Ouch!

DH and I did go on that bike ride this afternoon. The inlaws kept the children and we went almost 19 miles (18.79 to be exact). I probably could have done more but DH's feet were killing him because of the wrong shoes. We stopped off when we were almost done to look at a house for sale and when I went to get back on the bike I managed to fall. Usually my husband is the one who falls.

My left knee is scratched up and down the front of my shin. I also managed to scratch up my right knee a little and get some bruises. My arm came out the best and was just a little red. My pride was hurt more than anything! DH jumped off his bike and ran back over--I wish he was that attentive when I was having his three children!

I managed to ride back to the house and he doctored me up. I don't know how I managed to fall but at least it wasn't while we were speeding down a hill or something when the injuries could have been worse. I think we will ride again Sunday and hopefully get in 20-25 miles. I just hope I can manage not to kill myself on this bike.

Teeth

Maybe Junior was sick because he is getting 8 molars in at the same time??? No idea if there is any correlation, but I know his mouth hurts. So does my shoulder where he bites me when his binky is not in. Little stinker!

DH got off early today so I am trying to convince him that we need to go for a bike ride. I went to spinning on Monday and Wednesday and rode Sunday, so this would be a nice ending to the week. I'd love to go to the extended ride on Saturday but I will be heading out to my cousin's baby shower. Maybe next week.

Combat Lifesaver

DH's company is requiring everyone to become a combat lifesaver. While my husband is already certified, a refresher course is always good and I think that everyone should have this training. It's a week long course (although the one in the article was two days) worth promotion points ,although only 5-10 points. Seems like something like this would be higher in points, but no one asked me!

This morning on his little bit of sleep he headed out to save soldiers while being fired upon. He said the training was very realistic and he passed.

I don't think he will ever be able to have a job where he sits behind a desk for 40 hours a week.

My Mom

My mom is a writer, a very good one. She has been published numerous times and is writing her memoirs for her grandchildren right now. She just started a blog that you should checkout.

Sick

Yesterday DH and I went to the gym for the spinning class. It hadn't even started yet when they told us Junior had thrown up. DH went and got the kids while I completed the class. (Go me!) They all came back to pick us up and DH thought that Junior had just spit up due to his reflux. Everything was fine and we went home and DH went to the late spinning class.

This morning about 3 Junior got sick. He only got sick twice and he seems to be doing better. After changing his sheets and clothes and starting laundry I started scrubbing toilets. Nothing says "I love you" more than a clean toilet when you are getting sick. I figured if it is contagious I wanted to be prepared, especially since Abs put Junior's binky in her mouth and Em was drinking out of his sippy cup at school registration yesterday--when will they learn????

Anyway, Junior is napping and no one else is sick--so far so good. Abs starts another acting camp next week and Em goes to Operation Purple next week so we need to be healthy! Not to mention my mom doesn't want to get it!

School

I finally got Abs enrolled in school next year. It was a pain, but done. Let's hope it all works out for the best. This will be her first year in public school.

GYM II

The gym called yesterday and made me another offer. I never showed up and called yesterday to tell them no way. Instead they call again today and make another offer. Too late.

I love the new gym. I did cancel my orientation because it interefered with my spinning class tonight, but I'll make it up later.

Kisses

Junior has mastered giving kisses. Nothing is sweeter than baby kisses.

It's raining babies...

I actually know more civilian people pregnant than military people.

I must not know that many military people anymore, guess I should get out more especially since I live on post!

Gym

I joined a new gym today. My membership expired at the old place and they wanted to charge me an arm and a leg to join. The guy who originally signed me up called me and offered me pretty much the same deal the girl at the desk offered and I told him I was going to look around. He called back a few hours later and gave me a better deal but still not that great. I joined their competitor. They threw in 6 months for Chris so that is nice since we rarely can workout together.

Tonight Chris met me and we went to a Spinning class. I was okay but Chris had a hard time. He did make it through the class and then he took the kids home and I swam for half an hour. I loved swimming in high school but with three kiddos I rarely have time for it. The pool was a big selling point to me. Anyway, the class was 10 times better than the other class so we are good to go.

DH and I also got new bikes on Saturday. The bike shop was great and we took them for a spin on Sunday. We rode the hills about 12.44 miles and it was great! Maybe I will be ready for 40 miles in October....I hope.

Big Brother

I don't know why I watch this drippy show, but I do, faithfully. I just finished up all 7 episodes I missed while on vacation. (What did I do before DVR?) I think it will be an okay season, but if Amber does not stop crying over everything I think I will scream!

Whose your favorite?

Foamhenge

We were driving in TN looking for a place to have a picnic lunch and let the kids run around. We came across a Foamhenge sign and of course stopped to see it.

I remember seeing the real Stonehenge when my family and I went to the UK back in maybe 85? Here a couple of shots. It was interesting in a weird sort of way....

Home

We got to my mom's house at 2:30 this morning and we crashed there. I got up and worked and we are home now and have a million things to do. I am exhausted.

All in all it was a great trip and everyone seemed to enjoy thermselves--although I think we are all sick of Peanut butter sandwiches.

Headed Home

We are headed home and made it to Tennessee. Just got out of the pool and got the kids are supposed to be sleeping. We are going to try to hit Graceland tomorrow and we should be home by Thursday. I have to work on Friday and I am sure my mom is overly excited that after 14 days together that I will immediately be taking all three kiddos over there for her to watch while I work--At least she will have the weekend to recuperate.

Oh and Abbie rode in the third row of the Highlander for a few hours before she threw up all over Chris. We moved her up to the second row and she only got sick one more time and then she was back in true Abbie form. Guess I have one that gets car sick. Of course we didn't have a bucket or bag handy but had an empty formula can full of bananas that I threw all over my mom at the time. Luckily? my pillow caught most of it. I do not do well with urpy kids! Hopefully the rest of the trip will be uneventful but I have a ton of funny stories to tell about it. At least funny to us, lol.

My children sleep now.

Bedtimes have always been a battle in my house as they are never ever ever tired. The first few days we took the circulator around town and they still battled at bedtime. Yesterday we walked about 6 miles and they were so enjoyable to be around and passed out when we put them to bed. Today we walked about 5.5 miles and they went right to bed (well after my children stuffed their beds with pillows and hid in the closet trying to scare me, lol).

Yesterday we saw the Capital and it was amazing. We sat in the Senate Gallery and it was weird to see so many people that you hear about all the time. The kids seemed to enjoy it as well. We walked around the Sculpture Garden and soaked our tired feet in the pool of water there. We saw the Decleration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives, visited the WWII Memorial, reflecting pool, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the Vietnam Nurses Memorial. Today we saw the Library of Congress, Ford's Theatre, Petersen's House (where Lincoln died), two more parts of the Botanical Garden, the National Museum of the American Indian, the White House, the old post office (where they play the bells), and more. Tomorrow my mom and I are going to try and get up early and get tickets to the Holocaust Museum for us, the Washington Monument for everyone and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (this after my daughters and my nephew sat around making fake money all morning). Hopefully the lines will be short and we will get tickets to all. My SIL gets in town tomorrow on business and we will see her on Saturday, but we also want to see the National Geographic Center and the Textile Museum. Maybe the zoo and the National Cathedral on Sunday?

