Unintentional To-Do List

I am a big fan of "To-Do" lists. On my laptop's home-screen I have two of them: A weekly list and an overall list. I find the lists help keep me on track and it feels really good to take items off the list once they are completed. 

"To-Do" lists are especially popular amongst the milispouse community when you s/o is deployed. I learned this last deployment. It seems to help time pass quicker when you are busy! As this final deployment is coming to an end, my list is getting very short. I look back at my list, I am very excited to have been able to accomplish so much. I am proud to say that during both of these deployment I was able to complete my lists each time. 

However, this deployment there is another list. This one I refer to as my Unintentional To-Do List. Its not aptly named because its not as if this was some sort of list I was hoping to accomplish, rather its a list of things I accomplished that I didn't set out to do. 

This deployment has been a lot harder personally than the last one. Quite a few mishaps and unfortunate life events happened in the last 6 months. Some are serious and some a downright hilarious:

Pulled my right quadricep muscle and was on crutches. I had to stay away from the gym for 4 weeks!
 
Replaced 10 light bulbs, I guess there was a power surge? We even use those light bulbs that are supposed to last 7 years!

Dealt with grown women spreading lies and attacking me personally, gossiping like teenagers. I am accustomed to the occasional gossip, but this was ridiculous. I had to learn the best way to deal with these irrational people is to ignore them which is much harder than it seems. I desperately wanted to fight back and defend myself, but when you are dealing with unreasonable people it is useless to try and reason with them. I am glad to report that ignoring them truly did work. They may not have totally quit talking about me, but its gone back to a tolerable level. My friends say these gossipers are just jealous. I don't see what they have to be jealous of, I'm a pretty average person. I just don't see how anything I do can be fabulous enough to gossip about.  

I have utilized my emergency roadside assistance 6 times in 6 months, mostly to jump start Hubs car. His car stays parked in the garage but I have to move it in order to take out the garbage every week. I've left his car door open a few times too many... 

Learned to jump start a car myself as a result.

Dealt with the death of a close family member for the first time, my father-in-law.

I had to send my first Red Cross message. I tell people how to do this all the time, but this was my first time experiencing it first hand.

Learned the procedure for emergency leave. Let me rephrase, I understood the procedure but I believe you don't truly know something until you have lived it. Yes, I was able to see my husband in the midst of a deployment but I would rather Hubs been deployed for a year and his father still be alive than have him come home early because his father died.

Have put over 8,000 miles on my car as a result of emergency family situations across the country. I wish airline tickets weren't so darned expensive.

Took my first solo road trip with Little Miss. We even managed to get into our first car accident in my new car, it wasn't my fault!

Attempted a solo emergency road trip for an emergency custody hearing for my niece, but an hour from home a piece of tire retread was thrown at my windshield at 60mph causing it to shatter. Scariest. Thing. Ever!

So that means my car was in the repair shop twice in a 2 week period. Go ahead and laugh, I do!

Took my first emergency road trip for the emergency custody hearing for my niece with a friend and two 2 year olds. I now HATE tolls and thank the heavens for portable DVD players.

Learned new acronyms like ICPC and DCF. I have seen firsthand how harsh drug addiction can be, how people love the drugs more than they care about the well-being of their own children. Drugs Addiction really does warp someone's mind and their sense of reality.

Learned how to keep my emotions in check. I am generally a very emotional person and will cry at the drop of a hat. I had to my husband's rock when his dad died and I have to be rational & reasonable when it comes to dealing with the on-going situation with my niece (and future niece/nephew).

I have twice potty trained a toddler! I only intended on potty training her once...

I had to say good-bye to a close friend who PTS'd overseas. So now I'm learning how to keep up with a friend that is so far away for so long :(

I had to conquer my fear of spiders to exterminate all of them outside my house. I had one the size of my hand in our back yard that laid 2 huge egg sacs. I was constantly seeing massive spider webs in the front yard. It was so bad I didn't let Little Miss go outside and I was afraid to go out there as well. I had to suck it up and spray down the house *twice* and knock down all the webs. It gives me the creepy crawlies thinking about it!

Through the ups and downs of this deployment, I have discovered who my true friends are. They are the ones that call or text or email to check up on me (and really mean it!), offer to watch Little Miss so I can take care of things, and drop everything to drive me 10 hours to a court hearing. Because of a select group of people, I have not been alone in dealing with anything this deployment. I thought I had already learned who my friends were, but this deployment has reminded me that friendships change over time. Some friendships get stronger while some start to fade away. There are certain people that are meant to be in your life for a long time, while others are only meant to be there for a brief time.

