Trying to become Weird

So this month my church has been doing a series based on the book WEIRD by Craig Groeschel and we've been discussing it in our small groups.  I love it.  Some areas need more work than others to become weird but I am a work in progress.   In case there are people who read this that don't go to my church-- I'm not talking about weird like that strange addiction show.  I'm talking about weird as in not being normal.  As in I want to walk the narrow path not the wide one towards destruction.  The book states it very simply, "Normal is not working." 

At any rate, I say that to say that last night I was able to act a little weird.  I was woken up around 11 to news that there was an armed robber being looked for in our subdivision or the one next to us.  Hearing that combined with seeing patrol cars driving around our neighborhood earlier kinda made me think that it was more than rumor.  So, at first I got a little twinge of worry/fear.  But not overwhelming.  I made sure that all my doors were locked and the ADT was set.  I made sure the garage door was down.  I turned on the porch light and I turned on the TV to make it look like we were up.  After I did all the safety precautions I went upstairs and went back to bed.  I said a little prayer and that helped me get rid of my worry.  I gave it to God and went to sleep for the rest of the night.  I'm am positive that I would have been a basket case without Him!

From Jace to Daddy

Another busy morning

We had another busy Saturday morning.  I was hostessing a company brunch today.  Boy do we have a great group of Army wives.  I love getting together with them.  I am truly blessed all the way around during this deployment--more so than any other.  Other deployments I may have had great friends in the unit--but not good neighbors, or great neighbors but didn't connect with the wives in the unit.  This time I've got great neighbors & friends outside of the Army AND a great network of fellow Army wives to hang out with.  I know I say how blessed I am a lot, but some days I am overwhelmed by the kindness of others and how great the people are that surround me.  Today was one of those days.  I also need to remind myself--and let Danny know--that despite the little things that get to me, we are doing fine and have a lot to be thankful for.

Today my neighbor Robert took Jace to his football combine this morning.  For those of you who don't follow sports (like me) a combine is basically "tryouts" for football.  For Jace's level it lets the coaches see how well they can follow directions.  Jace did awesome.  One of the coaches told Robert that Jace was in the top 5 of 7 year-olds.  Not quite sure what that means, but I'm a proud momma ;)  The video above is his run.  It was so great that Robert video taped it--I didn't even think to ask.  Then he went one step further and made this video for Danny.  I'm having trouble uploading that one in addition to the one above so I'll add another post in a sec.

So while Jace was at football and I was hostessing Bryce was at golf.  I thought I'd left her there too long, but when I picked her up she asked me is next time she could stay for even longer.  I love that my kids are into sports!! Next weekend I will be watching Bryce in her mini golf tournament they do every weekend so I'll post videos afterwards of her.

One last thought that I forgot to mention yesterday.  I think Bryce could easily become a hoarder if we're not careful.  When we cleaned out her room yesterday I through away so much junk--boxes from Jace's Legos, shoe boxes, etc that she was storing stuff in. Plus she has other junk.  I threw away a whole bag full of stuff from her room.  I need to make sure I watch these tendencies.  I'd hate for her to be featured on the show at age 10 ;) 

The ants go marching....

Have I mentioned before how much I hate ants?  In case I forgot to mention it, I'll say it again.  I hate ants.  And for the last two days Jace has been finding one or two at a time in his bedroom.  I looked, or thought I looked yesterday, but when we got home Jace found 4 ants and freaked.

At the same time at Jace freaking, I'm trying to chat with Danny online.  Its been one of those days where I just needed 5 minutes to have a pity party before I put my big girl undies on.   I think I might have gotten 4 ;)  I say a quick good-bye to Danny and head upstairs armed with ant spray, paper towels, and pledge--cause heck if I'm going on an ant safari I might as well clean while I'm at it. 

I finally found the ants--did I mention this is a second floor room--how the heck are they getting there???  They were on Jace's sugar straw and some other small piece of candy behind his desk.  So I kill the ants--hopefully for good.  The positive of it is I completely cleaned out Bryce's and Jace's room and got rid of all the extra toys, found clothes that had been thrown in the dress up bin, and got rid of two bags of trash.  I've been wanting to do that since Danny had left but always ended up being too exhausted or busy to get to it.  So I feel accomplished tonight. 

The kids and I also sat down and watched a movie together--Dolphin Tale--loved it and loved spending some time sitting next to my babies.  The night went a lot better than the day went.  The only worry I have is for my friend's son who was admitted to the hospital.  Praying for them tonight. 