We have really seen a lot and the kids have given up complaining and walk and walk with us and never stop talking. It's been a lot of fun and we have seen a lot more than I anticipated that we would.

Last night we were walking home to the hotel by way of the grocery store and some guy in a mustang yells out my husband's name and he stops pushing the stroller and turns around. I was getting ready to tell him that the guy wasn't talking to him because how could we know someone here and it turns out it was his little brother. We knew he worked here but didn't think we would see him. He got out and met his two nieces and nephew for the first time and we chatted for a while. We are meeting him and his wife for dinner on Sunday after they come over and she meets the kids. My mom is keeping them for us so we will be able to have a meal without talking about Harry Potter!

We are leaving here on Monday and have so much to cram in before then. We are also going to try and fit in a few things on the way home. The kids have been great and Junior is a dream when it comes to traveling so that makes things easier on us.

I definitely need to hit the gym when I get back because even with all this walking that ice cream and beer at the end of a long day isn't helping me out at all.

For some reason I can't type titles on DH's laptop.

Today we were supposed to get up early so that we could go have coffee with our Senator. Of course we overslept. We did manage to get everyone up, dressed and pottied in record time and we were out the door. We arrived with just minutes to spare. All the kids were hot, hungry and miserable. Abs of course was the worst and decided that acting like a baby would be appropriate at the time. Very frustrating and I was ready to ring her neck! We spoke to one of the Senator’s employees and found out that there is a huge Baylor connection up here so that was nice to know. Who knows maybe once DH is out of the Army we will move up here and find some important job. I guess I better brush up on my resume since carting children around won’t get me very far unless I want to be a tour bus driver.

We spoke to the Senator briefly and he thanked DH for his service and me too. He is on the Armed Forces Committee so we spoke about what was going on in Iraq. After we finished up there we went and walked around the Supreme Court. Now there is somewhere I could work! If not then Junior might be a future Justice? We managed to get to the National Botanic Garden and look around before it started to storm. We hung out in the garden for a while and then ran through the rain till we made it to the bus stop and the bus finally came. We rode the bus for a while, witched buses and then it really started to storm. We of course were all ready soaked so we just ran through the rain and got to the hotel.

We had a tour of the Kennedy Center lte this afternoon and then tried to stay for the free show at 6 but it was packed and moved too slowly for the kids so they asked to go home. We got home just in time to eat dinner at the BBQ here at the hotel….hey how could we pass up a free meal???

The kids are all in bed but Abs is still awake. We are touring the capital tomorrow morning. Hopefully the kids will be ready to go tomorrow morning. We are also planning on seeing the Wall, the Lincoln Memorial, etc. Lots of walking and my feet are already sore.

Junior cut another tooth so maybe our nights will get a little easier too. He’s been up 2-3 times a night for the last few days. I’m exhausted—I’m sure DH is too since he is up with us at well.

I’m sure the people at the front desk are tired of me so time for me to hit the sack.

It's been between 97-100 the last couple of days. I am dying here!

The car ride up was long, tiring and loud. We made it though and everyone is still alive. The drive was beautiful and thank goodness for DVD players. Junior was great and probably complained the least out of everyone, including DH.

We saw Arlington yesterday and it was amazing. I'll have to wait till I can come up with the words to describe it. The children sat through the changing of the guards absolutely silently which after the previous few days surprised me. Maybe there is hope? Em was busy imitating the clicking of the heels after it was all over. My Great Uncle, his wife and son are buried there so we found their site as well. We saw most of the memorials but did not have time to see everything as they closed while we were walking back from Iwo Jima--I did not realize how big it was.

Today we went to the Smithsonian. First on the list was to visit the dinosaurs since Abs loves them. She was so excited to see all of the fossils and looked at all of them and then rounded the corner and saw all the dinosaur bones and got excited. The she looked up and saw the pterodactyl and was terrified. She didn't want to look at them anymore and kept trying to leave the room. I managed to take a few pictures but she did not want to be near any of the meat eating dinosaurs. She told me the pterodactyl was an omnivore, but insisted it would think her fingers were rodents. She cracks me up. I'll post pictures when I get a chance. (We have to use the wireless internet in the lobby of the hotel since we don't have an ethernet port or adaptor) We also went and saw the Land and Sea Museum (?) and saw a lot of the exhibits that were there. My nephew wanted to see the WWI & WWII planes so we made a point to see those as well.

Tomorrow we are headed to have coffee with our Senator from Texas, yes, we are taking all 4 children. I wonder if they will chase us out of there. We also have a tour of the Kennedy Center setup and we will attend a show that night if everything goes according to plan. Not sure what else is in store.

I am tired and hot and headed to eat ice cream and drink beer.

Now I am really packing

and it is 11:35 at night. We just got home from Walmart. We were right on schedule and everything was going smoothly till we were headed to Walmart and then the outlaws house and I noticed that the lawn needed to be cut. (I am thinking it rains more here than in Seattle these days) So DH cleaned out the car with the help of the kids and I mowed the lawn since he is still not able to do much physical activity (or so the doctor says, lol). We made it to the outlaws late and then stayed too late. After you finally say you are leaving it takes 15 rounds of saying goodbye to everyone. I was glad to see everyone that came and learned a lot about my husband and his family through this reunion so I guess some good came out of it.

I confess I did take a nap this afternoon, but I was sooooo tired! I still have to finish packing and get everything ready to be loaded in the morning. I think when I go to Hawaii I will be far more prepared.

Stay tuned for updates on the Beverly Hillbillies go to DC....

P.S. To my defense I called my mom at 10:30 and she was vacuuming and was doing laundry. I wonder where I get it from...

Twas the night before leave
And all through the house
The washing machine was going
While my husband did grouse

And I in my sweats with my hair pulled on back
Had just settled down to write lists of what to pack
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a Washington DC guide book
And I started to fear

Here we are about to depart
And we have yet to plan our start!
The laundry’s not done, the house is a mess
The trip is not planned I started to confess!

I called up my mom and started to cry
She just listened and laughed and knew not to pry
For she was not much better I soon heard
And my nephew was joining this menagerie I’d herd.

So although the future is quite uncertain
We have reservations and a trip-tik I am certain
So the 7 of us will venture out of our state

And hope that our trip will end up with ????? (I can’t think of anything that fits. LOL I better go pack and be more constructive…I think how tired I am is showing.)

