Mission Completion

My mission for Summer 2009: Survive almost 3 months of boiling heat with both kids at home all day, every day; without selling either child on e&ay. Do so without going bankrupt.

My strategy: a little something I’ll call the reverse deployment. That’s when the family members leave and the service-member holds down the home-front (‘cause they still have a job to do, you know).

The kids and I loaded up the car and hit the road. Except for the 1^st week, when [*gasp*] Stretch actually took leave and joined us, we were on the road and Stretch was left behind to man the home-front. As it turns out, he didn’t enjoy being the one left at home. I can understand that. I don’t particularly enjoy it, either.

We actually reverse deployed twice. The first time was for 4 weeks. It started with a 3-day drive across 6 states to my mother’s home. The first night we stayed at a military installation: great suite and even better price. The 2^nd night we used Stretch’s hotel reward points for a free night. (Guess all those TAD trips had a good side to them after all.) Stretch helped drive half-way across the country and then flew home (or redeployed) on Father’s Day. (Hm-m, that might not have sent quite the right message.) The kids and I stayed another week while the girls took swim lessons. When it was time to go, I drove a day and a half across 3 states, spending the night at another military installation, before reaching my aunt’s home. After reconnecting with extended family for a few days, we hit the road again to join a fellow military spouse for the 4^th of July. We only had to cross into the next state this time and it took only half a day.

Despite not having laid eyes on each other in almost 5 years, we picked right up where we’d left off. Even the kids bonded quickly even though only one of the five had any memories of the others. Because her husband had taken Reserve orders and was gone for the summer, I talked her into making the 10- hour drive to follow me home so our kids could continue to entertain each other. The fact that we hadn’t seen each other in years had nothing to do with it.

We had about a week’s break before reverse deploying again. This time it was only for 2 weeks. I drove for 12 hours in one day to get to my sister’s house. By the way, I don’t recommend this on 4 hours of sleep. A few days later, I drove another 3-1/2 hours to take the girls to my in-laws, where they would stay for almost a week. We went a day early so the girls and I could attend my mother-in-law’s annual family reunion. It was the first time we’d attended. In 11 years of marriage, Stretch and I had never been able to attend due to distance. And the first time I attended (this year), I did so without him. Typical.

The kids and I made the drive back home earlier this week. This time, I made reservations at yet another military installation part-way back to avoid another 12 hour drive. For the first time, I was wishing my oldest (she’s 8) was old enough to drive.

The summer flew by while the kids and I spent time with family and friends. Now we are waiting to hear teacher assignments and I’ve finished buying school supplies. School will start next week. The summer is drawing to a close and the mission was accomplished.

Just don’t ask me to drive anywhere anytime soon. Oh, and if anyone has seen my sanity, could you send it back to me?

(This is cross-posted over at SpouseBuzz.)

minty fresh?

After I'd nagged her into brushing her teeth this morning, L'il Sis poked her way through the task. I had to keep prodding her with, "Scrub, don't suck on your toothbrush" and such. When she was done, she sighed and said, "That's so refreshing!"

Sugar and spice

Do you remember this nursery rhyme:

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good,
She was very very good,
But when she was bad she was horrid.

That about sums up Li'il Sis.

Just yesterday, as I gave her a bath in the morning, she sighed as I started scrubbing her and said, "This is the life!" She can be very sweet and often says the funniest things. As my sister describes her, she's a joyous child.

But she's got a mean streak, too. Last night, Big Sis came to me crying and holding her throat. Her face was red from crying and she complained that L'il Sis had kicked her in the neck. Nice.

Reverse deployment

This summer, the kids and I have spent a lot of time away from home. In fact, we’re hitting the road again tomorrow morning. For the first time, Stretch has been the one left at home. And he doesn’t much like it. During one phone call, after he told me how much he missed us, he paused and said, “Somehow, I get the feeling that, strangely, you are unmoved.” (It’s a favorite line from a Pride & Prejudice adaptation that we often use on the kids.)

I DID miss him. Let’s get that straight first. But after a year-long deployment, a couple of weeks seems like a snap!

Then, I told him to think of it as a reverse deployment.

Oy!

Somehow, when I told the 5 year old to get into the car quickly after our last errand today, she translated that to mean she should poke around in the grass and find the nastiest thing she could to touch. Maybe Bill Cosby was right and kids ARE brain-damaged.

To be filed under things you really don't want to hear while you're working in another part of the house: "Well, then, don't put things in my underwear!" (shouted by the 8 year old to the 5 year old).

Come again? I don't think I heard that quite right...

My 8 year old only likes to wear a few of her clothes. The vast majority of what she owns languishes in her dresser unworn until it's time to pass them on to her younger sister. Being the cruel mom that I am, I sometimes will let the laundry go for awhile (or at least hers) in an effort to force her to wear some of the other items.

This morning, Stretch and I looked up from the couch to see her carrying her clothes hamper down the stairs. At first, I thought that was a hint that she wanted her laundry done. Instead, she said, "Well, since you haven't washed my clothes, I decided to do it myself."

What?! Did I hear that right?

I hopped right up and helped her get started in the laundry room. While I supervised and reached the things she couldn't quite get, she did her own laundry. She cleaned out the dryer vent when it was time to put the wet clothes into the dryer. She put the clothes into the dryer and later folded them herself.

And I thought finally getting them potty trained rocked my world.

A day at the beach...

We took the kids to a beach today. It was so hot that the sand was burning our feet as we made our way across the sand to find a spot to lay out our beach blanket and the stuff we'd lugged from the car. But once we were in the water, it felt pretty good. L'il Sis was having a grand time collecting a bucket full of seashells. Stretch had his snorkel gear and showed Big Sis how to use it. The mask was a bit big for her so she held it to her face while she snorkeled. (I guess we'll be looking at getting her one of her own.) She had a blast following fish around.

At one point, as Stretch tells it, she was watching a school of fish and he was following her in case she got into trouble. Suddenly, without ever coming out of the water, she did a one-eighty and started stroking for shore as fast as she could. Stretch said he'd never seen her perform such great freestyle strokes. Apparently, the fish she'd been following turned and started coming toward her which she found odd because usually they swam away from her. But then she saw why. A large fish, 2-3 feet in length, with teeth she could see. Or as she put it, "It was this big (holding out her hands) and it had TEETH!" I thought it was a bit funny that she'd left Stretch behind but as he pointed out she probably had the mindset of "I don't have to outswim the fish, just YOU!" and when I asked if it was a case of every person for himself, she said, "That's right!"

