You'll always be my little girl.

  I don't know why it's taken me so long to realize that my oldest baby girl is actually growing up, but the past few days have been a real eye opener to the obvious. Lily is going to be five. Lily is going to start Kindergarten on August 19, 2013. Lily isn't such a little baby any more and she's turning into my little girl. This afternoon I got lily's pre-k graduation pictures (white cap and gown included, thanks Goddard, once again holding it down.... you rock and I don't think I'll ever be able to say it enough!)

Hello senior yearbook embarrassingly cute
picture!

and I think that a combination of that closure to this chapter of her life and the registering her of Kindergarten, which will open a new chapter, just really freaked me out. It dawned on me that I'm contributing to the upbringing of the next generation of women. I am responsible for the outcome of two little girls and what their future paths might hold. I don't know why I never thought of it before or why it's hitting me now when it's always been right in front of me, but it did and I'm not sure I'm processing it in the best ways possible. It really kind of makes me want to cry honestly. It's not just Lily growing up, it's Emory too. Bryce pointed out tonight that soon, we're going to be out of the diaper phase and into the terrible twos stage. I wonder if this is something all moms go through or if this is just me and my over active mind being over active again. Which it most likely is. *le sigh* Slow down Lily, you have your whole life to grow up, stay my sweet and sassy little princess for a while, mommy likes you this way.
  The past few days have been kind of mundane and honestly not a lot has been going on. I hate using this thing as basically a public diary, because if you follow me on Facebook..... you already know all of this stuff and nobody needs to know it twice. I did get to attend a pretty sweet ice cream social that Lily's amazeballs school held today. I thought it was going to be just the teachers dishing out ice cream for us, I was wrong. They legit hired a company to come in a server ice cream, toppings and all, to us... for no other reason than they felt like doing it. Have I mentioned I'm going to miss her school? Not that I'll have to miss it for long, because I'm about 99% sure we're sending Emory there as well. I think she'd like that and I think I'd like it too, hello mommy free time! We have a whole bunch of nothing planned for this weekend actually and I'm really looking forward to it. I might try and squeeze in a massage since my awesome husband came home with a free hour long massage voucher from when he volunteered for the MS walk the other day. Have I mentioned I love that man? because I do. He's the bee's knees y'all.
  Lately I've been doing a lot of blog thinking, like what I can do to improve it, I mean... I've had it for about two years now and haven't changed it up much. I kind of want to reach out on a more personal basis to other milsos (military spouses). I know that we can all use a heap of support from time to time and having new ideas regarding care packages, deployment sign ideas and what not is always a good form of support and can really take a burden off of some of us when we need it most. Let me tell you, I became the care package queen while Bryce was away and if I can do anything to help somebody with ideas, you bet your sweet ass I will, because if you put as much time, effort, love and blood into those things as I did.... it can be exhausting. Worth it, but exhausting. I think I might make a DIY/Crafty section as well, because I get a lot of "HOW IN THE HELL AMANDA!?!" when I make things and well, honestly I like to share my crafty knowledge, because I know how awesome it feels when you finish something and you're like, "Yeah bro, I made that this. COME AT ME POTTERY BARN! AINT NOBODY GOT TIME FOR YOU!" So there's that and I can't wait to revamp this bad boy, i need a change and to stop talking about me so much.... (says the girl that named her blog the Amanda Show...), because I'm kind of boring. NO SHAME IN MY GAME Y'ALL!

I was gonna put one up of the goodies, but I wanted to show
how awesome the spider webs looked! He loved it
and so did the rest of his shop haha

  Alright, it's much later than when I originally started this post, like 5 hours later. Now that dinner time and bed time are accomplished for the littlest Mande ladies, it's time for this Mande lady to wake up her over studied grandpa of a husband and get him into bed. Here's to hoping tomorrow is as relaxing as today was. Sleep well blogger world, I know that for once I will.

Night Y'all!

<3

-Amanda

Weekend warrior!