Packing

Or at least I should be. We leave for DC tomorrow morning with the whole menagerie--the five of us, my mom and my nephew. If nothing else we should have quite an adventure getting there!

We still have to go to the inlaws house to say goodbye to everyone and I worked this morning so I better get started on that packing. I might need a nap first. Junior is down....aren't you supposed to sleep when they are?

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!



We went back to the family reunion where we BBQed, cooked, ate, cleaned up and hung out. Pretty American. Someone had purchased some fireworks and I didn't want my kids to touch them and fortunately the other mom felt the same way as her son was burnt by a sparkler. They had gotten some chem lights for the kids and they were as happy as could be. My family usally watches the fireworks put on by Fort Hood but this time we just stayed over at the outlaws house. The kids are now tired and nestled into bed while visions of Washington DC hopefully dance in their heads.

More Family Reunion

This is turning out to be pretty interesting albeit very tiring too. We slept in till almost 10 this morning. I told DH that we need to get back on a normal schedule before we leave for DC.

My outlaws have 12 extra people sleeping on their floors. (Thank goodness we are just 20 minutes away and can come home every night!) FIL is concerned about the electric bill and the water bill and complains constantly. If someone turns on a fan he turns it off. The house is over 85 degrees and full of flies (especially gross after going to NASA and the grossology exhibit and seeing how flies barf every time they land ewwww).

The FIL is also not happy that all these people have to use water. In order to alleviate some of the stress one husband and wife were showering together to conserve his water. The abundance of laundry that needs to be done is a sore spot as well since that requires both his electricity and water. There is just no way to win I guess!

The kicker was last night when he brought out lanterns for us to use for light instead of electricity. I wonder what today will hold. At least we will be grilling so that he won't have to complain about us using the oven!

Hawaii

I booked 11 days at the military resort in Hawaii for November. I bought our tickets, reserved my mom to watch the kids and am now planning out what we will see and do. If anyone has any suggestions, tell me now!

Heartbreaking

I periodically read Michael Yon and his story broke my heart. Read this.

Family Reunions

My husband's family is having a reunion here this week. I think the big day is the 4th of July, but while I was busy organizing my husband took the kids over to his parent's house to hang out with arriving family members. I don't know much about my husband's family or his brothers (he has three). Last night after I went to dinner with my mom and sister and her children I ventured over there for the festivities.

We had a few drinks and sat around and talked and I learned a lot about my husband. His oldest brother was there and passed on some stories. His other older brother will arrive today so I am sure I can hear more about what a perfect angel he was not!

The kids are loving hanging out over there and swimming, playing and hanging out in the huge dog kennel. My outlaws built the kennel but haven't finished with the tarp on top, etc., so the kids just hang out in it and have a great time. This is Abbie playing prisoner.

Tomorrow should be interesting with this group of people. Hopefully I will survive.

P.S. DH survived his surgery and is recovering nicely. :)

Extreme Room Makeover

My mom is a bargain shopper with big ideas. She can see something and can envision something great being created from it. It doesn't matter how odd of an item it is, it is useful and she needs it....especially if it is on sale. Over the years she has accumulated quite a few million craft items for pennies on the dollar. She has a beautiful room that she has stored these items in and where she would go to create.....till the "bargains" took over the room. My sister and brother and sister-in-law spent 3 days emptying, building shelving, tossing, organizing and donating my mom's "treasures". After two trips to Goodwill (don't go buy back your stuff mom!) and a trip to the dump we managed to make the room livable. It's not perfect...that would require about a month of working straight through, but it is now a workable situation for her and we expect her to create great things.

I know it was very hard for my mom and she was a trooper and after the first day left us alone. She did grab on to the fact that she couldn't find one "work in progress" and gave us a really hard time about it. She bet my sister-in-law $10 that we had thrown it away, and it struck me today where I put it and sure enough it was still there and she apologized profusely. Whew...I was really starting to think that I had tossed it!

Anyway, I will continue to help her organize the room but if anyone sees her at the local Goodwill trying to buy back her stuff or Hobby Lobby or Michael's trying to replace it, please have her drop the items and slowly back away from the store--and take away her coupons!

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Over on Spouse Buzz one of the authors had a great post about pre deployment checklists. As DH gets ready to go to ntc and Iraq again I need to get organized (famous last words in my family, but this time I really really really mean it!). I have gone through deployments and lost power of attorneys and all kinds of other things, but this time I am determined that I will be on top of my game. I am sure my mom will give me one of her many binders (I secretly think she collects them along with Lipton tea lids) and I will get started next week--no rush, right?

7 habits

Today DH and I took a class offered by the Army called 7 Habits of Highly Effective Army Families based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. It was a great class and we learned a lot. (Actually DH left at the lunch break since his chain of command wouldn't authorize him to stay the whole day after approving it originally, but oh well) I think we learned a lot of valuable information and hopefully we can put it into practice. I do wish that they had had more examples that were Army related to deployment as that would be helpful in the upcoming months. I do recommend the course to others though, just check with ACS to see if it is offered at your post. Now it is time for DH and I to plow through the book and the workbook so that we can get the most out of the class.

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Junior's 1st birthday!!! Hard to believe how much he has changed over the last 12 months. He was born at 10:01 pm weighing in at a hefty 10 lbs 1 oz. (Thank goodness for epidurals!) Dh had just returned from Iraq for R&R two days prior so he was able to be there for the birth.

He still doesn't sleep through the night every night but I love him just the same!

A few pictures

We're home

I'll try to post some pictures later but we had a great time and the car ride both ways was not that bad! My brother and SIL were great on Sunday taking the girls on a 3 mile run before we headed back so they were worn out. The girls loved NASA and the grossology exhibit. My brother went along with us which made managing 3 kiddos a lot easier. They even had a multi-level playscape inside that the kids loved! I remember being dragged to NASA when I was a kid all the time and dreading it (sorry Mom I know you were trying!). It has really changed and is definitely worth a visit if you are down near Houston.

Weekend

We were all supposed to go to Houston this weekend and stay with my brother, but unfortunately idiots in the barracks have decided that they like to drink while on duty so DH is being punished with the rest of the guys. Sooooo.....call me crazy, but I am going to attempt to pick up the girls from acting camp, feed them and with Junior and the girls drive 4 hours to my brother's house at night. Hopefully NASA will be okay with the 4 of us on Saturday or I might just sit at home after this adventure. DH will be working all weekend so there is no point in us sitting around the house being bored. Famous last words...

Acting Camp Update

Apparently both of the girls had a great day today. I don't know much more, but Em was participating and Abs had 4 boys fighting over sitting next to her both in the chairs and on stage. Em got the part of a turtle and Abs will be a soldier (guess she wants to be just like dad!).

