Sunny Days in Colorado

They say that March is the snowiest month in Colorado.  So far this hasn't proven true, but I can't say I wouldn't mind a little snow!

I had an hour of biking on my training plan today, so we decided to make it a family outing.

That of course sounds easier than it really is.  We decided to do the Santa Fe trail, and we decided to drive to it, to alleviate the whining from a certain preteen who doesn't like to sweat.

Gunner pumped tires and loaded up the car while I prepared children and water bottles.  The five of us hopped in the car along with Sammy the dog.

We arrived at the park down the street and started to unpack everything--3 bikes, 1 bike trailer, 1 hitchhiker, 5 people and 1 furry dog.

This cute Soldier hooked everything up and didn't even flinch when I mentioned a family bike ride.

We had to stop for a potty break.

We rode 8 miles round trip.  With a view like this....

and no matter what you hear, the hitchhiker, while convenient is not easy when you are in the front!  If Abs looks anywhere but forwards, I have to fight to keep the bike up.  We fell once....in the mud....but managed to remain somewhat clean.  Abs and I had a good time, so we rode all the way home too, for a total of 10 miles.

By the time we got home, Gunner had time to air up my road bike and I hit the road for 5 miles of hills.

We ran some errands after, and stumbled on this piece of work.

Do you think they are Bronco fans?  They had Bronco seat cushions, spare tire cover, and every imaginable Bronco car accessory known to man.

Tomorrow is my day off of training, but we'll see!

What are your best tips?

I posted this on fb and got lots of great answers, but now I am asking for your help!  What are your best tips for going to Disney World?

Today

Abs gave us a run for our money.  I really miss her wearing a school uniform.

Today she went to school like this.

This was much more appropriate than when she came home with a pair of her tights on her head the previous day, like gigantic bunny ears.  Clothing that covers her body parts is not a battle I choose to fight.

It was pajama day at Junior's school, and he fell in love with these fireman pajamas from Heidi.  So much so that he insisted he wear them to dinner.  He cried when we made him put on clean pajamas for bedtime.  We're such mean parents!

Have you ever read the book Caps for Sale?  He loves that book.  He was wearing Gunner's beret and trying to act out the story.

We went for pizza, and we were there over an hour after we ordered.  Gunner went to check on the meal and they said it was coming up.  The first pizza came up, was brought out, and delivered to the table next to us.  They delivered us the second pizza at least.  I told the waiter that I wanted a refund on the pizza, and he said he would have to talk to the manager.  I asked him to just send the manager out.

I explained the situation--waiting for the pizza over an hour, our neighbors eating our pizza, and only getting one pizza.  He apologized and said he would take care of it and get us our pizza.  He brought us the missing pizza, took care of our entire bill, which was more than what we asked for, I just wanted the pizza we never got, taken off.  Our neighbors also got the pizza that they ordered, so they thanked us and smiled with mouths full of my pizza as we sat starving.

After enduring painful blisters while running, I went and got fitted for new running shoes this morning.  My gait is fine, etc., but apparently when you move to a higher altitude, they told me that everything expands.  I thought my jeans were getting tight!  I tried on several pairs of shoes and if you saw a curly headed girl sprinting jogging around downtown, that was me.  I ended up with a pair of shoes that make it feel like I am running on air.

I came home, grabbed Sammy, and went for a two mile run.  Sammy could have continued, but it was too windy and cold for me!

Time for us to hit the sack, we have a full day of child wrangling coming up.

Hello, my name is ABW, and I am not organized--Deployment Ideas Part II

Most of my friends might call me a mess.  There's no rhyme or reason as to why I put anything anywhere.  While my house is clean (most of the time), I couldn't tell you where anything important is.

Enter Gunner.

My uber organized husband that loves me dearly.  After he went to Iraq the first time and I had to have my mom sign for housing because I couldn't find my POA--thank goodness he knows me and gave her a POA--he decided he needed to organize me.

He made me an Everything Book.

It was the best thing he could have done.

He made categories, printed out nice little labels, and spent weeks scouring the house for every important piece of paper.  There's a section on the car--titles, insurance copies, dealer information.  One on each child--shot records, passports, birth certificates, daycare information, school information.  There's a deployment section with POA's, orders, rear d information.  He included banking, credit cards, cable, job information, etc.  You name it, it's in this gigantic white binder--housing, camps, contact numbers, addresses, etc.

It's time to start updating it now that we are in a new location.  He'll sort through the piles of mail I don't open and start putting in all the vital information that I might need while he is gone, and if I ever have to go anywhere important, this book goes with me.  (He's also learned and gets more than one POA for me, just in case!)

I won't have to search for anything.

I'm thinking this time he might want to include ideas of things to do or maybe races I can train for?  Maybe a list of books for the kids to read that he loved at their respective ages.

Do you have one of these books?  What do you put in it that I am missing?

Give me your best!

So Gunner leaves in less than 5 months, and I am trying to come up with new ideas and things to do for both the kids and myself.  I usually go 125 mph the entire deployment, but since each deployment is different, this one might not be that way?  (knock on wood)

What was the best thing you did for the kids while your Soldier was deployed?

What helped you the most?

What was the one thing you wish you had prepared for before they left?

Any good books that you recommend?  

What's the one thing that helped you the most?

Last deployment I counted trash days in order to make the keeping of time bearable.  Now, because of bears, we have a dumpster with locks.  

What can I count now?  Number of times I have to unstop the toilet?  How many nights Abbie doesn't sleep?

I need some fresh input on how to survive our 5th year long deployment.  Hmmm....maybe I should count weeks until retirement?  

Booked

We are expecting snow today!  While everyone else gets piles of snow and it never melts, one of the things I love about this place, is that besides a few piles, it melts within a couple of days!

Yesterday we planned, researched, priced, routed, and spent hours upon hours planning the perfect vacation.