The fish she saw might have been a barracuda. An adult snorkeler had said he spotted one earlier in the same area. At the time, I was more concerned with the stingray he'd also spotted and which I'd also seen, heading toward Stretch and Big Sis. I think it passed them by and they never saw it. When I saw it, I was thinking, "Please be a sea turtle" until I heard the snorkeler say it was a stingray.

I think I may have reached my quota of wildlife this week. Earlier in the week, I'd taken my friend and her kids to a National Wildlife Refuge where we saw a huge alligator. It's head alone was easily 2-1/2 to 3 feet long. Since it remained mostly submerged, we never saw exactly how long it was. Oh, and we were on a dock with our feet only about 4 or 5 feet above the gator.

The Girls Night Out that wasn't

Following the kids' and my month-long trek across the southeastern corner of the U.S., I convinced our hostess at our last stop to follow us home. Her husband is gone for the summer and it kept our kids busy with each other. Plus, I selfishly wanted to spend more time with my friend whom I hadn't seen in almost 5 years.

On her last day here, Stretch called home in the morning and offered a Girls' Night Out (GNO) to us and promised to be home early enough to make it happen. I was ecstatic and looked forward to it all day. Since he would be clearly outnumbered by the 5 kids, I had dinner ready for them when he came home. Everything was set for us to get out of Dodge.

Because Stretch was parked behind me (and my vehicle was in the garage), we drove his vehicle. We drove away without a care in the world, trying to decide what we should do. We were positively giddy with the freedom of it all.

Then we made our first stop. It should have been a quick one. But when we returned to the car, it wouldn't start. Now this car is only 2-1/2 years old. We just replaced all 4 tires. And now it refused to start. We pulled out the owner's manual, trying to figure out what the problem was. We tried suggestions multiple times, in case we were doing something wrong. Nothing. Finally, we called Stretch. He and the kids were just finishing dinner. So he loaded them all up and drove to us. (We weren't far.)

After trying to jump the thing, we decided that I'd take the kids and my friend back to our house while Stretch continued to work on the car. Now, my friend and I hadn't eaten yet. So I started to heat up the remnants of dinner when we returned to the house. Before I'd gotten very far, Stretch called and wanted me to return with my car so we could try to jump his again.

Just before I pulled up, Stretch had dropped a tool in the engine. And it was stuck somewhere under the battery. That's about how the evening was going. After another jump attempt, Stretch decided to remove the battery and take it somewhere to test it. That's when he lost part of another tool. This time in the back of his car.

He took me back to the house, picked up more tools and returned to pry the battery out of his car. About an hour later, Stretch called again to say he was on his way to pick me up so we could retrieve his car. Apparently, the battery had to be replaced.

So Stretch got kudos for wanting to give us a GNO. But the gremlins got the last laugh (Hello! He's not even gone this time!)

Get out the tissues...

A friend emailed this to me:

"...this is a video that will touch your heart and remind you how very proud you should be to be an American. ... Notice all the people on both sides of the road for more than 10+ miles!

...Killed in action the week before, the body of Staff Sergeant First Class John C. Beale was returned to Falcon Field in Peachtree City , Georgia , just south of Atlanta , on June 11, 2009. The Police escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough , Georgia . A simple notice in local papers indicated the road route to be taken and the approximate time. This was filmed during the procession by a State Trooper.

Nowadays one can be led to believe that America no longer respects honor and no longer honors sacrifice outside the military. Be it known that there are many places in this land where people still recognize the courage and impact of total self-sacrifice. Georgia remains one of those graceful places. The link below is a short travelogue of that day's remarkable and painful journey. But only watch this if you wish to have some of your faith in people restored."

http://blip.tv/play/AYGJ5h6YgmE

(Sorry, I couldn't get the video to embed.)

Eleven years and counting

Stretch is out in the field training with Marines. I'm finally at home, after a month on the road. My friend and her 3 kids arrived yesterday afternoon, so I'm listening to kids playing and waiting for breakfast to come out of the oven.

Just a typical Saturday morning. And Stretch's and my anniversary. Once again, we'll be spending it apart. But at least we're in the same state!

Eleven years and two kids later, it still feels like we've only just started this adventure. Happy anniversary, Stretch. As much time as we spend apart, I can't imagine my life without you in it. You are still the man of my dreams, the love of my life.

He's a Barine!

My friend Jody keeps asking L'il Sis what her daddy does just so she can hear her proudly say, "He's a Ba-reen!"

Speaking of which, Big Sis is wearing her woodland camouflage t-shirt with hot pink letters that proclaim, "My daddy is a U.S. Marine." The man serving us lunch at the fast food counter this afternoon saw it and thanked her for her daddy's service. In true Big Sis fashion, she wasn't paying attention and didn't hear him. When I told her he'd thanked her for her dad's service, she looked confused and asked, "why?"

Independence Day

For many, the 4th of July evokes images of cook-outs, parades, and fireworks: all to be enjoyed with family and the larger community. Some of my best 4th of July memories come from celebrations on military bases. There's just something about the William Tell overture accompanied by howitzers that just says "Happy Independence Day!" like nothing else.

This year, the 4th of July found Stretch and me in different states. Which is so much better than different continents. The kids and I are still on our extended summer migration and arrived at fellow milspouse and blogger Jody's home on the 3rd. That same day, Stretch was leaving our home to travel to Camp Lejeune so he could meet a group of Marines returning from Iraq on the 4th.

It didn't seem too odd to me to be apart for the 4th of July. (Yes, I still missed him.) He was doing something he felt he should do (and I agree that someone from the unit should be there to meet the Marines.) Jody and I took the kids to a small town parade and to see fireworks. It might be the first parade I'd ever gone to that didn't have a military presence. We all had fun and the kids especially enjoyed it because they gathered about 5 pounds of candy at the parade. Jody and I were just enjoying being able to hang out together because it has probably been almost 5 years since we last saw each other.

