making the move to WordPress

hey folks, I've gotten a bit tired of blogging on two separate blogs, so I'm currently in transition of moving from blogger to wordpress - I bought  my own domain "mylifeasanofficerswife.com" and got an amazing deal through a twitter/blog friend (Kate @ MommyMonologues) for a year of hosting through dreamhosters - so while the url currently still points you right back to MLAAOW on blogger - as soon as the move is finished (Kate is still moving posts & comments right now, and I'm designing myself a new header) I'll soon be blogging at WordPress - I'm excited to have a blog that will allow me a little more control over the appearance of my blog, and also allow me to respond/communicate easier with my readers (my numbers may be small, but I appreciate every single one of you!!) ;)

Hope to see you soon at http://mylifeasanofficerswife.com at WordPress :)

Where the Blog Magic Happens...

I'm linking up to MamaKat's pretty much world famous Writer's Workshop and I chose to do the Bonus Vlog Option! (Last week we talked about how your blog got it's name...this week show us where the magic happens! Where do you do your blogging? When does it get done? How long does it take to write a post? How much time do you spend on the computer? etc. Tell us about the process!)

Once again, a rambling mess. This time complete with motion-blur, wonky-sound, and bags under my eyes... not to mention bad lighting. Unfortunately, I didn't have a cute singing toddler to raise the ratings this week as she was already in bed busy playing with a friend, (did I mention it took FOUR tries before I was able to record an entire video without a major toddler interruption?) but hopefully you can bear with me anyway... and let me show you where the magic happens :)

PS - I totally would have vlogged this from work, but I don't have a webcam there, and most likely if I snuck my laptop into work with me, I would have eleventybillion people walking through or calling while I was trying to record, so you only get to see half the magic... sorry ;)

Dora DVD Giveaway!!

Okay, so Tammi over at My Organized Chaos is having a giveaway - and while I sometimes enter giveaways, and I sometimes don't - based on my level of interest, this one I'm DEFINITELY entering!! Tammi is giving away (to two lucky readers!) a Dora the Explorer: It's Haircut Day DVD!! and in case anyone doesn't already know - Goose is a HUGE Dora fan... I mean HUGE!! When she wakes up in the morning (especially on weekends!) she said "I watch Doha Momma?" and when we get home from work/daycare she says "I watch Doha Momma!" and if I haven't caved already and turned it on while making dinner, when she gets in her booster seat she asks "I watch Doha Momma?" and if I still haven't caved - before bed she asks again "I watch Doha Momma?" Seriously. My kid LOVES Dora.

Actually, Dora is currently one of only TWO characters we've bought any "character items" of at our house... She has a few Dora DVD's (Christmas, birthday, just because & Easter presents) she has Dora books (for those same events) she has a Dora toothbrush, a Dora sippy cup, and a few hand-me-down/second-hand-shop/Mom2MomSale purchased Dora shirts/jammies... she loves Dora. (The other character, if you're wondering - is Tinkerbell. She has light-up Tink shoes, and a Tink card table & chairs - which is actually still in the box in the garage, as we bought it as a Christmas or birthday gift - and she STILL has enough other stuff and little room that it just hasn't been opened yet - she doesn't even know she has it! Of course, she IS only two...)

ANYWAY - if you have little ones that love Dora and you want a chance to win a Dora DVD (it has 4 episodes including Boots' first haircut, the Super Babies' 1st birthday, and two others... I don't remember what they were though - go check the giveaway to find out!) If you don't win - you can purchase it on Amazon for a discounted price :)

what are you waiting for?? GO ENTER!!

Inspiration Behind the Blog Title...

I'm linking up to MamaKat's pretty much world famous Writer's Workshop and I chose to do the Bonus Vlog Option! (Tell us the story behind the title of your blog. What is it? What inspired it? What other options did you consider? Are you happy with it?)

Pretty much a rambling mess, with special appearances by a singing toddler and lazy dog... please excuse the interruptions, as well as the length... once Goose starts singing her ABC's there isn't much left to see/hear... just me trying to wrap it up... and then Goose interrupting with Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star... so yeah.

Thanks for watching my very first (and possibly last?) ever vlog...

the things she says & does...

