Adams' Apples

Gingerbread Jesus

2011-12-18T02:59:00.004-05:00

So, one of the things I love about our new place is the kitchen, and it's showing with an increase in cooking and baking again! The kids and I had a great time making a Gingerbread Nativity for the dessert table at my ladies' Bible study program on Tuesday and I just had to share 'cause I think "Gingerbread Jesus" is pretty adorable:

and the three wise guys travelling from the East:

the Holy Family with their donkey, OK so it looks a little like a unicorn, but gingerbread is not quite as easy as clay...

and the best part is that it tasted pretty good too!

and I get to do it again later this week with a couple of ladies who expressed an interest in learning how to make one! I did get the recipe from a Martha Stewart Living magazine a few years ago, but the design was for a house not a stable...

Thank you!

2011-11-24T02:47:00.002-05:00

I love November and seeing everyone's lists of things they are thankful for and I also like writing one so on those days when I feel like complaining, I have something to come back to and remind myself of all that I have to be grateful for! So here's a list of my thank you's for this year.

Thank you God for:

getting us through this past year of transitions and moves and school changes and living together as a family again.

my husband, who despite his deep seated need for 'peace and quiet' loves us enough to keep up with our loud, rowdy bunch and a wife who likes to talk.

my Big Boy, who is mature beyond his years, still sweet and a great big brother even to other little kids. I'm thankful for his sense of humor that gets him through the tough spots.

my Big Girl, who is smart and funny and creative and can belch like a man and then laugh hysterically.

my Little Girl, who is a ray of sunshine from the moment she wakes up until the moment she doesn't get her way! Sunshine is a force to be reckoned with when it doesn't take "No" for an answer!

my Little Boy, who tries so hard to please and cannot tell a lie. Sometimes this gets him in trouble too as he hasn't yet learned that the truth hurts, but I love his candor and his imagination.

teachers who show a real interest in our children and a desire to see them succeed.

old friends I miss so much. I am thankful to have a means of communicating with through facebook and email and phone calls and an occasional letter. I'm thankful for the memories and the impact they have made in my life.

new friends and the chance to get to know more people who will become old friends!

my health improving this past year. I'm no longer on blood thinners and have been cancer free for 3 years!

my ladies Bible study group. I love getting together with 'real' ladies who aren't afraid to show who they are in Christ.

parents who had a concern and love for my eternal salvation and taught us about God's love and forgiveness.

for our recent safe travels and time spent and memories made with our family in New Jersey.

the kindness of strangers to offer us a rental home when we were visiting family for a much reduced rate!

a comfortable home and plenty of food and the means to share with others.

my family cookbook with Uncle Russ's amazing pumpkin pie recipe. I just made 6 pies, 4 ramekins and a bread pudding with what I thought would make 4 pies!

my Cuisinart and my dishwasher and an oven big enough to bake 4 pies at once! I'm thankful that the joy I get from cooking and feeding people has reappeared after a year long hiatus.

my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews and aunties and uncles and cousins.

for Your beauty and splendor and wonderful climate to enjoy it here in Hawaii!

so much more...

Love is a Four Letter Word?

2011-09-02T02:43:00.006-04:00

So far, LB has had a pretty rough start to his public school education. First week of school he had an 'encounter' with the counselor because he made his 'angry' face in class when his teacher wouldn't let him sit next to a little girl he wanted to be friends with. I talked to the counselor and told her, yeah, he doesn't have much of a filter, but we're working on it... Anyway, by the third week, we had a meeting with the Special Services Counselor to get him evaluated for speech therapy as his teacher and other classmates are having a hard time understanding him. However, Mrs. T has no problem understanding when he uses the word "love" and has taken exception to that and told him not to say it anymore. Kid can't catch a break! I'm not sure what the exact context was but 'love' happens to be his favorite word right now and he 'loves' everything and everyone! It's a sad world that twists an innocent 5 year old's view of liking something a whole bunch into something ugly and dirty because they have a narrow-minded view of love! Sooo, how much can we confuse a kid? No, don't show your anger and don't be too loving either! I know it's going to be a challenge teaching him honesty while still maintaining respectfulness and love towards others. I had a long discussion with him after he went up to a little kid in the dentist's waiting room the other day and pointed at him and said "I don't like you and you can't play with my toys" completely unprovoked! So I know the frustration his teacher is faced with but it still made me sad that he was told he can't use the word 'love.' It's times like this that I consider homeschooling... But, obviously I didn't do too great a job prior to this or he wouldn't be having some of these issues! I'm praying that it will work out to have a new teacher next week when we change schools. LB seemed fine with that, but wanted to take Jordan and 'Brosario' and Max with him to his new school, so at least a few kids put up with his quirks...

Back to the Blog

2011-08-28T18:22:00.002-04:00

...maybe! Facebook has a feature on it now with updates from this day in 2010 or 2009 and I realized how much I am missing by not writing stuff down here instead. I'm not great at, ok really not good at scrapbooking or journaling or even printing many of the pictures I take, so this blog was a good source of archiving our lives for a while and I'm missing a lot! So, maybe it's time to start writing more regularly again...

So, this time last year I wrote about moving into a house and being on the housing waiting list just in case we couldn't hack it 'off post' and I'm not too proud to say we couldn't do it! We're signing for a brand new, five bedroom house on Fort Shafter on Monday morning and I'm pretty excited! Here's a few reasons why we're really looking forward to a new house and neighborhood:

1. A dishwasher! I can't express how much I have missed having one and I think the eczema on my hands will be a thing of the past also!
2. Central air conditioning. I love the climate here, but paying $500 a month to run two little window units just so we have a couple of cool rooms to hang out in when the rest of the house is a sauna is a bit crazy. And it would be nice to actually hang out as a family all in the same room on our...
3. Sofa in the living room! I've been disappointed since we discovered when our stuff arrived that we could not fit our sofa into the living room and it's been in the boys' bedroom for the last 10 months. It will be nice to not feel like I'm walking into a college student's house with a beanbag and futon in the living room.
4. Some space to spread out and a garage!
5. No more nasty white carpet that doesn't come clean!
6. Neigbor kids to play with and adult neighbors for us grown ups too! We live in a decent neighborhood, but there are not a lot of kids close by and the kids have really missed running around outside with friends. I've noticed also, that even the adults when they are home around here tend to not come outdoors much.
7. Our own driveway and outdoor space. While it's been nice having our landlords to interact with and they are great people it will also be nice to feel like we're in our 'own' house and not have to worry if we don't shut the 'compound' gate, etc...

and so that brings me to the things we will miss about living here:

1. Our lovely landlords who are really great people and really seem to enjoy our children.
2. Our outdoor planting space and all the lovely fruit trees especially the yummy lemons! I'm going to have to buy lemons again and the kids will miss their swing on the mango tree.
3. The location to the kids school and J's work has been pretty ideal. We're going to have to walk a bit further to school or maybe even pay for the bus and J will have to commute about 10 minutes but with parking will be missing his coming home for lunch that he's enjoyed this past year.
4. The kids will be leaving a pretty good school and starting at another good school, but changing schools is never easy and as BB put it the other day "I was just getting used to this school." This will be his 6th school since kindergarten and he's only in 5th grade!

There's been ups and downs to our first year in Hawaii and I will say that the transition here has been harder than any other move in the past. Maybe it's a good thing I haven't written much this past year so we can forget the hard parts and move on to enjoying the next two years here!

Random kid updates...

2011-03-21T20:51:00.007-04:00

Riding in the car today, LG pipes up from the back seat, "Daddy, I will miss you when I grow up." J asked why and she said "because I will have my own house." She was relieved to know that she could still visit even when she has her own house and babies and 2 dogs named "Jenny and Jenny Tuesday, who is a boy dog, but Jenny is just a regular girl dog with spots." She is growing up way too fast! She wanted me to straighten her hair last night, so I obliged and this morning when she woke up she came in our room crying because her hair was curly again.

LB is keeping us BUSY! I think I've lost much of the gray hair grown when he was a two year old! We went to the zoo last week and he had a great time climbing on the rocks next to the trail through the African Savannah exhibits. So, LG asked me to take her picture on one of them and the other 3 kids went ahead to look at the baboons. In the 20 seconds that took, LB had climbed on the rocks between the baboon and lion enclosures and was spotted by a zoo official. I got him down rather quickly and he was in no real danger as he wasn't even close to the top and there was a high fence on the other side of the rocks. But as the zookeeper said when she came and yelled at me, "we don't want to tempt the lions and give them any ideas that there is something better outside their enclosure." I said, "yes, ma'am" and took a firm grip on LB's backpack harness that I had the forsight to put on him but obviously not use! Why is it that the most impulsive kids are also the fastest. It's like he has a thought and in the same moment is executing! Thankfully, his favorite part of the zoo was the koi pond with the tunnel through the middle of it, with one way out and one way in...

BB and BG had a pretty decent spring break between the pool, the zoo, the movies and lots of lazing around. They're currently tied together with a rope and working 'together' on the daily chores because they've also spent a lot of time bickering and being mean to each other! Anybody else have any ideas for getting siblings to work together? We went and watched "Rango" the other day and both of them complained about going to see what they thought was a baby movie. It was nice to see BB glued to the screen the whole time and BG enjoying it too between the bathroom breaks! When am I going to learn that they don't need drinks at the movies?

I also enjoyed "Rango" but could have done without the lizard's suicidal walk across the highway, because of course that is what LB picks up on! He asked me, "why he walking by the cars and trucks" and after he falls over unconsious "why he dead?" But at least he knows you're not supposed to walk across a highway full of cars and trucks!

The Move

2010-08-11T20:44:00.004-04:00

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

2010-07-16T09:09:00.004-04:00

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!

2010-07-15T20:12:00.005-04:00

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...

2010-07-10T22:35:00.006-04:00

...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

2010-05-24T15:26:00.007-04:00

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!

2010-05-09T19:24:00.008-04:00

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....

2010-05-07T08:52:00.012-04:00

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

2010-04-28T20:06:00.002-04:00

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...

2010-03-31T19:36:00.002-04:00

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...

2010-01-29T13:17:00.002-05:00

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!

Thankful for...

2009-11-26T19:43:00.002-05:00

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!

2009-11-06T11:39:00.006-05:00

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...

2009-08-23T16:56:00.004-04:00

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...

