Wordless Wednesday

 

The girls wanted their dad up for WW. This was taken in Hawaii. I miss this face.

Still laughing...

Abs with my trophy.

Just call us...

superstar.

What do I do????

It's 9:38 and Abs is in her room crying for her dad again. What the heck do I do? Nothing seems to make her feel better. I've tried pictures. Daddy dolls. Flat Daddies. He writes. He calls. He talks to them online. There's no way I can get him back here. She knows where he is, what he is doing and how someone else really needs his help right now, even more than we need him.

It's heartbreaking though. The tears keep coming. We are only 8 weeks into this, we still have 57 weeks to go. A countdown calendar right now would be daunting to her. She's only 7. She even suggested that I join the Army and take his place. How's that for love???

Sigh....any ideas?

Tomorrow

is the big day. Erin and I are going to WALK a 5K. I'm excited!

The excitement could also be from knowing that I didn't have to drive to swimming for two days?

My mom is keeping the girls tonight, but Junior will be with me. I'm sure he will love it and ask me to run, run, run!

A 5K today.....a muddy buddy in October. A triathalon next Spring?

Wordless Wednesday

Finding a job

The local school district has a job fair coming up and I need to get started on my resume. I've had several interesting jobs over the last decade--buyer, worked at the Consulate in Germany, International Trade and Investment, etc.

Somehow I am supposed to play all this up towards education. If they want to give me millions to spend, I can do it. If they want to import from Africa or invest in foreign countries, I can do it. If they need me to look over oil & gas logs, reconcile account discrepancies, coordinate trade between the US and other countries, work with classified documents and more, I am their girl.

Any teachers out there that can help me? Anyone that likes to proofread resumes? Help!

Did you know???

That a roll of toilet paper will hold up to half of a container of windex? Abs does now.

We called Gunner's laptop tonight and figured out how to use the telephone feature. Is Skype any better? It really wasn't a bad connection, and since the phones were locked up because people couldn't clean up after themselves, it was better than nothing. We spent the first two deployments with little to no contact, so we are enjoying all the communication this time.

I went to the gym this afternoon and I was glad to be back. It had been a while, but I am back on the bandwagon. I'll need to be in shape to keep up with all my plans!

Pizza for dinner tonight...Papa Murphy's.....yummmmmm......

Enablers

I found this very interesting! If you answer yes to two or more questions, you can be considered an enabler. Hopefully someone will recognize themselves in it and do something to correct the situation.

1. Do you find yourself worrying about a person in ways that consume your time, or do you find yourself trying to come up with solutions to his/ her problems rather than letting that person do the solving?
2. Do you find yourself afraid for this person, or convinced that he/she “cannot handle” a situation or relationship without “falling apart”?
3. Do you ever do something for a person which he/she could and even should be doing for him or herself?
4. Do you ever excuse this person’s behavior as being a result of “stress, misunderstanding, or difficulty coping,” even when the behavior hurts or inconveniences you?
5. Have you ever considered giving/given this person money, your car, or talked to someone for this person as a way of reducing this person’s pain?
6. Do you feel angry if this person does not follow through with something you have suggested - or do you worry that you may not be doing enough for this person?
7. Do you ever feel you have a unique and special relationship with this person, unlike anyone else they may know?
8. Do you feel protective of this person - even though he/she is an adult and is capable of taking care of his/her life?
9. Do you ever wish others in this person’s life would change their behavior or attitudes to make things easier for this person?
10. Do you feel responsible for getting this person help?
11. Do you feel reluctant to refer an individual to a source of help or assistance, uncertain if another person can understand or appreciate this person’s situation the way you do?
12. Do you ever feel manipulated by this person but ignore your feelings?
13. Do you ever feel that no one understands this person as you do?
14. Do you ever feel that you know best what another person needs to do or that you recognize his/her needs better than he/she does?
15. Do you sometimes feel alone in your attempts to help a person or do you feel you may be the only person to help this individual?
16. Do you ever want to make yourself more available to another person, at the expense of your own energy, time, or commitments?
17. Do you find yourself realizing that an individual may have more problems than you initially sensed and that you will need to give him/her your support or help for a long time?
18. Do you ever feel, as a result of getting to know this person, that you feel energized and can see yourself helping people like him/her to solve their problems?
19. Have you ever begun to “see yourself” in this person and his/her problems?
20. Has anyone ever suggested to you that you are “too close” to this person or this situation?

