Out with the Old, in with the new

Here I am, sitting on the couch, closing out the year. 2014 was a great year. Here's a quick run down of this year.

January: We announced our pregnancy to friends and family! We didn't know if baby was a girl or boy, but we knew we loved our little nugget so much! 

The photo we shared to announce we were expecting!  

Photo Credit: Let It Shine 

February: John left for Deployment. I didn't know if he would be home for the birth of our child, but with fervent prayer and faith, he was home just in time!

Last photo we took before he left on Deployment

March: We found out Eleanor was a girl! It was such a special time, finding out the gender of our baby with all our friends and family here in VA. We even skyped with some friends and family for the big reveal! =)

Our gender reveal cake! 

Cake by: Eric Eisele, my Brother-in-law! 

April: It felt good to do some outreach at a retirement community

Michelle sang some songs, I didn't have a picture of me, so I thought she was good enough. 

May: Lots happened! I had the majority of my baby showers, my Sis-in-law graduated and Courtney got married!! 

Holly and I like to be silly! 

June: To my surprise and answered prayers, my husband came home from deployment early. 

This was just moments before John got off the plane and back in my arms =)

July: I took two awesome trips to the hospital for my kidneys. I got to know some nurses pretty well there. LOL

#hospitalselfie

August: We welcomed our little baby girl into the world on August 7. Best. Day. Ever.

Payne Party of Three!

September: I adjusted to being a mother. I think I slept for about 4 hours the whole month. 

I baby-wore  for the first time. 

October: Our girl had her first Haloween! She was Batgirl. She was Cute!

Such a cute festive dress, made by her Nana! 

Here is my Batgirl =)

November: We took our first road trip to Florida to see her Nana and Papa. She had her first Thanksgiving too! 

My Little Pickle's first Turkey day.

December: We took a new Christmas Family Photo. Its so much different than last years! 

Christmas 2014.

I can't to see what 2015 has to offer. Happy New Year Everyone! 

Dedicating Eleanor Reece

Last week, we celebrated a joyous occasion. Yes, last week was Christmas, but that's not it. On December 21, my whole family got together at my church in Chesapeake, VA and we dedicated my sweet angel, Eleanor Reece to The Lord.

The reason why we dedicate rather than baptize, is that we want our children to make a concious, deliberate decision to be baptized, when they are older. We also believe that when people are baptized, one should be completely covered in water, not just sprinkled. in fact, the very meaning of "baptize" means to submerge, immerse. Not sprinkle. Anyways!

last week was such a great time. My parents flew in from Florida, my sister-in-law, her hubby and niece came in from North Carolina, and my Hubby's aunt drove from northern Virginia too. My sister and her fam were there too, but they live here so they didn't have to travel. All in all, it was a pretty great turn out. Lots of people went out of their way for Eleanor and it made my heart so happy.

I just want to share with you all, one of the most important parenting decisions Hubs and I have made so far. We pray for Eleanor every day. We want her to grow up and make her own decisions, but we want her to live for God, keeping His commandments. And dedicating her to Jesus, will help us as parents to keep the promise we made to take her to church, pray with her, pray for her, and to do everything we can in our power to make sure Eleanor grows up in the Truth.

Anyways, here are a few pictures of our little bundle of joy in her gorgeous dress!

Photo credit: Michelle Eisele by Let It Shine Blog

 Here we are with our wonderful pastor (Bro. Cunningham), with his beautiful wife! =)

 My beautiful family! 

 This is probably my favorite picture of us =) 

 Here is my parents, holding Eleanor. My wonderful mom spent countless hours, making Eleanor's dress. She got so many complements on the great job she did! 

 This is Johns side of the family that came out for the occasion. Don't we look spiffy? 

Here is the big group Photo! My whole family and John's whole family. Completed with Eleanor is the middle. I love. 

THE END! 

Christmas Party for the Win

This past Thursday was my husbands Command Christmas Party. I was pretty excited about this because even though John has been at his command for about two and a half years, this was the first one we were able to attend. The first year John was on duty, and last year he was TAD to another ship and was gone when his home ship had their Christmas party.

John's parents were so kind and agreed to watch Eleanor. Poor baby had just had shots the day before and was pretty fussy. I was hesitant to leave E, because she was so fussy, but John talked me into going.
So we got all dressed up and fancy and were ready to go.