I hope the remaining sliver of this deployment goes by uneventfully. But I have to remind myself that everything in life happens for a reason (or so I believe!). All of the issues that I've endured in the last 6 months is in preparation for what lies ahead in my life.

DIY Ruffle Curtains

I spend way too much time on Pinterest, but if you've been reading my blog (especially the Tutorials section) then you know that already. 

I am in the process of re-vamping our master bedroom and the next part of my to-do list was to replace one more set of curtains. 

If you remember I painted the first set of curtains to match the comforter, you can check that post out here. 

For the last set of curtains, I wanted something more feminine. Then I found it: Ruffled Curtains! What is more feminine than ruffles? Not only did I find the curtains, I found a tutorial to make them. This is how mine turned out:

These were VERY easy to make, the beginner sewer could easily put these together. Plus, its cheap. These curtains are made from 2 twin flat sheets from WalMart, cost $4.96 a piece!

I followed the $8 Ruffle Curtain Tutorial at A Boy, A Girl, and A Pug. She did a great job at the tutorial, it was very easy to follow. She even has pictures up showing you how to cut the sheets up properly. She put alot of work into this, you can tell. 

Even though this project is easy, it takes a while. I spent about 4 hours one day (including interruptions from my daughter!) and then an hour the next to finish it up. Its very monotonous work and just sewing straight lines. You have to hem all 10 strips of fabric before you ruffle them. Then you have to ruffle all 10 strips of fabric. Then you have to pin down all 10 ruffles. Then you have to sew them all down. See what I mean?

I followed the tutorial almost exactly. I hate ironing. Hate it. Hate it. Hate it. But when you are sewing, its a necessary evil. I did NOT want to iron both of the sheets entirely, so I just tossed them in the dryer when I had a load of halfway dried laundry already in process. This way I knocked out most of the wrinkles and I could still cut the sheets up properly. When it came to hemming each of the 10 strips, then I busted out the iron the help fold the hem over. That is when I ironed each strip, much easier than ironing the entire sheet. I hate ironing.

Despite the length of time it took to make, the curtain looks amazing. I am so impressed that I could make a ruffle curtain for so cheap and looks just like the pricier one!

So far, this is what I have changed as part of my master bedroom makeover:

New Bedding Set
DIY Painted Curtain

The next project will be a DIY Ruffled Rug!


 

My Life With Kids

Oh my does my daughter keep my life interesting! I am sure anyone that is around kids on a daily basis says the same thing, and they have the stories to back it up.

Something my daughter said last week was too good to keep to myself so I just had to share.

She has become more aware of her bodily functions since we have been potty training, so I've had to teach her to say "excuse me" whenever she burps or farts. Let me tell you the funny story about the exact moment she realized what a fart was.

So last week while I was buckling Little Miss into her car seat, she farted. She looks at me questioningly and says, "Mommy, my butt made a noise." Then she looked down, her brow was furrowed like she was deep in thought. Then she looks up at me with wide eyes full of realization and exclaims, 

"MOMMY MY BUTT HAS HICCUPS!"

Priceless. I will definitely tell this story for years to come. She will probably hate me for it for sure.

Thanks to my daughter, I have become acutely aware of the lyrics to many children's songs. Lately, she has been on a Dora the Explorer kick. We have about 6 dvds that I use whenever I need to keep her occupied (hello crafting time!) and I often find myself singing along. 

Last week, a good friend came over with her kids to help me move stuff into my attic. I don't have an attic ladder yet so I have to haul an 8ft ladder upstairs and climb into the most awkward shaped opening. Of course I decided to do all of this hours after my first half marathon so I was tired and sore. After this daunting task was completed, my friend and I both broke out into song,

"WE DID IT, WE DID IT, WE DID IT YEAH!"

Obviously, her daughter is also a fan of Dora. 

These moments were just too funny not to share and they make me smile just thinking about them. Little Miss gives me alot of grief, that is expected we are battling the terrible 2's, but over time the struggles will fade and these lovely yet comical memories will remain!

 

Catching Up on Crafting!

On this Labor Day, I have been playing catch up on my crafting. The first project I am going to share is a bow holder I re-made for Little Miss. She already has one bow holder that was made by my good friend at La Petite Palace.

Isn't it cute? Check out her shop, she makes all sorts of cute stuff and its quality work.

