Happenings & Pictures

If you are my friend on facebook, then you've seen a lot of these pictures. 

We are in the throws of swim lessons, while there is snow on the ground.  Thankfully the pool is warm, and next week I am going to spend my 45 minutes of waiting in the hot tub this time instead of the bench.  Only Junior would pose for me.

Abs is really doing well in swimming and even falls asleep early.  That also means she is getting up at 3 am, but we're working on that too.  Em jumped up two groups, and is really picking it up fast.  Maybe by this summer they'll swim well enough to warrant a trip to Hawaii?

I went to a PEO Christmas event, and didn't buy a thing at the silent or live auction.  One of the women in the group, purchased this wreath, and gave it to me as a gift, after seeing me admire it.  It's absolutely beautiful--this picture was taken with my camera phone, so it doesn't do it justice! She's so sweet, and has a son that has similar issues to Abs, so she understands too,

Next on the list....Em got new glasses.  She loves them, thank goodness, and we avoided the Hannah Montana problems from last time.

It's been super cold here.  Down to the single digits, and negative temperatures with the wind chill.  This is our gigantic icicle.  This picture was taken yesterday, and it is now 33", but too dark to take a picture.  I thought it might melt off, but guess it didn't get that warm.  Since we will be having a few more days of freezing temps, I wonder how long it will get.

Yesterday at the AFA chapel they were having the cadet chorale perform Handel's Messiah. 

The chapel is amazing, but they were keeping it so cold in there, that I left after the Hallelujah chorus before I froze to death.  Of course with that much glass, it would be hard to keep at an acceptable temperature for everyone I suppose.

Check out that organ!

Today we went to the craft bazaar here, and I was almost disappointed until I stumbled on the last booth way in the back.  I saw this...

And I pictured this...

How could I say no?  The lady was an Air Force spouse and she had so many amazing things!  I also got this (another hat turned on its side):

Too cute!  She had ornaments (which I can't share, so Sara will be surprised, I hope she likes it!), cards, puppets, bags, tshirts, jewelry, and more.  I did get a pair of earrings, but they didn't photograph very well:

Fused glass.  I think I need more!

Abs went to build-a-bear with her Girl Scout troop, and made a little Brownie bear.  Girl Scout cookies go on sale Jan 8th, if you want to buy any from your two favorite Girl Scouts Em and Abs!

While Abs was at that, Gunner took Junior and Em to walk around the mall while I studied.  Em is obsessed with Justin Beiber, and by the time they returned Junior was walking around swooning "Juuuusssstttttiiiiinnn Biiiiieeeebbbbbeeeerrr" in a girly voice.  The joys of having a big sister.

I was typing, and I looked over and saw a GIGANTIC shadow of Abs.  I didn't run over there, because I knew she was up to no good, but didn't want to scare her since I could only imagine what she was doing. 

Me:  What are you doing Abs?
Abs:  Seeing how tall I am.
Me:  You look mighty big, what are you standing on?
Abs:  Junior's black box.  (We have a brown ottoman that Junior thinks is black and he sits there to watch tv)
Me:  You seem awfully tall for just the black box, what else are you standing on?
Abs:  Oh just a stool or two.

The girl had piled two stools on top of the ottoman and was balanced precariously.  We got her down, but not before Junior saw her, and attempted to copy her.  The stools are gone now.

On Friday when I picked up Junior from school, I noticed one of his drawings on the wall.

I told you, the boy is obsessed with his Grandpa.  His teacher said that he was so proud of his artwork, and she let me take it down, after I told her that he talks about my dad all the time, but that he had never met him.  He saw the picture in my hands, and told me it was "My Grandpa's City".  I asked him to tell me about it and he said "It's heaven, it's what heaven looks like".  Way to break my heart kiddo.

Cookies just came out of the oven, the kids are almost all in bed, and we have nothing but kids movies from Netflix right now.  Guess I don't have any other excuse other to work on my papers for school.

Cold weather

When we were stationed at Fort Lewis, it snowed a handful of times.

I think it snowed twice when we were stationed at Hood.

