A dinner date

We invited Captain Husband's friend, Gabe, and his family over for a little Memorial Day cookout yesterday afternoon.  Gabe and his wife have a little girl, Bella, who's only ten months older than Sammy, and the two of them immediately hit it off.  Granted, there were a few skirmishes over sharing here and there, but for their first time playing together I'd say the two of them did pretty well.  I think we'll be having some more dinner dates with Gabe and his family in the future.

I've got nothin'

Yesterday was a bit of an emotion-filled day for me; Captain Husband and I had a nice, long talk and hopefully we've gotten things a bit back on track between the two of us--at the very least, we're keeping the lines of communication open, which is always a good thing.  But as a result, I never really got around to photographing anything for today's blog post, so that means you're all going to be treated to some cute shots of Sammy and Henry from a week and a half ago.

Man, I feel better just looking at my nephew's happy face! (And to everyone who was so sweet to comment yesterday, thank you all so very much.  I seriously wanted to cry from happiness just knowing that I'm not alone in feeling the way that I do at times.  You guys are awesome.)

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Ben, Sarah and Henry flew back to Pennsylvania yesterday afternoon and the house is so strangely quiet now that they're gone.  I really miss living within driving distance of my family and their visit definitely drove that fact home, big time.  As I watched Sammy and Henry play together over the past week, I couldn't help but be a bit sad because they're not going to get to grow up together in the manner that I did with my cousins, something that I now realize that I took for granted.  I hope we'll be able to get together again soon--this whole seeing-family-once-every-six-months-or-more thing is starting to get old fast.

Attack of the tickle monster

Can you get a load of this face?  I just want to kiss him and hug him and nom on his chubby arms and legs!  Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, because Sammy had pretty much the same reaction to his cousin, Henry, that I did.

I'm pretty sure Sammy's thinking something along the lines of "ZOMG BABY!  Must. Tickle. Now." in the above shot.

Sammy wasted no time at all in playing with his cousin, repeatedly going in for "tickles" and some corporal cuddling.  Fortunately Henry is super easy going and he handled all of Sammy's affection remarkably well, especially for someone who had been up since 3:15 that morning.

For their first day together, I think the two boys did remarkably well.  I think they're going to be the best of buddies by the time Henry has to return to Pennsylvania next week.

Getting ready for baby is sew much fun!

I am so excited to finally get to show all of you what I was so busy working on the last week and a half!  My friend, Mariana, is expecting a girl this June so I wanted to make a few things for the new addition to her family.  Initially, I planned on only making a car seat canopy (a must have when one lives under the blistering sun of El Paso), but I kind of got carried away a bit and wound up making a car seat canopy, a onesie dress, two bibs, three burp cloths, a minkee blanket and a little draw-string bag to store it all in.

Of course, it helps that I had found the adorable vintage printed fabric at my local thrift store about a month ago that Mariana loved; plus it's hard to beat two yards of fabric for only $2.99!

I decided to just jump on in and go for it, even though I honestly had no clue of what I was doing most of the time; most of the tutorials that I followed promised projects that could be completed in 15 minutes or less, but those assurances were obviously aimed at people who knew how to sew.  I spent many minutes sitting in front of the computer, re-reading the steps over and over again, convinced that they had somehow turned into a different language since beginning the project at hand.

The onesie dress is one of those things that looks cute until you start to look at it closely; my skirt was so messed up that I had to make a little faux belt to hide the sewing carnage that had taken place.  And then the fabric that I used to make the belt wasn't long enough by 1/4" of an inch to encircle the dress, so I had to make a patch to hide the gap.  What was supposed to be a ten-minute project quickly turned into an hour-and-a-half project.  I think I'll have to practice this one a bit more before I can actually turn one out that looks half-way decent.

So here's everything all wrapped up and ready to be presented to my friend at her shower on Saturday; I had remembered my camera but forgot to put the memory card in before I left the house, so I was left without any way to take photos of Mariana opening her gift, but rest assured, she was pretty excited when she saw the whole kit and caboodle.

For those of you who'd like to try some of these out at home, here are the links to the tutorials I followed:
Onesie dress
Car seat canopy
Minkee blanket
Basic bibs
Burp cloths
Draw-string bag

Happy sewing!

