IT SUCKS when people leave...

I am sitting here, having just read my friend Angie's blog & now I am SO SAD!!!! I'm all teary eyed & melancholy & all that other crap. Angie not being here is like peanut butter without jelly. Ugh. The pitfalls of life in the military. I MISS YOU ANGIE!!!
A little background if you will...
Angie is my fastest friend ever. We met on the phone because of Kindermusik & I swear we were best pals in like 36 seconds. SO we've spent the last 2 years doing everything together & then she had to up & move back to the good ol' US of A. I swear I avoid calling because then I just miss her & the kids (and you too, bill!) too much.
Then, my friend Michelle had to move on emergency orders, my pal Ali is taking off for CA, Steph is Bremerton bound, Debby is soaking up sun in Florida, Tami is on vacation in sunny CA, need I go on? Not to mention all my wonderful friends & family so far away. Sometimes this halfway around the world stuff is for the birds.
Why am I whining?
BECAUSE I MISS EVERYONE!!!!!
and today it just sucks a bit more than usual for some bizarre reason.
well, I think it's off my chest now.
oh, one more thing. I haven't talked to my childhood best friend since Christmas & it sucks.
I'll post pics & happy thoughts tommorow. :-)
I promise
tiff

parties, parties, everywhere & not a moment to think!

Daddy & Charley catching some zzz's!

Evie & Isaiah after some fun in the sun!

Check out that mohawk!


WHEW, what a weekend! My little Eva is a party girl. We had 2 fun birthday parties to go to this weekend & the time just flew. (It probably just seemed that way from my sugar high.) Saturday, we drove up to Oura Wan beach to celebrate Taylor Freres' 2nd birthday. Fun times were had by all! As many of you know, Charles & I have been discussing the possibility of going on Embassy duty, but really wanted to talk to some families who had been. We were lucky on Saturday at the party & were able to talk to some families who had been. We grilled them forever! It was a boon though, because all of our questions were answered & we are thinking we'll go for it. We really love living overseas & this will be a fun way for us to experience more cultures. My little punkins are going to be world travelers before they can even read all the cool stamps on their passports.
On Sunday, we went to Sammi Headley's 6th birthday party. We wanted to make sure had a special celebration for Sammi, since her parents can't be here. Sammi's mom (Michelle) gave birth to her 4th child 10 days ago. Unfortunately, he was born with a serious heart defect that required an immediate medevac off island. Little Nicholas is now in Northern CA with his parents, recovering from his open heart surgery. He is doing wonderful & the prognosis is excellent. Please keep him & the entire Headley family in your prayers.
Charley was great during all this excitement this weekend. She is such a sweet baby. She just seems to roll along with the flow. Although by this evening, she was DONE! When we got home & were doing showers, she just screamed her little lungs out forever. She usually loves her bath time, but tonight was having none of it. She was so MAD it was almost comical. Oy, that child can scream. She screamed from the time I started my shower, showered Eva, bathed her, dried her, lotion, clothes & blankie & finally stopped when Charles stuffed her nighttime bottle into her screaming lips! She then proceeded to drain the bottle & pass out. Evie wasn't too far behind, I swear she was asleep 2 seconds after I walked out of her room. This is the life. My kids have so much fun on the weekends that they pass out at bedtime. And everyone wonders why I don't want to come back. THIS is why! Seriously, this place is just so awesome for my kids. I can ony hope our next posting will be this great. And if it's not, you know I'll be going ass over teakettle to make it rock.
I would normally brag about how great my little one is sleeping, but I won't because I just know it'll jinx it, so we won't talk about her 10 to 12 hour nights. EVERYONE KNOCK ON WOOD NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
Charley is smiling up a storm, coos like she is having an entire conversation & I think is totally going to laugh & roll over soon. She scooches alot. She is also starting to grab at things. It's cute. She gets ahold of her shirt and balls it up in her fist & tries to drag it up to her mouth. I wish she could get ahold of her binkie & pop it in. I'd have a lot more time on my hands if she could!
So today, Eva & I went to the commissary to stock up & she brought her own shopping cart & babies. She helped me pick out the groceries & led the way around the aisles. She is such a little grown up. Yesterday she asked if she could be an adult. Oh boy am I in trouble. Then she helped me out with decorating the cupcakes for Sammi's party. She really loves to help out & be a big girl. I should totally take advantage of this & teach her how to clean the house! She does love to help out with dusting & sweeping. She is definately her Nana's child. Before I know it, she'll be dusting baseboards & dumping drawers. (LOVE YA MOM!)
Well, I am determined to get in bed by 11 to save my sanity, so I've got to sign off now.
Miss & Love you all,
tiff

Here's some pics from Nana's visit, Oura Wan with our friends The Solley's and Charley's first pool trip. Enjoy!!

my children rock!