Today it is snowing, 14 degrees outside, with a wind chill of -3.

Em tried to leave the house in a sweatshirt.  I tried to talk her into a heavy coat and gloves, but she didn't want to be a dork.  She put on a light coat, and I chose my battle and let her go. 

Junior wore what I put him in, thank goodness.

Abs dressed herself. 

Two pairs of underwear.
Orange shorts.
Pink tights.
Green shorts.
Socks.
Three green shirts.
Green coat.
Pink coat.
Green gloves.
Green snowboots. 

Abs:  Don't you like how I coordinated the green?
Me:  I LOVE it.  Very stylish.
Abs:  I know. 

Notice the super cute puppy that is growing his hair back.

Electricity went off for a while, hopefully it stays on till I at least eat breakfast. 

Field Problem: Crooks & Henderson

I read their blog.  I laugh.  Sometimes they have an emotional one that gets me.  I signed up to attend their event in Texas, but something happened and I couldn't make it.

When we went on the turkey trot last weekend, I saw that they were having one at Fort Carson, so I signed up as soon as we got home.

So today was the event, and I was actually really excited about it.  I got there, signed in, and then there was an ice breaker for us to complete.  I hate asking people any information, so this was painfully hard for me, but I survived.  Hey, a door prize was on the line!

When we signed in, we got a tote bag full of goodies--deployment notebook from USAA, tshirt, books, coupons, and tons more--really good stuff too.  Then they also had prepared a gift bag for our husbands.  How can I not be happy with that?  After the ice breaker, they had companies that setup booths for us to visit and collect "stuff".  (Think stocking stuffers!) 

We entered to win $100 gift cards (Bed, Bath & Beyond), $50 gift cards (PX, Home Depot, Starbucks, some other places), all kinds of other stuff.  We had lunch provided for us--baked potatoes, salad, soup, and cake.  (Did I mention it was all free?)

They talked, told funny stories, shared, and handed out door prizes by the gazillions.  They had gigantic gift baskets, tons of military resources, donations, etc.  I think it was the largest and best group of door prizes I had ever seen!

I did win a door prize, more on that later.  I walked away with a ton of resources to share with everyone.  I'm really excited about everything that I learned.  I sat next to a girl who had yet to face a deployment.  I remember those days....15 years ago. 

A shot of my "stuff".

More to come on what I learned, but if you get a chance, make sure you attend one of these events! Not for the stuff, but just the resources.  I'm off to make a new list!

More Random Thoughts

My mom is gone, and all the turkey has been eaten.  Well it was eaten the first 48 hours because I get sick just thinking about bacteria growing after that magical witching hour, but I digress.

We watched the K9 demonstration at Ab's brownie meeting last night.  It was one of the best that I have seen!  Abs had plenty of questions for the handlers:

   --Where can I get one of those attack suits?  I need one with mittens.  I have an attack baby brother.

   --Can I pet that dog?  (The dog was all but frothing at the mouth ready to attack)

   -- What a cute little puppy, I bet my Sammy would love him to come live with us.  (Ummm....her dog is
        scared of the tiny little weenie dog down the street)

   --Can you train my dog Sammy to act like this?  (At first I thought this was a bad idea, but if they could
       make him keep the kids in bed at night, I might be all for it.  Maybe the dog could potty train Junior?)

  --Do you make the janitors clean up after the dogs, because my mom makes me, and I would rather have
     a janitor.

The Airmen didn't know what to think, but she balanced it out by asking "normal" questions. 

I was leaving to go get Em from Girl Scouts tonight and the main gate was closed.  I was stuck in those curvy things, for lack of a better turn--the ones that make you want to run a slalom course.

We sat and sat and sat.  I am never late.

I called Gunner and had him sort through my thousands of emails that I keep "just in case" till he found the number for the leader.  Called the leader, she said she would wait.

The gate remained locked.  I called Gunner back and asked him to try to head out the north gate.  It was locked.

Nothing is worse than not being able to pick up your kiddo.

