Memorial Day Weekend Pics

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids and I had a great weekend travelling to Little Egg Harbor, NJ to visit with Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams and Aunties and cousins. We left Friday morning about 10:30 and arrived around 8:30 that night, which would have been a bit sooner if I had trusted the directions my new GPS navigation system was giving me... I'm smarter than that right? Anyway, long day and kids were all wound up when we got there. We hung out with Pop-pop and Mom-mom on Saturday and went to a little beach for about 20 minutes (about all I can handle with LB constantly heading into the water and not caring how deep it is) and then Aunt D. brought us out for ice-cream. On Sunday, BB got to go fishing with Pop-pop on his boat out in the bay and came back with a 20 inch flounder! He actually caught 5 of them but only one keeper which Mom-mom filleted and froze for us. Then Aunt D and Aunt V and Uncle B and cousins came over for a BBQ and steamed clams (LGbate 3 whole steamed clams!) and a surprise birthday cake for BB! The kids had a great time playing with their cousins (J is close in age to BB and C is close to BG) and Aunties and Uncle and I enjoyed getting reacquainted with everyone. It's also fun to see so many similarities between J and his dad... The trip home was a little quicker since I followed my directions and we all can't wait to go back again soon! Maybe I'll get up the nerve to take all of them to a 'real' beach...

Stomach yuck... still

I am so past this stomach bug or whatever we've got going through our family. Unfortunately, it's not past us... BB finally got hit with it Sunday evening and this morning, so he's home from school today and spent a lot of time in the bathroom last night. I just hope we haven't made anyone else sick. It seems we're all better for a few days (long enough to socialize) and then another one goes down. And it's not the kind of sick where the children are quiet and subdued (except LG of course); they feel fine except their tummies and diarrhea. fun... not really.

Getting into our Routine and Keeping Clean

Well, it's been almost three weeks since J has left. It has gone by fast thus far, but at the same time it feels like he's been gone 3 months! We're settling into a routine of sorts. Except for some sleep issues and BB and BG being a little more prone to melt downs the kids are doing great, considering. As I mentioned earlier, I started going to the gym MWF mornings. They have great child care set up there for the twins and BG, so I get an hour to sweat some of this excess away. Tuesday and Thursday, they all go to Hourly Care for a few hours and I get some time to run and do errands and have lunch with friends, etc... I'm working on getting my 'house' routine in too. The bigger kids are getting much better at doing their pickup in the afternoons and LG and LB even like to help with throwing their diapers away and putting their shoes away and their clothes in the laundry. So, if the house looks halfway decent for about 5 minutes then I've accomplished something! Does it look better than my house growing up? Yes! Do I still have a long way to go? Yes! Intellectually, I know what needs to be done and even how to do it. Having the discipline to actually do it seems to be the issue with me. My sister and I were talking about the things we think about while cleaning and it's always negative thoughts and stewing about problems! I think J has learned not to start a conversation with me while I'm washing dishes... Probably some association with how our childhood home got cleaned (or not). Anyway, if you have some suggestions on making it a more positive experience, send them my way...

Puddle Ducks

The kids had a blast splashing in the puddles with the neighbors during our rainy day last week. Reminds me of all the memories I have of splashing in puddles or 'yard ponds' and that it really is the simple pleasures that can mean the most. BB and BG still talk about playing in the monsoon puddle in Arizona with their friends across the street...

Lawnmowers

Before J left, I told him not to bother with the gas mower and that I didn't want to mess with it. I have an old fashioned reel mower that I got when I was sick of the dust in Arizona constantly clogging the gas mower. It worked great there with the mostly bermuda grass and rocks. So I finally brought it out on Friday to mow the jungle in the back yard... Not so easy. It took forever to push it through the thick, lush, 6 inch grass on much of the yard. I finally gave up on the last strip. So I woke up Saturday with a very sore neck and the yard still not done. After some motrin, I got out the weedeater and finished the last part then went over the yard with the mower again. Much easier the second time over! I think if I don't let it get so high next time, it shouldn't be so hard. I do know how to service the gas mower if it comes to that... Anyway, I'm really proud of BB and how much he's been helping me. He helped rake up the grass (and would have mowed if he could) and then helped put the grass in bags and dragged a bag across the street to dump the clippings in the woodline. He's getting to be such a big boy but it's hard for me to believe he's going to be 7 in a few weeks! He was a big help last night too getting LB to go to sleep. He read to him and then slept on the bottom bunk bed with him. I actually got to sleep in the middle of my bed until 4:00 am when LB woke up pounding on his bedroom door...

