Gunner

My husband has one of the biggest hearts. A few years ago when my dad was sick, my mom joined the horticulture club in her retirement community. They were making plans to build an organic garden so that they could reap the benefits of fresh veggies year round. With time, the plan grew and grew. My mom wanted to help, but she was often busy helping my dad, and didn't feel like there was much she could do. Enter Gunner.

Gunner has the strength of 20 men. (Once I bought a freezer and the lady told me that I was going to need several guys to move it. I assured her that Gunner could do it, and when he came and moved it, she changed her tune. He makes it all look easy!) Gunner wanted to help out my mom so he participated in the building of the garden every saturday for a year. He had just returned from his first tour in Iraq, and many of the veterans loved to "talk shop" with him. Even those that were unable to serve, still had a great respect for him. Gunner moved huge cinder blocks, dug trenches, moved mulch, built, tore down, moved some more stuff, carried more bricks, built more beds, the list went on. He absolutely loved every minute of it, and felt like he was really helping. (I'm sure the 3 hours of being child free was somewhat enticing too!)

When Gunner left for his second tour in Iraq, the club decided to have a yellow ribbon tied to the biggest oak tree in the garden. They had a ceremony, sent him pictures, and faithfully waited for his return at which time they promised a celebration. After a year, Gunner returned and true to their word, the horticulture club reserved a pavilion, catered BBQ, and even though there was a torrential downpour, the club showed up to welcome him home. We were even invited to their Christmas party as guests.

This past year while Gunner was home, he was unable to work in the garden every Saturday due to commitments that we both had (many of which I am sure were probably me saying "You take them to the garden or you stay here with them , I need a break!"). Before he left for Iraq this time, he stopped by and was greeted warmly by all the members of the club. Some of them write, some email, a ton of them ask about him.

Fast forward again to today. The residents of Sun City held a "Thanks to the Troops" golf tournament in Georgetown today. Different community organizations were able to sponsor a "hole" with a message. The horticulture club sponsored one in Gunner's name. (These things were not cheap!)

While we were waiting for the Soldiers to arrive, I chased Junior around. Of course all of these retired grandparents fell in love with the little guy. Can anyone tell me who this guy is? (The one wearing the hat with the flag and the white shirt--I didn't want to look too obvious about taking his picture (hint: he was inducted into the football hall of fame, and was an extremely nice guy who gave us directions to hole 5 and rescued Junior's binky and held on to it till he saw us again!) (Oh and I only know who it is because I stared at the Hall of fame ring for a while and then asked my mom)

Anyway, in the heat of the day, Sun City residents lined the roads, dressed in patriotic colors, waving flags, and cheering for the Soldiers that arrived. These Soldiers looked shocked at the warm reception that they received. They were fed lunch and then paired up with a Sun City resident that had served in the military. They were loaded on to golf carts and then taken to play Shotgun Golf or something like that--I am in no way a golfer! After the festivities were done, they would be treated to dinner.

After the Soldiers arrived my mom and I decided we should go find Gunner's "hole". After getting more directions and stumbling around, we finally found it (and I managed to walk through tons of poison ivy, not just once, not twice, but three times--score one for ABW). I walked back and there was a sign for Gunner and two people from the horticulture club waiting for us in case we stopped by. They asked about Gunner and I gave our thanks for them thinking of Gunner and honoring him in this way. The local Sun City news lady came out and shot some video and asked some questions about Gunner too. Junior saw "flat daddy" and was all over him.

After all the festivities, we headed out for mexican food and Junior passed out. Thanks to Sun City for honoring the Troops from Fort Hood and for the Horticulture club for honoring my hero!

Need your help!

A few weeks ago I submitted a picture of Gunner and Junior to an online photo contest. The picture was selected as one of 20 finalists, and now the winner is determined by votes by the public. So I need you to go here. Once there, you can choose to vote, and look for the only military related photo! Gunner is in ACU's and Junior grabbed his beret and put it on while I was trying to take photos. It's a cute picture! Thanks so much and please refer everyone you know to vote!

