A Cup of Tea with Friends

Mommy Needs a Time Out!!

2012-01-29T08:59:00.002-05:00

Since we got here nearly 2 months ago, my parents have been great at helping me with Jamie. Babysitting, letting him run rampant on their ranch chasing their goats, dogs and cats entertaining him with Lego towers that reach the sky ... err, ceiling. But somedays, he wakes up and has an itch to push Mommy's buttons. Take this morning for instance ...

Sgt. Major wanted potty breaks 3 times last night, waking the baby with his barking all three times. It was not the silent slumber I'd hoped for. Then Jamie was up at 5:30 a.m. He climbed out of his crib and played with his toys until 6 a.m. while I grumbled in bed at the dog trying to take my small spot on our king-sized bed. I finally relented, and got up, changed Jamie's diaper and turned on his TV. When I came back with his milk cup he patted his lounge chair me to lay down with him. In my mind, that was great. Little did I know that he really wanted to bang his cup against my forhead like some nervous tick while he watch Octonauts! Finally, I sat up, prefering to let him put his feet on my lap while I texted with George. But he preferred to pinch me with his toes! (Seriously, where did he get that!?!)

I moved to the living room sofa to watch the news, because everyone knows Sundays are lazy days. Wrong!! Jamie comes toddling in a few minutes later and positioned himself on the center piece of the sofa behind my head with toys. Ok, he's gonna play I think. Wrong again!! He decided to put his alphabet laptop on my head and bang on it. I tried to get him to stop, but he's determined to bang out some great novel. I flip over on the sofa and he climbs over and lays sideways on me and comemnces to rolling back and forth from my neck to my knees! Really!?! This is how you want to start the day? Finally, I changed the channel to Disney, laid him on the pillow and tucked his quilt around him and retreated to the other side of the gates and the land of les"s comfortable" furniture.

{Sigh} Some days the boys drives me to drinking ... I'm talking the good stuff. Not the coffee with Splenda and Fat Free Half & Half, but full sugar and flavored creamer. Bring on the Hazelnut! I'm not addicted- I can quit any time ... which on my calendar will be the day after his college graduation!!

So as long as I sit here in my slightly awkward angled office chair (thank you movers for that!), and drink my full fat, extra-flavored coffee his is content to lay quielty on the sofa, but as soon as I cross that gate its like crossing a picket line at a political protest!! Crazy starts to happen. It's a different look on "abuse of power".

Word of advice, today is probably not the day to ask me about more children, because even the dog is on the outs today!!

Helping a Sister in Need

2012-01-22T10:53:00.001-05:00

Hey, friends at Fort Hood--I have an Army sister and fellow blogger whose husband recently retired from the Army with 5 deployments under his belt. A few days ago he was in critical but stable condition after a motorcycle accident. His wife is balancing his care, their 3 children and her work. Another sister Army wife & blogger is trying to arrange meals for them. If anyone can help with meals, let me know and I'll send you the link for the scheduling website. Thank you! :)

I Think I Have a Problem ...

2012-01-20T09:24:00.001-05:00

Now looking at this picture, you may immediately identify that I have a stitching problem, but you're wrong. I'm not addicted to stitching kitchen towels (and now recently potholders), I can stop at any time ... I think. My problem is that I am having trouble getting the towels and potholders!

Ok, it's not so much that I can't find them, it's that the JoAnn's Fabrics near us has closed and now I have to drive to Pasadena or Pearland for the closest Michael's or Hobby Lobby and with Jamie, that is easier said than done. Luckily, about once a week we go to my mom's house where he plays with the ranch animals and I get a chance to run to the stores near mom (Yeah!).

Recently, Mindy and I went to Hobby Lobby for a baby shower she is hosting and I found this little stitchable Monkey. I'm so excited to stitch it for Jamie's birthday in 2 weeks! Don't worry, I'll post a picture or two when I'm done!!

Hello Daddy!!

2012-01-13T12:02:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was a rough day with Sgt. Major being hurt, but it started off pretty great. Almost as soon as we woke up we got a Skype call from Daddy on the big screen TV. Jamie was very excited. It took some time to get him to stay in the area where George could see him because kept trying to go up close and wave or run to where a toy was out of range to show George. It was really cute to see and it was great to see George. He was tired, which could be expected after more than 16 hours of flying plus plane changes, time changes, and coordinating travel to the base in Korea.

We talked to George again yesterday afternoon (and luckily had some good news about Sgt. Major, not just the scary stuff) and then again this morning for a very brief time. We will have to work on it because when George gets off Jamie cries and spends the next few hours pushing buttons on the TV and cable box or just generally getting made because he can't find the "channel with Daddy".

Here are a few pictures from that first time. Jamie was so funny- he kept waving to George and showing him toys and stuff!!

I'll post more stuff later. Until our next cup of tea,

Off to a Bad Start ...

2012-01-12T18:15:00.001-05:00

So Day 2 of the deployment started off with a bit of a scare. Sgt. Major was a bit sluggish when he finally got out of bed today, onlt going so far as to leave our bedroom. No amount of coaxing could get him to eat or go outside for the bathroom. I thought it was just hid depression that comes whenever George leaves, so Jamie and I went to run errands.

When we got back home, I put Jamie in his playroom and Sgt. Major was sitting on his bed at an awkward angle, but I thought it was more that he got "caught" chewing on his foot or scratching his ears so I went and put groceries up. Realizing he still hadn't gone out as I finished putting away groceries, I tried to coax him out and realized he'd lost all control/movement in his back legs. His whole hind end was dragging on the ground. Of course I panicked, called my parents to watch Jamie and started searching for vets ... another item on the ever growing to-do list that hadn't gotten done. Thanks to friends, I had a few reccommendations and called until I found who would see him.

I spent about 30 minutes massaging his back and legs and about 10 minutes before my parents arrived he started to stand and then take haltered steps. When they got here, I loaded him up and we headed to the vet.

Long story short, they did a bunch of blood work, x-rays and had to sedate him for that and other exams and they think that he had some inflamation and swelling, essentially the early signs of arthritis, and from his x-rays they want to watch him for Spondylosis, a digenerative spinal disorder that can cause loss of normal spinal structure. Basically, his spine and hips may grow to be fused together causing pain and joint issues.

The poor guy is so miserable he spent to next 2 hours growling at me whenever I got near him. Of course, if I'd gone more than 12 hours without food or bathroom breaks, I'd be one heck of a grump too!

We're home now, with meds that will hopefully help. He still has periods where he can't walk or stand, but hopefully we'll see some progrss with the meds. I'll keep you updated on our grumpy guy ...

Ready for some Football ... Maybe ...

2012-01-07T18:19:00.001-05:00

With LSU, Sam Houston State and the Texans playing this weekend, you'd think we'd be glued to a game or two, but Handy Manny seems to have taken priority!

Ta-Da!!

2012-01-07T18:17:00.001-05:00

Jamie just grabbed the baby gate as I closed it behind me, threw it open & yelled, "Ta-Da!!" silly boy!!

Santa Baby

2011-12-05T06:52:00.001-05:00

Yesterday we had the Special Operations Command Christmas Party, and Jamie saw Santa for the first time this year. He was fine until I tried to set him down ... He was willing to give him a high-five and laugh at the ol' guy!

Thanksgiving Adventures!!

2011-11-24T23:30:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving marked 15 days until we move and so we decided not to get too extravagant, I think we both just wanted a day to relax and concentrate solely on out two boys!

My morning started with watch cartoons with Daddy, Jamie and Sgt. Major, then we all got out of our jammies and headed to Cracker Barrel. Jamie learned he doesn't like stuffing, cranberry sauce or turkey, but he ate a little bit of sweet potato casserole and had LOTS of biscuits and pumpkin pie!! He was so full, he fell asleep on the way home!

After he nap, we all played with the Legos for a while, the went to the park an played for almost 2 hours!! When we got home, we played with Legos and cars again, then Jamie laid down with the pup while we watched a movie. Them dinner and bedtime. Boy was he tired. Here are some pictures from our day ...

Choo-Choo!!

2011-11-22T13:37:00.001-05:00

Hi! There has been lots going on as we prepare to move in 3 weeks, so I haven't posted much.

Yesterday, I came into the living room to find Jamie trying to ride on his toy train and couldn't stop laughing! That boy is hilarious!!!

Sleepy Monkey!!

2011-11-12T11:30:00.001-05:00

Today Jamie got up with Daddy while Mommy and puppy slept in. After a very "Mickey" breakfast, he went with Mommy to the gym where he played with all sorts of toys. Once we came home he played on the new carpet for his cars, then crawled o the sofa with his milk cup, pulled Grammie's afghan over himself and fell asleep!! What a morning!!!

A Life of Literal Translations

2011-11-09T16:51:00.000-05:00

Earlier, I told Jamie not to touch the lamp on the side table next to the recliner. This is what he interpreted it to mean! He stood there almost 5 minute.

Lost in Translation!!

2011-11-08T11:08:00.001-05:00

It's official! Jamie's opinionated choices have are now far exceeding his verbal skills ... And he acts like I'm the big problem!

He got up from his nap at about 1 p.m and so I heated up some mashed potatoes George made last night. Apparently, that was not what Jamie had in mind. After 20 minutes and a series of pointing, crying, dancing and "more" sign language I learned that for lunch he wanted applesauce in a kids drink cup we got from Santa Fe Steakhouse ... I almost lost my mind!!

Anyone else dealt with a non-verbal toddler? Got advice??? I think I need Phineus & Ferb's universal translator! I think for the afternoon I will leave him in his "fortress of solitude" and clean the kitchen!!

And The Next Chapter Begins ...

2011-11-07T07:23:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I posted. Things here have been crazy. We move in a little over 30 days- it's good and bad.

The Army informed us (officially) about 3 weeks ago that we will be going home to Houston ... By "we" I mean me and Jamie. George will be leaving for an unaccompanied tour to Korea.

So while we are happy that Jamie will be able to spend time with our families and I can (hopefully) go back to work, our little family will be separated for a year. {sigh} I guess we'll just roll with the waves, or the ocean will swallow us up.

There is lots to do on top of moving ... With an aging dog and active toddler ... During the holiday season ... Cross country ...

We had hoped to rent and RV, ship one car & my parents would drive the other, but apparently renting an RV one-way is acceptable in any combination except Florida to Texas! It's like we're making a journey no one had done before! So now we are driving ... With an aging dog and active toddler ... From the further point south in Florida to Texas ... Well, you get the idea.

Can anyone else see the sanity in this!?! We're looking at other options which I hope work out, but I'm not holding my breathe!

The next 4 weeks will be a whirlwind of activity and I already feel like I'm running behind. I guess you can check back on January 15 and see if I survived ... Or periodically before then to watch the madness unfold!

Until our next cup of tea,

The Accidental Chef: White Beans and Ham

2011-10-26T15:27:00.000-04:00

Well, we have officially gotten our assignment for our next duty station and while that will be another post, it has in a way led to the creation of this one ... Not so much the "clumsy cook" part, but the white beans and ham ... let me explain.

Just as many military spouses do starting anywhere from weeks before a move to a panicky few days before, you start to reevaluate your pantry and fridge for foods that are best used before the move in order to prevent as much waste as possible. Last weekend, I went through the fridge and freezer to clean out anything that was bad and make a note of what we needed to eat before the move. That I came across what can only be described as "manna from heaven". Last Christmas my mom and stepfather ame to visit for Jamie's first Christmas and I made a huge meal ... including but not limited to stuffing, green bean casserole, cheesey rice and broccoli casserole, turkey and Bourbon-Glazed Ham.

Well, we had lots of the ham left over so I chopped it into cubes and threw them and the ham hock into the freezer until I can up with a brilliant plan for them ... ok, from the start I knew I was going to use it for white beans and rice!

Well, now that we are 45 days away from moving, I finaly got around to it. I got white beans, searched for recipes for cooking it, wash, sorted and soaked my beans ... then the day I was going to make it, both Jamie and I woke up sick. He was super clingy, and I could barely eat breakfast with him hanging on me. I still hadn't found a recipe I liked, so I said a quick prayer, imagine everything I could about my grandmother's white beans and rice then threw ...

2 c. white beans (after soaking for 12 hours in water),
4 c. water,
2 medium onions, chopped,
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic,
salt, pepper and parsley
(defrosted) chopped ham and ham hock,

... all into a crock pot, set it for 10 hours and waited ... hoping we'd have something edible for dinner.

Surprise! It turned out amazing!! I was kind of shocked, I really thought I'd have to make some adjustments. When hubby came home I made some rice and it was ready to go. Who knew! Once again, I accidentally made a good meal!!

Why Are You Smelling Daddy's Shoe?

2011-10-26T15:10:00.001-04:00

Really, this was not a question I ever thought I'd ask my toddler!

You Can't Learn "Cool", You Either Are or You Aren't!!

2011-10-24T19:55:00.000-04:00

This picture is for Uncle Gordon ... This is Jamie in his "cool dude" pose (and shirt)!! What a cutie!!

On another note, we've finally convinced Sgt. Major to do his share of the chores around here ... he prefers cleaning up after meals!

Life around here is one big adventure! More posts to come chronicling our week of "sick with the ick!" and our visit to the pumpkin patch!

Psst ... It's me, Monkey!!

2011-10-19T19:54:00.001-04:00

Hello! It's me, Jamie and I have snuck in and taken over Mommy's computer!

I found this post that was never published. The photo was taken April 20, 2011. I absolutely LOVE it!! I can't believe how much he has grown since then!

Saving Solutions for Budget Conscious Families

2011-10-18T21:08:00.000-04:00

Raise your hand if you have no interest saving money?

Raise your hand if you have too much money to deal with so you look for chances to get rid of it?

Raise your hand if you think paying full price for stuff is the price you pay for a busy lifestyle and so you willing accept the trade-off?

How many of you are sitting on your hands right now!?!

Well, I agree. Since I started living on my own, I have looked for ways to save a penny or two here and there in hopes of making my meager paychecks stretch, especially during those college years. From coupons, to sales, to clearance items, seemed like the the solution but I had no way of knowing where to look or who to turn to for advice. I mean, sure as the 4th of 12 children my dad and stepmother had to find ways to pinch the budget and make it stretch- his solution was to grow our own foods, hers was to feed us expired foods -- I guess the combination worked for them and as far as I know we all survived ... but that wasn't the road I was willing to take, just yet.

I willingly stumbled through my journey, getting tips from friends and such, but then a few months ago I stumbled on to Budget Saving Mom, quite litterally by accident. I love all things free and was searching to add links to my ever growing list of cross stitch retailers and designers who had free patterns. Sure I have more patterns that I'll ever use, but it made me feel like I could still have something fun for "me" even though as a mom, my priorities were changing to put the baby first. Long story short, I mistyped "budget saving crafts" for some project I was attempting, dropping the word "crafts" and there she was ...

I meandered through her blog and links and found heaven ... I mean there weren't any angels singing or celestial music, but maybe I'll see if she can add that- you know, if the budget allows!!

Next thing I linked to her Facebook Page and there she was, every day giving me tips, pointing me towards sales and coupons, showing me where the freebies were located. I had found the fountain of information that I was seeking ... who needs the Fountain of Youth, if you look, she may have a coupon to get you a free sample!

Lately, she's been telling readers about the book she's working on and I am really excited to see the finished product -- even before she asked if a comment I left on a conversational question on her Facebook page could be used as a quote.

So if you're not Donald Trump, Bill Gates or some other vastly rich person, I invite you to check out her page. I mean, what the worse that happens, you save a little money. I'm sure even Jennifer Lopez is a coupon clipper ... or at least her nanny ... twins can't be cheap. So count yourself among the "informed", you've got the scoop, now go save yourself some money and in the process you might just get a little more than you bargined for, I know I did.

Now, I'm off to read my free Family Circle magazine- courtesy of Budget Saving Mom.

Here's how to find her:
Budget Saving Mom, LLC
http://budgetsavingmom.com
Twitter: @BudgetSavingMom
Facebook: BudgetSavingMom

Until our next cup of tea ...

Pretty Pink Princesses ... and a White Rabbit!

2011-10-17T14:17:00.000-04:00

So its no secret that George treats me like a princess, just like it's no secret that I have this crazy obsession with collecting teacups and teapots. Well when we went to Disney World on Saturday for a quick trip to see the mouse and to get some Halloween decorations we saw on our last trip, those two worlds collided ... well, "collided again" anyway.

Earlier in the year, maybe April or May, we went to Disney World and George surprised me by getting me a beautifully painted Alice in Wonderland teapot. Its was so beautiful and I told him I wanted to save money and get the matching cups ... but there were two kinds, the classic teacup and saucer and the more modern "mug" style I guess you would call it. Well, I'd been putting off making the decision as they were both really beautiful, but as we didn't know if this would be our last trip with the pending move, so I went ahead and got two of the classic cup and saucer sets. I think they are absolutely beautiful as a set and can't wait to display them when we get to our next house.

I love it! As we were leaving the park, George asked if he could run into a store to see if they had a Mickey Mouse movie or something for Jamie, since we hadn't found any of the Halloween stuff for him we wanted. He came out a little bit later and said they weren't any movies for Jamie, but that he got me a surprise. He got me this adorable teapress pot that was Also Alice in Wonderlanded themed with more tea. (The square tea tin I had gotten when I picked up the teacups sets.)

Isn't it adorable!?! I wasn't in the car 5 minutes when I took a photo and sent Jamie's godmother and my BF a picture to tell her to set aside some time for tea parties! O.k. we probably won't sit around at a white plasic table with big floppy hats and dolls in chairs, but we're definitely going to unwind with some tea over the holidays..

To round out my Disney tea collection, here is a photo of the first set George bought me last Thanksgiving when we went to Disney for the holiday.

Can you see all the Disney Princesses on the saucer and the cup? It goes around the teapot as well.

I can't believe how many beautiful teacups and pots I've collected over the years. Now, my goal is to "save my pennies" and find a cabinet to match Dad (Lindsey)'s dining set so I can display them, as well as get a few cast iron teacup stands and stuff for displaying around the kitchen. I am so excited to work on getting to have my entire collection on display rather than rotate them on what space we have now.

Well, off to do some chores before Jamie wakes from his nap ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Operation Organization: Closet Case

2011-10-17T13:28:00.002-04:00

So anyone who knows me, knows that I am a control freak, but more so and organizational addict! Is it wrong that my favorite stores are the Container Store and Staples! I love anything that helps me get organized and makes life easier. Maybe its because I was raised in the black hole of chaos with 11 other siblings. I like things neat, in order and tucked away if at all possible. Clean countertops are heavenly and I collect containers like Carrie Bradshaw collected shoes! (Shout out to my Sex in the City junkies!)

Well, when we were organizing th Jamie's stuff before he was born, we knew we wouldn't have a dresser for him by the time he arrived. Most of the big stuff was left to us to get and of course you go with necessities first. Closets are easiest for me to keep organized, especially those with nice long shelves for baskets and containers. When we started buying his diapers and wipes in bulk, it was easy to store them away and grab and go as needed. For those deep closets (depending on the housing options when the Army moves us), I usually put the command hooks on the back wall to easily tuck away bags, hats, etc. This is a picture of the baby's closet ...

The accidental discovery was made one day when I was just too darn tired to go and put his blankets in the hall closet. I decided to just fold and hang then over clothes hangers and deal with them later. At the time my window of opportunity for working in his room was limited since he was an infant sleeping every few hours. As you can see, the boy has got a lot of blankets for living at the southern most tip of Florida where it gets cold may 10 days a year!

He has a homemade quilt from a great grandma, and a crocheted one from the other great grandma. Then there is the twin sized afghan (yes, twin sized) my mom made, the homemade ortiental quilt from our former commander's wife, another afghan made by the mother-in-law of a military spouse I was close friends with during the second deployment. That's not even counting the quilts I've made him, the one that came with his bedding, the ones we got at the baby shower, or the homemade ones we got at the hospital from a local organization. Yep, tht's a lot ... and again, we live at exit 1 in Florida ... can't go any further south without hitting water!!

