Random Ross Ramblings

1. I LOVE my new camera. Like seriously.  The quality of pictures is just so much better than my old Canon.

But it's not easy getting willing participants

I mean is it really that hard to get a picture of you smiling nice AND looking at the camera?

Thank you Rascal.

2. I've kind of just been blah lately. I don't know if it's the weather, the fact that it's been cloudy and cold pretty much non-stop, or what it is.  I'm just lacking motivation and spend the majority of naptime watching things on the dvr or on my phone reading who knows what instead of being productive.  Today I'm going to make a January to-do list and get back on the ball!  

3. Layla eats NONSTOP. I thought it was a growth spurt a couple weeks ago but she seriously eats from sun up to sun down.  I should do a calorie tracker one day to see how much she is consuming, but holy moly it seems like a lot!  She's a pretty active little gal so I'm guessing that she is just growing but girl, where do you put it all?  And how do I get your metabolism?!

Just enjoying a little pizza

Her favorite

With her crazy brother. Checking for bodies under his bed as we speak.

Pizza!!!

YUMM!

And coloring too, don't forget to color with pizza all over your face.

4. Speaking of metabolism, I recently joined my Mothers of Preschooler's (MOPS) weight loss challenge.  It started today and it's a 10 week challenge. To stay accountable you take pictures of your weight with your feet on the scale. Slightly humiliating (and no, I'm not sharing the picture with you) but I think it's a good way to stay accountable. And bonus is that if you win, you get $360!  I'm still 10 pounds less than I was before I had kids but I'm ready to be at a healthy weight. I'm only 5'2" and I really need to be in the 120-130 range. So on to a healthier me!

5. Today was "shot" day at our house. And, no, not the fun kind.  Brady needed his flu shot and Layla needed her 18 month shots and flu shot as well. You would have thought we were murdering 2 children in the back by their screams. We decided to just let Brady get the flu mist because he has a healthy fear of shots and we thought that'd be easier. Ha. She squirted the flu mist up his right nostril and he screamed like she had just injected him with acid.  Needless to say to finish the job we had to have him held against a table. And then it was Layla's turn for 4 shots. She screamed like mad too but hey, I would probably cry if I had to have 4 giant needles in my chubby legs too. 

This was them 1 minute after shots. Candy in hand and all is right with the world again.

As we're walking to the car, "Mommy! I had fun! Did you have fun?" Loads. Sigh.

Meet My New Baby

Meet my new baby!  You guys, I did it, I actually got a nice camera!! After lots of research, talking to other bloggers and friends, we went ahead and bought a Canon Rebel T3i! So no more crappy pictures (hopefully, although you can still expect a lot of iPhone pictures because I'm a little nervous to lug this thing around with us everywhere!).  I'm off to go learn more about it but hopefully I'll be here tomorrow with some good pictures! And if you have any tips on using a nicer camera, I'd love to hear them! Happy Thursday! :)

Nana and Papa Visit

2 posts in 1 day?! This is for, Karen G! :)  

You're probably wondering how we were able to do that whole holiday party thing and that was thanks to Brian's awesome parents, or as we call them, Nana and Papa. They left work on Thursday and drove all the way here super late so that I could go set up and do everything I needed to do on Friday. A big super duper thanks to them!! The kids had a great time and I didn't worry for even 1 second because I knew they were in great hands.  And it was so nice to be around other adults and to have a night out the two of us.

I was nervous things weren't going to work out though.  On New Year's Day Brady started screaming in the middle of the night. I went to check on him and he kept telling me his tummy hurt. NO!  He ended up throwing up that night, and then throwing up the whole next day. I was so sad for my baby but at the same time worried because of the holiday party. I was terrified I would get sick and that would really make is stressful for other people! Luckily, Brady was the only one who got sick so things were able to go on as planned.

Brian and I got home from the hotel at about 10:30 and we were exhausted. My body just automatically wakes me up in the 8:00 hour if I have kids with me or not.  And it was not an early night! So we had a nice breakfast there and then headed home to our babies. It was really cold out so we just hung around the house.

While the babies (and I) napped, Brian and his parents went to a local brewery, Lucky Bucket.  Brian wasn't thrilled with the idea initially, but after a bloody mary, felt much better! ;)

That evening we also went out to go look at cameras and had dinner at Smashburger.

Which Layla devoured.

Why does everyone give me dirty looks? Just trying to capture some moments!

All in all, a great weekend and we are so thankful they were able to make the trip!

Squadron Holiday Party

Brian's squadron here at Offutt Air Force Base is a very busy squadron, often times as many as 9 crews are coming and going at one time.  Something they do every year is throw a holiday party at a fancy place and everyone gets together, lets loose, and has a grand ole time.  This year (since I'm a key spouse in the squadron and because they know I love to throw parties) I was asked to help out with planning the holiday party that was to take place in downtown Omaha at the Magnolia Hotel. I jumped at the chance! Brian had just left and throwing myself into party planning mode helps keep me busy and not missing him quite so much.  This year's party was on January 3rd because we had so many crews gone in the month of December.  It was a Hollywood theme and we had so much fun planning it. Here are some pictures from our party! 

