Koopman Kraziness

We went to the mobilization briefing for Jeff's brigade last night in Wausau. Four hours and a LOT of information later, we found out that he is scheduled to deploy the middle of February. We still don't have the official date and time, but they did say last night that it was the third week of February. It's somewhat more peaceful having a definite time that we know to plan for, but it's also very scary...and coming up fast. We will be going to Texas to spend Christmas with my parents from the 19th of December to the 3rd of January. Jeff will work his regular 8-4 job that week and then the 10th will have to leave for training in Florida. I think immediately following that, he has two weeks of training with the unit he is deploying with. Thankfully that is in the state but it is two hours away so he won't get to come home except for possibly a weekend. That would put us at about the 15th of February and the big brigade send off is going to be the 17th of Febr...

Kamden had his 6 - month well child check yesterday and did wonderfully! He is still in the 50th percentile for weight and 75th for length being 17lbs 12oz and 27 inches. He was a trooper with the appointment and did a good job with his vaccinations considering that he was not at all expecting them. The nurse had given him his rotavirus vaccine, which is oral and was kind of just talking to him when she gave him the injections and he let out one of those "silent screams". You know the ones... The face turns almost crimson and everything tenses up? Yeah..that kind. Poor little guy. Every person that passed him in the waiting room when we left the "shot room" that gave him a look of sympathy would send him into fits again. Luckily he did wind up taking a good nap after we got him calmed down. We are still working with him on sitting up and strengthening his back muscles and doing his tummy time so that he can strengthen his arms better. He's started maki...

If you'd like to follow my diabetic journey, please check out the following link. It will contain blogs regarding my own journey, as well as information about the disease and ways you can help or show your support. http://fingertipsofsteel.blogspot.com

Okay, brace yourself for some SERIOUS cuteness. Earlier this week, I got a package in the mail from my sister in love, Erin with a costume for Kamden's first Halloween! We were both a little worried it might not fit but it did and he looks absolutely precious. I couldn't wait until Halloween to share the pictures!

I can't believe that six months ago today, this sweet, strong boy came into the world. Look how much he has changed! We go for his 6 month appointment on the 28th and I can't wait to see how much he's grown. He pretty much wears 6-9 month clothes now due to being so long. He's loving all the new foods he gets to try and is learning so much! I'm so proud to be called his momma!

Wow, so...I'm going to let it all out and show you the progression the house has made in the last three weeks. We have been working hard to get the house on the market to sell before Jeff goes to Iraq. We had a Realtor's Open House yesterday and had 22 agents walk through. Our Realtor seems to think it went really well and we have our first client showing tomorrow and another on Friday afternoon! Be praying with us that the right buyer comes along with the right price and that the sale happens quickly and "hitch" free! So here goes...I don't have pictures of the upstairs rooms done quite yet, but I'm REALLY proud of Jeff and I for buckling down and getting done what we should have been doing all along. Pretty crazy stuff huh? I know, we're (formerly) disgusting. I have since found that cleaning is like a drug to me, so things will be QUITE different around here from now on. (As well as wherever we live in the future.)

My friend Lindsey posted a blog about a week about about her 5 most hated household duties I absolutely love this woman and so I'm going to respond and hope you all will do the same for me! I would love to know (for sure) that I'm not the only homemaker who hates certain household chores. 1) PUTTING AWAY CLEAN LAUNDRY - I've NEVER liked this task. When I was still living at home and my mother was sick for several years in a row, I didn't mind to help with doing household tasks, but poor Mom would get home from the hospital to see that Dad and I had lived out of the laundry baskets for the last week. Still to this day, I am notoriously bad about this. There have been times, I'll admit, that I waited to put away laundry until I REALLY needed a laundry basket to start the process of folding clean clothes all over again. 2) SWEEPING THE FLOOR - If we had a mixture of carpeted and non - carpeted rooms, this would be less despised. However, how entire house is hardwo...

This has to be a dream... He's not REALLY gone, right? I mean, he can't be. He's my age. But he is. My friend Mark...Higgy as we affectionately knew him in high school died today, October 13, 2008. I don't know any details yet, only that he is gone and I'm experiencing a pain I didn't expect. Mark and I hadn't kept in close contact since graduation, but we did talk occasionally when he was home on leave or stationed overseas. He'd reassure me that things really weren't "that bad" over there and that Jeff would be safe if the day came that he had to deploy again. Mark said he'd already taken care of the "bad" guys so it would be safe. Anytime that we did get a chance to talk, we picked up as if we'd never stopped talking in the first place. It's funny how it takes something so tragic to show you how amazing and wonderful someone was. You know...when you can't thank them for being who they are anymore.. It ...

Alright...anyone who has talked to me or known me for any length of time knows that I have had many a hair color. This has never been more true than in the last year or so. As soon as I knew I was safe to dye my hair while pregnant, I had a new hair color every month. I started realizing something about it once Kamden arrived though. My hair color changes started only accompanying huge life changes or times of high stress. A few months ago my hair progressed in order of the following pictures in a matter of three days. This was the week we found out my mother in law had passed away. Most recently we have the following scenario. I tell Jeff I'm thinking of dying my hair again and ask him what color he'd like to see. He suggests auburn as I've had it before and he loved the look. It turns the color in the second picture and I freak out and the color in the third picture happens in a matter of about half an hour. This "decision" accompanies finding out a s...

* I physically cannot be around the Halloween decor aisles in a store. I get sick. * I get insanely irritated when I have to repeat myself more than one additional time. If you don't listen and hear me the second time around, you must not have been intended to hear it. * I am completely freaked out by the Teletubbies and hope and pray Kamden either never discovers them or plain just does not like them. * The Wiggles fall into the same catergory as the Teletubbies. * Anytime there is a good snowfall, I crave Dairy Queen Blizzards. * I have a very hard time sleeping in a completely silent room.

Alright, since it is 2 am and I am still wide awake, I thought I might as well take the time to blog a bit. If you are wanting inspiring reading or something deep and meaningful, I would encourage you to stop reading now, because this particular blog is a bit shallow. I promise, I'll have a deep, thought provoking post out in the next couple of days. It has been awhile since I sat and thought about things I really enjoy. I'm not talking about people, but plain old material goodness. (hey, I warned you about the shallow factor!) Tonight I realized that as silly as it may seem to some, and heck, maybe even vain, I LOVE makeup! I can sit for quite literally hours (when I have the time, which isn't often now) and watch makeup tutorials on youtube.com or surf cosmetics websites. I love to experiment with new colors and looks, but I don't allow myself to indulge in that very often. So, here's the deal. 1) I need a new hobby. 2) I need to, once again do something JUST with...