Pics From the Past Week

Ella and Cams ready to go watch Avery at Tae Kwon Do...

 Ella and her new Scooter!  Loves it!

Avery and her new Scooter!

Ella in love with Louie the mascot from the Minor League Baseball team here.  This was this morning at Avery's school's Walk-A-Thon.

Elmo and friends!

Daddy gets some "rest" with his girls.

Ella and her friend from school. :)

Avery Gets Her Yellow Belt!

Here are two videos uploaded to YouTube: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVfSqComxtQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb7cr9GhFkk

Busch Gardens Trip

 Free is a good thing.  Free nights at a hotel: check!  Free tickets for admission to Busch Gardens: check!  Three day holiday weekend: check!  So, off we went to spend some quality time together at the girls' first theme park, Busch Gardens. 

Here are the girls "before".

Avery wanted Cotton Candy before we even stepped foot in the park, so we HAD to get some!

 Daddy and Cams waiting for a ride...

 Daddy and a nervous and excited Ella on a ride...

 Cams was so excited to get the pink seahorse.  Daddy, not so much.

 We got to meet Elmo!

 And have frozen drinks to cool off between rides...

We got to meet Cookie Monster and give him hugs...

 And Big Bird and Elmo!

 Bert and Ernie are silly!

 We loved the sometimes loud train ride around the park...

 And we loved Abby Caddaby!

 Big Bird is TALL!

 Campbell LOVED the roller coaster!

 Woo Hoo!

 Sisters taking a break...

 Choo Choo!

 Ella and Wormy on the last ride of the day...

And then we were pooped.  Good thing Daddy's strong!

And we lived happily ever after.

Once Upon a Time...

There was a funny little girl named Campbell who had her very first day of school...

And she lived happily ever after.  The end.

Security

I wanted to make you aware of why I needed to make this blog private.  I have been wrestling with this for several weeks.  Read this and this.

Doesn't it make sense to cover all our bases and not put too much info out there?  Let me know if you are having trouble accessing the blog.  I'm still trying to figure out the settings, but I will try my best.

Sad News

I am very sad to tell you that I am forced to make this blog a private family blog.  If you would like to continue reading Brown...Party of Five, please leave a comment with your email address and I will send you the password.  The change will begin tomorrow.

If you are not family but a follower, I am deeply sorry.

Hope we can connect again.  Best wishes. 
Nicole

Hair Cuts and Happy Meals

The combination of the two had Avery saying it was the best day of her life. 

Last summer while flipping through channels on TV, Avery and I stopped on a infomercial type thing about Locks of Love.  I knew of the program but never thought about it when it came to my children, it just never popped into my mushy brain.  Avery was mesmerized by the children who were sick and how they lost their hair.  After watching the 30 minute program she was excited to grow her hair and donate it.  She decided this all on her own.  So, we set about growing it and I told her by March she would have the needed 10 inches in order to donate.  Well, I've been itching to cut it because in a house of three little girls, hair is kinda a big deal around here.  Every morning I take them one by one and brush, braid, clip, and twist it all into the acceptable style for the day (dictated usually by them).  Takes forever folks.  So, last Saturday I had enough of it all.  We measured and it was more then 10 inches.  I told her we could go this weekend and donate it.  So, all week we've been counting down the days and finally it was Saturday!  Yay!  We also decided it was time for all the girls to get a cut.  Ella needed a trim and Campbell needed her first haircut!  What a big trip it was!

Here's Ella sitting in her taxicab.

Here's Campbell getting her 1st haircut!  Only a couple of inches though.

Avery's before

Her reaction right after seeing the pony tail cut off

And after!  So cute!

We stopped and got Happy Meals on the way home and that's when Avery said this was the best day of her life!  Can't beat that!

Thankful Thursday

I love to take time out of the busy day to stop and be thankful.  To remember what I have is wonderful.  What I have is beautiful.  What I have is exactly what I've always wanted.   I don't always have five minutes to do this, but I try and remember every Thursday to stop and make a list.  So, here you go:

Today, I am thankful for:

* my house.  It not just a house, it's our home where our children snuggle on the couch in PJs and watch cartoons.  It's where I make waffle breakfasts on the weekends and it's where as a family we make lasting memories.

* schools and teachers.  Although I love my children dearly, there's no better day than a school day around here.  Teachers have my upmost respect for patiently teaching these young minds 5 times a week!  And, I do have to say, my kids are incredibly smart!

* the gym.  I actually went back to the gym today for the first time since July.  Yes, July.  Ok, I said it.  I went to the gym religiously 4-5 times per week for 9 months straight.  It was a comfortable place with friends and support and I knew the girls were having fun in the kid center too.  I forgot how great I feel after a workout!  I can't wait to go back!  It's my "me" time.

