The Loss

Three months ago my family and I had our house packed up and we moved five hours away to Virginia. A move that I had been looking forward to for the past three years. West Virginia was hard. It was long and lonely. I did stuff by myself all of the time. My husband was gone most days and nights, and I never really connected with anyone that lived there. So when orders were up and it was time to move I was ecstatic!
 We stayed in a hotel for the first 4 nights when we got here, but opted to leave after that once we got our keys. We knew our household goods wouldn't arrive right away so we brought a UHAUL with a couple items that we might need. For example, four towels, two air mattresses, sheets, plates, silverware, a pot and pan, dog crate, couple toys....ect.

Mike had a month off of work in till school started. We spent those days exploring a little, going to the pool and playground and meeting new friends. It was what our whole family needed after not having practically any social life back in WV. Its also the time when you can get yourself moved in and settled.

A week goes by with no word on our things arriving, then two weeks, then three. We would call to check in if anyone had any information but they never gave us any answers, that's probably because there was none. 

After a month of living out of our house like we were camping, kids sleeping on air mattresses with us, cooking with one pot and one pan we finally get a phone call. 

There was a fire.

Our items were in that building.
they explained that two weeks ago there was a fire in the holding facility where our belongings were being stored. They couldn't let anyone know sooner because their computers holding all the information of the clients were also destroyed. They say the roof had caught fire. They were having it repaired and they think there had been a cigarette tossed into some of the material on the roof. Six different fire stations responded to this fire. It was huge.
They let us know that they didn't think anything was burned, it was more likely to have water damage.  My first reaction, I cried.
I knew what was in there. Things that are absolutely not fixable. All of my childhood violins, photos, Mikes, Mine and my children's childhood memories, school yearbooks, everything.
So, our things sat there already for two weeks, in a wooden box, inside cardboard boxes. They explained that they were going to do a "recovery process", meaning take out everything and "clean" it. In my head I am thinking of the mold that is growing on everything and there is really no reason to "clean" any items like furniture. We asked if we needed to make a trip back there to go through our things to let them know before they waste their time trying to "recover". They said no and they were going to send all of our things here, but yet the things that were "unrecoverable" they were going to leave in the boxes untouched.
So here we are, three months later and our truck finally showed up last Friday. Of course the movers had no idea what they were about to get themselves into because why would anyone relay the information that our things might be damaged, especially when we make it very clear that we needed them to be aware. They took out a couple boxes, but when it came to actual furniture, they said they needed to stop and could no longer continue. The mold had taken over.
I am writing this on a Thursday. Mike has already been in school for two months. Emma starts school on Tuesday and we have absolutely nothing in our house still.
We are waiting to hear back from the storage facility that was moving us in and had taken our stuff back due to mold, when we can come and recover anything that is of sentimental value. That is where we are at. Our household belongings has been deemed a total loss.
This once happy time, moving to a new place, meeting new people has been filled with stress and sadness. We have 8 month left here. I am not making this a home. I am not unpacking the few items we do have. It almost feels like I am already ready to move again and start over somewhere else. 

I'm still here!!!

I am here to jot down some things that we have been up to lately. There are some trips and memories that I want to make separate posts about so for now... I will just update on the things that have been been most recent.
First and Foremost. My baby girl turned 4!
I cant believe that!

Everyone says that it goes so fast and that they grow up in a blink of a eye...boy were they right.
I really wanted to have a party this year for her. She gets the whole aspect of birthdays now, but I just couldn't bring my self to do it. (ill go into that a little later when i talk about moving) She had school on her birthday, and it just so happened to be the week of Dr. Seuss's birthdays so the week was dedicated to him. The had Green Eggs and Ham on Monday (so you had to wear green) Cat in the Hat on Tuesday..wear a hat..which was her birthday so I made a Birthday hat for her to wear. After school and once Mike came home, she was dying to open presents so we did that.We had to run to the store for Mike because he was leaving the next day for training and needed a few things. We stopped at Toys r Us and let her pick out a couple things, dinner at Chick fil a after, then home for cake.

