Semper Gumby

*Please excuse my vent*

The first time I heard a big burly Marine utter the words "Semper Gumby" I laughed (on the inside of course). How could I have known at the time the phrase was not meant to be the least bit funny or amusing? How could I have known that these words, these two silly little words, were words that I would have to learn to live by for the next 20 years?

Always flexible, that's what it means....... ALWAYS flexible.

When Mr. X came home on Friday night and told me that our PCS date had been moved up, yet again, the first thing that came to mind was "Semper Gumby". I told myself to just smile, give him a hug and let him know that it's ok, everything is ok, you can deal with it because you are SEMPER GUMBY.....you are the epitome of flexibility, you are a Marine Corps wife, situations like this are not only expected, they are embraced and dealt with gracefully.

It was not until around midnight that the severity of the information I had just received hit me. I have ONE month, ONE MONTH to move. Why...why....why could "they" not of told us this 2 months ago????? WHY? I thought of being SEMPER GUMBY, then I just thought about GUMBY and then I imagined that GUMBY was "they", and that GUMBY was forcing us to move sooner than expected for no good reason and it made me want to punch him in the face and run him over. I want to be rigid and inflexible! I hate you GUMBY! I hate you and your ugly green body, I hate your stupid little voice and your ability to transport yourself into storybooks! I want to wad you up into an ugly, gooey, green ball and throw you off the top of the Empire State building and watch you get stepped on after you plummet to the ground!

I wish I was able to say, without hesitation, that I am the perfect military wife...... that nothing ever phases me, that I am ALWAYS prepared for the worst/unexpected yet hoping for the best, and that I have a permanently genuine smile plastered on my face regardless of the situation......I can't say that, and I can't say that I will ever be able to. I know that I love my country, my family and my husband. I love the fact that I am an integral part of the support system that allows him to continue to honorably serve. I understand this lifestyle requires sacrifice on both our parts and yet....I find that, occasionally, I am filled with confusion and frustration. It used to be that I just "let it go" or so I thought I was letting it go. In reality I was just letting, whatever IT was fester in the deep, dark, dank places of my mind...places that are usually only occupied by my irrational fears and useless inventions. I am finished with festering, because festering leads to infection and the last thing I want infected is my mind because I have a hard enough time making sense as it is. I cannot express, even to myself, in words how therapeutic it is to release my thoughts in a manner such as this. I can be the flexible supportive wife, the jubilant loving mother, and the crazy confused woman who wants to run over Gumby........all without scaring my husband or children because I have released my thoughts, feelings, and tensions here...here in my own little corner of the blogosphere...... and you know what? I feel better!

~Semper Gumby~

Mrs. X

Where does the time go?

I'm here and I'm well! (thanks for asking Elena!)

We returned from our trip on Sunday night around 2 am. Monday, we got up late (naturally) and had to rush around town trying to figure out how in the heck to make the jet packs for B's den meeting that I had promised earlier. We then hurried back home in time to make B's virtual meeting with his online mentor, pre-cut all our materials, and make a sample jet pack for the meeting. (Lucky for me Mr. X is really handy with a saw.) Needless to say, I did not squeeze in ANY time for blogging. :(

Tuesday is somewhat of a blur and I honestly can't remember what I did.

Wednesday I really, really thought I would finally post the 2-3 pictures I took on our trip (I know! I am the best photo documenter ever!) but then I got really sucked into B's Benjamin Franklin power point presentation. By the time we finished it was around 9:30 and Mr. X walked in the door.

It is now THURSDAY and I am finally writing up this horribly uninteresting post. *sigh*

One quick story before I go:

I have been on a VERY strict diet the last couple of weeks. (with the exception of the time I was on vacation, because what type of person seriously diets on VACATION!?)
About a week before we left for our trip I was REALLY frustrated with my lack of weight loss, I was *ahem* bloated and since becoming "bloated" I found the weight was not coming off as quickly. Mr. X took note of my frustration and attempted to be encouraging and make me feel better.

"I can't believe this, babe! I haven't loss any weight lately!"

"Well, honey, it might be because you are bloated."

"You're right, I'm probably just retaining a lot of water."

"Yeah! And can you imagine when you're finished with you're "bloating"? You'll be losing weight so fast! You'll probably lose like 10,000 pounds, just like that!"

I watched his face as he finished his sentence. I knew, that he knew what he had just said did not come out quite the way he planned it. His smile faded and his eyes widened...I can only imagine what ran through his head at that point "OH s#!&! I just told my wife she has 10,000 pounds to lose"

I mustered the most devious, mischievous smile I am capable of mustering and replied,

"Thanks, babe. I didn't know I had 10,000 pounds to lose, but I'll do what I can to get it off."

