Stay home all weekend?

For not being very social people, we sure don't stay home very much. My neighbor told me that she gets tired from seeing us run around all day and then take the kids outside to play. Me too!

Saturday we ran errands, visited the local thrift shops again looking for chicken soup bowls. We looked at furniture since I have new table fever (last one is 15 years old and has a crack down the middle, it's time!). We took a long bike ride. So long in fact that Em quit about halfway through. We need to work on her stamina. Granted it is pretty hilly!

Sunday we decided to head to the local zoo. I'm not a big zoo person, but when we were stationed at Fort Lewis, we got a yearly pass and visited all the time because it kept the kids entertained, outside, and happy. The yearly passes at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo are $87 for a family, and there's a $10 discount if you are military. Considering it would have cost close to $50 for a one day visit, we just have to visit the zoo twice in order to pay for the pass. I can imagine that we will spend much more time there.

Your pass also gets you into the Shrine, which we didn't have time to visit. As soon as you enter the zoo, you see the giraffes.

You can buy crackers to feed the giraffes at 3 for $1. Thank goodness we only have three kids.
They divide the zoo up into different regions, and include the types of houses that they have there. Of course Junior had to explore them all.
Even Abs got in on the action. (Yes, I let her go out in public without matching. I have given up.)
We took a dozen shots trying to get everyone to look at the camera.
Forced them into another group photo. One day I am sure they will thank me...or need therapy, but I am hoping it will be a thanks.

We hung out with the wallaby people for a while. I bet they had never met three children that asked so many questions.
Made friends with a giant bear.
We rode the sky tram. I hate heights.
But everyone else had a good time.
We rode it up. And down. And up. And down. Apparently you can ride it as much as you want after you purchase the tickets. It was $17 for the 5 of us, after showing our new zoo card. Not something we will do very often, but fun.
I couldn't even get them to look at me. But with a view like this, who can blame them?


You have to dismount every time you reach the top or the bottom, so more time for family shots. (Maybe one day I will make a shot!)

The end result was that Junior couldn't stay awake while he ate his cheerios.
We ended the day with a run by Whole Foods to pick up dinner and artichokes.
It was good, but it did require me to get a long run in the next day. In the meantime I am trying to find a good book about seeing Colorado with kiddos, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.

So much

We have been running around like crazy. More posts and pictures to come soon.

School has started.

Daycare starts soon.

My school starts soon.

We are slowly getting unpacked...just don't go to the basement.

Met another blogger and her daughter!

Saw my friend Erin finally!

Went to the zoo.

Potty training is not going so hot.

Went to a haunted castle.

Ate ice cream from some famous place in Old Colorado City.

Started my half marathon training plan.

I'm caught up on laundry, even with the 3 changes I had to do for Junior at the park today.

Discovered a love of pesto....on everything.

Turned the heater on this morning because I was freezing.

And more....to come later....

I did it!

I took advantage of the My Career Advancement Account, and signed up for two classes. They are online and are a specialized teacher certification that I would like to get. I got the classes approved, so I registered, and now wait for them to pay for it. I'm excited, because you know I love to take courses!

My birthday is coming up and Gunner asked me what I wanted to do. Then he looked at my toenails and suggested a pedicure. I know that I need one, but I was thinking more along the lines of a trip to the mountains!

Outrageous

I went and had a meeting at Ab's school today with the TAG teacher. Abs had an amazing teacher for first and second grade, absolutely amazing. She was in a TAG class of 10 kids and she excelled.

Fast forward to Colorado Springs, where there will be 28 kids in her class. The class is tiny. The teacher seemed nice enough, but I was in shock over 28 kids. How in the world can you differentiate with 28 kids? What happens to those kids who find everything easy? What about those that find everything hard? I had 22 students, but much more would have made it extremely difficult to meet the needs of all of my students.

I talked to the principal and was less than impressed. He told me that Colorado schools ranked higher than Texas. Ummm.....based on his poor grammar, I find that hard to believe, but then I went to Texas schools, so what do I know?

I will give it a few weeks and go from there. No ideas on what to do.

Junior cracked his head open this morning. He was running and tripped and caught his forehead on the corner of the schrank. It swelled up, but didn't bleed much. I emailed a pic to my mom who said he would be okay, but I drove to Carson to let Gunner take a look. He said that he didn't need stitches (not sure I agree with that) and he came home to keep him while I went to my meeting at Ab's school. So far, so good. He'll have a nice scar from this I am sure. Gunner keeps telling me that scars on boys are cool. Maybe on other boys, but not mine!


And the potty training front....not much better today. He peed all over his carseat and then came home and I asked him to undress so I could change him. Instead he went over and peed on the floor and wall. Maybe diapers till he is 10 isn't such a bad idea?