Here we are all fancied up and ready to go! I would like to say I was pretty classy. And so was J =)

On our way to the party, John forewarned me that people were going to get drunk. Hammered would probably be a better word. He had heard stories of past Christmas parties of people who danced on tables, went home with people they regretted the next day and so on. So I thought I knew what to expect. However, When I got there for cocktail hour, I realized this was going to be so much more than just drunk folks going nutters. This party was a fashion show for ladies to show off, after being in a blue uniform all year long. This was also a chance for ship couples to show off their new relationships. During the cocktail hour I took a look around at everyone coming in and thought to myself "Oh my. Didn't their mothers teach them better" There were men showing up in jeans and a T-shirt. There were dudes with ugly sweaters and tennis shoes. There were girls in dresses so short, they had to walk with their hands on their dress to keep in covering their who-ha, Literally. There were ladies back missing out of their dresses and had back-fat spilling over their poor, unsupported straps. It was atrocious. It was then that I got the idea to take pictures, like a stalker and write about this.
Note: The Theme of the party was a Masquerade. Therefore some of these folks have masks on. Also, I took all these pictures on my iPhone and most people didn't know I was taking these. So I apologize in advance for some of them being poor in quality.
So without further a due, I present to you:
THE 2014 COMMAND CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

I am going to start with all the men first. Partly because they are sad and funny, partly because I want to save the best for last.
The winner of the most under-dressed man goes to this guy:

Complete with a T-shirt too big for him, black jeans that don't go with the too-big back shirt, a cheap mask ( that he shouldn't have been wearing because this was a masquerade ball for people who were dressed for a formal party!), and Navy-issue tennis shoes.
I really hope this guy was fresh out of boot camp and didn't have time to go shopping before the Christmas party, because this is unacceptable.

The next category is the Ugly Sweater award. And it goes to this guy:

The guy had a ten-point buck on his chest. He also was wearing converse. Can I please take this dude shopping?

Runners-up are these guys:

Homie on the left had a Pug with reindeer antlers on it. And the dude on the right had penguins, polar bears and anchors... I guess he was thinking "Anchors Aweigh"? Sorry its not a good picture. By the time I got this, a lot of people (not including me) were pretty hammered. The guy blocking my picture was one of them. =)

The next award of the evening is called "The 'I think I am so fly' Award"

This genius had on a metallic suit (Nice) great looking tie, which wasn't pictured (nice), and Jordan's (also, nice, but not WITH the suit.)

The most prestigious award of the night for the means category is the "Douche Bag" award. And its a tie, this year.

These two dudes thought it would be a great idea to get these tux's and dress up as Dumb and Dumber. What is even better, is that another two dudes had the same idea. Yes, that's right. There were TWO PAIRS of these guys. This was supposed to be a Masquerade party, not Halloween 2.0.
Not sure if you can see it, but they also had matching canes to go with their "outfits".
Oh my.

Lets take a break in our Christmas Pageant to share some other pictures. Here we have one of John's friends that sat at our table. He got a little liquor happy. He was having too much fun, so I decided to document =)

He decided to dance in his seat. But jokes aside, he is a really good guy and so is his wife! And I hear he is pretty good at his job too.

Next we have anther one of John's co-workers. Poor girl. Her Boyfriend is deployed and didn't have a date to the party. So she took the centerpiece, and called it her "date". Don't worry y'all, she was sober! Which makes all the more silly!

So, this is Sarah and her date, Eli (her boyfriends name). And might I add, her dress was super cute!! I am LOVING the navy blue lace.

Then, some friends at the table offered to take our picture. I thought it was super sweet. For like a second. They took my phone and instead of taking our picture, they took a selfie. But I wasn't mad. I thought it was funny, and John and I did the same thing to someone else just a few minutes later.

But here we are! We actually got our picture taken.

Stay tuned for the ladies edition of the Christmas Parade Pageant! You don't want to miss it. 

December to Remember

December is the most wonderful time of the year. Between all the shopping, decorating and good cheer, I have compiled a list of reasons why December is great.

• It's Army Vs. Navy time!! Each year, the United States Naval Academy and West Point get together for some friendly competition. People make spirit spot videos, everyone gets hyped up and I am all in. I love Army, Navy week! GO NAVY BEAT ARMY!

This is Billy the goat. Navy Midshipman mascot! Fear the Goat!

• It gets cold but not too cold. It gets cold enough to get in those cutsie sweaters, but not cold enough to get those super puffy jackets out and bundle up, looking like the Michelin man.

Here we are, all Bundled up last January. The snow was fun for a while, but it was too cold! BBBRRRR! and our little nugget was all snuggled up in my belly =)

• People get into the holiday spirit. People instantly become nicer because its just "the season" to be nice. I wish people were nice all year round, but its nice to see people Pay It Forward at least some of the time.
• Decorations. I love it when people decorate for the Christmas season. Lights on their houses, lights on the trees, lights on stick figures, light shows, blow up characters galore! Its so fun to see how creative people get with lights and so much more.