Now, I'm not complaining, since we are moving to a "colder" location in a few months, they'll come to some great use.

Another tip for those organizing ... it is best to occupy the kiddos ... or they may off their "help." As you can see, I just boxed my little "helper" up!

Now our next big project will be the move, which is a few weeks away. Assuming I can maintain my sanity, I'll post some organizational notes about that as well!

So until our next cup of tea ...

The "Write" Stuff!!

2011-10-16T20:44:00.000-04:00

For the record, I miss my job s a journalist ... I love writing, telling stories, being the source of information. I even wrote all the time on here until we were stationed in Miami and I was cut off from "real" military life.

Think about it -- I was like Forrest Gump-- in the right place at the right time for some really crazy stuff. (Show of hands if you were stationed on a base where a tiger got loose, had lunch with Aaron Tippin, or in Louisiana during Hurricanes Katrina & Rita.)

I've had weird encounters, strange experiences & random moments that all up to one conclusion- I am a walking magnet for rndomness and holder of all the front row tickets. It's like solid gold for a writer & I loved sharing my stories.

Take yesterday for instance, hubby and I decide to do a day trip to Disney World with Monkey. While I am waiting at the transportation center with the baby in the stroller while hubby runs back to get the forgotten camera, a lady positions herself in front of Mickey Mouse statue and raises her shirt to her neck while her male friend/partner in crime snaps a picture! Who does that? I don't know, but you can place a bet I'll be a witness to it somehow. Heck, lay down some Vegas-style bets & I'll split the winning with you.

As much as I loved it, I don't think I could really go back to doing it for a while because it can be a really unstable schedule. With George's job requiring him to be gone for periods of time, I'm realize that the main care of the baby is up to me. With that in mind though, I would love to continue writing, maybe for a magazine or something. I think my dream job is, and has always been to be a book editor. Think bout it, you get to read all the books first! It's like getting private showing of movies ... AWESOME!! But then agin, I've always been a book junkie. The only thing better would be to write a book. I've mde so many notes of books that I'd like to write but I just don't have the confidence. I don't even have the confidence to tell my husband so that I could work in time to write into our daily/weekly schedules. {Sigh} Maybe one day ...

Another fun job would be to work public relations for a museum ... any museum really, but something in the science or history areas would be amazing! I really wanted to work at the Signal Museum when we were sationed at Fort Gordon, but we were only there a few months, so instead I just visited almost weekly.

What would your dream job be? Did you do it? Are you still planning to reach that goal?

So until our next cup of tea ...

Wedding March ...

2011-10-13T10:17:00.001-04:00

Ok, I'm going to skip around a bit on the posts from our road trip adventure from John and Stepha's wedding. I I really want you to see the pictures of Jamie in his tux!

We got to the wedding site about 6:15 pm to get Jamie dressed and hopefully take photos with Stephanie and maybe John, but other than talking to Stephanie briefly, we didn't have much of an idea of what to expect. Of course the one thing I forgot was the camera, so I had to use my phone. We got there and got him dressed, which was of course was adorable!!

The photographer was hard to track down before the wedding and we were only able to get a few photos of him and Stephanie ... who looked absolutely beautiful!!

Here is what we were able to get. He was a little upset so the pictures were fast. They kept trying to take his truck away {gasp} and Stepha was trying to get him to tuck it behind her, while George was worried everyone was scring the baby! I thinking the poor little guys was on sensory overload, he recognized Stephanie but was scared by all the other people trying to get his attention and pick him up and making a big deal about his tux. Everyone kept telling him, "Watch her dress, watch her dress!" He had no clue what was going on. (He's almost bigger than Stepha, huh!?!)

I wish that we could have gotten a better picture but the photogrpaher really didn't give much direction nd we didn't get picture with John at all! I guess it means that they'll just have to come visit when we get settled in at our next duty station- although it probably won't be as fun as Miami!

As we waited in line for the wedding party to walk, he started to meltdown. We were almost 2 hours past his bed time and were having one of those moments where we wished he didn't have such a rigid schedule. Poor Stephanie kept asking if he was ok and apoligizing that he was so cranky. When it came time for him to walk, we set him down (George had been holding him), held our breathe and watched as he walked down the aisle following the other two kids, while little Maggie veered right and kept on walking. I ran after Magiie and looked up just in time to see Jamie get to the end of the aisle and walked to George who had run to the front to intercept him when he got there. It was perfect! Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone with a photo of it!

Afterwards, we took him upstairs and changed him back into his regular clothes. That tux was a size too big and he was fighting it so much. The wedding itself was beautiful and so was the reception. I thought for sure we'd be going home after we changed him, but as soon as we did his mood changed and we were able to stay at the reception for about 30-45 minutes. Many of the family members got to spend some time with him before his belly fully of grapes and cheese told him it was bedtime! (Thanks Grampy for not giving him sugar!) All in all it was a great visit. The next morning we loaded up and headed back home ... and that 15-hour drive was not as fun!

So until our next cup of tea ...

Playing the Waiting Game ... and Losing

2011-10-11T20:46:00.001-04:00

As with everything in the Army you are expected to be on time, if not early, but they can take their sweet molassas time about things. You learn to live with it, but I don't think anyone ever gets used to it.

We've know for months that we would be leaving here in December ... heck, we knew when we got here in December 2009. His command position is a maximum of 24 months. Just because we've been preparing for it doesn't mean the "almight Army powers that be" were too concerned. George started calling his branch manager (lower level powers that be) in July. They said that they'd know by mid-August; August rolls around and they said check back in Septemeber. Meanwhile, he's asking me what I want to do, where I'd want to go.

Well since there are like 700+ US Military bases and we are currently stationed at and Air Force Reserve Base, that kind of gives me way too many options to even wrap my head around. Not that they ask my opinion anyway, but like a true man, he would throw out probable options and want to "brainstorm" about it --- talk about information overload! He'd put in requests for a program or school or some other specific location and then want me to look at schools, housing areas, etc. before even getting an answer. I'm sorry to say, I got good at just agreeing while he talked and processing limited information.

In August, they told us Sept. 15th was the magica dte. It came and they sent him a list of places that needed captains, we looked at the options, started making notes (since I could process this small amount of info) and waited for someone to tell us what the next step was. Well, the next step was to tell hubby, he would more than likely be promoted before a full assignment was done (most assignments run 24-36 months) and since his year group (commision year) was to be coming in two years and he'd be on the list for possible early promotion this coming year, his options were none of what they sent us. (Confused yet? Officers are looked at for promotions according to a timeline and then based on performance can be promoted a year or sometimes two early.)

Well, the list for him was different, so what seemed like a million phone calls later, he got a list of 16 positions that were open to "majors". We sat down with that list, go super excited because there was one in Houston (our hometown) and prioritized the list and ent it in then wited on pins and needles. Then we are told that some of the positions, including the Houston one was specific to "senior majors" or those who'd been to ILE (majors' school to define it simply) or who'd had some years as a major. Well, poop!!

Well, we just sent the darn list as is and let them sort it out since the order of perference would still be the same. Then they said that we'd have an answer of where we were going Oct. 1 ... a Saturday. So hubby thought maybe they'd know Friday and tell us, but that the official paperwork would not be issued until that Monday. Ha! It's like we were smoking "the good stuff"!

We finally got and answer late Thursday (Oct. 6) just before a 4-day weekend, meaning we wouldn't have any paperwork until Tuesday (today) at the earliest ... well, we must have had an abundance of "the good stuff" because still not word today. So we wait ... I guess it cold always be worse (and we've seen worse, like changing assignments the week before you pack your house!) We know the general time the ceremony will be for the change of command, so based off of that we can start prepping some things.

Luckily, we don't have to transfer Jamie's school or try to transfer my job (that's a whole other rant!) I can start getting the list of things to take with us for travel versus what the movers take, I can start making a to-do list (pick up doctor records, vet records, stop magazine subscriptions, hold the mail, etc.)

I guess all-in-all we still have some time, though 60-ish or so days will fly by in no time. Hopefully, we'll have some news soon and I'll let you know the good/bad/ugly of that adventure.

So until our next cup of tea (which for me will be some sort of calming chamomile) ...

Playing in the Park

2011-10-11T16:25:00.000-04:00

I know I am horrible about posting things in a timely manner, but life gets ahold of you sometimes and time flies by ... fast!

Well it has been a little over week since Stephanie and John got married so technically I am not that late. Anyway, while we were in Hammond and surrounding areas we got to spend a lot of "play time" with Jamie, especially George from everywhere to hotel adventures to playing in Grandma's gardens (pictures of both to follow.) One thing we did was take Jamie to the park.

On Friday (Sept. 30) we went to Cate Square Park in downtown Hammond where we used to go as kids. It has definitely changed in the years I've been gone, but the level of fun was just the same. Here are some photos from that trip ...

He really enjoyed being able to run around the gated area ...

The he played on the jungle gym a lot ... climbing like an experienced Monkey!

In fac, he climbed on anything that was nailed down!

Daddy also chased him around the field and pavillion too ... and caught up to him a time or two before Jamie escaped again.

These are my favorites from the day though ...

All in all, it was a fun day- how can you complain with icecream anda day in tthe park!?!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Special Salute

2011-10-07T16:08:00.000-04:00

Hello fellow bloggers! I know it's been a few days since I last posted, and I actully am working on getting up some posts from our recent road trip. In the meantime, I didn't want to forget to share a project I've been working on the past few weeks!

A few weeks ago I posted a tribute to my grandmother's battle with breast cancer ... while inspired, it also gave me another idea. So with permission from the designer and a little color change I completed a Triple Tribute to my military husband and two grandfathers who also served in the military. This is actually the first post I think that will be cross-posted on all 3 of my blogs!

designed by:Artecy Cross Stitch
Pattern found at: Artecy' Cross Stitch Free Patterns

Stitched:
September/October 2011

Material:
(Ribbon towel) Charles Craft cotton ShowCase Towels with a
rectangular 14-count Aida panel
(Army towel) Charles Craft cotton HomeDecor Towels with a
14-count Aida panel insert
(bookmarker) Charles Craft cotton 18-count bookmark with lace-trimmed

Floss:
DMC 743 (yellow); DMC 742 (gold)

Road Trip!

2011-09-30T21:32:00.001-04:00

We started our first big road trip with Jamie since he was an infant on Wednesday. My niece is getting married this weekend and he is one of the ring bearers. We woke up bright and early, packed the truck and waited for Jamie to wake up so we could hit the road. We wanted to leave by 6:30 a.m. since it was a 14 hour trip and Jamie had been waking between 5:30-6 a.m. allweek so since we didn't want a cranky baby we'd just wait for him to wake, then change and go! It sounded like a good plan but that morning he didn't wake until 7:30 a.m.! We didn't leave the house until 8:01 a.m. which meant we hit morning rush hour traffic!

Luckily, the hour ot took us to go 25 miles, was the most difficult part of the journey.

Jamie was surprisingly good the whole trip. I had bought some new cars and other toys and brought them out slowly through out the trip. That with the help of A LOT of Mickey Mouse helped to keep him occupied. There were some touchy moments during nap time or when he got tired of sitting, but a strategically placed Happy Meal, stops to run around at rest areas and gas stations helped keep him occupied. Here are a few pictures from our trip ...

Mickey is ready to hit the road!!

All settled in!

Sunglasses: $2.99 ...
Snack cup with Goldfish: $4.99 ...
Monster Truck: :$1 ...
Raod Trip with Mommy & Daddy: Priceless!!

My turn to drive!
(I don't know why this one keeps loading upside down!)

Ran too far at rest stop and didn't have energy to walk back ...

Waving bye-bye ... time to get back on the raod!

Not even 5 minutes down the road!
(I'll try to figure out the upside down photos and fix tem. Its only on my iPhone pictures but on the computer they are right side up ... I don't know!)

Nap is over time to read!

We had planned to make the trip all in one day, but it took us 12 hours to get from one end of Florida to the other (really, on the road at 8:01 a.m and crossed state line at 7:57 p.m. EST)! When we got to Mobile, AL we hit a storm and though it wasn't unbearable we were )oddly) stuck in a cluster of 18-wheelers that were having issues with the weather. One in particular kept veering from one side of the other and it appears he was struggling not to hit (though he came close) to other big rigs. Finally, we got to an exit and he got off, only then did we notice that he was towing a trailer with livestock (because we'd been following and I was too scared to pass him). I've been in regular trucks with moving livestock and I know that is hard, so to have a big rig in the rain must have been super stressful.It was about then we decided to just find a hotel and stay the night and drive the last 2 hours in the morning.I'll post more pictures and stories of our adventures over the next few days!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Conversations with a Toddler ...

2011-09-26T17:11:00.002-04:00

So today, I've been packing for our road trip, had a friend come over for a lesson in sewing, took Jamie to get a haircut, and other multi-tasking duties of a mom. When we got home from the haircut I sat Jamie down with some Handy Manny, gave him some veggie sticks and headed to the bathroom before starting on some more laundry and packing. As soon I got in the bathroom this is what happens ...

(knock, knock)Jamie: Mama!?!

Me: Yes, Monkey?

Jamie: Hi!

Me: Hi!

Jamie: Mama!?!

Me: Yes, Monkey?

Jamie: Hi!

Me: Hi!

Jamie: Mama!?!

Me: Yes, Monkey?

Jamie: Hi!

Me: Baby, can you give Mommy a minute, then we can talk?

(A minute of silence)

Jamie: Uh-oh!

Me: Are you o.k. Monkey?

Jamie: uh-oh!

Me: Hold on, Mommy's coming.

I walk out the bathroom and Jamie is laying on the floor with his feet in the air and back on the ground like some sort of cartoon character who slipped on a banana peel.

Me (leaning over him): Are you o.k.? Did you fall?

Jamie: Hi! (Then he rolls over and goes to the livingroom to watch Handy Manny.)

All in a day in the live with a toddler!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

I'm Done ... 3 Months and I Can Walk Away

2011-09-22T21:13:00.000-04:00

So I know that I haven't been posting much about military life on here like I had at our previous duty stations. One reason for that is my parents taught me, if you can't say something nice- don't say anything at all!

Now it's not like we hate it here - ok, I kinda do - but mainly because it is so unlike other bases.

We've always been stationed at Army bases, but we are currently assigned to an Air Force Reserve Base, meaning there is no support here for military families. It's not just the post amenities that we miss either- the camaraderie here leaves much to be desired.

I straddle two worlds so to speak. When George first took command of this detachment, they had previously fallen under a different organization- one that we are now 'attached' too, but our parent organization is located at Fort Bragg. This gives us the identity as an independent organization that co-exists with the larger unit here.

As the first commander he had a lot to overcome, to include but not limited to, fighting for respect as a commander of the detachment forcing the senior personnel of the larger unit to go to him when they needed our Soldiers versus just tasking them to do stuff without at the very least notifying him. I can only imagine how hard it was for our Soldiers caught amid the "divorced" parents, both telling them to do something different. George was fortunate in having the Organization's commanding general support him & it quickly resolved itself. Our families, however, still feel alienation from the larger group.

We still fight with getting information in a timely manner but I thought that was our biggest problem. But then ...

Well tonight we had the Steering Committee Meeting where the leadership meets with the Family Representatives. The first thing they brought up was that we needed to disband our unit's FRG! What!?! They can't do that ... Literally, its in the Army regulations that commanders must provide Family programs for Soldiers & their Families. Ha! Put that in your pipe and smoke it! The they demanded that we give them our clendar of events for approval? OMG! Someone must've found a rustly ol' crack pip and smoked it to come up with that idea! They don't get say in what we do! And not to be outdone, they wanted to view nd edit my welcome letter to families to ensure that they understand they can participate in both units' activities! Thankfully, the 1SG was there to see what was going on (and to keep me from stomping some heads,), but poor George had to hear it from both of us after the meeting was over.

After they tried to disband us, we moved on to other things with the Christmas Party briefing (yes, briefing) being at the end. First the Admiral started it off by going into detail that he didn't want this location, but the location he wanted was unavailable, then he left the meeting for other stuff. So the 1SG gets up to do the slide presentation and from the start they are picking apart every choice we made. Now, it was by coincidence that I signed up to be committee chair for the same one that was tasked to our unit so at least I get to work with my one people on this one.

Tell me if I m wrong ... I told them it was important to chose a location where we didn't need volunteers to serve the food, or do the craft, or other things so that the voluteers (its always the same people) could actually enjoy the event for once rather than worrying bout what shift they were on for serving food, or who was cleaning up, or manning the kids area. I thought it would give them a chance to spend time with their kids and enjoy mking memories, but apparently I am the only one who had that thought. When I explained it was so parents could do stuff with their kids, they wanted to know if we could hire someone to watch the kids instead. Really, is it too much to spend a few hours playing with your kid in a bouncy house or help them decorate a snowman cookie!?!

Everything was an issue with them. I am so happy that we are leaving in a few months, but I feel so bad for what our fmilies will endure after we are gone. I hope the commander and his wife that come in after us are willing to stand up for our families.

I could go into more detail of how horrible it was to be completely attacked from all sides, but I think I'd rather down a diet coke and some cookies rather than get my blood pressure elevated. Next meeting, we are getting a sitter and George, 1SG and I will attend. I think that that will be a fun show to watch!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Monkey in a Tree (& Happy 600th!)

2011-09-17T09:37:00.002-04:00

Editor's Note: Wow! It kind of snuck up on me, this is my 600th post for this blog. I can't believe its been so long! I love all the new friends I made and sharing stories. Thanks to each of you for being there as we take this wild rollercoaster ride called "Military Life"!

And in other news ...

So yesterday I decided to take Jamie to the nearby park. It's nice -- has a seperate section for kids 2-5, then one for 6-12. There are a set of swings and a wide open field with a walking trail. Its set back from the road, so there's less worry about traffic.

Anyway, we've been going for a few months and really like it. Usually he plays ont he jungle gym and the swings, but for some reason today he was more interested in the trees, grass and benches ... here are a few photos from today's adventure:

First, he climbed up the slide (he likes to do things backwards) and played on the landing ...

Then he wandered about and rolled through the grass for a bit.

Finally the trees caught his attention and we climbed them a bit.

All in all it was a fun adventure!!

In Perspective ...

2011-09-16T09:02:00.003-04:00

So I a having a bad day ... the Monkey has been up at 5 a.m. all week with the exception of today when he greeted the world very cherrily at 4:20 a.m. UGH! His activity level has been high all week, to the point of being the equivilent of one of those super-happy people you meet on your early communte to work and wonder if you could plead insanity for throwing them off the bus ... Yep, his energy and excitement level are that high. But its nothing compared to his desire to "push buttons" this week, and I don't mean on the TV- though there has been a lot of that.

He is a walking hurricane and chaos follows ... he has learned to put his toys in the toy basket, but quickly takes them out again and leaves them. I think he has the concept backwards- instead of the toys being in/out/in the toy box at the end of the day, they are out/in/out. {Sigh} What are you going to do? I just write down clean-up time in my workout journal now and feel a little more productive.

It is days like this that can take over if you don't remind yourself it can always be worse, or that you're lucky to have this as a problem. Take my friend Jenicini for example. She and V, struggled with fertility treatments trying to get pregnant, while juggling a military move to Alaska. All they wanted was a little Monkey of their own, but it wasn't in the cards to happen the easy way. Jenicini is a IRL friend, who started blogging about her journey to motherhood through medical assistance. Now she is the mother to a beautiful baby boy who is the center of her world (sorry V and Sweetpea!) Then there is Megan, another Army wife sister, whose husband was injured in Afghanistan and her world was turned upside down when they were moved to a facility that could assist with his rehab. Now she is settling her family into a new place while juggling doctor appointments, physical therapy session, getting kids ready for school and grocery shopping. And let's not forget Army Blogger Wife, whose family just retired from the military (yes, the family retired- its a life that we all take on.) Now she is transitioning to a new chapter while also guiding her 3 children through this new change.