I will celebrate with Olive Garden with the outlaws...don't know how much of a celebration that is, but it's better than me cooking!

I love my daughter

My mom called this morning and was reluctant to take Abs to acting camp. Apparently she had not been listening all morning. To her defense she is ADHD and did not have her medication yet. My mom thinks it is better to pull her out and let her try again next year. I feel that if she doesn't make it this year, I won't try again next year. There is always such a stigma attached to a child that has ADHD and I don't want her to be labeled as a troublemaker.



One thing I really hate is when Abs acts up and the first thing out of someones mouth is "Did she take her medicine today, because it sure doesn't seem like it." I hate that she even has to take medicine and I try not to give it to her over the summer. I hate when people assume she hasn't had it and that is why she is behaving the way she is. I hate that people are so quick to pass her off as being difficult and are unwilling to keep her or spend time with her because she is such a handful. Seems like everyone would rather take the easiest way out and just not have anything else to do with her. I love her with all of my heart and to think that someone doesn't appreciate every bit of her crushes me. Yes, she can be difficult and frustrating. Yes, she has given me gray hairs on more than one occasion. But, I would not trade anything about her and I wish that other people would see that and love her for who she is. So I have decided that I will just keep Abbie close and love her and not put her in situations where people think she is "trouble". I don't want her growing up with a complex about all of this. And to those who miss out on being a part of her life, I feel sorry for you, you have no idea what an incredible child she is.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau

"On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good and not quite all the time." --George Orwell

Tactical Questioning

DH attended a tactical questioning class today. Tactical questioning is "a compilation of tools to help all soldiers collect information through questioning and detainee handling." He really enjoyed the class and thought that it would have been useful to have had it before the last two deployments. Apparently the last time he was over there the usual responses from the Iraqi people were "no Ali Baba, we saw nothing, we hear nothing, we love Americans."

Although I doubt one class will give them the knowledge to get an abundance of information it is nice to see that the Army is moving in the right direction to get all Soldiers the training they need before deployment. When DH deployed the first time we had just PCSed to Hood and he had no training specific to Iraq before he left. He feels this time they are more adequately preparing the Soldiers for deployment. Thank goodness!

Stay Tuned...

to see if my children will be booted from acting camp. Apparently Em preferred to sit under the table at craft time and Abs was too busy getting into everything to pay attention. Em has almost the entire play memorized and they got the script yesterday. No telling what is going on in Abs mind.

I guess they get their assigned parts tomorrow--Em is hoping to be a turtle and Abs wants to be a soldier. Maybe they should worry about being able to continue rather than which part they would get. My nephew is enrolled as well and apparently he is doing great.

Hopefully they can pull it together and make it the entire two weeks! Keep your fingers crossed...maybe one day something will be easy for us!

An Abs hairstyle...

I forgot what she called this hairstyle, but it is an Abbie original.

First Morning

My mom dropped the girls off at acting camp this morning and my nephew was waiting on them. Abs had three new best friends before my mom had finished enrolling them and Em was already hungry and had broken into her lunchbox.

Abs went walking with my mom this morning and that seemed to help burn off some excess energy. Keep your fingers crossed since I am trying to avoid staying there the two weeks with them! I have too much to do here.

Hopefully the afternoon report will be good....

I did it!

I have solved Insaneaquarium. I will sleep better tonight.

The girls are at my mom's for the next two weeks in order to attend acting camp. I am wondering how many days it will take before my mom has me move in and help her with them in the evening. Any betters out there?

Happy Father's Day

I am sure I have a more recent picture of DH with the kids, but I can't locate it right now. This is from when he was home for R&R back in 2006, and I was getting ready to take him back to the airport to leave. Junior was 13 days old, Em was 8 and Abs was 5. Happy Father's Day sweetie!

My Dad

I wish he was here to celebrate Father's Day, but not a day goes by that I am not thankful for him and what he did for me.

Stop the Insanity!

I am not one for playing computer games but DH gave me Insaneaquarium and I am addicted. Thankfully I have almost completed the entire game. When I close my eyes I see green fish and food pellets. I've been staying up too late to play this and my finger hurts from hitting the mouse button.

Off to bed, I think after I get the kids to bed tomorrow night I will be able to do the last level....stay tuned....

First Haircut & Security

Before:

I really wanted to wait till Junior was a year till I got his first haircut, but more and more people were calling him a girl so I finally broke down and had it done.

After:

He was too wiggly so you really can't tell, but all his curls are gone. Such a cutie!

While he was getting his haircut Abs decided that was the time to get into everything and act rotten. My mom took her out and held her in her arms while Abs screamed. A woman from a neighboring store came out, took a look and within seconds security for the shopping center appeared. They asked Abs who was holding her and she said "My Grandma" and then they asked her if everything was okay and she replied "No, she is squeezing me". The security guard told Abs that it looked like her Grandma didn't want her doing what she was doing. Leave it to Abs to have security called on her. On the bright side at least someone noticed something was going on and did something about it. All those reports of bystanders doing nothing kind of disturbed me. Still sorry that my mom had to go through this though.

When Em was little (about 18 months) we lived in Washington State and DH and I were in Target. Em was a bear and finally DH just picked her up and was carrying her out to the car. A woman stopped him and asked him if that child belonged to him and DH replied "When she acts like this I don't know who she belongs to!"

SGT Sprader

The outcome was not good, but they found SGT Sprader last night. Our prayers are with his family and friends.

VBS

began today. I was a little worried about how Abs would do this year. Last year I was 8 months pregnant, huge as a house in the Texas heat, with DH deployed. I dropped off the girls and within a few hours got a phone call that Abs wasn't behaving. The people that worked there were Saints! They would let Abs hang out with them and even had one sit with her during class so that she could remain. This was a lifesaver as I was so miserable and needed that time to sleep. (I did have a 10 lb 1 oz bouncing baby boy a few weeks later which explained the huge amount of discomfort)

I was really worried that we would have a repeat of last year but Abs assured me that she was going into first grade and there would be no problems. Thank goodness everything went well! (Later on in the summer Abs was asked to leave a VBS, so I had a reason to be concerned! I probably have the only child that gets booted from VBS!)

Junior napped and I cleaned. Such an exciting life I lead....

Still no sign

of the missing soldier. DH is out there again today all day joining in the search party. Hopefully they find him soon as he has been gone almost 72 hours.

Back to the hospital

Took Junior in for a follow up today and he was admitted. He was wheezing and grunting and having a hard time breathing. They sent him for a second xray and they sent me up to Pediatrics. We get there, get him hooked up to all the machines and the boy acts like he is wild and is all over the "cage" they put him in. He ripped off all the leads and finally I just took them off. The doctor saw him and said his xrays looked better and they think it might be viral since the antibiotics aren't working. So they gave me the option of staying or leaving and I agreed that I would rather be home but if it got worse I didn't want to wait in the er for 9 hours. They said to call them and they will meet me in the er and take him up if that happens. Hopefully not. I came home and napped and now Junior is out. DH is at the commissary--the man is the slowest grocery shopper I have ever met--and the girls are at the outlaws swimming in the neighbors pool. Now if I could just feel better....

