Field Time

In Germany, Gunner would go to the field all the time. At Fort Lewis, he went about twice a year and it was for about 2-3 weeks, sometimes longer. At Hood, he has been deployed most of the time. He did leave today to go out to the field so they can play war. He wanted to be a bad guy so he didn't have to shave--he hates to shave. Shoot, he only has to shave his face, not his legs or his armpits. He's getting off easy without having to get a bikini wax or his eyebrows done.

But it's cold. Having him go to the field is just another reminder of what is around the corner for us. Em told me the other day that when he goes to Iraq she will miss him, but she is getting used to him being gone. How sad is that. She will be getting ready to go into Junior High when he returns and she is only in 4th grade now.

When he deploys, I do tell him about all the milestones they reach, funny stories about the kids and he talks to them when he is able to call. There are still so many things that he misses out on. When he came home last time, he carried Junior in and the girls were right by his side. It brought tears to my eyes when he asked the girls if he could sit up....he didn't know his own son. He told me once while he was gone that he loved him even though he didn't know him. How heartbreaking is that? Gunner has more than made up for the missed time when he returns, but the thought of having him miss out again...sigh....no words to describe it.

Priceless...

Today I worked and left Gunner in charge of all three kiddos. I came home and Junior was still in his pajamas, Abs was wearing black and white checked pants with an orange shirt and Em, ever the fashion diva, was color coordinated down to the hoodie that she has to be wearing at all times (Thanks Uncle David!). He got some things accomplished, but his mom also had to make two trips over to help him out. The guy cracks me up--he can go to war, but three little kids are overwhelming!

After two weeks off of work I had a lot to catch up on. I finally got it all done and then my mom and I met my sister and her boys for mexican food at our favorite restaurant. Enchilada Wednesday! After missing a week of our mexican fix, the food was exceptionally good today.

Then we ran by a few stores to pick up a few things that we needed. My mom needed medicine from walmart and ummmmm.......I think that was it. After 6 hours (and three stores) we ended up with this (minus the bag in my hand and the two bags in the backseat). The time we spent together collecting crap we didn't need was priceless!

At least we didn't stock up on wrapping paper this year! I better get busy using all these things I bought though...

Wordless Wednesday

Our Christmas card this year.

Shoes

I usually buy the girls shoes online at shoebuy.com. I will go to the store to get their feet sized and then use ebates and deals to get the shoes down to a reasonable cost....until Em's feet grew. My daughter is only 10, but can no longer wear a children's size as she needs a 7.5. I don't think my feet were that big till college!!!!

The girls were nestled into bed...not sleeping....and I started to peruse the website looking for the perfect shoes. Since they were awake I thought I would allow them to choose the color of the shoes. Big mistake. Abs insisted that they have no pink on them at all. Try finding a size 1.5 girl shoe that has no pink and is not entirely white. It can't be too much blue or it is a "boy's shoe". Then she decided she wanted red, white and blue. I had to pull her out of bed so that we could look at several styles till we found one that we both agreed on--purple and white.

Then Em needed to have her input as well, so she came running out of bed for her turn. She was insistent that she wanted gold shoes. Gold???? Is her middle name Michael Johnson? Then there was the added problem that I was not going to pay a hundred dollars for a pair of tennis shoes for a 10 year old. I told her gold shoes were out since they would clash with her school uniform and no shoes over $75 (which is still absolutely ridiculous if you ask me, but I still hear my dad's voice telling me that you don't skimp on shoes!). We finally found something that we both agreed on and was under budget.

Whew...thank goodness for the internet so that we didn't have to go through all of this in the stores and could take care of it at home and set the search parameters! I wonder how long I can keep on doing this!

Happy New Year!

I cooked ham, black eyed peas and collards today. My sister brought her baked mac & cheese, my mom brought cornbread and the inlaws showed up with wine, german potato salad and german cookies. I'm bound to have good luck this year!

We still had Christmas presents to open, so we got that out of the way before we celebrated the new year. It doesn't take much to make my kids happy!

If you checkout my mom's blog you will see a pic of Gunner's brother and niece who just returned home from Iraq. Very touching photos.

After two weeks off I am back to work tomorrow. My boss is such a slaver driver! (See you tomorrow mom! tap tap tap)

We had a new year's eve dinner last night with the inlaws and feasted on german food.

School starts in 13 days, so I guess I better get busy and start reading all the stuff that I need to get done. I wanted to put Junior in daycare on Thursday but because he turned 18 months on the 26th of December and I haven't gotten him his shots, they won't take him. They didn't even have any appointments till the 10th of January. I have a meeting on Monday, so my MIL is coming to save the day. Since Gunner will be in the field soon, my mom and MIL have to help with the babysitting of all these children on the nights/Saturdays that I have school. I do realize how fortunate I am to have the help and assistance of both of them. Thank goodness this session is just 6 weeks or so.