Each journey has some bumps on the road, but as military wives, we've learned to take those moments for what they are ... moments in time. Things will get better, things may get worse, but at the end of the day its great to look back and say, "Whew! I survived!" We're survivors ... put us on an island and it'll be a whole new reality show!

To put myself in either one of their shoes reminds me to look at my "bad day" and say, it's not really that bad. I mean, sure Monkey keeps feeding his waffle to the dog, he has a gift for opening childproof locks and enjoys taking off the cover of the TV cabinet and hiding it under the sofa cushions, but all in all, its not that bad. Just another adventure in the live of a Monkey's mommy!

Now I have to go turn off Mickey Mouse because I cannot hear the "hot dog song" one more time ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Am I Too Sensitive?

2011-09-15T20:47:00.004-04:00

So I kind of got my feelings hurt last week. I wasn't sure if I wanted to post this or not, but since it keeps bugging me, well ... you get to hear about it.

So we were at a playgroup with some other military moms and I had invite two new families with babies to join us. It was our usual group but since they don't meet during the summer one of the moms offered her house for us to meet.

Anyway, when I first got there the mom whose house it was said that it was o.k. for Jamie to run around because her house was child-proof, but apparently child-proof is not Jamie-proof. He first tried to turn on the two TVs, then tried to open the sliding door (which he tries at home but is not strong or tall enough yet.) The he climbed upstairs where she said it was ok to go because it was just the kids rooms, but then I didn't want him to destroy her perfectly manicured house (yes, one of those moms who manages to get it all done). He discovered the computer at the top of the stairs on the landing and that was super fun to get him off of. She laughed a little when she saw him and was like, "He just wants to do every thing he's not supposed to." It didn't really bother me because her 1st grade son was the same (according to stories) so at least I didn't feel judged.

So shortly after prying the glass candle holder from his hands and putting it on the kitchen table, I took him into the toy room where the other moms and kids were and started playing with him. He wanted to TV on and I kept telling him "no" while distracting him with toys. He was interested in what the other kids were playing with so we had a lesson (or 100) on sharing, etc.

So usually, I am stressed about this kind of stuff, but the other two little boys he kind of interacts with are about the same energy level, so I'm not really embarrassed. Anyway, in the meantime, I'm talking to the two new moms two new moms and stuff while trying to get him to settle down and one says that she misses working with kids in the toddler/pre-k age range and she couldn't wait for her 8 month old to get bigger.

She was telling me how she worked with kids that age before she got pregnant and they moved here and how she was anxious to get back into it because it was so much fun. Then while I am telling Jamie yet again to not play with the TV and showing him some toys, she says, "He's the kid in class that I'd hate to have to deal with," then kind of laughs and says, "just joking."

Now at the time, I was more stressed about dealing with his acting out (we'd had a 4-day weekend with Daddy and he was mad Daddy had to go back to work.) Once I git home and started to think about it, I just started to worry more and more about it. Every little thing he did, like pulling the cover off the TV after I told him not too for the 100th time that day, or deal with him feeding his food to the dog, or throwing a tantrum because he wanted to go somewhere, I'd start thinking about it. It's been a little over a week and I am so consumed by the fear that he is going to get a teacher who is verbal with comments like that in front of him or treat him like he's bothering her.

I know I'm over thinking it. I know that I shouldn't take it personal, because this girl probably didn't mean it the way if came out, but he is definitely a kid who you've got to keep challenged either mentally or physically.

Is there something I can do to start working with him now? Any advice? I know at least one of two of you with "active" kiddos.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Idiocracy ...

2011-09-14T12:26:00.001-04:00

Have you ever seen that movie Idiocracy, where Luke Wilson plays Private Joe Bauers, the definition of "average American", who is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program. Forgotten, he awakes 500 years in the future and discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive?

I swear sometimes I feel like I am living that in real-life. Take for example my little "quick" trip to Michaels last night for some last minute supplies for a project I am working on.

I told hubbyt I'd be quick. It's about 3 miles from the house, I planned run in grab some embroidery floos and a few sheets of scrapbook paper, maybe look at Halloween stuff on sale and be back in time to put the cooling leftovers from dinner in the fridge. Ha! Who was I kidding. By the time I made it back home, hubby had not only put the food away but cleaned the whole kitchen!

So here's what happened:

I ran into Michaels as planned. I grabbed some scrapbook paper for a flip book I am making for Jamie with his swim pictures. The got distracted by the Fall and Halloween decor (like I knew I would). There was a cute project sheet for decorating a charger for Fall so I grabbed a sheet and then remembered I wanted to grab a charger for some cinnamon pillar candles I'd been toting around for 3 years. I then wandered over to the table docor shelf and picked up a beautiful wrought iron pumpkin candle holder that was on sale for 50% off! On the next shelf was the Halloween stuff and I wanted to see what was on sale because it's hubby's favorite holiday and I wanted to decorate with stuff he'd like too. I saw these adorable black iron spider table top candleholders that were on sale for 30% off. Ah, I love sales ... Anyway, I did quick math in my head, realised I have enough cash to get it with the stuff I needed as well. So I quickly ran over to the needlepoint section, grabbed the floss that I needed and headed to the register.

Maybe it was just all falling into place too well and something had to go wrong, but when I got to my turn in line and the cashier started to ring things up, I noticed that the spider candleholder was at full price. "I'm sorry," I said, "but the spider was on sale."

No, it's ringing up full price," she said.

"I'm sure there was a sign next to it saying it was 30% or 50% off," I said, which was met with a look of boredom from the cashier. The shae radioed the manager, "There's a customer who says a candleholder is on sale but its ringing up as regualr price," she said with the most boredom I've heard in a long time. She waited a minute then said, "He said if it was on sale it'd ring up that price."

"Do you mind go look while you finish scanning," I asked, trying again.

"I guess," she said.

I ran over and sure enough there was the sign, "30% Off Celebrate It! Halloween Decor Tabletop". Not wanting to take the sign off the rack, I took 2 quick pictures with my phone making sure the sign and spiders were visable and went back to the register.

"Oh, you took a picture," said when I handed her the phone. She returned a few minutes later She stood there almost a full minute looking at the picture then radioed the manager. I'm not sure what he said, but she said, "This says 'Celebrate it! Tabletop Candleholder Collection," looking at the tag on the spider.

"Well, there were decorated candles next to it, not everything was a candleholder," I said.

"Let me go see," she said and left to go look.

I stood there feeling so bad that the lady with the infant behind me was waiting, but she assured me she'd do the same. The cashier returned and pulled out a sales paper and S-L-O-W-L-Y flipped through it. She radioed the manager again, then looked through the paper again.

"I ... guess ... I ... can ... just ... give ... you ... 30% ... off ..." she said dragging each word out as if it took every ounce of energy she had.

She finished ringing me up and I apologized to the lady with the baby again, who smiled and said no problem, before leaving.

I mean, was it really that difficult?!? You would think I was trying to get 50% off a car at a dealership, not 30% off a $4.99 candleholder! Does everything here in Miami have to be SO DARN DIFFICULT!?!

Well, I got my spider and here is a picture of it with my candles I got on sale at Yankee Candle ... Now, Yankee Candle- they have GREAT customer service!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Not One More Child Drowns, Part 2

2011-09-09T09:21:00.001-04:00

Editor's note: ARG! So I wrote this post and scheduled it for yesterday as promised and then realized this morning it never published! I think all the cleaning for my mom's visit today had turned my brain to mush!! But here it is ...

Ok, so now is the part I love ... where I get to show off my lil Monkey!

I'd said yesterday that we got a surprise a few weeks ago ... During his last week of swimming, we arrived one day and Dr. Harvey told me to grab one of the new brochures they'd just made and look at it. Now, I didn't think anything of it because Dr. Harvey knew I had a background in Public Relations and we often talked "marketing". However, this is not what I expected to see ...

That's right! Jamie is on the cover of their new "No One More Child Drowns" campaign brochure. I was so excited! There was also a picture on the inside of him too as well as aother little boy from our unit! Now I knew Harvey had been working with him to get some video of him, because he fit the profile of the higher drowning statistics, little boys age 2. If you think about it their adventureous nature mixed with developing little bodies makes it understandable. But that was totally unexpected.

Anyway, then Harvey told me to open up this long tube shaped box. The two lifeguards helped me unroll it and there Monkey was, bigger than life- literally!

(That's Jamie with Dr. Harvey. Jamie wasn't happy that we took a ton of pictures of him with the post before his lesson and then again after with Dr. Harvey.)

Anyway, I was a proud Mommy for sure! Here are a few more of my favorites (Yes, I have taken what seems like a million pictures of him swimming.)

(His fully clothed swim at the end of the first 6-week session.)

(Just hanging out, waiting for his lesson to start.)

(One cool dude!)

(Underwater shots by ISR.)

(Swimming with Dr. Harvey.)

Not One More Child Drowns ... Part 1

2011-09-07T21:55:00.000-04:00

At this point I could be the proud mommy and show off the little Monkey's swimming and a super fun surprise we got, but first, I want to talk to you heart-to-heart for a minute ...
As my readers and IRL friends and family know, Jamie has been taking swim lessons for about 6 months (off and on) now with Infant Swim Resource (ISR). From the time I was pregnant I new this was something we wanted to do from as early as possible, especially being stationed in S. Florida, but had difficulties finding a program for infants and young toddlers. I was adament about finding a program that would work with us as parents, versus him orking with an instructor and just leaving us to "figure it out" from watching them work with him.
Just after his first birthday we got the opportunity when a fellow military spouse told me about ISR and her older daughter taking the classes. She was about to start her younger daughter in classes and sign-up for a refresher for the older one when we found out that ISR, working with CrossFit Kids, was going to provide free lessons for military children at our base.
When we first started working with Dr. Harvey Barnett, pediatric drowning prevention specialist and founder of Infant Swimming Resource, I was nervous to be honest. I mean I was just handing my precious baby over to a stranger and expecting him to teach us both the tools of basic water survival for my child (I mean, its not like it would be shark-infested waters, but I sure felt like it was that first week.)
But almost immediately I began to see results. Jamie was completely comfortable ... even adventurous, in water, which is what made it so important for us to signup for these lessons, but by day 2 he was floating on his back and by the end of the first week he was swimming short distances. Now, I know each child learns at a different rate and I know that I have the "my baby is AMAZING" syndrome, but I was really impressed with the methods and improvements Jamie was making.
Dr. Harvey and his staff walked us through each step, explained what they were doing and the desired results. They concluded each lesson with the child doing something correctly, so that there was praise and accomplishment from start to finish. After about 6-weeks, we took a break, and returned about 4 or 5 weeks later. I think that was the point that I was impressed with the most ... Jamie picked right back up where he'd left off. With a little refresher time, he was again, "swimming" full steam ahead, so to speak. There were times where we, the parents would get in the pool and we'd go through the whole process with the "swimmer" ... float, swim, swim-float-swim sequence.
Pretty soon Jamie wasn't just swimming to the wall or to another person, he was pushing himself off the wall and coming back to you. I was impressed, because 3-feet of water to an adult is scary to an 18-month-old. He'd swim to the steps, swim to the wall, and at one point swimming from the wall to the steps (he was trying to prove his independence, but Mommy wasn't so excited about his desire to "do it himself!")
Well, we are on break again, and George and I work with him in the pool on the weekends. I'm excited to start back up in a few weeks and see what's next. However, this program hasn't just been about "free swim lessons" for us. There is a large group of us moms at the base who spend a lot of time together, from play dates, to music group, meeting at the park or for lunch with the kiddos. Often, the topic of conversation turns to the driving force behind ISR, the goal of preparing children for the unexpected and the dream of "not one more child drowns."
The free lessons for us is just part of what they are doing to help get the word out about this preventable tragedy. Unlike childhood cancer, this is a problem that can be solved NOW, all it takes is getting the word out.
ISR/CrossFit Kids is currently working to get the word out and raise money to help families unable to afford lessons. A child's death shouldn't happen because their family couldn't afford to give them the tools needed. Knowledge really is power and every child deserves this chance.
You can participate in the Annual Fight Gone Bad™ Fundraiser on September 17, 2011 Raise money at your CrossFit box, set up your own FGB fundraiser, contribute online, or text “FGB6” to 57682. Text messages donate $10 to Fight Gone Bad. From outside the U.S. text "FGB6" to 4246751014. Last year this event raised over $1.5 million! Help us surpass this total by getting your friends involved. A large portion of the money raised from this event will directly fund the ISR-CrossFit Kids initiative.
In no way do I think that these lessons substitute for supervision when Jamie is in the water, but it does offer me the peace of mind that he has a fighting chance. If the thought of a family faced with saying goodbye isn't enough to make you want to step up, Sterling's Story is. Tomorrow, I'll tell you about the fun surprise we got ... Until our next cup of tea ...

Uh-oh!

2011-09-07T17:45:00.000-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a little over 2 weeks, but I am working on organizing some posts from as recent as George's 30th birthday last week, to as far away as posts from the beginning of the summer that I hadn't gotten to yet. Actually, I have some catching up to do on all three blogs - Yikes!! But I promise, I'm working on it ...

On another note, recently Jamie had effectively learned to say, "Uh-oh!" Its the funniest thing. He's been saying it for a few weeks, but usually he'd repeat it after someone else said it. Now, he's says it for most anything ... the act can accidental or intentional, it doesn't matter. Nearly everything garners an "Uh-oh!" now.

He has also mastered the "surprise" face in the past few weeks ... which can be quite entertaining to get him to do it over and over if he's in the mood. Today, however, he combined the two - after I asked him why he was wearing his peanut butter and jelly al over his face ...

Operation Organization: Keeping Up with the Toys!!

2011-08-19T20:47:00.000-04:00

Jamie is 18-months-old and since we moved him into his room at 3 months I have been wanting to create a "cubby" system for his toys. For the most part his toys were in one of two baskets, either in his room or downtairs in the livingroom. In my mind they were contained, but recently I was informed that I didn't have enough toys for him.

The cubby system kept getting put on the back burner because I couldn't find a shelf in the same wood color as his bedding. I guess it wasn't that necessary, but I'm OCD and things have to be the way I see them in my mind.

Well, recently I conceeded and agreed that white wouldn't be that bad either. So after months of rolling my pennies I finally went and got the cubby system Target yesterday. (Seriously, I literally rolled change for months finally accumulating $104.)

With a little help from the little man and some heavy sighs from the pup for interrupting his 18-hour nap, we did it. Here's some photos:

(Before)

(After)

He did this minutes after I put all the toys on it -- He's smart and stood to the side to push it over, but we had a little talk and, Grandmas (real and adopted) don't worry, he hasn't done it anymore.

Spoiler alert, Elissa: I made you the same multi-purpose blanket for Baby Carson and Definately, don't be shy to "break it in", it's durable enough to take out fishing with Daddy and Mommy!

My little handy helper even pitched in ...

There still more that I want to get. I need 3 more containers and there were some larger bins on wheels probably good for his bigger toys like balls or large trucks and then there was a laundry hamper. I'm pretty happy with it and we'll slowly get more stuff. We move in Decemeber, so I'm hoping that at the next place we can paint his room a tan color and the red and navy will really look good. I'm not too proud to accept gifts either, so if anyone is in Target and wants to get a gift card, I'll send me address! :-)

Well, I'm off to figure out how to get the videos from my iPhone uploaded on here, so have a great weekend!

Saying Goodbye ...

2011-08-17T16:30:00.000-04:00

(Baby Jamie meets Grandpa Roy and Granny, June 2010)

Today, my family says goodbye to a great man. A week ago, after a a brave fight from a surgery followed by a stroke, Grandpa Roy passed away, leaving behind his pain and discomfort. I offered to speak at his service, but later was unable to attend. Had I been able to be there, this is what I would've said ...

I am the granddaughter of Roy Perkins ... If not blood, definitely by love.

As a young girl, he was looming; an overwhelming presence to be respected. His routine was as much a comfort to us as it must have been to him. He was never "scary", but commanded respect. He was quiet, deliberate and hardworking ... looking back all of my grandfather's were. Maybe its because all 3 served in the armed forces where they learned discipline and structure. Regardless, it was comforting.

However, to see such a large man melt at the presence of the often indifferent cat, Boomer was amusing to say the least. He loved that cat and the combo of those two was a sight to see. I'm sure I wasn't the only one who wondered if he jumped at the demands of that cat faster than those of Gran. Most of my childhood memories of Gran & Grandpa's house, found that cat lounging nearby ... they were a unique pair. When Boomer was gone the emptiness was evident, much as we feel today with Grandpa's loss.

As a young girl I often played with a silver tea set that sat on the wicker table in the den. For some reason he felt the need to routinely polish it. After those cleanings I was mesmerized by it's shine, imagining myself a fairy princess in a castle full of treasure as I clanked the top of the teapot pouring imaginary tea for royal guests. As a college student, I was still enamored by the shine on that tea set, often sneaking in the dining room to pour imaginary tea once again when I should've been studying calculus or chemistry. I don't know why that little tea set was so important to him, but it held a secret power for me too and became the catalyst for a collection for my collection today as I try to recapture the magic I saw as a child.

I regret that as a child I took him for granted, assuming he'd always be in that old leather recliner when I came to visit. As a college student, our relationship grew stronger as I recognized that he was the first in the family to see me as an adult and not the baby of the clan. He often asked me about my plans for the future and his sincere manner of asking probing questions made me dig deeper to identify what it was I really want. I transformed from a desire to not be seen as the baby in the family, to truly identifying what it was I wanted to do- to be. He had a way of forcing you to stand up for your choices, or crumble under the questioning of your decisions. It made me stronger to look him in they eyes and validate my opinions.

He believed that I could be anything I want and wanted me to believe the same thing ... When he read my articles covering the college ROTC program, he thought I should be a war correspondent, when I fixed the motor of garage door at the house, he thought I should be an engineer, when he saw my photography he bought me the best camera he could find.. . Or at least sent Granny do it, I don't really know if he went out and searched for a camera on his own, but I like to imagine he did. He thought I could do anything, but it wasn't until I walked in with my future husband and introduced to him a Soldier that I saw that I had made the best choice for my future in his eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief when Grandpa offered him a beer & invited him to watch the Astros game - I had chosen well.

He was s strong man, with strong convictions. Politics, Texas sports, and vehicle maintenace were topics that he routinely made sure I was up-to-date on. Even as a little girl, I remember when I'd get the courage to go over and "hover" as he watched a game, he would lecture me on the importance of being independent as a girl. In my early teen years he would insist that I "take care of myself", and not depend on someone to take care of me. He would often give me $5 or $10 cash and insist that I always be prepared in case something happened. "Never depend on someone else to take care of your problem," and "save money so you don't have to ask for a handout" he would say. Each time he gave me the money, I would hide it away, for that unforseen problem. In college, I scrimped and saved, but occasionally had to dip into Grandpa's funds.

I remember Granny would send me checks occasionally and say, "Don't tell Grandpa," but he pulled me aside one day and said he knew and that it was their investment into my future. It was that thought that made me push myself to earn 3 degrees ... they had invested in my future and I wanted to make sure they never regretted it.

He was a man who valued quiet in a family that never shut up. Family gatherings were often a circus, but he stilled tried to watch the Astros game. He valued quiet, but I would see him light up when he swapped "war" stories with George or asked me what hoops military life had us jumping through. Those were the only times that he didn't end a conversation and go back to his paper or sports game. Those conversation ended only when we were interrupted by others.

I think I miss those conversations most of all ...

Rockin' on the Front Porch

2011-08-17T11:45:00.002-04:00

Last week we were in Houston to visit with my grandfather in the hospital. While we were there Jamie got to explore both my parents and other grandparent's ranches. I'll post some more pictures later, but this is my favorite one ...