She is such a smart sassy little girl that is such a joy. She has been really into her gymnastics. Learning cartwheels and handstands. She loves to paint and draw. She will definitely be is some sort of acting class or plays when she is a little older. She loves to dance and ride her bike. Such a amazing little girl.

We finally Thank God , got orders for our PCS coming up. The 3 years are over!!!!
Can you tell I am ready to go?
Good Bye West Virginia!
These next 4 months are going to go so slow but at lease there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
This place was hard. Maybe its because I am coming from a place (Hawaii) that I still dream about and everyday. That felt like home...this place does not! I have stopped wanting to explore, I have gained weight, I feel like I look older, I am just all around tired. This place will not be missed.

Virginia Here We Come!
Mike was selected for school so we will only be there for a year. I am just excited to be around the military community again.  I am also so excited to be closer to the ocean! Mike was there for 9 months a couple years ago, and also it is the place we got married, so we sort of know the surroundings a little.
I am just so excited to hit the road!
Did I say I was excited?

lets talk about little Charlie.
His nicknames.... CharMonster...or Dinosaur.
That's what he is.

I stopped nursing finally at 18 months and now hes finally sleeping through the night!. I really wanted to last as long as I did with Emma which was 20 months but I just couldn't do it anymore. He was attached to me at all times. My mom always said, if one of you didn't like it anymore, then there needed to be a change. We are both much happier now. There are some moments I miss it , but it was for the better. Of course tho there always comes a problem...I cant get him to drink milk. Cows milk, almond milk, cashew milk...nothing. Except a couple sips of the Pediasure toddler milk. So there's my new delema.
Also, he is coming up on 20 months.. and he still has not said any words. He walked at 9 months, he crawled at 5. He does somersaults, jumps on the bed, puts his shoes on...i could go on and on, but he still has not said mama, dada, ball, dog....nothing. He is so smart, and I don't thing I have concerns with any development things, but still just lots of noises to and pointing. Just every baby goes at their own speed I guess.


The last thing, the house that we had owned back in Ohio that we had been renting out to terrible terrible tenants each and every time.
We sold it!
We put it on the market, and a day later we had two buyers. They both gave their best bid and it was done. It feels so wonderful to have that off of our back now. Each time we were going back we had to spend thousand and thousands of dollars fixing up what careless people did to it. I loved that house and the street that it was on. I'm just glad the whole thing is over with.

Here We Go Again

Last year I wrote this post. 
It was about the struggle that we have had with our home we own and rent out back in Ohio. It was suppose to be Mike and My first home. We bought it, and 3 months later Mike decided to join the military. I lived in it while he was gone at school but moved with him a couple months after. We hired a property management company to help us rent it out and take care of it. We have never had any problems renting it (because we put thousands of dollars back into it each time people move out) ...but we have had major problems renting it to GOOD tenants.

Well, after I wrote that post last year, those kids absolutely ruined our home. We had to take out a loan to fix repairs plus they owed us rent money. This still bothers me and I am getting hot as I write this on top of that we are still paying off the loan we had to take out. So when the house was in mint condition after we were done fixing it (me being 8 months pregnant), the property management found a family of a grandmother, wife and husband and the daughter and her husband. Thats 5 people in a 3 bedroom house. Adding they also had 3 small dogs. So to me that's a little different. All those people in a small house, but they said they wanted to save money and help grandma out. They signed a two year lease. We were happy with that so we didn't have to worry about finding someone renting it for another two years.
When I went home to Ohio for Charlies birthday, I drove past the house.
I wasn't that happy.
The grass hasn't been cut for at least a month if not longer and they were also parking their cars in the front yard.

On a side note.What the hell are we paying the property management company for? What do they do? absolutely nothing! I don't understand their roll in renting property's if they never drive past them to see how the outside looks...because I am pretty sure you can get a really good idea whats going on inside the home by the looks of the outside.

Literally not even a week after I drive past the house mike gets a email from the management saying that the grandma needs a wheelchair friendly home and they are breaking their lease and moving out. (by law that's allowed if its for medical reasons)

So, here we are a year later. Going back to probably fix our home because its in shambles again. I'm sure the dogs pissed all over so we will be replacing the floors.
This time though we are selling. 