Day 19...really? That's it?

Today was a pretty decent day.  I took off of work early because I had to run the both kids to the dentist and Bryce to the orthodontist.  It was kind of nice to take off a little early.  I was a little frustrated with work today.  Still am.  Vicki told me I was much happier before I took this job.   I know I am more exhausted working this job.  It kinda makes me worry.  If I'm this exhausted as a para, how much more exhausted am I going to be as a teacher?!  Makes me second guess what direction I am going in.  I have been praying about it a lot lately.  I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short for the opportunities I really want.  I know He has a plan, but sometimes I'd really like to know what it is.  Its hard because I'm a planner--a type A personality if you will ;) The Army used to stress me out so much because I couldn't plan.  We'd know we were moving--but couldn't plan till the last minute.  We'd know a deployment was coming but didn't have dates.  R&R was a best guess time frame.  All of this used to make me CRAZY!  Thankfully, God has helped me have much more peace about the lack of planning I can do, but every once in a while I get caught up in the stress of not knowing what the future holds. 

After my running today my partner-in-crime for this deployment--Vicki--had us over for dinner.  I am so thankful I have her to share this with.  She is journaling the deployment through pictures and today she took the picture of us (She is the cute skinning one in green) holding the card (instead of the kids).  I can't believe its only Day 19! 

So we got home and the kids did their home work quickly and then went upstairs to play.  Jace found two more ants in his carpet and its starting to freak me out!! I looked everywhere for a pile or a line of ants and I have no clue where they are coming from.  I didn't get the bug guy called today but it is first thing on my list to do tomorrow! 

Oh, and of course the football league changes things after Danny leaves.  Now they have a redshirt freshman(younger 7s)  and a regular freshman group (8s) for football and I'm not sure what to put Jace in.  The coach I want is taking the older group and we have a choice to put Jace in either--but I don't know.  The coach said Jace would be fine in either one but that the older group will have some 9 year olds!  What to do, what to do?? 

Before I sign off for the night I wanted to share with you what a monster our dog Garmin is. ;)  For Christmas Danny bought him a bone that was bigger than he was--24" long.  The picture above shows all that is left. 

Again, I am so thankful for neighbors!  Tonight our neighbor Joe helped Jace (me) but together this dinobot that Jace had gotten for Christmas.  Danny didn't get a chance to get it done before he left.  I tried, but got as far as the legs and realized I couldn't read the rest of the directions.  So off we go to bother Joe  :)  Who, by the way, did an excellent job.  It just made me really thankful for the neighbors we have.  I have a feeling that I'll be needing Joe and Robert a lot to give Jace (& Bryce) some guy time

ANTS!!!!

Another short and sweet entry.  I got up early again and had my time with God and it made all the difference.  My day ran smoothly and I got home a little early because I had to go in early today.  However, when I got home there were ants all over my counter and sink.  UGH!! I hate ants.  We've been battling them since they dug up the lot next to us this summer.  This isn't the first time they've found their way into my sink--but I really hate it.  This time I got bit 5 times trying to kill them all--and I was mostly using spray.  Then, when we can back from Bible Study tonight, Jace found 2 lone ants upstairs.  So now I'm panicked that they are in the carpet.  I'm ready to tear it all up and have hardwood everywhere.  I will definitely be calling my trusting terminix guy to come out and spray.  I am so disgusted and I keep feeling like they are crawling all over me!! UGH. 

Its lonely here without Daddy

This isn't going to be too long of a post.  Just some highlights today.  I want to get some reading of the book "Weird" in before I go to bed tonight.  It was a good day.  I'm sure that was because I got up early this morning--5:15 to be exact. I had plenty of quiet time to pray and have some coffee.  I decided today that I need to get one aspect of my schedule under control at a time.  I was trying to add to much to quickly after Danny left.  So instead of doing anything well, I struggled to do anything at all. 

This week I will focus on getting back on track with God and giving Him the time he deserves in the morning.  It sure helps the rest of my day go well when I start the day with Him.  Next week I will add in working out and eating healthier.  It doesn't mean I'm not starting to make better choices now, it just means I'm not going to beat myself up because I haven't had time to shop, prepare better food for myself, or am too exhausted to work out.  Next Monday we'll start with those and add them to prayer time.

