PhotoHunt--"High" in HI

photo

1,106 steps to the top.

For this view.
Koko Crater on Oahu.

You've got to be kidding me...

Today Erin and I had plans to go to a kickoff event for "Walk to Iraq and back". Abs was up early and got on my computer. I got up and while ABs and Junior were in the living room playing I was searching through the pile of unfolded clean clothes that are in a basket in the laundry room.

I heard Abs doing a weird cough.

I return to the living room to find that she had barfed all over the carpet. Great. At 7 years old can't she make it to the linoleum, the bathroom, the trashcan? Apparently not.

So I send her to her room, get Em up to watch Junior while I try to clean up the mess without adding to it. I can handle blood. I cannot handle barf.

Of course I have no carpet cleaner. I did what I could and sprayed it down with febreeze and lysol. I covered it with a towel. I think I will just throw away the rug and resort to cold hard linoleum floors everywhere.

So do we go on the sick diet again for the third week? Is she really sick or is this one of the "My name is Abs and I barf at random times just to keep you on your toes" episodes?

My inlaws brought over a German feast this morning. I hope I don't regret partaking in it.

I'm so tired of sickness. I'm tired of laundry. I'm tired of changing sheets and clothes. I'm tired of wondering who is going to hurl next. I'm tired and we still have 62 more trash days to go. Tomorrow will be a better day....

Friday

Before Gunner left I scheduled three, hour and a half massages.

My first one is today.

So hopefully (at least for 1 1/2 hours) Emily won't forget something that she needs to tell me (she has a permanent call home pass from her teacher), Abs will keep her hands to herself and get some work done and Junior won't fall or develop some funky rash. Maybe I will turn my cell phone off.

Daily Life

We are over two weeks into this deployment and my donut of misery is still stuck on "a long, long time to go...". LOL Slowly but surely we will make it though.

Gunner moved into a new company not too long ago and last night I went to my first FRG meeting. The Rear D Commander started off the meeting by telling us "I know that there is a difference in the way officers and enlisted are treated. I know that there is a difference between the way that officer and enlisted wives are treated. That's just the way it is." He then went on to say that he has been approached by several enlisted wives wanting their husbands to come home because of certain situations and it just wasn't going to happen and it wasn't up to him. Whatever, don't lump us all together. Just the way he said it and acted, I was not impressed. He does have an extremely hard job and he said his phone is ringing off the hook all day and night because of families and the Soldiers on rear-D that he is trying to keep out of trouble. Not a job I would want. I imagine he was right in saying he slept more in Iraq than he does here at home. A thankless but important job. At least he was willing to help out where needed--he did clarify that he doesn't babysit or do lawns. Yes, once again, this is Gunner's third deployment to Iraq and there are wives out there wanting to know who will mow their lawn! Several ladies said that they had never touched a lawnmower and their husbands didn't want them to do that type of work--well then hire someone! If you don't want to pay, then figure it out yourself. Don't be so helpless. I consider myself fortunate that I am independent and was raised to be that way. My husband is a nice complement to me, but he is not my identity.

They are having a kick off to the Walk to Iraq and Back event this weekend. I am hoping to attend with the kids since there will be lots of activities for them to do and there is a huge playground at this location. I'm sure the girls and Junior will have a good time! I started keeping track of my miles, but will start over since he just left. Anyone who wants to send their miles to me, please do! I told Gunner he had to contribute as well so he better hit the treadmill while he is over there, in his spare time if he has any. I've been a slacker about going to the gym, but now that Junior seems to be doing much better I should have a lot more time on my hands...well at least next week I will.

I found a great opportunity for families in the Fort Hood area and I'll post more on it once I hear back from the person in charge. Erin and I are tenatively planning on going and can't wait!

The kids and I are doing great and just plugging along. I have a lot of different things planned while Gunner is gone and am looking forward to getting it all going and having a good time. There were several wives there last night that talked about how their husbands didn't want them going anywhere or doing a lot while they were gone because they would miss out. I say get out and do as much as you can. The 15 months are going to go by whether you sit at home or not, so make the most of the opportunities out there and volunteer, work, go to school, save money, see something new, try something new, make a change! Just my $.02 for the day!

Voting

I had a voter registration card all filled out for Gunner to sign and he forgot to do it before he left. I called the Secretary of State's Office and they told me that since I am registered to vote, I can sign his registration with my name and just note that I am his wife. Scary. I did it though and it will go out today.

