Things I have heard

I was out of Junior's toothpaste the other day and asked Abs where hers was so he could use it. Her response was said nonchalantly "Oh, I haven't had any in a long time." Ewwww.....

I broke down and had the maid come. I love it. So nice and clean.

I asked Em to lay out her clothes for tomorrow and she drug out something she wore a few days ago. I told her to find something clean. Apparently I am the only mother out that that requires her children to wear clean clothes to school. Imagine that.

I was washing the dinner dishes and I looked up to find Junior eating olives off the floor. I called for him, and Abs said "at least the floor is clean this time."

I wonder what they will remember about me when I am gone.

Dreams

I used to have dreams, lots of them. I used to get enough sleep so that I could have them. Now I have about 6 hours on a good night, so my dreams are few and far between.

This past month I have had two that stand out.

The first one was where my dad bought me a porsche and it was tall enough so that I could stand up in it. I had it parked outside of my new house. That dream didn't last long, and I woke up to my beloved toyota, aluminum siding and linoleum. It works.

My second dream......overflowing toilets. It was so real. When I woke up I figured we were bound to have one, but knock on wood, none yet.

Emily is settling into my school and so far, so good. Abs is staying out of trouble in SAS, minus the throwing incident. Junior is Junior and has mastered the art of the temper tantrum.

I scrubbed the dining room floor in a few spare moments I found, and now won't let the kids in there for fear it will get messy. Guess I'll have to break down and let them eat in there eventually, but no rush.

Gunner called today and all is well. He reached us during lunch at whataburger and was treated to the girls fighting over the funnels that came with the kids meals, Junior dumped a tub of ketchup on his burger, covered it with fries, and then tried to eat it while I was getting drinks. He says he misses us, but all the action that ensued in a 20 minute conversation probably made him tired.....and he can nap.....don't get me started on that one!

I can't have the maid back till I clean. I sure hope I can get it together soon. I need the break.

Grades due tomorrow. I had my first observation last week from my university supervisor. I think she was totally distracted during the 50 minute lesson because of the SIX new students that came in, the nurse taking the kids out 4 at a time for vision screening, one getting taken out for another test, and normal classroom dynamics. It was chaos, but I got a great rating, so there's hope for me!

And I am hopelessly addicted to the goodwill outlet. I bought a bag, washed it, and found $2 in my washer! I was excited, so I stuck it in the dryer, where an additional $21 came out. Can't beat that!

Happy Birthday Gunner!

You were such a young spring chicken when I met you, but damn you still look good!

We love you and miss you!!! Sorry the package will be late--okay I haven't even mailed it, lol. You didn't marry me for my organizational abilities, or lack thereof!

Sorry you aren't here to celebrate with us, but know that you are in our hearts. We'll go out to dinner for you. :)

In honor of your birthday, Abs knocked a gallon of milk out of the fridge on to the floor and made a giant mess. Junior pooped in the tub. The toilet got backed up. Em....well so far so good, but who knows what tomorrow holds......(knock on wood)

For Gunner

Gunner called last week--twice in one day! I was in shock! He has been calling about once every 10 days since he left, so that's not too bad. He complained that I don't update my blog more frequently. Ummm.....hmmmm.....maybe because I am busy taking care of children, working, going to school???

So Gunner, here's an update:

Em--seems to be enjoying her new school. It was only one day, so can't expect too much. They are reading a book and since she hadn't read it yet, she got to start reading it while they did the work with it for the week. Em finished the book during that time. The class is only on chapter 5.

Abs--what is there to say??? She is Abs. She was convinced there was an ant in her bed the other day and so every time I went to see if she was asleep, she was curled up at the top of her bed, sitting up. I told her to go potty, straightened her covers and told her I got the ant. Don't know why it didn't work when I did it earlier. She slept. At her school they are allowing her to go up to 5th grade for reading since she is so advanced. It's nice that they will do that.

