Can you help?

KEvin is currently serving in Korea. He has the possibility to come to Alaska for 2 weeks & I'm dying for the chance to see him! I'm trying to raise money for my plane ticket up there so I'm going to start a raffle: $1 gets you 1 entry, $5 gets you 6. I have to get at least $100 in entries to run the raffle. The prize is $100 gift card to my store

WWW.BABYBUGCREATIONSSHOP.COM

good for anything! If I get $400, I will give 2- $100 and if I get $600, I will do 3. The ticket is $800 so I'd love to get the full amount, but as much as I can get will help tons! if I can get $800 earned, I will give 2- $100 gift cards, 2 $50 gift cards & 4 $25 gift cards. these don't expire and can be used for anything, split into 2 or 3 orders or whatever. They can also be gifted to a friend, or used for yourself, or split half for you, half for a friend! If more than the $800 is raised, it will go towards either a 2nd plane ticket for my almost 3 year old (how awesome to go see his daddy!) or for a ticket later in the year for a visit to Korea! If the goal is surpassed there will be a HUGE surprise!

I will run the raffle through the end of august & will draw winners September 1. I really REALLY want to go visit so please help me make it up there!!!!

Money can be sent to babybugcreationsllc@gmail.com

Be sure to put your name & number of entries you are purchasing so I can keep track!

Thanks for your support & help to reach my goal! ♥ Ashley

www.babybugcreationsshop.com

www.facebook.com/babybugcreations

www.babybugcreations.blogspot.com

Hoping tomorrow forgets to come

Every night I go to bed late and get up early, and not because I have a 6 week old, because I don't want tomorrow to come. Because tomorrow is one day closer to his leaving, one day closer to 365 days + A few that I will be essentially a single parent, because no matter how hard you try, you can't change a diaper thru the computer, or fix a meal, and even if he was in every room on the computer, I still can't just "run to the store real quick" with no kids.

In a few short days, we will start our journey of a year apart, living as separates, having different worries and activities. Would I have chosen this for us? No, certainly not now. I mean he is going to miss everything about the whole first year of his baby girl's life. Do I have a choice to let him go? No... Because when you're married to the Air Force, they controll what your spouse does, who they do t with Nd when they do it. So no, I didn't choose this.

I can't express what is going thru my head right now. Unless you have been in my exact shoes, with my exact situation, please don't try to tell me you know how it feels, because you don't. The longest Kevin & I have ever been apart was when he went to basic training when brok was 6 weeks old. & while that was rough, at least he was on us soil, & wasn't living an entirely separate life.

How am I supposed to be a mom and a dad? I'm going to have to get up alone every morning, get kids dressed and fed alone, and in a few months off to school alone, then run errands alone like dr appt and groceries. I have to make sure I have times right so I'm home for the bus, and therapies. And I'm the one who has to bathe kids, put them to bed, and do laundry, clean the house. I have to mow the lawn, pick up dog poop, make sure were all protected. & he gets to/has to be all alone, in a dorm room. It's just not fair you know?

I'm not super woman. I can't do it. I need my husband here, not thousand of miles away. He needs to be laying in bed with me.

Hug your husbands. Cherish those moments. I will miss his hugs, and kisses. Those tender moments when it's just us, before the baby wakes, or after the kids are asleep. I will miss our long talks when the radio goes fuzzy on the drive home, and having someones hand to hold. I will miss his snoring & his smells. I hope I remember those smells. I will miss watching him play with his kids, and I will miss his arms around me. I hope I remember how it feels. I wonder if I stuff pillows under the blanket & put a picture of him sleeping on the pillow if I will sleep better... I just want him here with us...

I hope tomorrow forgets to come...

All Taken Care Of

As a busy mom, have you ever wished you had someone to help plan your meals for the week and create the grocery list? Have you ever wished there was someone who could instantly give you a great idea for a craft or activity to do with your kids when they (and you) are needing it the most? Have you ever wished you had someone to help you think of a last minute gift idea for a birthday or anniversary or other occasion? If you answered "yes" to any (or all) of those questions, than Mom's Taken Care Of is the place for you!

The Mom's Taken Care Of website does all of that, and more! Each week there are new recipes, grocery lists, crafts and activities, and great gift ideas to help you get through your week easier. Plus, if you can't find a recipe or craft idea on the site, you can send them an email and they will come up with some ideas for you! Now that's being taken care of!

BabyBug Creations has a discounted price of $11.95. Just go to www.momstakencareof.com/subscribe.html and click on “Special Price Discount from Sponsors”, use the promo code “4ourkids”. Make sure you select "Babybug Creations Ashley" to get this special pricing!
Don't wait...all moms deserve to be taken care of!

We are alive...

I blame the lack of posts on a few things...


