Thankful for...

so many things. Here's a little list of my 'thanks' for this year:

-Thankful that my husband is safely home at the head of our table this year
-Thankful for all the husbands and daddies who are not able to be home with their families this year.
-Thankful for good friends to spend the holiday with and hope that next year maybe we'll both have a husband at home!
-Thankful that my mom was such an awesome cook
-Thankful that my children are enjoying their piano lessons
-Thankful for techonology that allows us to keep up with family and friends in this far apart world
-Thankful for my little twins who are learning so fast and so much and even thankful for the messes sometimes because I know they won't last and I'll miss this time soon enough
-Thankful for my big boy who does so much to help and is such a good brother to his siblings
-Thankful for my big girl who is smart and wise beyond her years
-Thankful that we are all healthy
-Thankful for good health care and doctors
-Thankful for my family even though I miss them so!
-Thankful for my friends who have become family
-Thankful for the love of my husband
-Thankful for the love of God, his mercies and blessings and his Son, my salvation.

F is for... football, fall, fun, friends, family and food!

Wow, it's been a while since I've written anything here! Facebook is probably to blame as it's so nice to keep in touch with everyone that way. Anyway, we've had a busy fall and the first flakes of snow just fell this morning so winter is here! BB had a great first season of Pop Warner football as his team was undefeated. He played right tackle (#28) all this season and is looking forward to trying something new next year. He would rather be able to tackle someone instead of "just blocking!" It was exciting for us to watch him play but also a little sad for me as he's growing up so fast.

It was a beautiful fall here and we went for a little drive one Sunday in October while John was at home sick just to look at the beautiful colors and then stopped at the Burrville Cider Mill for some fresh apple cider doughnuts and cider and then playing at Thompson Park at the great playground they have there. Tried to have a picnic also, but it was just too blustery.

We've all been having fun with new friends and old. BG is excited to be a part of the local Nutcracker production this year mainly because her friend is in it and she gets to kick her leg over a mouse's head in her part as a soldier. She plays two boy parts but isn't too upset about not getting to wear a fancy dress and she even wears jeans a few times a week now! LG on the other hand is turning into a pink monster. I took her and LB shopping with me the other day and told them we were getting jeans for BB and LB and she said "and I want a skirt!" and was very put out that I wasn't considering getting her something fancy to wear. She's so cute with her reasoning, it's hard not to give in to her every request! She woke up from her nap in the car yesterday and said "I'm happy, Mommy!" BB is happy that some of his friends from our old street live closer to us on our new street so he gets to play with them more often. And I'm happy to have known a couple of friends long enough now that we can tell each others' stories to other people. I think it's sweet when a friend finishes your story with a sense of pride in what you've accomplished or a struggle you've gone through.


Halloween was a lot of fun this year with the little kids getting into it. LG said for a month out that she was going to be a 'black cat' and LB kept changing his mind until settling on a pirate. BB was a scarecrow and I have blisters on my fingers from the hot glue! Who knew it would be that difficult? BG decided to be a witch since LG was a black cat. It was fun to watch the little kids trying to understand trick or treating. LB really got into and ran between each house and told everyone 'I'm a pirate' while LG took her time looking at people and asking when are we trick or treating and when we told her we ARE trick or treating she laughed and said 'OHHH!' Several times last week LB put his pirate hat on and said he was going out to get some candy... and I'm glad it's mostly gone! When I picked them up at pre-school on Tuesday, his teacher said "LB was in rare form today." Apparantly he flooded the bathroom when he was in there washing his hands and wasn't very responsive to usual commands. Have some more candy...



In other food news, I've been trying some different things to cut down our grocery costs. I finally got a good waffle iron and I love it. Even took a picture of it with a stack of waffles ready to go in the freezer! No more Eggo's here. I just make extra batter whenever we have waffles and freeze the rest. I also made a bunch of meals using my new cookbook called "Fix it, Freeze it, Feast" based on recipes using warehouse club portions. So I've got a bunch of burritos and a couple of lasagnas, cheeseburger pie, pasta sauce, and chicken cordon bleu in the freezer. That, along with the case of pizza dough balls, and we've been eating well and fewer groceries needed and less fast food too! Oh, and this apple pie was so yummy I just had to take a picture of that too!

Since my last post on here I also had my body scan done for the thyroid cancer and it came back negative for any thyroid or cancer tissue left in my neck or elsewhere in my body! I won't need another scan for a year and then I won't have to withdraw from my Synthroid as I've had to for the last two scans. Yay for that! I need my energy and focus! I'm also finally in the therapeutic range for the Coumadin which means I don't have to have my finger pricked every week but now once a month. I was scheduled on 1 Dec for my next visit with my doctor and their office called me yesterday afternoon to reschedule because my doctor passed away suddenly on Tuesday. So sad for his family and all of his patients. He hadn't been my doctor for long, but I saw more of him in the last few months than any other doctor previously and I will greatly miss him and I thank him for saving my life this summer!

That about sums up the last couple of months here. That was nice to actually write a paragraph or two instead of a one line 'update,' maybe I'll do it again sometime soon!