My first military ball

Last Friday marked a very momentous occasion in my life as a military spouse--my very first military formal.  It was also my very first official military anything, actually, thanks to Captain Husband's rather unconventional military career since we've been together.  I was pretty nervous about the whole event--what was I going to wear?  What was I going to do with my hair?  And then the awful realization that I was going to have to not only wear makeup that night, but I'd also have to go out and procure some before the actual event took place (I estimate it's been about three years since I last bought any and I threw it all away when we moved last summer).  Thank goodness my friend Aubree' was here to walk me through the whole beautification process.

After two very unsuccessful shopping trips to Macy's and Dillard's (I maintain that having to shop for a formal gown while pregnant should be considered cruel and unusual punishment), I finally found a dress that I liked on eBay and took the plunge, hoping that it would fit by the time the formal rolled around.  The formal was here before I knew it and I was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off, going to various appointments like pedicure, manicure and hair.  I don't think I underwent this much primping for my very own wedding.

We were running waaaaaaay behind schedule so we weren't able to pose for any nice pictures before hitting the road and CH didn't want me bringing my camera along, due to my habit of wandering off to take pictures rather than socializing, which was a huge bummer because the ball was taking place in the gorgeous Camino Real Hotel in downtown El Paso (home to the beautiful Tiffany Dome pictured above).  Thank goodness for my iPhone!  All in all it was a pretty good night--I got to meet some of the people CH will be working with once he takes command at the end of the month and it was fun to go out for a night on the town with my husband, even though we headed home at 10 pm like a couple of old fogies.

Taking time to stop and smell the roses

I feel as though I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off lately--I don't know if it's because spring is finally here or because I'm in "nesting" mode or what, but my to-do list seems to be growing longer by the minute (some examples: finish the craft/guest room, start sewing diaper covers, make an infant car seat cover, work on the backyard a bit and so on and so forth).  I'm actually enjoying this burst of creative energy but it also means that I've been neglecting other things, like my blog reading list, inbox and sleep schedule.  The rose bushes in the backyard, however, are enjoying all of my manic attention, even though I honestly have no idea what I'm doing back there--Captain Husband and I have been cutting back the stuff that looks questionable and apparently that's been working as we were rewarded with these two gorgeous blooms over the weekend.  Now if only we could coax some grass to grow in the backyard--then we'd really be set.

On a mission to see some history

I hope you guys aren't getting too tired of all of my photos from our recent trip to San Antonio; I promise there's only a few more days' worth to go.  There was just so much fabulous history on display that I can't help but share as much of it as possible.  On our second full day in San Antonio I managed to talk Captain Husband into taking a short car ride to visit the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park; the park actually preserves four of the five Spanish frontier missions in San Antonio (the Alamo is the fifth).  Our first stop was the Mission Concepcion, which was completed around 1755 and is one of the best preserved of the Texas missions.

The entrance to the church building was surrounded by an elaborately carved stone portal; according to period descriptions regarding the church, the facade was further decorated with brightly-colored frescoes, which have long since been lost to the ravages of time.

While the exterior is bereft of any painted ornament, the interiors of several of the Mission buildings still retain remnants of their colorful eighteenth-century frescoes.  These ceiling and wall ornaments were revealed and preserved during a restoration project undertaken in 1988; today only four rooms clearly show the remnants of these beautiful works of art; the two ceiling ornaments pictures above were found in the baptistry (left) and the library (right).

I could have spent several hours wandering around this architectural gem (CH was keeping Sammy happily occupied outside on the grounds of the park while I explored), but we had more missions to see before they closed for the day.

The San Antonio Stroll

Time flies when you're having fun!  I really feel as though we only scratched the surface of all that San Antonio has to offer in the two days we had to sight-see and explore so hopefully there will be more trips there in the future.   San Antonio is a wonderfully walkable city, thanks primarily to the River Walk located in the heart of downtown, and Captain Husband, Sammy and I definitely logged our fair share of miles on it while we were there.

The scenery along the river was so beautiful and tranquil without the hustle and bustle of street traffic to get in the way; the Gothic spire of Saint Joseph's cathedral was just visible from the River Walk.

And did I mention how lush and green everything was along the River Walk?  Oh man, I just kept saying to Captain Husband about how I couldn't get over all of the green.  I'm going to be having some serious withdrawal issues once we're back in El Paso.

Sammy was so good the whole time we were in San Antonio; he loved going out in the stroller and would actually climb into it in the hotel room and command that we, "go, go, go!"  All of the activity near the water had him totally enthralled, especially all of the people watching, boats going by, and ducks begging for snacks.  The ducks weren't the only feathered friends out enjoying the water, though:

I guess even pigeons enjoy a good foot soak from time to time.

If the shoe fits...

