New Year and I am going to do this Blog thing right.

That's right it is time to get serious!  I never thought blogging would be so hard!  I have to admit though there are times I go a while without crafting.  There are months weeks that I just don't feel like hauling crafting supplies upstairs.  I currently do not have my own little space to craft.  It takes place mostly at the kitchen table and I have to wait until my kiddos are in bed.  I have three boys and they completely wear me out by the end of the day.  HOWEVER I am done with excuses I am going to do this blog some much needed justice!!!!

I am going to start by having next week having a Valentine's EXTRAVAGANZA!!!! 

I am going to have at least five Valentine's crafts that do not cost very much to make!

Also I am going to have a what I call Cheapo's Craft Saturday post that will be something you can make on a Saturday afternoon that will not cost more than $5.00-$10.00 To make!

Yes, I can do this!  My blog will be wonderful!  Ha ha!!!

Anywho that is all I wanted to post.

(and by the way I did get the purse I wanted for Christmas)

What I would LOVE for Christmas!

Not Thunderbird's bag

My husband and I met some good friends at a bowling alley a month or so ago. My friend Thunderbird (no not her real name, just a nickname) had this AMAZING purse made out of her hubby's old uniform. I fell IN LOVE!!!! It is so cute with the green and the fabric that she picked out to match it. I had to have one, so I asked her where she got her fantastic, wonderfully adorable bag. She informed me that she ordered of off www.Heroonmyarm.com

As soon as I got home I pulled up said website and admired all of the purses. What I love about this business is that is an Army wife owned business. I am all for helping out another Army spouse, keeping it in the family I guess you could say.

You can send in your husband's uniform, they pick it apart and sew it back together as a purse! So now whenever he is gone I can still have a piece of my 'hero'. Such a wonderful idea!!!

Confessions of a lonely army wife...

My husband is gone right now at mobilization station. For those who do not know what I am talking about, mobilization station is where soldiers get ready to get deployed. Even though he is not getting deployed overseas there is a chance he will get picked up if someone gets hurt so he has to go through it for six weeks and then come back home.


I would just like to take this time to really express how I feel. Being an Army spouse is the hardest job in the military. Sure the soldiers are the ones that have to endure the fighting and dangerous stuff. But really, its the spouses who have it rough. I have to continue with day to day life without my husband here to help me. I get double diaper duty, cleaning (which is not only making sure my list is done but I also have to make sure his gets done too), I have to play mother and father, I don't get a chance to be the good guy I have to be the one always saying no. Even with the taking care of kids and keeping up the house and all there is another factor no one else sees.

I miss my husband so much when he leaves, that it physically hurts. There are times that I lock myself in my room for a few minutes and just bawl. I do this so that my kids do not see that mommy is crying. I do not want to upset them more than what they already must be feeling. I have to be the strong one right? Daytime is not so bad I have the kids to keep me busy and luckily I have a very understanding sister who lets me call her a million times and day just because I am bored. After the kids go to be it is a different story, the time between bedtime for kids and bedtime for me seems to drag on. That is usually myself and my hubby's alone time, since having three boys takes most of our attention. So instead of watching TV together, I watch TV alone. Which isn't all THAT bad since I get to watch whatever I want! Then bedtime for me comes along.
At night, I grab his pillow and hug it tightly because the smell of him is still on it.

I sleep in his tshirts... believe me I do ANYTHING to make it seem like he is there at night.

I wake up in the middle of the night and realize he is not sleeping next to me. Every bump and noise I hear in the house scares me. I now do not have my tough Army man to go check out sounds.

I do not mean to sound like a wuss but really I need to vent a little bit. I did get some things done that have been on my to do list for what seems like eternity.

I went through my kids' toy boxes and threw away broken, toys that are not used anymore.

I thoroughly cleaned my bathroom. (HUGE accomplishment since I HATE cleaning bathrooms)

I cleaned off my mess of a kitchen counter.

I finally got started on a 'Sugar n Spice' baby shower present I have had in the works.

I have also been doing a little crafting too. I made some 'BOO' letters for my mantle and also cut out like 50 bats to put in my window for decoration. I will take pictures of the 'BOO' letters tomorrow since the light is not the best in here. Thanks for letting me vent a little.

Let me introduce myself...

I am Mandi, I am a mother, daughter, wife, sister, and best friend. I have three adorable little boys that I could not imagine my life without. Aidan who is 5, came into my life when I was in a really bad place, and he pretty much saved my life. I was a single mom to Aidan for a while. I had no help from the man who helped make Aidan (he was never a father so I have a really hard time calling him that). Then I met my husband February 3, 2006 on a blind date set up on my now best friend Sarah. I knew from the instant I met Lance we would be together forever. Lance had just gotten back from deployment to Iraq a couple of months before we met. He was everything I was looking for in a guy, sweet but not too sugary sweet that would make me gag. Lance is an amazing friend and will do anything for me in an instant. Most of all he treated Aidan like he was his own.

Lance and I got married March 24, 2007 in LAS VEGAS! It was a blast and perfect for the type of couple we were. We wanted a ceremony that was special to us but not crazy serious, or expensive. We wanted our wedding to be completely about us and not just feeding everyone. :)

Soon after we were married we got pregnant with Connor, who is now 2. Connor is such a special little boy. His laugh makes everyone around him smile and giggle. He truly is all boy, he plays in whatever dirt patch he can find. Our latest addition is sweet baby Rowan, he is 10 months. I really wanted a girl when I got pregnant with Rowan. Is it bad of me that I was upset to find out I was having another boy? However Rowan is my sweet baby boy, I am so glad to have him. He has a very beautiful soul, and makes my heart swell up. We will try for the girl I long for in another year or so. If we have another boy then I will be blessed to have four little boys.

Lance works for the Army full time during the week and is also in the Army Reserves. Which means alot of work for mediocre pay. I was tired of trying to decorate our house buying things that were completely overpriced. I started stalking blogs seeing what other talented women were doing to get some ideas. I found out there are incredibly talented women in blogland, I started making crafts and posting them on my facebook. I soon felt like that was all my FB had become so I decided to take a go at it and make my own blog hoping to inspire someone who like me, doesn't have a loaded bank account but wants their house to be beautiful. I hope you enjoy!