2009-07-29T19:43:00.005-04:00

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

2009-06-19T17:40:00.003-04:00

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

2009-06-16T12:33:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-05-30T21:38:00.002-04:00

...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

2009-05-09T18:13:00.003-04:00

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...

2009-04-30T20:59:00.003-04:00

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

2009-04-21T20:59:00.002-04:00

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

2009-04-12T00:40:00.000-04:00

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!

2009-03-31T17:53:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-29T21:02:00.004-04:00

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

2009-03-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-22T09:26:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-21T17:27:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-19T15:58:00.003-04:00

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

2009-03-09T19:42:00.002-04:00

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

2009-03-04T13:54:00.002-05:00

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

2009-03-02T15:51:00.003-05:00

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

2009-02-28T17:22:00.004-05:00

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

2009-02-15T21:21:00.004-05:00

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?"

2009-01-29T18:07:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-13T20:56:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-12T19:44:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-12T19:39:00.001-05:00

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

Last week

2009-01-12T16:53:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-04T14:09:00.002-05:00

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...

Reflections...

2008-12-31T12:25:00.003-05:00

on 2008. New Year's Eve seems like a good time to look back at the year and take it all in and put it to rest... I started this blog last February and I just reread most of it and am so glad I wrote down many of the things that occured in our life this year. The one thing that stands out for me is God has carried us through another year with the help of friends, family, neighbors and community. 2008 was not an easy year, with what seems like more downs than ups, but I would not trade any of it, if it meant losing out on the relationships built and strengthened between family, friends and God and self. Sure, there is room for improvement (especially with the self part), but that's for the New Year... So a prayer of thanks tonight for the year past and of continued blessings and strength for the year to come... Happy New Year!

Favorite Christmas Carol...

2008-12-31T12:18:00.003-05:00

...Feliz Da-di-da

Tucking kids in bed on Christmas Eve they asked again if Santa was real. And they wanted to know for real this time, so I told them he was a real person but the part about him flying around to everyone's house and sliding down chimneys was a myth.

BB: I still believe
BG: You're wrong, mommy.

Guess they weren't really ready for the truth or they think they won't get any presents if they don't believe... And BG was convinced there would be more presents from Santa when we got home. She missed the one he left for her at Pop-pops and Mom-moms.

Christmas

2008-12-30T20:49:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We sure did, despite Daddy being in Iraq we had a great Christmas spent with Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams and aunties and uncle and cousins. I'm a little bit wiped out from the driving and the persistant coughing, but it was worth it to see the kids' and the grandparents' enjoyment! We spent Christmas Eve with sister-in-law V's family and in-laws at a beautiful church service and party afterwards and then back to Pop-pops to snuggle the kids all warm in their beds, recite the Christmas story (glad I learned it when I was a kid) and talk about God's gifts and then I stuffed stockings while mom-mom proceded to stack presents and presents and more presents under the tree. Everyone was shocked and awed to see so many presents! LG wasn't too happy about being woken up, but the other kids weren't waiting any longer. She was fine as soon as she started pulling stuff out of her stocking and soon got into the swing of opening presents. LB was a bit overwhelmed with it all and wanted to play with the guys he got in his stocking, forget opening anything else! I spent the rest of the morning fighting to get stuff out of the industrial strength packaging and then we went over to sister-in-law D's house for delicious Christmas dinner and eggnog and more presents! Then the rest of the evening and the next morning spent on the unpackaging war and load plan for the van. And I thought I wouldn't use my Army skills as a stay-at-home mom... We went for a drive that afternoon out to the Barnegat Lighthouse and then stopped at a little beach for a while just to feel the sand on our feet and draw some sand pictures. Finished loading the van and the next morning we said bye to Pop-pop and Mom-mom and headed over to Aunt V's and Uncle B's to spend some time with the cousins. Had a great time at Storybook Land all lit up for Christmas and the kids wore themselves out playing and finally fell asleep where they crashed. Drove home the next day with a long stop at Ikea in Philly and made it home about 9 pm. Van is still not completely unloaded as I have to make some room in the house for everything! Overall a great trip and I'm glad we got to spend Christmas with family. I do look forward to travelling with John when he gets back though! Enough of the single parent gig... Here's some pics from our trip:

Lots of little random stuff

2008-12-20T20:28:00.009-05:00

Well, since my computer was choked up with viruses for a couple of weeks, I haven't really been on here to update like I wanted so here's a bunch of random things from the last couple of weeks starting with Thanksgiving!

We had a traditional 'Army' Thanksgiving spent with our friends the Clarks after wondering if we would make it out of our driveway from all the snow the night before and all that day! So glad we made it and enjoyed spending the time with friends who treat us like family. Had a little trouble getting out of their driveway but the roads were clear on the way home and we were all content and thankful and ready to start the Christmas season...

the next morning the littles and BG went to hourly care while BB and I did some Christmas shopping and managed to get most of it done in one trip! I've picked up a few more things here and there but for the most part have avoided the crowds and busyness which is a good thing since I've been sick or babies have been coughing for the last 3 weeks! During a lull in the illnesses, I got some Christmas lights up on the house and we put a big tree outside by the front door and a Christmas 'bush' inside the house 'cause we can't fit a full size tree... It was fun decorating with the kids and pulling out all the old ornaments from my childhood and the ones they've recieved since they were babies. BG was really interested and kept asking where each one came from and excited to put them on the tree, I think she's taken half of them off the tree since then and played with them all over the house, which is probably not a bad thing since LB has knocked the 'bush' over twice.

In health news, I started seeing a different endocrinologist for my thyroid care and she questioned how my primary care manager and surgeon went about diagnosing and treating the thyroid cancer. That's never a comforting conversation finding that things could have been done in a more efficient, possibly less painful manner. And whether doctors mean to do it or not, they definetly use our fear to get what they want. Anyway, lessons learned, less trust on my part, internet research is my friend, and don't be afraid to get a second or third opinion... Also, got my thyroid hormone increased so maybe I'll get that at the right level sometime soon and feel like a whole new person, right!

Ken doesn't stand a chance, GI Joe gets all the girls in our household... even a Navy Seal one...

In sleep news, we've all been disfunctional the last few weeks. There have been a few nights where I've woken up laying across the foot of my bed while my little angels are all across the top! Thank God for king size beds. I've also moved to another bed in the house when I get pushed off...

And probably the best news in a while, LB decided he wants to use the toilet so we've been working on that the last two weeks. LG not interested at all, so I'll give her a month or two just like with most other stuff, she seems to follow him by about two months. I think the only reason she was born first is because LB kicked her out!

Other than that we've spent some nice times with friends decorating gingerbread houses and BB's Christmas concert and BG and I went to see a local production of The Nutcracker today. It seems to have become a tradition as this is the fourth year in a row we've gone, just in a different city each time. So far my favorite was in Portland, OR and the kids enjoyed the 'Southwest Nutcracker' in Tucson, AZ because they had coyotes instead of mice. I've got a lot to do tomorrow so we can leave to spend Christmas in New Jersey with Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams and the rest of J's family. Only one missing will be J... We were trying to figure out how many Christmases we've actually been together (because we like to wallow in our depression) and it came out to be only four Christmases apart in 14 years, unfortunately all of them since we've had kids. LG has only had one Christmas with Daddy that she remembers and that was last year! Before that, even though we weren't always stationed together, we managed to see each other over the holidays usually by one or the other of us flying to Korea... OK, need to stop dwelling on it. And this is getting quite lengthy and now that my right arm (computer) is reattached I won't have to save it up!

Conversation with BB

2008-12-05T09:58:00.003-05:00

After school the other day BB approached me with this (condensed) discussion:

BB: Mommy, don't be mad, but I have a girlfriend at school, her name is Destiny.
M: Oh, really. How do you know she is your girlfriend?
BB: I heard some other boys talking and they said she liked me and because I love her.
M: Does she know she's your girlfriend?
BB: Yes, but she likes another boy sometimes too.
M: So what to you do with Destiny?
BB: We talk and play.
M: Well, daddy and I don't want you to have a girlfriend until you're ready to get married, then you can worry about having a girlfriend.
BB: So I have to wait until I'm in fifth grade???
M: Yeah, we'll discuss it again then...

I'm so not ready for my 7 year old to be worrying about girls! After our conversation, it was apparant that it's all very innocent, normal, little boy, little girl, second grader behavior, but the worry is there that I don't know how aware he is of 'grown up' relationships and I don't want him growing up too fast. We also talked about saving our hearts for the person God wants us to marry when we're older and his answer was "But we can love everyone!" I was so proud of that answer because he is a loving, compassionate boy and it's apparant that he's not aware of 'romantic' love with one person yet or that his heart can be broken. I did warn him that 2nd grade girls are known to change their minds at the drop of a hat though... And my hope is that he does continue to talk to me about all this stuff.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T14:08:00.003-05:00

I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving and can remember everything we have to be thankful for. I think 'Thank you' are two of the most meaningful and most often overlooked words in the world. So I thought I would get my 'thank you's' down in writing to help remind myself that I do have so much to be thankful for. In no particular order:

I'm thankful I have J for a husband and father to my children. And that he loves me for who I am.
I'm thankful for our health and safety especially after the trials of late.
I'm thankful our kids are healthy and bright and seemingly 'normal' for the most part.
I'm thankful for a warm house on this cold snowy day.
I'm thankful for friends God places in our lives to see us through the harder times and to celebrate the better times.
I'm thankful for our families who love us despite our faults and shortcomings.
I'm thankful for our country where even with the current times, we still have the freedoms we enjoy.
I'm thankful for the sacrifices my husband and all our servicemembers and families make to keep our country safe and free.
I'm thankful for God's love and gift of his Son.
I'm thankful God listens to and answers prayers.
I'm thankful for music and flowers and art and every other gift God gives us to remind us that He is able to see us through.

The fun never stops

2008-11-21T19:38:00.006-05:00

and I could use a break! I did manage to get the place cleaned up a bit on Tuesday and moved some furniture around and torked my back at the same time... Woke up Wednesday and almost fell down when I got up! Managed to make it to the OSC Luncheon and made a nice Christmas wreath and then went to Bunco in the evening and had fun rolling the dice and chatting and eating. Left a little early since I wasn't feeling so great, got home, went to bed and couldn't get warm then woke up with a sore throat! Two nights of that and chills and sweats, went to the doctor today and I've got Strep throat. Hello, amoxycillin. Feeling better already, but now I have to play catch up for the last two days of laying around! And pray I don't have any sick kids.

