Scentsy!

Back in April I went to a scentsy party hosted by my friend Tam under our consultant Kelly. At first I was like.. oh you have got to be kidding me. It's like pampered chef or tupper ware or home interiors. NOT INTERESTED AT ALL. I went just because I needed something to do that day. Well, wouldn't ya know. I fell IN LOVE with it! I ordered myself a burner and 3 scents. I then decided to have my own party under Kelly. If I am doing a party, you know I have got to like it. I never do these parties. EVER. After my party, I ended up with another warmer and 16 more scents. Addicted much?! lol. We even created a scentsy swap page on Facebook for scents we thought we loved but when they burned we didn't like them as much and wanted to give someone else a chance to enjoy them. There are over 80 scents, something for everyone. I don't think I ever stopped talking about scentsy from day one. Even Dan like it. Well today, I became a Scentsy consultant myself. I am so excited. I am already taking orders. I have my own web page and everything. I am even thinking that if I get enough readers, followers and people refer back to my page I will start having some Scentsy give aways. I want people to enjoy this as much as I do. The first selling point to me was that there is no flame. It's safe around the kids-we all know I have a slew of them! If you are interested in getting to know about scentsy, let me know. There is a link at the top of my page here. And please let your friends know about my blog so that we can get some give aways started!!!

Post it note Tuesday

My first award

I have recieved my very first blog award for this blog! It came from my neighbor Dawna @ Hiccups In Time... I had saw the award and meant to comment on it and I some how got distracted. We later in the evening had a brief texting conversation where she had to make sure she hadn't offended me lol. Absolutely not! I am very grateful and appreciative that I got this award!

This award is for well... Honesty! My favorite stuff in the whole wide world. I hate to be lied to, I hate the feeling you get when someone lies to you. And I absolutely hate it when people sugar coat things to either a)make you feel better or b)make them feel better.

If you receive this award, please nominate 1 other deserving blogger
and list 10 honest things about yourself that no one knows.

Hmmm- 10 things- See this could be really hard because I am the most open and honest person that I don't think there is anything I hide per se.

1) I use my husbands body wash on occasion when he is deployed

2) I've told my husband numerous times (when he is home) that I wish he would just deploy again

3) I love to sit outside and enjoy the sun.

4) I freeze bottles of water and smash them with a hammer to get 'crunchy' water

5) I enforce child labor around my house- they must work for what they want

6) I shop clearance racks and refuse to pay full price for things I know will go on sale a month down the road.

7) I do not like animals. We have a cat and dog and I do not like either of them. I feel like I live on a Farm.

8) The first night of R&R March 2010, my husband passed out on the couch and pissed me off, so I threw his clothes in the front yard and he had to go out in his boxers to get them. Mind you-this was after not seeing him for 9 months. Refer to #2 and #9

9) I am very stubborn as well as set in my ways. I have a very hard time adjusting to my husband coming back from deployments.

10) Here is a good one! I have a tendency to fly off the handle just because it amuses me! I do honestly like to pick a fight every now and then with people who I am not very fond of.

And here is an extra- I yell more in a day then most people yell in their lifetime :)

And to nominate someone, I am going to choose Jacquelyn @ Nurture Me Whole I met her through the blog party and we harassed each other on twitter alot, it was very amusing!

Drive Inn

So I decided to venture out to the drive inn with the boys, my sister and my neighbors Friday night. It was um... interesting to say the least. Kaiden and the neighbors daughter are the same age within a month (4) and they don't have much patience so I never once expected them to sit for an hour and a half LOL. Boston was terrible. Didnt want to sit, climbed all over the car, didnt want to eat.. cried.. cried.. climbed.. cried.. climbed.. cried. Although he was difficult, I would probably do it again in a heart beat. You only live once and even though it doesnt always go as planned and things maybe well... unpleasant at times, take advantage of what you are able to do!

Yup- Thats me, in my pink snuggie

Month of the Military Child

pril is the month of the military child. Kaiden's school is doing a theme each day, from wearing red (See Red Friday here), dressing as a soldier, to having a military ball for them! I have to say, I think my boy was the most handsome at the ball ;)

Kaiden and his date- Auntie Minnie

Aren't they cute?

