Adventures With B in Tennessee. 3 months down!

We’re officially three months down with this stupid deployment! I’m really proud of us! Since Sky left we’ve adopted a puppy sister, stained the deck, painted a bathroom and spare bedroom, redecorated our bedroom, decorated the front and back yards, washed the car a dozen times (I must be bored, I literally washed my car maybe once since I was 18), explored clarksville, taken a couple trips to Nashville, finished the entire Netflix series of Pretty Little Liars and have since worked our way to season 3 of Vampire Diaries. We’ve had to get rid of a snake that wanted to curl up in our bedroom, really I just had to open the back door and he left willingly, I tried to free a lizard from a sticky bug trap in the garage, no luck, poor guy. B has learned to crawl, pull my hair on purpose, reach to grab my hand, eat all by himself, and almost has 4 brand new teeth!
I’m really thankful that we’ve been able to talk to Sky as much as we have. He got to FaceTime us yesterday. B knows his face and cries for dada when he reaches for my phone. The I pad was probably the best thing we could have bought for Sky before he left.

I got into a rut this month after I stopped feeling so motivated and the days started to drag. I had to call my mom a few times and just vent. It helps so much to have someone positive to talk to when I start to feel anxious and alone. I have to pray all through the day to keep from feeling overwhelmed sometimes.
The day I was out back staining the deck I had been worried about Sky and I was stressed and feeling pretty sad and the doorbell rang. I usually don’t answer it because I’m a huge sucker when people try to sell me anything, but I just had a feeling I should. My hair was in a ratty bun and I was covered in paint but I answered the door anyway. The sweetest girl was trying to sell books to make money for pay for school, and after I told her that my husband was gone she asked if she could pray for him with me. Here I am standing on the porch looking like such a mess, holding hands with a complete stranger, and bawling my eyes out because she knew exactly everything I needed to hear in that moment. Before she left I told her she was an angel and we were both crying.

For the most part it hasn’t been too bad. I love our neighborhood, I feel safe, the neighbors are all really friendly and we’ve met nice friends. We go to a church that I love. Our family has been really helpful even if its just through the phone and a couple packages in the mail. I have a really sweet baby. He will usually will let me get things done around the house and just observe from his jumpy or pack and play and he has fun on all our adventures. I’m grateful that we’ve had to go through this. It’s shown me that I can get a lot done by myself but that it’s ok to need help sometimes. And when Sky gets home I’ll appreciate our adventures together as a family so much more 🙂

Adventures with B in Tennessee… June and July!

I’ve been a horrible blogger. I’ve been keeping myself so busy I hardly have time to sit down. B is officially crawling. And pulling things out of cupboards and off shelves and trying to put just about everything in his mouth. So a two hour project ends up taking me two days. I finally finished the bathroom.

I used the same color my mom used to paint hers but her bathroom has a lot of natural light so I like hers a lot better. But it still came out cute.

I made a cute wreath for the front door…

Then I stained the back porch. One word… Nightmare. I hated every second of it. Then today I went and got a few cute things for it and painted the top of an old coffee table with chalkboard paint. Finished the whole deck for only $120. I love when I do that 🙂

The Fourth of July was so fun. B got to watch the fireworks this year! Last year he could only hear them from my belly 🙂

and we didn’t have to leave the front porch.

Today is mine and Sky’s two year wedding anniversary. It feels like so much longer. But in a good way! He’s my best friend and I don’t even remember what life was like before him!

I think he’s been gone about 11 weeks. It was going really fast at first, but lately I’ve been so excited to have him home finally it makes every day before then drag. Everyday makes it more worth it though!

This month I’m going to try to finish the spare bedroom. I think I just want a big playroom for B, with no sharp corners and nothing to climb on. that way I can do my homework in there with him and not have to get up to grab him every thirty seconds.

Here’s some pictures from this last month… My Bessum bug is getting so big!!

Adventures with B in Tennessee. A week of projects!

It’s Friday again 🙂 that means we made it through another week… Only I’m not sure how many. I’m losing track. I feel like I got a lot done this week. I finally got around to fixing the front porch.