It took him a second, but he finally laughed nervously, after he realized I wasn't an overly sensitive, deeply offended, PMS monster.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy birthday to you...happy birthday...to0000..........you......happy birthday, Mr........X, happy birthday to you! Mwah!

Dear Mr. X,

You are my best friend, my partner in life, my hero, my other half....my rock. I love you more than you will ever know.♥ Thank you for being my husband and a phenomenal father to the boys (oh, and ALSO for defending our freedom). I don't know what we'd do without you. :)

Love,
Your incredibly clumsy wife~Mrs. X

Yellow Cake with Chocolate Pudding AND Frosting!

I made this cake today for my husband's birthday...only a sliver remains. :)

*Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap Friday*

You will need:

3 layers of yellow cake

I substituted all purpose flour for cake flour and it still came out delicious and moist. Be sure to cream the butter and sugar well before adding egg yolks ONE at a time. It is somewhat easy to fudge up this cake, but if you do it right, the results will be splendid. :)

Place layers of cake onto individual sheets of wax paper after you remove them from cake pan. This will ensure easy crack-free transitions. After your layers are cooled, add large blobs of cold pudding to the first layer.

Place second layer on top and repeat. When removing wax paper be sure to pull across and not up, as pulling up will result in missing chunks of cake! :)

Ta-da!

Now frost entire cake with whipped frosting and you're done! I know it ain't pretty, but is sure tasted great *so I heard*

~Chocolate pudding~

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 cups milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch in medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in milk and place on medium heat. KEEP WHISKING, after mixture is smooth whisk faster, and faster! It will take some time, but it will thicken. You must whisk the entire time to prevent a skin from forming at the bottom of the pan. If you get bored, watch your arm flab jiggle while you whisk...I found this quite amusing. OR...you can also make this in the microwave! Place in freezer to cool.

~Chocolate frosting~

3 cups powdered sugar

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

5-9 tablespoons heavy whipping cream OR milk

*use whipping cream if you prefer thick creamy frosting (like I do), use milk for stiffer frosting-similar to store bought*

Beat 1 cup sugar, cocoa, butter, and 2 tablespoons of your preferred dairy product until CREAMY. Alternate adding sugar and liquid until your desired consistency is achieved.

It should have peaks...like this:

Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by!

My sweet child

So...Sunday night my internet connection and my computer got together and conspired against me, making it nearly impossible for me to do ANYTHING computery or internety Monday and part of Tuesday. It literally took me 1/2 an hour to leave a single comment! I gave up after visiting ( I think 3 blogs) and decided to go blogless for a day. :( But now...I'M BACK ONLINE! Woo HOO! But only for a little bit...Mr. X's birthday is on Friday AND HE HAS 3 WHOLE DAYS OFF (IN A ROW!)....so......... we're headed up north to beautiful Bellingham, Washington to spend the weekend with some very good friends (the only people I trust to babysit my children outside of my family). I think I'll be back Tuesday (hopefully with lotsa fun pictures) :)




In other news....



Saturday night, Mr. X took me shopping...at my favorite store...TARGET. I rarely buy myself clothes, partially because it is difficult to shop and try things on with two boys, and partially because I don't like to spend money. Anyhow, I found a couple items (on the clearance rack OF COURSE :) ) one of which was a super adorable Isaac Mizrahi shirt dress. I bought (it was $17 dollars and totally cute, what else could I do!?), brought it home, tried it on, and fell in love with it...I couldn't wait to wear it out of the house...to my second favorite store...COSTCO :P





Remember this picture from our exclusive club brunch?

Take another look. Do you see these hands? These greasy, greasy hands?

Now...exactly where do you suspect my gorgeous three year old child decided to place his dirty little digits? On a napkin? On his shirt? His pants? In his pockets? No, no, no, and no. He placed them directly on MY ADORABLE NEW DRESS!

*SIGH* *DOUBLE SIGH*

If anyone one knows of a miracle grease stain removing remedy...NOW would be the time to share. PLEASE :)

As disappointed as I was, I could not bring myself to be even remotely upset with my darling child. After all, I was was the brilliant parent who decided to feed him shiny pizza. I also failed to ensure that his hands were properly cleaned afterward. *Note to self: bring wet wipes EVERYWHERE!

This, however, warrants a talking to! Every single time a plate of cookies is placed on the table, he finds it necessary to bite as many cookies as possible without ever finishing a single one. I have yet to figure out why.

Oh, my mischievous little one, how you test me so! One day...when you are a teenager, your ability to charm me with your incredibly innocent looking face will come to an end ( I hope).

