Introducing.....

(drum roll please)

The US Navy's newest Lieutenant Junior Grade!!!

Yesterday, I was priviledged to attend Shawn's promotion ceremony on the ship. He's now officially a Lt. j.g. The ceremony was brief. One other officerwas being promoted at the same time.

First they recite an oath

(CO Chidester--this guy's awesome--with the two Ensigns...they're awesome too)

Then we stick 'em with their shiny new Lt. jg bars

Then they re-sign their life away. Gotta love it!

GO NAVY!

Congratulations, honey, on 2 great years in!!

So tell me,

What is YOUR favorite holiday treat?

Mine is fudge! (It's also my favorite non-holiday treat!)
I've made 4 batches of it already (I haven't EATEN 4 batches of it)
So far, my favorite has been chocolate with peanut butter swirl. Yum.

Bored....

Or should I say BORING! I am boring. I keep finding myself at the computer, ready to post an entry on my sad neglected blog, but nothing comes. Ask me a question.....serious, silly, whatever. I need somethin' to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This has always been one of my favorite holidays! I confess, I just love pie. And Turkey. And pie. And AUTUMN! (although in my home town it usually seems much more like Winter by now). My last 3 Thanksgivings have been a little different, but good.
2006-Shawn was at Officer Candidate School in Pensacola FL, so I drove from SC to spend it with him. It was a joyful reunion after our first real separation. We had dinner with some of his classmates, none of whose name I remember. I ate Creamed Corn Casserole for the first time. Hmmm.
2007-Shawn was deployed, I was living with my family. He flew home from Africa the day before Thanksgiving and I was mad that I didn't have enough notice so I could be with him. I had a good day anyway....my Mom makes a killer pumpkin pie! I saw my family members for the last time that day before my treck back 'home'. (I regret that I have been unable to see them since)
2008-Shawn has duty. SO...we are eating Thanksgiving Dinnre on the ship with 70-something other sailors/families and the Cap'n. Wahooooo!
Actually, it was waaaaay better than I expected. It was fun, the food was terrific, and I didn't have to purchase, prepare, or clean up any food! Gotta love it!

The real reason for the day is something that has eluded me as of late. I have been a prideful little snob. Not at all grateful. Just having my own little pity-party about what isn't going my way. Time for a change of heart. I will list 10 things I'm grateful for, and hopefully by the end of the day, I'll have an attitude of gratitude.

~My Husband. My 3 gorgeous kids.
~My parent's patience and love.
~My in-laws who love me like their own.
~Freedom. and those who fight for it for me.
~Scriptures.~A living Prophet.
~Technology that helps me keep in touch with my loved ones thousands of miles away.
~The Navy. Yes, I am grateful for the Navy even though it takes my sweetheart away sometimes.
~An apartment with a backyard-ish sort of space that has a fence.
~My friends in my ward (and the other ward)
~The chance to serve in YW.

OK. That's 10. I think I need a "10-per-hour" goal for the day. What are you most thankful for?

Snow is falling all around!

I LOOOOOOVE IT! Ok. So I only half-love cold snowy winters, but there is something about that first snow that gives my warm-fuzzies and makes me want to break into song. I guess I wasn't expecting it to get cold enough to snow--at least not yet--because no one in my house owns gloves, hats, scarves, undershirts....yah. Well, it was a hot summer. I am still recovering.

Guess I need to go shopping. Darn.

Funky nicknames...