Part of the reason it didn't seem strange to be apart is the fact that we really haven't spent too many Foruths of July together. Last year, Stretch was working. The year before, he was in Iraq. We'd probably been married 3 or 4 years before we were able to spend this particular holiday with each other. The first time we actually had the day to spend together, we were a little lost as to what we should do. I guess it's inadvertently become our tradition to spend Independence day independently of each other.

This is one tradition we don't need to keep though.

Seriously?!

L'il Sis: Because I was insisting on the girls standing when they were supposed to in church and expecting a certain minimum standard of behavior during the service, L'il Sis loudly proclaimed, "You're mean!" Why, yes, I am and I'm about to get meaner!

Big Sis: After Big Sis discovered the diving boards, she asked me, "Mom, do you weigh less than 250 lbs.?" What?! Uh, yes, by a considerable margin, thank you very little! (She was asking because the diving boards had posted weight limits.) When I asked her if she thought I weighed that much, she said yes, it was in my legs. Gee, thanks.

Stretch: Stretch is at home while the girls and I are half-way across the country, visiting relatives. He called me wanting to get directions to somewhere he'd been invited. I suggested he look at a map in one of our kitchen drawers. He'd already left the house and thought I might either know how to get there or would be able to get online to find out. (Um, no, I was in the car.) I'm currently 5 states and a timezone away. And I'm beginning to get the idea that maybe I make things a little too easy for him at home.

Pics from the Plains

We're getting ready to depart for Part Two of our mega-road trip. We've been at my mom's for about 2 weeks. I thought I'd take advantage of the internet access to post some highlight pics.


While I spent a day catching up with 2 of my best friends, Stretch and the girls spent some quality time together before he flew home. They went bowling before visiting both the new Artillery Museum (L'il Sis and Stretch loved it, Big Sis not so much) and the Fort Sill Museum. The girls picked out the sunbonnets as their souvenir. They liked them so much, they wore them to church the next day. Yes, and wore them throughout the service.



After Stretch was gone, the girls continued to take swim lessons (that Grandma had arranged) in the mornings. One afternoon, we went bowling again with my college room-mate and her kids, who were kind enough to drive up after their own long day at nature camp to spend time with us.








The final 2 pictures show that Big Sis discovered not just the diving board this last week, but the BIG diving board. We took them swimming again
after the lessons were over and she spent the entire time going off these boards. I can't believe she wasn't either exhausted or had a permanent wedgie or both!

summer "deployment"

On Father's Day, we redeployed Stretch back home. He had to go back to work so he flew back by himself. Frankly, I'm surprised he took a week off. But I was so happy he was able to help with the drive out here. Three days in the car was a long ride!

The girls and I remain "deployed" to my mother's house for the next week. Then we will slowly meander our way across the country back to our house, stopping to visit family and friends. Of course, when we arrive back home, Stretch will probably be out in the field for a week. *sigh*

On the road...

We've lost our minds. We're driving for 3 days to go visit family. Oy!

Military weekend

I spent last weekend wrangling the kids and spending more time than I care to think about sitting in a high school theater, forcing short hair into a bun and trying to put makeup on a 5 year old. In the end, she just wore blush. L'il Sis had her dance recital on Sunday afternoon so the dress rehearsal was Saturday. We managed to leave the rehearsal after only 3 hours, older girls had to stay much longer.

While I was having such wonderful fun, what do you suppose Stretch was doing? On at least one day, he was jumping out of a perfectly good plane. One of his landings was less than perfect and he was dragged across the landing zone. His uniform did its job and he came through relatively unscathed (small scratch on a finger). But the uniform is shredded. Now, part of me was appalled at the sight of that uniform because I much prefer to not have evidence of the dangers of Stretch's job in my face. It's much nicer to think of such things in the abstract -- not quite so "real" that way.

But I'm not gonna lie. Another part of me was thinking about how much it's going to cost to replace that uniform.

It must be Monday...

... or Another Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...

I thought I was starting the day out well. After taking Big Sis to school, L'il Sis and I returned home where I replaced a couple of dead plants with live ones in front of our house. Then, we headed out to the neighborhood clubhouse and it's workout room. I hadn't darkened it's doors in quite awhile so it was a momentous occasion for me. So far, so good. Right?

Not so fast. Things started heading south in the afternoon. Here are just the highlights: I discovered the transponder that gets my car in the gates of our neighborhood wasn't working. Hmm. Then I found out it was because our landlord had neglected to tell the HOA that we had renewed our lease. Deep breath.

While reviewing our travel plans for the next month, I discovered I'd signed the girls up for the wrong week of VBS. Hopefully, I can get this changed. Otherwise, my drive across country with the girls will be anything but leisurely (which was the original plan... slow and leisurely, dammit!).

Then, I took L'il Sis to her last dance class, which is already fraught with stress because the recital is next weekend and these little girls really don't know this dance. But today, L'il Sis managed to get her hand squashed in a door right before her class started. So she was crying. (Justifiably so.) One mom ran out to her car to get a cold bottle of water. We held that against her fingers for a bit. Her fingers looked to be fine but I'm sure they hurt like the dickens. Then the dance teacher came back with some ice. L'il Sis really needed to learn this dance, so I convinced her to go into the room to at least watch the other girls. She eventually joined the class but not until more than half-way thru the class. I still had to sit on the floor of the class, though, and couldn't go back to the lobby area with the other moms. Stretch came by, picked up Big Sis and went in search of dinner. Because at this point, obviously, my plan of dropping L'il Sis off at the studio, going back home to make dinner, and then having one of us pick her up was not only shot, it was dead in the water. [Oh, the fingers were just fine. At the end of the class, they turned off the regular lights and turned on the colored stage lights and L'il Sis perked right up.]

By this point, I was feeling more than a little frustrated. Then Stretch and Big Sis got home with dinner. Fast food. But, wait, was that a salad by my place? Not just a salad. It was my favorite Oriental Chicken Salad (not from the same place as they'd gotten their dinners). He even noticed that I'd started ordering it with grilled chicken. He'd made a special trip to get my salad because he felt bad for the day I'd had. Oh, and because he loves me. Yes, I'm lucky to have him.