Wordless Wednesday (sort of)

These were taken in Baghdad, Iraq, on the street where Sadaam held all of his parades, etc. Glad to see that Gunner hasn't lost his sense of humor!

Daily Life

I got a citation today for my lawn, how about you? Em started mowing it the other day, and we ended up taking Junior into the doctor so we never finished. I paid someone $5 to weedeat it, I should have splurged and had him mow. Usually I get a pre-citation notification. Oh well, I think the whole street got them.

I called ENT today and Junior has an appointment next Thursday. Maybe we can make it that long?

The hardest thing about having three children is coordinating them. I have a master calendar that I print out and post on the doors of my computer armoire. I haven't started color coordinating things yet, but I can see where I will have to in a few years!

For some reason coordinating two children was much, much easier. My friend has one daughter and she is constantly stressed out about not having enough time in the day to cart her places. It reminds me of when we just had Em. Gunner and I thought it was a huge ordeal to take just Em to the store. Then Abs came along and Em was super easy. Then Junior came along and Abs and Em were easy. But then I see someone with an infant and I realize how good I have it since Junior can walk, etc. One of these days they will be all grown up and I will wish it was back to the days of carting, talking, reading to them and cooking for them, even if they do want mac and cheese every night!

Soldier needs mail

I was talking to Gunner online today and he mentioned that there was a Solider with him (a medic) that is not getting any mail. Gunner asked the Soldier if he needed anything, but he insisted he was fine. If anyone is interested in adopting this Soldier, please email me at armybloggerwife@gmail.com ! Thanks!

President's Speech

Gunner gave me the head's up that the President mentioned SPC Tucker in his speech today. SPC Tucker was in my husband's company and was killed in April along with Gunner's CO, CPT Pearson. You can read the speech here.

Memorial Day - Arlington (Trace Adkins)

Thank you.

Ugh

Pig roast on Saturday. I left once my MIL showed up and told the neighbor that we won't come visit her because they don't have a pool and started sulking. Ummmm...no......we don't come to visit because you have 6 dogs and your house is a disaster, smells, and is unsanitary! They are always welcome to come to my house!

Sunday we saw my brother and SIL. Abs hung on my brother's every word and she and Em loved spending time with him. They told me on the way home "Uncle Dave is like Daddy, he likes to spend time with us and he's funny."

Got the car tuned up today--Toyota will deliver your car to you, so we opted to go that route. I'll definitely buy a toyota again! They will even pick it up, service it, and return it to your office before the end of the day. Can't beat that!!!

On a whim, since Junior has had a rash since Friday night, I thought I would take him to the doctor. He pulled at his ears a little, but nothing major. He just finished his augmentin this morning, so I wasn't too worried......but instead, he has another ear infection. He's on a different antibiotic this time. I will call ENT on Tuesday, since we need to get this squared away, and fast!!!

Last week of swimming lessons.....I see the light at the end of the 10 week long tunnel.....

Buying Tires

As in everything I do, it couldn't be easy.

Saturday morning since I was down a kid, I decided we would get up early and head over to Discount Tires to get a new set of wheels. Gunner told me what kind to get, and the general population agreed. We head over there, and Rick at Discount Tires tells me that they don't have those in stock, but they can have them within an hour from the warehouse. Sounds good. I pay a whopping $864 and give Rick my cell phone number to call while we walk across the parking lot to wander around the one store that was open--Home Depot. Rick assures me that once the tires are there, that it won't take very long to get them mounted and put my spare back, etc.

With Junior in the stroller, Abs and I set off for Home Depot. We walked around the entire floor. We checked out tile samples, carpet samples, and Junior ate a mickey mouse paint card. We looked at flowers..

Then Abs met the Maytag repair man...

