offer a review that are my own opinions. I was not contacted by anyone associated with these works or compensated for my review. My review has not been influenced by anything other than my love for entertainment and art.

February 18, 2014 by Stephanie

Crochet Wavey Baby Blanket

I started off with blankets when I learned how to crochet. I still remember that peach yarn that my dad taught me how to do rows on when I was 7 years old. That was surely the ugliest blanket ever because of all the big holes of uneven stitches and rounded bumps on the end that were supposed to be my turns. But you have to start somewhere.

Since I have been doing blankets for 21 years now, they are my go-to gifts. I love making blankets for people.

Recently, some friends of ours had a baby boy come into the world. I wanted to give them something from Aunt Steph and Uncle Tom.

I found this pattern to do a wave effect.

I used this yarn. I did used the same number of skeins that she suggested in the pattern.

I love this brand for baby stuff, especially if you just need solid colors.

I used a 6.5 (K) hook instead of what she suggested. This is my go-to hook size for pretty much everything.

The first couple rows were obnoxious, but they usually are while you are trying to get things started. And it certainly didn’t look like waves until about 5 color swaps in.

Wave Crochet Baby Blanket

Once I got into a groove it moved really fast. I was able to complete this in a couple weeks. It is a little big for a new baby, but I tend to go big on blankets unintentionally. However, I want to put out there that I followed her pattern! (Ok maybe not to a tee since I used a different hook, but it was the same amount of yarn…) At least a baby can grow into it!

Wave Crochet Baby Blanket

I really love this pattern. It is so fun! And the colors turned out great together!

I have so many blankets I need to finish in the upcoming months. I have two in progress right now, unfortunately they are both patterns that I get bored easily with so I have to switch back and forth. I better get cracking!

I also forgot to mention that I did my first ever guest post this last weekend! You can read here to see what I wrote about my favorite chick flicks! Thanks to Chelsea from Anchors Aweigh for letting me take over her blog for a day!

February 17, 2014 by Stephanie

Armucation: FRG

Because being in the military is a life style for the entire family, the military has instated a group to help all individuals in the family feel connected and knowledgeable about the events going on with their soldier.

That is how the FRG was born. It stands for Family Readiness Group.

This group is made at the company level, which is about 100 soldiers. It encompasses the soldiers and the families.

So once a month, Tom and I go to a classroom to meet with all the other members of his company and their families. It depends on the FRG leaders and company commander whether single soldiers are included in this or if it is just the soldiers who are married. Ours is everyone.

At these monthly meetings, the company leaders go over the next month’s schedule. I find this really helpful to know how the training is going to look and when Tom will be away or when he has a DONSA (day off).

They will also provide us with resources or any other announcements that will pertain to us. For example, at the last meeting there was someone from the job center who talked about resources their office has.

This is often where we find out the most recent information about deployments.

The FRG does have some leaders that are the soldiers spouses. There is an FRG leader, who is usually a higher officer’s wife. Then each platoon in the company will have a POC (Point of Contact). This person will help disseminate information and do call outs to all the spouses in their particular platoon. They also have an FRG treasurer, again another spouse.

Depending on the FRG, there may be other things besides these monthly meetings that they plan. Some FRGs have parties or events throughout the year. Ours did a lot during the summer, but we have not done as much this winter. We have had quite a few potlucks at the monthly meetings though. Any events are usually family oriented and kid friendly. I mean “family” is in their title.

The FRG will still meet when the company is deployed. I am interested to see how it changes when all the men are not there. I was in Iowa last time, and I would just get the PowerPoints from them. I am sure that this gives us spouses a great chance to get to know each other too.

It is a pretty simple group. Since there are so many of them, they can change drastically on how they look though. We have even seen a change in this FRG since the new leadership arrived. So what the group will do will depend on both the spouses involved as well as the company leaders.

As you can see it is quite different than what the show Army Wives depicts.

It seems like I learn things about the Army every day. I am by no means an expert at all things Army, but I love exploring new topics and sharing what I see as a military spouse.

Hope you enjoyed today’s Armucation.

Do you have any questions about military life? Do you have any topic you would like me to write about? Feel free to ask away!

February 16, 2014 by Stephanie

Saying Goodbye to the Taurus

We have been on the hunt for a new car since the beginning of last fall. We test drove a few cars, and scoured websites for months. We knew we wanted to pay as much cash as possible so we were just waiting for the right price and car to come along.

My first car was a GMC Jimmy, and I really missed the SUV factor. I knew I wanted to upgrade up to a crossover type car if not SUV. However there is a price that comes along with those.

We kind of stumbled upon the car of choice. It was not one we had originally set out looking at. However the price kept showing up in the area we were willing to go for. After test driving a Dodge Journey, I knew that it was the car that would eventually end up in our driveway. I was just in love with it!

But then comes the part of saying goodbye to your old vehicle.

I have had my Taurus for 7 years now. I got it right before my trek to South Carolina for grad school. There was no way my Jimmy was going to make the drive, and I needed something that was able to get great gas mileage for the inevitable trips across half the country during those couple years. And the deal we made for this gal was really astonishing and too hard to pass up! It is a great feeling to walk out of a dealership and own the car outright!

The Taurus got me through 5 different moves:

Missouri to South Carolina
SC to Florida
Florida back to SC
SC to Iowa
Iowa to KY

I still had parking passes from Worlds of Fun, Clemson and University of Central Florida plastered on it’s windows.

We drove to Savannah to get engaged in this car.

I drove to our wedding in this car.

We brought Grace home in this car.

I picked up Tom after his deployment in the car.

I can’t even fathom how many road trips have happened in this car. Most of her miles are highway miles.

I have said many goodbyes from the driver side door over the last 7 years.

While it was nothing like my Jimmy, but it served me well (except for that one breakdown in Oskaloosa, IA). She had the practicality that I needed. She was a fighter down to the last drive we had. And I have had countless memories in the driver seat.

We have entered a new era though. We needed to upgrade before things continue to change for us. It was not as travel friendly with two dogs. And with the plans of a baby in the future we knew we needed something with a little more wiggle room. And I am not really a car person per say, so I really wanted something to fit our lifestyle a little more. And although, she was a fighter, the Taurus was showing her age.

So we have been saving and waiting.

This week we finally saw the car that was at a price and qualities we couldn’t pass up.

So we drove 40 minutes away from Ft. Campbell to check her out.

And we ended up driving home with a newly owned Dodge Journey!

It is a 2013 with only 5,000 miles. And we believe we got away with a steal price wise. So we feel really fortunate to have a pre-owned car that is practically new!

Here she is!

It is the first non-red car I have owned, which I found exciting!

It has SOOOO much room! The dogs are going to love traveling in it. There is a 3rd row seating option, which I feel will be really handy in the future because we are going to have this car for a long time.

They are a lot like Ford Edges and Chevy Equinoxes if you want something to compare it to.

I have a touch screen control panel which is nuts! There are a lot of new things I am going to have to adjust too. The technology in this car is just redonkulous. I didn’t even have key-less entry in the Taurus.

And what is super great, I get the same gas mileage that I did in the Taurus in this Dodge!

I could keep going on an on about the positives, but I will spare you.

I am just so pumped to have this car! It is still weird to walk out to the carport and see it and remember it is mine though.

Have you ever had a hard time saying goodbye to a car? Do you get attached to your vehicles?