Missing Soldier

There is a soldier missing here at Hood. DH was called out to go search the training area. Hopefully they will find him soon...

Sick again...

Took Junior back to the doctor today and he has pneumonia. Apparently it covers a large portion of his left lung. Poor little guy is hanging in there. Breathing treamtent did nothing and I have to take him back in on Sunday. At least I am being followed by the same doctor. She said if he changes at all I need to take him straight to the ER and have him admitted. He is on two antibiotics so I am hoping that they kick in and he starts feeling better. And where is DH?????? In the field of course. I am starting to think that he never sees a sick kiddo.

I'm sick too, but of course I don't have time for that since Abs has a play tomorrow and DQ comes home from camp tomorrow.

I really need to book a facial and a massage....

X Bike , Ears and Army Wives

I went to my second X bike class today. A lot easier than the first, but definitely gives you a workout. I guess I need to give up my beloved Body Step and focus on X bike till after October. I have to do this! Since I finished my MBA, I have done nothing to really challenge myself, so maybe this is what I need to get back into the swing of things. (And don't even ask how long ago I graduated, makes me feel like a bum!)

Took Junior to the doctor today while Abs was at theatre camp (which she loves). He has a horrible double ear infection. They put him on an antibiotic and I am hoping that we really see an improvement tomorrow the poor little guy.

I am about to watch the show Army Wives. I watched the first two minutes of it and they showed a Soldier proposing to a girl he knew for 4 days....that's why the divorce rate is so high! (Yes I know that it has actually decreased)

LIVESTRONG Challenge

Last year I had just had a baby so I walked the 5K with all three kids. This year I am going to do the 40 mile bike ride with my SIL. I guess I better get a bike and start training. No idea where to start. Maybe drop my step classes for a spinning class? I'd love to do a Century ride, but I know I am not ready for that. Not even sure I can make a 40 mile bike ride! Wish me luck!

Back Home

We left Saturday morning and picked up my mom and then headed to Houston. My brother and his wife live there and we were spending the night before we dropped DQ off at camp this afternoon. Junior is thankfully a pretty good traveler so we don't have to stop excessively. We did go by our old house in Houston (which we had demolished for my parent's anniversary--how sweet, I know, but it needed to be done. We walked around the property and checked out the area to see how much it had grown.

We got to my brother's house pretty early in the afternoon and hung out while my SIL made a great dinner. The girls enjoyed being with their aunt and uncle and Junior LOVED their dogs and cats. He chased them around the house and was worn out by the end of the day.

Today we had breakfast and then the girls went to the park with their aunt and uncle while I napped and my mom watched Junior. I was exhausted and needed the rest to do all the driving today.

This afternoon after lunch we drove DQ down to Girl Scout Camp in Seabrook. This is the same sailing camp that I went to while I was growing up. I wish I could have stayed!!! It looks like she will have a great time and hopefully learn a lot. She wasn't old enough to be in a sailing session, but at least she will be able to see the older girls out there sailing and want to do it herself. I love to sail and now want to buy a boat. Well I have always wanted one, but now I am determined to make that happen sooner, even if it is a little Sunfish! Surely those can't cost that much in this day and age! Good thing DH likes to sail too. A sunfish isn't big enough for the whole family, but a nice small one to get the girls used to the idea. I better get them to the pool and start on those swimming lessons, yet again. Maybe this year they will finally master it!

Abs starts theatre camp tomorrow. Wonder if they will be able to get her off the stage?

I miss DQ already but she is probably so busy she won't have time to worry about us. My babies are growing up....

It's about to storm but at least we have light this time. Night.

Waterpark

Always reapply sunscreen to your children more than what they say. Both the girls are burned.

Never let your children apply sunscreen to you, you will end up with strange burn marks across your body.

It was a good time though.

For those of you in Central Texas, we went to Summer Fun Waterpark. It is small enough and less crowded and a much shorter drive than Schlitterbahn, and the girls enjoy it a lot. We will take my nephew back there this summer when he comes to stay for a week. You can take your own drinks and food into the park which really helps cut down on the cost, plus there is a small military discount.

Weird Noises

I went for an evening run to the kitchen to find something sweet to snack on and instead heard weird noises. I started searching through the house, in the garage and finally outside in the backyard where I was sure my neighbor was pressure washing their grill or something so late at night. Turns out it was my A/C. So I called housing and surprisingly they can get someone out tomorrow afternoon. Of course I will be gone to the waterpark with the girls and my mom is watching Junior so she gets the joy of all of this. Hopefully it is a quick easy fix. I am thinking Abs put something in there maybe?

My Current Favorite Baby Product

With every child I have found one thing more useful than another. With Junior I have to say that hands down it is my baby carriers. I strap Junior into the Mei Tei or the sling and go. I am able to get more things done and he just hangs out with me...my little sidekick. At the urging of a friend a few months ago I ordered an ERGO. I am in heaven with this thing. I usually wear him on my back and I can be hands free and do laundry, clean, set the scooba or roomba to go, and play with the girls. He doesn't like it much if I am standing still (well unless I am washing dishes) but other than that he is content. It even has a sleeping hood so if he falls asleep I can secure his little head so he can continue napping while I continue running around the house taking care of things.

We took the ERGO a few months ago to Explore UT and it was a lifesaver. Not only could Junior use it, but Abs, our very tired 6 year old by the end of the day, was able to ride comfortably in it and it did not hurt DH's back at all.

My sister just had a baby and when she comes to visit I am going to let her try mine out and I know she will be sold on it. Anyway, helpful hint from me #746.

Weird things

After I have a baby something always changes about my body...besides the obvious like my weight and the plethora of stretch marks that adorn my tummy. I have always had curly hair but it gets curlier after each child, so I now have a mass of ringlets. Surprisingly the girls have straight hair and Junior is the one that inherited my curls.

After Junior was born 11 months ago I developed a rash around my belly button. It was pretty nasty and really hurt so I finally went to the doctor. Turns out I am allergic to my jeans, more specifically the button on my Tommy jeans. I guess they use nickel in the button and I am now allergic to that so I have to throw out about 4 pairs of jeans. I tried duct tape and other remedies in order for my cheap self to save money and not have to buy more jeans, to no avail. Now I am in love with Ralph Lauren jeans, and as with the 14K gold or higher that I have to wear in my ears so they don't become infected, I just tell DH that it is for my health.

