Our Flight Home

We just got home late last night from our visit with all my family in Utah. My parents live there and my brother and his girlfriend were there along with my sister and her family. We had a GREAT time!!! I will get some pictures posted later. For now, I wanted to share our plane ride home.

We had 2 flights on our way home. Our first flight was from SLC to Denver. When we checked in our seats hadn't been assigned so we had to get those at the gate. We waited last minute b/c there was a play area on out way to the gate and we would have rather waited for our flight to board there, then in the middle of a large mass of people. So when I finally went to get my seats the guy had us all over the plane so he tried to get us together. When, he handed me the tickets he said," If you don't like these seats I can't help ya." I just laughed and said thank you and walked away. When I finally looked at them I noticed they were on the first row. That's right... FIRST CLASS baby! That nice man couldn't get us together in coach so he bumped us up at no charge. I loved it! I am spoiled for life now. All the room and comfy seats is what sold it for me. But don't worry...I am gonna get over it real quick. I just don't see the Bolinger family busting out the cash for first class in the future.

Then, On our second flight there was an older couple that just thought Audrey was the cutest baby EVER!!! Well, let's be honest...she is!;) I mean Nora was too! ;) Anyway, they were really nice and sat behind us on out trip. They passed us as we got off the plane and said...and I quote..."We love to see good parents and you guys are great, Good Job!" My first thought was, "That is so nice, we are good parents" and then my second thought to immediately follow was, "They obviously aren't with me after a long day at home!"

It was a great trip back with some little "pick me up's along the way" Just had to share. Feel free to leave a comment agreeing on what great parents we are! ;)

The South has risen again...we'll for one day!

We went to a Civil War re-enactment a couple weekends ago and really enjoyed it. We went to our first one when I was prego with Nora in Alabama. That one was truly a lot of fun. By the end Wade was ready to by an outfit and become a traveling re-enactor! ;) The one in Alabama had booths and food and a pretend hospital for the injured soliders. This one just had a huge crowd, cold weather and slow progressing Battle. But, we enjoyed it nonetheless. It was a two day battle. The South Whupped butt the first day and then the North won the battle on the second day.

The Union was on the ground and overtook the south on the hill. But on the first day (according to my local historian, Wade) when the Union got on the hill they went in too far in and the South surrounded them and took 'em out! I am not sure what happened the second day exactly, but I do know that them there Yankees won. SOOOO, the South did rise again in 2008 during the Battle of Prarie Grove, but only for ONE day!

The "Confederacy" Hangin Tough!

The Confederates blowin up the Union

Uno y Uno! The calvary busted out bayonettes.

The union starting their ascend up the Hill.

Had to take a picture of us! Don't you think we blend in?!

The Union made it to the top of the hill and started blastin'!

We thought this was a great picture...One confederate soldier is helped and injured of the battle field!! Ahh...too sweet! I guess those confederates weren't all bad....what??? Them there is fightin' words! ;)

And for my favorite Picture of all......

Wait for it,

Wait for it,

Wait for it,

Yep, this is a product of my professional photography work! I was holding up my camera to get a view over the crowd and I tilted the camera downward thinking I was going to get a ghot of the Union on the ground. And well, this is what I ended up with! ;) Nice, Huh?!

Bustin' out the Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving we Busted out the Christmas decor!!! I was soooooo excited about this for a couple reasons!

1. I LOVE Christmas! Enough said!

2. I haven't seen my Christmas stuff for 2 years now b/c as I mentioned in previous post, our home was still all boxed up in storage until the day before we went out of town.

3. I LOVE listening to Christmas music. I actually have it on right now! Wade will not listen to it until the day after thanksgiving...it's like his personal house rule..bah humbug!!! ;) I think my favorite song in "Last Christmas" by Wham!! admit it, it's your too!

4. I delight in the task of decorating the Christmas tree. I don't know what I am gonna do when I have to relinquish my control over the tree and let my children decorate it. which I think Nora will be all about it next year. She helped this year but I was still in control! ;) It's a true obsession for me. What? I was the baby of my family, give me a break!

