Now I am really packing

and it is 11:35 at night. We just got home from Walmart. We were right on schedule and everything was going smoothly till we were headed to Walmart and then the outlaws house and I noticed that the lawn needed to be cut. (I am thinking it rains more here than in Seattle these days) So DH cleaned out the car with the help of the kids and I mowed the lawn since he is still not able to do much physical activity (or so the doctor says, lol). We made it to the outlaws late and then stayed too late. After you finally say you are leaving it takes 15 rounds of saying goodbye to everyone. I was glad to see everyone that came and learned a lot about my husband and his family through this reunion so I guess some good came out of it.

I confess I did take a nap this afternoon, but I was sooooo tired! I still have to finish packing and get everything ready to be loaded in the morning. I think when I go to Hawaii I will be far more prepared.

Stay tuned for updates on the Beverly Hillbillies go to DC....

P.S. To my defense I called my mom at 10:30 and she was vacuuming and was doing laundry. I wonder where I get it from...

Twas the night before leave
And all through the house
The washing machine was going
While my husband did grouse

And I in my sweats with my hair pulled on back
Had just settled down to write lists of what to pack
When what to my wondering eyes should appear
But a Washington DC guide book
And I started to fear

Here we are about to depart
And we have yet to plan our start!
The laundry’s not done, the house is a mess
The trip is not planned I started to confess!

I called up my mom and started to cry
She just listened and laughed and knew not to pry
For she was not much better I soon heard
And my nephew was joining this menagerie I’d herd.

So although the future is quite uncertain
We have reservations and a trip-tik I am certain
So the 7 of us will venture out of our state

And hope that our trip will end up with ????? (I can’t think of anything that fits. LOL I better go pack and be more constructive…I think how tired I am is showing.)

Packing

Or at least I should be. We leave for DC tomorrow morning with the whole menagerie--the five of us, my mom and my nephew. If nothing else we should have quite an adventure getting there!

We still have to go to the inlaws house to say goodbye to everyone and I worked this morning so I better get started on that packing. I might need a nap first. Junior is down....aren't you supposed to sleep when they are?

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!



We went back to the family reunion where we BBQed, cooked, ate, cleaned up and hung out. Pretty American. Someone had purchased some fireworks and I didn't want my kids to touch them and fortunately the other mom felt the same way as her son was burnt by a sparkler. They had gotten some chem lights for the kids and they were as happy as could be. My family usally watches the fireworks put on by Fort Hood but this time we just stayed over at the outlaws house. The kids are now tired and nestled into bed while visions of Washington DC hopefully dance in their heads.

More Family Reunion

This is turning out to be pretty interesting albeit very tiring too. We slept in till almost 10 this morning. I told DH that we need to get back on a normal schedule before we leave for DC.

My outlaws have 12 extra people sleeping on their floors. (Thank goodness we are just 20 minutes away and can come home every night!) FIL is concerned about the electric bill and the water bill and complains constantly. If someone turns on a fan he turns it off. The house is over 85 degrees and full of flies (especially gross after going to NASA and the grossology exhibit and seeing how flies barf every time they land ewwww).

The FIL is also not happy that all these people have to use water. In order to alleviate some of the stress one husband and wife were showering together to conserve his water. The abundance of laundry that needs to be done is a sore spot as well since that requires both his electricity and water. There is just no way to win I guess!

The kicker was last night when he brought out lanterns for us to use for light instead of electricity. I wonder what today will hold. At least we will be grilling so that he won't have to complain about us using the oven!

Hawaii

I booked 11 days at the military resort in Hawaii for November. I bought our tickets, reserved my mom to watch the kids and am now planning out what we will see and do. If anyone has any suggestions, tell me now!

Heartbreaking

I periodically read Michael Yon and his story broke my heart. Read this.

Family Reunions

My husband's family is having a reunion here this week. I think the big day is the 4th of July, but while I was busy organizing my husband took the kids over to his parent's house to hang out with arriving family members. I don't know much about my husband's family or his brothers (he has three). Last night after I went to dinner with my mom and sister and her children I ventured over there for the festivities.