This was our previous home. We got in the Christmas Spirit in the years past, but this year with the new baby, John's surgery and getting a new car (and all the paperwork that goes with it) we just haven't had the time. So we will let other folks be creative this year. And See Charlie at the door!? So cute. 

• Christmas parties! I love getting all dressed up and going to Christmas parties. I am going to my first "Command Party" this Thursday. Even though my hubby and I have been here for 2 1/2 years, this is the first time we are able to go due to other things like Duty and Deployments (ugh). We are so excited! Oh, and don't forget the food! MMMMMMMM =)
• The Music. I love turning on the radio and  hearing songs like "Mary Did You Know?" or "What Child is This?". Granted, they aren't played very much anymore because someone might get offended, but its just so great to hear happy songs, rather than sad songs about breakups, or nasty songs about grinding in the club. 
• And from here on out, December will forever be the month that we found out we were expecting our little girl! Last year on December 9, I found out I was pregnant. I had to wait 10 extremely long days to tell ANYONE because I wanted to tell John first, but he was underway. I wanted to see his face, so I waited until I picked him up from the ship on December 19. I ordered a "Navy Baby" onsie and wrapped it up super cute. Then I gave it to him when he got off the ship. When he opened it, he took the shortest glance, looked at me and said "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" All I had to do was smile and nod, and he swooped me up and I had never seen him so happy in my life. He just kept on twirling me around, hugging me and saying "Oh my gosh! I am so Excited!" I bet we looked super weird to the other 500 people who were getting off the ship at the same time as he did. We probably made quite a scene but I don't care. We were happy. And still are! Here is my little girl wearing the onsie on the way home from the hospital. We had to girly it up since it was a little plain and boyish looking. 

This is the present, the ultrasound (which came a  month later) and Eleanor in her going-home outfit =) 

There are so many reasons why I love Christmas, but the most important has to be Jesus. He is the Saviour of all the world. This holiday celebrates the birth of how he came to earth. Later he died on the cross for our sins to set us free. Jesus is the Reason for the Season! 

The "Crunchy Mom"

Lately there has been a lot of talk on some Facebook groups that I follow of being "crunchy." Being the curious person I am, I googled it. According to the Urban dictionary someone who is crunchy, is someone who is eco-friendly, vegetarian, tree hugging, liberal (leaning to the left), cloth everything and "local" (meaning one who grows their own foods and only eats locally grown food.). 
In my research, I found this article from another blog entitled "20 signs you're a crunchy mom". I just want to share my results. Whether these are legit or not, I don't know, but here are my thoughts to how crunchy I really am. 
Disclaimer: The views on my blog are MY opinion and in no way reflect on anyone else. And I'm not mommy hating! I support all mama's. As long as they are doing what they feel is the best interest of the child. I just dont support moms who could care less about their children. But I support all Mama's! Peace, y'all. 

1. You have a chicken coop in your backyard, and you're not a farmer.

• I don't have chicken poop in my yard, but my in-laws do. Free range, organic eggs are the best. Slurp! 

2. You love a good chicken pox party.

• Not me. Not this one. I am so glad my parents decided to get me the chicken pox shot. I am thankful I never had to go through the chicken pox as a kid. And I don't want my little one to go through the chicken pox. 

3. Scoring raw milk is your idea of a thrill.

• I'm sure it would be great, Just don't know where I would score raw milk in Hampton Roads. I also think we would go broke, considering the amount of milk my husband consumes. 

4. You and your husband haven't slept alone in your bed since your first child was born.

• Well, that's kind of true. But that's only because my Little One is 3 months old. But other than that, I couldn't do this. My dog slips in and sleeps our bed almost every night. I couldn't imagine having a kid in the bed too. How are you supposed to have "mommy and daddy time" if your kids are in the bed with you? Don't answer that question. 

5. Your children indicate their need to nurse ... in full sentences.

• Nope. And if your kid can ask you to lift up your shirt to nurse, its time to stop. Sorry, that's just my opinion. I know others disagree, but I'm not a clingy person to begin with, and I'm not sure I can have all that all up on me. LOL 

6. You use terms like EBF and assume everyone knows what you mean.

• I do know what this means, but that's mostly because I do EBF. Its Exclusively Breast Feed. 

7. You coordinate your wardrobe around wraps, slings, and other baby-wearing devices.

• Guilty. I love baby wearing. Its so fun. And everyone always compliments on how beautiful my baby is. They don't do that as much if E is in the stroller. I got the Ergo baby Carrier. Its about $100, but I got mine used, for half the price! 

