"D" is for Dang Doctor!!

Well, I had intended for the word "doctor" to be one of our words this week since I figured it would be good for Bren to know how to spell her future profession.

However, I didn't intend for us to be so fully immersed in this word!

Our girl is a sick baby!

She must have picked up a bug in the ER and since she's a finger sucker, any germs looking to break out of their present enviornment got a free express ride straight into Bren's system.

We saw the doctor this morning and they did a strep test which came back negative.

They recommended motrin and sent us home.

So, now we're just dealing with a very sore throat, a high fever, no appetite and a very sleepy little girl who only wants mommy to hold her all day long.

We'll see the doctor again tomorrow for the removal of the stitches.

That's three doctor visits in one week!

I would much rather have had dunkin doughnuts be our theme this week!

Sigh.

***

On the bright side....it's LOST night! And Survivor too!

Yippeee!

I was pleased with how American Idol went last night. I'm afraid my girl Kristie has to really bring it next week or she's next.

Didn't David Cook rock it out? It was so fun to see his enthusiasm!

Next week, I'm going to try to join a live blogging party for American Idol. I'll let you know more about it when the time comes.

Little Miss Mishap!

So, it's 9:30 last night and I've just tucked myself into bed.

Vicodan swimming pleasantly in my belly.

Bren who is laying beside me suddenly says, "Mommy, you forgot to read me a book!"

So, I tell her to go downstairs and choose one and come right back with it and I'd read it to her.

About 10 minutes later I hear a big thud...but no screams. As old as this house is, noise just travels like crazy and what would normally be little bumps sometimes magnify themselves against this old wood. So, I didn't jump out of bed.

10 seconds later, Bren appeared in the doorway, bookless and crying.

Her hand was holding her chin, but I saw no blood, so I scooped her up and held her against me until she stopped crying.

I moved her hand to see what the damage was and that's when panic set in.

Blood was everywhere and the gash was pretty deep!

Madison was in my room by this time and I told her to go get the boys because we were making a trip to the ER. I was a little concerned over having just taken the vicodan, but I was certain that the adrenaline flowing through me would combat any drowsiness that threatened my ability to drive us there safely.

I grabbed the phone and called David to tell him what happened. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get to the ER, but said he's make an effort.

He walked in just minutes after we got there and we were seen 40 minutes later.

The nurse put some numbing medication on a cotton ball and taped it to Bren's chin so she could be comfortable during the stitches.

There was a TV in our room to keep Bren distracted but the only channel she wanted to watch was the "hospital information channel" which gave descriptions of the items in the room and how to use them along with important hospital information like visiting hours and cafeteria menus.....all backed by the corniest elevator music known to man!

Poor David was already going on just a few hours sleep from the night before and was barely hanging in there.

He refused to go back to the dorm though until he knew that Bren was OK.

Seemingly numb, the doctor began the stitches.

The first one was ok...she wimpered a bit, but not too bad.

The second one was a little more difficult as she began to know when she was being poked.

She still held still, but began to get more and more upset.

The doctor told her she would have four stitches.

Knowing she loved the number four since she was, in fact, four (and lets us know all the time), I mustered up all of my brilliant motherly distraction techniques and excitedly said,

"Wow! You get four stitches just like you are four!!"

The doctor tried to pick up on my excitement and said,

"Is that how old you are Bren?"

She looked right at him and said,

"No, I'm one!"

Now you can't help but chuckle over that!

She struggled through the next two stitches and definitely earned her brave girl prize of the DVD "Enchanted", which we'll pick up for her this week.

Here's my brave girl with her new badge of courage! A small line of four blue x's.

Knowing that she has four sets sitting here to model, one of the first things that Bren said after she got hurt was, "Now I can't do pictures!"

But, I told her that I have a magic wand in my computer and can take the stitches right off of her face in the picture!
She thought that was pretty cool!


And even with a stitched up chin...she's still a doll!
A spunky, tough little accident prone thing...but still a doll!



