boxes, bins and little tiny things...

Boxes suck.
I have more bins than anyone in the world. including legoland. this is a problem they probably have meds for. meds that i need.
little tiny things are the story of my life with 4 little tiny people. polly pockets are the spawn of the devil, my little pony are their cousins and barbie is the devil. :-)
SO, there are now many boxes with many tiny things headed for the garage sale. :-)

And someday I will be done unpacking, just in time to move again. Truly, if it weren't for my unexplainable love of the marine corps and most importantly...my Marine, I would SO be done with this moving crap. As a matter of fact, I am actually considering settling here (which is completely bizarre if you have known me a long time,) just so I don't have to do this again...and again...and again. Of course, I do have an intense desire to go back to Okinawa, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see... REALLY, if God and the Commandant could each just send me an email with their plans, it would certainly make life a bit easier for my planning purposes. Ah, but people in hell also want ice water. :-)

Okay, so on to better things. I am really not operating with all my faculties lately, so I won't even try to provide a witty commentary to make you pee your pants with laughter as you peruse all my cute photos of my fireteam. I will simply let my sweet beans beam at you from cyberspace, then I'll send a quiz email to see if you can figure out what the hell we are doing.
JUST KIDDING. (man, i kill myself. I am just so stinking witty...)
SO, here's a quick rundown of the last month...

Big Boy...independently stuffing his face!

Seriously? Max...ready for reading? I think he's studying

up on how to pray for sanity for Mommy. :-)

July 2, 2009
Wilmington Kid's Museum

Future mad scientists?

Making our very own maze...maybe it will lead us to a house?

Daddy Mac and his littlest princess...Crabby Patty :-)

Evie, checking out the cool "campground"

Charley, "kayaking" her way to the camp


Eva, waiting to be served...


or not.
Charley sassy pants requested to be waited on. :-)


Mercy, checking out the cots...
God forbid we smile for the camera...
Little Terd. :-)


Max... grinning because he just totally filled up his diaper for me. Isn't that sweet?


Storytime in the tent...
This book stunk.
Seriously.
Who writes a book for kids about weather that is this boring?
Can we make it at least a little entertaining?


July 4, 2009
Celebrating? How about relaxing!
Freedom from househunting today!


The future first female Commandant trying on her uniform...


July 12, 2009
Rattling around in our new space!

Playtime in our new home!

My sweet, always happy (unless he's hungry...) BIG boy

Miss Mercy Elaine, with her ever present glob of spit...
her babysitter calls her the "lick and wipe" queen.
She LOVES to lick the devil out of her fingers and then
wipe it ALL over you. It's just so pleasant. :-)

Adventures in the rain...
In our new, fenced football field of a yard!

2 sweet sisters snuggling and snickering in the rain.

my sweet mini macs, snuggled up for some playtime fun!


Happy Birthday Taylor!
The bigs...hanging out for some fun party time!

The littles in thier bumbo seats for some fun...

Seriously? Little stinker.

Cookie time with the bigs! SO much more fun (and tasty,) than unpacking boxes!!

Moving sucks and I'll tell you why...

Because you trust that people will take care of your stuff. And, truthfully, they did their best on this end. However, while they were taking such good flipping care of my stuff, one of them managed to steal my wedding rings. I was NICE. I BAKED THEM F**ing COOKIES. I FED THEM LUNCH AND KEPT THEM HYDRATED. Oh, thank you so much ma'am. Let me just steal the one thing that will break your heart. Gee, wasn't that sweet of them.
So, I filed the police report. cried. cried some more. called the insurance company. cried a bit more. checked a few pawn shops and then had to buy myself a wedding band. from a pawn shop. cried more.
It's not the monetary value. It's not the diamond. It's the story behind the rings. They have been with me for 15 years. 15 years of marriage. A hard fought marriage that has seen some serious times and survived them all. A marriage that I knew would happen from the moment I laid eyes on my Charles. A marriage that he never gave up on, even when I did. And the symbol of that love that we had blessed before God has been taken. But you know what that person didn't take from me? Every bit of faith I have that the very best part of my marriage isn't a ring or a thing or a house or anything else. It's the 4 beautiful children that are living proof of our love. The 4 sweet souls the Lord has entrusted us with. So, listen here... You can take the ring, but you can never take away the circle of love and life they represent. So, I hope you get what you need from them. And I hope someday you will understand that what you took was heartbreaking, but this is what you could NEVER take. My faith. My belief that people are inherently good. My trust in people. And my unshakeable, neverending, endless love for my husband and my belief in our marriage.
SO TAKE THAT. Ha. I win. Rings or no rings. I WIN.
I'd still love to have them back...so pray for that. But if I don't see them again, I just pray that the love we had spills over onto the next wearer of that beautiful, shimmering stone.
i'm off to pass out from moving overload.

with a sigh and a bit of a cry...
tiff

"First God, then the Marine Corps...

right mommy?" This wrapped up the discussion I was having with Eva this morning as I explained why we were renting house, how long we might live there and if we were going back to Okinawa. My astute 6 year old has figured out that first, God has a plan... and second, so does the Marine Corps. Jeepers, this life is crazy! Try explaining it to a 6 year old. :-)

Many Thanks....

for the many wonderful and thoughtful gifts we have received these last 6 months from so many. I am horrified that I have yet to write any thank-yous for the gifts received after my shower. Ever since my wedding gift thank you snafu, I have been a thank you note nazi, so suffice it say...I am sadly, a thank you note loser, once again. Here are a few pics of some of our neat gifts...

