I Know It's Early, But...

Happy Valentine's Day! Today, with the help of a friend, I dressed my girls in their Valentine's attire & headed outside for a little mini photo shoot. Now, I'm no professional when it comes to photographing or photo editing, but if I do say so myself, I got some pretty good ones. I guess I'm just lucky that even on their uncooperative days, my girls are still very photogenic. I can't wait to have these printed so I can send them to family & friends back home! Also, I will be making one of  the photos (not posted here) into a Valentine's card to hand out to their friends at our next playdate/party. 

U.S. Navy Reenlistment

January 4, 2013:  The day we signed away the next 3 years of our life to the United States Navy. Also known as the day Brandon reenlisted.  It was a short & simple, but nice ceremony. The girls and I attended and even got a certificate for being awesome & supporting him in his Naval career! Instead of moving home to Michigan this summer, like we'd been planning on for the last year, we're packing up & heading to Bethesda, Maryland for the next three years! 

We were so looking forward to moving home & finally being near family, but we decided that financially, right now, another 3 years in the Navy was the right choice for our family. I have to say, I'm kind of excited. I'm looking forward to living in the DC area where there should be lots more for the girls and I to do during the day, and for us to do as a family on weekends. It will be so much more fun for family to visit us too! And, you definitely won't find me complaining about the shorter drive home to Michigan either! Instead of the 16+ hours it takes us to get home now, we'll only be facing about an 8 hour drive (: Fingers crossed that this means more frequent visits home and more frequent house guests! 

Here are a few pictures from the ceremony: 

                                                                           Brandon (left) reciting the Sailor's Creed 

                                                                       Me receiving my certificate of appreciation.

                                                              Brandon (middle) receiving his reenlistment certificate.

                                                                     The best family shot they got. Thanks Ava! 


I'm so very proud of my husband for all that he does to serve his country, but even more so for what he does for our family!

Shredded Crockpot Buffalo Ranch Chicken

So a few days ago my husband decided, out of nowhere, that he wanted a shredded buffalo chicken sandwich. So, the recipe search began! He looked all over the internet until he found the perfect quick & easy, yet delicious sounding, recipe. All it took was some chicken breasts, buffalo sauce (we used Franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce), a ranch seasoning packet, and some butter. It was  super easy and because it cooked all day long, our house smelled beyond amazing! I'm not a big cook, which is where the Crock Pot comes in really handy (even though this was all my wonderful husband's doing). I forgot to take photos when we ate it the first time, but I will be sure to take some next time. For now, here is the recipe: 

Ingredients:
3 lbs raw boneless skinless chicken breasts (the original recipe used frozen breasts, but I used them unfrozen, so it appears you can do either)
12 oz bottle of Buffalo wing sauce (I used Frank's Wing Sauce)
1 oz packet of dry Ranch mix (I used Hidden Valley)
2 T light butter

Directions:
1.    Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker. Pour the bottle of wing sauce over the top of the chicken. Sprinkle the packet of ranch mix over the top of the wing sauce. Place the lid on your slow cooker. Cook on low for 7-9 hours until meat shreds easily.
2.    Remove meat and shred it using two forks. Return shredded meat to the sauce and add the butter. Stir to combine. Continue to cook on low for another hour so the meat can soak up the sauce. Serve however you like!

Yields 12 (1/2 cup) servings. WW P+: 3 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Nutrition Information per serving from myfitnesspal.com: 175 calories, 1 g carbs, 5 g fat, 28 g protein, 0 g fiber

*recipe courtesy of EmilyBites
**TIP: recipe says to cook on LOW for 7-9 hrs. We cooked ours on HIGH for 4 hours, added the butter, then cooked an additional 30 minutes. Chicken was perfect & it saved time since we started it a little later in the day. 

The North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores

Today we took advantage of the free admission (from 9am-2pm) to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Our great friend Laura and I loaded up all 4 kids and headed there ready to have some fun. We hadn't been in a year and I couldn't wait to see the kids' reaction, especially Bristol, as she was less than a month old when we went last time. Needless to say, we all had a blast! We were even lucky enough to be there during the tank dive and the live feed! 

 

 

Unexpected Sunshine

The girls love playing at the playground. Our favorite is the EFMP Park (exceptional family member program) here on base. Its a 2 mile walk each way, but we make the trip at least once a week, weather permitting. Yesterday we had an unexpected 80° day filled with sunshine. We spent about 2 hours playing with our friends Laura, Ayden, & Kenzi.

Naptime Fun

Today, while Bristol naps, Ava & I are playing with our glow in the dark gak. We made it at one of our awesome playdates with friends last week. It was superhero themed and the kids loved it! Its a super simple recipe and the kids go nuts over it! You can make any color, it doesn't have to glow in the dark. Ours is green & glows really well! 

*TIP: If you make glow in the dark, hold it up to a light or shine a flashlight on it for a few minutes before turning the lights off. Like most things that glow, this will increase its brightness and the glow will last longer. 


*You can find the glowing gak/slime recipe here!

                                                                              Ava is "too old for naps" as she says. 
                                                         So, we're enjoying our gak and watching Disney Jr. instead.

                                                              Bristol is my good little napper!

The following are photos from our superhero playdate: 

Introducing The Witheys!

Welcome all! 

First off, I'm Chelsea, your newly blogging military momma. I'm 21 years old and I'm the blessed mother of Ava, my curly headed, blonde 2 1/2 year old, and Bristol, my doe-eyed, brunette 12 month old. The number one man in our life is Brandon, our U.S. Navy corpsman who we're incredibly proud of. We've got 2 puppies following us wherever we go. Olivia is our beagle and Zoey is our mixed mutt. 

                                                                  Photo courtesy of Heather Clark at Clark Photography

Now that you know who we are, here is a little more about me. I'm new to blogging & I can't promise I'll be great at it, but I'm willing to try anything. I am blunt and honest & may come off a little strong, but I promise, my intentions are never to offend or hurt anyone's feelings. I'm just a Midwest girl from Michigan making the journey through this amazing life one day at a time!

What you'll find here:

Basically, I'll be posting whatever the heck strikes my fancy when I am lucky enough to get some free time.

I'm REALLY into fitness and healthy eating. I've lost 46lbs. in the last 9 months and have drastically changed my lifestyle from a lazy, junk eating, tired-all-the-time one to a fruits-&-veggie filled, exercising, adventurous one. I will post weightloss and fitness related photos, along with yummy foods/drinks I may find along the way. 

                                                                                                                                   46 lb. difference

My girls are my world. I'm a SAHM so my day revolves around them. I love to follow them around with my camera and capture all their special moments. They will most likely be the majority of what you'll see and read about on here. 

                                                                                      Bristol Mackenna 12 Months

                                                                                                                  Ava Madyson 2 1/2 Years Old

One word: BOOKS! I absolutely LOVE to read! I am a murder/police mystery kind of girl all the way. A love story thrown in now and then, but crime novels are where it's at! I'll try to post a book and with the author and a little review when I finish one. 

I will try and keep up with this blogging business as frequently as I can. Life is a whirlwind and sometimes we get busy. We'll be moving from North Carolina, our home for the past 4 years, to Maryland, our home for the next 3 years, in early June, so I may be absent more than normal the closer it gets to moving time, but sit tight, as Arnold said, "I'll be back!"