Here's a new experience

Since moving to Kansas we went with an aircard for internet instead of normal DSL. Such a fun thing to use since I'm typing this on the road as we drive down to Atlanta.

Currently there's traffic snarl just north of Nashville. Jason's listening to football on the radio, the boys are on a munchkin high so there's just a few giggles coming from the back. Me? I'm attempting to ignore all the noise around me especially the calls for watching a movie on the computer. Nuh uh, not when I can putz around online since I can't read a book at the moment.

Bah Humbug

And I shouldn't be feeling this way on Christmas Eve. The boys are sitting on the couch watching holiday shows. The fire is burning in the fireplace in hopes my frozen toes will defrost. I'm typing away in a vicodin high with the idea I can dull some of the pain in my back. I don't know why I expected things to go smoothly this week since the month started with a chunk of change being thrown at the van.

Saturday had an ER visit with Brendan. I was there on Sunday for a massive UTI which is being treated empirically. Try telling my body things aren't so bad in my urine when I'm doubled over in pain, sobbing and can't stop vomiting. Such is the joys of being a woman. Yesterday I threw my back out by simply getting out of the recliner. I really should have gone to the ER for massive quantities of muscle relaxers. You can feel how much the left side has seized up, which further questions my sanity in not going to the ER. I couldn't though. My limit on ER visits is two per week, not three, thank you very much. You can feel how much the left side has seized up, which further questions my sanity in not getting the right drugs.

So here I sit on the same recliner I threw my back out, typing away in my vicodin high the night before Christmas. The boys are laughing, enjoying the idea of Santa coming tonight. All would be better if there was a glass of spiked nog sitting next to me instead of Mountain Dew.

Holiday baking goes bust

This year my gifts for the boys teachers and friends would be baked goods. The ambitious part of me had grand ideas of all sorts of goodies along the lines of what Mom did back in the day. The realistic part of me realized this was all a fantasy.

Still, I had plans in baking several different cookie and loaf recipes. I started with a low-carb oatmeal pecan cookie recipe from Weight Watchers. This would be the one healthy recipe made. All three boys helped add all the ingredients, talking animatedly about the cookies. I dolled out the first tray, popped it in the oven, turned the timer on and waited.

The cookies flattened out on the baking stone. Melted is the best description for how they looked. I scraped up the oatmeal bits so the boys could see how the glop turned out. Rather tasty considering the hideous mess left on the stone. With this fiasco I decided to turn the cookies into cookie bars. I scooped the rest of the batch into a pan and popped it into the oven.

At some point I checked on the cookies turned into cookie bars. They were bubbling over the edges, glopping onto the bottom of the oven where it started to burn. I kept an eye on the oven despite the impending mess for a few more minutes before realizing this recipe truly failed. I haven't a clue who came up with this disaster at Weight Watchers but my failed attempt didn't match their picture. No crisp looking oatmeal pecan cookies came piping hot out of my oven. Instead I pulled out piping hot goo.

Do we smell?

Jason made a comment several weeks back on how it's nice having good neighbors who actually help us out when asked. For some reason most of the places we've lived the nice has been all lip service.

I started talking with Carrie about this rather common phenomenon in the military. We've both experienced the same thing with our respective neighbors. For me I can't help think it's Jason and I which causes this behavior in others. While I know this isn't true some part must be true for it to keep happening.

I'm not saying our neighbors haven't helped us out because they have. When I moved the boys and I from Auerbach to Grafenwoehr our neighbors helped. Once we left the street we became persona non grata. I tried gathering everyone together for dinner in thanks only it felt as if we dropped off the face of the earth. Everyone had a reason why they couldn't come over but they had no problem doing things with each other on our old street or when they all moved to a completely different city. Although this is the same neighborhood where I got the 'we help each other out all the time' which was a complete bullshit phrase being uttered from their mouths. The few times I needed help with the boys, those three people fumbled around for their excuses.

Or maybe I should look at this from a purely military perspective. You're a good neighbor as long as you live there. Once you move you no longer exist. I know from talking with others they've felt this just as much as I have. This troubles me because we're all in the same situation you'd think we'd bond together in some type of solidarity. Doesn't happen especially if you don't fall into their unwritten rules of how a spouse should behave. Or whatever they have going through their heads.

It's just nice knowing we have neighbors who actually follow through on their saying ask us for anything. Or who'll help out in a pinch as I've run across the street to Jan when a swarm of wasps came out of the bushes I was trimming back. Or Tom helping carry in our new chair as he saw us struggling one night while walking his dog. Things like this never happened before without a feeling of our imposing on those being asked. We'll enjoy this giddy feeling of neighborly good while it lasts.