Mommy, her little man and Minnie

True love

Fan page!!!

I've created a fan page for my blog. Yipee! Please join me on my FACEBOOK FAN PAGE HERE! and invite all your friends.

Pet Peeve Post - it's

Post it note Tuesday

I found out about this from Dawna's blog, she found it on Supahmommy's blog

So proud

Maybe only mom's would understand this feeling. But! Kaiden last night - Exactly 2 weeks before his 4th birthday- When to bed with out a diaper and did not wet! He has been day trained as well as nap time trained for just about a year. I honestly think it was more me with the night time issue then him. Afraid I would have a mess to clean. He probably has been ready for a long time, I just held back. I am so proud :)... the small things in life that make me smile!

Recipe for a Military Spouse

-1 1/2 cups Patience 1 cup Courage
-3/4 cup Tolerance dash of Adventure
-1 pound of Ability
To the above ingredients:
-Add 2 tablespoons elbow grease and let stand alone for one year. Marinate frequently with salty tears. Pour off excess fat and sprinkle ever so lightly with money then Knead dough until payday. Season with international spices.
Bake 20 years or until done. Makes unlimited servings
SERVE WITH PRIDE

Blackberry

Third attempt trying to figure out how to post from my phone.
Sent from my blackberry storm 2

To do's and NOT to do's

Here are a few idea's of what to do and what NOT to do during deployments.

Do's
- write letters to you loved one-i've never sent a letter, only card.
- blog! I am kicking my self for this one! I should have kept a journal the whole deployment so he could read it when he got home
- sleep! This is very important. This is also something I don't do. So from a woman who rarely gets more then 16 hours of sleep a WEEK.. A WEEK, I am telling you to sleep!
- keep notes- I always think of things I want to tell Dan when he calls but I forget because I get so excited just to hear his voice, my heart is thumping, I get butterflies, and my brain fails me! So, grab a note pad and keep it some where handy and jot down notes, so you don't forget to tell them something. Do you know how many times we have hung up and I say to myself "ahh, man I forgot to tell him..."
- have a girls night- Misti and I do this often. We don't go out on the town or anything but we will rent movies from redbox get some snacks and trashy magazines and veg out on my couch all night. We are home safe, the kids are upstairs sleeping, and we have girls time! It's not much to some people but if I didn't have this I am not so sure I would have made it this far.
- get fresh air. Even if it's just sitting for small talk in your front yard, enjoying a pepsi .... or .... wine with a neighbor as I do with Dawna when it's warm. Winter months make it impossible to go outside with out becoming abominable snow ladies. Now that spring/summer is coming we can enjoy being outside a lot more!
- COOK! ... I am starting to see a pattern here... I am telling you all to do things I don't do LOL. Actually I did cook this evening. But usually, I pay people to cook for me. I don't mind cooking, honest. It's just in the evening after keeping up with daily life-alone- I dont feel like cooking. Or cleaning the mess for that matter. I am trying to get better- way to wait until 6 weeks before the deployment ends.
- Take lots of pictures. Need I say more


Now here is my DON'T list. I came up with this tonight as I sit here in peace and quiet and put myself through hell!

DO NOT YOUTUBE SEARCH "SOLDIERS SURPRISING FAMILY" OR "WELCOME HOME CEREMONIES"
-Tear jerker all the way! I would cry even if I didn't have a deployed husband.

DO NOT GOOGLE SEARCH "DEPLOYMENT SONGS" and sit on your couch listening to them- unless you want torture yourself - then, get stock in kleenex as well!

Yeah- that's my Don't list. LOL. I did this to myself tonight. I knew this one song and I just wanted to hear it.. I remembered it was about deployment but didn't exactly remember the words. Then I hit play... 2.3 seconds later the tears came rolling. HERE IS THE SONG I would advise you to have tissues in hand.

I should have known better then to search these things but I did it anyway!

Spring break

Spring break isn't anything to me. Really, it's just another excuse to let the kids stay home from school and drive the parents batty while giving the teachers a week to let their hair grow back.

