Back in the Groove

I've made it through the first two weeks of our deployment! (*Happy Dance around the living room*) It went by surprisingly fast, too. I think that was due to my mom being here, though, and me not truly being on my own. That starts tomorrow. :( She will be flying out and heading back to Montana. I think I'll be okay though. It was nice having her here. She was really helpful and we got a lot of Spring cleaning done. Too bad we weren't motivated enough to do a little bit more though. I do think we wore each other out with all the cleaning, running around and playing with the little one.

So.....let me wrap up the last two weeks for everyone. Said goodbye to the DH (Dear Husband), cried a lot, had to take my dog into surgery and had to spend way too much money on it, air conditioning went out on DH's car, babysitter notified me that even though she knows the job is every Friday she will be out of town already so I need to find a replacement for that day, Verizon gives me the run around about suspending DH's cell phone line, landscaper does a terrible job and I get a write up from my HOA, my WIC gets canceled, DH spends $100 even though I said "We're broke!" beforehand, friends try to cheer me up with flower and they arrive smooshed, dead and slimey. Yep, that's a typical first few weeks for a military spouse suffering the curse. I can happily say that I think it's passed for now. Knock on wood.

I will say I have been lucky and have been able to talk to my husband on Skype 3 times since he's left. They've been choppy chats, we've been disconnected a lot, and there's not any privacy, but I've heard his voice and seen his face and that's what matters. My son loves talking to him on the computer as well. He thinks his Daddy is so funny! It warms me up just watching them interact with each other and seeing how their eyes light up. My boys are my world.

Busy Little Bee

Wow have I been busy. With the husband leaving soon, we have a lot of things to do. The preparation that comes with a deployment is different for everyone. This is our first so I don't really feel like I know what I'm doing. It is becoming stressful as I feel like I have to prepare for the every day regular things and also the "What Ifs" Those darn "What Ifs" are what is making this whole thing........fun. No one wants to think about that stuff and we all want to believe it can't happen to us. But I am a firm believer in hope for the best expect the worst (and plan accordingly).

I'm not sure if there's anything that could make this separation we are going to go through easier other than him not going. That's obviously not going to happen though. I keep saying to myself "I wish we were closer to home" I don't know if that would really help me though, as I've never really been one to rely on my family too much. We haven't lived near our family since we were married over 7 years ago. It's always just been us, doing our thing, living our lives, and figuring it out on our own. Why should I think that this time would be any different?! I guess we always have a little hope for things to happen that we know really aren't going to.


I will just have to keep looking at the light at the end of the tunnel, our vacation to San Diego. This is our first family vacation. It's definitely something we all need and will all enjoy. I'm really looking forward to this break and this time for us to be just us. No one around that we know, no work, no playgroup, no schedules, nothing. Just us being us and doing our thing.

I'm off to dream about it now......

Making Monday

I am still knitting away like crazy! I just finished a hat (that I had posted about last week). I need to knit up the flower though and attach it. I am trying to start on my Elmo Peep too but the pattern is confusing so I am calling all knitting forces to help me and am currently waiting on the wisdom of my knitting friends.

I have decided to not seek out my knitting business, at least not right now. I thought it would be so fun to knit and make money, but I am still fairly new to it, not very fast, so it's slightly stressful to try and get everything done. Plus I miss knitting what I want to knit when I want to knit it. I really need to focus my motivation and creativity elsewhere too.

This doesn't have anything to do with crafts, but I have an online training course that I need to get focused on. Since that will be taking a lot of my attention I want to be able to destress and decompress with something fun, not more work. Also, with my DH (Dear Husband) leaving soon I want to be able to spend time with him, go on some vacations, etc and not have in the back of my mind what I should be working on. I will still do it, and I will still post my projects on here, it's just that now my knitting expenses will be coming out of my own pocket. :-/ Hahahaha Oh well.

Meal Plan 3/25-4/8

It's time for meal planning and grocery shopping again. I still have a few nights of meals left from the last meal plan but I had the motivation to get this done so I figured I better take advantage of it. Just looking at the recipes makes me hungry!
Since it's warming up here, we're doing easier meals and some more grilling.


Breakfast:
Cereal
Toast
Eggs
*All served with fruit*

Lunch:
Grilled Cheese
PB & J
Turkey or Ham Sandwich
Egg Salad
*All served with carrots, celery, apples, bananas, or other easy fruit/veggies on hand*

Snacks (Mostly for Will):
Graham Crackers & Milk
Fig Newtons
Yogurt & Granola
Cheese & Crackers
Bagles w/ Cream Cheese
Dried Fruit & Cheerios

Dinner:
BBQ Chicken Fajitas & Corn
Crispy Chicken Bites, Mac & Cheese & Green Beans
Jerk-Spiced Tilapia w/ Asparagus
BBQ Shrimp & Pea Pasta Salad
Mustard Chicken w/ Zucchinni
Burritos w/ Spanish Rice
Inside Out Cheeseburgers & Homemade Fries
Toasted Quinoa w/ Scallops
Huevos Rancheros Verdes
Garden Sausage & Rotini This is the recipe from the last post, but I decided to use precooked sausage instead of ham.
Meatballs w/ Orzo & Garlic Bread
Lasagna
Pasta Salad w/ Feta & Olives

Catching Up

Wow, it has been one busy week! It's Tuesday and I just realized that I was supposed to post a Making Monday yesterday. Hehehheheee I will post it anyways though. I still have the same long list of knitting to get done. Although I did finish the cell phone case and coffee cozy and those have been mailed off & received. Here are the pictures of the finished project



I also sent out these hair accessories to a friend



I am also attempting to make some monogrammed swaddling blankets for friends who are expecting little ones. The monogramming will be similar to this here (w/o the animals on the sides)

The blanket itself is similar to the Aden & Anais swaddling blankets. They will be made from crinkle or bubble gauze and have a ribbon around the edge.


