Family Day Out in Seattle

The last time we spoke I think my family was still living the hotel life. I am happy to share that we finally have a place to call home. We had originally planned to live off base in a suburb nearby but once we got here and saw the lay of the land we decided to continue living on base.

I am a fan of living on base. Maybe I'll share my reasons why in another post.

So, we're in our house but the movers haven't delivered our household goods yet. They may not be able to deliver them until after the 14th. Between now and then I see lots of hanging out in our future.

On Saturday we headed north to Seattle to spend time with my brother and his family. The whole vibe of city is infectious. I absolutely love it and I understand why my brother does too.

There was live music all over the place. If you follow me on Snapchat (@TheChicSAHM) I shared as much of it as I could. Infectious. We walked around the city and took in all the sites. We stopped at an ice cream parlor to get a cool snack before heading down to the water for lunch. 

Ice cream before lunch, I know, I know...

My husband and I grabbed some Seattle friendly caps from a souvenir shop...

We made it to the waterfront for lunch and it was glorious. The sound of the water, the smell of seafood and the views of the mountains made for a perfect lunch.

I had a shrimp po' boy sandwich that was delicious. Savannah and Mikey had a cheese pizza. My husband had some type of fish sandwich that looked better than mine. I hate it when that happens.

After lunch we snapped some pics on the pier before venturing over to the Space Needle.

I have to say I expected the Space Needle to be bigger. I don't know how much bigger I wanted it to be but I guess I was expecting to be overwhelmed by the size of it and I wasn't. We're going to ride up to the top of it on another visit. 

We wandered over to a fountain (that I can't remember the name of) and that is where we ended our day. 

Mikey had no interest in the fountain. He was happy playing with a truck his cousin gave him.

Savannah didn't want to pass up the opportunity to play in the water so she went down there "in her school clothes" and had a blast.

The day was so perfect. The weather and the scenery, perfect. We returned the minivan to the rental company yesterday. Our cars should be getting delivered to us today. I forgot to take pics for a minivan post but let's just say I now completely understand why people love their minivans.

I'll be sharing more about our move as things progress. Hopefully we can get our things delivered sooner rather than later. 

Army Wife Life: Live from the Pacific Northwest!

This is my first post from our new place! Well, not our house, because we don't have one yet but I am writing from our new zip code and that's basically the same thing. Either way I am excited to be in a new place.

Before I start showing you all that is the beauty of the pacific northwest I thought I would catch you up on how we got here.

The movers came last Thursday and packed up all of our things. They came back on Memorial Day to load it all on the truck. I couldn't believe that they were willing to work on holiday.

Our cars were scheduled to be picked up on Monday too but they weren't because the driver on the truck wanted to eat hotdogs and drink beer instead of driving his route. I can't blame him but it did suck to be stuck with the stress of finding someone else to ship our cars at the last minute.

If I'm being honest, I kind of had a feeling that I would end up having to hire someone else to ship our cars. When I woke up Monday morning I just knew he wasn't coming. Maybe I'm psychic?

Going back to Thursday - I checked us in to the hotel on base to wait out our last few days in Texas. We stayed there while everything was in boxes. This room was small. Real small. I don't know how we keep ending up in these tiny rooms when we request suites but such is life and we deal with it...

We took a shuttle to the airport Wednesday morning. A friend was nice enough to follow us in his car carrying our luggage. I'm not sure how we would have made it without the help.

Once we were on the plane everything started to settle down. I was relaxed and happy to be starting something new. Then Mikey started screaming his head off snapping me back into reality. This ain't no vacation.

He cried for about 15 very long minutes. There was nothing I could do. I offered him candy, a drink, an iPad, my soul - he turned it all down for the attention of a meltdown. Once he was tired he took a seat on the floor and was happy for the duration of the flight.

I'm sure our entire plane appreciated that.

I was "one of those Moms" with a screaming kid and I was so unbothered by the stares. A friend told me not to worry if something like that happened so I didn't. I just watched him until the show was over.

We landed in Washington, rented a minivan (that I feel needs a review) and we've been working on getting settled. I can't wait to share tons of pics of our adventures here. This place is truly so beautiful.

Operation Snap Back™: Color Vibe 5K Run

A couple weeks ago I participated in the Color Vibe Run 5K that came thru San Antonio. I ran with a group of friends on a team. It was a busy full day for us all but we took the first few hours to ourselves and I'm so glad we did.

Leading up to the race I had visions of being able to train and really run my best race. About a week out from the race I realized that those visions weren't going to happen so I laced up my shoes and gave it my best shot. It was my first real run since having the baby. I figured if I was able to run half of it I'd consider that a win.

There were a couple things that I didn't know about the Color Vibe Run before running it. Here are a couple things that I wish I had known before running...

- You have to pick up your registration the day before the race.

- During registration there will be lots of opportunities to buy things. I didn't buy any of the things and I still had a great time. 

- You may have to pay to park. During the online registration they said it would be a charge for parking but when we arrived at the race parking was free. Double check with your location to confirm if you'll need cash for parking. (I had completely forgotten about the parking fee but luckily my friends had cash if we needed it.)

- If you run with a group have a meeting before the race to plan out logistics. Who are your fast runners? Who plans to walk? Is everyone staying together? Are you splitting up and meeting at the finish line?

- There is a party before the race. You can get fully covered in color before you run if you'd like.

- It's not liquid paint, it's powder and it washes out very easily.

- The colored powder is thrown on you by volunteers. I thought we'd be running thru arches of colored mist, but no. People were throwing the powder on you. I wish there had been arches.

