Check

Gym...check--wanted to do my long run this morning, but this smelly guy came in around mile 3 and I couldn't hack it.

Study group....check--great to see my friends, catch up, study, and realize that we are all in the same boat.

Baby shower present...check--why are baby things so expensive?

Cats overfed...check--My friend Mel is at a conference and asked me to overfeed her cats. While she was gone over Christmas I thought I was supposed to give them two cans of food each. Not so apparently. No wonder the litterbox was always full.

Waiting to go to baby shower so I still have to wrap the presents. I am not artistic so I dread trying to make my gift look like something other than what the cat dragged in. I'm hoping that Gunner will help me out there.

The girls were dropped off with my mom, and Gunner even made an additional round trip so that Abs would have her medicine.

.....Home from the baby shower. Junior found a snake on a walk with Gunner. It was small and squished and he wanted to save it to show me. A sign of what is to come? At least it was dead.

I was going to go back to the gym this evening and they closed at 8. Do they think everyone in Killeen goes out or something? I was looking forward to another run, a swim, and a trip to the sauna. Instead Abbey and I have scheduled a trip tomorrow. I guess I can have an exciting evening of grading papers, putting together centers, entering grades and doing laundry. I do have a couple of movies that I want to watch with Gunner, so I guess we'll fit that in somewhere.

Night 1 of Junior in his Thomas bed went well, but so far night two isn't going as well. One more week till the serious potty training adventure begins!

Woohoo!

The weekend is finally here. It is starting to get cold, of course, and so my Army 10-miler training run tomorrow was canceled. I haven't been to one yet, so I am feeling guilty. The signup is on the 1st of April, and I want to go, but if am not at Fort Hood anymore, then I won't have anyone to go with. Decisions, decisions.

I will hit the gym tomorrow though with my friend Abbey. That is, assuming, she will go back with me after I worked her today. She was a trooper and did awesome! I think the word slave driver or was it drill sgt only came out of her mouth once.

I took off half the day today and slept. Gunner said that he heard orders were cut and we should be receiving them soon? Let's hope! I'm ready to get this ball rolling, if it's going to roll, or make plans accordingly if it is not. One of my bestest friends in the entire world is in Denver, so I can't wait till we get there to see him! (Hi Dave!) He has no kids, so I am thinking he might have to visit me so three kids won't be as overwhelming in his house with his Schnoodle.

We made the jump and Junior has been moved to his Thomas the Tank Engine bed (tonight's the first night). Gunner's parents bought it for him, but it was missing the bottom part, so the mattress was slipping. Gunner solved it by using the bottom of the crib, but that leaves us with a crib with no bottom, which won't do anyone any good. I guess someone could order the part, if I could remember who made the crib. If not, I guess it will be out with the trash next week. It served three kids, so we definitely got our money's worth out of it. Maybe the move to the big boy bed will alleviate him stripping and escaping? One can hope!

When I was growing up I always wanted Wonder Woman underoos. I don't think they even make them for girls anymore, but I picked up a pair of Batman ones for Junior the other day. I can't wait to give them to him for his birthday. I told my sister about them and she had always wanted them too. LOL At least it wasn't just me!

I have a study session tomorrow, the gym, a baby shower, cleaning, more studying, papers to grade, and a million other things on the schedule. How much longer till summer vacation???

Half Day

I am taking half a day off tomorrow and I can't wait. I can't decide between napping or doing something more constructive. I asked Gunner if he got off early if he would want to go for a run or a bike ride. Hearing those words, he told me he might be working late. Am I wearing him out?

I hit the gym tonight and while talking to a fellow teacher I did 40 minutes on the stairmaster. Then I ran two miles, and hit the weights. I ended with a stint in the sauna and returned home to three kids in bed.

I kissed the kids and then redressed naked Junior while talking to my sister. We cannot keep clothes on the boy. Even a sleeper on backwards is no match for Junior Houdini. He doesn't even unzip it, so no telling how we can keep him dressed.

