Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #4

It is with a heavy heart that I write today's blog. My grandfather, Theodore William Major, passed away last night. He was 87 years old and had lived a long, fulfilling life. It is a blessing that he passed on though; he has been suffering from the horrible effects of Parkinson's Disease that had gotten worse recently. Wanting to say something, but not being able to talk as well as constant involuntary body movements are no way to live. He was truly a faithful servant of God and never asked why to anything that happened in his life, just did the Lord's will at all times. I am so blessed to have known him and thankful for all he did to raise my Dad to be the wonderful man he is.

This is Grandpa back in 2005 when I graduated from TTU.

Dad & Grandpa dressed alike for my graduation!

This was at Mike's OTS graduation in Montgomery, AL . Grandpa traveled all that way with us.

Up:

• Anytime a family member passes, all the family gathers together. I can honestly not remember the last time that we were all together on my Dad's side of the family. We used to all gather for a mini family reunion on Memorial Day, but its has been quite some time since we've even done that. I look forward to seeing all of them again and sharing memories about Grandpa.
• Kennedy turned 3 months old this week and man is she getting big! She has the greatest smile, of course when I get the camera out she hides her beautiful smile.

I swear she is already teething, she chews on her fingers constantly!

• Jackson has been sleeping later in the mornings which has been really nice. Not only do I feel more rested, I also get to spend some one on one time with Kennedy before he gets up. If I'm lucky, I even get to enjoy a morning cup of coffee too!
• Mike and I had our first date of the year (one down, eleven to go)! We went to see the movie Red Tails and ate some yummy food at Carino's. The kids were apparently well behaved too according to the sitter.

Down:

• It seems as though Mike and I only have a few weeks or a month together before we are separated again. When I go home for the funeral, I will be staying through the end of March. My plan was to come home while Mike was on TDY anyway, but that wasn't until the end of February. Both of us agreed that it seemed pretty silly to go home and back only to turn around and do it again. Plus plane tickets aren't cheap these days. Therefore I will be staying while Mike returns to Mountain Home. I'll look forward to seeing him at the end of March and hopefully not being separated again for a long while.

Favorite Thing:

Keepsakes become all more precious when the loved one that gave them to you passes away. I started collecting shot glasses when I was very young, my Dad brought one back from one of his business trips to Tennessee and the trend caught on. From then on every time we traveled or my parents traveled I got a new shot glass. I think I have around 150 or so now. Mike keeps saying he's going to build me a shelf to display them all, but for now they are packed away in a box under the bed. 

When I was in high school Grandpa gave me a very special shot glass. He had purchased it at a glass factory in Venice, Italy in 1946 after WWII. It is such a special treasure and while I don't actually use my shot glasses for there intended purpose, I'm pretty sure that one helped numb Grandpa of the tragedy going on around him at the time. No, I'm not saying he was a drinker, but Grandpa was a fighter pilot in WWII. He only flew a few missions before the war was over. He remained in Europe after the war on grave detail - digging up dead bodies to send back home for burial. I can only imagine the awful things he saw.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #3

Just got back from a great weekend in the mountains with my family! There wasn't enough snow to go tubing, but we did plenty of sledding and enjoyed each other's company and the other squadron families we vacationed with!

Up:

• Thanks to all of my generous fellow spouses I didn't have to buy one single size 1 diaper! Kennedy is now in size 2 and we are slowly whittling away at our supply! It really is great to have one thing that I don't have to worry about right now! Diaper showers are a Godsend when it comes to your second child. 
• Kennedy turned over on Thursday at only 12 weeks! Jackson was 3 months and 3 days when he turned over, so little sister already has him beat! She is just the sweetest thing and growing so fast!