  It's Monday and let me tell you that after this weekend, I'm totally welcoming this bad boy with opened arms. I think the last time I blogged was Wednesday and since then a whole lot of crazy has happened. By crazy I of course mean a lot of fun (and some not so fun), but mostly crazy awesome fun... naturally. This is my and my crazy life we're talking about here.
  I had the honor of attending my very first Pinterest party last week! It was A LOT of fun to be around the other wives, just enjoying each other's company and getting to know on another on a more personal basis. The awesome crafts and delicious pinterest inspired food/drinks didn't hurt either. I actually wound up making an absolutely ADORABLE twine and felt flower wreath for the front door.

Cute, right!? Right!

Not to mention, three other wives have husband's in ALS with Bryce and we all made plans to go dress shopping for their graduation! Can I get a woot? How about two woots? K thanks. My friends Ayshia also tasked me with making a head band to match her little girls flower girl dress for a wedding that she was in this weekend and it came out SOOOO much better than I thought it was going to, especially since it was my first flower head band. All in all the party was a great start to the week.
  Usually I leave the yard mowing and weeding eating to Bryce, not this week. This week I had an extra surge of energy and decided to help out my man meat and take the yard into my own hands. We have an old school manual lawn mower, no engine on it (Bryce says its better for the grass and I love me some pretty grass... #grownupproblems) Who else just laughed at me calling myself a grown up? Good, you should have. The whole having no engine thing makes it a little difficult to mow, but it also made for one great workout in the sun and to be honest, I'm looking a lot like Casper, so the sun was much needed. Blah blah blah, i mowed the yard, moved the 6 million yard toys that we have, weeded the yard and called it a day. I then hopped in the shower and when I got out, what did I discover? I discovered the Prairies outside mowing my front lawn and running the mower/weed eating my back yard. -_- Bryce forgot to tell them that he's home from deployment so they're still doing my yard work for me. Usually I'd be really pumped about having their awesome services, that day, I just laughed... and really hard. Go figure the one time I trust myself to mow the yard and NOT take any body parts off in the process, somebody else would come do it for me. Oh life, life you are so funny. Thanks life.

It looked so amazing and apparently the Bride loved it!

  My Friday started out bright and early with none other than a... DUN DUN DUN.... puking Emory. She woke up at about 3 am throwing up and it was all mostly down hill from there. I camped out on the floor next to her bed so that when I heard her about to get sick I could catch it in a puke bowl (....oh puke bowls) and all in all it was a miserable 6 hours. After a solid nap and lots of water, she was back to her normal self. You know... trying to ride the dog, bugging her big sister and running from room to room calling for her daddy. Even after almost 5 years of being a mom and 18 of being a big sister, I can't stand when little kids are sick. It makes me feel so helpless, but my girls make it a little easier on me by reassuring me that they're okay even while they're sick.
  Let's see, what else? OH! On Saturday the family and I (after Bryce got back from volunteering at an MS walk that morning... he's kind of awesome) went to my friend Madeline's house for a Bunco/Girls night and let me tell you blog readers, these crazy women that I have the privilege of calling friends are something else! Maddie's awesome husband grandpa Ray played bartender for the night and made us one hell of a drink called a "Sex on the Driveway" and I'm pretty sure it was concocted to make sure that a night of drinking those would wind up in just that way. Quite a few jell-o shots later and A LOT of laughs had, my whole body hurt from laughing. The next day it felt like I had done 6,000 sit ups and my face was sore from smiling. All in all, no Bunco got played, but that's okay. I wouldn't have changed anything about it. Bryce was really awesome that night too, he played babysitter to all of the kids in the basement and everyone was pretty impressed with him, including me. I don't know what I did to deserve somebody as awesome as him, but I'm really glad that I did. NOW, I'm just ready for the next "bunco" night and hopefully Madeline brings the jell-o shots again!

We're an elite bunch, we are. 