I've recruited 5 other teachers to do the 10K with us on the 11th. Good times I tell ya!

Operation Hi Mom!

The canvas company that I ordered that great picture of Junior from is having their Operation Hi Mom! event. If your Soldier is deployed they can submit a picture to Canvas on Demand and they will create 500 canvases to send to Mom! If there are more than 500 pictures submitted they will randomly select Soldiers to qualify. They have a great product, and hey, it's free! Make sure you take advantage of it. I have had three pictures done through them and their customer service is impeccable and the product is unbelievable. Good luck!

Happy Birthday Abs!

Our precious little 9lb 9 oz bundle of joy. I wonder what she was thinking....

Edit
Starting to get a personality....

A receeding hairline like her father...

And now our baby is 8 years old...

How can we not love her? I went and bought presents tonight, and after I had asked her what she wanted, to which she replied each time that she had no clue, she presented me with a list:
1. Paint and art kits
2. Stuffed dinos or cat (at least 1 or 2)
3. Drum Set
4. I can't read this item
5. Harp with pick
6. Wii
7. Nintendo DS
8. Pool table
9. Foosball table
10. Fly pen with games and notebook
11. Pony (a mustang)

She is getting a stuffed dinosaur, some art supplies, a doorbell for her room, a safe activated by her voice, and a bunch of other stuff. I love birthdays, especially when the birthday girl is as cute and as spirited as this one!

Happy Birthday Abs, congratulations on both of us surviving year 7!


And thanks to Brandi at Excess Baggage for my new blog! She's great and I love it!!!

As if....

As if a 5k on the 14th wasn't enough, there was the 21 mile bike ride, then fishing, then Erin & Scout and I headed off on a couple of adventures.

Saturday we hit the Urban Dare in Austin. When we got the clue sheet, we were stumped. We were calling, emailing, searching, and running....sometimes in circles. We learned that we needed to spend more time planning our route next time. Oh well, we got good exercise. I plotted our course on mapmyrun.com and we were over 10 miles, but I forgot to add in that we parked at one end of 6th street and had to hike through the massive amount of people there for concerts, to the other end. Add that distance in and we were well over 12 miles. Talk about tired.

Before the race:
Scout, Erin and me.These were taken before the race, when we were full of energy and sure that we were going to win big!

At Mellow Johnny's...By the end of the race we were exhausted. What better way to finish the day by saying "See you in the morning for the 5K that we are going to run!". Gunner and I could barely talk at dinner we were so tired. We hit Johnny Carino's, and were amazed that there were only 4 dishes that were low fat. The waitress looked at me like I was insane when I asked if they had any fat free dressing.

Insanity. We arrived bright and early at the Run 4 the Rovers 5K on Sunday. This year I brought Junior along. He winked:
He ate, and he drove, while Gunner ran.Gunner and I got separated, but I did run the entire way, even in my sore state. I got back and tried to find out my official time and wouldn't you know that when Gunner and I both took off our timer didn't register??? How do you prevent that from happening? All four of us finished, and after the day before, that was all I think we were looking for!

I worked, Gunner took the kids fishing, and we shuffled around the house in our sore state.

I was back at my teaching job today, and hit the gym afterwards. Without having to worry about childcare, it's nice. I got in 30 minutes on the stairmaster, a quick 1 mile run just to loosen up, and hit the weights. The highlight of every workout is the sauna, but I was devastated when I went back to find it broken.

One thing I did discover during all this working out/races/togetherness with Gunner is that we do not have the same taste in workout music. I cannot run to the beating of Metallica in my ear followed by someotherbandwithanameIhaveneverheardof screeching out another "song". So now I am on the quest to makeup my own playlist of running/weightlifting/cycling/sauna music. If anyone has any favorites please let me know as I am not up on music at all, I just know I don't like Gunner's "Play it Loud" playlist, sorry!

And the next race schedules.....10K in 3 weeks. I better get busy!

Headed out...

