Times sure have changed

Summer vacation is dwindling down for us here in Georgia!!! My son, Dylan, starts back on August 8. The school supplies are bought!!! The school clothes shopping is done!! Now I am just waiting on the big day. It has been a good Summer for the most part. I haven't done everything that I had planned to do but my kids are not complaining and I still have a little bit of time left. I am ready for school to be back in, I know that is a shame but I am ready for a little me time. As it stands the husband will be gone, Avery, my youngest, will be starting back Morning School on Aug 16th and I will be starting my college on Aug 17th. I will have Tuesday/Thursday classes and Avery will have Tuesday-Thursday Classes. Wednesdays are all mine!!!
A while back I told someone that I felt horrible because when the kids acted up I just couldn't wait for school to start back. I said I felt like I was just brushing my ornery kids off on someone else. That person replied, "What else do you have for your kids to do. You can't send them out all day to roam the neighborhood, there is no telling who or what is out there these days." I really thought on this. I guess sending your kids to school is the only other supposed safe environment that you can send them to where you can actually have a break. Now more than ever the role of the teacher has become even more so important than ever before

When I was a kid my mom just sent me out all day long, in the heat, and to just roam around getting into god knows what. Now days, you just can't do that first off, someone will call child services if your kids are out and unattended. Then second you have to fear other people, someone might decide to kidnap them or heck there might even be a pedophile or two lurking around just waiting for an unattended kid.

Things sure have changed from me being a kid, you just can get away with anything anymore. I remember once I was 9 and my mom and I were in the grocery store and I wanted something really bad but she would not buy it so she spanked me in the store, just take that scenario and put it into todays times. She would have gotten like a million dirty looks and there would have been some woman that needed to speak her opinion about child rearing. And then there would be the constant fear, I hope the wrong person did not see me do that and call the cops for child abuse.

I really hate it that I have not been a good blogger, but I hope that everyone has tons of patience with me and I should be back to normal in a couple of weeks when school has settled down and we are in our new routines.

Ok so booking a vacation/belated honeymoon is harder than I thought!!! I am ready to rip my hair out. I am so confused on where to go and where to stay. We had decided on St. Lucia and I found a nice looking hotel, then I read the reviews!!! Big Mistake, unfortuantly this resort was where the Atlantic Ocean met the Caribbean so the water was full of sea grass and very rough, I want the pretty pristine Caribbean Ocean, not murky sea grass. The reviews said that people could not even swim in the Ocean for the grass but the food was good. Who cares about the food, I want the pretty water, I can eat at home!!!!

I started looking on Expedia.com and they offer packages and reviews and pictures along with distances to nearby things. I think my problem is I want to go to St. Lucia but I need to open my options to other places. I have spent about an hour this morning reading about hotels and now I am burned out. I think that my husband and I need to sit together and read these things together. I am tossing ideas around to myself because he is working like crazy.....I have to hurry up and book it before he leaves, what if he needs a passport then I have to get that situated before he is gone too, I already have mine. When he gets home there would not be enough time to get it situated.

Alright I know its been a While

So I know it has been a couple of days since my last post but you see I have been so busy!!!

I am now approaching the last couple of weeks with my husband before he is gone for a couple of months. After he is gone I know I will be up on all of my posts again.

Friday night we had date night, since we are in that marriage counseling she recommended that we needed date night every other week without the kids. So Friday night we offloaded the kids and headed to and Irish Pub for dinner. We ate and then they had a live band, he music was nice. We then walked to the waterfront and looked at the boats, it was a wonderful evening. I guess sort of Romantic. Adult conversation with out kids!!! Having kids you tend to forget that these things are important.

We had a 2 hour counseling session this week, we covered a lot of ground and I found out that I am a prisoner of my home/stay-at-home mom. The therapist recommended that I get a hobby or activity to do at least 1 time a week. We realized that I have no outlet other than blogging and cleaning!!! Apparently if I get a hobby I will be less nit picky at home.

