Can I quit?

What was I thinking trying to have three kids and start a new career with no husband? At least single parents get every other weekend off or more if they don't have a deadbeat ex. I've had three nights off with no children, for which I am very thankful for, but I think I need a week. Greedy I know.

Had an observation today--mental note: shaving cream and children do not mix. I felt like crap today, and my day just seemed to go downhill. Went to a meeting with nothing that I needed. Went to PT where I found out that the OT authorization wasn't there--and don't even get me started on how it has taken TWO YEARS to get her in there! So I called and finally got it and an authorization number, so Abs had an OT eval. She wasn't terribly behind like she is in PT, but it's still a significant difference, so we now go from 5-6 on Tuesday and Thursday.

I was supposed to go to a math class tomorrow, but Em has xylophone practice till 4, which is when my class starts, so that's out. That would mean my inlaws would have to drive three places to get all the kids, which would be pushing my luck.

Junior screamed almost the entire time at PT and OT. It got worse when Abs stole his goldfish. Went to grab chinese food for me and I ordered the wrong meal. It's okay, but I had my heart set on something else. Got the kids whataburger since it was late. Junior's still screaming by this point.

Is someone out to get me and push me over the edge? Someone in my class said that if she was interviewed to see if she qualified as insane, she would pass with flying colors----I would qualify to be her roommate.

So here I sit watching Biggest Loser while I feel like one. I know my life could be worse, I know. I try to keep it all in perspective. Tomorrow is a new day......

Top Chef look out

I finally watched the first episode, and the military spouse didn't make the cut. I was disappointed. Not because I particularly liked her, but just for the connection.

Wonder if they will take me, I made a mean hotdog for dinner, complete with bun and ketchup. I even had sides of olives and pineapple. Doesn't get much better than that! (or at least in our house lately it doesn't!)

Not much happening here. Had class Saturday--only one more to go this semester.

Tons going on with school. Never a dull moment. I am observing one day this week at another school, and I am looking forward to sitting down (I hope!)

My mom kept all three kids all weekend long this past weekend. One night I studied and the other night I slept. I think she needs to do that once a month, right? Now to sell her on the idea! Any ideas on how to do that?

Not much from Gunner these days. My friend Mel's husband left 3 months after Gunner, and even though we still have 7 months left out of a 15 month deployment, she considers him coming home next week since it is so soon. It's all about perspective. Shoot, if I can make it through this first year of teaching, then it is right around the corner.

I asked daycare if Junior was interested in potty training there, and they told me he wasn't even close. His initial response when you ask him where you pee or poop, "the bathrub". Guess he is waiting on Gunner.

Abs has kept things interesting by emptying a bottle of shampoo outside of her sister's door. I asked her why she did it and her response was "I thought about it, and I can't recall having done it, so you might want to check with Em to see if she did it to herself." Geez.....

On a side note, I don't ever post recipes, but this is a great dip. I had to type it up for my sister to take to her book club (if there is a book club for people reading The Rainbow Fish, 5 million times a day, sign me up for that one) so you get to try it out. You'll love it.

Cranberry Salsa Dip with cream cheese
1-12 oz bag or 3 cups fresh cranberries rinsed and drained
1/4 c. minced green onions
2 small (approx 2 tbsp) jalapenos
1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced
2 tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2-8 oz packages cream cheese

Rinse, drain and pick over cranberries. Place them in a food processor; pulse until finely chopped, but not mushy. Place crushed cranberries in a bowl. Mix together with onions, jalapeno peppers, sugar, cilantro leaves, ginger and lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Put over cream cheese and serve with crackers.

Just call me Betty Crocker.

Tonight's Festivities

No one liked dinner........check.
Abs flooded the bathroom......check.
House is a wreck......check.
Tons of homework to do for Saturday's class......check.

Baby with fever.......check.

Doctor tomorrow.....let's hope that they are open!

Reaction

Junior's reaction to all the political crap going on right now. Or the stock market......or maybe he just was tired....

World's Biggest Cowlick

My sweet baby boy. If I don't keep up with haircuts, then his gigantic cowlick sticks straight up. There's no taming this thing.....he sure is cute though!

