Batter Up! Time to Rally Around the Home Team!!

Well our little Monkey has just finished his first season of Little League Baseball and it was an experience for us all! He was one of only 3 4 year olds, all who barely made the cutoff age by a month or so. The other 8 kids had played both Sping and Fall of last year in Instructional T-Ball and are moving to T-Ball.

Oh, was fun it was to watch him play, though most of the time he was dancing, practicing to be a Ninja Turtle or Superhero or picking clovers. The three of us moms were assured that all of the others did the same thing at this age, so hopefully next year will be more actual playing.

He was great at hitting and fielding, but once he was bored, other interests took over.

He did swim for about a year (you'll see that in previous posts from 2011) and even spent six weeks in soccer (the coach spent all her time on her phone and we had a lot of "breaks" where the kids sat around.) I decided that I should probably start a scrap book for him with photos and stuff because if I wait too long, it'll just be overwhelming. So I spent a few hours pulling out scrapbook paper I'd collected, sorting through digital photos and ordering prints and gathering notes of what I wanted to do. Finally I was ready to start!! Let the fun begin!!

Here is the first page for baseball. I wanted to get all his team info on there because I'll never remember. I can't even remember kids from his preschool class last year, much less any of his teammates years from now.

Well, I'm off to get some more pages done while he is running errands with Daddy. Ah, the life of a crafty mom!!

Until our next cup of tea ...

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

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 ...

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

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,

Home Sweet Home: Getting my Groove Back

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 ...

Life is full of adventure ...

I know its been a while since I last wrote update, but the last two months have been a whirlwind of activity. Some of you know parts of it, so bear with me as I fill everyone in.

Many of you know that October was spent with me packing up our home in Georgia (or at least seperating what the movers were not taking) while George finished school. The last week was a flurry of activity as the movers took two days to pack and on top of that the realtor brought 4 families through on those days to view the house for rent. Then the movers were suppose to arrive that Friday morming between 8 and 8:30 a.m. to load the trucks. At 10:30 a.m. I got a call that they were running behind schedule for another move 3 hours away and that they'd be there early afternoon. Many phone calls and one cranky pregnant later, they showed up at 5:30 p.m. to start loading. They finally finished a little after 11 p.m. Ah, the rollercoaster ride of military life!

We spent the weekend cleaning the house (George treated me to a maid who did all the scrubbing!) and then turned the house over to the rental company. That Wednesday (Nov. 4) he graduated school and Thursday we started the trip to Miami at 4:30 a.m. (UGH!) Eleven hours later, we pulled into our new neighborhood and got the keys for our "new home". We opted to stay in a hotel that night, since nearly everything we owned was on the back of a truck somewhere.

The next morning while the puppy stayed in bed (lazy little bugger!), George went to the AFB to in-process and I headed to the house to meet the movers. From the start I was nervous as bags and boxes fell out of the truck, but I was assured that none were ours! Once everything was unloaded and (most) were delivered to the room we'd specified, we settled in for our first night at the new house. (Don't worry, I am working on a post to explain the move in detail!)

That only lasted for a few days, because Nov. 10 we started the 2-day, 22 hour drive to Houston. We got to spend some time with family and I had tons of fun at the baby shower. Thanks to all who attended. While there it was a whirlwind of activity to include a 3-D ultrasound, shopping and visiting all those Texas restaurants that I've been missing!

Unfortunately, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving I got a call that my paternal grandfather was in a serious car accident and was in critical care in New Orleans. George and I cut the Houston visit short to headed to the hospital the next day to spend some time with my grandmother and the rest of the family. Thanksgiving day we got back to Miami and settled in for a few days together. The following Tuesday (Dec. 1) he left for a conference in North Carolina and I settled in to get a few of the nearly 200 boxes unpacked. 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) I got the call from my Dad that he passed away. George returned home the next day (Friday). On Saturday (Dec. 4) we attended part 1 of our birthing class, then loaded the truck and headed to La. to attend the funeral and spend some time with my family. Despite his packed schedule, most of which was spent traveling, George found the time to contact and coordinate with 2nd Bn, 4th Inf. Reg., his unit at Fort Polk, to see if they could get a team together for a military tribute. As few know, George and my grandfather served in the same unit, though nearly 50 years apart.

