Our First Year in Hawaii

Exactly one year ago, after several delays and a long day of travel, our family landed at the Honolulu airport. It felt like a dream. We were one of the lucky military families that was actually going to get the chance to live in paradise for the next few years.

Driving around, I was in awe of how beautiful the island of Oahu was. The blue water was some of the clearest I've seen in my life. Everywhere we stopped, the sand was powdery and white. The swaying palm trees against the background of the bright blue sky was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

In our first year, we've explored quite a bit. I've been able to knock a good amount of items off of my Hawaiian Bucket List, but we still have plenty left to do while we're here.

We spent 45 days living in the Schofield Inn, the hotel on post. It wasn't the greatest, but it could have been worse!

On one of our first mornings on island, we explored some of the beaches on the north side of the island.

Waimea Bay Beach Park quickly became one of our favorite hangout spots.

So far, I've been on one hike, the Makapu'u Point Lighthouse. The hike proved just how out of shape I am.

We've been to two different luaus, which I still need to post a comparison of.

This sweet little bundle was born at Tripler Army Medical Center. Probably my favorite birthing experience out of the three.

We've had lots of family and friends visit, and we're still expecting a few more visitors before the end of the year.

Boo'd!

When we moved into our house on post, I had expectations that I would be BFFs with the other ladies on the block. Our kids would hang out all day and we'd get together for wine and girl's nights. When we had new neighbors move in a few doors down, I even went over with cookies in hopes that we'd spend mornings at each others houses sharing coffee. Sadly, that hasn't been the case. However, after last night, I have a sliver of hope.

While I was preparing dinner, I heard a knock on the door. As I walked towards the front of the house, I heard voices and saw some punk ass teenagers in the area. I was reluctant to open the door in fear that they were selling something or asking for donations. I peeked out the door and saw a lovely purple trick or treat pumpkin with a note hanging out.

Inside the pumpkin was a bunch of candy, two rubber duckies, and some body parts that grow when you put them in water. Veronica and Adri quickly claimed the candy and split it amongst themselves. Fine by me, since I spent yet another day sneaking Snickers from the trick or treat bowl. We'll probably start "growing" the body parts this evening, after school.

I don't have much on my to-do list today, so Juli and I will most likely head to the store to pick up some goodies to boo another neighbor. I'm so happy that this tradition hit our street. I look forward to passing it on, and hopefully forming some friendships with the neighbors.

Have you been boo'd?

Announcing: The MilSO Directory Map

Happy Monday, friends! I'm excited to announce my brand new MilSO (military significant other) bloggers directory! I know, I know.. You're probably thinking, another milso directory..?! BUT, I promise this one is different! The directory itself is an interactive map meant to help find other bloggers in your general location.

I've loved connecting with and meeting some of the other blogger ladies here in Hawaii. I hope to be able to meet more and help other ladies make connections as well.

Check out the directory and add your blog here!

Ballin'

I'm pleased to report that for the second year in a row, I had a really great time attending the Military Police Ball.

Due to horrendous traffic, we missed the social hour, but made it just in time for the receiving line. When you have an event with 600 people though, it's nearly impossible to get them all through that line. So we skipped it.

Not only was our group of friends lucky enough to manage to all get seated together, but we also got a table with a great location. We were one row of table back and a few to the side of the main stage. Pretty close to the door too, which was nice for running out to the bar and such. 

The formal portion was interesting. People had already started to get rather wild before dinner was even served. There was that guy (or several of them) that responded to the toast to the fallen. A First Sergeant in the crowd got up to yell at Soldiers who were acting like asses during the Commander's speech. Some wife behind us was acting rowdy. 

This year was my first year trying the grog. It tasted fine, but smelled sort of like cigarettes or something along those lines. I don't even know. And I don't know why they always chose Diet Coke to represent the spouse at home during a deployment. I don't know about everyone else, but I drink wine like it's water when John is gone.

Since we got there rather late, we didn't have a chance to take very many pictures. Boo.. ): Thankfully my friend took her big camera and snapped one of us partying. I'm still waiting for the Brigade to post their pictures from the event on Facebook, so that I can steal the ones I'm in.

