Cloth Diapers

Hello. Haven't blogged in a while. A LONG while. What is wrong with me?? However, my friend is having a give away and I could use a new cloth diaper, well because all of Laurels are going on 2 years and rather stained. I guess Im just lazy to sun them. And who doesn't love FREE items??!!

Check our her blog, she's fabulous!! And you too can enter to win a new cloth diaper. :)

Cloth Diaper Giveaway- Baby Babu

Harmon's July (Part Three)

Ok - So JULY is alllllllllmoooossst over and the Harmon's have been busy busy busy. But what can I say if I stay at home with nothing to do {read: I have three kids, when do I ever have nothing to do?!} I go stir crazy. Well my friend Jen who has a three year old that is in Blake's Pre-K Class on post thought it would be a great idea to go tent camping. What the heck, what could go wrong, as long as she could start a fire we would be good to go. :) She assured me she could start a fire. So off we went my two little men and her little man set up to Pine Mountain, GA where we would spend the weekend there. Us moms and the boys...in the wild... {was I ready for this?!} Was Jeff ready for a weekend of Daddy/Daughter Time? Was I ready to be away from my precious little baby girl?

The ride up there (40 min) went well because the boys napped. We get there and proceeded to unload. I brought a packed car of stuff. Much more than I needed, but I didn't want to be without something and have my weekend suck. Anyways. So I go to set up the tent. I had ordered a special 8 person pop up tent. My friends had one and they raved about it. Jeff and I had talked about wanting to do more camping, so we splurged and got the tent. It said it took 2 min to set up. UMMM Yea - that 2 min lasted about 30 minuets for me. I wrestled with the tent, called it a few choice words and finally got that bad boy up. I {the queen!} slept on an air mattress while the boys slept on some mats. Our camp site looked grand for our little pow wow of 5.

Lots went WRONG during our trip. The "fun lady" who plans activities went on vacation. So our night hike we wanted to go on {which we got everybody dressed, bug sprayed, flash ready} was canceled. The Movie night, canceled, the pool closed.... this did NOT make for happy boys at all! So instead we played with fire, roasted marshmallows, went on a bug hunt, played with glo sticks. We made it work and one day we went to Callaway Gardens and swam in Robin Lake because Military got in free there! So all in all it was a great weekend. But I will never.do.that.again. PERIOD. It was hard, I was cranky. Packing up/unloading by myself was horrible. But the memories that the boys and I will have will forever be worth it. Next time: Daddy comes along!!

Our campsite. My tent is the one on the left

Blake and Ian by the fire - after this we told ghost stories

At the lake. I must say it was nice floating without carrying Laurel - and lounging in the sand.

Poor Blake. Got bit 20 times in one leg. WITH bug-spray on. Swollen leg. Lots of benadryl for him.

Exploring by campsite.

Reading a compass

Boys by the lake - exploring. This was the back yard to our tents. NICE

Site from other side

I guess I should tell you that Daddy and Laurel did just fine. I however, missed her like crazy and this maybe TMI - but Laurel had been cutting down her nursing so I thought I would be fine without her. Well low and behold I forgot my pump. For those of you that have nursed before - yes - you got it right. OUCH! We all survived though. :)

Harmon's in July Part 2

Like I said July was a busy month for us!!!

So after Alaska we went "cabin camping" with our good friends the Thom's. It was in Lake Eufaula right down the road {about 20 min} from us. Gorgous 2 bedroom cabin right in front of a sandy beach on a lake. It was HOT - and the power went off for about 2.5 hours. THANK goodness our laptop had some battery life yet because the kids {They have a 7 year old girl- Emma and a 4 year old boy- Logan} could watch a movie! After the power came back on the AC blasting- we were all happy and settled. On Saturday we had a Army Party and the guys (Matt & Jeff) co-workers came out to enjoy some sun, beer and cookout food! It was fun!

Our view - and our little friends who came and visited us daily!

Laurel loved looking at the ducks!! 

All the kids playing.

Emma had brought Barbie and Ken - and Blake was very interested because he had never seen them before!

Ian is playing with water - We are preparing him for college! 

We had some friends over for Blakes 4th Birthday Pary. A friend of mine let me borrow her massive water slide which made some for some fabulous water fun for the kids since it was super hot outside. We enjoyed some yummy cupcakes from my favorite bakery. Blake wanted bug cupcakes instead of a cake and enjoyed some pizza. It was very hot outside, the kids played with the slide and all the parents stayed inside in the nice cool AC! :)

Brothers

Set up

Friends

 F

Silly Birthday Boy

Yummy Cup Cakes

Present Time!

Harmon's in July (AK trip)

I know I am back posting because I have been awful at keeping everyone up to date. I just can't find time to do this blogging thing. Three kids - and now 2 jobs {I'll get to that later - prob in Aug!} I just have little "ME" time. However, I'm trying my best to catch you guys up to speed in what we have been doing - which is A LOT!!!