I did make it to BB and BG's teacher conferences yesterday and thankfully no worries in the school area. BB is pretty much average in most areas, excels in art and music and needs a little bit of help with spelling. BG's teachers cannot believe that she's my challenge at home since she is such a little angel at school! And performing very well academically thus far in her kindergarten career. They're also impressed with her imagination and creativity, especially on days she dresses herself.

The littles spent a lot of time in hourly care this week and by yesterday they really didn't want to be there. They're fine as soon as I leave and when I went to pick them up they were happily playing as usual. But ready to leave... It's been different the last couple of weeks since they've moved the two-year olds into the same room with the pre-schoolers (3-5 year olds). I think they're a little overstimulated and it tires them out more. Still not sure why the 'Army' decided they would make that change? Harder for the teachers to deal with the differences in ages and development also... Here's a sample of BB's artwork. Subject matter a little wierd but the details are great in my completely unbiased opinion! Also a video of LB singing the Indiana Jones theme song. I finally figured out what he was singing when he pointed to a picture of an Indiana Jones action figure in a catalog and started 'singing' the song.

Why is it...

2008-11-17T19:41:00.003-05:00

that when you're at your worst something occurs to make the maintenance man show up at your door? I was so embarrassed tonight that I didn't even mention the mess! So the to do list I published last week was started and therein lies part of the problem... I have three projects started and none completed and the rest of the house has fallen to pieces in the meantime. Plus the pictures I took out from that moment of distraction and didn't put away because I have to move the storage chest they were in to make room for the elliptical trainer sitting in the middle of my living room because I couldn't get it into my bedroom, plus the vaccuum cleaner sitting at the ready for the cereal the twins 'shared' with the carpet just before dinner, plus the mess from dinner, plus the mountain of laundry in the laundry room and toys scattered everywhere. It's only moments like this that the bathtubs fill with brown water. At least they got here quick! Apparantly my water heater was set to 'warm' and I'm to let it get hot and hopefully clear out the sediment, if not call them back in the morning. I guess I can at least vacuum...

Missing...

2008-11-12T20:01:00.007-05:00

my mom a lot this past week or so. I was thinking about what to get her for her birthday last week before I realized what I was doing. Her headstone was also finally placed this last week so it was a little bit of a shock and seeing pictures of it made her death seem more 'permanent.' I stopped at the Chocolate Cottage for lunch yesterday after running some errands and was almost crying in my mousse. It's the kind of place she always dreamed of opening someday in an old house, with little tables for two, coffee and tea, and a European menu with delicious crepes and desserts. and lots of chocolate! I could almost see her sitting across from me talking about ideas for her own place and what she would do differently. It's places like that and the garden center down the road or when I want to call her and tell what the kids did that day when it hits me that she's gone and I won't see her again until we meet in Heaven one day. Bittersweet sorrow. So I went on a little quest to find some pictures of my mom (I've had an empty frame in my kitchen for the last year waiting to put her pic in it; sometimes I am my mother!) and of course out of hundreds I found only 5 pictures of her. Here's one from my wedding with her two sisters on either side:

Number one son

2008-11-09T19:12:00.005-05:00

is growing up too quickly! I had to take pictures out the other day because I couldn't remember exactly what he looked like as a baby/toddler and I wanted to compare him and Rohan at this age. Anyway, he's much more popular than J or I was as a kid which I have mixed feelings about sometimes. He's friendly and clownish and quick to take the blame instead of get a friend in trouble. So today he and his friends were 'hanging out' in our garage when they got cold. Garage door half-way down, heater on, playing checkers and watching a movie on the portable DVD player. Funny, but it felt like I had a teenager instead of a seven-year old. How do I make it stop?!

Unmotivated...

2008-11-07T13:37:00.004-05:00

to do anything. I have so much I need to get done right now, yet so little motivation/energy to do anything beyond the minimum. Maybe if I make a list it will get it all out of my head and be less overwhelming, so not exactly exciting reading, but here's my to do list:

First and foremost, feed, clothe, bathe and see to general well-being of children. After that everything else is bonus:

Finish cleaning out computer armoire in family room
Move current computer into armoire
Rearrange my bedroom to make room for the eliptical trainer
Use the eliptical trainer a few times a week
Shampoo filthy carpets
Lay vinyl flooring down over the dining room carpet to prevent further filth
Rearrange living room to make room for the piano
Transport piano to house
Put rest of junk from back yard into garage before the next snow
Move my planters into the garage
Mulch the garden
Oil change/winterize the van
Clean the van
Keep up on daily chores and reduce the mountain of laundry
Stick to my budget and figure out Chrismas

So, I guess I should get off the computer and tackle at least one thing on there...

I'm blaming the boots...

2008-11-03T14:06:00.004-05:00

I finally bought the Frye boots I've been wanting for a couple of years and it seems they really want to get dirty! The first time I wore them, I had to fish LB out of the lake. Today, after 17 years of nary an incident with mud, I got the van stuck and my boots muddy. So it's the boots, or I'm just destined to provide entertainment for others with my occasional bouts of idiocy. After I bought my piano I decided to drive by the LeRay Mansion since I hadn't seen it yet. There was a utitily truck blocking the road so I decided to turn around and go back out the way I came. Well, my front tires went into the very soft, deep mud on the side of the road and that was it... Front wheel drive, stuck real good. Luckily, the public utitily guys were kind enough to winch me out as they were trying not to laugh! One guy kept calling me 'dear' but I could see the 'daft cow' in his eyes. So glad I could provide a bright spot of humor in somebody's day...

Halloween, cont.

2008-11-02T09:46:00.005-05:00

The kids and I had a lot of fun Halloween Day! I dug their pumpkins out of the quickly melting snow Friday morning so we could carve them after school. I was able to get the twins in hourly care during the big kids parade and festivities at school, so it was nice being able to help out in BG's class before the parade and with BB's party afterward. I brought them home a little early and we all started on our pumpkins. I'm not sure why I bought four of them since BB was the only one interested in helping after the first five minutes of scooping! LG was actually afraid of them and wouldn't come near them! I've found that our Skilsaw works great for pumpkins when you don't have too much detail work! So we got those done and then I got them all into their costumes. LG was Little Red Riding Hood and wearing an old dress my mom made for me one Christmas (my sisters all had matching), LB was a cowboy, but refused to wear his boots and the hat came off after about 2 minutes. And of course the first thing he did when we went outside was jump in a puddle. Easily distracted by candy... BB decided to be the Grim Reaper and he had a great time Trick-or-Treating with his friends and a neighbor dad. Good thing because BG, dressed as Arwen from Lord of the Rings, is the laziest little trick-or-treater I've ever seen! We made it up and down our street this time, which is a record for her thus far. The twins rode in the wagon for the most part and ate whatever candy came their way... When we got back we sat around the neighbor's fire bowl and handed out candy. Except for LB being a bit cranky the next day, Halloween a success.

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T10:12:00.003-04:00

or Harvest Day or All Hallow's Eve or 'Candy out the ying-yang Day' or whatever you want to call October 31st. I had fun last night dressing up for Bunco in my Viking costume where it impressed a new group of ladies. One bonus for moving often is getting to use my Viking helmet more than once... It does tend to make the neck sore though! Anyway, busy day of 'Harvest Day' activities at the school this afternoon. I'm not really sure what dressing up in costumes has to do with 'Harvest' but that's what they want to call it now. I'm not sure what changing the name is trying to accomplish when the activities stay the same. I guess when everything's watered down in this country, our children won't know what they're celebrating anymore. Maybe a 'Holiday' once a month where we have snacks and candy and make a non-descript hat and just celebrate being 'you' and your individuality and nothing bigger than yourself then nobody can be offended right? At least they're having a costume parade at school. I'm curious to see what Thanksgiving and Christmas will be called though. OK, not sure where all that came from because I love Halloween! Some of my greatest memories growing up were of my mom and older sisters helping us come up with (and make) costumes and carrying my pillowcase full of candy and searching for my younger sister's stash two weeks later when mine was long gone. Of course nothing compared to Christmas memories but fun anyway... Pictures to follow tomorrow after we trick-or-treat in the snow and mud!

Winter's here...

2008-10-29T15:23:00.005-04:00

...why am I? After over a foot of snow fall in the last 24 hours with no signs of letting up soon, I'm starting to wonder why I didn't just move someplace warm while J was deployed? I'm not ready for winter to start just yet! Granted this is supposed to melt by the the weekend, but I'm already irritated with the snow and kids running in and out and in and out and finding gloves and picking up wet clothes and dirty snow on the carpet. When you're overwhelmed on a daily basis as it is, snow just adds that much more 'stuff' to deal with! At least the kids are enjoying it. They've been outside most of the day except to track snow in every once in a while and change gloves and eat. I wasn't expecting to see snow this early so I still haven't found snow pants for LG and BB needs new boots. I did happen to go through all of our gloves and hats and boots a few weeks ago when the closet exploded so at least that stuff was ready to go at 7:30 this morning when BB started getting dressed! Guess I better improve my attitude about this climate or it's going to be a really loooong winter and you probably won't want to read much of my blog...

Anti-cancer

2008-10-26T00:15:00.004-04:00

I picked up this book a few weeks ago and finally started reading it today. Much of it is stuff I already know, but have yet to implement in our lifestyle, like cutting way back on the sugar! Anyway, I'm about half-way through it and so far really like the well thought out presentation and explanations for why 'Western' civilizations have seen such a huge increase in cancer the last 50 years (changes in what we feed our livestock, increased sugar intake, and increases in synthetic chemicals). You have to have your head buried pretty deep to ignore what most nutritionists and doctors are saying about refined, overprocessed diets and the effects on our weight and diabetes, but they often don't go further and link the cancer 'epidemic' to all these environmental factors. Even after being diagnosed with a cancer, I assumed it was more of a genetic factor than environmental, but after reading just half this book, I'm finding that there are things I can do for myself and my family to help prevent further cancer growth and in the process cut down the odds for obesity and other related problems later on. Now, wish me luck in getting Isabelle to eat a vegetable...

I had a dalliance...