Then I said forget it, and booked another vacation to the other side of the country in less than an hour.  I can't wait!

Friday morning, I won 4 tickets to see The Magic Flute!  Em and I asked her friend and her mom if they wanted to go, and they jumped at the chance.  We had a great time!!!  The show was hilarious!  It was nice to get dressed up and get out and do something different.  There's a Broadway show I really want to see in Denver, so maybe that is next on our list!

Em attended a tennis sports camp at the Academy yesterday, and has fallen in love with the game.  I love that they have these camps here for the kids to be able to try out different sports, attend a game, and they even feed them and give them a shirt!

I'm trying to decide what to do with Sammy while we are gone.  The military gave free subscriptions to sittercity.com, and they have a pet section, but I don't want someone to stop by once or twice and feed him, he would go crazy!  I also hate the thought of someone I don't know coming by.  There is one place that comes highly recommended, so we might try him out in doggy daycare there and see how he does.  I never thought I would be one of those people that took their dog to daycare!

Today is biking day at the gym, core, and arms, followed up by my swim for the day.  Happy Sunday!

On a roll....

The Army has a habit of giving block leave dates and then changing them as they see fit.

Deployment date got moved up, so block leave got cut short.

In the past, they always have changed it a day or two and with no tickets or reservations, you are out of luck.  That gave me the kick in the pants I needed to book our entire vacation this week.  I have a schedule of events, now I just need to find the best deals and make it happen....by Sunday.

I told the kids where we were going and they were excited.  I then told them before that we were going to Texas, and they came unglued.  They don't know why anyone would want to live anywhere else but Texas.

Since I planned the Texas trip, I was able to commit to two triathlons.  One with a friend, and one with my sister!  I can't wait, but I have a lot of training to do before then.

I won four tickets to see The Magic Flute tonight!  Should be a lot of fun, and this will be the first opera that I have seen auf Deutsch.  Em is excited about it, and my friend is coming down to go with us.  I'm still working on convincing Abs that it will be fun.  She loves opera, but it also might be too late of a night for her.

Yesterday was a 4 mile run and an hour advanced step class.  I need to squeeze in a workout today too.

Em is headed off to a tennis clinic at the Academy.

I registered Abs for her first week of camp!  She's excited, and I am terrified.  This is the same girl that got kicked out of VBS.

Gunner hasn't been home a month yet, but he leaves again in less than 5 months.  Time to get busy getting everything together!  More on that later...

I did it...

I registered for my first triathlon in Colorado.  There are two I want to do in Texas before then, but I am working out the logistics on that.

I'm almost ready to take the plunge and register for the half marathon and marathon.

Tuesday was 18 miles on the bike and working my core.  Yesterday was a 1 mile sprint, an hour of an ultra conditioning class that wanted to make me barf, and then another two mile run, followed by weights and core.  I'm back on the bandwagon and finally over that horrible cold that Gunner gave me.  Today I am sore.

Gunner graduated yesterday.  Woohoo!  I'm so proud of him!

I'm apparently too efficient for my volunteer job.  Crazy.  I do enjoy getting off early though!

Abs came home from school, and apparently her marker slipped during art class.

Seriously?  I'm hoping it was washable markers.

Junior drew blood today at daycare.  He had been doing so well, so no idea what really set this off other than "they ruined my ice cream factory".  How do you get them to stop biting?  He had a good day other than that.

Still no door for Em.  She came home smiling this afternoon, and when I asked if it was about a boy, she just started giggling.  Shoot me now.

Tomorrow is a step class and hopefully a run, core, and weights.

I have a present to mail off to a certain blogger who makes me laugh every day.  I just hope they fit her kiddos.  :)

BDU's, DCU's, ACU's, FRCU's, Oh My!

I never thought that they would change the uniforms as much as they have while Gunner has been active duty.

Of course I never thought he would see a war, or that he would deploy as much as he had.  I guess I lived in denial?

First deployment to Iraq.....BDU's.  He was so young!

When Gunner first went to Iraq, they didn't have all the rules they do about getting involved with the animals.  He loved this puppy.

The second deployment it was DCU's. (This picture was from the first deployment when they could wear both uniforms) I still think that they are kind of pink.

Then there was the third deployment to Iraq.  ACU's.  I like them better than the DCU's, but not as much as BDU's.

This picture was from his homecoming from the third deployment.  So much for getting a nice picture of the two of us with crazy kids like this!

In keeping with the Army's tradition of changing the uniform every time Gunner deploys, they have come out with the FRCU's.  As if our house didn't have enough abandoned uniforms littering the basement, we'll be able to add to the collection.  All of Gunner's uniforms and TA50 fit in the front closet of our one bedroom apartment when we got married, not anymore!

Oh, and just for the record Army, I miss my husband shining his boots every morning. Can you go back to the old boots?

Catching Up

Sometimes, okay a lot of times, I let the little things slide.  I bought a picture frame over a year ago, displayed it proudly on my schrank, and finally put some pictures in it.  It took no time at all, so I have no idea why I didn't do it earlier.  I am the queen of procrastination.

I think I want to take a framing class so I can frame all the other stuff that I have.  I took Thai cooking before, but now I want to take another type.  Maybe I am just thinking of all the things that I want to do because deployment is looming and I have no idea how to occupy my time this deployment.  I've always had a ton of stuff going on, but right now I have nothing planned.

Yesterday Em went to a workshop at the AF Academy with Girl Scouts.  It was a sports clinic, and then the families could join them for the basketball game afterwards.

Junior was so excited, he couldn't stop moving and waving his flag.

He loved the falcon.

Abs was Abs.  After it was all over, she loved it, had a great time, and wanted to go again.  Go figure.

Em was over with her troop so we didn't see much of her.

