Changing Youth Entitlement

Well, God spoke to me once again. I have become so frustrated with the kids disorganization (especially my middle child). I have been searching for inspiration to tackle this problem. My dear sister in law listened to me vent the other day and recommended a book that she found inspiration in, Cleaning House by Kay Wills Wyma. The first chapter talked about a plan to reduce clutter and creating responsibility, even holding the parents accountable . Yes, I have my creatively organized piles and clothes hanging here and there. The first plan is to give everyone a jar with 30-$1.00 bills. Everyday beds must be made, rooms remain clutter free, and clothes in their proper places or you loose your dollar. At the end of the month, what is left is theirs to keep. Money seems to talk to my boys, and well me too;). Watch for our progress.

Semester Break!

Finally, the Spring Semester is over. That only means I am halfway done with my program! Whew!! I know have off until May 9th. I am excited to do some organizing, cleaning, and gardening. G and I ran some errands today and got to have lunch with my Mom and Dad. Next week I have dates planned with friends I haven't seen all semester. I have lots of friends, I just am not always the best at being a great friend. 

Lately, I have really struggled with taking time for me to workout once the boys get home or be here to help with homework. AJ is usually around, but we all know how Dads help with homework. This past week I had a procedure scheduled that allowed me to be grounded from working out and then I just plain felt I needed to be here to get the kids caught up. It makes me sad after I see pictures of what they did during their workout, and knowing I missed it. But, I know that I can't be 100% at everything all the time. Sometimes, Mommy just needs to be home with the kiddos. Now that it is nice I can't wait to get out on my bike. That may become my workouts some days. I am also trying to convince AJ to buy a few pieces of equipment for the garage so that I can workout the days that I have clinicals or full days of classes. Is it bad for mother's day I want a bar with weights, kettle bell and an extension bench?

Mother's Day Wish List

Disney World For The Military Family

We had an amazing Disney family vacation on a budget! I am not being compensated by any of these companies, but I thought I would share the tricks that we found when booking or vacation. We bought the 4 day Military Promotional Ticket which included the Park Hopper Option at the first park we visited. We went to guest services and told them we wanted to purchase our tickets. I talked to Disney Customer Service and they would like you to buy them at Shades of Green or an ITT office but they will accommodate you. We loved Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We really didn't care to much for Hollywood Studios as it was hot and long lines after being at Magic Kingdom. We chose Sea World over a day at Epcot.

Our first thought was to stay at Shades of Green, but then after pricing out the cost of breakfast, etc... we looked elsewhere. We stayed at the brand new Embassy Suites Lake Buena Vista South. It was just 5 minutes from every park. The hotel was beautiful, roomy, and had a great free breakfast to start our day. They had a pack and play ready for us when we arrived. I was able to snag a $75.00 a night military rate on a suite. You can't find that anywhere with free breakfast!

We booked our flights with Allegiant and they offered us a huge discount on a rental car. We were able to get a van for a half of the cost most sites advertised. We ate on the grounds for lunch, which ran us about $50.00 a meal, and then grabbed dinner at one of our favorite chain restaurants throughout the area. We always like to eat at the places we don't have around our hometown. We ate at Bahama Breeze, PF Changs, Planet Hollywood, and Macaroni Grill. We tried the Nascar Restaurant at City Walk, but were pretty disappointed in the $20.00 parking fee. Planet Hollywood was fun for the kids, however we were hot and tired and our waiter was trying to be extra funny and we just weren't into it.

The highlight of the trip was when Mr. Graycen met Mickey. He couldn't stand it once he saw him and AJ spent 10 minutes wrestling him while another family had their visit. The boys also loved Sea World.  Through the Waves of Honor program we enjoyed a free day, minus the cost of our lunch, parking, and food for the animals. It saved us a good $400.00 and the boys loved the roller coasters.

Drill Weekend

Ugh the dread monthly weekend is here. The weekend when I get to reminisce about all the glorious moments of fear, anxiety, stress, and independence I got to feel last year and 5 other times prior. My husband takes great care off me. He is obsessed with laundry and dishes. Praise The Lord because I DESPISE these chores. Every month I dread him having to go. Yes, I am proud but lately more exhausted by it. The news of North Korea and their threats brings me to my knees. Can I please just have my husband home for a year before we start threatening military action? Aj was really quiet last week and part of me wonders if he was worried to. He truly enjoys being a part of every moment of the boys lives . I told him if honestly think of jumping off the highest bridge ( ok .. Well not literally because heights make me nauseous), but I feel like I'm getting getting to old to be both Mom and Dad. He certainly is not leaving me with a crazy two year old and a hormonal 14 year old. ;)
We leave for our post deployment family Disney World trip this week. I can wait to share the deals I found with you ! These are times all the tears, screams, and lonely nights are worth it. Disney at a major discount... Heck yeah!
I leave you with a few of the moments from this drill weekend including hours of statistics and paper writing, and figuring out how to corral a 2 year old escape artist.

Precious Moments

After reading Carry On, Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton, I realized that there are days I just want the day to be over. I am tired, stressed, and overwhelmed with keeping up with the boys, keeping up with the house, school, and being a good wife. In the business of life I have stopped looking for those precious moments when life stands still or Kairos time as Glennon talks about. I have vowed to find those precious moments and record them daily. If you follow me on Instagram, you will see all my precious moments in real time. ;) Yes I'm obsessed with taking pictures of my adorable kiddos, sharing them on Facebook, and overly obsessed with Instagram!

Are You Listening?

I know that God has asked me to write about my experiences as a Marine Wife and what deployments have taught me. Every time I sit to write, I never know where to start. Somehow, somewhere I was introduced to Momastery and Glennon Doyle Melton. As soon as I started reading her blog... I was hooked. A real Christian women who was completely honest with motherhood, her marriage, and her life. Although I am not a recovering alcoholic or bulimic, I found myself connecting with her and secretly wanting her to be my best friend. I am in love with her new book, Carry On, Warrior and her continued honesty. A particular part of her book spoke to me. It's time to carve out writing time daily. I'm going to write about my perfect moments and my not so perfect moments. I often find myself not writing when I should really be writing it more. Isn't it just beautiful when God speaks to us directly?

Unbalanced

I first apologize for my lack of writing. Truth is I have felt pretty unbalanced lately. It is the end of the semester and I feel that all the energy I have for writing has been thrown into paper writing. I am really not sure if it will ever end! I have been juggling three papers lately and sometimes find myself forgetting about the topic I am suppose to be focusing on.

The boys are off on spring break this week and hubby of course has a long drill this weekend. Single Momhood for five days this week. I am not the least bit excited with all I have on my to do list. The boys go back to school Monday, then we leave for Disney later in the week. I know not the best planning, but that is all we could do with AJ's Marine drill. I refused to do Disney in June when the lines are forever long and the temperatures are 90+. I am excited to spend the time with the boys, but I can't say that I am as excited as I would be if we were going to be going and laying on a beach. I know that these memories are memories we will cherish forever and my 13 year old will only think a Disney vacation is cool for a bit longer. Because this vacation takes place during the end of the semester... I am doing double duty on homework and papers. Ugh...