The whole day was nice.  The kids got up and ready in good moods.  They pretty much stayed that way.  I got out of my comfort zone and asked the kids to help me prep dinner (I'm a bit of a control freak LOL).  We had tacos & strawberries for dessert.   Jace cut up the tomatoes and lettuce and Bryce cut up the strawberries.  I even got over my control freak issues about clean up and Jace loaded the dishwasher and washed all the other dishes.  It was nice having their company to do it.  I'm going to have to do it more often.  It also gave me the opportunity to hear Jace's comment, "Its lonely here without Daddy."  Yes, I told him, it definitely is. 

 

Day 15

 I realize that the day isn't over yet, but by the time we get to the end of the day I am going to be too tired to blog.  Its one of those days were I think I will be going to bed early.  Or as early as possible.  Heck, I'd be in bed now if I could.  But we still have small group tonight and of course I have the kids and I think they'd revolt if I tried to tell them it was bedtime at 4 in the afternoon.

Today started great.  I just wish it would have stayed that way.  On the way to church I could feel I was a little off.  I got a little upset over Jace taking his time and fooling around when he should have been getting ready, but I didn't raise my voice just said we need to leave and lets get moving.  At church, a place I normally feel very connected, I started to feel lonely and sad.  It wasn't anything anyone did or didn't do.  I love my church, I love the message (and today was no different--I am going to get weird in my finances--or rather Danny & I both), and I love the people I serve with.  I couldn't even begin to tell you why I felt that way.  It just was.  I do know that I have the enemy whispering in my ear playing with all my insecurities, knocking all my dreams, and just plain playing with my emotions today. 

In case you don't know I serve in the children's ministry at church and it was towards the end that something hit me and I was about to start bawling.  I hurried to leave and grab the kids.  But of course the kids are uncooperative--or at least Jace.  He starts in with his whining and pouting about not wanting to leave.  Now--I love the fact that he loves being at church, but I am sick to death of his whining every time its time to go or whining if we go somewhere he doesn't want to.  But I calmly get him to get going.  I make it to the car and tell the kids that I'm sad and could they please just do what I ask them.  They seemed to listen, but no sooner are we 10 minutes down the road then Jace elbows Bryce in the face.  All I see/hear is Bryce tattling--in a pretty calm voice meaning she didn't get hit that hard at all.  Well, that was the straw that broke the camels back.  I started yelling at them.  I yelled about the whining, and the tattling.  I threatened that we'd become hermits (I'd like nothing more right now) and there would be no golf, no football, no jgroup, nothing until I can count on them to listen.  By this time I'm crying & the kids are crying.  We sit the rest of the way home in silence. 

I know Danny is waiting on facebook to chat with us so I get on there.  He talks to the kids--they listen better to him-- both when he's here and when he's half way around the world--very frustrating in a good way.  I talk to him and feel much better--as always.  He always knows what to say to make me feel better. 

I get off facebook to take a nap--in the hopes that I'll feel better and because I am exhausted.  Of course--my kids who had been playing quietly need something every 15 minutes so I'm getting cranky again.  I'm not sure if the nap helped or not.  But we are going to small group.  I wasn't sure all morning.  But I always feel good after jgroup so we're going.  If it gets to be too much I am sure they won't get mad if we leave early.  Hopefully I can loose my crabby mood. 

Sat., January 21, 2012 Day 14

So today started off crazy.  I didn't purposefully schedule it this way, but it just kind of happened.  I scheduled a BN coffee (a social get together for some of the wives in the Battalion) way back in December for this weekend.  Then when it was time for Bryce to register for golf I was paying more attention to the day during the week she'd have to go in, then looking at what time she had to be there on Saturdays.  I didn't connect the dots.  Finally, I had to get Jace to a play date--which double as childcare since I needed the kids out of the house.

So, the coffee was from 11-2, Bryce's golf was 10:45 to 12:45 (and on the opposite side of town--probably 20 minutes one way), and Jace was supposed to play at 10.  I also have to bake some casseroles and figure out how to do that while I'm gone. So I leave at 9:15 and get all the running done and am back home by 10:20 and still have some cooking to do.  Thank goodness some friends showed up a little early to help me get all of it done.    And I am redoing the crazy hectic schedule next Saturday for a company brunch.  Luckily Vicki will be here to help hold down the house while I drive Bryce to golf.

