So it's been awhile, a LONG while since I have last blogged so I need to be a little bit better about that. It's funny I thought for sure with Michael gone and no distractions once Parker went to bed I would be able to blog all of the time BUT with Michael gone and doing the whole "single" parent thing I am EXHAUSTED every night. And about the only thing I want to do is look at fb, watch a little tv and go to bed;) Thinking and typing takes too much energy, ha ha ha! No, I love blogging just need to take the time to do it. We have tried to stay as busy as possible as we have done through out most of this deployment. It helps pass the time, plus I feel so fortunate to be able to stay home with Parker I want to get him out into the world doing hands on things as much as possible. Although venturing out without any help at times is a little overwhelming, if you have met Parker you know he is a BUSY bee! He NEVER stops if his stroller isn't moving then he is whining to get out, he wants to go, go, go! My mother came to visit and as always it was fantastic. I was pampered courtesy of my husband at the spa! I got my hair done and a massage, it was sooo amazing! It's funny I even enjoyed the car ride to the spa I turned up the music and sang the whole way there. And not once did I have to push play on the dvd, hand back a sippy cup, pass snacks back, get hit in the head with a bouncy ball, or console a crying toddler! It was wonderful, although I was excited to see my lil man after my spa day away from him. While my mom was here my cousins from AL came to visit and brought their beautiful baby girl!!!! We had such a great time visiting with them, but Parker was SUPER fussy the whole time and I just knew something was going on with him. Sure enough his fever spiked later that night and so I decided we should just go ahead and take him to the ER. Nothing was making him comfortable and when he only wants to snuggle in your lap you know something is wrong because as I stated before he doesn't stop for two seconds. So luckily we were in and out in 30 minutes, yes you read that right 30 minutes it was CRAZY. But don't worry we made up for the great time by searching forever for a 24 hour pharmacy. It ended up being his ears. He had a double ear infection. Poor baby. So he seems to be doing much better and our ped said at our follow up his ears looked great. Oh and he weighs 36 lbs now YIKES, such a big boy. We are really starting to count down the days until daddy is home. Can't wait!!! We miss him so much!!!!! Well I will try to blog sooner;)

passing the time until you are home;)

Wow what a busy month April has been!!!! Busy is great when you are trying to make the time go by faster;) April held many special days like my birthday which I was surprised to receive an email with a gift certificate to a day at the spa from my wonderful husband!!! April also is our anniversary which once again held a wonderful surprise a beautiful bouquet of lilies and roses!!!! I think the best part of April was getting to spend a weekend with two very special friends of mine. Our first military base to report to was Fort Bragg. Of course I knew NO one when I moved there to be with Michael after we were married, I had just left a wonderful teaching job and left all of my friends and family and the only home I had ever known. So it was very scary to say the least. Long story short I met two women who husbands were also in the same training as Michael and they quickly became our friends, family, and support all in one;) I was very lucky to have been moved here with one of those friends but our other friend stayed stationed in NC after her husband graduated. With all of our husbands away she decided that her and her daughter would make the flight to come visit Jess and I!!! It was fantastic all the kiddos together!! Addison, Resa, and Parker, how fun it was to see them interact and of course to spend time with my two great friends. Seeing Ashlee when we first got to the airport brought on a lot of emotion for all of us, we very soon were all teary eyed, there is a bond between us that is very strong we are all facing the same hardships and really understand one another. It was AWESOME! So of course saying goodbye was rough:( But Parker and I will be making the trip to NC next summer when the hubbies are away again. We also visited Chuck E Cheese for Parker's friend, Ethan's second birthday. Parker thoroughly enjoyed running around playing on everything he was in kid heaven;) As for me I have really been getting into crossfit lately, a style of working out and I am thoroughly enjoying it. I workout with a trainer three days a week and I am now a protein eating machine, I am eating "clean" as she would call it. I am seeing the results and fast. Its honestly been amazing to see how far I can push my body, it has given me so much confidence to realize how much I really can handle, she pushes me and I am LOVING it. It also helps to focus my attention on myself for a bit, because as we all know once you become a mom its easy to lose yourself in your child, I LOVE being a mom but I have to remember myself as well. Even more so when it's just Parker and I, I have to keep my energy high to keep up with my lil monster:) I hope this finds all of you doing well:)

Happy Four Year Anniversary Baby!!

