A Bachelorette Party

I recently managed to escape mommy duties and help celebrate a wonderful friend's upcoming wedding.

We spent the weekend in Fredericksburg (a super cute little town out in the Texas hill country), which is well known in Texas for wineries.  We rented a cute little house for everyone to stay in.  Our first evening was spent with general Bachelorette debauchery/hilarity, delicious pizza, and lots of wine.

Saturday the real party began.  We got the Bachelorette all dressed up and ready to go.  The icing on the cake was a one of a kind wine cork tiara.  It was beyond fabulous!

The day consisted of being chauffeured around in a limo (with an amazing driver!) to five different wineries in a matter of about six hours.  Quite a bit of wine (and water) was consumed and purchased.  There was one bonus stop to a convenient store that doubled as a tasting place for moonshine.  Why not we told ourselves?! 

It was such a wonderful weekend spent celebrating a very special lady and reconnecting with old friends.  And I cannot wait until the big day!

Girls Weekend

The weekend after Thanksgiving I met up with two of my college girl friends for a girls weekend.  We met up in this cute little town about an hour away. 

We stayed in the most adorable little house,

that had an amazing backyard.

We shopped until we dropped.  Ate lots of of incredible food.  Drank lots of wine.  And shared lots of laughs.

I am so thankful, that after all these years, I still have these two incredible women in my life. 

Key West

As it starts to soak in to my brain that we are moving in a few months, I find myself looking back at our three years here in Key West. 

When Zach first told me that he got orders here, I was in a sort of denial about it.  I didn't want to talk about it because if you didn't talk about it, it wasn't really going to happen.  It was a hard adjustment on so many different levels.  We went from big city to small island.  I went from working to not working.  We went from having a great support system to no support system.  To say that it was an eye opener is an understatement.

When we first got here, I was so lost.  I had no idea how to meet people and people weren't exactly coming up to you and saying hi.  It was terrible.  I broke down so many times.  I think it helped when we got pregnant with Emily (not that that was why we got pregnant) because it was a way to keep my mind busy and off of how lonely I was.  Then somehow, that first year flew by.  Haley and I had made a few good friends and we were doing things.

Our second year here was a little better.  Emily was born, we took a few trips, made a few more friends, and kept a little busier.  Then we were halfway through our tour here and on the downhill slide.

Our third year has gone by in a blur.  It helped that Haley was in school and that we had things to do on a regular basis.  We've had to say goodbye to some friends this past year, which has been hard, but that is part of the military life. 

Saying goodbye. 

Now that we have about three months before we leave, it's starting to hit me that we are going to have to say goodbye.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to be leaving and heading back to Texas, but I hate that we are leaving such good friends and a place where we have grown so much. 

Key West will be the place where I grew.  I got here and had no clue.  But I knew I had to put on my big girl panties and tough it out, somehow.  Over the past three years, I've learned to slow down a little bit and not always be in a rush.  I've learned to be a stay at home mom.  I've learned that I kind of like being a stay at home mom.  I've even learned to cook a little better (not that I was a bad cook before)!  I don't feel like I lost the old me now.  I feel like I've found a part of me that was in there the whole time. 

After we leave, I doubt we will ever come back here again.  I really hope that we will see our Key West friends again.  We will look back and smile at all the wonderful memories we made here.  I will not miss the drive from Key West to Miami, but I am looking forward to making it one last time.

Creative

For some reason, people lately have been telling me how creative I am.  Let me tell you, I am not all that creative.  My brain just can't come up with new idea's all on its own.  I am a very visual person, so once I see something I think is cute, then I am really good at copying other people's ideas, which I hope they don't mind :)

For example-

After seeing Zach's very crafty cousin make these, I was inspired to make a Valentine's Day banner and some cute little hearts on a stick.

Then Haley told me she wanted a heart pillow.  I can't use a sewing machine, so thank goodness for hot glue!  Ok, so maybe I can come up with one idea on my own. 

Then came my grandmother's birthday party and I wanted to do something special.  So I went online and found the ideas for wish cards and a time line.  Now, I am not a scrapbooker or card maker or anything like that, so once I found this card, it was a nice and simple starting point.



So that card eventually turned in to these cute little wish cards.