So for those of you who don't know, Bryce is my golfer.  She loves it.  I think part of the reason she likes it is because its her way to connect with Daddy.  Its just her and Daddy who play it so when they play together she gets some real one-on-one time with Danny.  Today was her second day for this season of First Tee (great program by the way).  Saturdays are there tournament days so they go out and play.  It was raining here today but Bryce was a trooper and didn't complain & even wore Stefanie's pink rain jacket (Bryce hates pink but lost her rain jacket).   Well, when I picked her up, one of the great coaches they have there stopped me and said that just in case Bryce didn't tell me, she started crying on the golf course because she missed her Daddy.  She told them that golf made her think of her Daddy and how much she's missing him.  I love the First Tee staff so much--they got Bryce to quit focusing on how sad she was and start looking at how good she was going to get so she can beat him at golf when he gets back.  The one coach even is telling Bryce that she'll play some rounds with her on her off time.

So while Bryce was at golf, Jace was at a play date with a new friend.  They moved here from Utah over Christmas and there aren't a lot of 2nd grade boys in his neighborhood.  Probably because I think they all leave in ours ;)  Jace and his new friend share a passion for Legos so they were instant buddies ;)  In case you were unaware, Jace is now a little bit obsessed with Legos.  He carries his Lego Ideas book everywhere--even to recess--and can spend quite a bit of time in his room creating stuff.  His new career goal is to be a Lego Engineer.  

So as busy as the morning & afternoon was, my evening was very calm, which I needed.  However, I started feeling a little lonely.  Especially after Bryce wanted to go to church with Cody and Jace was upstairs playing some video games.  He started getting upset because he was stuck on a level.  Well, I'm no help there, but I did convince him to watch a movie with me.  We hadn't seen Hop yet, so we sat down to watch it, Bryce came in during it and joined us.  It was some good cuddle time. 

I forgot to mention that I had a complete blonde moment with Direct TV.  All week I'd been wondering why my Direct TV quite working.   I even called the support people last night because all 4 weren't working.  And of course I'm a little upset about the idea of having to find someone to be here to meet them--or taking off work myself, but I call anyway.  Well, 5 minutes into the call they ask me to find the little black cable box and lo and behold it wasn't plugged in.  I remember unplugging it thinking it was the computer cord or something.  Yep, I felt foolish ;)  The guy on the other end tried to make me feel better--but we both know I had a blonde moment.

Due to the fact that Direct TV was fixed I was able to order a movie for me and I watched Courageous.  I spent half the movie crying.  But it was a great movie.  I told Danny he should see it so we can talk about it.  Tomorrow is church at Journey & small group...yay!!

I love my neighbors!

So not much happened today.   I went in a half hour early so I was able to leave a half hour early and get some grocery shopping done.  My neighbor Allison came to the rescue and said she'd get the kids off the bus and keep them until dinner--which we were already planning to have together.  It was such a life saver.  I was able to drop Jace's medical papers off, hit the commissary, and pick up some Panera bagels (for tomorrow's brunch I'm hostessing).  When I showed up at Allison's she was also holding a baked zita dish from another neighbor, Charlotte,  that they made and were leaving for me.  I'm telling you--I have never been this spoiled.   Its such a great feeling to know and LIKE your neighbors.  I've already told the neighbors that are military that they are not allowed to PCS (change duty stations for you non army folk) unless we all do it together ;)   

Garmin didn't love me much today--I think he was kind of mad at me actually.  He didn't destroy the house, or go potty inside, but I left a box of band-aids out and he chewed up the box and made a mess but didn't actually chew any of the band-aids.  And as I'm cleaning them up he's looking at me from around the corner of the couch.  I can almost hear him say--if you hadn't left me a lone for so long I might have been good--but its your fault for leaving me here for so long.  This I can laugh about because the box to band-aids is relatively small compared to what he's done in the past. 

Well, that pretty much all.  Just one tiny little thing more...if you are reading this and your name is Daniel Frost LOL....I broke my Jim Shore Americana Angel yesterday (Yes, I am a little heartbroken about it).  A replacement one would be an awesome Valentines gift.  ;)

Its starting to hit us..

So, I think its finally hit Jace that Daddy is gone for a while.  Over the weekend he was asking a lot of questions about where he was, what time it was in Kuwaits, when he was coming home, etc.   Well, yesterday and today after school Jace was more emotional than usual.  He was almost in tears yesterday because he couldn't find his Lego book.  Today it was because he wanted to ride the bus and then later because he couldn't find a toy.  He did get to see his Daddy on camera so that helped.   I need to get both the kids another animal from build a bear or some picture of Daddy to put in the daddy dolls. 