Thanks, Des! Old friends send great new gifts...


Thanks, Uncle Larry and Aunt Pam!
My babies are ridin' in style!
(And I can actually go places sometimes.)


Thank you Soldier's Angels and Operation TopKnot,
for the many lovely things we received!

Thanks...Debbi, Angi, My Mom's pals (The Prayer Family), Cheryle, Susie, Operation Top Knot, Soldier's Angels, Mom's Day Out families, Aunt Ruthie, Kim, Katy, Aunt Ruth & Uncle Sam, Aunt Gloria & Uncle Bob, Marge & Joe, Danielle, The GFWC Antelope North County Women's Club, Vicki, Kristen, Holly, Jeana, Tommye, Kristina... the list goes on! We are so grateful and so blessed by each of you.

Stay tuned for more updates soon...
love,
tiff

The thunder rolls...

and the fat boy flips! My sweet little man FINALLY rolled his stout little bootie over! Yesterday morning Charles discovered him wide eyed and spastic armed, staring up at the ceiling. So far, it is a one time thing, but not for lack of trying on his part. Sadly, I didn't get a snapshot, but I do have this picture that pretty accurately shows the look on his face! He really has the most expressive face! Way to go, little man!!!

House Hunting Sucks.

And I truly mean that. There is nothing exciting about it. Nothing that makes me giddy. Nothing, Nothing, NOTHING. As you are ALL aware, I am about one of the pickiest people on this earth, equaled only by my mother, Kristina & Debbi. SO, needless to say, trying to buy a home that some other non type A person designed and then proceeded to build with not a single thought to layout, functionality or aesthetics is ANNOYING. Add to that: my beach house is nearly an hour from the area we are looking in, I have 4 children who are SICK of the car and I do NOT like driving long distances, my husband CANNOT help with this due to his schedule, and gee golly, life sure is a barrel of laughs right now. Oh, did I mention the 2 ginormous flights of stairs I run up and down 25 times every time we are leaving? And for any of you who are going to throw some stinking platitude at me right now about anything, I will say, oh say nicely.... Stick it where the sun don't shine.
Ah, that felt better. NOW, I better find a damn house within the week or it's gonna get ugly 'round here.
And, yes I am truly grateful to have my whole clan together, but that sure doesn't mean I can't be annoyed that I can't seem to find a decent damn house.

the beach...

is a block away, I can see the Atlantic from my deck. The Intercoastal in 100 feet out my back yard. And yet...my poor bigs have only been there twice in almost a week for an hour at a time. I haven't yet figured out how to squeeze beach time, house hunting, laundry, feedings, grocery shopping, beach, park, pool, library, movie nights and LIFE in general into my paltry 24 hour day. We are on the hunt for our new home and I have a great realtor, so pray this process zips along, b/c I NEED a home. Living at the beach is great...but I need a yard and a swingset and MY STUFF! (I should probably refer myself back to my stuff post a few years ago to encourage myself to just ditch all that crap and live in a cardboard box, stop shaving my legs and only eat recycled or organic food. Okay, did I just say recycled food? Um, isn't that poop? Not what I meant and just a really a bad idea. I digress.)
SO...since I have no brain cells left to make any of you fart in your pants with laughter, I'll just give up and post some cutie pics.

The first jump of summer into the iceberg that doubles as the pool at my parents.
My children have boiling water in their veins (from Susan...)

JoJo, taking off for the shallow end


Charley bean, ringing the summer in with glee!


My sweet peas, just bein' cute!


My biggest big, snuggling miss Mercy.


My little sis, holding the littlest mac sis.


My godmother, my fave aunt, my reesie, snuggling my littlest bean.


My bigs, helping Mommy out, feeding the M-n-M's.
What would a mommy of twins do without her bigs?
Drown in barf, formula and poop. That's what.