Maybe I won't move to Australia after all. They have bad days there, too.

Ahh...you were gypsies, too?!

Last night, Stretch and I attended a charity event we'd been invited to by friends from church. Among their other guests were a retired Army couple. While they were obviously older than us and their children were grown with children of their own, we found ourselves drawn back to this couple repeatedly throughout the night. Of everyone there, we had the most in common with them. As I talked to them of places they'd lived, we kept finding common ground...literally. As an Army brat and later an intern, I'd spent time in Germany where they lived while their children were young, including one town where we'd both lived. They spent a number of years at Fort Sill, a place Stretch and I are both familiar with. Between frequent moves, frustrations with different schools, and just the lifestyle in general, we found we had much in common. Maybe it was because we've been away from other military families for so long, but just being able to talk to someone who understood things without explanation was absolutely wonderful and probably the best part of the evening. It was like being able to speak in our native tongue again after struggling with the local language.

motherhood quote

"For the first two years, you're up to your elbows in poo and puke. Then for the next 10 years, you feed them and educate them. Nurse them through every disease known to man and some known only to veterinary science. Then they shut themselves in their room and play cruel music at you and shout through the keyhole that you don't understand them and they hate you."

~Laura Thyme, "The Gooseberry Bush," Rosemary & Thyme (BBC mystery series)

I heard this last night and it really struck a chord. Yes, motherhood can be wonderful and rewarding and all of that warm and fuzzy stuff. But a rather large chunk of it makes you feel unappreciated. Those great moments when you feel your heart bursting with love and pride for your kids and everything is wonderful and you love being a mom, etc, etc, are very nice. They are also fleeting and sometimes don't happen as often as we'd like. But it's those moments that make all the mundane drudgery worth it. Because the truth (shh! it's not something we tell people who are considering making the leap into motherhood but haven't done it yet), well, the truth is there's a lot of thankless tasks involved in motherhood. It's probably the reason we never truly appreciate our own mothers until we've joined that group ourselves. And we can just forget our kids appreciating us until they've got kids of their own who don't appreciate them! And that is probably the origin of the mom curse (you know, the one where your mom hopes you have kids just like you).

Last day of preschool

Today was L'il Sis' last day of preschool. Ever. We've hit another milestone and it just sort of crept up on me. Yet again. Starting this fall, both kids will be school-age kids. When did that happen? It seems like I was just struggling with potty-training so that L'il Sis could even go to preschool!


We had a little end of the year party toward the end of the class day for the kids. After class was over, the parents' association sponsored a Splash Party on the playground for the kids with sprinklers, a slip-n-slide, snacks and even free treats from an ice cream truck. As you can see by the fact that L'il Sis is walking along side the thing, she didn't quite get the whole slip-n-slide concept.


On the other hand, she totally got the ice cream! I didn't know she was capable of inhaling one of those things, but apparently she is. Despite the heat and mugginess (seriously awful, I thought I was going to die out there!), she ate her treat so fast it didn't have a chance to melt. Although I gave her a napkin and made her use it, she didn't really need it.

The Splash Party was a great idea. It helped make the last day a little less sad for the kids.

***

After picking up Big Sis from school, we got home just before a huge thunderstorm hit. I made L'il Sis wait until the thundering and lightning was over before letting her outside. She didn't get particularly wet, but she looked quite fetchingly pink while she tried!

Memorial Day weekend

I know this is late, but it was a difficult post to write and I'm still not too sure if I should post it.

It was Memorial Day weekend and it seemed a fitting time to finally sit down and watch Taking Chance, the HBO movie based on LtCol Mike Strobl's story of escorting a fallen Marine PFC Chance Phelps to his home. I remember reading the story written by LtCol Strobl some time ago and crying as I read. That was nothing to the tears I shed watching the movie. Great minds think alike and I noticed that Amy at The Fourth Frog had done the same. She has a great post over there about the film so I'll try not repeat what she's already said.

There were a few reasons I wanted to see Taking Chance. A few months ago, I'd finally read Final Salute: A Story of Unfinished Lives by Jim Sheeler. Although I could barely go a page without having to stop because I couldn't see through my tears, it was hard to put down. As I mentioned, I had read the original article by LtCol Strobl. When I heard that HBO had adapted the story into a film, I wanted to see it but it took me awhile to work up to it. And there was the fact that Chance Phelps died while serving with 3/11, a unit Stretch served in and deployed with in 2003.

One thing I noticed was how well Kevin Bacon portrayed the discomfort so many Marines (and I'm sure other service members) feel when thanked for their service. Sometimes, as in Strobl's case, it is caused by feeling they are not participating in the "real work" of the Marine Corps. This is the way they feel, rightly or wrongly. I know this because I live with someone who, despite 2 tours in the sandbox, still feels that way. In any case, some of the discomfiture is caused by not really knowing how to respond. That's not to say that hearing the thank-you's are unappreciated.

We watched the film with Big Sis, who is 8-1/2 years old. That might seem a bit young to watch this film but we wanted her to see the impact of one Marine's death, even on people who didn't know him. She has struggled with Stretch's career lately. The year-long deployment (Feb. 2007 --2008) and the move to yet another home and school really caught up to us this past year. In the midst of tantrums, she has said things like she wished Stretch had died in a battle. (Which is pretty darn specific, if you ask me!) While we had tried to paint a picture for her of what her life might be like now if that had happened, we could never really be sure if we were getting through to her. And before any comments suggest it, she is seeing a counselor. Much like her parents, (okay, her mom) Big Sis didn't say much after the movie was over and tried to act like she wasn't affected. But she wanted to see a lot of the special features on the DVD. And a day later, she and her sister were playing and the name Chance seemed to figure in the game. I'm hoping that something got through to her.

Update: I saw this about a medically retired Recon Marine and wanted to share. It's a bit long but worth it. I saw a name at the end that I knew and that always brings it home even more. By the way, according to SemperFiWife over at SpouseBuzz, Derek Zeier finished the 100 mile ultramarathon in 31 hours, 03 minutes and 21 seconds. And he wasn't supposed to be able to walk without the assistance of a cane?