This post is for my little sister Rachel...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car-or dream car): Audie Chrysler
2. YOUR GANSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, fav. type of shoe): Chocolate Sneaker
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (your fav. color, fav. animal): Yellow puppy
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (your middle name, where you were born): Michelle Portsmouth
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (First 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name): Calmi
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd fav. color, fav. drink): Pink water
7. NASCAR NAME (grandfather's names): Buehl Lavon
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Dubois Denver
9. SPY NAME (fav. season/holiday, fav. flower): Autumn Lily
10. CARTOON NAME (fav. fruit, atricle of clothing you are wearing right now): Peachy Jeans
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your fav. tree): Oatie Dogwood

Halloween

This is NOT a very good photo. My camera, and Shawn's camera, were both dead yesterday. Bummer. So, I used my webcam instead and took pictures of the kids while they were talking to my parents. Nora was a pink princess, Alex was a cow, and Grant was a ghost. Shawn took them trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for their first real-life trick-or-treating experience. At one house, Nora ran up to the door and shouted "Happy Birthday." Great fun

This may not interest you

but I was tagged by Deb N, so I guess I will do it. Enjoy.

1) Did you date someone from your school? Ummmm NO!
2)What kind of car did you drive? Orange (tan, brown?) Dodge Aries
3)Did you pass your driver's license test the first time? The driving, yes. But I had to take the written one 3 times!
4) Were you a party animal? Nope, I went to great leagths to avoid social activities that involved large groupd
5) Were you considered a flirt? No
6) Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Choir
7) Were you a nerd? Nah
8)Were you on any varsity teams? No. I only played city league softball in the summer
9) Did you ever get expended or expelled? No, I doubt if I ever was sent to the principal's office.
10) Can you still sing your fight song? Yes I can. Wanna hear it?
11) Who were your favorite teachers? My choir and AP Music teacher, and my 10th grade bio
12) Where did you sit at lunch? usually near my locker that I shared with my equally reclusive best friend, Rachelle--until we were seniors. Then I ate with my little sister
13) What is your school's full name? It's my secret
14) School mascot and colors - Pioneers was the official mascot but at football games we had a girl that looked somewhat like a fur trapper. Purple/White
15) Did you go to homecoming and who with? I can't remember at the moment. I think I went 2 years, but I might be confused. I want to say that I went....oh. Now I remember. I went my senior year with my short and friendly dance partner
16) If you could go back and do it again, would you? Nope. I think I was happier than anyone I knew to get on with my life. I have learned so much since then. If I had to do it again, I know what I would change.
17) What do you remember most about graduation? I played the piano at my graduation, and everyone in my class put something in a special jar in memory of one of our classmates that died
18) Where did you go on Senior Skip Day ? I don't know. I didn't care much about high school by then.
19)Were you in any clubs? National Honor’s Society, Seminary Council, Choir
20) Have you gained weight since then? Oh, maybe 5-10 lbs....not too bad after 3 kids.
21) Who was your prom date? Here we go again...I can't remember. I will probably have to look at my scrapbook.....Ohhhh. I remember. I went with Mike...a good friend who was a junior. A week later he and my best pal started going out....I didn't care. I just found it humorous. We were all really good friends
22) Are you planning on going to your 10 year reunion? Who knows? I could be living in a different country by then.
23) Did you have a job while in high school? I worked at my elementary school as a 'sweeper' and taught piano lessons to some neighbor kids.

Hmmm...see, now you know all kinds of things about me. I'll tag.....anyone who needs something to blab about for a few lazy minutes.

Another favor from you

I tried to set up a poll, but it 'couldn't save the poll at this time' so I need your vote.

What is your favorite kind of pie?

Apple

Peach

Strawberry

Cherry

Key Lime

Lemon Meringue

Pecan

Pumpkin

Chocolate

Coconut

Raspberry

Blackberry

Blueberry

Pear (hmmm...I doubt I've ever had one of these)

Other

Just tell me your favorite, even if it isn't on the list. And wipe your chin...you're starting to drool.

Hot Buns!

I know I have confessed to be a rather crazy sort of person. If you didn't believe it before, you probably will now. Sometime last December or January I got all ambitious and started putting Alex in cloth diapers. Just the plain old fold-up and pin-it kind. They worked great and saved some money too. I've been a bit flaky the past 2 or 3 months, but have had a renewed sense of 'cents' and have been doing it again. Nora is out of diapers so I have been pretty motivated. In an attempt to make diapering easier for me, I have created this..... It's a pocket diaper. You just stuff the pre-fold diapers into them and *snap* the job's a game!