Gunner got me an ipod for our anniversary and I have been downloading podcasts like crazy so I can listen to them when I hit the gym. Thursday I will start going again....my mom and I had good intentions over Christmas at the hotel gym, but instead we dragged our workout gear up there and it took up space in the luggage for nothing. Next time for sure!!!

I've already started shopping for Christmas next year.

Abs has a birthday in March and I think I have most of what I want to give her ready. I am searching for a dinosaur alarm clock that roars though, that is shaped like a dinosaur. I am starting to think that they don't make them. I thought I saw one before.....

May your 2008 be bright, happy, hopeful and prosperous in every way imagineable. Remember the Soldiers/Airmen/Marines/Sailors deployed throughout the world at the time. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

The trip home

We finally made it home. We left Joplin after breakfast and hit the turnpike. We stopped and got gas, and then about every 45-60 minutes after that we had to stop for Em to go to the bathroom. I told my mom that she must be drinking in the car ( I rode with my mom on the way back)--which we don't allow. I checked later and found an empty sprite bottle. I asked Gunner if he knew that she had one and he said yes, but she was not drinking it in the car. It was empty.

One of the MANY bathroom stops that we made was at a McDonald's where we all tossed back a cheeseburger and were back on the road. Junior slept through it poor kid.

In Oklahoma we stopped at a gas station that had a casino attached to it. We pottied and then since I didn't have my purse, I asked my husband for some money to try my luck. So while my husband stood outside the gas station feeding the children chocolate chip cookies my mom and I ducked in the casino. I tripled my money! My mom lost. I walked out and my husband asked me if I lost it all and I handed him back $6. Yeah, we aren't big gamblers, I started with $2.

We finally hit Texas and got within 30 minutes of home, so we pulled over so Em could potty....again....and Abs and I switched back to our car so my mom could head on home in peace and quiet. (Miss us yet mom?) Junior had pooped and spilled water all over himself when he opened his sippy cup, so I took him inside to change him. I always change Junior in the car or before I leave home or in the stroller. I'm not a big fan of public bathrooms or changing tables, especially in gas stations, but he was a mess and the car was packed. I put him on the changing table and he freaked out! I quickly changed his diaper and couldn't even attempt to change his clothes, so I took him outside to change him standing up. It was so strange for him to throw such a fit like that, that I mentioned it to Gunner. He told me that Junior doesn't like changing tables and he always does that. I laughed and laughed--not that he was scared, but that I had not had to change him while out in public the entire trip till the end, so I didn't even know this.

Okay Gunner, I think you have paid your dues, you win "Father of the Year" but I still hold the longest running title to "Employee of the Month!".

Pics from Precious Moments Chapel

Headed Home

We are finally on our way back home to Texas. We were supposed to leave bright and early this morning, but we didn't get out of St. Louis till 11 pm. We stopped off to pick up some stuff that we had left at my sister's house, then got gas, then went back to my sister's to drop off something else and pickup Junior's milk, then we started to leave, but Abs and I had to go potty, so back inside we went. Finally we said our goodbyes and hit the road.

We wanted to eat at Lambert's for lupper, but we got there and the wait was an hour and a half! we thought about it, used the Hen room, and headed out to the Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO. When my little sister got married my husband and I traveled back by car from IL with Em who was two years old at the time. We were driving and stumbled across the Precious Moments Chapel, and stopped by to visit right before it closed. It was really neat and this was the first time I had been back in 8 years. The girls were amazed by all of the pictures and the stained glass ones that depicted different Bible verses.

After we left there and had dinner--the Sirloin Stockade, with the rest of Carthage! We are bunked for the night at a three star hotel. It was only $10 more a night than the dive we stayed in on the way up! We took the kids swimming and Junior was trying to fall asleep while we were still in the pool. Even little Abs who never goes to sleep before 10 or 11 was fast asleep by 9. Tomorrow we are headed home to Texas, with a stop or two along the way......

I'll share pics in another post since it's always a hassle on Gunner's laptop!

Science Center

Random Pics

Steak N' Shake Pics

Carriage Ride Pictures

Finishing Up

We leave tomorrow to head back to Texas. Of course my horrible cold is on the home stretch and I should be well by the time we get back there. Oh well, I have managed to cough and hack and blow my nose through St Louis and IL. On Sunday we went over to my friend Marcie's house--her house is absolutely beautiful and I am hiring her to decorate my house once I finally get one. We loved the area and it was so good to see her and her family. Her kids are half grown! We hung out there and then ran by Scott AFB to check out the px and get a few things that we needed. I was walking into the px and my purse broke, so a perfect excuse to go purse shopping there. My children think I put too much stuff in there, but with the essentials and binkies and snacks and bottles, I need all that space!