Another Wife

My husband works closely with the IA (Iraqi Army). Most of them have more than wife, and tell him that he should have more wives and more children. He just looks at them and tells them that he is done having kids and one wife is more than enough. If he does change his mind, I'd love for him to get one that would cook and clean for us. Hopefully she rubs feet too, and loves to fold laundry.

Mourning

Can I wear all black tomorrow to show my disgust?

A good thing....

It's a good thing Gunner didn't call today.

I got the kids up this morning and Abs decided that her underwear just wasn't working for her, so she would play legos instead.

Finally got the underwear issued straightened out, kids dropped off, and headed to school.

Got situated in school when the phone rings. Junior has fallen and busted open his head. My inlaws have been called and are on the way to get him and take him to the er.

A million phone calls follow as I try to make sure he is okay and they can get treatment for him. They could, although my school was more than willing to provide coverage for me so I could go take care of him if I needed to.

His head glued back together, he headed back to daycare.

School continues. Is there a full moon? Oh the stories I could tell about school.

Grab Em, leave school, grab Junior. Rush home to get things ready for my mom and brother and nephew who are going to babysit while I attend a class. Junior looks good and never skipped a beat till he told me about his owie and all of the sudden was so sad and upset about it...then he raced off.

I came home and found a citation for not having mowed my lawn. Went to my class and called to check on the kids when I was on the way home and heard Abs upset that she couldn't eat a can of olives for dinner. There had been a hassle trying to find Abs after school today too. I seriously contemplated driving around while my mom put them to bed, but thought better of it since I have class next week too, and a test this Friday.

Came home and mowed my lawn while my brother weedeated. No telling what it will look like in the morning since I couldn't see a thing.

Had a beer. The grading will have to wait, I think I need another.

How to eat chocolate cake

Happy Halloween!

The girls didn't stay still long enough to snap too many pictures. It didn't take long for Junior to get the hang of trick-or-treating and we have an obscene amount of candy. We walked by one house that had Obama/Biden signs up and my children refused to go up there to get any candy. The next day, Abs mentioned that the reason she didn't go up there was because there was the possibility of them poisoning their candy since they obviously were voting the wrong way. I did explain to her that they wouldn't poison their candy just because they were democrats, that they were just stupid.

Speaking of elections, I never did make it over to early vote, so I will be out at the polls on Tuesday with all three children in tow. I think I can fit it in after school, after physical therapy and before bath time. I hope the lines aren't too long. Gunner got his absentee ballot and mailed it off immediately. What a good Soldier he is...plus he called, which always scores points.

Hanging out in the Hood

I got this email from Ab's teacher today:

hey, I think one of my girls had static cling on Tuesday morning. I found underwear on the floor of the room. I had a sneaky suspicion that it might be Ab's because of the look on her face. So if she's missing a pair... I threw it away... :-)

Poor kid can't catch a break! To her defense, I send a change of clothes in her backpack each day, so I assured the teacher that she wasn't going "commando". On the subject of Abs, she did her own hair this morning. It was interesting to say the least. It's been a while since she had done one of her infamous hairstyles. Pictures of that to come.

Em is 11 going on 21 now. She knows everything. I can hardly wait till she is officially a teenager. Every morning when we get in my classroom she wants the tv on, the radio going, and to be hooked up to the internet. It's my calm before the storm, so I can't handle all the noise. She is a big help with getting everything ready though most days. My students love her, and she pretends like they don't exist, but waves at her fan club every once in a while to maintain the attention.

Junior has learned to take off his pajamas. I found him wrapped in a blanket the other morning. The first words out of my mouth were....."thank goodness you kept your diaper on". I tucked him in tonight, and went in to check on him because he was laughing so hard. He had undressed himself again. Never a dull moment.

Not a lot of news from Gunner. He sent a short email saying that they had access to the internet briefly and would call in a bit. That was a few days ago. I know, I know, military wives from other wars waited months for letters. Still wish he would call though....I've given up on the letters.

I'm thankful that tomorrow is Friday. Never mind my lesson plans, preparing for my pedagogy test the following weekend, a birthday party, taking care of three kids, projects for school, getting back to the gym, and organizing my "important piles" that have taken over my piano....I do plan on sleeping in till at least 6 both days too.....I'm sure there's more, but that's a few things to keep my mind off of everything else I need to do!