Go-To Gal

Stretch discovered he needed new tires several months ago. Like back in February. Left to his own devices, he was always too busy to do anything about it. Or something like that. Finally, I'd had enough and Friday morning I told him to take my car and leave his. L'il Sis and I ended up at a tire store for around 2 hours during a driving rainstorm. She was pretty good for the first hour but the 2nd hour tried us both. Finally, the tires were mounted, balanced and aligned.

And I can't help wondering what he would do if he weren't married? Actually, if that had been the case, the new tires would probably have been put on back in February...
*humph*

PreK Graduation

Monday night was busy one here. L'il Sis had her dance class then we had to rush to her PreK graduation. The kids have been working hard to prepare 8 songs. They all did such a great job. But between the slide show, the songs, and the diplomas, it all made for a long night and L'il Sis was pretty tired by the end of it. It was bit over the top but the kids were so cute.

The night wouldn't have been complete with at least one "I don't know that child. Nope. Never laid eyes on her before" moment. It had nothing to do with L'il Sis. Her big sister, the 8 year old who claims she's not a child and therefore should know better, was the perpetrator. She said she couldn't see and had crept forward while the kids received their diplomas. It was done by class so there was a bit of a lull between classes while parents moved forward to take pictures. During one of these lulls, we see Big Sis pulling on the preschool director's blouse (she was MC'ing the ceremony) to tell her something. Oh, the horror! Turns out Big Sis thought the director had skipped a song (she's heard the practice CD a few times). It was the last song, the one the kids sang after receiving their diplomas.

Although they had their graduation ceremony, there's still a week of school left for L'il Sis. And thank goodness. Her class was small and very close-knit. She'll miss seeing her friends every week. Only one will be going to the same elementary school and there's no guarantee they'll be in the same class.

weekend mish-mash

Out of the mouths of babes:
I was cleaning the outside of the kitchen cabinets and our banister the other day (all are white). Big Sis came down the stairs as I was working on the banister and asked what I was doing. I explained I was cleaning (although I thought it was pretty obvious). She replied with, "Why? No one is coming to visit."

*sigh* I know that housekeeping is not my strong suit, but still...

Hmmm:
Stretch returned from his trip late Saturday night. A flight attendant upgraded him to first-class on both legs of his return flights. Now, this has happened before. And I certainly don't begrudge him the extra room. I've sat next to him and know how cramped he is in coach, especially since most of his height is in his legs. (By the way, the next time you fly, you might want to check behind you before pushing your seat back. If it won't go back, it might be because you're ramming your seat into the knees of someone behind you and his knees have nowhere else to go!)

I've lost count how many times flight attendants have taken pity on Stretch and moved him to first-class. But it only seems to happen when he's flying solo. It has NEVER happened while he was traveling with his wife!

Ms. Fix-it

As a military spouse, I understand that I'm often the go-to person at home. I'm usually the one to either fix things or to get it done by someone else (not Stretch usually). But when Stretch is home, I have an irrational belief that he should step up and do some of those projects. After all, his father taught shop at one point and is often working on something around the house. This gene must have completely bypassed Stretch, though.

For weeks, we've had a leak that has gotten worse around our water filter attached to our kitchen faucet. I've pointed it out numerous times. Twice, Stretch took a cursory look and basically shrugged before walking off and doing nothing.

I finally had enough and while Stretch was off on a short trip this week, I bought another filter system and replaced the leaking one. There might have been another (cheaper) fix, but it's done and no longer bothering me.

If I manage not to say anything about it, I wonder if he'll even notice?
Update: He noticed, but it probably had something to do with the fact that the new filter wasn't exactly the same as the old one.

Principal calling...

Big Sis' principal called me this morning. She had Big Sis in her office. Considering her attitude issues lately, I first closed my eyes and inwardly groaned wondering what she had done. Apparently, Big Sis had entered her principal's office nervously wondering the same thing.

It turns out she is something of a hero today. Another little girl had brought something to school that she shouldn't have. Big Sis saw it and quietly told her teacher. The principal made a big fuss over her and how responsible she had been in doing the right thing. The school's police officer told her he was going to buy her lunch today. Big Sis told the principal that her dad is a Marine and therefore would be especially proud of her. And then the principal called to tell me about it and let Big Sis talk to me as well. I haven't gotten the full story yet but it seems the item in question was a knife. In third grade, people!

It looks like I'll be taking Big Sis to the ice cream parlor for a treat today.

Update: Big Sis is a girl after my own heart. She decided to forgo ice cream and we went to the bookstore instead.

"You're 5 now, so...."

I'm getting a lot of mileage out this little phrase lately. And will continue to shamelessly use it for as long as it works!

L'il Sis has a bad habit of not wanting to do things for herself. It's a trend that started in her infancy. While her sister happily grabbed her bottle or sippy cup at an early age to hold it herself, L'il Sis refused to do so even when prompted (by us putting her hands on the bottle!) when she was a year old! So it was not a big surprise that she has refused to try to buckle her own seat belt. She has said that she was too little and couldn't do it. Never mind the fact that she hadn't even tried. My nephew who is a year younger than her can accomplish this little task. So she turned 5 on Sunday. On Monday morning, I told her she was 5 now, so she should at least try. She was very proud of herself the first time she did it completely by herself. And while she sometimes needs help getting the seat belt in place, at least she's trying!

Then, tonight at bedtime, she tried to tell me how much more comfortable my bed and pillows were compared to her own. Uh huh. After pointing out that her bed and pillow were also comfortable, I also said that now that she's 5, she should really try to stay in her own bed all night every night. Yeah. I don't know how well that will work, but it's worth a shot!

Score!

I was feeling a tad bit guilty for all of the eating-out the girls and I have done lately. Stretch left on another trip Sunday afternoon. We stopped for take-out after dropping him off at the airport. Yesterday, L'il Sis had a late afternoon/early evening dance class so we picked up a sack of burgers for dinner. (To make it seem bit better nutritionally, I supplemented the burgers with leftover fruit.) Then, today. Big Sis had a late afternoon appointment about half an hour away. By the time we were near home, it was almost dinner-time. So... we ate out. I was craving a particular salad so we went to @pplebee's.

I was feeling guilty about eating out and then I looked at the bill.