Lost

I am lost without a to-do list each and every day. I will accomplish nothing, which when you have three kids, makes you feel like a mess!

Potty training is going okay. The secret seems to be if he thinks his sisters will sit on his little potty. So if he doesn't want to pee, I ask Abs or Em if they want to, and he will race there and be naked in a split second. On the advice of a friend, we made a sticker chart. He pottied 15 times, earned a toy, then pooped in his underwear.

Progress?

Yesterday we toured a haunted castle, had ice cream, and scoured the thrift shop. Pictures to come. I should have taken a picture of the eccentric woman at the entrance.

I'm meeting with the TAG teacher at Ab's school today, followed by new parent orientation, and an ice cream social. Gunner gets to work. Lucky guy!

I'm looking at new dining room tables. I want one. We are still using the same table that Gunner bought me before we were married, for less than a hundred bucks.

I also discovered pesto sauce. Where has it been all my life?

The Hitchhiker

The lady on the trail offered to let me try it out with Abs, but I didn't want to crash on it!

It's kind of wobbly. Abs doesn't have to pedal, but it helps if she does. It has really worked on her balance too. I can tell when she is looking around and not paying attention as we start to wobble even more.

We rode in circles around the street until we got the hang of it.

Still going in circles.

So the end result is that Abs loves it! It takes some getting used to it, but I can definitely feel it in my legs today, but I was still able to get a 4.5 mile run in at the gym this morning. We found it on clearance at Target for $58, and once we get Abs riding on her own, we will use it on Junior when he is older and will hang on.

Abs is begging to ride "our" bike again, so how can I say no to that? We are headed off to meet Gunner's friend who just moved in the neighborhood.

Sunday Bike Ride

We headed out Sunday morning to take a family bike ride. Em didn't have a helmet, so Gunner gave her his, and we headed out to ride to the px in order to buy her one.

There is a small hill before we get to a HUGE hill, but I was sure that we could take it. Of course I wasn't the one pulling a hundred pounds of children behind my bike.

We got halfway up the first hill, when Gunner and Em decided it would be faster to park the bikes and they would go up this set of stairs.
We waited for a while, and then Abs and Junior decided we wanted to climb the 500 stairs. By the time I got the bikes situated, they were off and running up the stairs. We were about 50 steps from the top when Gunner and Em reappeared and told us that we could turn around. Not a chance! We finished, and the view was great!

We hiked back down, and then finally took off on the bike ride. Em started in with the complaining because she was tired and ready to be done.

Em sporting her new helmet.
We took off, and headed to the Santa Fe trail. It was beautiful! A great place to run or walk or ride. It's only about a mile from the house and we could drive there and park, which we might have to do next time.

We ran into a family that had one of those hitchhikers for the back of the bike. I flipped out, as I have been researching them and reading reviews. They got theirs for $80 at Target, and said they loved it. I was worried about the sizing since Abs is 8 now, but she still doesn't have the balance that she should to ride a bike--mental note to get her reevaluated for PT again. I sized her on their bike, and we headed off again.

Junior fell asleep.

We started heading back and by this time Em had had enough.
She quit and wanted me to ride back and get the car and pick her up. She eventually made it back.

Last of the Garden of the Gods

Family portrait....minus me of course. :)

We turned our back on Junior for 5 seconds and he ran...

The little stinker.

Entrepreneurs. Maybe they will use the money for haircuts?

Garden of the Gods Part III

My mom needs pics of the grandkids...

These are the kissing camels. Gunner was less than excited about anything relating to camels.

They were still smiling at least!

A bench we found.

They are more excited about their dad being in the picture than me, what's up with that?

More Garden of the Gods

Trying to make his mama happy and be excited about hiking?

A rare shot of me....

My four children...

A rare family shot!

Garden of the Gods

We finally unpacked the wires for the card reader.

The best shot out of the 500 it took for us to get all of them to look at me at the same time.

Beautiful....

Junior

Yes, he is carrying around what you think he is. Poor kid.

What to do...

We wanted to do something fun today, but then reality set in. We have to get unpacked before school starts, and potty training isn't any fun while on the go.

We unpacked.

Went to Walmart.

Went to the commissary.

Had 6 accidents with Junior. Ugh. He was great all day yesterday while we were shopping, but today he had no interest in it. He even started screaming "I don't want to use the potty".

Nope, the m&m's aren't working. Reading books while he sits there works for a bit.

He won't poop on there. We'll keep plugging away.

There are a bunch of girls Ab's age in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, she's not very social, so while she always leaves to play with them, within 5 minutes she has wandered off by herself and discovered something new and exciting.