- Wear something that you don't mind getting messy. Everything washed out fine but I'm still glad I wore my husband's tank top. 

- Bring a towel or a change of clothes. You will be messy afterwards. My friends and I had to go straight from the race to a soccer game. We sat on our towels in the car to keep the mess from spreading. 

I hope my tips help you if you ever decide to run this 5K. It was a lot of fun. I would run it again. 

Running this race also checks off one of my 32 things to do before 33!

Have you ever done the Color Vibe 5K?

Thought Bubbles 05162016

The movers will be here in 10 days...

I'm not ready...

But I might be ready in 10 days...

My mood in this week's grocery haul is lackluster...

My regular personality will make an appearance in the next one...



I ran a 5K over the weekend and my body is sore...

Soccer season is finally over...

I shopped at a Lularoe party Friday night...

I'm in love with the pieces I got...

A friend at the party gave me this natural mix that promotes breast milk supply...

Which is great because I don't have time to bake cookies right now...

My husband asked me to go to Walmart this morning...

Doesn't he know Walmart and the rain don't mix?...

Yesterday's dinner was so good...

It should've been a blog post all by itself...

Apple keeps telling me my Cloud is full...

They can't get anymore money from my family this year...

I'll be doing some deleting from the Cloud...

Moving is so bittersweet...

I'll miss all of my friends here...

But I won't miss the brutal heat...

I have already planned our Summer and early Fall in Washington...

We still don't have a place to live yet...

I still haven't found a hairstylist there...

So I need to find a protective style quick...

Everyone is crying now...

If you need me I'll be in a pile of laundry or at Walmart...

Moses 6 Month Update

Moses is six months old now. Six months. I can not believe it. He's a funny little guy. His smile lights up a room. Moses has recently been introduced to baby cereal, veggie, fruit and meat purees. His love for anything on a spoon is too real. I can only imagine what my grocery bill will look like in a few years.

These days Moses enjoys wiggling and watching his toes. He babbles and laughs. Within the past couple weeks he's been doing better and better with learning to sit up. When he's propped up he does fine but without a prop he's a rollie pollie.

It's so hard for me to believe that this is the same baby that was in the NICU. Sometimes I forget that he was there. It's not until he goes in for his monthly blood draw that I am reminded of his NICU stay and premature birth.

Moses has neutropenia. You can read more about what that is here. He sees a hematologist every month and he is monitored closely. We are praying that his neutropenia resolves itself like the other issues he had at birth.

Other than that, he's doing great! Today he weighed in at 14 pounds. His birth weight was three pounds. He's growing up so fast. Time please so down.

Army Wife Life: Prepping and Packing...

Our movers will come to do an inspection of our place next week. My husband casually mentioned that last night at dinner. I thought they were coming close to the actual pack date, but nope.

I have been doing my best to prepare for the move. I've been throwing stuff away left and right. There are so many donation piles upstairs that I'm starting to lose track of what goes where. I am determined to get rid of a lot of toys before we go.

Normally the movers handle the heavy lifting. Literally and figuratively. If I didn't want to do anything before they arrive it would be okay but the OCD in me just won't let them be great at their job. I want things organized the way I'd like to see them arrive in Washington. All kitchen items together. All DVDs together. All linens together... you see where I'm going with this.

Most of the time movers are okay with a little pre-packing if they can check out what's in your box/container. To make it easy I use transparent containers with lids. They're cheap, easy to carry and reusable. 

So between now and our inspection my goal is to box up and organize toys, declutter, donate items and stay on top of laundry. We'll need about two weeks worth of clothes to make it while we're between houses. Not to mention that I want all the laundry to be clean before it is packed.

I have already done the boy's room. Savannah's room is up next. It's a disaster. 

I asked her to go through her toys and find toys that she wants to give to another little girl and this was the aftermath of her giving heart...

The movers come and we move into our hotel in 16 days. I'll continue to document our experience. If you've done a big move with kids before please share some tips with me. What made it a smooth experience for you?

Mother's Day 2016

Today is one of the only days of the year that I take full advantage of it being a day for me. I normally rest on Mother's Day. My husband takes over and plans everything and takes care of everyone. That's really the only gift I ever ask for.

If you follow me on snapchat then you know that earlier this week the kids spilled lemonade on my computer. Totally destroying it. My heart was a little broken. None of the pics or videos on the computer could be saved and the repair cost was so high that I decided to pass on getting it fixed.

When my family presented me with a new computer - complete with song, flowers and cards - I felt so extremely thankful. I would have never asked for it but they said they knew how much I enjoyed "doing my computer stuff" and wanted me to have another computer. All the feels....

New computers are nice but what I always love more than anything (besides the rest) is receiving handmade gifts from the kids. Savannah's gift this year had the most perfect poem on it...

When I think about Mother's Day and celebrating the day I think about my Mom. She is such a great example of the type of woman and mother I want to be. If I can be half as good of a Mom as she's been to me I just might do alright. I talk to my Mom just about everyday. Sometimes we talk several times a day. I keep pictures of my Mom and me in Savannah's room. I hope Savannah and I will be as close as my Mom and I are...

I'm looking forward to spending the day in bed watching tv, resting and eating at one of my favorite places here in San Antonio. Being a Mom is a full time job. I hope you all spend the day doing exactly what you want. Remember that you are enough just the way you are. No one is doing it all and we have to give ourselves a little grace and time to recharge every now and then. 

Motherhood can be tough. Don't beat yourself up about the little things. Remember that the things that get on your nerves will soon be a distant memory as these little people grow up. Cherish this time because it will surely pass way too soon.

Happy Mother's Day, Mamas!

You deserve all the love and appreciation - take it!