The girls' meals were free (love Tuesdays! must remember this!) and I had enough rewards points that so was mine. The only thing the meal cost me was the waitress' tip. Hmm....nope, don't feel a shred of guilt now!

weekend wrap-up

Saturday was L'il Sis' birthday bash. The one I've spent the past 2 weeks stressing over. The only major task that I delegated to Stretch was to come up with a game or activity of some sort for the kids. As I was getting ready to drop off food at the clubhouse's refrigerator, an unshowered Stretch was sitting at the computer looking for ideas. Mere hours before the party. Way to give me a stroke, big guy!

But wouldn't you know it? He got the job done. And he totally rocked it! He came up with three games for the kids to play and another game for the presents (a variation of spin the bottle, except the kid the pointer lands on gets to give L'il Sis his or her present). The kids had a blast and I didn't even need to pull out my wimpy little craft (yes! something that gets to be returned to the store!).

Sunday (today) was a crazy day. After church in the morning, we raced home to divide up the kids and go in separate directions. Stretch took L'il Sis and attended a function for one of his Marines about an hour away. I took Big Sis to lunch and a production of The Magic Tree House: The Musical. Afterwards, we met at Stretch's office so I could retrieve L'il Sis and take him to the airport. I was done at that point (so were the kids -- both were whiny) but still had to make it thru dinner and bedtime!

I think we'll all sleep well tonight!

Hula girl birthday cake

I told someone I would take pictures and post how I did this cake. Thankfully, it turned out better than I thought it would!

I baked 3 cakes using one pan and 2 bowls. Hmm, wonder which will take the least amount of time to bake? Okay, so it was more like 2 cakes and 1 cupcake.



This is after I've leveled the cakes. I didn't do the best job but our motto around here is "close enough for government work."













Then, of course, I glued the parts together with frosting...




...and covered the whole thing with a layer of frosting to seal in any crumbs. Then I put it in the fridge to harden.

At this point, I'm thinking, "Geez, maybe I should've gone with a volcano cake. It kind of looks like one and would probably have been a lot easier to decorate." (L'il Sis has a thing for lava.)




I didn't wait long enough for the first layer of frosting to set, but it still turned out okay. After covering the whole thing in green frosting and then "combing" it with a decorating tool to get the look of a grass skirt, I thought it looked more like a Muppet's wig.






Here's the almost-final product. The hair and arms are still up because the frosting is still soft. I'll try to do something with the hair and pose the arms tomorrow. I'm also planning on putting crushed graham crackers around the base to simulate sand with chocolate seashells scattered on top of the "sand."


Update: Here's the final product at the party...

Freudian slip?

I just realized that my profile still listed our last duty station as our location. The one we moved from 11 months ago. Almost half-way through this tour and I finally changed it. Maybe it's my cyber-version of those last few boxes that just never manage to get unpacked. Or maybe it's just that I really didn't want to leave the last place.

Why do I bother?

I should preface this by saying that I don't garden. In the past 11 years and 9 homes, we've only had one actual living plant inside our home. It was given to us as an apartment-warming gift when we arrived in Korea. I promptly killed it.

So I was feeling rather proud of myself recently when I planted some flower seeds around a tree near our curb. After watering and feeding regulary, I was seeing some results. Tiny shoots and leaves were making themselves known.

Today, our lawn care company came to do the lawn. And some idiot weed-whacked everything around that tree.

In which the Devil Pup strikes again...

The kids and I were at Stretch's office late in the afternoon. Big Sis decided she would stay and do her homework there while waiting for him to come home. (I have to admit that I also figured he would leave more promptly if she were there.) While I was getting her settled before leaving with L'il Sis, I told her to do something (or not do something -- I can't remember now) and she responded with, "Roger that!"

My first reaction was a double-take. But as I thought about later, I wondered why can't I hear that more often? Seriously. As long as she's doing what she's told without whining or otherwise complaining.

chasing zits

It's bad enough that I have to battle both wrinkles AND acne at the same time. Now, it seems the zits have developed a mind of their own. I started using a zit zapper a few month ago and, for the most part, it seems to work pretty well. At least, it seems to stop them in their tracks and shorten their lifespans.

A few days ago, I started treating a spot that looked as if it could go on to become a zit-zilla if left to its own devices. The zapper did its job and that particular spot stopped growing and started shrinking. But tonight I found its clone near my nose. I can almost hear the evil laughter, "Ha ha! You thought you stopped me! But I cannot be contained. Resistance is futile!" I still used the zapper and now I'm waiting to see where the zits will strike next.

*I should clarify that the "zapper" I use is an OTC gel.

party planning

There's just nothing like waiting to the last minute, is there? I've known for months that we were going to have a "real" party for L'il Sis when she turns 5. ("Real" in the sense that we'll be inviting people from outside our family) So... had I done anything planning-wise? Had I even thought of what the theme would be or what types of games or activities to do? Um, that would be no.

So, with less than 2 weeks to go to B-day, I really had to get in gear. On Monday, I secured a site. We decided we didn't want to do it at the house for a number of reasons, including parking. So while I toyed with a few other ideas, we ended up with a screened in outdoor room at our neighborhood clubhouse. One of the other ideas I had was a local drive-thru animal park/amusement park. But then I called and realized that it would cost us $450 (plus tax) at a MINIMUM. I love my child, but that wasn't going to happen.

After locking on the site, L'il Sis and I headed to a party store. We needed to get at least one of the invitations out that afternoon and we still didn't have any. She was really set on having a bunny theme. Yeah. Do you have any idea how hard that is, especially with Easter over?! I managed to get her to change her mind. Her obsessions are bunnies, Hawaii (because of lava -- don't ask), and Egypt (because of mummies -- again, don't ask). I figured Egypt might be equally difficult, not to mention it might creep out the other kids, so I steered her toward a luau/beach party theme. So that's what we're going with. Invites have now all gone out.

Eschewing the $200 option of having art teachers come and do crafts and activities with the kids (we're only talking about 9 at the most, 2 of them ours!), I headed to a craft store today hoping to be struck with inspiration. Foam visors were on sale 2 for $1. I also found flower- and sea-themed foam stickers. So we're going to put foam stickers on foam visors. Easy enough for 5 year-olds.