Tomorrow April 20th is our four year anniversary! Truly that was the best day of my life, I always knew in the back of my mind that something was special about Michael. Dating wasn't easy for us between the age difference, the distance between us, and different backgrounds we struggled at times to make our relationship work. But one thing always held true in the three years that we dated the realization that not being together was far worse than any trial or tribulation we had to go through to make our relationship work. He truly had my heart from the moment we went on our first date. He is my rock. I have learned so much from him in the seven years we have been together, he makes me want to be a better person. I love the way he looks at life and often times I see myself striving to stay as positive about things as he does. He is a firm believer in God, a devoted, loving husband, and an incredible, caring, hands on father. I pray that Parker has his outlook on life and drive to always better himself. We only get this one life here on Earth and I thank God, THANK God that he has led me to such a beautiful man. I am so in love with him and although we can't be together right now just knowing he is my husband is enough to keep me smiling. I love you so much baby and I am so proud of you and our beautiful family. Thank you for always listening to my needs as a wife, respecting my role as a mother, and understanding my feelings as a woman. Happy Anniversary baby, I can't wait to celebrate MANY more with you! I truly don't know what I would do without you!

Easter 2010

We were so blessed to have Nana, Papa, Jeremy, and his girlfriend Bliss visit for Easter and my birthday! My birthday happened to fall on Easter this year, which I think was the first time ever. We had a wonderful weekend, Papa spent most of the time working on our yard and getting our landscaping all beautified for summer. It looks incredible!!! He also spend several hours painting our master bedroom, which now looks fabulous! My birthday was also fantastic I got lots of great gifts but the best gift of all was a phone call from my husband and a day at the spa, he is so great. I think the best part of the whole weekend was watching Parker hunt Easter eggs. He totally picked up on it and went to town finding and placing every egg in his basket until it was full. I think his favorite part was eating all of the candy. Overall it was a wonderful weekend and I can't thank my family enough for doing the "man" jobs around the house, I truly am blessed to have them;) Oh and Michael I posted a picture of how clean the garage looks, my dad also straightened that up because well its just not an area I keep very organized ha ha ha!!!

Thought I would post some pictures of Parker and Ethan's playdate. Ethan's mommy (my good friend and a wife from the team) asked me if I could come over and watch Ethan while she attended her OBGYN appt. To my surprise it was easier to watch two busy boys than just one. They actually entertained one another! Don't get me wrong they still love to get into everything and make noise anyway they can, but I truly enjoyed watching the two of them play together!

single parent

Now that we are back in TN we have been trying to keep busy. With just lil P and I the days can really drag on if we don't get out of the house. We have been to the park, went on runs, and had some playdates with our friends. When we first came back from staying with Nana and Papa Parker was having a little trouble adjusting back to his gym daycare and his bible class at church. The first time I dropped him off at the gym daycare you could have heard his screams a mile away, I SOOO wanted to go back in and get him but I stayed strong and sure enough within a couple of minutes he was totally fine. He knows what he is doing, he plays the game;) I always love going back into get him after I am done working out because the second I open the door he drops whatever is in his hand and immediately starts to fake cry as if to say "oh I know it "looked" as though I was having fun but really I was miserable the entire time." ha ha ha!! I can honestly say with the weather getting nice its really a bittersweet thing for me. I am excited to be able to take Parker outside to play but at the sametime I am very sad that Michael is not here for this. Summer was our favorite with Parker last year, we loved going to the park and grilling out. I am really going to miss that this summer. It really hit me hard today driving with the windows down feeling the warm, sunny air I wanted so bad to pick up the phone call Michael at work and tell him "I'm not cooking lets grill out tonight." I have really found since he left that no matter how excited I get about something like the warm weather, nothing is as good as it could be if he were here. I know this too shall pass and he will be here before I know it, but until then Parker and I will continue to trudge on and enjoy the beautiful weather! Its amazing to me how one of my biggest fears about Michael leaving was being a single parent while he was away, it seems as though my biggest fear has turned into my biggest blessing, I don't know how I would get through this without our beautiful baby boy. He keeps me going!