Tuesday (Dec. 8) we headed back to Miami, and George headed back to work the next morning. That following Saturday (Dec. 12) we finished the birthing class and then prepared for the Winter Ball in Key Largo that night. Sunday, after a month of constant travel, we decided to forgo unpacking and headed for the warm Miami beaches. It was a good decision, a day of much needed resting and relaxing.

Now the house is nearly unpacked, George is quickly settling in to his new command position and we even managed to coordinate a holiday lunch for the Soldiers and spouses this past Friday. The Christmas tree is up and (kind of) decorated since we could only find some of the ornaments, but Great-Grandma's (Leija) two angels were set aside from the day the movers came and they are now on display in the kitchen.

Baby Jamie is growing and active. I am now 32-weeks and go every other week to the doctor. My new baby doctor is great, though I am looking for another primary care physician. I just didn't like the one I was initially assigned. We are also researching pediatricians and hope to get one picked by mid-January.

January looks to be a busy one as we start the month off with our first spouses social and George's Assumption of Command. We'll finish with the baby's room and start preparing for his arrival as well.

I guess its time to rest now then its off to clean the kitchen. I get tired quite easily these days. Hope all is well with you and your families. May everyone have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I will post some pictures in the next day or so.

Until our next cup of tea ...

6 months down, 3 more to go until we can hold him in our arms ...

I finally got the chance to scan the latest ultrasound pictures and wanted to share them with you. It has been a flurry of activity here. The movers arrive on Wednesday and I am NOWHERE near ready, but somehow I always manage to make it. We leave next Wednesday and from there will be heading to see our family! We are so excited to see everyone. Making an agenda keeps me from going insane with so many to visit, and now that the preganancy brain is fully activated, my dayplanner has become the Holy Grail! Hopefully we can fit everyone in.

The ultrasound was Oct. 15 and Baby Jamie weighed in at 1 lb. 5 oz. (though I'm sure he's sailed passed that now!) He was nearly 11 inches long, so he's getting bigger (though I am maintaining!) All the test came back fine and despite my risk factors for gestational diabetes, I am nowhere near that diagnosis (thanks to my love of fresh fruit!) His heartbeat is about 150 beats per minute and sounds strong! About three weeks ago he reached the point where he can now taste what I am eating, so that means that he's getting a little variety and has a better chance of favoring foods I eat during this period, so I'm still munching on fruits and veggies, and hoping that we don't have food wars about eating his veggies later on! His kicks are much stronger now, some reach the point of stopping me in my tracks and we are excited that soon George will be able to feel him.

Look at that precious little face!


Record of his heartbeat ...


The tech thought I'd like a picture of him kicking ... no picture needed, I feel like a trampoline!


He's very proud of his "ahem" toy!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Trying to get ahead, before I get behind!

So much to do and so little time. Everytime I realize that we will be moving again soon (we are down to 5 weeks) I start to panic. November is going to be C-R-A-Z-Y busy! I'm actually stressed right now, which I'm sure if not good for the baby, so I thought blogging would help ... a little.

We have set up the appointment with transportation to pack and ship our houshold goods (HHG). However, without an address to send it too, our HHG will go into storage and we will have to coordinate to get them delivered at a later date. Since we are not going to an active duty installation and there is no on-post housing we HAVE to live off-post and the storage facility is over 30 minutes away, on the other side of Miami. I assume it will be a black hole once our HHG go into storage because it is as a Coast Guard facility and they don't really deal with that sort of thing on a daily basis.

So we went to Miami over the Labor Day holiday to look at housing areas and the different types of houses that were available. We narrowed down the housing community and the realtor began sending us a list of homes available. She also told us that we should look into buying in that neighborhood since it was one with high interest and would continue to gain interest since it was one of the few gated communities near the base and outside the congestion of Miami. Since a new hosiptal was recently built at the need of the community, it also make it a prime location for medical professionals. After research we realized that there would be a growing interest since the City of Miami has decided to start raising its city property taxes.