They want to play house, and she doesn't want to be bothered with that.

I went to visit my friend Jessie yesterday that lives here. We met when we both worked at the Consulate in Germany, and have kept in touch all these years. We talked, we laughed, we cried. I'm glad I have a friend here that I can count on and knows me and accepts it all. Now 11 years later we finally live in the same town, just 20 minutes apart. Who would have thought?

Gunner wants to go to Pikes Peak tomorrow. I asked him if he was planning on taking the cog or driving. He votes for driving. Ummmm.....his driving around town scares me! I went up Pikes Peak when I was a kid, and I remember my brother telling me that the road was straight up. I believed him and strapped myself down in our old Dodge van. Then when we got up to the top he told me that I would blow off and never be seen again. I was 7 and gullible. We got to the top, went out for a walk, he told me how I could blow away, and I proceeded to walk around on my hands and knees. I told the girls this story and they looked at me like I was insane. Great.

I'm thinking Pikes Peak will have to hold off till Junior is a little bit more potty trained. Let's hope he starts making some progress soon!

Houston, we have preschool

I found preschool for Junior. Two days a week for three hours until they have an opening for the three day a week. It's on the place where we live, so it's convenient, across from the fitness center, and not far from home. Those three hours will go fast, but Junior needs the interaction....and most importantly, I need a break!

We started potty training again. Well, we didn't actually start until this afternoon, but it's a step in the right direction....again.

We are armed with new Sesame Street underwear, the potty, a bag of m&m's, and a 4 day weekend. Wish us luck.

The first time he wanted to stand up and go like the little boy Michael in his potty book. No one told me I needed to teach him to control it! It was like a wild fire hose, and our living room was covered in pee. Good times.

The preschool says they don't even have a diaper changing table in there, but they will work with me to get him potty trained aka your son will be potty trained ASAP because we don't want to change diapers. I'm so ready to be done with diapers too.

We got Em signed up for her electives today. She wants a year of French, but it depends on whether or not they have 20 people and can hold the class. If not, she will take Spanish.

Random happenings in our household:

Junior carried a stick around and tries to change people into things when he gets mad. The magic word is apparently "Poop". He just can't get that F sound.

Abs's nail biting has gotten worse. She is chewing them down till they bleed. I'm at a loss as to what to do.

Gunner was joking around with Abs and asked her if she needed to wear deoderant. She said "Maybe, sometimes my armpits smell like burritos." My baby is growing up. Sad thing is, I could never trust her with a stick of deoderant, she would probably color her floor with it, carve hieroglyphic designs in it, or create a pattern on the floor of the bathroom to see if it really repelled water. I don't think her school knows what they have in store for them.

So You Think You Can Dance always makes me cry at the finale. I need a life.

I hate Staff Duty and CQ because Gunner is always a grump the next day.

Em was riding her bike yesterday and wanted to borrow my ipod. It was dead from the last time she borrowed it. Of course a pre-teen girl can't ride a bike without music, so she took a short wave radio that my dad gave me almost 15 years ago and tied it to her handlebars with a bandanna. She was happy. I was happy she came up with a solution and it didn't cost me any money. She's a hoot.

Tomorrow is school clothes shopping. I can hardly wait.

No Doubt

Gunner loves me.

He was so excited this morning to call and tell me about a free 10K and half marathon where we are living. Gotta love the military! We opted for the 10K since there is no way I will be prepared for a half in two weeks. Next time I'll be ready though! The starting time is 6:00 in the morning. Seriously????

We hit the gym this morning so I could run 4 miles, swim 2 miles, lift, and the girls could play the wii for two hours. Junior just runs and climbs there. I love the Gold's gym here! My membership is over at the end of the month and I am still debating on whether or not to continue it.

The kids road bikes today. Well I spent over an hour running after Abs on her bike trying to get her to ride on her own. There has to be an easier way. She voted for hooking her bike up to the trainer and riding in place. I continued running after her, but she still has the balance problem. We'll work on it more tomorrow. Junior collects rocks in the back of his tricycle. He calls them honey and keeps yelling for the bears to come visit him. He is going to have great muscles because that's at least an added 10 pounds with the rocks. (Yes, he's wearing Em's hat)

After riding/chasing for a while we headed off to the PX/BX to get the rest of Em's school supplies. We wandered around for a while and then headed to the fitness center. We got a pool pass--freaking expensive, I miss Fort Hood pools for free! I got a tour of the gym and even signed up for their incentive program. You choose what you want to do--run, elliptical, swim, etc., and then when you reach a certain milestone that they have set, you earn a water bottle, towel, gym bag, etc. I have 50 miles for the water bottle. I'm a woman on a mission.