Wordless Wednesday

This was Em while we were stationed at Fort Lewis. We had our favorite Vietnamese restaurant that we went several times a month. Abs was a newborn, so Em must have been about 3 1/2.

Happy Birthday!!!

7 years ago today at Fort Lewis, WA, my little Abs made her debut. She was 9 lbs, 9 oz and was born with a mass of curls. They must have disappeared along with her ability to listen! Happy Birthday Abs!

Tonight the girls start swimming lessons! They are both excited about it, and I hope that they really learn to swim this time.

Junior is still sick. His sodium level was dangerously low so he had to get retested this morning and we will know more after those results are back, what the next step is. Hopefully it is up and he is on the road to recovery. He still had a fever this morning and is sacked out on the couch watching Barney. Thank goodness for puple dinosaurs!

Happy Easter!

The Easter Bunny stopped by for a visit early this morning. He probably ran into the Tooth Fairy while he was here.

Junior woke up with 102.1 fever so we managed to get into the weekend clinic and he has a double ear infection. Ugh. At least he is on antibiotics now so hopefully he will be back in fighting form tomorrow.

The girls and Junior each got a chocolate bunny. I told them that they could have a little bit, but they could not eat the entire rabbit. Here's a picture of what Abs left. Next time I will be more specific.

My friend Krista called me and told me about a super easy way to dye easter eggs! Thanks Krista! All you had to do was put the eggs in a colander. Then pour vinegar over them, then put dots of food coloring, then run them under cold water. The girls loved it and anything almost mess free is good for me!

Now it's time for ham, mashed potatoes and deviled eggs. Yum.

Happy Easter Gunner!

Lysol

I love lysol in any form. I love the smell of it.

What I am particularly happy about today is that: Lysol will prevent you from having to freak out because your sister BREATHED on your door. Oh the drama of it all.

Junior was sick from 4-7 but seems to be fine now. I've put all activities on hold unfortunately. I'd hate to get all the way to Crawford and have someone get sick or worse I get sick and it turns into a HUGE mess. I even contemplated packing extra towels, barf buckets, wipes, clothes, etc., and going anyway. I really needed a change of scenery.

We went to dinner with the outlaws last night and it was uneventful and I didn't have to cook. I imagine that if what Junior has is contagious that my MIL will have it soon. Junior will take food out of his mouth and feed it to her. He thinks it is hysterical that she eats it. I find it gross and told her not too. She said she didn't mind, afterall he was her grandson. Ummm...yeah....but he's my son and you wouldn't catch me eating his chewed up food!

Sick Diet Take 5,429.

It's 4 in the morning and Junior just barfed. He is clean and back in bed. Laundry is going.

Em was up to go to the bathroom twice. Abs was thirsty. Does anyone sleep in this house?

We were going to Crawford to the egg hunt, then tye dye easter eggs, then send the girls off to go to church with my mom in the morning.

Eating toast all weekend is much more fun I am sure.

Blogging for Peanuts

Just realized that I have been blogging for a year, yesterday.

I'm headed out on an adventure with Abs today and Erin and her family. Then biofeedback at 3. Never a dull moment.

When I woke up Abs this morning and reminded her that we were going on a big adventure, she told me "yeah, right!". That's the same thing she said last time too. This one should be more interesting for her, although I don't know how she can think that estate sales, etc aren't fun.

...I was dressed and ready to go and then spilled breakfast all down the front of my shirt. I can't even blame it on the kids this time.

Wrong Major

I should have been a Physical Therapist.

We waited a year for Abs to get into PT. Finally in December after being on the list at three clinics, we got into one. She loves it and has done really well, but still has a ways to go--gross motor skill delay. Last week the therapist told me that her contract was up so Abs would be without a therapist. She is back on the waiting list till they hire someone, till they find her a spot at the neighboring clinic or we move her somewhere else.

I asked her for some recommendations of what to do and got a two page print out with some ideas. We work on some things already at home, building her core muscles and increasing her strength and coordination. Now I will just have to do double duty.

I was talking to another woman in there who is an ER nurse but can't work because her daughter has a communication disorder and requires lots of appointments. She wasn't complaining, but she was also frustrated that her daughter's speech therapist quit and she was without someone to fill that void. Finally frustrated she found a school in Austin that specializes in communication disorders and was moving there a few weeks before her husband deployed so that she could have the resources available to her. It's very tempting. I just want Abs to get the help she needs in order to make sure that she doesn't get further behind. Once her gross motor skills catch up then we can focus on her fine motor skills, which means appointments with an OT. If we can find one...in the meantime I'll just follow the list I was given and work with Abs every night and hopefully she won't get further behind while I scour the ends of the earth for a PT that accepts Tricare.