UPDATE:

Bouncing baby boy fell asleep naked. Got him dressed and now I hear him fussing. He's probably undressing himself again. Gunner's boy.

Flu shots

I get a flu shot every year, and I make the kids get them too. This year they were offering the flumist at our school, so Em and I got it. I feel like crap. I never have any side effects from the shot, I should have stuck with what I knew. They say that the flumist is better, so we will see. I get sneezed on, snotted on, coughed on and spit on all day long between my students and my kids. I still need to hook Junior and Abs up.

Em and Abs have decided that if they win the lottery they want to buy the Blue Hanger. Geez.

Had mexican food with the kids, my mom and my sister tonight.

I have a ton of work to do for my graduate classes, but not even sure where to start. Anyone know of any good children's literature that I can use to write social studies lessons?

I spent the morning with Ab's teacher going over the finer points of guided reading, ARI & AMI. Still so much to learn.

Abs is doing GREAT in PT. Thank goodness.

Em is headed with my mom to go to my nephew's baptism. I was going to go, but it would be a hard trip on Junior.

Haven't heard from Gunner since Thursday. I miss him.

I'm off to bed and I hope the kids sleep in tomorrow before we start our day of errands, girl scouts and cleaning...oh my!

Once upon a time....

there was a young girl who had stars in her eyes and fell in love with a man in uniform. They wed and moved to Germany. The man in uniform deployed for 12 months to Bosnia. Said Soldier returned to happy wife and they had a beautiful bouncing baby girl. The happy couple moved to Fort Lewis, Washington. There they spent their days hiking, biking, and being happy. The joyful couple decided that baby girl #1 was almost 4, it was time to add to their happiness. After a JRTC adventure, the happy couple added another bouncing baby girl. The now happy family of 4 continues the army adventure. The happy family moves to "The Great Place" (anyone currently stationed here probably knows where I hear that every day) and the cute Soldier deploys to Iraq for 12 months. During this lonely time, bouncing baby girl #2 manages to wipe poop on the wall, empty a 2 gallon bottle of olive oil and mix it with a Sam's size box of detergent, coat herself and the couch in desitin, and wreak havoc everywhere. Soldier returns to his happy, but tired family. The once young girl decides two is such fun, why not add to the excitement and shortly before Soldier deploys, she finds out she is expecting baby #3.

With stars still in her eyes, she sends her Soldier off to Iraq again for 12 months on tour #2. Bouncing baby boy arrives while he is home on R&R. 5 months later he returns home for good. With no stars in her eyes, said now old girl, races Soldier to nearest hospital to be fixed. So now fixed Soldier heads off to Iraq for the third time. Life is plugging along...

Beautiful bouncing baby girl #2 has managed to flood the house. Her brothers room had water all in it, the carpet is soaked, the hallway is flooded......and amazingly the bathroom is dry. Now tired old wife has three children nestled into bed, 25 soggy towels--yes, I have that many on hand for reasons such as this--and what once would have made her cry, now makes her laugh.

And through her tears of laughter she is checking out goarmy.com in the hopes that she can deploy when her Soldier returns home.

Section 60

I got a copy of the show to screen, and it was hard to watch. I shed more than a tear or two. Lots of tears. I actually watched it with my mom, but I need to watch it again by myself.

The story showed section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, a sad, somber place in itself. To watch these families come and mourn their loved ones was heartbreaking. From the man who comes to sleep on his son's grave, to the baby taking her first steps, the the little girls singing happy birthday to their dad on what would have been his 30th birthday.....

As families come to visit their fallen Soldier, they comfort one another knowing exactly what the other is going through. Small rocks are left on the headstone to let the families know that someone was there to visit their Hero. Abs has always collected rocks wherever she goes and the last time we went to visit my dad, she out a few of her treasured rocks on my dad's headstone.

While Gunner was still here, we have talked on several occasions about where he wanted to be buried in case something happened. Not a conversation I thought I would ever have so young, but one that has been necessary.

The show airs tonight on HBO.

Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery

After Chris returned from Iraq the second time, we took a family vacation to Washington DC. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. I was speechless. From the changing of the guards, the sunset, the view, the history.....pictures don't even describe the emotions you feel when you arrive and walk around. Unfortunately we know people that are now buried in Arlington...but we are also fortunate, because we were honored to know them and my husband was honored to serve with them. I'm setting the DVR for this. It's something we all should watch.

Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery

Publish Post

is the third in a trilogy of Iraq-related HBO documentaries (following the Emmy-winning “Baghdad ER” and the Emmy nominated “Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq”) from Jon Alpert and Matthew O’Neill which provides rare, intimate glimpses of the loss, love and pride felt by the Section 60 visitors. Capturing the sights and sounds of this quiet pocket of Arlington National Cemetery, mourners ranging from young widows and family members to fiancés and fellow soldiers visit Section 60 to try and connect in spiritual and physical ways with the loved ones they’ve lost. Whether it’s a father camping out at his son’s grave with a bottle of bourbon and a cigar or a widowed mother whose daughter just learned how to walk, Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery comprises vignettes of these individual stories shot from early morning to sundown (when the site officially closes).

Since the Civil War, Arlington National Cemetery has been the nation’s preeminent burial ground for military personnel. Over 300,000 people are buried in an area of more than 600 acres, including veterans from all the nation’s wars. Funerals average 28 a day, with about 6,400 burials annually. Nearly four million people visit Arlington each year.

You can preview the documentary here: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/section60/index.html

Happy Birthday and the girl in the dryer

11 years ago today Gunner and I became parents for the first time.

He left me alone in a hospital in Germany to race on the autobahn to get my mom from the airport. I was not happy about that, but it all worked out and he made it back in time.

Em was the perfect little baby, never crying, potty trained early, and was content to let me tell her about the finer points of strategic management as I finished up my MBA. She was only 8 lbs 6 1/2 oz when she was born, but by three months she was a butterball at 20 pounds. They talked about putting her in physical therapy because she was so fat she couldn't roll over. In the end it all worked out.

I couldn't imagine the last 11 years without her...although there are times when I really thought I was going to lose it. Isn't that how it is supposed to be though? (Of course I was a perfect child for my mom, so I am sure she never felt that way, lol)

Happy Birthday Em! Because I am late, you can see pictures here.

And want to know why at 7 years old I still lay out Ab's clothes??? Tomorrow she can wear regular clothes because she has never been tardy. I told her to find some clothes and come put them in the living room. She walked out with pink came capri pants and a white shirt that she had wrapped around in criss cross fashion across her chest and it tied in back. I vetoed it. She balked. I told her to go look in the laundry room, and she rooted around for a while in the clean clothes. (have I mentioned that I hate to fold laundry?) She then asked me if the clothes in the dryer were clean. I assured her they were and went back to what I was doing. Ten minutes later I had to go check on her.

I walked in the laundry room to find my dear Abs in the dryer.

Me: What are you doing?
Abs: I'm hanging out in the dryer.
Me: Should I ask why?
Abs: Probably not.
Me: Seriously, why are you in the dryer.
Abs: I've always wanted to hang out in here and see what it is like.
Me: Are you done?
Abs: Yeah, it's not very exciting in here.
Me: I can only imagine.

My desire to have a front loading washer has diminished. No telling what I would find in there.

Tuesday

How's that for a blog title. Shows how little imagination I have right now.

Abs started PT today. I was curious as to what her age equivalency was for the different areas, and let's just say if I hadn't been in public I would have cried. My poor baby! I knew that the 7 months she was out of therapy was going to work against her, and it did.

Coordination--was actually above in this area (8.3-8.5)
Gross motor--4 year old
Balance, muscle strength--5 year old

They had a lot more categories that were all in the early 5 year old range. Doesn't look too bad until you realize that in 5 months she will be 8 years old. It's not stuff that you really notice unless you know to look for it. It still bothers me though. They are going to put in a referral for OT as well and hopefully get started on her fine motor skills. Since that hasn't been addressed at all, I wonder how far behind she is in that arena. Poor kiddo.

I finally got arrangements made for this weekend. Em and I are booked at a nice hotel in Dallas, and the other two kiddos will be spending the night with Grandma. Oh the stories she will be able to blog about, lol. Whenever I need a good laugh I go read this and this and this and this again.

