Prize-winning...brown...Begonia's?

Hello, my name is Haley, and  I am a 24 year old plant killer.

Okay...I'm starting a "project" I guess you could call it, a "side blog".  I have never had a green thumb, but I do have a love for flowers and plants.  The longest I kept a plant alive was for 5 months, a bamboo plant (my apologies to the Asian community for killing one of your beloved plants), but I have decided NO MORE!

I bought some Begonia's today, for $7.50 at our commissary.  I am determined to keep it alive and well.  I've done my research, I know what the plant likes and dislikes, what it needs and what it doesn't...so on and so forth.  So now we'll see if I'm really a plant killer or if anything with roots just hates me.  

Every Monday I will take a new picture of the plant.  We will call her "Betty" after a character on White Christmas, one of my favorite movies.  I figure, if that movie has a happy ending for Betty and Bob (Bing Crosby), my plant-Betty will have a happy ending too. 

Here she is folks...Betty, fresh from the store and in to the home of a, hopefully FORMER, brown-thumber...

Turned out to be an update of sorts

I feel the need to update this thing, but I have nothing to write about.  Sometimes those turn out to be best entries though.  It's getting late, the kids are in bed, I'm sitting here with a glass of wine...and now I'm here.  Typing away about nothingness.


The kids have been exceptionally annoying today.  I know what you're thinking.  There's NO WAY a 3 year old and a 1 year old could ever be annoying!! Of course not. Not ever.  In all reality I think they miss their dad. This is the longest he's been gone since his last deployment, before either of them were born, so it's been an adjustment to them both, especially for my daughter. She is, afterall, a huge Daddy's girl. I mean, they've done great.  Dylan, I think, is still too little to really realize he's gone, but Kaylee does know.  It's actually funny, at our commissary here, they have these...stone pillar thingies...with the ships' names.  Everytime we go past Kendall's she has to go tap it twice and say, "HI DADDDDYYY."  in that sweet little three-year old voice. We've recently started a game too. 


ME: "Who's Daddy's favorite girl?"
Her:  Heheheheheheeeee....."ME!"
ME:  "No, I'M Daddy's favorite girl."
Her: "NO! ME!"  HEheheheheeee
ME: "Alright, you win."
Dylan: "ME."
ME: "No son, your Daddy's favorite BOY!"


I think it helps that we talk about him and play those little games. When he is able to call she'll talk to him, which totally makes her day.


They're just both getting so big.  Kaylee insisted on dressing herself today:

Isn't she just GORGEOUS?!


Notice the lovely shoes she stole from my closet?


Oh to be a three-year old...






And Dylan...well he's just crazy.  The "MINE" phase is in full swing in our house.  Everything from his toys to my car keys belong to him.  What happens when I take said items away, you ask?  He squeals like a little girl.  Yes, that's right, my manly son squeals like a little girl.  He does it so well that my Yoko BFF, Sarah, actually looked at her youngest daughter, called her by her first and middle name, and said no.  You can imagine the laughter that ensued when I said, "No Sarah, that was Dylan."  : )  I will get that on video one of these days, I swear.

Well I think that about wraps up this little blog of updates.  Other than the Alabama Crimson Tide STOMPING Florida this past weekend, I have no new news I can put on the internet anyway. ; )  

Kaylee's Birthday

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!  My husband has been home and all military wives know that means spending as much time with him as possible!

Our little lady turned three years old today! We had a little party for her yesterday, but since we don't know very many people with kids, there was only us and our Yoko BFF's!

She had a good time and made out like a bandit on gifts and cake!

With us being in the Navy, we're not always around family on birthdays so I do try to make them as special as possible, no matter the number of guests coming.  I always make a big fuss out of birthdays! My offspring are wonderful and they deserve to be celebrated, haha!

We're lucky her Daddy was able to celebrate with us this year too.  This is the first birthday she's had since we came back to sea duty. Sadly, his seabag will be packed soon. Again.  But, at least he was here to see her blow out the candle on her third birthday cake!

And lets not forget her new favorite things in the world.  New clothes and baby dolls. This kid is crazy about them now!

The dog days of summer

Summer is...for sure...in full swing.  It's been hot, on top of being humid as all get out.  What's the best way to spend the day then?

THE POOL!

There is just something about getting out with your friends and hitting the pool.  Now that I'm a parent, I've learned just how easily the pool tires kids out too!  We have a nice pool on base.  Two of them in one spot really.  One up top for the bigger kids of all ages, and one on the lower level for the younger kids of all ages.  We stay in the lower level, it's shallow and the kids can touch.

Mostly, my favorite thing about going to the pool is that my "Yoko BFF" and I get some sun while the kids play in the pool!  Yes, I am a mom but I'm also a woman and I want a tan.  We splash, we gossip, we laugh at the kids.  It's a great time, until one of the kids gets tired! :P 

 We had originally planned on heading to Kamakura Beach one day.  We were even all packed up, but we ended up thinking too much and decided...Nahhh...let's just hit the pool instead.

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

The beach is fun, when you have your husband there to help with the kids.  The sand sucks. You have to worry about jellyfish and the kids getting away from you.  But the pool....my biggest worry at the pool is that my kids will dunk their heads under the water and cry! I also think the company we go with makes it 10x more fun too.  I have been very fortunate to find a friend like my Yoko BFF, Sarah!  Hanging out with her and her two little ones certainly makes the days go by.  And when your husband is gone for X amount of time - you really need a friend!

One of these days I'll get a picture of the two of us - :P

Yokosuka - through the eyes of a 2 year old

My daughter was the photographer for the day, these are the important things to my two-year old!

The photographer herself

Ok, so I took this, but it's still a cute one of the two-year old

Her Daddy!

Vending machines at Daiei Mall

Apparently her feet are important

Hi Kaylee!

More to come from her soon!  She loves to use the camera and she's getting better about not putting her fingers on the lens! It's amazing the things kids find important you know!