The setup. Tara (the key spouse mentor) and I went early Friday morning to set all of the centerpieces up. Half of the tables we chose popcorn in vases with cranberries and a movie clapboard. My pictures don't really do it justice!

On the other half we did popcorn boxes with yellow flowers and film reels coming out.  Again, I will never be a photographer but you get the gist of it!

Our red carpet

All of the raffles we got local businesses to donate. Omaha sure is a military friendly city!

And the nametags. We had about 93 people in attendance. I didn't get any pictures of the cocktail room but that's where had a photographer, the bar, and a bunch of cocktail tables decorated.

After we set things up our group of ladies went and got our hair done!

We went to a place called Lark in West Omaha and it's a blow-dry studio. I'd never been to such a place but it's a hair studio where they only style hair and do blow-outs.  We didn't really know what to expect. I guess this is something that's popular in big cities like New York and some locals decided to open up their own shop!  It was a lot of fun, especially since I got to do it with friends.

This was the after picture of the first group (there was 6 of us total). I look like a country singer. I've never seen my hair so big before! This is before makeup too.

And this is the after picture with makeup! I'm hoping the professional pictures will showcase it all better because my camera really stinks!

During the party I was the door girl. I handed out raffle tickets and welcomed everyone to the party. And stood there awkwardly!

First was a cocktail hour and then dinner was served.  After that we had some speeches, raffle prize announcements, and then the dj got the dancing started.

And oh did we dance. Yeah that's Brian.  Those fliers sure work hard. And play hard!

The party planners. Tara, Jason (he's a pilot in the squadron and was in charge of being the military point of contact), and I.

Some of the great ladies I get to call friends!

Annie and I, trying to be Hollywood! :)  After that the pictures got a little crazy...

so I'll just show you a picture of Brian and I. After too much dancing and too much drinking.  We're kind of a mess but we had a great time!

And this is proof. :)  We stayed at the Magnolia that night and it was so nice.  The party was such a blast and I can't wait to do it again next year!

New Year's Eve

Goodness things have been quite busy around here the last week. I'll recap more in future posts but our last week was all about New Years, the stomach bug (yuck!), having Nana and Papa in town, our squadron's holiday party (that I helped host!), and freezing, freezing weather.  So for right now, I'll start off with New Year's and hopefully have us all caught up in the next couple days!

For New Year's we decided to have a little dinner party with our friends.  It's rare that all of us have husbands in town but this year we actually did!  We gathered with our kids at our friend Liz and Josh's house and we had a great time!

So happy to have him home this year! :)

The ladies. You would think there was a dress code: either black, gray, or blue!

And the guys! With their pattern or dark solid colored shirts, haha!

All of the sweet kids...and Judah's giant panda bear...the hit of the night in kid land.  And why Brady always to have his arm around someone, I'll never know!

Then there's this little stinker!  We had planned on only staying until about 9 or 10 (at the latest!). The kids were either sleeping or watching Polar Express and the adults were playing games at the table when we realized that it was 11:30!! What?! We felt like horrible parents but decided we could make it at least 30 more minutes and then leave right after midnight.

Parents of the year award here...ringing in the new year with our 19 month old!

Girlfriend wanted the champagne and/or the cranberries in it....that's her "BITE?!" face

The midnight shot! 4 of the children still awake....2 of them mine.  What can I say, they're night owls! And slept in until 10:00 the next day. Will not be making a New Year's tradition of that....they can maybe stay up again....in about 6 years!

And Layla, starting the New Year off cool.

2013 Recap

Man this year just completely flew by. It seems like it was just June and yet here we are checking off another year in the books. 2013 was a pretty great year, not too many complaints! ;) I don't know why some of this post is highlighted either...add in there learn more about HTML to my New Year's resolutions! ;)

What were your highlights of 2013?

Brian became an Aircraft Commander

Brady turned 3!

Layla turned 1!

Layla started walking, talking, and growing hair

I finally weaned Layla after nursing her for 14 months

Brady became potty trained!

We traveled to Minnesota countless times, went to Mississippi for a wedding, North Dakota for Brian's brother's wedding, and all of the states in between.

I started blogging a lot more and have "met" so many great people

Brady started preschool and matured so much

I started running and ran 3 5ks and met my goal of running a 10k!

I turned 28

We survived and (dare I say we thrived during?) deployment #4

I became a MOPs(mothers of preschoolers) table leader and key spouse in the squadron

My friendships with the lovely ladies here grew leaps and bounds

We had lots of visitors and enjoyed spending time with family

We got to all be together for Christmas 2013

Did you keep your New Year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I never really make New Year's resolutions but I guess a goal I made for myself mid-year was to start running (because I hated it and wanted to push myself) and to finish some 5k and 10k races and that I did! I think for next year I won't make concrete goals but want to make more of an effort to spend quality time with Brian and go on more dates. I also want to do more running and hopefully run another 10k. And spruce up this 'ol blog!

Did anyone close to you give birth this year?

Several close friends had babies this year and many will have them next year as well!

Did anyone close to you die?

No one close to us died this year but there were far too many deaths from Brian's class at the AF Academy, one that just occurred a couple days ago. Each day, each flight, and each deployment I count my blessings and praise God that I get more time to spend with him. It may sound dramatic but it's the truth.