How is she feeling today?
Well, right now she's sitting on her bed, watching a DVD and twirling her hair with her fingers in her mouth. So calm, so serene....it's hard to believe that 15 minutes ago she was swinging a pool stick that she brought down from the upstairs game room like a samari sword all around the house and riding it like a horse! Madison finally chased her down and saved us all from Bren's imaginary battle!
She's fearless I tell ya! Stitched up and fearless!




Here's what I'm seeing right now. Two sisters cuddled up on Bren's bed in my dressing room watching a DVD.
Peace....finally.

***

It's almost time for American Idol, so I'm gonna have to run....
But before I go, here's the scene of the accident....not Bren's, mine.
Like Mother like daughter, huh?
Here's that stupid "step and a half " that I stepped off of onto that stupid slick wet floor and landed squarely on my stupid ankle which broke in three places causing my foot to hang like a dead fish off of my leg! Sorry for the visual.
And look....what do I see there at the very bottom of the photo?
A rug?
Yup. that is definitely a rug!
Gee, that would have come in handy on New Years Eve!
"A rug, A rug, my kingdom for a rug!!!"
You didn't know I knew Shakespeare did ya?

Day One............

So Bren wakes up beside me this morning and the first thing she says is,

"We've passed one day, right?"

"One day until what?" I asked her.

"One day passed until Daddy comes home!"

The countdown has begun!

David left for school around dinner time last night. Michael, Madison and Bren helped him carry his bags to what will be his new home for the next five weeks.

He's already called to check in and seems to be doing fine aside from missing us already.

Hopefully we'll be able to sneak up there a few times and see him during their free time. They are allowed to go to the navy exchange during that time, so that will be our new meeting place when we can swing it.

I had to drive myself to physical therapy today and all went well. I'm on super duper motrin, which seemed to manage my pain almost as good as vicodan, so I'm encouraged by that.

On Saturday we had the privilege of going to the birthday party of my friend's little boy. He's also one of my favorite photo subjects and I'm sure you will recognize him from past posts.

Happy first Birthday Cody!!!

I took some shots while I was there so I thought I'd share a few....

This is Cody and his grandma.

I always love seeing Navy kids with their grandparents.

Aside from the service members who are lucky enough to be stationed very close to home or the grandparents that follow their kids around from duty station to duty station (you'd be surprised how many we've met that do this!), it is rare for Navy kids to have much time with their grandparents. So, when you see Navy kids being cuddled by grandmas and grandpas or you hear grandparents cheering at the ball games of military kids, most often great effort has been made to make that happen and to me it's just so precious.

***

We had a family movie night on Saturday night. David and the boys went to see 10,000 BC

and the girls and I saw Penelope.

The boys liked their movie and we really enjoyed ours.

Penelope was directed by Reese Witherspoon who I really like. It's a great little movie with a good moral!

and I leave you with a do-over in the you tube department. Perhaps this one will work. It's not the same as the first one I posted, but it will still put a smile on your face.

This one is dedicated to my brothers and all the other die-hard fisherman out there!

Don't forget to turn my music player off (if you haven't already) before clicking play on the video..... and if you've got the time click on some of Tim Hawkin's other videos that run along the bottom of the player after my selection plays. Michael and I just sat here and laughed for a half hour over them!!

"C" week extended....

Here is something else I'm behind on.

We decided to make "C" week last for two weeks instead of just one since finding a house took up so much of our time.

We wanted to give the third letter of the alphabet the attention it deserved.....

especially because so many fun words begin with C.

Cake

Cupcake

Chocolate

Cookie

Cookies & Cream

This is NOT a letter you want to rush through!

So, to celebrate "C", we covered a few things in Chocolate!

Banana slices

Pretzel sticks

and Cookies!

Zach even participated in this activity by helping to eat the strawberries, and of course making me proud by dorking out for the camera. This is why there are so few photos of my two boys! It's so hard to get them to just be their handsome selves anymore!

It's great having a big brother!

And it's great to have things covered in Chocolate!

I don't know how we are going to top this for "D" week.....oh wait, yes I do!

Dunkin Doughnuts!!!!!

Weekend Wrap up!

With all the excitement of finding the house, I totally neglected my Idol, Survivor and Lost updates!

Here's the weekend wrap up.....