I got a little teary eyed...

the first few plays of the game today! I wasn't expecting watching BB play football for the first time to be such an emotional experience. He just looked so big (he's one of the biggest on his team) and serious and focused and not at all like my little blond clown that he was a few short years ago when he first played soccer. I do think J is right that football is unlike any other sport. There are just so many different things going on at once that require everyone to do their job correctly for the whole team to succeed and I must say that our team was very successful today! Our coaches deserve a lot of credit as it's not easy teaching 32 7-9 year olds, many like BB whom have never played before, and getting them to work together. Anyway, after the initial emotional overload, it was a great day watching them play all the other teams in the league who they will meet on the field in the coming weeks. Thankfully, it was overcast for most of the day or we would have been pretty miserable watching with the other three munchkins. The part I don't really appreciate is the long drawn out closing ceremony when everyone is tired and ready to go home...

Other than football every evening, we've been enjoying the warm summer weather! Finally enough sunshine for me although the humidity the last couple of days has kept a lot of people indoors! The littles had their pre-school classes out at the pond/park this week so we spent a little bit of time out there and watched LB be a big stinker to his teachers. He was not happy coming out of the water and let them know it! He's been very independent lately and gave us a scare when we told him to go get in the bath with BG and LG and he went to the other bathroom and started his own instead. He did do it correctly and the water temp was fine, but still scary. He has also made a couple of little 'pools' in the back yard with the hose and his hands and will play out there for hours with his guys and sticks and rocks and he has to take his clothes off too! I just put sunscreen on him before he's dressed... Luckily, we're not too concerned about how the back yard looks right now with half of it needing to be reseeded anyway.

We also did a lot of running around last week getting kids registered for a new school, picking up school supplies and clothes and back and forth to a couple of doctors for me. It was nice to be able to do that now without having to pick J up for lunch or drop him off in the morning since we found a car for him! We've had just one car for a about 6 years, but J's been gone for over half of that so it didn't make sense for us to have a car sit in the driveway, but now with kids activities and all the appointments I need to get to it's been pretty inconvenient running back and forth... Anyway, we found a 97 Pontiac Grand Prix at the right price that runs pretty good even if it has a bit of rust. Hard to find a used vehicle around here that doesn't have rust!

I did get to see a pulmonoligist this week and a checkup with my new primary care manager. The lung doc is fairly certain the hormones (bc pills) were the cause of the blood clot in my leg back in May, which broke off in small pieces and moved to my lungs. His prognosis is I will be on Warfarin for at least six months, re-evaluate then and after I'm off I'll have some specialized bloodwork done to see if I have some other clotting disorder. Still a lot of swelling in my right leg probably due to some damage to the blood vessel or a valve. The compression stocking is helping as long as I put it on first thing in the morning before it starts swelling. And I am feeling tons better although still not much stamina. I got the go ahead to start exercising again so looking forward to at least walking! Guess I won't be running a half-marathon later this fall as we planned on... I was lamenting that I haven't been able to run this whole summer when the weather's been nice and soon enough it will be snowing and I really don't enjoy cold weather running. Thankfully, since I'm still alive, I'll look forward to it next year! And we live right down the street from the gym with free childcare now, so no excuses this winter!

There was another post-wide yardsale yesterday and we managed to get rid of a few things. A couple of things I'm going to put on Craigslist and the rest is going to the Urban Mission. Slowly getting the house put together although not much done last week with my new-found two car freedom! I did paint a couple of walls in the house recently and looking to do a bit more this week so we can get the pictures littering the dining room up on the wall. I'll post pictures when it's all done, hopefully before Christmas... I do love painted walls though! Makes the house more 'ours' I always think. And I always like visiting everyone else's houses on the street. Even though we all have the same floorplans, our houses are always as individual as we are and I love seeing the differences. So, invite me in!

Oh, yeah, the twins turned three on the 7th! Can't believe how big they are and how much they're talking and acting like such big kids. We just had a little family party and they blew out the candles on their cake, well mostly LG blew and LB tried... Anyway, here's a few pics from the last couple of weeks.

Summertime...

and it's about time to update this! I've got a bunch of pictures to go with also so they'll do some of the talking... We started the summer with BB turning 8 years old and a backyard birthday party before we moved from our other neighborhood and before a bunch of friends moved on also. Then both BB and BG played soccer and they both enjoyed it for the first few games and then BG lost interest... We ended up missing the last couple of games because one or both of them was sick and then we moved and it was too much to do. I'm a terrible soccer mom... and I hate bringing snack too! Anyway, on to moving into our brand new house and trying to get everything unpacked before we headed to Ocean City, NJ for a week at the beach. Not everything got done, but we had a great time at the beach or the shore as it's called here on the East coast. We got to spend some time with the Adams side of the family, playing with cousins and fishing with Pop-pop and J and I even got a night out in Atlantic City while the kids stayed at Aunt Vicky's (or as LG says, Aunt Wicky). We had a great time in our rented house which was about a block from the beach and the start of the boardwalk. The weather was wonderful, the ocean just cold enough and the food was fabulous. Cheesesteaks and pizza and fresh donuts in the morning. We had a great deli and ice cream shop just around the corner. Yes, I gained a couple of pounds back... Anyway, it was the perfect relaxing vacation without a lot of demands to go see and do stuff and just what we needed to spend some time together just being.

