Thankful?

Besides my love of the DFAC--I offered to take the kids there tonight, and they declined--I am thankful that Gunner is on the other side of the world tonight.

If anyone knows me, I don't handle sick well.  While I am sad that he is gone, sick, and having to work, I am thankful that won't lead to an additional 4 people for me to clean up after.

Is that wrong?  Fortunately he loves me and laughs when I tell him things like this.

I think we will need to add immodium, pepto, and some chicken soup to his next package.  What do you send your husband when he is sick so far away?  (I really do feel horrible that he is sick.)

Also, we have a date for his return.  He will get to come home early, and he will be out of the Army sooner than I expected.  Total freakout has begun.  More on that later though.

One more thing I am thankful for????  That Sammy the dog has not become violently ill (knock on wood) from the amount of cornbread that he ingested.  It's the small things around here.

I'm in love....

I did crossfit first thing this morning, and then we headed to the DFAC for our Thanksgiving dinner.  The place was beautiful, huge, packed, and most of all, filled with GREAT food.

I admit, I am in love with the DFAC.

Did I mention the food was great?  Maybe it was because I didn't have to cook it or look at it over the next few days and try to rearrange it into something else my children would eat.

I had suckling pig, prime rib, turkey, king crab legs, shrimp......I had to try all the meats.

There were tons of veggies.

My pecan pie, while not like my mama makes it, it was still good.

The kids ate.

The atmosphere was festive.

The bigwigs were out.

The people were nice.

Most of all, it cost us $7.  SEVEN DOLLARS!

I will never ever, and I mean never ever, cook Thanksgiving dinner again (for the record, I can't really cook and surprisingly have made it 38 years without having to cook a turkey).  I already asked Gunner if they served Christmas dinner, because I want to make sure we hit that too.

I wonder if they would notice if I showed up every night for dinner.

Christmas Cards

How in the world can it be time for Christmas already?  Don't get me started on how I walk the dog and see half the people have Christmas trees up.  I'm never that together, and especially when Gunner is gone playing GI Joe halfway around the world.

Operation Gratitude has come out with a series of Christmas cards, that are being offered through CafePress.  Operation Gratitude is a non-profit organization that sends packages to troops that are deployed.   How can I not support an organization like that?

I was contacted to review some of their Christmas cards that are being offered this year, with a percentage of the proceeds to benefit Operation Gratitude.

They sent me a dozen to sample, and I love them!  Of course it helps that I have such a cute subject to include on them.

This picture was taken when Gunner was deployed the second time to Iraq.  He returned home two days before Junior was born on R&R, left when he was 13 days old, and then resurfaced when Junior was almost 6 months.

If you are looking for Christmas cards this year, make sure you check them out here.

Cleaning House

My mom is still here visiting, and today we tackled Ab's room.  What a mess.

While we are cleaning, she is cooking, which means I am eating what I don't usually eat.

It won't counteract it all, but I am hitting crossfit 5 times a week right now (well that and Abs doesn't have OT one morning like she usually does).

Not a great picture, but I was about to do half a million squats.....or at least that is what it felt like.

Have you seen the new plans that they want to have for retirement?  Now they want to change them to apply to everyone with less than 15 years of service.  We won't fall into that category, but I would be upset.  I'm looking forward to that retirement check coming in every month.  We won't be using it to live off of (I hope!), but one of the main reasons Gunner stayed in was for the retirement pay....It just frustrates me because it does affect a lot of people that I know.

I am switching my plan on MyCaa.  We'll see if it gets approved.  I need to use it up before Gunner retires.  I wasn't aware of that little caveat, but rest assured I'll put it to good use.

Oh, and we have ONE more IM appointment this week and then we are done!

War Shamoor

I think one of the hardest things about being a military spouse is not hearing from your Soldier.

I was miserable about a week, but not about to complain since it had been a month for a friend.

How long do you go?  When the war first started, the first 6 months, we had 3 ten minute phone conversations during that time.  That was hard.

While I will never complain about not hearing from him too loudly, I still miss him terribly.

Gunner's facebook status tonight.....

Gunner "is just thinking of home".

Sometimes I like to pretend that I have it harder.  I don't get packages, bills are all that come in the mail, and seriously, I have the three kids.  There's crossfit, cooking, cleaning, laundry, appointments, schoolwork, potty training, changing diapers because someone refuses to potty train, and  a million other things.