It was still early and no phone call, so we wandered around Staples. Still no phone call so we waited outside for Ross to open up. Wandered around there for a while and still no response. By this time we are getting close to an hour and 45 minutes of waiting. We head back over, get there, and our car has not moved. I waited and tried to entertain Junior. (Abs was a dream) Finally the manager noticed that my car had not been worked on when he came back from his lunch. He eventually got it pulled back there and they started work. By this time Junior is screaming. Customers are moving away from us, but only one man glared at me. I finally gave up trying to get Junior to stop screaming, it was hopeless. I moved closer to the counter thinking they would get tired of the screaming. Once we moved up there, they started hopping around trying to find my car, getting us water, etc. Finally our car was done.

I went to the car, put Junior and Abs in, and started to load up the stroller and diaper bag. I checked the trunk for the star key that opens my rims, and it wasn't there. I stopped someone who said he would go find it. Then I notice that part of my spare is not put on (you have to go through the trunk to unscrew it, but it's under the trunk if that makes any sense). So when tire guy comes back with the star key, I ask him what the extra part is for, and he says he will fix it. So he's trying to get my car back together, the manager is helping, and I am stewing in the car because Junior is still screaming and we have been there for three hours. Finally the manager comes over and apologizes profusely for taking so long, for not putting my car in the queue where it should have been, for not putting it back together correctly, for not calling (later found out that tire guy left a message at the house), the list went on and on. He then slipped me $100 and told me to have a nice dinner on the store. I think I'll put it towards my new tires.

Friday Night

Em had her sleepover last night and Abs and Junior and I headed over to a friend's house to swim and have a BBQ. It was so nice to relax and just talk with friends. I was surprised that Junior didn't try to get in the water. He got in a few times with an adult, and that was enough for him. He loved throwing all the stuff in the pool and drinking the saltwater. Abs had a great time playing with her little friend too. I really need to get a haircut for Junior.


Some pictures from last night:




He was eating a carrot.

Yes, after hundreds of dollars worth of swim lessons Abs was wearing floaties. She can swim though!

AAA

Went to the doctor to find out I am not dying, even if I do feel like I am. That's reassuring.

I've needed an oil change for a week or two, but never had the time. So today I am driving home and the check tire light came on. I get home and the tire is almost flat. I call AAA and they are sending someone to change it. Could I change it? Yes. Do I want to? Heck no!

So I called Toyota and told them I needed to take my car in on Monday if they were open. They are. Good. So I asked about the 60K checkup and he gave me a price. Ouch, but needs to be done. He then tells me it takes 4 1/2 hours and I need to be there at 7:30 am. We are going in our pajamas. I told him that I hope he liked kids cause I had three of them coming along with me. He told me that they have a shuttle that will take us home and then pick us up when the car is ready. That's nice. Whew.

That huge basket of snacks that they have in the waiting room would have been eaten in the first hour by Junior.

Now to search online for what kind of tires to buy. Any suggestions? (and NOT goodyear!)

Renaming my blog

I think I should rename my blog to something like "The Adventures of Gunner's Children--Three cute kids whose dad is serving his third tour in Iraq and whose mother is trying to raise them up to be productive members of society. Read our story as we try to give our mom a run for her money and make our dad laugh while he is gone."

So after a day of changing diapers--BTW, Huggies overnight diapers work great when your kid has diarrhea--Junior seemed to be doing much better.

Abs had an appointment at 2 yesterday so I picked her up after Junior's nap, came prepared to entertain Junior for an hour, and showed up at the clinic. I was an hour late. The receptionist was not nice at all. "I know it is a free appointment but you should call if you aren't going to come." I didn't traipse out to this place with all this crap and all these children to have a rousing good time hanging out for an appointment and not being seen. Geez. Abs started to cry.

So we load everything back up and head home. We get back and even though Junior had just had a snack (the boy could eat a bear most nights for dinner, but Tuesday night he settled for 4 hotdogs with buns, a banana, and the spoiled milk), and was still crying hungry. We were playing in the living room and then I heard a crash and saw Junior rooting around in the pantry. I went over to the gate and Junior had pushed on it so hard that it punched a hole in the drywall and that caused the gate to lose its pressure and swing wide open. Add calling housing to my list of things to do.