2008-10-24T09:45:00.008-04:00

...with Facebook. I can't say I won't do it again because it was fun catching up with old friends and sending people pies, and flairs, and plants, but I'll try not to neglect my blog again. To make up, I finally gave it a new background! When I wasn't playing on facebook we actually got through another week. Nothing too exciting, which is a good thing around here!

BB was sick and stayed home from school on Tuesday while the twins were at hourly care. And I've been fighting a cold all week and feel like I'm losing today! LB got 'Fifth's Disease' and had a rash all over him on Wednesday but it didn't slow him down at all. And LG has a runny nose again too. I think BG is the only one who didn't have some health issue this week!

LB and LG have upped the two-year-old mischief this last week or so also, probably becuase I was less attentive and didn't give them any directed playing. Learned my lesson as you'll see in the pictures! While I hate to clean up the messes, it is fun to see them really starting to play together and interact with each other so much. They're definetely getting the teamwork thing down and really starting to talk! And I'm learning things about myself too in the process...

A sense of humor really helps, but I'm starting to wonder where the line is between laughing at a myself or a situation and actually going insane? But I know if I didn't use the 'humor band-aid' I would probably be a total mess and bawling all the time. This blog has been good for me in that way because it forces me to think of a positive spin on things instead of always the negative. So in my attempt to not bring other people down and still keep them informed about our lives, it's effectively giving me a better attitude too! Not that I have that much to complain about and I'm sure I'll do that sometimes too...

This is the first time I've been 'sick' since I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, so I realized how paranoid I am about my health now. More than the actual cold, the stress of wondering if it's something else is bothering me more. Every little twinge of pain or ache or swelling of glands or a day I'm really fatigued and I get paranoid about cancer growing everywhere. I know part of that is the psychology of waiting six months before I really know if the cancer is gone and also having a parent and a grandparent die of cancer, but I think I'll drive my doctor crazy in the meantime. And read my previous post a few more times to remind myself that God gives us strength for each day...

This next week will be six months down in J's deployment! So we're half done! Hard to believe, yet feels like longer since so much has happened the last few months! We're looking forward to his R&R in January sometime and hopefully we'll go someplace warm for a few days... I'm not looking forward to the cold and snow and I had better find some creative outlets for my little ones so we don't have another week like this past one. Here's the pictures of what happens when you leave 2 two year olds to their own devices for longer than five minutes. I blame it on Facebook, but obviously my own fault for not paying closer attention! Thank goodness for washable markers and Magic Erasers! I had wanted to post pics of our new wall colors, but not exactly in this way!

I Kings 17:16

2008-10-15T22:16:00.001-04:00

My Aunt sent this to my sister who passed it on to me. As usual, God's Word finds a way to those who need it:

Subject: I Kings 17:16
"The jar of meal was not spent, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord which he spoke by Elijah" (1 Kings 17: 16)

The widow at Zarephath had given up all hope and only wished to die. But God taught her to walk by faith, and this changed everything. God, however, helped her only one day at a time. He did not place at her disposal a storehouse from which to draw supplies. Each day she scraped the jar of meal to the last particle and drained the last drop from the cruse of oil. But the next day she again received what she needed. The widow had to learn to live one day at a time.

We, too, need to learn this lesson, otherwise we will sooner or later suffer a nervous breakdown. Each day brings new demands - but also new strength. The strength we receive, however, will be sufficient only for that one day. If we take upon ourselves the cares and worries of days to come, the strength will not be sufficient.

Often we may feel extremely weary when evening comes, and we drain the last drop from our cruse of oil. We dare not think of the demands that await us on the morrow.

Nor should we think of these. In peace let us lie down to rest, thanking God for the day that is past; and when morning dawns, God will provide us with a new supply of stength.

Elijah's God is the same today. Think of the widow of Zarephath and take courage.

taken from: REST A WHILE by Wisloff

Sunday Drive

2008-10-13T12:47:00.003-04:00

We've had great weather for the last week or so and we're enjoying being outside and having a fire in the front yard in the evenings. We had a georgous day yesterday for a Sunday drive into the Adirondack mountains. We didn't go far, just enough to see the beautiful fall colors and then stopped in Harrisville for lunch and then a little walk in the scenic park where the river flows into the lake. That's when the 'mom alone with four children adventure's' really began... We happened to have a jump rope in the car, which I tied to one of LB's belt loops, just so I would have a little more to hang on to on our walk, especially with water around. BB and BG were in charge of LG and did a great job just running around the beautiful woods and climbing rocks and picking up sticks. We met a sweet older couple having a picnic and they asked me to take their picture, but other than that there wasn't anybody else around. So of course, when we get close to the water that is where LB wants to go. I managed to get him to look at a few other things and then turned my back on him for two seconds to snap a picture of LG and I hear a big SPLASH! Dropped the camera, ran over to where LB is flailing in about 2 feet of water, jumped in and fished him out, set him on his feet, patted his back and he was fine! He didn't swallow any water, didn't even cry, wanted a brief hug and then wanted to go back and throw more sticks in the water! Does nothing phase the boy?! I was pretty calm throughout, but didn't sleep very well last night with pictures of his big eyes in the water. I've become a more firm believer in the power of prayer and guardian angels the last few months because I am definetely not equipped to handle this without some Divine Intervention. So, keep the prayers coming and I'll try to mitigate the risks... I wish I could say I can just stay in the house, but I think I would be crazy in less than a week! Homebody I am not. Maybe this is a wake-up for me that I do have limitations and I can't do whatever I want to with four kids in tow. And also a reminder that it's OK to be bored once in a while. I try to teach my kids that they don't need to have an activity all the time, but then don't apply it to myself! If I'm bored with being in the house or procrastinating about housework, I'm very quick to find something to do away from home and that's when I get into 'trouble' with time, money, and unplanned adventures...

Drama and hysterics

2008-10-07T21:12:00.003-04:00

BG came home from school yesterday not feeling very well; sore throat, fever, tired. So I gave her Tylenol and put her in bed and she woke up fine this morning except she came in my room while she was getting dressed and said 'Mommy, I can't get this off of me." I look at her side and there's a big tick on her left side! As soon as I say, "we have to take this out," she starts crying and screaming and then she saw the tweezers! So, after moving her from two different bathrooms and finally to my bed, I'm trying to hold her still and take the tick out at the same time and of course just end up breaking it off without getting the whole thing out. We end up going to the ER in Carthage because her doctor couldn't see her and I was afraid I would hurt her if I tried holding her down again to get the rest! The girl can scream and thrash like nobody's business... It took another nurse holding her arms and head and me holding her lower body for the ER doc to get the rest out. It's times like this, that I wonder where kids get some of their personality traits. I mean, I've never been tortured or anything, but I would say I have a pretty high pain threshhold and I just want to tell her "I birthed you with no drugs, so buck up girl and get a grip, it's just tweezers!" And BB is just the opposite from her, he didn't say a peep even with the top of his head split open by a baseball bat, requiring 6 staples and then removal of staples a week later. I guess it's just another reminder of how they are all individuals and what works for one, certainly doesn't work for another. Sure keeps life interesting...

A georgeous day

2008-10-05T21:30:00.003-04:00

at Old MacDonald's Farm near Sackett's Harbor today! LB was a little bit under the weather, but we decided to go anyway for the military appreciation day at the farm. So Motrin to the rescue and we all had a great day looking at all the animals and petting ponies and alpacas and rabbits and goats everywhere! We went on a wagon ride and fed some pigs and cows (they have rough tongues) and then went through the corn maze and finally to the pumpkin patch, which was LB's favorite place. He's been pointing out all the 'bumpins' we pass the last few days and he really liked sitting on them. I guess it's becoming a tradition for us to visit a farm or pumpkin patch type thing in the fall and it's kind of nice to hear the kids talk about going to the one in Arizona (Apple Annie's) and the one in Kansas (Deanna Rose Farm) and how they're all different and their favorite things about each. Anyway, beautiful day, perfect weather, and kids who didn't whine too much about not getting a toy in the ever present 'gift shop.'

Introducing...

2008-10-04T21:22:00.004-04:00

Conan the Barbunian:

Not quite the fierce fighter as his name would suggest, which is a good thing in a bunny! I finally caved in to the kids begging for a pet and since dogs and cats are out due to allergies, a bunny it is. OK, who am I kidding. I've been missing having a pet for ages now, so I'm happy the kids gave me an excuse! He's very mellow with the kids and playful, as far as rabbits go. And BB and BG are so far excited about 'helping' take care of him. LB is not so sure about him moving around freely, but he'll come up and pet Conan if I'm holding him. LG likes to try to pat him as he hops by, but so far he's evaded her...

The rest of the cancer story (I hope!)

2008-10-03T15:30:00.008-04:00

Someone asked me how my radiation stuff went the other day and I realized I never finished my updates. So, I did my Radioactive Iodine treatment the beginning of September and spent 2 days in isolation. My hospital room definitely put a different spin on the meaning of prophylactics... The floor of my room was covered in paper and everything else from the telephone to the toilet seat was covered in plastic wrap. Comfy. I think I saw the nurses 2 times a day and someone would throw a tray of food over the barrier 3 times a day. The radiation safety officer provided commentary and became my friend when I told him I was a former Army Chemical Officer (I could tell he had been in the Army) and he didn't have to dumb things down too much for me during the whole radiation half life lecture. So they did my scan on that Wednesday before discharging me and said everything looks like it's supposed to and all the iodine is still in my neck area with no 'floaters' anywhere else in my body. I go back in six months for another scan to see if the radiation did what it was supposed to and all the thyroid tissue/cancer is gone. And the good news is I got to start taking Synthroid (synthetic thyroid hormone) and am finally starting to feel human again. I started working out again last week and am hoping that between the thyroid hormones, exercise, and the loss of taste sensation (side effect from radiation) the weight will start going down too!

So during my isolation the kids got to spend some time with Auntie M and my only regret is that I didn't get as much time with her as they did! We also got to have my Aunt B here for a week after M left. It was wonderful blessing to have her here to help out and play with the kids and get out and see the area a little bit. A few pics from her visit:

We seem to be getting into a routine with the big kids in school and twins in daycare twice a week and starting a few activities also. BB is really loving school as evidenced today by not even mentioning staying home today even though BB was home sick. She gladly got ready and got on the bus. It's still a long day for her and she's a bit of a beast in the evenings. BB had a little stomach thing last night and LG had a fever yesterday also, so we've been laying low today. OK, I'll quit now before this gets too long! Obviously haven't been writing enough if I want to say everything in one post...