Here we are, babywearing in the middle of marshall's a few weeks ago! This was Hubby's first outing after his appendix surgery (He is alsmost fully recovered now. Thanks for all the prayers! )

8. Your kids whip out kale chips at playgroup while the other kids eat Oreos.

• Not sure about Kale chips, but I wouldn't have my kids out with Oreo's either. My Kiddos would probably have a granola bar. LOL Crunchy?

9. Their diets are gluten-free AND Paleo.

• I heart carbs. And I really hope E will love carbs too. I know how hard it is to eat gluten-free because my MIL has a gluten allergy. I hope E doesn't develop this allergy because gluten is everywhere. But it can still be natural. Wheat is something that is grown. In the ground. Its one of Gods natural creations. 

10. You know some really good placenta recipes.

• No. Just no. Not for me. 

11. You not only use cloth diapers, you make them (and wash them) yourself.

• I love cloth diapering. Its so much fun. The prints are so cute, the laundry isn't that bad, and there are no chemicals on my baby's bu. Oh, and I'm not filling up a landfill of dirty diapers. I don't have a terribly large stash of diapers like some do (but that's a whole new blog post in itself). There will be a few more added around Christmas.. I love my little stash =) 

Lot's of these diapers are what's called diaper covers. They are just a shell and have a place to put your own inserts in them. That means that if "Little Girl" just pee's, I can just change out the insert and reuse the same shell. So I might have 15 diapers, but about 7 are covers, which means that I can use 7 multiple times (safely and cleanly) before I toss them into the wash pile. But like I said, Its a whole different blog post. 

12. The only school for your kids is homeschool.

• My major in college was education, and while I know the school systems are flawed, I do believe that every child should be entitled to a public education if they want to, not just because the parent "thinks" that its best for them to stay home all day and minimally socialize with other children. 

13. You use "family cloth" instead of toilet paper.

•  I KNOW hubby would shut it down, so I wont bother. Since I cloth diaper, I figure I am making a good enough difference in the world, so I'll just use the regular toilet paper stuff. 

14. You drive a Prius (and almost never look longingly at minivans).

• I totally got a Prius last week! I Love it. EEKK!

15. You have a composter, and you use it.

• I don't even know if having a composter would be allowed in my rental unit. LOL 

16. Your children aren't vaccinated and never will be.

• It might just be my opinion, but I think that kids should be vaccinated. It leads to healthier life styles for the community. No one wants another outbreak of Polio. Or Scarlet Fever. President Roosevelt was considered a liberal (leaning to the left) president in the 30's and 40's, but I think that even he would agree that children should be vaccinated. If you didn't know, FDR was a victim of Polio in the 1920's and spent the remainder of his life on crutches or in a wheelchair. You can read more about him here. He is kind of my favorite President.

17. There's pretty much nothing you can't make yourself from bug spray to cleaning supplies to granola (of course).

• I haven't tried this, but I think I would give it a go. 

18. You believe coconut oil and breast milk can cure pretty much anything.

• I am quickly learning that this is pretty much the case! I am also kind of getting my sister on board with this one.

19. You use a menstrual cup.  

• I think I am going to leave this one alone for now. I'm not really in to talking about my lady bits and its correlating products all publicly like this. Awkward.

20. You talk about transitioning your children into their own bed ... about the time they're ready to go to college. 

• I am in the process of transitioning Eleanor into her bed now. Last night was her first night in her crib and she did wonderfully. I pray she keeps this up.  I think every child deserves to have their own bed. And sleep in it. Unless there is a scary storm, or the heat is out and everyone needs to stay warm, kids should sleep in their beds! 

Here's my Girl trying out her new bed! She was just making sure her monitor worked nicely. Look at that smile!! 

Some others that I read about on the group, but not mentioned above were:

"keeping all body parts on the body"

• Circumcision. Some people circumcise just because it has been the socially acceptable thing to do, but I believe in circumcision for Biblical reasons. Nuff said. 

Fecal pills

• I am not even going there. Google it if you want, but I am not going there. 

Birthing at home/un-medicated birth

• I did have an un-medicated birth, but that is mostly because I had an incredibly short labor and honestly didn't have any time to get medication. Birthing a home can be alright I guess, but there is always the chance that something unexpected could happen that could put the baby in danger, and I don't think I would want to be away from a hospital if something terrible happened while giving birth. 

So, there you go. That's pretty much how crunchy I am. I think I am a healthy medium between regular, normal American mom, and Crunchy mom. In food terms, I think that would translate to a granola bar. Not too crunchy, like a box of stale raisin bran, but not too soft, like smooth peanut butter.. So, lets see.. How crunch are you?