They still have to be covered up with water-proof pants. I use the poofy white ones. They work. Anyway, if you are nutty enough to give this a try, check out Rita's Rump Pockets! Watch out! You might have fun AND save some sense....I mean cents.

Hubby Tag

I have a hunch, when Shawn sees this, he will wrinkle up his forehead and give me his 'what's this?' look. Oh well.

1. Where did you meet? The Riviera Apts (BYU)
2. How long did you date before you got married? 7 months
3. How long have you been married? 5+ years
4. What does he do that surprises you? He brings me flowers when I least expect and don't deserve them.
5. What is your favorite feature of his? His smile. That's partly what made me fall in love with him.
6. What is your favorite quality of his? He is incredibly patient with me, and with himself. Also, he is brilliant!
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Mish
8. What is his favorite color? Green...I think
9. What is his favorite food? Pie
10. What is his favorite sport? Football and baseball
11. When and where was your first kiss? My apt....we were watching a Sunday movie together
12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Anything. We love to eat out (even with the kids), exercise, and play games
13. Do you have any children? 2 boys and a girl
14. How old is he? 28
15. Who said I love you first? He did
16. Whats his favorite type of music? See this post and you'll get a pretty good idea.
17. What do you admire most about him? His love for learning. He really is brilliant, and he even tutors me in tough subjects when I ask.
18. Do you think he will read this? Probably.

I tag KareBear and BamBam

I've been missing

It's been a busy month:

We took a trip to SC
My handsome sailor had laser eye surgery (PRK)
I potty-trained Nora (who suddenly doesn't look like a toddler/baby anymore)
I started preschool with Grant and Nora

I used to think I would never be a 'busy mom'. Taking care of infants is so involved, but doesn't require much coming and going. I have discovered that this is not the case with preschool-aged children. I'm rather relieved!

I have nothing more to say. I will post some more pictures later.

Poor Baby

I recently purchased a new high chair for Alex so he could sit at the table with us. It has been perfect! Yesterday, I left him at the table and walked into the other room to settle a disagreement between the other two angels, and came back to the kitchen to find a very sad Alex.

He was stuck!

Journey to Greatness

If you're ever bored, travel back to the 80's and enjoy the greatest music video of all time (granted, this is coming from someone who didn't watch much MTV growing up): Journey's "Separate Ways."

In fact, it's worth exploring the youtube phenomenon this video has created, with high school nerds and garage bands everywhere striving to produce the best remake of Steve Perry's 1987 classic. Here are the best ten that I found (by the way, it's helpful to watch the original in between each one to maintain a feel for what everyone is shooting for):

Dishonorable Mention: Automatically Disqualified for the fat Belly Button appearance. And this one, just because all that hard work deserves some sort of recognition.

10. For the sakes of competition, I had to establish a baseline. This is about one afternoon's worth of not doing your geometry homework. Good job guys.

9. The lead singer at least has the same T-Shirt as Steve Perry, buthey cut out some parts from the original.

8. Sometimes the side-by-side comparison works, but in this case it just shows how superior the original actually is.

7. I like the credits at the end.

6. Harry Potter even made a contribution - things are getting out of hand!

5. Nothing too remarkable, but a solid performance all together.

4. During the side-by-side at the end, it just goes to show you that there were literally HOURS involved in creating such breathtaking choreography. Unbelievable.

3. So I've listened to this song at least 50 times over the past two days, and it's still as good as ever. Not sure why I ranked this one so high - their Steve Perry is horrid. Enjoy!

2. True to the original. Plus, I think this guy actually ate Steve Perry.

1. The lead singer has a great mullet and the same T-Shirt as Steve Perry in the original. Plus, the 80's wannabe babe is eerily similar to the original. If you don't listen to any others, listen to this one!

In case it isn't obvious, Shawn wrote this post - not Michelle!

He's Back!