THAT was NOT created by a mom!!!

2011-08-16T21:05:00.001-04:00

So, today was a pretty routine day, after Jamie's swim lessons, we came home and played a bit, I did some cleaning, etc. About 10:30 a.m. I sat him down to give him a banana. Usually I just break it up and put it on his tray and he's good to go on his own. So while he had a snack, I started putting dished away (because the dirty ones seemed to multiply while we slpet last night and it was time to do dishes AGAIN!)

When I opened his cupboard to put his sippy cups and bowls away I noticed a puddle of red syrup on the bottom shelf. I picked up the baby Tylenol and Ibuprofin but they weren't leaking. After a little investigating I discovered the baby cough medicine had been knocked over on the third shelf up ... apparently a few days ago and it slowly leaked its way down to the shelf at eye level.

UGH! That did not look like a fun mess to tackle, but luckily my kitchen washclothes are pink with the nexeption of a new red one!

So the bottle had a child safe cap on it, but it still leaked! Hmmm ... Mr. Manufacturer, did that test come back "inconclusive" for you, because my "test kitchen" gives it an "F"! The syrup had crystalized one the top shelf, thickened on the second shelf and was just making its way down to the bottom shelf. Everything in its path was coated in a sticky red substance that was harder to clean that a bowl of spilled grits! (Yes, that is a southern girl reference!)

What I really want to know is whose brilliant idea was it to make chidlren's medicine red ... everything stains so easily! That was not done by a busy mom, that's for sure!

Oh, well. I got it all cleaned up, but not without adding to the dishes and throwing out or repackaging some stuff. Ah, the joys of motherhood!

"Good Things Happen to Great People"

2011-08-15T17:15:00.001-04:00

Today I was running errands and Jamie was being really good so I decided to stop at Sonic and get him some tots and me a strawberry limeade (now I don't usually reward him with fast food but so far his food today has been whole wheat waffle, banana, peas and multi-grain Cheerios, so it sounded like a good trade.)

When I got to the window and the cashier handed me my drink, she asked, "Do you want a big bag of food?" I'm sure I looked somewhat confused because the manager walked to the window with a big bag of food and explained that someone had driven off without their order and asked if I knew of a group of people who would eat it.

"I could take it to my husband's Soldiers at the base," I replied.

So he dropped a stack of napkins and straws in the bag (i guess the straws were out of habit) and handed me the bag. After getting my food, I headed to the base. There were 2 kids meals and 3 or 4 burger meals in the bag.

When I pulled into the unit's parking lot, my husband and a group of other Soldiers were standing outside the building. I handed the bag to my husband and explained what had happened. As I drove away I heard him say, "She brought some free food," and then I saw then dive into he bag of food he had placed on the gravel ... too funny! Free food and a lucky dad or two got to bring home toy for their kiddo!

On my way home I called Sonic and asked for the manager. I thanked him a gain for the food and explained that the Soldiers had been working all day in the warehouse and were thankful for the break. He said, "Woohoo! Good things happen to great people. I'm glad that we could give it to them."

Mommy's new iPhone is hours of fun ... for Mommy!

2011-08-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

So my new iPhone not only takes pictures, it allows you to flip the screen so you can see yourself while taking a "self-portrait". I guess is this new "Me-Me-Me" society we live in it was only logical. However, Jamie LOVES to see himself in my phone and we randomly take self-portraits during the day to send to Daddy ... Here are a few ...

(I have no idea why that last one is upside down, but hey, I just went with it!)

Yeah, come to think of it, maybe it's time for playgroup to start up again ...

A Tribute to a Battle Won!

2011-08-05T09:00:00.006-04:00

Now, I normally post my crafts on a different blog, but somehow it just seemed fitting to cross-post this one ... I always say that there is no such thing as "too much pink", but I think there is one intance I'd love to see pink disappear and that is when we find a cure ... no prevention ... for breast cancer.

Last month I finally got to a project I'd been excited about for a while-a beautiful Breast Cancer Awareness Ribbon provided by Artecy Cross Stitch.

This is a personal one for me because it is not just the pink that draws me to this ribbon, but the of the fight and determination that I saw in my grandmother and family when she waged war against it when I was in college. I watched as she quietly battled this war while our family rallied to offer love and support and in the end, she won - no, we won. I can't imagine what it would be like not to have her with us, to share with her the stories of our little boy and the promises we make to him to let him see "Ma & Pa's horses" next time we are home in Texas.

The great thing about this free ribbon is that designer Tereena Clarke has allowed stitchers to use her pattern to create pieces for donations for Breast Cancer Research. I am so happy with the way it turned out and know that whenever I use this dishtowel it will remind me of my grandmother, not because of the sickness, but because of her determination to overcome this obstacle and for all of the hugs I have had since she beat it ... those are a little more special.

designed by: Tereena Clarke, owner and designer, Artecy Cross Stitch
Pattern found at: Artecy's Cross Stitch Free Patterns

Stitched:
July 2011

Material:
Charles Craft cotton ShowCase Towels with a
rectangular 14-count Aida panel

Floss:
Pattern Reccomendations

P.S.: Check back soon, I have (with the permission of the designer) altered this pattern for something special!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Photographic Art ... Pretty in Pink

2011-08-04T16:30:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite pieces from a nature series I did at Hodges Gardens, Louisiana.

This is is one of the kitchen towels I stitched with a cup and saucer I painted.

Until our next cup ot tea ...

Really!?! A Ziplock Bag was all it takes!?!

2011-08-02T10:15:00.000-04:00

So Jamie has been sick since Saturday and of course he shared it with me. Well, when he's sick he doesn't want to eat, so I've been bribing with all sorts of stuff like waffles or goldfish just to get something in his belly because he's taking meds every 4-6 hours.

This morning I gave him a waffle for breakfast and within seconds he'd shredded it and thrrew it on the (freshly mopped) floor. I picked it up, took his second shredded waffle and placed it in a ziplock bag to put away from snack-time later. Suddenly, it was like I'd taken away his favorite blanket or something, the crying was immediate! I handed him the waffle still in the bag and he gobbled it down!

Really, a baggie was all it took!?! Silly boy! I'm glad he finally ate something, though.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Disney World, July 2011

2011-07-31T15:00:00.000-04:00

Well, we just returned from another trip to Dinsey and had lots of fun. Here are a few pics ...
.
Jamie LOVED the patriotic Mickey Mouse in the lobby of the Shades of Green Military resort.

Enjoying the view of the golf course from our room.

We had breakfast with the characters and Jamie fell in love with June from the Little Einstein's ... loks like she was feeling the love too.

We also saw Handy Manny, Leo from the Little Einsteins and Special Agent Oso.

We saw Muppets 3-D ...

Walking through the park with Daddy ...

Riding on the carosel horse ...

Riding in the spinning teacups ... Daddy made them go so fast Mommy's tummy felt funny!

Coloring in the room.

Greeting the puppy after Daddy picked him up from the vet!

Love,

Monkey Mix

2011-07-25T09:15:00.003-04:00

So lately Monkey has been exploring with a variety of new food, which we are happy to help him do, however his recent streak of independence while do so has left us doing a lot of cleaning! So with a little creative thinking ... and a little taste-testing from the lil guy we came up with ...

Monkey Mix

(designed for toddlers who are starting to chew on crunchy foods ... feel free alter according to child's abilities!)

~2 c. wheat Chex Mix (can also mix and match or subsitute other varieties such as corn, multi-bran, rice, cinnamon, or homey-nut)
~ 2 c. multi-grain Cheerios (can substitute others varieties as well)
~ 1/2 c. chocolate goldfish
~ 1 container Gerber Graduates puffs (we use banana, but there is also apple-cinnamon, cherry, and sweet potato)
~ 1 c. mini rice cakes (Monkey likes a variety so we usually add whatever leftover pieces we have from the bottom of the bags.)

Mix all together and scoop into quart-sized zipper bags and store in cool, dark pantry.

*** The goal was to create a healthy snack so while substituting some items for sweeter varieties is ok, too many may leave kids bouncing like Tigger!! ***

Well, until our next cup of tea (and Monkey Mix) ...

The Journey of a Thousand Miles Starts with the Flip of a Page

2011-07-23T12:00:00.001-04:00

Have you ever read a book that made you reflect on yourself and evaluate where you've been or where you're gone? ... Maybe it was a book, a sermon, or something someone said.

I just finished book no. 21 of 2011, Nineteen Minutes, by Jodi Picoult. It was a fictional story of a school shooting ... The events leading up to it and the aftermath that followed. It was from the perspective of a variety of people, including the mother of the shooter as she struggled to understand where she wet wrong as a parent & what she could have done differently.

Now, I'm not saying that I am worried of raising a serial killer is something, but it does make you think about the memories you make, the things you do together and the effects that a choice or decision can have.

Books have a way of doing that to you like no other medium ... TV, movies, magazines, newspapers ... Maybe its just me but the effects of reading a enveloping book is lasting. Don't get me wrong, I felt like I was at Hogwarts when I watched HArry Potter, but it didn't leave me feeling that way days later. Maybe because reading is an intense activitiy. I mean, I am the queen at multi-tasking. I can fold laundry, do dishes, even stitch a craft project while watching a movie, but reading takes the entire "you".

We've started reading to Jamie as I'd previously posted ... and whether reading to him or reading ourselves must be something that we do enough to leave an impression because I often catch him flipping through books or "reading" out loud (his favorite to "read" out loud is the Mickey Mouse photo book which doesn't have any words!)

A love of reading is one of the most important things for me to give Jamie. I know you can't force it, but I hope he comes to appreciate reading. Last week we put a halt on the nightly reading- he's just not there yet. We read throughout the day and occassionally at night, but for now he's content to sit with Daddy and watch an episode of Mickey Mouse or Handy Manny before bed. I think he just wanted to read himself rather than listen so it just created more frustration than it was worth.

In the end, I just hope one day he see the value of books as a chance to take adventures he might not otherwise get to have.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Adventures in Reading

2011-07-05T20:30:00.000-04:00

Jamie "reading" his Elmo book to Mickey Mouse

When I was a child I loved reading. Books took me on adventures to far away places, times long ago, and showed me things that were limited only by my imagination. In these stories I became the charaters ... a princess, a nurse, a detective, an adventurer. When Jamie was born I knew I wanted to instill the same for reading in him that I had nurtured as a child.

Recently, in my book club, we read a book called the Reading Promise. It's author tells the story of her father making a deal with her to read together for 100 days ... those 100 days stretched to 1,000 and beyond ... lasting, unbroken, until the day she left for college. Other members of the book club, mostly other moms in our play group, discussed how we enjoyed reading to our kids and the traditions we'd hoped to create with them. Many of us decided to set a goal of reading nightly to our kids ... whether or not we were able to do it continuously, unbroken was not the concern, we only wanted to start to create memories that they could pass on to their own kids some day.

On June 20, 2011, Jamie and I started our journey with the Adventures of Frog and Toad, the 3 book collection of the Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel. So far, we have successfully read each night, though some were much harder than others, and have completed to set. Yesterday, we started Grimm's Fairy Tales ... let the adventures begin!

Keeping Busy During Deployments

2011-07-04T20:30:00.001-04:00

Now I've said it many times ... and those who have followed my blog for a time has seen the results of me keeping busy during deployments. Yes, I completed my masters, worked as a civilain journalist for the Army and was selected as one of 17 (paid) Battalion level Family representatives ... but I'm talking about "me" time.

Its different for everyone, but for me, it's a variety of crafts that keep me sane ... and blogging. Since the baby arrived I must say I have been more stressed because I have noticably less time for both ... things come up, plans change, life happens. During this pass deployment I had planned to make a small quilt ... not quite a "lap quilt", but something like it. I had some beautiful fabric I had gotten at JoAnn's a few years ago that I was going to decorate the formal dining room with, but when my father-in-law passed and we got my husband's grandmother's antique cherry wood sining table and hutch, those plans changed a little. Other than adding some wine-colored curtains, the room was complete, throw rug and all.

But I fell in love with the burgandy paisley fabric and a complementing striped one, so just before he left I decided to make a simple 9-inch square quilt ... and maybe pillow case with any extra. After doing the math, I realized I could make a nearly 5-foot square quilt ... with blocks on both sides ... if I was efficient. Well, I'm a military wife, I sleep efficiently!

So I went to JoAnn's (conviently located across the street from my gym- talk about incentive!). There I found 2 complementing fabrics, a brown and a green, that didn't compete with the busy paisley and striped ones.

I came home and cut down the fabric one night after the baby went to bed. The deployment (thankfully) was only a few weeks this time and there was a lot of unplanned things, like the baby getting sick, family coming to visit, mutant mosquitoes attacking the baby causing his face to swell ... well you get the idea. So I didn't get to start sewing on it until the week hubby returned. Luckily, the large blocks and easy "patterns" allowed me to finish it over 3 days- a total of 9 hours. Each side has the same blocks, but in a different pattern.

"Front"

"Back"

When I completed the front and back measured 54-inches ... and you know me, I need even numbers, so I decided to add 6-inches of border. True to my luck they only had the brown fabric left, the green was gone, so I decided to get a tan that I had originally looked at but felt that a brown and tan might make the quilt a little too "dark". My luck didn't return when I get to the register and realized I was one coupon short of the items I had. Not too bad since the price was good already, but I realized when I was working out before going to the store that so far all of the fabric had either been on sale, on clearance or with a coupon. Darn! So close!

Well, I still have to add the border and find someone to quilt it for a price that won't leave me short on diapers or milk, but I'm kind of excited! I'll post photos when I get it completed ... hopefully soon.

(BTW, I'm well aware of the irony of making a quilt in the middle of summer ... in South Florida!)

Well, off to work on another quilt!

Ride with the Wind!

2011-07-02T15:25:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had the unit's 4th of July BBQ. One of the parents brought along their kids' motorized car and Jamie had some fun playing in it. The first time he rode, his friend 3-year-old Jonathan rode with him. Jonathan attempted to show Jamie how to drive, but ended up trading places and showing him how to do it! Jamie was cntent to ride shotgun!

(George said the pictures, done on my new iPhone, make it look like a 70's cop show!)

Rough Times ... Welcomed Homecoming

2011-06-28T13:17:00.000-04:00

Whew! What a rough time we've had with the deployment. He was gone a month, but we had more issues thN the previous year-long deployments! As in the previous post, you know the little guy was sick with some random flu-like virus on the 19th which lasted the day.

The following Tuesday we woke up ready to head to the airport to send my mom, aunt and cousins home. Unfortunately, we also woke to a surprise ... Jamie had a 100.3 degree temperature. By the time we dropped my family off and got home after lunch it had risen to 102.9 ... Yikes!! So the fun began ... we alternated a regiment of meds and rest.

He had so much trouble sleeping, couldn't eat ... poor little guy just sat in my lap with little to no energy.

On top of all that, he had six ... SIX ... teeth popping through. UGH! I can't imagine the pain it has been in.

His fever finally broke Saturday morning, just in time for Daddy to come home! It was definately good time, I was beginning to reach the end of my rope. Nights with no sleep, struggling to get him to eat, juggling vistors and a sick toddler - I was exhausted!

With Daddy home, things settled down ... I even got a pedicure on Sunday! Its was a good thing, because this morning Jamie woke up with the right side of his little face swollen from mosquito bites.

It looks so pitiful huh!?! Poor little guy keeps scratching ... I feel so bad for him.

Well, I'm off to get some stuff done before the little guy wakes up ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Missing Daddy on Father's Day

2011-06-20T11:09:00.000-04:00

What a crazy Father's Day we had this year! While George is currently deployed, Jamie & I thought we'd spend a quiet day together, but we got a surprise (well I knew a few days ago)! My m, my aunt and her two kids came to visit for a few days!

I picked them up at the airport on Saturday night & Jamie was surprised with cousins to play with when he woke up!

It was so cute to see them greet each other - it was like wiggling puppies, dancing all around, but not sue if they could go play!

Jamie was up at 5 am again (UGH!), so when everyone else got up and ready for the day, we ran to get groceries & came home to feed everyone (well Jamie had a second breakfast). By that time Jamie was ready for a nap.

When the little guy woke up he seemed fine, so we got ready to go to the pool. By the time we were ready it had started to rain, so my aunt asked if we could drive to the base to look at the airplanes and hopefully the rain would pass over by then. It sounded like a good idea so we all hoped in the truck for the 10 minute ride. We didn't make it halfway there when my aunt, sitting in the back causally says, "Oh, Jamie's throwing up." I look back and he has projectile vomit coming out his mouth with the saddest look in his eyes.

We pull over and my mom and I get out and start grabbing the towels that we were going to take the to the pool. Luckily, the rain When my aunt opens her door to climb out so I could climb in and reach the baby my mom says, "No, stay in and help me, because is D'Ann (my first name) climbs in, she'll join him!"

My mom, wasn't being mean, she's just rely on years of experience where at the very sound of my brother loosing his tummy contents would result in me doing the same!

So my mom pulled the baby out of his carseat who had thrown up 6 times consecutively by this point and we stripped him, cleaned him off as best we could, and wrapped him in a towel. Then I climbed in the passenger seat, my mom in the driver and we headed back home.

After we dropped my aunt and her kids off at the pool, we headed hom to clean up Jamie and the Tahoe! So not the best part of the day! I learned real quick that I should appreciate my husband more because that carseat was one huge puzzle!

By then, Jamie was feeling better so my mom and I put him in the stroller and we headed to the pool. He did really good, impressing people with how well he could swim. We were there for a bit when he threw up again while I was sitting in a chair (forcing) him to rest a little so we packed up and headed home.

While my aunt and the kids ate lunch, we put Monkey down for a second nap with a bottle of juice and waited ... he never went to sleep, but I guess he rested enough because was in his bed for an hour. When he got up ... nothing. He didn't get sick again ... never had a fever ... no cough ... Hmm, we don't know what made the little guy sick, b ut by this morning he was at his full energy level!

All in all, it reminded me that even though we are celebrating Father's Day, we should also remember those military wives who are holding down the fort while their husbands are away ... sometimes double duty can be overwhelming.

On a good note, Jamie and I were able to talk to George and sent him tons of photos. We are excited that he will be home soon, and that our family will be whole again.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Dealing with Deployments

2011-06-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

So I've learned how to deal with deployments - how to stay busy, what makes it better when I get overwhelmed (McD's mocha frape LARGE!), etc. I thought I had it all figured out, but this past year been a learning experience to say the least.

Luckily, with the nature of George's current unit, he is gone weeks at a time versus months, but still its a hard concept to grasp when you're 16-months-old. Usually, about day 3 is when things start to get really "fun" and each day is an adventure depending on how he feels! Today, was one of those days. The day started at 4:30 a.m. - Monkey was ready to go, but I needed a few cups of coffee!

From the start he was ready to push buttons. By 9 am, Jamie had greeted me with dirty diaper on hand, knocked the surround sound speakers down twice, hidden the remote so the TV is stuck on Disney Channel, smeared blueberry smoothie across the breakfast room walls & thrown a 2-hour tantrum! Whew! What a day!

Later, he managed to pull more than 150 wipes out of the box before I found him. He was sitting on top of the pile, he clothes barely on 30 minutes were all wet!

It's hard to be patient with him but I know that he just wants his daddy. On top of it the poor lil guy is cutting two teeth! I can see them at the edge of his gums and go to bed each night praying they break through during the night.

The key is really just to keep busy. We go to the park, plan dinners with other moms who have kids his age, go on trips to the zoo, etc. I try to go to the gym a few times a week, where he gets to play with other kids in the child care center. Every day is a new adventure, new test of my patience. I just hope he knows when I patience its just that I miss Daddy too and don't know how to make it better for him. In the end, I hope it makes us all stronger ... and closer as a family.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Brotherly Love

2011-05-17T19:32:00.001-04:00

Since Sgt. Major was trying to take the bottle away from Jamie, this picture is obviously sweeter than the reality of it, but I love it anyway.

