Life update.

We've decided to pull Maddie from preschool.
It hurt my heart and my head.
David and I went back and forth about it but in the end we both knew it's for the best.

We were managing decently enough, (and by that I mean I'm lying hardcore)
We had food. Not enough-David constantly acted like he was starving to death. (We didn't have snacks or junk food so it was the end of his world). Our bank account went $.05 negative and Netflix emailed me to say there was an issue with our card.  Yea.
We also took into consideration that next year she'll be going to preschool through the school system and not through base like she is now.
Plus the idea of not really doing Christmas killed us.
I had all kinds of Pinspired projects ready to go then realized I couldn't afford to do them.
We sat Maddie down and talked to her about it and she's okay with it.
We considered putting her in half day but realized by the time her name popped up on the list, it'd be about March anyway and Fin's summer vacation would be coming up and I wouldn't want her in school while he's not.
Plus, she misses mommy/Maddie time while Owen naps.

So now that we've finally decided, I'm okay with it. I'm glad we've made a decision.
I did up our next meal plan/grocery list and David'll be more pleased.
Maddie'll be excited to spend her days with me again decorating for Christmas and helping me around the house.
We'll be less stressed out with money actually in our bank again.
I hate money.
We're still not as great as we once were thanks to the army and all that mess but this is enough to help us actually live/make it again, thankfully.
Since they require a two week notice that I'd forgotten about, she'll be going until December 10th which is still a good chunk of change but at least it's a bit prorated.

So yea, that's that update. 
*sigh*

In case you're clueless go read this post then this post.


But I sure am excited to have that little mess of a child home with me again. 

One.

Dear sweet baby boy,

Today you turn one. Time has flown by. This year just seems to have gone way too fast for me to believe. You're a mini tornado of destruction these days. It's hard to believe that just one year ago we were curled up in a hospital bed together and you were a teenie tiny little thing.
6.10 pounds. 18.5 inches long.
Ollie Pollie, you have brought nothing but joy to our little family. You've completed us.
Fin and Maddie adore you and there is nothing cuter than watching you guys all try to play together.
Fin loves to make you laugh.
Miss Maddie loves to treat you like you're her baby.
You are by far the funniest baby in the world. And the happiest. Everything makes you smile.
Even when you end up giving yourself a booboo, you're over it in half a minute and back to laughing at everything.
You love music. You love to sing with me. You try to copy me. You love to give me kisses and as slobbery as they are, I simply adore getting them.
Your favorite toys belong to the dog. You actually get mad and yell at him when he takes them away from you. It's hilarious.
When your brother and sister are being their loud crazy selves, you yell at them and jump up and down flailing your arms around just trying to fit in.
You are a bottomeless pit. I swear you are NEVER full.  EVER!
You love to share your food with the dog.
You eat some and while you have a mouthful, you hand some over your highchair side to Bo and he loves you for it. You laugh when he licks your hands and when he eats food you give him.
You NEVER use a plate. Mommy tries to give you plates, but you immediately dump it onto your high chair tray and just eat your food that way.
You only drink milk. You're ridiculously picky about that. You'll drink nothing else from a bottle. You laugh when I try to give you a sippie cup. You chew on it, laugh and then throw it down.
You have a strict schedule of waking up between 8-8:30, napping from 11-1/1:30 and going to bed between 6:30-7pm. You sleep more than any child I've ever known, perhaps that is why you are such a happy thing.
I wasn't kidding when I said that you're a mini tornado! It is like your ultimate goal during the day to just destroy all the things your little hands can get a hold of: cat/dog food & water get spread all over the floor. The clean laundry gets dumped all over the place. Your blocks get thrown around at least 0293578029348 times a day. You love to push your little walker thing into Bo while he's trying to nap. You just love to toss your toys out of your toybox and all over.
You also love to hide things. I watched you slide the T.V. remote into your toy box as you giggled about it. I actually found a candy wrapper in your block box earlier! CRAZY CHILD!!
You are a total ham, such a flirt! All the ladies adore you!
The other day we were in the checkout line and I got stuck standing there an extra few minutes so that not one, not two, but THREE different cashiers could come and chat with YOU, not mommy but with YOU!!
You are obsessed with your toes! And with taking your sock off.  Only ONE sock. You'll crawl around all day with only one sock on while mommy has NO idea where the other's gone to....probably into one of your clever little hiding spots.
You quite often wear misatched socks when we're out and about because you'll toss one in the car and mommy will search frantically until she finds one that of course isn't the matching one. People probably think I'm a crazy person but if they only knew the little goof you were, they'd understand.
You are one of my favorite people in the entire world and you're just cute as can be.
I know you're too little to really understand any of this and mommy probably sounds like a crazy person telling you this stuff throughout the day but oh well. Mommy needs to just get it out and let you know.
I truly can't believe how fast this year has gone.

You are the sweetest little thing and you have truly done nothing but bring joy to our little family.
We love you Ollie Pollie Pants.