  Alright y'all I'm verging on this being a mini novel and there's a treadmill in my garage calling my name. 3 miles won't run itself and June 1st and that Dirty Girl Mud run is right around the corner! Our team is making our shirts now and bless my southern little heart, they're too precious!

  Here's to hoping this week is as eventful and goes as fast and last week did!
  Have an excellent day y'all!!

-Amanda

p.s.
  I'm starting to finally see some results in the working out area and let me say, it feels really good too :)

This just reminded me that I need toilet paper.

Wordless Wednesday

Some kids sleep with stuffed animals, mine sleeps with a book. Oh and Winston and his daddy being cute.

G'night y'all <3

-Amanda

Transformation Tuesday!

Nothing better to blog about :p so look how I evolved into an amandasaurus!

Night y'all!!

-Amanda <33

No rest for the wicked

Today I kicked Monday's ass, sadly I don't have time to really tell you about it. Instead, I'm going to leave you with some pictures of Lily's first dance recital (talk about precious!), of our daily shenanigans that included weeding my flower bed to prep it for flowers *sqqqquuuueeeeeaaaallllll*, some of my new dining room/kitchen decorations and of Emory falling asleep on her daddy YET again (talk about daddy's little girl). You're pumped I'm sure, who wouldn't be?! :p

Before I sign off of here, I'd like to say that Boston, it's residents and any/everyone effected either emotionally or physically are in my thoughts tonight. Remember, bad things happen, make sure you're the good in the world, the light that others may need in their time of dark. Today was awful beyond words and a true tragedy to our country, but we will prevail. We always do.

'Merica!!

God bless and goodnight y'all.

-Amanda

Back to the real world

Tonight is our last night together before B starts his 5 weeks long ALS journey. I'm totally pumped for him to be moving forward in his career, but couldn't he at least keep his super gnarly beard?! Damn you Air Force!

That is all.
G'night y'all.

-Amanda

It's the little things..

.....in life that mean the most. I'm laying here on the air mistress after watching Emory snuggle up to her daddy and fall asleep and I can't help but think about how blessed my life is and how fortunate I am to have so much love for my little family. My heart is so full, I can hardly handle it. . . Until baby Mande #3 comes along, then it'll be just a little more full and that much more perfect <3

Rock me momma like a wagon wheel.

  It's Thursday and while I have no pictures to share (mainly because I'm iPad blogging again) and nothing of real importance to talk about, here I am. I've been missing my mom and dad and bratty little sisters more than ever lately, so we decided to go visit the next best thing this weekend, my moms twin sister and her amazeballs family! Holla at me y'all! I'm so excited, but not excited for the 20 degree weather difference in good ol' Michigan. Besides, this will hold me over until our vacation after our vacation to see my parents/pick up the girls.
  Today was pretty uneventful. It rained most of the day, which always makes for one sleepy momma and two restless little girls. Bryce the great, let me sleep in (mind you sleeping past 8 is a task for me that usually requires me waking up every 15 minutes and making myself go back to sleep until 9) and got up with the ladies. After that it was a pretty relaxed day. Chipotle was acquired by my amazing husband (I love him a lot today) and we went and picked out our flowers for our garden this year and quite a few fruits and vegetables. We're going to go with a raised flower garden this year, because our back yard garden from last year doesn't have the best soil in the world..... And I want an excuse to use pallets in my back yard. Legit, I know. I'm looking forward to getting our back yard back in order, because there are few things in life that I enjoy more than sitting back there around the fire pit with the family, roasting marshmallows and drinking an ice cold.... Water.
  Bryce starts ALS on Monday and I'm dreading it already, but I know he will do just fine. He's seriously one of the smartest people I know, so it should be a breeze. I just know it means long studying hours and not hanging out as much, but that's the price you pay for more responsibility I guess. So we're going to make the most of our family time this weekend and I'm going to see to it that he relaxes a little, since he hasn't been letting me do almost anything since he's been back. Karaoke and beers will be had. Along with lots of laughs and a couple of hangovers, but it'll be totally worth it!

