Life Lately

A couple of years ago I wrote monthly “Ramblings” posts where I talked about things not related to DIY. I would just write about what happened that month…mostly it ended up revolving around my kids. You know, the kind of post readers either really look forward to or dreaded and skip over. Anyway, the last ramblings post I wrote was in October, and I’ve basically been an enigma shrouded in a mystery ever since. So let me update you on the last nine months here at Casa Domestic Imperfection (it sounds like I’m about to tell you I had a secret baby, but I promise you that’s not the case).

Last October my husband Adam decided to quit his cushy nine-to-five office job to enter an intense eight month police academy. I wrote all about it in this post, but he was going to be self-sponsored…which basically means he was paying his own way through and didn’t have a job lined up on the other end. It was a big scary step, but necessary…Adam needed to be doing something he was passionate about and wanted to be in a job he planned on staying in till retirement. So he quit the easy office job, and so began eight months that were so much harder than we anticipated.

Adam said being in this academy was the hardest things he’s ever done…and that’s coming from a guy that has been through lots of Army training and spent two years fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was gone before 5am each morning, home around 6pm (or later), and in bed by about 8:30 (and thats only because I begged him to stay awake and hang out with me).  He was exhausted all the time, and stressed. We didn’t have time for anything extra and certainly weren’t doing any projects. So if you’ve noticed that the content around here has been lacking, you’re not wrong. The blog has definitely taken a backseat, and that’s okay. This blog is about my life and my home, not vice versa…so when life gets crazy it’s the first thing to go. Well that, clean laundry, and general tidiness and order. I won’t bore you with all the academy details, but suffice t to say that it was long, exhausting, and included a lot of injuries. Adam graduated about three weeks ago and I can’t even tell you what a huge relief it was. It’s so nice to have my fun, smiling, laid-back husband back. He even volunteered to do a project the other day and I was all “I want a deck!”, and he was all “okay.” I’ve missed him :) He is going to make a great police officer…the fair, honest, hard-working, non-jerk kind that you want looking out for you.

graduation

A few good things did come from his crazy academy though…the most important is that Adam is …*ahem*…looking mighty in shape these days. Secondly, he landed a job. We were a little worried about him not being able to find a job immediately, but he did and we are very grateful. Now I just have to get better at saying goodbye and not worrying about him all the time…you’d think that after 6 years with the Army I’d be good at this, but I’m not.

So that is what we’ve been up to these last nine months. We squeezed in a few other things, here are the highlights…

* In January Adams’ youngest brother got married. It was a beautiful wedding, my new sister-in-law is awesome, and my boys were the ring bearers.  Just look at the cuteness…

ring bearers

Elijah was zeroed in on getting his ring to the best man (which happened to be my brother), but Levi was really concerned that the flower girl was leaving all her petals behind. He made sure to pick them all up on his way down the isle.

*Last month Adam and I celebrated our ten year wedding anniversary. It seems insane to me that it’s already been an entire decade, but then I think back to all we’ve done and it doesn’t seem crazy at all. In the last 10 years we’ve…. moved 6 times (with a just as many “mini moves” in between), spent over three years apart, made it through two deployments, earned degrees, had two kids, bought (and paid off) a house, collectively had eleven jobs and eleven vehicles, and been to 23 states and five countries. It’s been a busy decade and there is no one I would have rather spend it with. Happy ten years baby.

wedding - June 2004

*Two weeks ago I became an aunt again! My sister-in-law Jaime had her second child, little Chandler. His older sister is Mallory is 19 months old, which puts Keith and Jaime’s kids at the exact same age gap as mine. Which means that within a few short months Jaime will have completely lost her mind.

Chandler

*I just upgraded from my old dell and went ahead and splurged on a new macbook pro. I’ve never had a mac before, but I immediately noticed a few things…1) it’s completely amazing and I love it 2) iPhoto, iMovie, and general Mac media storage make me want to throw my computer against the wall 3) I have a lot to learn before I can use it efficiently. Also, the first time I pulled up my website on the mac I quickly noticed that my pictures looked terrible. They are really dark and kinda orange tinted. They always looked pretty dang good on my dell, but since this is a better computer with the new retina screen, I’m going to go ahead and guess that this one is correct. Anyway, sorry If I’m been bombarding y’all with dark, orange, cringe inducing photos for the last three and a half years. I had no idea.

* My kids (you knew this post would eventually end up here). They are adorable, exhausting, and growing like weeds. Elijah turned four this spring and Levi is creeping up on three. They are best friends…and worst enemies. They fight like it’s their job, but sometimes, they play together happily for hours minutes at a time. I’m learning everyday just how different they are, their personalities are as opposite as their hair color. Just because I’ve successfully led Elijah through a tough milestone doesn’t mean I have any idea how to handle it with Levi. Elijah eats nothing, Levi quite literally will eat anything. Elijah goes to sleep early and wakes up late, Levi is somehow both a night owl and a morning person. Elijah is sensitive and will sulk if you talk to him even slightly harshly, Levi couldn’t care less about trivial things like punishments and feelings. Although they do have a few similarities…they both have an intense love of wresting with dad, grandparents, and Wild Kratts. Oh, and they both refuse to let me give them haircuts, hence the reason they look like shaggy little rascals. I’m seriously considering shaving both their heads so I won’t have to fight with them about haircuts for a while.

first half 2014 collage

Levi is at the age where he is either being super adorable or a champion whiner. We are working hard to knock that out, and when he flashes you a big cheesy grin he is so insanely cute that you just want to give him the whole world. Especially when he looks up at you and says “I love you and I won’t say I hate you” (cause that was a thing for a while). He loves to sing too, and his little two year old voice kills me…