Although the kids do drive me crazy I rarely let them leave home for any period of time. I just don't trust anyone with them. What if they misbehave while they are away? What if they get hurt? What if they wake up in the middle of the night crying wanting to come home and it could be a few hours before I can get to them? What if they learn something new and I miss it?

This is the 3rd time in almost 8 years of having children that I have let the girls go. They are at my grandmothers (well my ex-step-grandma's.. long story lol). Grandma has taken them once before, for a week. They did exceptionally well then but I was still nervous. The other time they were away was when they spent a weekend at my mothers. Having Dan deployed, I figured I would go more insane this week, so I asked my grandma to take the girls for a few days. I trust her, I know that is going against what I just said up there ^, but you know what I mean. I know how well grandma took care of me when I visited. The girls enjoy fun crafts with her and grandpa. I can't wait to see what they bring home. When I called to check on them tonight, grandpa was helping them make journals. They also go to church with them. I am FAR from a church goer but the girls seem to enjoy it when they go. And of course, they enjoy staying up later then at home and eating all the stuff mom won't let them!

I know kids have to grow up but time goes by so fast! They are becoming such independent girls. It breaks my heart to think of all the things Dan has missed with the kids but at the same time I am grateful he was here for the birth of all four of the kids! Alot of military wives do not get that. I hope this week is enjoyable for the girls as well as grandma and grandpa... and well, for myself too. It's quiet without them here. Kaiden went to bed alot better then the usual, lets talk to bubba and have mom come upstairs and be a bit annoyed and angry with us nights. I think I am seceretly missing them already.. SHHHH! Don't tell anyone, I will never admit it.


P.S
I hope they don't get mad when they come home and mom took a garbage bag to their room they left a mess!

Tweet

So, I have joined Twitter. Yet, me... the I know so much about all these social networking sites girl, has no idea what it really about! Or even how to figure out what my link is to find me on there. LOL

How good it feels

I decided back in January that it was a good idea to go back to school! I've been out of school only 8 years but it was a hard decision for me. Many people think that I am older because of my maturity level. But I will lay it out for you right now. I am only in my mid 20's. I had my first daughter my senior year of high school. Actually 11 days before I graduated to be exact. BUT! I did graduate and with really awesome grades! It was hard don't get me wrong but I knew what I had to do. Prior to giving birth to Cass, my husband joined the Marine's. He dropped out of college because he knew he had to find a way to support us. I have to say, I do have a stand up guy in that aspect. Now.. when he is angry, just watch out ;). I had my second daughter 18 months after Cass. And then 2 1/2 years later came our first son. 2 years later is our last son... last child! I had them all young and close together. I love my kids I really do. I wouldn't change anything about my life other then having my husband home with me. So, yes after having my children and Dan being deployed I decided bettering myself would be great! The military is paying full tuition for me! I also have this secret plan, that when I get my degree I will make more money then what dan does and he can be a stay at home dad and I can work to support the family. HAHA! He wouldn't go for it but it makes me laugh thinking about it. I am currently taking a course that is not for me. I like to write about things I want to write about. I am not into how grammatically correct I am. I just want to say what I want to say, how I want to say it. So this course is a bit challenging for me compared to my last course. This is all about writing for people, making it business suitable.. blah blah blah. I went onto facebook complaining about how I dislike this course, saying how I should have paid attention to my English teachers back in high school. I have 2 of my English teachers as friends on there. My status got quite funny, my sister and Dawna's eldest daughter were joking around with me. Then my 9th grade english teacher made some comments. What she had to say really touched me. Her last comment actually made me cry, it made me feel so good!

This is the part that got me- I will not put her name up here as I don't have permission, but this is part of the comment-

"We get serious about who we are and what we CAN accomplish when we are READY!!! I can't tell you how proud I am of you. I also don't know very many people who could tackle all you do.I mean that!!!! And I also meant it when I said I'd help... But I've gotta yell you... You ARE such a good writer!!!! I told Jess the other day, you are
My favorite poster!!! So, do what you do best... Write what you know
Write from your heart
And write with that refreshing wit and ascerbic stance you often take that makes everybody crack up-- honesty mixed with creativity! You got it, girl!!!!!! Hugs, n nite, nite!!!!! "

I guess I never realized what kind of impact teachers really do have on students and that sometimes you do make an impression on people and they don't forget the person you are! So, Thank you Miss P!

