For the Love of Peyton….

For most people… today is just another day of football.  But for me- this is a most difficult day of football.  My beloved Colts are playing my new love… The Broncos.

I grew up in Indianapolis.  I remember the Colts leaving in the middle of the night from Baltimore to come to our town.  They didn't come here guns a blazin' and growing up I could pretty much take them or leave them… I went to one game, but never owned anything with "Colts" on it.

Peyton Manning at the Colt's Training Camp

UNTIL… they drafted this QB out of Tennessee named Peyton Manning.  I had already gotten married and moved away, but I loved what this guy was doing for the Colts!  But he wasn't just a great quarterback, he was a good guy!  He gave money to build a children's hospital in Indy, was the first professional athlete to rent a plane and send much needed supplies to the people of New Orleans after Katrina… and countless other acts of kindness...that's when I became a true COLTS FAN.   And being married to a Patriots fan… (Please don't judge me… love is BLIND!!) it was always a rivalry in our house whenever it was Manning vs. Brady.

My sweet boy's announcement photo

So, in 2007, when the Colts were playing the Patriots for the AFC Championship with the winner going to the Super Bowl in Miami… I was a NERVOUS WRECK!  This was OUR chance and it was OUR time!  Now earlier in the day- I hadn't felt very good.  Just a weird feeling… one of those feelings that make you wonder… so while the National Anthem was being sung at the beginning of the game- I was in my bathroom… peeing... on a stick.

POSITIVE was the result… on all THREE sticks.  Aaron was back up at the Navy War College in Rhode Island and I had to call him to tell him.  "Shock and Awe" wasn't just an aerial assault on Iraq anymore… So once we (and when I say "we" I really mean "I" because nothing rattles my hubby) settled down- we made a little bet.  Whoever's team won that night… would get to name the baby.  Crazy?  Yes!  But it's how we roll!

Destined to be a QB...

The game was intense… the Colts were way behind most of the game… but, because God was a Colt's fan and He also knew that I could never truly love a baby named "Brady"… the Colt's came back and WON!!!  They also then went on the win the SUPER BOWL… it was a beautiful start to my unborn "Peyton's" football story.

Holding the Colt's Superbowl Trophy!!!

But then, a few years later… Peyton Manning was injured.  And after several neck surgeries… had to sit out an entire year.  I stood by my Colts because I had faith in Peyton's healing.  But, after that year, Mr. Irsay (the owner of the Colts) didn't feel the same way, and they let my baby's namesake go….

I cried… and cried… Just ask my friend Lauren who I was visiting out in Cali at the time.  Peyton, not a Colt?  I couldn't fathom it.  I secretly hoped that maybe Peyton would retire… only because I couldn't imagine him wearing any other uniform.  But he didn't.  He knew.  He knew he still had some years of professional football in him- and he chose to go to the Denver Broncos.  I hated Irsay (well, let's face it, I still do) and I hated Andrew Luck.  But, I don't hate Luck anymore… I hope that he's the next up and coming QB.  But I had a decision to make.  Colts or Broncos?  It wasn't just about me anymore… there was this amazing little boy in my life who I named Peyton, that I had to guide (and as far away as the Patriots as possible) So, since his name was "Peyton" and not "Colt"… we started buying Broncos gear!  Now, I still love the Colts- and I will root for them everyday of my life…


            except today.

GAME FACE… ON

           GO BRONCOS!!!!

I’m a Military Spouse... What’s your super power??

I saw this posted on Facebook, and absolutely loved it!  Especially after I had just been to Home Depot where I had loaded 44 concrete blocks weighing 22 pounds each onto a flat bed cart (plus 2 bags of pea gravel rocks), then pushed the cart to check out, and then proceeded to my car where I had to LOAD the 968 pounds of concrete blocks into the back of my car.  And then of course dreading getting home and having to unload the bricks out of the car once I got home.  

A long time ago in a land far, far, away... Princess Kimmy would’ve never dreamed of doing this all by herself.   So what changed you ask?  How did this poor defenseless girl go from being scared to call and order a pizza to lifting almost a 1,000 pounds 3 times in a single trip to Home Depot??  

I married a Navy man...