Junior--he has mastered the art of temper tantrums. He must take after you. Yesterday he woke up and took off his pajamas. He had pooped so luckily he didn't take off his diaper. When I put him in there later, he took the diaper off too. Thank goodness he had just peed. I did the taking off the diaper and wiping poop everywhere the first deployment with Abs. Think the army will consider this an emergency and send you home???

Me--My 5 new students are pretty good. I am tired and worn out, but I don't have my school until the 27th. Good thing since I have done nothing for it. It's on my list. We are headed out in a bit to run errands and head up to school to get things done. One day I will be organized! I am still cleaning so that the maid can come back. Oh, we got a new fence. Probably a good thing since the other one would have been destroyed in the wind on Saturday.

Ike didn't hit here at all. I was hoping for a good thunderstorm. On the other hand I don't want to have to mow the grass!

The girls are watching Captain Planet. Junior pronounces Tia's baby's name as "rabbit". The german bakery is closed, so no treats for the next two weeks. The girls have Girl Scouts today. Martha is pregnant. (yes, you read that right! LOL)

Everything else is fine. We miss you and love you Gunner!

Dallas Airport

Since this is Gunner's third time in Iraq, he has flown through the Dallas airport numerous times. Every single time he has been treated extremely well by the USO and the other travelers as they rush from place to place to make connections. When Gunner left from here almost two weeks ago, he arrived in Dallas, hungry and ready for lunch.

Knowing he had a bit of time, he just headed over to McDonald's to grab something to eat. He say down and was quietly enjoying his meal when a lady came over and sat near him. She proceeded to tell him that she supported the troops but.......the war was wrong. The idiotic lady went on to tell him how the war was about oil, gas prices weren't coming down, and Bush was an idiot. She didn't stop there and continued to fill Gunner's ears with her political views when all he wanted to do was eat his lunch, think about having just said goodbye to his family, and about what lay ahead.

My quiet husband spoke. He told her why we were there. He explained why he believed in the mission. He talked about his political views. Gunner then told her that he had just said goodbye to his wife and three kids that morning, for another 9 months. He told her how he understood how precious time was, and he wasn't going to waste his time on her. Gunner got up and walked away. She said nothing.

To the lady at DFW....if you support the troops, all you need to do is say thank you. Leave out the but.......

Today

I called and talked to the principal at Em's school and she said she would talk to her teacher. Her teacher called me this afternoon and was smug and arrogant. I was not impressed. He said he was human and makes mistakes and that he did apologize to Emily. I had already talked to Emily though and she said she would give up her after school clubs and move to my school. After talking to her teacher, I would have insisted she be moved tomorrow anyway, so I told him I was moving her to my school and he was even ruder. Whatever. Let's hope it works out. I stress about these situations so much. I always have self-doubt. I just worry that she will miss out on something important with her clubs, something that might change who she is or make her excel at something. There aren't any clubs at my school. I try to balance it out with how she will have a much better environment at my school, but the doubt still wins over. I have to give two weeks notice for SAS, so I lose money there, but we have a lady at our school that takes care of teacher's kids for an hour after school each day for $10 a week. Talk about a steal. I'll still have to pay the big bucks for Abs and Junior though.

I'm so tired today. How long till I retire?

Teachers

I picked Em up from school today and she was upset.

Apparently she got in trouble for talking so her teacher made her copy 4 pages of a book as a punishment. So right off the bat I am upset that they used writing as a form of punishment.

Emily did the assignment along with another friend, and it amounted to 7 pages handwritten. They take it up to the teacher....he looks at it.....crumples it up.....uncrumples it.....then rips it to shreds and throws it away.

Are you kidding me????

Phone call to the school tomorrow. I tried to talk to someone when I picked them up, but she was about as bright as a turnip. Ugh....

Routine

While Gunner was home, I was cuddling Junior after a temper tantrum, and I just whispered into his ear that soon we would be back to normal. I felt horribly guilty after I said it. We love having Gunner home. (Although after battling "the list" every day, I wonder if he is actually getting more R&R in Iraq) The 18 days he was here were wonderful, but it wasn't permanent, and so it kind of through a loop into our routine. A good loop, but a loop nonetheless. I wouldn't have traded it for anything, but....does this make sense?