LOVED the boys this week....loved them! David Cook was my favorite followed by my boy Jason, David Archuletta and then Michael Johns. I'm fine with who went home, although it may have been interesting to see how Danny reacted to the mentors that are coming. I loved his song, but I don't think Idol is ready for someone like him to make it very far.

The girls:

They were OK this week.

No one is really stealing my heart except for maybe Kristie, but that's only because she's stolen Zach's heart and I'd like her to stick around for him. LOL!

I do like Brooke and Ramielle.

I totally agreed with who went home this week. It will be interesting to see how many girls survive in the coming weeks.

Bring on the Mentors!!!!

*

Survivor shook it up a little, huh?

I'm not sure how I feel about my fab four being split up, but at least the couples are together. I hope that they come up with a plan that will insure their reunion at the merge.

Props to Cirie for changing the game this week!!

I'm glad that "Truck" is gone. I hated how he treated Chet. I don't care how badly Chet performed, he's still a human being and general decency should come into play.

So long, Suckah!

*

LOST:

Well, I don't even know where to begin! Desmond's episode was hard to wrap my mind around as far as how it fits in to the whole puzzle that is the Island.

I'm glad that the Penelope/Desmond love story is alive and well.

Now, about Ben...he just gets freakier and freakier, huh?

Who do you think is his man on the ship and who do you think we'll see in next weeks episode that we thought was long gone?

My bet is either Michael, Echo or Charlie......or who knows...they could break out Anna Lucia too!

And I leave you with this....

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was too funny not to share.

So to all of my mini-van warriors...this one's for you!!!

(If you haven't turned my music player off already,

do it before clicking play on the movie)

Sheeesh! Sorry that video is not working! I just watched it yesterday and it was a really funny one! I'll try to find another one soon, but for now, I'm off to date night with my husband!!! He starts Officer school on Monday and isn't supposed to come home for four weeks....but we are hearing rumors that he might get to slip out from time to time!

Exceeding, abundantly above all we ask or think.....

That's what my God can do!!!

Once again I'm overwhelmed by His provision!!

Wait until you hear this....you will be as amazed as we are by how God has moved in our lives concerning this move.

Obviously we found a home!! But not just any home....the perfect home as if it were tailor made for us!

Tuesday afternoon I was searching craigslist just hitting refresh, refresh, refresh waiting for something new to pop up. We had been doing this for about two weeks to compile our list of possible rentals.... almost all of which are already rented or ended up not being the "one".

Previously, I had only searched for listings with images because I like instant gratifacation, but about mid-afternoon I decided to expand our possibilities and search for homes both with and without photos. About 10 minutes later, up popped an interesting listing without an image.

We immediately called on it and were greeted by a very friendly gentleman who e-mailed us more details within minutes. We were one of several calls he had gotten on the home.

As soon as we saw the house, we knew that this would be a great place for us. We e-mailed back and forth with the owner for most of the day and finally decided that we just could not let this one go.

Going on faith alone and without scheduling a viewing for our friends in Spokane to fly over and be our eyes, we filled out an application on Tuesday night. Some things you just have a "feeling " about, ya know? Being a Christian, I knew this was a peace from God and felt no doubt in proceeding site unseen. David and I could hardly wait until the following day to find out if we got the house or not. We were notified on Wednesday afternoon that we got it!!!

Wait...it gets better!

When Jon (our new landlord) called David to let him know that he wanted us to rent his home, he also offered their knowledge of the area should we have any questions about how to get around town. I overheard him ask David ( hard to not do when you have your ear pressed as close to the receiver as humanly possible without actually being the person holding the phone!) if we were "church going people" because he had a great church to recommend. My heart just about jumped out of my chest because I had been searching churches in the area for about two months trying to find one that fit our needs. One of the toughest things about moving around the country is trying to find a good local church in a timely manner. Nothing is worse than visiting a different church every week for months and months until you find one that fits. Having someone else's recommendation is so valuable and if nothing else it provides a great starting point.

We told him that we indeed were believers and were very interested in learning more about the church he and his family had attended. He then shared with us that his parents were missionaries in Russia! We have the common bond of knowing Christ!

***

As soon as David hung up the phone, we ran ( well, David ran. I hopped!) upstairs to google the church Jon had recommended.... The Rock Church in Monroe, Washington.