Swimming Towards a Life Saving Graduation ...

2011-05-13T21:45:00.000-04:00

The numbers don’t lie … according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevents there were 3,443 fatal unintentional drowning in the United States in 2007. Another 496 people died from boat-related drowning and other causes. The CDC states that more than one in five fatal drowning victims are children 14 and younger. Do the math.

No parent should have to say goodbye to their child in such a finite manner, but to have the cause be preventable is unbearable.

As new parents prepare to safeguard their curious off spring, the list can get overwhelming. From baby gates to cabinet locks, from toilet guards to cushioned furniture corners, parents attempt to safely usher their little tyke from infancy, to toddlerhood, to teen years. Regular doctor visits, dental trips, countless Band-Aids, and antibiotics and pain relievers become the center of which the world revolves. Despite the best intentions, early childhood awareness of water is not often at the forefront of parents minds.

Many put it off for a variety of reasons- too expensive, not enough time, don’t have a pool, or the thought they’ll be near their kids at those crucial times. Many think it is a safety measure that can be dealt with when a child is older, more independent such as Preschool age or older.

But water safety is essential to saving their lives. A child can drown in as little as one-inch of water and for the parents who face this tragedy find little comfort in knowing it was on the to do list.

According to the CDC, here are the alarming facts:
• 1 in 4 fatal drowning accidents involve children 14 and under.
• For every child that dies, another 4 are treated in the emergency room for submersion-related accidents, some of which cause permanent brain damage.
• From 2005 to 2007, there were an average of 283 fatal drowning for children 5 and under per year. An additional 2,100 were treated in the emergency room for submersion related injuries.

At what point do parents get the message. It’s never too early to introduce your child to water survival. One organization that is getting the word out to parents is Infant Swimming Resource
. For more than 40 years this nationwide organization has dedicated itself to the purpose of “Not One More Child Drowns.”

Jamie started their 5-day a week program this week. On the first day I was apprehensive, nervous as I handed my child to the instructor, Harvey Barnett. No parent wants to place the life of their child into someone else’s hands, but the reality is that we do it every day. When we take a sick child to the doctor, put them on a school bus or send them to a friend’s house we essentially place the safety of our child into someone else’s care, many times without a second thought.
My fears were relieved as I sat beside the pool, silently encouraging Jamie to trust the instructor as another sat beside me explaining each step of the process. I’m sure if I needed it she would have held my hand, but I’m an Army wife, I take it one breathe at a time.

One breathe at a time is how Jamie did it too and by the end of the 10-minute, one-on-one lesson, he was floating on his back for 10, even 15 seconds. The next day he was swimming in short spurts. Though each child progresses differently, it showed me how much of a “fish” our Little Monkey is!

Now, as our first week concludes I am certain that this “baby” step that we took in enrolling him in swim lessons is a good one. At the end of the program I am sure that I will be just as proud of his “graduating” and I will be when he completes kindergarten, high school and college … and in my mind, I’m convinced that this graduation will help ensure the other ones will take place.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Appreciating one Tough Crowd!

2011-05-06T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today is Military SPouse Appreocation Day and what group is more deserving? Even the president took time out to show his thanks ... (not in its entirity)

Presidential Proclamation--Military Spouse Appreciation Day

Military spouses serve as steady and supportive partners to the heroes in uniform who protect and defend our great Nation every day. Across America and around the world, military spouses serve our country in their own special way, helping families and friends through the stress of a deployment, caring for our wounded warriors, and supporting each other when a loved one has made the ultimate sacrifice.

Our service members and their families seldom ask for support or recognition. They carry out their duties to family and country with the quiet courage and strength that has always exemplified the American spirit. On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, we have an opportunity to not only honor the husbands and wives of our service members, but also thank them by actively expressing our gratitude in both word and deed.

When a member of our Armed Forces is deployed, an entire family is called to serve. The readiness of our troops depends on the readiness of our military families, as millions of parents, children, and loved ones sacrifice as well.

On Military Spouse Appreciation Day, let us join together to show our service members we are taking care of their families back home as they serve our Nation across the globe. As neighbors, teachers, parents, and fellow citizens, we can reach out to military husbands and wives in our communities. We can show our appreciation in countless ways, from offering to help with household maintenance and childcare to encouraging the community involvement and career development of military spouses.