It seems the past few years it wouldn't be summertime in our house if I didn't spend at least a few days in the hospital... I had time to reflect on that as I was laying in the hospital the last 5 days with blood clots in my lungs and leg. Not really my idea of a great vacation but here's how it went down: the end of May I was having issues with allergies/sinus infections and I also had an unexplained cramp in my leg, so I went to my Dr and told her about it and that I was also periodically coughing up blood with the mucus. So she prescribed an antibiotic for the sinus infection and sent me for an ultrasound on my leg to rule out a blood clot which came back negative for a blood clot. Shortly after I finished my antibiotics I started walking again and was having a hard time breathing when I exercised. Then we moved and I was still having difficulty breathing during exertion and thought it was just because of allergy stuff still going on. We went on vacation and when we got back the drainage in my throat was worse again and I was coughing blood still so I went back to the Dr and saw the Nurse Practitioner who prescribed me some more allergy medicine and told me the shortness of breath and blood was from the mucus buildup at the top of my windpipe. About a week later (last Wed) I was hanging some flowerpots and I got down from the chair and moved it and all the sudden I couldn't breath. I made it in the house and BB got J and I was on the floor almost passed out but recovered pretty quickly. Scared me, but we still were thinking it's allergy related or maybe I was developing asthma from that. So the next day I was really tired and weak and my leg started hurting that evening and by the next morning I had a painful knot in my leg and decided it was time to go to the ER! So, turns out I had a blood clot in my leg and a whole bunch of little ones in both my lungs. They started me on blood thinners (heperin) and coumadin and kept me there until today when the levels of coumadin in my blood reached the 'right' levels. So there's my drama for the summer. Really, I would love to skip it this year...

J did a great job keeping the kids happy the last few days and the kids did a great job not giving daddy too hard a time! When they picked me up today, both LB and LG said they wanted to go to the doctor with mommy, so it's going to be tough getting out of their sight anytime soon! And it was great listening to BB describe life with daddy: "you have to do this and this and this before you can play outside!" Anyway, the next couple of weeks will be busy with daily blood tests for a while and switching to a new primary care manager because I'm a bit distressed that my doctors didn't recognize the signs of a potentially life threatening condition. Anyway, thanking God for his constant mercy and blessings towards me and my family and also thankful for the wonderful friends and family I've been blessed with.

15 Years Ago Today

I wed the love of my life! I would post a picture, but I can't find my camera cables in the mess of unpacking... Anyway, I'm happy to say that God has been good to us the last 15 years with many blessings and brought us through many trials and I can't wait to see what the next 15 years and beyond holds in store for us!

The new house has been inaugurated

with mud, blood, and Jack Daniels all over the floor... We've been a bit busy this past week since being offered a house in the new construction on post. We're almost done at the old house getting it cleaned out and I will say that ALL writing instruments will be in a locked box with 'Arms Room' security procedures for children who would like to color on designated paper! There are some areas that the magic eraser wasn't so magical on and will just get a layer of primer with the other two walls I need to do since I painted them a nice green last year... This is the first time we've been in a situation where we didn't have one house done before moving into the next house so it's been a little bit frustrating not being able to get unpacked and situated like I want to right away. J has been great with moving the furniture around (multiple times in some cases) and keeping things organized and clean so we can find things as they are needed and also watching the littles while I get stuff done at the other house. He even got them to nap yesterday! Probably more for his peace of mind then for them, but they did nap! Anyway, the mud mentioned above is from the yard that is quickly sprouting grass but still very muddy. BB and BG decided to run in the sprinkler last night and tried to sneak in to clean up. J caught them before they got on the carpeted stairway and made them clean up in the bathroom downstairs where they left much evidence and got in trouble again when I saw the mess! The blood is from LBs knees all skinned up and J's hands and feet from moving furniture. And the Jack Daniels is from LB pulling the (small) bag of alcohol off the table and breaking the bottle of JD and bottle of Rum. The dining room has lost the 'new house' smell and now smells like a distillery! Overall, the move has gone well. J and I have been working together really well in a somewhat stressful situation but I don't think we'll volunteer to move ourselves again anytime soon. When we retire, we're going to have to find someplace we never want to leave...

Feel Safe at Night...

...sleep with a soldier. Even if they are just protecting you from children making loud noises. J and I were living dangerously and sleeping in this morning while the kids watched cartoons and trashed the house, when we were both wakened by a loud, gunshot-like bang from the kids slamming the lid on the storage trunk in our bedroom. My reaction was to quickly sit up and see what was going on and J's reaction was to throw his arm out and push me back down! He didn't even wake up, just reacted. I thought it was pretty cool even though it's probably from PTSD from his first tour in Iraq...

It's been wonderful having him back the last couple of weeks even with all the readjusting we have had to do! We tend to butt heads a lot the first few weeks until we get back into the groove of living together and figuring out how to be a complete family again. Kids are all happy and starting to cling on me less and less (yay!). LG was watching a movie in our bed this afternoon and J walked in and she moved over so he could lay down with her, and then they both fell asleep!

Our computer situation has changed and I'm using the laptop now and haven't put all my pictures on here yet, so I'll just have to descibe the welcome home ceremony. J's never been a part of an actual ceremony so this is the first one I've gone to and we got there a little later than we should have because the gym was already packed. Luckily, someone gave up a seat for me on the bottom row since I had the twins in their big stroller. So once everyone found their seats, the band started playing and the soldiers started marching in and everyone was cheering and screaming and it was all awesomely overwhelming, especially when I actually laid eyes on my husband! Couldn't help the tears... The comments were thankfully short and soon we headed into the crowd to meet J and got stuck with the stroller in the crush, so I sent BB into the crowd to look for his daddy and put BG up on my shoulders so he could find us, and after what seemed like forever, he and BB found us and all was right with our world again!