WOW!!!!!!!!!

One click on the GRID 29:11 link and I knew that this church would be worth a visit!

The "29:11" caught my eye immediately because my life verse is Jeremiah 29:11. Upon reading more about GRID 29:11, I discovered that the name came from the very same verse!

***

Both of my boys long for a vibrant, active youth group with a "cool" factor.

Zach being 16 years old is at such a turning point in his life right now. He's trying to determine if his parent's faith is going to be his faith. He's questioning where God fits into his life and what it means to be a follower of Christ. He needs strong Christian mentors who fit the 16 year old standard of cool and who are not full of rules, but instead are full of the abundant life that Christ offers. When I saw that skateboarding ramp in the youth center and read up on the mission of the church and youth group, I knew that this would be a place where Zach would feel free to be himself and also find the love of Christ through the leadership of mentors that he could relate to.

My 14 year old Michael saw the website and was just thrilled with the prospect of attending a church that seems to focus on today's youth.

Madison was excited too that this church includes 6th graders in the youth group.

It's nice to see excitment in my kids over the idea of attending church instead of robotic obligation.

***

I showed Bren the children's page and she's asked over and over to see it again. It looks like an awesome children's ministry!

***

Just a another "wow" moment about yesterday.... From reading about the pastor of the Rock church, I learned that his parents who were the former pastors, died in an airplane crash off of Point Mugu, California in 2000. We were stationed there just after this crash and I remember standing in front of the memorial that was built on the base thinking about all the families that had lost loved ones on that tragic day.

***

One more fun little thing....one of the classes in the children's ministry is called "lime lights"! Cute, huh? My photography business is called limelight 31. Not exactly a twighlight zone moment, but I thought it was a neat coincidence.

***

Who would have thought that one little listing on craigslist could provide such confirmation that God really does hear our prayers, knows our needs and loves us like crazy?!!

***

OK...the suspense is over.....Here are some photos of our new home!!!

2,500 square feet of wonderfulness in Marysville, Washington.

http://windermere.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Listing.MultiImageViewer&ln=27180647&pub_mls=1

And further confirming that God really does care about the little things...note the view that this home has?! Remember my posting a while ago about really hoping for a home with a view in Washington?

Exceeding, Abundantly!!! I'm just saying.

Housing update....

Ok, so house number 4 and 5...both five bedrooms...are now off the table. Someone beat us to them on Friday so unless their applications are rejected, they are both gone.

We found a house with 6 bedrooms on Sunday, but it was gone by this afternoon.

I mourned for a few hours and then got right back on the hunt!

We have decided that houses number two and three are just not going to be big enough and we are not sure if we can wait for house number one's interior photos, so I've got a new list going.

I won't post photos of them until I know for sure that they are in the running. Right now, I've just sent out inquiries for more information on them.

Thanks so much to everyone who left comments on the houses. I really appreciate your input!

For those of you who volunteered to go see the houses for us, I might just take you up on it as soon as I get some more solid choices.

***

Time for a Physical Therapy update:

Yeeeeeeoooowwwwwwch!!!!!

They sicked the big dog on me today!

Boy, this man does not play around!

He's trying to get rid of my wicked (the Rhode Island lingo is rubbing off on me!) limp, so he worked me very hard! He pushed and pulled and challenged and gave me the most painful massage I've ever had!

I'm thankful that he's taken me on as his personal project, because I know he'll get me farther than the kinder, gentler treatment I was enjoying the first week, but I'm not thrilled at all about this new level of pain!

I went to Target today to get a BOSU balance trainer. I use this in therapy and it kicks my tail, so I thought I'd get some practice in so I can be less of a freak in front of everyone. You should check it out...it's great for lots of things, not just crippled people.

The trainers have ganged up against me and have infiltrated my family!!

On Friday they told Brendell that I was not allowed to use my sympathetic crutches anymore and that I was to be using my un-sexy cain only.

So, when we got home, I used my crutches to get into the bathroom and set them against the wall while I brushed my teeth.

She came in and grabbed the crutches and ran off with them. She came back minutes later with my stupid cain.