So now we are in the home-stretch. We have 5 weeks to find a house, the packers and movers are scheduled, then its a fury to unpack and get "necessities" and furniture in place before we head out on a whilwhind trip to Houston for baby shower and Family bonding. Then it's back to Army life while George gets settled in as commander, I get to figure out where verything will go in the house and what we need before the baby arrives. Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it!

Well, I'mm off to spend time with the pup. I do have some funny picture of Sgt. major that I will try to post in the next day or so.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Feeling conflicted ...

O.k. so I'm pretty sure I can vent on here because NO ONE from my family actually reads my blog. (And to think that used to bug me!)

O.k. I'm feeling pretty conflicted about some things right now and to really explain it would take a novel, but I will try to keep it short.

Many of you know that I grew up with 11 siblings and for the most part I always felt "alone is a roomful of strangers" kind of thing, not really connecting with any of them. Despite what many of you who know me in real life must see, I was a very shy child and stayed to myself (still am shy but overcompensate with learned social behavior from ettiquette classes.)

Even when it was just me and my biological brother (a year older) with my mom's family I always felt like (and still do) an afterthought. Like a side note. Maybe that's why I diverted my energy and attention into school and education. It was a method to justify the loneliness.

I remember this one time in my teens, we were at my mom's for Christmas dinner and my uncle asked my brother how school was. After his answer he turned and asked me, but before I could answer, my uncle turned to my aunt and started a conversation with her. I don't know why that sticks out in my mind so much.

Anyway, George and I were very excited about getting pregnant and I called everyone to share the news. But since then it has been a very quiet. No calls, other than a few from my mom when she's not busy, and no answers on the monthly baby updates. But this week, my brother and his wife announced she was pregnant and I feel like our family will once again take a back burner for him.

I am very excited for them, I know that they will be great parents, I was just hoping that since we didn't get the big fanfare wedding and stuff like they did that this would be my chance to finally be in the limelight. {Sigh} It's not that I don't mind sharing but just like a child giving its parents a crayon drawing I was expecting some excitement, but instead it's like my brother just proved he was a 7-year-old Michaelangelo or something and my little drawing looks like crap!

I know that it's just something I will have to work through, and it's not like George's Family and our friends and Army Family haven't been extremely supportive. I know a large part of it is because we are a military Family and that takes us a long way from our Family and while I wouldn't say "out of sight, out of mind" it does feel that way at times.

Well, I'm off to cheer myself up by finishing some stitching projects for Baby Boy and as well as for another milspouse who is expecting 6-weeks before me (Ahh, we are partners in crime but you'll never catch us because we can look so innocent!). Back to baby on the brain! I do have some cute stuff to post later on, as well as an update on our crazy fun Miami trip!

Until our next cup of tea ...

Settling in ... Georgia on my Mind

As I expressed in my last post, we have made it to Georgia and are settling in. We were able to find a beautiful single story, three bedroom house in this cute little "cookie-cutter", Mayberry-type neighborhood.

{Our new house}


{My new big kitchen}


{Our new master bathroom}

We have had our share of headaches trying to consolidate our home with the furniture and stuff from George's dad's house which had been in storage until Easter weekend. There has been A LOT of purging. I am amazed at how easy it is to get rid of stuff when I am extremely exhausted. I wanted to just off load everything in the backyard and have a bonfire at one point, but I don't think the neighborhood association would like that.

We continue to live in a world with towering cardboard boxes, but I am slowly getting everything in place. (Only 137 left to unpack!) George has ensured that the important things were done the day after we got here ... so the cable and internet have been installed and the motorcycle is nestled in the garage with easy access. (Sigh) My list seems to be MUCH longer. I am not complaining because it is much better than the week we lived in the Red Roof Inn.


{George and Sgt. Major in standoff at the hotel of whether pup would get a treat and a walk ... Sgt. Major won!}

George and I both managed to get a respitory infection the week the movers came to Fort Polk and it lingers until today. We eventually went to the ER after 10 days (here at Fort Gordon) and after 6 hours of waiting they told us it was not high on the list and he was given an appointment for the clinic the next day (GRRR!).

There are some noticeable differences here than at our previous duty station ... like there are A LOT more dining choices and shopping and my personal favorite is there are 3 libraries and 4 bookstores (that I've found!)