Finally after about another half an hour we were able to get out.  At least I had facebook in the car, although I was almost out of gas and my phone was dying.  On the bright side, it hadn't started snowing yet.

I went to an event today, but that will be another blog as I found some great resources for deployments!


   

We have a problem...

I need to find some fake Uggs, for Em for Christmas.  She even requested the fake ones, telling me that no one should be crazy enough to pay full price for those shoes.  I'm on the search.

I asked tonight at walmart about zhu zhu's, and they laughed when I said that I was looking for them.  How's that for customer service?

My mom and I spent the day shopping.  First we went to a fabric store that she visited with my dad many years ago.  She was ready to move to Colorado so she could visit more regularly.  I was overwhelmed by the choices, and so many ideas started racing through my ideas....until reality set in and I realized that I wasn't going to be sewing anything until I managed to unpack my sewing machine in the basement, and I stopped going to school and being a slave to papers and projects. 

 

 We just had Abs with us on this fabric adventure.  

They had fabrics divided by types, most of which I had never seen, and trust me, my mom has taken me to a lot of fabric stores. 

My mom.  Yep, only 7 bolts of fabrics to get cuts from......we got lucky today.

We hit two thrift stores, and I stocked up on some items that I "needed".  My mom brought a carload of stuff to me that I had left behind.  She was looking forward to going home with an empty car....I don't see that happening.

We hit the Current Outlet, learned where to print the coupons, and feasted on Thanksgiving leftovers for lunch and dinner. 

While my mom was making enchiladas tonight, we left Em in charge as our babysitter, even though my mom was there.  My mom suggested that even though she had passed her babysitting class, that we don't leave the kids for very long. 

My big pet peeve--eating in the living room.  Em decided that she needed to be with Abs and Junior since she was "babysitting", so she needed to be eating in the living room.  Never mind that she left them alone for 15 minutes while she made something to eat.  Then I kept getting phone calls about whether or not she had earned her cell phone back.  Needless to say, we returned to Em listening to her Ipod and Abs and Junior going on a safari.  Thank goodness my mom was there!

Junior is hacking up a lung and sounds horrible.  No telling what tomorrow holds!

Happy Thanksgiving

An old picture from 2007, but he's still a little turkey.  I could include pictures of the pumpkin pie after he stuck his hand into it and helped himself, but instead I will try to remember him like this.  Contained.  :)

My friend Dave came down from Denver, and with my mom here, we had a spread.  Gunner cooked everything--don't ask me how I have managed to go almost 15 years without ever making a Thanksgiving dinner, but I am not complaining!

There was turkey, pea/corn salad, cranberry relish, squash casserole, and cans of Ocean Spray cranberries brought from Texas because Abs thinks that they only have good cranberries in Texas.  We also had giblet gravy, cornbread dressing, german potato salad, sweet potato pudding, pumpkin pie and pecan pie.

I'm full.

Abs at enough to keep a bird alive--mainly "Texas" cranberries.  My mom felt bad for her, and made Abs a grilled cheese sandwich, because apparently only Grandma makes good grilled cheese sandwiches.

Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours!

It's cold

I just got back from a long walk with Sammy.  I have never been a big animal person, and I got a dog when my mom said that she heard it does great things for kids with ADHD.  Abs loves this little puppy, and he is so sweet and easy going.  We do have to watch Junior with Sammy to make sure that he isn't pulling his tail or trying to carry him or anything like that.  Fortunately Sammy has a great disposition and doesn't even growl at Junior when he is up to his antics. 

When Abs is having one of her screaming fits, she hauls Sammy into her room and tells him all of her woes.  He loves her. 

We have hardwoods throughout the house and Sammy will run and slide all over the place.  He loves it, and he looks so funny as he is flying around the corners and sliding all over the place.

Abs had her first visual therapy appointment today and it went well.  Her depth perception was okay, which she said is often low when kids have the problems that she does with her vision.  The woman asked Abs if she knew why she was there and she replied "My eyes are weak and you are going to help me make them stronger."  She explained to me that Abs is working six times as hard as other kids to do the same thing, and once we get her problem resolved, she will sky rocket. 

