Our homeschooling adventure

My husband and I have decided to homeschool our kids this fall. This was a tough decision for us. But since he got out of the Navy and we've settle into civilian life, we've realized that the public school the kids are slotted for sucks. We've been dealing with bullying, not very nice teachers and our son is falling behind yet they are still sending him to the next grade. After much debate we decided to give it a try. We have to try for them. I've gotten some not so nice remarks about our decision from friends and family but at the end of the day we have to do what we think is best for OUR kids. Especially my son. He needs one on one attention that he isn't getting in public school.

Anyway, I'm excited to start this adventure. B/c I know it will be just that, an adventure. There will be ups and downs and moments where I'm going to question myself. I want to give a huge shout out to all the parents that homeschool their kids. You rock!

Product Review: Kidzikoo Kooleez Freezer Pop Insulator

Okay, so I saw these cool popsicle coozie type things on Kid Steals about a month ago. My kids are always eating popsicles since we live here in Florida and our summers are longer. We usually do the paper towel around it but I thought, why not! I know we'll use them so let's give em a try. Shipping was super fast and in a few days we got our Kooleez's in the mail!! Right away the colors are so vibrant and pretty ( b/c yes being pretty matters to me lol) The product is supposed to keep a popsicle cool for up to 30 mins. It defiantly does. It's super easy to push it up with it in the Kooleez. We are very happy with this product and recommend them to everyone.

Kid tested, kid approved :)

and mom approved!!

Scotch-Brite Stay clean sponge review

I've been seeing commercials for the Scotch-Brite Stay Clean sponge. They had me at "Even eggs and cheese wont stick" so I went out and bought a pack. The color is cute. Being a girl that matters lol for some weird reason. The top feels different from a regular sponge too. So I tested it out. I made some scrambled eggs for the kids and let the pan sit for like 2 hrs. They are right, eggs don't stick the the scrubby part of the sponge like others. But I find that the material on top isn't as good and scrubbing. I got the pan clean but I defiantly had to scrub harder and longer than usual. All in all it does what they say it does. I like it. I think I'll use these sponges for my bathrooms instead of in the kitchen. I like that the scrubby part isn't so hard on surfaces, so it'll be perfect for the job. I did take a before and after picture that I'll post below!

Happy Cleaning!!

Holy crap we bought a house!

It's been forever since I've blogged. I'll be honest, I'm not very good at it. Those that have or do actually read this probably know that lol. But my husband and I have bought a house. Our first ever, belongs to us, home! No more military housing for us. Don't get me wrong we are thankful for housing but after 12 yrs of my husband being active duty, it was time to not share walls with our neighbors ( which they are probably happy for b/c I yell a lot, what can I say I'm Italian :) ) and for our kids to have their own back yard to run and play in.

It's pretty weird have a house. You can't call maintenance anymore when something isn't working right or breaks. Thankfully our home is a new construction and is under warranty so the few things that have needed fixed were covered. But it's also very cool to know that when I see something on Pinterest I can now do to my house. If I want to paint all the walls neon green I can. It's very exciting yet weird all at the same time.

Brace yourselves for posts about home stuff. This is going to be an exciting adventure for sure. Even thought I'm now 30 mins from base, I'm still a Navywife trying to blend in to her new neighborhood!

Pinterest addict

I've become extremely addicted to Pinterest. I'm always finding such neat things. Josh gets out of the Navy in the fall, so I can't help but get excited for the things I can do in my own home. Military housing is the pits. The off white flat paint walls are awful and no matter what I do it just never feels like home. I have this long list of things I want my husband to do or build lol. He hates me. I'm just excited to have a place of our own and Pinterest is giving me tons of ideas. Super exciting!!

Military and Friendships

Being a military spouse can be hard. We move where the military tells us, we set down temporary roots, make friends and then before we know it, it's time to move again. So that means we make friends, then leave those friends and hope to find new ones at the next duty station. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't. For me it's not the thought of making new friends that I fear, it's losing the ones I have when I move. I've always found friends at every duty station. Some better then past friend and some worse. But it's the past friendships that fizzle out that hurt the most. How can we be best friends or maybe not even best but really good friends and then when one moves the friendship just seems to die? I always seem to be the better friend in all of my friendships. I'm by no means tooting my own horn or trying to say I'm perfect b/c I'm far from that. But, I always seem to be the one that tries harder to keep this long distance friendship alive. I seem to be the needy one or the emotional one when my feelings get hurt b/c it's apparent they don't think of me like I still do of them. It just sucks.

You put all this time and energy into people, build memories with them and then just like that you are a distant memory. If it weren't for Facebook these "friends" wouldn't know a thing about your life. And that same for you. You wouldn't know a damn thing about their lives either. But you put on your big girl panties and move on. But as a mother with children this is where you can't just move on. The children build relationships with these people and their children too. So when these friendships don't last after a new duty station, it's the kids that ask questions and have hurt feelings too. Because our kids loose friends too. I think all the way around, this is one of my cons for being a military wife. I'm by no means a small town girl but I long for the day when my husband is out of the military and we settle down somewhere. Somewhere that we can actually lay down roots. Some place where we can have friends that don't move and can actually test the fate of a true friendship. Now don't get me wrong, I've made some great friends following my husband around the country. But the sad fact is, I have more failed friendships then true ones. As I get older I find myself staying to myself. I've become introverted and not really a people person anymore. I'm more resistant to make new friends. It's just the way I like it.

Okay, I'll end my vent or rant or thought for now. Friendships have been weighing heavy on my mind recently.

Welcome Home Sailor

On Thursday our hero came home. After almost 8 months away we had him back in our arms. We had anticipated this moment for months. This was the first deployment that my older kids were old enough to remember and the first one for the baby. I had talked to them about how they might feel and how daddy might feel. That this was an important thing and to no be afraid of him. I was extremely worried about Bray. Being 2.5 yr old and not really understanding. When Josh left he was little. Not really talking and still pretty much a baby. Now he's this almost 3 yr old that talks in full sentences and has conversations with you, sleeps in a big boy bed in his own room and no longer a crib and is almost potty trained. He had the biggest transformation. Surprisingly enough, he ran right to his daddy. Didn't hesitate and now only wants him and not me. I thought this would hurt my heart a little but it doesn't. I'm so happy that he wants his daddy. We've had him home a few days now. Things are falling right into place. Some days are still a little overwhelming for him but things just keep getting better. I think one of my favorite things is seeing the kids sit on his lap and talk his ear off. Telling him about all the things he missed. And of course no longer sleeping alone. Having our hero home has taught us to cherish every minute. To not take anything for granted and to let the little things go.