11 Years and counting!

Wow I can't believe it has been 11 years so far. It makes me pretty proud though to know that Papa Bear and I have been married for 11 years even though all the predictions were that we wouldn't last 6 months or even a year. To those non-believers....the immature kid in me wants to stick my tongue out and flap my hands by my hears and blow a huge raspberry! lol

This year we didn't do anything. We had big plans, but we were so exhausted and just feeling blah...that we went to our favorite burger joint (nessy burger) and came home to watch Fringe (our fav show)

It is pretty awesome that we have been together this long, and are still going strong. We see so many marriages fall apart in the corps since it can be such a hard lifestyle on a family.

Well that is all for now. Happy Anniversary my love!!!

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Thoughts

Well I have a few minutes to blog, so here it goes.

I have so many thoughts whirling around in my head, and I am not sure I can get them all down before baby bear wakes up from his power nap. lol

First off....how can I get my little man to eat more? The week his new little tooth was pushing through...he ate like a champ. He gobbled up all his food at each feeding. But this week....I am lucky to even get him to take a few bites. He loves his jello, and crackers with butter or sour cream on them.....but he needs to have nutrition.....and I am unsure on how to get him t eat. lol

I have been feeling very motivated lately to get caught up on things so I can attend the temple again. I fell so far behind when I got pregnant and was so sick that I stopped going. Now I ache to go. I am really hoping that the San Diego Temple will be just as amazing for me as the Oakland Temple was. I have to admit that even though I love this new house so much more than our last one, and I love the fact that we do not have any neighbor kids kicking the walls at night to wake us up, or the bachelors next door partying and filling our house with all types of cigarette smoke........I really do miss Walnut Creek. I miss our ward so much. I am fearful that we won't feel anywhere near as close as we did with this new ward as we did with the last one. I am also afraid I might sabotage things. ughhhh I miss going to the Oakland Temple and and the feeling I got once I stepped inside of comfort and feeling like I could relax and forget my worries for a few hours. I miss my friends!!!
Okay sorry....I was feeling a little weepy there for a few minutes. lol But really I want to have that amazing feeling of comfort and hunger for knowledge that I had before when I went to the Temple daily and attended the institute. I hope I can iron out all the kinks and get into a good routine and groove here.

I have also been feeling the need to shed some pounds. I know I just had a baby 8 months ago.....but.....it was 8 months ago. want to get back to feeling good, and not feel tired when I race baby bear around the house in his fire truck he loves so much. lol I have been walking either in the morning or at night with him.......but I feel that is not enough. I want to use my Wii and do some of the boot camp classes on Camp Pendleton. But I feel guilty for taking off and doing things when my house still needs organizing and such. hmmmmm what to do!!

I also feel the need to shed some pounds of junk. lol I am as my sister called me.....Sentimental.....or in other words....a pack rat!!! This drives my poor husband nuts. I mean really I save everything. lol I keep movie tickets and glue them in my journals. I keep receipts fearing that I may need them or get audited. I keep and collect books, movies, and just about everything else that I can tie a memory to. I don't know why I am so over the top with this. I swear it's an illness. No I am not a hoarder.....but I really do hold on to stuff I should be able to let go of. I need to get rid of some of it. Hmmmm Maybe a flame thrower will help. lol


I will start selling Scentsy again very soon, and also some crafts from Thoughts in Vinyl Each month I will place the orders so If you find something in Vinyl you would like.....just let me know, and I can set you up with an order form. Also if you would like to host a party for Scentsy or Thoughts in Vinyl we can set that up. Just know that the craft party is just so you can do a fun craft and have something nice in your house for super cheap. ;0)

Well it looks like my time is up and Baby Bears nap is now over. lol go figure.

Talk to you all soon.

XoXo-Andrea Carla (Mama Bear)

what a great day!!!

Today was pretty awesome!!

Papa Bear hung out with Baby Bear all day and took care of him. Mama Bear got some much needed rest, and some much needed time to herself. I went to our new ward again. It was actually a really great day. The lessons were great the people were wonderful, and I felt my heart was full.