5. we can rev up the DVD player for technicolor and play the goodies like " It's a wonderful life" and " Holiday Inn"...Thanks Mom, I'm totally turning into you. Between this and crying during hymns in church I don't have a chance. Color me Lani Jean Schafer b/c I am on my way.

6. Christmas party time! It's no secret that I am somewhat of a social creature. So, I love going to parties and Christmas parties are the BEST! Could be a little better if I could spike the egg nog with some bourbon...JUST TEASING! ;) But, they are great nonetheless! All the goodies, white elephant gifts, and of course Christmas music...all in one place. You can act a fool at Christmas parties and nobody could care less b/c we are ALL in a good mood!


Well, I am sure there are plenty more but, I'll stop there and show you some pictures of our fun day!

Oh Tenenbaum!!!!

A Homemaker no more

Well, technically I am still a homemaker, but now I'm a partially employed/save my sanity stay at home mommy. Shocker I know, but it is a position that literally fell in my lap. I was thinking of getting a PT job anyway, but was apprehensive about it b/c I didn't want to get a night job b/c then I would never see the hubby and the kids would NEVER see both their parents together. Then I didn't want a day job b/c then I would have to pay for daycare and that is pointless. Nonetheless, Wade and I have been a little concerned about SAVING money...blah!! So I either had to take this into my own hands or Wade would just skip sleeping and go to work full time, school part time, and another side job on well, the side! ;)

Then one afternoon I called my oldest friend here in Arkansas,Lisa. Literally, we go way back to the Troy days, we were even sorority sisters...tear (IOB LISA wink, wink). Anyway, Lisa works at an pretty nice athletic club here so I thought I would ask her if they need any PT help. She said she doubted it but would ask around. Well, at around that same time a PT gal was given a full time position and told to "replace" herself. She thought, "What???" and had no idea where to start. Then Lisa comes along and told her about me and she told me to email her and the rest was HISTORY!!! It's a great PT job. I will be working the front desk for a couple hours in the AM, 3 days a week. The girls will get to go to their childcare (which is huge and also functions as a mom's day out program, and the nursery is in a separate room) and I can take breaks to check on them/lunch or whatever! AND I get a free gym membership!!!

SO to recap. I have a PT job with childcare, I make a little extra money to splurge on my indulgences UHM...I mean SAVE!! ;) Also, I save money on a gym membership, and save money from Nora's Preschool as it is no longer needed since she will get PLENTY of social interaction at the childcare. SAVE, SAVE, SAVE!!!

YEAH! I am really excited!!! This truly is a blessing and an answers to our prayers! Of course I am a little worried and nervous. It's just weird to leave my kids for a couple hours when I have been a FULL TIME stay at home mommy since Nora was born. But, I think it will be great form me and the girls!

Goodbye, Farwell, Adieu, See ya, Holler at ya later!!

Nora is grieving a great loss in her life right now. That loss is from the reckless misplacement of her PAPY!! You may know this as a pacifier. One by one they have all disappeared. She suffered this loss once before. As she was flushing the toilet one evening she looked into the toilet to say goodbye to the potty. As she spoke the papy came falling down and was flushed away. The look on her face tragic!! She screamed for it to come back but with no avail. luckily we had another one one hand and well, sure enough, the last one is GONE! And NO I did not sneak it into the trash. I did, however, find it in my robe pocket after a couple NAPLESS days. I seriously thought about giving it back to her because I know how much she LOVES it...it is her security blanket!!! Well, that and I really wanted her to go to sleep! But then I flashed back on the many aggravated memories I had of wanting to tear it out of her mouth and throw it away. After nap time it was always the biggest struggle to get it from her. She would talk with it, drink and then quickly put it back in her mouth, and of course suck like crazy on it if she got upset!! A true obsession...that papy was!!! So Adieu to you, trusty PAPY, you served your master Nora with honor!!

Nora's Beloved PAPY

RIP

Arkansas Anniversary

This week we celebrated our 1 year Anniversary in Arkansas. I can't believe it has already been a year...the older I get the faster time goes. Anyway, We have made some GREAT Friends here and have settled into everyday life. But, I must admit...the first couple of months weren't my finest hour. I was actually quite miserable! I always thought I would handle moving really well, but this was not the case. Wade said I tricked him b/c when we dated I told him that moving was no big deal and when he saw how I acted he said I lied to get him to marry me! ;). Whatever!!