All in all, things are slowing becoming normal. I have learning my way around faster than expected. I am almost finished with the last of my school work so I can turn it in and finally finish my masters. George is working on getting back into his "Iraq" shape and finishing putting together the motorcycle.

On another note, now that we are in Ga., Sgt. Major has become a local celebrity since the UGA-craze has consumed this state. He is loving it. Our master suit is (not surpisingly) larger than military housing and he has managed to spread out his toys between there and the livingroom.

Until our next cup of tea ...

Fun in the sun ...vacation not over

We're back from our vacation in Mexico and it was SO MUCH FUN! We're still on block leave and over the next few days I'll highlight our six days of fun in the sun with photos, but tonight I am exhausted. We just got back to the sates two hours ago so after I play with the puppy and unpack, it's nite-nite for me. I'll try stop by your blogs over the next few days.
But until then ... viva la Mexico!

Certified by Military Police or somrthing like that ...

Today was crazy fun! This may be a little differnt from some of my recents posts, but it's the weekend and we're headed for vacation ... so let's lighten the mood.

As part of my new job I get to work with families ... which means when the units have family day I GET PAID TO PLAY!!!

Today the unit had the Order of the Crossed Pistols. Many units have their own creative forms of helping families learn more about what their Soldier does and today was no different. They had a variety of stations set up where spouses got to learn how to use a police batan, assess an injured person, disassemble and reassemble a pistol, target practice and my personal favorite ... make a felony traffic stop. That's right my partner and I were Pink Patrol! As in "Pink Patrol to Bayou Base, we have an unidentified motorist stopped in a Blue Toyota Whatever, liscence plate XXXXXX. Please stand by for additional information."

After passing all of the stationed I was awarded the Order of the Crossed Pistol and a unit coin, thus earning my "crossed pistols." (I was also given a pin with the pistols to wear!)

It was tons of fun, but the best part was that Tommy Gunn covered it for the paper, so I got to see him for a little bit before I was off running around like a -five-year-old at the park. I'll have to see what pics he got 'cause I'm sure I saw him lurking about! But until then. here's a pic of me "arresting a suspect!"

So much going on ...

There has been so much going that my head is spinning. So please bear with me as I try to recap the past week or so.

Home and Family:
George came home from a month of training last Tuesday. We're still headed toward deployment preparations so after a few days of work, we headed to Houston to spend time with family. While there we celebrated George’s birthday with his best friend, Gordon, and Gordon’s girlfriend Mindy.

Saturday we spent the early afternoon hanging out and shopping, then that night we had dinner and drinks at a Japanese restaurant. There was even a magician. Sunday we spent a few hours with my family, because my uncle and his wife and children came into town. Unfortunately, a few hours after we left I got a call that my aunt had to take my grandmother to the ER. She had an infected appendix. The next morning they had to perform emergency surgery. I spent Monday at the hospital. She was fine, but it really was scary.

Work:
I got a new job! I start on Monday. Tomorrow is my last day and Tommy Gunn is feeling abandoned and a bit angry, so stop by for visit. Show the man some love … even though he only shows his mug every once and a while. He must have more important things to do …

Anyway, back to me … you can chat to TG later. The new job is working with families. Not quite a social worker, but a bit along the same lines. The Army has created Family Readiness Support Assistants that will assist families during deployments. They act as a liaison between the commanders and the families, making sure they get up-to-date information.

Crafts:
Haven’t done much and am really bummed about it. I am taking this online embroidery class through Crafty Daisies and love it. I am trying to get the “homework” done and will post pics when I can. Other than that, I hadn’t done anything. I didn’t even go to a craft store when we were in Houston.

School:
Ugh! There is so much to do … I couldn’t even begin to tell you.

Well until our next cup of tea …

Have I gone mad???

So yesterday as we waited for our boss to give us the go ahead to go home, Tommy Gunn was visiting me on my end of the building. I went through my desk drawers to give him some media packets I got for the entertainment section. He commented that I was freakishly organized (O.k. I think he said highly, I might have added the freakishly part).

We again talked about it today as we were leaving work and he said he wished he was one tenth as organized as I was. I joked and said maybe I should blog about it, but then when I went to get groceries after work I began to think about it. I do tend to over think things. Take gracery shopping for instance. I get cold things last because they are the first thing on the counter and in the cart. That makes it the last thing in my vehicle and therefore first thing out. That means they spend minimal amount of time out of the freezer. Really who puts that much thought into groceries.

