Hi Ho! Hi Ho! California here we...

come? "No...that doesn't rhyme." Anyway, we found out (about a week ago) that we're going to be moving to Fort Irwin, California.

Pro's:

- About 2 hours from Las Vegas! Sweet!!!
- Husband will NOT deploy the entire time we're stationed there. He's been 4 times.
- About 2 hours from Los Angeles! Double Sweet!!!
- Close to family aka baby sitters. Thanks Grandma. Do you know that the Hubs and I haven't been out ALONE in over a year. Geez!
- Get to say Goodbye! to "Tornado Valley".

Con's

- It's Fort Irwin, CA. aka "No Man's Land". We'll be in the high desert between BFE and Lake 'In Your Dreams'.
- Relocating a business with the closes fabric store 30 minutes away. Wholesale accounts, here I come.
- Further from family, my half. :-(
- Did I mention we'll be in the desert? H.O.T.
- Saying Hello! to "Earthquake Central".

We'll be about 30 minutes North of Barstow and an hour North of Victorville and Apple Valley. If anyone knows anything...I mean anything, about anything in those area's, please feel free to share. My hubby is from Riverside but we will both be new to the High Desert area. We still have no idea when we'll actually be on our way but wish us luck!

You may find this interesting. When I googled Enterprise, AL (where we currently live) and Fort Irwin, CA (where we will soon be stationed), these are the 1st images under the two.

Enterprise, AL - Hail the almighty Boll Weevil!

Yes folks, she is holding a giant beetle in her hand. The Boll Weevil destroyed all the cotton crop and forced the city of Enterprise to move on to peanut farming. Now, over half the peanuts that are distributed within the US, come from Enterprise and surrounding area's.


Fort Irwin, CA. - I got nothin' to say. Well actually, those of you who know me know that I have plenty to say but I am going to hold my tongue on this.

Do you think I should prepare for a major change?

Why I'm NOT a Cake Decorator

Bean's 1st Birthday was very small. Depressingly small. So I decided that I would just make the cake since the little "Sugar Monster" would destroy it anyway. Also, because here in Bodunk Alabama, the best cake comes from Wal-Mart and my personal opinion...it sucks!

So here it is, Bean's B-Day Cake! It's certainly nothing to get excited about but it was good. I should know, I ate more then half of it. Pictures of the "Sugar Monster" will follow shortly.

Our New Pup

His name is Kouma and he is a 9 week old white (obviously) German Shepherd. So far, he's been a pretty good puppy*.

*My definition of Puppy: A rambunctious, clumsy, ankle-biting fur ball. Known to pee on the cement when he is too tired/lazy to make it to the grass. Beware of puddles, as this miniture horse can't go 15 minutes without a potty break.

He's so darn cute though! And we're working on the definition. ;-)

Absolutely Adorable

This adorable onesie say's it all, "I Only Date Pilots"! Too cute and what a wonderful gift for our family from Laura at The Patriotic Wife, just in time for hubby's completion of flight school.

Want one or something similar? Visit The Patriotic Wife, she has many styles and phrases to choose from. Like "My Hero Wears Camo", "I was Issued" and "Chillin' In My Camo".

Miracle Worker

This is what a great hair stylist can do for a worn out Mom. Thank you Jason.

P.S. See those lil' baby hairs to the left of my bangs? Those are growing back from when I lost it while pregnant. Only took a year.

Thank you to my hubby for surprising me with a trip to the Salon. He's great, he also got me a "Spa Day Retreat" before the Military Ball (in July).

Wordless Wednesday

Car Seat Inspection

PASSED!

Tackle It Tuesday

My daughter's 1st birthday is on June 15th and I wanted her to look extra cute on her special day. I had some extra fabric lying around so I decided to put it to good use and make "Bean" a dress.

The Before

The After

Just Pictures

Bean will be 1 on June 15th. Time fly's when you're having fun.

Beanie with Boobs!

You may know by now that I like to torture my hubby every now and then. When we found out that we were having a girl, Sean immediately started thinking of ways to keep the boy's away. He said, "maybe she'll be really hairy and no one will want her. Or maybe I can just toss a shot gun bullet at the boy and tell him the next one will be comin' at him a lot faster!" LOL!

This evening while my son was playing his "bean bag toss" game, Bean put one of the bean bags down her onesie and it gave me an idea. I'm gonna give her little boobies. Strange idea, I know. But you have to understand the relationship between the Hubs and I, I knew that this would drive him completely crazy. Just the thought of the look on his face when he saw the photo, cracks me up. I put the photo up as our desktop background so when the hubby get's on the computer, he'll have a nice surprise. :-)

Below is the original photo and the one I tweaked a bit and added to the desktop.



Scary huh! They almost look real, I guess I have great "fake boob placement" skills.

Oh and Yes, my children were supervised while playing with bean bag's. :-)

Enter our Giveaway and win 1 of 4 Prizes

Visit http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2008/06/04/giveaway-products-for-parents-on-the-go/ to enter our giveaway for a pair of BabyLegs, a Teething Pendant with Matching Bangle and 2 sets of Car Seat Strap Covers.

Read my interview with the blog owner here...http://www.business-opportunities.biz/2008/06/04/the-pitter-patter-boutique-helps-out-busy-parents/

Tackle It Tuesday

My poor daughter is often the test dummy for some of my "inventions", but lately I've been letting her off the hook because I am so busy. I guess that's a good thing.

For the past few weeks, I've been meaning to tackle her nasty car seat strap covers. I'm sure there's a mixture of apple juice, water, drool, dried cheerio remnants and God know's what on them. At first I was just going to wash them but then I thought, "Hello! I make these things. Why don't I just make her a new pair." She already has some on her stroller but our car seat came with a pair so I was never too concerned with changing them.

Check out the before and after. Boy, what a difference! From dull and dirty to fun and fabulous...and reversible. :-)

The Before

The After

A much happier baby with her new trendy Car Seat Strap Covers!

I Love My Soldier

I know some of you can relate to this. Just a little background info...my husband is a Chinook Pilot in the US Army (completing flight school this week) and he has been deployed 4 times. Family day = a day where the pilots get to bring their family's out to the airfield for lunch, a video and to see the aircraft and operations (some of them) up close.

After family day (last Friday) the hubs walked me and our two kids out to the car to leave. He had to go back into the hanger so he could get ready for flight that evening. We were all in the car as he made his rounds to each window. He kissed our daughter goodbye, then our son and next was me :-). I rolled my window down to get one more kiss before he left. He leaned in, kissed me and smiled. As he walked away, I yelled out "I love you!" and he turned around and said, "I love you too!" with a big smile. At that moment, it was as if a camera went off in my head and that emotion was forever captured and remembered. Then I thought, "oh shit!", this is like in the movies. Then the soldier dies and I'm left with this last great memory of him. A memory that will play back in my head night after night as I cry myself to sleep. "Damnit," I said.

Of course, I didn't tell my husband about this until after he was home, but I was nervous the entire night. Many people don't understand the long, hard and heart tugging day's a military spouse has. Day's where you just hope that your loved one will make it back home or back to their tent unharmed. Of course, anyone can die at anytime and anywhere, but when your loved one is a soldier, it's always in the back of your mind.

To the people out there with loved one's that are deployed, I appreciate you. I also appreciate your husband, wife, son, daughter, sister or brother for all that they do. Because of them, my husband is home right now. And maybe in a year or two, my husband will be there and your loved one will be home with you. Hopefully this rotation will end, sooner rather then later.