So we are back in our routine. Junior is back in daycare and so far we are entering the second week of no antibiotics. He has been on them since the beginning of the year, nonstop, and so this my friend is AMAZING! I did buy an ear band/it recommended by my friend Abbey and he now loves to wear it, and calls it his "band". His speech has taken off and improved dramatically too. Very reassuring. Tonight at dinner he was eating and then coloring his "homework" as he called it (since I was on Abs to do something in her homework packet). I went over to take him to the tub and he had pulled off his diaper because he pooped and it fell out everywhere. Of course he peed too. Little stinker. He acted surprised, like he didn't know what he had done.

Abs had a rough two weeks at school, but seems to be settling in. They had a homework assignment one night that had her researching like a crazy person. The problem read: "Dinosaur claws are twelve inches long. Lupe says they are 14 inches long. Is Lupe right?" So the point was to see if twelve and 14 were the same number (word vs number), which of course they aren't in this problem. Abs read the problem, cried research, and took off. I went into her room when she didn't come out and she was trying to determine if Lupe had a leg to stand on, because we don't know if the claws weren't 14 inches long, and Lupe was right. I tried to explain to her that we weren't questioning scientific facts, but trying to determine if she knew that twelve was different than 14 and if twelve and 12 were the same. She reluctantly agreed to answer the questions being asked for face value.

Em is doing well in school I guess. Now that she's in 5th grade she is secretive about what she does. I'll have to email her teacher, although I am still considering moving her to my school--more on that later. She is joining the robotics club and wants to be on the competition team as well. She is growing up way too fast, and she thinks she is already a teenager. I keep finding my nail polish in her room and such. I'm not ready for this!

Gunner is back in Iraq, and I have a story about his trek back for another post.

When I was hired, I was told that I was the "extra" teacher. Basically they have so many students that they thought they could get away with an extra teacher this year. That being said, I knew that if we didn't have the numbers that I would be moved to another school or grade. Well someone in the school district decided that we didn't have the numbers and we needed to move a teacher to another school for 3rd grade. Not a bad deal (although I would prefer to stay where I am). I could have done that, although not ideal. The principal fought and got to keep the teacher, and move her to....KINDERGARTEN. God help me! I am not cut out for Kindergarten. Thankfully another teacher volunteered to move, so I get to remain in 2nd grade, but I am getting 5 more students, even after having transferred out 2 in the last two days and getting a new one.

So I am up to my ears in paperwork, dirty diapers, washing everything to alleviate the worms spreading (no one told me how long to keep this up, but I have the feeling I am quitting soon), barney videos, and keeping my tween from becoming a teen. School started last Saturday so in my spare time I have a presentation to plan, several papers to write, a project to do, and tons more. You would think that I would be skinny as a rail from stress. Go figure.

And then there were 4....and The Ridiculous Shoe Problem

Goodbyes are never easy, especially after 18 days of togetherness.

Gunner left bright and early this morning as I headed off to work and took the kids to daycare before school.

Some pictures....





This afternoon when we got home, I got a notice saying that Abs was out of dress code. She goes to a public school, but they require uniforms. Last year I bought her a pair of shoes and she wore them for a few weeks. Summer came and she went back to her sandals and the tennis shoes sat. Once school was about to begin, I had her try them on and they still fit, so she was happy wearing them. A plain pair of nikes.

Imagine my surprise when I got a notice stating that "Your child was out of compliance in the following manner: Shoes--solid color." So I look on the back of the paper to see what the proper procedures are for tennis shoes. It says "Any solid color sneaker (accent colors on tennis shoes are acceptable) or velcro, loafer style, or laced shoe. No neon colors, lights, noisemakers, or rollers." It goes on to say "Shoelaces must match shoes in color or must be white. No flip-flops, sandals, high heels, clogs, or platform shoes. Athletic shoes are required on PE days. Must be worn with socks or tights....."

