Holy smokes! It's a miracle!

Last night, L'il Sis not only stayed in her bed all night, but she managed to actually sleep all night. She did not wake up and then wake me up with screaming or crying or room invasion. I put her to bed last night ONE time. She stayed in her bed without getting up for her usual wander-around-for-a-bit routine. (She always has some reason for it: bathroom, water, needing a hug) There was no 3 a.m. wake-up call. When I woke up this morning, there was no pint-sized visitor laying next to me. She was still fast asleep in her own room! Yes!

I know she's had a rough year and a half between 2 moves and the deployment in between. But believe me, the no-sleep thing has been rough on me, too!

I woke up in a much better mood than usual this morning. And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the beginning of a trend and not just a fluke!

the gremlins are back

True to form, Stretch is gone so the gremlins have come to play. It's not a good thing to find your FREEZER dripping with water. It was everywhere...

So, now, instead of getting out of the house to do something fun with the girls, we're sitting in the house waiting for a repairman who will be here sometime between "now (it was 11 a.m. at the time) and 3" p.m. What a way to spend a beautiful Saturday.

Hmph.

Update: By 3 p.m., there was still no sign of a repairman. So I called the company our landlord has contracted for these issues. The snotty girl on the other end of the line said they'd called and left a message indicating that he was running late. Um, no, since I've been home ALL DAY and no one called and there were no messages on our voicemail. I asked what number they'd called. It was completely unfamiliar and probably either belonged to our landlord or the previous tenant. The other number they had was Stretch's cell phone (yes, the same Stretch who is in another state for the month). Then she offered to delete Stretch's number (which they also had not called) from their database. WHAT?! Oh, wait, of course, because it would be SO helpful to delete the ONE phone number with which you'd have any chance of reaching the actual occupants of the house.

Seriously, I can't stand idiots or people who waste my time. Oh, and the repairman finally showed around 4 p.m., spent about 5 minutes replacing a part and declared the fridge fixed.

more insurance, please?

Stretch and I have a running joke about insurance. When I feel like he's not taking good care of himself, I'll often tell him he needs to buy more insurance. It's a choice: take care of yourself so you'll live longer or get more insurance. (It should go without saying that I'd rather have him around than the money.)

Currently, Stretch is attending something where injury is a possibility. Hopefully, it isn't a probability. Every evening he calls and tells me about his aches and pains. He's using the heating pad and soaking in boiling hot baths. I think he should find a sports masseuse where he is, too.

(tongue firmly in cheek) Is it wrong that I'm also wondering if he has enough insurance?

On not cooking

The night before Stretch left, I made a "real" meal. We had steaks and I remarked that it would probably be the last time I cooked until next month. A few days later, he asked what we were having for dinner. By then, we'd had leftovers and pizza and I was considering takeout and pancakes as options. He laughed. He brought up what I'd said about not cooking while he's gone. Did he think I was kidding?

The problem with cooking is that the kids almost never appreciate it. Yes, there are occasional meals and certain dishes that they really enjoy. But I don't want to spend the time and effort to make a nice dinner, clean it all up, and have 2 kids not eat it or have to spend the entire meal saying, "Take a bite." It's just too frustrating. When Stretch was gone for the year, I cooked "real" dinners 2 or 3 times a week. But he's only gone a few weeks this time. So I'm making the executive decision to give myself a break. Over the weekend, I ordered Chinese takeout. Big Sis turned her nose up at it (except the rice, she took half the rice). But L'il Sis tried the egg drop soup and LOVED it. The next night she asked if we could have Chinese food again.

Besides, there are a lot of meals that don't require "real" cooking. Last night we had pancakes. Made from a mix. I don't consider this cooking. But L'il Sis was delighted. Tonight I threw some canned rolls into the oven and emptied a frozen meal in a bag into a skillet. Again, I don't consider this cooking. It's more heating. We'd had this particular meal once before while Stretch was still home. L'il Sis greeted the pasta dish with this: "Dee-licious! I can't stop eating it!" Considering the usual response that I get from her ("Yuck! I'm not eating THAT!"), it's not inspiring me to actually do much "real" cooking this month.