Pinecone Home State-Shaped Picture Frame [Review + Giveaway]

I received this product for review purposes, all opinions are my own. 

After all of the comments on my Instagram post of the state-shaped picture frames, I am so excited to finally introduce you to Pinecone Home! They're a small business that creates quality handmade items for your home. Their Missouri and Georgia picture frames have recently made their way on to my photo wall and I couldn't be happier! Seriously, every time I glance over at the frames on the wall, I smile.

From the moment I opened the large white box from Cincinnati, I was blown away. Not only were the picture frames perfect (and actually about a million times nicer than I was expecting), but the packaging was pretty perfect as well. Each frame came nestled cozily in a cardboard sheet with hanging directions. Included, was also a cardboard template, because honestly, who has the time or patience to figure out where to hammer the nails into the wall?

Once I decided where I wanted each frame to hang, I used the templates to position the nails. From there, the frame literally slid right onto the nails without having to wiggle and fight with it. Veronica could have done it. That simple. Awe.

What I like best about the state-shaped frames, is that they're lightweight, yet sturdy feeling. They're made of MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), which is not so great for furniture, but relatively wonderful for home decor. Especially when you're moving every few years and need to keep within your weight limits. 

Each frame is precisely cut and holds a 4x6" photo behind a glass pane and comes in your choice of 11 hand-painted colors. Custom colors are available with a surcharge. If a stunning photo wall isn't your thing, picture frame stands are available so that you can show off your state pride on a coffee table or night stand.

The uniqueness of Pinecone Home's state-shaped frames add a special touch to my photo display. As a military wife, they're a fantastic decor piece that highlights where our family has been stationed.  They could also be used as a reminder of "home." Although I'm from Florida, so sometimes I'd prefer to forget. They'd also be a great way to highlight a special family vacation.

Because the people at Pinecone Home are awesome, they're giving two people the chance to win the frame of their choice. Make sure to spread the word and encourage your friends to enter. If the giveaway surpasses 500 entries, we'll add a third winner.

Enter below, and make sure to check out their shop for these state-shaped frames as well as other beautiful handmade items.

 

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Giveaway open to US residents, 18 years or older. Sponsor is responsible for prize fulfillment.

Balls & Dresses

Since Juliana will still be so little, I wasn't planning on attending the Military Police Ball this year. Anyone that I would trust to watch her is going to be at the event, so I figured I would just stay home. John always goes, but I don't really mind missing out. In my opinion, balls can be rather boring at times anyway. Plus, I've sent him alone in the past, and he survived. 

Even though we had already decided that I was going to skip this ball, John called yesterday afternoon to see if I'd consider going. His NCOIC would rather not attend, so she volunteered to watch the girls if I'd take her place. Sure, why not.. We hadn't even hung up yet and I was already searching for dresses on Lightinthebox.com. 

Back at Fort Stewart a few of my Army wife friends recommended Lightinthebox for dresses and since then, it's the only place I buy formal gowns from. Their prices are beyond reasonable, you get to choose the exact style/color/size that you want, and the quality  is fantastic. I'd much rather pay $80 and get to keep my dress, versus only getting to wear it once and having to send it back. Just sayin...

Because I have no idea if shipping to Hawaii is just as quick as shipping to the mainland (the dresses are made to order from China), I want to hurry up and order. If I order today, I'll have exactly one month to receive my dress. I'm leaning towards the middle dress, probably in yellow, since it would coordinate well with John's Army dress uniform.

Three out of my four friends on the island will be attending this ball, so I'm kinda looking forward to going. Thanks to a great group of friends, I had a blast at the last ball we attended at Fort Leonard Wood. Lucky for us, some of those same friends will be at this ball too. Woot!

Philips Norelco Hair Clipper 7100 + #HighNTight Campaign

I received this product complimentary for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

Not too long after we got married, my wonderful trusting husband gave me the chance to cut his hair. Let's just say that hairdresser I am not. When the opportunity recently presented itself to give the Philips Norelco Hair Clipper 7100 a try, I knew that I wouldn't be the one doing any cutting. Instead I stood back an watched as Hubs cut his own hair. Scary stuff, y'all!