Scary...

2008-09-28T20:21:00.008-04:00

crazy, wild little boy with no fear... BG started gymnastics last week and when we came home LB started doing somersaults off the couch and all over the place. At least he put the cushions on the floor first! He's also trying to 'fly' meaning diving chest first onto the cushions from the couch. So do I take him to the mom n tot 'gymnastics' and try to teach him how to do the stuff correctly or will that just encourage him to try more? LG's trying to do it too, but she can't even get her feet over when she tries to forward roll so I'm not too worried about her yet...

tagged?

2008-09-24T00:36:00.007-04:00

OK, this is a new thing for me in the blogging world, but I was tagged by Laundry, Little Boys and Lattes. Here's the rules:

1. Post the rules on your blog
2. Write 6 random things about yourself
3. Tag 6 people at the end of your post

6 random things about me

1. I can't stand purposely misspelled words and sometimes avoid products or places because of it; ie Krispy Kremes or Kut 'n Kurl.

2. I love cooking, eating and working out, but recently the eating has been winning!

3. I like taking random side roads while driving, although not as often with kids in tow.

4. I know how to load a vehicle to it's maximum capacity and still fit 6 people in it.

5. I think I'm funny sometimes and have no problems laughing at myself.

6. I've been accused of sesquipedalianism, although my vocabulary has dwindled significantly in recent years.

I tag:
Galingers on the Go
Displaced Beachbums
Daily Dose of the Dentes
Somero Saga
Chaos in Motion
and I don't know anyone else who hasn't already been tagged!

On August 7, 2006

2008-09-15T10:40:00.001-04:00

I was in the hospital for a much more joyous occasion than on August 7th of this year... We welcomed LG and LB to our family and haven't been the same since! I can't believe they are already 2 years old... Only a month late but here's a then and now:

and a 'nice' little poem my sister Melissa wrote for me after they were born:

From two kids to four
just like that,
little twins that
made you fat.
They're bundles of love
sent from heaven above.
One's a girl,
the other's a boy,
two little babies
for twice the joy!

And some personality name games:

Joyful
Outgoing
Smiley
Infectious Laugh
Effervescent

Rough and Ready
Overdrive
Hop, Climb, Jump
Affectionate
NO!

One thing at a time

2008-09-14T12:29:00.004-04:00

Since I have a lot to catch up on, I thought I would do it one at a time instead of one huge post... Don't want to overwhelm myself or anyone else! So back to school is next on the agenda:

Here's a couple of pics of the kids getting off the bus. A week into it and they are settling into their classes. BB was reluctant to give his man teacher a chance at first, feeling that he yelled at them all the time. I told him he had to give it a week and see how he thought of it after that. I figured it was just a matter of him having a louder voice than he was used to and seems I was right and he's feeling much better about his teacher now (and may even like him!). I'm not one who jumps in at the slightest hint of 'my child is unhappy therefore I must change everything.' I guess I want my kids to learn to get along with people and it would be a big diservice to BB to not teach him that there are many different people they will come across in life and that he needs to find a hopefully positive way to deal with all of them. Of course, I did do my 'research' first when I found out who he had and heard positive things about his teacher. I know there are a few teachers out there who are just mean or choose to pick on one child and in those cases I would offer some more concrete support to BB than just saying 'give the guy a chance before you decide you don't like him.'

BG is happy so far, although it is a long day for her. Poor girl falls asleep on the bus ride home almost every day. They get on the bus at 8:15 start school at 9:00 finish at 3:25 and are supposed to get home at 4:00 but the bus has been at least 15 minutes late every day! She is enjoying her teacher and friends and class so far and is already 'reading' her sight word books she's bringing home. I attribute that to Starfall.com for the most part, 'cause lazy parent that I am, I surely haven't been working on reading... After a few tears watching her get on the bus the first day (my little girl growing up so fast), I'm glad she's excited about school! LB and LG on the other hand really miss them both and ask for them all day and give them a big hug when they get off the bus. R points at every school bus he sees and asks 'Num? and Ba-belle?'

End of Summer

2008-09-13T20:34:00.003-04:00

Melissa figured out my camera issues while she was here, so finally able to get the rest of the summer pictures downloaded and all that. Despite everything else going on, we did get some fun day trips and things like that in this summer.
When John was home we went to the REnaissance Festival in Sterling, New York. Always fun to see the funny people walking around and the interesting exhibits and little money traps set up everywhere. Kids really enjoy it, but I think John likes it most...

We also had a couple of evenings of just sitting by the fire pit, roasting marshmallows and probably the shortest backyard campout ever. Daddy told a scary story and 5 minutes later everyone was inside. Planned outcome??? Perhaps.

A little swimming trip to Remington Pond on post and to the playground there. Rohan kept going over to the boats because he didn't want to actually get in the water to get to the slide. After he saw that the slide led into the water, he lost interest.

We made it to Wescott State Beach a couple of more times, and Elowyn and the big kids and I spent a day in Alexandria Bay and took a short boat tour of a few of the 1000 Islands and Boldt Castle. Beautiful day, unfortunately no pics.

Definetely a lot to do here if we can get outdoors and get going! I look forward to next summer when we'll have a daddy around to do some of it with us...

Remember...

2008-09-11T09:04:00.002-04:00

...September 11, 2001. Since I actually looked at the date today, just thought I would send out a reminder to everyone to say a prayer today for all the survivors and families of those lost and those still fighting for the senseless attacks on our nation seven years ago.

quick note

2008-09-08T08:04:00.004-04:00

Just a quick note to let everyone know I'll be 'enjoying' some forced peace and quiet the next couple of days while my sister M takes care of the kids and other stuff. Thanks again to everyone for your support and she's got a list of numbers to call 'just in case' of anything! I've been meaning to post the rest of summer pics and first day of school comments, but that will have to wait until later in the week! Have a Blessed week!

Problem solved

2008-09-02T18:09:00.008-04:00

My sister, M, called today and I asked her what she was doing next week (I was just assuming she was working so hadn't asked her earlier) and she said she had it off. So I asked if she wanted to come out here for a few days and just like that, she'll be here Friday night until Thursday! Kids taken care of, although I do thank my wonderful friends who were ready to step up to the plate for us! So on that note, I've had reason to really appreciate my friends and family lately and have my own list of great friend qualities as demonstrated by those around me. Trying not to be too sappy here's what I've valued in friendship lately:

1. Asking "what can I do?" and not getting offended when I don't know!
2. Offers and gestures of help and really meaning it even if I don't take you up on it.
3. Watching my kids and not telling me when they're stinkers if it's not necessary.
4. Keeping the 'gossip' and the pity to a minimum.
5. My family giving up their vacations to take care of me and mine.
6. Being kind and not pointing out the truths since I probably already know I've gained weight lately, I'm looking a bit tired and my kids are running around like banshees without shoes!
7. Ignoring the 'spaciness' which is much worse for me lately.
8. Listening to me 'whisper' and only making fun a little bit ;-)
9. Trying to make time for fun despite everything else going on.
10. Encouraging words without going overboard and embarrassing me...
11. The many people praying for me and my family.

And many more little things that make wonderful friends and make me feel so much better just knowing they're my friends. So just in case I forget to say it: Thanks, and I appreciate everything from all of you! I'm still not looking forward to being in isolation for 2-3 days but it's a lot better knowing I have so many great people around to count on...

Procrastinating

2008-08-28T09:36:00.003-04:00

OK, I've been putting off thinking about my upcoming treatment, and it's time to stop! I had my initial scan Mon/Tues and the results were nothing unexpected, however, I'm going to need a rather large amount of radioactive iodine to 'oblete' any thyroid tissue left. The treatment itself is not bad, but the kicker is I have to stay in isolation at the hospital in Syracuse for 48 hours so I don't 'contaminate' others. So I'm stressing about what to do with my children for 2-3 days while I sit in the hospital. It's not that I don't have options, I do. I've got great friends and neighbors and family and FRG to help me. I just can't seem to make any kind of decisions and I hate being in the position of needing to ask for or accept help. So, I'm going to pray about the situation today and hopefully come to some peace and humbleness about needing help.

Other than that, we've been busy, busy this week getting some stuff done. While we were in Syracuse we went to the State Fair Monday afternoon after my appointment and had fun looking at the animals (favorites were the rabbits and feeding the giraffes) and the midway of course! There must be something about a mom with a bunch of kids that compels people to give us stuff. Somebody gave us some ride coupons at the fair and when we went to the Renaissance Festival with J somebody gave us a bunch of entrance tickets! Maybe I'm just projecting neediness right now... Thank you kind strangers.

In the house niece E has big a huge help with organizing projects. We got the office area done last week, the laundry room done Sunday and we painted the living room and one wall in the kitchen yesterday! As soon as I get my camera working I'll post some pictures, but I love green walls! Preparing for a long cold winter doesn't seem so bad with some brightness in the house...

We met BG's teacher yesterday and she showed her stubborn/shy streak right off the bat. She refused to draw the picture of herself. Later, when I asked her why she said she didn't want to mess it up. Too much pressure already! We also found out BB has Mr. Webb which is what I was hoping for him. I think he needs someone who is 'nice but doesn't put up with any nonsense,' which is how he is described. And a good teacher too...

So, another appointment tomorrow back in Syracuse, then relax for the weekend and E is leaving us on Monday. I'm not really looking forward to that! She's been wonderful with the kids and helping around the house. Between her and babysitter Melissa, my family has been really blessed this summer!

What boys are like

2008-08-28T09:32:00.004-04:00

BG's perspective on her brothers:

They be gross
They be wild
They be stinky
They be loud
They be dirty
They be crazy

From mommy's perspective that's pretty much spot on with a couple additions:

They're really sweet
They give great hugs
They're funny
They're easy

Search and Destroy

2008-08-23T16:07:00.004-04:00

It struck me as funny that the Radioactive Iodine I'm to recieve on Monday is called a 'search' dose. Basically, it's to find where in my body any remaining thyroid tissue/cancer is located and from that they will determine what I'll refer to as the 'destroy' dose. Which will do as indicated and kill any remaining thyroid tissue. At least that's the plan.

