Maternity clothes

I have cleaned all the maternity clothes out of my closet and I'm wondering what to do with them?? Shawn and I thought that 2 was such a perfect number of kids, but now we're thinking that 3 might be better. I have mixed feelings about it. It's hard being a parent of small children. We are limited in our availability to attend certain functions and to go certain places. Not to mention how much of your life is put on hold (getting fat, being tired, not knowing who the person staring back at you in the mirror is, not having time to do anything for yourself, always being last in getting your needs met, the lack of adult conversation, and forgetting that your birth name is not "mom" ). Riley has been such a wonderful baby. We have enjoyed every moment of him and I can't imagine not having another one when I'm holding him, but it's so hard with a baby. And the cost is so enormous. Riley is a weed and is growing out of clothes before I can buy new ones. And the cost of college is ridiculous. Shawn and I were working numbers and in order for us to give our kids just 30,000 dollars a piece we'd have to be saving $175 a month per kid for the next 18 years. We all know that $30,000 is not enough for a 4 year degree, but how can one save enough?? Anyway, back to the question at hand, what to do with maternity clothes?? For now, I've packed them and put them into storage (which storage here is a limited commodity and currently mine is already full with baby gear). I did just find out that a friend here is pregnant and hopefully I can pawn off the bulk of clothes to her for the next 10 months. I do know that I don't want to have another baby while we are oversees. It's too hard being away from family and friends. Children really should and need to be raised by a village because it's almost impossible for one person.

A relaxed evening

After a quick dinner, we headed out to enjoy a beautiful evening. Shawn and Caleb played with the remote control airplane in the small field beside our house.

Caleb gets a kick out of playing with the plane and not giving daddy a turn. He has one maneuver on the remote...full speed!!

"watch what I can do!!!"

Yes, it landed on top of another townhouse, so we decided to take the plane out to the playground at the elementary school for more space. (Shawn had a blast climbing up there...NOT!)

Son like father, or maybe it's father like son, either way they are two peas in a pod.

Once we got to the playground, Caleb was done flying the plane and finally Shawn got his turn to play.

Riley and I had fun on the swings until Caleb wanted to race down the slides. "On your mark, get set, GO!!" Except when the time came to go, Caleb decided he didn't want to race anymore and got mad.

It was a very relaxing evening. By the time we got home, Caleb was exhausted and ready for bed. It's so exciting being a family and having these little family moments together. It's awesome having Shawn home.

WALL-E

Shawn, Caleb, Riley, and I went to see this movie. It is one of the best Pixar movies I have ever seen. It has so many stories and lessons going on. Of course, most of the lessons are for adults, but Caleb loved it!!! He's still walking around saying, "Wall-E" and ever time we drive by the theater he says it...like he wants to go see it again. Or maybe he just wants popcorn!! Either way, I'd go see it again. GO SEE IT!!! And no, Pixar isn't paying me a dime to say those words, although it would be nice if they did.

Beach fun

We went to the beach on Sunday afternoon with the Benefield family. It was an awesome time. Shawn and Caleb got some sand time and Riley and I got some laying time, but before we left, Caleb and I had some float time. I thought for sure that Caleb was going to tip us over, but he didn't, he'd pretend that he was going to tip us and then laugh and laugh. As soon as Caleb got straped into the car he fell asleep with carrots in his mouth. We woke him up right before we got home and he sat up and started chewing on the carrots that he still had in his mouth, like he didn't know he'd fallen asleep....

Fourth of July

Riley gets so excited about everything. He is always looking around and trying to figure out what is going on and today was no exception. The color of the flags and decorations kept his eyes focused and his mind wondering.

Caleb was anxious to get the day started!! He kept yelling at us, "Let's go!! Let's go!!" We had been telling him all morning about all the activities and events that were planned on base.

They had live music, bounce houses, a petting zoo, a ball pit, food stands, carnival games, and one of the best display of fireworks that I've ever seen.

It was an awesome day!!

Finally, some pool time

Thankfully, I took Caleb to the pool yesterday because today it is rainning again. It rains here atleast 75% of the time. And 15% of the rest of the days look like it's going to rain at any moment. So, we have about 10% of the days that are warm and sunny. This is the rainy season for Japan and then August and September is the hot and humid months. I've been told that it's so humid here that you just drip with sweat as soon as you leave your house...all those pretty fans that you see Japanese women using, they have a purpose and I've bought several to keep in my purse. It's still in the 70's here, maybe low 80's on rare days. So, it's beautiful when it's not raining.

Caleb had a great time at the pool. He mostly played by himself with some of the toys that Renee sent him in the mail (thanks Renee). He tried to play ball with another boy, but the kid didn't want to share with Caleb and took the ball and left....it was Caleb's ball (not cool kid!). I gotta tell you, it's a difficult job taking your 2 yr. old and baby to the pool, especailly when your baby doesn't want to sleep while you're there. Caleb is pretty self-sufficient, but still, by the time we got home I was exhausted. I can't wait till Shawn's mom gets here. I am really looking forward to some help! Sorry Joann, but I'm going to take advantage of you...and Tom. They will be here in two weeks. I am so Excited~!!!!

Check it out!

I want to introduce a website for really nice, inexpensive stamps called New Clear Dollar Stamps. http://www.newcleardollarstamps.com/servlet/StoreFront . I just bought like $50 worth and got so much for my money. All the stamps are originals designed by the owner. Check out the clearance stuff and the sets....and shipping is only $5. I was introduced to this website from Jen. The owner is her friend. She started this business, that now is booming, because she couldn't understand why stamps were costing so much to buy from other companies....anyway, check it out!!! It's great!