The Move

I started this post before we moved back in August and it was a big complaint about how I hate moving, but couldn't really complain about it because, hello! we're moving to Hawaii and who can complain about that? Anyway, I still hate moving, but have to say that the whole experience was filled with a lot more good times than bad. Once we finally got our orders after a delay because I had to enroll in the Exceptional Family Member Program due to my health issues, things moved pretty quickly. I know, you already knew I was exceptional, right? So, we got all of our junk packed up, said some goodbyes, drove to Newark, NJ, dropped off the van and flew to Portland, spent a day at my sister's and left the kiddos with her, while J and I flew on to Hawaii. Spent a lovely 5 days on our own there driving around, looked at two houses and rented the second one. Then I flew back and spent too little time with family and brought the kids back with me. They had such a great time with all their cousins this summer! So glad to have found a house in a good neighborhood, very close to the school (BB can see our house from his classroom) and J's work as well. We haven't even bought a second car yet as he is so close he can walk home when needed. Our landlords are a very sweet, elderly Japanese couple who live behind us in the 'second' house. Mr. E was part of the 442nd Infantry Regiment and has two purple hearts and other decorations. J had a great time talking to him about being a part of history and his wife was so impressed that he was talking to someone about it! They love having the kids around although LB likes to show off for them and I think worries them a bit with his antics... Mr. E is also a great gardener and has many fruit trees around our house and a veggie garden on his little plot and a couple of prepared beds for me too, so we've got stuff planted and it's growing fast! Love having an endless growing season! Not loving the lack of central air conditioning and the cockroaches (took care of those buggers already!) So, the big kids are settling into school after a bit of a rocky start for both of them. BG didn't like feeling like she was behind at all, but seems to be caught up already and BB is saying school was 'good' when he comes home instead of 'I hate it!' They are both really missing their friends and school and neighborhood in New York and I guess that has been the biggest adjustment so far. We've been pretty sheltered, living on post for so long and just used to jumping into a neighborhood where there are lots of kids and families in the same circumstances as us. It's almost an instant bond and pretty easy to find a few people you click with. It's going to be more challenging to get out and meet people but we're working on it... I went to PWOC this week and will soon get the littles into hourly care for some socializing. I'm doing some pre-school at home with them for the time being. LG likes to take her 'homework' out when the big kids are doing their's. Also getting them all enrolled in Child and Youth Services on post so at least they'll have some activities to go to after school. And we've gone to the beach every weekend so far and trying to find our favorite. We are on the housing list for the new housing they're building near Pearl Harbor, so if we fail miserably at living 'off-post' we do have a back up plan! So we're still waiting on our stuff but I'll save the rustic living conditions for another post! In the meantime, I am sooooo missing my friends and neighbors in New York and around the world! I've mentioned before how blessed we've been to have friends move with us the last couple of moves and I am really feeling that void right now! We would love visitors, but you might want to wait until our stuff gets here...

Jersey Shore

We had such a great time last year in Ocean City, NJ, that we decided to go again this year, but for two weeks this time! It was wonderful to be able to relax and go to the beach almost every day and spend time with the Adams side of the family. Our condo was located over an ice cream shop about two blocks from the beach and boardwalk and was a really nice place with an outdoor shower for rinsing off the sand and a nice deck with a hot tub too! If you're ever looking for a great, relaxing family vacation, we highly recommend OC! Vacationrentals.com is a good resource for finding homes for rent by owners. Anyway, the kids (and J and I) loved the beach. I used to think I was more a mountain girl than a beach girl, but I think I've changed my mind. A beach cruiser is so much more my speed than a mountain bike (although I would still do that too!) and where in the mountains can you stop and get fresh bagels after your morning run? I loved running on the boardwalk with the ocean in sight. BG took a morning bike ride with me one morning and did a great job! We also rented a family surry one morning for a ride on the boardwalk down to the yummy apple cider donut shop, so good when they're fresh and hot! The kids loved hanging out with their cousins and BB and J went fishing with Pop-pop Adams out on his boat one day while the rest of us visited with Mom-mom and ran in the sprinkler. The kids also stayed at Aunt V and Uncle B's while J and I had a couple of nights out together in Atlantic City! The kids and I checked out the Cape May Zoo on a very hot Sunday afternoon while J relaxed at 'home' (he doesn't do zoos) and we got to spend Father's Day with Pop-pop, Mom-mom and the rest of the family! As usual, Pop-pop's steamed clams were great and the kids had a great time getting reacquainted with their cousins and moving Mom-mom's yard sculptures around. Overall, we had a great time, but decided two weeks is a long time to be away from home and we came back a day early! Also, learned early that it just works better for us with the ages of our kiddos to not cram too much into one day (more for our sake than the kids!). So, now we're waiting for our next adventure in Army life, which is a move to Hawaii sometime soon! Still waiting for our orders but should be moving sometime in August. I'm excited to get there and get settled, but not looking forward to the moving part and leaving our Army family here. The last couple of moves, we've been spoiled with friends moving with us and it's going to be really hard to leave them behind! Anyway, I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking if you have the time to look at them! I tend to get a little camera happy...