Missing Daddy?

Stretch left here Wednesday morning after dropping Big Sis off at school. Three days later, on Saturday morning, Big Sis asked, "Where is Daddy exactly?"

She understood he'd be gone all month and has been good about trying to explain that to L'il Sis who just doesn't get it. L'il Sis keeps thinking he's coming home or asking if we're going to go pick him up. But still, I wonder about Big Sis' lack of curiosity for 3 days. Of course, this is the same child who once told Stretch when he'd asked her if she missed him shortly after leaving on a trip, "Not really. It's only been a day. That's not long enough to miss you yet." Ouch.

Flying Solo

I'm doing it again. Being a married single parent. The good part is that it's only until the end of the month this time. Much better than a year, let me tell you! 3 weeks should be a snap. Yeah, right.

Actually, so far so good. Despite 2 of us not feeling our best, the first couple of days have been decent. L'il Sis didn't stay in her own bed again last night, but then she almost never does, so it wasn't a huge surprise.

Big Sis had the day off from school today. So when she came downstairs and wanted to cuddle and watch TV after she was supposed to be in bed, I let her stay up a little later than usual. Besides, I have to get my cuddles with her when I can! She is much more reserved than her sister with affection so I take what I can get.

This morning, after dropping L'il Sis at preschool (and staying for their 1st chapel time), Big Sis and I went to Wal-Mart so she could start spending some of her birthday gift money. There's no denying she is Stretch's and my child: After picking out thank-you cards, she headed straight to the book section and picked out about $25 in books to spend her money on. She never even asked to go to the toy section (and, no, I didn't suggest it). After that, she wanted to go straight home to read her new books. Although I'm not sure why since she started reading them in the car!

Hmm, about 3 more weeks... Can a person completely forget how to cook in that time?

Big Sis

8 Years ago...

She always did have long legs like her daddy...

The birthday girl today...

Mission Impossible

I honestly thought it would be a simple and quick errand. After school, Friday we would head over to C Creamery and order Big Sis' ice cream birthday cake for Monday. (That's what she asked for this year.) They were supposed to open at 1 p.m. but there was a sign on the door apologizing for the inconvenience and stating they would be open tomorrow. Hmm, now what? Oh, wait, there's a BR across the street and they have ice cream cakes! L'il Sis falls asleep just as we pull into the parking lot. No problem, I'll just have to carry her. In we go and peruse their cake book. Jackpot! They have a Spirit cake (the Disney horse) and Big Sis wants a horse on her cake because she is turning 8 and is completely horse crazy. But wait! You have to order these cakes a WEEK in advance. Well, that won't work since we need it in 3 days. Hmm.

I keep a small phonebook in my car and start looking through it frantically after we're in the car again. A DQ! But where is it? I think I can find it and we go looking for it. We can order a cake and they can draw a horse on it. Big Sis doesn't look thrilled but says she wants it. We order it but as soon as we're out the door (not even in the parking lot yet) she admits she really wants the Spirit horse figurines on her cake. So we go back in and cancel the order.

Then we have a little discussion that maybe she'll have to settle for a regular cake and not an ice cream cake. She is fine with this as long as Spirit and his companion are on the cake. So we try P grocery store (#1). No horse cakes. We go another grocery chain. Again, no horse cakes. How is this possible? We live in horse country!

We give up for the day and decide to try again on Saturday. The monsoon moves in before dawn on Saturday. And stays all day. By 11 a.m. I've decided, there's nothing else for it but we're going to have to go out in it. The girls don their raincoats while I take the closest thing I have (a windbreaker that's not quite up to the task). Our first stop is Wally World. I think we've hit paydirt. There is a cake with horses on it. It's not exactly Spirit but pretty darn close. But we celebrate too soon. They are out of that cake topper. Of course they are!

