Some good news...

In addition to a move followed immediately by a deployment, we've also been waiting on the release of a promotion board. It was delayed over and over. Originally, it was to be released in late December. Then, it was going to be January. It was pushed back to just before Sam was to leave. Then it was delayed again (and again). Finally, it was released today. I'm happy (and relieved) to say that Sam was selected for promotion. I wish I could say, "Show me the money." But chances are that he won't actually be promoted until next year after he returns home. But then we'll have 2 things to looks forward to, won't we?


Congratulations to everyone who was selected!

So I'm not a gardener....

Today a neighbor asked me if I knew anything about jasmine. It took me a moment before I realized she was asking about the plant, not the Disney princess. This is just one of the perils of having princess-crazed little girls. Another is a berry pink room...

Squirrelly

You've just got to love what comes out of a 2-year-old's mouth, usually in public and embarrassing ways. Take today for example, L'il Sis and I are standing at the library counter, sending a fax. Other than the librarian and one other mom and little one, everyone else in sight is a young male Marine. So what does my little angel do? She keeps poking my belly fat, finally asking, "What's that?" Before I can answer, she decides that's really not humiliating enough, so she points to one side of my chest and asks (loudly, is there any other way?), "What are those?"

She's just very tall...

L'il sis and I went to the library for the first time this morning. The librarian told us that we could just make the tail end of the storytime for her age group. Well, no. The storytime that was wrapping up was for 4-6 year olds. So, clearly, this woman assumed L'il Sis was FOUR. Yes, she's tall. And she has long hair. But she is TWO, I tell you. Okay, two and three-quarters, but still technically two. Nowhere near four.

Happy Valentine's Day

These came this afternoon. What a nice surprise, especially the cards for each of us. I put the girls' roses in the vase Big Sis made during a pottery field trip in Korea.










I just realized that the last post was dated Feb. 14. I guess something on my computer is still on Korean time. That was yesterday (the 13th). Today is the first full day of married single parenthood. Happy Valentine's Day to me!






L'il Sis crawled into bed with me last night, but (this is the important bit) let me sleep. Big Sis got off to school this morning with only a minimum of whining (much less than usual).



So far, so good. Yes, I know it's early days, but I need all the optimism I can get right now.

Hopefully, NOT a sign of things to come...

Today was the day. Sam left for his year-long deployment today. And I began my year-long journey as a single parent. I almost titled this entry, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride..." but, hopefully, that won't be (too) true.

Big Sis came home from school this afternoon and, after a snack and checking to be sure all homework was done, I convinced the girls to go outside for a bit. That was a mistake. Shortly after arriving at the playground, the skies opened up and poured buckets of rain on us. There were no warning sprinkles. One minute it was overcast but pleasant, the next minute we found ourselves in a deluge. I grabbed L'il Sis, threw her into the wagon, and ran for home while yelling at Big Sis to run home. Usually, when L'il Sis sees rain she sings, "It's raining/ it's pouring/ the old man is snoring/ bumped his head/ and didn't get up 'til morning!" Today, she screamed because she was getting wet (she doesn't enjoy getting her face wet in the bath and this was like a power shower!). By the time we made it to the garage, we were all soaked. So, plan B, everyone was bathed and dressed in PJ's a short time later. And I decided I could hobble something together for dinner instead of going out.






Well, let's hope we have nowhere to go but up from here.

Readjustments

• After living overseas for 2 years, there are a few things that take a little getting used to upon returning to the States. For example, we lived in a country roughly the size of Indiana and, frankly, didn't drive all that much with all the public transport available. So I'm not sure if it's me or the kids having more difficulty in adjusting to how long we are in the car here, whether it's running errands around town or driving across the state(s) to see relatives. And speaking of driving, I'd forgotten just how HUGE those trucks on the interstate are. They have trucks in Korea, but they're not THAT big. And I miss the rest areas on Korean highways. Not only were they a place to stop for a bathroom break, but they usually had a convenience store, food court, food stalls, restaurant, and information center (with a person in it). Often, there would be a playground as well. Plus, there seemed to be one of these rest areas about every 15 or 20 miles.
• Another silly thing to get used to is pennies. Seriously, the only place I ever saw pennies was a the military post office in Korea. Everywhere else on the base, we rounded up or down. So when my daughter's first grade teacher suggested parents start using pennies to practice counting, etc., I seriously wondered where I was supposed to get all these pennies. Of course, there's something to be said for only having to keep track of one type of currency.
• A nice thing to get used to is not having to account for a 13-15 hour time difference when calling friends and family. Trying to remember what time it was (and what day) where you were calling was such a pain that my husband didn't bother with it. He just asked me.
  
• I can buy something in a shop here AND return it if I need to. I couldn't do that in the markets in Korea. Returns were possible in department stores, but I just didn't have the language skills or confidence to manage it. This is especially important when trying to buy clothes for the oldest since she is both hard to fit and hard to please (and hard of head).
  
• Commercials have been another adjustment. And one the kids have embraced a little too much. It's also been strange to have so many radio choices. In Korea, unless I wanted to listen to Korean (usually I only found talking and very little music), my choices were limited to AFN on FM or AM. I still find myself switching between AM and FM instead of scanning through the FM stations while in the car. The first time I drove for any length of time, I found myself listening to a station I didn't care for mile after mile until I finally remembered that there were CHOICES out there and I didn't have to listen to that station!
  
• It's the little things.

Hawaii in December

As promised, here are a few pictures from our stop in Hawaii on our way back to the mainland after a 2 year absence.

We attended a luau at our hotel one evening. L'il Sis enjoyed the evening more than Big Sis, who wouldn't even cooperate with having her photo taken. The MC was Glenn Medeiros. Does anyone remember him? (hint: think '80's pop) Apparently, he is from Hawaii and is now teaching elementary school in addition to MC'ing luaus.

The USS Arizona Memorial

These are some of the "scenic" pictures I took.

This was the view from our hotel balcony, looking out over Waikiki Beach.