The Best Mother's Day

present is to have my children's daddy back home safe and sound. Looking forward to breakfast tomorrow morning surrounded by my beautiful, happy children and my loving husband! To all the mothers in my life, have a wonderful day celebrating the love of your families! And a big thank you for all the great moms around me lending a helping hand this past year!

Random thoughts...

I realize I haven't been keeping up much with this blog the last few months and I kind of miss it, but at the same time feel like I was writing the same thing all the time: health, kids, I miss my husband, repeat... Anyway, I don't have anything new to add to those themes but here's what we've been doing lately.

We're getting excited and stressed at the same time about J coming home soon. Excited that he'll finally be home and stressed that I have a lot that I want to get done before he's here. And then there's that underlying stress of the reality of being together again and the irrational fear that J won't love the 'new' me after a year of change and growth and independence. The Army teaches 'reintegration' classes for soldiers coming back to their families and honestly, I think that's a great thing! So, what have I done this week instead of getting things done in my house... procrastinated in the form of shopping. All legitimate stuff, but didn't really need to do it this week! So that leaves me a lot to get done this next week and I'll be very happy to see J get off that plane! The post is having Welcome Home ceremonies in the gym for each group that arrives home, which we've never been to before so we're looking forward to that!

I finally got some allergy medicine prescribed and more allergy eye drops. Lots of pollen floating around as stuff is finally starting to bloom. Spring used to be my favorite season, but around here it's not all that pleasant. It comes so late and is windy and chilly with a few warm days interspersed to tease us. Looking back on lasts years writing, I was so happy to have a yard with a fence and now I'm malcontent because that yard is full of mud. Guess there's no making me happy... But, difficult to send the kids to the back yard to play when it's so muddy!

And with spring comes the longer days, so BB and BG have been wanting to stay out later and later! I know it's not Alaska or anything, but we still have 7 or 8 weeks of school left... I could tell BG was lacking sleep this afternoon with her constant crying over everything. Early to bed tonight...

Other than playing outside a lot when it's not raining, the big kids are doing great in school. BB is still very interested in drawing and making up stories and BG is reading everything she can! It's so exciting to see the world of words open up for her and she's not afraid to try and is excited about reading new things. The littles are happy going to hourly care still and LB will ask if we are 'going to school-today?' He calls it 'school-today' because I always ask them if they are ready to go to school today on the days we go. He's talking a lot more and asking questions and telling people to 'stop it.' LG is talking a lot more now too and getting a little easier to understand. She calls all girls, princesses and all things pertaining to girls are princess things. Like her flower pants are princess pants and if she wants to wear a dress she says she wants to be a princess. I blame our princess overloaded society... And she and LB both call boys, guys, because that's what LB calls his action figures. And don't call him a boy! He's a guy also. He's started wearing various items around his neck for a cape, the most interesting being one of my bras, and says he's 'ooper-guy' or 'black ooper man,' aka Batman. BB used to use a dishtowel until I made him a cape.

I'm too lazy to download my pictures, so I'll get to that sometime this weekend and post a few pics next time I bore everyone with the same old stuff...

Nothing too exciting

going on around here! Which is probably a good thing. We're just kind of hanging out, waiting for J to get home in a few weeks and keeping things going. We had a very nice Easter at church and then a wonderful dinner and egg hunt spent with friends and then the last week the kids had off from school. We didn't do a whole lot but the weather was great and the kids spent a lot of time outside. I took the big kids out for breakfast one morning and we got some cleaning and organizing done. Seems to be a constant around here!

I also had to explain abortion to my 7 year old which completely took me off guard! He heard about it (incorrectly) from a friend and came in and asked me about it. I'm so glad he talks to me when he has a question, but I was really not expecting to have to talk about abortion until well after he knew about sex. The thing that struck me most when we talked was how he immediately made up his mind that ending a pregnancy is not a good thing before I even told him my view on it. He wanted to know why and couldn't understand any reason for someone to get rid of a baby. I think by the time we were done talking he understood the basics and knows how I feel about it and that if he has anymore questions he should definetly ask me and not another kid! It's times like this that I feel so inadequate as a parent and really feel the burden of doing this by myself. I am so ready for J to get home! He can answer the next 50 questions or so...

Today I went to Syracuse to do some shopping and went to Wegmans for the first time. I wasn't disappointed and it's a good thing there is not one close by because our grocery spending would be even more out of control! The produce was wonderful and I can't wait to use it for some food I'm making for bunco tomorrow night! I also picked up some flowers and have been trying to make arrangements using wet foam instead of just plunking them in a vase. My mom always made it look so easy... well, she made everything look easy! So, I'll be busy the rest of this week with bunco and more doctors appointments and dinner out on Saturday and then next week more appointments and the kids start spring soccer practice and another week closer to J coming home! And we're still waiting to see when we'll get into one of the new houses...

Blessed Day

I am the Living One. I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! Rev. 1:18

Christ the Lord is Risen today! Have a Blessed Easter!

Praise God!

He does listen to and answer prayer! My body scan went really well today and there is just residual radiation left in my neck. Doctors can't say for sure if all the cancer or thyroid tissue is gone until the radiation completely fades so it will be another six months until my next scan, but it looks very promising and is much smaller and lighter than my scan six months ago. So, I'm going to go with the assumption that I'm cancer-free for the moment 'cause I'm a glass half full kind of gal (mostly)! And it definetely hasn't grown at all or spread anywhere else... So, a weight is lifted off my shoulders and now I can get back to taking it off the rest of my body with the help of some thyroid hormones again... Will also be seeing an ENT to check out my voice issues.