Things I've learned recently

1. You can take a battery out of a car when it's running. Really, you can. I witnessed this last night.

2. Barney the Dinosaur is still evil.

3. Bringing your own bags to the store gets the groceries packed more efficiently.

4. I still can't reason with a two year old even if it's my third time around.

5. I love winter. Hate the wind.

6. I can't braid my hair for shit.

7. My hair is long enough to braid.

8. Apparently I still intimidate people.

9. We went to war with the Philippines in 1899 (I think that was the year).

10. Seeing the awe in your kids eyes when they witness it snowing still gives me the warm and fuzzies.

The Spawn of Satan lives in our house.

Otherwise known as Jake. He's hit the terrible two's something fierce I don't even know where to begin in curbing the tantrums. At least Jason experienced a brief moment last night when attempting to wrangle Jake into his pajama's.

So much of this is coming from his not able to let us know what's bothering him. While he signs and speaks better at this age compared with Brendan and Colin it's still not good enough. Diversions work sometimes as do distractions. Otherwise it's full on wailing. Laughing or mocking him does nada. The older two usually stopped with the mocking from Jason or I. Not Jake. He only gets louder.

It's possible he's cutting another molar. I say possible only because he wasn't this grizzly with the first one unless he's cutting multiples. If that's the case, he gets a pass on being the wanker he's been the past few weeks. Giving him Tylenol or Rescue Remedy hasn't calmed him down at his worst.

I'm still betting on our giving birth to the Spawn of Satan. It's the only explanation of our Jake goes from loving two year old to a screaming banshee running amok in the neighborhood.

What do you think?

The things we say in public

What is it about Target which brings out the oddest sayings from kids? Is it because we're distracted in finding the crap we need while keeping their hands off of every object in sight? There's a reason why I'd rather go by myself because you won't find me uttering 'you're the reason why birth control was invented' out loud. Or looking up and seeing the shock on people's faces from their lack of humor.

We're at the tail end of our Target shopping, again hurried so much so I forgot to use my coupons. Damnit. I don't know what in the hell Brendan and Colin saw for this question but they wouldn't stop asking. Loudly, very, very loudly.

'Mom, can we buy some pot?'

'You want to buy pot?'

'Yes' in chorus.

'Do you even know what you're asking for?'

'We want to buy some pot. Do you know what it is?'

At this point I'm laughing hoping someone hasn't overheard us. I can only imagine the horror with furious whisperings to call child services on me. All I want to know is what sparked this question of theirs. Last I knew Target hadn't become drug dealers.

ETA: Upon further grilling in the kitchen at home we found out they saw a teapot at Target. Instead of asking for a teapot or kettle, they just asked for pot. Even Jason almost choked when I told him what the boys were asking for last night.

I have a workout buddy. Or two. Sometimes three.

Actually it really all depends upon when I'm in the gym as to who I work out with. Once I realized who Jackie was (she's married to one of Jason's classmates) we started meeting up at the gym around the same time. After I started working at the gym our meet ups became less often. Now we're averaging 2-3 times a month.

I will say I am the one who got her running again. Funny how she's now running upwards of 6miles while I'm lucky to get 2 under my belt. She is in better shape then me, though. And I got her into spin on Monday night. She did great considering how short she is and not being able to adjust the bike properly.

The second workout buddy is becoming my supervisor. She started taking spin after me only Renee is a tad more consistent with the classes. Hey, being hobbled by illness does a number on a body. We try taking classes together since we're in the same boat shape wise with common goals of weight loss and physical fitness.

The third is by way of Jackie. Usually we workout together when Jackie is there. While I know Christie and talk with her when she's dropping off her son, I still feel odd hoping on the treadmill next to her. She's a solitary person like me when it comes to working out on the treadmill. Although I will say having someone to talk with while running takes ones mind off the pain.

This also reminds me I must update the music on my shuffle.

One decision has been made

We will always live on post unless the house is financially ours. Since the weather has gotten cold there's been an slight issue on heating the downstairs where the boys rooms are.

See, this is an odd ranch/two story house. The main floor has two bedrooms, living room, dining room and kitchen. The downstairs has two additional bedrooms, family room, a bonus room and storage. It's a walk out basement plan I suppose. The temperature variation between the two floors is huge.