We start PT tomorrow.

Junior stayed dry at school all day today, and then came home and pooped in his pants.  What would my life be if I wasn't washing poopy clothes?  I'd love to find out.

I caught up with an old friend today from college.  It's amazing how you can not talk for 15 years and then pick up right where you left off.  I love facebook for connections like this--well that and unlimited minutes on my cell phone. 

Em completed her Red Cross babysitter class today, and is now able to babysit!  Of course we take the kids everywhere anyway, but it will be nice to run to the commissary every once in a while without my posse in tow.  I might actually be able to bargain shop again!

My mom should be here tomorrow, and Thanksgiving will be here before we know it.  I still need to crank out a paper and a summary on a test I gave Abs--I'm proud to say she aced it and she could do things and knew things that I had no idea where she learned.  I owe it all to her incredible 1st and 2nd grade teacher!  One teacher can make all the difference, and I hope that I can have that effect on at least one student if not many, many more.

The kids are off all week.  Em goes to the eye doctor tomorrow.  I asked her if she brought her reading glasses home from school, and she didn't.  When they called to remind me of her appointment I asked if we needed to reschedule.  She said they would just give her a new prescription and if she wanted to keep the frames we would just need to return next week to drop them off with the prescription.

Two years ago I told Em that she would not want pink Hannah Montana glasses.  She insisted.  I bought them.  She hates them now.  Maybe this time when we pick frames she will remember that conversation and will listen to me when she tries to buy something trendy.  Who am I kidding, she's 12, her mother doesn't know a thing.

We got a couple of inches of snow today.  We left our house and the roads hadn't been cleared and people were sliding all over.  By the time we were done with VT, the roads were cleared and everything was fine.  I searched Walmart for zhu zhus to no avail.  If anyone finds any, let me know as Abs wanted one for Christmas.

I'm hoping inspriation strikes me tomorrow and I can crank out my paper and start on my big projects so I won't be trying to do it all at the last minute.  Wish me luck!

The Turkeys Trotted

I didn't realize that Abs had her tongue out because I was focused on Em scowling.  They weren't amused that we were out of bed that early in the morning.

Gunner pushed Junior and listened to Abs complain the entire 3.1 miles walked/ran with Abs.  I ran with Em, for the first 100 feet, then when she wanted to quit, I convinced her to run/walk, although she wanted no part of running.  Of course being the competitive person that I am, I wanted to run the entire thing and beat my PR, but Em and I had a good time, and I spent more energy motivating her than if I ran the whole way.  She did great though!!

Junior would not sit still after being cooped up in the stroller the entire race. 

We finished and then they had a drawing for turkeys. Junior won one, and wanted no part in anyone touching it.

Abs got the second one.  (no idea why this is in blue).

I guess we'll have turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

We had intentions of hitting the Pioneer Museum for their Christmas celebration, but we got sidetracked on the way home, and never made it there.  Hopefully they will have another one that we can attend.

Em is off to a birthday party and to see the movie New Moon.  Abs and Junior are holed up in the basement playing legos.  I've got a house to clean and homework to do before my mom gets here on Tuesday.  Gunner was passed out on the couch. 

A few random thoughts:

I ordered a new roomba after mine went crazy and would only go backwards.  I can't wait till it is here.

Junior is still struggling with potty training.  It may just never happen.  Just trying to keep it real.....As I was writing this he popped up from upstairs to tell me that he exploded.  I quit.  I sent him to the bathroom to change himself.  I went back there to find him flipping the lights off and on instead.  I asked him why he wasn't changing and he said he couldn't.  I folded a towel for him to sit on until he was able to change his clothes and clean himself up.  Trust me, this doesn't phase him at all.  Bribing didn't work either, I'm at a loss.

Abs started OT & the Listening Program.  Visual Therapy starts on Monday.  PT begins next week. 
 
I signed up for a few other things in the upcoming weeks, that I can't wait to try out.  More on those later.