I reconnected with some people I haven't seen in about 9 years. I felt so old......The last time I saw them their son he was 8 years old. He is now going to college. wow!!! He told me something amazing that I really loved..... he said The Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) is not a showcase of saints, but is a hospital for sinners. I love it!!

I will write more later, I just had to share that I had a great day!!

X0X0-Andrea Carla

Sunday's Shenanigans

1- I LOVE how you light up and smile and laugh when you see a camera.

2- I LOVE that you have mastered your low crawl.

3- I LOVE that you learned how to push yourself up to a sitting position this week.

4- I LOVE that you are so messy and funny when you eat your new foods.

5- I LOVE you so incredibly much!!!

XoXo-Andrea Carla

P.S.- Mama Bear Loves you

8 months of awesome!!

So baby bear is now 8 months old!! I can't believe how fast time is flying. And he is getting so big. I am not so sure I like that my little man is growing up. I want him to stay small and be my baby forever. (with the exception of him sleeping through the night. lol)

Which yes that means he is still not sleeping through the night....after 8 months of waking every 2 1/2 hours....Mama Bear is insanely tired. But hopefully soon he will decide he wants to start sleeping through the night. lol

Baby Bear is now an expert in crawling. He low crawls everywhere. And he can move really fast. ha ha ha He can push himself up to his knees, and pull himself into a standing position as well. And today he figured out how to push himself up to a sitting position. I think Mama Bear is in big trouble. lol It seems that I need to lower his crib bed now. ;0( He is getting way to big.

We pretty much have the house all set up now. Just a few things that need organizing, or need to find a new home. But the house is looking really good. I just need to clean it. It has become a little messy lately with Papa Bear being all broke and on crutches from injuring his knee at work, and mama bear pretty much trying to do it all. But hey the fort is still standing for now. lol

Baby Bear has had a few Dr. appointments lately and we are really trying to figure out how to get this little guy to gain some weight. He is8 months old and weighs 13 lbs. He is still in #1 diapers, and is still wearing 0-3 month clothing. He really is my tiny little guy. And as much as I love my little snuggle bug....he needs to gain a little weight. I mean just last weekend he had a bigger girl hugging and kissing him so much he couldn't push her away. My poor bear needs to get some weight and muscle so he can defend himself from all the girls. ha ha ha
His latest appointment was with a nutritionist. She went through a large list of questions asking me all sorts of things about what I feed baby bear and how much. She rattled off a huge list of foods asking me if I ever gave it to him. Most of them I answered no to as I wasn't about to give my bear butter, and sour cream. Once her questionnaire was over...she told me I should be letting him have these things.....and that I HAVE to let him play with his food. So far I had struggled to get him to eat just a little bit of solids, and to keep him semi clean. She told me I needed to let him really play with it. I knew she was right and all her points were valid. I mean how else is he supposed to understand what everything is like if he doesn't feel it? tastes and textures are so interesting. But for Mama Bear this is Uber tuff for me to allow and I hate the mess!!
But I allowed it last night. He ate tuna with mayo, cheerios, peas and corn, cheese, and pickles. He ate a little more than normal, but nothing to get wowed over. And he was a messy boy!
This morning for breakfast Mama Bear made him pancakes with apples and bananas in them. also cheerios, oranges and bananas, and oatmeal with pears. He gobbled it up and made an insane mess!




He took quite a bit of washing in the tub before he was clean again. ha ha But once he was sloshed around a little.....my baby bear was all squeaky clean again.
This afternoon we had another Dr.'s appointment for Baby bear that went great, and then we swung by the country store on base to get some big boy foods....or in other words......crackers, noodles, cottage cheese, juice, and some baby food. lol when we got home Papa Bear had said he was on his way home....so sat Baby bear in his high chair again once he was all stripped down to his diaper, and fed him peas and corn, carrots, cheerios, crackers, goldfish baby crackers, cheese, and pears with oatmeal. He gobbled it up and I don't think I have ever seen him eat so dang much. we cleaned him up a little, and played for a bit. Papa Bear made fajitas and we sat down for dinner in the evening. Baby Bear joined us for a snack of Peach cobbler, crackers, cheerios, and cheese. Also he tried pasta in cheese sauce, but wasn't really a fan of it. But he sure loved the peaches. lol





That is all for now, I need to get to bed.