So then I change my paradigm once more. Maybe I can find the cake topper at a party or craft store and mommy will just make the cake. It wouldn't be the first time. I'm even willing to try drawing a horse on a cake at this point but she's not happy with that option. So we go to a party store. Half the store is taken over by Halloween costumes and paraphernalia. No luck with Spirit or any horse related items, unless you want to count My Little Pony, which Big Sis didn't. So we tried the craft store. Again, no luck.

At this point, I need sustenance. So we stop for lunch. By the way, it has been raining steadily the whole time. Occasionally it slows, but never stops.

After lunch, we try the creamery that we started with yesterday because they are supposed to be open today. False advertising. They are still closed. They still promise to be open tomorrow. But another super discount store is nearby so we go there. By now, the rain really is at monsoon strength. It is pouring and there is no such thing as a close parking spot. I park and grab the kids and the umbrella and make our way inside. We slip and slide our way to the bakery section but find no joy. On the way out, there is certain ubiquitous coffee shop. I'm sorely tempted to get a latte or machiatto or something. But I can't figure out how to hold onto L'il Sis, my car keys, the umbrella and a hot beverage while battling the monsoon back out to the car. Oh, well, I didn't need the calories anyway. By the time, we make it back into the car, the back of my pants are soaked. It's oh-so-comfortable.

We are across the street from BR so I think, "Well, maybe I can simply buy the cake topper from them. Although probably not b/c I don't think the cakes are made on site, but whatever, I'm desperate so let's try." The almost-human teenage boy working the counter didn't think it was possible. At least, that's what I think his grunts meant. I was too irritated to think about asking for a manager at this point. We pile back into the car. Have I mentioned that I'm now sitting in wet denim?

We go to P grocery store (#2). Still no horses but Big Sis decides she can live without them (she hopes for better luck next year) and decides on another design. The good news? It will be an ice cream cake, after all.

The worst part about the whole ordeal was that Big Sis kept apologizing, saying it was her fault that she'd picked such a hard cake to find. I felt bad enough as it was without her feeling bad, too. I kept trying to tell her it wasn't her fault at all. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine for waiting to place an order. But I honestly didn't think it would be such an ordeal. From a simple errand to practically the quest for the holy grail! Who knew it would take 12 stops and 2 days to accomplish the mission of ordering a cake?

3rd grade math...

...has changed, people! The other day Big Sis' math homework started with 4 word problems. Okay, I had word problems in 3rd grade. (I think, after all, it's been a long time!) But these word problems seem to require algebra to solve. Or at least that's the only way I could solve them! Example: What two numbers have a sum of 39 and a difference of 11?

So, I did the only thing I could think to do. I sat there and tried to teach my not-quite-8-year-old some algebra, complete with x's and y's. She didn't much like having letters mixed up in her math. Can't say I blamed her. Where was her engineer-degreed father when we needed him?!

UPDATE: Thanks for the comments explaining the mysterious workings of 3rd grade math. How sad that I needed them! Of course, I wouldn't have needed them had the teacher bothered to send something home stating that's how those problem should be solved! But I digress. I still think it would make more sense to simply give them drill or practice sheets if they need to practice adding and subtracting (and believe me, they do!). Why go about it in such a round-about way? It seems inefficient and confusing to the kids (and parents!). If kids are struggling with math, this is not going to make them feel any better about the subject.

high praise

Cooking for my kids is so disheartening it might even give Rachel Ray pause. Seriously. Almost every dinner I make is greeted with "Yuck!" or "Eww!" or "I don't want to eat that!" It doesn't matter what it is or what it actually tastes like. Not to toot my own horn, but most of the time it is pretty good or, at least, edible.