We had a few drinks and sat around and talked and I learned a lot about my husband. His oldest brother was there and passed on some stories. His other older brother will arrive today so I am sure I can hear more about what a perfect angel he was not!

The kids are loving hanging out over there and swimming, playing and hanging out in the huge dog kennel. My outlaws built the kennel but haven't finished with the tarp on top, etc., so the kids just hang out in it and have a great time. This is Abbie playing prisoner.

Tomorrow should be interesting with this group of people. Hopefully I will survive.

P.S. DH survived his surgery and is recovering nicely. :)

Extreme Room Makeover

My mom is a bargain shopper with big ideas. She can see something and can envision something great being created from it. It doesn't matter how odd of an item it is, it is useful and she needs it....especially if it is on sale. Over the years she has accumulated quite a few million craft items for pennies on the dollar. She has a beautiful room that she has stored these items in and where she would go to create.....till the "bargains" took over the room. My sister and brother and sister-in-law spent 3 days emptying, building shelving, tossing, organizing and donating my mom's "treasures". After two trips to Goodwill (don't go buy back your stuff mom!) and a trip to the dump we managed to make the room livable. It's not perfect...that would require about a month of working straight through, but it is now a workable situation for her and we expect her to create great things.

I know it was very hard for my mom and she was a trooper and after the first day left us alone. She did grab on to the fact that she couldn't find one "work in progress" and gave us a really hard time about it. She bet my sister-in-law $10 that we had thrown it away, and it struck me today where I put it and sure enough it was still there and she apologized profusely. Whew...I was really starting to think that I had tossed it!

Anyway, I will continue to help her organize the room but if anyone sees her at the local Goodwill trying to buy back her stuff or Hobby Lobby or Michael's trying to replace it, please have her drop the items and slowly back away from the store--and take away her coupons!

Pre-Deployment Checklist

Over on Spouse Buzz one of the authors had a great post about pre deployment checklists. As DH gets ready to go to ntc and Iraq again I need to get organized (famous last words in my family, but this time I really really really mean it!). I have gone through deployments and lost power of attorneys and all kinds of other things, but this time I am determined that I will be on top of my game. I am sure my mom will give me one of her many binders (I secretly think she collects them along with Lipton tea lids) and I will get started next week--no rush, right?

7 habits

Today DH and I took a class offered by the Army called 7 Habits of Highly Effective Army Families based on Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families. It was a great class and we learned a lot. (Actually DH left at the lunch break since his chain of command wouldn't authorize him to stay the whole day after approving it originally, but oh well) I think we learned a lot of valuable information and hopefully we can put it into practice. I do wish that they had had more examples that were Army related to deployment as that would be helpful in the upcoming months. I do recommend the course to others though, just check with ACS to see if it is offered at your post. Now it is time for DH and I to plow through the book and the workbook so that we can get the most out of the class.

Happy Birthday!!

Today is Junior's 1st birthday!!! Hard to believe how much he has changed over the last 12 months. He was born at 10:01 pm weighing in at a hefty 10 lbs 1 oz. (Thank goodness for epidurals!) Dh had just returned from Iraq for R&R two days prior so he was able to be there for the birth.

He still doesn't sleep through the night every night but I love him just the same!

A few pictures

We're home

I'll try to post some pictures later but we had a great time and the car ride both ways was not that bad! My brother and SIL were great on Sunday taking the girls on a 3 mile run before we headed back so they were worn out. The girls loved NASA and the grossology exhibit. My brother went along with us which made managing 3 kiddos a lot easier. They even had a multi-level playscape inside that the kids loved! I remember being dragged to NASA when I was a kid all the time and dreading it (sorry Mom I know you were trying!). It has really changed and is definitely worth a visit if you are down near Houston.