So I just don't get it. Abbie's shoes are white (although they could stand to have a washing) and the swooshes are a different color which would fall under the accent colors. So basically if she goes to school next week with these shoes on she will be sent home until she complies with the dress code. I think she might be switching to my school which doesn't require uniforms if it comes to that. I'm not buying a new pair of shoes when she might really need a pair in a few months. She also wore these shoes at the end of last year, and there were no complaints. Geez....

Am I losing my mind or is this ridiculous?

Thursday will make 39 trash days left. Slowly but surely.....

Random Thoughts

I survived my first week. All children are still alive, they think I am wonderful, beautiful and the best teacher ever. I definitely have my work cut out for me, but it is fun and different every day.



Palin as the VP--okay.



Gunner leaves soon.



I still haven't gotten a Wii. I should do it while Gunner is here so he can hook it up. Problem is they are out of stock everywhere.



The girls had a great first week of school. Abs has gotten in trouble every day for talking. She has the same teacher for last year and I really like her. Em has a male teacher this year, and she really likes him.



Junior had tubes put in his ear. He's been miserable since it happened. Hopefully improvement is around the corner.



I start class next Saturday. At least I know the workload will be less than over the summer. It's all good.



Junior got a hold of a permanent black marker and decorated the couch and the wall. I guess at least it wasn't desitin. Gunner's going to try steam clean it today.

Abs is reading Harry Potter and loving it.



Gunner's list has not been completed. Maybe I was too ambitious? He has changed every diaper since he came home, so I will cut him some slack. (Update: I had to get one this morning, so no slack!)

I had my grass cut for free by the organization that contracts for free mowings for military families. I'll find the link and post it.

I met some friends from my program for drinks after we got our computer the other day. It was nice. Our topics sure have changed!

I went and had my haircut last night and straightened. My hair is sooooo curly, it took two people over an hour to straighten it.

Gunner had a sleepover with the girls last night. This morning he assured me that he will be sleeping on a bed next time.

A long, long, long time ago, today, a beautiful, bouncing baby girl was born in Australia. She was the light of her parent's life and adored by her siblings.....or so she likes to imagine. :)

Wordless Wednesday

We start them early in our family.... he was puzzled as he watched some of the speakers during the DNC. Couldn't believe what came out of their mouths....

Make some money

Together again after deployment?



Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin are looking for couples to participate in a study about the transition from deployment to being reunited at home.


Couples will be paid $100 for participating in this study.


All participant information is completely confidential. This study consists of a two hour session, then two 20-minute internet questionnaires one month and six months later. Couples will receive $20 after the first session and $80 after the one-month followup.

Couples must be 18 or older, married for at least one year, reunited for between 2 and 18 months after a deployment, and not planning to deploy again in the next 2 months


For more information and to see if you qualify, go to: www.utpsyc.org/army
Or contact the research team members at: jenna@mail.utexas.edu

What next you ask?

Tonight we got home late and Abs ran to the bathroom. She came out and wanted to tell her dad about what she saw in her poop. Em started shrieking about how gross she was, and Gunner didn't want to hear it either. Of course being the mother that I am, I wanted to hear all about it.

And what did she see?

Gold star? No.

Acorn? No.

White worms? Yes.

I figure she has pinworms. I am disgusted. My poor little baby. So from the research she needs medication. Of course she is seen in Temple and her doctor doesn't work on the weekends. One of the drawbacks of keeping her with a civilian. So tomorrow morning I will send Gunner off to the er with Abs to get medication. I really should be mean and make him take all three kids, a bottle of sanitizer, some snacks, and make a day out of it--goodness knows I have done that almost every weekend he was gone!

UPDATE:
Well we did the scotch tape test after Abs had fallen asleep and sure enough, it is pinworms. Poor little girl. It was really gross. I think A Soldier's Wife is right, I am sure we will laugh about this.....one day.

Sad News

My friend Heather.

I wrote about her a while back here.

Heather was very vocal about her fight with colon cancer, but on August 20th, 2008, at the age of 30, she passed away. As a single mom, she worked, raised children, and became an advocate for colon cancer screenings for those that couldn't afford them. She was a beautiful person both inside and out, and her friendship has always meant a lot to me.

Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, especially Caleb and Gabby.

He’s Home

Gunner texted me while I sat in class on Thursday to let me know he would be home that afternoon.

We drove to Austin to meet his flight at 4. It was cancelled.

He got a new flight for Friday. I cried and planned our drive to Dallas to get him.

Called the airlines and they said he was coming in at 7 in Killeen.

Then Gunner called and said no, he got picked up standby. Apparently he was 5^th on the list and the COL and LTCOL's and MAJ ahead of him told the airlines to bump them and get him home. The airlines response…..we can't do that, you were first. They insisted, the airlines refused. Finally the stewardess said she could get them all on. Whew.

So with the delayed flight, the canceled flight, the standby flight, I was left with three hungry kids (Junior kept crawling up in random people's laps), a welcome home sign that Continental airlines donated the staples for since it had started to fall apart at the first airport, and a cell phone ringing off the hook. And what to my wondering eyes did appear?????

And so for now, our family is back together.

It's a boy!

My brother and his wife had a bouncing baby boy this morning!

He's perfect....

Major problems with daycare today and last friday. I just got home from delivering Abs to my mom for the rest of the week. It's just a crappy situation (daycare). Em doesn't want to go back either, but she doesn't have a choice right now. It's almost over for the summer. Gunner said that planes are backed up due to the US transporting Georgia troops back home because of the conflict there. I am just ready for him to be home, even if it is only for 18 days.

So ready.....

Hot, Hot, Hot

When Em was a baby we had a Sesame Street cd with that song on it. It's our new theme song here in Texas.

On Friday night, for the first time in I don't know how long, I went out. My fellow classmates and I went out to celebrate the last day of classes. With no stress, we played pool, shot darts, drank beer, and of course talked and talked and talked. We all come from such different walks of life, and although 8 months ago we had never met, we have now become great friends. Next week we start training, and while some of us are at the same schools, others are teaching the same grades at different schools and the sharing and networking has begun. I definitely couldn't have asked for a better group of people to be associated with and to spend all day every day with. I'll miss them, but our fall classes start up in September and most of them will be in training with me next week.

I got Em from camp on Saturday. It was so good to see her, even with her bandaged hand. Her hand is still really swollen, but she said it looked a ton better. Good thing I didn't see it after it had happened! She had a great time at Camp Pine Cove. It was a great place, and after getting hurt on the horse, she was scared to get back on, but they helped her conquer that fear. Thank goodness! She loved the zip line, the challenge course, the theme nights, swimming, pickle ball, arts and crafts, capture the flag, tons more, and the food was great to boot! At the end of the session they had a big closing ceremony, and then you could preregister for next year. This year Em went on a military scholarship, so we weren't sure how to fill out the form, since there is no way we can pay for this camp out of pocket--$800 a week! Ouch! So my friend sent her husband over to talk to the director and then he came back and told us what to put on the form.

While my friend and I were talking, a guy came over and started talking to her husband. He offered to pay the $125 deposit today because he had overheard that he was military and he wanted to thank him for his service. Talk about nice! Of course my friend's husband turned it down, but the thought that he was so generous, just warmed our hearts for the day.

We took Junior to the doctor today and he has another ear infection. Back on antibiotics. We hit HEB so I could grab stuff to make wraps. At school last week we had a chef come to our class and she made wraps with the kids, and they were so good. I've been wanting them again every since.

We got back, I made Dave's "lavosh" or however you spell it for lunch. They were in heaven. I put Junior down for a nap and then didn't have any homework to do, so I slept for two hours while the girls played quietly in their room. It was heaven.

We hit Kohl's this afternoon, and my two little fashion divas helped me pick out some clothes for work. We tried to find school uniforms, and I am hoping that I didn't miss the boat and can still find them. I really don't want to travel from store to store with three kiddos trying to track them down. Gunner's list?