What countries did you visit?

Just the good 'ol U S of A!

What would you like to have in 2014 that you didn't have in 2013?

A shiny nice new camera! :)

What dates from 2013 are etched in your memory, and why?

The day Brian got back from his deployment because it was such a joyous day

What was your biggest achievement this year?

Definitely finishing a 10k. I hate to run and it was a pretty big deal that I stayed committed in training for and finished it!

What was your biggest failure?

Probably not being present enough. I feel like I'm being pulled in so many different directions that I need to work more on being in the moment with my kids. Putting the phone down, turning the tv off, leaving the housework and just simply enjoying time with my children because they're only this little once.

What's the best thing you ate?

I have no clue!  Maybe something from Dunkin Donuts since they just built one literally blocks away from our house? That makes me sound so chubby.

What's the best thing you bought?

Gifts for the babies this Christmas. This was the first year Brady really had a wish list and it was so fun to see him light up. And Layla really enjoyed Christmas this year too. 

What did you get really, really excited about?

Having my blog win one of the top 25 military mom blogs on Circle of Moms!

What do you wish you'd done more of?

Hired a babysitter and gone on more dates with Brian

Compared to this time last year are you: a)richer or poorer? b)happier or sadder? c) thinner or fatter?

a. Richer?

b. Happier because I'm doing more for myself this year

c. Thinner but working on being fatter from these holidays!

Did you fall in love in 2013?

I fall in love more every day with Brian. Awwhhh

What was your favorite tv program?

It probably would have been the Office which sadly ended this year. Otherwise I'm a stupid reality tv junkie and hate admitting it.

How did you spend Christmas?

In Minnesota with our families and then back in Omaha with just us.

What did you do on your birthday and how did you celebrate?

Brian had sadly just left for his deployment but we got to celebrate a couple days early.  On the actual day we went to the Apple Orchard with our deployment buddies and had a fabulous little dinner party here with friends. I turned 28 or celebrated my 10th anniversary of turning 18, either one.

How would you describe your personal concept of 2013?

Trying?  Kind of trying to be more fashionable. Yeah that's it.

What kept you sane?

My husband, my friends, preschool, and parent's day out!

Tell me a valuable lesson you learned in 2013.

Tomorrow isn't guaranteed so live your life, count your blessings, make sure your feelings are known, and love like there's no tomorrow. 

Goodbye 2013, thanks for the good memories, here's to 2014 and even more!

A Ross Christmas Story

Well our trip to Minnesota got a little delayed with Brian being sick but we made it and froze our butts off. Seriously, Minnesota is only 5.5 hours away but it is SO much colder! How the heck did I live there for 22 years?!  Our trip was a little hectic with so many Christmas's but overall we had a great time. Probably wouldn't travel again a couple days after a deployment ends but it was nice to see family.  Here was our Christmas:

At our first Christmas party Layla and her friend Lola got matching hats. And shared the affinity for sucking.

Brady was excited for our Christmas with Brian's family

Where everyone was spoiled..

beyond belief! 

We took a trip to the Mall of America (of course)

Ate some yummy food

And rode some rides.  Brady wanted to ride this...look at that drop!

Here's a video of him on it with Nana and Brian!

And this was his face after it. Doesn't quite get how to do thumbs up. (This is his excited face mixed with I got wet on that ride and that was crazy! face if you couldn't tell).

And Layla saw some more characters.

We got to do Christmas with some friends and Layla's godfather. And I of course forgot my camera but we had a wonderful Christmas with my good friends from high school and college.

And if that wasn't enough Christmas for you..here's Christmas Eve

where we colored pictures of Santa

made Christmas cookies  (my favorite, spritz!!)

Ate way too many delicious meals. Seriously. I think I weigh at least 5 pounds more!

Had way too many presents under the tree again

And got to watch the kids light up seeing every new toy. Because, honestly, it's all about them. And it's great.

We tried taking a family picture which went oh so well

Yeah...

We got to wear our new jammies

Say cheese for jammies!

We wrote a letter to Santa

And left carrots for the reindeer too, duh.

And Santa came! He came! He got his Thomas he wanted oh so badly.

We also went and saw the movie Frozen. It was good!

Oh and we tried to fit sleeping in there too. After 5 quick days we said goodbye to frigid Minnesota and came back to 66 degree Omaha weather.

Layla caught Brian's bug while we were in Minnesota and added a nice stomach element to it.  It's just so fun driving in the car with that puke smell.  And with a car absolutely filled to the brim with presents.

But luckily she's much better now and back to eating like a champ. (This is for you, Jenn). ;)

And we had our family Christmas in Omaha.  So. Many. Presents. Make. It. Stop!  This is what I get for doing my Christmas shopping in October.

But this present business never gets old, does it Brady?

Rascal enjoyed it too.

And Layla decided it'd be nice to feed something other than herself.

We're still trying to dig out of all of the wrapping paper, presents, laundry, boxes, and insanity that was this year's Christmas.  I'm thinking next year we may opt to do a nice low key Christmas. In the Bahamas.