* the promise of sleeping in a hotel room. by. myself.  All you working and traveling parents think I'm crazy, right?  I wonder what all you SAHM's think of this?  It sounds like heaven to me.  I might be able to go out of town next month and use a free nights stay at a hotel.  I am supa excited!  I promise to come home afterwards (only cause we only have 1 free night, though).

* my husband.  We're about to celebrate 9 years married and 16 years together.  Wait- 16 years??  Can that be right?  Wowza!  He is my best friend, hero and true love.  Love you babe.


What are you thankful for today?

Nothing New but a Winner

There's nothing exciting going on here.  I wish there was.  I feel like I've hit a wall and want my husband to hurry up and come home.  I'm tired.  I am worrying about little things here and there.  But, most of all, I want my husband back. 

So, with nothing exciting to say I'll go ahead and reveal the winner of the Shutterfly giveaway.  The winner is.....Amanda!  Congratulations!  I will contact you today about your prize!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Wordless Wednesday

Avery lost her 4th tooth this morning at breakfast! 

In other news- if you haven't entered the Shutterfly giveaway posted yesterday, you need to get on that now!  I will be drawing a winner tomorrow!  I mean, don't you like free stuff?

It Happens Every Year and My First Giveaway

It's that time of year again.  No, I'm not talking about being snowed in or tax returns, I'm talking about Valentine's Day.  For all of you guys anyone reading this and you forgot, you're welcome for the reminder!  You still have time to go get or make something for everyone you love.  You know- those people?  Every year it seems like there are two groups of people divided on how to feel about that day.  I am a glass half full kinda girl, so I land squarely into the "love it" crowd.  I feel it's my one day to tell the special people in my life how I feel about them- mostly love LOVE!

Life before kids, The Hubs and I would try and do something special.  He's really not the romantic type, which pains me because I am.  But, I accept it and I puffy heart him anyway.  There were years of flowers, of chocolates (after I bought them for myself), and I think I remember the year he gave my a tiny figure of some cartoon animal- I'm not kidding.  Oh, how I wish I was!  I mean, thanks honey!

Now, life with kids, the Hubs and I really don't get to do anything special.  Actually, come to think of it, I don't think we've been together on the last 2 Vdays!  We're lucky if we're together on any holidays really.  So, suffice it to say we usually don't make it that special for us.  But, the girls?  I try and make it super sweet for them.  Of course, they have school parties and make valentine's for all their classmates.  That's fun and all, but I like to do a little more at home and take one day and make it special.  I decorate, mostly from the dollar store, but I do decorate until the house bursts with pink and red and hearts all over- the girls love it!  This year I found some very cute heart light strings to put in the girls' rooms from Target in their dollar bins!  I even found some cute pink and red kitchen towels to spruce up the kitchen.  For breakfast I like to make heart shaped pancakes, lunch I may do a heart sandwich in their lunch box, and then for snack I bake them up something extra special. 

This year I found Shutterfly.  Have you ordered from them before?  They have some super cute card designs here.  They also have some really awesome personalized gifts here.  And, if you're not into Valentine's Day, but you're still a nice person, they have great thank you cards here, you know, for all the Valentine's gifts other people are giving you.  So, this year I'm thinking maybe I'll try and make it extra special for the Hubs- ssshhh...don't tell him, and maybe I'll make it special for the little ones of the house, and maybe for the teachers, the school nurse, the mailman, the neighbors, the dance instructors, babysitter, etc. 



How cute is this card?



Or how about custom stickers?

Shutterfly has offered to give me a code to pass along to one of my readers good for 25 free Valentines Day cards.  "FREE?"  You say?  Why, yes!  Since this is my first giveaway, take it easy on me.  I only have one code to give out, people.  Here's the rules:  Leave me a comment after this post telling me something you love, or hate about Valentine's day, or let's make it something juicy?  You can share with us!  It's ok, we don't judge here.  On Thursday, I will randomly select a winner.  Please make sure you include your email address or follow me on ye ole blog here so I can find you!  Then, you go and get yourself some Valentine's Day loot!  Sound good?  Okay, Go!

Military Monday Bloghop

 After this weekend's Blizzard Bloghop I found so many great new blogs to read and people to connect with.  A big shout out goes to my new followers; Hi there!  I hope we can get to know each other better!

Alot of the blogs I visited this weekend were military families blogging through life.  I came across one blog of a Marine family.  They had a great idea to connect to more military blogs by starting a Monday Military Bloghop.

Just click on the button above and it'll take you to the linky.   

Here's to more hoppin'!

