It was just a matter of time I suppose

Not too many details as of yet but I wanted to let y'all know........Adam is being deployed. He'll probably leave at the end of October.

Who thinks these things up.

Fruit Gushers.......


Ok, I know I'm at fault here for buying these but come on people!! These are quite possibly the messiest things I've ever given my kids. They have "juice" in the center of these fruit snacks and it magically gets everywhere. Derek actually asks for the "messy fruit snacks"....that's gotta say something right there. sigh

Wow...It's been a while

So, tonight at dinner, a friend reminded me that its been FOREVER since I've blogged. Seriously, 5 months I think. Time just flies. The kids are in their preschool/mom's day out programs now. Derek goes 5 days & Kayleigh goes 3....it's a fabulous little break for me. I should be getting to the gym more but I've just been having some downtime for myself. Anyway, the kids are growing like crazy!! Derek has been so good since his school started, it's awesome. And Kay is just a little ball of energy. I seriously need to get her back into gymnastics. Her speech is really taking off now too. One of my favorite things to do now is listen to the conversations between her & Derek, It's a riot!!

As for me, In June I had a hernia repair surgery and have been holding up pretty well since. Now I've been approved for my skin removal surgery which is scheduled for December 1st. It's such an exciting idea but I'm also really scared as it's a really big surgery and the recovery scares me. I'm down exactly 100 pounds now and I'm really feeling good.

Adam is doing well. We're really excited he made E-7 as of September 1st so that rocks! He got to go to a wedding back in Jacksonville this month & had a really great time. It was just tough that the kids & I couldn't go but he was only gone 3 days. That's too tough & expensive to travel for 3 days.

My sister Jill is 34 weeks pregnant and not expected to stay pregnant much longer. The Dr told her today that she's dialating so now she has to take it easy. Too bad the Dr didn't explain that to my 3 year-old nephew...lol. Jill is having a girl this time, Jordyn. The kids and I are going home to Pennsylvania for the first 3 weeks in November to meet her & to spend time with my family. Adam's not gonna know what to do with himself. His boss will be on leave though having their family's first baby so Adam has to fill in and won't be able to go with us. So....that's all for now. I promise I will try to be better with keeping up, after all....I do have some time to do it while the kiddos are in school. Now I just have to remember.

It's a girl !!

We got the newest member of our family on Monday the 28th. She's a six week old Lab puppy and we named her Sasha. She's a good pup. We're having her sleep in her crate since Labs are chewers and the first night she cried all night. It was so hard to hear...like having an infant all over again. But last night she did SO much better. Either that or I was way too tired to hear her, but I seriously doubt that. I really think she "cried" less than an hour. Potty training is going....well, as potty training goes. She doesn't usually poop in the house...only once I think about an hour after we got her but when she has to pee...she has to pee. She pees every time I take her outside so she's getting it but it's the holding it until we get there that she'll have to learn. She's still very young for that so it'll take time. She does well with the kids are they absolutely ADORE her!! Here are some pictures of her!

Feeling Thankful...

Do you ever just wake up in one of those moods? No, not the " I really wanna roll over & go back to sleep" moods but just the really calm, peaceful ones? Today, I woke up & I just feel very Blessed. Sure, being a military wife is tough, we all know that...but all things considered I'm very lucky. I have a few close friends here who would do anything for me, and do...and I have two beautiful children who are happy & healthy...CRAZY & BUSY, but happy & healthy none-the-less. And my husband is here with me not out in the desert somewhere.

Don't get me wrong, there's tough things going on too. I miss my family as always and my 2 very best military friends here are moving very soon...TOO soon. But I'm trying not to stress over that and to just take things as they come. I'm trying to just enjoy the time that I have with everyone while I still have it. I just hope I have strength because for whatever reason...saying goodbyes never seems to get any easier.

To Pennsylvania & back....