Yesterday was the best day of my entire summer! USS Forrest Sherman returned home--and boy am I glad it did. I feel like I can finally relax a little. It was a hot and somewhat humid day. Inspite of the uncomfortable weather, I had a great time. I can't say as much for my kids who all got sunburned and complained about the heat for over an hour before we actually got to see Shawn. Oh well, at least I know what not to do at the next homecoming.

Here are a couple of pictures. I regret that I have no pictures of him coming off the ship. But the first one is of the tugboat pushing/pulling the ship to the pier, and the second is one of Shawn on the ship. He's the one waving.

Alex was way too hot. I ended up removing his pants and socks and shoes to get him to cool down. He wasn't too happy to be out there.

Nora is happier than she has been all summer! She must've said 'Daddy' 500 times during the drive home yesterday. Today, she isn't feeling well (too much sun probably), so they took a little nap together.

I LOVE having my Prince Charming home! (And I don't mind the extra help, either )

Many faces of Little Al

This is the 'attack-dog' of the house. He keeps us safe with his heavy-breathing squinched up face!
This is what he does when you say "Alex, where's your tongue"

Sometimes he sticks it out and drools, and sometimes he tries to catch it. It's usually too quick for him.

Motivated

Not too long ago, I was reading Bethany's (my cuz's cute wife) blog, and was inspired by this post. I'm not a terrific seamstress, though I come from a long line of spectacular homemakers/seamstresses. So, I decided to give the button up shirt-dress a whirl. I took a trip to the nearby thrift store to look for girly men's shirts. I found a few (that I had a really hard time picturing on a man) and got to work. I have finished 2.



I even made a matching hairbow with this one. I never make a matching anything. This is a big day for me--finishing a dress, making a matching bow. My handsome hubby would be proud!

Thanks Bethany! Perhaps someday, we can team up and make a multi-million dollar dress-designing business......

I hope this works...

Because I have never tried to upload a video before. It isn't great...I mean, the lighting was bad. But the baby is cute.

Yeah, I know their cute!

I love the way he looks like his face is about to pop!

This is our family acrobat. She spends a lot of time on her head :)

Showing off his new Thomas pj's.

This was a 'war of the singing cards'. One card sang the chicken song, the other sings yummy, yummy, yummy I've got love in my tummy....(I don't actually know the title of it)

I didn't take the time to edit any of these so they will fill up your screen if you click on them.

Happy Birthday Grant!

July 30, 2004

July 30, 2005

July 30, 2006

July 30, 2007

July 30, 2008

Today was a very special day. Grant turned 4! I can't believe it! Anyway, his favorite part of the entire day was watching the video clip his Daddy sent from the ship of him wishing Grant a happy birthday. He replayed it over and over all day long! It was terrific.

One at a time

Tuesday we had some friends come over to play. 3 little girls from the same family, and one other little boy. The oldest child was the little boy (5) and the youngest was Alex (11 mos). We had a great time. In this picture they were all lined up waiting for an ice cream cone. All I could think when I took the picture was how completely fun it is to have kids, and how glad I am mine are born one at a time!

I'm just a little crazy

No, that's not true, I AM crazy. I let my husband join the Navy, and we both actually enjoy many aspects of it. For some bizarre reason, I often find myself encouraging him to stick to the career path. I enjoy seeing him thrive in his work, and he enjoys the work for the most part. If only we didn't have the whole separation thing, it would be perfect. Anyway, this is the picture on my desktop right now. Whenever I see it, I just want to jump right into the computer and give him a hug. He looks good!

Haircut

I gave in to a spur-of-the-moment desire to have my hair cut after almost 2 years of trying to grow it out. I enjoyed having long hair while it lasted, but after a couple of weeks in hot and humid South Carolina, I was glad to get it off my neck! I don't even miss it!