On the other hand, while I deal with snow, crazy drivers, walking the dog in the cold, and doing mountains of laundry.......I am not going through what he is, or even close.  But, cause there's always a but.....he loves his job.  (Mine's not so bad either of course, but Junior potty training would make my job much, much, much, much better)

While no one likes to be deployed, how many of your husbands love what they do?

He keeps telling me that one day he will have to grow up and quit playing GI Joe.  Heck, every Halloween he was a Soldier when he was growing up.  So what he once pretended, he has been living for the last 23 years.

But soon it will end.

In the meantime, if the war could slow down every once in a while to let me GI Joe call, I would really appreciate it...

What's the hardest part of deployment for you?

So much...

for blogging every day in November.

Em is home from Japan and is working hard to catch up.  She had a great time and has beautiful pictures and gifts for us.  I missed her.  A lot.

Gunner has been busy with everything going on in his neck of the woods.  Enough to give anyone gray hair.

He ended the day by being doused with fuel during a refueling (obviously).  Thankfully he had his eye pro on.  That with full battle rattle, I bet the guy is ready to come home.

No dates for R&R, kind of depends on the whole retirement thing.

I'm worn out.  Tired.  Exhausted.

Interactive Metronome

I love the program, and it really helps Abs.

Today I thought we had our last session, but they extended it another week, so we have another three sessions.

That's an additional 4.5 hours of sitting there and waiting.

I know it helps, but another 4.5 hours?  Ugh.

On the bright side, the two ladies that have kids in the program at the same time, are wonderful to sit there and talk with.

The OT is really recommending that we go gluten free for Abs.  We have tried it, but with Gunner gone, it's so much more difficult making sure that I have a well cooked meal, and not to mention when you have 6 appointments a week, it cuts into what you are able to do.

She understands, but thinks Abs will really benefit from it.  I guess I will start in January and try to make it happen.

After OT this morning, Sam's, and a short nap, we were just hanging out.

I could have cleaned since Em and my mom come back tomorrow.

Instead I loaded up the car and took the kids to the outlet mall.  Mama needed new jeans.

Junior was great, and Abs was less than thrilled to be dragged around from store to store.  Luckily at the last store she found a great pair of boots--imitation uggs in patent leather.  Her face lit up.  I couldn't say no, they were so "Abs".

I got those, and found some great deals at The Children's Place.  $2.99 for halloween pajamas....who really cares what they sleep in?  Em spent almost a year sleeping in a red tutu.  I don't know how she was even comfortable, but she loved that drippy thing.

I'm excited to see Em tomorrow and hear all about her trip.

Oh, while we were at Sam's, Junior saw some older lady and got really excited.  He was waving and telling me it was the lady who had to watch him in his "afternoon-in preschool" as he calls it.  She came over and introduced herself as the behavioral therapist that would be working with him, and Junior was so ecstatic.  I think they'll be a good fit.

I had the following conversation with Junior today:

Me:  I don't think Santa Claus visits little boys who aren't potty trained.
Junior looked shocked.
Jr:  Really?
Me:  Yep, we should probably work on that.
Jr:  Or not.
Me:  You don't want Santa to visit?
Jr:  He's got a busy night, it'll be okay if he takes care of all the other little boys that are potty trained, he can get me next year.

I have officially given up on potty training.  He did insist on getting some new underwear at Gap though, so maybe there is hope down the road...

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In (a little late)

I was just going to say screw it and not blog today, but I am trying to do it.  Just had a rough day.  I at least hit crossfit 5 times this week.  It's starting to be my saving grace.

1.  Were you named after anyone?  Nope, not that I know of.  Queen Elizabeth was visiting Australia when I was born, so that is my middle name.  I always knew I had a little bit of royalty.

2.  What color, if any, are your toenails usually painted?  If I am paying someone to do my toenails, I am going to make them work, and I get french tips.  I'm not much of a color person, and I never have my nails painted.  If I paint my nails, on that rare occasion, they are a maroonish color.  (Don't let that make you think there is any Aggie in me!)

3.  How do you flush a public toilet?  Hands?  Feet?  Something else?  I am a germaphobic person.  I use my foot or toilet paper to do it, then wash my hands, turn off the water with a paper towel, use the paper towel to open the door, and I still sanitize.  It's okay, I know it's weird.

4.  When you were a little kid, which TV character did you have a crush on?  Are you ready for this?  Ricky Schroeder in Silver Spoons.  My sister and I used to watch that show all the time.

5.  Let's say you had to lose one of your five senses.  Which one would you choose and why?  Definitely smell.  Why?  Because then maybe I wouldn't smell that Junior pooped in his pants and it would bother him.  My first pregnancy with Em, my sense of smell made life awful.