Sunday Brunch

Yesterday, we ate out at an exclusive club. It's SO exclusive that your ID must be checked at the door to confirm membership prior to even entering the building. Being that it was Sunday, it was quite difficult to find a table. Luckily, just as we arrived, one opened up and we were able to be seated immediately. I feasted on a delicious Caesar salad, the boys both chose an Italian dish, and Mr. X opted for traditional American cuisine....

Okay...our club is Costco, the boys had pizza, Mr. X had hot dogs, and my salad came in a plastic box. But it was fabulous none the less and we enjoyed just sharing a meal together (and also the free soda refills) :)

Oapplemeal Coffee Cake

Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap

~Oapplemeal Coffee Cake~

Actually it's just apple oatmeal coffee cake, but I thought oapplemeal sounded more interesting. :)

Crumbly topping (below)

Vanilla drizzle (below)

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup oats (quick or old fashioned)

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar (white)

1/2 softened margarine or butter

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 egg

2-3 shredded apples (I like gala)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease square baking dish. 9x9 or 8x8- *8x8 might take a couple minutes longer to bake

Make crumble topping:

1/4 cup AP flour

2 tablespoons cold margarine or butter

1/4 cup oats (quick or old fashioned)

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in small bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients with pastry cutter or by crisscrossing two knives. Should end up crumbly :)

Stir together flour, salt, sugars, oats, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add butter, milk, lemon juice, and egg-mix until fully incorporated. Gently fold in shredded apple.

Pour into baking dish and evenly coat with crumbly topping.

Bake for approximately 55 minutes. Drizzle with vanilla glaze and serve warm

Vanilla Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

4 tablespoons milk

Stir together all ingredients until smooth....that's it!

Enjoy! :)

Thanks for stopping by!

What a prankster!

Oh, Marine Corps! You really got me good this time! hahahahahahaha When I saw those official lookin' orders stating that our PCS date (move date) wasn't until the end of January I really believed them! For over a month now I have been nice and relaxed thinking I had plenty of time to prepare for our out of state move. But then...hahahaha (please excuse my laughter, I'm just SO amused right now)...then-----we find out TODAY, which is in the month of OCTOBER, that our PCS date is being moved UP....to DECEMBER. Oh golly! Where do you come up with these ideas?! You are just TOO funny! Double funny points for those orders-they looked so REAL! Marine Corps, you really know how to show a girl a good time. Thanks, thanks for that. I really needed a good laugh today.
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I am feeling SO MUCH better. Tuesday afternoon I was able to take a nap, a real nap, while the boys ALSO napped. It was AMAZING, I drooled and dreamed and everything.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes yesterday, I really appreciated them. :)

Look at that face!

How do you like our cub scout craft?

Who knew procrastination could turn out so cute?!

Naturally, I waited until Sunday night to decide on a craft for B's den meeting. Luckily, Walmart had ONE box of mini pumpkins left and I was able to buy most of them before some other craft crazed mom could. Don't worry, I'm nice...I left a couple of the ugly ones behind.

I spent most of Monday morning cutting out little arms, legs, noses, and mouths. Then I realized I could not possibly go to the meeting.

The sore throat that had been bothering me since Friday had not gotten any better and I really didn't want to breathe my sickness all over everyone else's children.

Fortunately, Mr. X was available and graciously offered to lead the craft activity for the evening.

I think it would of been worth going, sick and all, just to get a couple pictures of him helping B make a pumpkin person. :)

If I was feeling better, I'd probably finish this post with a painful and/or embarassing story but I'm not...so I won't. :(

Pumpkin Patch

Thursday night I burned my forehead with my brand new curling iron that I had cranked to it's highest setting, which just happened to be "30". Just so you know, "30" equates to 30 thousand degrees. Thank goodness I have bangs to cover up my stupidity/clumsiness....that's all I'm going to say about that.

Now for some fun stuff! Sunday we went to the PUMPKIN PATCH! Yay!

Because I am very tired from visiting pumpkin paradise and have a gajillion things planned for tomorrow(school, making up some fun game for cub scouts, finish planning craft for cub scouts, weekly goody baking, laundry, a second trip to Walmart, etc, etc)...I will fill the rest of this post with pictures.

Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion of ...THE MOM WHO PLANNED TOO MUCH!

Just Have Fun

I saw it at a pizza buffet, a photograph of a baby sitting in an enormous pot of noodles. I knew, the instant it caught my eye that I just HAD to replicate it with my own adorable infant. At the time, J was small enough to fit perfectly into the largest pot from my Wolfgang collection. However, by the time I actually got around to buying a massive amount of spaghetti, boiling it, clearing a spot in the dining room, etc, etc, he no longer fit in ANY of my pots, not even my humongous canning one.

We had been snowed in for over a week and were all badly in need of entertainment.

We set out two pots full of noodles, and told him...

"Just have fun."

...I think he did. :)