Marriage Ref Needed Here

Have you seen the show The Marriage Ref?  It's hilarious, and I think the time has come that Gunner and I go on it.

I believe that you should use the microwave to its fullest capacity.

If you need to heat up leftovers, then into the microwave they go.

Boil water?  Microwave.

Heat up something out of a can?  Microwave.

Cook?  Microwave.

My dear, sweet, wonderful, husband of 15 years does not feel the same way as me.

A simple can of peas takes ten times longer and requires more effort.  In a duel, I could have a can of peas opened and served within a minute and a half.  It would take my dear sweet husband time to open the can, find a saucepan, pour it in, get the stove hot, stand over the pan and stir the peas.

My method doesn't even require a spoon till the very end.

I was informed yesterday that I don't really "cook" because I use the microwave.

Seriously????  I say that they don't put microwave directions on there for the heck of it, and he thinks that it should only be used to heat up leftovers.  I can cook eggs, bacon, steam food, you name it, all in the microwave!

So.....whose right?  I can cook on the stove, if need be, but with three kids, let's get real, time is a commodity I don't have a lot of!

Happy Military Spouse Appreciation Day! (& Winners)

Anyone doing anything special for Military Spouse Appreciation?  They had a program at the Y yesterday, but I didn't go because they were out of daycare spots for Junior.  


I tired to get all fancy and insert the drawing numbers, but after spending the last hour trying, I can't figure it out, which means it is something extremely simple.


But, the Grand Prize Winner of a $50 gift card and a copy of the book is Ashley at Raising Our Little DevilPup!


There are still two more books to give away, and they go to Sarah at Diary of a Navy Wife & MTM at My Front Porch Looking In!


Send me your addresses, and I'll have them send out your prizes!  Thanks everyone for playing!  I will have another giveaway soon, for something every parent needs if they have children, especially if they are like Abs!

Ramblings Again

I know I need to announce the winners from the giveaway, which I will do tomorrow after I drag Junior and Abs to OT.

One last chance to enter here!

After Abs was sick yesterday, I was at the gym working out, in the middle of my run, and my phone rings.  It was a sick Em.  I grab Junior and go running up to her school to grab her.

I get her home and put her to bed and within minutes she was miraculously cured and wanted to watch tv and have food.  I gave her bread, water, and told her we needed to wait to see if she was going to get sick like she though just minutes earlier at school.

We waited, no sickness, so I offered to make chicken noodle soup.  She wanted something substantial.  Then she wanted the brownies I made.

I kept sending her back to her room.  She decided it would have been more fun to be at school.  Mission accomplished.

Deployment Question #18--How do you answer your children's questions?

My little sister called today to ask me why we celebrate Cinco De Mayo.  I googled it.  Her son seemed satisfied with the response, and we learned something.

Then my nephew has questions about his Uncle Gunner and war.

"What happens if a bad guy shoots at the good guys and they aren't looking over there?"
"What happens if a bad guy shoots a rock?"

Simple answers were given to the first question--they have Soldiers that look all over the place for bad guys, in order to stay safe.  To the second, it's not a good idea to shoot at rocks.

My kids have asked me some hard questions over the last three deployments to Iraq, and harder questions of their dad.

There are the easy ones such as why are we over there?  How long will Daddy be gone?  Why does he have to take so much stuff?

Then there are the hard ones that they ask of their dad.  Have you shot anyone?  (He's managed to put this in basic terms and not answer the question)  Has anyone shot at you?  What if your gun doesn't work?  What if you get scared?  What happens if they blow up your vehicle?  Do you know anyone who has died?  The list goes on and on.

He will answer them in ways that they understand, and he withholds a lot of specific information.

I knew someone that never told their child that their dad was deployed, because it would have upset them too much, so they said he was at work every day (this was an 8 year old).

Me, personally, I would never lie to my kids like that.

Then I have known other children that can spout off explosions, firefights, confirmed kills, etc.

To me, that's insane for a child to know.

What tough questions do your kids ask, and how do you handle them?  What do you do if you don't have the answer that satisfies them?

What has the world come to????

I went to a PEO meeting for the group that I am going to join.  They're really nice, and the home today was just beautiful.  Always hard to come home to military housing after being in their homes! I really need a friend that wants to become an interior designer and wants to practice on my house.

If you have kids, what kind of couch do you have?  I'm contemplating a leather one, but not sure if it will be any better than the material which seems to have gotten dirty since we moved to Colorado.  What's up with that?  I have leather seats in the car, but they are a light gray, and material fared better than the leather has.  I'm open to recommendations!

I came home and then took Junior to the doctor for a speech referral.  We should have the referral in our hot little hands in less than two weeks.

While waiting, Ab's school called and said that she had thrown up and needed to be picked up.  I immediately thought of my dental appointment tomorrow and called them to cancel.

Me:  I have a barfy kid and I need to cancel my appointment tomorrow at 3:30.  (This was just over 24 hours notice)
Office:  We require 48 hours notice.
Me:  Ummm.....okay, but I am giving 24 hours notice since I have a sick kid, and I didn't really plan for her to be barfy.
Office:  We have a 48 hour notice, and you aren't giving us that, so there will be a $35 charge.
Me:  Are you kidding me?
Office:  Sorry, it's our policy.
Me:  I'm not paying $35 because my child is throwing up.
Office.  Sorry, it's our policy.