This morning I made French toast for breakfast. I don't usually cook for breakfast so it should be considered a special treat. You'd think. Not so much. The oldest said she didn't want any. The youngest embraced them wholeheartedly. But she was hungry and fixated on the strawberries I promised her would go with them. I told Big Sis she couldn't have her "usual." (She puts frozen Chocolate Chip Eggo waffles into the toaster every morning before school, making her own breakfast.) Reluctantly, she sat down and inhaled her breakfast. But wouldn't admit to liking it. For some reason, she never remembers that this is a breakfast dish she actually likes. But L'il Sis sat next to her, eating and making appreciative noises. Then she turns to her big sister and says, "See. It's not so bad."

High praise, indeed.

Not exactly mother of the year

My friend Jody comes up with the best kid-parties. Her latest effort was a Jungle theme for her newly minted 5 year old. She managed to pull off another great party for her eldest shortly after moving into a new house in a new state. I have got to find a way to live in the same town as this woman, or at least within a couple of hours drive-time. Seriously. My poor kids have been short-changed this year. L'il Sis got a "family" party when she turned 4 in May and cupcakes taken to her preschool. Big Sis got a family outing for horseback riding last weekend (more on that later) and we'll celebrate as a family next week. And that's it. No parties. No themes. *sigh* Maybe I'll do better next year. Maybe I can talk Jody into coming down and party-planning for them...

Getaway

Thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, I was able to go on a business trip with Stretch last week. I had one day of "classes" or conference and then the rest of the time was mine to catch up with friends and family. Stretch spent almost his entire time there experiencing death by PowerPoint. When one particular day ran long, I received a text message, "Just shoot me now."

For the 3rd time, I participated in a Four Lenses temperament class. Not too surprisingly, my personality or temperament hadn't changed, it only became more entrenched in what it already was. There actually are benefits to doing this more than once. I take something different away each time, but I do wish the presenters would recognize that some of us have done this before, thereby enabling a broader use of the training. For those of you who have done this, I am a green (one of only 2 in a room of 27 women at this conference). We are a rare breed and like it that way!

One of the highlights of the week was getting to spend almost all day Sunday with my college roommate. She was sweet enough to drive the 2+ hours to where I was since I had no transportation. It was nice to just get to hang out again without children and without a schedule to keep. We lived together for 5 years so we'd done our fair share of just hanging out in our youth.

Then, my mother and stepfather drove in from out of state for a couple of days. We shopped and ate Korean food. We even introduced a buddy of Stretch's to Korean food. This was challenging because we found out minutes before leaving for dinner that he had a sesame allergy. Seriously? Do you have any idea how integral sesame oil and sesame seeds are to Korean cooking?! Somehow we managed to feed everyone and no one went into anaphylactic shock.

I also ran into a couple of other Marine wives and had a great opportunity to catch up. A few of us even managed to go exploring and have lunch my last day there. It was a restful trip for me. One I'd needed.

go vote

Get the Gouge is currently running a funniest military story essay contest. Voting starts today and ends Sept. 30. If you feel so inclined, head over there and vote. And I'm not just saying that because I have a story up for the contest. (Mine is the one that combines lactation and the Navy.)

Update: They seem to have had a glitch in the voting. If you've already voted, please go back and cast your vote again. If you haven't already voted, click on the link above, select your favorite essay from those listed on the right sidebar and click on "vote."

I'm back

I know postings have been sparse lately. I just got back from a trip with Stretch but the natives are getting restless downstairs so I'll have to fill you in later. For now... I'm glad I had the break but am also glad to be back!

Really. Don't call us.

Last night, I heard Stretch answer the phone downstairs and speaking in Korean. I assumed my mother was on the phone, but Stretch didn't call me and by the time I finished what I was doing and went downstairs, he was off the phone. Hmm.

Since moving here, we are constantly getting phone calls from telemarketers and pollsters (despite being on the national do not call list). Last night, the phone rang and Stretch looked at the caller ID and reasoned it was either a telemarketer or a pollster. So, he decided to have some fun with it. He answered the phone with, "Yo-bo-say-yo." (Korean telephone greeting) Then, he continued to speak to the person on the line in Korean, frustrating the poor man until he finally hung up.

catching up

Wow, it seems I have some catching up to do. Last week was L'il Sis first real week of preschool here. The week before she was only in the classroom for an hour and a half without me while I attended a parents' meeting. But last Tuesday she attended preschool and Lunch Bunch. So this picture is from her first real day.

