Wordless Wednesday-Princess Kerriann

10 weeks

10 weeks... 10 weeks!  We are officially 10 weeks closer to the end of Kevin's deployment.

I am a firm believer in the fact that it is totally possible to turn a horrible day around after waking up on the wrong side of the bed.  I don't know what my issue was this morning, but I was in the worst mood.  We were able to Skype with Kevin for a few minutes after not really talking to him much the past week, and I have felt guilty all day that I wasn't in a better mood for our chat.  He's been sick and extremely busy on top of that, so I know it wasn't that he was trying to ignore us, but not being able to REALLY talk to him lately has been getting to me.  I'm sure all spouses have these moments while their better halves are deployed, but that doesn't make it ok.

After we ended our conversation and as I was driving Kerriann to school, it really started to hit me that I had no reason to be in a funk.  As of now, Kevin is safe, and that is all that I should really care about.  I am extremely thankful that he is not in a more dangerous situation, and that we are able to talk as much as we do.  I know it could be much worse.  I just need to keep this in the front of my mind as I wake up each morning, instead of being greedy and always wishing for more.

So as I drove home after dropping Kerriann off, I made a vow to be productive the rest of the day and also to be thankful for what I have.

With Christiane's help, we cleaned almost the entire house today and I did all of the grocery shopping for our big Thanksgiving feast on Thursday.  I also got to visit with my good friend, Kat, who hadn't seen Kerriann in ages.

She was so sweet and even brought her ice cream!

It was so great having her company tonight, and I really hope we can hang out again soon!

All in all, it was a great day, and I'm so glad that I had the chance to turn my day around early, instead of sulking all afternoon and evening.  I think it's important that we all take a look at what we already HAVE this week, instead of what we wish we had.  I'm so thankful for the life that I've been given, and if it came down to it I wouldn't change a thing (well... maybe except for bringing Kevin home ;)).

Weekend at Grandma's

On Friday we packed up and decided to get out of Morgantown for a few days and spend some time with my parents.  We had a nice, quiet weekend in Gassaway.  We didn't really do much, but Kerriann really enjoyed herself.  She had plenty of time to play with her toys ("my toys" as she says) and read all of the special books that she loves from MY childhood...

Take "naps" with her babies and kitty on the floor... because she doesn't actually nap on the weekends anymore... only for her teachers at school!

As I'm looking back through these photos, I'm wondering if she needed this quiet weekend more than I did.  All weekend her favorite game was finding new places to snuggle up and lay down with her babies... including our suitcase full of clothes...

and the couch for a few cartoons this morning...

We were also able to see my dad and all of the guys a few times this weekend.  Everyone comes in to go hunting the week of Thanksgiving and most of them came in on Saturday to help do some work around the farm.  We had some great meals with them and Kerriann was the life of the party, as usual!  She even got her first bloody lip... she was really one of the guys haha!

Now we are back in Morgantown and trying to prepare for Thanksgiving on Thursday.  I will be hosting (with a little help from Aunt Sherrie) at my house for the first time this year, so there is a lot to be done between now and then.  Wish me luck, and if you're in Morgantown, feel free to stop by and visit us!

Monday Night Burgers

Tonight Christiane joined us for burgers topped with guacamole and it was a huge hit with all of us, especially Kerriann.

She was in heaven dipping her burger (and fingers) into the guacamole and ketchup!  She is a huge fan of any kind of sauce or dip.

At least avocados are healthy!

Tea Time

On Saturday Kerriann, Christiane and I went to Aunt Sherrie's house for a tea party!

I really felt spoiled after eating this delicious meal.  Aunt Sherrie was so accommodating of my crazy gluten and dairy free diet, yet everything still tasted amazing.  She made a white bean soup, tea sandwiches (on GF bread) and dairy and gluten free chocolate cookies.  Cooking for myself every day really makes me appreciate having someone else's home cooked meal.  Why does it always taste better when someone else makes it for you?  Has anyone else noticed that?  Anyways... I am definitely going to be asking for the soup and cookie recipes for the future.

After tea, we decided to take a trip to the game farm since the weather was so beautiful.  

For those of you who are not from WV, the game farm is a sort of wildlife preserve (I'm not sure what they technically call it) that has animals that are native to WV, they are just fenced in in their natural surroundings.  Kerriann went the previous weekend with Aunt Sherrie and Uncle John and was excited to be going back again so soon.

All three of us had a great time with Uncle John and Aunt Sherrie.  It is so nice living close to them again!

Visitors on Veterans Day

On Friday, Sean and Alaina stopped to see us as they were passing through WV.