Gunner had CQ so we cooked dinner, made a rhubarb crumb pie, and watched a storm roll in.

The storms here are beautiful. For all the thunder and lightening you would think we would have a torrential downpour, but that rarely happens. The thunder echos off the mountains, the command center tells us to take cover, and then eventually we'll have a short rain while the thunder and lightening continues. I love it.

Tomorrow Em has to take her math test at school to place her in the proper class. Gunner has a 5 day weekend and we have school clothes to buy, bikes to learn to ride, maybe a trip to Pikes Peak, find the parts to the bike trailer and get a few bike rides in, and of course, run, run, run. I've been investigating a few triathlons and am trying to get into one that is closed. It's a women's tri, and it sounds like fun, but they are booked. I am on the waiting list and hoping for the best. There's a few more that I have my eye on as well. I think I am getting used to the altitude, finally.

All the kids are in bed, and hopefully about to fall asleep. I hear a piece of rhubarb pie calling my name...

Another day....

I didn't get the job I interviewed for. Know what they offered me though? I can be a permanent sub, which means I can sub in a class, sub in the cafeteria, sub in the lunch room, clean up barf, or work with kids. Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather sit at home and collect unemployment and end up with more money in the end. I don't want to clean up my own children's vomit, much less anyone elses!

I had a Plan B, but I am thinking about coming up with a plan C. Maybe I will go back into the business world. I have a MBA, I was good at what I did, and I never had any stress or had to worry about taking my job home. There's a lot to be said for that.

I'd like to say that I could become a home organization guru, but seriously I can't keep anything organized in this house. Guess that cleaning and sorting could be my new plan.

I could see about jobs on post. I could see about jobs on base. I could just be a bum, albeit an overly educated one.

Today I could probably write a book titled 1001 reasons why it sucks if your husband is in the military. Of course tomorrow it could be 1001 reasons why I don't mind the military.

Nursing a killer headache and not feeling overly optimistic today.

Took the kids to Focus on the Family today. It's entirely free and they have a playroom, slides, climbing areas, hands on stuff, and a gigantic bookstore. The kids had a good time, and I was hoping it would wear Junior out, but not even close.

I took an hour nap though while I plopped the kids in front of the tv. Mom of the year in the making I am sure.

I'm off to redo my resume and come up with a new plan, wish me luck!

Help me!

Either I need to get a job or school needs to start soon.

I had another interview today for a 4th grade position. I would love to have it, but if I don't get it, I have another plan.

My new plan? Going back to school of course! The University of Colorado offers some certifications that I'd like to get, and I can volunteer in the meantime.

I did get my first unemployment payment, and that's always nice. Thankfully Texas is one of the states that gives unemployment to military spouses when they have to PCS. I love Texas anyway, but this sure helps out while I search for employment. We didn't have a lot of time before school started when we arrived, so I knew that the pickings would be slim. It's all good.

We went hiking at Garden of the Gods yesterday and it was absolutely beautiful. We followed up with pizza at Fargo's. I'm in love with their mexican pizza!

Pictures of the hiking to follow, once I find the card reader.

We went shopping for school supplies this afternoon. Over $200 later we are done except for notebook paper, which Walmart was out of. They require a lot more supplies here than they do in Texas. Half of my students last year didn't even show up with school supplies, and we really didn't ask for that much!

Abs has settled in, the newness has worn off, and the kids are fighting again. Junior wants to play with his sisters all the time, so the girls trick him into going into his room, lock his baby gate, and then tell him they'll be back shortly. That works for about 10 minutes and then he starts crying for them to come back and rescue him. Poor kiddo!

I'm addicted to monsters again. I just need that little burst of energy to make it through the last part of the day. Some days I need it more than others, like today.

Chicken and rice for dinner. Hopefully everyone will fall asleep before 11 tonight....hopefully.

She's Home!

We finally got up and moving this morning.

We headed towards Denver to get Abs.

We stopped off at the outlet mall to get Junior a new pair of shoes. I of course had to hit Banana and found two shirts and two pairs of pants. I love being able to find my smaller size on the clearance racks now! Makes shopping so much easier and cheaper.

We left Banana and were headed back to the car when we saw this tall teenager trying to lean against the wall, all of the sudden he fell right in front of us. He had his two little sisters there who didn't know what to do. At first I thought he was on something, but Gunner went over and tried to get his attention and was asking him if he was okay.

A lady near us saw the whole thing and said he looked and was responding like her son who had seizures. Gunner got him to open his eyes while the lady went and found his dad. They got him to sit up and he kept falling and couldn't keep his balance. They brought him water and Gunner started running through this list of questions.