Right off the bat, I was impressed with this clipper for two reasons. The first being that unlike the traditional clipper that I'm used to where you have to switch out the little combs for the length, this clipper has a dial that allows you to adjust the length setting instantly. The second cool feature is that this clipper is capable of being cordless. Since we used it right out of the box, we had to have it plugged in, but if you're willing to charge for an hour, you'll get 120 minutes of cordless use.

In the end, I was actually impressed with Husbter's hair cutting skills. The Philips Norelco Hair Clipper 7100 made it pretty simple to achieve the High & Tight look.

In an effort to make a visual statement with the High & Tight, Philips Norelco is asking for guys to show off their iconic military haircuts with the "High & Tight Salute" campaign. Philips Norelco hopes to drive awareness for organizations that support our service members and their families with this campaign. To kick it off, they are donating $25,000 to Operation Homefront with an additional $5,000 as they ask their fans to upload their own High & Tight photos to Twitter and tag @PhilipsNorelco with the hashtag #HighNTight.

Need some guidance? Let baseball player Nick Swisher show you how it's done: here.

By uploading your photo, you also have a chance to win your very own Philips Norelco Hair Clipper 7100. Enter for your chance to win via the Rafflecopter widget below.

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Living on Base

From the very beginning, John and I always said that we would always live off base, pretty much no matter what. For us, it has always made more sense to live off of the installation, and pocket the extra BAH (basic allowance for housing) money. Sure, maybe he'd have to drive a little further to work, but even with factoring in gas money, we'd still come out winning. After house hunting in Hawaii, we changed our minds pretty quickly. Well sort of. My mind was changed pretty quickly, it took some convincing on my part to get my other half to agree.

As we searched the internet for suitable housing, it became clear to me that it was going to take some work to find the perfect place within our price range. We needed something with at least four bedrooms that would take Caesar. He's a 75 pound dog, and most rentals weren't willing to accept pets over 20 pounds. John also insisted on having central AC. First of all, many homes down here are only rocking the window units. Plus I've heard that the power bills can get hefty on the island. Also, with the terrible traffic, I had no interest in waiting an hour from the time my husband got off of work until he got home.

Miraculously, I convinced my dear husband that we should at least try living on-post. If it was totally awful, we could search again once our lease was up after a year.

After living in our house on-post for five months, we're both pretty happy with my decision. We literally live five minutes from John's office. It came in handy yesterday when he urgently needed me to drop stuff off for him. Twice. When he takes command of a company, we'll be about 2 minutes away from the battalion/brigade. He'll be able to walk to PT every.single.morning.

I love that the girls and I can walk to the PX in a matter of minutes, and that the commissary and clinics are just as close. I have yet to become involved in any sort of volunteer activity, but the short commute time will definitely beat the half hour that I was doing each way in Georgia.

So far, the housing company and our community center have been awesome. When things break, they come out quickly to fix them. Just last week they came out and redid the landscaping out front, after I complained that the previous tenants had destroyed everything that was alive.

We're even getting money back each month for utilities, since we stay well under the average usage for the neighborhood.

For now, I'm enjoying living on post and all of the conveniences. But, I can say that without a doubt, we'll be buying another property at our next CONUS duty station. It only makes sense to have something that is ours, and then rent it and have the tenants paying our mortgage for us when it's time to move on.

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Five Years

It all started at a lunch date with a different guy. As a senior sorority girl, I was on the hunt for a fraternity little brother. One of my actual little brother's high school friends seemed like the perfect choice, so I forced him into getting lunch with me on campus. Lucky for me, he brought a couple of his weirdo fraternity brothers. My sorority had done a bunch of events with this fraternity in the past, but since they were the "nerdy" group, I purposely skipped out on ALL of those events.

Not too long after the lunch date, fraternity rush started. I also happened to be in the running for homecoming queen at the time. In an exchange for bringing girls to the fraternity house, one of the nerdy boys promised votes. Yay for being forced to go rep the loser frat. At one of the rush events, one of the previously mentioned weirdo brothers insisted on chatting with me. He was the big brother of the kid that I also wanted as a little brother. Could this be my way in to big sister land?