Now July, what in the world happened that month. How sad is it that I have to open up my 'Mom's Plan it Monthly Calander' {which if I leave at home I feel lost, read: more like panic} to see what our family was up to. It was 2 freakin' months ago. Man, I think I need to do some major remembering exercises, because this brain has shut down. Quit working! PERIOD.

July was a huge month for us. It was our trip to Alaska! We had to visit the state {we are still residents} and be in the state for 72 hours to get our PFD {read: $$$} Holla! Yes, that was one of the reason - but we also had to check on our house that we still own up there. We had some major work done on it {more like you better fix this before the poop starts shooting thru the pipes again!} so we had to make sure that the Alaskans' peeps were fixin our shit. {literally!} haha Which, they weren't! Oh well, if you are a fellow Alaskan, you know the service is sssssssllloooooooowwwwww!

It was a great family trip. Wish we could have stayed longer - but with Jeff in the Army, leave time is few and far between so we went over the 4th of July holiday!

Oh I should say that Laurel got tubes put in here a few days before the trip. She had been going on her 6th ear infection since Jan. So here she is pre-surgery. Everything went great. Last thing I wanted was a infant to get an ear infection before the trip and deal with all the pressure {read: SCREAMING} on the plane!

Moments after this cute picture was taken she was screaming because she was hungry she had been NPO for 12 hours and she was like Feed Me NOW!

OK so on to our AK trip. It was fun, long, but fun. We flew out of Atlanta, then to Seattle then to Anchorage. Stayed at a hotel that I have stayed in before. Nice, plenty of room! We walked around Anchorage, visited Portage Glacier {From the car - it was raining! . We wanted to drive to Seward - but then quickly realized it would be to much on the kids. Went to the indoor splash park {boys LOVED it and Laurel enjoyed splashing around} , walked around the zoo {kids had so much fun! poor Blake got bit my a mosquito and his right eye was swollen shut! Quick trip to Wallgreens to buy some Benadryl fixed it - 2 days later. I should have taken a picture but my good camera battery died! Should have done the iPhone - oh well!} - then drove to Fairbanks {Loved the drive, and made me miss it so much! but then we got to Fairbanks and it was cold and rainy and my 20 min drive around town by myself - I quickly changed my mind to : lets visit but not live here anymore! I wouldn't be sad if we got orders, but eh, not to live, just visit! } to visit our house {OMG! They didn't fill up the freakin' sewer line and it was so messy - made some phone calls when we got back and threatened to sue if they didn't fix it because it had been 4 months since they started and we paid in full. Funny after that phone call it got fixed!!} and my co-workers and had an awesome brunch. {Again made me miss my friends and the yummy fresh fish and yummy food, but slooowww service} Then we drove back to Anchorage to fly back home. LOTS of driving. Never again will I do that. {Sorry a lot of pictures ahead!}

Eating before getting on the plane in Atlanta

Yummy!

Near Glacier - Love AK

Laurel at zoo. She wouldn't keep her shoes on!

Ian at the zoo


Blake at the zoo! He's a bear!

Laurel checking out this crazy Llama!

The start of the Iditarod! 

Family Picture at North Pole, Santa was on Vacation!

Jeff & Blake (Click on pic to see Blake's hilarious face!)

Yea! Laurel was at Santa's House! 

In Santa's Sleigh

Our drive back to the airport

Harmons in June

School has let out - and now the summer begins. Full of fun filled sunny hot days. I have to say a week after Ian had been out of school, I was ready for him to go back! HA! (Is that bad of me?)

With the boys out of school for the summer I started working 2 days a week - during the week. I no longer had to work just weekends so we would be able to do more family outings and have more family time. I found a fabulous babysitter for the kids (Ian's baseball coach)! It worked out perfectly. So I was able to get some adult time in, use my brain, fix some kids, make some extra money. (And feel like I was contributing to the finances since I do spend most of the money! HA)

June is a big month!! Jeff and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe that we have been married for 9 years. Craziness!! Another big day is my birthday - I turned 31!! We wanted to something wild and crazy - so I booked us one a skydiving adventure. We would jump out of an airplane at 14K feet. More of a adventure I wanted to do than Jeff - but being the best husband anyone could have, he came with me and was going to do it!

They pack the chutes in the room where you wait to get manifested.

Waiting our turn!

We went on a Saturday and it was very busy - so you go knowing you are going to have to wait to get manifested. Well, we waiting for 5 hours and then it started to pour down rain - we were the next people to suit up too.... Oh well... now we have a rain check for us to go again - its good for 2 years -so all we have to do is find some time and attempt to go again! The only bad thing was I got a migraine. 1- because I prob wasn't drinking enough of water and it was rather warm and 2) I think my adrenaline started to kick in because we were next to go up and then I couldn't release it properly?! Who knows, so I got a headache and puked all the way home. So we had a 8 hour date and all we did was hit the Arby's drive through and pull over a bunch so I could barf!! So sexy and romantic!! hahaha

In June we also said goodbye to our good friends the Hurley Family. Jeremiah got a new job and they were going to be moving up to Rhode Island. Its hard to say goodbye to such great people - but the Army is small, we will more than likely see them again during a duty station. Blake misses Reagan, and is still asking to go to her house. She was his first BFF!! Maybe I'll get a wild hair up my butt and drive up there during spring break! Get ready for us Hurley's!!