By this time I was annoyed pissed off, so I told them that I was at the clinic with another child, and I would have to call back and maybe they could talk to the dentist in the meantime.

I go pick up Junior's prescription and run over to the school to get Abs.  I asked the school for a plastic bag (since I wasn't at home when they called) and they looked at me like I was rude.  Sorry people, if you give me a barfy kid, you can give me a plastic bag for the car ride home.  Surely it doesn't cost that much!

I get Abs home and Junior occupied so I can start cleaning the bathrooms.  We all know that nothing says I love you like a clean bathroom.

But first, I have to call back the dentist office because I am just stewing about this.

Me:  Hi, I'm calling back about the fact that I have a barfy kid and you want to charge me $35 for not coming to the appointment.
Office:  Like I explained, that's our policy, we are tired of people canceling their appointments and we are left sitting.
Me:  I understand that, but I have a child that is throwing up today.  That means that more than likely the rest of us will get it, and I have to stay home and take care of my children, they are too young to be left alone.  Not to mention I could infect the whole office.  (Seriously if you have met Abs, she touches everything and investigates everything--did I tell you the story about her sucking on the bathroom lock at the outlet mall?  I want to barf myself.)
Office:  I know what it is like to have sick kids.
Me:  Well if you won't budge, I have to tell you that I will come to my appointment tomorrow, with my sick kid(s) in tow.
Office:  If they are sick, you can't bring them here!
Me:  Well, I am not paying $35, so we can either plan for you to have a space for my barfy kids with me, or we can reschedule.
Office:  Why don't we reschedule.

Are you kidding me??????  I totally get that people cancel appointments and it costs them money, but I have not done that, and I really don't want to infect the world with Abs germs if possible.

I'm off to clean the toilets, wash towels, and prepare the sick diet.

Things I wonder about...

Why am I more productive with children home?

Why can't the Army decide on a deployment date and stick with it.  It's later, then sooner, then later, now sooner again.  Make a decision and stick with it.  

Why can't Abs have a great day at school and at home?  Is that too much to ask?

Why did the Air Force (or is it all military) decide that when you take your dog to the vet it costs a $25 set appointment fee.  She got paid $5 a minute to see Sammy in addition to the shot, flea stuff, etc.  I mean, I understand it, but I'm thinking it's not as cheap to take him on base anymore.

Why didn't I think to call the groomer first before calling a million dog kennels.  I found a great place and Sammy has to go for an admissions test on Monday.  I hope he passes.  Thanks E!

Why does the Residence Inn have to charge a $50 non refundable pet fee when I will only be there about 12 hours.  

What did I do with the preschool paperwork for Junior?

I now know that the "silly clown cup" that Junior likes is the one with the red hair.  Apparently I should have known that already.

........After swimming Sunday, running Monday, and spin class today, I decided that I needed to do something more.  I've been wanting to do a half marathon, so Gunner and I are signed up to do one in a week and a half!  Then 6 days later I'll run a 10K with the Dutchican.  8 days after that I'll do my Olympic Tri, and call it good for a week.

Although I did see a night time half marathon in Austin that sounded like fun!  It would almost have to be that late in order to not melt out there.

Tomorrow there's a PEO meeting, speech referral for Junior, and I've managed to cram in dental appointments and haircuts in the next few weeks as well.

I think my gray hair is multiplying.  Do you color your hair?  Is it worth it?  How often do you have to keep up with it?  I hate to have another expense, but I hate gray hair.

Two weeks from today we finally get to see the neurologist for Abs.  I hope that they schedule her EEG ASAP.

I'm back to doing P90X now that Gunner is home.  We did day 1 last night and he is so sore.  Me too, but not nearly as bad as him.  I think we need heavier weights.

Do you have big plans for Mother's Day?

Deployment Question #17--Things I need for deployment

While Gunner has his packing list, I always have a list of things that I need before deployment.  

Of course, I need The Book, which will have wills, POA's, insurance stuff, all the paperwork I could need.

I also need to switch my AAA membership to CO, just in case.  It gives me a little bit of security.

I'm horrible about putting numbers into my phone, but it needs to be done in case I am out and about and run into trouble.

I need to make a list of maintenance to be done on the car so that I don't miss anything.  (Actually, I usually buy a new car, but this time both of our cars are running fine (banging on wood), so I will be with two cars over 100K, and that makes me nervous--mental note to put rental car phone number in my cell).

I need to make sure that all kids are up to date on their shots and enrolled in CYS.  

A few hidden rolls of toilet paper wouldn't be bad, "just in case".  I mean, we do have three girls in this house!

I took a bike maintenance class so I can do any basic bike repairs that come up while we are out and about.  (I can't imagine I will have all the kids out since that means my series of bikes would be 12 feet long with Abs attached to my bike and Junior and Sammy in the trailer behind Abs.  I know we wouldn't get up any hills!)

I had new tires put on the car, so I will only have to rotate and balance.  Trust me, the tire store with three kids is no fun!

My GPS needs to be updated--brother dear, Gunner said you could help here!

All bills setup to automatically pay.  

Flat rate boxes need to be ordered, as well as stamps, so I have no excuses.

There's the usual cleaning and organizing that needs to be done.

I need to figure out my happy medium.  

Most of all, I need to remember that I will be just fine.

What's on your to-do list before he leaves?