Gunner moved him out of the sun and the kid was still out of it, weird eyes and everything. Finally he snapped back and didn't remember a thing. His dad called 911 and we walked off. It was scary though. The lady kept telling his dad about how he was reacting like it was a seizure and the kid just didn't know what was happening, and the Dad looked pretty freaked out. Hopefully he is okay now.

We left there, had lunch, and then headed to my friend Dave's house. We walked all over Center Park (?). Junior was exhausted. It was absolutely beautiful though. We went and got frozen custard where you could choose your own topping that could only be had by putting it in the bottom of your cone. Weird.

We drove around Denver and saw a ton of stuff that we want to come back and checkout the next time we head up there. We dropped off Dave, and headed out to get Abs. The airport was 20 minutes away, but we left over an hour before we needed to be there.

I got my security pass while Gunner and the kids waited at the baggage claim. I saw in the security line forever where I met the lady behind me who noticed my military id card and asked me about Gunner. Her husband visited Iraq once on a congressional visit--he was a congressman. She thanked us for his service and talked about how she couldn't thank me or him enough or the kids. The colleague she was traveling with joined in on the praise, made me feel good.

I ran through security, to find that I needed to catch a tram and go three terminals over. Did that, and then ran through 2o gates to find Ab's gate, and a plane was unloading. I asked a Southwest employee if the plane was from Austin, but she said it was from Orlando. She went to make sure, and I heard Austin and started to panic. It had taken me 45 minutes to get to the gate while running!

I turned around, then back around, and there was my Abs. I was so excited to see her with her new haircut and her bags of dinosaur books. She took everything in stride as I signed her away from the attendant. Then she started talking.

She talked and talked and talked. We made the long trip back to the baggage claim, where Junior freaked out when he saw his sister. He was ecstatic! Gunner grabbed her up in a big bear hug, and even Em let her little sister hug her for a few moments. We grabbed her things (while she continued to talk) and then we walked out with Junior and Abs holding hands and Abs still talking.

We decided to stop for dinner somewhere, and I started reading off signs. I said Landry's, and Gunner thought I said let's go there. I had instead said something to the effect of that's a nice restaurant and expensive. Next thing I knew we were pulling up outside the restaurant.

We went inside and I cringed. It was so nice and quiet in there, and Abs was still talking. Abs doesn't usually do well in any restaurant, but we settled in and although the meals were expensive we went ahead and ordered. We got Junior a $2.99 meal of mac & cheese. Our food arrived and I was stirring Junior's to get some of the heat off and noticed that it was cold. I let the waiter know, he apologized and whisked it away to the kitchen. The manager arrived with a piping hot platter of mac & cheese and apologized and said he would take care of it. I figured we were saving $2.99, but when our bill came, they took off 7 times that amount. I was shocked since I really didn't even mind since they corrected the problem, but they insisted.

So dinner wasn't so bad after all, and everyone left full and happy.

We came home and Abs was excited about seeing her room. She walked in, walked around, then we showed her around. Her response to every room "That's not too remarkable". She went to the restroom where she immediately stopped it up. Abs is home. I couldn't be happier, even after her 20th time of coming out and asking for water, a hug, to tell us one more thing, and one more time to be tucked in.

Tomorrow should be interesting!

My daughter...

Read this.

More Random Thoughts

It is 62 degrees outside. It's over 100 where we came from. Sorry folks, I had to put a sweatshirt on!

Junior is about to drive me bonkers. He wants to eat nothing but string cheese. I'm surprised he's not stopped up.

We toured Em's school yesterday. It looks so big. Too big. They do have the 6th grade in one wing except for specials, so I'm sure it will be okay, or at least I keep telling myself that.

I love our house. The basement is WONDERFUL to store all that crap that I didn't sort though before we moved. Gunner is making me do it now, but Junior sees it and wants it all. A boy after his grandmother's house.

Abs will be here in a few short days! We are going to the Art Museum and seeing my friend Dave before Abs flies in. I hope the airline can handle her. I told my mom to coach her about not screaming "We're going down!" when the plane turns. Last time we flew the other passengers were not amused, neither was I.

Our community office place has fresh cookies every day, and Em and Junior ask for one every time we go by. I wish they would forget. They try to think of reasons for us to go there, and as much as I would love one, it's not happening.

I hit the gym this morning and ran 2.5 miles. I'm getting back to where I was. I'm already looking at a triathlon in September. The swim portion is a little short, but it's in a pool. It's the fastest part for me, so I wish they would make that 16 miles!

We are slowly getting unpacked. Very slowly.

Junior and I went for a walk/run the other day, and I just can't get over how pretty it is here. Remind me of that when it is freezing cold, as I don't handle cold too well!