Well as you can see it is overloaded with hairbows so I wanted to add another bow holder to the wall. I had a wooden monogram letter "K" I found at goodwill one day and have been looking for a creative way to use it. 

So I glued matching ribbon to the monogram letter, made a bow, tacked the smaller ribbon to the larger ribbon along its length, and voila!

Simple and easy! Of course it is not nearly as cute as the one my friend made, but its not bad for my first DIY bow holder. 

Not only did I make this bow holder today, I started on the DIY Ruffle Curtain for my master bedroom! I can't wait to share that post once the project is complete :)

I linked up on Mingle Monday over at Life of Meg today!

Don't Worry, Be Crafty!

This week I have made multiple attempts to get back to "normal". My first task was to get back to crafting and cross more off my to-do list. I decided to tackle the Ikea APA Box Makeover I found on Pinterest. I was so inspired, I decided to makeover an unfinished step stool I found.

I am so excited, they turned out amazing!

This project was much easier than I originally thought. I was able to order the APA box online from Ikea for around $20. I bought 2 yards of fabric from Hancock Fabrics (Little Miss picked it out!) as well as the Heat 'n Bond. 

Following the instructions over at Little Free Radical, this all came together very quickly! In her tutorial, she paints the top of the box with chalkboard paint. I didn't want Little Miss to have chalk in her room for a few reasons: 1. I didn't want chalk dust everywhere upstairs, 2. I didn't want her drawing on the walls! For now, I just painted the top with green acrylic glitter paint. Eventually I want to paint a quote, I just haven't found the perfect one yet.

For the step stool, I used the same technique with the Heat 'N Bond & fabric after painting the stool brown. I finished by covering the stool in Americana Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze. This gave the bench the high gloss finish.

Both of these projects were very easy and a novice crafter could easily complete. The most time consuming part was waiting for the paint to dry.

Now Little Miss has a place for all of her princess clothes, she is actually excited now when I tell her its time to clean up. We'll see how long that lasts...

Unbelievable

Just when I thought things were getting back to normal, then life happens. I was visiting my parents in Louisiana for a few weeks since I missed the previously scheduled visit due to the untimely death of my father-in-law. 

On my way down to Louisiana, this is what happened:

 






















I was in a minor car accident, I was rear ended while driving on the interstate. Not my fault. We were all okay, just annoyed that this delayed our drive by 2 hours. But, I have had this car barely a year and now someone damages it. Ughh. I was able to get it repaired while I was in Louisiana. Phew.










The weekend before I left we had a very unfortunate situation happen: My niece's parents were caught using a schedule IV drug so she was taken away from them and placed in foster care. Both parents suffer from the disease of drug addiction and we have been asking them for years to allow us to take care of their daughter while they both get their lives straight. There was a 72-hour hearing scheduled that would decide who would have temporary custody of my niece and I had to drive straight from Louisiana for 3 days to be there for the hearing.

I dropped my daughter off with a very good friend and went about my drive to the hearing. A mere 2 hours later this happened:

The lovely car in front of me ran over a large piece of tire debris from a semi, it bounced up and hit my windshield. While I was driving 60mph on the interstate. There was glass inside my car, the windshield was significantly dented in. I was very upset because for a few reasons. I JUST had my car fixed, now its damaged again. I had to pay for the repairs out of my own pocket because the lovely car in front of me drove off, I have a $500 deductible. Ouch. I also had ZERO time to spare if I wanted to make it in time for the court hearing. Lucky for me, I have a very amazing friend. She put on her superhero cape and saved me! She was the same friend that was watching my daughter. So she loaded up her car in a matter of minutes, picked me up, and then we took a very long car ride with two 2 year olds in tow. My car was hauled off to a nearby repair shop to replace the windshield and the damage to the roof. As bad as this unplanned mishap was, I couldn't have been happier to have a friend and my partner in crime (my daughter) with me during this journey.

It was a very long car ride and we made it to the hotel very late, but most importantly I was going to make the court hearing.

I have never even been to court. I can honestly say I have never been more stressed or anxious in my life. It was another "hurry up and wait" scenario which I am all too familiar with being a milispouse. But I had to be strong, unemotional, and calm. Usually that is my husband's job so I depend on him for my stability. This was a very hard situation to go through without him there next to me.

