Memorial Day Weekend

Yesterday, we had the great pleasure of spending our Sunday with some of our friends at Barrancas Beach, a quiet beach located on base at NAS Pensacola.  It is one of those famous white sand beaches Florida boasts about.  Since it's located on base, most people there are military or dependents, which means a little less of the craziness you get when you go to Pensacola Beach.  In my opinion, it's a better place for the family to hang out.  There are plenty of cabanas, grills, and ample parking.  Lifeguards were present when we were there.  One of our longtime friends went there early to snatch up a cabana before they were all taken, which was smart since we managed to get there about thirty minutes late due to all the last minute packing.  Hubs asked me if we were moving in!  Men.  They just don't understand that you have to do a lot of preparing for the "what-ifs" when you are dealing with kids.  

 

This was Sylvia's first visit to the beach.  We all had a blast! Hubs played with the older kids in the water while I stayed on the beach under our canopy with Sylvia. She liked the beach with it's white sand, but not the water or the noise it made.  There were manatees and stingrays passing by which made the kids have to leave the water, but made for a beautiful experience since they were able to run along the shore watching them in their natural habitat. Overall, it made for a beautiful day and a wonderful memory.

We passed by Barrancas Cemetery with all of the flags by the tombstones and Kennedy asked who put them there.  I told her that student volunteers from NATTC Pensacola and other organizations go out there every Memorial Day and place them out there.  It's a great thing to see.  It really puts things into perspective when you see all those white tombstones and beautiful flags out there honoring those that sacrificed their lives for this great country.  So while you are spending time with family and friends, barbecuing, or just relaxing, spend a couple of minutes thinking about those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  I know that we will!

Advancement

For those who don't know, the Navy has advancement exams twice a year for E-4, E-5, and E-6.  I am an E-6 and Hubs was an E-5.  See how I emphasize "was"?  The results came out today and we found out that he advanced and will be frocked soon.  Frocked means that he will wear the uniform of an E-6, but will not be paid as an E-6.  Since I promised, I can no longer nag him about his career (at least for the next few weeks, he's safe!).  For everyone out there with a Sailor that promoted or if you are the Sailor (were promoted), Congratulations!  Two great quotes for our future frocked petty officers:  

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power" - Abraham Lincoln

"With great power, comes great responsibility" - Uncle Ben in Spiderman (2002)

Once a Month Cooking

When you have the equation of two full time working parents (working opposite schedules) + three kids + two dogs it equals: Dinner Impossible(not the cool one with Robert Irvine).  Hubs and I have been on this schedule for about 8 months now and dinner time has become somewhat random, which isn't something that we like.  When it comes to a family our size, sticking to the schedule is important.  We normally try to eat dinner between 5:30 and 6:00, due to bath's starting at 7:00 and bedtime at 8:00.  Since I normally cook dinner while Hubs helps with homework and watches Sylvia, if I'm not there he is out of his element.  I've been looking for ways to make my husband more efficient when I'm not there and still give my children a "clean" dinner.  

I stumbled across the website onceamonthmom.com.  I love the idea of cooking all day for just one day and then just pulling meals out of the freezer when you need them!  It would take a lot of strain off of Hubs and I.  I'm a little busy (catching up with everything I've neglected during the week) on the weekends, so I have yet to do a full month of cooking, but there is still hope.  Instead I look over the Whole Foods and Vegetarian meal plans and pick meals that we would like and cook them at my leisure and just freeze the extra meals that I made.  We subscribe and pay the $8/month so that I can have access to all of the meal plans, which are awesome!  One great thing about the website, you can look at the menus from January 1, 2012 and older, just in case you don't take my word on the site's awesomeness.   

Now all we have to remember is to take one of our "frozen dinners" out.  If only laundry was this easy!