I'm starting to feel a bit overwhelmed at times--like how am I going to do everything that needs to get done?  I suppose I could become a hermit, but that's not going to help things.  Its the little things like shopping and cleaning that seem to stress me out the most.  I can't seem to find the time to do either of those jobs "right" and its driving me insane.  I just need one whole Saturday to do nothing but clean and catch up on the things I need to do around the house but I don't have a free day until February.  I say that like my time is wall-to-wall busy, but its not.  Its things like I have a 3 hour commitment on Saturday and it ruins the whole day to clean because I have to clean it ALL at the same time.  My goal is to slow things down so I can enjoy my weekends of reading and quilting--and just feeling caught up--soon.  Don't ask me how I'm going to do it, but I'm going to try. 

In addition to feeling overwhelmed I'm starting to feel like in the 12 days since my husband has been gone I've already asked too much of my neighbors.  I have at least 350 days to go and can't be burning my bridges yet.  I already have a hard time asking someone to watch my kids, but when I feel like I'm being too needy I get even worse.  I do not like feeling needy. 

I had two positives from the kids' school--Today the kids both got complimented.  Jace's para said that she is so impressed with his rocket math abilities. He's really whizzing through it.   And Bryce made a good choice and turned a note in that a friend asked her to pass.  Yesterday she got caught passing a similar note along, and today made the better choice.  I'm proud of her for making the tough decision--its never easy to go against what your friends are encouraging you to do.

Well, I didn't get much done today either--but I did get to have a last minute dinner with my partner-in-crime Vicki again.  I love having her and the boys over.  There is always tomorrow for cleaning :)
 

Day 11

This was mostly written on the 18th--but I started falling asleep writing it so its being finished today (19th) along with my post for today :)
From yesterday:
I know--the title of this post is boring, but I really couldn't decide on a title.  I had a good day overall, so I couldn't have the title be "Murphy strikes again"....even though he did.  I almost titled in "Danny, its time to come home from your vacation" but really it hasn't been that bad.  So, we simply went with "Day 11."  Besides, every now and then I need to remember how far into this we are right?  ;)

So today was a good day.  I didn't make it up at 5 am--but I did roll out of bed around 5:30ish (Thank you Amie).  The unbelievable thing was Bryce woke up about the same time--way to early for her--so I told her to go back to bed.  She insisted she wasn't tired so I said she could watch a little TV until her normal wake-up time.  This ended up being great because she was in a good mood ALL day.  I figured she'd get cranky towards the end but she held up.

She even stayed in her good mood when Murphy struck today--at her expense...again.  She showed up at my classroom door shortly after noon COVERED from neck to toe in mud--caked on mud.  UGH!  I took one look at her and said out loud, "What am I supposed to do with this?"  There was no possible way for me to get her clean at school so I called my super hero neighbor (Lilly) and she came and got Bryce, got her changed, and brought her back.  She also washed the clothes--because as luck would have it Bryce started golf today and her only khaki pants were the ones she was wearing. 

Bryce started her Par golf session at First Tee of Augusta this evening.  No mandatory practices this session, but they are still highly encouraged.  The whole session has changed the way its designed and I kept thinking--Danny should be here for this.  I am NOT a golfer.  Danny is so he'd really get a kick out of the fact that the kids will be doing tournament style matches every Saturday and keeping an ongoing tally for the whole 8 weeks.  At these matches we can even watch and go out on the course and cheer them on.  Also, Bryce has to have someone play a round of golf with her.  I have to ask someone at First Tee because I'd be no help playing with Bryce--I'd slow her down for sure! ;)

Oh--I almost forgot.  I promised to keep you up to date on the "shape up" things.  Well, I didn't work out this morning, but I did spend time with the Bible, my S.H.A.P.E. workbook, and the Wierd book.  It really helped me get my day off to a good start.  I even stayed motivated to get some things on my to-do list done tonight.  I also did a semi-workout tonight.  I spent 30 minutes doing Bryce's Lets Dance wii game.  Wasn't too bad.  I want to get the Zumba game instead.

I didn't get to chat with Danny online yesterday.  I even slept with the computer right by my bed in case he tried to "buzz" me on the computer I might hear it.   I'll probably do the same tonight since Danny hasn't gotten on the computer yet.  I wish he had a cell phone over there.  But at least he has internet.  