This is how the conversation between me and my little drill seargent progressed:

Me: "Bren, honey, bring mommy back her crutches. I need them."

Bren: "No. Just use your cain."

Me: "Bren, Pleeeeeese! I really need them to get down this step!"

(my bathroom is elevated from my dressing room by one step...it's actually like a step and a half. This is where my accident happened, so I'm always a bit anxious in this area of the house.)

Bren: "Nope. Just use your cain."

Me: "C'mon Bren, I really, really need them...go get my crutches!!!!!"

Bren (completely unwaivering!!): "Nope."

Me: "OK. If mommy falls and breaks her other ankle, just call the ambulance to come get me."

( I thought this would shake her into reality and she'd see the gravity of the situation)

Bren: "OK. What's the number?"

See what I'm dealing with here!

I did go down that step with my cain, but I was scared to death to do it!

So, now all of the Physical Therapist are just thrilled with Bren. They all think she's cut out to be a physical therapist and I agree. She's been saying she wants to be a doctor (" the girl kind" are her exact words) for a few months already, and now if you ask her what she wants to be when she grows up she says, "A Doctor in Physical Therapy."

They have brainwashed my child!!!

I better start setting aside the money now, huh?

Home is where the Navy sends you....

Hello Friends!!

Put on your house hunting shoes, because we are going to find us a house!!!!

It's that time again and I'm finding myself pouring over rental listings as we anticipate another cross country move.

I'm still battling with what could have been and am a little frustrated that our plans for a house hunting trip (our first ever) had to be canceled because of my ankle injury and subsequent surgery. Sigh.

It is killing me to not be able to see my choices in person because I really do believe that houses have personalities and a certain feel to them that either makes them a good match or it doesn't. That's hard to judge by a photo.

Also, just like you don't marry a man, you marry his family too....you don't just rent a house, you rent the neighborhood right along with it.

I so wanted to stand in the kitchens of all of these homes and mentally place my furniture in the living rooms. I wanted to look out the windows and walk around in the yards, and I wanted to drive around the neighborhoods.

I wanted to be certain that the house we chose to rent for the next three or four years was going to be a match.

But, God has other plans, and even though I don't understand why right now, this is where He has me...so I'm going to do the best I can from here. But I have to admit, I'm sitting here seriously wishing that He would just write on my wall....because I have no idea what to do!!

Here's my deal.....

We started on Monday with 12 homes on our list.

Four have been rented since then.

We decided that two of them are out of our price range, even if just by $50 a month.

One is located too far away for David to commute and the last one I struggled with for three days before finally determining that although I loved the floorplan and the fabulous backyard, it was just not going to be large enough to meet our long term needs.

And so we are down to five.

I'll give you the run-down of each, but keep in mind that my number one necessity is that the house be comfortable, inviting and it MUST have lots of natural light. I'm the kind of girl who is definitely affected by weather and since we are moving to a place that tends to be a bit gloomy, I need light to pour into my home as much as possible to help combat that. So, lots of windows are a big plus.

Other than that, I think I can live with any of the choices I have listed below. I'm just not sure what choice to make for quality of life. So I need your help.

House Number One:

4 bdrm, 2.5 bath 2 Story home ( approx 2022 sf). Large bedrooms. Large kitchen w/ lots of storage. Casual and formal dining areas. Deck w/ large fully fenced yard. Gas fireplace, gas heat and water. 3 car garage.

I'm worried that there is just a living room and no family room. I'm hoping to find a home with both so that I can set up my studio in either room.

Pros: it says the bedrooms are roomy.

Cons: There are only four bedrooms, which means Madison and Bren will have to share. They can totally do this, but will they want to for the next couple of years?

Pros: large fenced yard.

Pros: large kitchen with storage

Biggest Con.... no available interior photos so it's impossible to see how much light this home gets inside or what the floorplan looks like. The house will be occupied until mid-march, so unless I want to do a walk through in person, I will not know what this one looks like inside until it is vacant. And time is of the essence here.

Huge Pro: This one is almost $300 below what we have budgeted for our monthly rent.