Now my powers weren’t given to me as soon as we said “I do.”  My powers actually didn’t show up until after we had been married for over 2 years and already had a sweet baby boy.  My powers showed up in April of 1999 when Aaron deployed to Sicily.  This sheltered and cared for Princess was left... ALONE... with a 9 month old baby... and a surprise deployment going away present... a baby on the way.  There wasn’t any housing yet available for us, so I had to live with my parents until something opened up.  So in July, with a one year old and me being 3 months pregnant, with the help of my mom we moved into our base house in MAINE, in 99 degree weather, and NO CENTRAL AIR.  This Princess was melting and fast... but something happened- my super powers were bestowed upon me!  I started doing things that I had never done before, and lived to tell about it.  And with each deployment, and each baby... my powers got stronger.   

I can fly (on a plane anyway), by myself, with 4 kids and get through security faster than a mom and dad, with a baby still standing there trying to figure out how to fold up their stroller (Ha- NEWBIES)  I can care for 4 kids for 7 months while their dad is in Japan, managing to get everyone to their practices, games, preschool, and schools without forgetting a child once!  I can paint entire houses, use power tools, landscape yards, survive 9 DITY moves, and take long car trips where you only get to pee when the car needs gas, and countless other things.  Now, I’m not saying we are any better or stronger than single parents or anyone else with special circumstances... I’m only speaking for myself and my military spouse homies.  

So, was it the smartest thing to go to Home Depot alone to get all those blocks (which of course I’m using to build a fire pit with)?  Probably not, but when you are used to doing things by yourself, and have your own super powers, you use them whether your husband is deployed or not!

Now, I am not a lone Super Power possessor.  There are thousands of us across the US and the World.  Some of these women (and men) are among the strongest people in the Universe.   Many of whom I am blessed to call “friend.”  

So, it is to all the Military Spouses out there... that I want to say:

HAPPY MILITARY SPOUSE APPRECIATION DAY!!! 

You continue to inspire and amaze me everyday!

Friends...

So tomorrow is Thanksgiving...

I have to admit- it’s not my favorite holiday... as all of my neighbors can attest to since I’ve had my Christmas decorations up for a week!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very THANKFUL for the health of my family, for my faith, and for everything that God has provided for us.  I guess that it’s just that I’m thankful everyday (or at least try to be) for our blessings so I just don’t get what makes tomorrow so special.  

And to be honest- I think that I actually HATE Thanksgiving... not for what it stands for, but because 30 years ago, on Thanksgiving, I lost one of my best friends.  Dawn Ann Shepherd was a sweet, vibrant, & caring 11 year old girl who was killed in a car accident.  I’ll never forget the day after Thanksgiving in 1982, when my mom sat me down and told me the news.  Death is such a scary thing, especially for a kid to understand.  It was so hard going back to school and her not being there.  She had the BEST laugh and smile...

I can hardly believe that it’s been 30 years... and as I sit here at the computer typing and crying... it’s still painful.  

So please forgive me for jumping straight from Halloween to Christmas... it’s my own little coping mechanism, I guess.

We will be spending Thanksgiving this year with our dear friends the Masterson’s.  And if we can’t be with family... I’m so happy to be spending it with friends!  

Moving all over the country like we have, I feel so fortunate that I’ve been able to meet some truly great people both military and civilian.  I’ve been blessed with so many amazing friends throughout my life- and on this day that makes me miss Dawn so terribly- what I'm most thankful for this year-

are my FRIENDS...

Make it True...

So a month ago I returned from a 5 day "Command Spouse Leadership Course" in Newport, RI with my hubby.  It was an optional course for those of us whose spouses will take the position of "Commanding Officer" in the Navy.  

While almost all the ladies there were going on to Operational tours (Their spouses will deploy most likely) and were there to soak up all the information they could possibly get their hands on how to survive their tour- I was there (with my husband in a non deploying "Red Headed Step Child" of the Navy Commanding Officer tour) solely for a free trip to Newport with the bonus feature of getting away from the kiddos for 5 glorious days!

The class was not the Walk in the Park like I thought it would be...
We were in class for 10 hours a day, had homework every night, and a final project due at the end!!   

One of our homework assignments was a "Personal Vision" that we had to write for ourselves.  This was extremely difficult for me since I barely know what I am doing tomorrow let alone what I have visions of years down the road.  After struggling with this assignment for 2 days and seriously wanting to stick a fork in my eye- I thought back to our earlier assignments of reading Steven Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People."  (Yes, I actually did read most of it... especially the highlighted parts that my hubby outlined!)  Habit #2 really stuck out in my mind:  Begin with the End in Mind.  

And that is exactly what I did... I went to class the next day with my completed assignment:

My Obituary. 

Nothing says "THE END" quite like an obituary and even though my husband didn't want me to turn it in, I did it anyway...