Alright y'all, time to finish up taxes (procrastination at its finest) and do some sewing/packing for our weekend! Here's to one hell of an awesome weekend away from gloomy Ohio!

G'night y'all!

-She who must not be named (see what I did there?! I made it seem like I was voldemort! I'm so funny!)

Wordless Wednesday y'all!

It's been too beautiful outside to not brag about it being shorts season here in Ohio. Also, iPad blogging is weird man... SO WEIRD MAN!

Night y'all.

-Amanda

P.s.
Having a playground in your backyard is perfect.... Unless your daughters are daredevils, then it's a lot like premeditated gray hair.

P.s.s.
So not "wordless" at all. F A I L!

Homecomings, Easter and all the things from there to here.

  Hey blog hey! I promised an update and here I am. Things have been what they call crazy in my house lately because.... wait for it.... BRYCE IS FINALLY HOME!!! *Audience Applause!* EEEEeeeeKKKkkk!! I still am waiting for myself to wake up and realize that this is just a dream and I'm really fucking with myself, but thank goodness it is not. I did it y'all! I survived one whirlwind of a deployment. It was long and it was hard sometimes, but my god it was worth it. Just a word to the wise for my readers with deployed spouses and loved ones, there are going to be times when you're going to feel like this is impossible. You're going to feel like if just ONE more thing goes wrong, if even ONE more lightbulb in the house blows out that you can't reach then you'll cut a bitch. Let me tell you, keep on keeping on, because it will be over before you know it. There are no words to describe how much I missed Bryce and his deployment is what most would call a TDY, it was very easy on both of us. That doesn't mean that it wasn't hard or that I didn't lose sleep over not having my best friend with me. Don't ever let anyone make you feel like you're wrong for missing your husband/boyfriend/son/daughter because they aren't deployed for as long as their husband/boyfriend/son/daughter will be or because they're not in harms way. Love is love and missing somebody is hard no matter how long they're gone for or where they're gone too. Don't let ANYONE tell you any differently. You have every right in the world to be sad and to miss them, because that's what love is. I don't care if they're going to be gone 6 minutes or 6 years, you miss them and you miss them openly and if anyone has anything to say about it, you brush your shoulders off. Ya heard!?, because 9 times out of 10, those people are just seeking attention anyways. Okay, sorry for that mini rant y'all. Now on to the good stuff!
  I guess I'll start with homecoming day! Essentially I started my day with a lot of cleaning, because I left pretty much 90% of it for the day of. I'm sure you've all heard the saying, but it goes something like this, "Having kids is a lot like using a blender with the lid off." Well they proved that saying true that day! After cleaning, I helped Emory and Lily make a homecoming sign for their daddy (they didn't expect him home until the next day!)

then a few of my friends came over to help me with the girls and basically to give me moral support while I tornadoed through my house like a mad woman freaking out, because the love of my life was going to be in my face in a few hours! The day went really smoothly and it wasn't until my amazing photographer Ashley (Click here for her beyond AMAZING pictures!!) showed up that I realized what was going on and I started repeating, "This is fine, this is totally fine... I'm okay... it's okay..." while pacing and panicking. Cute right? I know. We arrived at the airport only to find the flight from O'hare wasn't supposed to be in for another hour. Naturally, I started to freak out and get kind of sad, because B told me it would be there at 6:36 pm. So I sat and waited, while Ashley snapped pictures of me impatiently waiting. I was deep in worrisome Amanda thought when Ashely said, "There he is!" I glanced over and at first didn't even recognize a 20 lbs lighter Bryce, but as soon as it clicked I quite literally THREW my homecoming sign, balled up my fists like a giddy child and took off for him!