Last weekend, we decided to take a trip to the Space Coast. We went

to Kennedy Space Center on Saturday. Although it was a bit warm, it was a great day for it.

There weren't too

many people there so there were no long lines for anything. It's

hard to see in the picture, but there was a space shuttle on one of the launch pads, prepared for a mission scheduled in a few weeks.

Stretch rounded off the weekend by giving me a belated anniversary gift: an Atta Girl! bracelet! I'm wearing it as I type. I'm not a huge jewelry person (I'm definitely accessory-challenged!) but I like the bracelet for a couple of reasons. It is unique. It tells a story. And I love the thought that went into it. It is more than a piece of jewelry. It has meaning behind it, reminding me that Stretch really does appreciate me and what I do.

UPDATE: Someone asked what an Atta Girl! is. So here is my attempt at an explanation. Our service members receive various awards during the course of their service. Often these awards take the form of ribbons that are worn on dress uniforms. Atta Girl! charms use crystals on Italian charms to approximate the look of ribbons and are meant to represent different achievements of family members of service members.

My Atta Girl! bracelet tells my particular story: I'm a military wife, specifically a Marine wife. My husband awarded me both a hazardous duty and a deployment Atta Girl! (both with one star) for surviving his 2 deployments to Iraq with small children, the second one being a year long. I also wear a PCS charm with 5 stars and an overseas duty charm.

Proud mama

Last night was curriculum night at Big Sis' new school. I'm still not impressed. And although it's not very big of me, I couldn't help feeling not just proud but a bit gleeful when Big Sis' teacher told me last night that she is his best student. Apparently she is always the first done with any work, the first ready with an answer in class. As a result, she is the one he usually sends on errands.

I wasn't entirely surprised because she has always gotten great reviews from teachers. I just want to know why can't she bring some of that home with her?!

Sept. 11

Last year, I posted about remembering where I was. NEE has a great post up today. It's short but to the point. It's also something along the lines of what I've been thinking today. After Pearl Harbor was bombed, our nation came together and fought a world war as a nation. After the 9/11 attacks, we came together for a short time. But that time seems to have been all too short. We are still at war, but I don't think we, as a nation, are fighting it.

Jan has a post on Standing By inviting comments on where you were 7 years ago today. And SpouseBuzz Radio will be airing a special show at 9 p.m. Eastern time.

Viva la difference!

We took the kids to a science museum today. In a corner between the hands-on displays and the hallway of brain teasers, there was tucked a little Egyptian display, complete with a child mummy. L'il Sis could not get enough of the mummy. Three or four times, she went back to "Egypt." Once she discovered this section of the museum, she would have stayed there the entire time if we'd let her. She also wouldn't stop talking about the mummy. As we were getting into the car to leave, she was talking about it. Big Sis responded with, "The mummy gave me the creeps!"

Just another moving perk...

Stretch complains about "breaking in" new barbers. But he gets a haircut every week. So if he gets a bad haircut one week, it will be different (if not better) the next week.


Today, I went to a hairdresser for the first time since moving here. Yes, I was well overdue but hesitant about finding a new place to go. And unlike Stretch, I only have my hair done every 6-8 weeks (ideally, in reality, well that's another story). I feel I have a lot less room for error than Stretch.


I went in for color and a trim today. The greys really needed covering but I don't want to take the plunge with a new haircut until I know a hairdresser better. Today's appointment went okay. The color turned out well. And I have no complaints about the trim. She barely took anything off and didn't charge me so that was a plus.



But can someone please tell me why every hairdresser I go to wants to make my hair flip out when they style it?! The woman today even went so far as to recommend a cut that would make flipping it even easier. But I don't want my hair to flip out like that weird pink and purple Doodlebop character. I have nothing against the style. Some women look quite nice wearing it. I just don't want it on MY head.