Now the problem is to find what suits me best as an activity. My husband has running, fishing, and poker. I have bitching, moaning, and folding clothes......hmmmmm something isn't right here. I really felt horrible when I came to the realization that I have nothing really. Sure I have my family but everyone needs that escape. Everyone says, "Go to the gym." I am sorry that doesn't suit me as a hobby. That is more like a job. I started working out with my treadmill this week, I did 6 days for 40 minutes per day. 12 miles this week. I am happy with that, I am loosing weight to help with my mood and self-esteem. I want to loose a pretty good bit while the hubby is gone since we will be doing the whole honeymoon thing when he gets back.

We are thinking of St. Lucia, if anyone has been or knows someone that has been PLEASE give me some info!!!!
Other than that all is well here in the house of Chaos!!!

Dylan and Karate!!

How come it always seems there is a problem with the men in my life.....like my husband with the iPod dilemma and now it is my son. I posted about him before and how he is always unhappy with something. Well along with the marrige enriching counseling, we are also doing family counseling so we as a familly can be on the same page.

My latest dilemma is with Dylan my 7 year old son. He has done Karate since he was 4, when we moved here he did not want to do it anymore. So I did not enroll him in the local Karate school. Well after school began last year he requested to join the school, so I did. At first he really enjoyed it and then it started to become more and more of a hassle to get him to go. I started to dread the 2 days a week I had to get him to go because they were always filled with arguing and hate. He hated going or did not feel like going. But I pushed and pushed and threatned to take things away from him if he did not go. Well I have gotten to the point, I am tired of fighting with him. I am tired of paying $100 a month for something that he absolutly hates to do. I want to pull him out and he wants to be pulled out of the program. But I don't know should I just keep him in. He is really really good at it.

Thanks for all of the honeymoon ideas....I think I am leaning towards a caribbean cruise....he'll get the cruise part and I'll get the island part!!!

He got his way or did I just get mine!!!

I am starting to believe that we women do not have it all figure out. Last night my husband got his way, you know that iPod deal I have been talking about. Well I had it all decided in my mind and I even told him that he was not going to get it. I agreed with everyones posts from the my last iPod dilemma, I should have bought it for him then bought myself something really really nice. Well a couple of days ago I asked my husband if he really needed this iPod that badly. Of course his answer was yes!!! Then I said fine, go ahead and get it but you owe me, he tells me that I can get the wrap I have been wanting to add to my wedding ring set. I said no that is not good enough I WANT and NEED something better. I want something I never had before. He asks what is it.....I replied, I want a honeymoon. Ooooh lay the guilt on him at that point. He then tells me that he doesn't need the iPod and that we should do the vacation thing. You see when we got married, it was over Thanksgiving and he had to be back at work on Monday. We stayed our wedding night at a Best Western, oh the romance was really kicking. My husband told me that he ran out of time because he was going to put flowers in the room and champange. He always does that, tells me what he was going to do when he did not get around to it. Well I left my son with my mother and returned with him to Georgia for our 1 week honeymoon, he went to work everyday and I stayed in a hotel room. I think we went out to eat. Nothing memorable because I can not remember it at this point in time.
Well I have always longed for the honeymoon of my dreams, whatever that really is. I have been on vacations to islands and tropical locations but I want us to go somewhere, me and him. No kids, no friends, no family.
Last night we went to Wal-Mart and they had the iPod in stock, oh my god only 1 left. He got his way, he bought it but I told him he owes me BIG time. He will be on leave during the Thanksgiving holiday which is also our anniversary..Nov 25th. We will have been married 6 years this year. I am getting my friggin honeymoon. My parents in Alabama are watching the kids and by god I am going somewhere, I just need to figure out where. I want to go to the islands because it will be warm. He wants to do a cruise. Why I say he is on a cruise for like 80 days at a time, so what if you do not get to see the sun or the water. So I need some Ideas....I am going to plan it and book it while he is gone.

My Fellow Bloggers, I need your help..........Gimme some ideas Please

99 Things about me!!

So Everyone out there has done their little lists....100 Things about me, 50 Things about me...so on and so forth. Everytime I get in the mood to do it, someone else comes along and does it. Well I am going on and taking my chances and posting it today. It started out as 50 that is all I could think of but then the list grew and grew!!!