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful moms in my life! The 10th MTN Division Headquarters deployed this last week and a lot of mother's are left behind with families to take care of. Please keep us all in your prayers this next 15 (hoping for 12) months!

Overheard in the woman's locker room

I was getting dressed at the gym this morning (yes, I started going as soon as John left, I'll leave that for another story), and overheard a couple of girls talking. They were discussing finances and qualifying for housing loans, etc and one girl said her credit score would be better if she paid her student loan down. The other girl asked her if she considered enlisting for the extra money and then said, "you could pay off your bills and then get pregnant and get out." I guess it's true that you never hear anything good when you eavesdrop (even by accident), but it made me sad to hear the sacrifice my husband is making and so many others (including myself at one point) cheapened like that. There are plenty of other, much easier, jobs you can take to pay off bills (I've done that too), that don't require you to take an oath you really don't mean with every intention of not fulfilling it. I understand circumstances come up and people cannot always fulfill their obligation. The main reason I left the Army was because I felt I couldn't put forth the effort it required to be a good officer and a good mom at the same time and that one of us should be able to put our family first. I know there are families that make it work and they have my utmost respect. Don't get me wrong I fully appreciate all the benefits we receive, but to hear what soldiers do put in such mercenary terms turned my stomach. I guess at heart I still believe in the goodness of people, despite all the evidence otherwise, and then get outraged when I hear or see something like that. Probably why I don't watch the news much...

Need I say more?

Prayers Please!

Toddler Proofing, again

When I hear Rohan and Josie (especially Rohan) laughing in another room it's usually an indicator of some kind of mess. They ran into the kitchen to wait for breakfast this morning and as I come out of the bathroom I hear Rohan cackling and hear water running onto the floor. Forgot to push the drinking water back from the edge of the counter so they were both splashing in a puddle and Rohan was waving a table knife in his hand! AAHHHH!! Time to further toddler proof our house to try keep up with their development. They woke me up this morning in my bed, because Rohan can completely climb out of his crib even though I moved it away from the bunk bed. He actually climbed from his crib up the end of the bunk bed the other day! So, mostly Rohan we're talking about here, nonstop testing of every boundary... He can climb over the baby gates if they're not quite high enough (and under if they're too high), he can reach the screen door handle so no more leaving the front door open, he can open the kitchen drawers and reach inside and is pulling out silverware, cooking utensils, my spices, etc. (Knives already put up!) Luckily he hasn't figured out the cabinet locks yet; hopefully he's past the taking everything out phase by then. And Josie follows along for the ride... Or maybe she's telling him what to do...

yucky weekend

LG and I woke up early yesterday morning with whatever LB had a few days ago but much worse. Vomiting, fever and let me say I won't be far from the bathroom again today. Poor LG just laid on the couch with me all day and then a nap with LB and me in the afternoon on the big bed. Really missing J, especially around 4:30 yesterday morning. On the bright side, it was great weather most of the day so the other three played in the back yard a lot and electronic devices kept them busy the rest of the time without too big of a mess in the house. BB is getting to be such a big help also. He made his own lunch and helped BG with hers and then helped me make Eggo's for dinner. We're both doing much better today, good thing since it's raining again. And hey, nothing like a couple of days of being sick to jump start the weight loss. Ok, that last one was a bit of a stretch, but since I was bright siding it...

L3 Vol 2

Lessons Learned Lately Vol 2 Or Random Observations

1. I really like coffee. I've known this for a while of course, but am really appreciating it this week. I really should figure out how to use the timer function though so I have it waiting for me when I drag out of bed, or is there someone I can hire to come make me coffee in the morning?

2. I'm not the morning person I thought I was (hence the appreciation for coffee). Maybe the years of interupted sleep are catching up to me, but it is harder and harder to get going in the morning and now I'm at my best in a short window between 2and 5...

3. Washable markers were not intended to be put in the washing machine and drier. BB left one in his pocket and there are now green marks all over a load of clothes including the only comfortable pair of jeans I have. We'll see if it really washes out...

4. I'm not ready for LB to be able to climb out of his crib... He's currently banging on the bedroom door instead of napping.

5. I really like naptime and really hope this week is just an adjustment thing and both babies will go back to taking a good nap every day. Soon. Please.