The Sergeant

Well, it's happened again. The Sergeant has gone to do what the sergeant has to do. Another deployment to Afghanistan. We woke up early yesterday to take him to Fort Riley with his bags. Though he wasn't scheduled to leave until 10:00 (and his actual departure time was MUCH later than that) we learned from our last deployment that we like to be able to say goodbye on our terms and not because someone told us we have two minutes.

We stayed for about an hour and visited and talked while Cory went from place to place finishing up last minute things. I tried to find things to entertain a four year old boy.

We took pictures of my feet, me, and Jeffrey making silly faces. Finally he said, "Mom let's take two more pictures and then it's time to go." So we asked someone to take our picture and then said our goodbyes there. I am terribly emotional from the pregnancy hormones and tried to keep it together so I could drive us home.

We texted and called the rest of the day as his flight was delayed and then when he got to Virginia before his flight to Germany late last night. I haven't heard from him today but don't expect to for a day or two until he gets somewhere more permanent.

Thanks for the concern and prayers the last few days, we have felt them for sure and appreciate the love and support.

One day down, 364 to go.

Preschool at Tuttle Creek Lake

With the four day weekend for Easter, I was able to tag along to the preschool field trip with Jeffrey and Tricia. The trip took us to Tuttle Creek Lake, where we met with a park engineer who told the kids about the lake, and animals living in the habitat.

Lucnch was at the sandy beach after an hour of playing in the water.

Easter Day

Easter morning began with a hunt for baskets. Tricia gave Jeffrey the warmer/colder signal as he searched. Tucked in the closet he found a water color set, side walk chalk, and a bag of candies.

Church happened to be stake conference. The visiting area authority talked about the practicality of the doctrine of giving the Lord the firstlings of the flock. Because people tend to spend in accordance with what they make, waiting until the end to give to the Lord you may find you have nothing left to give. He also spoke about the need to forgive so that we can move on in life. Forgiving someone may feel like they get off without a penalty. However, holding onto the issue means that they get to live rent free in your mind halting your own progression.

As every year, Tricia put together a great Easter feast. We ate ham, and Tricia's famous potato salad until we could eat no more.

I Love to See the Temple

We sang, "I love to see the temple, I am going there today," for Jeffrey. We wanted him to get excited about a trip to the Kansas City, MO temple open house. The trip came after a fun Easter party at the church. Jeffrey ran around with friends, filled his basket with candy laden eggs, and ate a pot luck lunch. It is not easy for a boy to go from playing with friends to changing into Sunday clothes on a Saturday afternoon.General Conference gave us something to listen to during the drive.

After two and a half hours of driving I suspected we were getting close. Just as I asked Tricia to confirm our location we crested a hill on the freeway and were given a first view of the impressive structure. A good turn out of visitors came to the temple, but it was not crowded. After watching a short video about the meaning and use of temples we followed our tour guide around and into the temple. As at all other temples, the interior design and decoration is regal but also minimalistic. I carried Jeffrey through the entire tour. He did not want to put on the white overshoes and so could not walk on the carpet on his own. At the site of the baptismal font he said, "I want to be baptized. I will just tell you when I am done."

A visit to Kansas City, MO is not complete without a stop at Five Guys Burgers. A hamburger and hot dog later we were on our way back home.

Hair Cut

So I've been growing out my hair thinking that if I have long, luscious brunette hair like Duchess Catherine I might magically turn into her. Yeah, pregnancy make me delusional I guess. Also it's supposed to be like the inside of a sauna here in Kansas in the middle of the summer. Combine that with the portable space heater I've got strapped to my waist and it was time for a change. My friend that I knew in Germany who moved here a few years ago gave me a great haircut and color and Cory couldn't resist the opportunity to take my picture. It's a fun change and the shortest I have EVER had my hair but I LOVE it!

Summer-O-Skirts

So my sister in law is going for a summer of skirts. Last year I saw a blog that was called the Summer of No Pants. I decided this year I wanted in! I have a new sewing machine (a pfaff) and serger (a viking) thanks to a generous and adorable hubby and I am going to put them to good use. That combined with the fact that in the combined maternity wardrobe of me, my sister and a friend who was getting rid of clothes I had ZERO pairs of pants that fit. So I bought three and decided that would be enough to get me through until September.

Last year Christina gave me the Fashion Formula Skirts vol. 1. and I LOVED it! There are no pattern pieces and the skirts come out fitting great! I had made a few skirts last year but because I put elastic in the waistband they don't quite fit this year. So I'm making them with drawstrings which will fit during and after the baby.