99 Things About Me

1. I have brown eyes...my mom always said you could tell I was full of shit because of them!!
2. I have 2 sons...both have brown eyes...now I use the above line on them!!
3. My boys are the most important thing to me, I want them to grow up and be good people!!
4. I am a Sailors Wife...husband is in the Navy and has been for almost 10 years.
5. I have been to sea on a submarine for a dependents cruise......went down 700 feet
6. I curse worse than a sailor
7. I am 5'11"......my hubby 6'5"...our kids are going to be tall
8. My weight is my biggest problem, but my height helps hide it
9. I was born in New Jersey....and went every summer there until this year and one other year!!!
10. I grew up in Alabama...moved there at 7
11. I am scared to death of Tornados....been through one as a child, it didn't touch the house
12. I have lived in Georgia, twice
13. I have lived in Connecticut
14. I have ice skated on a real pond
15. I have 2 cats....Bella and Trouble....neither one likes my family
16. I love going to the beach but hate the sand.....makes it kind of hard huh.
17. I am trying to finish college and have been for 9 years now
18. I want to be a Nurse when I grow up....when ever that is!!
19. I once belonged to a CB radio club in High School.....my boyfriend got me into it!!
20. My first real job was at McDonalds....I lasted 8 hours.
21. My second real job was at McDonalds...this time I lasted 2 weeks.
22. My favorite job so far was a Pharmacy Technician at Wal-Mart.
23. I hate Wal-Mart.....they take all of my money
24. I have been to Jamaica with my whole family and my son...hubby was at sea
25. Dove off a cliff while in Jamaica
26. I have been to England, just went with my best friend on a whim..
27. Climbed to the top of St. Paul's Cathedral.....500 something tiny steps up and 500 something back down.
28. I also did the London Eye and drank a beer in Trafalger Square on the edge of a fountain!!
29. I have been to Mexico, another family trip, 15 total and hubby got to go!!
30. Got my first stitches while in Mexico, too much Tequila on the first day.....I did not get to climb a single pyramid while there but I hobbled along for the thrill.
31. My goal is to do Italy or France next...with the hubby this time
32. I would just settle for the Caribbean at this point as long as he had time off to go!!!
33. I love camping (tent style)....I wish I did it more
34. Chicken and dumplings (homemade) is my favorite meal
35. Christmas is my favorite holiday
36. I am a clearance shopper.....I hate paying full price for anything.
37. Thursday night TV is my favorite night for watching.
38. My favorite show is ER....I hate being interrupted while watching, everyone in the house goes to bed early for my sake!!
39. Survivor is my favorite reality show
40. My second favorite is Amazing Race....I would love to compete on this one but I know my teammate and I would kill one another before it was all said and done with
41. I do not like Racism or Hate
42. I am trying to teach my children that all people are the same, God just made a variety of us like a pack of M&M's
43. I have 2 tatoos....a dolphin and a frog.
44. I want more tatoos but the only thing stopping me is I do not know what I want
45. I love cutting grass, no one bothers me while doing it!!!
46. I love sunny hot days.......
47. I do not like snow anymore, Connecticut ruined that for me!!
48. I do not wear make-up, I naturally have good colors
49. I love going out to dance
50. I think dragonflies are neat
51. Calla Lillies are my favorite flower
52. I do not have a lot of patience
53. I would rather have a few close friends then a bunch of friends...I have a quota
54. I love new babies........I think they are all cute.....never seen an ugly one
55. I want to be a Labor Delivery Nurse for that reason
56. I hit a gas line with my car, natural gas was spewing everywhere, lucky I didn't blow up
57. I believe in past lives
58. I think Monkeys are cute and hilarious
59. I still love coloring books and crayons
60. I love to clean my house....its rewarding
61. I love Yankee Candles
62. My mom-mom is my idol, she is the strongest woman I know next is my mom!!!
63. I love cooking, I especially love feeding others
64. My favorite color is blue
65. I do not like gold jewelry, only silver or platnium
66. When I was little my aunt convinced me I was adopted because my cabbage patch kids had birth certificates
67. The same aunt convince me I used to be black, but I drank white milk and changed!!! I believed this and told a black lady in the grocery store while she was with me!!!
68. My husband is the love of my life, we are soul mates!!!
69. I actually love my in-laws they are awesome people
70. I have never been arrested
71. I have gotten 3 speeding tickets in my driving lifetime!!!
72. I am a horribe driver, I always hit the reflectors on the side of the road, my friends and family say I drive by Braille!!
73. The music from Unsolved Mysteries scares the shit out of me
74. I love swimming
75. I hate swimming somewhere I can not see the bottom
76. I am afraid of sharks, snakes, and alligators
77. I think dolphins are magnificent creatures
78. I have never met anyone famous
79. I would love to meet someone famous
80. I love going to Disney World, I feel like a kid again!!!
81. I hated rollercoasters until a month ago, rode everyone at Busch Gardens in Tampa....peer pressure, I enjoyed every one of them and have no reason to not do it again
82. I love to read, I just never get a chance to do it
83. I always have late fees, at either the library or movie store...I just cant help myself
84. I am horrible at being on time, always late no matter how early I try to get there
85. I have horrible eyes, without glasses or contacts I can see nothing
86. I saw my first concert at 15 it was Duran Duran....I begged to go it was great
87. I wish I was 14 again, things were so simple and I still had Barbie dolls
88. I ususally keep my hair in a ponytail, I hate it on my neck
89. My eyebrows are so horrid I have to keep them waxed
90. I am part Italian, my paternal great grandmother and great grandfather came over on the boat
91. I am also part Dutch and German
92. I have not seen my biological dad since I was 13...no loss there, I have other family!!
93. When my husband goes to sea I sleep with the last shirt he wore, assuming its not too dirty, until he returns.
94. I can sleep through a freight train, but if my kids wake up I am wide awake
95. I love black and white pictures
96. The sailor kissing the nurse is my all time favorite, because I want to be a nurse and I am with a sailor
97. I have that picture on everything, a suitcase, a purse, a poster, a framed picture, my blog page
98. Mimi is my best blogger friends and we used to be neighbors.....I owe my blog life to her
99. I wish there was World Peace and no World Hunger