Tonight is Biggest Loser. I would love to have months with a trainer. I really should use my gym membership, but I have so little time with the kids now, that I hate to waste time on myself. I need to get back in the swing of it, at least twice a week. I'm worth it, right?

And why is daycare closed when school is open? Ugh....

7 month itch

We are about to hit 7 months of this deployment.

It sucks.

I know that a lot of people hear from their spouses every day, but I don't. I'm excited that Wednesday is Em's birthday because it means that we will get a phone call. Sad but true.

We went to the grocery store tonight--HEB. Em tells me at 5:30 that she needs clay and toothpicks to make wigwams out of at school tomorrow. Of course that led to perusing the aisles of HEB and buying more than I intended. I get my food hoarding habits from my mom.

After the adventure during rush hour at the grocery store, we got into the car to head home, where the girls started fighting and next thing you know there was a sippy cup flying. I about lost it. Yeah, these are the best days of my life?

I went to Ab's parent teacher conference today. Abs was supposed to get a referral, but luckily her teacher understands her and knew that she wasn't being malicious when she found the crayon on the carpet and decided to color the floor. The principal made her scrub the floor until it came up. I made the teacher feel better when I told her about how Abs spread poop all over the principal's office at her old school. Yeah, Gunner was gone for that too.

I.miss.Gunner. Plain and simple. I know he has an important job, or so I keep telling myself. I just want him home. I'm not one to sit at home waiting on him and doing nothing. I have been productive while he's been gone.

I did 2-5k's and 1 10k.
Went to school and have 1/2 of another master's degree done
Only lost 5 pounds, and but only been in the last two weeks.
Kept 3 children alive and well for 7 months. (That's a HUGE accomplishment some days!)
Junior has tubes.
Abs is back in PT starting tomorrow.
I am headed out of town for the weekend with Em for her birthday, if I ever get a hold of the reservation line.

Life goes on, but I sure miss Gunner...

Picture Day

I usually never buy school pictures because I hate to pay that much money.

This year since I am an employee I get them half price. I can live with that. I ordered Em's. The next day it was Ab's turn, and since she usually wears uniforms, she got to wear civilian clothes for the big day. I dressed her in a cute pair of jeans and a nice shirt which had a hood. The morning of, her sister threw a brush at her and Abs was left with a huge bruise on the top of her forehead along to her temple. I get an ice pack and we were on our way.

After school I asked Abs how the picture taking went and she told me that it was fine. I had fixed her hair in the morning, but she was wearing it in a mess of a ponytail by the time I got to her. She assured me that it didn't matter though since she wore her hood. Her hood???? So now I will have a hundred copies (not really) of Abs with a hood on and a giant bruise. I'm sure that her kids will love to hear this story one day.

Daily Life

I teach 2nd graders. We are doing a unit on government and the elections. One of the little girls told me that her family was voting for Obama. I cringed, but one of my loud little boys said "You've got to be kidding me!". Guess you know how his parents are voting!

The other day Em was headed outside to leave, Junior was holding the screen door open and Abs was getting ready to go outside when Abs started screaming. I ran over to see what the matter is, finally get her calmed down, and she tells me "a creature just ran in the house". I start to panic.

A creature? I immediately start thinking that I need to stay home from work and imagine all the cleaning I will have to do until I catch the "creature". I start drilling Abs on what the creature is. A rat? A mouse? Stray cat? She tells me it is HUGE. I start to feel sick. I keep trying to figure out what it is while moving furniture and trying to find it. Then she tells me that it was the biggest gecko she had ever seen. My heart starts beating again and I abandon the search.

The girls had a Girl Scout meeting on Sunday. It's a new troop so Em hasn't said much of anything at the meetings, and I am not there to run interference. The leader pulled me aside when I went to pick them up. Never a good sign. Apparently the leader was talking to the girls about different things that they wanted to do. Em sat there quietly. Finally the leader called on Em and Em answered "I want to blow things up". The leader started to wonder what I had given her. The leader asked what kind of things she wanted to blow up. Em sat there quietly. The leader starts to panic. Em answers "mentos and diet coke". Whew. Another crisis averted.

Abs has started in her 5th grade reading class and so far so good. Wonder what they will do with her when she gets to 3rd grade.