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Sunday's Shenanigans

1- I LOVE that I call you Baby Bear

2- I LOVE that you are so amazing

3- I LOVE that you and your Papa Bear are such great buddies

4- I LOVE seeing how excited you get when I walk into the room and you haven't seen me in a little bit

5- I LOVE getting to know you better

X0X0-Andrea Carla

P.S.- Mama Bear loves you!!

Sunday's Shenanigans

1- I LOVE making you laugh

2- I LOVE that you want to be such a big boy that you want to feed yourself

3- I LOVE that you make my heart full

4- I LOVE that you are so curious

5- I LOVE getting to know you.

X0X0-Andrea Carla

P.S.- Mama Bear loves you!!

The sky is falling Chicken! The sky is falling!!

Epic 2011 Blackout!
Yesterday was a real adventure! lol

So for the last few years we never lost our power in the San Fran area. But we come back to the San Diego area and hey we lose our power immediately. go figure. For some reason San Diegans lose power a lot.

When we moved Papa Bear didn't want to move her oil lamps that she had purchased last time she lived in San Diego because the power was out all the time. Well I really could have used those last night. lol

So the power went out around 3 p.m. and didn't come back on again until 2 a.m..
When the power went out Baby Bear and I were hanging in the living room. Baby Bear had just woken from a nap and was a tad cranky. I had just calmed him when the power went out and the Baby Einstein we were watching went out. BLAST!! I was cleaning and tried to continue until baby bear couldn't take it any more. lol poor little guy. So we went outside to swing for a bit while mama bear read her book. It seems when the power went out our cell phones stopped working as well. AWESOME! So we hung out on the back porch overlooking the golf course with our neighbor who lives in the guest house. We talked and Baby Bear swung for about an hour. The neighbor went around in the neighborhood and found out that everyone had lost power. We tried to call Papa Bear and finally got through. As it turned out Camp Pendleton had lost power as well. Hmmmmmmm......This seemed to be bigger than we had thought.

Papa Bear said the word passed at work was that the blackout was most of California, some of Arizona, and others as well....They also said it might be a terrorist attack. And seeing as how it is so close to 9/11 I don't doubt them thinking that as well.


So the power did not seem to be coming on any time soon. The neighbor and I talked while I let Baby Bear swim in his pool. We talked and hung out. Baby Bear had a great time flirting it up with D (our neighbor) He played and splashed until I think he was a little cold. I took him out even though he still wanted to play.

Papa Bear was on his way home and thank goodness he had his bike or it would have taken him hours to get anywhere. All traffic lights were out so traffic was backed up everywhere. It was insane. He got home safely. Once he got home, I kicked it into gear finding all of our emergency gear out as we had found a battery powered radio and the San Onofre Nuclear plant had shut down as well because of the power outage. So this was a big deal. All of San Diego, and up into Los Angeles were without power. We also heard some of Sacramento was hit. (not sure on that) So Papa Bear found our emergency backpack and we pulled out our candles, and flashlight that charges when you shake it.

I made candles by pouring water and cooking oil into a mason jar and then lighting a small wick on a plastic floater. I grew up with those and they are awesome!! They are safe to burn all night long! ;0) I made three mason jar candles, and spread them around. I also served up some left over dinner for Papa Bear and I. We filled the bath tub half way, and I filled the sink with soapy water so I could wash bottles if I needed to.