The girls are hooked on H2O and it's kind of interesting. I really need a life, next thing you know I will be watching the new 90210.

The house cleaner comes back tomorrow! I wonder if I can make it without cooking till Gunner comes home. Yes, we are that close! I stocked up on oatmeal, made with flax seed, contains fruit, I use milk, add yogurt, and throw in some baby cereal with DHA for good measure. The kids love it and it has to be healthier than hotdogs and mac & cheese!

Last final

I had my last final today. Tomorrow I have our last day of teaching and a paper due. I at least made mine amusing for her since I know our prof is burned out too. It's just a reflection paper, my favorite kind as there is really no way to do it wrong.

Em comes home in two days. No more incidents at camp, so that's a good thing.

When Eduardo passed through town, Abs proceeded to give me an entire lesson on the history of the umbrella. I really didn't put much thought into why we have them, but now I know. It's amazing how much I learn from this kid.

If you ask Junior what his name is he will only reply with "me" and point at himself. I never say "hey me" so no telling where he picked this up from! It's cute though, and he named the bear Em got him from England "you". And what a pair "me" and "you" make.

Countdown for R&R is on. Hard to believe.

Training starts next week for school. My friend Mel asked me if there was ever a day I didn't worry.....ummmmm........probably not.

Oh, I hired someone to come clean my house, and I LOVE HER!!!! She's coming back on Monday to clean the kids' rooms. Yeah, I know they should clean their own, we'll get to that point, but right now I can't take it anymore. She's wonderful, did a great job so far, and I feel so much better when I am sitting here working since I don't have 5,000 other things that I need to be doing. I think I found my reward to myself.

You'll love this

I go to school today to pick up my classroom. Talk about bulletin boards, tons of them. No idea how I will get all this done.

I get out to my car after I am done and see my mom has called 4 times and there is a message. I call back and she starts off with "Em is okay". Never a good sign. Guess she hurt her hand at horseback riding today.

So I call the camp nurse and they have taken Em off to the er. She called during class to let me know that her hand was fractured--right hand and she's right handed--but that she was okay and already back to her camp activities with a splint on. The kiddo needs to up her calcium. we need to follow up with an orthopedic surgeon in the next 1-2 weeks, which means we have to go to the doctor and get a referral and then wait some more. Maybe I can add it to Gunner's list?

Here today…gone tomorrow

I saw Em briefly on Wednesday after she returned home from her three weeks in England. I picked her up on Friday after class and we spent the day getting our nails done, etc. Very nice and relaxing. Saturday I packed her up, and today I dropped her off at camp for a week. Camp Outback one of the Camp Pine Cove camps, gave a free session to military kids! Em didn't qualify for Camp Purple because she went last year, so we were really excited to find this camp. It was REALLY nice and not one we could afford since they are quoting $799 for one week next year. Ouch! But, it was all free, and they have so many things that they get to do. There is horseback riding, challenge course, wall climbing, water slides, zip lines, water activities, and tons, tons, tons, more. Her best friend Gwen is with her, and there were several other people that she knew as well.

When we drove up to camp, we were early (of course) and they had staff out on horses to go car to car to talk to the campers. When we drove through the gates, finally, they had tons of staff dancing and jumping around. It got Em even more excited. We had a counselor that followed our car, unpacked it, explained check in, and sent us on our way after a rousing welcome. I had never seen such enthusiasm in hundred degree heat!

We got Em checked in and settled in her cabin. Air conditioned thank goodness. I dropped her off at the pool where she passed the swim test with flying colors—guess the 10 weeks of lessons, hundreds of dollars and gallons of gas paid off. Tonight they were having a safari dinner and I am sure staying up late!

Abs has been such an angel lately. Calm before the storm? Sure hope not. When Em got back she did find that Abs had colored her carpet with a black marker. (Ata--According to Abs--she slipped)

Pics to come soon of the kiddos.

I went to the teacher supply store with my friend Mel on Saturday and was overwhelmed.

Junior is back on antibiotics, so he is in fighting form. So cute, so opinionated….must get that from his father.

Back to the books….