Today Gunner and I are headed to Austin today for the Urban Dare--kind of like the Amazing Race--with Erin and Scout. Then on Sunday we are doing a 5k--Run for the Rovers. Erin and I did it last year and had a lot of fun. Two down and three more to go, so far. I wonder what else I can sign us up for!

Gunner and the girls had a great time fishing last night and Abs managed to catch a fish! He wasn't sure what kind it was, so they released it, but at least they got a lot of bites in this little lake.They had a lot of fun, and we got them tucked into bed and they fell fast asleep for once. I'm sure that's the same feeling we will have Sunday night after a busy weekend. I never caught up on my grading, but my lesson plans are ready for Monday, and I'll have to get busy next week with school.

Have a great weekend!

Gone Fishin'

Gunner has been chomping at the bit to go fishing. When we were first dating, he would come visit me in Dallas and we would go to this little lake and fish several times a month. We never caught anything that was big enough to keep, but it was cheap entertainment.

While Gunner was in Iraq the first time I went to visit my sister in Alaska and went deep sea fishing. I sent him the pictures of the HUGE halibut I caught and he was jealous.

So yesterday Gunner decided it was time to go fishing. We got cheap fishing poles (less than $9), he dragged out the stuff he had been collecting over the years, and this morning he got up early. He sliced open his hand trying to get the fishing poles out of the wrapper. I asked him why he didn't use a pair of scissors, and he said that he did after he hurt himself.

We packed a lunch, and hit the road. Em wanted to go to spring break camp so that she could see the movie Escape to Witch mountain or whatever it was. We tried to talk to her, but she is a tween and wanted the movie more. At least there was no fighting today.

We went to the Rod and Gun club to get fishing licenses and permits, and all that good stuff. Gunner was happy that he was able to get a hunting and fishing license for free. Now he just needs to find someone to hunt with. He's a good shot!

After filling out all that paperwork, we left with two dozen worms. Abs was fascinated by them. She later explained that if she had to choose a creature to describe herself with she would choose the earthworm and the glo-worm. I asked for further clarification and she said the glo-worm because she was known to be very active at times (at times????), and the earthworm because she could be mellow at times too, and sit and read a book.

Junior and Abs waiting for their Dad to bait their hooks.

Abs making sure she didn't lose her worm. We didn't even get a nibble.


Abs was content to sit there most of the day, casting over and over again trying to catch something. She discussed the finer points of fishing with me, which she learned from a Survival book that I bought her a while back. She was prepared to instruct her father on how to fillet the fish as well.
Junior trying to decide why he wasn't catching any fish.We went to the first spot, where Junior and Abs were dying to get a hold of their fishing poles. Junior's came with a rubber fish which Gunner misplaced somewhere, unfortunately. We left the hook off of his, and we would cast it out for him and he would reel it in. Over and over and over and over again. He never got tired of it.


Gunner packed the tent so that Junior would have a place to rest (HA!) if needed. He did hang out in it for a while, but it was kind of windy and the tent was not anchored, so it blew over with Junior in it and was blowing down towards the water. Everyone was watching us as we went chasing after the tent and Junior was screeching. We never lack for excitement.
The only thing we caught today.....a set of keys to a Ford.Gunner just left again to go with all three kids to the lake near our house to test the waters with the remainder of the worms. Hopefully they return with something!

What next?

There are so many reasons why I am ready to move. Bazillions of them!!! Still no official orders, but I am moving ahead with the plan that we are out of here in July.

I purged Ab's room yesterday and have piles of clothes that she has outgrown or worn out to give away. I need to do the same with my clothes and Gunner's. I am sure there has to be one of those places that loans out job interview clothes for the people trying to get back on their feet. I don't itemize, so there's no tax benefit to donations anywhere specific.

Ab's birthday is next week and I am at a total loss as to what to get her. Gunner and I talked about it last night and there is nothing that she needs. I kept saying I was going to make a knitted dinosaur for her, but that will never get done since I never started it.

I've searched the internet to no avail, and now it is almost too late to order anything.