Getting In Shape

Another typical deployment "must-do" for us is getting back in shape.  Danny and I have both gained some weight this last year and, as always, have decided the year apart is a great time to focus on getting back in shape.  That seems to always be easier for him.  I wonder why? ;)  For me, I had been on real good roll of loosing weight until about April of last year.  Since then I gained 30 pounds (the 30 I lost) all back.  So I'm back with weight watchers hoping to loose the 30 plus some more.  Its already being a challenge.  I did really good tracking all day and then went crazy tonight.  I also had every intention of working out tonight and getting some stuff done afterwards.  However, after a busy day and not getting to settle in for the night until 8:15, I'm exhausted and wanting to go to sleep.  I do not see working out happening tonight.  So I back up my schedule and say I'll wake up earlier tomorrow.  I'll try and get up at 5am.  I prefer working out in the morning anyways.  But, odds are I will sleep in.  Maybe that's why I'm sharing this on the blog so that I will be kept accountable on working out and eating healthy.

I also started a class tonight at my church to help find your purpose in life.   It seem like it will be a great class and hopefully I can get my purpose in the church and work place more clear.  I'd try and say more about it, but I am really falling asleep as I type this blog.  I guess I am tired :).  But I will keep you updated on my progress--both with weight and the rest of my purpose.

I like not having to cook.

I like not having to cook.  Don't get me wrong, I love cooking and baking when I have someone to make it for and the time to do it, but when its just for the kids and I...ehh..not so much ;)  At least this week I actually have a plan for what I am making each night.  Normally I just kinda wing it the day of. This week I have been so spoiled by my friends that I've been invited last minute to eat at someone's house last night and a different house tonight.  So not only didn't I have to cook, there isn't any mess at my house to clean up.  AND I get to hang out with some great people too.  I'm also not normally a last minute type of girl, but I have enjoyed the last minute chances to spend time with friends. 

Although I might stop taking Jace to other people's houses.  He eats like I never feed him.  Normally Jace is a good eater, but tonight, he had seconds (or thirds) of everything they had.  Not that I'm complaining--the boy is all skin and bones and needs some more meat on him ;) 

Now if I can only manage to feed my kids for the rest of the week ;) we have another invite to a friend's house on Friday.  I'm not sure I've ever been this spoiled during a deployment before. Thank you!

One week down..51 more to go

I have been beating myself up all week that I didn't journal here for the rest of the week.  Part of it was being busy, and part of it was falling into a little bit of a funk.  Its normal for me to do this.  And its not being anti-social--I still made it to all my commitments and had time to chat with the neighbors--but its coming home and not wanting to do a single thing.  I didn't want to clean, to cook, to write on this blog, read (and I love to read)--NOTHING.   It sucks because I know I should be doing something--organizing things for church, or work, or the FRG (family readiness group) but instead I get myself sucked into things were I don't really have to think--you know--like facebook or pinterest.  (Those are my favorite time wasters.) ;)  But any way--the funk creates a vicious cycle--I start feeling bad about not doing anything, or calling anyone & my to-do list gets longer which makes me avoid my list even more and become an even bigger procrastinator.  So here I sit, with a list of things to-do.  I am pretty proud I'm sitting here typing--'cause that's something. 

However, doing nothing did have its perks this week.  I was able to sit and watch a movie with the kids in the middle of the week.  Normally its homework and playing with friends.  But one night the kids wanted to watch a movie, I was in procrastination mode, which allowed me to sit and enjoy the time with the kids.  Thanks to a knew series at church, I didn't even feel guilty about it because I knew it was the best choice of how to spend my time--spending it with the kids.  Tonight my procrastinating let me say yes to Bryce when she wanted to get in the hot tub.  It was nice spending some one on one time with my baby girl.  So maybe the funk wasn't all bad. 

At any rate, the highlight for this weekend was having my partner-in-crime during this deployment come over with her two kids, go to church with me, and then spend the night.  I call her my partner-in-crime because her husband deployed at the same time and to the same place as mine.  We sat in the hot tub with a glass of wine and chatting until late in the night.  It was great.  The deployments that have been the easiest are ones that I have had a great friend to share the deployment with. 