Over the summer we closed every single vent downstairs when the a/c was on. Walking up the stairs you could feel the change in temperature. As usual our bedroom is also the coldest room in the house when the a/c is on. The living room never really cooled off properly even with our fiddling around with the vents.

As it's cooled down at night, we've realized how cold it is downstairs. At one point all the vents were open and you couldn't feel a difference. I think we finally figured things out. Because of how much warmer things are upstairs we've closed almost every single vent. Doors to unused rooms are closed. The family room vents are closed. We finally went into Brendan and Colin's room without shivering.

I have never seen the boys sleep completely snuggled under their comforters until now. Normally they shuck everything off. While Jake's room is cold it's not along the level of his older brothers. Blanket sleepers are making a difference for him since he's not at the point of realizing the value of snuggling under blankets.

The few months we've been renting this house the apparent shoddy work it's construction has become more noticeable. Knowing things aren't air tight is yet another reason we will live on post unless purchasing the next house. Not having to pay for utilities is a huge plus. Now? We're hoping the gas bill stays on the low end.

Who is more of an asshole?

My brother or I?

Long story short, David married a rather self-centered, world revolves around me, woe anyone who says one mean thing to me but I can say whatever I want with no consequences woman 13 yrs ago. I tried liking Heather because David is my brother. I kept thinking she'd get her head out of the clouds to become a decent person. Never happened. I really stopped caring a few years back because I had my own shit to deal with. I couldn't deal with Heather being hurt because of x or y anymore when it was obvious how her actions and words became okay with my brothers silence.

Still. He is the one who must live with her. He is the one who emasculated himself early on within their marriage. He is the one who must live with his family being fractured apart because of his wife. All of this bothers me because of how our parents have been hurt. When things have been brought to David's attention he twists the context around never accepting responsibility for his silence.

Now? I've become 'your sister'. Mom has become 'your mother'. I know this from talking with Shawn. He's still in contact with David as are our parents even though his words are different. Me? Probably won't happen until a funeral takes place which we all must attend.

Wake up and grow a pair of balls. Realize how your wife treats you and your family. Do you not think our reactions are based on how we've been treated? I know my lack of contact isn't helping the situation. Only one can't have a conversation with David where he is by himself. Where chaos isn't erupting in the background. Where one can duke things out for the good or bad.

I've given up having a relationship with my brother because I can no longer stand to see the pain he's caused mom, dad and Christina.

An experiment in being poo-free

It's not as disgusting as it sounds even though the smell of manure wafted through the air this afternoon. Not quite like it does over in Germany but the smell definitely permeated the air in our neighborhood.

Actually, it's rather benign. No smelly grossness. No horrendous shrieks of 'where in the hell is a hazmat suit before I change this diaper!' No curiosity over how human beings so tiny can produce poo so foul you wonder what the hell is going on in their digestive tracks.

Nope, it's a term for curly haired people no longer using shampoo. I found out about www.naturallycurly.com from a thread on www.3waction.com. It has been a boon in finding other people sharing my angst over fine, wavy but way too fucking much hair.

I think this might help with my overall issues in having long hair. I've been toying in chopping things off again because I'm not happy with my hair. Ever since leaving Atlanta I haven't been happy with my hair. I left Sherri, who knew my hair. My hair loved Sherri. My hair doesn't love me because I no longer have ready access to Sherri.

Today is the first day of going poo-free after reading about the whole process over at Naturally Curly. I'm not chucking everything out the window since I refuse to waste the product I do have even if it's one bottle of curly hair gunk. Maybe my hair will start loving me if I bring back the slightly curly waves of my childhood. They still exist until I pull everything back into a ponytail out of frustration of crappy hair.

We'll see how this goes since I'm kicking up the spin classes and running now. I'm a big sweaty mess after spin or running so I don't know how poo-free I'll be. Maybe one day there'll be love all around for my hair.

Impeach Obama. Seriously?

This is the comment one of the families who frequent the gym made yesterday. Well, it was their 8/9 yr old but you know it's coming from the parents. Mom's response was 'we're Republicans' which I call bullshit on.

The majority of Republicans I know dislike how the current administration has run things the past 8 yrs. They've seen how our goodwill towards other nations has gone out the door. They've seen how the military has been stretched thin. They've witnessed first hand what the constant deployments are doing to the families and marriages. They've seen how their party has been taken over by a segment of the population which does not represent them. They've become disillusioned. The Republican party as it stands now does not represent the majority of Republicans I know.

