Merry-Go-Round?

Remember all those unsafe toys we used to have on the playground?  I remember being in elementary and having this huge "rainbow", which was a wooden arch with pegs out the side.  We would climb up it, turn around on the 4 inch wide beam, and then shimmy down.  I don't see those anywhere anymore.  We always had kids that were falling off of it and getting hurt.

Another piece of playground equipment that we haven't seen in years, is the merry-go-round.  I remember kids pushing people so fast and furiously that they would throw up.  Other kids would try to jump off and I remember more than one broken arm or leg in elementary from this piece of equipment.

I had totally forgotten about the merry-go-round until we went to the park yesterday.  Junior didn't know what it was.

His sisters filled him in, and in no time he was hooked.  He was begging kids to come ride it so that he could push them in circles.

He finally mastered pushing and jumping on for the ride, and was in heaven.

I never liked the merry-go-round because I always felt sick after riding on it.  

What other pieces of playground equipment do you remember as a kid, that they don't usually have now because they are deemed "unsafe"?

Just smile...

I think he said something to the effect of "Just smile and she'll quit taking our picture."

I seem to have a thousand pictures of each pose, which is one downfall of a digital camera.  They aren't all bad, they are just different, and I can't seem to get rid of them.

In my "Great Downsizing 2010", I am purging pictures too.  My delete button is getting a workout, and when I am not doing that, I am ridding my house of extra beer glasses (three and a half years in Germany gave me enough, I don't need any from the States!), belt buckles (Gunner doesn't even wear belt buckles, so why am I carting this around?), wax candles of animals (do I really need a walrus in my shrunk?), and more and more clothes.  If you were to visit my house now, you wouldn't know I come from a long line of hoarders!  I told Gunner he would be shocked.  

I haven't gotten to my overflowing garage (boy do I miss my basement), but my neighbor was telling me that because of our location there have been mice that have gotten in the garage.  Eek! My goal now is to have the garage purged before the first snow, so I can park my car inside.  Wish me luck, especially since I now have to figure out what to do with all these bikes we own.  I'm sure there is some kind of mounting system I can use.....any recommendations?

I've heard from Gunner several times over the last couple of days, and all is well in the land of the Taliban.  He's in a very small location, not so good conditions, and is still smiling.  The shower shack had been broken since he arrived, but it was fixed the other day so I am hoping he was finally able to shower.  I can't imagine sharing a tent with 23 other guys smelling that gross.  Another reason I did not join the Army, I like my showers.

I'm back on the workout bandwagon and am in the process of completing my training sessions that Gunner was unable to finish.  My abs are killing me.  I got a quick two mile run in the other day, and am hoping CYS doesn't drain me so I can get another few miles in today.  Tomorrow is the one mile Walk for the Fallen here, and in two weeks is the 5K for the Fallen.

My random question of the day--What's your favorite part of back to school?  Mine has to be picking them up after the first day and hearing what happened.  It's kind of like a Fox News ticker in that they tell me once and then repeat the same thing over and over.  It's my favorite time of the day.  

Planning for the Holidays Military Style

Living so close to family last deployment, it was easy to decide what to do for the holidays.

My mom asked me the other day what I was doing for Thanksgiving.  Ummmm.....not driving to Texas with three kids and a dog by myself when there will probably be snow on the ground.

I told her she was welcome to come here, but that I was not going there.  

The girls only get a couple days off of school, so I'm thinking we will stay here, and at most go somewhere in Colorado for a change of scenery.  There's a big difference in a three hour drive than a 15 hour drive!  The thought of traveling for two days, staying one day and then traveling back two days, makes no sense.

That got me started on thinking about Christmas.  We'll probably do the same thing.  Maybe we will go skiing, or there is plenty to do around our current post, that we haven't done.

So my question to you--how do you handle the holidays while your husband is deployed?  Are you always the one doing the traveling?  Have you ever reached a point where it is just not worth the hassle of leaving your new home? 

I think we will be fine.  Maybe we could start a new tradition?  Let me know how you handle it, or if you have any suggestions on new traditions to start. 

Time is flying away from me!

Tons to blog about, but maybe when I am down to one kid this week I will have more time.

I did make these brownies, and they were amazing!  I used tapioca flour, almond flour, and some other kind since I was out of regular flour.  The kids gobbled them up.  They were amazing.  (I also used flax seed in place of eggs since Junior can't eat them)  The blog belongs to a friend of my friend Dave, and she is like superwoman--marathons, insane workouts, full time job, two kids--an example that you can do it all!  (I need to get back into doing more!)

I am still slowly unpacking, have already taken out the trash once--only 51 more trash days left!  (The place where we moved has trashcans, woohoo?)

Today we are heading out to Pikes Peak National Forest to take the girls to Camp Purple.  I hope Abs can hang, because I could use the down time to get the house finished.  

Em is home from London (as of last night), but Junior and Abs and I managed to have an adventure before we picked her up.  I like to keep busy!

I am meeting with my personal trainer on Monday, parent/teacher conferences are this week, and I will only have one kiddo!  After having three, I could probably move a mountain with just one.  

Gunner still has not made it to his final destination, his elbow is infected (we though he pulled something after moving us), and he continues to crack jokes from a distance.  I forgot to send a phone card, my Sam's membership expired (now renewed), so it's on my list of things to do today.  

Oh, and just so you don't think it has been all fun and games, our toilet had to be removed from the wall, Junior woke up barfing and we were out of food, so I had to take him to the commissary, and Abs....well she is just Abs. 

Who's in this with me?

Who else is dealing with deployment right now?  I'd like to make sure I am reading your blog, so please leave a comment with a link!