It’s probably my favorite place. I love our neighborhood, everyone’s always outside. The main reason I’m always so proud of my projects is because I ONLY shop on sale. So when I make something come together when I don’t even have to explain to sky why I spent all our money I’m really proud 🙂 I redid that table top with modpodge and a piece of scrapbook paper. Super cheap and it changes the look a lot.

I also got around to our bedroom. Finally. I bought all our furniture before I knew what our house would look like so our bedroom didn’t come together very well. The bed I bought was too big. And the black didn’t look good. So I took the bed apart. And just left it on the frame. I always feel silly doing things like holding a mattress over my head because I always wonder what I’d look like if someone walked in…

BEFORE

AFTER

I bought all new bedding, a sanoma quilt, more accent pillows, a super cute area rug and new candles and spent less than $200! Whoo hoo!

B got his first scraped knee.

tough boy didn’t even cry!

I also got Sky’s Father’s Day box sent out. Which I love! I’ll post that once he gets it!

Adventures with B in Tennessee… ONE MONTH DOWN!

We made it through the first month since sky left without any major catastrophes! The last couple weeks we had a couple moments where I stood here and had to think… “Uh… Who can I call right now” This was the first

I’m lucky I didn’t reach down and grab him while I was whirling through our bedroom cleaning up before bed. The second was looking down and seeing this guy

ew. Squished him with Sky’s army boot and called the exterminator the next day.

We got a few projects done around the house. B is such a good helper.

building a fire pit in the backyard
helping mom wash and clean the car.

Eden on neighborhood watch.

I love my sweet babies 🙂 they’re so good at keeping me entertained while Dada is away.

ADVENTURES with B in TENNESSEE… two weeks down.

How I got through this week without beating anyone senseless is beyond me! It was great our first couple days home from our trip to Utah. Me and B just cuddled and relaxed and since we shipped my huge suitcase back here I didn’t have to unpack til it got here. Sunday we had a little photo shoot with the box we’re sending Sky.
Then Monday I decided to ship Sky his box. For whatever reason I paid for the biggest box they had, I went a little overboard. I just feel so bad that he’s there without all his things from home so I bought what ended up being 40 pounds of soaps, candy, drinks, munchies and all his workout supplements. It never occurred to me that I was actually going to have to lift the box AND Beckham and carry them both, including my wallet, phone, and customs forms, all the way from the car to the counter at the post office. Needless to say, everything except B ended up on the pavement and I was trying to scoot them with my feet before someone came to help me. So embarrassing. The box ended up costing almost $100 to send. Whoops. Then Wednesday came around and I was excited to go shopping and get out of the house to do something fun. We started at Tj Maxx. B sat in the cart on the diaper bag so he could see over the side. Sometime while we were shopping I noticed him sucking on my phone. So I pulled it out of his mouth and traded him for a toy and put my phone back into the bag, I thought. After we had moved down the street and spent an hour in Hobby Lobby did I realize I couldn’t find my phone. I pulled everything out of the diaper bag and checked ever inch of the car. I ran back into the store but nobody had seen it and when we called it it went straight to the voicemail.I knew It was fully charged last I checked. “Find my I phone” only pulled up Sky’s. So I had to go all the way to Tmobile and get a loaner phone. One of the ones you take the battery out of and give to kids to play with for a toy because its so old. I know someone had to have taken my phone because it would have to had been in the cart and someone had turned it off. So on my way home I left a really nice voicemail telling them thanks so much for leaving me in Tennessee without a phone and without a way to get a hold of my husband in Afghanistan. I didn’t say everything I would have liked to because I was still holding out hope they’d spawn a soul and return my phone at this point. Little did I know, not only were they heartless enough to steal my phone; they tried to get into all the accounts I had saved on the phone. Luckily, I had thought to change all the passwords as soon as I had gotten home so all they ended up doing was locking me out for failed password attempts for a couple hours. Finally after calling every store on the block to see if anyone had turned it in; I called the insurance company and filed a claim to get a new one. Another nightmare. They tried to deny my claim FOUR times because the phone was still in use after the time I reported it stolen. Well wow… I could have told them that. So now It’s Friday and I just finished everything with them and my new phone should be here by Monday. I’m so mad because I never like buying expensive phones in case they get lost or broken but this time Sky talked me into it because he can’t have a phone over there and we can talk together with my Iphone and his Ipad. Oh well. Lesson learned. The rest of the morning I’ve spent fixing the Internet connection or my laptop or whatever the hell decided to go wrong while I attempted to talk to Skyler this morning. Somehow I figured it out. I really can’t wait for him to get home.