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

I'm a schedule driven person. I have a need to plan and prepare for the day/week/month ahead of me. (Hence my awesome MomAgenda) I carried this over to my kids when I had my first baby and put us on a strict routine. Everyday we did the same stuff in the same order. And you know what? I felt like it helped me and the baby be more settled and secure. This isn't to say that I have no room in my life for the unexpected. I am a Army wife after all, that's in the job description. But, knowing what came next is big. There are parenting articles out there to back me up on this, too. With each baby I've had and with the way life changes from having a newborn to having a kindergartner, I am less routine oriented with my kids. I guess I've let it slip. It got lost in the thing we call life. Today, I'm bringing it back. Have you ever notice that if you tell your child it's time to do something it may or may not happen? Or you may have a reluctant participant? Now, ever try putting the timer on your microwave or oven on and tell them they have a specific time frame to get something done in? My experience is that they pay more attention and are more willing when there's hard evidence to the claim. There's actually something backing mom up telling me to do something. And with weekends being so free from routine there's a lot of reluctance going around here. So, I got out our chalkboard easel and set up today's schedule. Avery was so excited about it that she helped me vacuum the house, do the laundry and make lunch. Each time something was done, she got to check it off the list.

Notice there's no breakfast or free time on there that our mornings usually consist of, I blame the lack of caffeine in my brain. My idea came when the glorious juice of the coffee gods marinated my brain.

As you can see, it's now nap time. And, yes, that does say Dance party. It was actually fun! I might have burned enough calories to go eat that nutty buddy in the pantry now.

Next up- snack time! Woo hoo!

Do you have a daily routine? Do you post it for your kids to see? Does it help them?

Snow Days

With the Hubs gone and having schools cancelled 2 days in a row, I have no idea what day it is anymore. Having accepted that I've lost my brain somewhere (if you see it please let me know), I got on with it and we got all dressed up and ready to go play in the snow. The girls have never sledded before, so I was a little nervous about that. Last year, we had the snowpocalypse of 33 inches of snow and the girls really didn't want anything to do with it. So, today I took a deep breath, put my big girl panties on and kicked us all outside. Did I mention that Hubs is gone and I had all. three. girls. outside. and took pictures? Hmmm?

Here's Campbell NOT wanting to go outside, but rather play on the computer. She grew horns and threw a fit and ran to her room screaming something that sounded a lot like "Wait till you're asleep, mom!" I laughed, told her I loved her and took a photo. Who can resist those braids and snow pants?

Here she is 15 minutes later loving the sled. Notice the other two conspiring together. Boy, are we in trouble when they're teenagers!

Ella laughed her head off most of the 2 hours we were outside. Eating it was high on her agenda. Oh- and hitting it with stick. That's my girl!

Avery loved sledding too. She was concerned that her tooth would fall out and would get lost in the snow, though.

Love having snow days, but gotta love my regular routine too. Crossing my fingers there's school tomorrow! Mama needs some sanity!

Blizzard Bloghop 2011

For those of you who do not know much about the blogging world there are conferences. A few of them are pretty big. They are held all around the country to get bloggers together to meet and learn about how to become better bloggers. Right now there's a big conference in Nashville called Blissdom. I would LOVE to be there right now meeting all my favorite bloggers and to get out of this house. OK, pretty much to get out of the house. But meeting these women who blog would be pretty cool too. I've followed them through their blogs and twitter and some on Facebook and through their writings I can't help but feel like I can relate to them. They are women just like me; mothers, daughters, wives, and friends. One of these women I have followed calls herself Household 6. Yep, you guessed it, she's an Army spouse. She, too, is bummed about not going to Blissdom and has created the Blizzard Bloghop. What a great idea! Meeting new bloggers and blogs at home! So, here I am, and here you are.

I am a wife to my high school sweetheart, married for almost 9 years. We met when I was 16! I share custody of the Hubs with the Army and we've moved around quite a bit including Puerto Rico, Texas, Alaska, northern VA and now Maryland. We've been through 2 deployments, one very recently to Afghanistan. We have three gorgeous little ladies, Avery 6, Ella 4, and Campbell who is 3. I stay at home with them and serve as their maid, chef, chauffeur, butler, nurse, and activity director, AKA, mom.

I started this blog to keep in touch with SoldierMan while he was deployed, then it was for family, and now I'd like to expand. I blog about our life in all it's chaotic-ness. I am sarcastic at times- allegedly. I will try anything to keep the peace in my home. I've been known to make my own laundry soap. I'm just about the most awesome person on twitter and this is pretty much the most awesome blog ever. Pretty much. I hope you come back and visit!


Thanks to Household 6 Diva for creating this bloghop!


This post is linked to Household 6 Diva's Link party.