It's Party Time!!

Welcome to Our Dysfunctional Life! I decided to participate in UBP this year after finding it on my friend Dawna's blog. I am so glad I took the time to read about it and participate!

Well, I am Jenn, wife to 1 crazy, silly, lovely husband of almost 8 years and mom to 4 kids. I don't even think words to describe my children have been invented yet! My husband is currently deployed to Iraq for the 2nd time, we are 83% done with the deployment, refer to the donut of misery LOL. I blogged for quite a while then went into hiding because I started to fear who was reading what I had to say and who was looking at my pictures. I have since gotten over that and I am proud of myself and my family and want to share it with everyone! I am glad I am back into the blogging world and look forward to meeting lots of new people!!

This is me and my husband - 10 years and counting!!



I hear they are giving away great prizes at 5 Minutes for Mom! You should check it out!

Personally, my choices of some of these wonderful prizes would be in order of preference:

US40- One winner will receive a 3 day 2 night stay from Holiday Inn Main Gate East in Kissimmee, FL (less than 2 miles from Disney World) a value of $250- This would be great for after my husband returns back from Iraq at the end of may! Provided by: Holiday Inn

US68 – Scents of your choice! Choose your very own Full-Size Authentic Scentsy Warmer and 3 wax scents! All for one winner.- I LOVE LOVE LOVE SCENTSY! Provided by: Mrs. Marine

US46 – Scentsy plug in warmer and 3 scents of the winner’s choice!- I JUST LOVE SCENTSY! Provided by : Mrs.Marine

US18 – Goodie Basket for Mom- As with a deployed husband I cherish every second I get to have a second of mommy time! Provided by :The Healthy moms

US19 – Prize package of preschool toys!- My boys would adore this prize! Provided by: Hasbro

Really though, any prize I would be ever so grateful to win!


P.S Had a great time watching the live feed this evening and participating in the chat!! Twitter party on Monday!

UBP!

I saw this over at My Friend Dawna's blog and thought it was a neat idea, so I am going to participate this year!

The 'old' me

I decided to bring over my blog template from my other blog because it really shows who we are. Plus I didn't want to nag Jeannie to make me another one LOL. Plus I wanted to try out my new name signature to see if I like it!

Donut of misery

I have NEVER heard of this. How?! LOL. Well I was browsing My friends blogs she reads and came across This Blog where I saw it and decided to do it as well!! Seeing this makes me feel so much better.

Living in a military community = better?

For some reason I always thought that living in a military community, life would be simple. Less crimes, less worries, and the feeling of security.

WRONG!

My brand new van as well as Dan's car was egged friday night. It was probably a punk teenage kid. There was no damage but it really did make me angry. I figured that military members would enforce rules and discipline with their children more. I know how strict Dan is and how his father (Air force) was with Dan and his siblings when they were younger. I guess I just expected something its not. I assumed of all people to teach respect to their kids, it would be the military? I guess I pictured this perfect little world. And I was shown otherwise! I say, respect and discipline when because I know how much more respect Dan was when he got out of Boot Camp... I can only see Dan and myself teaching our kids to respect people and their property. I even do this now when the kids aren't treating a friends toy right. I just wish more people cared about what their children do, give them a curfew (since this happened between 11p and 5am), and just be involved with their kids.

The mini vist from the hubby

Well, I have slacked a bit writing, because my husband did make it home for R&R! 10 days after the original plan, but he was here! For us, the 15 days didnt fly by nor did they drag. It was a nice amount of time together. I am not good at readjusting so the first few days were rough. I am very stubborn and set in my ways. That at times effects us negatively. But after 10 years, together we have learned how to work through it. Since R&R is all about fun and now writing, enjoy these pics!

Picking him up

Hugging for the first time in 8 months

Waiting for him

Our 10 year picture!

10 years, 4 kids, 2 military branches, 6 states lived in.... and many years to come!

My little ham!

Our Romantic get away... This was the first night we as a couple have ever been away

Our "see you later's" there are no good-bye's!