We have had the worst luck ever with this little house. It has totally turned me off to ever buying a rental property again. I feel bad for the neighborhood. We will have to take out a loan once again...to fix let alone pay the mortgage for a few months while its on the market.

Trying to look on the bright side.
 It is still summer. People are still buying homes.
We only live 4 hours away so we can travel to do all the repairs ourselves.
Next year we will be moving farther away at the same time their lease would be up so we would not be able to get it ready for being re-rented.
We have a friend in real estate so I know he will do his best to sell it fast.

This month we will be heading back home once again to handle this home...and also say goodbye to it. The home we were going to start a life in that has now made us terrible memories of it. Tons of debt and humans that have know respect for others property have lived there.

Here we go again

The Kids

I feel like I could write twenty posts on everything that has been happening since May. That's how far back I need to go to be somewhat current. I am going to start off with somethings that have been a little more current...but definitely wont be forgetting the previous months because they are important.

Charlie turned ONE!
8-9-17
My baby is now a diget!
Sweet boy loves to run around and climb on everything.
He loves to blow spit bubbles...all day long.
He points at bids and helicopters/airplanes.
His favorite food is any type of meat. He doesn't want anything to do with noodles or bread. Let me tell you though, this boy can eat! He eats Emma way out of the water.
His favorite foods...oranges, yogurt, meat, avocado, banana, pizza.
I am not even going to talk about the night time sleeping routine while still nursing. Nothing has changed.
He is wearing 12 month clothes and size 3 shoe.
He loves to dance! Any music... Barneys beginning song is a favorite.
He give the best high fives.
When he gives kisses...he comes in mouth open.
Loves his rocking horses. Sits and rocks through the day on them.
He has 6 teeth. Three on top three on bottom.
Loves when you blow raspberry on him and he returns the favor throught the day. If I am holding him it will be on my shoulder or arm.
He isn't really fussy or cries. He has to be really hurt or Emma takes something away and he gets upset.
Loves to get into Cami's crate with her. She licks him to death while they are playing in there.
He tries to help with the vacuum. Takes way longer but its cute.
I just love him so much.

I was able to make a two day trip back home to Ohio for Charlies Birthday. Mike was out of town and I wanted to make it a little special for Char, so we spent it with family.

My baby girl started another year of Preschool.
She is absolutely loving it and I am so glad we decided last year to start her. She had talked about going back to see her friends all summer.

Such a happy little girl that has such a free spirit. We are working on the whining....

Updating - part 2

Well, we are moving. 

Moving to West Virginia we were hoping that we would be able to rent somewhere for the whole 3 years, but that's not happening any longer. 

So, lets get into it.

I think I had mentioned a few times the couple things that have been bothering me about where we are living. 

1.West Virginia's rental prices are not cheap! And you get crap for what you pay for. To be totally honest, the only thing I was excited about moving to West Virginia was that we would be able to save money. I was WRONG. Yes...we could live in a cheaper place, but let me tell you there are not a lot of neighborhoods that you want to live in. Slim Pickings!!! The house that we live in has all the space we need but we are maxing out our BAH plus some..pulse utilities with drafty windows.  We feel like we are house poor...and this is West Virginia...NOTHING SPECIAL! 

2. We live on a thru street. Not a main street but it mine as well should be. It is so busy and So loud! I have never hated motorcycles and sports cars as much as I do now.  We live across from a church...which is nice, but I hear car doors and alarms all day long. I feel like such a grandma complaining about all of the noise but when it starts effecting my children's naps, bed time and their moms break through the day, I'm not a happy camper. Yes, I have a dog that barks. She is our protector. But all of these noises sets her off sometimes. A motorcycle drives by, Charlie is up 2 seconds later. Tons of police, fire trucks and ambulances all throught the day and night. People and their loud music. No BODY wants to hear your loud base at 9 in the morning! The stop sign in front of our house is not a peel out spot....gosh! (I'm such an old lady) We live a street away from a train. Our house shakes when it comes by. I am not used to that!   