I was really worried about our freezer as I have been double pumping for months to give Baby Bear enough milk, but also so that I can provide enough milk for a friends baby in Utah who was born a preemie at 24 weeks. I just couldn't let anything happen to that milk. Normally if we have a power outage I don't care...I just hang out at home and don't think anything of it. But this time I felt I had to protect that milk. So all three Bears loaded ourselves up in the car as we had heard from several people that a town not to far from us had full power. So we headed on out to Temecula. What normally is a 15 minute trip out to Temecula took us over an hour because traffic was so backed up due to no traffic lights. On the way into town there were so many people broken down on the freeway who had run out of gas. It was crazy. Then we got into the first part of town and it was pure chaos!! Stores were selling out of stuff, gas stations were packed and people were waiting in long lines just to fill up. We drove around to 3 different stores looking for dry ice. Everyone was sold out. It was a mad house. Finally we just got back on the freeway and drove even further away to the next town looking for dry ice. Our first store we stopped at had sold it all to one person. Ughhhh But they directed us to some other places. to try. finally on the 5th stop we found some, and just in time as well. Right when I walked in the phone rang and it was another store asking how much they had and wanted to buy it. Luckily I got 11 lbs. worth before they sold out. I got a few grocery items and then we got gas and headed back home.


We got in the door, lit the candles again and then moved some of the meat out of the big freezer into the little one so the dry ice could fit in the freezer and protect the milk. I packed it full, threw a blanket on top and almost got it closed. It stuck up a little, so we sat one of those huge water jugs on top so it would keep it closed. I heated up a bottle for baby bear over a candle and Papa bear fed and put baby bear to bed. I went into the yukon to pump as it had been 15 hours and I was hurting. I got all set up and started pumping while I ate some cold left over chow. I started reading from my book and then 14 minutes later the car battery died! ughhhhhh So I moved everything over to the Avalanche. I started pumping again and 28 ounces later I was done! phew. I felt so much better. I shut off the truck, came in the house and made up Baby bears bottles for the night. I went to bed only to have Baby Bear wake up an hour later. Luckily I had fallen asleep with one of his bottles tucked in close to me so it would stay warm. I fed him and got him back to sleep.

So overall it wasn't that big of a deal, but people sure were acting like the sky was falling. I mean it's not that bad. We have a grill, that we could boil water, cook eggs, meat, just about anything on. lol So we were fine. I just wanted to protect the milk so that is why we ventured into the chaos. But listening to the radio there were reports of price gouging on gas......it went from $3.39 to $4.99 in a little over an hour at one station that happened to still have power in San Diego. shady!!! Also reports of people looting. Some woman was running around in one of the parks lighting fires because she didn't think she would get caught. People are crazy!!!

I am thankful though that my family was safe and we could just relax as we new that we were all right. Word has it that the power outage is because of one guy in Arizona. lol I am pretty sure he is going to be on the unemployment list real soon. Poor guy. Hopefully he didn't do it on purpose.




This morning when I checked on everything the milk was just fine! phew it's all safe and still frozen. lol And thank goodness....because I got a call today from one of the parents wanting to see if they can make it down to pick some more up. lol The world works in funny ways. ;0)

Well that is all of our adventures for now.

XoXo-Andrea Carla

yadda yadda yadda!

So I have to admit that blogging has really taken a back seat to everything lately. I want to blog all the time. Throughout the day I even think of tons of stuff to blog about and even start them in my head.....but then I feel guilty if I am playing on the computer when I should really be cleaning and organizing the house.....and so alas.....blogging has become an activity that does not happen to often.

I love our new house. It is great.....except for all the bugs! My goodness we have a ton of them. Spiders, crickets, moths, and just about anything else you can think of. I think some were left over from the gross people who lived here before. Then half the population hitched a ride with all of our boxes on the moving truck.....and of course we let them move right into the house.....and then there are the sneaky little ones that find a way in through a crack in the wall, or through a slit in the door. I can't take it anymore!!!! aughhhhhh So today Papa Bear sprayed outside for bugs. He did the whole house, and even did the guest house for good measure. He also sprayed some of the bushes outside. Hopefully that will take care of it for a bit, but if not we will end up spraying inside as well. lol

Night before last we had our first thunder storm here. Poor Harley jumped off the floor and in bed so fast. Poor boy is such a fraidy cat!! lol You wouldn't know he is a dog.... lol I was afraid it would scare the tar out of baby bear, but it just woke him up and so I warmed up some milk and fed him and got him back to sleep. Thank goodness it didn't get to bad so that he wasn't scared. ;0)

Papa Bear is doing great at work. He has a lot of Marines he takes care of, and they seem to come with a lot of baggage. ha ha ha But he is a good Marine, and even though I know some of them are annoying....he will do a great job.