Most everyone knows but we found out in September that Kevin will be going to Korea for a year, in June 2011. We also found out in September that we are expecting baby #3. It has been a roller coaster of emotions, and this baby has been making me extremely sick and tired. Also in the middle of September, we bought a house. Yes, everything happened in September. Sept 1 he got orders, Sept 5 found out I was prego, Sept 8 found out he was for sure going, Sept 10 was supposed to close on our house, Sept 16 finally closed on our house.

In October Brok started at the Dysart Early Childhood Education Center, a specialized preschool for kids with special needs, and a few integrated "regular" kids. He is doing phenominal and rides the bus to school and home from school everyday. he has also been getting ABA therapy daily, and has made such great progress over the passed few months. He uses a PEC (picture exchange communication) book to tell us what he wants. He is now also able to make small marks on the paper with a marker, stack 4 blocks, nest cups, etc. Its amazing the progress.

Lukas turned 2 in October and is now starting to talk a ton more, and is getting too smart for his own good. He is daddy's little mini me, and is obsessed with bikes, and jets. He is such a sweet boy and I love him tons!

And baby #3 is a..... GIRL! I finally get my little girl! We had a tougher time decideing her name than with either boy, and it finally came down to Lukas deciding. He refused to say the other 2 names we liked and the second we asked him to say Kenadi, he said kk and kkeni. It's pronounced Kennedy. Her name is Kenadi Lynette Beal and she is due May 9, 2011, though we are shooting for mid to end of April so that Kevin can have a few more weeks with her. I am thrilled but it is so different to buy for girls than boys!

As for me, I am 17 wks along and am just starting to feel a little better, I have crazy heartburn and can't eat any sugar, if I do, I automatically throw it up. I live off Zofran, which helps me a ton, and I have to eat the second I feel hungry or else I am in trouble. I already look like I am ready to deliver, and actually had a lady ask me when I was due, I guess it's a good thing I never had that awkward stage of just looking fat. she is realy active, especially after I use the bathroom, or lay down, she has more room.

Kevin is busy as ever and is preparing to go to ALS, airman leadership school starting in January as a result of passing the test to become a Staff Sargeant. It should be interesting. He is also enjoying his new house, rebuilding the playground and organizing his garage and his workspace outside.

And that's what happened in the last 6 months in a nutshell. Maybe someday I will be better at this...

Really late & I should be in bed but...

I missed blogging about Brok's 3rd Birthday... I am such a bad mom...

March 23rd Brok turned 3. Wow where did the time go. I remember the events leading up to him being born & how valuable the next 6wks were...

Some things about Brok:
~Wears a 4T/5T & size 7/8 shoe
~37.5lbs & 40" tall
~Started preschool on his birthday
~is getting better at using pictures to show me what he wants
~can kind of follow directions- Brok come here, Brok no, Brok get your cup

I can't believe my little baby is 3! My dear friend Mary took some awesome pictures of him on his birthday. He wasn't in the best mood until I brought the food! She captured his personality so well!

Since starting School, Brok has been able to sit for 15min at circle time, likes all things green (he was able to pick out a bunch of toys that he can mouth or smell & play with & they are all green!) & LOVES to go to school! His teacher said he is so cute & so loving & that he is well behaved! We have noticed that he is a different child in the last week. He will hold your hand & walk with you, he doesn't throw as many fits & is really Chill...

anyway, more posts to come but I needed to post these!

2 posts in 1 week? WHAT

I was too excited not to share! I am published! My first ad in a magazine! EEK!

UTAH BABY GUIDE page 25

so little time & so much to do!

It's march, where did february go?

~Brok started speech again with an awesome therapist
~Kevin started night flying- UGH
~Lukas learned how to say Go, shoe, ball & learned how to catch
~Ashley spent all her time running around like a crazy lady...

March is always a hard/happy month for me... 10 years ago march 8th, 2000 my dear sweet grandma took her last breath & left to be with our heavenly father, my little sister was not even 2wks old. Spring Break is always in March, which would be fun if I was in school... bittersweet. March was the last month where Kevin & I were simply a couple & not a family. March was the month where I became a mother. March was the month where I found out I would be a mom again... & march marks that time of year where the temps start going up...

This March is already in full swing. It has rained every weekend (only 2 so far), Brok has gotten his second ear infection. We met with the school district to determine Brok's qualifications for preschool. We found out that in 2 short weeks my baby will start preschool. I will no longer have simply 2 toddlers, but a preschooler & a toddler. We have planted a garden (well that was in feb but still) & we have bought a new computer & not had to put it on a credit card. What a month we have in store.

I can't believe that the time has come to send my boy off to school. I won't lie, I am terrified. What if he is as horrible for them as he is for us? He is going to have his own "aide" but I still wonder. What if he just cries the whole time? what if he doesn't want to do anything they are doing or doesn't want to eat what they are eating? and my worst fear? what if he breaks something or himself? This is so exciting & will hopefully get us on the right track to getting him ready for normal life, and possibly to communicate with us but I am terrified!

anyway, that's my thoughts for now... more to update as the month goes on!