She wears a uniform to school so buying clothes really isn't an option. She loves legos and I thought about something along those lines, but after cleaning her room, she doesn't need anymore. She wants a Nintendo DS, but that's not happening. She also asked for a Wii and that's not on the horizon either. Back to the drawing board....

Junior escaped from his crib in the middle of the night and went looking for his dad. We close the gates at night because the noise will wake me up if Abs is trying to get up for her late night tv watching. Instead I heard Junior running around. He climbed into bed with us, snuggled up to Gunner and was fast asleep. He spent the first five months asleep in my arms while Gunner was deployed, so I guess it is Gunner's turn now. We need to get the crib taken down as well, but need to find a place to get rid of that too.

Slowly but surely we will get rid of about 5K pounds....And here's a story about my kids.

Halfway through...

I can't believe that Spring Break is already half over! There's still so much to do.

Gunner's parents have a small RV or as the girls call it, a housecar. They told us that they can't use it anymore with 5 dogs, so we should use it whenever we can. I've been investigating where we can take off to. It has a stove, shower, bathroom, fridge, ac, etc. That's my kind of camping! It won't sleep everyone, but we have a small dome tent too. I also prefer to have my food cooked over an open campfire, but a stove is a nice backup, and my germaphobic self would love the sink!

We found a few places to visit, but now we just need to find the time to take off. Gunner wants to take the girls fishing, and Glen Rose has the dinosaur tracks that we could take Abs to see. Em actually likes camping--especially if she has access to her iPOD. Junior would just want to climb and play in the dirt.

We bought Junior a tricycle the other day. He saw it in the store and hopped on and was pedaling all over the place. He's like a mad man on it, zipping around, I do not see a driver's license in his future. We were trying to locate a bike helmet for him at the store, and none of the toddler ones fit. Gunner finally found a non-girly 5+ helmet, and it fit perfectly. He rubbed Junior's head and told me he had a big head. Ummm....yeah......I found that out almost three years ago when I had the boy, hence one of the many reasons we are done.

Last night I asked Gunner what his schedule was like today. I think he was afraid to tell me because I might come up with some crazy idea like going for a 21 mile run or something. I'm not that insane, especially since I am sore, but I would like to go for a run outside since it is so beautiful. We have 5 races coming up in the next few days, weeks, and months. I think Gunner is afraid I might find more. Em & Abs expressed an interest in going to one with us, so we might get that figured out. I bet Abs could run a 5K with her energy level. Some days it could probably be a marathon. I better go marathon clean her room....I noticed a couple of piles of rocks in there, she's sneaky since I created the "No more rocks are coming into this house because I am tired of washing them!" rule.

On the reintegration front, Gunner is done with his reverse SRP and I believe the classes start up next week. Block leave is just 16 days away for him, not that he is counting. What I wouldn't do to have 30 days off with him....

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today Gunner got off early once again and so we headed out on a bike ride. After we tuned up the bikes, loaded them, and drove to his parents house, we were ready to go. We donned our helmets and bike gloves as well as our padded bike shorts. Our water bottles were filled and the wind was blowing. It was beautiful!!!

These bikes have the SKINNIEST tires, and I am always afraid when I haven't ridden them in a while. I got over my initial fears and we took a spin around the circle. Gunner's parents live kind of out in the country, so we took off to see if the bridge was still washed out. Around 8.5 miles Gunner wanted to stop. I kept riding. At around 14.5 miles I thought he would turn off at his parents house, but he kept on following. Finally at 21 miles I figured he had enough so we stopped and enjoyed a nice cold drink on the back porch with his mom. She was in a good mood, and even though after 15 years she can't say my name correctly and that drives me nuts, I actually enjoyed myself.

When we went to get up, I finally felt those 21 miles and my workout the previous day. Ouch! And it was such a beautiful day, it never even crossed our mind to get out the sunscreen, so we are sooo burned. Poor Gunner has red designs all over his head because of the holes in his helmet.