Next up!

J made it home safely from Afghanistan on June 3rd! We were all so happy to see him and BB was especially happy that he made it home in time for his birthday! BB said he wanted a Nerf War party, so we tried to oblige... A bunch of boys (and a couple of girls) running around in the woods with Nerf guns playing capture the flag. Our friends D and W did a great job helping organize all the younger kids. Hard for me to believe BB is 9! BG was a dancing flower in her 1st grade musical, "How Does Your Garden Grow." It was very cute and the kids all did a great job! She briefly played soccer this spring also, but after a couple of weeks started complaining of a stomach ache every time we had to go, so finally stopped fighting with her to go and focused on getting BB to baseball! He really seemed to enjoy it despite the coaching changes in the middle of the season... He mostly played First Base and the last couple of games really got into the game and tried to get the ball fielded in the right places. The little kids enjoyed going too so they could run around on the 'hills' near the ball fields! LB is also back to his hole in the backyard and playing with his guys out there again. I'm going to have to find another lock for the gate since he figured out the snap link the other day... Anyway, here's a few pics from our spring time and next update will be our vacation!

Lots to update...

...from the last couple of months! I think I'll break it into several different posts instead of trying to do my usual cram everything into one! So starting with the girls' ballet recital back in May. I did manage to get a little bit of video for each of them. LG (last ballerina on the right) was so funny trying to keep up with her steps and finally just started watching the prompter who was offstage:


Our BG was ready to be done with ballet but we had her stick it out until after the recital. I loved their bright yellow and orange outfits, such a great departure from the pink! BG started out on the far right but I had to quit filming to chase LG out of the orchestra pit where she was doing her own show...



And they both love wearing them now and had to put them on again the morning after for some bike riding

Memorial Day

has such a bigger meaning when those close to you are lost. Remembering today all those from the past who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and their families left behind. And especially remembering friends and family who have recently lost their heroes. I wish I had the words to make it better. Keeping everyone close in prayer.

If you want to add in your prayers and rememberances, here's a list of heroes fallen in combat from Afghanistan and Iraq the last few years. I know not everyone supports the efforts in these wars, but these brave men and women did and every single one of them has a family or someone who cares that they are gone from this life. Please remember them not just today on Memorial Day, but every day, and if you can, show you support them not just with a yellow ribbon stuck on your bumper but with a thank you or a charitable donation to one of the many non-profit organizations that supports servicemembers and families of the fallen. http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2004/oef.casualties/2010.05.html

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mother's out there who have the honor of having the best and sometimes the worst job in the world, many times in the same day... I've spent the day with my four little darlings, whom I thank God for letting me borrow for our time here on earth. We just did normal stuff today, slept in and snuggled a bit in my bed since 3 of them were already in it, got up and BB made me coffee while I took a shower (I showed him how to do it yesterday!) and then they gave me their sweet cards/poems/plants they made at school and we headed out for lunch at Texas Roadhouse which was a madhouse! But much of the day I've spent thinking about my mother and how much I miss her still and trying to keep her memory alive with what I tell my kids of her and what I teach them that I learned from her. Yes, she had her faults like we all do, and many of mine are a reflection of hers! She was disorganized and messy. Cleaning up the kitchen after one of her masterpiece meals was sometimes a two hour chore! I learned the 'dash and stash' method of cleaning before company from her! She was a packrat and had a terrible time making decisions about what to keep and what to throw away, so most of it got kept. She had a hard time talking about how she felt about things and I know bottled many things up inside until she would blow her top. She distrusted doctors and tended to blame her health problems on 'allergies' and would try every natural remedy she could before heading to a doctor. She would probably agree with me on most of that and would be modest about all the things she did so well and that list is so much longer than the previous:
She loved us all. She was a wonderful cook and taught us to be creative in the kitchen. She loved making people feel special by making them something whether it was dinner, a dessert, a beautiful cake, a wedding dress, a coat, a flower arrangement, or all of the above at once! When we were cleaning the garage after she died we found several gifts she had made and packaged but never quite got sent... She was spontaneous and fun and seemed to work best under pressure although not always on time. She worked hard and was well liked by her employers and co-workers. She never said you can't do that because you're a girl or not smart enough or... She was funny and witty and sarcastic and sometimes had the worst puns! She stood up for us when it was important; we didn't shop at Sears for about 10 years after they were rude to my brother and she told the employee and manager to take a hike. She had a sense of adventure which was a good thing married to my dad. He liked to go where he wanted to go and we got taken along for the ride, so she would find some redeeming point of wherever we were and could pack the best picnic lunches on short notice. She had a wonderful laugh. She believed that Jesus was her Saviour and is with him now! She loved us... I guess my hope as a mother, is that my kids will look back on their childhood and the good points will far outweigh the bad and that most of all they will know they were loved!