Then I get home and start to put away my groceries. This is the result of that:

My freezer:



My pantry:



I guess its a good thing we get free therapy in the Army. If you think that's bad you should see our garage. Maybe I should get a hobby.

What do I do???

For the first time in MONTHS that I've had time with nothing pressing. From prepping for deployments to studying for school, I have always had something that "needed to be done yesterday." While we are still staring down the barrel of a deployment and I have a list of papers to be turned in, I've got time. What a great word ... TIME.

I'm just sitting here trying to figure out what to do. The TV's on low, the house is clean, the puppy is sleeping on the floor at my feet. I am just reveling in the joy of doing NOTHING.

I still have some laundry to do, and will spend a few hours proofing a paper later to turn in (it's 20 pages), but I can put it off for a little bit and concentrate on something fun ... maybe some crafts, organizing (yes, I find that fun) or browsing through magazines. Yesterday when I went grocery shopping and found a new book by one of my favorite authors and picked it up on a whim. I read it cover to cover last night. It was great.

But what to do next? Hmm ... for now, I'll watch TV. Dog the Bounty Hunter is one and I love that show. I guess I'll see what I can do to stay out of trouble ... I thought about going shopping but that requires me getting out of my pajamas and I'm trying to break some sort of record on that one. I actually took a shower and put on another set of pajamas. Now that's a sign of my day to come ...

Until our next cup of tea ...

Who the hell do you think you are???

O.k. today was one of those days that could only get better if I had a baseball bat and something to beat. My husband came in from the field for a doctor's appointment so I got to spend a few minutes with him. I guess before he left he checked our bank account online ... still not sure what prompted it. But he called me all pissed off asking if I had been shopping online on unsecured sites.

Now as much as I'd love to spend all of my time shopping online, I told him it had been weeks and the only thing I buy is my school books from Amazon. It's been about 2 months.

Well, it appears that someone stole my credit/debit card and had made nearly $2,000 in purchases in the last 24 hours. Boy was I pissed.

I had to take off of work, go home and call the bank. They filed a fraud report and said the money would be returned in 48-72 hours but we think we figured it out. We had ordered pizza online Wednesday night but the web site said it wasn't going through and that we would have to call the order in. The idiot who answered the phone had issues entering the card number and repeated it back twice. We think he either wrote it down and he or someone else took it or someone wrote it down when he repeated it back.

What pisses me off is not just that they did it but that this pizza place's business is about 75 percent military because they are on the main entrance/exit road from the installation. Now we always keep a cushion amount in the bank account and are fine until the money is returned, but what if they are doing this to other military families. Ones who don't have money to spare but wanted to have a treat. It just sikens me that people are so brazen as to steal money from people who put their lives on the line for others.

Thankfully, the bank has a few weeks to take care of it before George gets home because he is on the warpath. Thieves beware! You might have gotten lucky because justice is swift in this household.

Presenting Michelle Lindsey originals ...

Here are is a photo of the jewelry I made in the deployed spouses craft class that I wrote the commentary for. I had so much fun that I think I'm going back next Monday night.

My life is not like a box of chocolates (but I sure could use some!)

Well this week has truly been "one of those weeks." I have had so much to do that my head is spinning. The weekend was a blur because my husband was called into work BOTH day because of stupid decisions made by Soldiers (related to alcohol of course.) So I think the leadership are trying to figure out a way to stop the Soldiers from hurting themselves or others because, let face it, their lives are already in enough danger without adding to it with stupid decisions.

In the past month I have lost nearly all of my friends to PCS moves: “My Dear Watson”, Mezz, my date when hubby is gone, Staci, “Dixie’s Mom”, and a few others. These gals were my rock, sounding board, shoulder to cry on and in the case of Mezz, a little sister who needed constant care, which kept my mind off of the last deployment. Now, I am months away from another deployment and ... well it looks like it’ll be a quiet one, but I have plenty to keep me busy.