Events

~My little brother left for the MTC yesterday. I missed all the action, but hear it was pretty exciting.
~I have been visiting my in-laws and having a great time in SC.
~I took the kids berry-picking (pictures to come) with a friend yesterday. It was great fun!
~Today is my 5th WeDdInG aNnIvErSaRy!!! Happy Anniversary Shawn! I love you!
~Nora is a bit sick. It is 2:47 am and she and I are bright-eyed and bloggin'! (well, one of us is bright-eyed and bloggin', the other is just loungin')
~Yesterday was my Aunt's 30th birthday.

Am I boring you yet?

An Update

Here is the latest update on the handsome sailor. He spent a week on a Chilean ship. If you know him, you know that he served a mission in Chile, and was naturally very excited to speak Spanish with Chileans, eat some good food, and have a bit of a break from his usual work routine.
One month down, now only 2 to go!

Thank you...

For all of you who took the time to share some insight on how to cope with stress, your advice was appreciated, and taken. I am exercising a bit more (ok, I didn't so much today because I hurt so bad from exercising yesterday), trying to really put forth the effort to live better. I am glad to have so many good friends!

This is NOT a pity-post

Okay. If you are reading this, please consider leaving a comment for me. I am asking for help, with absolutely no pity from ANYONE, as I already have had enough pity parties on my own. It is time to fix some things. I realized yesterday that I have been experiencing a number of stress-related symptoms. Physical, mental, emotional. This 'deployment' the hardest have been the physical symptoms (ie: chest, stomache, muscle pain). Now, I am not going to the doc to ask why this and that mysteriously hurt when I know why. So, what I want from you is some real advice. How do you deal with your stressful situations? We all experience them, and some things are definitely harder than others which result in different responses for everyone. I am not sure why this time has been a little tougher for me than previous times, but I suspect the Lord is trying to answer one of my 'please make me stronger' prayers by providing me with the opportunity to grow. I asked and received, and am now asking you for some good tips. (A good foot massage, while nice for relieving stress, would not be a good tip right now :)

Makeup

I am sure that is what she was thinking when she started coloring on her eyelids and cheeks with a marker. I guess it is time to buy new crayons-in BULK!

Sundays

Sundays are usually hectic for me. Especially lately. Honestly, I dread Sundays, when I used to get so excited about them. A day to relax, visit family, go on nice walks, read, nap, make a fun treat. That is what Sunday used to be. I have not been doing my job of teaching my children that Sunday is a special day. After 12:00, we dart out of church, have a hectic and tired lunch, then I spend an hour or more trying to stay awake long enough to get Grant to fall asleep so I can fall asleep. It's complicated. I am sure most of you understand. I stumbled across an article that has made me want to do a little better. Read it if you have time. Maybe you'll find a gem in it too!

What a handsome sailor!

I'm in trouble now!

So, Alex is crawling now. Good. Right...whatever. I am way less worried about infants and mobility than I was 3 years ago when Grant was doing the same thing. Yesterday, Alex decided to pull himself up to standing. Not only that, he thought he give stair-climbing a try.

2 Things

We decided to take the kids camping before Shawn left. Of course, my camera batteries died right after I turned the camera on, so I only managed to get 2 pictures of us playing at the beach. It was a lot of fun. Aside from the rain first thing in the morning, it was a great camping trip. We went to the beach twice, once to play in the sand and water, and once in the evening to watch the sunset and chase these tiny little ghost crabs. Very fun!

The other thing is exercise. I have always managed to get some good walking exercise in to 'bounce back after baby'. That is, until after I had Alex. How do you take 3 little kids power-walking? You don't. I did not want to get another stroller, I already have 2 doubles, and 2 singles. So, this is what I finally managed to come up with. We only last about 30 minutes like this, but hey, it's better than nothing. I am glad to finally have exercise as part of my daily routine without getting up before the birds!

Here we go again!

