So, I've been busy.........

The past, say, six months have been pretty crazy. I don’t even have a definition of “normal” life anymore, lol.

Last August, my husband and I both left San Antonio for boot camp. Yes, we are crazy, thank you. :) We both decided that it was going to be a good thing for our family, that we both join, and if we’re going to do it, we might as well do it at the same time. So... I spent six weeks in boot camp (but it actually lasts for 8 weeks in the Navy). Those were six of the worst weeks of my life, and that’s saying a lot. Maybe I should write about my boot camp experience sometime.

Anyway, long story short, I got medically discharged – I have “fallen arches”. What does that mean? I had a really bad case of tendonitis that went away the minute I got home and was able to rest. In boot camp, you never rest. But I digress. My husband finished boot camp, and is now in tech school (well, technically, the Navy calls it “A school”) in Pensacola, FL.

When I got back to San Antonio, I was jobless and homeless. Great feeling, huh? Luckily, my stepdad is awesome, and let me stay with him (the kids had stayed with him while Jeremy & I were in boot camp). So, I stayed with him (out in Jourdanton, a tiny town south of San Antonio) for a couple months. I got to visit Jeremy in Florida twice, and Jeremy got to come home for Christmas.

I got lucky, and found a new job at my old company (with a promotion!), and got an apartment – I couldn’t make the drive every day (it was an hour each way from my stepdad’s house). Now I am working full time and taking care of my kids while my husband is in Florida. The upside is that I get to talk to my husband every day – I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t.

Jeremy will be done with his school in April, and we just found out that we’ll be moving to Hawaii! I’m not sure what day, though – I’m new to this whole military thing. We got his paper orders last night (we received verbals last week), but they are very confusing! I have read trough them three times now, and they are starting to make a little bit of sense. But most of the rules and regulations that they refer to are foreign to me. So I guess I need to figure out how to look them all up.

Other than that, yeah, I’ve been doing well.

Pattern Review - Simplicity 2614

http://sewing.patternreview.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?CompanyID=45&search=search&PatternNumber=2614

Pattern Description: Pullover, bias-cut top
Pattern Sizing: I made the 6 B

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Sort of – I combined two views.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? This pattern was pretty simple. I love that it doesn’t have a zipper or buttons – makes it simple to make and to wear.

Fabric Used: rayon/ cotton blend

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: If I make this pattern again (which I probably will, I love it), I will make it probably two inches longer at the bottom, and I will definitely make the arm bands looser – mine are snug.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, it’s an awesome shirt that it simple but not plain. It is very easy to make.

Conclusion: this pattern is great, the top is a great wardrobe staple. I would make a few small changes, but overall I really like this top.

Colette's 6 Weeks Awards (In other words, I'm super behind...)

Six weeks ago, we went to Colette's 6 weeks awards ceremony. She got all A's!

Gavin's Birthday

My son, Gavin, turned four on 11/7. We had a small get together for him at his Meme's house. We had a moonbounce, pinata, and BBQ (we live in south Texas, so it was still 80 degrees out). We had a lot of fun, but we did miss Daddy (he is in Florida at tech school).

My not really an advent calendar...

I made a special calendar for the kids today. It's sort of an advent calendar, but not really. Like most kids, mine are very visual. They like to look at the calendar every day, and count down the days to whatever event is coming up next (currently our trip to Florida to see Daddy).

So I wanted to have a calendar that had the months of November & December all together, so we don't have to flip any pages. And I wanted it to be big, and easy to read.

What I ended up with is a simple calendar, but the kids love it. They looked over every day, and Colette read all the events to me. We are going to cross off every day with a sharpie.