Which in turn, became the same format used for the timeline.

Creative?  Not in my mind.  Really?  Maybe just a little bit?  Ok, a very small possibility.  Good copy cat?  That sounds a little more accurate to me. 

Next up on my copy catting- a Texas Tech ribbon wreath.  Wish me luck!

Our Story

Once upon a time (six years ago), in a land far away (known as Texas) a boy and a girl met, and this is our story.

I had been in San Antonio for a few months and made a few good friends.  While we were out one night, one of my friends brought a friend of his who was in town.  He in turn brought a friend and that friend brought Zach.  We talked and laughed that night and eventually he asked for my number.  A few days later we met up and went on our first date.  There was another date the next week too. 

Our third date we weren't sure where to go to dinner, so we both asked friends and ended up coming up with the same restaurant.  During dinner, Zach was telling me he didn't feel to good and it hurt to breathe.  He didn't think too much of it because he had worked out pretty hard right before we met up. 

I had offered to cook dinner at my apartment the next evening.  Zach called me that morning and said he still wasn't feeling well and was going to the ER to get checked out.  Later that afternoon I got a call.  "Is this Leslie?  I hear you are supposed to be meeting Zachary for dinner tonight.  He's not going to make it.  He has a collapsed lung."  So I rushed out to the ER and poor Zach is on oxygen about to get a chest tube. 

Twelve days and one surgery later, he finally got out of the hospital and I had met his dad, mom, and older brother.  We joke that it was the longest date ever.

After a pretty intense start to our relationship, we have been going strong ever since. 

Before we got married we did so many things.  We went on lots of trips around Texas.  We moved a few times and eventually bought a house.  We had lots of fun parties with our friends.  We made so many wonderful memories.

After a year and a half we got engaged.

And a year later, we were married.  (At the same restaurant that we both picked out for our third date.)

Now, here we are, six years after we met.  We have added two beautiful little girls to our family and we are busy making so many more wonderful memories.

Easter Baskets

When my mom was here a few weeks ago, she brought Easter baskets for the girls. When I saw that they were unfinished, I got a little nervous. I am not the super crafty type and the things I do make tend to not look the way I wanted to. I knew that I really had to put in an effort to make the girls' baskets look great so that they would last through the years.

I searched the internet for pictures of baskets (because I am a very visual person) and stumbled into Martha Stewart world. I found these baskets. I thought they were so cute and surely I could do this.

So I started with these.

Added a little paint.

And then added the fabric lining.

Then came the flowers. I originally wanted to do the whole basket with flowers, but thought that this looked great.

I thought I was done, but it seemed like something was missing. I went through my box of leftover things and found two little butterflies. They were perfect!

I asked Haley which one she wanted, so she has claimed the pink one and Emily's is the yellow/orange one. I have to say that I am pretty proud of myself for doing this. So, thank you mom for the baskets, Martha for the idea, and Zach for watching the girls so I could do this for them.

Surprise!

I love surprising people and don't often get the opportunity to do so. But this past week, I got the chance to go back to San Antonio to surprise my old boss at her retirement party. I am so lucky that Zach volunteered to stay home with the girls while I went back by myself.

As I've mentioned before in older posts, I loved my old job and my former co-workers. I think it mostly had to do with my boss Jan. She is one of the nicest and funniest people I've ever worked with, even though she would make fun of my lack of ability to make anything homemade in the kitchen. We would talk about all sorts of things, mostly how dysfuncial our office seemed and our families. Even though we were just co-workers, I felt like we were family. She was there when Zach and I met and got married. She was the first person in the office I told when I found out I was pregnant with Haley. Everyone should be so lucky to have a co-worker like that. So when I found out that Jan was retiring, I knew I had to be there.

I didn't have much of a plan on how I was going to surpise her, so I ended up just waking right into her office. I'm pretty sure she was shocked! We had a great time catching up before the party. The party was wonderful. There were stories and music. A perfect start to a well deserved retirement.

While I was there, I also got to meet up with my best mommy friend Amanda. When I was pregnant with Haley, she was my go-to girl for all things baby since she had a little boy six months older than Haley.

I also had the chance to go by our house, the one we are still trying to sell. It was weird walking through our home with none of our stuff there. So many memories.