While you are at it, why don't you give me your best deployment tip, I could use a few new ones.  Thanks!

Something I Heard

Part of the problem with deployments, is that there is a lot of sitting around and waiting.  There's only so many times you can say "I love you" or "I'll miss you", and you spend a lot of time sitting there not having to say a word.  At this point, I can rest my head on Gunner's shoulder, he'll put his arm around me, and we both understand.

At one point I needed to get out of the stuffy company, so I went outside where I found a Soldier talking to his buddy and his buddy's wife.  The Soldier was telling his buddy that he just didn't have any words left to say to his family, and that while they kept calling, he kept blowing them off.  Probably hard for his family, but I can understand that.

Anyway, after the Soldier's buddy and his wife went back inside the company, the Soldier got on his cell phone and called his mom.  I couldn't help but listen into the conversation, okay, so I was eavesdropping on this 21 year old kid that was about to head out.

Soldier:  Hey Mom, sorry I don't call, I just don't have anything to say.

More chit chat between mom and son.

Soldier:  I was just talking to my best friend and his wife.  He's got it hard Mom, he's got a wife and a baby and she has two other kids from a previous marriage.  He's got a family, and he has to leave them.  I know you don't want to hear this mom, but my job over there is to make sure that he comes back to his family.

Soldier:  I'd do anything mom, anything to make sure he comes home.  I don't have kids, my job is to keep him safe.

At this point I had to leave before I started sobbing.  This kid is 21 years old and is more worried about making sure his buddy comes home than himself.  You can't get much more selfless than that.

When you enter post, there is the Soldier's Creed.  The kids like to read it while we drive by.  Last night I saw yet another man, that lived by it.

I am an American Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.

Homecoming #3

The third deployment was by far the hardest for me.

As my father still battled cancer, I watched him go from the strongest man I had known, to someone who depended on people for help. Not something that was easy for him. I was glad that I was able to be there though. Gunner left for Iraq in December 2005 and I was 12 weeks pregnant with Junior.

We didn't find out the sex, and trying to have him pin down a name for this baby with him only calling every week or 10 days was next to impossible. And some of the names he suggested, I wondered if he got the baby name books that I sent or if he was creating names out of arabic letters.

My dad passed away when I was about 7 months pregnant, two small kids who were devastated, and my husband halfway around the world. Junior was a bright point though, and he kept me busy, along with my obsession with cloth diapers. I used to dream about them too. My husband thought I was strange? Whatever, like after this many years he is supposed to understand me.

Gunner was set to return in November 2006, but his flight kept getting delayed, and so he finally came back right at the year mark. They were all shooting to make it to December so that they could be tax free for the year. Anything to keep you busy I guess.

This deployment was exceptionally hard with everything that happened, and the things that Gunner saw. I was really nervous about him finally coming home, and how he would react, especially to a son he didn't know. When he used to call, he would tell me that he "loved that little boy even though he didn't know him". It was heartbreaking.

The evening that he was set to arrive, I was so nervous. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I was worried. How much had he changed? How would he handle being the dad to 3? (No worries, he turned out okay!) We hung up banners, got everyone dressed, and headed out to the gym.

His flight was supposed to be home at 10ish, and they were running a tight schedule. At least it wasn't too late this time, since Junior was 5 months old and I didn't want to disturb his already screwy schedule.

My main focus was to let the girls see their dad, and then be able to hand him his son. My MIL had other ideas, and held on to him till I decided he needed to nurse through all the excitement. She wanted to give him his son, but after taking care of him for 5 months alone, I wanted to do it. Probably petty, but I had my heart set on it.

I was so busy watching the kids, taking care of Junior, that the guys were showing up before I knew it. We were in the same gym as before, with the same smoke machine, a DJ, Vietnam vets lining the walkway, and tons and tons of people. I probably remember the least about this return because I was soooooo tired and worn down. What I do have handy is pictures. (Click on the picture to enlarge)
(I know I have curly hair, but I never realize just how curly until I see it in pictures.)

If this is my worst problem, then I shouldn't complain!

The lady that cleans my house was supposed to come this week since she didn't last week. I came home and noticed that my trash can was not overflowing. I walked in and saw my sad house that needed a vacuum, mopping job, and to be straightend up.

I checked my email and her real job called her in, and she admitted that until they got someone reliable she couldn't commit to cleaning my house anymore on a weekly basis.

I thought I would cry. I have to clean my own house? I called my friend Mel, whose maid is booked till she moves in a few days. I checked craigslist. Too scary. I thought about cleaning my house myself and about had a panic attack. Would I have time to fit that in as well as everything else?

Then I called a friend who is headed to a funeral. I don't have that to worry about. We are slowly getting well. The toilet in Ab's bathroom doesn't work well enough to overflow these days. Gunner should be home within the next two weeks if not sooner. My kids are happy (except for Em who is still dwelling on the fact that she might have to choose between a school dance and her dad coming home--I think there is a member of the opposite sex there that she might want to see, God help me). My car is fixed and it cost less than a thousand dollars, and they are letting me leave it there till I figure out a way to get it back to "The Great Place".

......As soon as I started thinking of all the "good", I went and checked the laundry and started to put it all in the dryer. That's when I realized that somehow a Junior diaper got loaded in the washer and had exploded all over the place with those annoying little beads. Of course I don't realize this till I start loading the clothes from the washer in the dryer, and I see the exploding diaper. I try to flip it out, not knowing that those little beads would land all over the clean clothes in the front of the dryer that I needed to fold. I think I am back to square 1 with the laundry.

I'll focus on the positive tomorrow, I've got too many loads of laundry ahead of me and freaking little beads EVERYWHERE to clean up. Fun!