Come and roll your sleeves up So that we can pitch in Cleaning crud up in the kitchen

We were so poor Wednesday

As I mentioned Gary was so nice to let us move in with him. In the downstairs where we were there was two bedrooms (one for us, one for Gary), a living room, and bathroom (with no shower). So we ate out of cans and never showered for 6 months! No no no, the woman upstairs was so nice and let us come upstairs to shower and cook whenever we needed to. It was a great arrangement until...(there is always an until) she moved.

The next woman who moved in wasn't as generous. She knew our living situation and knew what she was getting into and didn't really care. We were not allowed to use the kitchen at all and could only shower when she wasn't home. Gary bought us a little oven (our casserole dish didn't even fit into) and a hot plate. It was interesting cooking that's for sure.

The other thing about not having a kitchen is you don't have sink to do dishes in. We got these plastic bins that we would fill in the bathroom sink and do our dishes, as you know from a previous post we didn't have that many, although they still needed to be done after every meal.  :)

When we moved into our next place it felt so good to have a kitchen, dinning room table, sinks, counter space, all of those things I've started to take for granted again.

I'm too sexy for my shirt

Fashion Friday

I've never really been into fashion. My clothes are always clean and I try to always look nice but fashion and style have never really been my thing, I'm much more into comfort (read: PJs). I don't think I'd ever qualify for that show on TLC, ya know the one where women wear sweaters with cat on them, so I guess what I'm saying is I'm more of a middle of the road kind of girl. My sister on the other hand was always into what was in and "hot".

There is a group of women are church that are so beautiful and fashionable. As I watched them at church I thought, I'd like to be more like them. For a while I spent far too much time picking out my clothes and worrying about what other people would think. I was getting stressed and a little sad. I joined this website to help me a little bit. I felt like I had no fashion sense. I started to create outfits on this website and people really liked them, like actually liked them.

It gave me the boost I needed to realize that I am okay, that while fashion is fun it doesn't define me, and people shouldn't want to be my friend because I dress well. I'm only 24 and isn't our 20s all about finding ourselves in fashion, make up, and all things girly.

So here's some outfits that I put together that are my favorite. (I realized that I pretty much love jeans/t-shirt/sweater combo)

 

And the knife ran away with the spoon

We were so poor Wednesday

After Gary found out about our living situation he couldn't believe it and offered us a room at his place. Our room would be bigger, our living quarters smaller, but the rent was considerably less a.k.a the right price. We moved in right away and found that we were um...lacking a few things. Remy and I had always had roommates who came with all the normal "living on your own" items. One of the items was silverware. Between the two of us we had  one knife, two forks, and two spoons. We had to do dishes after every meal but it's not like we had to share a fork during our meal or anything, I mean a knife yes but not a fork. To be honest we didn't think much of it.

When I went back to Michigan for a visit I told my grandma about it and laughed. My grandma could not believe it. She was going to send me back with a whole silverware set for 8 but changed her mind. She didn't want me to have to carry around all that silverware in my luggage. Instead she sent me back with some money for silverware even though I promised I would buy some silverware when I got home. She insisted. When I got home we went and bought some silverware

and then set up our silverware drawer.

I miss my grandma an awful lot. We have since gotten more silverware but I still think of her when I grab one of these forks.

Sick as a dog, what's your story

Tried It Tuesday

Remy and I have been really sick lately. We are never sick at the same time...like ever, actually Remy is never ever sick. It's almost like he walks around with this impenetrable immune shield. I've asked to borrow it, he won't share but lucky for me he takes really good care of me when I'm sick.

The thing about my calling is I'm around three year olds every week for two whole hours. As moms know, a lot can happen in two hours and sometimes you are so busy running around making sure that the kids don't blow themselves up that you forget how gross kids are.  Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do for the sake of keeping everyone happy and sometimes that means you get coughed, sneezed, or spit upon in the process. So we'll just say I've been sick a few times that coincidentally have happened right after a child in my class has been and that my immune system just kind of sucks.

Knowing that cold and flu season hits me hard I planned ahead this year. I found this great idea on the internet about freezing soup in muffins tins. The first thing we did was made some homemade chicken noodle soup.

After the soup was made I spooned it into each muffin cup?

 Then I cleaned out some of the stuff in the freezer that would be okay out for a couple of hours or at least in the frigerator (see what I did there Rem)

 I left it in there for a few hours and here what they look like:

 So I ran some warm water on the back and popped them out.  After I got them out I put them in a freezer bag and stuck them back in the freezer.

They have been such a life saver.  We usually do about 4 "pucks" per person and either heat it up in the microwave or a pot on the stove. Bam we have homemade soup for those night when only soup will do (and I am way too sick to make dinner).

I want to thank you

Today we take a moment to remember all of those men and women who have served and died for our country's freedoms.I recently found  some old writing of mine from when I was 12. I wrote a little bit and thought I'd share, I actually can't believe I'm doing this but Remy always complains he can't read any of my old writing so this is for him. It's a little cheesy, I'm pretty sure I was going through a phase, but it was heartfelt none-the-less. Also in the US we have Memorial Day is May and Veterans Day in November, I wrote this on Memorial Day but the idea behind it is the same.