In other news:

I've been meaning to post about the twins turning two but I'm having problems with my camera and the computer not wanting to recognize it anymore. As soon as I fix that problem, we'll have a birthday update.

And speaking of computers, I, yes me, all by myself, installed a wireless PCI adapter into the old computer for the kids to use. Only took me a couple of hours and then when I get to the part of actually connecting to the internet the computer decides it doesn't like it and shuts down... Any advice? It was acting funny and doing that sort of thing prior to installing the new hardware so maybe reloading Windows will help (not that I've ever done that before). And I did get all my pics off it prior to messing with the insides...

E and I also organized and rearranged the 'office' area in preparation for school starting. I wanted a spot the kids will actually use and we were overrun by arts and craft supplies...

A couple of other organizing projects planned (laundry room, aaahhh!) for next week along with doctors appointments and then school will be starting! I think we're all ready for it!

What do you do all day?

2008-08-21T00:39:00.002-04:00

A friend emailed this and since my brain is in fog and can't keep a thought for more than 3 seconds, I thought I would post this instead of random thoughts...

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard. The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a Cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door. He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls. As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went. He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the hell I do all day?' 'Yes,' was his incredulous reply. She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

Vocally challenged

2008-08-15T07:39:00.005-04:00

So the main side effect from my thyroid surgery is that my voice is not healed yet and I can't talk very loud. Try whispering while 'yelling' at your children or ordering from the McDonalds drive through. Doesn't quite get the job done... My children realized that I can't yell at them and are taking full advantage. Luckily, J is here for enforcement for another week and niece E can put 'translator for the vocally challanged' on a future resume or maybe 'family communications specialist.' She's been a great help the last week! Had a lovely night out with her and a friend last night despite my whispering all evening and we were discussing the different types of babysitters. There are ones who are great with the kids but don't 'clean up' and there are those who 'clean up' and park your kids in front of the TV and a very few who do both. With E we are blessed with one who does both! She's been keeping the kids busy and managing to keep my dishes done and, Bless her, she put my groceries away yesterday (which I hate doing) and cleaned out the refridgerator! And just an all around sweetheart to have around! Perhaps her flight home will be indefinetly delayed...

another health update

2008-08-08T15:46:00.004-04:00

I meant to post a little before I went to the hospital yesterday, just to let everyone know that J made it home on Wednesday and my niece got in Tuesday night. We went to pick her up in Syracuse and decided to stay down there just in case J came in the next day, and he did! And we got some school shopping done too!

So I had the rest of my thyroid removed yesterday without any problems. I'll see the doc on Monday to get stitches out and discuss the next step in my cancer treatment. In the meantime, he told me to prepare to feel 'lousy' since I will have no thyroid hormones for the next several weeks at least. joy.

But on the brighter side, thanks to everyone for your cards and phonecalls and positive thoughts and prayers and meals and help with kids. I know they are helping! and I do appreciate every one of them even if I haven't called to tell you so!

Lake Ontario

2008-08-04T10:04:00.002-04:00

We did get a little bit of time when K and D were here to hit the 'beach.' Wescott State Beach is about 30 minutes away from us just south of Sackett's Harbor on Lake Ontario. It was a little stormy that afternoon so we had to wait for a while to actually go in the water, but there were nice playgrounds and picnic areas to keep the kids busy. When we did get in the lake, the water temp was around 68 degrees which was bearable until the wind started picking up again. LB didn't like the cold water at all and headed back up to the beach. LG liked it as long as K was holding her so she could dunk her head in and out and the other kids loved it! We will definetly get back over there before the lake freezes in a couple of months!

Some women...

2008-07-31T20:55:00.004-04:00

...will do anything to get their husbands home from Iraq... I'm thinking cancer might do the trick. In all seriousness, I would much rather he come home on his scheduled R&R so we could actually have some fun and relax, but I saw my doctor on Thursday and the pathology report for my thyroid and the tumor on it was cancerous. He explained that of the three types of cancer, mine is the least aggressive, easiest to treat and was very positive that it wasn't 'too serious.' But, he does want to remove the remainder of my thyroid next Thursday and then I will take radioactive iodine to kill any remaining thyroid/cancer cells. Most likely no further treatment will be necessary (oh, except synthetic thyroid hormone the rest of my life, but I can deal with that).

I guess I wasn't too surprised by the results since I knew the nodule grew pretty quickly, so I was kind of expecting the worst. I'm more worried about the logistics of having surgery again, but have faith that God will provide everything I need as He has done in the past. J is trying to get back before Thursday, my niece is coming to stay with us on Tuesday and will be a great help with the kids and we are blessed with wonderful friends and neighbors here.

VBS or Last Minute Day Care

2008-07-29T11:11:00.004-04:00

Before I went to my appt yesterday I had to find some childcare for my kids and was striking out on all my trusted sources. One of my friends mentioned that Vacation Bible School just started at the Chapel (about a mile from us)at 9:00. So this is 9:30, kids are still in pjs and BB hasn't eaten breakfast yet and my appointment is at 10:15 in Carthage (20 minutes away). Guess what kids, you get to go to VBS this week! (I was hoping they would get to go to one this summer) They got dressed in record time, ate a muffin in the car and we got over there about 9:45 and got them registered. BG was a bit reluctant to join the class until she saw her friends were there and then it was 'see you later Mom.' I think everywhere else we've gone to VBS they've done Catholic and Protestant together, but not here. So, they're going to Catholic VBS (I'm sure it will be pretty identical to Protestant VBS with maybe a little less whoopin' and hollerin') this week which I think works out pretty good since most of their friends are Catholic. And while I feel a slight tinge of guilt for using VBS as a last minute babysitter, I am happy to have found out about it in time and they get to go learn more about Jesus, which can't be a bad thing... Time to go pick them up!

Waiting and itching...

2008-07-28T21:09:00.003-04:00

I went for my Dr. appt today to get my stitches out and he looked at my red, itchy neck and wanted to take the stitches out and put more tape on it??? Hello!? Guess he didn't get it that I'm allergic to the tape (even though it's written on a red allergy wrist band during surgery) or adhesive or whatever is making a nice rectangle of burning itch around the actual cut. Can you tell it's making me cranky... Anyway, I said I would rather keep the stitches in my neck, lovely as they are, for a few more days than deal with anymore allergic reactions. He then said he could take them out on Thursday and hopefully have the biopsy report then also and said not to put anything on the itch. I have to admit that I wasn't exactly a model patient with this doc on our last encounter... He removed a mole from my chest a few weeks ago and I couldn't make the follow up so I removed my own stitches and blew off the follow up. I figured if it was malignant he would call me. You know what they say about payback...

Wedding weekend and other stuff...

2008-07-23T10:54:00.006-04:00

So our trip to NH/MA for my dad and Hilkka's wedding started with getting blood drawn Thursday morning and then driving to Boston to meet Katrina and Devon at the airport. Kids did great in the car again and we only stopped once in 6 hours! We had to wait a little while for her flight so I called around to get a hotel that wasn't $6k per night (one place wanted to give us the presidential suite to fit us all in). We drove around Boston and Cambridge a little bit and got some dinner and found our hotel. I'm loving my GPS navigator! The kids were excited to see Devon and they were all antsy and giggly and pokey at dinner and back at the hotel.
Friday morning we found a mall nearby to pick up some last minute items (shoes mainly) for the kids and then drove to New Ipswich, NH to stay with childhood friend Lisa, married to Hilkka's son Ray! Getting around and out of Boston was a mess and took a lot longer than we thought, but lots of beautiful buildings, etc.. Rehearsal that evening with kids running everywhere and meeting a lot of new people. BB was really excited to have more cousins! Lost LB for just a little bit, he was in the pastor's office at the front of the church.

Next day we hung out with Ray and Lisa for a while and then made a quick trip (everything is at least 30 minutes away) to find a last minute item for D's flowergirl ensemble. No luck but we saw lots of beautiful, rural New England! Got back just in time to get dressed and get to the church for pictures and then see a beautiful wedding! I'm happy for my dad that he's found someone to love and love him back! I know they will face some challanges ahead and pray that God showers his Blessings on their new life together!

On Sunday, we packed our bags and loaded up and then spent some time with sister C and husband T and brother J. We left Sunday evening and made it Utica before we had to stop and sleep and made it home Monday afternoon. Unpacked, grocery store and crashed.

Oh, in case you're wondering about the bruised faces, I haven't beaten my kids...yet. BG fell off a bike at hourly care last week and landed on her face and BB was jumping around at the hotel Friday morning and hit his eye on the corner of a chair. He did't get much sympathy from me either as I had just told him to stop jumping around! This always happens just before we're about to take pictures...

Tuesday I had my pre-op appt and Wed we went to Wescott State Beach for a while and played in the water until the wind picked up and then K and I went out for dinner and movie.

Yesterday I went in for my surgery and had the right side of my thyroid removed. As mentioned in previous posts, I had a nodule on it and it was covering most of the right side so they removed the whole right side. I won't have any biopsy results until next Thursday, so another week of waiting...

All is going well so far and K is here to help me out until Monday when I go back for checkup and stiches out. Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers sent my way!

Congratulations

2008-07-22T23:24:00.003-04:00

Dad and Hilkka! Wed on July 19, 2008.
Wishing you many happy years together!

Stay tuned... details and more pictures to follow...

Some people....

2008-07-16T23:55:00.003-04:00

...will do anything for attention. Recently for me it's been my health, but not exactly the kind of attention I want! I find myself talking about my issues a lot the last couple of years and I never wanted to be that person... But, there's stuff going on that I can't hide from and it's caused a change in plans for us so here's the update:

I was working out a few weeks ago and felt like my airway was a little obstructed, so I started feeling around on my neck and noticed some swelling around my thyroid. So, went to the dr because that seems to be my main activity lately and she said I have a nodule on my thyroid and ordered some tests and labwork, etc... Had a thyroid ultrasound and uptake test Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday morning (quick, huh?) my doc called and said I needed to go have the nodule on my thyroid biopsied asap, so the surgeon said come right now (8:45 this morning). Turns out they don't do a needle biopsy, they treat it like a tumor and remove it then see what it is. So, instead of a cross country excursion next week, I'm having the nodule and possibly the right half of my thyroid taken out.