Gunner made cinnamon rolls last night from The Pioneer Woman.  They are unbelievable.  Tomorrow I must run, and run far.

Yesterday we woke up to find that Abs had eaten 1/2 quart of ice cream and 13 candy bars.

We hid the candy bars, but can't hide ice cream.

This morning she polished off the remaining quart of ice cream.

We won't be buying ice cream again.

Future Olympian

Gunner and I took the kids skiing. 

Big surprise, Em didn't want her picture taken. 

(for some reason I can't left justify anything)

When Junior saw me with poles, he was not happy.

He cried and cried for poles.

We were watching the Olympics last night and Junior is really into the skiing portion.  When he saw them doing the downhill skiing he was mesmerized.

He sat there and watched forever.  Then he said exasperated "That's what I would have looked like if I had, had poles".

Don't these kids ever forget anything?

On the Abs front, I was able to clean her ears tonight without any screaming.  That's HUGE.  She's also slept till 6 or later the last few nights.  I think the combination of everything that we (I say we, but it's really her, I just pick up the bill and drive her everywhere and wait) are doing is finally coming together and working.  Let's hope! 

Our 18" of snow was decreased to 4"-5".  Maybe we can get some good sledding out of it though! 

I have a boyfriend...

Those are the words that greeted me when Abs returned home

Abs:  I have a boyfriend.  (giggling and smiling ear to ear)
Me:  Seriously?
Abs:  Yep.
Me:  What about college.
Abs:  Oh, I'm going.
Me:  What's his name?
Abs:  Elijah
Me:  Is he in 3rd grade?
Abs:  No, he's in first.
Me:  Isn't that young?
Abs:  Oh, no worries, he got held back.
Me:  So how did this happen?
Abs:  He told me he wanted to be my boyfriend and that he liked me.
Me:  What did you say?
Abs:  Nothing, I was too nervous.  I just said okay.
Me:  So what does it mean that you are boyfriend/girlfriend?
Abs:  We love each other.

A short bit later, my neighbor stopped by to tell me that my faucet outside was gushing water.  As he was telling me this, Abs was running for cover in her room.  Elijah has no idea what he is getting into.

Fondue Night

We fed them before we pulled out the fondue, but you would have thought that they had never seen chocolate before. 

Em helping out her little brother. 

Once the strawberries were pulled out, Junior forgot about the chocolate.  Don't tell Gunner's trainer that he had a few bites. 

Gunner got a canvas of the kids for Valentine's Day.  I think Abs wants another one made, as she asked for a picture of herself with Em.  They aren't strangling each other so it's a good shot!

We went swimming today for a few hours at the Y.  We were hoping to get them nice and tired.

I think the chocolate might have ruined that, but at least they had fun!

Time for the Amazing Race...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Brain Map & Haircut

I'm so out of creative titles.  

Today we had a map of Ab's brain made. There is definitely something there and functioning.  He had no information on her diagnosis, other than what I wrote on the paper, and the neurologist knew right away that she had a visual perception and discrimination problem (which was not on the paper).  She has her first LENS treatment on Tuesday.  I can't wait to see how she benefits.  It also helps with PTSD, TBI, Autism, and several other things.  They want to use it with the military.....maybe they can get rid of Gunner's migraines.

The doctor that applied the "thingies" to Ab's head, would place them at certain points.  After the assistant called out a few of them, Abs had to stop the doctor and make sure he understood all the numbers and letters for each location.  She explained the lettering and numbering system to him, and then asked him to explain why they used z for the center instead of c, etc.  The doctor was great and answered all 500 million of her questions. 

We got a cage for the dog.  Junior wants one of his own.

I took Abs to get her haircut today.  My regular girl was busy, so we got Sue.  I don't think Sue knew what she was getting into.  Abs had the entire place almost in tears from laughing so hard.  We walked in and she announced to the entire salon "I'm the hair emergency!".  From there it went to her asking questions about anything and everything.  I think Sue was exhausted by the end of the hair appointment, but she did a great job.

She looks so sweet and innocent, as long as we keep it pinned back.  We went and got new barrettes for her to use, and a new brush to curl it under when I dry it.  We started to walk down the aisles of Walgreens, where I immediately managed to walk through someone's vomit.  I don't do well with my own kid's, much less someone else's.  I notified the staff, and they had to go look to make sure I was giving them correct information.  Thank goodness the lady confirmed that it was barf, just in case I was making it up.
 
Abs and I enjoyed a Starbucks, hit the thrift store (found pyrex refrigerator glass), and ran laughing through the snow.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, so Happy Birthday to my big sister!

Gunner and I are catching up on Olympic action.  The kids are tucked into bed, and will hopefully fall asleep sooner rather than later.  Abs has slept through 4 nights out of the last 7, so we are headed in the right direction!

The haircut....again

Yep, she cut her hair again.  She wanted to even it out. 

It's about twenty different lengths in the front.  It was all one length. 

"A Brand New Day"

That's the phrase Junior calls out every morning as he wants to get out of his room.  I'm trying to keep that battle cry in mind today.

Sammy the dog barfed up all the crap that he ate yesterday.  He did it in the middle of the night.  We discovered it because Abs stepped in the barf, while she was up, in the middle of the night.  She didn't make a lot of noise though, surprisingly, but we did see the light on, and heard Abs in the tub, in the middle of the night.

Apparently you have to wash your entire body if your foot gets dirty, but only if it is the middle of the night.

I got a copy of Ab's 504.  I guess it will work for now. 

I'm thinking I will pull Junior out of school by the end of the month.  I'm making Gunner go to the conference, I just can't deal with anymore stress about what one of my kids is doing wrong.  I'll have to quit my volunteer job, but seriously, I can only do what I can do.  I think that the environment might be a little too chaotic for him?  Maybe it is that they are forcing him to take a nap?  I told Gunner that we could send in a leapster for him to play while he takes nap, or something like that. 