 I have made 5 skirts so far that will keep me cool and stylish through the summer. I have a few more to make and I still need to take pictures of them all but I am feeling very accomplished, and LOVING my sewing set up that much more!

New ID Card

Tricia and Jeffrey met me at building 212 for a new ID card. Tricia's ID will expire soon after I leave for Afghanistan and it takes a special power of attorney to obtain a new ID without me present. The last two deployments taught me to pay attention to the small things that are easily pushed to the way side. Those small things become big impediments later on when thousands of miles seperate us.

Man Points

My man points have been up and down over the last few days. Last Friday, Tricia went to start the car in the garage and the engine would not turn over. I could not figure out what was wrong under the hood and lost a few man points for having no mechanical knowledge. I lost more man points the next day when my tinkering and staring at the engine got us no where. Our road side assistance covered the cost of the two truck coming our home to pick the Pontiac up in front of the neighbors. Major man point loss.

The mechanics at Midas quickly figured out that a corroded relay was the problem. They discovered the source so quickly that they did not charge me the full price for the diagnostic. Money saving, but not man point saving.

On Monday, Tricia went to start the car again and nothing happened when the key turned. I did not panic and blame Midas for faulty work. Sweet, a couple man points came back. I figured the problem must be electrical and investigated the battery. The battery is old, and has probably lived out its $79.00 life. I purchased a new battery at the auto parts store. It took only five minutes to install it and the car came to life. Sweet, major man points.

Another Blog Name Change

So our blog will be changing again, remember a few months ago we changed it to the Sergeant First Class, the dancer, and the bean?


Well now we'll be changing it again to

 The Sergeant, The Dancer, The Bean, and The Peanut. 

We will be adding another little addition to the MacNeil family at the end of September. 

We're all very excited about the new baby, Jeffrey has already come up with a few names (Kid, Lightning McQueen) and likes to talk to the baby on a regular basis. Cory will be deployed but we are hoping that his mid-tour leave will coincide with baby's arrival (though Sugar is training to be my back up birth coach).  I am very happy and glad the nausea is mostly passed though I am still extremely tired ALL the time! We felt like the timing was right for another baby and I am glad that Jeffrey is old enough to be excited about it.

Clean Teeth!

 So when I was growing up I HATED the dentist. (Let me preface that by saying I did not hate the dentist or any of his workers, I just hated the experience, the smells, the drilling, all of that!) When we moved to Colorado we moved to the dental stake Colorado Springs where everyone is very aware of everyone's teeth.

One of my best friends was a dentist and along with her husband had a couple of dental offices and did my orthodontic work for me. I decided that Jeffrey was in no way going to be traumatized like I was so I wanted him to be comfortable with the whole experience (especially since the kiddo is in for braces with the gap he's got in his front teeth). We scheduled his cleaning and he LOVED it, they let him push the cool button to make the chair go back, the scrubbed his teeth and made them tickle and he even got a prize at the end.

The pediatric dentist here in Manhattan isn't so great from what I hear and won't let parents go back with their kids at all. While I understand the logic (I don't like parents in my dance classes while I'm teaching) I know my child won't want to go with someone he has never seen before to a place he's never seen before. He needs coaxing and assurance that he's in an OK place and knows what to expect. So I decided while we were passing through Colorado anyway, we'd just schedule our 6 month cleaning with Dr. Lamoreaux again.

Jeffrey LOVED it again, he got to wear cool sunglasses this time to keep the light out of his eyes. We are still cavity free so fingers crossed that we can just keep going in for fun visits!

Trip to Utah

So with the upcoming departure of the Sergeant, the whole crew got block leave. We decided that we would take a short trip to Utah and Las Vegas. Since we're 8 hours further East it was probably going to be our last trip that way for a while.

 Our first stop on the way to Vegas was Cove Fort. I haven't been since it first opened and we were on our way to Disneyland. It was a Friday morning so we got a personal tour by one of the missionaries there. It was pretty cool to see again, we wanted to see the barn and stable, but it was too snowy and muddy to walk across the field, so we just saw the fort.

 Did you know there's a Zombie Apocalypse store? For all your Zombie Apocalypse needs.

 We stayed at the Luxor with Scott and Jen. It was fun! I felt like such a crappy travel companion because I couldn't walk as far as everyone else with my foot. The night we walked the entire length of the strip I had to take the bus back. It was the bus ride of shame. (Later I was talking to my friend who had the same surgery I did and she said it took her MONTHS to recover from it, so I didn't feel quite as bad). We saw the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur...our dumb purple knight wasn't very good and kept cheating. We did see the fire guy from America's Got Talent.