Down:

• The postpartum hair shedding has commenced! It is everywhere. My only hope is that it won't last too long. When this started after having Jackson, I chopped all my hair off so at least they were shorter hairs I was shedding. I may have to do the same thing this time.
• I've been an Amazon Mom subscriber since Jackson was very little and my sister-in-law introduced me to it. It is so convenient to have the diapers arrive right at your door and at a very reasonable price. However, this week I received an email detailing changes to the 'Mom' membership which basically takes the discount I was getting (something like 30% off) down to 5%. I have a feeling they will lose a lot of business over this decision. The only way to keep discount is to subscribe to an Amazon Prime membership which is $80 and totally defeats the purpose of getting discounted diapers. I guess it's back to clipping coupons and waiting for sales or maybe even trying out store brand diapers instead of Pampers. Total bummer :(

Favorite Thing:

    I am definitely of the mindset that everything has a place. I don't like clutter. It has been really hard, especially in our current home, to have a place for everything when space is so limited. My favorite organizing tool to compensate for lack of space is an over the door shoe organizer! As you can see below, I have one for all my pantry miscellaneous, one for my cleaning supplies, and one three for their intended purpose - shoes! They would also be great for school/art supplies, gift wrapping supplies, or you could even put one in the garage for gardening supplies. Your only limiting factor is the number of doors available in your house!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - 2012 #2

Hope your year is off to a good start and your resolutions haven't already gone by the wayside! I have quite a few resolutions this year, most notably to get back in shape and fit back into my pre-pregnancy clothes. Mike has also set a resolution for both of us that we will go on 12 dates this year. That is pretty lofty considering we went on 2 dates last year and none that I can think of the year before! Hopefully we can meet that goal and it doesn't end up as the '12 dates' of Christmas by the end of the year!

My big helper with his new Dyson from MiMi and PaPa!

Jackson looks like a big boy in his clothes - growing up way too fast!

Up:

• This week was Mike's 31st birthday! I failed to get a picture of him with the cake because I was feeding Kennedy, but here is the cake after I finished it. It is tradition on Mike's birthday to eat Pepperoni Rigatoni and German Chocolate Cake; something his Mom started years ago. 

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• My Fabulous kids have been sleeping great this week. On Tuesday Jackson slept 13 hours (you'll see why below) and Kennedy slept 8! It gets better, on Friday night JP slept 14 hours!!! I'm sure with Jackson this will be short lived until he is completely well, but one can dream!

Kennedy after 8 hours of sleep!

Down:

• Unfortunately our year did not get off to a great start. Jackson and I have a nasty respiratory virus. It started the day after we got back and doesn't seem to be leaving anytime soon. It hit Jackson pretty hard on Tuesday and after he woke up from his nap he was crying uncontrollably. He kept saying, " not okay," and screaming intermittently. I seriously thought something really bad like a seizure was going to happen because I've never seen a child act like that for so long. It wasn't from a fever because his fever had broken at this point, but we went ahead and stripped him down to his diaper and just held him until he eventually stopped. Then Kennedy and Mike have had some type of conjunctivitis of the eye where it mattes shut and is very red/irritated.

Favorite Thing:

I thought that I would start something new on the blog this year. I'm always big on finding products/things that I enjoy or make life easier. Each week I plan to feature one of my favorite things. This week's favorite thing is Dreyer's Frozen Yogurt in Carmel Praline Crunch flavor. Everyone is trying to watch their weight this time of year, but it's hard to curb sweet cravings. This frozen yogurt is low in calories (120 for 1/2 cup) and has all the probiotic benefits of yogurt. The best part about it is the taste; in no way does this take like yogurt, it is rich, creamy, and delicious. We don't have the luxury of Blue Bell in this neck of the woods, but this yogurt is the next best thing.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #1 (New Year & a new count)

Not off to a good start this year with an already belated post! In all fairness, I have been really productive in the other aspects of my life since arriving home.

Happy New Year!!

• We started off this past week with the 'Major' family Christmas. It was so much fun to have everyone at my parents' house. It was the first time in 5 years (since Mike and I were married) that everyone was home. We've added 3 more children into the family since then! Here are some pics from our celebration:

Check out Kennedy's new scuffs!