I miss Texas. 

Abs has polished off 16 mini hamburgers since Sunday.  At least she is eating. 

I am volunteering today, but hopefully can figure out a way to fit the gym in sometime today.  I really need an extremely hard workout, where I can do nothing but focus on breathing and trying to finish.  Then when it's all over I need to be so tired and sore that I can't think about anything but putting one foot in front of the other.

Did I mention that I got a report home from Ab's school yesterday?  She got written up.  Apparently she wandered out of class and they didn't know where she was.  Imagine what could have happened.  We had a nice long talk about safety and responsibility, etc. I also threw in there that she shouldn't have any scissors at her disposal.

Abs has her 90 minute OT session tonight.  She is having a brain map done on Saturday.  Can't wait to see how her brain works, and I have tons of questions for the neurologist.  Maybe he can explain why she was rearranging her furniture in the dark last night. 

Has anyone seen the ads that talk about "showing your patriotism by shopping our President's Day sale"?  How is shopping on President's Day make me MORE patriotic? 

Oh what a day...

It started out really well.

Great workout.

Great run.

Great lunch.

I juiced.

I took care of some work.

Then it went downhill.

Abs left her door open, so Sammy went in her room and tore apart her rice heat pack.  All over the place.  He got a hold of the daddy doll, but luckily didn't damage it too much.  He ate a sponge.  Knocked over a coffee cup and broke it.

Someone put potato peels in the sink, and I didn't notice and down into the garbage disposal they went.  So the sink backed up.  The garbage disposal doesn't work, and it's leaking underneath the sink.  I plunged and worked on it, then gave up.

Em showed up and is back to her old ways of being more interested in the social aspect of school than the academics.  She lost her phone and ipod.  She's in her room, redoing her homework and making up all the missing assignments that she hasn't done.

Abs came home.  She had no problems sitting down and doing her homework.  I'm sitting there feeding her more hamburgers, and trying to figure out what is different.  She cut her hair.  She had a hair pretty in it, but couldn't get it out, so rather than cut the hair pretty, she cut off 5 inches of her hair.  A giant chunk.  Right in the front. 

I figure everyone is in their room, so I go get Junior.  I walk in to find out that he pooped in his pants, got upset, and bit the teacher.  They want a conference this week. I think they want to give him a boot.  I'm sending Gunner, I can't deal with it.  He's not a violent kid, I don't know why he does it. 

I know why mothers runaway and I am headed in that direction.  I don't even want to think about a deployment in mere months and having to deal with this all by myself.  I quit.

Gunner's Kids Revisited

I forgot to mention that yesterday while we were at the Olympic Training Center, Abs was limping.  This is nothing too unusual, she's always getting hurt doing something.  We asked her about it, and she didn't say much other than her leg hurt.

After we left the Olympic Center, we ran by the Arc, and then hit Five Guys Burgers and Fries for lunch.  We were sitting there......

Abs:  My leg hurts.
Me:  That's what you said, what happened?
Abs:  I don't know.  (Rubbing her leg)
Me:  Let me take a look at it.
Abs:  It's probably the yarn.
Me:  The YARN?????
Abs:  Yeah, it's kind of tight.

I lift up her pants legs to see tons of yarn wrapped around her leg, and tightly.  I grab a plastic knife and start to panic as I am trying to cut through the yarn.

Me:  Why do you have yarn wrapped around your leg, and why didn't you tell me?
Abs:  You didn't ask.

I'm making a mental note of that.  It was not in the parenting manual that I should ask if you have yarn tied around your leg in case of leg pain.  Geez.  I didn't get before pictures, but here are two pictures of after.

I still don't know what possessed her to do this. 

Today was Disney Live and Abs tried to hide in her room.  I finally convinced her to go.  We got there and she really perked up.  We purchased some licorice and some cotton candy.

The show was great!  Junior about came unglued and had everyone around us laughing and smiling.  The boy has some moves, and can shake his booty faster than anyone I have seen.  He jumped up and down, sang along, and was mesmerized by everything.  Abs got into it as well, and was singing, jumping, and telling me how awesome everything was.

When we left, we had the following conversation.

Me:  Looks like you had a great time Abs!
Abs:  I'm pretty good at faking it, that's what you call artificial fun.

Regardless of what she said afterward, I know she had a good time while we were there.

I watched the last 5 minutes of the Super Bowl, purged Abbie's room, and went with a friend when she took her girls to the doctor.

Gunner gets to go in late due to the Super Bowl that he didn't watch and had no interest in.  Lucky him!

The dog has been washed, I am sore from training yesterday, and the week is loaded down with trips to the gym, and Abs appointments.  Thank goodness for Gunner's kids, they keep my life interesting!

Skating

Em's troop was going ice skating, so Gunner ventured out with both girls. The last two summers when they were in daycare while I was in school, they went roller skating every week. They never really got the hang of it, but apparently ice skating is easier for them. Go figure.

Abs insisted that she have a helmet.

I'm a star!

You only have to be 16 to drive one, and apparently this is Ab's new ambition. I still have time to work on her though.

In order to earn the patch, Em has to do another two hours, so we will be back out there in the near future. It's not too expensive either over at the World Arena, and they even offer hockey lessons. I would love to play hockey, maybe they have adult lessons?

US Olympic Training Center

I LOVE the Olympics.  I love the stories behind the athletes.  I love the sight of the winners on the podium and the tears in their eyes as their national anthem plays.  I cannot wait till next Friday when the opening games will be held in Vancouver.  

We've been wanting to checkout the US Olympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs, but seems like something always comes up, or we are worn out from the gym.  Gunner had training this morning and his trainer is wonderful and lets me join in on Saturday mornings.  We both hurt, but we headed out anyway.