Narrow Minded People

I belong to several email lists via yahoogroups. Most of them I could take or leave, but often I find some bit of useful information that makes the sorting through the emails worthwhile. Anyway, today an email came across and it just made me mad (I changed all the names and actually was able to keep the name changes clean!).

We got bad news this morning. Millie's cousin who was in the Military died while in training in Alberta. His truck flipped over and he was pronounced dead at the hospital. He was only in his early 20's. Please keep his parents, Millie's Aunt and Uncle Mavis and Davis in your prayers as the wait for the only son body to be shipped home. Think of his sisters to they are in their early twenties and this will be a hard blow. Millie is in a fog. She was close with him, She and her parents lived upstairs and his parents and family lived downstairs. Millie use to babysit him and change his diapers. We can't afford to go back for the funeral. But, we have a planned vacation there in a few weeks, so she will be able to spend time with the family then.
I know a lot of you are military families. But, Millie and I really feel like the military wasted a promising young life and ruins many other promising young lives. 4 boys from this
area have died recently in Afghanistan. My heart hurts for the mothers, who held them closed and put them to bed like I do with Rufus. I hope to God Rufus never ever joins.

While it is unfortunate that this young man died, where does she think the world would be without young men and women who were willing to join the military and defend their country? I sure don't want my husband to die, but I also don't want to be the one who is sitting there enjoying freedoms and expecting someone else to foot the bill for me because I deem myself "more valuable" than someone else.

I believe in the job that my husband does and support him 100%. Thank goodness he doesn't have to deal with idiots like this....

Disclaimer: If this makes no sense it's because I am tired and too mad to make any sense right now!

Memorial Day

Please remember all the Fallen Soldiers and their Families today...

Skim Milk Cows

Wonder what they will find next?

That's a lot of sausage!

We have a lantern

The outlaws brought over a lantern for us to use in case the electricity goes out again. I just sent DH to Sam's with all three children! Woohoo!

I can see clearly now, the rain is gone

It should be back by this afternoon though. We spent over 8 hours without electricity yesterday and finally gave up and went to sleep. The girls over time had managed to find every flashlight and deplete them of their batteries so we were left with one hand crank flashlight that my MIL gave us for Christmas. DH finally made it home after having to go around a lot of accidents and turn around because of low water crossings, etc. As he was coming home he saw that Bush's Chicken was over so he stopped and picked us up some dinner. The girls and I love gizzards!!

As Chris turned down our street the water was coming up over the hood of his car and the enginge started to make funny noises. It wasn't that deep all over but because of the design of this subdivision all the water ends up there. Thank goodness I didn't have to drive anywhere!

Abs picnic wasn't cancelled and so we went out to BLORA for a few hours. By the time we ate and the girls played in the water for half an hour, the lightening started up. I had Junior in a stroller and thankfully as it started to pour another mom came and helped me get him up the stairs, The girls were screeching and covering themselves with towels while they were in their bathing suits. They crack me up!

We managed to make it to Temple to get Ab's prescription and almost all the way home before the rain started up. I think I am ready for the girls and I to switch over to a doctor on post. I got a little irritated with the office and it wasn't the first time they screwed things up. I know they mean well, but they keep screwing up prescriptions, and once they gave me something to which she was allergic (I caught it before I got it filled).

I need a vacation....

Field Time

DH is out in the field...in the rain. They are preparing their tanks for gunnery. He sent me videos yesterday on my phone, but I never got around to getting the cables to hook my phone to my computer so I can't share yet. I'll add that to my ever growing list of things to do.

Anyway, my husband absolutely loves what he does. He got home last night and I asked him if he had fun and he told me he was miserable. I laughed and he admitted he had a great time. After watching the video I understand why he stays on tanks! I told him they need to have a "take your wife to the field day" so I can check things out. I'll pass on anything longer since with my curly hair I need a shower every day!

DH will be in for the 4 day weekend and then off to shoot gunnery and we won't see him for a while. I definitely have enough to keep me busy as the girls will be out of school and I have two vacations to plan. I haven't started on the one to Washington DC and I spoke to a friend of mine from college that was one of my husband's groomsmen and we are headed out to Boston in November for 10 days without children to visit the area (and him!). Right before DH deploys we try to take at least one trip with just the two of us so we can enjoy a little bit of time together without having to worry about the children. Thankfully my mom lives close by and steps in and takes care of the children for us. Thanks mom!

Junior is calling my name.....

Kindergarten Graduation

Will not be happening at my daughter's school. The parents are pretty disappointed, but I guess it is not the Montessori way to have an event like this. I have the cap and gown from DQ's graduation, so I think I will dress her up in that and do something special to acknowledge the first of many graduations to come.

Today Abs had field day and the kids really had a good time. They had a sack race, three legged race, tug of war, water balloon toss and an obstacle course. Junior was a good sport and played with rocks during each event so I was able to get some great shots of the kids. It's hard to believe that Abs is old enough to be headed off to first grade next year. While her reading is well above grade level, her handwriting leaves a lot to be desired so we will be working on that over the summer. Any ideas on how to do that? I'm still working with the physical therapist to find Abbie a slot to start her therapy and work on her gross motor skills. Apparently that should help with her handwriting since they need to master the gross motor skills before they develop the fine motor skills. She'll get the hang of it, I just don't want to drop the ball.

My FIL called today to tell me that Junior got my MIL sick. Junior did run a fever for a while, but the rest of us never caught anything. I doubt it is something she caught over here and I hope that she didn't give it to Junior while she watched him yesterday. Of course since DH leaves for the field on Tuesday, that would be par for the course for us to wind up sick. (knock on wood)

The Wall

The picture is of the Wall with a reflection of DH and Junior.

The Dignity Memorial Vietnam Wall Experience came to the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery this weekend. I have been wanting to see this for a while and was glad when I saw the signs and read the article in the paper about it. We are headed to DC this summer and the original memorial is on our list of things to see.

The display was unbelievable. Surrounded by American flags, it was hard to believe that there were 58,356 names engraved on there. To even fathom that that many American lives were lost over there just amazes me. It was a very moving experience and to see other Vietnam Veterans find their buddies names and make a rubbing was hard. Families left medals and newspaper articles about their loved ones. At the end of the day all of these items are gathered and placed in a special casket that will be buried at the cemetery. There was a tent setup full of memorabilia that one woman has collected over the years telling about her son Michael E Schafernocker. She wanted people to know her son and she took young men by the hand and showed them different items that would be of interest to them such as the spark plug helicopter. She hugged young soldiers and old and took the time to answer any questions she could about her son. It was very emotional to watch....

I am embarrassed to say that I don't know a whole lot about the Vietnam War, but I plan on changing that. I know the basics that I learned in school, but being a business major history was not a required subject so I took it to fill an elective spot during summer school at our local community college the first summer I was home. I don't even think we broached the subject. I explained to the girls what I knew and promised them that we would find out more information about other soldiers that were listed on there.