I just went back to check on Junior again.  He was sitting there nicely.
Me:  What are you up to?
Junior:  Just sitting in my explosion.
Me:  Why don't you clean yourself up.
Junior:  I think I'll stand.
Me:  If you aren't going to change, then you need to sit down, no standing. 
Junior:  It's not much fun to sit in my explosion.
Me:  Maybe you shouldn't do it.
Junior:  Maybe. 
Me:  Let me know when you are clean.
Junior:  It will be a while. 

I hear Gunner pulling up in the driveway.  Perfect timing....

My name is ABW

and I spend all day cleaning.

I put Sammy outside so I could sweep the floor without him trying to eat all the crumbs I swept up.  I ended up with this.

So I took him into the bathroom thinking since Gunner just bathed him on Friday that everything would be under the sink.  It wasn't.  Of course I didn't discover this until I had him in the tub and wet, with mud everywhere.  I tried rinsing him with a small red cup.  It didn't work too well, so I left him in the tub with orders to stay, closed the door, and then ran to the kitchen to find something bigger.

I returned to find him out of the tub, mud everywhere because he had to shake all the muddy water off, all over the bathroom.

I loaded him back in the tub, bathed him, and then spent the next half hour drying the pup so he wouldn't get sick. 

He's not allowed in the backyard again until it is dry.

I then ran to get Junior from school, and found out that he had two accidents.  He was out of clothes so they put him in shorts.  I loaded him up feeling like a horrible parent, and ran to the car to take him home and change him.

Then we had swim lessons, and I was able to squeak in some time on the stairmaster and the weights.  We got home and started homework.  Em got moved up in math, so I spent an hour tonight trying to catch her up.  They should have listened to me 13 weeks ago when I told them she was in the wrong class, but then what do I know?

We got The Listening Program today, and I set it up so Abs could do her listening assignment.  It's basically classical music that is set to work different parts of the brain, and it has had amazing results.  For the price tag, it should!  She came out relaxed and in love with the program.  She already loves classicall music, and then was just music to her ears...literally.  Hopefully we will see positive results.

I cleaned the majority of the mud off the bathroom, worked, and am now ready to retire for the night.  I'm exhausted.  Tomorrow I signed up for a spinning class.  I loved the classes in Texas, and will hopefully fall right back into it, although it has been a while.  Maybe I will even try yoga too.  We have a turkey trot this weekend if Gunner can find 5 minutes to run over to MWR.  Em wants to give it a try, so we are taking the whole family.  Should be interesting at least!  Em's also mentioned that now that she is getting better at swimming, she also wants to try a triathlon!  How can I say no to that? 

Sweet dreams...of anything other than mud, dirt, and cleaning.

The price you pay

I jetted away to Texas on Thursday.  I arrived in Houston just as my mom and sister were pulling through the pickup line at the airport.  We hopped in and went to my uncle's house where I had enough time to change clothes and then head over to the church for my grandmother's viewing.

My mom is one of 7 kids.  Imagine 7 kids with children and grandchildren.  Some have procreated more prolificly than others have ever even thought about.  We spent the night with my brother and then the next day headed to the funeral.

My grandmother was a military wife, during WWII and Korea.  My grandfather would leave for years at a time, and correspondance was shotty at best.  She used to venture down to the post office twice a day with my mother in tow, to check for a letter from him.  They also listed those that had been killed, in the newspaper and you would have to check there as well.  I can't even imagine.

It was great to see my immediate family and my extended family and my mom and sisters and I headed back to Georgetown Friday night.  We had Mexican for dinner, and then for lunch the next day.  I could have eaten it every single meal.

While I was basking in the beautiful weather in Texas, Gunner and the kiddos were freezing in Colorado.  They got about 6-8" of snow.  While I was wishing I had brought sandals, he was bundling them up in their snow gear to go sledding.

While I was waiting to board my flight on Sunday, TSA was all over our gate.  They started doing random searches, and everyone was giving the other passengers a once-over to see if anyone looked suspicious.  We finally got out of there late, and I used my drink coupons to have a glass of wine on the ride home.