In my defense, I had moved many times before and they weren't that bad. But, of course, I wasn't six months pregnant with a 2 year old either. Then, on top of that, we lived in a Resident Inn for 30 days only to move into a house with NO furniture for another couple weeks thanks to the good ole military movers! We spent Thanksgiving at the Crackle Barrel (dang good food though) and I cried in our hotel room watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade!! Then it was DEAD winter, snowing and raining everyday! Christmas was here and we had NO decorations or lights up or even a Christmas tree! DEPRESSING!! The only reason that I didn't curl up and die was b/c of a friend that lent us a bed and brought me food...Lori you will NEVER know who much that touched me, i will NEVER forget it...I know you were an answer to a prayer!! ;) Probably Wade's prayer to help his crazy wife before he goes crazy! ;)

But, I have gotten over it. I seriously think my bad attitude went away about the time that Audrey was taken from my loins! ;) Coincidence?!! Maybe. No doubt about it, this is definitely home now! We have all the typical things like, a messy home, church callings, substitute grandparents (you know that empty nester couple that adopt your kids as their temp grand kids), an exhausting job, daily errands, and gossipy neighbors!

All and all this has been a good year, minus a couple months in the beginning! This really is a beautiful area and the more I get to know our friends I realize what good people have been sent to us. The Lord really does have a plan for all our lives and knows what we can endure to make us better people!

Stand in the Place Where you Sleep

Well, that may not be how the REM song really goes, but that's the case here. Saturday Wade went into Audrey's room to get her up from her name and there she was just A standing! So we had to move the mattress down. Another mile marker down. I swear, the second child grows so much faster than the first! ;) Time flies. Next thing ya know she's gonna be walking everywhere and REALLY getting into everything! ;)

Happy Birthday, Babe!!!

The morning we got home from our driving extravaganza AKA our trip to Colorado, Was Actually Wade's Birthday! I, being the dutiful wife that I am Woke wade up in the early morning hours to tell him happy birthday...ok, ok, actually I just looked over at him driving and told him happy birthday. Needless to saw, We got home that day and VEGGED out! I took a long nap in the morning but got to work in the afternoon. I made Wade homemade Birthday cake and even decorated it...which, BTW, you know I took a picture of it!! And made him a delicious Steak dinner with homemade coleslaw and baked potatoes.

After the dinner and marvelous cake we opened gifts and then watched a movie Wade rented. "Forbidden Kingdom" I think. It actually was a good movie...from what I saw!!! Anyway, I really didn't take many pictures this particular day, well, because we were in pajamas all day. It was pretty low key, but if you know my hubby at all then you know that is his style!!

Don't fret...for there is more! ;) I already lined up a babysitter before our Colorado trip so Wade and I could go on a date and celebrate his birthday together. So yes, on a Monday night out with the senior citizens...6pm, Wade and I went "OUT on the TOWN"!!!

It was a Lot of fun! We actually dressed up. Ate Sushi (trendy huh?!). Got hot chocolate, and walked around the cool part of Fayetteville. Ya know that area that every college town has. Lots of bars and stores, yet a couple really nice restaurants that you KNOW ain't no traditional college student hanging out at... yet, it's right next door to the Irish pub with the scent of Bar funk hanging in the air!!! Nonetheless, you know I felt cool and care free. We walked around with our hot choco like we owned that little village area...that's right, we were cool for a moment in time. Then it was off to pick up the kiddo's and nestle back into reality!!

Our Trendy little Sushi Place

Our Big Sushi Plate. This was the first time Wade had eaten Sushi...other than a california roll at those Chinese buffets!! ;)

I personally stick to the cooked sushi rolls but Wade dove right into the Raw fish! Blah!!

The Happy couple. BTW, that's my favorite "cute" jacket. Common, every woman has that certain peice of clothing/outfit that they feel CUTE in. And that is Wade's date jacket... click here for Exhibit A.