Continuing theme....

in many conversations now is when is daddy going to be home and how much we miss daddy and LG seems to be bringing it up the most... So, yesterday while at BBs baseball practice, LG is trying to get a friend's dad to play with her (he looks like J from behind!) and then she came over to me and said 'can I have a new daddy?' and I said 'nope, you're stuck with the one you got' and then BG chimed in that 'we can have a step-daddy!' and my response even though my heart is breaking inside, is 'no way, that would be way too much work for Mommy!' as the ladies behind me are giggling... So bittersweet the way they can look at things. I know they are missing their dad so much, just as I am, but just don't understand why he can't be here. I'm not (usually) one to whine about our circumstances especially when it's our decision to live this crazy, wonderful, mostly rewarding life, but I do worry at times about the effect it's having on our children. J is an awesome dad and husband and we love him and miss him so much when he's gone and I try to keep things constant and you would think it would get easier the more times we do it, but each seoeration seems to be harder than the last! The kids are doing fine overall and I know they'll bounce right into J's arms and won't let go for a few days when he gets back (hopefully next month!) and we're definetly keeping busy until then, maybe a little too busy...

I'm usually not one to get the kids into a ton of activities all at once, because I really don't like having to rush around and get them from one thing to the next and I just think our kids don't get enough time to just play, but for some reason we've got too many things going right now! The girls still have ballet until the end of the month when they have their recital (on Memorial Day weekend, whose idea was that?) and BB is playing baseball T and TH and BG is playing soccer M and W. Not that big a deal since they are only an hour each day, but that little bit of extra has thrown my already disorganized self into turmoil! I have a reminder on my phone for all my appointments (which is great if I put them in there) so my little beep went off at 4:35 yesterday and we were supposed to be in Watertown (20 minutes away) at 5:00 for ballet photos... in costume, and BB had baseball practice at 6:30. So I called my friend whose son is on BB's team and she agreed to take him, so he had to get his stuff together and walk down the street, then I had to get the girls and LB in the van with all their costume stuff and tights and shoes, ran back inside a couple of times for hair things, brush and my phone and camera. BG changed in the car on the way there and I threw LG's costume on her in the parking lot and rushed her in there just in time for the group photo of her class!
Of course my nerves are jangling and LB keeps trying to run out of the studio while I'm trying to get BG's hair done and check written to pay for pictures. But, photos are done, BB made it to practice and we stopped at McDs for dinner. Think I'll do some menu planning this weekend so I can actually have dinner made before we head to practice next week! And I already changed the reminder time on my calendar and it makes a louder noise now too... I love how LG is looking up to BG in this picture and trying to be just like her!


The littles and I also visited a local greenhouse this week and picked up a few more plants to stick in our pots. Of course it's supposed to snow again this weekend (or wintry mix) so I'll have to bring them in again but since we still don't know anything about where we're going or when, I'm going to have a few plants to enjoy while we are here! Here's a picture of the pansies in the greenhouse and who could resist buying those. The smell was awesome too, almost wanted to eat them!



LG has been in dandelion heaven lately also! She loves picking them and anytime we're outside and passing some, she has to stop and grab a handful. On the way into church last Sunday she was offered several jobs to come clear some lawns...



BG was helping pick too and she is wearing one of my old dresses that my mom made for me one Christmas. I don't remember if I was in first or second grade, but the dress is definetly well worn!





I'm so happy things are finally green again here! We are supposed to freeze again this weekend and there's a high wind advisory for tomorrow, but at least it's green! We've seen a bunch of deer again and lots of turkeys and some other wildlife too. I want to go look for the beavers that are supposed to be here on post also, but don't really want to chance LB falling in the lake, so I'll save that for a day when J can come with us...