April--Month of the Military Child

And I just happen to have three.

Fort Hood had a celebration on post today, so I ventured out with all three of the kiddos. We started out by picking up their free shirts and then over to pick up their free prize. They were happy.

They jumped in a jump house. Junior didn't like it. Em velcroed herself to a wall.

We had hotdogs for lunch. Popsicles for dessert. Chips. More ice cream--hey we are in Blue Bell country, you never pass up Blue Bell!

The girls participated in a wheelchair rodeo and won shirts and prizes. They met Miss Texas Wheelchair 2008 and got her autograph.

They threw footballs.

Em & Junior met Wonder Woman and Superman. Abs decided that they didn't look like real superheroes so she would pass because they were "weird".

We then headed over to the fire engine display and stayed forever. I let Junior out of the stroller and he was in heaven. The firefighters were from Fort Hood, and were GREAT! They were so nice and patient with Abs and Junior. (Em didn't want to do this part)



The girls got their faces painted.

In between we had two visits to the ambulance. The first time was because when we arrived Em opened the car door and whacked herself. She has a huge knot on her forehead. They gave her an ice pack and checked her over to make sure she was okay. We returned an hour later when Abs fell and skinned her knee.

We didn't win any door prizes, got a little bit too much sun, and we had one tantrum, but other than that we had a great time!

Cost......$0.

Compound Eyes

The girls are constantly leaving the door open and flies get in the house. Tis the season of the fly right now. Blech. I was chasing one around the house with a flyswatter this evening and Junior was laughing hysterically. My sweet Abs stated matter of factly "He finds it hilarious that you are trying to catch something that has compound eyes. Don't you know anything about compound eyes mommy?"

I smushed the little sucker. Compound eyes and all.

Thank goodness for disappointments

The girls had swimming tonight, so we loaded up and drove the 1/2 hour to the pool. We got there and there was lightening everywhere. They cancelled the lessons, and I was kind of ticked after driving that far. I accepted it, moved on, and headed back home. By the time we got to Killeen, the area where we had just come from, had a tornado visible (hadn't hit the ground yet), hail, and of course a Texas size thunderstorm. Sure glad we weren't in that mess!

Guess

Can you guess where I went today?

Three hints: Junior, ears, prescription

Yes folks, for the third time in 4 weeks, Junior has gotten another ear infection. He was on antibiotics still when this one started. I don't get it. I did see the doctor that I really like and he agreed to let me try a low dose of antibiotics daily over the next three weeks. It's not usually done anymore, but it worked on Abs and this will hopefully buy us some time to get his allergies under control and the weather to remain warm and then we can be ear infection free. We have to go back in three weeks to reevaluate. Keep your fingers crossed that we see some progress!

This was the 5th time we have been to the doctor this week. I loathe going to the doctor. I'm already germaphobic and thankfully the clinic has hand sanitizer thingies everywhere. He wanted to play with one of the communal toys, which made my skin crawl. I did contemplate whipping out my mini bottle of lysol and spraying it down and then letting him, but I left my purse in the car. Maybe next time....

While we were in the office with the doctor my phone rings. I ignored it. They called back. It was Gunner. I answered.

Me: I have to call you back I am with the doctor.
Gunner: The doctor? Again?
Me: Yes, again.
Gunner: Fifth time is the charm right?

Kitchen Update

The IA admitted they wanted an officer's mess, so they are now paying for it all themselves.

A new kitchen

Gunner is in a location where they get one hot meal a day.

Not a big deal, he's used to it and he gets packages filled with things he can microwave. The Iraqis have a contract with a guy who cooks their meals and delivers them three times a day. The IA is not happy because they feel like the guy is serving them poor quality food and not enough of it. Fair enough.

So what's an Iraqi to do? They tell my husband that they want a kitchen. The command tells my husband that Santa Claus is dead and they need to go through their people.

So this morning my husband was IMing with me and working with the translator on getting things taken care of. Apparently the last team in there gave the IA everything that they wanted and now they expect that. The team Gunner is on, is supposed to cure them of that habit of expecting the Americans to pay for everything.