Romance...does it really exsist????

Romance....what is it??? I am not talking about sex, just romance!!!! Thats it, not too hard!!!
Websters Dictionary describes Romance as:

1. A love affair.
2. Ardent emotional attachment or involvement between people; love:
3. A strong, sometimes short-lived attachment, fascination, or enthusiasm for something



Is this something that really exsists between 2 people or has Hollywood poisioned us to believe that Romance is flowers, satin sheets, beaches at sunset, and candlelight dinners?? Is is something that is there after you say I, Do?? Or does is slowly diminish away after time, then you just learn to deal?!! What about after the kids come and you are settled into years of marriage. I think that romance is something that exsists on the Honeymoon and once you leave the honemoon there is no going back to those exact feelings!!!

Sometimes I feel that there is no romance in my marriage, I am sure that is a common feeling among women and men alike. I am not sure that it was ever there, but I have decided that I want the romance thing now. I am not looking for it in any other person than my husband......I am just confused on what it really is supposed to be and if it is really ever there between the normal people. If it was there how do you put it back? I think that this whole having kids and Navy lifestyle has really put a strain on my marriage. We are doing Marriage counsling, not for any specific problem, just as therapy to help any problems that may arise. Our therapist asked what we want out of our relationship, I said Romance. My husband says more sex....of course he does he is a man!!!! Now I have homework to find what I really want and to see if there is a way to get there. I don't want my readers to think there is trouble in Kristi-land. Its always chaotic, the therapy is free through our insurance.....it is more like an enrichment session.

Any feedback will be appreciated.....I value all of my readers comments.

TV MOMS

My friend and I were talking last night and she asked me,

"What TV mom, best represents your mother?"