 We also took a trip to the Gold and Silver Pawn shop from Pawn Stars on this History Channel. It was a LOT smaller in person than they make it seem in the show. We waited in the line out front and then walked through the shop. 1/3 of the space has merchandise from the store and that was where it seemed most of their business came from. We didn't see any of the main characters, but we heard they might only actually come in when they're filming.

 Back in Utah Jeffrey enjoyed time with his cousins A and E. They had a picnic with the basket of goodies that Sugar made for the girls around Jeffrey's age (remember he got the fishing creel?) for Christmas.

 Adorbs right? So cute! My mom has got talent that I envy so much.

 The night we stayed there for dinner we were there in time for scripture study. Jeffrey's favorite job was holding Sugar's shih tzu Wicket. Sugar got to hold baby B who has grown up SO much!

 Staying at Uncle Scott and Aunt Jen's house has it's benefits, like when Uncle Scott lets you play his drum set. Jeffrey got way into it.

We also got to visit Uncle Brian and Aunt Christina and cousin A. Jeffrey followed him around the room taking pictures and actually got a few. I thought this one was cute.

It was a fun trip (minus the blizzard we woke up to in Colorado on the day we were heading out to Utah) and we enjoyed our visits with family. I should have taken more pictures of all the fun things we did. Cory and I were able to visit the temple, I got to spend time with my BFF Mistee, and we enjoyed a real honest to goodness vacation in Las Vegas. It was great!

I also have to show this, the twins gave me all kinds of drawings when I got into town, this was one of my FAVS! It's an elephant (I think) and I was impressed with their artistic talents. (Jeffrey just scribbles a few lines and then moves on to the next thing.)

The Ball

 Cory and I went to the DHHB ball last night at Fort Riley. We had a great time people watching and eating really good food! I was stuffed at the end and could hardly walk to the car when we finished.

 I made my dress this year (since the one from last year didn't quite fit) and had a good time with it. I'm glad my mom taught me to read and alter patterns because I had to make a modification to the bodice of this one to make sure it fit right and you can't get any more custom than that.

I also wore my gram's army locket. She gave it to me before she passed away since I was the only granddaughter with a husband in the military. It was something my grandpa sent her when he left for WWII. It's got a sweet picture of my grandpa on one side, I need to put one of Cory on the other side. I love it, it's vintage and unique and reminds me of her.

I also wish I could be British and wear gorgeous fascinators all the time, but since I'm not I have to get away with it whenever I can.

Valentine's at Preschool

 So our preschool had a Valentine's Day party this week combined with the older and younger classes. It was so much fun! Jeffrey was excited all Sunday and when I told him it was time to get up and get ready he jumped out of bed and got dressed immediately. A rare thing for this little boy!

 The kids did a cake walk for cookies and I was so happy when Jeffrey read all the numbers on the papers by himself. Not a huge accomplishment but we've been trying to help him learn so he's ready for school and I have had my doubts that we were making much progress.

The little girl in pink pants in this picture is in our ward and when we go to play group on Tuesdays he will walk around the gym holding her hand and has more than once called her "girlfriend". So sweet!

Enjoying a cookie!

Jeffrey would only write the J in his name because he told me there were too many papers to sign.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Tie Onesies

Our friends in the ward adopted a little boy in December and recently had a baby shower. I wanted to make something fun and after having seen this cute idea on pinterest a million times I decided to make these tie onesies. I wish I had them when Jeffrey was little. They turned out really cute and may have to be my stand by present for boys from now on!

Kansas Day

 This week in preschool Jeffrey and I learned about Kansas because it was Kansas Day. (Kansas is 151 years old!) Jeffrey pronounces it "Candace" and I can't get him to change it for all the wheat in Candace! We talked about how the state insect is a bee and how wheat grows in the fields. Then the kids each got a turn to grind wheat into flour from which we made wheat muffins topped with honey. Jeffrey cracked the eggs all by himself, he's becoming quite the little helper in the kitchen!

While the muffins cooked the teacher for the day gave each kid a graham cracker so they could make the shape of Kansas with it. They all took one bite out of the corner of their crackers. I should have taken a picture it was so cute!

I wouldn't have ever picked Kansas as a place we wanted to live, but we are enjoying our time here and getting to know our neighbors making new friends!