Eva & Charley enjoying breakfast on the deck...
viewing the intercoastal...
I love this island.

i love my kids.
i love my marine.
i really do love my life...
even if i don't always like it.

i'm gettin' there.
someday i'll be ready to leave before 1:30 in the afternoon.
we'll eat a homecooked meal again...
sometime in 2010.

my clothes will smell like poop and barf,
i might cover my hair with a silly scarf,
my nails won't be groomed,
my hair will look like wool on a loom,
my mascara might run,
no housework is done,
but i've got 4 sets of kisses,
I'm Charles' missus,
i wouldn't trade a bit,
it's the perfect fit,
for this crazy,
sometimes hazy...
obsessed with rhyme,
never on time,
prematurely gray,
alwasy got somethin' to say...
Chick.

love,
tiff

Rollin...Rollin..Rollin...

man, my girl is rollin'! Mercy Elaine officially rolled over today, May 27, 2009!
She might be tiny, but she is mighty...

Other fun things in M-n-M world...
Giggles, giggles and more giggles! Nana has discovered their sweet spots and spends inordinate amounts of time coaxing little laughs from the midgets. She has also discovered how to get them to talk to each other. It is so amazing to see them notice and talk to each other. I have a feeling I'm in for it with these 2.

Mercy has a set of lungs that she LOVES to exercise at whim. For such a light eater, she sure throws a mother of a fit when she is ready to eat all 4 of the ounces she deigns to drink...provided it is just the right temperature. If I'm lucky and stop to reheat the bottle, she might eat 5 1/2 or 6. Where the fat rolls on her little legs come from is beyond me, but apparently she is eating enough to make them.
Now, when Mercy exercises said lungs, it scares the ever loving daylights out of my little man and he lets loose with an ear splitting wail that gives me hope that he might one day be my little rock star. Of course, his face turns a shade of red that I know cannot be natural and the ear splitting wail is proceeded by the silent mouthed O. You know you are in for it when the O appears. As for eating, I know where his fat rolls come from. And I have the very small bank balance to prove it. That child is an eating MACHINE.
More funnies...
Mercy has legs that move a thousand miles a minute. Future track star? I prefer to imagine a future Karate champ. (You all know I am SO not a sports fan. Hell on earth for me would be jock children.) As a matter of fact, I think I'll pretend sports don't even exist until my kids are grown and can then decide to hate sports for themselves. Either that or they'll decide I was a horrible mother because I didn't spend every waking moment shuttling them from one stupid sports practice to another. Hopefully I will have moved us all to a compound by then and they won't even know sports exist. Other than dodgeball, ping pong and the plate/trash can game.
SO, with these legs, she manages to scooch all over the crib, occasionally thwacking Max in various body parts, to which he responds with one slightly opened eye and a serious look. Then he drops back off the planet.

Speaking of off the planet...
Max is the cutest little bedtime man. You lay him down (ON HIS BELLY, YES I AM A BELLY SLEEPING MAMA, SO REPORT ME,) and he smashes his sweet little face into the super soft sheet, scrunches it back and forth, rubs his little hands around, then just drops off. Like that. No muss, no fuss, just a snooze.
As for my Mercy, after she has rubbed her little face back and forth several times as I am trying to shove her binkie in, she requires her butt in the air, her right hand pointed down toward her little belly and her left hand strategically placed to either push her binkie back in or knock it out. I venture to say she knocks it out more than in and I can prove it by the number of times per night I am required to stumble to her room to shove the bloody thing back in.

AND FINALLY...
Max grabbed Nana's nose the other day. As my Mom's nose is quite small, this shows excellent hand/eye coordination, giving me more hope for the future rock star.

Bars of an Officer...

Blood of an Enlisted!
WOBC 1-09

My Mustang, WO Charles A. McCawley officially graduated from WOBC at Quantico, VA on May 21, 2009! Our clan is so proud of all he has worked so hard to accomplish and are beside ourselves with excitement to have our family back together again! Congratulations to the love of my life, my marine, my best friend and the heart and soul of our family.


2/3 of the clan mac celebrating daddy!

Daddy and his big girls, basking in the freedom of
Family Time, finally here for our clan!

Mom, the Dads, Aunt Sammy & the bigs!

WO Mac and his EXTREMELY proud parents.
Don't ever forget that he is who he is because of ya'll.
You were and are the most amazing parents!!

2 very proud Dads and one sweet little munchkin!

1 more day...

until my hubby is DONE with TBS! Praise God for this time that has flown. I cannot wait until tomorrow morning at 10 am!!! I am so proud of my sweet soulmate, he has excelled! Just 24 hours until my family is whole again.

Just a few weeks until we hit Jacksonville, NC, running like crazy to find a new home. Please pray that we get base housing on Le Jeune quickly. Mama is running out of patience for family separations.
Finally...

The M-n-M's are doing great, smiling, giggling, grabbing things and growing like weeds. The big g's are settled into this new life pretty well, if I do say so myself. (Well, I do say so, then Charley starts acting like the spawn of Satan & Eva trots out the whining... and well, I guess that's life.) I have about a million pics to post, so please be patient with me!

Ok. I'm off to clean or do laundry or feed a baby or...
something.
love,
tiff