"The day we stop and think. We may thin k it's a day off from work but there is much more to it.
the hustle and bustle of people getting their boats out that were locked up during the winter. Old friends coming to visit. Dogs running all about. Yet nobody seems to have time to stop and think. The American flag standing tall and high. Gentle waves greet the shore. The trees swaying back and fourth to the rhythm of the wind. Long conversations being exchanged. The gardener taking a well deserved break with some cool lemon-aid.  Nobody seem to be talking about the soldiers that risked it all. 
As all of these things are happening and my attention goes to my little brother, so tiny. He needs to know what happened and why we remember today. But who will be there to tell him? Maybe he will never learn. Maybe today will just be a day off for him. Sure he might learn it in school but that doesn't make as big of an impact as hearing it from someone who has been there and knows. Stories used to be shared but as time goes by the stories just don't get told."

My Papa was a vet and even received a medal for the time he served. He wasn't very open about the things he experienced during the war but he did share a couple of stories and I am so grateful he did. I am so thankful for the men and women that serve our country and the sacrifices them and their families make. Thank you. 

Happy happy birthday Remy dear!

I would like to interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post to announce that today is Remy's 29th birthday! I would just like to wish my dear husband a very happy birthday and to thank my mother-in-law for having and raising such an amazing man.

29 Things I Love About Remy:

29. I love your laugh. You don't really do your real laugh for too many people but I love when you do.
28. I love the look on your face when it's a really sad or touching part of a show or movie. You have never cried in front of me (not even when we watched My Girl...who doesn't cry during that movie fo' realz)  but you get this certain look that melts my heart.
27.You have so many more talents than you realize.
26. You are such a good sport.  You go along with almost all of my crazy ideas (remember DJ Cray Cray). The latest example was at the Harvest Ball last Friday when you danced with me the whole time even though you don't really enjoy dancing and get embarrassed by it.
25. You are  incredibly handsome and I'm not sure how but you look even better than the day I met you.
24. Your sense of humor, although not for everyone, makes me laugh all the time.
23.You are quick to forgive.
22. You are quick to say I'm sorry (sometimes in the middle of an argument)
21. You are so loving and kind.
20. You are a talented writer
19. You really want to help people in any way you can.
18. You are so patient with me and the people around us.
17. You are such a go with the flow kind of guy. I must admit I have a love/hate relationship with this attribute...mostly I love it.
16. You are very genuine with what you say, I really appreciate that about you.
15. You have never made me feel bad about myself in any way. I have done some really silly things, my weight has gone up and down our whole marriage, I still get break outs like a teenage boy, etc. but You have always helped me feel good about myself the whole way through.
14. You are calm during stressful situations. We balance each other out perfectly in this regard you are calm when I am stressed and I am calm when you are stressed.
13.I love the "conversations" you and I have while you play your games. It can get super frustrating but it still is hilarious.
12. I love that you will drop whatever you are doing when I need a hug or a snuggle.
11. I love love love when you sing in church. You always turn your head so I can't hear you but I always sneak a peek and it makes me smile.
10. I love that you shares your thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams, and fears with me.
9. I love how unselfish you are with everything, except your chips.
8. I love how practical you are about things.
7. I love (and yet it drives me crazy at the same time) when I will tell you what an amazing deal something was and then you you will ask "Is that good?"
6.I love how thoughtful you are with me and your friends.
5. I love that you stand up for me and your friends around other people.
4. I love that not only do you have a great sense of humor but you are just fun to be around.
3. I love the way you eat your chips.
2. I love the little look I get when you are about to do something that is totally dangerous. In those moments I can quite clearly see little boy Remy peaking out.
1. You are the best eternal companion a girl could ask for and I am so grateful you are mine.

I am so happy that 29 years ago today little Remy Charles Chartier was born. I love you so much and I hope you have a wonderful birthday.

We'll share the shelter of my single bed

We Were SO Poor Wednesday:

When Remy and I first got married I moved into the place he was already living. It was a basement suite with two roommates. We were so grateful that we didn't need to find a new place to live. Now that I look back I can't believe what we were thinking. The landlord worked with Remy on the same project and so he lost his job the same time Remy did. In order to make up for his lost income he raised our rent to an obscene amount. Let me tell you about our room. In every other house on the planet it would be considered a storage room.

When you walked in you couldn't open the door all the way because we had our bedside table (cardboard box, no joke!) right next to the bed that prevented the door opening.We had a twin bed. Can you even imagine two adults sleeping on a twin bed every night. We had a tiny little walkway in-between our bed and the closet, we had to shimmy in sideways. Actually you could just sit on the end of the bed and pick out your clothes in the closet (which was only selves). Last but not least we had a desk that was our landlords in there that he wouldn't let us move.

 

  We have come a long way since then. We think back about our first place and laugh and wonder how we made it work. but you just do you just make it work. The great thing about starting so small was A. it happened when we were newlyweds and pretty darn snuggly B. We can't get much smaller and C. If we have to downsize in the future at least we know we can do it.