Coming up with the cake idea was easy enough. Execution might be a bit more difficult. I'm going to make a doll cake and decorate it as a hula-girl. I think I'll need some luck and well-wishes sent this way for that one! On the up-side, I've done doll-cakes before. The downside is I haven't attempted this level of decorating before. Just a few weeks ago, I made one for my niece. It was the first time I'd done one by myself (the first one was about 7 or 8 years ago when Jody roped me into helping her make one for her daughter. Oh, and neither of us had ever decorated any type of cake before. That's a whole other post, though.) By the time I had my niece's cake "dressed," I decided I'd better quit while I was ahead and didn't add any more embellishments. The back-up plan is a generic birthday cake from the grocery store if the cake fails miserably!

New Orleans, N'Awlins...

So Stretch had to go for work and it was my birthday... so I tagged along while my mother kept the girls. The first 2 days, I was on my own to explore the French Quarter (and it's shops). I even found a pair of dragonfly earrings. Here's a sample of a few of the sights:


























Before...

and after! Yum!

Kindergarten Round-up

I know I haven't posted in forever. I was in New Orleans last week (I'll post some pics later) and have been playing catch-up since getting back.

Tonight, the girls and I attended the Kindergarten Round-up at our local elementary school. It's hard to believe that L'il Sis will actually be attending this fall. We'll have 2 school-age kids and the pre-school years will be over. I don't think I've fully grasped that yet. Although I'm already celebrating not having to pay those fees anymore! And the free time I'll have... What to do with myself?! I'm sure I'll figure out something!

Of course, the flip side is the small bit that is freaking out just a little that my "baby" is going to be going to school! Real school 5 days a week, not just preschool a couple of mornings a week. My babies are definitely growing up!

In which my niece gives herself a DIY haircut...

My sister and her clan were here last week. She has 4 kids and one on the way so our house was hopping! The age break-down went like this: 12, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2. By nightfall, I'm not sure who was more tired, the kids from playing with each other all day; or their wranglers, I mean parents.

But getting back to the title... at one point, my niece, the newly minted 6 year old, came downstairs and we quickly realized her bangs were gone. They weren't just trimmed a bit unevenly. They were cut back to the hairline! Questions from all four parents started flying. Stretch and I were convinced one of our girls (the 4 year old specifically) MUST have had a part in the haircut. Oh, the relief when it was determined that no, our niece had done it all by herself. I was also relieved it wasn't one of ours that had cut her hair! Does that make me a bad mom or a bad aunt? Hmm.

Update: Here are the, ahem, bangs:

not a good look

Now, I'm no fashionista. I can usually be seen sporting some seriously unfashionable mommy gear because it's comfortable, darn it. But today, I saw 2 outfits that stood out in their wrongness. One was a young woman sporting one of those trendy sweat suits. The pants were low-cut exposing her flat little belly because the jacket didn't quite meet the pants. But it was the shoes that got me. Bedazzled thong sandals with kitten heels. It just didn't look right, people.

But the wrongest (yes, I know that's not really a word, but it fits this situation) was the woman I saw running in my neighborhood. I imagine her mental checklist as she geared up for her run: Running shoes. Check. Running shorts. Check. Ipod. Check. Tube top. Check.

A tube top for running?! Seriously? That sounds like asking for an injury.

Disappearing teachers

L'il Sis had a preschool field trip last Thursday. I'm so thankful it is the last one of the year. Parents have to transport the kids. Not so unusual in a preschool setting. That's not the problem.

For this last field trip, there were 2 moms to chaperon and drive. Between us, we had 5 kids because 2 were not there that day. (Yes, it is a very small class!) The 2 teachers drove in a separate vehicle. We met another, larger class at a nature center and combined the 2 classes for the field trip because ours was so tiny. Not a problem. After the tour was over, the guide allowed the kids to go in the nature center display area. Shortly after that, the other class left. The other mom, the kids and I wandered into a side area with the guide who continued talking to us and the kids about things.

I was waiting for the teachers. Finally, I walked out to the entrance area, looked out the front doors and saw them walking in the parking lot to their vehicle. There were only 4 cars in the lot at this time. The director of the preschool was also getting into her car and leaving. The other 2 cars belonged to the other mom and me. By the time I was able to call the other mom's attention to the fact that the teachers were leaving and round up the kids to get them out to the cars, the teachers were gone. Seriously.

Back at the classroom, the other mom asked about it and the lead teacher said she didn't see us and thought we'd left. Hmm. Their car was parked between ours and our cars were still in the parking lot when they left the nature center. So, I'm not buying it.

The field trip before this one, we had more moms along but again, the teachers disappeared at the end. We all came back to the school and classroom because some of the kids needed to be picked up or were staying for extended care. The rest of us stood in that room waiting for the teachers who never showed. We theorized that they went to lunch and just never bothered to say anything to anyone.

Maybe I'm over-reacting. For the most part, I really like L'il Sis' teachers. But this seems to be a serious lack of communication.

*update: I had a chat with the Director of the preschool and she agreed it was an area of concern and that she would address it.

are we there yet?

It's the future...where's my flying car? Apparently, it's here but I can't afford it:

um...okay...

Seen when we took the kids to a BBQ place recently:
a car parked in front of the restaurant with a vegetarian bumper sticker.

Happy...um....what day is it?

I've already resigned myself to the fact that I will never be Mom of the Year. I know this. But then along comes my good friend Jody to really show me up!

I didn't even remember that today was St. Patrick's Day until the rest of L'il Sis' preschool class showed up in green shirts. She picked out her own clothes and was wearing a pink tank top and denim skort with pink ruffle. There were some tiny green embroidered leaves on the skort, but I don't think they counted since her teacher pinched her anyway.

Oh, and Big Sis and I weren't wearing anything green either. Then I read Jody's blog and see they've set out leprechaun traps... and almost caught some!

dancing raindrops

It was a busy morning. Big Sis and Stretch had their last games for Upward Bound basketball and L'il Sis had her first dance performance at a local festival. Stretch and Big Sis left for basketball after breakfast. I was so bummed to miss her last game. After they left, I still had to wrestle L'il Sis' hair into a bun. It wouldn't be so bad if I weren't so hair-challenged. I had to get another mom to tell me how to do it. L'il Sis didn't care for the gel, hair pins, or hairspray. I can't really say I blame her. She probably wouldn't have been too crazy about the hairnet either, if she'd known about it. But, miraculously, it all stopped hurting her after I gave her a few M&M's.