In other health news I also saw the reumatologist for my follow up and he's very 'suspicious' that I have an inflammatory disease in my spine based on 4 out of 5factors (pain, stiffness in am, genetic pre-disposition, eye inflammation, but blood test did not indicate inflammation in my body). So he suggested a trial of Remicaid which is an IV biologic that targets the TNF proteins and prevents inflammation. If it works then I have the disease, if it doesn't then it's something else. It's not exactly a short term treatment if it does work.

Also, visiting the doctor this week was LG with her ear drum issue. Doc said it looked like it was healing already and gave us some antibiotic ear drops just to make sure it doesn't get infected. Guess they usually heal pretty good and she doesn't seem bothered by it at all.

I'm trying not to stress out too much about the health issues but could sure use some prayers! It just feels like all bad stuff happens when J leaves. And he feels like he's missing all the good stuff! Sometimes I feel like our lives can be put on hold while he's gone, but they're not. Stuff happens, family members die, babies are born, people get sick, kids grow, they lose teeth, start walking, talking and life goes on but with a big hole in it...

Needless to say, our plans for the next few weeks have changed a bit. We are leaving tomorrow for my dad's wedding in NH and my sister and niece will come back here with us instead of all of us driving to CA together. Then depending on how everything goes, Katrina will fly back or we'll drive. Kids were really looking forward to visiting with their friends in KS and their cousins on the West Coast, but they were pretty good about it especially when I told them Devon would be staying at our house for a little while. I better get some sleep so I can drive to Boston tomorrow...

Almost forgot my bright sides:
My sister is coming!
I only had to pack for the weekend instead of the whole summer!
I've had a wonderful babysitter the last couple of weeks!
I've great friends and neighbors who help look out for me and my kids!
We're going to have a great weekend in a part of the country we've never been in and meet a bunch of new people!

Last Week

2008-07-13T19:41:00.004-04:00

I have so much to do right now that I feel slightly guilty sitting here writing, but I use the excuse that it helps me focus... Not that I really need an excuse; I decided that I really like this blog thing. I have no idea who is actually reading it, but I sure like writing and getting some things down. Especially with J gone and nobody to talk to every day, it kind of feels like I'm having a conversation of the best sort where nobody tells me my opinion is wrong or interrupts me or asks me why. Not that I wouldn't love to have a 'real' conversation every day, but I'll take this as second best!

Anyway, this past week we've travelled, visited the ER, killed one of God's furry creatures, cleaned carpets and the van, and a bunch of other stuff...

We decided to make a quick trip to NJ this week to see Pop-pop and Mom-mom Adams before leaving for the rest of the summer. The kids all did a great job riding in the car both to and from, so I'm hopeful for our cross-country excursion next week! We had a wonderful visit again and kids got to play with their cousins again. Our only regret is that J can't be there with us. I ventured to Long Beach Island on my own with the kids on Thursday afternoon and they had a blast at the beach and amusement park and the beach shops. LB and LG were a bit apprehensive about the whole ocean thing; which I'm actually quite thankful for. I don't think I could have handled all of them running crazy all over the place. LB did venture down the water very briefly, but LG was content to sit on a towel and play with sand. BG and BB wanted to stay the rest of the day... OK, I don't reccommend taking 4 kids to an amusement park by yourself: LB started crying when BB went on a ride and wanted to go too. So when I put him on a ride with BG, it went around a few times and then he got scared. Then he cried every time BB and BG went on a ride until finally I found a little cars going around ride he went on w/ BG. He was happy until we took him off! More screaming, and of course I can't go on any rides with them and LG was content to sit in the back of the stroller with her thumb in her mouth taking it all in... We had a good trip back until...

we just came in the gate to Fort Drum about 9:30pm and a family (mama and 3 babies) of skunks waddled in front of the van. I couldn't stop soon enough and hit one of the babies. I've never hit an animal before and it made me sad. And of course BB and BG both said they felt the 'bump.' We got sprayed also so the van still stinks on the outside a little bit. I checked the next day and there was just a spot on the road and it looked like it dragged into the woods, so now I feel even worse that the poor little creature suffered before it died.

I did get my carpets cleaned yesterday and today. Nothing like renting a Rug Dr for 24 hours to motivate you to actually clean the carpet. It still baffles me as to why they would put carpet in the dining areas of family housing. In case you didn't know, I'm not a big fan of carpet, period. I think it's disgusting because no matter how well you clean it, it's still 'dirty.' Of course if you look at my house you'll wonder why I pick carpeting to be grossed out about... I guess I like the potential of having things clean and carpet just doesn't give you that! Didn't take as long as I thought and I even got the stench out of our van! Still have a lot to do in the house before we leave and of course the never-ending laundry and packing. And I was set back a little bit by our trip to the ER yesterday...

LG (yes the nearly perfect child!) decided it was a good idea to put a small stick-shaped toy into her ear and then proceeded to fall off the couch with it in there, thus perforating her ear drum. At least that is what I think happened as I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard her scream. I found her on the floor with the toy next to her and she was pointing to her ear which was starting to bleed. So we drove to the ER in Carthage about 20 minutes away after being turned away on post at the acute care clinic because we have an off post primary care manager (the things they tell you after the fact). So the ER doc said that it was perforated but he couldn't really tell how bad because of the blood and to see her regular doctor on Monday and maybe have to see an ENT. So I don't know yet what the damage is and if it will heal on its own or what? She was the last child I expected to bring to the ER!

Anyway, I still have a lot to do this week before we depart on Thursday morning for the rest of the summer (I'll write those grandious plans next time), including clean the house, load music on ipods (maybe), laundry, pack, 4 different doctors appointments on Mon and Tues, etc, etc... I've been having my friend's daughter from down the street help out a couple of nights a week just so I can get a few more things done and am so thankful for the help!

OK, I heard the dryer stop so I better get moving again!

Happy Independence Day!

2008-07-06T11:15:00.005-04:00

A couple of days late, but I hope everyone enjoyed Independence Day. I like to call it that instead of 4th of July just to remind myself what it's all about! I was disappointed at the lack of 'fanfare' around here. The fireworks in Watertown were on Wednesday night??? and the only other fireworks were in Sacketts Harbor, 20 miles away at 10 pm and I don't think it's legal to buy them here so we didn't see any fireworks this year. No parade or anything else either! So we made our own party, and a few friends came over for some burnt hotdogs, hamburgers, chips and flag cheesecake bars (made up for the burnt hotdogs!). The weather was perfect and no mosquitos so the kids all played outside and us ladies got to sit around and relax.

I miss J a lot especially when we're hanging out in the back yard grilling and playing. We did get to have a VTC (vidoe teleconference) with him on Thursday which was nice. His internet is not fast enough for us to use our webcams, so it was great to be able to talk to him and see him at the same time. The kids we're happy to see him except LB is still a little wary of the whole Daddy in the TV thing. By the end of our 15 minutes he did say 'bye-bye.'

Here's a couple of pics from our Independence Day celebration. I love making desserts and was proud of the result, but still get embarrassed when people make a big deal out of it. LG and most of the other kids ate the fruit off the tops and then LB cleaned up their leftover bars and was shoving them in two at a time!

Made My Day

2008-06-30T15:26:00.003-04:00

I love sharing a joke with older folks. We were at McDonalds for lunch today and as I was going to our table a woman was coming in the door with her bosoms overflowing her dress to say it as nice as I can. The older couple sitting by the door noticed also and I must have made a face 'cause the lady gave me a look and a wink... Just because they sell it at Wal-Mart in your size doesn't mean you should buy it! And yes, I know it came from WM since she sat in front of me with the tags sticking out the back over her strapless, useless bra...

This was after I scoured the Target baby section looking for shorts for LG that would actually cover her diaper. I ended up getting her and LB the same shorts since the boys ones come down to the knees. I feel like our country is so messed up when it comes to sexualizing our children (especially girls) at such a young age. Why does my 6 month old or 2 year old or for that matter my 5 year old or even a 13year old need low rise jeans and short shorts. Why can't they just be kids without worrying about their underwear showing, oh wait, I'm supposed to buy low rise bikini underwear for my little girls! I'm glad BG likes to wear dresses because at least we don't have to worry so much about her booty being covered! Just a little hard in the winter to find heavy enough tights. It's been a peeve of mine for a while, but more frustrating when you're shopping with 4 kids and can't find appropriate clothing for a 2 year old little girl. Luckily for BG , bermuda shorts are 'in' right now...

Maybe writing about it

2008-06-29T12:02:00.007-04:00

will drive the funk away, 'cause I'm sick of it already. I consider myself a pretty happy, even tempered person for the most part, but this past week I've been tired, grumpy, sad, lonely, unenergetic, can't get anything done, stuck in a rut, moping about my health, funky. J's been gone for just over 2 months now and I guess it's finally sinking in he'll still be gone a lot longer! A lot of people say once you're past the first six weeks it gets easier, but I think it's the opposite for me... I can handle six weeks on my own, it's the next 12 months I don't like! But, we'll be busy this summer once I can get us going. I just have a lot to do in the next couple of weeks and the lack of energy is bringing me down. Now that I got that out here's what else has been going on around here lately:

BB is finally done with first grade! He is so happy to be done with school for a while. His report card looked pretty good with his big strength in math and reading improved a lot. Like most of the boys in my family, he excels in art! He received an award for excellence in art. I know, first grade, how good can it be? A little bit biased as his mother, but I think his drawings are awesome and always include tons of detail.

BG is still going to hourly care twice a week with the twins, so BB and I got some time together on Thursday. We went to the mall and got the van serviced at Sears so we could go play at the arcade and look at puppies and rabbits and iguanas at the pet store (don't worry, Honey, they all stayed at the store) and then we went to Friendly's for lunch which BB thought was the best meal ever. I guess they all need a little spoiling sometimes...

LG and LB have been talking a lot more the last couple of weeks. LB was funny this morning when I yelled for BG, he yelled 'Belle', and for BB he says 'Lolo' and LG is 'Sisi'. LG calls him 'Rowo' and Belle and Wowo. I'll post a little video of LG saying a few words.