Co-Op Preschool

So Jeffrey and I were asked to join the Co-Op preschool here that one of the girls in our ward started up. There are two age groups and each mom takes a turn "teaching" the group at their house. It's the perfect kind of Jeffrey who doesn't do well in situations where he has to go into a situation unknown. Once a month they have a field trip and the one today was to the local fire station.

Everything (or nearly everything in Manhattan) displays the Kansas State mascot, the wildcat. I haven't seen school spirit like this even amongst Utes or Cougars. EVERYONE going out on the weekend wears purple and there are even purple garbage cans. Guess what color my door is? Wildcat Purple!

This was when they were out by the trucks and the fire fighter put on all his gear. Jeffrey was ok with it until he put the mask and oxygen on then he told me he was just a little bit shy and had to hide behind me.

Then the highlight for most of the kiddos was being able to crawl inside the fire truck. Jeffrey wasn't afraid to do this alone. Though he told me that I needed to stay right where he could see me. So I wouldn't get lost.

We had a really good time and were glad that we were able to join the preschool!

Getting to know Manhattan!

 So this isn't exactly Manhattan but Topeka but last weekend we  visited the Combat Air Museum. Jeffrey had a really fun time and spent most of his visit in the pretend cockpit. He told us he wanted to be a pilot.

 I also get a full service visit when I go to the gas station. Jeffrey will get out while Cory gasses up and clean the windows. He doesn't do the greatest job, but it's the thought that counts.

For Christmas my mom and dad made Jeffrey this little fishing pole and creel with some felt fish, there's magnets on the bait on the reel and on each of the fish. It's seriously one of the cutest presents we have ever gotten! Last week we decided to go "fishing" on the back porch. It was so cold though that we had to be bundled up in coats in order to enjoy it. 

Minty Fresh Breath

So last year I faced my dental fears and had ALL my dental work taken care of in just a few months by some of my favorite dentists (See I'm not scared anymore!). Since then I've become more conscious about my dental care. When I had braces, flossing was a pain, but I got these platypus flossers from the dentist's office that were great. Cory suggested that I use mouthwash too since that's what he found helpful when he had braces as a teen.

Since then I've tried LOTS of different kinds of mouthwash. Some make my mouth feel like it's on fire while others taste like I'm drinking hydrogen peroxide or taint everything I taste for the next two hours. None of which are pleasant. But I finally went with a natural solution (which I should have done from the beginning) and tried some of the Tom's of Maine brand. Divine! It's so fresh tasting and doesn't burn my mouth like the other kinds.

So here's my commercial for Tom's of Maine. A good all-natural choice for minty fresh breath! I like the peppermint wave kind!

My Grown-Up House

I decided before we moved from Colorado that I would take my time setting up my house in Kansas and put some real thought into the decor.  So two months after we've moved in I can't say that any one room is completely finished. (Except the kitchen, it's small and there's not much to be done there.) But I am SUPER proud of what I have gotten put up in my house. First of all, my talented mum recovered my ancient couch and make it look AH-MAZING!

(The white pillows haven't been covered yet, I can't decide between all the amazing examples on pinterest...and Keep Calm and Carry On? Our family motto with a 4 year old in the house!)

This is a couch that originally started out with blue plaid several lifetimes ago and has evolved into this work of art. I owe it all to my mom, I did nothing but buy the fabric two years ago. I need her to come out again so we can tackle my two church lobby hand-me-down chairs.

But THIS pillow is all done! And it's made of ruffle goodness. I could just hug it all the time. I saw one of my favorite crafty people in the world making one and took her idea and tweaked it for my own pillow.

 Next is my room. I think displaying my jewelry collection helps me visualize my entire outfit when I'm getting ready in the morning. In prior houses it was all jammed into a plastic drawer pullout system and more often than not ended up in piles on top of my dresser when I decided against one particular necklace or bracelet. The tray hanger in the top right was from etsy.com along with the earring hanger on the left hand side.The frame is vintage (a hand-me-down from Cory's Grandma) and is waiting for the picture of us from the ball last year, if I can find where it got put after the move.

 The bracelet hangers in this pic were a combination of something I saw on pinterest and taking the ever-so-helpful sister Pammy along with me shopping when I went looking. They're towel hangers from the bathroom section of Hobby Lobby. The one on the wall has shower curtain hooks to hold my rings and bracelets.

I am having a lot of fun putting together my grown-up home rather than the one filled with things I tossed together to try to make a house.

I love wall collages. A few of the picture here could do with updating, but it's fun and makes me feel all artsy-fartsy! The frame on the left is empty because I want one picture on the wall that shows off my pretty new smile and dark tresses!