The day didn't go exactly as I had hoped; my niece's father was arrested and may be gone for a very long time. I understand he has to face the consequences for his actions, but he showed up to court knowing there was a high chance he would be arrested and he didn't run. He stayed for his daughter. He stayed for me. He has been addicted to drugs for a long time now and for those of you familiar with this disease, you very well know that addicts tend to only think of themselves and saving their butts. By him choosing to stay, it spoke volumes to me. He knows that I have been there since Day 1 for his child and he said because I made the long journey up there, the least he could do was stick around for me. Once he was arrested, the decision was left up to child services for the placement of the child. She will be temporarily placed with a great-uncle because he lives in state and can provide a stable living condition for her. This will ensure my niece will be out of foster care as soon as possible. Since I am from out of state, the paper work takes longer so if my niece was to go to me right away, she could stay in foster care much longer while they wait for the paper work to be completed. The great-uncle resides in the same state so all the required paperwork can be taken care of much quicker and my niece can be out of foster care hopefully next week. So she will be living with the great-uncle temporarily while I get my home checked out by the local child services, get background checks run, and all the paperwork taken care of. Once I have everything taken care of as far as the paperwork goes, we will go from there to decide the next best placement for my niece. Perhaps she will stay with the great-uncle, perhaps my niece's mother will be prepared enough to take her back, or perhaps my niece will be living with us. Ultimately, I want nothing more than for my niece's parents to clean up and become productive citizens of society. That way, my niece can be reunited with them and they can all live happily ever after. However, her parents have a long road ahead of them to recovery: completing rehab, staying sober, getting jobs, getting a place of their own. That is alot to take care of. On top of all that, my niece's mother is expecting baby #2 in the next year. This is alot for any one person to face. I hope and pray they can reach sobriety and maintain it, but in the meantime there are some great people willing to take care of my niece.

After the court hearing, we headed home. We hit lots of traffic and had two very cranky 2 year olds. I also realized that I left my keys in my car that was in a repair shop that was closed. So my friend being the superhero that she is, put up with me for one more night and shuttled me around until I could meet up with my property manager and get a spare key. When I finally was able to get into my house, I went to start up my husbands car and it was dead. I called roadside assistance and they jump started the car. I really hope this is the last of my car troubles.

My husband jokingly told me that I not allowed to make any more road trips. Well, that is just not possible unfortunately. Next week I have to make the 2 hour trip to the repair shop and get my car back. The following week I have to make a 3.5 hour trip to my sister's house. She is moving and is giving me her queen bedroom set. This will be my first trip driving with a trailer. 

As I finally laid down to sleep last night in my own bed, I started wondering that after all that has happened this deployment if I will ever know what "normal" feels like again. This whole sequence of events over the last 2 months has been unbelievable. Life happens and it changes you. I know these experiences have changed me forever. I know I have become a stronger, more independent person. But I have not accomplished this alone, I have stood on the shoulders of my husband, my family, and my friends to help me get there. I am hoping the rest of the deployment goes by smoothly and uneventful. If it doesn't though, these last few months have taught me all I need to know to be able to get through it.


 

Autumn, Football Season, and Homecoming!

Summertime is starting to wind down, the kiddos started back at school here in Louisiana. NFL preseason football started up this week too. There is nothing this girl loves more than LSU football, and they are ranked #1 in many of the preseason rankings! 

I have plenty to look forward to. Fall is my favorite season by far. I love the crispness of the air, the colors of the leaves changing. We are now 5 months into this final deployment and each day that passes is a day closer to Homecoming! I am starting to pull together my carefully selected outfit and accessories for that special day. I am hoping to make Little Miss her dress, unless of course I find something cuter than I can sew. 

I can hardly wait to wear my boots again! I have been working on having a wardrobe that is more interchangeable with pieces that will transition from late summer to fall. Dresses that were cute for summer will pair nicely with leggings with boots in cooler weather. Top it all off with a belted cardigan and voila!, an outfit that goes from summer to fall. Target is clearing out alot of their summer stuff right now. I snagged a cute dress, a long skirt, and tee for under $30. They all work well with my new favorite piece of clothing: a chambray shirt. Check out what I am talking about:

Go check out her blog, this was her "Chambray Shirt Project". She also does project with red jeans, green jeans, and a gingham shirt. I picked up my chambray shirt today at Old Navy and I can hardly wait for the weather to cooperate so I can try out some of these looks!

But alas it is still summertime and I still have plenty to do. I have the half marathon in less than a month, I will be running 10 miles on Sunday as part of my training oh goodness wish me luck! All this training should keep me busy enough to pass the time :)