Does anyone know if there is a military place you can rent houses like you can in Washington at Pacific Beach?

Not even sure....

My friend Dave came in this weekend and helped us hang pictures and unpack. We enjoyed a bottle of wine and a night of catching up as well. We met in college via the sailing team, and have been friends for over 18 years.

Gunner grew up as an Air Force brat. He doesn't get that. I lived in the same house for all of my school career. I knew everyone I graduated with, although some I would like to forget! I have friends that I still talk to regularly that I knew when I was 11 or 12 years old. Gunner doesn't have any of that. Of course he isn't notorious for keeping in touch either.

I hit the gym this morning and ran a few miles, although not very fast. We need mountain bikes. There are tons of trails here, but we can't pull the bike trailer on the road bikes. Shoot, I can hardly keep myself up on those!

We unpacked the jogging stroller, so I see a lot of evening runs. The weather is perfect here, and with the installation of two window units, I am back to sleeping in a super cold room.

We still don't have school supplies or school clothes, but we still have 2 1/2 weeks to get it all together.

Junior's skin is doing great so far. He is still scratching like crazy, but so far no weird skin lesions or anything have been forming. His last round left huge scars though on his side, back and knee. I might try that mederma for kids on it to see if it will help with the scars.

....I'm really bad about posting these days. Junior and I went for a run this morning, but the altitude got to me, so it was a run/walk. It was cool, beautiful, and no speeding cars or wildlife to contend with. I love where we live!

This Saturday we pick up Abs from the airport. She has spent the last three weeks while we have lived in a hotel, eaten out, and lived in limbo. She doesn't do well with any of that, and I can't thank my mom enough for keeping her and helping us out!

Gunner is picking up our birthday presents today....mountain bikes. There are so many trails to ride, and I picked up a book on trails to hike as well. We have been waiting till Abs got here to really do much of anything, and I can't wait to get started!

When we go to Denver on Saturday we are going to hit the pool at Dave's house, visit the Art Museum and then have a relaxing dinner before we get my little tornado. I told my mom to coach her on not screaming out "We're going down!" when the plane starts to turn. I'm sure she'll be fine....I just hope whoever sits next to her is fine too!

Off to run shot records to the junior high--I can't believe we have a child in middle school! Em is chomping at the bit to get her school supplies too. My neighbor told me that every student gets laptops at school, so I guess we will find out soon enough. Abs is going to a school that specializes in math and science.

Em is excited about me being home, and insists that we should have hot chocolate and cinnamon cookies every day for afternoon tea. Guess I better drag up a good recipe and learn to be holly homemaker!

Sort of plugged in...

We don't get internet access until tomorrow, but I found an unsecured network so I can do a few things.

We are moved in, and nowhere close to being unpacked. Thankfully we have a HUGE basement so it looks better upstairs than it could.

Part of our schrank got broken, a german cabinet, Em's brand new furniture got damaged in the move and parts of it broken. We also had some holes, a missing vacuum, and parts of a quilt rack missing too. That's just the beginning of it, I'm afraid of what we are going to discover in the next few days. Oh, and they lost all the parts to Ab's bunkbeds! I was starting to get kind of grumpy till my friend was telling me on facebook how her stuff was coming by train after they moved back to the States from Germany, way back when. The train derailed and they lost it all. Kind of puts things in perspective.

The one thing that we have noticed here on base is that the people are so nice! Even Em says it about everyone we have met or interacted with.

We scored at the BX this morning on patio furniture--a table and 6 chairs for less than $100. It was 40% off and who can't use a good sale like that? I did have problems getting it in the car till a retired couple that watched me chase after Junior Houdini when he got out of the child seat in the cart, the man helped me load and unload my car until he could get it all in there and strapped to the top.

Gunner has a 4 day weekend and my friend Dave is coming in tomorrow to spend the weekend with us. I'm putting him to work.

Triathlon training starts again on Monday and as soon as I am back up to speed, I am hoping to get a few more tris (or one) in before the end of the season. We also have to get school clothes, school supplies, finish unpacking, and all that good stuff. We did get Junior to the doctor and all of his medical forms filled out and they gave us an epi pen to give to the daycare people. Let's hope they never have to use it.

A day out

I had to get out of the house today.

We hit a few thrift stores and scored some good deals. Junior now has 20 batman action figures to play with. He has a large one that my brother and SIL gave him, which he has made the daddy Batman and all the rest are the kids. It's already provided plenty of entertainment and this is before Gunner gets home and plays with it.

I found a vintage Pizza Inn glass. My family used to visit Pizza Inn and get the paper thin crust each time. Good memories!