So we have been thinking bout moving for a little bit, but we first wanted to see if our landlord would drop a tiny bit on the price to try to get us to stay. Being landlords ourselves, we know how hard it is to find good people to live in your home. We have actually never had good person in ours back in Ohio so we REALLY know, but anyways. We pay our rent on time, never complain and fix stuff ourselves. Within the past two years living here I actually have only seen our landlord twice, and one of the times was to see the house and sign the lease. With all this said, we asked him to drop the rent $200. I personally didn't think that was that big of a number because of what we are actually paying. We also payed a extra $500 on top of the security deposit when we first moved in for a pet fee. He actually wanted a pet fee of the same price of the rent but we said no to that and settled on $500 if we signed a two year lease. 

Now, in West Virginia, using technology to find homes for rent is non-existent. You have to drive around neighborhoods, and there will be a sign in the front yard. No craigslist, no rent.com. no nothing. Either you know somebody that's renting, or you see a sign ..maybe once in awhile there will be a couple in the paper but that's about it. 

When the landlord said no to the $200 and came back to us with $100 off it was kind of a slap in the face so we started looking for a new place. We had plenty of time because we asked him a couple months ago so we could get on it and hopefully find a new place. Now once again, I would like to add that this landlord probably really didn't think the whole "saying no" to the $200 off thing in depth. We move every three years, and someone new has to take Mikes place at his work. We probably would have recommended staying in this home to the new person that would be coming in and there ya go...another 3 year lease for the landlord.  

A couple months ago, we were driving around looking for signs in front yards that were for rent...gosh that sounds so stupid. We came across one that was about 5 minutes down the road, but on the quiet street near the river. We called the nice gentleman and went to see the house. The yard is actually a double lot yard...and fenced, same amount of bedrooms, and baths, two car garage, big kitchen, basement...and I could go on..I'm sure Ill show the house soon in pictures. It is a older home. Not really renovated but as long as stuff works, I don't really care about that. Its only a year.  I do like that he just put in new carpets. That's huge when you have a crawler in the house! 

Now this was 3 months ago that we found this house. Our lease isn't up in till July. We told him about that and he said it would be OK and that he would hold the house for us. This was his childhood home and he "had good feeling about us". We gave him the security deposit and Mike said he would take care of the lawn even though we wouldn't be living there yet. The rent is $200 cheaper then where we are now so that is perfect.

He let us know that we could start moving in mid June. I really like to give a deep clean to every house we move into without any of our stuff in it, so I loved the sound of that. We are moving all of our stuff ourselves also and that will take time with kids. 

I'm excited to have quiet. I'm excited to get rid of a ton of crap we have been caring with us on each move. You better believe I am having a garage sale. With how much traffic we have in front of our house I think it will do pretty well. 

The sad thing is, this nice man has recently passed away. 

Mike had taken care of the lawn, called to let him know, his sister picked up and told Mike he was in the hospital, a couple days later we get a phone call that he passed. Very sad because he seemed like such a sweet man.

We are still going to be moving in to the home come July. 

As much as I am dreading the moving process, I am excited to save a couple bucks, have a couple days go by that my children sleep longer then 20 minutes because its quiet. 

Deep down, I hope our current landlord gets a real nut job in this house after us.  :) 

Updating - part 1

These last couple months have felt like our little family has been going non stop. We have been traveling, Mike has been busy at work, the kids are growing like crazy and we are about to pack up and move. I have a feeling this post will be long because there is just so much. Lets just start, with no specific order. 

My favorite little boy turned nine months...this was just last month, so he is 9 days from turning 10 months already.

He has been in full swing eating solid foods. I like to offer him something solid during every meal. Peaches, noodles, oranges...but then after I will still feed him his baby food. I can really tell he is totally over eating that mush though. He fights me half way through. Starts hitting the spoon away or putting his arms up. I cant wait for him to actually get full off real food. Hopefully soon he will be able to handle it.

He has been biting quite a bit lately. I don't really remember this faze with Emma, but Charlie is in it full swing. Hopefully it is just a teething thing because I am so over it. 

He took his first steps today. They were really wobbly, but still they were there. 

He does not sit down. EVER. 

In to EVERYTHING.

4 teeth

HATES being strapped into anything...car seat, high chair... I have to brace myself before I even try to get him buckled.

Still not sleeping through the night. I'm not going to get into it. Frustrating. 

