Some Days

I feel the absolute need to scream when I hear the following. Or maybe throw things. But we won't get into my aggressiveness right now.

Person: What does your husband do?

Me: He's in the military.

Person: Oh so how many children do you have? Or. Oh it must be nice to have it so easy.

Why is people assume that because my husband is military my life is peachy keen and I must have children? It's maddening. I didn't marry him to sit at home and have babies and then do nothing all day. That's why I found this article 'The Making Of A Military Wife' very well written.

That article led me to this article. I know people who may be reading this now have either said this or thought this. I would hope they read these articles and then think before they spout their nonsense again.

My life isn't a hardship, but it's not the cakewalk that some people seem to think. I don't sit on the couch all day eating bon bons and watching TV. Okay I admit I do watch quite a bit of TV, but that's not all I do. Honest! I maintain the home, schedule things the hubby needs done, run his errands as well as my own, and I am in two different 'clubs'. Then there's the worrying about the spouse when he actually deploys.

But no one thinks of this sort of this. No too many people have this misconception that all military wives are either baby factories or they are living in the lap of luxury.

Catch a clue people! That's not how things go.

Side note: I don't know what set this rant into motion, but I feel much better now. Thanks for your concern.

New Do

So the other day while the hubby and I were out getting him a haircut, he noticed that the base has a hair salon.

I mentioned that I really needed to get myself a hair cut sometime soon. I mean we do have a formal function to attend in about a month.

He asked when the last time was that I had my hair done. I had to think about it.

It's been about a year was the reply after some thought.

So he told me to schedule a hair appointment for myself. Which I did.

And this picture is what I looked like at 10 this morning. Thank goodness for the camera phones.

And here is the after. This is what I looked like by twelve this afternoon.

My stylist, who I love, took a little over an hour to wash, cut and style my hair.

I'm pleased with it. In fact I'll be making an appointment to get highlights later this week. That is if I can get in. He's very popular and only works a couple of days a week.

Normally people don't notice when I get my hair cut. I think this may be dramatic enough to get noticed. Sleeker than normal and hopefully more manageable.

We'll see what the hubby thinks when he gets home.

I R Kenny

Mighty hunter!

No more pictures!

Stupid paparazzi!

I hunt you!

If I no find you. My minion will hunt you down. She no cat, but she'll do.

Grrr!

The Guide

So a good friend sent me this link. I highly recommend that you visit the site and if you are able to then please donate. I know Janette and therefore, by association, I sort of know Nushka. Janette, for those of you who don't know, uses Nushka as a guide dog. Hence the joke about the tandem bike.

Best of luck to the group!

Ship Baptism

As a Navy Wife I'm lucky to make a number of wonderful friends. Hey there has to be some sort of upside when the hubby is gone so much. And in January two of those friends invited me to their little girl's baptism. It was to be held on the husband's ship on a Saturday morning. I had never been to a ship baptism and was intrigued. What would occur? My hubby was unavailable at the time so it would just be me. Such is Navy life.

As you can see from the first photo they actually use the ship's bell to hold the baptism water. And the history that goes with it was so amazing. In days of old British sailors would have their children, born in different ports, baptized on the ship. That would make said child become a British citizen since a ship is considered part of the country. The child's name was then engraved in the bell as part of the record. Since paper records were not kept as well as they are today.

And I did manage to take the photos that you are seeing here. I just wasn't using my camera. Thanks Becky for sending them to me.

The really neat part is that Becky and Ryan got to have Father Mike perform the baptism. He had been their pastor in California. And if I'm remembering this correctly, please forgive any errors. He retired and is now a contractor pastor for Quantico. So he drove down from Quantico to baptize little Clare. Sorry Father Mike I don't have any cash to send you for using your likeness on my blog. Please forgive me!

That's right! It was little Miss Clare from my Morning With Mommy & Baby blog.

There she is with her Auntie Shell. I normally don't post pictures of myself because I look AWFUL, but since Becky sent it I will post it. Ignore the big person and coo over the little one.

An Afternoon With A Bundle Of Energy

So after leaving Becky's house I called my good buddy, Greta, and basically invited myself over. She was interested in seeing the pictures that I took at Becky's. I'll admit that I was all for the kudos that I got from my friend.

Upon seeing the camera, Colten, wanted his picture taken. So when I sat him on Mom's lap and told him to smile he stuck out his tongue. Hmm. I think I'll need to give a bit more direction on this one. I went from three month old to three year old.

Three year olds are a bit easier to get them to do what you want. Especially when they want to have their picture taken. So instead of just telling him to smile I had to tell him to say funny words.

Purple people eater worked. And even got me to chuckle. Pickles is always a good one. So is Yankee Doodle Dandy. And there is always the stand by of Cheese. And it's always a hoot to hear a three year old say these things.


I told him to give Mommy a hug. What can I say three year olds are easily directed when it means they get their picture taken.

In all reality I probably should have put my camera on action when I told Colten to hug his mom. That's why the photo is a bit blurry.

Lesson learned. Three year olds are a bundle of energy and can only be caught on film while in motion if you use a faster shutter speed. That's why they put the action or sports selection on digital cameras. Duh!

Hopefully Greta will find something in the batch that I sent her to email her hubby.

A good photo of your loved ones can always bring a smile to your face.

Morning With Mommy & Baby

So I know many of my readers out there are asking themselves. Self, what does Michelle do with herself these days? Well my three readers that are out there, never fear! I'm going to tell you. Nothing! I'm kidding. Kind of.

I'm sure you noticed that adorable picture to your left and that will clue you in. I spent the morning with my friend Becky and her three month old daughter, Clare. Yes, Aunt Shell has the magic touch. I can make a baby giggle without even touching her. You should hear the belly laughs when I blow raspberries on the belly. But I digress.

So I spent the good chunk of this morning with Becky and her lovely little one. It was a very nice girls only morning. I took a ton of pictures and was rewarded with a very yummy breakfast.

Becky thinks she looks tired, but I think she looks fine. You can see that mommy and daughter have that special bond.

There were, of course, a few wardrobe changes. How could we not? She has so many adorable outfits! And as you can see from this photo Clare got into the role of model. It nearly screams diva.

I had Becky laughing when I told Clare that a model's life would not be as fun as it looks. Early morning calls, constant dieting, it's just not for this precious little girl.

Too much pressure. Go the easy route. Be a scientist and cure cancer. I think that's a much better goal. Don't you?

One of the key things that I have found to do when photographing a young child is to keep on the move. That and take tons of pictures. You'll eventually get that one that is just awesome!

I kept moving so that Clare would not ignore me. A baby who does not look at you does not make a good picture. That and I kind of like taking pictures of my subjects from a different angle. Straight on has been done to death. That and I don't always center my subject.

Catches you eye a bit better. In my opinion anyway. I have about a hundred more pictures, but I thought I'd just put up a sampling of a few of my favorites.

And this is a note to all of my friends. You are forewarned, if I photograph you, you will more than likely show up on my blog.

I love this. I've already titled it 'Little Kicks'. I've stolen the phrase from 'Seinfeld' but it's all I could think of when I saw this last picture.

Children have the best ideas. Dance to the song in your head and act like nobody's watching. Be carefree. Kids are a great subject. They don't care. And if you're lucky you can catch something magical.

Thank you Becky and Clare for letting me share a wonderful morning with you.