March 6, 2071
Kimberly Renihan Dimmock passed away peacefully in her sleep last night after her 100th birthday party. She is survived by her loving husband, Aaron, her 4 fairly adjusted and contributing members of society children, their loving spouses, along with countless grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Kim was known as an award winning author, blogger, and small business owner. However, she was known to her close friends as honest, creative, patriotic, funny, caring, and lover of all things Disney.

During her husbandʼs military career, Kim stood by him through thick and thin. Though there were heartbreaks and hardships, both Kim and Aaron supported one another and worked as a team. No one was happier or more proud when Aaron retired from the Navy than she was.

Please do not mourn her passing, as she was a woman of faith who lived life to the fullest, loved her family, and left with no regrets... 


Now all I have to do is...

Make it True

Crappy Birthday to you...

Brand new baby Peyton

5 years ago today... honestly the BEST day of my life.  You see, it was five years ago today that my boy Peyton was born.  Now, what makes his day of birth the best day, is that when they said “It’s a BOY!” and I held that little guy in my arms, I knew that our Dimmock family was complete!  He evened out our team of 2 daughters and 2 sons- and now everyone had a partner to ride with at Disney World!

Birthday Breakfast

So, I had some fun plans for my little guy’s birthday.  Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, shopping at Target for a special toy, seeing Finding Nemo in 3D, playing sports outside, and going out to dinner with the family.  Then, tomorrow would be his big birthday party with our friends and neighbors with a big Denver Broncos cake designed just for him...

Strep Tests are no fun

HOWEVER... he woke up with a cough.  Not a regular cough, more like a barking seal.  So, guessing that he had the croup I made a doctor’s appointment.  We show up for his appointment (which was NOT on my list of things to do today) and discover that he has STREP!   Ugh.  

Now we were able to go out to breakfast and to Target where he bought a brand new Nintendo DS game as his special present before we went to the doctor’s.  His new game is what got him through the doctor’s office because I kept telling him if he was a good boy and if he stopped crying then he could go home and play his new game.  He was very brave and managed not to puke everywhere when the nurse rammed the stick down his throat for his strep test.  

Brand New Super Awesome DS game!

So, meanwhile the cake lady calls to let me know his cake is ready for pick up.  Crap.  The Cake!  So, I go and pick up this amazing cake, get back into my car and text everyone that we have to postpone the party until another time due to germs.  

Next we go to pick up his antibiotic, which by the way, isn’t ready yet.  Peyton says he wants a “long sandwich” for lunch so off we go to Subway.  By the time we are done with Subway we go pick up his medicine and head for home.  Once we are home I tell him “You can play your brand new super awesome DS game as soon as you take AND KEEP DOWN your medicine (he’s well known for barfing it back up because he hates the taste)  So my brave little guy takes his medicine...

NOW!  He can play his game, only IT DOESN’T FIT INTO HIS DS!!!  I tried shoving that sucker in about 50 times and finally realized... his brand new super awesome DS game... is only for the DS 3D... which of course, he doesn’t have.  So the tears start flowing, first from him and then from me.  This birthday has not gone the way it was supposed to for even one minute.  Now, I’ve already spent $40 on this game and I CAN’T return it because we’ve already opened it.  So I do what any half crazed, not thinking clearly, Mommy who just wants her baby to have a great birthday would do and we drove straight to Target and BOUGHT THE DS 3D for the price of a small car payment.  

Bronco's cake... now in neighbor's freezer

Meanwhile, I have to decide what to do with this cake!  So, I decide to freeze it until the party... only after emptying my entire freezer do I realize IT WON’T FIT!!!  Luckily my amazing friend Robin had room in her freezer to store it in there!

Instead of going out to dinner we had pizza delivered.  Peyton opened and loved all of his OTHER presents including a big boy bike.  And I’m pleased to say that Peyton is happily playing on his brand new DS as I type this.  So while it wasn’t the birthday that I had planned for him, he doesn’t know any differently and thinks he’s had a great day!!

New Bike!

My little guy taught me some lessons today.  Don’t sweat the small stuff, things have a way of working themselves out, and most importantly... if you get sick on your birthday... Mommy’s will buy you even MORE presents! :)

New Jammies + New DS + Cupcake Face = One HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOY!! 

Imaginary Friends...

So, half of my kids had imaginary friends... and surprisingly enough, it was just my boys.  Camden got his when he was 4, the same as Peyton.  I'm not sure what's going on in their little lives at 4 years old that they need to have these imaginary friends- but I like it.