Plugging Along

The first time Gunner deployed to Iraq, the three of us were sick, Abbie ran into a car, I quit my hellatious job and I was getting ready to move. That was the first few days.

The second deployment I was pregnant and slept.

This third time....we are still plugging away. I just got home from my mom's where I worked, dropped of Em, picked up Abs and headed home. There is a possibility when Gunner gets back that we might PCS to Fort Carson. I LOVE to move! I'd love to live in Colorado! What I can't imagine doing is making it through a deployment without family close by.

I would never move home during a deployment because I don't think my mom could stand me for that long--something about "I've done my time!". Yeah, okay, I'll give her that.

I'm sure if faced with that situation we would manage, and I do have friends at Fort Carson that were stationed in Germany with us. (Hi Jessica!)

Abs is still hauling around the daddy doll with her. Junior flipped out trying to reach my computer when he saw a picture of his daddy on there. We made it through one trash day and it's already time to put the trash out again, so that's a good thing. One week at a time....

What should we do???

My mom was over for a visit today, it was nice.

Abs returned home with her and apparently talked the entire way home--about a 40 minute drive. I can only imagine what Abs noticed along the way and the ideas she noted. I'll pick her up on Wednesday when I work.

Tomorrow Junior has daycare, so that leaves all day for me to spend with Em!!! I'm sure cleaning is not at the top of her list of things to do. Maybe a movie? I'd say a pedicure but with my feet taped up by the foot doctor, I would look pretty ridiculous.

Hmmmm....

Happy Birthday!

After my dad passed away, my entire family did the LIVESTRONG challenge in Austin. While coming home from the event, Abs was riding with my mom and her Uncle G. This is what Uncle G told me happened.

Abs: We celebrate Lincoln's birthday and he's dead?

Uncle G: Yes

Abs: We celebrate George Washington's birthday and he's dead?

Uncle G: Right.

Abs: How come we can't celebrate Grandpa's birthday?
Uncle G: Why not? Of course we can!

So on March 17th, we get together and celebrate my dad's birthday. This year my mom is coming over and we will get some things done that we are working on and then grill fajitas.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Hard Day

While I never imagined that we would be skipping through the daffodils today while holding hands, I did think it would go smoother than it did.

Abs did not go to sleep last night till 11. She was up before 5 this morning. That led to a tired, cranky, moody, sick little girl. If Abs is thrown off kilter too much her reaction is to barf. Thankfully she had just finished lunch and missed the trashcan. I didn't have enough to do! Poor baby though, she took a small nap and was back in fighting form minus the headache.

How did I know she was in fighting form? She was supposed to be in bed for the night and instead was in her sister's room. Em is really into creating things out of paper and she spent hours making a guitar, complete with a string so she could wear it, a ring to hold her pick, the whole nine yards. Abs cut the guitar into pieces while Em was in a shower.

So then I had two crying girls. One sobbing over her guitar and the other sobbing over being in trouble. Those tears led to missing and wanting their dad. Flat Daddies and Daddy dolls just don't do the trick, and there isn't much I can say or do at that point to make it any better. They are finally all tucked into bed and asleep. I can only hope that they sleep in tomorrow....

Tomorrow will be a better day....

Woohoo!

I scored a 96 on my test!

D Day +1

Day 1--Abs accidentally overflowed the toilet. Not her fault, it's just old. Of course I thought she left the water on after washing her hands and sat there and listened to the gushing while contemplating what it was. Then it hit me. I ran back there to over an inch of water in the bathroom and hallway, and traveling fast. I yelled for Abs and as I am holding up the "thingy" inside and trying to plunge, she is getting all the towels and trying to stop the flow.

She saved the rest of the house, but we have used every towel we own. No big deal, I can wash.

The dryer isn't working very well, so it is taking hours to dry.

Damp, cold towels aren't so bad...sort of.

Wonder what Day 2 holds in store.

Erin told me about the Maine Troop Greeters and how they put up pictures of the Soldiers that pass through. Great!

Except Gunner went through Canada! Always has to be a little different.

Gone

See title.

Finally on take 4 they got it right. I think the long drawn out waiting, rescheduling, returning, rescheduling and waiting and waiting and waiting is the hardest.

More later.