To make a point Gunner said that they had some of the IA come over for what they have been eating for "dinner". In the end, the outlook is not good and the IA will probably get a kitchen with the bare essentials. Maybe then they can serve hot meals to the Americans?

Junior

A story about Junior here. The boy cracks me up.

Grrrrrrr.....

Love from Iraq

Wednesday morning my outlook express cratered. I'm sure it had something to do with the 4,569 unread emails. Or maybe the over 15,000 deleted emails. (I keep everything, and often don't even click on the junk emails) Gunner called from Iraq to see if he could help fix it, to no avail. I told him the error codes, etc. and he asked when I would get online again. The girls had swim lessons, so I wasn't able to get on till almost 9 that night.

My dear, sweet Gunner said he would call me then. Unbeknownst to me, he went back to his room, googled instructions (my whole computer locked up), wrote them down, set his alarm, called me, explained the instructions, and went back to bed. He loves me.

My email works.

I'm off to email him.

One more thing...

One thing I don't like about Junior going to a clinic on post is that if come the afternoon he gets some ailment, our only choice is the ER. Daycare called today to tell me that he had pink eye. Great. I go pick him up at 3 and we head to the er while I try to get an appointment at the clinic. After giving them every bit of information on my husband they tell me they have a first available tomorrow at 1 p.m. I take it and continue on to the er.

We get to the er and it's pretty empty. Good thing since I have to get the girls before 6. We move through the er relatively fast--don't even get me started on the rude doctor. We get a prescription to have filled in the pharmacy downstairs. We race down there and wait in line so we can get a number and wait some more. Since family members are not first priority, we wait. They aren't even calling our classification of numbers. The lady next to me has been waiting 50 minutes and she is 10 numbers before me. The clock is creeping. The Soldier next to me told me to go get the kids and then come back and if I missed my number to tell them I was in the bathroom.

So Junior and I race down the hallway, through the er, to the car. We race over to the school, pickup the girls-Abs has decided her foot is broken and has to hop to the car. We head back to the er, run back to the pharmacy (Abs ran so I guess her foot was miraculously healed after I told her I was not going back to the er).....and we missed our number by 5 people. I saw an open counter and asked for the prescription and he luckily gave it to me.

So Junior will go to work with me tomorrow and hang out with my mom. Good thing he likes tortillas for our weekly mexican lunch.

Here's hoping that we can avoid the er for a while, but I better refill the sanitizer bottles in the meantime.

Making Progress

A while back I said that while Gunner was gone I was going to do three fun runs/walks/bike rides. My first one will be on the 4th of May! I'm excited, but also know that since I haven't been to the gym lately that I will be walking it.

If I can find care for the kids, I am doing a 25 mile bike ride on the 31st. Somehow the thought of pulling them in a trailer or trying to convince Em that riding 25 miles would be fun, is not appealing.

I tried to sub today but nothing was available so instead I am madly listing things on ebay.

Mona-ME-sa

Drawn by Abs. Another self portrait....

A miracle on Sunday....

Took Junior to the ER this morning--he is fine--and we were in and out, including xrays in less than an hour. We even went to Darnell. There was absolutely no one there.

There is basically nothing they can do about him coughing all night long till he starts to barf. Lovely. They did say that his xray looks better than it did Thursday, so at least it is headed in the right direction. He has an appt with the allergist on Thursday.

And Gunner's son thought having his temperature taken rectally was hilarious and giggled the whole time.

On the homefront--every once in a while the sound goes out and we have to reboot the cable box. This morning it went out and Abs said "Where's Daddy when you need him?". Come on, I could move mountains if I had to! So with her lack of confidence I have chosen to not fix it till much later tonight. It's so peaceful....

Friday Part II

Our nails are done.Abs in a bright blue and Em in a bright purple. I of course stuck with conservative red. Boring.

We shopped. We ate. We talked. They declared it a great day.

We were on our way to daycare to get Junior and I said something about the powder all over the bathroom.

Em: There was powder all over the shower last night.
Me: There was?
Em: I mean all over, I wondered what you were doing mommy.
Me: Abs? I thought you confined it to half the bathroom.
Abs: Well it said shower to bath.

Friday!!!

