We got our Money's worth!

My last post was a little heavy, and the next one I have brewing in my mind is heavy too.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to interject a little light heartedness into my blog.

Tonight Elizabeth was taking her clothes off of the couch to put them away, and she grabbed a pair of undies. I told her not to take them... Here's why

My sweet Elizabeth has been potty trained for 5 years now. When she first started we bought her the big padded training panties. But shortly thereafter we bought her a pack of real underwear. It was size 2T/3T.

She's 6 1/2 now, and these 2T/3T were the panties that she was taking upstairs to put away. :) Yes, they are only slightly small now...

Well, what can I say except we really got our money's worth out of them!

My tribe

So, many of you know we are in Pittsburgh. That is the one in Pennsylvania friends, not Texas. That puts us approximately 1449 miles from my parents, and 1467 miles from Justin's parents. So, we don't exactly have family nearby.

I don't know if I have mentioned it (or ranted about it), but my husband works A LOT and his hours can be crazy! He often works late or has meetings at night, and he spends the night at the hospital several times a month. This life can get a little lonely. And while I am not a single parent, or a military wife (to whom I cannot hold a candle, and with whom I am super impressed) I spend a lot of time alone with my kids. Frankly I spend a lot of time alone, period.


My secret to survival and to maintaining sanity in all of this is my girls. But these girls aren't just my girl friends who I hang out with on occasion, they are my lifeline. They are my emergency back up, my babysitters, my confidants, my support system, and sometimes the only adults I get to speak with in a day. We celebrate holidays, birthdays, and our children's milestones together. These girls are more than just my friends, they are my family. There isn't a way to describe how much they mean to me. They have made my 2 years here in PA livable.


You see my girls all understand my life, it's chaos, loneliness and drama. My girls are also resident wives. We are all thousands of miles away from family. We all agreed lovingly to give up all we knew and those we loved to follow our husbands to the ends of the country for their dreams. We all knew that it meant often being alone and taking care of our kids by ourselves. We all encourage each other that this time and way of life is temporary.


We are more than friends. We are our own tribe. Taking care of each other and each other's children. We will be friends forever. We have seen each other through life changes. When one of us struggles or hurts we share that with each other.

So to you girls, thank you. I love you. I am here for you and will always be.