Now if only I could figure out how to make time to get all of this done! :-p It's a rainy day today and I really don't feel like cleaning so I am sure I will get some of this done. Hopefully I can at least finish one of the hats and then I can get started on Elmo. Maybe if I'm lucky I can convince DH to make dinner tonight.

Making Monday

This is a late evening posting, I apologize, but it's been a busy and exhausting day. When isn't it, though?! *Sigh* Well here is what I am working on. I have one order I am currently finishing for a cellphone case and a coffee cozy. Here are picture of the samples. They are both done in a silky green yarn by Caron. It's the country yarn in foliage

This is the Coffee Cozy

Next I have this teddy bear and this baby hat to make in baby pink



And somehow between all of that I am going to attempt to make this Elmo for my son for Easter


And this hat for my son's little playgroup friend


All of these patterns can be found on Ravelry.com

Putting Myself Out There

I've decided this summer, since it will be way too hot to knit, well......way too hot for anyone to want knit items, I will try to build a stock of items to put in an Etsy shop. I don't know if it's going to work out, but that's my goal. DH will be gone during that time and I am supposed to be working on my billing & coding training, so we will see. I think before I can be successful at it I need to figure out how to fit everything into my days. Between a toddler, knitting, house cleaning, online training, cooking and not ignoring my son I am pretty busy. I am in awe of the women who have more than one child and work and go to school and keep their house livable. I think there is some kind of gene that some people are born with that makes them capable of balancing it all. I don't think I was born with it. I think quite possibly 2/3rds of my family is missing it. Right now I have 2 knitting projects to finish, 3 stacks of laundry on my couch waiting to be put away, a very dirty floor and a tv zombie that would probably love to go on a walk.

How do you balance your life? Do you have any little tips that help you accomplish all or most of what you need to get done in a day without losing your mind? Please share with me your wisdom :)

Making Monday

Okay, so this is going to be my first of many Making Mondays. I will be posting what I am currently working on and I hope every one stops by to say what they are working on too. I have been knitting up a frenzy since about December, mostly baby hats. I have a sister set that I am working on right now. Purple hats with ribbon around the bottom and a big white flower clip. I will have to come back tonight, when the little one goes down, to post pictures! :) One of them is completely finished and it's so cute. I really wish I had a little girl. I also need to get started on some monogrammed swaddling blankets. I have all the materials. Now to just find the time and motivation! I thought I would have more projects to write about today, but at my Friday Night Knitting group I ended up frogging (ripping out) a hat I was working on. I need to restart it soon. A friend of another friend's found out that she has cancer and has had to shave her head. The hat is for her.

(found at knititude)

Unfortunately I don't have short enough circular needles and need to find a different project. :( I will make it eventually though! I just need to purchase some new knitting needles first.

So, what are you working on?

Pay day was yesterday, so that means I get the *joys* of paying mortgage, bills and going grocery shopping. Oh how I loathe all of those, but mostly grocery shopping. My goodness, is it ever exhausting! I don't know what it is about it but it seems like it just sucks the life out of me and by the time I get home I am beyond tired. I don't even want to put groceries away or cook dinner. *Sigh*

When I do my shopping I plan out all our meals for the next 2 weeks for myself, my husband and my son. I plan our breakfasts, lunch, dinners and snacks for the little one. Here is what we will be eating for the next few weeks with as many recipes I can link to. If there's a recipe you're interested in and it's not available online, let me know and I will do my best to get it to you. Sometimes I just cook without a recipe. :)


William

Breakfast
Pancakes w/ prunes
PB Toast & Bananas
Eggs & Fruit

Lunch
Ham & Avocado Rollups with carrots
PB & Prune Sandwiches with apples
White Bean Quesadillas with red pepper strips
Mockaroni with Cheese and Peas
Spaghettios and Green Beans

Snacks
Annie's Cracker Mix
Graham Crackers & Banana
Cheerios with Dried Berries
Fig Newtons
Fruit


Us

Breakfast
Egg & Cheese Muffins
Oatmeal with Fruit
Yogurt, Fruit & Granola

Lunch
Turkey or Ham Sandwiches with Carrrot Sticks
Italian Pasta Salad
Dinner Leftovers
Veggie Soup

Dinner
Fajita-Ranch Chicken Wraps
Inside Out Cheeseburgers
Ham Rotini with Vegetables
Italian Sausage & Vegetable Soup
Meatballs with Orzo
Pesto Chicken Packets
Taco Rice
Beef & Broccoli
Tuna Carbonara
Yankee Pot Roast
Yakisoba & Chicken Yakitori

Getting Started

Welcome to my blog! My name is Meshell and this is my life. I am a military wife, SAHM to a handsome little boy and I'm just taking it one day at a time. Even though my son is now a toddler, I haven't figured out how to balance it all. At least not every day of the week. Ok, who am I kidding? I can't even figure it out every week sometimes. :)

I will be posting about pretty much everything that goes on in the life of Me. My frustrations, my joy, my loneliness, my fun and everything in between. I hope you find something useful or at least interesting.