The girls are off of school today and Junior is feeling better. I took Junior to daycare and the girls and I are doing a mad dash of cleaning the house. I told them if they would clean their rooms that we would have times to go get our nails and toenails done. What girl doesn't like that? Em is working and Abs is......well being Abs. I figured after our nails we could go get ice cream, pick up Papa Murphy's for dinner and pick up Junior and have a nice evening.

Then I went to the bathroom. Abs is not allowed to use my bathroom AT ALL! Apparently she "forgot" that rule. My bathroom is now decorated in powder. To be fair, most of it did make it in the trash can and was absorbed by the soaking wet roll of toilet paper that she dunked in the toilet. I know I should make her clean it, but the thought of Abs with water and powder....it is a recipe for disaster.

I better run since Abs just informed me that Em was holding her in slavery. Never a dull moment....

UPDATE: I went to clean the girls' bathroom and made Abbie stick her hand in the toilet to fish out the approximate three pounds of toilet paper that she had stuffed in it. She was crying and told me that she just wiped her nose. I don't know what possesses her sometimes. She has clean hands now, the toilet is unstopped and I am considering locking up the toilet paper and rationing it out.

More

Lunch with the Iraqi Army.

Mutton anyone?

Pictures from the Front

Mud hut with trash fence. My Soldier.

Gunner actually sent more pictures but blogger is fighting with me and we have swim lessons in a bit, so it wins.

59 trash days

Still making progress in the trash front.

Junior is still sick. He's been running a fever since Tuesday and has been on antibiotics for an ear infection just as long. No change. Can't wait till the appointment line opens up and I can get him in there again. It's no fun watching him being miserable.

Abs should be up but instead she is crying for her daddy. When will she learn that if she goes to bed when I put her there that she will not be so tired and cranky in the morning? Instead I spend almost every evening chasing her out of the window, the hallway or my room, where she is reading.

Em is already dressed and playing with Junior.

My friend Peggy is having a problem with her roommate not using soap to wash the dishes. She's looking for ways to talk to her without hurting her feelings. My suggestion was that she should talk to her while she washed her own dishes and lick the fork and put it in the drawer. It sounds like a sure fire way to make a point if you don't want to address it head on!

I got Junior an appointment this morning and I am hoping he doesn't have pneumonia. Poor little guy is watching Barney and hanging out. I never knew one small body could produce so much snot.

I'm done

I finished my observation journal tonight. About 50 pages of my ramblings.

I'm done and it is going in tomorrow morning so I don't have time to lose it.

Maybe I am too old for school.....

Wordless Wednesday

The first picture my mom took and the second one was from my el cheapo digital camera.

More pics here.

Round Rock Express

The RR Express had their opening night on Friday, April 11th. They usually let the military in free, but they made the first night 4th ID night, so I picked up tickets to go. The girls got out of school early for the 1st CAV welcome home party (useless fact about Gunner--he was in 1st CAV when we met a hundred years ago). We didn't attend the welcome home party and instead got ready to leave the next morning for Dallas.

Anyway, the girls and I picked up Junior and went to my mom's house since she was going to go along with me. I can take three children out in public, but it is easier to have an extra set of eyes on them--especially on Junior and Abs.

All 4th ID Soldiers and families were supposed to go on the field before the game started, but we of course were late and got there after they were already out there. Not a big deal, but the kids thought it would be cool. If you were over 21 and had an ID card you could have one free beer and peanuts. Ahhhhh......it hit the spot.

Earlier in the day when I got the girls from school, Em swung open the front screen door and bopped her sister in the head. It left a mark and a huge bump (which is now a huge bruise). While sitting in the grass Abs somehow managed to fall over and hit her head on the concrete wall. She cried and cried. We weren't off to a good start. She unfortunately wasn't wearing the green colander on her head at that point. The green colander was a gift from my uncle to my mom years ago. Somehow the kids latched on to all of them--yes, she received more than one--and they use them to carry things, as helmets to play soldiers, and Abs wore it to the game so she could use it to catch a baseball.

Junior wanted peanuts but because of his allergy to eggs we were supposed to hold off. Luckily I had granola bars in my purse. Although he had just eaten an entire happy meal, he scarfed down three granola bars.

Then there was a ball....high in the air.....coming our way.....luckily the right fielder caught it. With the way things were going it probably would have hit Abs in the head.