Em comes home from Poetry Club and we all hang out for a while, and I talk to Gunner online. He looks good, but is extremely tired. He's having a hard time sleeping more than 3 or 4 hours at a time. I told him "Welcome to my world!". He at least found it somewhat amusing. We miss him.

I spent swim lessons last night chasing Junior. I took his ball, threw it to the top of the ramp (which winds around) and he would run all the way up the ramp to get it, then run all the way back down. This happened a few times and he started to get tired. I did it again, and he looked at it, thought about it, stood in front of the stairs for a bit, then took off. He climbed up the stairs (which was a much much much shorter route), grabbed the ball, and ran down the ramp. He handed me the ball and said "Junior no play". He slept well last night.

Haircut at 9:30. I needed to do something since every time we walk outside the door now, my children see the plant, look at it, and say "Bye Mommy". They think they are funny.

Sour Milk

Tuesday night at dinner, Abs didn't finish all of her milk. Not a big deal, but she forgot to put it in the sink. I didn't notice till the next day while I was running around trying to get things done, so I made a mental note to get Abs to put it in the sink when she got home.

Best laid plans of mice and men. I forgot. Fast forward to dinner last night and I told the kids to sit down so I could serve dinner. I hear Junior gulping and look over and he is going to town on the milk. I screamed. Junior stopped. His bottom lip came out. He started to get huge tears.

This morning I dropped him off at daycare and told them what happened, but let them know that so far nothing had happened. I went to the gym to workout (ran 2.5 miles!), showered and the phone rang. I guess the spoiled milk kicked in and Junior was going all over the place.

This will be a fun day.

On the bright side, at least I got my workout in and I will have plenty of time to finish up my resume, etc. Maybe I will take Junior for a haircut or something.

I need a vacation!

What does this resemble?

My mom told me on the phone about all the super cheap dead plants that she rescued from Lowe's. This morning when I showed up to work I saw this plant on her front doorstep and immediately thought of.....

When the girls came home from school, they saw the plant and said exactly what I thought. "Mommy, that plant looks like your hair!" Oh the joy of having such wild, curly hair!

Learning a lesson

Em was excited about a field trip to the Bob Bullock museum that her grade was taking. Unfortunately she won't be able to attend. Permission slips were sent home and Em didn't get hers signed. They weren't even due yet, but in a panic she thought it was better to sign the permission slip herself and try to pass it off. It didn't work. Her teacher was nice enough to not write her up, but now Em is not allowed to go on the field trip and will spend the day doing extra work while sitting in another classroom. I can tell she is bothered by it, which she should be. Oh the joys of living with a pre-teen hormonal girl. Did Gunner plan this deployment any better?

I was talking to Ab's teacher about getting some OT help from the school district. She had communicated with the assistant principal about it, and was relaying the information back to me. Her teacher mentioned the PT because of the arm Abs broke in Kindergarten. Ummm....what broken arm??? I looked at Abs and she said "Well my sister almost broke her arm when I was in Kindergarten."

Junior seems to be doing better and the endless stream of snot has tapered off ever-so-slightly.

And just for the record....some people make me want to scream! Ugh. More on that later.

On a side note, they are having a blood drive at the girls' school. I would donate if I could, but since we were in Germany before 1996, it's a no go. Does that apply for the rest of our lives? Seems like that would limit a lot of people in this area from donating. Well that and I think the flyer stated if you had been to Iraq or Afghanistan in the last 12 months. There's the other half of our population....

Things I learned on Sunday...

1. Never try to cut the toenails of a baby you just doused in aquaphor. He will win.



2. While cleaning the garage with a 23 month old, always have a clear path to chase him. (Junior rounded the corner before I got to the door of the garage and I couldn't find him anywhere. I ran inside to grab the phone (he had a 10 second head start at most) and found him playing with his toys. Whole incident lasted about 120 seconds, but a few new gray hairs were added to the lot.)