We are BBQing fajitas tonight using the recipe that my dad always used, and Abs and I whipped up a no-egg, no-milk, no-oil, splenda, banana cake for dessert. Initial taste tests passed with Abs, so the results should be interesting. Abs was disappointed that I would not whip up some icing to put on top, but I told her that would defeat the purpose of our healthy (but oh so tasty?) cake!

Today at Spring Break camp Em's group visited the animal ranch. When Gunner picked her up and when she arrived home, she made sure to let us both know that out of all the kids that were there, only 3 did not have cell phones. Apparently when they drove in, all the kids pulled out their cell phones to take pictures. I let her know that I was so glad that she was able to be independent and not be like the rest of the group, as well as the other two kids. She was not amused.

Oh well, at least it only took me three days to get her to the hospital this time for her foot, so that has to make up for the fact that she has no cell phone?

Update: The cake was good, if you aren't used to eating sweet things anymore!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Once Junior heard what his shirt said, he wouldn't stop puckering up while Gunner was trying to take a picture. Let's hope he's not the kissing bandit at school today!Once Gunner gets home we are going to head out on a bike ride. Tonight we celebrate what would have been my dad's 70th birthday.

There's laundry to fold in there somewhere, rooms to clean, and a trip to plan. I think Gunner and the kids and I need to get out of dodge one weekend or something. Who knows when we can fit it in, but I'm determined to make it happen--well in between the three races that I just signed up for--a 10K, a 5K and a 15 mile bike ride. If you are at "the great place" you can sign up at MWR and you can register and participate for free, plus you get a free shirt. Also the month of the military child festival is coming up on April 4th here and that is all free too. We went last year, although the first stop was the ambulance because Em managed to whack herself in the head getting out of the car. I have the ESL test that day, but will hopefully be back in time to go with Gunner and the kids. If not, he's going to take them himself.....hmmmmm....maybe I will just hide in the peace and quiet of my own house? Tempting, but being with the kids would be more fun.

Off to prep for the ride. We want to go at least 20-30 miles depending on when he gets back. I got on my bikes yesterday and couldn't even remember how to switch gears it had been so long! A few miles around the neighborhood and I was good to go....

On the first day of Spring Break

Em whined to me....I think my foot is broken.

So off to the er we go, where we fortunately only have to wait two hours to find out that there is no big break and that we will get a call if there is a small fracture or something they pick up later. Em got an ace bandage, a boot, and orders to rest and watch tv. Of course Em and Abs wanted to go to Spring Break camp this week and not stay home and do fun stuff like clean out the garage, etc. Go figure. If we do move in a few months, then I have a ton of stuff to get done, and this is the only week I have off till July 9th. I'm tired just thinking about it.

I stopped by this morning and hung out with Erin for a while on my way to the gym. It was good to see her and not have to worry about all the kiddos making a mess or getting into stuff.

Had my workout.

Ran to the er.'

Home to make popovers for dessert. Junior was screaming when I arrived because Gunner had taped his diaper on. He apparently wouldn't keep it on, so I put him in underwear and he finally peed in his little toilet. Maybe there is hope that he will be potty trained before he is 3?

....and he peed again after his bath too. We're on a roll! Here's a video of Junior's new ride-on toy. Guess whatever makes you happy! (And he's holding underwear and a Harry Potter magic wand)

So far to go, but no better time than the present to get started....

Reintegration

We are surviving.

I have been reminded that the world will not turn over and die if Gunner does something slightly different than I do. It's not wrong, it's his way. (Although secretly, after a year, shouldn't my advice make his life a little easier????) He also does it to drive me crazy, I am sure.

The amount of laundry has quadrupled. Gunner just caught up with everything that I was behind. Now we just need to catch up with everything that we wore in the meantime.

I haven't changed a diaper yet, which is a nice break.

The first night Gunner was home, I was startled awake every time he moved. I'm getting better about that. Just not used to sharing a bed.

The nightmares aren't as bad this time.

His adjustment with the kids has been going okay. They are quick to remind him that I don't serve dinner like that, get them ready in the morning like that, or do such and such and such. It's all good, because they do the same thing to me as soon as he deploys.