Elijah has turned into a full on conversationalist. He will talk to anyone, anytime. He will talk to stuffed animals, himself, bugs, toys, whatever. He invites strangers at the grocery store over to our house to play, or tells them “if you come over to my house my mom will cook you dinner.” He has insane amounts of energy, but in most ways he is getting easier. Unlike Levi he does not like to sing… he likes to make up stories. He is always up for telling you about how he rode his motorcycle to the castle, slayed the dragon, saved the princess, punched a tiger, and then ate an apple (actual story he told me this week). He will also bust out some sweet dance moves at a moments notice…

So that’s an update on us. Later this week I’m flying to Atlanta for the Haven blog conference and am looking forward to getting a three-day break from the daily grind. I’ve started using Instagram again (after ignoring it for over a year), so if you want to follow along you can do so here. Oh, and that deck I requested? It’s actually happening!

deck

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16 Comments

  1. I enjoy your blog, because you keep it real. I’m a grandmother and reading through this post I have to say, you must make your parents very proud.

  2. I love reading your blog. Congratulations to your husband on his new career! Please let him know I thank him for serving our great country and the community where you live. I will pray for him and you! You have a beautiful family. And as a grandmother, I have learned things from your DIY blogs, keep at it because you are very gifted!

  3. I have been reading your blog for 2 years now and 1st off Congrats to your husband. I am amazed how a young couple like yourselves can be so disciplined and work so hard to achieve your goals. (Not to mention the creativity you both seem to have) Any tips you can share to get my grandkids thinking of their future and having goals would be appreciated. (from anyone!) I have tried to explain to them there are enough X-box testers in the world. Anyway I was wondering how your husband learned his carpentry/plumbing/general contracting skills. It seems there are so many young men today who don’t have a clue how to use any tools. He seems to be so talented.

  4. I LOVE your blog! Yours is one of the only blogs I follow because I love how you keep it so real and your priority is your family. Thanks. Congrats to your hubby and best wishes to you guys in this next phase of life!

  5. So glad everything is working out for you and your husband’s new job! Can’t wait to see new projects!

  6. So good to catch up on how you’re doing! I’ve been wondering if things were tough, your posting schedule was definitely down. I felt like something was missing, and now I know what it was…the monthly ramblings. I can’t believe how much your kids have grown! They are just super-sweet. My two oldest kids were 17 1/2 months apart, so I totally get it. Best friends and worst enemies, yup. Totally different yet similar, yup. Totes adorbs unless it’s one of those moments when you want to throttle them, yup… And a BIG congrats to Adam (and to you, for surviving this!) It’s fantastic that he’s starting on a career that means so much to him. And that you are getting a new deck! :D

  7. So great to hear what’s been going on. I figured things must’ve been a bit crazy! Congrats to you and Adam on making it through. Looking forward to hearing all about the deck.

  8. Go Adam! And a job too! From what you have said about Adam he will make an excellent officer. My son-in-law is an officer and has been for around 15 years. He also teaches at the academy. My daughter and he were taking my grandson to the graduation last night. IT IS A LOT OF EFFORT, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL! My grandson is close in age to your little one. Enjoy that family!

  9. Welcome back, I missed you! Congratulations to Adam, a proud moment for you all!! About kids, we just looked at my grandkids pictures last nite and wondered where the time had gone. Claire just turned 6 on the lst!! Grandson will be 4 in Sept., and my hubby just turned another year older (thank God for that, eh!) and I’m exploding from toooo much cake!!! Enjoy your summer!

  10. Thanks Ashley for bringing us up to date with your family! The boys are sweet as always! Congrats to your hubby and to both of you for your tenth. Ya’ll have accomplished so much in the last ten, looking forward to the next! Nice job so far on that deck! Have fun in Atlanta!

    ;)
    Cindy

  11. I’ve missed your posts and am so glad to hear that you are all well! Congratulations on your 10 year anniversary, on Adam’s graduation and getting a new job and on surviving the last 9 months, oh yea, and on a new deck. . . Lol! Whew, I’m tired typing it, you must be exhausted living it :-). Seriously, the reason why we all love you is because you are so real, you have an incredible gift for writing (I know where your son is getting those storytelling skills BTW) and you are both such good people!

    I live in Atlanta and if you think you might have a chance to meet for coffe while you are here I would love it. My mom misses your posts and hearing about the boys. I will have to print this out and send it to her at the nursing home. She still has the pictures the boys sent her last year!

    Love ya,
    Maureen

  12. Love this update! Congratulations on your husband’s new job! Sounds like it’s been a hard several months, but things are on the getting better. Also, your new deck is looking great! :)

  13. I second everyone’s congratulations and we-missed-yous… :) and also wanted to add that I didn’t have any issues with your photos before you got your mac. Different screens show photos differently is all.

  14. This post made me laugh. We just bought a MacMini…we have ALWAYS had PCs. My hubby can tell you ANYTHING & EVERYTHING about PCs. Macs though? Ha! He’s been messing with it for days now. That’s all he’s been doing at home. It’s a nice change to see him not immeditaely know something. :)

    Your boys are adorable! My kids are 19 months apart too. They fight all the time! However I must count my blessings because they only ever fight with each other. No one else. Well….except me sometimes… :)

    A huge congratulations to Adam! What an awesome accomplishment! Did he get a job in our town? What great new chapter in your lives. I’ll be praying for his safety.

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