House Number Two:

4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, 2-Story home (approx. 1969 sq.ft.). Kitchen w/eat-in area, breakfast bar & pantry. Separate dining room, laundry room w/W/D. Gas fireplace, gas hot water/heat. Master bdrm has walk-in closet w/private bath & soaking tub. Office. Lots of closet space, 2-car garage, all appliances.

Here are some interior photos of this one:

I REALLY like this kitchen!

(Dining Room)

Pro: SOAKING tub! A luxury we have never had!

Pro: This house looks like it gets plenty of natural light.

Pro/Con: This home has a 10x0 office that was described to me as an open space, so I'm guessing it has no door. It does have a storage closet though. This would be too small for me to use as a studio, but it could be the fifth bedroom for Bren if we could come up with a creative way to close it off..... or not because do you really need a door that closes when your are five? Then again I don't think that loft areas that are at located at the top of stairways are appropriate for bedrooms, and if that is what this "open space" is, it probably will not work......so this is one of those "I wish I could see it "things.

Pro/Con: There is a possibility that the separate dining room mentioned could be used as studio space, but it's hard to tell if the kitchen is big enough for our kitchen table and chairs.

Con: Again no mention of a family room plus a living room.

Con: Only four bedrooms, unless we can work out that fifth.

This home is also less than our monthly budget for rent.

House Number Three:

Nice 5Bd, 3 ba home in the Vineyard development. This home has a living room w/fireplace, family room, vaulted ceilings, kitchen, ref, stove, and dishwasher and dining area, laundry room, gas forced air heat, 2-car garage. It is located at the south end of the lake. 1800 square feet.

Really bad interior photos:

(living room)

(family room)

( master)

Pro: 5 Bedrooms...no sharing!

Pro: Adequate natural light

Pro: Living room and family room...so I will be able to have some studio space!

Pro: looks like a nice yard and deck

Con: No photos of the kitchen or bathrooms

Biggest Con: Does 1800 square feet for a five bedroom house scare you at all?

I'm afraid that the bedrooms are going to be super tiny.

On the other hand, none of our kids have alot of bedroom furniture, so perhaps the less is more idea will work here.

1800 square feet when laid out well can be nice and roomy, but if chopped up, it can feel like a mouse maze! This is another one of those "I wish I could see it" things!!

I do like the look of the neighborhood that I can see. It looks newer and well kept. I'm not crazy about the entrance, but I'm guessing we'll go in through the garage instead of climbing the front stairs.

This is the least expensive 5 bedroom home I've seen and is about $100 below our monthly budget for rent.

House Number Four:

Brand new 5 bedroom, approx. 2100 sq. ft, home in Lake Stevens school district. Home has living room with gas fireplace, dining area, kitchen with stainless steel appliances, gas stove, and island. Master bedroom has attached bathroom and walk in closet. Living Room and Family Room. Fully fenced yard and a 2 car garage.

Interior photos:

(living room)




(family room)

Pro: Brand New!

Pro: 5 bedrooms so no sharing.

Pro: Kitchen has an island and stainless steel appliances

Pro: fenced yard

Pro: Living room and family room, so I'd have my studio space

Pro: I like the exterior appearance of this home

Pro: Seems to get enough light

Con: yard seems a bit small judging from what I can see through the window.

Con: no photos of the bedrooms or bathrooms

Con: Might not come with a refrigerator

This home is $100 more per month than home number three. Is 300 more square feet, a kitchen with an island and upgraded appliances and a fully fenced yard worth an extra $100 per month? Also, this home mentions a walk in master closet and the other one does not.

House Number Five:

Nice 5 bedroom house on shy 1/4 acre. Living Room (with fireplace), Kitchen, Family Room, laundry room, and 1 bedroom downstairs. Upstairs has 4 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The master bedroom has a large walk-in closet and a 5 piece bathroom. New carpet and new interior paint throughout. 2 car garage with opener. Fully fenced back yard.

Pro:I really like the exterior look of this home too!

Pro: 5 bedroom so no sharing!

Pro: Family Room and Living Room so I'd have my studio space

Pro: Large fully fenced yard

Pro:One bedroom down is a good idea in case we have overnight guests who have difficulty with staircases.