They would have even voted for McCain if he hadn't chosen Palin. In doing so he showed his willingness in bowing down towards the right, something the McCain of 2000 probably would have given the middle finger too and kept with Lieberman as his running mate. This election would have been closer if McCain stuck to his guns with Lieberman. I honestly wonder if he wouldn't have been elected in doing so. I would have voted for McCain if he stuck with Lieberman much to the shock and horror of my family. Why? Because McCain knows what it's like to be in the military. He knows what it's like to deploy and what those deployments can do not just to himself but those left behind. He has an understanding of the military which our current administration is sorely lacking. His choosing Palin made my decision for me as it did with so many others.

Which is why I can't understand how people are frothing at the mouth with such hatred they're already calling for Obama's impeachment. Can they not accept how historic this election was? The first black man to be elected president or the first woman as vice president. Be happy we, as a nation, have overcome such hurdles in our willingness for a black man and woman to be running in the presidential race. Only they can't because their fundamental, conservative views will no longer be in power.

Gym etiquette rant

Since I've been working at the gym I don't workout there as much. One thing I'm trying to do is continue with the spin classes. I took my first two last week and would very much like to continue. The first instructor said it takes a person a good six weeks before being comfortable with spin and this is going twice a week.

There is a spin class 6 days a week with some days having class twice a day. The only catch is getting there early enough for a bike. The room where it's located is small so the gym doesn't have nearly enough bikes for the demand. There is talk about relocating the spin room but there's always talk of something or another going on at the gym. Hell, there's a whole second floor the gym could utilize and they don't.

This morning I get to the gym 15-20 minutes early, drop Jake off, chat a few and head off towards the spin room. Every single bike was spoken for whether the person was physically in the building or not. I still don't understand how you can claim a bike for a person who isn't in the building. And the regulars are chatting it up like they own the place. Wait, they think they do because it's their class and fuck the newbies.

I hop on the treadmill only to notice a mom/instructor head off towards the spin room. She was going towards daycare with her boys while I headed out into the gym for the class. Apparently she claimed a bike before dropping her kids off. I don't understand how a person can justify this. I was ready for class walking into the room whereas she wasn't. I could have had the bike she claimed if she didn't stop off first with her boys.

Gee, just because you've been at the gym longer then me or the next new person or you teach a class here and there doesn't mean you can piss all over anyone trying a class for the first time. Or third. Have a bit of respect for those challenging themselves or getting healthy. We all start out new at one time or another.

Garbage is wasted

Upon moving to our house we started recycling once again. Outside of paper and cardboard we slacked on this while living on the Arsenal.

Initially we thought all plastics could be recycled. Our trash for the week? One bag for the garbage men to pick up. This is for a family of five. Jason and I couldn't believe the amount of trash we recycled the first week only to be shot down at the recycling center. The city of Leavenworth only recycles plastic drink bottles, glass, aluminum and paper products. Nothing else. All of our rinsing of yogurt containers, shaking out bread bags, etc., were for naught.

Still we recycle quite a bit. Our trash each week is one giant black trash bag for the three bags from the house. Looking at the driveways on our street we have the least amount of trash among our neighbors. We're not talking by a bag or two. We only have one or two bags a week for the garbage men. Everyone else has a minimum of five if not more. Why? The unscientific answer is a lack of recycling. If every neighbor recycled at least one item, whether it's glass, drink bottles or paper, they'd cut down their trash by at least two bags a week. Easily.

One doesn't have to be all gungho on recycling or turning green. Every little bit helps.

I want a job like hers

One of my co-workers doesn't understand working = paycheck. She prefers sitting on her ass doing nothing while racking in the money. Only problem is our job pays slightly above minimum wage so no one's getting rich. She's also notorious for calling in for no reason in particular other then not wanting to work on any given day. Her boyfriend is a slight sugar daddy. I say this because, while he has a paycheck and pays the bills, he's not fabulously wealthy.

Yesterday I worked with this person by default. My whole intention was getting a workout at the gym instead of covering for my supervisor. Renee had to pick up her oldest at school since she was sick. Not a problem. I was already there to drop off Jake so I picked up a few extra hours.

I sat on the floor surrounded by kids. I had them running cars up and down my back. I was reading stories. I taught them how to hop like a frog. I got pummeled by our favorite time-out child. All the while T was sitting in the baby area where she wouldn't need to actively engage with the kids. Me? In my gym clothes getting more snot rubbed on me as the day progressed.