Sammy's started the rather endearing habit of putting on my (giant) shoes and shuffling around the house while saying, "Mommy's shoes!" over and over again.  It's hard not to smile at how excited he becomes every time he manages to get them on all by himself, although considering how much this kid grows, it probably won't be too long before he's actually wearing the same shoe size as me.  What adorable things have your kids (or fur-babies) done lately?

A small milestone

Generally speaking, Sammy's a pretty risk-adverse toddler.  While other parents lament their child's latest attempts at scaling the bookshelf or jumping off of the dining room chairs, I just sit back and thank my lucky stars that Sammy has shown no interest in the slightest in attempting any of those things (knock on wood).  Unfortunately, this trait also means that Sammy is usually a big ol' stick in the mud whenever we go to the playground--he doesn't climb with abandon and the prospect of going down the slide is usually met by screams of protest.  However, this stage may be coming to a pass--at yesterday's play date, not only did Sammy climb the ladder all by himself, he also did it without any pleading or cajoling on my part.  And then the best part happened--he actually sat down, scooted up to the edge of the slide, and went for it.  Sammy stuck the landing, stood up and proudly said, "I did it!" and then proceeded to do it another twenty or so times.  Looks like someone is going to be having a lot more fun at the playground from here on out.

A loaded question

A few weeks ago my best friend, who is pregnant with her first child, wrote me an email regarding the transition from working full-time to being a full-time stay-at-home-mom and asked me if I ever planned to return to work.  This is a topic that is never far from my mind...adjusting from being a full-time member of the work force to being the slave of a tiny tyrant (I may be exaggerating slightly) is one that I still struggle with.  A lot.  I actually had a dream a few weeks ago about being back at work in the antiques gallery and helping to identify an unknown DC cabinetmaker...exciting stuff, I know.  

Would I like to go back to work?  Most definitely.  However, the sad fact remains that most military spouses face an uphill battle in the quest for employment regardless if children are in the picture or not.  There's not much call for someone with a masters degree in American Decorative Arts where most military posts are located, unless we happen to find ourselves back in northern Virginia, which is possible, but unlikely.  And now with number two on the way...well, that pushes the timeline for my possible re-entry into the workforce back a couple more years.

Ever since I made the difficult decision to not return to work there have been many times where I've felt as though I've lost just about everything by which I used to define myself.  This feeling has only intensified in the months since our move to El Paso; I think it's a direct result of the fact that no one down here knows the version of me that existed in my life before kids and that makes me feel very isolated and lonely sometimes.  Don't get me wrong--I love Sammy and our family and I've been privileged to make some very awesome friends since moving here--I know that I'm incredibly lucky that we can afford for me to stay home and raise our son.  I often get down on myself because I don't feel completely fulfilled by motherhood alone; I know many people who would give their right arm for the chance to be home full-time with their children and that makes me feel even more guilty.

I hope that I'm not the only out there that feels this way, so now the question is how should I go about dealing with these feelings; I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's day everyone! After the success of last year's holiday-themed photo of Sammy (click here if you need a chuckle), I had high hopes of taking some Valentine photos that would be at least half as awesome as that one.  Well...have you ever tried to direct a toddler to do something?  You'd think I'd have learned this lesson at some point during the last nineteen and a half months.

I had a few props, like foam hearts and a giant rose scored from the Target dollar bins, that I had hoped would hold Sammy's interest for at least a few minutes while I snapped some photos, but I had forgotten to take into account the siren call that's irresistible to my kid--e.g. dirt.

It wasn't long before he had tossed the props aside and plopped himself down on the ground and started digging in the dirt.  I pleaded and cajoled.  I even went so far as to try and bribe him with a cup full of apple juice, but Sammy wasn't going for it.  At least I managed to get a couple of cute shots before we decided to call it a day and went inside to watch some Blue's Clues; it was the least I could do for my funny little valentine who had put up with my photography requests quite graciously (well, for a toddler at least).

Do you have any fun plans for Valentine's Day?

Bye-bye Unky Bum

My brother left last Wednesday but I'm still getting used to not having him around.  There have been a couple of times in the past few days where I've found myself saying, "Hey John..." only to realize that I'm speaking to a mostly-empty house.  I guess nine days of 24/7 togetherness will do that to a person.  I hope we're able to get together again soon, either here in Texas or in Pennsylvania; I really miss being a couple hours' drive away from my family, especially when I see just how much fun Sammy has with his uncle and vice versa.  Someone needs to get on inventing a teleporter, STAT so we could visit whenever we wanted.