I can't believe how fast Goose is growing... it seems like it was only yesterday that she was gurgling, blowing bubbles, jabbering-in-non-English in my arms... and now she's closing in on two and a half and speaking more words, more clearly... mimicking Hubs & I... coming up with her own sentences... turning into Little Miss Independent... it's so hard to believe, and while I'm at times saddened by the fact that my baby girl is growing up, I'm also thrilled at how smart and sassy she's becoming... although at times, a little too sassy it seems... the things that come out of her mouth these days are often hilarious, and often Hubs & I are trying to hide smiles or chuckles when she says or does something that we really don't want her repeating... here is a small sampling of life with an ever-evolving Goose:

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while pinching my fingers in a hairclip I pretended that it hurt, saying "ow Goose! that hurts Momma's hand!" she then removed it from my hand, kissed my "owie" patted my hand and said, in perfect toddler-English "you okay swee-heart, you okay"



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while in the shower with me as I turned to wash my face, leaving her standing in the opposite end of the tub playing with her toys (or so I thought) - she hits my bum and then says "you butt wiggow Momma"

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 while snuggling with me in bed one morning she wrapped her arms tight around my neck and said "you my mommy"

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wanting to be picked up while going out to the car "Goose hold you Momma"

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when turning off cartoons at night before bed or in the morning before going to daycare "night night Dora, night night Boots, night night Benny, night night Issa, night night Tiko!" or "bye bye Phins an' Ferb"

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asking to have a ponytail like Momma "I want pony, Momma!!"

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upon bursting into the bathroom to find me unwrapping an always with wings "you have owie Momma?"

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I'm just thankful at this point that she hasn't repeated any curses (which we try to keep to a minimum, but still... ya know how it goes!) and that she wasn't asking for an ACTUAL pony.

helpless...

disclaimer: this post may not be for anyone with a weak stomach... it's not graphic, but still.

for the second week in a row I had to call in to work (on a FRIDAY!!) because Goose was/is sick... last week she started with a low fever, which turned into a higher fever (lingered between 102-103 degrees) refusal to eat anything, and two episodes of vomiting on Thursday night. Friday we went to the doctor, she tested negative for strep, was diagnosed with a stomach bug & prescribed rest & hydration... by Friday night her fever had broken and she was running around like normal on Saturday...

yesterday was Hubs' day off so he picked Goose up from daycare, ran an errand & arrived home shortly after me... that was about 24 hours ago... not even 10 minutes after they had arrived home she got sick while coloring (we lost a book from a friend & a photobook I made of her first year in that incident).... and while she's been sipping water & milk (her choice - ick! I hate milk when it comes back up all curdled - eww eww eww.) and even managed to get a few crackers down... but nothing stays down for long... and the process (of vomiting) terrifies her... she looks at me with her eyes all wide and scared, and then after she cries like her heart is broken... I HATE feeling helpless... I wish I could take her in to be checked out and have them magically give her something to help, but I know (from last week and others' recent experiences) that there really isn't anything they can do - other than give her IV fluids if she becomes dehydrated... which I'm doing my best to prevent... but I just can't stand doing nothing.... 24 hours of my Goose being miserable, vomiting, a few diarrhea diapers... ugh. it sucks. thankfully this time there's no fever, but it doesn't make me feel any less helpless... *sigh* hoping & praying she gets over this quickly... we need a shower... or three.

It's Sunday Funday!

Didn't get in enough partying blog reading this weekend? Not quite ready to hang up your party pants? Then check out my friend Carri's first ever Sunday Funday over at Adventures in Mommyhood! Carri is crazy hilarious and one of my all time favorite people to read and tweet with. 

We're all linking up our favorite posts of the week, so grab the button from her site and join the linky party! Don't want to link up? That's cool! You still get the opportunity to check out some really cool, funny, and talented writers.
So grab your mimosa or your bloody Mary, and get to reading!

SOC Sunday: I count to three...

This is my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post hosted by all.things.fadra. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes only.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post below.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

INTRO: this may be quite a jumbled post as I have a toddler clinging to my arm - although she really wants to hold my hand... we'll see how it goes... timer... ready... and... GO!

"one"... "two"... my voice is low & stern... and sometimes I don't even get to "two" before Goose decides she's going to comply with my (unreasonable?) demands... "Goose, please pick your crayons up off the floor and put them back on the table" or "Goose, stop jumping on the couch!" and I always follow it up with a "thank you Goose! good listening!" but really... I can't help but think of what my dad always says when my sister or I (or my mom) "counts"... "why are you counting?? you're just giving them time to think about whether or not to obey the rules" and while I somewhat think he has a point (I mean, yeah, does have a point, I shouldn't have to ask her to do something eleventy billion times before she actually does it) but also - she's two... she's easily distracted, she's more into playing and having fun than picking up her toys, crayons, or worrying about her own safety... so I guess I see the counting as more of a way to get her attention than giving her a chance to decide if she's going to do as I've asked or not.... 

do you count??

like it was yesterday...