Well, here goes. Today the kids and I dropped Shawn off at the ship, went to church, then went back to see the ship off. It was a first for us, and we were pretty excited. Shawn, however, was not actually on the ship. He was on the rhib. Okay, I don't really know exactly what he does on it, although I know he has told me before. Anyway, the kids and I walked up to the edge of the parking lot where everyone was waiting and watching, and the rhib driver looped around and we got to see him on it. It was so cool! I forgot my camera (at least I didn't forget a child!) but here is a picture of a rhib. No, Shawn isn't on it.

Well, should you choose to peruse my blog over the next 88 days, you will surely hear more about this 'non-deployment' and if you have any wonderful words of wisdom, I am ALL-EARS!

I CAN do it!

Sew, that is. At least, I know how. Whether or not I am any good at it remains to be seen. Shawn wanted to capture it for the record. It is my job to make sure all of his patches on his uniforms are in place. Do you know how hard it is to sew on coveralls? Fortunately, Shawn isn't picky about how straight the stitches are. Everything is in it's place. Oh, and notice the 'new' machine. Shawn's terrific Grandmother bought it in '93 and hasn't used it much. So, I became the new owner of it. I love it. It runs like a charm! (Sadly, it doesn't compensate for my incompetence)

By request...

How to survive when Daddy is gone....

Call your Mom
Call your Mother-in-law
Call all your sisters
Call your Dad
Call your Grandmothers
(Don't go over your minutes)
Go to the park every night so the kids wear themselves out and fall asleep right away
Watch a good chick-flick....or 5
Don't forget to read your scriptures
Call Mom again
Deep clean one area of the house
Find a project
CALL HIM....(if you can)
Be a little more patient with the kids
Have a movie day if the weather is bad
Go to the library a lot
Make 'welcome home' signs/cards
Take lots of pictures
Do LOTS and LOTS of fun crafts
Skip naps if you need to so the kids will go to bed early
(Maybe I am a cruel parent, but when I am on my own, I love early bedtime. Usually because I have a sinkful of dishes I want out of the way before midnight)
Visit some friends
Invite a friend over for dinner, or keep her kids so yours will be entertained while she enjoys a night-out with her hubby

Okay, that's just off the top of my head. It can get pretty tough at first, but it is always worth the work when you grow closer to your spouse and your kids. Besides, it is soooo fun when he finally does come home!!!

Did that help???

Do you remember...

This?

Day 2

Thanks for the ideas. Today also went well. It was a rainy morning, so I was prepared for the worst. My favorite thing to do on a rainy day is curl up with an old Disney classic (Cinderella, Robin Hood, or even something new). Once again, I won. We survived with a morning of cleaning and Swiffer-mopping (I'd like to meet the brilliant housewife who thought that one up!) and an afternoon of Sam's Club shopping, and late-napping. We had an equally wonderful evening of bedroom cleaning/playing, eating, and walking. Great day. The only thing that would've made it better would have been having Shawn home. That ALWAYS makes things better. Anyway, I am still open for more favorite activities, or even childhood memories....

Day 1...

I decided it was time to break free of the tv and have a 'no movie week' for the kids. (Not me...I fully intend to watch every episode of the Cosby Show: Season 3, disc 2, coming in the mail from Netflix tomorrow). I felt like I was being a little lax and letting them watch too much tv because it was just easier some days. Today went well. We played at a terrific park for a couple hours, browsed around a few office supply stores looking for laminating stuff (no luck), and played with a little friend during the afternoon. They were all wiped out by the time bedtime rolled around. Since I am not quite that tired, I am going to do the dishes (woo-hoo) and then pick a book from Shawn's collection. Any other great tv-less activities you have enjoyed with your kids?

A long time ago...

This was taken a few years ago. 5 to be precise. It was the weekend I first met Shawn's family before we were married. We used to sit at the piano together a lot. Now we always have our hands full and don't get to sit down as much. I really love that man and all the adventure he has brought to my life!

An angel...

While we were making play-doh snowmen, he was takin' it easy!

Not a shiner!

She was running away from me at church and hit the prickly wall in her excitement and my attempt to stop her. She's fine, but was trying to give me her best sad face.