When we arrived in Denver, the ground was covered in snow.  I finally made it out to my car, which was buried under the snow.  The doors were frozen shut.  Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less.

I pried open two doors, and turned on the car, found Gunner's ice scraper, and then loaded my luggage into the trunk.  As I was going back for my second suitcase, I slipped on the ice and fell.  I hit my butt, whacked my head, and slammed my elbows into the ground.  I started to cry.  I laid there for a few minutes whimpering and realized I was out at the far end of the parking lot, it was dark, there was snow, and no one was going to care, so I got up.

I wiped my tears, loaded the last suitcase, and started shoveling the snow off.  I finally got the car in a driveable condition and headed home.  My windows were frozen shut and fogged up, and the car never got warm.  Time to check the radiator fluid.  I made it home almost three hours later (from the time my flight landed).

Before Gunner arrives home after a deployment, a TDY or field time, I scrub the house from top to bottom.  Apparently he didn't get that memo!  So although the house was a mess, the kids were happy and tucked into bed.  They had a great time with movie nights, sledding, trying to make a snowman, and just hanging out.  I'll clean the house, after all, he did keep them alive!

This morning when Junior got up he had thrown up in his sleep.  Lucky me.  It looked like he just did it once, and he seemed fine, so I called Gunner to see if he was acting sick at all.

Me:  Junior threw up sometime last night.
Gunner:  Really? (total surprise)
Me:  Yeah, was he acting okay last night?
Gunner:  Yep.  Although did I mention he at an entire tube of toothpaste?
Me:  Are you kidding?
Gunner:  No, I sent him to go potty, how was I supposed to know he would eat a tube of toothpaste?

So Junior is fine today, the sheets are cleaned, and I'm locking up the toothpaste.

Thank you...

Thank you to all our friends and family that serve/served.  Of course a special thank you to my Soldier...

Fort Hood Fundraiser

Support the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund

Join Texas Roadhouse in Killeen on Wednesday, November 11th for a lunch fundraiser to benefit the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund. This fund supports the families of the service men and women killed or wounded in the line of duty and we are honored to support this Legendary cause!

Stop in from 12PM-3PM for a complimentary lunch in exchange for a minimum $5 donation. Lunch includes a choice of pulled pork, BBQ chicken, grilled chicken salad or a 6oz sirloin with a loaded baked potato, house salad, rolls and a soft drink.

All donations will go directly to the Fort Hood AUSA Relief Fund to help the families of the recent tragedy. Please come out and show your support! 

Thanks to Texas Roadhouse for supporting this worthy cause.  

Junior

A few pictures of Junior....

Trying to make his own simple motor...

The cowlick is getting out of control again.

Denver Zoo

It was free day at the Denver Zoo today, so we figured it was as good a time as any to head on up there and check it out.  Free in Killeen means that at least half of the population turns out.  In Denver, it means that 99% of the population turns out.

Gunner dropped us off at the front and went to find parking.  Of course we had driven an hour, so they were hungry famished.  We snacked while waiting for Gunner to find us.  Abs being Abs, she wanted to see every single animal at the zoo. 

Abs held Junior's hand and read every informational sign to him.  She would try to hoist him up to see.  A far cry from wanting to donate him to Science the night before when he bit her.

Just a random picture on one of the signs.  Abs thinks that he has heard about Obama's health care plan.

We have about 20 pictures of these two on the ape, but they are not looking at us in any of them.  Em was too busy texting.

We saw about 50% of the zoo before the crowds got to be too overwhelming for all of us.

Not before we saw these two recent additions to the zoo:

Good grief!  We saw this sign on the way home:

And what Texan couldn't stop for a small taste of home?

Once again, I was along for the ride, but in none of the shots.

The zoo was nice, but next time I won't be so cheap, and we'll pay for tickets so we don't have to fight the crowds. 

Cool Science at UCCS

I'm frugal (most of the time).  I'm always looking for something fun for the kids (the parent in me), and where they can also learn something (the teacher and parent in me). 