The kids were hungry. They wanted everything that anyone was selling. I finally agreed to get them a sno-cone thinking that it would take a while to eat and there would be enough for everyone. Well Em didn't want to share with her sister. Abs and Junior didn't have a problem sharing though. Once Em realized she was going to go without she agreed to share. They finished the sno-cone and then wanted cotton candy. Lemonade sounded good. They could really use a funnel cake. Why was I starving them? Why couldn't they eat anything? The whining continued. Never mind that I had just dropped $18 on Mickey D's for the kiddos and I knew they had full bellies. I just have a hard time dropping $4.50 on a bag of cotton candy or $3 on a lemonade.

Finally after an hour of the kids wanting to eat the entire time, watching very little baseball and Junior running off in every direction, we called it a night. The kids did have fun though, and that's all that matters right?

Monster in Law

Hopefully this is the last post on this. Yea right!

She emailed me last week and asked us to go to dinner on Friday night. We already had plans so I emailed her back to tell her no. I also addressed the problems we had at our previous dinner in a nice way. I asked her to be more supportive of me as a mother and not undermine me.

She wrote back and explained everything off on someone else, never addressed me asking her not to undermine her and ended with " I am sorry I had to open my big mouth. I will never ever do it again. we can go to TG Fridays at 6, and you can bring your friend to. "

I respectfully declined. I hate drama and this makes me feel like I am back in 6th grade again.

Coke....a universal language

From Gunner this morning. He knows I love my diet coke....

From the Front

Baby left at doorstep finds new home

by Sgt. Zach Mott
3rd BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div., MND-B
April 9, 2008

BAGHDAD – Spotting irregularities is a tactic that is drilled into the minds of Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers throughout training and in practice while in Iraq. Soldiers recently watched as a car pulled up to an entry control point at Forward Operating Base Callahan in northern Baghdad. They continued to watch as a woman stepped out of the car holding a bag. Once the woman dropped the bag near the gate, internal alarms were ringing and a careful search was called for and conducted.

That search yielded a newborn baby wrapped tightly in several cloths. Soldiers raced to the bag, retrieved the child and brought him to the aid station to be examined. “We unwrapped it to make sure he was alive – and he wasn’t sick, he wasn’t dead, he wasn’t injured,” said Staff Sgt. Paul Briscoe, the Aid Station NCOIC at FOB Callahan. “He was a perfectly healthy baby. I’m guessing three to seven days old. He was in perfect health. There wasn’t a scratch on him.”

This unlikely sight brought images of the Las Vegas native’s two children to mind. “It was like my kids were newborns again,” said Briscoe, who serves with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.

After the medics were satisfied the baby, who by this time had drawn the nickname “Alex Callahan” after the Soldier who found him and the name of the base, was in no need of immediate medical attention, the focus shifted to what they would do with the child.

An interpreter working at the base volunteered to go to a nearby store to buy diapers and formula while another interpreter took care of Alex. Briscoe said the aid station became a hub of activity as word spread throughout the small base of the new arrival. “I’ve fed him twice, just holding him, watching him, making sure that he’s alright,” said Doreen Haddad, an interpreter with 1-68 AR, who helped care for Alex. “I’ve changed his diapers twice. I wanted to give him a bath, but I wasn’t able to.”

While a forward operating base isn’t the ideal location for a baby, Soldiers and those working at FOB Callahan ensured that Alex’s stay there was as comfortable as possible.

The baby is to be adopted by the brother of a local national, who works at the base. The brother and his wife have been married five years and have been unable to have a baby of their own. The interpreters at FOB Callahan have taken a collection to donate to the family to help care for the baby.

Despite the thousands of miles that separates the Soldiers from their Families in Colorado, one constant remains with this baby and those they left behind. “He’s sleeping and pooping – just like a regular baby,” Briscoe said.

5 stars

An email from Gunner today:

ABW,

here are my 5 star accommodations. wish you were here. I love and miss you

Gunner

I love how even though it isn't much they will make it home. He sent a picture of the whole room (which of course was a mess), and they had put up blankets, to have a little privacy and put them in the dark when they were ready to sleep. I'm sure over the next 15 months they'll make it a place to call...home doesn't sound good, although I guess for 15 months it has to be something more than just a place to sleep.