Haloween in Colorado

We took a whirlwind trip to Colorado during the Halloween weekend. Wade's sister, Julia, got married and had a party in which most of Wade's brother's and sisters were going to be at. Considering that Wade is the oldest of 10 (yes, you read the correctly) it is not small feat to have them all together. Anyway, we felt it important to be there for Julia and seize the opportunity for Wade to see ALL of his family.

Now, for the play by play:

Friday, 3:30 AM : We leave Springdale, AR

4:00 AM: We get pulled over for driving 55 in a 45 even thought we pass a 60mph sign as we pull over...What EVER, Total Trap, see ya in court!!

1:00 PM Mountain time: We get into Lamar to see Wade's dad and step mom and a quick visit to see his little brother.

7:00PM: We get into Colorado Springs, late for the party, tired, and somewhat mentally insane from being in a car with a 2 year old and 7 month old baby...NEVER AGAIN!!! Oh, wait....we still have to drive home. Nonetheless, all the sibling were there (minus Andrew, but so glad we got to see you in Lamar) We really had a great time!

SATURDAY: We spend all day with Wade's Mom and a couple of his brothers and sisters. Ate Lunch with Julia, ate dinner with the fam; had a couple laughs, played some games, made fun of each other, ya know, all that family stuff!!

Saturday 8:00 PM: WE leave back to Arkansas. WE decided that we could NEVER again travel during the light of day with little kids. We literally pulled over 4 times in one hour while they were both awake!!! ;) WE successfully drove all night. We took a couple hour shifts while the other "slept"!

Sunday 8:30 AM Central Time: Finally home!!! WE lost an hour BUT then gained an hour (thank you daylight savings time). Now, we had to get through Sunday....And somehow still celebrate WADE's Birthday!!!! ;) YIKES!!!

So as alway, here are some pictures!!!

Grandpa Wes and Grandma Kim with the Girls

Us with Wade Bro. Andrew and Step bros Tyler and Bryce

The girls with their Great Grandpa..Wades Paternal Grandpa

Wade with his Mom and a lot of his brothers and sisters

Brothers and sisters, Aunts and Uncles, Mom, significant others and a Great Grandpa!! The Whole Gang!! Well, mostly!

Update on the tape

Well, for those of you that wanted a picture of my glasses, here it is...

Now, for an UPDATE!!! About a week ago, while I was in Wal-Mart, I checked out the vision center. I asked the guy there ( whom by the way had a fantastic smile and beautiful long brown hair...I'm just saying) if my glasses could be fixed. I didn't have them with me but he flashed is smile and told me to bring them in and he could probably fix them. So today I brought them in, he flashed that smile again and told me he wasn't sure but he would see what he could do. So after a little shopping it was time to find out the fate of my trusty trendy glasses!! What was it gonna be, was I gonna have to put them to rest and fork out a fortune for a new pair, OR was cutie patootie gonna do his magic and ant turn tape into tight fitting glasses???? Drum roll please....And they are FIXED!!! Man even better than before, he fixed them, tightened them, and even cleaned them. Thank you to YOU Mr. cutie Patootie Man with your flashy smile and fabulous hair.....what??? I'm just sayin'!!!!!

And She's Off...

Audrey started to crawl this week! She has been scooting around for quite some time, but she finally got those arms and legs moving one by one! At the beginning of the week she was taking a couple steps and now she is crawling across the room. It's amazing how much faster the second child grows. I guess it's because I have another child who requires my attention too. Go figure! ;) Here is a video for the grandparents...and those of you that have a soft spot in your hearts for other peoples babies!! ;) J/K

It's official...

No worries, I'm NOT preggo! ;) I am officially a broke down and delerious stay at home mommy! ;) YOu see, about a week ago Audrey woke up really early one morning. I was so tired I just got her and brought her back to my bed to feed her...I NEVER DO THAT!! We'll I took off my glasses and laid them beside me so I could get comfy. Well, next thing I know Nora is coming in my room crying about something and so I jump up and of course, roll over on my glasses and bend one of the sides. Now my glasses are all gimped up. They weren't broke just slanted...