Two Apollo 13 glasses that I love!

A dinosaur glass to add to Ab's collection of the Welch's jelly jars with a different dinosaur on each one.

Two wooden puzzles. Junior and Abs are obsessed with the States. Junior can already rattle off a list of them.

And two chicken soup bowls for my mom.

Gunner has a 4 day weekend to receive HHG and unpack. Whew.

One of my best friends is coming to spend the weekend with us and help us unpack. Can't wait to see him!

We are about to hit the pool for the last time during this hotel stay.

I can't wait to sleep in my own bed tomorrow night. Now I just need to find the perfect job!

Mental note for my next PCS--Spring for the Residence Inn Marriott. It will be worth the difference to have a bed bigger than a double and a kitchen.

Lions and Coyotes and Bears, OH MY!

When we signed for our new housing, they told us that there was a black bear problem in our neighborhood.

I knew we were living in the moutains, next to a forest.......

I just never even thought of mountain lions or bears. Coyotes we have in Texas, and I never had a problem with them.

I saw a bear on my first day in Alaska while visiting my sister.

Apparently though, the bears are out there a lot.

I went over and introduced myself to my new neighbor. First thing out of her mouth was about the bear problem. She said there was a black bear out in our cul-de-sac every day. The mountain lions were attacking the deer behind our other neighbor's house yesterday. She hasn't seen any coyotes.

When we were dealing with CYS yesterday one of the employees heard where we were living, and she immediately told us about the bear problem.

I love where we live because it isn't so congested or busy, so if a few bears come our way, I can live with that!

It's a Brand New Day

I am now prescribing to my son Junior's philosophy of life. Every morning he wakes up, looks around, and shouts out "It's a brand new day!".

I searched for daycare last night. Some people recommended a nanny, but I am living in a hotel right now.

I signed up for a service my sister uses to find a sitter, but $10-$15 an hour doesn't justify me working. I have a call into a center that the on post daycare recommended. Junior is 3 though, and many daycares are maxed out in that age group, plus he isn't potty trained which elminates most preschools, Potty training is not going too well here in Casa La Quinta.

I can only try though. I left a message for the principal so hopefully he will call back and we can discuss a few options my friend Dave and I came up with last night. If it doesn't work out, then I will move on with plan B.

We are stuffed to the gills here, and are finally finding the time today to move our bikes, the trainer, my tri-gear, my school books, and all the spices that we hand carried, over to the house. Maybe the housekeeper won't faint when she comes in.

I thought we were going to be forced to do laundry today, but I found a bag of clean clothes that I grabbed from my mom's dryer the morning we left. I cringe when I think about spending a $1.25 to wash a load of clothes, and you know that they have the smallest washers possible so that what I can cram into one load at home takes 4-5 loads in a hotel!

We've tried three new restaurants in the past two days, and while they were great, I can't wait to eat at home again!

Please explain the logic to me....

Today we went to stop by to fill out the registration paperwork for the girls, and they let us do Junior while we were there. They called us last Tuesday and said that they had an opening for him. Great!

So as we are filling out the paperwork, they see that he is allergic to eggs. They asked for his paperwork, which we had a copy of the old one, and they said that wasn't good enough. We needed to get a new form filled out, saying what they can substitute for eggs (ie beans, cheese, etc.). Okay, great, so can he still start on Tuesday?

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Why not you ask? Because after they get that paper back they have to send it to the Community Health Nurse, who has THIRTY DAYS to sign it and get it back. Will they save his spot? No, we get put at the bottom of the waiting list.

I was livid. But it's not his fault or mine that he is allergic to eggs. Shoot, we did all this stuff for the last daycare and they still fed him eggs. I called the daycare that he used to go to (since I love them so much) and asked them to fax over the newest dietary requirements for Junior.

Of course since he has been out over a week they have pulled the paper and hopefully filed it.

It was 3 pm on a Friday and she said she wouldn't get to it till Monday, and then she would fax it over. They changed the sheet in November, right before Thanksgiving, so I know that they have a valid one, it's just a matter of whether or not they kept it.

So now I can't get a job at all, because my son is being denied care because he has an allergy.

I really think I could have gone postal. They told me I could go off post and probably find something immediately. That's looking better and better, but I remember last time I investigated daycares at Hood that were located off post, and there were incidents at every single one.

I don't know what to do now. I guess I will just hang out and waste everything that I worked for since there is no way to get Junior in to the doctor till next week sometime (it might be two weeks since it doesn't qualify for a same day appointment) and then the nurse has 30 days to sign off on the form, which puts us after the start of school.