I was trying to get a picture of the kids poking their heads through the rings, but no one wanted to cooperate.  The story of our lives in pictures.

The tours are given ever thirty minutes, so we checked out the gift shop.

We hit the Hall of Fame and tried out the bobsled.

They showed a video of Olympic moments, that made me want to cry throughout, and run back to the gym and workout like crazy.

Instead we went on the tour, since that seemed easier.  I'll hit the gym tomorrow.  You aren't allowed to stop any of the athletes to take pictures because so many of them live there too.  Talk about a deal!  You get free training, room, board, college, and more.  You have to be the top 10-15 in your sport though, so I'm not there yet, maybe next year? 

They have a board when you walk in that lists all of the sponsors of the OTC, and so while the lady was talking, I see Abs hand go up.  I put it down, and then it went back up.  Then Junior looked over and saw his sister's hand up, so his went up.  Our tour guide finally stopped talking and took Ab's question.

Tour Guide:  Do you have a question?
Abs:  Oh yeah.  Can you tell me why there is a beer company that is a sponsor?  It seems to me that if they are athletes and take care of their bodies, that beer probably shouldn't be on their mind. 
(By this point everyone is giggling and agreeing with her)
Tour Guide:  Well it has a lot to do with them having a lot of money and wanting to help.  (She wasn't sure how to answer that question)

We watched some wrestling matches, and one athlete fell in love with Junior.  She was talking to him and asking for high fives. 

We saw the pool, the shooting range was closed, and met paraolympians, saw people working out in the gym, training, etc.  It was really neat, I recommend it if you are in the area.

I took a bunch of pictures of the kids on the medal stand, which turned into tears because Em only wanted gold, and Abs was tired of being the silver medalist.  Finally someone took a picture of all of us so I can say that I was there.

Sick Diet, it's what's for dinner

I made this extensive menu plan for the week, and can't find it anywhere, and can't remember what I was making.  It's okay though since Em returned home from school with an upset stomach. 

Germaphobic mother kicked in.  I've scrubbed the toilets and bathrooms, I gave up on the laundry strike and have been madly washing clothes, towels, sheets and blankets.  All the door knobs and light switches have been scrubbed.

Gunner came and asked me what was for dinner.

Me:  The sick diet of course.
Gunner:  No seriously.
Me:  I am being serious, if she doesn't feel well, we are bound to get it.
Gunner:  That's ridiculous, no one has gotten sick.

He's obviously not around when one of us gets sick and within 24 hours we have all caught it.  

The Mrs. sent us a great care package of treats for the kiddos.  Apparently Abs LOVED them because I found the wrappers underneath the bathroom sink (during my cleaning frenzy) to the gummies and the sour worms.  I thought I had them well hidden, but apparently not.  On the bright side, at least they were organic!  Thankfully she didn't find the lollipops, so I can ration those out.

Disney Live is this weekend and Abs is not excited about it.  I thought she would like it, but she opted not to go.  The tickets were bought, so she's going.  She now walks around saying "Fictional characters, woohoo" in a monotone voice, or "I can hardly stand the anticipation I feel for seeing people in costumes".  I know once she gets there she'll enjoy it, I hope.  At least Junior will be excited.

I watched Hoarders last night for the first time, and I now want to get rid of everything that I own.  It's a good thing that we move so frequently, but I still hang on to too much.  I guess if we are sick all weekend we can sort and toss!

Gunner's Kids....

Where do I find these kids?

Today Gunner's son Junior announced to the entire 3 year old class that I have a who-who, using proper terminology.  I'm having flashbacks to the movie Kindergarten Cop.  Then he told them I also have bobs.  His version of....well you know.

I ordered a shirt on clearance last year from Talbot's for a steal, and forgot to put him in it for Halloween.  I stumbled on it again, and he loves it.

He calls it his "Bad Mommy" shirt.  I tried to explain it to him that it was a MUMMY, but he refuses to believe it.  He calls me the "Good Mommy" at least.  

Notice his big boy haircut.  I love it!  Unfortunately a big boy haircut doesn't help him stop pooping in his pants, which he did at the gym tonight.  We knew when we heard the page what the deal was.  We've unfortunately come to expect it, even though we potty him right before we take him in the room.  I don't know what else to try!

Today I ran 3 miles, biked 10, and worked my core.  Monday was a run day as well.  I think Friday will be a swim day as my knees need a break.  Triathlon season is fast approaching and I bought my membership for the season, so I have to do at least 4 triathlons to break even.  My tri partner in Texas wants me to go back for an Olympic distance in May, so I am working out the logistics of it all--shipping the bike, ticket, training, etc. 

Gunner is doing great in his class!  Abs doesn't want to do any homework, but at least she is bringing it home.  Em is Em, the fastest texter in the world. 

The big news around here....

I went on a laundry strike and no one noticed. 

So much for making a statement!

How to have a bubble bath Abs style

1.  Fill the tub with water until your parents come in and tell you to turn it off.

2.  Wait until you think they aren't listening and turn the water back on.

3.  Hope that your parents get distracted by your baby brother pooping in his pants AGAIN.

4.  Turn off water again and let some out after your parents come in and stand there until the water is at an acceptable level.

5.  Look for bottles of shampoo and conditioner that you have not emptied yet and see if you can squeeze any more bubbles out of them.

6.  If that doesn't work then fill them up and empty the water into the toilet until you get bored or your parents check on you again and confiscate all the bottles.