Monday we went swimming, checked out my sister's house which is in North St Louis and in an area that they are totally rehabbing. When it is all said and done, it's going to be a great place to visit! Once my brother and sister-in-law arrived we hit the Science Center. Christmas Day we cooked, ate, napped and finally opened presents.

There was the turtle playground one day.

We did some shopping yesterday and of course hit Steak N' Shake. Last night we went to Tillis Park to take a carriage ride through hundreds of lights. It was so cold out there, but we ended the event with hot chocolate, stollen and some kuchen.

Today it's raining so the zoo is out. My sister and her crew are due over to the hotel so we can decide what our plan of action is. So much to do, so little time.

Merry Christmas

We got a few quick pictures of Junior in his Christmas outfit before we went to breakfast. He spilled juice down the front, which wasn't too bad, but then he pulled Gunner's cold coffee down and it spilled all over. Tried to wash it out and dry it with a hairdryer so that he could wear it since there is only one day he could, to no avail. Oh well, he looked cute in it the 45 minutes that it took him to get it dirty!

On the Road Again

Every time we think that a road trip is a good idea, we take one. We should have known!

We wanted to get an early start and meet my mom and her sleigh at the outlet mall in Hillsboro. I called to tell her that we were leaving and she was madly rushing around to get things ready. We arrived a little after 9 and since she was delayed a little I of course began to shop! Since there are have been bigger and better outlet malls built close by, this little one is slowly going under. I hit a couple of store closing sales and got a few good deals along the way. The car was already packed to the gills so when I got back to the car I found all my purchases sitting in my seat. I guess my husband was trying to nicely tell me that if I kept shopping I would have to hold it all! He did manage to find someplace to store them.

After noon my mom showed up. By then we were hungry and picnicked on the tables in front of the stores. There was a lady who was selling tamales to customers that were meeting her up at the outlet mall and we mentioned that looked good and she offered to sell us a dozen extra she had. They were excellent! We demolished those, added some german potato salad from our german Christmas, fed the children some sandwiches and then hit the road.

250 miles later we were on the border of Texas and Oklahoma and we needed a rest stop! We exited at the sign but didn't realize that we needed to backtrack on the other side of the freeway to get to the rest stop. We had entered Oklahoma, but went back to Texas once we turned around towards the rest stop. Realizing that we were doing this, we opted to turn around again and get back on the freeway and stop in OK. We left Texas, entered OK, and then entered TX again as we got back to the other side of the freeway. Once we finally found a place to turn around, we got back on the freeway and left Texas and finally entered OK for good. Yeah, okay, that makes no sense when you write it down.

We continued driving, grabbed a hotdog at a convenience store in Tulsa for dinner and then hit the road again where after 11 last night we finally arrived at the hotel. We had called ahead to find a place that was reasonably priced and served breakfast as feeding this hungry bunch can cost a bundle. My mom refuses to stay in any one star hotel, but I think we should up the standards to nothing less than three stars! We pulled up in front of the Lamplighter Inn in Springfield, and it looked okay. We got in there and the front desk clerks were pleasant but quirky. Em had to use the bathroom and one of the clerks ran around the corner and started yelling at the drunk man coming out of the women's restroom. we got Em situated after checking the bathroom and then went to our rooms. We had adjoining rooms...on the third floor....

Going up in the smelly elevator I was getting kind of nervous, but it was almost midnight and we were tired! I opened the room and expected to see mirrors over the ceiling. My mom's heater/ac was broken, so at midnight we are taking a tired Em, a wildly awake Abs and an energetic Junior down the hall to the new set of rooms. These were actually better than the first set, although I am glad we are staying just one night! The girls wanted to stay at the nice hotel that our windows looked out to, but we tucked them into bed and eventually we all fell asleep. Junior didn't get the message on sleeping through the night, but what's more fun than having a baby kick you and sleep on top of you all night as they try to get comfortable?

We are about to go to breakfast and then hit the road.

Christmas in Texas

We are having our Christmas with the outlaws tonight since we are leaving in the morning for my sister's house. I'm cleaning and sent Gunner and Junior to the store to pick up tape so I can wrap the presents. Santa has been notified of our location on Christmas morning and the girls were relieved to hear that. Today is the last day of school and then the outlaws are bringing over a German Christmas dinner. They ate and left in such a hurry on Thanksgiving, that I wonder how long they will stay today.