Anyway, The Point is I just finished taping the side of my glasses with tape. Yep!! I can't believe it myself!!! As I was doing it I has flasehes in my mind of the MOM steroetype with the brokedown clothes and wild hair, embarassing their child in front of their friends. I mean, I have scotch tape on the side of my glasses for goodness sake!! And that means I truly felt it was a good idea long enough to ACTUALLY do it!!! When I think about it I was actually quite proud that when I took out my contact I hada pair of somewhat trendy glasses to put on (unlike the ones I has in college...if any of my old roomies are reading this). But that is no more...I have MOM glasses. ANd who knows how long I will live like this. As if it isn't enough to go to the eye doctor to pay for an exam AND contacts, now I have to get NEW glasses! The truly disturbing part of all this is the fact that the tape really works. And if I don't look in the mirror, I could actually forget the tape is there! SO SAD!! ;)

Lady Bug and the Bumble Bee

We gave our costumes a practice run for Halloween at a party given by a friend of mine. It was a lot of fun for the family! Wade was a jack-o-lantern, Nora was a lady bug, Audrey was a bubble bee, and I was an obnoxious 80's housewife with my rolled up jeans, tacky Halloween earrings and even worse Halloween sweater and a bright orange turtleneck! I was truly scary!! ;)

There was a cake walk, games, food, dancing, and even Karaoke!! And my, my, my how Nora is her Mother's daughter. I, of course, was Karaoke-ing. Nora got to the microphone first and I couldn't get it from her. So, YES, my 2 year old and I were competing/fighting for the spotlight. I finally had to resort to trickery!!! I had to find the microphone that wasn't plugged in and give it to her so she would let go. Finally my chance to sing the heck out of, "We built this city on Rock and Roll"! ;) I did and there's NO shame in my game!

The Hostess...pay close attention to her lovely banner that I made! ;)

Wade and the bumble bee, aka Audrey!

Nora and ONE of her MANY cupcakes of the evening!

Mother and daughter as we pause from entertaining the crowd! J/K

45 seconds faster!

I got bamboozled into running another 5k last weekend!!! Kidding, I wanted to give it another go or maybe my ego couldn't turn it down when asked if I was going to do it! ;) Anyway, I ran it a whopping 45 seconds faster than my last 5k. I was pretty proud considering there was a HUGE hill, even worse than the hill of my 1st 5k. This hill just went up and up and never went down. It slowly elevated. Even experienced runners would pass me saying, "that hill is gonna be a killer"! And it WAS!! As much as I hate running I love the whole running world and atmosphere. At this specific race I got a 20 minute massage for FREE!! Love IT!!

Well, here's some fun pictures....

Me coming in for the 45 minute faster finish! ;)

Nora chasing after me at the finish line...I got a ribbon and they gave one to her too, It was cute!

Me and my friends Jen, we are both newbies to running. Neither one of us really LOVE running but we want to keep doing it! Color us crazy!

Ft. Bolinger

Wade and the girls built a Fort in the Living room last week. They had a good ole time! Nora, of course, had to move all her trinkets and toys into it and Audrey just enjoyed being with her Dad and Sister. I thought it was cute so I just had to share! ;)

Nostalgia in the Air

Ahhhh! It's fall and I love it! There is just something about fall that sends me back in time. I guess it's the crispness and a different smell in the air, the colorful leaves falling, and there's a different tint to the light that falls across the land. If you know me at all I am sure you think I am being sarcastic, but I am so for real! I really do notice all those things when fall hits...especially the "tint" of the light. sounds crazy but there has got to be someone else out there that has noticed that...Huh, anyone?!?

Anyway, Fall always sends me back in time to HS football games and bonfires (homecoming and parties out in the middle of nowhere), and falling in love for the first time. And when i think about it... most of the times I have fallen in love have been in the fall. Wade and i fell in love in the fall, granted we were on different continents and had never met, but we fell in love, nonetheless, and during the fall season!! ;) I think of skipping class in college, and the breeze running through the trees on campus! I know, I'm getting cheesy again! ;) I also think of fall festivals and silly activities like outdoor movies and chili cookoff's (does chocolate chili ring a bell to anyone?) I used to do with the gang from the Atlanta days.