Pro: New paint and carpet

Pro: five peice bathroom, so I'd get a tub with this one too...but maybe not a soaking one like with house number two.

Con: no idea of square footage.

Con: No interior photos available for a few more weeks, so I can't really make a decision on this one yet. I have no idea how much light it gets inside. I'm hesitant to hold out for this one and let the others slip by for fear that I may hate the interior.

This home is the exact same price as home number four and at the top end of our budget.

***

Here is where you come in! I need some help, some opinions, some clarity!!

So, given these choices, what would you do?

Which house do you like the best?

Which house do you think has the best personality?

Which one looks the most inviting with a light and airy feel?

Would you go for the least expensive home even if there are only 4 bedrooms, or would you go with the least expensive 5 bedroom home even though it is on the small side?

Would you go for broke and rent house number 4 or 5 even though it is at the top end of your budget?

If we got a 4 bedroom, we could just sign a one or two year lease and then move up to a 5 bedroom once we get to know the area better and had time to really shop around. In that case though, we'd incure the expense of moving ourselves when the time came ....so why not just settle in somewhere for the duration of our time there?

Ug! So many scenarios are swimming around in my head.

I really, really wish that I could get on a plane next week and fly out to see all of these homes and neighborhoods so I could settle it once and for all.

I just know that one of these houses would clearly stand out from the rest if I could see them in person.

Here is the real kicker though....if I drag my feet, all of these homes could be rented at any time while I try to make my decision.....and then I'll have to start all over!

See, isn't Navy life fun?

***

C is for Cupcakes!

Yummy, pink, strawberry cupcakes with white icing and sprinkles!!

We decided to do something fun yesterday with our letter C word of the day.

So we mixed up some cupcake batter and baked 24 delicious goodies!

They beat construction paper cut outs anyday!

Bren decorated her own with rainbow sprinkles and green gel writing.

*

So, I went to physical therapy yesterday and I take back what I said about liking it!

It was so painful this time!

I didn't really do anything different on Wednesday than I had done on Monday, but it really hurt this time.

I came home and wanted to do nothing but sit on the couch with my leg propped up and a bag of ice on it. Not being a big fan of pain, it's so tempting to stay off of it as much as I can on my non-therapy days, but I'm not sure if that is the best thing for progress.

Yesterday my trainer took my crutches away and gave me a cain to walk with. It slowed me down alot and took much more concentration on my part to get around, but I did OK. I still took my crutches home with me, but I think they want me off of them totally by this coming Monday and just using the cain to get around.

Hmph!

For some reason a cain seems like a demotion instead of a promotion, doesn't it?

There is just something so un-sexy about a cain! Not that crutches are sexy, but they have a more, "oh you are hurt, you poor thing" feel to them, and less of an "old, crotchety lady" feel, ya know?

But, whatever gets me to two strong feet the fastest is what I'll do... sexy or not.

*

So, what did you think of the girls last night?

So far I am really liking Brooke, Kristie and Carly.

I'll be holding my breath at the elimination tonight!!

My dialing finger is cramping up!!

C'mon America Save Jason!!

If Jason Castro goes home Thursday it wont be because of me!

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I just spent an hour and a half voting for him and I got through every single time.

That scares me a little. Both because I got through everytime and because I voted for that long! But, in my defense, I really did have nothing better to do. I voted during my required leg elevation time.

I've never voted this early in American Idol. I usually only vote when it is down to the top ten, but I really, really want Jason to stick around and I'm worried for him tonight. I think the competition needs him and he's not shown us his best yet, so I'd hate for him to go home this soon.

I thought his performance was great, but after what the judges had to say, he might be on the chopping block.

I really enjoyed David Archuletta (I'm sure I murdered his name!) tonight! He's adorable in a big doofas kind of way, and his voice is amazing! I hope he's in the final six along with Jason Castro, David Cook (who rocked it out tonight!), Michael Johns, and two others that have yet to be determined.

I'm going to go ahead and call Robbie a rocker wannabee. He even moves like a pop singer. I see the rocker in him fading fast....but like he said...maybe he's his own brand of rocker...pop rocker maybe?

That's all the Idol I got tonight, folks!

I hope the girls do well tomorrow night!!