Now I have to get LG into the doctor. She hasn't been acting herself the last few days and I thought it was just because she's had to go to daycare so much this last week, but she had a fever when I picked her up today and is starting to cough and runny nose again. Seems to be the way it works around here. One person gets healthy just in time for the next one to fall ill...

Anyway, thanks again, everyone for your thoughts and prayers and generosity throughout this last year. I appreciate and thank God for every one of you!

The last couple of days

have been a blessing and a challenge for us! I was truly blessed by attending the OSC Women's Conference on Friday and Saturday! It was a great time with a fun bunch of ladies. My friend at Where are They Now also had great things to say and actually got some pictures on her blog. I'm not feeling that ambitious, but I did enjoy the classes I took, like: Meditation, Decorative painting, Nutrition, Pottery for the Soul, How to Make a T-shirt Bag(very cool), and self defense. It was a great learning experience and I can't wait until next year's conference! I'm especially excited to learn about a sculpture class this summer with the pottery instructor using locally 'harvested' 1000 Islands, New York clay! It's our goal to collect a piece of artwork in each place we live (I have to go back for a couple of them), and I think it would be great to have a piece I made myself from local materiels. Not that I'm a great sculptor or anything, but it is nice to pound on a piece of clay!

Anyway, the challenging part was leaving the kids in hourly care for three days in a row and then dealing with tired, whiney kids afterwards! And me feeling like I'm moving through maple syrup all day. So, we didn't make it to church again today and it was raining and I didn't feel up to hauling them out and about to the Maple Weekend festivities at many of the local maple farms. So we stayed home and I did laundry ALL day long and there's still more... I also had to come up with a few creative ideas for getting their daily chores done because I was tired of just telling them 16 times what to do. So, we made a little game and that helped for the main chores and 15 minutes in their rooms this afternoon. Then a trip to WalMart to get boards for the Science Fair projects due on Thursday. Luckily I was one kid shy of my usual load (BG was with a friend) or we wouldn't have made it out of there with anything. The littles were SO NAUGHTY and BB was not much help at all! I'm having problems with transporting through stores right now. I can't push the stroller and cart at the same time and they can get out of any cart seat made and then LG wants to walk and starts to get out and LB won't stay seated and they're both grabbing things off the shelves and the checkout is the worst of course! AAAGH! Of course the answer is to just not bring them, but sometimes I don't have another option, at least not for another 45 days or so! Yay!

So, the littles are going to have another couple of long days at the daycare while I get my radiation pills tomorrow and body scan on Tuesday down in Syracuse. I'm a bit nervous about the whole thing, but will be happy to have it done and know one way or the other if the cancer is gone or if I need another radiation treatment. And I'll be very happy to get back on the Synthroid and get a bit of energy back. Either way, it will be done and I can stop thinking about it for a while. I'm sure everyone's getting as tired of hearing about my health as I am thinking and talking about it. I'll have to come up with some other scintillating topics to talk about! Won't that be refreshing!?

As I'm another year older

I've decided to be done with beating myself up over stuff I can't control... One of those lately has been my weight. It's so frustrating for me to do the right things with diet and exercise and trying to be healthy and still gain five pounds as soon as I'm off Synthroid for a few weeks. I know it will be under control at some point and I just need to have patience with the whole process and stop worrying about it. The other area since this whole cancer thing started has been how much energy I have and how I choose to expend it. I'm not the greatest housekeeper at the best of times, so during the downtimes, my house has really suffered. Now, before you panic, husband, I'm not giving up on it all, I'm just going to be more accepting of what I can and can't do and quit feeling like I'm less because I didn't do more. And I just got a card for a new cleaning lady today. Happy Birthday to me!

I take it back

the thawing is delayed by a light blanket of snow... And our day yesterday was maybe a little too relaxing, because nobody wanted to go to sleep last night! LB fell asleep the earliest and woke up vomiting in my bed for some reason before anyone else was asleep. He seems fine this morning, so not sure if he just ate something that didn't agree or what. LG was wound up all evening and finally settled down in my lap around 11:30! And I couldn't sleep until almost two... So, no church this morning since we got up at 9:00 which is when we have to be there! I'll have to find something to burn some energy today!

Thawing out

We're starting to thaw out here a bit although it's been chilly again the last couple of days, we did have some nice weather this last week to get out and play. I started using my camera I got for an early birthday present and still don't have all the settings figured out. It's a little more complicated than my old one with a few more manual settings, but the auto feature works fine and the sports setting is great. No more pictures of a LB blur running by...