I'd like to think T would realize her expectations are shit in the real world and she'll grow up. Only I feel this will never happen since she's in her mid-twenties already. She's not a prima donna with the hopes of being kept in a life of privilege. She just doesn't want to work and still take home a paycheck.

Granted today I sat in the rocker with two babies who fell asleep on me, one of which christened my shirt with his snot. Inbetween the sleeping babies my supervisor and I took turns in entertaining the kids or calming them down. We do have an easy job, some would say a slack job. Still doesn't mean we can sit on our arses twiddling our thumbs.

Raising the white flag

Jake's a rather ornery little bugger and I'm not quite sure how to nip this in the bud. While he absolutely loves giving hugs, kisses and cuddling there's the other side of him which is straight up wanker boy.

Last night he pegged me with his sippy cup, which was full by the way. The first throw was behind him getting many laughs from Brendan and Colin. His second throw was in our direction on the couch. I was in tears from the pain since the edge clipped me right above my left eyebrow. You can see the lump still this morning. Last night you could feel the indent on one side from where the sippy cup got me. Now it's just one giant lumpy bruise. This was on top of him getting me in the face with two toys at work yesterday morning. I didn't sign up to be a human punching bag.

I love this kid to death but nothing seems to register in the 'hey, stop jumping on mom/dad' or 'the biting/rubbing snot/licking must go'. Nevermind he thinks any attempt at discipline means the start of a game. I can't help but laugh when Jason goes after him for a time out and Jake runs away laughing madly. It makes me feel better in not being the only one given the finger by Jake.

I will qualify this in saying he's not flat out ornery with no redeeming qualities. He readily helps in cleaning, goes to bed great, eats great, has manners and what not. It's the one part of him taking after Colin which is frustrating as hell. Sure, he's two with the two yr old attitude but this only goes so far.

I mean, seriously, this is the child giving me grief. The look of sweet innocence. My ass.

I know how ass feels

This morning I woke up with a cotton mouth, sore throat, stuffed up ears and ears. Lovely. I've been fighting something the past week which has now started to hunker down. My neighbor had strep a week ago, her youngest just got over a virus and her oldest has gotten said virus. My supervisor's husband finally recovered from bronchitis, tonsilitis, sinusitis and double ear infections. The boys are trying their damnedest in who can be more froggy. No wonder I feel like ass this Saturday morning. I'm hoping things don't get worse.

Last Wednesday was my first day working at the gym. Awhile back I noticed the chaos in the daycare when picking up Jake. I talked with both managers about this and they know there's a problem on certain days. While they only have two people working at a time a third can be sent down as needed. Eric and I talked about different ways management could approach the clientele when things got hectic. Because the vast majority of the kids during the mornings are military, I brought up how the families should be more understanding when things are full. One idea mentioned was having the parents come in every 20 minutes or so to check on their kids. I said I'd be willing to volunteer since I'm already coming to the gym daily, or almost daily.

All of this helps after working at SAS and knowing more about the inner workings of CYS then most with regards to ratios, etc.. While the daycare doesn't have to follow regulations since they are not a proper daycare they do realize things can be overflowing. Being Red Cross certified also helped.

The pay sucks but it'll be our pocket money. It's not all bad even during the chaos.

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth.

My head is full of shit at the moment which I'm still sifting through. One positive note I've gotten a very part-time job at my gym and my best friend is a fucking rockstar. She's going to 'give' me a job with her so I can have more on my resume. It's not far off since I've been editing grant proposals for her. Still, it's way more then I expected and I love her massively for this.

Let's hear it for projectile vomit!

Kidding. Seriously, no cheering allowed for projectile vomiting. I am not joking here. Maybe once I'm done with the appletini my neighbor made for me I could joke but not now. The liquor has yet to kick in and the candle is barely masking the eau de vomit wafting through the air.

Brendan started looking puny during lunch. At one point he complained of his back hurting. Considering the amount of monkeying around the boys have done this weekend between wrestling, using both Jason and I as jungle gyms, running around at the park, I wasn't exactly surprised about any aching going on. Because he wasn't feeling up to par, Jason told him he'd stay here instead of going with him on a few errands. Not a problem since he's been fighting a cold for the past couple of days. A nap would do him some good at this point even if he denies any sort of ill feeling within his body.

While Colin waited for Jason I had the boys start putting their laundry away. Colin runs into the bedroom saying Brendan threw up. Brendan's standing there, holding his clean laundry now covered in vomit. I have him toss the clothes to the ground, thinking he only needed to brush his teeth until one look at his face. Off he runs to the bathroom only he doesn't make it in time. All over the door, carpet and wall. Fucking awesome. Have I ever mentioned my sympathy vomiting I have since being pregnant? Yeah especially since I'm the one cleaning up the mess from a barely digested lunch.