We head to the doctors tomorrow so I'm not sure as of now what his weight is.
18.2 lbs
Only in the 15th percentile. Pretty crazy because he seems so big compared to when Emma was his age. 

He loves to smile and laugh when he knows he is doing something wrong.
He shakes his head when I say no. 

I just love him so much.

This little lady had her last day of school. 

These last couple months we have traveled quite a bit for our family. We don't travel a lot because of Mikes work, so for us it going away twice has been big. 

Mike had signed up a while ago for a time share trial with Holiday Inn. Being that we had to pay for our travel to get to one of the locations, we chose The Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. It was the closest destination to us being 5 hours. It was great. Right up the alley of things we like to do. Outdoor, adventure stuff. 

We ended up leaving two days early to spend some extra time there, so overall we spent 5 days at the park. Even though we didn't buy a timeshare like the Holiday Inn wanted us to while we were there, they did sell it really well and we are thinking really hard about it. We are actually going to be going on vacation again with this timeshare and probably will be purchasing it that go around. What we really like about it is that it can be handed down to children once it is paid for. 

We did a little bit of everything on the trip.

I would love to hike the AT one day. Probably in 18 years when my babies are grown. 

 The highest point on the AT. 

Clingmas Dome 

 The bugs were OUT OF CONTROL!!! 

I am not a real "eww..bugs" kind of person, but holy cow!!! 

There bugs were the size of a needles point. Tiny tiny tiny but the bites were bad. They were all over and there were swarms. I was more concerned with my children so we hiked fast. 

Looking back, I should have put Charlie on my front so I could have kept him a little more bug free. 

We hike the Alum Cave Trail. 

It was all along a river so it was beautiful. And it gave Emma a chance to get out and play. 

 The trail was about 5 miles long leading up to a mountain that you could spend the night on. This cave was about half way. 

We went to the aquarium 

Went to the pool. 

We ate a lot! 

Hiked to Laurel Falls

 Probably the most popular trail in the park. The falls were two levels. 

We played games

 Mike tried a bunch of different flavors of Moonshine. He said they were all disgusting. 

 Made a stop for some fun at a trampoline place. 

I don't have any photos of Emma that are not blurry. 

We had such a great time exploring Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Emma dancing to all the bango music, all the people enjoying their time outside and the nights snuggling with our babies after a long day of exploring. 

Well this post took up a good chunk of things we have been up too, but I have way more that I have to reminisce about. 

I'm sure there will be a part 2...and part 3. 

Charlie's Updates

I'm so disappointed that I haven't kept up with my little guys monthly updates. Going back on Emma's, the updates were either the day before or on the actual day she turned. 

Boy does it stink being the second child....I feel your pain! I am #2 also.  

I'm not going to really go back all the way to five months because I am terrible and never wrote anything down. So lets start with the present...8 months.  

Tends to make funny faces when eating apples and pears. He seems not to finish the baby foods that have them in it. 

Has an awesome back arch. I actually have to lay him on the floor and put both my feet on his shoulders just to change a diaper. Changing in public is crazy difficult. 

I can tell he is taking his time with certain things. Sitting up, crawling...he is just taking his good ol time. 

He is awesome at the army crawl. He does bring his legs up sometimes to crawl but he is way quicker the army way.

He is pulling himself up and standing a lot. 

He LOVES him some dog toys! I should have just bought him those instead of baby toys. Not that I let him crew on nasty dog toys but he always seems to make a run for them when they are on the floor. Cami seems to like to drop them right next to him also. 

Cords, shoes, paper, crayons....anything but actual toys, he loves.

He had croup for a night. Not really crazy bad like it could have been. I heard him coughing like a seal during the night. I took him in to the doctor the very next morning and they gave him meds. How in the world does anyone else make their child take medicine at this age. Charlie probably swallowed not even a drop. Spit everything out.

Hating his car seat and high chair. Being strapped in is no fun!