I heard about the possibility of the tours getting shortend, but like Erin and I discussed, we would believe it when we saw it. We both agreed, that knowing the army, it would be the new people that came in. At least we can say we were right! Tonight is trash night though, which puts us at 5 down and 60 left. Hey, it's progress!

Wordless Wednesday

Pictures from Iraq

Gunner sent these pictures over today. He was able to get on the web cam for a short bit till it bogged down the connection. Junior saw him and started screeching "My Daddy! My Daddy!" and laughing uncontrollably.

Dinner with the outlaws...

It was already a hard day for me.

After school Abs dropped her beloved frog cup from my mom. She cried for an hour over her froggie. It is not repairable.

Then the girls went to Girl Scouts and Junior and I hung out for a bit and then Gunner called. He was so tired he didn't make much sense. Poor guy. He was sad and a little depressed. He spent 15 months at home which was great and more than we thought we were going to get originally, but he had 15 months there till he could come back to us. He's a firm believer in the mission and their progress, but I think it was just a hard day for him as well.

Then I got the girls and we met the outlaws and Erin at TGI Fridays for dinner. Abs was in one of her moods so I already knew it was going to be a hard meal.

I won't even get into the little things that happened, but Erin now knows what I was talking about when I said my inlaws were freaks. I was holding Tucker and Abs was under the table. When I realized what was going on, I handed Tucker back to his mom and grabbed Abs out from under the table. I went to take her outside and my MIL grabbed my arm and said she wanted to talk to her and calm Abs down. I flung it (her arm) away. I took Abs outside and spoke to her and put her in time out. We were outside of the restaurant and there is constant traffic so I wasn't about to leave her side. My MIL came out and started rubbing my arm and telling me in front of Abs that I was being too hard on her. She acted up and I took her out of the situation to have her regain control. That's wrong????? Then she told me that I wasn't being nice to her and while Abs was spouting off stuff and crying, my MIL went over and told her that if she behaved she could have dessert. I told my MIL and Abs that was not going to happen. Abs lost dessert already when we were inside and she was playing Helen Keller and grabbing food off of Em's plate. My MIL kept in on me and kept talking to Abs while she was in time out. If she wanted to voice her opinions she could have done it somewhere else when I had time, not in front of my child, I wasn't going to go that route. I kept my mouth shut but I was furious.

Abs finally was calm and we went back in. The waitress came and I ordered dessert for Em and Junior. Erin and I split something and my inlaws, who never order dessert, ordered one that Abs likes. Erin asked me if I thought they would let her have it, and I knew they would. I made it clear to Abs that she was not to have any dessert, taste any dessert or lick any spoons, and made sure my inlaws heard me. They didn't let her have any thank goodness or I would have lost it.

My MIL was talking about Tucker and Junior and asked which one she was going to take home. I was already upset (trust me there was tons more that happened) and told her she didn't get either of them. Then Abs came up about something else and my MIL told me "Abs is NOT bad and I shouldn't say that." I about flipped! I never said that, I would never say that as I don't care how much of a handful a child is, they are NEVER bad. Their behavior might be less than desirable, but never the child. I said "I NEVER said she was bad." I was furious that she said it at all, much less in front of my children. I held Tucker and started to cry, but tried to keep it in before I really lost it.

My MIL then told me that she would have different hours at work soon so she would take the kids so I didn't have to deal with them. They go to school, I don't need them taken care of by someone else. I am not on the verge of "losing it". I am not a bad mother. I am not unhappy or wanting to pass my children off to anyone. I love them with all my heart. Abs was having a rough day and we were dealing with it. She wasn't getting beaten, I wasn't hurting her, I wasn't being mean or rude to her.

Then we go out to the car and I realize that Junior has pooped. I told them that I needed to change his diaper. She (my MIL) told me he just dropped ice cream on his pants. I informed her that he had pooped and she insisted that it was ice cream. I looked in his diaper, Erin was there and saw too, he had exploded. But what do I know, I am just his mother and primary caregiver.

I could go on and on about all the crappy things that were said and done tonight by them. I was actually kind of glad that Erin was there, although embarrassed, so that someone could see how they are and what they do.