The Happenings

"What's been going on?" ,you ask. Well, not much. First, the Hubs is gone again, off to play soldier for a little bit. We'll get to talk to him on the phone, so you know it's not too bad.

Second, I've been contemplating my life lately. What I currently have is great, I'm very blessed to have three beautiful and healthy children and my best friend as my husband. However, I can't help but feel that there is a part of me that's not being fulfilled. When I went to college I will admit that I was thinking about having fun in life, I mean, that's all I needed right? Money would just come later. I was pretty sure I would be marrying the Hubs then, but I did not have it in my head that I would live off of him. I have always worked. Two and three jobs at a time even, all through school. So, when we did get married I didn't work for one reason or another and now, 9 years later, it seems I can't find a job. Did I tell you that I've been looking for a year now? A YEAR! It sucks. Nap times and down times can find me on the computer scouring the Internet for every website and job search I can think of. Can you think of one? Yep, been there. I can't count the number of resumes sent and job openings applied for. I even had an interview. Apparently I bombed it though. (How do people get jobs??) So, the plan for a couple of years has been for me to go back to school and get a degree that will guarantee me job security. The only one that fits that criteria and my personality and interests is something in health care. Currently, I'm thinking nursing. I hope this works out. I'm ready to challenge myself and find out if my brain is mush or not.

Anyone have any tips for going back to school? Particularly for nursing? Any milspouses out there who have gone through Army Ed Center?

Coffee and Donuts

I had a shift at the USO last night. Loved it. Got out of the house and talked to some service guys who looked very lonely and travel-weary. I thought about sharing their stories with you, but they are not my stories to tell. Let's just say that these service members who have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and some in WW2, are just like me and you. They have bills to pay, they have girlfriends or boyfriends, kids, mothers, fathers, etc. And, I usually attract the ones who are lonely. The ones who are travelling by themselves and have been stranded at the airport for a couple of days sleeping on the chairs wherever they can, hoping for a flight out soon. They talk to me about where they just came from and where they are going. Some don't really have a clue about where they're going though, or what to expect. Poor guys. I offer them coffee and a donut and an ear. They leave an hour later thanking me for listening to them. It doesn't sound like a lot to me, but I hope I have given them some sort of outlet. That's all I can really do. I wish I could do more. These service members need our support any which-way we can give them. If you see a military member, active duty or reserve or guard, please tell them thank you, or pay for their meal. I promise they will appreciate it.

I Love You Because...

* you are strong, both mentally and physically

* you work hard to provide for our family

* you always support me and my decisions, both good and bad

* you have such strong convictions that I may or may not agree with

* you get on the floor and roll around with the girls

* you let me have "me time" when I declare it necessary

* you love me for me

* you take charge when I can't

* you stand beside me in church

* you fight for our country

* you are my hero

* the girls love you

* you think hot dogs are ready when they float

* you feel like home

* you will be beside me rocking on the front porch watching our grand kids play (with our hearing aids turned off)

I have loved you all my life and will continue to do so until my last breath.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Yes, I know it's Tuesday! But, this weekend seems to be the one that never ends. It's like that annoying song I used to sing "This is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on, my friends...." Remember that one? Ugh. Anyway, Hubs had Friday and Monday off, so we all got to spend some good time together. And then last night came and the Ice Gods thought we needed some ice. We woke up this morning to schools being called off. Yay. More quality time. And the forecast for tonight? More ice and rain with snow in the morning. So, I'm not really holding my breath for schools to be in session tomorrow either. Yay. Cue the cabin fever. There are only so much I can do to keep these precious-children-whom-I-can-never-get-enough-of happy and entertained. Arts and crafts, movie times, dress-up, playing in tents, blocks, computer time,playing beauty salon, baking, etc. It gets old. Quick.

Anywho, Saturday Avery and Ella had their very first basketball practices. Ella's league is parent-child, so I tasked out The Hubs to do that. It's only fair, I did soccer all summer- he can do basketball, right?

So, here's Ella and Daddy.

She likes it so far. Still trying to figure out how to dribble though.

That afternoon, Avery had a birthday party to go to. I volunteered for that since Daddy had basketball duty that morning...and there was cake. Yeah, pretty sure it was for the cake. But, it was a skating party, something she had never attempted before. She surprised me and skated! I had to hold her hands 98% of the time, but she was gaining in her confidence enough to hold hands of her friend and sister.

Taken 2 seconds before they all fell down and busted out laughing.

And, by the way, it was the first time I had stepped into a skating rink since I was probably 10, and it hasn't changed at all. The same old arcade games, disco balls, loud music, and overly excited/shady DJ are still there.

So- questions for the day- what cabin fever cures do you use? I need help! Also- did you ever go skating when you were younger?