Last week was chaotic at work and this week is a little better, but we start on the Back-to-School edition that comes out the week school starts and I have to be honest. I have been stuck with this for the past four years and I HATE it. I don’t have kids so it’s wasted info on me. The bus schedule is always provided last minute so the day before we layout the paper I spend 8-10 hours typing it up because they send it in an spreadsheet format by street and school and I have to convert it to paragraph format by bus number. UGH!!!! Oh, the bad words that spew from my mouth. I have actually cried from so much frustration. On top of that it is an 8-page layout so I have to do a plethora of other articles and projects to fill it up. I beg you this one time of year, don’t edit your newspaper and complain –– some days it takes all we journalists have to get it together, especially when you get the project two week ahead of print time instead of two-months like previously. I know bus safety in my sleep, I could recite to you the lunch schedule and give you the damn immunizations myself. On top of it I have my regular assignments which this week include (but is not limited to:) a deploying unit and Dining Facility that won national recognition (It’s not all glamorous!) But on to other topics ...

The end of the semester is approaching fast and I have 11, that right not 10 but 11, papers to write including a 15-20 page research paper. While the hell did i go to sleep last night. I have class the first two weekends of Aug. and I gotta have SOMETHING to turn in.

On the home front, we have come to realize that Sgt. Major’s potty training has gone out the window since military housing changed our fences from wooden to the chain-link. That’s right people, my “I’ll bite your head off if you knock on the door or touch my mommy” guard dog is scared to potty outside by himself, so he has redesignated the floor beside the kitchen table as his new “hot spot.” George is going to try to find some sort of privacy fencing, but we cannot attach anything to the fences per the new regs. I say let’s drop Sgt. Major off at the housing office for a few days and see if they don’t change things ‘cause ol’ boy has some strong stuff coming out of his little body.

Speaking of george he leaves for four-weeks of training soon and it’s gonna be hard. Sgt. Major tends to get needy, I go on a house-cleaning binge and I hate the lonely night. A king-size bed is HUGE when you’re in it alone (even with a 60-plus pound bulldog.)

This Friday we are having his Bn XO over for dinner and while I absolutely ADORE the man because he is so funny (at least I think so!) I have got to remember to take the roast out of the freezer, bake some cookies (and not eat them) and get salad making stuff. Hopefully the produce gods will smile on me and the red potatoes in the pantry will not go bad Thursday night, like they usually do when planning a dinner party. I’m also hoping that a fellow Cpt. can make it for dinner too, ‘cause i want to grill him on his new fiancé before we get to the weeding in Sept.

On top of all that I voluteered to take on another position in the Family Readiness Group ... but more on that later.

All in all ... I probably had a lot better things to do than write this post, but I’ll chance it. I must get back to work. Life as an Army wife is NEVER dull!

Busy week, but nothing to report

Well it has been a busy week for me, but I found time to stop by most of the blogs on my list and found a few new ones. However, there is little to report. So in exchange I give you a few words from Sgt. Major ...


"This is my good side. Don't laugh. This is my serious face."


"Look Ma! No hands!"


"A few licks a day, keeps Mommy o.k."


"Beer and bones ... that's all I want!"


"Where'd it go? I couldn't have drank them ALL!"

Good luck baby girl! Give 'em hell!

As some of you many know my niece is starting college in about a month. Being the ever supportive Aunt and organizational fanatic that I am, I send her a care package/graduation present. It contained:
-- 2007 Flavia desk planner (pretty pastel colors)
-- chocolate and pink note book
-- pink flowered cloth pencil bag (for her backpack- hello ... makeup!)
-- pink plastic pencil box (for her desk)
-- heart shaped post-it notes
-- square post-it notes with pink flower (I think tulip)
-- small green notebook (didn't have an extra pink one)
-- Official Disney Tigger Pen (in display box)
-- pink pen and pencil set from Calire's
-- assorted highlighters and pastel pens

As you can see it is filled with "I can't go to college without this stuff" package. I am so excited for her, I am going to call her "like all the time!"

She called today and was so excited. There was a lot of OMGs and "I'm so excited!" when she talked to me. I told her that we would buy her a new refill for the planner each Christmas. She was pretty excited about that too. We also sent her a check because she saved her money all summer to buy a laptop for school, so we wanted her to be able to get the Microsoft Office program and help with school supplies.