Okay, so today I've decided that I don't deserve such great kids. Our day was so busy & both the girls were total troopers! Poor Charley spent her entire day being dragged from one obligation to the next, starting with playgroup, then lunch out w/evie's pals, home to nurse & have a short nap, then back out into the TORRENTIAL rain to pick up paperwork, get shots (my poor baby!), drop off paperwork, pick up prescriptions, pick up Evie (false alarm, she got to stay for dinner & dessert w/Arianna), pick up Daddy, go to the commissary & FINALLY go home. Where the poor child proceeded to get terrible gas & was so tired she couldn't fall asleep. UGH. My mom swears that stinkin' car seat gives her gas & I swear she's right. Well, my super sweet Eva got home from her playdate & came lookin' for her mama & sissy. Since we were in the nursery rocking, Eva decided to bring her rocker in & join us. She also decided that Mommy should sing "Castle on a Cloud," among other favorites to help calm Charley cupcake. Sometimes kids just totally melt your heart with thier sincerity, purity of heart & true joy for the simple things. I really need to keep the pace slow & enjoy these moments, they'll whiz by before I know it.
Speaking of whizzing by, Charley is 2 months old now! She smiles all the time & I swear she is trying to laugh. She coos like crazy. I'm sure she'll be talking my ear off at an early age. She had her 2 month check up & has gained 3 lbs (now is 10lbs 6 oz) and grown 2 inches (now 22 inches)! She is a little piggy too. I NEVER have to remind this little punkin to eat. Evie could have missed a feeding no problem, still can, but not Charley. Holy cow, 8 pm rolls around & she is screaming bloody murder for that nighttime bottle. It's kind of funny actually. Her eating habits in general are comical. When she's nursing, sometimes she'll stop eating & attempt to use me for a human pacifier, which is a big NO. So, I'll start to put my hand down to pop her off & she'll smash her whole face into my boob & try to keep me from getting my hand in there. It's hysterical. I'd hate to see what she'll do in a few years when someone takes a bite of her cookie or something. Could be toddler assault.
Okay, I'm stuck on food. So today, we go to McDonald's off base. It's really good, but boy do they have some funny stuff. Evie had a mini pancake happy meal for lunch. Came with french fries, drink & a toy. Pancakes & french fries. I'm just not making the connection. It was really cute too, it came with this neat little packet that had butter on one side & syrup on the other, so you just squeeze it together & pour it over your pancakes so they get buttered & syruped at the same time. The Japanese are the MOTHERS of invention. I've never seen so many gadgets, packets, space savers, multi purpose items in my life. Heaven, I'm in Heaven, & my heart beats every time I see a gadget... (I think that's a take-off on a song from some old movie.) Holy cow, I crack myself up. Now I'm getting goofy, so I think it's best I head off to the bed. I might actually get there before 10!!!! I am such a total nerd.
luv,
tiffers

this is so totally cool!!!

Haha! I can't believe we got this up & running so quickly. With my time management skills of late, I thought my kids would be in college by the time this was done! (Kind of like the scrapbook I never started for Evie but swear I'll get to eventually.)
As Charles said, we made it through our 1st typhoon with minimal bumps & bruises! To be honest, I guess I kind of like typhoons. It's an excuse to just hang at home, get caught up & spend extra time with my kiddos.
So, I started this blog after being inspired by my totally awesome pal, Angie. What a great way for everyone to keep up on clan mccawley happenings. As of right now, my girls are watching Beauty & the Beast for the gazillionth time. Actually, eva is watching & charley is just hanging out on the hello kitty couch, looking around. (I'm emotionally attached to the couch, Angie, so even though I really don't have room, I'm keepin' it!) Charley has now decided that she prefers to cat nap while others are around & that sleeping in her bassinet is for the birds. UGH, better get that squared away or I'll never stay sane. Actually I think she is just going through another growth spurt, because she is cat napping & wanting to nurse alot, so hopefully she'll like the bassinet again soon! Charley really is just the cutest thing with that mohawk, those giant eyes & her sweet smile. Melts my heart every time I look at her!
Eva is loving being a big sis & seems to be moving past her little bit of sibling rivalry as we settle into our family of four. I try to keep her busy with the usual activities & play dates so she doesn't feel like she's getting the short end of the stick. She is taking gymnastics & ballet for the summer & really loves both, although she seems to prefer gymnastics. She is also a FISH!! I swear that child would swim 24 hours a day if I let her. We have like FIVE kiddie pools in the backyard & Charles just keeps getting more elaborate in his quest to create the ultimate backyard "waterpark" & playground.
Here's a couple of pics from Sam & JoJo's MOST EXCELLENT visit. I'll add some more from Mom's SUPER FABU visit later. Hey Sam, I lied when I said I'd never show that goofy pic to anyone. HEE HEE!!!
Well, I'd best get some stuff done around the house, so I'm off! Missing you all,
Tiff & co

The Typhoon

Good Morning,
Luckily the typhoon pushed west of us and we were spared the full force of the winds and rain. It did get windy yesterday and last night. We had to secure the outdoor toys and chain the trampoline to the cement laundry line posts. It is still fairly windy and raining this morning, but Typhoon Ewiniar has passed us by with no harm done except maybe to a couple of my plants outside that took a beating from the wind. Will post more later, this is more of a test than an actual posting.
That is all,
Charles