3. If you have just scrubbed the dining room, don't serve pizza as one piece will land upside down on the floor.



4. When Abs says she is going to take a shower, hide the brand new bottle of shampoo. She will opt for a shampoo bubble bath instead.



5. If your husband every says he needs something from clothing and sales, don't believe him! Gunner took duffle bags full of stuff to Iraq, and I filled a dresser, two huge rubbermaid trunks, 5 duffle bags and still didn't get everything put away. In case of emergency, my garage is the place to be. We can have our own army.



6. A mother's instinct is right 99.9% of the time, even if you don't have a medical degree.



7. When you stuff the freezer and it accidentally pops open, it will be your ice cream that falls out and melts because it will make the biggest mess.



8. It is possible to do laundry all day long and still not be done.



9. In order to make banana bread, you need to buy 4 bunches of bananas so that your crew can't eat them all before they get brown (and since they were from the commissary that takes all of 3 days).



10. When your son is small, but stocky, he may not be able to climb over the gates, but he will learn to bulldoze them down. Great.

Amazon

I love Amazon. After thinking about Cheaper by the Dozen, and the sequel I placed an order for them.
I have never read Belles on their Toes, so I am excited about getting it! While I have never read it, I do remember that Tina B was in my 7th grade reading class and she did it for her book report. My mind is a wealth of useless information.


Knowing my kids, they will probably start taping foreign languages on the bathroom walls.

Diaper head, spidergirl & Em

He did have a diaper on his bottom too.

What better way to be dressed to watch Cheaper by the Dozen. (The original one--I absolutely loved the book when I was younger! I think I need to find a copy and read it to the kids.)

Not to be...

I mentioned that I hoped with the girls on antibiotics and Junior just coming off (finished 20 days of amoxicillian on Friday) that we would be in the clear.

Not going to happen. We just got home from the weekend clinic (which for all you Fort Hood people is now walk in only so get there early, but they said Sunday is always super slow). Junior has a double ear infection with huge amounts of pus, strep throat (probably), and pink eye. All this and he was in there singing the ABC's for everyone. Poor little guy just can't win! He's playing nicely, and if it wasn't for the fact that he ALWAYS has an ear infection, I wouldn't have known to take him in since he is pretty good natured (which he gets from me!).

So back on antibiotics we go, and of course augmentin means diarrhea. The doctor did put in a referral to ENT, and I know some people balk at tubes, but she said we are getting to the point where they are constant and severe and could start building up scar tissue and affecting his hearing. Not on my watch!

My mom had the girls overnight and they will pick berries after church today and then she will return them home to me. I'm off to sanitize the house, replace toothbrushes and clean out the fridge. Can't get much more fun than that!

Frantic Friday?

This morning I had a massage scheduled. I was tempted to call a friend and let her have it since I didn't feel like going. But, since she has been sick off and on, I wasn't sure she could use it so I went. Boy was I glad I did. I didn't really want to lie down for an hour and a half, but it was well worth it.

I came home, relaxed, talked to Gunner, then decided to make this for my lunch and dinner.

Best laid plans of mice and men. The school called and Abs had a fever. Turns out she has an ear infection and her throat was red, and it could have meant strep, but since they were treating the ear infection, the strep test didn't make much sense. So then I called the after school program, they said they would take Em, so I called the school and had a message passed on. Abs and I went to the doctor, then to Sam's to get her prescription filled. I needed toilet paper, but as usual came out with a whole lot of other "needs" too. Never fails.

I am home for a bit so I can finish cooking my lunch/dinner, then get the kids. Pizza Party at Girl Scouts tonight, but Abs will stay home with me.

My hope is that since Junior is on antibiotics for his ear and they just ended last night, that he will be okay. Em is on antibiotics for a UTI. I don't have time to be sick, I have a meeting on Monday and need to take a dessert and a salad. I sure hope they like store bought!