It was so great to see them and catch up for a couple of hours.  Kerriann was able to get some much needed roughhousing from Sean.  Seeing them play together really made me miss Kevin and that "rough" form of play that I know she doesn't get nearly enough these days.

And thanks to him wearing her out, I got an extra 30 minutes of "me" time on Friday night... haha!

Friday was also Veterans Day... and although I'm late... I still want to thank all of the American Veterans for all that they have sacrificed for our freedom!  It's important to remember these sacrifices not only on Veteran's Day, but EVERY day!  THANK YOU!

Wordless Wednesday-A Trip to the Park

I know this is supposed to be wordless, but I wanted to explain that as I was snapping this a helicopter flew over and Kerriann said "Hi Daddy!"

8 weeks!

We're eight weeks in!

I'm not going to lie and tell you that today was another great day, because despite the fact that it was 70 degrees and sunny, it wasn't.  I don't know what it was, but I've just been in a funk the past couple of days.  Maybe it's the fever and sore throat from over the weekend still dragging me down.  Maybe it's the presentation due Thursday and the portfolio due for my Leadership Minor capstone due tomorrow that I still have yet to assemble.  Or maybe it's just the fact that life can be so lonely during deployments, even when you're surrounded by people all day.  

It's probably just the fact that Kerriann didn't adjust her sleep cycles whatsoever due to the time change so we've been up at 6am the past two days (after falling asleep around midnight).  I'm really hoping that if I give her another few days she'll adapt.  Either that or we're moving from an 8pm to a 7pm bedtime.  Mommy needs her rest, too.

But enough about all of that.  I've been a total slacker the past week in the post department so I need to do some catching up.

My cousin Chris' birthday was Nov 5th, so we had plans for him and my cousin Brandon to stay with me over the weekend to celebrate and attend the WVU vs Louisville football game.  Unfortunately, the slightly sore throat I woke up with on Tuesday progressed into a much worse sore throat and by Friday evening I felt like I was coming down with a fever.  We had already made plans for Kerriann to stay with my Aunt Sherrie and Uncle John since I was going to have a full house, so we met them for dinner at Cheddars.  Christiane came along too, and after dinner we went back to my house to hang out until it was time to go out.  I just didn't think I could handle it, so I dropped off the others and went to bed.  I didn't really sleep that night, but there wasn't much more I could do than lay in bed.

By Saturday morning my fever broke (seriously, probably the shortest fever I've ever had, but I'm not complaining) and I decided I'd go over to Christiane's with everyone to tailgate before the game.  

I had a ticket, but just didn't feel well enough to go.  I hung out with her while the guys attended the game.  Unfortunately WVU did not do well... so after the game we went home to sleep off the loss.

Once we were all feeling a little more rested, we had a nice dinner at Outback for Chris' birthday (they have a gluten free menu-yay!).  Then we met up with a few friends and went out for a couple of hours.  

I played the DD role since I wasn't feeling 100%, but I still had a great time.  It was so nice to visit with my cousins and have their company all weekend.  I wish they could have stayed in town longer!

I spent most of Sunday working on my presentation that's due Thursday.  

After I'd logged a few hours working on it, I went to drop off Chris and pick up Kerriann.  It was so great to be reunited with her after the weekend!  

Wordless Wednesday-Kerriann's First Haircut

Obviously these are a few weeks (ok months) old...

Goodbye October, Hello November!

I woke up so excited to see a new month on the calendar this morning.  Even though the beginning of the month isn't exactly a milestone in our deployment countdown, it still feels like a fresh start.

Today was pretty quiet.  My afternoon class ended up getting canceled so I used the day to catch up on a few chores around the house.  I also did a little bit of shopping at the grocery store and made a quick run to the mall.  I FINALLY found a bottle of glycerine free lotion that I'm loving.  The only downside is that it was very expensive, so I'm still on the lookout for other alternatives.

I picked Kerriann up after school and realized that I forgot to buy the chicken I had gone to the grocery store for, so we went to Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  I think we are just going to call it our Tuesday dinner ritual from now on.  The place is so kid friendly, and it's just nice to get out of the house and be around other people in the evenings.

She was such a good girl for me the entire time and ate almost all of her fruit cup and chicken nuggets.  I had a decaf coffee because I woke up with a semi-sore throat this morning.

After dinner we headed home to relax the rest of the evening.  Right before bed Kerriann asked for candy so of course I let her have her M&Ms along with a glass of milk for a snack.

I also have to share a few more cute Halloween crafts that Kerriann brought home from school yesterday and today (this is mainly for Daddy!)...

Oh ok... and a few more of Kerriann from tonight... reading "Go Dog Go" one of her newest favorite books.

I hope everyone else had a great day... and PS we're at the 7 week mark! :)