At the end of the month Laurel finally got tubes put in her ears - she had been having an ear infection a month since January. Poor Baby Girl. She was miserable. Blake had tubes in his ears as well when he was one. Guess they got mom's horrible eustation tubes.

Laurel getting ready to go back ot the OR - shortly after this she realized that she was NPO and couldn't eat or drink anything and got really pissed off!!

Harmons in May

May.

May was full of more baseball, baseball parties, friend’s birthday parties, camping and graduations. Also Jeff’s cousin got married and we made a quick family weekend to North Carolina.

Ian graduated Kindergarten May 25th. His ceremony was so cute. Full of songs and what each student wanted to be when they grew up. Ian said he wanted to be a “Skate Board Rider”. We told him just as long he goes professional in the X Games and makes lots of money – so he can buy his old parents nice thing and set us up in a nice big retirement house. HA! I got this on video – and when Ian walked across the stage to get his diploma I tried to videotape and get a picture, well I learned I can’t do that! I got a horrible picture AND I accidentally tilted the video camera up – so I didn’t get Ian’s diploma getting on tape at all! I got all his entire class, except him. I am a horrible mother and he will probably be in therapy for this for years to come!

Ian and his teacher Mrs. Muse

Ian getting his "fake" diploma! He is 1st grader now!


Blake also graduated from his Army Post Pre-K Program. It was so cute, I also got this on video – and had friends take the picture. Which, I still have to get! Again, I am sure that Blake will be in therapy as well since I don’t have a picture of him getting a diploma either!


Our quick get away to North Carolina was fun. We saw Jeff’s cousin get married and had fun at their reception. It was kid free! Jeff’s aunt hooked us up with a baby sitter who watched the kids in the hotel room! SCORE – Date Night! It was great to catch up with the Harmon side of the family – it had been a few years since we had seen them all. We all met up for breakfast the next morning. It was a blast seeing the kids play with all the grownups. The Harmon’s’ were excited to finally meet Laurel as well!
We can never have a good picture!
{See picture under another post few days ago of us all dressed up!}

My mom and Ron came up over Memorial Day weekend. That was great to see them as well. Ron hadn’t seen the kids in a while and mom hadn’t seen Laurel since she was born! Also, we had plans to go camping – so they watched the kids one night and we were able to go camping with our friends – SCORE another KID FREE Event! We had fun sleeping in our two man tent. We had taken the kids out the day before to go swimming in the lake and enjoy a day in the sun. We told ourselves we are going to go camping more often and do more outdoor things (weather permitting, since it is 100 degrees in the summer here in the south) because the boys just loved it. Laurel- she tolerated it! She enjoyed the water!!

2 man tent with electric! Gotta have coffee.

Me and Laurel enjoying the water

Our campsite

Jeff cooking us some yummy breakfast - with skillet! HA

Harmons in April

Baseball.

Blake played his first ever sport! He was on the Cardinals T-Ball. He loved it. Although when he didn't get a nap or stayed up the night before he was a bit grumpy and would cry on the infield...with all the other 3 year old. It was hilarious to watch them play, all trying to tackle one another to get the ball. Blake was one of the smaller guys on his team however; he did awesome, and I think he will make us tons of money because he is very marketable.....he is a switch hitter!!!


Ian did coach pitch. He was on the Storm. He grew a lot from last year. We were worried because this team is from 5-8. He was the youngest and smallest person on his team. But he did hang very well! He started out playing outfield and then came to 3rd and then ended playing on 2nd for the rest of the season. He did really well. He would hit and get on base 3 out of the 4 at bats. We can’t wait for Ian to grow and play more baseball.

Beach.
The kids and I took off to NC while Ian was on spring break. I visited my friend Melissa whom I have known since the age of 2. We last met up in NYC when Ian was 6 months old. Since then she has gotten married, had Ella and moved from Cali to NC. So when we are both on the east coast I thought it would be great for us to meet up and reminisce. It was great to catch up & meet her family. We enjoyed great food –REAL PIZZA!!! - the beach, and an aquarium. Good thing is it won’t be another 5 years until we meet up again because they are coming to my brother’s wedding in August! Can’t wait. The kids had so much fun playing! It was great- Melis and I childhood friends and now our children playing together.

Here are a few pictures from April...

Boys at Beach

Blake T-Ball

Ian Coach Pitch

Ian

Blake

At the beach

Laurel sun bathing

At the aquarium

Relaxing, looking at fish

Attempt to get all the kids in one picture. Ella, Ian, Blake & Laurel