This weekend was a four day weekend, and I was very excited to go to the beach and the zoo. Alas we didn't get to do anything. Papa Bear watched t.v. the whole time, and we played with baby bear. I also started a craft over the weekend and am almost done. It was almost done when I realised I did something really wrong that couldn't be ignored.....so I had to sand it down, and repaint a lot of it. It's frustrating, but I think it will turn out pretty well when it is done.

Baby Bear is still having issues sleeping at night. I must say it is taking a toll on Mama Bear!! I feel like I am being worn down to a stump. Waking up every 2 1/2 hours and then getting up uber early every day.....that is a killer! Other than that he is doing well. We can feel one of his teeth coming through, so that has been super fun. lol

Being a Mama Bear has been pretty awesome. There are some days I just really want a day off to rest. But watching him smile and laugh at the silliest things is the best!! He has the cutest laugh and it doesn't matter how tired, irritated, or run down you are....as soon as he laughs and smiles at you.....it makes you smile and then the things that seemed like such a big deal a moment ago....aren't such a big deal anymore. ;0D

Yesterday Baby Bear pulled himself up to a kneeling position. We were all shocked and so proud of him. He had the best look of self accomplishment on his face. ha ha ha He has not figured out crawling yet, but he can do the low crawl, or combat crawl fairly well.....and he can roll like it's cool. He will see something he wants and just roll on over to it. The other day I placed him on the living room floor which is very big and open. I walked into the kitchen and suddenly the t.v. got really loud. I came running back into the room fast and what do you know.....my little beasty bear had rolled in a matter of seconds across a large room and figured out he can press buttons on the surround sound system and turn it on and make the sound go up!!! lol Oh boy!!! Mama Bear is going to have a rude awakening when it comes to how things are set up in the house. lol I have to admit that it was pretty funny though. ;0)

Well that is all for now. I need to get back to things.

XoXo-Andrea Carla

Sunday's Shenanians

1- I LOVED finding out when I was pregnant with you

2- I LOVED when I could feel you moving around in my tum tum

3- I LOVED seeing you on the Ultrasound machine

4- I LOVED knowing that when I was about to have you....you were finally going to make me a mommy

5- I LOVED you the first time I saw you...all wrapped up like a little burrito.

X0X0-Andrea Carla

P.S.- Mama Bear loves you!!

Surfer Dude!

Yesterday was a fun day. Mama Bear got a text early on from Papa Bear about how he didn't have time to make the deposit for rent, so she would need to do it. We finished our morning routine and got ready for town. We were all ready to go and I couldn't find my car keys. Well what do you know.....I had left them in Papa Bears truck a few days back so I wouldn't have to take them in the store. I had shoved them under the seat and forgot about them. So I went out to the tuck to see if I could get them. Well what do you know.....the one time Papa Bear locks the truck!!! BLAST!! So I called papa bear to tell him we weren't going to be able to go to the bank either. But then I remembered we have OnStar!!! Well thank goodness.....I called, and they unlocked the doors to the truck within 1 minute!! And sure enough under the seat were my keys!! lol go figure!

So off to town we went. We got on base and picked up our rent money then drove back out into town to deposit it at our landlords bank. Then we got ice cream from McDonald's and headed back to the house to get the tire for the stroller as it was flat. We asked OnStar to find us a bike repair shop and got the tire fixed. We then headed to Papa Bears work to see him since he has been working super late lately. By the time Baby Bear and I arrived he was done for the day and so we walked the 1 block to the beach and took baby bear for the first time. He was pretty entertained by the whole thing. He thought the water was way to chilly, but fun and interesting. He loved the sand and dug his toes around in it. Mama Bear got attacked by a wave and it was funny. The waves were huge!! But because of sharks in the area no swimming was allowed. We all walked up and down the beach and found Baby Bears very first sea shell. It was fun and he loved it. We are going to go back very soon.

Well here are the pictures from our adventure!! ;0)

XoXo-Andrea Carla