There was a booklet that was handed out and I read through it and it spoke about the Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. The VVA's Founding Principle is "Never again shall one generation of veterans abandon another." Just the thought of what happened during the Vietnam era is enough to bring a tear to anyone's eye.....

Animal Park

There is a wild animal park that you can drive through near our house at Hood, so I sent DH off with all three kids in the old car (in case it got scratched, which it did) and a picnic lunch. TOPSEY is about 20 minutes away from us and I had heard good things about it so DH was excited about surprising the kids with another Saturday adventure.

When they arrived, there was a huge camel that was blocking the road and they had to wait for one of the employees to come move it so that they could drive in the park. It cost $21 for the 3 of them to get in and Junior was free. They bought a bag of food for each of the girls at $1/2 and were on their way. The animals came up and into the car! DQ loved it and Abs was scared. An ostrich bit DH, but not too hard. They got some great pictures! They ran out of food about halfway through the park, so make sure and buy two bags per child. They had a petting zoo at the end and also a picnic area so make sure to pack a lunch to take a long.

The girls can't wait to go back and even Junior laughed hysterically when an animal would poke his nose in the window. My nephew is coming to stay with us for a week in August and I think we will return!

Conservation

I went to a conservation class on post today. It was offered through housing and I admit that I almost did not attend. I went to the gym and on the way home I felt guilty about possibly not showing up so I ran in the house, showered, dressed and left.

I actually ended up learning a lot while I was there. We also got shower timers (who really takes a 5 minute shower???), smart switch, rain gauge and some of those high tech light bulbs that are supposed to last forever. They are also going to send housing out to install these light bulbs throughout the house. I have heard that there is some controversy about them because they contain mercury and can be dangerous if they break. I can't remember the last time I broke a light bulb (knock on wood) so I will take the chance and if they break I will call housing like they instructed us...or at least I think they did. Chris was texting me from the animal park...more on that in a bit....

Drat, foiled again!

DH had CQ last night which requires him to sit in a chair for 24 hours babysitting single soldiers to make sure that they don't do anything stupid and monitoring barracks hoes (or is that ho's). There has also been a rash of car break-ins on post in the barracks parking lots for the last several months. I called him before I went to bed and he was bored of course since they can't really do anything but sit there. This morning I called to see if he got any sleep and see how grumpy he would be today and he told me "I foiled a robbery!". Apparently he heard some noises after 1 AM and went outside to investigate. There was a guy going back to his room from his buddy's room and DH stopped him to chat for a little while. Then he saw two guys crouching down by a car and started walking towards them. They took off running and DH chased after them. DH couldn't catch up with them so he called the MP's and they came and took his statement and went looking for the guys. They found one guy so they had to come pick DH up and take him in to make an ID. They also had the jack from the scene that they were going to fingerprint as well. So DH identified the guy (well he was the same height, same build, but different shirt and they found the shirt DH described in his car as well as some pot, the idiot.) and then they took DH back to work. So of course all of this goes back to DH's 1st SGT and he had to report it to Staff Duty that keeps a log and submits it to the Sgt Major each morning. So now the little world of Fort Hood is safer (well sort of) because of DH. (He told me that he was sure the president would give him a medal, and I told him he just needed 34 points to make the next rank instead!) Hopefully at least some good will come out of it for him. (He did say that they were pretty stupid since if he was them he would have waited for him to round the corner and then beat him up since he was outnumbered and they were a lot bigger Thank goodness they didn't!)

Update

I am down almost 25 pounds. Kind of sad to think I was hauling around that much weight. I bought a few new clothes that fit...from Sam's. No sense spending a lot of money on items I hopefully won't wear very long.

I got an email from our FRG leader and we are having an impromptu meeting next Monday over lunch. Not sure if I am going to go or not, but I am just glad to see that for this deployment we will actually have a FRG. The lack of one last year was hard on a lot of people, so it can only get better, right?

Junior is still sick, but I think it is mainly allergies. He has an appointment tomorrow so we can see what is going on. The poor little boy is miserable. On a bright note he slept through the night last night, so that in itself is great news!

I dropped Abs off at school this morning, got down to the end of the street and got a phone call that she walked in, threw up and was lying down. She's been find ever since and is ready to go back to school.

Since Abs was sick today I am going to work this evening for a few hours while DH takes care of the household.

I also have "buy a house" fever....no idea where to start though.

What's with that hairstyle?

I told Abs this morning to pull her hair back in case she threw up again. By the time we left for the doctor, she had 1 piggy and about three buns. She also had a barrette holding a piece of material in her hair, near the front of her head. A lady in the waiting room asked me if I fixed her hair and I said no, she did. She then asked me if I let her go out in public like that. I told her that if this hairstyle was the worst thing I had to deal with then I was a lucky person! So we get called back and everyone is checking out Ab's new "doo" which she has by this point named the "cinnamon roll". The nurse asked her why she made the "cinnamon roll" like that, and Abs looked at her with disbelief and told her "So I don't get barf in my hair silly". They were laughing so hard they were crying. Never a dull moment.....

Sick

Junior has hand, foot and mouth disease. I'm sure he picked it up at the gym daycare. There's no treatment for it, so he is a pretty miserable little guy. He has blisters on the back of his throat but so far none have appeared anywhere else. He got up at 4:30 this morning running a fever again and at 6 he is still going strong now that the Tylenol has kicked in. Hopefully we can take a nap after we get the girls off to school.

Mother's Day

I have no idea if DH will actually get something for me this year. I am pretty practical and don't want a lot of jewelry or for him to pick me out any clothes. I bought myself a scooba this year, and it is my new best friend.

My mom got me the roomba a year or so ago for Christmas while hubby was deployed. I use it all the time and it has been a lifesaver. I can block off the living room where Junior crawls, set the roomba and then run out the door to take the girls to school. By the time we get back my living room is cleaned and Junior can play without interruption.

Now that Junior is crawling everywhere and he is a messy eater, the scooba was the next step. If you use a 20% off coupon at Linens and Things it's not such a bad deal. So for mother's day I bought one for myself and haven't regretted it. Now when I set the roomba up to vacuum the living room, I set the scooba up to do the dining room, kitchen, entry way and computer area. It's not very quiet and it doesn't really get the corners, but that's a quick fix compared to scrubbing the floor myself.

Anyway, it was a great investment and I'd rather consider that my mother's day gift than something else DH might be that I don't really need. They make a robot to mow your lawn, but that is out of my price range. Wonder if they make one for counter tops and for cleaning your children's rooms!

P.S. Junior loves to just watch the scooba and roomba so they have great entertainment value as well!

The countdown begins

Orders were issued, so the countdown is on till hubby deploys. It's still a ways a way, but time has a way of speeding up when you are not looking forward to something. We will survive.