• On Tuesday, the 27th, my parents celebrated 35 years of marriage. They are such an amazing example to us and I wish them so many more blessed years. 
• Also on Tuesday, our baby girl was baptized! It was so great to have Kennedy baptized at the same church Mike and I were married in and Jackson was also baptized in - St. Elizabeth's. Obviously this church means a lot to us because that is where Mike and I met. Kennedy looked so beautiful in my old baptismal gown! We were also blessed to have many family members join us for the special occasion. Afterwards we went to Ruby Tequila's for fajitas and cake!

Kennedy surrounded by parents, grandparents and godparents - Aunt Marva Bichsel & Uncle Dave Hefferly!

Wearing my baptismal gown! 

Beautiful little girl!

• Wednesday brought friends to our house that we don't get to see very often. It was so great to catch up on everything and they got to meet Kennedy!
• Thursday was Mike and I's 5th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe it's been 5 years. I'm so lucky to have Mike in my life and we've had so many blessings in our short 5 years of marriage. Looking forward to many more great years. Mom and Dad watched the kids and Mike and I had a whole date day. That hasn't happened since before Jackson was born. We had a couple's massage, lunch at Abuelo's (the best Mexican food ever), shopped around and topped off our date with a mini blizzard from the DQ!
• Friday we celebrated the Hefferly Family Christmas! Everyone was there, but Mike's Dad who was working. It was a short visit, but it was great to see everyone and meet our newest nephew Grant though he is already 6 months old.

Mike with his siblings - Andy, Dave, Pat, & Laura!

Jackson with his favorite uncle - Pat!

All the cousins together (extremely rare) - Kennedy, Kolbe, Jackson, Grant, Reagan, & John! Next time we are together there will be a new addition, Baby Will!

Kennedy and Grant getting acquainted!

• Saturday we woke up at the crack of dawn to drive to Amarillo and catch our flight home. Thankfully, both Jackson and Kennedy slept the majority of the flight.

Down

• While we were home we went to see my Grandpa at his assisted living facility. For those of you that don't know, my Grandpa has Parkinson's Disease and it has recently gotten worse.  It is hard to see him that way because I still see him as the vibrant, full of life person I've always known him to be. I love him dearly and pray that he is not in much pain. He has lived a full life though and I know that the he is ready to go to his heavenly home whenever he gets the call.

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down - #21 (much belated post)

\So I began writing this post before we left for Texas, but literally I never got my computer out the whole time we were home to even post it. Sorry for the delayed holiday wishes!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I hope you all are had as merry a Christmas as our family did and got to spend it with those you love. I'm so thankful that Mike is home with us this Christmas after spending over half the year away from us. I know others are not so fortunate and I want to say thank you to all you military families that are separated during this holiday season. 

Up:

• Jackson had his first Christmas program this week with his Mother's Day Out class. He did so great and was so fun to watch. It made me think of all the Christmas pageants I was in when I was little. I can't wait for more fun things like this in years to come. Here is a small portion of Jackson's class singing Jingle Bells:

• As mentioned two weeks ago, Kennedy turned 2 months old on Dec. 19th. I didn't get a chance to take her pictures until the next day because she was not in the best of moods after getting her vaccinations. Isn't she beautiful?! Jackson felt left out and wanted in the pics too!

• Always so great to spend time with family that we are separated from most of the year. We had a great time with my family up in Groom:

Sitting with my niece, Katherine, and Kennedy waiting on Santa to arrive!

Jackson got a miniature John Deere 4 wheeler from Santa! It has been a longstanding tradition in Groom that Santa visits on Christmas Eve after mass and brings presents to the kids.

Christmas morning with the kids in our PJs! Then we all went to checkout the snow - a white Christmas! They didn't even get any snow in Idaho while we were gone - haha, ironic!

I beat my Nephew Carson on the wishbone challenge!

Down:

• Flying with babies is always a challenge. Thankfully Mike took Jackson and I had Kennedy. Kennedy was good as gold as slept on both flights out to Texas; Jackson on the other hand, was down right awful. It didn't help that we couldn't sit on the same row (their aren't enough oxygen masks for two lap children on one row in a full fight). To top it off, when we finally got to my Uncle's house that night, Jackson didn't sleep well at all. Can you say EXHAUSTING!
• There is never enough time to get all the visiting in that I would like to when we go back home.