Today Ed reenlisted for another 5 years! That means when he is done with this reenlistment, he'll have 11 years in and we'll be half way to retirement. Woo hoo! I am so proud of him, he is such a great NCO and his soldiers just love him. So here is to another 5 years (and who knows how many more deployments!?) in the Army! Colorado, here we come! :) 
The other day my mom was reading the newspaper and found an article that she thought I would be interested in. The VFW (Veterans of Foreign War) were hiring a local photographer to take pictures of family members with deployed spouses for free for Valentine's Day. You know me and pictures, I was all over it. The shoot was at St. Margaret's church in Palm Desert, they had it set up so cute. There were two different back drops, one black and one white, with hearts and flowers on them. As soon as I got there, I felt welcome. There were other military spouses there and a lady from the VFW and they were so sweet. They talked and talked about military life and how thankful they were to have Ed serving this country. Living in the desert, I don't get a lot of that so it was nice to be around people who understood what I was going through and were thankful for what Ed and I have to go through. The photographer took quite a few pictures of Layla and I and when it was time for Layla to have pictures done of just her, she wouldn't have it. But she still got a few good ones of her anyway. After pictures were done, they had a table set up so Layla could make/color daddy a Valentine card and also have a little snack. I can't even describe how I felt when I was there, it was like I was home, around people who truly understood and could sympathize with my situation. As soon as we walked away to leave I couldn't help but cry. A whole year has gone by without Ed and these were the sweetest people who just made me feel normal. They also handed me a card when I left and when I got to the car to read it, it said: "Dear Military family member, I want to thank you for the sacrifice you have made to preserve our nation's freedom. Your long nights, lonely days, times of fear, hours of worry and seasons of stress are not unnoticed by those of us who enjoy freedom. Thank you!" If I wasn't crying before reading that, I sure was now! Ed loves his job and what he does, I don't expect everyone to understand but it's nice to get a thank you every once in awhile. 
I guess I could have added sugar cookies to the title too, but it sounds better without them. Today we continued our lesson on the letter S. First up we made snakes out of nylon and newspaper balls. I actually think that crumpling up old newspaper was more fun to Layla than anything else we did today. She liked the noise, the ripping, shoving it in nylons, and most of all, it turning her hands black. Silly girl. After our snakes were all full, I tied a knot at the end of them and Layla started painting away while I added eye balls. They turned out pretty cute. 
Up next we made sugar cookies. I'm not going to lie, had we have had some chocolate chips in this house I would have much rather made those. But, we were out and sugar cookies do start with the letter S so it worked. Layla likes making them but LOVES eating the dough, so she wasn't a huge help, she didn't want to be disturbed while she ate everything I added. 
And last but not least, LUNCH TIME! This was actually my favorite part because I was anxious to see how she liked squid and sushi. Okay, okay, they weren't real squid and sushi. The sushi was just a PB&J sandwich made a bit differently and the squid was just hot dogs and spaghetti noodles but they were cute and fun. 
And I can't forget the concert breaks every 5 minutes that Layla would put on for me. She is such a little rock star. 
Layla's preschool is a private school that goes from preschool-5th grade. Earlier this year they had a fundraiser where we had to sell cookie dough and based on the number of cookies you sold, you got certain prizes. Layla and I went to all our friends and family and sold as many as we could. A couple of months later after fundraising was complete, we got a newsletter that told the top sellers in the school and guess who was one of the top sellers? Layla! I was so surprised to see her name in there, I mean, she did sell a lot but I thought for sure some of the bigger kids would have sold more. Because she was one of the top sellers she got to participate in the battery operated pig race (if you came in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd you won money) and today was the day! There were 10 pigs sitting on the counter when we walked into school today and she, of course, picked the purple one to race. She didn't win but had so much fun racing it and she keeps saying she won because she was the only kid in her class to have gotten a pig. She has been playing with it non stop since we got home tonight (it oinks loud and is giving me a headache. Thanks Learning Tree!). 
Layla’s 4th birthday is just around the corner and that means birthday planning is in full effect (actually, it’s been in effect since September, but who’s keeping track?). Today my mother in law and I did a trial run on Layla’s popcorn cupcakes. Her birthday party theme is going to be carnival/circus and I found the cutest cupcake recipe that matches the theme perfectly. I am so excited with the way they turned out! I still need to design a popcorn label (think popcorn box) to bind around the cupcake wrapper which will make them even more popcorny (is that even a word?) but so far, so good. I think they’ll be a big hit! Now, who wants to help me make 100 of them the night before her party? Eek! 
When I got married I thought for sure that things like getting gas, taking out the garbage, and putting together/building things had finally come to an end. I mean, that’s what husbands are supposed to do for their wives, right? Right! But what happens when that husband deploys? The word screwed comes to mind. Over the 5.5 years that Ed and I have been married (and in the Army) I have found myself grow more and more independent; it actually quite surprises me what I can do alone. I blame the Army for this, by the way. Ed has always been supportive and voiced how proud he is of me from the day he left for basic training and I wrote him telling him that I opened a can of SpaghettiOs all by myself for the very first time (yes, I was 18 years old and yes I was spoiled growing up, don’t judge me). But today was an all new experience for me and after I was finished, I emailed Ed to let him know that I will never do that again. I put together a wooden kitchen for Layla! Actually, that’s not what I would call it. I would call it bruising, straining, puncturing, hurting, and giving myself a black eye for Layla, well, because that is what happened. It took a good old fashioned screwdriver, a little elbow grease, and 3.5 hours to realize I will never buy a wooden kitchen again unless Ed is home to put it together (or of course I find one for a killer deal like I did this one. I mean, who can pass up a $150 kitchen for $30? Not me!). So there you have it, my morning consisted of just about killing myself to see a smile on my daughter’s face, but it was so worth it. I think I did a pretty darn good job, if I do say so myself. 