Still is waking up at least 5 time during the night. I have just come to the conclusion that I suck at teaching my babies to sleep.  I cant do the cry it out method. He just becomes even more hysterical the longer I let him go. Then there are boogers and he cant breath, or he trows up from crying.  It is what it is. I have 12 months more months of interrupted sleep if I nurse the same length then I did with Emma. I really think he wakes himself up every time he pees. And when I am nursing him back to sleep a couple times a night, that is a lot of pee.  It is also impossible for Mike to try to help. We have tried and Charlie continues to scream in till I come in. 

He loves being tickled. And I love tickling him. 

He loves watching and playing with his big sister. 

He has two teeth

Loving bath time and when we go to the pool. So much splashing! 

He takes two naps a day.  Usually around 10 and 1.

He has been talking lot this month. Lots of little screams here and there because I think he like the way it sounds. 

I love him so much and am so lucky. 

I really hope these upcoming months I can do a better job updating. I feel terrible that I have been slacking so much on this. There are so many posts I need to write about things we have been up to but when it comes down to actually doing it, I just want sit and do nothing. 

Threenager!!!

My little girl turned three! 

I have  three year old! 

WHAT!!! 

please god help me

I cant believe it.

Its amazing all of the things she talks about and learns.
Kids really do say the darnedest things.
She sings her ABCs
Counts to 12
#1 on the potty like a pro...still having trouble with #2
Favorite foods are pasta, chicken, tomatoes, avocado, popcorn and ice cream.
She loves pretending to be a dog.
Loves to sing
She wants to help with everything.
 Really really into princesses.
Told me she loves Jack (a boy in her class)  :(
Daddy's girl for sure!
She wights 27lbs 6 oz and is 37 1/2 inches tall.
Picky about her drinks...only water, apple juice and pedi milk for this girl.
LOVES LOVES LOVES the color blue
With all of these amazing things that she has been doing and loving...there are always the not so wonderful things that go along with it.
When she really really wants something, the screaming and crying starts, but it doesn't end there. It goes to a extent of actually throwing up. She has yet to throw up in a store but has been pretty close.
She is the biggest drama queen.
She has trouble with the word stop. She will continue doing/ running and it almost gives me a heart attack.

A week before her birthday we took a trip to Cincinnati, Ohio to visit the Aquarium there. I heard it was really nice and I knew she would enjoy it. Cincinnati is a three hour drive from our house so we were going to stay the night at a hotel and leave the next morning.
I always want to go to places like this on weekdays because crowed places are not really fun but Mike was not able to take off work and he has a really busy upcoming month and would not be able to come then either.  So Saturday we dropped Cami off at boarding and off we went. We get to the Aquarium 4 hours later ( not 3 cause that's how long it takes with kids) and come to find out...with one adult ticket one kid got in free. Can I just tell you...EVERYONE and their mother was there. You first had to wait in line to buy tickets, then they give you  assigned time that your group will be allowed to enter. So we had 2 hours to wait around in till we could go in. We had ice cream and walked around trying to keep everyone happy. Finally it was our turn and let me just say it was the worst mistake ever. We should have left and went to the zoo instead. Walking in a line, with people all around you, cant see anything at all is not a fun time when you pay a arm and a leg just to get in....let alone if you add that we boarded our dog, gas, hotel and food it was a very expensive activity to be so disappointing with it.

My only picture that I have of Emma with the fish that has no random people in it.

Disney on Ice was coming and it just so happened to be 3 days before her birthday.
We made it a momma daughter date.

We both had so much fun. 

I wanted to make something a little special for her class for their snack the day of her birthday and Pintrest is always such a big help. Her school is a little picky with what you can and cannot bring, so veggie straws, grapes and cheese sticks are what I came up with.

We went to Chucky Cheese and played our heart out.
After that we went to Panera Bread for a late lunch.

All she really wanted was a blue cake but I found one that was blue and had Anna and Elsa on it. Double win!

The last two or so months she had been really talking about her birthday. There must have been someone at school that had one and she remembers singing Happy Birthday and having a snack. I really would have loved to have thrown her her first party but I just wasn't sure. We would probably have invited her whole class, and the handful of people I know with children around her age, but I just didn't make a move on it fast enough.
Next year we will definitely be doing it up big.

 I am so grateful for this little girl. She gives me so much joy and laughter. Yes, she makes me want to pull my hair out at moments but I will take the frustration any day to have the happy times she brings.