There you have it, five interesting useless facts about me.

Time for bed, it's cold and we have OT bright and early in the morning.

Veteran's Day

‎"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind. " ~Dan Lipinski

Thank you to Gunner, my uncle, my FIL, my three brother-in-laws (Gunner is one of 4 boys, can you imagine?), my niece, and all of our friends.

Veteran's Day is also special to Gunner and I, because 17 years ago today, November 11th, we met.  He had a 4 day weekend, and I was introduced to him.  His big brown eyes, his scruffy face (hey, it was a 4 day weekend), and cute smile got me.  Never in a million years did I imagine my life would end up like this, by a chance meeting so many years ago.

Happy Veteran's Day!

Two Old Men

This picture reminds me of two old men...

The Life of a Circus Clown

I almost forgot to blog tonight, but this is a post I found saved under the drafts, so since it is cold and snowed tonight, plus we had OT till almost 8, it's all I have.....

Sometimes that's how I view my life.

I wouldn't trade these kiddos for anything.  They are so different, and there is always some sort of chaos going on.

Yesterday we went to a book reading on post through the "Tell Me a Story" event.  The parent to parent coalition finds some bigwig to read a book and then they talk about it with the kids.  At the end every family gets a free copy of the book.

It gets us out of the house, and goodness knows my kids love to read.  They had a visiting Zoomobile, a craft, and even discuss the book with the kiddos.

Since they were so well behaved, I surprised them with going out for ice cream.

Everything was still going smoothly, so I decided to check out Ross since I knew Em needed some sweaters for her trip to Japan.  We shopped for a while, and then it came time to try on clothes.

We had two carts--one for Junior and one for Abs, who was reading (and seriously, she just needs to be contained).  While I was trying on clothes, Em asked Abs if she would switch carts with Junior because his cart was so hard to steer.  She agreed, and Em was helping her out of the other cart when it started to tip.  Em got it straightened out and all was well.  I didn't hear anything about it.

Till later.....

After we had tried on clothes and meandered back to one rack to look at a few other things, the lady from the dressing room was hanging up clothes.  She talked to about 6 employees, about what a bad mother "that mother" had been, how she had to step in to "save the little girl", how some people "shouldn't be mothers", and on and on and on.

Okay at this point I don't even know that she is talking about me, but I turn to ask Em if there was an incident with the cart.  She said that there had been a small one, but that some lady overreacted.  During this time, my kids were sitting there quietly, and not being their usual selves.  I asked her to point out the lady and she showed me who it was.

I was fuming.  She was making this huge production for little old me.  Heck, my kids were well behaved at this point, she has no idea what they are capable of sometimes!  So I check out and ask for a manager.  I send Em to the car with the little ones, and I go over to the lady in question to read her name tag.  She asked me what I needed and I just turned and waited for the manager.

I explained the situation to the manager, who was furious.  Maybe it was all an act, but she seemed sincere, and she said she would handle it.  She told me she was the single mother of 4 kids, and no one deserved to be treated like that.

I felt better.  I left.  I hope I never see Cheryl again.

Do you ever find when you are out sometimes that people overreact?  Heck if my kids had been screaming, horsing around, or doing something they shouldn't have been, I would have walked out of the store.  For once, they weren't doing anything wrong.  Sure you can argue that Abbie shouldn't have been in the cart, but if she was reading and being calm and hanging out, what's the harm?  People need to take a second and look at the big picture.

Monday's Musings

To follow along with Em's adventures in Japan, read here.  Heated toilet seats?  I don't think I have ever seen one.  My 13 year old daughter has it good, really good.

Here is Em at the beginning of the journey.

Here is Em as of yesterday.

Which finally led to this...

It sounds like it could be what happened at Disneyworld this summer, a torn meniscus.  That took a while to heal, and I wish she wasn't in pain while she was so far away.

After a busy day of crossfit, OT, and making dinner, I learned the number to poison control.

I told Andrew it was time for his medicine (benadryl for his itching with the eczema), and he went to the kitchen to wait.  I ALWAYS put the medicine up.  Always.

I'm just thankful it was the benadryl I left out and not anything else.

I ran a towel up to Abs in the tub, then ran back downstairs to give him his medicine.  I started looking for it in the cabinet way above the sink, and he said it was in the trash.