7.  Turn the water on again until your parents notice.

8.  Splash around trying to make your own bubbles and instead get water all over the floor.

9.  Get out of tub and lock bathroom so your parents don't see wet floor.

10.  Parents are too smart for their own good, hear the click, and unlock the bathroom to find you cleaning up the mess with a towel.  (Note:  They are thankful that she is trying to clean up the mess for once)

11.  Listen to your parents tell you to wash your body and get out of tub.

12.  Remind parents there is no soap.

13.  Parents will give you brand new bar of soap.

14.  Turn water a murky color due to amount of lathering up.

15.  Get soap soft.

16.  Cram entire bar of soap into faucet and turn the water on high, creating a bubble bath.

17.  Get removed from the tub after having to sit there with your mom and pull soap out of the faucet.

18.  Promise not to do it again.  Rinse.  Repeat as often as possible, because they left out a bar of soap on accident.

The last time I bought bubble bath stuff, we had the glass shower doors and we had bubbles almost up to the top. 

P.S.  She wanted me to note that it didn't make that great of a bubble bath. 

My Junior

I was looking for the cord to the CD player tonight so we can try some classical music in Junior's room and maybe he will go to sleep.  The boy LOVES classical music.  Anyway, I stumbled on a CD with pictures that were taken of Junior when he was a few months old.

The day that Gunner went back on R&R, we were sitting in the airport saying goodbye, and Junior was 13 days old.  I was taking pictures of the two of them together when a lady stopped by and offered to shoot a couple of family shots.  We agreed, although I wasn't exactly feeling up to working it for the camera. 

She took a few pictures and then handed me her card, because she was a photographer and a military wife.  She offered to do a session of Junior for free, and another friend of hers came over to help, Tina Cho.  I looked for a recent webpage for her, but couldn't locate one.  Anyway, she got some great shots of my little guy to send to Gunner.

He's always had kind of a funky haircut.

Why the heck is everyone looking at me, and why am I hanging out in a basket?

Notice how he is leaning towards his left in each picture?  Torticollis.  I had no clue at the time, but he spent about 6 months in physical therapy getting it straightend out.  Apparently since he was kind of hefty (10 lbs 1 oz), he was out of room and just got lodged in there in one position while he baked.  I actually had to sleep with him for several months, because he could only sleep on one side in order to make sure that his features remained symmetrical (they were a little bit lopsided because of the torticollis and him sleeping on one side all the time).  I got no sleep because I was either nursing or checking on him, the little stinker.

But it all worked out, and he is healthy and not lopsided anymore, but the wild hair remains!

P.S.  The classical music worked and he was out within 5 minutes. 

Gunner's Abs

If she was my Abs, she would require more sleep.  Gunner always says "Sleep is a crutch". 

My Abs would not have spread an entire brand new box of expensive dog treats all over the house in an obstacle course to see if she could get Sammy to follow the trail.

If Abs was my child, then she would not have put the roll of toilet paper in the tub, over the shower curtain rod, and then the end in the toilet and sat there and flushed to see if the toilet was strong enough to unroll the entire roll of toilet paper.  Guess what, it is.

If Abs was my child, she would not have eaten the entire box of cheese crackers that I got for snack.  Six crackers in each package, 6 packages.  She was at least able to tell me that she ate 36 crackers.

My Abs would not be in her room trying to take a nap because she was tired from staying up all night.

To the mom of the little boy at Junior's daycare--back off!

My 9 blisters from my 6 mile run on Wednesday are not gone, but I might have to run this morning to work off some frustration.

Another 4 weeks

After Ab's IM training, they want to do some more training for another 4 weeks for 90 minutes, three times a week.  If it helps, I am all for it.  Will it stress me out to do it while Gunner is gone?  You betcha.

I think Em's bus driver was fired.  She wasn't on her afternoon run, and I know of two other people that called.  Em returned home with 25 signatures of people that said that they have seen her bus driver texting and driving.  They don't make laws for the heck of it people, don't text and drive!

I had Ab's 504 meeting today, and the counselor told me that she wanted to have weekly contact with me, but not if I was going to be contacting the school district.  Ummmm....if you did your job, I wouldn't have to.  My friend and I were talking about the other day--if people just did their jobs, then we wouldn't have half of the problems that we do.  Do what you say you will do!

Volunteering tomorrow.  Hopefully I can go check on a trial I have been watching.

Abs didn't have a wii party, but she did break into the Halloween candy and then go into her brother's room to play with his toys and turn his light on, and when he woke up, he was so excited to see her and get up.  She brought out the candy and I found them engrossed in building train tracks all over the room and setting up little people while sucking on lollipops.  (They weren't even gluten free)  All Halloween candy is in the trash now.

While I was at the meeting this afternoon, Gunner had to take off early so he could run Em to Girl Scouts, go pick up Junior, run to my neighbor's and pickup Abs, then drop Abs off at OT, then back to get Em, then home to make dinner while I went to sit at OT and wait on Abs.  I did get to see the IM in action, and it's pretty interesting.  They said that the majority of the effects are usually seen 3-6 months after completion. 

I did stop by Ab's desk after my meeting and found all the homework that she hasn't done since school resumed.  I found the notes the teacher had written me. She spent tonight cranking out all her homework.  Her teacher told me that she wasn't bringing her homework folder back to school or her agenda book.  It's in her backpack every day, but always empty.  We are working on some changes, which will hopefully help.

I think I might go visit a friend this weekend since Em will be gone and Gunner can have a slumber party/wii tournament with the kids.  Well if you can call it a visit when you have Bikram Yoga, P90x, and the gym thrown in for good measure.  I forsee pho in our future too, and with all that working out we should have a glass or two of wine shouldn't we?

A post about deployments coming up.

Whirlwind

I was on the news Friday night here, for reporting my daughter's bus driver texting while driving, and the school telling me "it's not our problem!". 

Ab's OT told me that I needed to get her 504 in place and to tell them that I was told to seek legal counsel and drop the name she gave me.  They have scheduled it for Monday.  It should have been done back in October when I first requested it. 

Em had a tournament this weekend for her public speaking group, and had a great time and gained some valuable experience.  She spent the night with a friend, and I guess we wore Junior and Abs out as they were asleep by 7:30 last night. 