On Friday night, I decided to take them all out to dinner to Ruby Tuesdays and then go buy a tent for our travels this summer (I'll detail that another day). They were great in the restaurant except for a little outburst by LB when BG wouldn't give him her toy. For the most part they got smiles from the people sitting around us, but a few folks wanted to give us the 'how dare you bring 4 children into a restaurant by yourself' look. Can I say I'm sick of fast food and eating in the car when we go out? I think I just decided I'm not waiting a whole year to eat out with my family...

I can hear the helicopters outside now for the airshow going on. We went yesterday and that actually helped improve my mood! I love airshows! I could stay all day and not get tired of the same tricks over and over! However, my children had other ideas. BB watched for a little while and then was more interested in the bounce house and wanted to check out the paintball and all the other 'activities' set up. BG could care less if there were airplanes doing cool stuff. She pulled her chair out and sat at every opportunity. LB got a little excited about the helicoptors but really wanted to run around and LG didn't like the noise at all! So after watching the 10th MTN Air Assault (made me miss the Army, more specifically Army helicoptors, for about 10 seconds) and a couple other cool stunt planes with our friends, we decided we were done. On our way out we stopped at the C-130 and the cloud that was coming towards us opened up with a huge downpour! BB and BG were inside the C-130, but I couldn't get in with the stroller so I parked it partially under the belly of the plane and the engine and the babies stayed dry. I was the only one soaked, but BB and BG thought I had left them in the plane and when the rain stopped they were with a crew member looking for me! I'm so proud they did the right thing when they thought they were lost, but sad that they thought I lost them.

So, here's a few pics from the last couple of weeks. I've been trying to get a good picture of them all together so I can make something for J, with not much luck...

Blessed...

2008-06-21T15:03:00.003-04:00

with wonderful friends and neighbors. I miss my family a lot, but God has definetly provided for me with good friends and neighbors. It usually takes me a while to get to know people and the last two moves, God has sent friends with us. I'm so thankful that I got the opportunity to continue friendships started at the previous duty station (Shoutout to V, AC, AD, and K!). Of course, now the kids think all of our friends should move with us and I keep trying to convince my sister it would be a good idea. Who needs a steady job and retirement benefits? Oh, most of us. Anyway, just feeling thankful for friends who become like family...

On this day...

2008-06-19T17:14:00.004-04:00

June 19, 1994 M wed J in a small back yard ceremony in Reedley, CA. Fourteen years, 4 kids, and many adventures later we're still going strong...

Fried Foods

2008-06-18T21:04:00.003-04:00

It's probably a good thing I don't have a deep frier. We don't eat a lot of fried foods, but once I put oil in the pan, watch out! I made onion rings tonight and had some of the batter left over so thought, hhmmmm, what else can I fry while the oil is hot? I added some brown sugar, cinnamon and vanilla to the batter and threw some sliced bananas and apples in there and voila! instant dessert/fruit side dish. Yummy! 4 out of 5 Adams' Apples liked them. BG the holdout, as usual, although it was a bit comical getting BB to try a bite of potato salad last night. On his knees, crocodile tears, pleading to not take one tiny bite, trying to wipe the dressing off, cup of water close by and when he finally did put it in his mouth, he made himself gag. Guess he doesn't like potato salad... After seeing that BB actually had to try his one bite, BG very smugly tried hers. The 'rule' is they have to try at least one bite of everything on their plate, which is usually done without quite so much drama...

Suspisions confirmed

2008-06-17T13:41:00.006-04:00

Had a rough day yesterday after my visit with the rheumatologist. It seems my back pain is due to more than just 'poor posture' and I have Ankylosing Spondylitis which is arthritis or inflammation of the spine. I need to have some more tests and x-rays to confirm which type of arthritis and further treatment. I'm already taking the first line of drugs and it does seem to be helping along with exercise, so I'm hopeful that if I start taking the fully recommended dose (I tend to undermedicate) that it will help even more. Except for the pain at night, which has diminished quite a bit the last few months, and altering my routine in the morning on account of stiffness, I'm functioning pretty well physically and can do everything I need to. Mentally, I'm a little, ok maybe a lot, shaken up because I worry about 4 small children depending on me for everything right now, and I want to be 100% for them. Also, the factor of there really is something wrong and it's not all in my head (as much as I would like it to be) which is kind of the attitude I've seen from some doctors. Sometimes it sucks being right...

Anyway, if you're interested here's the quick version of the big words. If you want the long version click on the title above.

Ankylosing Spondylitis At A Glance

Ankylosing spondylitis belongs to a group of arthritis conditions which tend to cause chronic inflammation of the spine (spondyloarthropathies).
Ankylosing spondylitis affects males two to three times more commonly than females.
Ankylosing spondylitis is a cause of back pain in adolescents and young adults.
Tendency to develop ankylosing spondylitis is genetically inherited.
The HLA-B27 gene can be detected in the blood of most patients with ankylosing spondylitis.
Ankylosing spondylitis can also affect eyes, heart, lungs, and occasionally the kidneys.
The optimal treatment of ankylosing spondylitis involves medications that reduce inflammation or suppress immunity, physical therapy and exercise.

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-15T09:34:00.003-04:00

BB and BG's Top 10 Best Things about their Daddy:
BB:
1. He plays with me
2. He's nice to me (most of the time)
3. He plays video games with me
4. He keeps us safe
5. We go on walks in the woods
BG:
6. He talks to me
7. He lets me jump on him
8. He helps us build snow forts and takes us sledding
9. He tickles me
10. I love him and he loves me

LG and LB love that he plays with them and lets them play computer games with him and they miss sharing their food with him.

Happy Father's Day, J. You're the Best Daddy in the Whole World! We love you and miss you!

To all the other great Fathers and Grandfathers in our life, Happy Father's Day and thanks for all you do!

BG's Lunch

2008-06-14T14:16:00.003-04:00

I was busy getting stuff ready for our yardsale yesterday and BG asked if she could make her own lunch. I'm not saying no to that! She added the apple after I suggested some fruit to go with her goldfish, turkey and yogurt... She didn't think if was quite as much fun when I asked her if she wanted to make her sister some too.

We sold some of our extra junk today during the post-wide yardsale. I don't think I'll ever do a yard sale on my own. We got so many people coming down our street that I had all my bigger stuff sold by 11:00 am and I've just got a couple of boxes in the back of my van to go to the Salvation Army. Yay! I always feel so much lighter when we get rid of a pile of stuff! A bit exhausting getting everything ready and trying to keep track of kids all at once and selling and trying to keep track of kids and putting stuff away and trying to keep track of kids... I finally strapped LB into his carseat in the van and LG into the stroller. Sometimes I wonder if I'm smarter than the average 2 year old...

Flag Day

2008-06-13T11:49:00.002-04:00

Willem's school had a Flag Day celebration this morning. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera sitting on the charger... The students each had a flag and they made hats and wore red, white, and blue and marched in a parade to the front of the school. The principal and others thanked everyone for support throughout the year and they raised the flag (only a minor glitch) and we sang patriotic songs. Except for Isabelle complaining half way through about being hot and thirsty it was really nice. At the end they recognized all the soldiers who had been deployed or were currently deployed and then asked all the soldiers or spouses of soldiers to stand up and the students sang a nice song about heroes. What struck me is when they asked all the military folks to stand, the vast majority of the audience stood up(this is an off post school).

The past week

2008-06-11T11:48:00.004-04:00

We've been a little bit busy this past week, when we're not out enjoying the warm weather:

BB turned 7 on the 6th! I made his favorite meal of grilled burgers and shrimp and we played outside in the pool. Then on Saturday we had a birthday party with his friends (10 boys and 1 sister and 4 lovely mommies!) at the movies where we watched Indiana Jones and then pizza and birthday cake at Pizza Hut. He had a great time, and then when we got home we stayed out late and played until dark (which is about 9:30 now!) and I got to sit around and chat with the neighbors and enjoy the great evening time.

You won't hear me complaining about the heat! I think it was just a week ago that I was tired of the cold, well the next day it jumped to 85 degrees and humid and it's been like that most of the week! I love it! I do need to get my air conditioner fixed in the van though... And BB is so ready for school to be done. It's been a long year for him (he started in August in KS) and they don't get out until June 25th here.

J sent the kids some 'presents' in the form of Big Wheels for the twins, a Wii game for BG and a little Swiss Army Knife for BB(eeek!). LG is really liking the Big Wheel and scoots around on it; LB gets frustrated because he can't reach the pedals and he really wants to pedal something! BG likes the Barbie Island Princess game, lots of problem solving and counting, but not too hard for her. BB's knife is put up until we can do his 'safety training' and rules of use...

I saw the orthopedic doc yesterday for my back. I've been having a lot of pain since LB and LG were born (almost 2 years!). Basically, he told me lots of people have bulging or herniated discs and there's not much they can do for it except what I'm already doing (exercise, lose some weight, and hope it goes away). Anyway, that part doesn't look bad. I'm also scheduled to see a rheumatologist next week for the inflammation in the same area along with recurring inflamation in my eye and an antigen in my blood that often occurs with arthritis. I'm really hoping that can be ruled out also. My pain has diminished quite a bit the last couple of months, especially since starting exercise again, but the stress of having pain and not knowing why has been wearing on me...

And finally, I skipped the gym this morning because as I was cleaning the lint trap in the dryer, LB came into the laundry room and threw something onto the top of the dryer and it went right down the lint trap! Rattle, rattle, rattle... So after clearing a space in the mountain (ok small hill) of clothes, I pulled the dryer out and took it apart. I would like to say the pencil (that LB threw) was all I found in it:

Unfortunately, the top of the dryer is just one of the areas that tends to gather clutter in our house. But, hey, nothing like taking a dryer apart and putting it back together to make you feel self-sufficient and I only had one screw left over...

Chocolate Pasta

2008-06-10T18:36:00.003-04:00

We were at TJ Maxx the other day in their little 'gift basket' food section and BG picked up some curly noodles and said 'this looks like chocolate pasta.' Sure enough, it was. So she asked if we could get it and said she would eat all of it (she hasn't been eating any pasta for the last 6 months). I asked her what she wanted on it and the quick reply was 'chocolate syrup!' So we tried it last night, along with our regular pasta salad, with butter and a little bit of Hershey's syrup on it... It really didn't taste much like chocolate, pretty much like regular pasta with a hint of cocoa. Needless to say, BG wasn't impressed, and neither were any of the others. I think we'll stick to our plain pasta...