It is through our actions that we show our commitment to our service members and their spouses. By embracing military families, we demonstrate our partnership in the defense of our freedom and the security of the United States.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 6, 2011, as Military Spouse Appreciation Day. I call upon the people of the United States to honor military spouses with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

~~~

So let raise a glass, be it wine or tea, and give thanks to the Homefront Guardians, the Silent Soldiers.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Its bad when you miss Army Docs!

2011-05-03T13:20:00.000-04:00

You know that things are bad when you start to miss Army doctors. Maybe its because of where we were stationed or because of George's rank (and the fact that if he pulled you aside to talk to you, it wasn't good), but we've always had good experiences with Army medical personnel. Now, I miss them more ...

When I first got here my primary care manager (PCM) was recommended by other military families though my experiences with her were not so favorable and for the past 18 months I sat on my hands when people recommended her to incoming families.

I’ve visited her office 5 times and each time I have not been seen less than an hour AFTER my appointment time, in some cases it was nearly 2 hours past the appointment time.

As many military families, I do not have family in the area to watch my 14-month-old and either have to take him with me, have hubby take off from work or pay a babysitter. The appointments run so far behind that either it runs into a meeting for my husband or costs me dearly for the babysitter or our only sitter isn’t available, so there are times I have to take him. Today though, was insane.

I arrived 15 minutes early for my 11 a.m. appointment and wasn’t called to the back until 11:40 a.m. in the meantime the baby is getting anxious as it neared naptime and he had finished off his juice cup and naptime bottle. He started to get fussy, wanted to get down, and was unable to fall asleep with all the activity in the small waiting room. Finally when they called us back and placed us in the small room, I thought we were going to be out of there soon, but as the baby’s tantrum at being unable to nap escalated so did the time we waited.

At one point, the PCM/Dr. came into the room because she thought the baby had fallen and hurt himself he was so loud. When she realized he was ok, she left again, this time leaving the door open where others started to gather and watch me struggle with him. Boy, was that a “world’s greatest mom” feeling.

We waited about 10 more minutes until I’d run out of juice, water, milk, cheerios and all other snack options. I packed him and all the toys/items I’d pulled out of his bag and my purse to entertain him and walked out the room.

“I think I’ll have reschedule,” I said.

“I thinks that’s for the best,” a staff member replied as I struggled down the hallway.

So I held my tongue (which is a feat for me and I think I deserve a medal!) and left the office. The kicker is ... I was just there to get the results from my “well woman” exam ... something that up to this point had always been mailed to me unless there was an issue ... and of course an updated birth control prescription which after the 45 minute tantrum is now my best friend. Now my prescription will run out (well it already has) and I get to do the whole thing over again.

At this point I’m willing to overlook any non-emergency and life-threatening issues until after we PCS at the end of the year.

Now, I have to go call for a new appt- wish me luck!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Michelle Lindsey
112th SigDet

New Bedtime Prayer ...

2011-05-02T19:14:00.000-04:00

As I lay me down to sleep ...
one less terrorist this world does keep ...
with all my heart I give my thanks ...
to those in uniform across all ranks ...
you serve our country and serve it well ...
with humble hearts you go through Hell ...
so as I rest my weary eyes ...
freedom rings our flag still flies ...
you give your all and do what you must ...
with God we live and in God we trust. Amen.
GOD BLESS THE USA!

Just like G'ma did it!

2011-04-24T20:30:00.000-04:00

When I was little, like 5 years old, my paternal grandmother, who helped raise my brother and I after my parents divorce, would make cookies and cool them on large bath towels. I don't know why, maybe they cooled more evenly, maybe it was just so she could put another batch in the oven, but this is a memory that stick with me ... sneaking hot cookies off the table, pull too quickly and part of the cookie stays stuck to the towel.

Even now as an adult, when I make cookies, I lay them out on towels to cool, for no other reason than that's what gramdma did. I tried to explain to my husband once and it was lost on him, so now he just accepts that we have a bath towel or two that is for the kitchen. I even found some dish towels recently with the same texture that have sections for stitching, so I'm thinking I'll stitch "cookies" on them one day.

Hmmm ... just thought I'd share since I spend a good portion of the day baking cookies for a bake sale ... you can return to your regularly scheduled programming ...

Until our next cup of tea (with cookies) ...

Hoppy Easter!

2011-04-24T19:35:00.003-04:00

He was so enchanted by the Easter Bunny!

(This picture was taken at the unit's Easter Party April 20, but was so cute, we didn't take him to the mall!)

Me and Mickey Update No. 1

2011-04-15T14:17:00.002-04:00

I'm sure I'll feature a few more pages here and there, but I completely forgot to show you my FAVORITE page so far!

A fellow blogger and military spouse, Maria at Personalized Sketches & Sentiments created this Vintage Mickey Mouse from his bed set using his name, George.

This is the 3rd peice she's done for us, and before framing them, I photocopy them onto card stock and file it away with my other important Army paperwork, because ... well, I've heard horror stories.

Anyway, while we are waiting for it to be framed (the coloring of his convertible bed is a special order color), I reduced it to 66% and put one in his Mickey book so he can look at it without messing up the actual art piece.

He must've really liked it when I made the page and added it last night, because this is him on the way to drop some stuff off the Daddy this afternoon!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Keeping the Memories Within Arms Reach

2011-04-13T20:20:00.001-04:00

So, I'd come up with this idea a few months ago to make a scrapbook small enough for our little guy to hold, durable for him to tote around and easy enough to make without me losing my mind if he messes it up ...Behold the Binder Books!

O.k. so some of those who know me IRL, know that this is just a variation of my Army Life organizational binder, but what can I say, I'm addicted to those little 8.5 x 5.5 inch binders!

So while I am (not-so-patiently) waiting for family members to send in pictures and a little note for Monkey's "My Family" binder, I decided to make him a "Me and Mickey" one ... mainly because I was early to meet my trainer at the gym and there is a JoAnn's next door who had Disney scrapbook stuff on sale and I already had the pictures printed ...

We decorated Monkey's room in Vintage Mickey Sports and from the start (o.k. maybe 6 mos) he's really loved The Mouse Clubhouse (I think its the bright colors and the voices ... anyway ...) Since we've been here in Miami we've been to Dinsey twice, he got a Mickey Mouse firetruck from his godparents for Christmas and his 1st birthday party was Mickey Mouse ... so as you can see, we've got some stuff to work with.

So here is what the binder looks like:

It's kind of hard to see, but it is a grey and red cover with Mickey and says "Me and". Jamie really liked the puffy stars I had on his 4th of July page in his big scrapbook, so I put a few on there for him.

The inside pages were easy. I just got some 8.5 x 5.5 inch page protectors from Staples (they carry the binders and accessories in the stores now so I don't have to order online!)

I cut 12 x 12 inch scrapbook paper down to (2) 8.5 x 5.5 inch pages for the background, then built pages like usual. Its hard to order pictures in odd or small sizes so I created a 8 x 10 collage on Walgreens.com and then put between 4 and 6 pictures in each depending on what I wanted larger or smaller, then I just cut them out!

So here are some of the pages ... these are all from our first Disney trip because I used leftover page protectors from another project and didn't have enough ...

(This was a map from Magic Kingdom.)

(This is a plastic zipper pouch I used to put his "first visit" button and pieces from his birthday cake in so he can see them, but not lose them.)

The rest of the pages are the same but some of the stuff I put in there was napkin with Mickey and extra invitation from his birthday party, stickers and confetti from when we went to the parks, parking stubs, etc.

For those of you who haven't seen my binder ~~obsession~~ collection, here is what I am talking about. So have changed looks, but from left to right ... teacup colelction organizer, daily planner, craft journal, cookbook, and Monkey's babysitting book. Slightly obsessed!

Well, I'm off to get some non-blogging stuff done ... like dishes ... (not nearly as much fun!)

Until our next cup of tea ...

I'd pay the guy with the gun!

2011-04-07T16:45:00.000-04:00

The government may shut down because people who make a lot of money can't agree on a budget. Nice! So here we sit, just one of millions of military families wondering if we'll have money to buy groceries for our kids in the upcoming weeks.

Watching the news, Googling and web surfing is making me crazier by the minute. My day is now punctuated by conversations with other military spouses of speculation, reassuring the families in our unit that we'll be o.k. (just as I too freak out!) and random updates as I can interject them as I continue to chase around a 13-month-old who has decided to grow at what I'm sure is a usual rate, but is insanely fast to me and wonder if I should hold off on getting him new clothes or just let him run around in diapers and tee-shirts that show off his adorable belly button. Maybe I can convince Nana and Grammie to send him clothes for Easter!

The worse part is the web-searching, which I know I should stop, but its a losing battle. As I contimplate the reality that my husband can be called to protect his country at a moment's notice, but they can't seem to assure us of food on our tables, I am assalted by comments such as this:

Possibility of Military Pay stop: "good, let's end these wars!"

Really!?! You think that stopping military pay will stop the wars? Oh, here's a though ... terrorists think its the perfect time to attack because troops are distracted by caring for their families.

Our service members still get up and go to work ... both here and abroad they just have to chose groceries or pay for the gas they have to put in the car to get to work. I'll bet if they go AWOL someone will be knocking on their door.

Have we really reached this point in America's history that we are contemplating not paying the very people who put their lives on the line to protect the country. Well, I'm glad that we're protecting freedom of speech so people can tell me that what my husband does is morally wrong ... My advise to them ... Here's a quarter. Call someone who cares!

My Beach Boys

2011-04-03T20:52:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we woke up to a beautiful sunny South Florida day and decided to head to South Beach, Miami. It wasn't too crowded, though the water was a little cool. It took him a few minutes but Monkey was soon running through the waves with Mommy and Daddy trying to keep up!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Happy dance ... The best part of a deployment ...

2011-04-03T20:38:00.000-04:00

Deployments ... what a trying time for a military family, but when its over, when you are standing there and you see your service member walk in, and your heart swells with pride, your eyes fill with tears and your smile lights up the room, it almost makes it worth it.

We've been doing the deployment thing off and on for almost 8 years and though you may think I'm crazy, I have to say, deployments make our family better ... and stronger. Now, don't get me wrong, we don't look forward to deployments, but we live life with the philosophy of looking on the bright side and I must say, I think military families are lucky.

Every time he comes home, whether its a week or a year, I get to relive the "honeymoon" phase. It's like seeing for the first time after months of darkness. Everything is better ... the grass is greener, the sky a brighter blue, the sun a warmer yellow. I am reminded all over again of just how much I love my Soldier.

Sometimes, I am actually sad that the "civilian" world doesn't get to relive that feeling. I love the joy of that "first kiss" all over again.

Now, I'll be the first to be sad when he starts packing those bags or marking days off the calendar as leave date approaches, but once he leaves I look forward to that return with the anticipation of a girl waiting for her first date. And what girl doesn't love an excuse to buy a new dress and pretty shoes ...

And while I'm on the subject, let me just say to my blogging buddy and friend, Army Blogger Wife, it must be like a club at your house with all the happy dancing going on. Welcome home, Gunner!

Until our next cup of tea ...

By the numbers please!

2011-04-02T04:20:00.001-04:00

Military life has a way of forcing you to look at life through a different pair of glasses. Time is measured in deployment cycles, friends are characterized by the military installation you met them, and a house is designed around what you were able to find when you moved. The important things are determined by what you take with you versus what you allow the movers to take ... in hopes that you'll see it again in less than 6 weeks!

Now this is what I've become accustomed to, but the other day I notice a similarity between military life and crafting. Now, I know you're probably thinking, "Where is she going with this?"

Well, as a military spouse, you often learn to cope with the stress, seperation and rollercoaster life ... for me, I participate in a variety of crafts ... cross stitching, quilting, scrapbooking and organizing.

Well, the other day, while hubby was finishing up a conference somewhere to the north of us (which being in S. Florida could be anywhere, I guess!), I went to Lowe's to finally get the pegs for the bookshelf that had gotten lost when we moved here 15 months ago. With a baby soon to arrive, it was not a priority at the time, and life since then has been a little hectic. So I finally got around to it because with hubby gone, I had planned to box up most of the books which were from when I was finishing my masters and the leftover "professional development books" he had from the Army but he isn't using at this assignment. My goal was to use it for books on the top and organizing crafts on the bottom.

So anyway, while I was there I was looking at paint samples which I use in the house book (another story) so that when we are buying furniture, moving, etc. I can make sure that everything is matching as close as possible. So the associate asked me if I was looking for a particular color.

"Oh, I'd been thinking about painting the kitchen," I said, though it wouldn't be until our next move.

"Well, what color are you looking for?," he asked.

"DMC 535, is what I want for the walls, but its accented with 3716," I replied, not even thinking about it.

After a moment of silence, I turned and looked at him and the confusion on his face was evident.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I said with a laugh, "I've been handstitching some kitchen towels. Its a medium grey and a light pink."

"Oh, he said with a laugh, "well, those are over here."

I thanked him and grabbed a sample or two of the grey. "I guess you think I'm a little crazy," I said, as I turned to go get the furniture pegs.

"No really," he replied. "My wife picks colors by shoes designers. At least you're makes sense."

I walked away laugh and thought to myslef, I'm sure it all seems to make sense in our heads, its once you say it out loud that you start to wonder ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

C'mon, Show a Little Support!

2011-03-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

SO yesterday, Jamie and I went to Michael's to pick up some stuff for various projects I've got going on. While we were there I overheard a sad conversation between a mom and her kids ...

Mom: (obviously irritated) Where the hell is it?

Older boy: I don't know ...

Mom: Your teach is an idiot! She said everything we'd need would be at Michael's.

Younger boy: You could ask her ...

Older boy: No, stupid, its due on Monday.

Mom: I don't have time for this sh**!

All I could think was "Really!?! You think its a good idea to berate and ridicule your children's teachers in front of them?"

I mean its hard enough for teachers to get kids to pay attention in class or do their homework, it can't be easier with unsupportive parents in the mix. Obviously, the mom was too busy and allowed the boy to wait until the last minute to do the project, which means that it will be rushed and he won't learn anything.

{Sigh} I worry about the future of this country sometimes ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Do I even want to know what lies ahead!?!

2011-03-26T19:01:00.001-04:00

Whew! What an absolutely stressful day/week! Hubby had been gone for the week at a conference and it's been just me and Baby George. This child is running me ragged!!

Today he was in timeout 35 times for removing the cupholders from the recliners and throwing toys in the holes, he dumped the dog's water bowl on himself and played in it 3 times, he blew his nose on his peanut butter sandwhich, fed the dog (who had food allergies) his cherrios, and threw his bowl of macarroni on the floor. I have picked up the livingroom toys 3 times and the bedroom toys twice. He threw a toy in the toilet and unpacked a garbage bag of clothes going to charity. The boy is a whirlwind! And so darn stubborn! He gave himself a black eye opening a drawer because he wants to play with the koozies from his godparent's wedding (which reminds me, I should see if they have extras!) but he keeps opening the drawers ... and I've got maybe and in before he can reach inside them!

Somehow I managed to get 2 load of laundry washed and folded (which was when he scooted away to play in the dog's water), another 2 that had been sitting in the laundry room got folded, and caught up on cleaning the kitchen.

Now that the office is organized, he likes that he can pull entire boxes off the bookshelf (I found some really great containers on sale and did it one night after he went to bed.) I packed away a lot of the books, especially on the 3 lower shelves, because he is into destroying books now.

Whew! If he's doing all this at 13 months, I don't even want to know what the "terrible twos" are like, do I? Hmm ... I wonder how soon we can send him to boarding school!?!

I'd like to get my big bin of fabric sorted and organized so I can work on a project or two here and there, but I don't know how that will work because he just keeps getting into the stuff on the sewing desk ... Maybe if I move the center piece of the sectional out of the office I can put that second desk in there and then I can just shut the door ... Hmm ...

This house has way too many doorways, that's for sure. The kitchen, breakfast area and dining room all have two doorways. Plus the livingroom and bottom and top of the stairs ... that is way to many doorways to be fighting baby gates.

Well, I'm tired, so I think I'll just eat the rest of his macarroni (the stuff that didn't go on the floor) and be done with houseowrk for the night ... Oh, wait! I still have the sheets in the washer and the bibs and kitchen towels in the dryer ... I need a clone!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Blogging for Books ... The Beginning

2011-03-25T22:15:00.003-04:00

So I found this website in January I think, called Blogging for Books, where you can get free books in exchange for reading them and blogging reviews. Well, needless to say I was super stoked.

After registering, you'll get a list of books to chose from. That's when I realized that the books tended to be religious or inspirational. When I first signed up I was NOT interested in any of the options I had so I forgot about if for a while.

But then last week or so, I stopped by the website and there was a whole new list. There was a book called Life Without Limits, the autobiography of Nick Vujicic, who was born without arms or legs. According to his website, "Nick shares his personal story like never before. Reaching inward, he speaks from the depths of his heart... 'for the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me...and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.' "

They said to allow 10-14 days for delivery, but I recieved it today, about a week from when I ordered it.

I'm in the middle of another book, and this month's book club selection to read, but am really excited to get started ... I'll let you know how it goes ...

Finding Your Support Team ... and Your Sanity

2011-03-04T12:00:00.001-05:00

Life as a military spouse has taught me many things ... some of these lessons are just as easily learned in everyday life, but like many things in military life these are learned faster, are rooted deeper and are shared readily with others because of the nature of our unpredictible nomadic lifestyle.

One very valuable lesson that I learned early on, and has recently been reinstilled as I navigate the uncharted adventures of motherhood, is the importance of finding and holding on to a support group.

Now many of us who live the military life may have a strong family and friends network and they have been our rock and stability as we partake of this journey, but even the most well-meaning family member can garner the wrath of a military spouse who has been seperated from her beloved servicemember by uttering one simple statement ... "I know what you're going through ..."

Personally, I've had family and friends utter this statement ... sometimes in support of a long seperateion, but most irritatingly in terms of their own seperation from a spouse.

Recently, I had a friend whose husband was sent away on a business trip for 10 days ... yes, fellow spouses, 10 day, and you know where I am going with this ...

I called her near the end of the business trip for some unrelated matter and listened to her bemoan the fact that her husband "has been gone for sooo looonnngggg!" I tried to be symphathetic and bite my tongue, but when she utter those words ... "Now, I know what you must go through ..." I couldn't hold my words any longer.

"Do you really know what I go through?" I asked. "Does your husband goes for weeks without a call, only sporatic emails here and there? Is he constantly being placed in harms way as strangers in another land want him dead for no other reason than that he is an American? Do you feel fear and hope course through you body when the phone rings and relief mixed with disappointment when you answer the phone? How often do you hug your children and wipe away their tears when they ask when their parent is going to come home or ask why Mommy/Daddy doesn't want to come to their birthday party, dance recital or school play?"

Now of course, as soon as the words were out of my mouth I was apologizing. Its wasn't my friend's fault. We had made this decision to live this life - it wasn't forced on us. But I knew that despite my momentary lapse in judgement that my family and friends were only tryng to support me, even if they would never understand the daily struggles.

As soon as I was off the phone I called another military spouse and cried as I told her what happened. She undertood ... truly ... she'd been there too. Its like trying to comfort a friend whose lost a child, you don't know how to help, but deperately want to be there for them ... and the reality is sometimes you can't be. They need someone who has truly been there, who has felt the pain, fear, confusion of their situation.

I was lucky that early in my military spouse "life" I had started to find that support group who would always be there for me, even if there couldn't be there for me.

KG, was a co-worker whose husband was deployed at the same time as mine and we bonded over journalism assignment, frustration of not knowing and love for our fur-babies. From there our friendship grew.

ABW and I met through our military life blogs and despite being at different point in our military lives, we still found a common bond.

Brit, was a new military spouse when I met her and was very much in need of some guidance when her husband deployed shortly after they were married. But as the deployment went on I saw her grow from a giggling teenager to a confident adult who show strength beyond her age when she recieved the call that her husband had been injured. Months later when our husband returned home and we prepared to say goodbye and head off in different directions, I knew that both of us had grown up a little bit in those 15 months. Shortly, our sadness of leaving each other was brightened by the fact that we both got pregnant at the same time and were able to share the joys (and pains) of pregnancy and motherhood despite being serveral states away from each other.

There are so many more ... the moms at the baby's weekly playgroup have developed a friendship and bond that I know will continue long after the Army and life seperate us. But the important thing is having people who understand what the hard times are like and who can comfort you. Its having people who can make you laugh in your darkest moments and who know when just being there for you is so much more important than having the right words.

Finding a group of people who "fit" you is very important no matter what you do ... military or "civilian" life. To have poeple there to pick you up when you fall, light the way on your dark days or just laugh at your "not-so-funny" jokes. As my mom always told me ... "You are who you hang with!" Well, Mom I must be a little bit crazy, a little bit crafty and a whole lot of happy!

Until our next cup of tea ...

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger ..."

2011-02-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

... At least that is the motto I use when making coffee!

So I've been on the job hunt for almost 5 months now, and it is B-R-U-T-A-L out there! Not to say that they interviews have been vicious, in fact most have been infomative, but the uncertainty and confusion that I see in the face of potiental employers when they look at the work that I have done for the military as a civilain can shake the strongest self-confidence!

You know as military spouses we say:
I wear no uniform, no blues, no greens. But I am in the military, in the ranks rarely seen. I have no rank upon my shoulders. Salutes I do not give, I'm not the one who fires the weapon, who puts my life on the line. My husband makes the sacrifice, but so do I. I stand among the silent ranks, known as the Military Wife and I LOVE my life.

Its a reminder that we may not wear the uniform or face combat, but we live the same life, make the same sacrifices, face the same challenges. As an officer's wife I have spent years telling spouses to be strong, that today's challenge may be tomorrow's reward. We chose this life. Whether we married a Soldier or made the decision once married to take this path, we made the choice ... and now, we pay the price. We say goodbye to our loved ones, we wait anxiously by the phone, we tuck our little ones into bed and tell them that Daddy/Mommy is one day closer to coming home ... but now I realize we face another battle ... because of the choice we made, our personal lives are turned upside down at the "needs of the Army/Navy/Marines/Air Force" and more so are our professional lives.

After a while you get the hang of personal part of it ...packing, unpacking, decorating, rearranging, the puzzle of fitting all that furniture into a house that you swear is less than half the size of the last one. It a challenge you tackle head on, one that becomes a victory as you slowly juggle the pieces of your home finding a way to make another house and home ... albiet temporary. But the professional life, that one is hard.

I guess I hadn't realized it until now because I'd always be fortunate enough to find a Department of Defense position in jouralism or public relations, but now that I am outside in the private sector looking, I am stating to see the difficulties expressed by other military spouses.

Its daunting to go into interviews and have to explain the various short-term jobs that fill your resume to potiental employers. They want to know why you didn't stay, and more so, if hired, how soon will they need to find your replacement.

Many see your work history as an old ragged blanket, not worth much, whereas you see it as a uniquely pieced quilt, each woven thread offers an opportunity that makes you a better person, a hard worker, a more dedicated employee. It gives you insight that others may not have ... if nothing else you treasure it more because you know that one day, whether in the near or distant future, you will be pulled away to face the uncertainty of another city, another group of potiental employers.

I had a recent interviewer tell me that they were "disregarding the work I had done as a Dept. of Defense employee, because their company didn't do military stuff."

Um, I'm sorry, but how is journalism experience related to the military not the same as news in the private sector? I still have to go out and interview people, I still have to follow the same Associate Press writing guidelines, I still have to meet deadlines ... I just happen to do it in airplane hangars, in make-shift tents, or sitting alongside a Soldier massaging the overworked body of his military working dog. How is my experience as a media liaison not the same because I escorted people around a military base not a million-dollar office building. I've interviewed generals and admirals, talked one-on-one with celebrities and welcomed traveling dignitaries.

Servicemembers leaving the military have a variety od resources at their disposal for finding a job when they get out, there are a list of companies that are "veteran-friendly" but there are few who offer the same courtesies to military spouses. At times it can make you feel like your role was insignificant to the outside world. But just like you learned as a young spouse new to this life, you wake up, pull on your boots (or high heels) and face the day determined to make your place in thsi world ... even if its only for a short time.

Until our next cup of tea,

I'm the birthday boy!!!

2011-02-13T16:20:00.002-05:00