So I sit a couple of minutes and think, what TV mom? I am not sure I think that my mom was probably featured in one of those Lifetime Movies!!!!

So I have been dwelling on this for the past 18+ hours.......what TV mom is most like my mom?

Ahhhh I got it, do any of you remember the show Roseanne, well that is not her, that is a good example of my Aunt Carol, my mom's sister. No, My mom is more like Jackie, Roseanne's sister, but just not as neurotic. Maybe more or less is you took Roseanne and Jackie mixed them into one.....yes that is it, that is my mother!!!

Then I got to thinking, what TV mom do I see myself as???? Anyone out there seen the show Yes, Dear!! Well you know the free spirited sister Christine, that is most like me and her husband Jimmy is most like my husband, very laid back and unconventional.

So readers, what TV mom/dad did you grow up with????

And what TV mom/dad do you closely relate too????

Just a little fun for today we could all use a little fun every once in a while!!!!

Pullin at my Heartstrings!!!

Well today is hubbys duty day here in the land of Chaos!!! That means tonight, I am alone and this will go on every 3rd night for the next couple of weeks. I am actually using my time very well today, I have done laundry, vacuumed, and cleaned the carpets. I am currently on break and will mop floors and fold clothes when I am done blogging.

The other night hubby tells me that he needs to get his underway shopping done. Underway is the period when he is gone on deployment, there are no Wal-Marts under the ocean ya know. This means he has to have enough deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and tooth brushes, razors...(you get the picture) to last him a couple of months. Then he takes all of the Dvds, his portable dvd player, books, and any other entertaining thing that he can think of. His only personal space is a bunk room with 8 other sailors, they sleep in beds referred to as "racks". The size of the rack is about 3/4th the size of a twin matress, that lifts up to reveal a storage area for clothes. The only privacy is a brown vinyl curtain!!! He lives like this the whole time his is up there. The racks are stacked 3 high and in order to get into the top one you have to hang like a monkey from pipes above and swing yourself in. Inside each rack you have about a foot clearance from the matress to the bottom of the other guys rack. I really have to give him credit, I know I would snap having this little bit of space, I guess that is why he is on a submarine and I am a housewife.

Well my husband informs me that he wants a new MP3 player for this patrol, he wants an iPod. Not just the plain jane one, he needs the one with video capabilities, the $300 one!!! He wants to be able to download his shows from iTunes so he can watch them while underway. Of course it pulls at my heartstings..because he does miss out on life here while gone. But then I think NO. He always gets what he wants, he has more technological gear than he needs. The problem is that every time he comes home they have something bigger and better that they have come out with while he was gone. He always gets new, and better than before. If he gets this iPod thing, then as soon as he returns there will be a better one. I just dont know what to do at this point. Do I let him buy it because he is going away and he can take the comforts of home or do I say no and let that be that and get one at a later time. I never just get things spur of the moment. I am always buying things for my kids or such. Just yesterday I went to JC Penny, he got 3 shirts and I got school clothes for the kids. Did I get anything, of course not. The sacrafice. I am going to go and get a scratch off lotto ticket and if I win I am buying something for myself with all of the money!!!!

I am up early this moring so I figured I would hurry up and post

Well last night we went to see Pirates of the Carribean, this is the 3rd movie I have ever seen on opening night. Almost all of the shows were sold out but we ended up getting seats to the 8pm showing. We got to the theatre at 6pm originally to see it, so while we waited we went to dinner and Target and came back in time to get great seats. Well the movie was awesome, we had the youngest with us and it kept his attention without really scaring him, he just had to keep peeing during the whole movie which got kind of annoying. At the 2 hour point he finally fell asleep and woke up right as it was ending!!! I highly recommend this movie to all that are thinking of seeing it.