I came home and called my mom and started crying. I missed my Dad. I missed my husband. I was disgusted with the behavior of my inlaws. My mom was relieved when Erin called and told me she was coming over. I don't know what I did to deserve such a great, understanding, caring, thoughtful, outrageous, funny, friend. Thank you Erin for being such a friend and for sitting through the dinner from hell with me and making me see that it isn't me, that they (the inlaws) are truly strange and inconsiderate people.

Found

As I was in bed last night I remembered that I had to use my id card to observe. Whew. Called this morning and was able to declare my love for the school secretary.

Still no word from Gunner. Hopefully he calls this weekend sometime so that the kids can speak to him. Oh yeah, and me too.

I wanted to wear my chaco's this morning and went to do a quick paint job on my toenails. I am better off leaving that to the professionals.

Especially thinking of my dad today, as I do every day.

Lost

Status of my ID card: Unknown at this time.

Of all the things I try to keep an extra careful eye on. I left Ab's play yesterday, put it in my purse and now I can't find it anywhere. I cleaned the car. I cleaned my purse.

So tomorrow before I meet a friend for coffee I will try to go to the id card place with my POA, my book of forms Gunner organized for me and try to get another one. Not exactly something you want running around out in the open.

Done

I finally finished all of my observation hours, with the last 7 this week. What a relief. I still need to compile everything, summarize, and all that good stuff, but at least I have 2 weeks to do that without the added pressure of not having my hours done!

Today starts the training for the Muddy Buddy or training for one of the many other things that I want to do. I say training, very very loosely.

The girls have swim lessons again tonight. They are doing really well. They wanted goggles and I found some at Walgreens that were $12.99. I wouldn't buy them. I found two pairs for $1.49 at walmart or something. The girls tell me they don't work. So much for saving money!

Still no word recently from Gunner. Hopefully soon.

Wordless Wednesday

Intently watching Barney.

Weekend Away

Next weekend Erin and I are headed off to relax at the Deployed Soldiers Family Foundation weekend getaway in Dallas. I think by the time we reach Dallas after driving three hours with 4 kids, we might need a weekend getaway....with a stiff drink!

Anyway, it sounds like a lot of fun and we are signed up to get our haircut. There are also massages, etc. The kids will have age appropriate activities and the hotel where we are staying has an indoor/outdoor pool. I can tell you where my kids will be at night!

These weekends are offered periodically to Fort Hood spouses so that they might have a reprieve from the daily grind. There are tons of volunteers and Tucker will even have his own caregiver! (Once they meet Abs and Junior they might want to get some one-on-one defense on them as well.)

And Erin wrote nice things about me here. :)

Knocking on Wood

I sterilized.

I prepared.

I mowed the lawn.

So far we are all good to go.

Whew.

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.

What next...

I got a call today from Ab's teacher. Apparently she just couldn't manage to get anything done today. She gave me her cell phone number and asked me to call. I showed up instead.


Since it was raining and they couldn't go outside, there was little Abs wallowing on her desk with her head down not participating. Poor kiddo. I took her outside to talk to her. She informed me that her brain had more important things to think about today than what the teacher wanted her to do. I told her she could save those things to think about when she was not busy doing school work. Then I cleaned her absolutely filthy face, kissed her, talked to her teacher a bit and went on my way.


Not even an hour and a half later Gunner picked the girls up because Abs had a physical therapy appointment. What he was met with was his first grade daughter who had drawn a beard and a mustache on her face as well as colored her hands.

Good grief, what will this child think of next.

And these are the days of Ab's life.....I can't wait till she has a child of her own!!!

Counting Time

Obviously in order to practice good OPSEC I can't give more details, but we are down to counting time. Very little time. Not enough time. You get the picture.

We've been bums all weekend and enjoying all of Gunner's favorite foods. I don't think one of the foods is on WW, but I will be back on the program once he is gone. I couldn't deny him all the things that he will miss. Tonight we will have German food. Yum. Crepes for dessert.

I ordered the girls dog tags with a picture of them and their father. Once he deploys, the girls will be able to post a picture of their dad on the 'Wall of Heroes" up at school. A high school collected and donated teddy bears for each of the children at the girls' elem. school to have a bear once their father deploys.

Gunner HAS to pack tonight. He can't put it off any longer.