Wow! It's really hard to believe its been a year since Baby George was born. So much has happened and yes, I could get all teary-eyed and start reminising about all the little moment like his first word, first tooth, first time he crawled, rolled over or smiled, but that's what this blog is about, so you've heard it already.

I will tell you kiddo has his own way of celebrating ... he must get that from his daddy. The morning started off with his getting stuck behind the recliner, so he decided to play back there for a while. Then he dumped the shredder in the office, because really, what is a party without confetti!?! Then he decided he wanted to eat some dog food.

At that point we went to play in his room where he was more "contained" and so that was the first 30 minutes of the day ... Boy, was I glad I made coffee!

After eating 4 breakfast muffins (which make a larger mess than I had anticipated) he played while Grammie watched him and I took (an uniterrupted) shower.

Then after he took a nap, we headed over to visit Marcus so Mommy could order his new "big boy bag" from Thirty-One Gifts and he played with Marcus from playgroup for about an hour.

After leaving Mary and Marcus' house we went to Panera Bread where Jamie filled up on macarroni and cheese and blueberry yogurt. When they realized it was his birthday, they gave him a free chocolate chip cookie. I guess he liked it ...

After lunch, we came home and Baby George took a nap while I baked his cake. Lemon cake with cream cheese icing ... the same as the baby shower!

When he woke up he played for a few hours and then Grammie fed him lasagna for dinner ... followed by cake!

(Baby George's lemon cake with cream cheese icing.)

("So what do you think of lemon cake and cream cheese icing???)

All in all it was a great day, but we missed Daddy. He will return tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be some more celebrating. Baby George is asleep now and I'm not too far behind ... I'll post about his party and gifts a little later.

Until our next cup of tea,

"Those crazy. loud people in the corner? ... Oh, those are my peeps!"

2011-02-05T17:00:00.004-05:00

So things this weeks have gotten better ... in a strange way. Baby Geo was sick with a high temp (though considered low grade fever) of 99.8 and the adjacent ranges on both sides as well as being hyper-cranky and unable to sleep. Back and forth to the doctor, we went testing for flu, which he was negative for, then thought it was teething, but he hasn't displayed the slightest fever or temper tantrum during the last 4 teeth. Then Doc G (as I like to call him in my head!) and Nurse Marilyn discovered lil Monkey was suffering from ... Roseola ... basically an illness in babies and toddler characterized by high fever for 3 or so days followed by a rash that lasts a day or two. Unfortunately, the contagious period is before the symptoms (fever) show up, luckily the day we went to playgroup his fever appeared (like an hour after we left) so Doc G. didn't think that he was contagious anymore (though I did tell the moms and so far no one has had issues.)

So that fun-ness started Tuesday with his fever breaking on Thursday night and then we've been dealing with the extreme crankiness since Tuesday and the rash showed up today while we were at that zoo celebrating his (upcoming) first birthday.

So anyway ... back to the title of the post ...

So at playgroup on Tuesday, one of the other 4 moms asked if we wanted to do an early lunch (it was like 11 a.m. I think) at the local Mexican restaurant. Usually, I beg off not really wanting to expose the public to Baby George's antics when he is around other kids, but I talked Lara, mom of a 3 yo and 6 mo. old, who also usually says no, and we headed off to see what mayhem ... I mean, food, we could find.

Luckily, the restaurant was empty as we took our places, 5 tired moms and 6 hyper kids ranging from 5 months to 3 years. Once we got settled and food ordered, that's when the real fun began ... lil 5 mo P is suffering from colic and his mom was visibly anxious, so another mom took him and rocked him, as her 2 year old daughter, S, tried to climb out of the high chair. Meanwhile, Baby George was thrown anything he could get his hands on, and 3 year-old SG was commentating on his antics. On the other side of me 18+ month M was trying to revert to easier day, trying to grab Baby George's bottle and baby puffs. SG's little sister MB slept through the whole thing, and the moms, well we just monitored the circus until the food arrived at which point all sort of other craziness ensued ... like Baby George decided he wanted a nap and kept putting his head on the table and crying, SG decided after her mom substituted nearly everything on her plate that she just wanted to eat the sour cream, M decided his beans were not the ones he wanted, but Baby George's look like something he wanted to try and S kind of threw a fit at the other end of the table, though my side of the circus was too noisy to see why.

Then as well finished, I found myself holding SG and M on my lap, while Baby George sat beside me confused as to shy I wouldn't take him out of his chair. P still fussed, not quite happy still and S ... well there was too mch going on to see where she was. Then SG decided to hold the door open for complete strangers, S decided she wanted to go outside even if her mom wasn't ready and Baby George ... well, he still wanted out of his high chair.

Finally, we finished paying, wrangled up the kids, making sure the right kids went with right mom and headed out.

Yep, afterwards I realized 2 things ...

1. these were my kind of people. They get me. They don't just understand the craziness, they live it ... I don't have to hide or be embarassed that my kid feels the need to out-scream other children in public or practice pitching with whatever he can get his hands on ... and

2. We'd be millionaires if we had a reality show ... I mean really, 16 and pregnant ... you girls haven't got anything on us!

Until our next cup of tea ...

A case of the blues ...

2011-01-30T14:20:00.002-05:00

O.k. so I'm alive ... I know that since the baby was born I have been horrible at blogging ... but I just can't seemed to get motivated ... like I don't have anything relevent to say. Actually, between me and you, its a little more than that.

For the past few months I've been trying to bring up the posibility of post partum depression to George but for the most part he says "Lindsey are strong", its just stress" or "you just need sleep". But I think its a little more than that.

I've always dealt with what I call "social claustrophobia", I hate the feeling of being crowded. Now granted, that could be because I grew up with 11 siblings, often packed into a station wagon or van, or the fact that my height of 5 ft. has most 6th graders looking down at me. But now its getting harder to control. I sometimes get aggitated when George will come up behind me to give me a hug and I'm up against a counter or wall (the small laundry room is the worse!). I get anxious when people stand too close to me in line or when we are talking (which here in Miami is VERY frequent because culturally here they are very indifferent about personal space.) Small spaces, such as elevators, bathroom stalls, or other such place with limited space ... unless there are other people around me ... which has NEVER happened in a bathroom stall! :)

I'm also irritated by small things and it just escelates ... like last night two bottle brushes broke while I was trying to wash bottles and I just threw everything away and (quite dramatically) declared Jamie was no longer going to use bottles ... yeah, that's the easy solution! BTW, I have yet to find a decent bottle brush and we've been through nearly 10!

Now, before you start to worry, I usually don't feel ike this when the baby is around and maybe its because he keeps me occupied. You know what they say about idle hands and all ... Usually its during naptime or after he goes to bed and I address all the things that I need to do that I start to get stressed, I mean, the housecleaning elves are NOT holding up their end of the bargain and as much as I'd like to say, the cleaning can wait, my OCD about cleaning is a big stress factor.

I think my biggest issue is the lack of control and activity that is "mine." Basically in my mind I have 3 jobs, maintain the house, care for the baby, make sure hubby is happy ... etc. attend unit functions, make dinner, participate in various family activities, among other things. Nothing that is all about me ... and as a self-proclaimed princess I need "all about me" sometimes.

I miss my job ... I miss having a "purpose" or feeling like a valuable (or in the case of the previous job) invaluable part of team. All I can think is "Great, I busted my @$$ to get a masters degree so I can change diapers and clean floors!"

Now, I have been searching for a job ... for about 6 months now, but I am coming to realize that despite a great education and an awesome marketing and PR portfolio, the fact that the past 7 years has been military work apparently scares employers the civilain ... err, private sector.

I really hope that I can get a job soon and that I can restore my sense of purpose and value, because my sanity is not worth a penny at this point. We have some really big news that we'll be able to share soon (no, not another baby!) and maybe that will help you understand my stress and sanity issues. So fingers crossed that life with resume as "normal" soon ... until then, I'm going to bury my head in a good book!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Getting off to slow but organized start ...

2011-01-17T11:50:00.001-05:00

Well we are deep into the third week of 2011 and I am just getting to my first post. I can hardley believe the new year is off to such a busy start ... oh, wait ... that's the one constant in my life ... a millions things to do, with time to complete a hundred!

Well, when it came to making new years resolutions this year, I debated going with the old standby - weight loss - but then decided that this year I wanted to do somthing new. I wanted to improve the whole "me". So while yes, better diet and exercise are an element of that goal, so is improving my skills in marketing and PR so I can find that perfect job, increasing my patience, maintianing my stress by organization (ah, I do LOVE organization!) and enjoying life a little more to include some "me" time.

I have picked up a few marketing "gigs" from close friends with their own business to help me get back into a 'creative" way of thinking. so welcome to ...

I am happy to be back to "work" even if it is only during naptime and such. I have also started to work on my photography again. Hopefully I can save enough to get the full Photoshop program, but for now I am having fun in my current "Pretty with Pink" series ...

I really do love landscape and nature photography ... less stressful than when I did family photography, but I may return to that too.

For Christmas George got me a Cruz ereader and I love it. I set a highly ambitious goal of 111 books in 2011, but want to see how many I can get too. So far I have finished 5 books and are switching between 4 others. I've broadened my usual list of mysteries, historic novels (I love anything Victorian era) and professional books to now include westerns (my grandfather's favorite author was Louis Lamour), biographies (I downloaded the Kendra book and have a Jackie Kennedy Onasis one) and even romances (that's new). If you have any suggestions please let me know!

All in all, the new year has gotten off to a good start. I am eating healthier, Jamie and I walk a few miles almost daily now, and I am learning to prioritize versus trying to get it all done like I'm some sort of superhero.

We've still made very few friends here, but the playgroup I lead has led me to make some really great moms and I think we'll have Jamie's 1st birthday there, since there is really no one else here to invite other than our neighbors to the left whom Jamie LOVES!

Well, back to life and all things adventurous! I should eat befoer the baby gets up rom his nap ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

So NOT Ready for this "Monkey" Business!

2010-12-20T15:33:00.003-05:00

So my dear, sweet 10 month old is really becoming a lil monkey. I'm not sure if its a good sign that he is doing this before he's even walking!

Until our next cup of tea ...

And the Adventure Continues: The Tale of Seven Weary Travelers ...

2010-12-11T21:30:00.001-05:00

Good morning! O.k. I appear more cheerful than I truly am ... because I am still NOT home! Seriously, its 5:30 a.m. and I am sitting in Tampa, but let's pick the story up where we left off ...

So there I was waiting ... and waiting ...

But as I said, I wasn't the only one.

There were 8 of us displaced from the Orlando flight trying to get to Fort Lauderdale. of them one was unknown, his name was Scott, but I only know that because the gate attendant was making some sort of other arrangement for him to go North like Chicago or Philly. I thought it strange, but left it at that. The others included:

1. An elderly gentleman who seemed a bit of a cad. He joked that he was still fighting a hangover and wished he could drink. I asked him if that was a regret, just like booking this flight and he said, no, he'd only change the flight and keep drinking!

2. An adorable grandfatherly gentleman who reminded me a bit of my own grandfather who'd passed away last December. He often checked on me and made sure I was up to date with any change in information.

3. An hispanic man, a few years older than me. He was trying to get home to see his family before he left again on Monday. His job was as a store opener for a popular bagel company and had one more before he headed home to be with his wife and two kids. He too looked after me and I spent the most time chatting with him while we walked from one gate to another on flight changes or waited for baggage.

4. A third elderly gentleman who I imaged was named "Bentley" or "Bradford" with his pinstriped suit and elegant breifcase. I wouldn't be surprised if he spoke with a British accent or spent his weekends have tea in a rose garden with his elderly mother.

5. A tiny Asian guy who at first seemed confused about everything. He shuffled from one location to the next, couldn't find his boarding pass half the time and kept asking questions that had already been answered. Apparently, he just wasn't a night owl, because as we walked through the ticket and security lines at 5:30 a.m. he was chatting away about his engineer job and anything else that popped into his head.

6. The antsy lawyer ... boy this tiny pencil thin man with glasses who was at best, the same height as me, fit the classic profile of a fidgety oil and gas lawyer. He was adimant about getting to a 10 a.m. tribunal and was constantly on his phone or pacing.

7. Then there was me. I wouldn't even know what they thought of me in my khaki carpenter capris, white tank top and teal cardigan with the bright pink bag and pink ribbon holdng my wild hair in place. They kept me close though because George was monitoring flights from home and helped us stay informed because the crew sure wasn't.

Eventually the flight arrived ... 15 minutes late, but that was the least problem of the day. There was a flight in Tampa that had been delayed from its original departure time of 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. and before the delay we would have arrived about 5 minutes before it departed, but the additinal delay wiped that option off the board.

So there we stood, the displaced 7, not convinced that this plane would actually take-off. At the end of the line, we waited as others began to board. Maybe the third time would be the charm.

Finally seated on a plane we waited for it to take off. I thought that I'd be able to relax a little bit or get some blogging done, but I was stuck next to this EXTREMELY chatty grandmother who brought out photos of her children and grandchildren, told me in great detail of her mother's alcoholic tendacies and how taking care of her until she passed away has lead her to be on some sort of anxiety medication. I also heard of her intense irritation for her sister-in-law whom they were on the way to visit because she was pushy, brash, overbearing and talked to much ... hmmm ... I know what that feels like. As we finally disembarked almost two hours later she told me that the two of us could get into some serious trouble together and she was sorry that our visit had ended ... that made one of us!

After regroup, our not-so-merry band of travelers headed for baggage claim to get out luggage and then waited in the chilly night for the hotel's van to arrive. Since it only runs every 30 minutes we were lucky we only had to wait 15 minutes.

Once the van arrived we loaded our luggage in, did a quick head count and headed for the hotel. It took us 7 minutes to get there and another 10 or so for us all to check in. As one of the last ones, I finally got to my room at 12:30 a.m. Tired and exhausted, I changed into my pjs and fell into bed ...

And that dear friends is where the story ends tonight. I invite you to return to see if I made it home.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Home Sweet Home ... Hopefully ...

2010-12-11T20:00:00.000-05:00

Hi! I'll be you are wondering if this adventure ever ends ... we let's go back to this morning ... there I was at 5:30 a.m. and I'm sitting in Tampa. I was scheduled to catch a plane leaving at 7:230 a.m. for an hour flight to Fort Lauderdale ... well, just shy of an hour but let's not give them too much credit.

So after catching attitude with a ticket agent who said my bag was 2 pounds over the weight limit (the same bag was 3 pounds under in Houston), I headed to security with one of the other displaced travelers. I was ready for a wait but aside from the guy in front of me not having his ticket or ID in hand and then the lady in front of me at the scanner having issues understanding the "take off all jewelry" part of the screening, I was sent through the body scanner and pulled aside for a quick random check and sent on my way.

On a side note ... I don't really have issues with the scanners or pat downs. Maybe its because I lived on a military base for so long and you see the effects of lax security as well as the benefits of diligent guards, but it seems to me the peopl who patted me down at the various points of the trip were just as uncomfortable as I was ...

Anyway, back to the trip ... After I went through security, the other displaced traveler was pulled aside for a complete carry-on check so he told me to go ahead to the gate (which was across from security) and he'd catch up. So after checking in at the gate, nodding to a few of my other displaced companions having breakfast at the nearby Chili's, I headed to the Starbucks about 100 feet away for a coffee and muffin (Chili's just didn't sound like they'd have a good breakfast, so I passed.) Then with my treats in hand, I headed over the gate where they had some really comfortable booths for those with computers (bonus points for Tampa). Thats where I wrote the last post, drank my eggnog latte and ate my very yummy muffin. At 7 a.m. hubby called to make sure everything was on track. I told him my flight was just as long as the drive from Miami to Fort Lauderdale so he shouldn't wake the baby until I called to tell him we were on the plane.

A few minutes later we lined up for boarding. Now, yes, at this point I could have gotten really excited, but remember I'd prepped for boarding 4 times the day before without actually GETTING ON a plane. So my fellow travelers and I nervously joked for a few minutes. Outside you could barely see the plane for the thick fog rolling it. It was like someone have whitewashed the windows! But, then miracle of all miracles, we began to board ... 15 minutes early!

Once on the plane I was still not convinced, but after about 15 minutes of boarding (I was at the front of the line thankfully) the captain came over the speaker and began the departure speech ( you know, no phones, computers, etc ... blah, blah, blah). I called George, told him we were on the plane and about to depart.

Luckily, the plane was not packed so while I sat by the window and another of the displaced pilgrims sat on the aisle, there was no one in the middle seat ... just my muffin and his book.

We slowly rolled away from the gate, taxied up the runway and stopped. We could see the fog getting heavier and heavier. I was sure we would be turned around but after 15 minutes, we were cleared for take-off!

It was a quick trip ... barely time for drinks and such. Soon we were making our approach and I prepared to end this l-o-n-g journey ... exhausted after only 3 hours of sleep. After disembarking at the gate, I headed for baggage claim to wait.

As I waited I talked to George who'd arrived and was waiting in the passenger pick-up. He asked if I wanted him to come inside and help with the bags, but I didn't need the truck being towed at this point.

Just as the bags started to arrive on the conveyer George and Baby Geo walked in to greet me. I was so happy! Then I saw my bag was one of the first, so I pulled it off of the conveyer and Geo grabbed it but for some reason was having trouble with the handle. Once we got the the truck just outside the door we discovered they had crushed the back of the bag, ripping the fabric and bending the bars the handle slides into. Really!?!

I was so tired, we just threw it in the back of the Tahoe, I gave Baby Geo some kisses and a bottle, then settled in for the hour drive back home.

Finally! I was so happy to walk through the front door. George fed the baby while I went to change into some fresh clothes. After we put the baby down for a nap we looked at the bag more closely. It was a mess and told George I'd file a complaint after a quick nap.

What a long, exhausting adventure. All in all, we were surprise that the six-pack of Shiner beer (which my husband loves but cannot find here in Miami) arrived intact. Despite my bag being loaded and unloaded off of 5 planes, dragged about throughout the varous airports and being crushed, the bottled beer made it!

Now, let's see what they say about my compaint!

Until our next cup of tea ...

God Bless the USO!!!

2010-12-10T23:00:00.004-05:00

Now I’m sorry, I know I haven’t posted in a while. Time seems to get away from me, but right now I apparently have all the time in the world … or so Southwest Airlines thinks!

I came home to Houston for a brief trip to exchange Christmas presents and attend an “event” will later become public knowledge. Anyway, today I was supposed to go home. It’s the first time I’ve been away from the baby and being away from hubby for any length of time is hard after so many deployments, schools and training missions in the past 7+ years.

Well, my flight was suppose to leave at 2:40 p.m. from Houston’s Hobby Airport, so like a good traveler I get here just after 1 p.m. to check in and wait. Finally the time (and plane) arrived … we line up like good little first graders and wait to be boarded … and wait … and wait.

The staff member then comes over the intercom and states that the plane has a mechanical issue discovered in the pre-board inspection and it will take an hour and a half to fix … that right hour and a half! However, in many situations dispatch could chose to switch to another incoming plane, though they hadn’t decided that option yet.

So we trudge back to our seats to await further news. A few minutes later we are informed that they will switch planes and it will arrive about 5 minutes before the hour and a half mark for the other plane …great! Now we wait!
I was told that they were going to hold my connecting flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale since there were 8 of us were suppose to make the flight. Good for us, but now those people are delayed … good plan!

So the plane arrives and we are told that it will get there at 3:50 p.m. and we should be boarded and on our way by 4:10 p.m. … Um, sure …

The plane arrives … people deplane … we line up to wait for boarding … and wait … and wait …

There were jokes that there was an issue with this plane and they were drawing straws to see who would tell us … it was funny until the intercom scratched, drawing us all into silence as we listened for news …

A timid voice comes through the speakers, breaking up as she delivers the news … the second plane has mechanical issues and is being taken out of service. There is no plan as to what the alternate solution is, but we will be kept informed.

After waiting a bit more we were told that a 5:30 p.m. flight to Philly would be rerouted to take us to Orlando and the Philly passengers would be put on another flight … another bright idea! But wait … !

Those of us who were suppose to make a connecting flight in Orlando to Fort Lauderdale would not be there in time to catch any flights … I’m not sure if there were none, or if they were all booked, but we had two options …

1. Continue to Orlando on the flight coming in around 5:30 p.m. and stay overnight catching the next available flight at 2 p.m. arriving about 3 p.m. or …

2. Transfer to a flight going to Tampa at 8:05 p.m. and stay overnight to catch a flight going out at about 7:30 a.m. to arrive at 8:30 a.m.

While I was on the phone talking it over with George the decision was made for me, because next thing I know the supervisor, Chance, said he was switching all of our flight to Tampa and making overnight arrangements for rooms.

So I guess Tampa it is … but the flight will not leave until 8:05 p.m. and they were not going to give us food vouchers according to supervisor Chance.

So after getting my new tickets and room voucher, I trudged over to gate on the other side of the terminal to check in where I met an animated desk attendant named Joe. Joe had the energy of cup of the hot beverage whose name he shared. Once assured that is where I was supposed to be I got directions to the Hobby USO and headed over for my 2+ hour wait …

I'd heard about it many times from one of my favororite "mums", the mother of one of George's childhood friends who volunteers there, but I was not prepared for what I encountered.

The USO … I’d never been to one, but when I walked in it was like the CHRISTMAS STAR … the one bright spot in an otherwise irritating day.

It was quiet and homey … its chocolate leather couches welcoming you with their cool, worn rawhide, showing the impressions of so many tired bodies who’d found comfort in their embrace. So far from home, this little hidden oasis offered a feel of familiarity and reassurance. It was like coming home to mom after your first separation. The refrigerator was stocked with a plethora of beverages and treats to perk up even the weariest traveler. Computers, TVs, books and magazines … there were a variety of entertainment options to help ease the boredom of travel. There was even a playroom for children, that called to me with enticing games and toys, but I was in need of recharging … for my phone and computer as well as my energy.
I settled into the worn leather chair at the little dining table, opened up my computer and attempted to lose myself … in my blog, of course! One good thing was that I finally had some uninterrupted time to write. A method of relieving stress as well as journaling just another one of my …err … “grand adventures”.

So as I sat there writing my blog and loving joking with my Sister Spouse EB mother-in-law is the mother who volunteered at the Hobby USO, I intermittently relayed information of my plight to get home to my mother, who is a force to be reckoned with when she deems a cause necessary, as she “discussed” my ordeal with Southwest Airline’s customer service.

Now, my mom is a die-hard Southwest fan … my brother and I flew SW from the time we were toddlers, going back and forth between or divorced parents. The only time we flew another airline was if we booked and paid for it ourselves. She flew Southwest and if they couldn’t get her there she’d rather drive … seriously … I’ve been on trips that took two days to get to a destination … she was that loyal, and by the end of the conversation I am sure that the CS rep knew that information in detail!

So there I was, basking in my oasis of comfort trying to decide if I wanted to eat or not. My called … again … and said the customer service rep stated that they should give us food vouchers since we’d been stranded so long … more than five hours since the original flight was supposed to leave. The CS rep said that I should go to the CS desk in the terminal, explain the situation and tell them the 1-800 CS rep said I should be able to get a food voucher.

So I packed up my books, computer and other items and headed to the customer service desk. There was no one there, so I headed back to the gate to see what advice Lively Joe could offer. After I explained the “grand adventure” up to said that point he said that the CS desk had been empty for a while, but that he could call a manager over. It sounded good to me, so I waited. A few minutes later I knew my hopes of getting a food voucher were bleak as Lively Joe points me out to supervisor Chance, the same supervisor who’d told me earlier that they weren’t offering food vouchers, that we’d have to pay out of our own pockets.

I didn’t want to take up his time since I knew it was fruitless, so I quickly explained that I was one of the displaced Orlando passengers from earlier and the CS rep had said to ask for food vouchers. He said that they couldn’t offer us food vouchers of we’d gotten hotel vouchers … some mumbled reason of it being over the amount they allot for displacement … I dunno. I knew there was no sense arguing.

I thanked him and then checked in with Lively Joe, who’d gotten quite comical at this point, only to learn that the 8:05 p.m. flight was running 15 minutes behind.

Oh, well. What’s another 15 minutes after I’d been there more than 7 hours. So I sat down with a snack from the USO and a view of some interesting people and prepared to do what I’d been doing all day … wait …

Well, that’s the story for now, my dear friends. It’s late and my adventure isn’t over yet. Come back to find out if … “I’ll be home for Christmas …”

Until our next cup of tea ...

Don't let the dinosaurs out!

2010-11-16T11:54:00.001-05:00

I just realized I never posted the photos of Jamie's Halloween! Sorry for the delay, but life here has been very busy!

Jamie was a green dragon! We took him to the Air Base Halloween event and he had a lot of fun, but it was really hot so after "trick-or-treating" at some of the booths and bobbing for prizes with rubber ducks (he won crayons!) we said hello to some of our unit families and playgroup friends, then headed home to hand out candy.

I took him next door to see Judy (whom he adores because she calls him "Jorgito" or little George). He passed out candy with her for about 45 minutes them came home and crashed! He was exhausted! Here are some of his photos ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Don't give me a choice, then get made when I make a decision!

2010-11-16T00:25:00.002-05:00

So, I haven't posted much about military life on here lately, but lots has been going on. Now that I'm a SAHM with a baby, I'm getting to see the otherside of things ... not that I wasn't understanding before, but now I'm feeling the heat.