I just love fall! It's my favorite season!! I can't wait to see what fall looks like around here. I hear it's beautiful! the leaves are just starting to fall and we just busted out the jeans and long sleeves this week. Can't wait!! But the breeze and the tint of the sun is already here, oh and the smell in the air!! A couple years down the road I will look back and think of my little kids playing in the leaves and dressing up for Halloween, eating chili and cornbread with friends, and creating new family traditions and memories.

OK!! enough is enough! Now I ask you... What do you think of when fall comes every year???

Make NEW Friends but Keep the OLD

Just like many of you, I enjoy unwinding at the end of the day by watching a little bit of brainless entertainment known as TV! I have my favorites every season and so does Wade. If you know us at all as a couple than you know that we are complete opposites. That includes what types of prime time shows we watch. So about year 2 in our marriage we realized that we could easily spend a hours weekly in separate rooms in the evening. We decided that we needed to find some shows that we both like so we can wind down TOGETHER at the end of the day. This was hard to do until last year. We suddenly found a couple of shows that we both really like is both fall/spring and summer/winter seasons.

Goodbye to our old friends from the Summer season, but most will be back in the winter!

We Loved, Loved, Loved this show. We even watched season one online all summer. This is a really cool show and totally keeps you wanting for more. A not to mention great eye candy for the men or women! ;) So goodbye old friend, but no worries you have been picked up for the Winter Season. We will miss you most!

OK, Wade could have cared less about this show but I got sucked in. I am so over all the sex and gruesome nature of all those "other" drama shows. This show in on Lifetime and it really does talk about real life problems, mainly of that in the military. It's just about the lives of 5 innocent ARMY wives (Plus 1 army hubby). Check it out if you haven't watched it!

Monk is an oldie but goodie! This show and Stargate SG1 were the first shows that Wade and I could watch together! I didn't watch it in the beginning b/c I didn't get the Title. I mean who wants to watch a show about a monk. But it's really quirky and no disgusting blood and guts like those other detective shows. It just funny!

Why Hello my NEW friends of the Fall Line up!

Wade and I got all into this last season. It will totally fill the void in our prime time hearts that Burn Notice has left us. Chuck is actually more humorous! We all have a soft place in our hearts for the Geek next store. But, I totally think he's a cutie too! Is you didn't see it last season, YOU HAVE to watch it on NBC.

Last, but not least! Pushing Daisies! All I can say is that I love how last season started a trend of good hearted, upbeat programming! No sex, drugs, & rock and roll here. Wade and I thought this was such an original concept. The main character can bring people to life by touching them, find out how they died (or were killed), and them put them back to sleep by touching them again. The love interest was dead, he touched her, feel in love at first sight, and never touched her again so she could stay alive. So they are in love but can't touch each other. And in the end they catch bad guys with lots of other quirky stuff in the plot! It's fun! Watch it.

So, Now I ask you...What shows are you looking foward to this fall season???

Table and Cars

I started another hobby recently! We have a small table in our kitchenette that was left in the house when we bought it. It wasn't in the best of shape but we didn't have another table to put there. I told Wade we should keep and I would refinish it and save us some money! So I finally did it. It took me a little longer than I expected and it still doesn't quite meet my perfectionist standards but i had to be done with it. I learned a lot with this project so the next piece of furniture I "fix" should be even better! What do ya think?

Before

During

After

Also, for those of you wondering what new car I got...I'll tell ya! We bought a Volvo XC-90. If you knew me when I lived in Bama then you know I was obsessed with this car a year ago. I finally got it and at a great deal. It is a 2006 and only had 13,000 miles on it. I think it was a program car or something. Anyway, we felt is was a good used car that will last us forever. Literally, I will be driving this car FOREVER!!

The funny thing is that last year we bought wade a Volvo off the "lemon Lot" on the AF Base. Again, great deal from another couple that was desperate to get ride of an extra car payment. Anyway, his car is the same color as mine. Inside and out. So we joke that we have "His and Her's" cars. We should tell people we did it on purpose! Aren't we CUTE!