It was! I got an amazing little brother along with a random number texting me. I entertained these texts for a while, and started hanging out more at the fraternity house. My best friend insisted that I give the weirdo, who was slightly older than average college age, a chance. It took some serious convincing, but we started hanging out, and he actually wasn't that bad. Eventually, weirdo kid became boyfriend. He was in ROTC, and although I had no idea what that meant, he sure did look sexy in his Soldier uniform.

Fast forward to the spring semester. The boy was set to graduated and commission with orders to Fort Lewis, Washington, while I still had one more painful semester left in Miami. He was literally going to be across the country. While I guess a long distance relationship could have worked, it wasn't something I was overly excited about. So, at the ROTC's end of the year dining out, and only six months into our relationship, John asked me to marry him and leave behind my flip flops and warm weather for Washington. 

Originally, the plan was to wait until after I graduated and get married in December or January. Some how between April 2, when he proposed, and May 1, when we got married, plans changed. I'll be honest. Some of it had to do with benefits and extra pay. Either way, I was going to be in school and living with the parentals until December/January, and we were going to get married anyway, so why not sign some papers a few months early, and then plan a big event for some other time. So romantic, I know.

On May 1, 2009 Johnny and I tied the knot. It was a small-ish ceremony at my parent's house. And by small-ish I mean some family and sorority sisters and an entire fraternity. In the end, it ended up being a drunken frat party, but I would not have had it any other way. Our wedding was far from traditional and I'm quite happy with that.

Five years later and things are still going wonderfully. We have two beautiful little girls with another on the way. I have an amazing husband who loves me no matter what craziness comes out of my mouth. He puts up with my lack of organization and my off the wall ideas like cloth diapering. I'm so happy to have found my love and taken the chance of jumping into marriage. Five down, 75 to go.

I love you Bubby!

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My Military Children

I'm pretty late in the game to be posting about my kids and Month of the Military Child, but I sort of wanted to wait until after we celebrated Veronica's birthday to be able to comment on that. April 30, still counts as April.

I have to start off by saying that my girls are effing rock stars. No matter where the Army has taken us, they've been able to adapt with ease. Veronica has lived in four different houses in her four short years of life and at the age of two, Adri has already lived in three different states. They've dealt with daddy being gone for extended periods of time. They're growing up far from family with FaceTime as their main source of communication. Since it's the only way of life they've ever known, there are no complaints.

Just a few days ago was Veronica's birthday. Since John was away doing Soldier things, we postponed the birthday celebrations a little bit. Luckily, V is still young enough not to notice. A few years ago, Christmas was also postponed for about a week, when John when over that 365 day mark in Afghanistan. Did it suck? It did for me, but for the girls, it was like Christmas as usual. Daddy came home and they got to open gifts.

Along with the challenges faced as the child of a service member, there are so many positive aspects. My favorite being that V has learned a ton of geography. She can name and identify on a map all of the states that we've lived in. She even knows Louisiana now, since that's where Hubs just came back from. They've been afforded the opportunity to travel the entire country. Once we're done with the military, they'll have the memories of living in Hawaii and wherever else we end up. The little nugget will even get to say she was born in Hawaii.

It can suck at times, but I've learned that military kids are resilient. They've learned to be able to bounce back and embrace the constant changes in their lives. I'm so proud of my girls and I hope that the next four or 10 or 15 years can go as smoothly as the past four (or two and a half if you're Adri). I know that if John does stay in for another 10 years, adapting will become increasingly difficult with age, but I'm glad that so far, we've had a successful start.

Don't forget to enter the iPad giveaway!

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Sponsored: Top 5 Ways to Show Appreciation to Military Spouses + iPad Giveaway

I received compensation from AT&T in exchange for posting and hosting this giveaway. All opinions are my own.

In the United States, Military Spouse Appreciation Day is celebrated on the Friday before Mother's Day. This year, Military Spouse Appreciation Day falls on May 9. Although as spouses, we may not have the toughest job in the military, it is nice to have one day out of the year where our support and sacrifices are recognized.

In honor of Military Spouse Appreciation Day, here are a few ideas on how you can show appreciation for military spouses.

1. Reach out: Most military spouses know how difficult it can be to make friends and meet people at a new duty station. Have a new neighbor? Go say hello and introduce yourself. Try striking up a conversation with a mom sitting solo at the park. Introduce yourself to the new faces at your unit events.