My first deployment when Bryce was a newborn I had Sarah.  She was and still is a true friend and I am not sure how I would have survived that first deployment without her to laugh & cry with.  I had minor postpartum with Bryce and it was because of her that I was able to figure it out.  Oh--and she went into my chain of command (I was active duty at the time) and yelled at them for not taking better care of me. (I was completely unaware of this until afterwards)   Everyone needs a Sarah during a deployment.  I'm hoping that Vicki and I can be that for each other this deployment.  Friday night was a great way to start. 

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the excitement in the neighborhood yesterday.  The houses across the street backed up to the woods.  Well, yesterday I went outside to check the mail and the woods were on fire!! Luckily no one's home were damaged, but it was a little scary for a second.  A construction worker from down the street saved the day because he plowed a dirt barrier between the houses and the fire.  Today there were still patches that were smoldering.    I really hope the rest of the deployment is more calm than week one.

Day 3....and more Murphy

Okay...so didn't I say I wanted a little less adventure today?! Well, at least it wasn't the house this time.  But boy was today a ride.  It started first thing this morning with Bryce waking up in a bad mood.  I must have prayed for patience because the Lord was trying to teach me some this morning.  She was every bit of her drama queen self and trying to see how far I'd let her go.  It all started with jeans.  When she is grumpy nothing "feels" right and she doesn't want to wear anything in her closet.  Her solution?  To wear the jeans she wore yesterday.  Needless to say I told her to march back up those stairs and change them.  Its bad enough that she has her favorites and wears them as soon as I can wash them...so it looks like she only has one or two outfits...but I draw the line at her wearing dirty laundry.  She threw such a fit I had to ground her--which kicked off more screaming and crying.  UGH!

The hard part is that she's my emotional child.  I know she is missing Daddy and feeling it.  I let some of the attitude slide the first couple of days.  However, I need to establish that I'll actually step up and discipline while Daddy is gone.  You see, Danny is the main authority figure in this house.  All he has to do is look at them a certain way and it's, "yes sir!"  It drives me insane! LOL.    I get to be the easy one when he's here and hand out hugs and kisses.  So, when he deploys the first couple weeks the kids and I all have to adjust to my new role as both Mommy and Daddy.  I knew it was coming, but I always hope it will be easier.  That the kids will magically fall into listening to me as well as they listen to their father.  But, of course not.  On the bright side, when Bryce is acting up, Jace takes one look at the crazy lady (me) and decides he better not push any buttons.  Heck, this morning he started apologizing for not getting up quicker ;) 

Okay, so back to my day that was supposed to be free from adventure.  I get the kids to school.  Thankfully Bryce has decided to quite crying by the time we are getting out of the car.  She's still trying to get me to take back the grounding.  So, in the 5 minutes we have to get inside I'm letting her know I mean it AND have a meaningful conversation about how every action has consequences and the only good example I can give her--her Daddy's recent speeding ticket.  I, of course, could think of nothing I've done wrong lately ;)


So I get into my class, and the kids go to theirs.  Pretty typical morning until about lunch time.  Then the school nurse comes to find me because Bryce's ear is cut open from some kid elbowing her (on accident).  This is a concern because when Bryce was 5 she had surgery on her ears.  The EENT doctors had suggested having her ears pinned back (she had very large ears).  I know there is a technical term for the procedure, but I cannot remember it.  So the procedure required permanent stitches under the skin.  We were warned that they could pop if hit and such, but in 4 years, nothing has every happened.  But, Murphy thinks its funny to visit after Danny leaves and today her ears starts bleeding. 


So the bleeding wasn't bad, but it looked like the skin was split.  I tried to call the hospital and due to the nature of the way the Army clinic is set up, I didn't get to talk with the Doctor but was advised to bring her in just in case.  :(  So I rush to get that authorized to make the 1:40pm appt.  We get to the appt and there isn't much to do but see if it'll heal on its own.  This Army hospital doesn't do the procedure like they did at Ft. Campbell so if something does need to be done we'll have to be referred to a plastic surgeon.  I'm not really wanting that to happen so I'm praying for her ear to heal. 


While I am on the subject of Army medicine, I just need to get on my soap box a bit, sorry.  I love Army medicine.  It is not without its issues, but from what I can tell, every hospital and insurance company have issues.  A lot of military spouses like to get angry about the service they get, but all I can think of is that 1. its FREE and 2. I've (mostly) had everything I needed taken care of.  Like all services, you need to make sure you're rights and needs are being seen to.  Maybe its because I grew up without having health insurance and remember every time my brother or I got sick it was another stress on my mom.  I love that no matter what happens my kids are covered--it gives me a certain sense of comfort.  Alright--getting off of the soap box now.