Me:  Why is it in the trash?
Jr.  Because it was empty.
Me:  It wasn't empty, there was still some left.
Jr:  I finished it.
Me:  (starting to panic and cursing child proof caps that aren't childproof)  What do you mean finished it.
Jr:  I was helping.  I poured my own medicine.
Me:  How much did you take.
Jr.  One cup.
Me:  Which cup?

He pointed to a medicine cup.

I ran to the internet, googled poison control, and called.  The nurse was so nice and didn't make me feel bad while I was sitting there crying to her.  She asked for his weight and the type of medicine, and the concentration before she told me that it would have taken 15 tsp to be toxic.  There was no way there was that much in there.

By the time I got off, Junior was crying.  "I was just trying to help mommy, I'm so sorry".

Stories and a big hug and kiss seemed to make it all better, but don't think he wasn't passed out in less than 5 minutes when he got to bed.

Another busy day tomorrow, but I am hoping it is a little less stressful!

Home

What a long weekend.

We discovered that Erin's son gets carsick on winding roads.

I am thankful for leather seats.

We stayed at the Grand Lodge, and while the room was nice and cheap, the taxes on everything were not!

Had good, but cheap mexican food.

Abs slept through the night.

I heard from Gunner.

Sammy had a good time playing with Erin's dogs and he is wiped out.

I cleaned the car, the house, and am doing piles of laundry.

I'm ready for bed.  Night all.....

Headed Out...

I am headed out for a night away with my friend Erin and her son.  Destination...

Image from Google

We're going to Crested Butte.

I can't wait!  We haven't gone anywhere overnight since the big trip to Disneyworld, so it's time.

I wish Gunner and Em were here to enjoy it.

I still have to finish packing, clean out the car, get gas, and hope that the GPS knows the way.

I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures, and we are hoping that we can find some snow and get some sledding in, which means an additional 50 pounds of clothing and equipment. 

By the time you read this, hopefully we are on the road.  A road trip with a 2 year old, 4 year old, and an Abs.  It will be an adventure...

Junior & Potty Training

Those words shouldn't even go in the same title, as they just aren't happening.

The doctor told me to lay off, and I have been.  We went back to pullups and I haven't really pressed the issue.

Preschool doesn't feel the same way, and they put a lot of pressure on him.  One teacher in particular, who has to be all of 19, is on his case to potty train.  Bottom line......Junior can't stand her, and I don't push that either.

Well the lead teacher decided that my sweet boy needed to have a behavioral therapist come to observe him.

My response?  Bring.it.on.  I know he's stubborn (like his dad).

She came to observe him, and brought along three interns.

What did they find????  NADA.  She said he was so excited about learning, was inquisitive, curious, and even though he was wiggly, it was well within the typical range.  She said that he had already created techniques to control himself, which she doesn't see a lot of at 4 years old--i.e. putting his hands in his pockets to keep from taking something or sitting on his hands during circle time.  She thought he exhibited characteristics of a gifted child, and that she thought the pace of the preschool was probably too slow for him.  (I agree that I could probably find a better preschool other than the free one through the school district, but when your kiddo isn't potty trained, they aren't an option. Sigh.)

The behavioral therapist could not find anything wrong with him other than he was not potty trained, and that this one particular teacher had gotten into a power struggle with him over it, and it made it worse.

They (the teachers) insisted something was up.  They sent her in to observe again.  Once again, rave reviews, and now the behavioral therapist is in love with my boy.

So what's the end result?  She did suggest play therapy to get him to work on the potty training.  I looked at her like she must be smoking something if she thought I had time for another appointment with all of Abbie's stuff going on.  She is now coming to the house and working around my schedule.

Heck, if they can get him potty trained, I am all for it.  Goodness knows we have tried everything else, so maybe they can get through to him.  Plus the behavioral therapist is great, and I really like her.

Wish them luck, and wish me a diaper free time for the first time in about 13 years.

Gunner

I'm missing this guy. A lot.

Em goes to Japan

I figured I better set a post for tomorrow before Abs did something else I had to blog about.

Last Saturday I took my mom and Em to Denver to fly out on their Japanese adventure.  We stopped to feed the hungry lions, and my mom realized that she had forgotten her purse with their passports, id, tickets, etc.

We drove an hour and a half back, and thankfully my mom had her car and made the return trip and did the extended parking, because it was after 9 pm and I was pooped!  Abs and Junior wouldn't have made it much longer in the car either.

Now Em is safely in Japan, and from the sounds of it having the time of her life.  They immersed themselves in the teen scene the first two days, and have now started their cultural tour of Japan and will even spend 5 days in Okinawa.  I'm totally jealous!