Other than that we've had a relaxing Saturday at home with the exception of the lack of birthday party etiquette in the neighborhood. I despise having to explain to my child why he can't go to a birthday party that all of his friends are going to when the birthday child said he could come at the last minute while they were all playing outside together. As a parent, I understand you can't always invite everyone and that's completely OK, and I don't expect kids to keep their birthday party a secret, but don't send your kids out to flaunt a party when you know there are kids out there that aren't invited. And of course he doesn't understand the difference between being 'invited' 5 minutes before a party by the six-year old and being invited in advance by a parent. Just makes me be the mean mommy by saying 'no, you can't go, you weren't really invited.' So after some tears and playing Wii, all is better and he's out playing with his friends again, post party. Just one of those hard things about living on post in a neighborhood full of kids. Someone's always having a birthday and you just can't have everyone come even if you want to, but teach your kids to be sensitive to others and how they would feel if they were the one kid not invited. And just a side note, I wouldn't have expected BB to be invited to this party, as it was for a younger child and if the kid hadn't said anything, there would have been no issues. Anyway, hope I don't sound like the disgruntled mom of an outcast child, just don't like having to hurt my kid when it wasn't necessary, although a good teaching point for us as his birthday will be coming up before we know it!

Anyway, back to our relaxing Saturday although I did manage to get a few things done, like mop the floors and vacuum and clean the bunny cage and never ending laundry... Here's a few pics from my new camera of the last couple of weeks:

On the lighter side

my kids are full of mischief as always, but at least we can laugh about it (mostly). I thought it was LB who figured out the 'fridge lock but it was LG! I caught her in the act with a chair next to it a little bit ago. LB usually gets blamed for everything! So... it was she who pulled the bag of shredded cheese out yesterday morning while I was trying to get ready for the gym and then they both decided to eat it all up and down the hallway and in the living room. Nothing like finely shredded cheese in the carpet. I let it dry a little before vacuuming and it came right up, but still! And speaking of food out. I left the syrup on the counter after pancakes on Saturday and while I was clearing the table I happened to glance in the kitchen and LB had unscrewed the cap and was downing the syrup straight from the bottle! yuck! I caught him at the first drink and before he decided to dump it elsewhere... In between the mess making they are playing very nice together and seperately. LB loves Legos and will make guns and airplanes and boats for hours. They tried to take them from him at daycare the other day, as they are supposed to be for the 4 and up kids, and he threw such a fit they let him play with them anyway. LG will sit and read books or play dollhouse quietly for a long time. Of course, this is all to give me a chance to clean up before the next mess...
BB is happy the sun was shining this week and has been running around without a jacket the last few days and heading to the woods. He can't wait until daddy is home to go out with him. New rule for his outside play is he HAS to take a walky-talky with him, as I cannot yell for him to come in anymore and the walking around the neighborhood clapping my hands gets a bit old!
Things with our BG have been a bit more challenging lately with finding a way to motivate her to help out and discipline when she won't, which is often... I don't really like to use food as incentives, BUT, the going to bed without dessert while her brother ate his seemed to make an impact after two nights in a row of not doing her 10 minutes of cleanup in her room. Third night, she got it done! Our challange with her is finding something she actually cares about enough to take away, and sweets it is... I would probably get a lot more done if someone threatened my sweets too! She is doing wonderfully at school though, so can't complain too much... I'll post pictures as soon as I get my new camera figured out!

Housing and other stuff

Well, it looks like we are going to be moving to a different house on post sometime this spring/summer! The housing area we are living in is being re-designated for Jr Enlisted soldiers and we've been on the housing list since we got here, for one of the large, new houses they are building. After another winter cooped up in this little one I'm ready to spread out a bit! Anyway, housing had an open house for all the Field Grade Officers on the housing list to update us on the construction plan and on our place on the wait list. Turns out, they are building a few 5 bedroom houses and with our 4 children, we qualify for one of those and only 2 people ahead of us on that list, so sometime between May and September we should be moving across post. The only downside is that the kids will have to change schools... I don't think they'll mind though as they'll be going with a lot of kids they already know and switching during the summer isn't as big an issue as in the middle of the year like the last 3 moves!

We had a challenging weekend with me not having a lot of energy and kids being disobedient. Nothing major, just lots of little things they had to be told more than 5 times... After leaving the Wii remotes on the floor for the third time yesterday, they lost all their Wii, TV and computer game privileges. It was actually kind of a nice afternoon not hearing any electronic stuff playing and they know they were wrong and have accepted the consequences fairly gracefully so far. I've also been feeling guilty lately for leaning on these devices a bit too much to keep them occupied and I won't even go into bedtime bad habits of the last few weeks... So, natural consequences a good thing right now. Of course, I may be tearing my hair out later in the week!

I was happy to talk to a couple of my siblings today and catch up a little. I've been feeling a bit isolated from the rest of my family lately living way out here and it was good to reconnect for a little while. I think this is the longest I haven't been 'home' in a while also, so I'm missing everyone and everything more! It's March already and no blossoms to be seen here...

Two of my least favorite activities

have been on my agenda the last week or so... First, the window on my van fell into the door because I tried opening it, not realizing it was frozen shut! Then I had to go to the dentist last week to have a bunch of fillings replaced.

So, Saturday we drove in the 10 degree weather with the window down and the heat going full blast. I think I was the only one who was cold and had to wear my ski gloves and a big scarf and hat! Anyway, I was driving through the gate and the guard asked if I knew my NYS Inspection was expiring on Sunday? No! I guess I just assumed it was good as long as the registration was which is two years... Anyway, I brought the van to Midas on Monday because they were the ones with the earliest appointment and the check engine light was on so it automatically failed the inspection! And they didn't have the part for the window or the EGR valve that it needed so I would have to go a dealer anyway. They at least got the window back up for me so I didn't have to drive in the cold. But, the dealer in town is having some problems and can't order parts right now so I ended up driving down to Adams, about 30 minutes away, and sat there from 10:30 until 3:30 yesterday while they tried to fix everything and of course found one of the tie rods was bad too. $600 and five hours later and it still didn't pass the inspection because now it needs to be driven for a while so all the monitors come back on line... What a pain!