Saturday morning I told the kiddos we were going to go to UCCS and hit the Cool Science Day.  Abs wanted no part of that.  "It's going to be boring."  "Who wants to learn about Science anyway."  "I can have more fun playing legos all day in the basement."  "I have nothing to wear."  "Why do you do this to me???"

Regardless, I let her leave the house in mismatched clothing and we headed out.  When we got there, Abs was drawn in right away.  They had 36 booths setup through the building, and gave the students a passport so they could check off each one as they completed it.  Abs is a checklist girl. 

We started out by looking at sound waves, testing sound waves, and experimenting with sound. 

From there we moved to shadows, lasers, mirrors and working with light.

Simple motors...

 

Then it was on to simple machines, dinosaurs, and working with dry ice.

There was a whole section on space, stars, and making rockets.

They touches snakes and iguanas, flew space shuttle simulators, created hover aircraft out of balloons, worked with air, made worms, and tons more.

We acted like birds migrating, and played a game that had us running all over the rooftop trying to make it south for the winter.  I got tons of ideas for science classes, and all the materials to do the experiments.  Abs was enthralled with every station, asking questions and trying to soak up as much as possible which is her method of operation.  The poor little guy at the raisin and ginger ale booth didn't know what hit him.  Everyone came and looked, then moved on, while Abs sat there for 15 minutes quizzing him on everything about the raisins, why it worked, how it worked, and then re-explained it back to him to make sure she understood.  The workers were great, and I think were glad to have someone that was interested in the how and the why rather than flitting about from booth to booth.

When it was all said and done, and we had visited every single booth, we finally were able to drag Abs out of there.  As we walked to the car I asked her how she enjoyed it, and her response was "I guess it was okay".  I know she had a great time, regardless of her answers, and Em and Junior loved it. 

Gunner took the kids swimming at the Y while I finished up some school work since I am flying out this week to TEXAS!!!!  We're hoping to get some things done this morning so we can head out this afternoon to somewhere new.....

Carving Pumpkins

I can't believe we didn't get shots of Abs in her costume too. She wouldn't sit still and have any part of that, and she looked so cute! Em went with a friend, so she was back in regular clothes by the time she got home. Next year, I'll be on top of it. I'm thinking that because Gunner is usually gone I am a little more adamant about taking pictures.

Fort Hood & my Grandmother

Yesterday I was sitting here eating my leftover pho, and looking forward to going to SYTYCD with Em.

My neighbor, also Army (we live next to AF, Army, Navy, officers, and enlisted), came banging on my door to tell me to turn on the news.

My stomach dropped, and I couldn't even believe it.  After 6 1/2 years of living there the last time, and we were also stationed there when we started this Army trip, Fort Hood will always hold a special place in our heart.

I talked to friends.  I scoured the internet.  I was glued to the tv.  (BTW, kudos to Fox News)  My cell was going crazy with texts from the outlaws, friends, and fellow teachers.  I watched the president give "shout-outs" to his friends, and was digusted with his speech. 

My heart breaks when I think of the Soldiers and civilians that were killed and injured.  I never worried when I sent Gunner to the SRP to prepare to deploy.  I'm sure none of those families did either.  How can someone that is trained to help people, hurt them?  Obviously as they investigate everything they are coming up with all kinds of red flags.  It reminds me of a story of when Gunner was in Bosnia for a year.  One of the Soldiers was upset that he had to be there, wanted out, and wanted to go home.  He proceeded to write the CO's, XO's, and other Soldiers names on each bullet.  They pulled him from duty for 24 hours, and then he was back.  Nothing happened, he served his time, and then got out.  You never know....

I finally tore myself away from the tv, and Em and I left for SYTYCD.  My brother called to let me know that my Grandmother had passed away.

It had been coming for a while, but following the events of the day, it drained me even more.  

Em and I had a good time at SYTYCD and I managed to only check email and FB a few times to make sure I wasn't missing anything. 

It took me an hour to decompress when I finally got home and tucked Em into bed. 

It was a day of tragedy, sadness, and loss both in my own family and my Army family. 

In a funk...

I don't know what my deal is these last couple of days, but I just can't seem to be motivated.