2. Lend a hand: There are countless ways to show appreciation through acts of kindness, no matter how small. Bringing the trash cans back from the curb, mowing the yard, helping out with car issues, watching children for a few hours. When the service member is away, the spouse often times has to adopt roles that they were previously not familiar with. While this is usually a tremendous learning opportunity, sometimes it becomes a burden. Especially when Murphy's Law of Deployment won't cut you a break.

3. Food is good: When Hubster is gone, the girls and I practically live off of cereal and spaghetti and meatballs, with a bag of popcorn tossed in for special occasions. For some reason, I lack the motivation to cook when it's just the kids and I. A simple pre-cooked or frozen meal can go a long way in showing appreciation. It frees up a bit of kitchen time and ensures that no one is turning into a Froot Loop. These meals are also great for a spouse who may have just had a baby or has been sick.

4. Wine is better: Or coffee. Some solo adult conversation and beverages of choice are always a nice way to unwind. Because so many military spouses also take on the role of stay at home mom, time away from the kiddies (and sometimes, even the hubs) can be necessary to stay level headed in this hectic lifestyle.

5. Words of encouragement: A simple "thank you" goes a long way. I've never felt the need to be thanked for being a military spouse. The military is what my husband does and I'm just along for the ride. Our service members are the ones who deserve all the thanks for literally sacrificing their lives for our country. However, if someone feels the need to acknowledge that I'm many miles away from loved ones often times raising children on my own, I'll take it and it's very much appreciated. "I'm here if you need anything," is another good one.

What other ways can you think of to show appreciation to military spouses? Tag @att and #milspouse to share your ideas on Twitter! You can also click here to see how AT&T is supporting our troops and their families.

As a way to show appreciation, AT&T has sponsored a fantastic giveaway (pictured) which includes an iPad mini, iPad cover, t-shirt, and hat!  Enter via Rafflecopter below!

Contest is open to all U.S. residents, military spouse or not. Entry period will run from 12:01 am EST Friday, April 25 until 11:59 pm EST Wednesday, May 7. The winner will be announced on the blog on May 8. Entries will be verified.

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True Life: I'm a Military Wife

Today, I'm joining Mal and Samantha for their Real Military Wives of Blogland link up! I don't think it's a secret that my husband is in the military, but I don't think I've ever really blogged about his military career or our experiences as a military family.

My name is Alex (Alejandra), I'm 26 and from the bizarre state of Florida. I stay at home with two kiddos and another on the way. Currently, we're living in Hawaii, where we've been for five and a half months.

I met John in college while studying to get a Bachelor Degree in Marketing. At that point he had already been in the Army for five or years as an enlisted Soldier and was doing the Green to Gold program to finish his degree and earn a commission. Due to him being in the military and having to leave for training after graduation, we got married after knowing each other for seven months. I'll be sharing that story for our anniversary next week.

Pinning Hubs. Just after I dropped the bar on the floor and I made the Colonel pick it up. Oops.

After getting married, I still had a semester left of school, so I stayed living with my parents and working at the mall as a visual merchandiser. John headed to Fort Benning and Fort Leonard Wood for BOLC, and luckily I was able to fly up pretty frequently. Four and a half years after starting college, I finally got my degree and joined John in Savannah, while he was stationed at Fort Stewart.

In the five years that we've been married, our family has had the opportunity to live in Georgia (Fort Stewart) as well as in Missouri (Fort Leonard Wood). So far, I have to say that Fort Stewart was my favorite. While at Stewart, I got relatively involved with the unit as an FRG leader for three years. Although I hated it a lot of the time, I miss it now, and am looking forward to having the opportunity to be involved with another Family Readiness Group.

Along our Army journey, there have been a variety of peaks and valleys. John deployed to Afghanistan for a year just after Adri was born, which really sucked. For the most part though, everything else has been wonderful. We've made lifelong friends and have been able to travel the country on the government's dime. I went from the ROTC girlfriend with no idea what a "sarnt" (eye roll) was to a semi-experienced military wife. I have to admit that I still tune some stories out because I have no clue WTF John is talking about.