Well I am up early this morning, my husband has to work today and stand his first day of duty so he will be sleeping on the Submarine tonight. He offically has two homes now, he keeps clothes, bedding, and toiletries on the boat now so the move has begun. Before you know it everything that is important to him, with the exception of me and the kids, will be on that submarine. He stands a roving patrol but they stand it in 4 hr shifts and 2 shifts per duty day so at some point he is going to be up in the middle of the night. Tomorrow he will come home and need to sleep for a couple hours, refit has begun!!!!! They are doing turnover today, which means the other crew will turn the boat over to his crew along with all of its problems, and refit is the time during which all of these problems will be fixed. I just thought I would fill you in with a little terminology.

Well I hope everyone is having a good weekend so far, it is supposed to be beautiful here today so I am thinking of making my way to the beach at some point. It has rained for the past 2 days making it really dreary here

Ugh....I just Love the Navy!!!!

Yes I will admit I am proud of my husband and his Navy career. It really takes a special and dedicated person to do what he does. My husband is stationed in the Submarine Force of the United States Navy. And I do believe that they just love to make the Navy family suffer.

My summer with my husband is officially over, the fun will go on but just without him most of the time. You see his submarine came home today. They have to switch out crews and he will be working late days and sleeping on the boat every 3 to 4 days as "duty" for the next couple of weeks. During this time he will be lacked of sleep, irritable, and testy. It is not his fault it is the boats fault. Last December a guy off of the boat was so overworked and tired that he came home and started some oil for some fries and fell asleep. His family woke up to the house in flames, they lost everything. Everyone survived the fire but they did not have rentors insurance and lived in Navy housing so they took donations and handouts from all of the families off of the boat and other people in the Submarine community!!
Now with my husband, he will just spend most of the time he has left at home asleep, so I will feel bad because he is so overworked and tired that I do not have any expectations around the house, but then I get frustrated because I have to do everything. So by the time he goes, he is ready and I am ready too just so he can sleep and I can get on with everything with no one to bitch about. Then the journey begins, for the next couple of months I am both mom and dad, I am the lady of the house and the handyman. My independance grows even stronger than before and I get in a whole new pattern of things. I only hear from my husband via snail mail, that is if he remembers to take stamps and envelopes. And if I am really lucky I will get some email but 9 out of 10 times they can recieve it but not send it. I hate to tell my husband what is going on with us for fear of upsetting him or making him jealous and all of his letters are about how much he misses being at home and how much he loves us. Then the time comes, he is home...yipee but he is more like a stranger at that point. You see time doesn't stop while his is gone, he will miss some birthdays and possibly holidays. Important things and just stupid things. They get the news but only the really important things never the little things. But you better believe that to make up for missing all of that he is fed the finest of foods and watches movies that aren't even out on dvd yet. I really do not think that is a fair trade. But that is what has to be done. But when he does come back, then we go into a cycle of short workdays and time to spend with one another and the kids.
So with that if I do not post everyday, you know where I will be, spending any little smidgen of time I have left with my husband. I am a Submarine Wife....its the toughest job in the Navy, and someone has to do it!!!!

Where is everyone????

I have been scanning everyones posts only to find that a few are around this weekend!!! I know that there is a holiday and all but I guess some of us (me) have no life so I turn to blogging...just kidding. I have only had a few moments to get on the computer, my inlaws are in town for the weekend and a friend that we haven't seen in 2 years is in town too so we have been on the go, go, go, go, go!!! Last night we went out drinking and dancing, you see I only get to do these things when my family is in town. I have no nightime babysitter that doesn't mind if I don't get home until 4am. We saw an 80's cover band last night....They were called the Little Green Men. The were awesome and hilarious to watch, the 3 members all wore wigs, green spikey hair, sparkley hair and just spikey hair. After the show we ended up hanging out with the lead singer for an hour or so. He was awesome, my hubby and him talked guitar talk.

Tomorrow we are having a cookout, my husband has invited people from work, I am hoping that they show up, as I have bought enough food for an army. So if any of my blogger buddies are in the area, stop by and I will feed you!!! I am going to make cupcakes too with red white and blue sprinkles....oh the hightlights of my life!!!!

Well I hope that everyone is having a good holiday extended weekend deal....what ever it is. Some people have off and are out of town. Stay outta trouble and don't drink and drive, unless its in a to go cup with a lid.....LOL