Everything about it was perfect. I just couldn't stop smiling at him and poking him to make sure he was real. He did inform me that he accidentally left his wedding ring in the norfolk bathroom when washing his face while he changed into his uniform for our pictures. (yeah, he rocks that much.) I just couldn't take my eyes off of him or get the smile that he had when he first saw me out of my mind. That look alone, was well worth the 6 month wait for sure. Then we obviously drove home and surprised Lily and Emory with their favorite person in the world! At first both of them were like..."uuhh... da fuq?" then they warmed up to him. Seeing them together again just absolutely melted my heart into a puddle of OH MY LORD I LOVE THIS FAMILY!, don't worry y'all, it's not melted any more. The next few days after that we just spent together soaking up each other and pretty much just loving being under the same roof again.

it was the best "first" kiss that i'd ever had

The next few days were filled with Easter fun. We did 2 egg hunts for the kids. One the day before easter and one easter morning. Emory was THRILLED to just find the eggs and she's still egg hunting to this day. Lily felt special, because this year SHE'S the big kid and she had the most eggs. She also has been begging me for a pet sheep (we pass a heard of sheep every morning on our way to her school) so, Bryce made sure his baby got what his baby wanted and he bought her a stuffed animal sheep. Cute much? yup. She LOVED it. There is just something about Easter that really lights up a child's face and makes me so happy. It didn't hurt that they were wearing their Easter dresses made by me, that really helped. For Easter dinner I made my own tradition of making Easter tacos for the fam jam and my awesome friend Amanda. Have I ever mentioned that I make the world's BEST freaking tacos!? Well, now I have and now you know and knowledge is power! HOLLA!

  Since then it's been a whole lot of hanging out and gyming out. Bryce one really wanted to eat out once or twice since he's been home, which is weird because most guys when they come home want to eat everything they can, not Bryce. He actually requested just my homemade tacos for his dinner when he got home. That really makes a lady feel pretty special. I love having him home and for a gym partner. It's embarrassing sometimes though, because I just catch myself staring at him like, "That's MY husband." and he usually catches me and says something like, "can i help you creeper?" Uhh... sorry you send my uterus into a frenzy bro, shouldn't have gotten so sexy man. I guess me telling him if he didn't look like Channing Tatum when he came home I'd divorce him helped. I was joking, but he did me one better and came back looking like Bryce Laysitdown Mande. Other than spending copious amounts of time with my best friend, I've been pretty boring. We did manage to zoo it up with Lily's friend Zoey and her wonderful parents Madeline and grandpa Ray. That was a mad house that was 100% worth fighting, because the weather was perfect and the kids adored seeing the animals actually out and about in their habitats.

That night I went dancing with Madeline (she's stalking me because she loves me), Amanda, Ciara and Carla and my good lord moving the next day was not fun. I had the most fun ever swimming in the Yellow Roses sea of plaid and blue jean and hearing Madeline's comments about pretty much everything country. Hilarious doesn't even cover that night.
  I can honestly say that right now, I'm the happiest I have been in a very long time. No stress, no problems... Just life. Just living life here in good ol' Ohio with my family and my amazing friends. The weather is finally turning around and I just can't get enough of it. I know a lot of it is the "honeymoon" phase of Bryce being home (I haven't had to lift a finger since that amazing man of mine has been home.... he's seriously the best husband ever. Sorry other husbands. Take notes.) and I actually opened my mailbox today to find a card he sent me the day he left just to let me know he loves me and I'm awesome. Life is perfect or my definition of perfect and that's close enough for me.

G'night y'all.

-Amanda

p.s.
You should probably be on the lookout for a new blog layout soon... Having a web designing best friend is kind of the best thing ever sometimes. :)

p.s.s.
I officially have a workout clothing buying problem.... is there a support group for that!? You wanna see my newest additions!? okay, you twisted my arm enough.

I WANT TO WEAR THEM ALL AT THE SAME TIME ALL DAY EVERY DAY!

Wordless Wednesday

He's home! He's home! My absolutely perfect (and 20 lbs. lighter) Airman is finally home!!

  

Lily and Emory and all the fun they've been having!

 -Amanda <3

p.s.
I promise to ACTUALLY blog soon, but with all the excitement lately (and killing myself in the gym.. not so exciting) I haven't had time. But soon blogger world, very soon. <3