I've met quite a few interesting characters, but for the most part, I can say that most military spouses are pretty normal people. Of course there are the ones who wear their Soldier's rank or demand military discounts (the stereotypes aren't completely made up), but in general, we're mostly nice people. Mostly. It seems to be a growing experience for most of us, and unfortunately, sometimes that's harder for some people than it is for others.

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New Neighbors

I really don't do well in social situations with strangers, so I do my best to avoid them. But when we got new neighbors, I knew I had to go over and welcome them. Our next door neighbors came over to welcome us when we first moved in, so now it my turn to pass on the torch. It can be hard when you're at a new military base and don't know anyone. Especially when that Army base is at least a five hour flight from the rest of the country.

To make things less stressful, I just bought a package of break and bake cookies. No need to worry about mixing or cleaning or making sure you don't poison anyone. When it came time to bake, I was disappointed that I had only bought a 12-pack of extra large cookies. I still kept four of them anyway.

After baking and cooling, I placed the cookies on a paper plate and topped it with aluminum foil. Eight cookies fit perfectly on the plate. I wrapped some twine around it and attached the little card that I made on PicMonkey and printed onto cardstock. On the back of the card I wrote a little message and included my phone number.

It took a bit of convincing to get me out the door, but I finally headed over. Out of all the four places that we've lived, this has been the only place where the neighbors came and introduced themselves. I had to keep reminding myself how nice of a gesture it was. I timed it perfectly for 11 am to make sure that no husbands would be home on lunch break. I had no interest in dealing with that awkwardness.

After introducing myself and Adri, handing over the cookies, and chatting for a minute or two, I was back on my merry way home. I was glad that I went with "welcome to the neighborhood" instead of "welcome to Hawaii", because it turns out that they had literally moved over from the community across the street from us. How anticlimactic. I'll just consider this time a practice run for when we have a new family PCS here.

Have your neighbors ever stopped by to welcome you to the neighborhood?

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My Unpopular Opinion

I'm not the type of person to get into serious discussions/arguments on Facebook. Personally, I prefer to steer clear of confrontation, and I'm really just not comfortable sharing my opinions on things such as politics and religion on the internet. Yesterday, something strange happened though. I saw a status that I strongly disagreed with, and I couldn't help but add my two cents.

The post on Facebook was in reference to this article by the Army Times. The majority of the comments above mine were about how if you want to join our military, you need to dress like us. While I do agree with that statement to an extent, there are currently plenty of exceptions in place that allow Soldiers to sort of bend those rules for a variety of reasons. A few of those reasons are stated in my response at the bottom of the image.

After posting, I couldn't stop thinking about the whole issue, so when Hubster came home for lunch, I asked him what he thought about beards in the military. I was super surprised when he said "no". What?! You're my husband, you're supposed to agree with me! So I asked him why. His two word answer actually had nothing to do with uniformity, and "letting people get away with everything". Actually, in my opinion, it was much more thought out than any of the comments that I had read on Facebook. His answer: "gas masks".

So I'm curious. I know that many of my readers are either in the military, veterans, or military spouses. Am I totally crazy for not agreeing with the masses?

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I Can't Complain

I started typing up today's post, and then I got annoyed with myself and what I was typing. It was going to be a long complaint. Well, I hate reading about other people's complaints, and I really need want to stop bringing that negativity to my blog.

So, I'm going to mention this once, and then hopefully get over it and not mention it again.

Hubster won't be able to make it to my ultrasound on Friday. I scheduled it around his schedule, but of course in the Army, things come up. I was mostly disappointed, because he's always had the flexibility to make it to anything I've needed him to be at, but in actuality, it could be worse.

The positives:

• I was able to get a friend to watch the girls. Hubs was supposed to drop them off at daycare, which didn't open until the same time as my appointment, so he was just going to meet me there. 
• He isn't a continent away getting shot at. 

Now I just have to decide how I want to find out. Either I can find out at the ultrasound, on my own, and then surprise Hubster -or- I can do it so that we find out together, later on. And by later on, I mean that night when the husband gets home.

Knowing that this baby is our last (hopefully), makes it a little bit of a big deal. What do you guys think? 

Also, happy Founder's Day to my lovely Phi Mu sisters!

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