Another pain in my mouth since the fillings I had done last week weren't filed down quite right, so I had to go back in today after a weekend of pain and sensitivity on my whole left side. Luckily, it was a quick fix and it feels better already! Not looking forward to the next visit in a couple of weeks for the right side...

Other than those issues, things haven't been too bad this past week without Synthroid or coffee. My energy level has actually been pretty good and I've even been able to get to the gym a few times a week. I am pretty wiped out in the evenings though and what bedtime routine we did have has gone out the window. I am starting to get dinner done earlier because if it's not done by 5:30-6:00ish, we're eating cereal... Which would be just fine with BG!

The teacher gets schooled

I love it when my kids teach me back something they've learned from me... We were in McDonalds after church yesterday and ordered 3 cheeseburgers and various other items. Well, they put two extra cheeseburgers on our tray and we didn't notice until one of them had been eaten. Now I know that if I bring it back up they will just throw it away and paying for it will be a hassle because they've already closed out the order, but BB quickly reminded me that it was dishonest not to pay for them! So, I went and paid for them and confused the counter guy to no end, but it made me so happy that BB actually understands something we've taught him by our words and actions and that he's not afraid to speak up when he sees something wrong (at least not with me). Also a big reminder for me that they are always watching and learning whether it be a good or bad action.

Winter doldrums

is the best way to explain the ongoing blah. I wish I had something funny to write just to amuse myself... But, lacking that, here's what we've been doing to keep somewhat busy:

Today, BB and I went up to Dry Hill for a couple of hours of skiing/snowboarding with some friends. I haven't been on skis for about 8 years (I really sound old when I say it's been 8 years since I've done something!) and did pretty well despite the ice-y conditions. BB is really improving on the lessons he took this winter but 2 hours was enough for him. BG opted not to go partly because she doesn't like being cold and partly because she really likes the babysitter and is now throwing a major fit because she wanted her to stay longer. I've noticed the biggest difference in her behavior since we started changing our diets in January and today is a perfect example of why I've cut out most of the artificial colorings and flavorings. After a lunch of chicken McNuggets, apples and fake caramel, and rootbeer, she's having a hard time controlling her emotional outbursts. Yeah, some amount of drama is normal for her, but this is way beyond the normal. LB also seems to be effected somewhat with more biting and pinching behavior when he's had a lot of candy or artificial food. Valentine's day was bad... I think he bit BB through his pants and left a bruise for no apparant reason!

This past week we also had a bunch of Dr's appointments, two of which were cancelled for the kids and I didn't know until I showed up for the appointments. Just a bit peeved, but since they were routine physicals, not that big of a deal. I also had my checkup w/ my endocrinologist and she took me off the Synthroid in preparation for my next body scan in 4-6 weeks. So far, not feeling too bad and actually made it to the gym a couple of times last week! I also had a five fillings replaced on Thursday and have to go back for a couple of more soon. Another reason to feel old, as they had to be replaced because they were old and falling apart. How is it possible that I've had fillings for 25 years? Oh, yeah, 'cause I got them when I was 9! Anyway the dentist didn't get them filed right so I've got to go back for that also!

I had a great time playing bunco on Fat Tuesday with a fun group of ladies and at the OSC luncheon with the evolution of The Little Black Dress. Fun dressing up a little even if just for lunch...

Anyway, I'm so over this winter already. We had a warm couple of days with a lot of snow melt and now it's 8 degrees again. 45 yesterday and 8 today! Craziness. It needs to warm up so we can put our worm bin outside... Oh, yeah, we started a worm compost (vermicompost) bin for our kitchen scraps! I've been wanting to do it for a while and this seemed like a good time so BB can also use it for his science fair project. He was excited about using the drill to make some ventilation holes and also about the approximately 1000 worms we got in the mail! So right now the worms are in the closet until it gets above 45 degrees or so... Hope it happens sooner rather than later...

I'll leave on a positive note that we're under the 90 day mark for J coming home!

The time is dragging

by so slowly this last week or so since J left to go back to Iraq for the completion of his tour... Been kind of mopey, so I haven't felt much like writing plus kids have been tag teaming with a stomach bug of some sort for the last three weeks and I finally succumbed this morning. Enough already!

But we did have a great time when J was home for 18 wonderful days! The kids showed no hesitation about being with daddy again, well except a little bit from LG of all people... I think she was mad at him! LB was all over him and wouldn't let him out of his sight without yelling 'Daddy, where are you?' Kind of funny in the PX, but sad at the same time. We spent a couple of days in the Lake George, NY area at the Great Escape Lodge there. They have a nice indoor waterpark and a Johnny Rockets in the hotel so it was an easy vacation with all four of them. A little break where we could pretend it was warm for a little while! Then we came back and just relaxed and didn't have to do much of anything for the rest of the time. J helped with some organizing and got his new computer set up and did a few 'electronic' chores for me. I cooked several of his favorite meals and we went to a couple of our favorite restuarants and then he got sick just before he had to go back! I was a bit worried about him flying not feeling very well, but he made it back OK and we're trying to get back to our routine here. LB points to airplanes now and says 'Daddy's airplane' since we watched him get on the plane this time.