My adventure pretty much ended after the doctors office.  Bryce tried again to get her punishment waived, but I'm sticking to it!!

Murphy & Deployments

Okay, so I have never done a blog.  Actually, I've never even thought about doing a blog.  However, today someone mentioned that it might be a good way to Journal this year long deployment and I decided to give it a try.

So here is some background about us.  We are an Army family of 10 years.  I met my wonderful husband at Fort Stewart, Georgia when I was an active duty soldier myself.  We have two wonderful children.  Bryce, our beautiful daughter, is 9, and our handsome little boy, Jace, is 7.  This isn't our first deployment or separation at all.  It is actually our 5th deployment.  Danny deployed a lot when the kids were young.  He deployed when Bryce was 3 weeks old & came back when she was 6 months (2002).  We both deployed when Bryce was 9 1/2 months (this would end up being for Operation Iraqi Freedom I in 2003).  We came home around 6 months later.   We were blessed with Jace shortly after that deployment.  So instead of reenlisting, I finished my obligation and got out.  Danny stayed in and deployed for the 3rd time with 3rd ID about a year after the second deployment (2005).  This deployment was over a year long.    His fourth deployment was with the 101st Airborne Division in 2007 for a year.   

So now we are on number five.   However this deployment is different in many ways.  For one thing, he isn't deployed as a division or brigade.  Every other unit we've been with has deployed as a whole, and this one does not.   The kids are also older this time and even though that makes it easier in some ways, others have become more difficult.  For example, this time they actually realize Daddy is gone for a long time whereas before they were too young to comprehend it.  The fourth deployment was very hard for me, and I'll probably get into that at a later date, but I really feel good about this one (if you can feel "good" about it).  I have been blessed with a great church, great neighbors, & great friends locally who have gone out of their way to help me feel better and to offer help.  I've also been blessed by the friends and family far away that have called to encourage and just love me. 

So, the start of this deployment was two days ago.  Its supposed to be a year long.  And of course Murphy has already struck.  For those of you who don't know my relationship with Murphy--he visits every time Danny deploys to reek havoc on some aspect of plumbing.  I have taken care of so many plumbing issues I feel as if I need to go to a Vocational school to get my certification.  For a girl who grew up in a house where the mom/wife didn't do any of the "handy" stuff, I'm pretty proud of myself :).  At any rate, I have taken apart all the plumbing under a sink to unclog it AND I put it back together the right way.  I have spent a week waging war on an extremely clogged toilet and won.  I have fixed running toilets--hunting down the right part at Lowe's or Home Depot.  I have even taken a toilet apart to fix seals to the floor and to the tank & seat.   So when Danny left Saturday I knew Murphy would be visiting soon.  I just didn't realize how soon.  So today, when I finally sat down to read for a second while the kids where finishing up their nightly routines (bath, brush teeth, etc), I was taken off guard at the sound of running water in my kitchen.  It sounded like it was raining--no POURING--in my kitchen.  For a split second I'm thinking, "Did the kids leave the sink on, did something get put on the stove and is boiling over??"  I knew the answer was no, but as I turned into the kitchen I really didn't expect to see water coming from the recessed light fixture on my ceiling!!  Luckily I have great neighbors and I run across the street (in my pajamas) to yell at him to come quick (I did have enough foresight to tell Jace to start getting out of the tub and turn off the water).  He ran back over to the house quickly, and like the Hero he is, got it figured out--notice I didn't say fixed.  This is more than either of us can fix and I actually have to *gasp* call a plumber.  I forgot to mention earlier that my husband is extremely handy around the house and could probably fix this on his own, but noooooo--Murphy waits until he is gone.  Anyways, its not an emergency.  Like I said, Robert figured out that the water wasn't leaking from the main drain, but rather the overflow part of the tub, so the kids can still shower while I find a plumber and get it fixed. 

So now my adventure is over--the light is still out so everything can dry out.  I got a chance to video chat over facebook with Danny, so life is good.  The other highlights from today are pretty good.  Bryce made us dinner with minimal help from me, and she insisted that we, as a family, pray every night for Danny while he's gone.  I love my kids! 

So, that's it for my first day of blogging.  I need to get to bed so I can get up for work tomorrow.  I'm hoping for a little less adventure tomorrow.  Thanks for reading!