So that’s everything that went wrong this week… We did have a really fun day playing outside in B’s little swimming pool though.

I don’t know what I would do without my Beckham Bug and that sweet smile to get e through the hard days while Sky is gone.

ADVENTURES with B in TENNESSEE… See you later Utah!

So we’re on our way back to Tennessee! And we’re a week closer to Sky coming home! It was so good to get back to Utah for a little while. We had so much fun. A week was barely long enough, we didn’t get to see everybody so some of our friends still haven’t gotten to meet B in the two weeks total he’s spent in Utah! I’m excited to get back though and be able to pick up our puppy and get into sky’s my jammies and just relax with my little loves. I’m proud of myself for getting back by myself without passing out on the floor in the airport. On our way here, even with my moms help, i had B strapped to my belly, a hundred pound diaper bag slung over my shoulder, my lap top bag, and a huge suitcase I myself can fit inside (yes, I checked) and I was dragging straps and blankets and dropping bottles, while trying to blow the hair out of my face and wheezing and sweating. So I figured, flying back without any help would be the death of me, but it’s actually been really easy. We just barely made our flight but Beck has been so good and sweet and spent the whole four hours on the plane napping and flirting with the girls next to us. Thank you God 🙂 I’m giving myself the rest of the weekend before I start any projects at our house. Every time sky comes home from a trip, I’ve ripped apart or redone or repainted something. This time I’m going to work on the backyard. He dug a big hole firepit before he left so now I just have to drag some bricks and rocks and cute chairs back there and make it look more like something we did on purpose. I forgot to remind him to show me how to work the lawn mower and whatever that thing is called that trims the edges of the grass, so that will be a good show for the neighborhood but I’m sure I can figure it out somehow.

Adventures with B in Tennessee. Alli and Anthony came to see us!

Another exciting week in the Nicholas house! Beck’s aunt Alli and her boyfriend FIANCE came to stay with us for a week and we had so much fun with them! I’m kind of disappointed in myself for not taking more pictures, however, I’m sure my facebook friends enjoyed the break HA!

Beck and his favorite aunt Alli!
The last time she saw him he looked like this….

We had so many things planned to do with them before they got here but we forget how long it takes to get four people ready in two bathrooms and then get B bathed, dressed, fed, binky found, diaper bag packed and finally strapped in his seat and hoisted into the car! So by the time all that was taken care of we didn’t feel like driving for three hours to go to the Tennessee Aquarium! We ended up just having a couple fun shopping days and watched a few movies and had a few dinner dates.

Fun camp fire in the back yard!

I have the cutest little boy… always modeling for mommy 🙂

Another week that went by too fast, but we’re so happy we got to spend time with Alli and Anthony and we’re so excited for their fun life together! We love you guys!

Next up for a visit… MY MOMMMY! Back to the airport tomorrow!

Adventures with B in Tennessee… Fun with Grandma and Grandpa!

We’re sad today. We were so excited for months for B’s Grandma and Grandpa to come and their trip went by so fast! I love having them visit because they’re just like me and Sky, they are always excited to go out and do fun things with us but they are just as happy to watch movies and have lazy nights. We had a couple fun days in Nashville, went to the zoo, had yummy dinner at our favorite restaurant for Ella’s birthday and then had a couple nights watching Harry Potter movies and telling stories on the back deck.

I feel like Beck grew up and learned so much while they were here. The day we picked them up from the airport he’d cry anytime Grandma came near him and by a day or two later he was reaching for her to pick him up! Mind you I’ve only ever seen him do that with me before then. He loves his Grammy.

The boys even took him for a boys day shopping trip to Lowes. If you know anything about the type of mother I am, you’ll be so proud to know I didn’t even call them a hundred times to check on him.