Haircut...

Since DH and I are done having children, I decided to give all the baby stuff to a friend that is due in August. In return she wanted to come over and play with Junior while I went and spent the day doing something for myself. Something for myself???? Of course I jumped at the chance since Junior is 10 months old now, will take a bottle and I have a milk stash in the freezer. I went and got my haircut today by the most wonderful lady--one of the few people that always makes my super curly hair look great. (Probably because she has curly hair too, although not nearly as curly as my fro!) She straightened my hair, which I always like to have done there. My hair is so thick that I have a hard time doing it myself and I love the way it feels. I don't think I could do it permanently, but for a few days I enjoy the change.

After I got my haircut, I met my husband for lunch at Olive Garden. Not exactly on the WW plan, but figured I could splurge a little. To have a meal with no interruptions is unheard. We still ate entirely too fast...one habit that is hard to break.

DQ had a Cinco de Maya celebration at school so I went there and volunteered for a little while. We did mexican dances (DQ claims I can't dance) and helped serve up some mexican dishes. I absolutely love DQ's teacher and she's in a class with some really neat kids. (The whole movement to public school was such a hard decision, but now I am wondering why I wasted so much money at that other school!)

I went and got Junior and found that my friend and her two children organized Junior's room, my pantry, and a set of cabinets that I just kept piling stuff in--yes I knew she was going to do this. She is an organizational expert, and I wish I could just let her have free reign of my house! Andrew had a blast and we headed off to get Abs from school.

Last deployment I did nothing for myself because I was too busy sleeping, cleaning or taking care of children. This deployment I promise myself to do more things just for me. Who am I kidding, I am scheduling a massage and facial before DH leaves!

The new way to crawl...

Yesterday we spent the majority of the day outside while the girls played in the sprinkler and hubby worked on staining the new entertainment center. Junior used to sit in the grass and he would not move because he didn't like the way the grass felt. He would put his hands down and then immediately sit back up and eventually he would fuss till I picked him up. He was like this on almost every surface, but I guess he got tired of not being able to move and so he started walking like a monkey. This kiddo cracks me up!

Dinosaur Park

My daughter, Abs, loves dinosaurs. While I know that it is mainly little boys that are fascinated by these prehistoric creatures, she just can't get enough of them. She is 6, but reads her dinosaur encyclopedia for fun every night. I heard about the Dinosaur Park somewhere and we finally decided to make a visit out there today.

It was about an hour and a half out there and it was a really small park, but the girls loved it. Abbie thought she was in dinosaur heaven. They have a small gift shop with almost every imagineable dinosaur product out there. I thought we had seen it all, but there were a lot of new items we had yet to set eyes on. Gave me some great ideas for gifts for the 5 nephews we have.

A main selling point for me about the park was the clean bathrooms! Ever since Junior, I seem to not be able to go anywhere without checking out the local restrooms, and I was quite pleased to find all three of them sparkling clean and fully stocked with soap and toilet paper.

We took a picnic lunch along and ate before we took a look around the park. They had a small playset for the children and also two digging spots. They had hidden replicas of dinosaur bones and fossils under sand and provided tools for the kids to unearth fossils, etc. The girls had a great time looking up what they had uncovered. There was a small trail (I believe they said it was about 1/4 mile) that roamed around the small park and had statues of dinosaurs with informational plaques in front of them. Abs knew most of what was already on the plaques, but was excited to read them and correct us if we mispronounced the names. (Her Montessori school did a whole month of dinosaur study as well)

Abs and I walked the path twice looking at the dinosaurs and taking pictures. Junior was a great sport and since the path was stroller friendly, we didn't have to break out the ERGO (my favorite baby carrier besides the Kozy Carrier!)

Anyway, for the $20 that it cost us to get in, we had a good time. I don't know if there is enough there to make a repeat visit any time soon, but the dinosaur songs in the background were a nice touch. It was a nice clean park (even my kids were commenting about how clean the bathrooms were, guess I have rubbed off on them), not very busy but was a nice change of pace from the local area.

....Not to mention we stopped off at IKEA on the way home and I found a new entertainment center. Of course I want it stained a little darker to match the shrank, but hopefully DH can do all of that this week!

TGIF

I got the xray done on my knees today, so hopefully sometime next week we will know what the next step is. My MIL came over and kept Junior for the two hours I was gone and he did great. She would definitely watch him more, but I am content with just taking him everywhere with me. I like the company and he is a pretty easy baby while we are out and about.

I went to the mall tonight with all three kiddos since DQ needed some clothes for school. I ended up running into a parent from DQ's old school (I pulled her out at the end of the year in December for so many reasons and moved her to public school) Well I guess DQ and her friend leaving set off a chain reaction and 5 more people left after us. You would think that they would get the picture that there are several problems that need to be addressed, but of course they just can't seem to catch on. Oh well, it is not my problem anymore, and to get started on all the problems is about three entries saved under drafts and too long and boring for anyone to read through. DQ did just move to a new classroom in public school and I am extremely happy with her teacher. I just think that parents need to be more proactive in their children's education in addition to enriching what they learn at school with things at home. It doesn't mean you need to sit down with a workbook and harp on them to figure things out, but there are so many other ways to help them--cooking, sewing, gardening, the list is endless. More parents need to get involved with their children and then maybe we would have some of the problems that we do today.

Are those tanker knees?

My knees have been killing me for months and have been creaky for a couple of years. The pain has finally gotten to me, so I went to the doctor today. They want to do xrays tomorrow and probably a MRI and then we will see what we are dealing with. Hopefully nothing major, but when my husband (the tanker), hears my knees creak, he winces in pain. I guess it does sound pretty gross....

On a roll....

on the working out arena of my life. I'm down to almost my pre-baby weight. Granted Junior is 9 months already, but at least he isn't 5 or 6! I'm sore from body pump yesterday and body step today. I love to go, but I think I will take tomorrow off.

I am in the process of signing DQ up for Operation Purple Camp, going to be initiated into PEO and also looking into joining MOPS. I have put off getting involved in too many things here because I was always so focused on helping my parents. My dad passed away from stage 4 kidney cancer last year and I spent the first three years that we were here helping them out in every possible way. I spent every weekend there and also helped out during the week when I was needed. It was hard, but not a job I would have traded for anything. I still miss my dad every day, but I know that I had good quality time with him and so did my children.

Anyway, I figure once I get involved in all these activities we will be whisked away from here by the army and then I will actually miss Fort Hood! I also somehow got signed up to get some career counseling for free through a pilot program military spouses. Hopefully they can help me put together a better resume and find something part time that will peak my interest. I can dream, right? I'm trying to look for the silver and gold lining in all of this....and the 15 month deployments are not either silver or gold...