Weekend

We were all supposed to go to Houston this weekend and stay with my brother, but unfortunately idiots in the barracks have decided that they like to drink while on duty so DH is being punished with the rest of the guys. Sooooo.....call me crazy, but I am going to attempt to pick up the girls from acting camp, feed them and with Junior and the girls drive 4 hours to my brother's house at night. Hopefully NASA will be okay with the 4 of us on Saturday or I might just sit at home after this adventure. DH will be working all weekend so there is no point in us sitting around the house being bored. Famous last words...

Acting Camp Update

Apparently both of the girls had a great day today. I don't know much more, but Em was participating and Abs had 4 boys fighting over sitting next to her both in the chairs and on stage. Em got the part of a turtle and Abs will be a soldier (guess she wants to be just like dad!).

I will celebrate with Olive Garden with the outlaws...don't know how much of a celebration that is, but it's better than me cooking!

I love my daughter

My mom called this morning and was reluctant to take Abs to acting camp. Apparently she had not been listening all morning. To her defense she is ADHD and did not have her medication yet. My mom thinks it is better to pull her out and let her try again next year. I feel that if she doesn't make it this year, I won't try again next year. There is always such a stigma attached to a child that has ADHD and I don't want her to be labeled as a troublemaker.



One thing I really hate is when Abs acts up and the first thing out of someones mouth is "Did she take her medicine today, because it sure doesn't seem like it." I hate that she even has to take medicine and I try not to give it to her over the summer. I hate when people assume she hasn't had it and that is why she is behaving the way she is. I hate that people are so quick to pass her off as being difficult and are unwilling to keep her or spend time with her because she is such a handful. Seems like everyone would rather take the easiest way out and just not have anything else to do with her. I love her with all of my heart and to think that someone doesn't appreciate every bit of her crushes me. Yes, she can be difficult and frustrating. Yes, she has given me gray hairs on more than one occasion. But, I would not trade anything about her and I wish that other people would see that and love her for who she is. So I have decided that I will just keep Abbie close and love her and not put her in situations where people think she is "trouble". I don't want her growing up with a complex about all of this. And to those who miss out on being a part of her life, I feel sorry for you, you have no idea what an incredible child she is.

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away." --Henry David Thoreau

"On the whole, human beings want to be good, but not too good and not quite all the time." --George Orwell

Tactical Questioning

DH attended a tactical questioning class today. Tactical questioning is "a compilation of tools to help all soldiers collect information through questioning and detainee handling." He really enjoyed the class and thought that it would have been useful to have had it before the last two deployments. Apparently the last time he was over there the usual responses from the Iraqi people were "no Ali Baba, we saw nothing, we hear nothing, we love Americans."

Although I doubt one class will give them the knowledge to get an abundance of information it is nice to see that the Army is moving in the right direction to get all Soldiers the training they need before deployment. When DH deployed the first time we had just PCSed to Hood and he had no training specific to Iraq before he left. He feels this time they are more adequately preparing the Soldiers for deployment. Thank goodness!

Stay Tuned...

to see if my children will be booted from acting camp. Apparently Em preferred to sit under the table at craft time and Abs was too busy getting into everything to pay attention. Em has almost the entire play memorized and they got the script yesterday. No telling what is going on in Abs mind.

I guess they get their assigned parts tomorrow--Em is hoping to be a turtle and Abs wants to be a soldier. Maybe they should worry about being able to continue rather than which part they would get. My nephew is enrolled as well and apparently he is doing great.

Hopefully they can pull it together and make it the entire two weeks! Keep your fingers crossed...maybe one day something will be easy for us!

An Abs hairstyle...

I forgot what she called this hairstyle, but it is an Abbie original.

First Morning

My mom dropped the girls off at acting camp this morning and my nephew was waiting on them. Abs had three new best friends before my mom had finished enrolling them and Em was already hungry and had broken into her lunchbox.

Abs went walking with my mom this morning and that seemed to help burn off some excess energy. Keep your fingers crossed since I am trying to avoid staying there the two weeks with them! I have too much to do here.

Hopefully the afternoon report will be good....