I sit here today, on March 11th, 2011 and think back to what I was doing 10 years right now... at this exact time I was either at work, or headed there shortly... having just finished my sister's birthday party, as she would be leaving to go back to college almost an hour and a half away in a few short hours... the whole family was over just hanging out... I remember hanging out in her room, my cousin AD and I... laying on our bellies looking at a yearbook, just talking. Talking about how things were going for him at school his sophomore year... how he & his girlfriend had broken up a week earlier, but he thought that they were getting back together, maybe even that night... we talked (again) about how I was going to pay the additional fee to get his license plate personalized, just as soon as he decided what he wanted it to say... we talked, as we had many times before, of the tattoo I was going to buy him for his 18th birthday... just a year and a half away... we hung out, had fun, I hugged him tight as he left that afternoon... I remember thinking how my cute little cousin had grown... he had grown into a charming, handsome, respectful, wonderful, funny young man... and wondering how it happened so fast...

I remember later that night... somewhere around 10:30ish when I got out of work, thinking "hey, maybe I'll swing over and hang out with AD before heading home" and then dismissing the idea in favor of a little extra time at my boyfriend (now hub's) house with him... I remember it being close to midnight, knowing that I was going to be late for my midnight curfew and calling to tell my parents without getting an answer... I remember being confused, wondering where in the world they would be near midnight on a Sunday... and then the chiming of my cell phone as it rang, my dad on the other end, telling me that he & my mom were on their way to the hospital, because AD had been in an accident... my dad asking if I wanted them to come get me... I was shaking, asking questions, getting little in the way of answers... "who was with him? was he alone? what happened?" ... my phone rang again a few minutes later, my mom - asking for bf/Hubs... telling him they were already half-way there, could he bring me over instead?

I don't remember how, but my sister's best friend ended up riding over with us...or maybe she didn't... that's fuzzy to me... Hubs driving, L in the backseat?, me curled up & rocking in the passenger seat... crying. praying. Hubs telling me that AD was going to be fine... everything was going to be fine. We entered through the ER doors, and were directed to registration... I was half-running, blindly, terrified. At the registration desk we found my dad, with my aunt - she jumped up to hug me crying, shaking her head as I asked "where is he?" and hearing "he isn't here yet" I was stunned - "what do you mean he's not here yet? where WAS he?" and my dad... pulling me away, out of the registration area, toward the main entrance, as he hugged me and said "he didn't make it Rus" in my head I hear these words again... I hear the echoes of my screams of "no! no daddy! no!" I hear him telling Hubs "get her out of here!" he didn't want my aunt to hear me... standing outside in the cold were my mom, and her other sister - they were trying to reach my cousin, who attended the same college as my sister... K is three years older, and they thought it would be best if my sister heard the news in person... K & his girlfriend were already making plans to head over to get/tell my sister, then head for the hospital... on our way out, we passed my cousin AJ and his girlfriend's father - AD's big brother... he didn't know yet... I can only imagine what seeing us must have been like for him... terrifying possibly.

I remember the rest of the hospital time-period, hanging out in a waiting room, surrounded by family, even my dad's family came to sit with us as we waited for his body to arrive... finally being allowed in to see him, how pale and still he was - this 16 year old athlete, so full of life, love, laughter... still. cold. even through the devastation there were a few smiles - as AJ squeezed AD's arm and the reflex made his hand squeeze my sister's... she about shit herself... the smiles were few & far between over the next few days, and the tears many, but the stories we told... the stories people told at his memorial service - which had to be held in the high school gymnasium to fit all those attending... all of us cousins, and some aunts and uncles, wore jeans with Metal Band Tshirts... it was what he would have wanted... we watched VHS tapes of him playing his bass guitar to "Eye of The Tiger" during the visitations, and a slideshow of photos at the service...


his headstone carries his last school photo... that sophomore year... the graphics etched in the stone include a guitar, basketball, football, track shoes... the inscription, "son, brother, friend"... it was 10 years ago today that we lost one of the most special people to have ever walked the earth... the most beloved in our family, maybe even his school... he was just that special... he was four years younger than I, but he was my best friend... and the ache in my heart today, doesn't feel ten years old... it doesn't feel like it was ten years ago that my heart broke... it feels like it was yesterday.

loving and missing you so much today, as always AD. Rock In Peace.
~ADH 11.12.1984-3.11.2001~