What an amazing experience for her!  I also got some pictures of her eating with chopsticks, and she claims it is her strong fingers from texting that allow her to use them correctly.

I can't wait to hear more about her trip and see all the pictures.  Maybe one day I will make it over there!

Where do you shop?

For Abbie, I shop at the thrift stores, or only on deep clearance.  Why????

Last week it was a pair of jeans colored in black marker.

Today she got a "snag" and then there was a strong wind.  Glad I wasn't around for that.

Just to make sure you aren't seeing things...

I might take the suggestion of Annemarie and make her wear them for an entire week.  She informed me that she was sure her Grandma could fix them.

She was horrified that I made her wear them to OT tonight.  The two other parents that I sit with for an hour and a half, had never seen anything like it.  Welcome to my world.

I honestly wasn't surprised or shocked.

Tuesday she wore a pair of leggings with little "jewels" down each side of the leg.  She returned home with plain black leggings.  Knowing her, she was probably trying to convince the other kids that they were worth something and was trying to sell them.

One day she will do great things....one day she will do great things...one day she will do great things.....one day she will do great things...

Conversation with Abs

I hope everyone voted today.

Like I said on fb "Gunner has spent years away from us to make sure that other people could vote in their own countries, why wouldn't I take the time to vote in my country where I am safe?"

I took Junior with me to vote.  We stood in line while he whined "I don't want to go boating".  When he saw the voting booths though, he was hooked.  He asked for a ballot, so one of the workers gave him a piece of paper and he went to town.

He was making a "boating map".  To think that Tricare won't pay for speech for him.

Ummm...yes, that would be a pullup on the kiddo.  Don't judge!

Anyway, on the way home from Interactive Metrenome tonight we were listening to talk radio for election coverage.  (Sidenote, it was like my dad was in the car with me as Abs was whooping and hollering as they gave results.)

Then they broke in with some other news, and they started talking about a study related to men and women and depression.  Basically the results said that women are more depressed than men.

Abs:  They act like that is surprising.
Me who had been half listening:  What's surprising?
Abs:  That women are more depressed than women.
Me:  Why is that?
Abs:  They should be, they do more.
Me:  What do you mean do more? Daddy does a lot.
Abs:  Well they have to stay home and take care of the house and kids.  Let's be honest mommy, you do a lot of work.
Me:  You say it like it's a bad thing.
Abs:  Not bad at all, I think of it like we are back in the olden days.
Me:  Well times have changed, and lots of people work, and I think that they are talking about women in general, not stay at home moms.
Abs:  Well I'm just saying that I'd be depressed if I stayed home and had kids like you.

Great.

I questioned her more, and she admitted that she felt bad that I spent so much time taking her to appointments.  She told me "I'm glad you do it and all, but I wish you didn't have to and I was normal".

My heart broke.  We had a long talk on the way home (heck, it's a 40 minute drive), while she and her brother slurped down milkshakes.  We got home and I tucked her into bed and she told me "I'm lucky".

Then I hugged her, kissed her, and turned out the light.

Then I put up the three baby gates.  Normal is all relative.  I'll keep my normal.

I'm Still Alive!

With the introduction of Interactive Metronome into our schedule, we are never home.  Ever.

Add in Crossfit 4 times a week, orthodontist appointments, preschool dropoffs, occupational therapy appointments, and everything else under the sun, and we are home even less.

I decided that I was going to blog every day in November.  I've got a lot I need to say!  A lot of changes taking place.  Em is off traipsing around Japan for just over two weeks, so I am trying to keep Abs and Junior occupied.  Actually I spend my time lugging a box of toys to Ab's appointments so that Junior is kept occupied.

Tonight we went to see the play "If you give a cat a cookie".  The tickets were free, and they have free activities for the kids before the play starts.  Please tell me why I see this one lady from the FRG at all these functions, and every single time the kids are acting like wild animals.  I assured her that they only acted like this for her, even though they have no clue who she is and they probably didn't even notice that I was talking to someone.  Ugh.

The play was great, and they were both enthralled with the performance and participated as it was requested.

Gunner has dropped his retirement papers.  Do you know what this means?  If you do, please share as no one seems to be able to point him in the right direction of what is to happen next.  I totally forgot that he was in the reserves for years before I met him, so he has that time in addition to the 20 years of active duty.  He's done.  Well he will be by this time next year...actually sooner.

If you have any input on retirement, please let me know so we know what to expect!  Thanks!