Camden's friend was an old man named "Horace."  He just appeared one day.  Camden would interact and play with old man Horace and I'll never forget our trip to Indiana for Christmas one year when apparently Horace failed to get into the car with us!  Camden was crying and I had to promise him that Horace would somehow find his way to Grandma's and Grandpa's.  That seemed to console my boy except he then worried because the next day was Saturday and that's when Horace went to church... which let me know that Horace was either Seventh Day Adventist or Jewish.

Little Camden...

Horace's departure was earth shattering to my little man.  It happened the night of Camden's Kindergarten graduation.  He came running out of his room BAWLING because Horace had died!  I was beside myself and had no idea of how to comfort this little guy, so I called my dad (a retired elementary principal) but unfortunately... this was a new one to him too!  So, we let Camden cry it out. He made Horace a headstone out of paper and he put a flower by it... and Horace was gone forever.

My boys goofing around!

Now Peyton has an Imaginary pet.  This one showed up while we where in Pensacola, FL this summer.  Now as any parent can imagine, when your little boy yells "Hey, Mom!  Look at my TURD!!" and you know for a fact that child is NOT in the bathroom... there is serious cause for concern!!  But, as luck would have it... He was holding his imaginary pet TURTLE named TURD!  Now Turd plays a daily part in Peyton's life.  He came on vacation with us to Myrtle Beach in what Peyton said was his favorite dinosaur swimsuit.  And since then we are being updated daily with different facts about Turd...

*Peyton is his Daddy.
*Turd's mommy "Passed Out" (died) but her name was Edith.
*Turd changes sizes... somedays he is as big as a sea turtle while other days he is very small- which I find very helpful when we travel!
*His favorite way to wear his hair is in a mohawk.
*Turd attends High School.
*His favorite song is "Someone That I Used to Know" by Gotye.

Myrtle Beach

   Now, I don't know why Peyton has an imaginary pet, or how this will all end... but I must say that I love the imagination of my boys and more importantly, the comedic value!  I think that we should all have Imaginary Friends... someone who is always there for us, that we never have to share with others, and of course... makes us LAUGH!

Home Sweet Home...

My beautiful babies were all in the wedding.

So earlier this week we returned from a 13 day trip back to Indiana... HOME.   Now, we haven't lived there in 16 years, but we have moved all around the country 11 times since then.  Going home is never really a vacation- it's running here to see family, it's running there to see friends, and it's the 20 million things that we have packed in between.  (This trip included a 4th of July Party, my dad's 75th Birthday surprise party, my niece's wedding rehearsal and wedding- in which all 4 of my kiddos were in and my hubby sang, C's 14th Birthday, and the Annual Family Fishing Party) Honestly, it's exhausting... but we always look forward to going.

"Flower Girl" should be on her resume' 

The handsome Usher

For my kiddos, going to Grandma and Grandpa's house is the one true constant place in their lives.  Over half of their Christmas mornings have been spent waking up there, and shooting hoops and riding their bikes up and down the long driveway are summertime favorites.

Just fishin'

Fishing Party!

For me, it's a return to my bedroom from my teenage years- filled with the exact same ocean theme decor that I picked out when I was 16, along with my plaques and trophies from all the blood, sweat, and tears that I shed while trying to earn them.  I swear, just walking into that room makes me feel younger than I felt the day before!

But it's not just the place that makes Indiana "home."  It's my mom & dad, my siblings, their spouses, my nephews and nieces, and now their spouses, along with great friends from my youth that make it such a special place.  It never fails though... every time we go home there is always someone that I wanted to see, have lunch with, or just get together with and we just run out of time!

My niece and my new nephew at their gorgeous wedding...

As we got in the car this time (at 4:00 am) to come back to Richmond, I found myself a little excited to get back to the house.  Don't get me wrong, I miss everyone in Indiana TERRIBLY... but we were all excited to get back into our own beds, see our neighbors, and hang out with our friends.  We know that we will be in this house for at least 4 years- and that's the LONGEST we've ever been stationed anywhere.  The kids really like it here and have already said they want to graduate from this High School.  With the hubby retiring at the end of this tour, staying here is actually a possibility.  We love this house, neighborhood, and schools... which raises the question:  Could this be our forever HOME?

Best buddies- made here in Richmond

It makes me happy just thinking that this could be the place that my kiddos actually consider "HOME", even after they go off to college.

Maybe, just maybe, this is their "Home Sweet Home."