I also got to have dinner with my mom, brother and his girlfriend. We had a great time and I love seeing family.

It was a great quick trip back to Texas and again, I am so lucky that Zach was able to watch the girls while I was gone. I sure did miss them while I was away.

A Vent

I need to vent for a moment. Somehow I got sucked into this ridiculous website yesterday where parents can write down their most flame-worthy opinions. Most of them were silly and petty and there were even a few things I can't believe parents would say. There was one that really got my attention.

"I think SAHMs (stay at home moms) set bad examples for their daughters and I am embarrassed to be around women who don't work."

This really got me fired up and I started thinking. I went to college to have a career. To be able to provide for the kind of life that I wanted. I never would have thought that I would end up staying at home with my kids. I always assumed that I wouldn't have the ability to stay home, that I would have to work. I saw how hard my mom worked (two jobs) just to be able to provide for my brother and I. I was just positive that when it came time, I would be working, the kids would be in day care, and it would not be the end of the world. This even happened for 8 months.

Then we got transferred here and there's not very many options for me to work, so it made more sense for me to stay at home. It may not be what I went to school for, but I work just as hard at home (if not more) as I would (and did) at a desk job. I may even like it more than my old job. I get to watch my kids grow up. I don't think that many desk jobs get benefits like that. I may not contribute financially like I had been in the past, but I like to think that I contribute in new ways now.

Being a stay at home mom may not have been my career of choice, but I enjoy it and hope that I can stay home with the kids until it makes sense for me to get back into the work force. I hope my girls are proud of me for being able to stay home. I hope that they don't think that I set a bad example for them. I hope that my staying at home with them gives them the love, support, and encouragement to show them that they can do whatever they want in life and that you can do something you never thought you would.

A Different Kind Of Work

One year ago, I began my last day of work. Well, the kind of work that you have to get up early for and commute to, so that you can sit behind a desk all day and get underpaid. Most people complain about their jobs, but I really enjoyed mine. I loved my co-workers, at least most of them anyways, and enjoyed what I did. And I really didn't mind having to leave the house an hour before I had to be behind my desk. I had been at the university for almost five years before I left. I started as a basic receptionist and worked my way up to, well, I won't bore you with what I did because most people don't find it all that interesting. But, I loved it.

Then Zach got orders. To Key West. Good luck finding a job there. So, I became a stay at home mom. No fancy title or salary to go with it. Although, I do consider myself the CEO of the Hinten Family, Key West division :). I had never made it my goal in life to be a stay at home mom, nor was it anything I ever thought I would do. I always assumed that I would have to work.

Then we got to Key West. It was really hard for me at first. I think because there were so many adjustments to make at once. And I wasn't sure what I was supposed to be doing. There's no job description for a stay at home mom. My boss was a one year old. Her only demands were that I feed her and change her every so often. It couldn't be that hard, could it??

And now, one year later, here we are. Staying at home has been a challenge, but I think that we are doing ok. Some days are worse than others, but most of them are pretty good. The only big change is that I now have two bosses instead of one. But who wouldn't want bosses like these?

This is definitely work, but not the kind where I sit behind a desk all day. I may not get paid with money, but I like to think that I get paid in a different way. I have the opportunity to watch my little girls grow up. How awesome is that?! Do I miss my old job? Definitely! Do I enjoy what I am doing now? Most of the time. Will I ever go back to work? Most likely. But for now, I am savoring every moment of this different kind of job.

Found

Awhile back I was definitely lost. Now, I finally feel like I've been found.

I'm still physically in Key West, Florida. But I think my mind and my heart have finally come around. It just took a lot longer than I thought it would. I still don't love where we are, but I have come to terms with the fact that it's not where we used to be. We don't have the same luxuries here as we did there. I can't wander into a Target whenever I want or even stroll around the mall to pass the time. We can't just drive around town to see the sites. Well, we could, it just wouldn't take very long.

But I have accepted this. Now we walk to the park and play. Or take a bike ride. We have music class, story time at the library, and now, swim lessons. Trips to the pool and sometimes the beach. Haley has friends to play with and I have friends to talk to.