We just got home from the pool and Gunner and Junior went to pick up our dinner.  The best pizza ever.  They even make gluten free pizza! 

Another busy week on the way.  One day I'll be able to rest, I hope...

We're still going gluten free...

and I honestly think it is messing with her ability to bring her homework from school to the house.  I guess they had a ton of it tonight, but of course it's not here.  I told her I would still love her if she had to repeat 3rd grade.

Abs used to constantly make her own meals, and now I refuse to let her.  She has to eat what is served, which is what I used to do before Gunner deployed when I was pregnant with Junior and well, good intentions flew out the window.

We have juiced.

We have baked.  She loved the muffins I made.  The gluten free brownies out of a Betty Crocker box, were actually really good.

We still haven't stumbled on a mac and cheese that she's liked, but we are trying. 

Now The Mrs. is having a giveaway with gluten free lollipops.  It has to be better than what Abs was eating out of her Halloween basked in the fall!

This morning I heard the loudspeakers go off, and they kept going off repeatedly, but I just ignored them.  Abs was already at the bus stop, and it was a few minutes before her bus was to come and a siren went off.  I figured I would sit with her till the bus came, before I went to the gym.  I got in the car went out of the parking lot, and was met with dozens of little kids running around. 

The kids heard the word "Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown" and were running home.  Actually Abs was headed to her friend's house, where I would have never found her, and they all missed the bus.  I drove Abs to school and then went to hit the gym on post since I couldn't leave.  It was locked down.  Everything was closed, so I came home and took a nap.  It was too cold for my old bones to be running outside. 

Tomorrow is volunteer day, and I am looking into volunteering at a food bank.  I really need to focus on getting a job too.

Having problems with Abs and school again.  Apparently she is not doing her writing assignments--something she struggles with because of her fine motor skill delays.  Her teacher's solution is to give her zeroes.  Seriously?  She has tons to write about, but the problem is getting her to put it on paper, and her handwriting is already so far behind.  The teacher said she has too many students to worry about one.  My principal would have had my hide if I had ever said something like that. 

Anyway, I got an email from the counselor today about it, and I lost it.  I emailed her back and asked once again about the 504 that I requested back in October, that they have been dragging their feet on, and haven't received a response yet. 

Maybe I should homeschool her the rest of this year.  24/7 with Abs...I have to think on that.  I'm still going to work with the school and get them to provide her with what she needs. 

Gunner has training tonight, and we don't have Interactive Metronome training.  Yea!

I got tickets for Disney Live for Junior and Abs.
The new coffee pot arrived.
I am still trying to figure out a way to go to the Walking With Dinosaurs exhibit without it costing $400 for our entire family to attend.  That's crazy!

I found a cool place to go this weekend, we just need to fit it around Em's Forensics meet, training, gym, swimming, and everything else, like conquering that pile of laundry I have.

My next craft project is in the works...in the meantime, here's the finished nightstand.  We were going to distress it, but after the whole royal vs navy incident, we just wanted it done.  We bought new hardware and noticed that the holes weren't even, but at this point, we're calling it personality.

Not a great picture, but the end results were worth the effort.  There's two of them, and anything had to be better than the colors they started out!

Poor Gunner

He promised me tonight that next time I want to "paint and fix some piece of crap furniture" that he is out.  The chests were not as easy as they looked and required a lot of work to get the drawers back to working properly.  At least they look good painted navy blue.  :)

We hit the gym this morning and Abs was trained to use the equipment so that she could work out with us.  She pretty much flitted from machine to machine and yelled across the room each time declaring her love for me.  I did manage to get a 5 mile run in before we had to get moving though.

My neighbors are moving and I don't want them to go. 

I volunteer tomorrow.  I'm enjoying learning everything, and there are so many different things to see and do.  Maybe I have found a new career field.

I was going to take one class this term, but I can't manage to sign up for one reason or another, so unless I can get it straightend out after work, I think I will take a break.  I have plenty to keep me busy with all of Ab's appointments, and getting her squared away is the most important job that I have right now.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Another project completed, and a great, great, great recipe!

I loathe to run errands by myself most days.  Gunner and Junior joined me while we went back to Home Depot, so I could show my husband the difference between navy blue and royal blue.  I like navy, but Gunner managed to find a fluorescent blue that he thought was navy.  It was awful, but led to jokes the rest of the night and into today.

We finished one project. 

It's a magnet board for Junior's room.  It hasn't made it to his room yet, and we haven't moved all the magnets yet, but hopefully tomorrow.  It was soooooo easy!  I got it off a website, that now I can't find again.  We bought a frame from the Arc, spray painted it, took out the glass, put in sheet metal, and we're done.  I'm all about simple.

Em has requested one for her room to put up pictures (I'm sure of Mr. Beiber himself) and a Team Jacob sign.  The life of a tween.

We hit the commissary.

It had been a few days since we hit the pool, so we went swimming for almost two hours.  Waterlogged, we returned home so I could do the wii fit and Gunner made dinner.

We love PF Chang's, but I am hate to go out to eat since a family of 5 can cost and arm and a leg.  We do like Pei Wei, and it's somewhat cheaper, but I don't think we will ever eat there again after discovering this recipe for Mongolian Beef.     

Abs and Junior love the stuff, and the rest of us eat almost everything anyway.  We did make it with one flank steak, but I also put some tofu in there, and it was to die for.  It tastes just like the real version, but so much better since it is cheap to make!

The girls want it again.  I want it again.

Tomorrow is visual therapy, gym (hoping to make step and then run), maybe a bike ride after the house gets picked up, and we are hoping that the lego table will be completed so that they can start making the city that they are planning.  Have you ever been to Legoland?  We LOVE it, and I can't wait to go back to take Junior.