Anyway, I can't wait to hear how school truns out. I'm almost as excited as she is!

How did I survive childhood?

Now I know at times I can be a bit harsh on youth today. With all of this technology they have gone soft, but when reading ABCNews.com today, I began to wonder ... How did I ever survive childhood? This is what prompted by inquiry ...

Dangerous Lead Levels Found in Some Garden Hoses
July 12, 2007 — It's about as uncomplicated as it gets –– rip off the package, screw the fitting onto a spigot and your new garden hose is good to go.
At least that's what Louise Broyles thought.
"There was no reason to think it wouldn't be safe," Broyles said. "It's a garden hose so why wouldn't it be safe?"
But on the packaging of the garden hose was a tiny warning that said, "Do not drink out of this product," and, "This product contains chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects and/or reproductive harm."
It turns out some garden hoses may contain dangerous levels of lead.
In a test, reporters from ABC's Phoenix affiliate KNXV-TV bought 10 garden hoses randomly at places like Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Target and Ace Hardware.
They filled sections of the hoses with clean water, sealed the ends and put them outside for about a day. Then they delivered that water to a lab.
Five of the 10 hoses came back with levels of lead higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency allows for drinking water: 15 parts per billion. Four of those came back with extremely high lead levels.

(To read the rest of the article click here.)

Now that I look back I wonder if I should worry. As I child I did many things that now cause concern ... not just physically but psychologically too:

–– I drank from water hoses in the yard ... as long as I let the hot water run out I thought it was fine
–– I ran with scissors ... as long as I wasn't running a marathon with a crowd of people, I thought it would be o.k. to jog from the craft cabinet to the table
–– I slept in a room with lead based paint on the wall ... as long as I didn't write on the walls my parents weren't concerned
–– When I tried out for sports there was a chance I would NOT make the team ... I just tried something else until I found something I was good at
–– Only the winners got trophies –– If you didn't win you just tried harder next time, doing you best was what counted
–– I spent hours in the sun without sunscreen ... I lived on a farm, the sun meant "get your lazy ass up and milk the cows", at that point we were awake so we might as well get busy with the garden and feeding the chickens
–– My parents left us unattended ... I was one of 12 kids, my parents locked us out of the house just to regain their sanity. As long as we didn't start up the hay baler there was little danger. That's what the older siblings were for, they cared for the younger ones, thus learning responsibility.
–– I played with an ax ... I really did. My siblings and I built a log cabin in our back yard with trees from the wooded acres. We had the foresight to make it too short to be comfortable for adults ... at least that thought will comfort me when I am bed ridden. We also made out own bows and arrows so we could torture each other. That might leave so psychological issues to be dealt with in the future.
–– I had to do manual labor ... again, I lived on a farm and trust me cows don't milk themselves (although a dog will lick himself!)
–– I drank unprocessed milk and natural foods ... I guess that is what kept us alive seeing how all the fertilizers and stuff are causing cancer ... I often ate it without washing it though, does that cancel out the good!?!
–– I stuck a penny in a light socket ... well to my credit I was 3 and only did it once. We didn't have cabinet locks or electric socket covers. We learned our lessons through trial and error (or from a unfortunate older sibling.)
–– I had to take all of my school books home at night and back to school in the morning ... I'm not suffering any back problems but maybe I should note it for a later date.
–– We were spanked ... I know, the horrors. Although I don't have children and refuse to form an opinion on this until I am faced with an unruly tot of my own, I don't think there are many lingering issue, physically or psychologically. Although the threat of being sent to break off a twig does tend to give me chills.
–– We were told "no" ... again, how did I survive. My parent's didn't negotiate. With 12 of us they'd never win.
–– There were only two dinner choices: Take it or leave it! ... I only walked away from the table once. To my vegetarian friends, sorry, but if it comes to Bambi or going to bed with a growling stomach ... well do I have to say it!?!

Oh, the list goes on. It could be all in my head, but I think I am starting to feel some of the ill effects of my childhood errors now. It's a wonder I made it this far. Maybe they should test my blood for some sort of gene alteration that allowed me to make it nearly 30 years with this kind of history. I could be the cure for cancer ... at the very least a medical marvel!