Three cups of coffee this morning, and I was down for a nap by 10.  When I woke up I needed some pho, so off I went.  I cleaned the kitchen today, but that's about all that I've done other than get the kids ready for school and walk the dog.

We found something really cool to go to this weekend, so I'll at least have something to blog about. 

Gunner took Halloween pictures with his phone since I didn't have mine, so I need to get them from him so I can post them.  Em went with friends, so we just had Junior and Abs--a dragon and a 50's girl.  They were adorable and we have about 20 lbs of candy.

We carved pumpkins and went to Focus on the Family on Saturday too.  The girls made another radio show, which is their favorite part of the whole place.

The girls started swimming lessons and they went well.  I was worried that Abs wouldn't be excited about it, but she hopped in and tried her best.

Got the referral for Visual Therapy, but I think it's for the wrong thing, so I have a call into the clinic to the insurance lady to sort it out.  Abs also qualified for PT, so we start that in a few weeks.  Luckily it's only 30 minutes once a week.  We go on Friday to see how often she will be on the schedule for OT.  That's going to be more intense, and then once we get the VT figured out, we'll add that to the mix.  Between therapies, Girl Scouts, and swim lessons we are booked.  It's really not that much, but we like our down time. 

I'm still plugging away in school, but I think I am only going to take one class next semester.  Two is taking up so much time, and with the kids, I just need to take a breather.  One class will be plenty for next semester.

I'm looking into possibly doing some volunteer work to teach ESL classes to adults.  I sent in the request, but haven't heard anything back. 

I'm visiting two PEO chapters this week to check them out, and Em and I are going to the So You Think You Can Dance tour on Thursday! 

We've almost gone half the basement cleaned out, so once that's done we can put down the flooring.  Gunner wants a rug, but I want cheap linoleum.  He thinks carpeting will be more comfortable but since the movers lost our vacuum, and the roomba has decided that it will only go backwards and quit after a few minutes, I can imagine the mess it would turn into.  Since we have hardwoods upstairs, the shark takes care of the parts I can't sweep.  Exciting times in the Gunner household.

Recommendation of the Day

I have an HP wireless printer that I love.  The problem is that everyone else has the same printer and loves it too.  Finding ink cartridges in the stores was impossible, so when the service message popped up, I clicked on shopping and ended up at hp.com. 

I've always had great luck with HP, and their customer service has always been great.  In college they took my two year old printer back because it broke, and sent me a brand new one, not even refurbished. 

Anyway, I found my ink, ordered it at 10:49 am yesterday and it arrived straight from Tennessee at 1:15 today.  Free shipping, same price as in the stores, and I didn't have to even venture out in the snow.

Today is payday at FHNB, so we are off to have dinner if we can drag Abs in from snow fort building with the neighbor. 

Last night...

we had spaghetti for dinner.

all the children took a warm bath and got into their warm pajamas.

 I convinced Abs to wear the super cute 50's costume that I found on clearance at an outlet store for the costume parade at school.  This was no easy task since she wanted to be a jogger with a dog--I can appreciate that, but she wanted me to brave the ice for a sweatsuit and she wanted me to send Sammy to school.

we served hot chocolate before bedtime. 

it finally stopped snowing.

Gunner made brownies for Abs to take to school today for her fall festival.

Abs got up sometime in the middle of the night and got into said brownies.  She picked out all of the colored chocolate chips so we have brownies with holes in them aka brownie mush.

the said brownies are no longer able to be sent to school.

the roads got even icier.

Gunner left at 4 this morning to get to work on time because of the icy roads.

the school district decided to delay the start of school by two hours.  Please don't let them cancel school for the third day!

the dishes I didn't want to do multiplied.

I slept like a baby with a sheet, a blanket, a comforter, a quilt, and the window unit on.  I love the noise from it.

This morning.....

I tried to get Abs back to bed.

I cleaned up dog poop because he doesn't like to stay in the snow too long.

I did dishes.

I drank two cups of coffee.

I blogged.

I wondered if I was going to make it till bedtime.