I signed up to be a sub, and am being stalked by the sub center. I did sub in a music class yesterday and in a kindergarten class the other day. I can't take the calls because I have to coordinate the girls getting picked up from school and Junior going to daycare. I have to do it online and plan ahead. I am hoping in January to pick up more jobs though since Junior loves going to daycare and he would be happy being there every day. He'll have to start going anyway when I go back to school this summer, so I might as well get him used to it.

Since we are leaving tomorrow....you guessed it.....I have nothing packed. My mom is going along with us, and after checking in with her, she's not ready either. At least I know where I get it from! I was kind of worried about the whole trip since until about 10 pm last night we didn't even have a place to stay! We finally found what we were looking for--my only request was an indoor heated pool so that we could tired the kids out at night.

I have the roomba and the scooba going and have to wash and fold mountains of laundry. At least I work well under pressure...

Gas Leak

Yesterday I was having Starbucks with my friend and Gunner called to tell me that there were fire engines around the girls' school, but not to worry because he didn't see any smoke. We figured that the school was probably touring the fire engines or something. No big deal. Junior and I head out to a doctor's appointment in the neighboring town and Gunner calls to tell me that he finished up his PT appt and caught on the news that there was a gas leak at the school. Another Soldier watching said that the kids were evacuated to a gym on post. We finally manage to get a hold of someone at the gym and were told that we were supposed to come pick up our children. We never received a phone call or anything, and this was hours after the incident. If Gunner hadn't caught the tail end of the news, we would have never known since I wasn't home and even if I was, I would have been enjoying the peace and quiet. The children were safe though and that was what was most important. They had to take 12 children to the hospital and 5 teachers. Em's teacher passed out in the classroom in front of them. They were taken to the cafeteria where they were loaded on to buses--I think they said with staff and everything it was 21 buses, not sure on that. They got to the gym where they were given water bottles as they entered and later served pizza hut, milk and applesauce and waited until their parents went through a screening process to make sure that they were being picked up by the correct people. The news said that the school was filled with carbon monoxide. Thankfully no one was hurt, but they do need to work on their emergency notification system!

Em and Abs talked about it the rest of the day and Em wrote it down and told me to blog it. Her Grandma would be proud that she is documenting everything.

She wrote:

Today was the worst day of my life. The school was filled with carbon
monoxide. Mrs. M passed out on the floor and had to be rushed to the
hospital. It was so major that 2 fire trucks, 8 ambulances and 21 school
buses were there to take all the kids to the gym. But the good things are
Mrs. M is okay, there will be school tomorrow and everyone is still alive.

13 Years

My internet wasn't working, so this was for yesterday.

Today, Gunner and I have been married for 13 years. We were married about 7 months after I graduated from college and he had received orders for Germany. During those 13 years we have lived in 7 houses, three different duty stations (Hood twice, Germany and Lewis), had three children in three different locations (one at each duty station....hmmmm.....maybe that is why the Army isn't moving us anymore?) and suffered through three year long deployments with a 4th one on the way. My husband's hair has started to gray...a lot (mine too--not good!). We've gained a few pounds. We've lost three grandparents, my dad and muddled through life together although we are almost always apart. Even though his dirty socks can never find the hamper, his shoes are scattered around the house and his army gear breeds in the closets overnight—I wouldn’t trade a thing (ummmm....but if someone reading this can help us out, I would like to move again!). Thanks Gunner for the last 13 years and many more to come.

Unique Presents

Over the years, my family has given many unique presents. When I was little I started an elephant collection for my older brother (who at no time ever indicated an interest in elephants). My little sister at around age 5 received a doll with no hair (mom ran out of time!) and the doll was later given back to her once it was completed at my sister's graduation from graduate school. For our parents anniversary we have sent them on trips, to see shows, out to dinner where we arranged for them never to see the bill. We had a flag flown over the Capital of Texas for my dad's birthday and we took him to see it where we announced that it was flying in honor of him. One year we arranged to have a house demolished that they owned. Try explaining to a demolition company that this was indeed going to be well received (they didn't demolish it till after my parents knew). I'm sure there are more ranging from handmade soap on a rope to memory boxes to a coupon to help organize and file.

Today my mom told us that we needed to be at her house at 11:30. We arrived well before then and she would give no clue as to what her surprise was. We fixed lunch, ate and were still waiting. Someone knocked at the door and my mom made us wait at the table while she whispered to the girl. A few seconds later she told us that our surprise was on the way. The doorbell rang and Em ran to get it.

"There's a band out there!" she exclaimed.

A band???? As a surprise and in honor of our anniversary my mom had gotten the marching band from the local high school to come play songs for us in front of her house. The neighbors came out, we sang, the look of delight on my children's faces, it was good. Now how the heck do we top that?