Trying to plan our summer trip, once Gunner can pin down block leave.  I can't believe January is half over already.  I sure hope Gunner's next deployment goes by this fast....I know, wishful thinking.

I have a problem...

Gunner and I hit the gym this morning after Ab's OT appointment.  A quick workout of Abs and legs (Gunner can barely walk so we didn't do any cardio) and we were on our way. 

We went to the Arc.  My friend Dave tells me to stay away.

I try, but there are always things that I need.

I got two of these:

Okay, okay, okay, so you have to look past the bad paint job and the ugly handles, but aren't they cute?  Of course they will be repainted and will look much better when I Gunner is done.  I like real wood.

Then I came across this:

Very rough, but I like the lines on it.  It will be stained or something by me Gunner and I see new handles in store.

We won't talk about the pyrex I found. 

Then I decided I was going to make a tutu.  It was soooooo easy.  Of course we have a huge static problem here, so it probably needs to go in the dryer a bit to make them lie down a little better.  I'll be making one for my niece next I think.

It actually looks cuter in person, and I straightened out the pieces afterward and it looked better and not so rough.  It took about a good 45 minutes to make from start to finish.

Em is making spaghetti for dinner tonight.  Yum.

Junior needs a haircut.  Em had Girl Scouts--anyone want Girl Scout cookies? 

Gunner and I had pho for lunch and some Vietnamese eggrolls that were the best I have ever had.  The eggrolls came on top of noodles with peanuts and green onions, lettuce leaves, a sauce, cucumbers, carrots, and bean sprouts.  We had never seen that before and guessed that we were supposed to make lettuce wraps out of the extras?

Yea for 4 day weekends!

I volunteered again today.  Very, very, very, interesting.  I think I know what I want to be when I grow up.  At least this week.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area and want your child to attend a brand new charter school for gifted and talented kids, go here.  I've reviewed the curriculum before it was submitted, and it is great.  Small classes that will meet the needs of Abs.  Perfect.

Metronome training tonight for Abs.  This three days a week business is killing me.  What's worse?  Gunner is going to the field soon.  Why is it I know I can survive with him gone, but when I initially here he is leaving, a bit of panic sets in?  Please tell me I am not alone.

Gunner had his first training session last night and a road march this morning.  He's covered in blisters and is sore.  Tomorrow we are hitting the gym and he is going to teach me everything he learned in the first training session.  Can't wait!  We are hoping to follow it up with a bike ride.

I guess the road marches for Gunner will continue since they are prepping for a 22 mile road march.  I want to do it! 

One of Gunner's friends gave him a wii guitar and more songs for our band hero.  I feel a wii tournament coming on this weekend. 

I want to get out and see something this weekend too, since we totally slacked last weekend.  A friend of mine from Texas is coming in this weekend and I am going to visit with her for a bit too. 

School starts up again next week and I decided to take a class.  One class.  I just need to decide which one to take since I want to take both of them.  With Gunner leaving I can't devote the time to two classes, not to mention I want to keep my sanity and my workout schedule.

Junior wants breakfast every morning before he goes to school.....where he turns around and eats another whole breakfast.  He's going to put us in the poor house when he's a teenager. 

My 20 year high school reunion is this summer.  I'm not sure if I am going to go, depends on what else we have going on.  Are they really worth going to?  I didn't particularly enjoy high school, and via facebook I can keep up with most of them, so what's the point?

I keep looking at all these crafty blogs, thinking "I can do that".  I've got big plans!  Time to pull out my sewing machine and get started!

Invitation

You're Invited!!!

What:  The party of all parties!

When:  Every morning at 3 AM

Where:  Our living room

Why:  Apparently everything is more fun at 3 AM

Who:  It's Abs being Abs

Don't worry, this morning she had pizza and a wii party.  Who knows what the future holds.  Maybe an ice cream party?  Sundaes?  Banana splits?

It is apparently always a good time judging from the mess that is left behind, so no worries, she apparently has a monther that is used to cleaning up after her and making her and only her join in the fun of cleaning up after the festivities.

Come as you are, pajamas welcome, bring a wii game as she is getting really good at the few that we have and is looking for some variety.

Be there.

P.S.  Don't worry about a clean bathroom, Abs has covered the toilet in green stars again, so make sure you don't have any breathing problems as it is overwhelming.

Why are Mondays always so hard?

After Gunner being off for almost a month, I didn't want him to go back to work this morning.  Not that I even woke up when his alarm went off.  I was out cold.  But I am sure I was thinking "Have a safe day sweetie". 

For some reason the girls both had appointments this morning.  I dragged Em with us to take Abs to visual therapy, and then raced Abs back to school, and took Em to the orthodontist.  Finished up there and raced to drop Em off at school, then go get Abs again to take her to a doctor's appointment.  Somehow that comsumed 5 hours of my morning.

Em's hair was looking kind of funky this afternoon and I asked her about it--apparently Abs used all of her shampoo so she washed her hair with shower gel.  Ewwww!  I assured her I would get her some real shampoo and conditioner.

Abs started her interactive metrenome training tonight and it went well, but that meant another hour and a half at OT.  I did finish a third of New Moon. 

Tomorrow I start my volunteer job.  Let's see if I can fit it in the schedule.

Tonight Gunner was running the tub for Junior, and Junior started saying he had to pee.  Gunner told him to go potty, and then turned around to see him not using the toilet but peeing all over the clothes that the girls had left on the floor after their showers.  Good times in our house.

Tomorrow we have another night of metronome training, and Abs has to miss her Brownie field trip.  She's fine with it though, so hopefully all these different treatements work.  The metoenome training is supposed to help her work on her impulstivity.  I can only hope!

The weather is beautiful here, and after my 3000 yard swim yesterday, I need to hit the gym tomorrow or definitely Wednesday for a long run.  My sorority in college is talking about meeting and doing a race together sometime.  I can't wait!