My husband has command of a small group of Soldiers, of which 12 are married. Most have children, most under the age of 5 with the exception of 2 9-year-old girls. Now with the exception of me and the 1SG's wife all of our spouses work, go to school, or both. All are actively involved in their childrens schools, which is mandatory here in South Florida and about half either are from here and have family in the area, or their Soldier is from here and has family locally.

Now our parent unit (name withheld to protect the not-so-innocent) is made of of many senior-level NCOs and officers whose children fall into the older ranges, though there are some who have young children.

Anyway, my husband's command is "attached" to this parent-unit, meaning that the unit also has another parent-unit at another installation.

Now, I've juggled both passing information sent to me by both the the families, made sure they knew of events and stuff, and sharing inforamtion that is not "unit-specific" with the other "parent" like camps for military chidlren, scholarships, etc.

Well, we were holding our own FRG meetings, socials and events since we arrived last December, but the Family Team leaders from the "local" parent group weren't happy with that saying we needed to stick with them. We ignored them and continued ( Geo is obligated to hold these meetings for his unit per Army Regulations). They weren't happy but when we the general left and was replaced by an admiral (joint unit) he agreed that we are a seperate unit and should hold meetings.

Well, the Family Team leaders weren't happy so instead chose to focus on the fact that our spouses don't participate AT ALL in the parent unit activities (daytime events) but we have nearly 100% participation at our own little events. Well, the fact that they tried to call me out during a meeting with the Admiral, while my husband was outside with the baby, didn't deter me or make me cower.

I argued that all of my spouses are otherwise engaged during the day and we took a poll of the familei and found that there are two nights a week that all except one spouse was free (diff on each night). So we hold activities and events on those days. We al so ensure the Soldiers are home to watch the children when we have a "girls night out" and if the Soldier is away (school, mission, etc.) then you can bring the child(ren) with you.

They argued that they had one night time event, during the summer. Um, isn't that when most families are on vacations?

Now it seems to me that we go above and beyond to put the families first, thus ensuring they can participate. Why is that concept so hard to understand?

Until our next cup of tea,

Dizzy @ Disney!

2010-11-14T10:55:00.001-05:00

What a whirlwind weekend Halloween was! We met Uncle Gordon and Aunt Mindy at Disney World for a day of adventure at Disney's Magic Kingdom. Jamie was really quite impressive and a real trooper. He went from one ride to another, sat through three or four Disney shows.

He loved the Dumbo ride, slept through the whole "It's a Small World" ride and laughed through the Pirates of the Carribean. The Haunted Mansion didn't even phase him, he leaned forward holding the rail and looking at everything he could.

Here are a few photos of our one day vacation!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Found it!

2010-10-16T21:45:00.002-04:00

I was so excited! As George and I were cleaning house (yes, he was almost doing more than me!) I found something that made me dance with happiness. So my first thought was to post it here 1.) to share what I was talking about and 2.0 so that I'd have it for the future.

In May we celebrated Military Spouse Appreciation and I had asked in a post is anyone had seen a particular "card" that had been attached to something called the Military Spouse First Aid Kit. Well I found it! There are a few variations, but it reads (and contains):

First Aid Kit for Military Spouses

cotton ball: to help cushion and soften the hard times
rubber band: to help you be flexible, and to hold things together when everything seems to be falling apart.
Snickers: to help you remember the importance of laughter
Band-aid: to cover the wounds and ease the pain
candle: to brighten your day
Kiss & Hug (candy): to let you know you are not alone
tea bag: to remind you are stronger than you think
Eraser: to help you start each day with a clean slate

I guess after my last post, you can imagine that I found it at the right time.
(And to update, I am doing better today. Hubby got up about 30 minutes after the baby and took over, sending me to bed. Unfortunately it took me an hour to go back to sleep because the puppy felt that I was laying in his spot and sat there staring at me inches from my face until I moved to George's side of the bed!)

Until our next cup of tea,

Another Month Zooms By in a Blink

2010-10-09T08:17:00.001-04:00

I can't believe it. Our lil Monkey is 8-months-old today! Hubby says that it's not a "birthday" so I guess its his 8-month anniversary!

Happy 8 months lil man!

Knight in Shining Armor Saves Damsel in Distress!

2010-09-22T21:09:00.001-04:00

Seriously, I love my lil guy, but today was one of those days where you are looking to hit CTRL+ALT+DEL on things and reboot the day.

I don't know what it is other than Jamie starting to go through seperation anxiety, but on top of his panic attacks every time I am more than 3-feet away from him and teething he was not a happy little guy today. We had a breakdown and temper tantrum by 8 a.m. that lasted until after 10 a.m. when he fell asleep for about 30 minutes before waking up even crankier. From there things just got ... well frustrating. He wanted to be held, but not held. HE wanted a bottle, but didn't want to drink. Part of breakfast and all of lunch was slung across the kitchen table. He threw major fits whenever I went to change his diaper, but was cranky because he was dirty. Poor guy just didn't know what to do.

George came home for lunch and saw that I was having a rough day, and that it continued when he came home after work. SO while I fought Jamie at bedtime, he snuck out and picked up pink roses, a bottle of wine, some cheese, crackers, brownies and just in case, a double-pack snickers.

What a wonderful treat as I came trudging down the stairs while Jamie's screams wafted through the air. George went upstairs and rocked him for a few more minutes and he eventually fell asleep (I rocked him for nearly half and hour, tried lullubies, then country ballads and 6 oz. cereal bottle, but he's a fighter!)

Now, I'm off to work stitching more of Jamie's Chrismtas stocking, but am spreading my treats out over the next few days, because it doesn't look like today was a one-time event! Wish me luck!

Today we introduced him to his playpen. We've been using it to change him on downstairs, but I took the changing table off and put some toys in it and he did good for a little over 45 minutes, so I was able to eat breakfast ... at 11 a.m.! Hard to believe he'd just had a 2-hour tantrum, huh!?!

Until our next cup of tea ...

This is my fighting face ... Are you scared!?!

2010-09-20T12:00:00.001-04:00

Until our next cup of tea ...

Time for a change!

2010-09-19T22:10:00.000-04:00

So tonight, I decideime on my hands I decided to take a little time to relax and unwind ... with a little time to update some things ... and that includes my blog. I adore shabby chic and French cottage themes (much to my husband's dismay because it clashes with his love of Spanish/Mediterranean styles!).

The Cutest Blog on the Block has some of the cutest layouts ... and they're free! For someone to likes to "redecorate" like me, that's always good!

Continuously Amazed ...

2010-09-19T21:39:00.002-04:00

So I know that I've talked about my friend Maria at Persoanlized Sketches and Sentements before. Her art work is BEAUTIFUL, and in fact one of the first pieces I had commissioned was this piece of Texas Art for George. I loved it! She also did a rendering of a teacup using one of my grandmother's from my collection. I sust post a picture of the framed piece soon, but I digress.

Anyway, my dear friend (and military spouse too) never ceases to amaze me with her talent. I'd been trying to figure out what to have done for Baby George (Jamie) since George and I each have one. Its only fair! As many of you know we call him lil Monkey, because he's so active and brings a smile to everyone's face. I stopped by her page today and there it was ... scroll down on that post and you'll see it ... a little monkey! How could you not smile at that lil guy. Sure there's a chance I could win it in her drawing (HAppy 100th post, Maria!), but I've got to order it if not. What a perfect gift for Christmas, is not his first birthday in Februrary (you know I'm already planning it!)

Go ahead, take some time and scroll through her whole blog. Its amazing how talented (and patient) she is! I'll sit back and enjoy my cup of tea while you go visit ... have fun!

Until our next cup of tea ...

From the crafty mind of ... a crazed, sleep deprived mommy!

2010-09-12T22:15:00.001-04:00

So lately I've been juggling a lot of things, life with a baby, job search, home maintainence, weight loss (attempt), unit families, leading Baby/Toddler Music group and well, my sanity. My sanity seems to be on the loosing end.

In an attempt to not end up curled up in a corner, crying for my mommy (or chocolate!) I have to spend some time, though not nearly as much as I'd like, on craft projects. My main priority is Jamie's Christmas stocking, but I also have two quilts that the tops are about halfway completed (one a little more, the other a little less).

When my mom and step-father came to visit in early August I had the chance to get a little more time in on projects while they took care of the baby. Granted they kept pushing me to relax more than I was, but its hard not to constantly feel like I needed to clean the house while they were here. For years I suffered under a "clean your room, clear your dished" regime.

I did take some time though and wanting to be a little more organized, decided to make a quick-stitch tote (no liner or anything fancy) so that I could keep whatever project (Jamie's stocking) all together and be able to "Grab and Go" if needed (like if Geo has to go to the base to check in or something before we do dinner.)

So mom and I made a quick trip to JoAnn's while my step-father watched Jamie (EEK!) and an hour after starting this is what I had:

My mom really liked it and rather than risk finding it missing after she returned home, I offered to make one for her too. SHe picked some fabric from my small collection and this is what she got a little over an hour later!

Now Jamie's stocking is another story, and I'll post progress pictures and details soon (hopefully!) I seriously have about 8 half-written posts just waiting to be completed. Life here is crazy and I am sorry to say my blog may be suffering, but I will try to be better ... (It took me 3 days to finish this one!)

Until our next cup of tea ...

Balancing a saved life with the freedom of choice ...

2010-09-07T21:56:00.000-04:00

I am a habitual reader of Post Secret, a blog created by Frank Warren, where people mail in their secrets on a postcard and they are anonymously posted for readers to view. Some of them are heartbreaking, others are joyous, some make you think, and others make you feel less alone. Sometimes you are surprised to find someone else has revealed a secret that you share as well. For the most part, the emotions and feelings that they evoke in me are mine alone. I don't blog about it, share it with friends or family members or chat about it on social networks. But today, I read one that angered me ... no outraged me.

It was a postcard of the Pentagon and simply read: "I draft wills for those deploying. I ignore their wishes and make them all organ donors."

I had to read it twice ... it struck a chord with me. The audacity of this person to feel that their own beliefs outweigh the wishes of service members who are volunteering to put themselves in harm’s way to protect others. I mean if it weren't for the troops fighting for our freedoms think of the oppression we could be living with ... and this person's reply is to take away the freedom of service members to make that choice. Some people have religious reason for making the decision not to donate; others may have spoken their wishes to a family member under what conditions that they wanted their organs donated.

Its a sad day today ... to see one person deviously take away a freedom from the very people who protect them ...

My (Not so Secret) Love Affair

2010-08-26T11:05:00.000-04:00

It's time to own up to it and stop hiding. Some may think I should feel guilty, others say I should break it off, still others say they are having the same affair, others claim they can't live without it. My parents find it gross, yet my grandparents advocate it. All I know is every morning I am awakened by the sounds of a baby's cries and immediately wish for him.

Every morning I stumbling down the stairs with a squirming baby on my hip, mumbling about rising before Soldiers going to PT being a crime. I plop the baby's wiggly butt into his activity center and set him up with pacifier and toys, anticipating turning "him" on. Sometimes I wish I'd prepped a little the night before, other times I stand there using those few extra moments to fully wake.

I've been doing this since the baby was born, six-months, though its not the first time. I saw my grandparent's ritual as a child, and then I started on my own in college. Now I may do it 3 or 4 times a day.

He's not as big as most, no anywhere near as exotic. I'm a simple girl, I don't need flashy, as long as it gets the job done. Maybe I should upgrade, bu I'm content.

I can hear the baby start to fuss in the next room not wanting to be alone, yet I can't leave before its finished. Then its done, the greatest moment of the day, everything else is cleared from my mind ... the moment of truth ... the coffee is finished brewing.

Ah, Dear Sweet 4-cup coffee maker! You may only be 12-inches tall and have one switch, but I love you as if you were 20-feet tall with enough buttons to light the city sky. When we get together I know that everything will be o.k. You perk me up. Your warmth flows through me like a silk blanket.

We love the same things ... a dark, fine grind ... Community Coffee or nothing! I am terrified of the day you will quit on me, fearful of having to replace you and learning to push the right bottons on another. We've been together through 1 pregnancy, 2 deployments, 3 moves and 4 vehicles. I can't imagine my life without you, yet I know when it happens, life will gone on. A little sadder yes, but I will still have the memories ... and definitely the Community Coffee.

There have been some rough times. Last month we ran out of coffee 2 days before the new Community Coffee shipment arrived, and I must admit, I didn't know if we'd make it. I know you hate being cleaned with vinegar, bitter and tart, but it makes you preform as if I'd just taken you out of the box. Then there are days that I can feel your empty pot drilling holes in my back as I chose Community Coffee's cappacino's mix, but the French Vanilla is just so good, and quite frankly I think a day apart once a week only draws us closer.

I know you'd love to spend your free time with a Community Coffee canister like my grandparents had when I was little, and I think you'd make a great pair, but baby formula costs money, so you'll have to wait until I can save my pennies. Don't worry, it'll be worth it when it arrives, but until then, I'm here.

I can promise you this, Dear Coffee Pot, I will always treasure your contributions to this family, I will always greet you first thing in the morning, I will only give you Community Coffee (only the best for you, of course!). I will alway love you dear friend. Without you I would be alive, but I probably wouldn't be awake!

And I Thought One was a Handful!!!

2010-08-25T22:27:00.000-04:00

So about 2 weeks ago we had a mild thunderstorm roll through here as one of the tropical storms made its way into the gulf. Jamie loves to watch the rain so we sat on the floor in front of out French doors to watch the rain falling into the pond when I noticed a Mama Duck with a few chicks in tow. "How cute," I thought. "I hope that they find a place to wait out the rain."

A few minutes later as Mama and babies sat huddled near our grill I saw a fe more chicks scamper over ... then a few more ... and a few more. One by one they slowly disappeaed under her protective wings, like clowns climbing into a VW Bug at the circus, but on a cuter, more somber scale.

I watched in amazement as they just kept coming. After a few minutes the parade of fluffy yellow and brown chicks had ceased and there stood Mama Duck in the rain beneath our tree with all those babies tucked safely underneath her. Sure here and there you could see a little tuft of yellow, but for the most part they were all huddled under her for protection.

It wasn't until after the storm passed and the little family continued on their unknown journey that I realized ... she had 16 babies! What do I have to complain about?

Too Funny Not to Share ...

2010-08-13T21:18:00.000-04:00

Now, I know years from now Jamie will protest and fight when I bring out baby pictures, especially ones like these, but it was too funny not to share. While we were in Houston we also met my brother's baby girl for the first time and so my mom (and us in tow of course) took the babies to get 4th of July pictures done of the babies. In true Jamie fashion, he stole the show with his antics and funny faces!

(This one was my favorite! I don't know if he was thinking "Eww, stinky feet!" or "Yucky ... girls!" He makes me laugh so much.)

(This one was funny too. Already trying to get a peek under the girls' dresses! I'm gonna have to keep an eye on that boy.)

Until our next cup of tea ...

And Stupidity Reigns Supreme

2010-08-09T08:11:00.001-04:00

Have you ever seen the movie, Idiocracy with Luke Wilson? You know the one where Private Joe Bauers, the definition of "average American", is selected by the Pentagon to be the guinea pig for a top-secret hibernation program and awakes 500 years in the future where he discovers a society so incredibly dumbed-down that he's easily the most intelligent person alive?

Great movie, really wish I had it in my collection, but as funny as it is, do we really want to live in a world like that? Sometimes I feel like I do.

Now, many of you know I was raised in Louisiana, thus ... recieving Louisiana education, which has ranked at the bottom of the states for many years. Maybe its just that social network sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have led us to feel like D-List celebrities thinking that everyone is interested in every though that we have thus we are in such a hurry to post our latest epiphany that we overlook spelling, grammar or even the ellusive "complete thought". Maybe I just haven't gotten my decoder ring in the mail ... I don't know.

Some days I can't get on these sites for fear of a brain aneurysm from trying to decipher other people's posts. These are actual posts that I have found on my FB "wall" in the past week. Do you know what these people are saying:

1. I got A felling every thing gone be Alright BeAlright BeAlright

2. InJoyed church But didn't inJoy the Trayler Park Drama

3. Wearing my New Altfit I baught yesterday I deserved new close cause I was tyerd of wearing the same ones

4. Might go to praktis with my MaMa tonight at church I really inJoy lisening to music music it's what keeps me strong for some reason music gets me out my depresshion mood sometimes

5. Sippn on my juice chilln n patio relaxn

6. OMG...I'M ALL SMILEZ RITE NOw...MMM...DATS ALL I CAN SAY...I HAVENT FELT DIS GUD N A LONG TIME...YAY FOR ME!!!

So is it just me or does your brain hurt too? Maybe I'm just not part of the "cool" crowd anymore. I can understand typos and such, but soon life will be full of "Trayler Park Drama" if we can't even "praktis" mastering our own language!

Until our next cup of tea ...

2010-08-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

Wow! It's so hard to believe that our little man is 6-months-old! At 12:49 p.m. on Feb. 9, 2010, our lives changed forever and our family grew by two feet ... two tiny, cute little feet. Now here we are 6 months later and look at him ... "talking", laughing, and scooting all over the place. Already his making his own decisions about what toys, food and activites he likes and doesn't. While we've still got a lifetime of memories to make, the past half year has been one of laughter, learning and loving. He has changed so much for that warm Florida day we brought him home ...

Birth Day

1-month-old

2-months-old

3-months-old

4-months-old

5-months-old

I can't believe that next week we're taking him for his 6-month pictures. Time really does fly. I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for us.

Happy Half Birthday Little Angel!

There's No Excuse, I've Been Hiding ...

2010-08-07T22:07:00.001-04:00

Well, Dear Blogger Friends, I don't need to tell you that my posting have dwindled. I could blame it on being a new Mommy, but I've always been honest with you. When we were at Fort Polk, life was great. You were there, right alongside as I catalog my grand adventures, some that would rival Forest Gump's journey from the south to the White House.

I was actively involved in the community, working with military families and working on my master's degree. You were there to ride out the rocky moments of deployments and separation and shared in the joy of homecomings. You laughed at the comedic view that I had on life, the world through the eyes of Sgt. Major, and many implored with me to write a book about living life with a laugh and latte, but alas, this duty station has beaten me down.

I was eager to start a new chapter with a baby and southern sun, jumping into the new adventures of life on a Air Force Base and Florida Beaches. Many of you begged me to slow down as I ran 90-to-nothing at 8 months pregnant, eager to explore my new home and meet new friends.

But here I sit, 9-months to the day since we moved in and I've lost my laughter. I love life with Jamie and his antics make me laugh daily, but more than no longer having access to my nostalgic New Orleans coffee of childhood days, I've lost my connection with the military community.

Maybe it's because we were at Fort Polk for 5 years, maybe it's because we live on base and I could throw rock and find someone facing the same issues, maybe it was I felt like I was doing something important when I went to work every day, but somewhere between Louisiana and Florida, I lost my spark.

I sit here, day in and day out in the house with Jamie and Sgt. Major, feeling trapped in my own home. George is only one of two Active Duty Army commanders on the post, the other being the general and we are surrounded by spouses who are married to his subordinates or his bosses, so either way I am on eggshells, watching what I say, what I do, how I act.

I've tried to make friends ... tried to volunteer, joined baby and toddler group, invited other spouses to lunch, but no one has stepped up. It’s hard to be the new girl who has to welcome herself. The spouses here are great, but none of the "parent" unit spouses have reached out and I have to schedule FRG activities to get someone to meet me for lunch. The leadership calls me when they need a volunteer, the spouses call when they need advice, but on the proverbial “Friday night” my dance card is empty. I have gone from the social butterfly to the girl nobody wants to dance with.

I’m tired of the pity party, so I am determined to pull myself out of it if I have to dance in the rain all alone. This isn’t me. I’m not the quiet wallflower (which is funny because I am naturally a quiet person), I’m the outgoing cheerleader (an still have the HS uniform to prove it!). I’m not going to let this place beat me. I’m not going to let the negatives of this lifestyle conquer me. I’m going to get out there, explore my world, face my fears, stitch a project or two and live life. My adventures are as numerous as the teacups I collect and I think it’s about time I get out there and add to both collections … just as soon as I finish my cup of hot Community Coffee. Thank God for internet shopping! If I can find my coffee, I can find my laughter!

Until our next cup of tea (or coffee!),

Home Sweet Home: Getting my Groove Back

2010-07-21T18:47:00.000-04:00

Hello Dear Blogger Friends, Goodbye Sanity ...

Well we finally headed back home July 3rd, but what would have been a 2-day drive turned into a 20-hour-long marathon when we learned one of George's Soldiers was in the hospital with an unexplained temp that reached 103 and beyond a time or two as it yo-yo-ed up and down. Its a scary situation for most, but especially for spouses who Soldiers are continuously going to and from countries whose sanitation is not always to the highest standards. Thankfully he was o.k. a few days later though to my knowledge they never discovered what caused the fever.

After that sitauation cleared itself, we got down to the fun task of unpacking ... I thought unpacking for me and a dog was crazy but a baby who grew into a bigger size while we were gone had me working long hours for a week to get organized again. On top of that I had a month of dust bunnies and such to get cleaned too. Who knew that toilets not in use could still get so gross ... YUCK!!! EEWWW!!! ETC ...

To make things worse, I had gotten back in the groove of drinking my favorite coffee, Community Coffee again and now am sad that I haven't found a vendor here in Miami. I guess I should order some from their website, but its at the bottom (no make that middle) of a long to-do list! ... Oh, Dear Sweet New Orleans Blend, we will soon be together again! (I'm trying to convince my mom to send me a 'care package" but since she is not a coffee or (hot) tea drinker, she doesn't get the importance of this necessity when you are up at 4:30 a.m. with a child who wants to hold a conversation with his ceiling fan.

But quickly back to the Houston trip ... it was a great experience but really, I am so glad to be back in my own bed among other comforts I've ome to value. But I promised that I would post pictures of Jamie's 3 month photo shoot (his modeling career may very well start here!).

Go Astros!

An Army of One ... Cute Little Man!

Out Little All-Star

Well, I'm off to make dinner!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Enjoying some down time ...

2010-06-24T22:54:00.000-04:00

Greetings fellow bloggers. I've been "offline" for a bit as I went home to Texas to visit family and introduce Jamie to the "family tree" while hubby is away on a short mission.

Its been great to spend time with family but to be honest we've been here since May 28, and I'm getting a little homesick. Not sure if its homesick or just a need for my own space. We've been staying with Jamie's godparents and I think megt. Major and event Jamie are getting a little tired of each other in such close quarters! I'm going a little stir crazy and Jamie's schedule has been thrown all out of sync leaving him a bit of an insomiac ... not the best outcome for an already overtired mommy! We are managing though and the chance to get to spend time with family has been great change of pace.

The family has been so excited to meet Jamie and I've got some great photos for his scrap book. We even took him to Sears to have his 3 mo pictures done. I'd planned to frame them and give them to George for Father's Day which we will celebrate when he gets here to Houston next weekend. Since he he doesn't visit the blog, I'll post the pictures when I get them sorted off the CD. The biggest thing is since we are meeting a large amount of family for dinner tomorrow night, I have to get them photos organized and the date put one them so I can give them out. In the meantime, here is a preview of what's to come.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Holding onto Memories, Dealing with Goodbye

2010-06-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

It's hard to believe that its been 6 months today since we said goodbye to my paternal Grandfather. For those who may not remember, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I got a call that my grandfather, or Paw Paw as we called him, was in a serious car accident and was in critical condition in New Orleans. George and I cut our Houston visit short to headed to the hospital the next day to spend some time with my grandmother and the rest of the family.

The following Tuesday (Dec. 1) George left for a conference in North Carolina and I settled in to get a few of the nearly 200 boxes unpacked since we had just moved to our new duty assignment. I got multiple daily updates from my Dad and aunt about my grandfather's recovery and for a while he looked to be improving, but on Thursday (Dec. 3) the doctors sent him home saying there was little else they could do. They thought he'd have a few days if not a week or two left and my grandmother wanted him to be where he was most comfortable, at home surrounded by his 3 children, 16 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren. At the time I was 8 months pregnant with Jamie and desperately wanted him to hang on long enough to meet his first biological great-grandchild, but it was not to be. Just an hour or so after he arrrived at home with my grandmother and his 3 living children around him, he quiletly passed away. I got the call from my Dad shortly after that. George arrived home the next day and we made the long journey back to Louisiana for the funeral.

While this may be the last memory of my grandfather, it is just one of many that I treasure.

My parents were divorced during my first year of life, so my earliest memories were of my brother and living next door to my grandparents. They took care of us when my dad was at work. I was smitten by my grandfather from early on. He was a larger-than-life, quit, hard-working man, who's stern discipline was only outweighed by his fierce love. My father's ability to make my brother and I laugh as children was definitely a trait learned from my grandfather.

For the first 7 years, it was just my brother and I. My father would marry my step-mother and we soon learned we'd have to share our grandparents with her 4 children, something that caused my turmoil as a child, which I revisted at the funeral, but that is a different story.

I had 31 great years with him, but somehow it just doesn't seem long enough. He taught me how to pick up three eggs in one hand (they had an egg farm), tie my shoe with one hand and the proper way to eat Zapp's potato chips (open the bag from the bottom where all the spices are!) One day I'll pass great pearls of wisdom down to my children, but I am sad that they will never know him, but am comforted in knowing that I am a better person for having had him in my life ...

Here are a few favorite pictures of me and "Paw Paw" from my "cute days!"

Until our next cup of tea ...