The kids are off from school all next week. Mid-winter break. Yay. That's where if you can't go someplace warm, you are stuck in the cold with all your children in the house. I contemplated getting out of here, but just don't want to spend the money to travel and not up to doing it by myself. Maybe by Spring Break I'll be desperate enough to get out of Dodge... At least a lot of the snow has melted this last week so I can see our patio again and we actually used the firebowl yesterday when the kids were out playing in the backyard.

"When's Valentine's Day?"

Willem just asked me as we were looking at our blog page. I told him in about 16 or 17 days. He replied, "We're not at Target, Mommy." We've had the discussion a couple of times when out shopping about marketing well before a day occurs...

"Your heart is...

the most special part of inside your body and the most beautiful part. Your bones are special too because they hold you together." Anatomy lesson by BG. We had a 'date' tonight after gymnastics and ventured to McDonalds in the snow. She loves the undivided attention and even commented that because we were the only people in McDonalds, except the workers, that she could hear me talk and I could hear her talk. Poor girl feels she's not heard... She's getting excited about Daddy being home and was really happy to hear that he would be here for her birthday!

I must be used to it...

because I haven't even mentioned the snow lately! Either that, or I've been so self-absorbed I haven't even noticed it... It's been snowing a little bit almost every day the last week and we've had one day last week of no school and two delays and looks like more snow tonight and tomorrow and Wednesday... Maybe I haven't noticed as much because of the snow shovel fairies clearing my driveway before I get to it most days. Thanks, neighbors!

Valentine's Day...

will be a little early in our house this year, so deal with the cutesy background...

Last week

went pretty well, despite going into it with a bad additude! We stayed pretty busy with some organization projects in the house and kids activities and some 'date nights.' Our wonderful babysitter, M, is home for college break so I've been taking full advantage of her time the last couple of weeks! BG had gymnastics Tuesday night and it was great to leave the other kids at home and take her by myself and watch a little bit and then actually get a workout in at the gym... Also got a pedicure and lunch with some girls in on Tuesday. Tried a Greek place we hadn't been to before and probably won't go again... Didn't know phyllo could be that texture... Then Wed night I had to take BB up to the ski area to get fitted for his snowboard equipment and we made a date of it with dinner and a haircut for him after. He chose Texas Roadhouse for dinner and still amazes me with his appetite: 6rolls, half rack of ribs (we shared a full rack dinner), part of a bloomin' onion, couple bites of rice and veggies and a Sprite! He's asked to go back almost every night since then... Then Thursday night we went up to the ski area (only 25 minutes from here) for his first snowboarding lesson. 2 hours later he was ready to try skiing instead, but decided he would stick it out and see if it gets easier. I'm also going to give it a try this week when he goes for his lesson and also trying cross country skiing tomorrow! I've said this before, but I am always refreshed when I get to spend time with my kids one on one. They are so different by themselves and we all need that reconnection so I don't throttle them when they're fighting with each other or destroying the house or waiting until I'm on the phone to get my attention... Friday, BG recieved an award for Peacemaker of the Month for the value of Compassion and then we had a great time at dinner with 4 other families (minus daddies) to include 18 kids. Luckily our friends have a huge house and they were all able to spread out and we could all relax and enjoy. Then Saturday we attended a birthday party at a place with a huge bouncy house/play area and laser tag. Twins ended up coming too, since they supposedly had no room for them (another story) at the Saturday care. BB lost his other front tooth during the party after LG kicked him in the mouth on the way there. We topped off the week with another great dinner with our friends down the street last night. So, the busyness and the great friends and support and the reconnecting with my kiddos were just what I needed to get through another week! J should be home sometime this weekend (YAY!) so this week is busy getting his office put back together, haircut for me and the usual activities. My prayer for the week: God please give me the energy finish what I start.

I am so ready...

for my husband to come home. For 'good' would be nice, but I'll take the two weeks he gets coming up in the latter part of January. All the little things (including the little people) are starting to add up and wear me down. Weary would be the word that best describes my attitude right now... Not quite to the point of not caring, or that I'm going to lock my children in a closet just yet, but to the point where I'm going to scream if I can't even sit down for a cup of coffee without the powdered sugar being dumped all over the kitchen. I know the powdered sugar shouldn't be within reach, but we had just finished breakfast and I wanted coffee before cleaning up! Weary of being sick and tired too and wondering when my energy levels will come up or if this is going to be it for the rest of my life. Weary of worrying about it. Weary of having one 'productive' day out of three. And you're probably weary of the whining already! I am ready for the big kids to go back to school tomorrow and I am ready for J to be here just to give me a break and a few days of sleeping in to recharge for the next four months.

I originally sat down to write about resolutions but you got whining instead and then I got to thinking that I don't feel a whole lot of resolve right now to do anything which brought me to how much I really need my husband home for a little bit... So after I make it through the next couple of weeks, I'll look back on this to remind myself of my goals for the New Year.

The main thing is health:
1. Spiritually, I'm feeling the void from not attending church regularly and my prayer life could use a boost.
2. Physically, hoping the cancer thing is under control but won't know until March, but taking the steps I need to with diet and exercise to help that along. Feeding my children better food.
3. Financially, doing a better job on sticking to our budget and cutting out the 'impulse' buys.

I'm sure there are a lot more things I could be resolving to do, but I'll be happy to get one out the three listed accomplished...