We ran a 5K this morning, and the starting gun was not well received by him (& there were others too that reacted).

He introduced me to mafia wars on facebook, as if I needed something else to do to waste my time.

When he drops Junior off at daycare, Junior cries "I NEED you Daddy" and it melts his heart.

Abs still tries to push in between us when we hug. And if we kiss??? They all start groaning.

Gunner has adapted to my healthy way of eating with little reluctance.

My students love him.

His return to the world of driving like an American has been slow in coming, although he would argue that point. No, Gunner, you can't force people off the road, run every light and sign, and I promise you that the bag blowing in the wind is not an IED. He still scans the roads, that will take time.

We went to the outlet mall today and he was great company. He didn't complain, and I even talked him into two shirts at Banana Republic. (Ummmm......I LOVE that store!)

Yesterday afternoon, Gunner needed to go to Clothing Sales to get a new pair of running shoes. I was exhausted after school, so I asked him to take the kiddos. He balked. I balked that he balked. Our conversation:

Him: Take all three of them to the store?
Me: Yep.
Him: Do you know how hard it will be to shop with three kids in tow?
Me (trying not to knock him upside the head): I think I have a pretty good idea since I just did it for a year.
Him (Smiling): But you had to do it, the beauty of this situation is that I don't have to.
Me (not smiling): Are you kidding me?
Him: Don't worry, I've got them.

My husband has a weird sense of humor some days. Karma came into play as Junior kept escaping from the cart.

I'm sure I will think of more things that are going/not going so well, but so far things are better than expected. It's still weird to think of him being here every day. It's nice knowing that on the evenings where I used to be too busy to breathe that I have someone who is there to help and without question.

In other news:

Em thinks she broke her foot. She's become the queen of broken bones. I am hoping that she just pulled something. It's on the top of her foot, and she said she heard a pop while she was running in PE on Friday. She's pretty consistent in her limping, so I am starting to be concerned. Thank goodness for the weekend clinic being open tomorrow. She's dragged out her old crutches from the last time she broke her foot and she is way too tall for them now, but she is gimping around the house on them.

Junior is tearing up his skin with all of his scratching. We're going to have to get a referral to the pediatric skin specialist at Scott & White since his allergist and dermatologist haven't been able to make too many changes. I guess we could try the warm pajamas and Crisco, as gross as it sounds.

Abs has been Abs, just her usual antics and ability to keep us on our toes. We were at the Children's Place today and they had a pair of stirrup pants for cheap, cheap, cheap. Abs saw them and freaked out. She was so excited that there was something out there created just for her problem of her pants riding up. God help me, I hope she doesn't want straps sewn on the bottom of all her pants. They also had tights for 99 cents, and she wanted them all. For that price, we settled for 6 pairs.

While we were out shopping today I got Em a sweatshirt and a pair of jeans. For the same price I got Abs a dress, several shirts, a pair of pink Bass rain boots, the tights, two pairs of leggings and 1 pair of stirrup pants. That just seems insane to me.

And one more insane thing about the Round Rock outlet mall--they are stingy at the food court! They have no napkin dispensers, you can only get one or two from the restaurant that you order from. The kids all wanted bourbon chicken from the chinese place, and it cost $15 for three plates. That is insane (but they loved it and ate it). What's even more insane is their view on water. I asked for three waters and they gave me three water bottles. I told them I wasn't paying for water, could they make three waters out of the machine. They refused and would only give me one. I should have left, but the kids were hungry and I was trying to avoid a scene. I would have paid for the cup, which probably cost them pennies anyway.

Maybe I am just too cheap?

In the meantime here's yet another homecoming picture....

This is the tent where we waited and they had the huge screen we could watch.

Did I mention they fed you? I was too excited/nervous to eat. They had Pizza Hut, Fuddruckers and Bush's chicken, all for free. Junior chowed down on the pizza. More pictures later when I write shorter posts, because for some reason I can't drag my pictures down easily, and I have to do it piece by piece. Hmmmm.......