It feels like life has begun again and I might have even found a new me in the process. I still miss my old self- the one who had lots of friends, was usually pretty busy, worked, and felt like she contributed to the family. But now there is a new me. The one who has a few really good friends, is sometimes pretty busy, working from home, and contributing to the family in a whole new way.

It has taken a while to accept this new me, but I am now ok with who I have changed into and the life that we have on this southernmost island.

Cooking

Since we've moved to Key West I have had a little more time on my hands to play around in the kitchen. I've always enjoyed cooking, although according to some of my past co-workers, it's not really cooking when you rely on pre-made goods to make a dish. So with all this extra time I have, I have started to expand my horizons and start cooking and baking more from scratch and I have to say that I am really enjoying it.

When we first got here, I started slow and made my first pork loin. Then I used the leftovers from that and made my first chinese lo mein. Both, by the way, were delicious. My mom then got me a great cookbook for Christmas and I had been making recipes out of that (like pizza spaghetti and chocolate mint cake) until my wonderful mother in law got me my next awesome cookbook. The Pioneer Woman has brought me my next round of delicious meals. So far I have made meatloaf (with bacon wrapped around it), chicken pot pie, peach cobbler, french pastry puffs, and tomorrow I venture off into biscuits. I even managed to make fresh strawberry muffins the other day!

It may sound silly that I have never made a pork loin or a meatloaf before, but I just never found the time or the energy to do it. Now I am fortunate enough to have a little extra time to make such wonderful home made meals. It will probably only last another 14 weeks and then I will be on hiatus for a while. But I do hope to get back to cooking again after our little girl gets here. I've enjoyed putting a little more love in to our family meals. And I know that Zach is really enjoying it too :)

Lost

I'm not lost physically because I know exactly where I am. Key West, Florida. The southern-most city in the whole country. Farther away from my family and friends than I have ever been. I'm more along the line of emotionally lost.

The whole move and transition from city to island and working to staying at home has got me all messed up. I may not love where I live right now, but it's not permanant and I really am trying to make the best of it. Really I am. It's all just been a lot harder than I thought. Harder to start over, harder to make new friends. And I've been getting out there as much as I can. Really I am. Today Haley and I went to storytime and the local library. There were quite a few kids Haley's age, but no one wanted to play with her and no one wanted to talk to me. It's times like that that make me wish I wasn't so shy around new people. I wish that I had the gift of walking up to a total stranger and striking up a conversation and it not be so awkward. I tell myself that I can do it and then I don't do it.

The one thing I feel I've lost the most- myself. I'm not the same person that I was only two short months ago. Yes, I realize that as life changes I change too. I just miss my old self.

I'm just at some sort of something right now. I can't even describe it. I miss everything about our life in Texas. Work, friends, family. Yes, I know that things will get better and that I just need time. But I'm impatient. I need something to change, soon.

Last Day

This past Friday was officially my last day at work. It was one of the hardest days I've had in a very very long time. I have never left a job that I didn't want to leave. I've always been ready to move on, until UTSA. But truthfully, I knew that when I married Zach that I would have to be willing to give up a few things along the way, and this is one of them.

I came to UTSA in October of 2005. Most people don't know, but when I moved to San Antonio it was on a whim. I had no job, one friend, a place to live, and enough cash to get me through three months of job searching. I was nearing two and a half months of unemployment when I got the call for an interview. I went and really liked the atmosphere of the office and just prayed that they would call me back and offer me the job. A few days and a second interview later, I got that call. I was two weeks away from having to go back and work retail, ugh.

I worked my way up in the same office over those almost five years. I loved the people I worked with (well, most of them) and the work that I did. How many people can say that about their jobs?? I was really lucky. I could have seen myself staying there for many many years. When Zach got the orders to Key West a few months ago, the end of August seemed forever away. And then it got closer and closer to having to say goodbye. I had been dreading last Friday for so long.

And then it got here. I can't even tell you the last time I cried that much. It felt like saying goodbye to family. We have shared so much in the last few years. They got to see me single, dating, engaged, married, pregnant, and a mom. I will miss them more than words can say.

I know that this is the end to a wonderful chapter of my life and I am now moving on to another chapter, one where I get to be home with my little girl. I am so sad to leave, but I am looking forward to getting to spend more time with Haley.