Driving in the car

always brings up the best conversations... We were coming home from soccer practice and LG said "I want Daddy, right now!" So then we talked about when he was going to be home and BB said "It will be National Ride on Daddy's Shoulders Day when he gets home and Daddy will let me drink coke all day and buy used games at Gamestop every time we go to the PX." BG said, "Daddy will play games with me and watch me ride my bike." and LG said, "Daddy gives me marshmallows, not big ones, little ones like in my hot cocoa!" and then she said, "I want Daddy!" again. LB didn't join in because he fell asleep on our walk through the woods during soccer practice... Anyway, we all miss the daddy, but I'm glad they're thinking of all the stuff they get to do with him when he does finally come home.

Other than missing J, we've been keeping busy with various springtime activities, although if we get another snowfall like yesterday, I may have to revoke spring as my favorite season... BB is playing baseball and BG is playing soccer so we've got practice 4 days a week with the sports. BG and LG are also still doing ballet on Saturdays with a recital the end of May and BB is still taking piano lessons and actually enjoying practicing! LB's main activity is still running his mother ragged... We've also started attending a local church most Sundays and it's great how quickly the kids pick up a habit. I didn't even tell them last Sunday and they were up and ready to go! I bowled for the last time yesterday for the league I'm in and can say that although still inconsistent, my average improved quite a bit over the last few months and so did my other teammates' so we went from 8th place to 2nd!

We're still waiting to hear if/when we will be moving away from here and getting a little frustrated with the not knowing what's going on. I'm trying to stop myself from going crazy planting a huge garden if I'm not going to get to enjoy it! But I think it's a compulsion to plant stuff...

I love this age...

the twins are at now! Three and a half and they make me laugh every day in wonder at the things they come up with and how their little minds work and I'm really enjoying their company. Maybe because they have each other to talk to and play with, it takes a little of the pressure off me to keep them occupied and interested in whatever game they are playing. LB likes to hand me a sword (be it a stick or a straw or any other sword shaped thing) and sword fight but then runs off and finds LG or big brother to play with also. He can play with his playmobil guys for hours at a time and I love listening to the stories he makes up for them. He and LG played in the bathtub for 2hours this afternoon making stuff up with playmobil guys, barbies and polly pockets. They had a couple of merpeople so I heard him ask "where are you mermommy, your merbaby is here?" "Let's go in our mercastle now." He does like to be specific in his wording. And LG is quick to have an answer for him although she likes to tease him too, with an answer she knows he won't agree with or pretending to 'sleep' complete with snoring, when he wants her character to do something...

BB and BG are at a great age now too, not that I didn't like them at other ages, but they are getting more independent all the time and they have been a big help with the littles since J has been gone again the last couple of months. They are both doing great in school and just brought home their report cards last week with no major issues. Both are liking reading now and BB is starting to read books that I like too! I read the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series (except the last one) before I let him have them, just because I liked them and didn't want to be interrupted! They both want to be outside now that there is no snow on the ground and I have a hard time getting them to do their chores and homework first, mainly because I want to be outside too!

A 'conversation' came up today on facebook about falling short as a parent and how we think other people are doing so much better than we are as parents. And it was refreshing to see people confessing their shortcomings in that area and realizing that there are no perfect parents out there. And if you think you're perfect, just ask your kids! I can certainly say that there are so many days that I feel like a failure to my kids because they ate cereal for dinner... again, or I don't read to them or play with them enough or discipline consistenly enough or sometimes have to call 3 different houses to locate my 8 year old or I'm not teaching them to pick up after themselves or my LB isn't potty trained yet or I yelled at them for no reason or they spent too much time with a babysitter this week or it's 10 pm and none of them are asleep yet or... the list goes on and on and on... but God is the one perfect parent and He trusted us with these precious lives and even gave instructions for raising them in His Word and lets me know that I'm not alone and if I will but trust in Him, He will give me the strength every day to try again. I often pray 'thank you God for these beautiful children but please help me not to ruin them!' So next time you're feeling like everyone else is a better parent, just take a look at my list up there and know that many others have one just like it, whether they admit it or not!

Just a few things that made me laugh...

The twins are talking a lot now and so I hear the funniest things sometimes! Thought I would share a few while I still remember them:

LG's favorite movies: "Snow Wipe" and "Sleeping Booty"
LB's favorite movie: "Gumbo"
LB is pretending to be a 'vampirate' and bit LG on the hand this morning.
The vacuum cleaner was on the stairs with the cord going down and LB said "I need to climb the mountain" and tried to rappel down the cord... Fortunately he had a light hold and didn't bring the vacuum down too!
LG on food: "Abocados make me happy, Mommy!" "I like peas in my mouth!"
and LG will start a conversation with anyone, usually about her hair... because she likes 'blowing' hair which means long.

That's about all I can remember right now; they keep me laughing so I'm sure there's more to come!