It's not the most beautiful thing up close, but it got the job done!

Waiting to go on.

Once the girls were ready to perform, my Flip froze up on me during the beginning of the routine. I managed to get it going again just after L'il Sis and the other raindrops began their part of the dance, collectively I guess they are a raincloud. L'il Sis is mostly to the far left of the screen, the tallest of the brunette raindrops:



The first thing L'il Sis said as she came off the stage was, "Do we get to try again?" with a smile. When I told her no, she asked sadly, "We only get one try?" She refused to take her costume off and wore it to the basketball game Stretch was coaching. She also provided some off-court entertainment by dancing on the side-lines. I don't think the cheerleaders' coaches were too pleased when half their girls were distracted by the little ballerina.

seriously?!

It's 5:20 p.m.
I'm in the midst of making dinner for my family when my cell phone rings.
It's the rental car company calling to tell me that today is the last day that my insurance will be paying for the rental.
What?!
(I'd taken my car in for repairs last week.)
Apparently, the repairs had been completed last Friday.
Again, WHAT?!
No one had called to inform me of this little nugget.
I ask when the rental office closes.
6:00.
Of course.
I call the repair office, confirm that the car is indeed ready and ask what time they close.
6:00.
By now it is 5:30.
And, oh, by the way, I live about 30 minutes away.
(The only good part was that both offices were located at the same dealership location.)
Fortunately, Stretch was home.
I told him how to finish dinner as I launched myself out of the garage.
Somehow, I made it to the repair shop in record time, with time to spare! Let's just say that I put those Korean driving skills to good use. Ahem.

I think I need a bubble bath ...or wine... or both...

yakka-wanna

Not only do girls want to have fun, this one has no shortage of confidence! When I showed her the video, her first words were,
"I have a cute voice!"

Hmm... I just noticed she's wearing the same outfit as the previous post. I swear it is a different day and it has been laundered! ;D

Punky Brewster

L'il Sis dressed herself today, as she does most days. The headband is supposed to make her hair look "fancy." I wondered a bit about some color choices but decided she was channeling Punky Brewster. So this is how she looked as we headed out the door to preschool this morning.

Just the fact that she would willingly choose to put on tights suggests she might not be my child after all. As a child, my sister was known to ask for tights and change her clothes several times a day (something else that L'il Sis does). Somehow I ended up with my sister's child.

At least I didn't see any scissors...

Suddenly, I realized, "Hmm, it's very quiet around here. A little TOO quiet..." Then I see doors closed, including the one to the girls' bathroom with light coming from in there. "What are you doing?" I ask as make my way to the door to open it. I hear my 8 year old answer, "Spa!"

'What?!' I'm thinking as I open the door to see my 4 year old standing in front of the mirror, staring at herself very seriously while holding a handtowel around her shoulders. I think her sister was wielding a brush. I don't know for sure, because I exited quickly. They're together and there's no screaming or blood-letting. I think I'll just enjoy the quiet.

Warning: another poop story

Unlike The Mrs., whose little ones are still quite little, my girls are 8 and 4. I potty-trained the last one around 1-1/2 years ago. One would think my days of poop stories are over. One would be wrong.

Trying to get either of the girls to close the door while in the bathroom seems to be a losing battle. This becomes more of an issue when we have a guest or are at someone else's home. But that's not what this post is about. The other morning, Big Sis was having some, ahem, issues with evacuation. Meanwhile, L'il Sis was in the outer chamber of their bathroom (door between them open, of course) cheering her on with, "Push it out! Push it out! Yay, Big Sis!"

I guess I should be grateful there was some sisterly solidarity there.

Just wait until she's hormonal...

L'il Sis is still 4 years old. Her birthday is still a few months away.

Tonight, L'il Sis had her dance class which meant dinner was pushed back almost an hour past the usual time. She was tired and hungry. Not a good combination. Stretch was doing his best to get her to eat her dinner, but she was in the midst of a major melt-down, crying and screaming. At one point, he asked her how she was feeling and she yelled, "How do you THINK I'm feeling?!"

Yeah, I'm looking forward to those teen years. Like a poke in the eye.

don't go in the water....

Last month there were over a thousand sharks off our shores near where we currently live. Apparently, it's an annual event, with the sharks following migratory fish. (You can see aerial pics here.) Then, there are the gators. I saw 2 from the highway when I drove to Orlando to pick up a friend who came to stay a few weeks ago. Last weekend, we drove to another part of Florida and saw some small alligators in a pond in our relatives' neighborhood. I kept my eyes peeled the whole way home at the canals lining the roads and eventually saw several more on our way home. Stretch laughed at me, asking, "Made the whole hour you spent looking worth it?"

Okay, so this particular alligator wasn't in the wild. I took this while on a field trip with my daughter's pre-K class. But still...

I'm just saying: This is NOT the state to get over your fear of water.

bugger!

I was shopping in one of those huge warehouse stores earlier today when I felt a tug on my shoe. I thought I'd stepped in something sticky (and I might have). But as I kept walking something just didn't feel right. I'd managed to break my shoe. Of course, I was at the back of the store when it happened. It wasn't a huge deal. The strap that went behind my heel had broken. But it was still a bit uncomfortable to walk around like that. Especially when the strap kept getting under my foot as I hobbled to the front to pay. I think my jeans were long enough that no one else noticed.


So, of course, my next stop was to pick up a cute pair of sandals that I'd noticed the day before but had talked myself out of buying. 'Cause I needed replacement shoes, of course! It was a sign. I'm sure of it!

seeing how the other half lives...

I don't get many date nights, but I guess this kind of makes up for that. This is where Stretch and I were Saturday night:



Who else was there? John Walsh, Anne Archer, Kyle Petty, and ambassadors from 8 countries. The wife of the ambassador from Monaco was very taken with Stretch's mess dress uniform (You can see it in the picture in the top right corner of this page). She told us she's been in Washington (D.C.) for 2 years but had not seen that uniform before. Then she concluded, "I guess I'm not getting invited to the right parties!"