Grandpa can’t wait to teach B to ride his first motorcycle, so we’re starting him early and they got him his first bike. Here I was, thinking that because he loves cuddling his mommy and watching little mermaid with me, that he wasn’t going to turn out like Dad and love all the scary sports; but as soon as he got on his bike and got a little wind in his face he got so excited! I could tell he loved the butterflies in his tummy. Uh oh!

B is going to miss all his friends Monday when Dad goes back to work and it’s just him and Mom again.

Even Eden will miss her boyfriend.

Adventures with B in Tennessee. Grassmere Zoo and Croft Family Historic Farm and Cemetary.

APRIL 2

I’ve been wanting to go to the Zoo in Nashville since we moved here. I make it a goal of mine to go to every zoo I can wherever we go. This one was one of my favorites! I can’t wait til Beck is a little older and gets as excited about the animals as I do….

My absolute favorite part of our zoo day was exploring The Croft Farm. The Grassmere Zoo was built around the historic home that was completed in 1810 Col. Michael C. Dunn.

Michael Dunn’s son-in-law, Lee Shute, purchased the farm for $10,000 in 1846. Several years later, Lee sold the 346-acre property to his son, William Dickson Shute, for the sum of $5, as “a loving gift” to William and his new bride, Lavinia. William and Lavinia renovated the home after the Civil War, changing the style from Federal to Italianate and adding the porches between 1876 and 1881. They had two antique rocking chairs on the front porch where we sat to take pictures…

Behind the home was the cemetery where several generations of the croft family are buried.

SUSSANAH DUNN AGE 14 and 1 MONTH
“THIS LOVELY BUD SO YOUNG AND FAIR
CALL’D HENCE BY EARTHLY DOOM.
JUST CAME TO SHOW HOW SWEET A FLOWER
IN PARADISE WOULD BLOOM.”

“UNVEIL THY BOSOM FAITHFUL TOMB
TAKE THIS NEW TRESURE TO THY TRUST.
AND GIVE THESE SARCRED RELICS ROOM
TO SLUMBER IN THE SILENT DUST”

The home and cemetery have been kept so nice that it felt like you were walking around in the 1800s.

After we went to the zoo we we’re all really hungry. I almost bolted to the car. We went to a really yummy barbecue restaurant. It didn’t look very cute outside but that’s how you know it’s good if the parking lot is still full!

1970’s photo. SO CUTE!

Another fun day in Nashville!

Adventures with B in Tennessee.

So most of our friends and family know, my husband will be deploying to Afghanistan at the end of the month. I haven’t really felt like talking about it because it felt so far away but now that it’s getting closer I guess I better…
I recently started school here in Tennessee and need to be here to do my internship, so me and B will be staying here while Sky is gone.

Before we had Beck and it was just me, I would spend the time that sky had to be away basically just vegging and counting down the days until he gets home again, but since I had Beckham it’s harder for me to think that way. He’s growing up so much everyday and even though I can’t wait for Sky to get back, I don’t want to just wish away the days that Beckham is still my baby and not take advantage of every memory I can make with him.

Fortunately Sky can still get on the computer and get in touch with us so I decided to start a new portion of my blog dedicated to the things we do while it’s just the two of us.

I decided to start it before he left though because we have family visiting all month and have a lot of fun things planned while they’re here like the zoo and aquarium and we’re going to throw B a special HALF birthday party on the 11th since Sky wont be here for his big birthday. After all that, it’s going to get really exciting and our days will be filled with things like attempting to mow the lawn and other various things that I’m sure our neighbors will enjoy watching.

Our first adventure…

NASHVILLE APRIL 1

Sky’s mom and dad are flying in today and we decided to just spend the entire day in Nashville since he is so sick of hearing about how I never see anything farther than the grocery store during the week.

We ate at Rainforest Café. We sat under a huge butterfly and B couldn’t take his eyes off it!

Sky is on a new duck dynasty kick and he just had to walk around Bass pro shop. Beckham loves fish.

By the time their plane landed someone was really grouchy and we didn’t get a chance to take any pictures but we’re so glad Don and Ella are here to go on adventures with us!