And I guess the icing on the cake is that we went through the whole process, TWICE, of having all of our information and forms sent to Carson by Hood, and now they don't have anything. I didn't even put down that Abs had ADHD because I am sure that would postpone things for months and months.

So even if I get offered a job, from my second interview, I won't be able to take it. Then they jumped all over me about Em and Junior being in a playroom unsupervised. I said I didn't see a problem with it since she was allowed to babysit siblings at home for up to two hours.

......As I am writing this, I got a phone call from the place where I interviewed. I let it go to voicemail and just listened to it. I got the job. Now what.....

Here We Go!

The kids went to sleep last night and Junior slept all night long. Thank goodness! I don't think that Gunner and I could have handled another sleepless night!

The interview went well, but if I got offered the position I would have to start Monday. I don't know if I could do that. Gunner was supposed to leave for school on Monday, but they had a group of them that they delayed. They decided that they needed to get their families in houses and settled before sending them off. Gunner is the schools guy now, so he can reschedule it. Whew.

The new Harry Potter came out today and Em has been all over us trying to get us to go to it.

Abs got her haircut today but won't let my mom take a picture because she wants to surprise me. I bought her a tshirt and a postcard that I need to get out to her.

Travel vouchers have been submitted. Dislocation allowance has been turned in as well. This is the part of PCSing that I love!!!!

Gunner just told me the rules of reception: No drinking. No Hiking. Cannot leave the Colorado Springs city limits. No Sexual Activity. Must wear uniform till 1700.

Sounds like good times. Wonder which rule people break the most?

Checklist

Housing is done.

Household goods will be delivered...a week after we get housing. Thank goodness for hotels!

Medical is done.

Job interview tomorrow.

Clothes for interview found.

Daycare for Junior lined up.

I know where to go register the girls for school and which schools they will be going too, just need to get all their paperwork together.

Looked inside house.

Talked to my friend Dave, and made plans for his visit.

Applied for my teacher certification in Texas. I'm glad to have the letter from my program that it was finally over and done with and I could apply!

Found out I made A's in my two classes this summer!

Still tons to do, and I am hoping we can get it all done in the next two days. I need a vacation!

It's beautiful here and we spent this evening at the pool and hot tub.

Junior did not sleep at all last night and Gunner and I are plain exhausted.

Booked Ab's ticket out to Colorado.

I'm ready for bed....

We're here!

Left this morning and just got to the hotel tonight. The kids were doing so well and we just wanted to get here. We sign for housing on Thursday on base. Yep, on base! So tired, more later...


-- Post From My iPhone

Triathlon #2

I survived! My time wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be, but I did it! My swim was better (first in my age group, woohoo!) and my transitions were faster. Focus on the positives! I hurt my ankle on the run, but nothing too serious, just a little....maybe a lot.....of pain. I'll just rest it and get ready to hit the trails in Colorado!

We are packed and loaded. Colorado or bust!

Housing plans are in the work, things seem to be working out.

Gunner is loving the weather in Colorado although he says it rains almost every evening. I can live with that.

I can't wait to see all my friends (& Gunner too!).

I'm exhausted but setting this to post in the morning when we are hopefully on our way.

Wish me luck!!!

Abs is home!

All three kids are under my mom's roof again, and it's almost 10 pm and no one is sleeping.

Junior has walked out a couple of times, given a fake yawn stretch and told us "That was a great dream".

Abs snuck a flashlight to bed, but since she is in a room with Em, Em of course had to tell. The screaming then started. "No I don't" "Yes you do" "No I don't"....it's like they never left each other's sides.

No one is sleepy except for me I think.

Gunner went to pick up a rotisserie chicken and some tortillas. They were out unfortunately, so no telling what he is dragging home for our late dinner. I just hope it's healthy!

I'm trying to study with a killer headache.

Gunner called me and he hit a deer. Thankfully he is okay, the car is okay, and the deer was little enough so there was no damage to the car. Unfortunately the deer did not make it. My mom had several thousands of dollars worth of damage to her car when she hit a deer, and I remember my friend Peggy having a ton of damage. That's not what we would need right now!

I think I am back to staying here over the summer. I've called tons of places, and we cannot stay in a two bedroom because we have three kids. BHA doesn't cover anything but drug infested, crime infested places. I'm not thrilled with keeping the kids out of school, but what the heck. Stay tuned, I might change my mind tomorrow.

I ran this morning and my foot hurts now. It can't be hurt, I have a triathlon on Sunday!

Two more days of classes....two more days. After grades are posted, they will issue our certificates and we can apply for our license. Not having it is hurting my job search as I can't apply for a license in Colorado till I get my Texas license. No rush, I know there has to be something I am qualified to do!

Gunner is home and dinner is served....