We flew to PA on the 9th and threw a suprise 50th birthday party for my mother on the 12th. It was completely awesome. Everything about the trip was awesome...& that's odd. The little ones traveled VERY well...and it was Kay's first plane ride. My whole family & Annette & allison helped so much & we all worked well together to pull off the suprise. Mom was actually suprised. No one knew if she had any idea or not but she really didn't & she was so humbled but all of it. She had a really great time & she deserved every single thing and/or compliment that she got. We threw her off track by going out to dinner on the actual day of her birthday and then we went out to see my Dad's band play so she thought that was the celebration. It was just really great to be with friends & family. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Kayleigh's first plane ride

chillin' on the airplane

Me & my Mom-the birthday girl

4 generations

Me, Jill, Pete, Deana & Jody

-The Martorella Kids

Lisa, Janelle, Me & Jenn--class of '98

Lost It!!

Wow...I thought I lost my wedding rings today. I took my jewelry off when we got home from Derek's speech therapy this morning as I was getting ready to get the kids something to eat. I take them off all the time when I'm home & link all my rings onto my watch & put them up. Well, after I took a shower & was getting ready for work today, I couldn't find them . I ALWAYS put them in the same spot. It took about 10 minutes and then I starting freaking out. Adam came in & started looking everywhere too & no luck. I had to go or I was gonna be late. Adam continued to look throughout the night & they were just nowhere. It was killing me because my house was all clean so there wasn't even a clue as to where they could be "hiding". I came home from work tonight prepared to go through the toy box & all the toy bins. I started out by looking under the sofa table we have in the living room and TA DA...they were there. They were behind & under all of the handle hauler trucks that live there. It was SUCH a relief but I really thought they were with all the mismatched socks from the dryer...lol.

Hi-Ya !!!

Derek started Tae Kwon Do in January. It is the absolute cutest thing to see him in his class in his uniform. He's not so little anymore. *sigh* He goes to class at Carvin's ATA twice a week for 30 minutes per class. He is really good at it and actually listens & pays attention. His teacher is GREAT!! She is also a school teacher...for young kids but i don't remember exactly what grade. Her son is also a blackbelt ( they both are) and he helps her teach the Tigers, which is Derek's age group. I believe her son is 13. Derek is actually a little young, they usually start them a 4 years old but they allow them to try a little after 3 & see if they're able to concentrate & follow directions well enough to join the class. I was thrilled when he got in & so was he! He's already advanced from his first belt, a white belt to the orange belt ( with a black stripe). Here's my little man....

Fall 2008

Well, I did it. I signed Derek up for preschool and Kayleigh for a Kids Day out program for next Fall. Derek is going to go 5 days a week and Kayleigh only 2. I wasn't sure I even wanted to put Kay in but she is little miss social butterfly and I know she'll really enjoy it. I really have no idea what I'll do with 3 hours a day, 2 days a week to myself!!



On another note...I'm posting a few pictures of Kay playing outside today while her brother was at TKD. She's such a little princess

E7 - SFC

We're so excited! We found out last thursday that Adam made the promotion list for Sergeant First Class ( E7). It's really nice for him because he works really hard & is a "by the books" kinda guy so I'm glad it didn't go unnoticed. And of course, any extra money will be a great deal of help. Kids are extremely expensive! Anyway, I think he's really enjoying our tour here. He loves to teach and is very good at it. I'm just glad to have someone who truly cares, teaching the new soldiers and pushing them in the right direction. That can make all the difference in the world. I'd imagine ( especially in the military) that it must be very difficult to find a nice balance between that strict hard ass military mentality and caring about your students. I think it must take some special people to find that happy medium.

We just wanted to share this great news.

Here's a couple more pictures of the kids!! They're from the Airshow.

My first post!

I've decided to create a blog so my friends and family can keep up with everything we do out here in West Texas.

I'm SO not technically savvy so thank heavens my friend Jennifer came & basically set everything up for me in hopes that I might actually learn something. Thanks Jennifer!!

Easter wasn't too eventful this year unfortunately. It was storming so we opted out of any egg hunts, Adam had a nasty stomach bug and I had to go to work at 4. It's always hardest to be away from extended family on the Holidays so of course we missed everyone. We did have a nice lunch though. We made a little ham & potatoes & green beans that we ate around noon so that was very nice. That is the one upside.....no matter where we go, we'll always have our immediate family right there with us.

Derek on Easter, March 08



Kayleigh on Easter, March 08