PhotoHunt "Four"

Theme this week is "FOUR". Here are my "four" favorite people back together again.

From last Saturday when Gunner came home from Iraq. Junior couldn't stop looking at his dad.

More pictures here.

The Troops Come Marching In

After the buses moved. That was Abs waving her flag as hard as she could.

If they really want my opinion, I liked having the ceremonies in the gym better. We could see a lot better and I could usually find him right away. This way was a mass of people to search for.
We found him. Yes, that's my hair, I am always amazed at how curly it is when I see it in pictures. I guess I like to pretend it is not that curly?



I love the look on Em's face here. (My hair had been down long enough, and was about to go up!)

Still here

I have so many pictures and so many things to share about reintegration.


In the meantime, here's another few pictures.

Waiting for Daddy....

Finally not crying or screaming about whatever it was she was upset about.
What a good looking couple.....we've been married 14 years and together for 15 years.
My boys....

The Plane Ride

They had tents setup, and inside they had one of those giant video screens and were tracking the flight.

The plane landing.

The guys getting off the plane. They still had to turn in their weapons, etc. We didn't see Gunner, but they were having some technical difficulties.

Junior waving to the screen hoping to see his daddy.

After the guys got off the plane and they showed it, we went outside and waited, and waited, and waited some more. One of my students and her mom came to take pictures and welcome him home too. They had fire engines at the end of the road, and as the buses came through, they shot water over the buses. They also do this when the planes come in at DFW.

More pictures to come. Did I mention that Gunner is HOME!!!!

Homecoming...

A Year Deployment in Review

When Gunner left it was supposed to be 15 months. Thank goodness it wasn't!!!!

When Gunner left, I worked one day a week, and kept Junior home with me.

I didn't go to the gym that much although I did pay for a membership.

Then he left.

You can look at a deployment as a time to wallow in self-pity (and don't worry I did my fair share of that!) or a time to do something with your life. The time will pass regardless of what you do with it, so my mantra this deployment was to make some changes and make OUR lives better because of it.

I set out on the quest to get my teacher certification. I chose the hardest road because it allowed me to put my time and effort into completing half of my MEd. It was hard, it was overwhelming most of the time, but the benefits outweighed the costs. I don't like to do anything half-ass (except cut my grass), so I went forward full speed.

I took graduate classes all summer, got a job as a second grade teacher on post, and kept on going. I took graduate courses in the fall, and am in one now. I have more this summer.

I went back to the gym. I got a trainer. I completed 3 -5k's and 1-10K.

I lost 25 pounds.

I raised our three children, albeit on fast food and oatmeal some days.

I continued working my 1 day a week job.

I sucked at sending packages and letters to Gunner, but he understood and loved me. (Plus he could read the blog and hear all about overflowing toilets and sick children, probably more than he or anyone else wanted to!)

I spent time with my family and with my friends.

Although Junior has only spent 14 months with his dad, out of three years, he knows who his dad is. He can also tell you that when Daddy comes home, that Daddy will change all the diapers. Yea!

I made a lot of new friends that Gunner has yet to meet, but he has heard a lot about. The girls learned to swim, went to camp, participated in Girl Scouts, and grew, grew, grew.

Junior is nothing like the baby he left.

I doubted my strength at times, but now that I am HOURS (that's right people HOURS!!!!) from the end, I know that I was stronger than I thought. Hindsight is 20/20 after all.

So I managed to keep three kids alive, the house is still standing, there is food to microwave, and I am going to see the most amazing guy in a bit.

Seriously people, these reunions are better than wedding days. (When I was at the mall, I saw a girl getting her makeup done, and we talked while the lady rung me up. She was marrying a guy in the navy at 4 o'clock today. She asked me if it was all worth it, and all I could say was "you have no idea how much".)

So my next post better be me leaving to get this Soldier of mine....

P.S. And he did call and they were in St. Paul, Minnesota. They bypassed Germany and Ireland and landed in Amsterdam. I doubt I would let that many Soldiers off the plane in a place like that!