At this point he's finished puking and is brushing his teeth while I'm staring at the mess. Staring. Trying not to breathe the fresh smell of puke. Jason starts giggling as I'm kneeling beside the first area, gloved and ready with a roll of paper towels. Brendan told him he feels okay now and still wants to hang out with Dad and Colin.

At least I have a double appletini at my elbow as I type this. Half drunk in it's neon green glow. Anything is better with liquor. Or beer but I wasn't in the mood for beer.

Why go to the gym

if you're not going to break a sweat?

I know I'm far from the last person in noticing this phenomena with certain gym visitors. There is one person who looks perfect but actually kicks ass in her workouts. The perfect hair, perfect gym clothes and doesn't break a fucking sweat. Only I've seen her lift so I know she's in shape.

This morning someone was talking on their cellphone while using the elliptical. Half the time I refuse to use mine while sitting outside because of the sweat so I can only imagine how lovely hers would have been if she actually got a workout. Others have full on normal conversations without pausing for breaths or sweating buckets. I don't understand why they even bother. My neighbor calls them cheerleaders for wanting to look good without effort. They are also the same ones who usually have make-up.

Me? I'm red faced and sweating 10 minutes into my cardio. By the end of my hour, my t-shirt is damp, my hair is damp and I've been sweating in places you didn't think you could sweat. One of these days I may actually get a kick-ass workout without being drenched but it won't happen without sweating a shitload in the meantime.

Be a respectful neighbor please

There is a couple living next door to us with two wee yippers for pets. This morning they got a late start on the constant barking. I don't think we heard them until around 7:30ish. Or that's when I actually started paying attention since the older two were out of the house by then.

Since we've moved in the dogs are outside before 7am every single day. Barking at whatever which usually means absolutely nothing. One thing I've noticed is they're outside way more when the husband is out of town. Even our other neighbor hates the fucking yippers and she has two dogs slightly larger only she controls their barking by bringing them inside.

I think if this trend continues, which I'm fairly certain it will, I'll be having a talk with them. Jake's room is on the side of the house facing theirs. Almost every single nap he's gone down for the dogs have been outside yipping. Only once has the wife actually come out for shushing measures after a good hour of nonstop barking.

So much fun living next to people who don't give a rat's ass how their pets behave. My only question is how in the hell she can stand listening to the yipping all day long.

Worn out is my middle name

Between the gym and mowing the lawn I am worn out.

I pushed myself this morning on the elliptical which I'm sure my arse will thank me tomorrow. I love the random workouts you can choose so you don't give yourself an easy workout. Apparently the one I chose this morning was the gluteal workout. Why don't they just name the butt work out something along the lines of 'your arse will hate you in the morning' or 'how to become more asscular as you don't age gracefully'. Or completely ignore me since I'm obviously speaking out of something.

While my weight hasn't budged yet I can see a difference in my body already since getting back into working out. Shaving my legs in the shower I can see definition coming back. My abs are slowly getting stronger, something I noticed the other day when checking my diastasis out. I can feel the muscles in my mid-abdomen now. Before it was only the upper abs I could feel. Bit by bit I'm reclaiming my body back into something healthy and strong.

Unfortunately, I wish I could say that for my lawn mowing skills. We bought a self-propelling lawnmower. This works great as long as I'm going straight. It's the hills and curves which I find to be a bitch in maneuvering the damn thing. I don't have the strength yet in turning the mower around the nooks in our yard. I would have completed the backyard with the weed whacker if I could have gotten it started. I'll have Jason show me the trick later on today. Truly, I'm not a complete moron when it comes to following directions.

I'm trying something new

Last night we joined a local gym near our house. While there's two gyms on post childcare is spotty and done one a co-op basis. Don't get me wrong, I would have done the co-op in a heartbeat if I knew there was any sort of consistency. I don't want to get Jake and myself ready only to drive back home because no one is there to watch him while I work out. This gym has free childcare with set hours! Jason's also realized how rough the next few weeks/months will be with school and needs to get in his workouts whenever possible. He doesn't exactly want to spend anymore time on post then needed.

Ideally I want my happy ass in the gym 5 days a week for cardio. I've been working out at home with dvd's but need to kick up the cardio bit regardless what the workouts I'm doing say. This also gets me out of the house so I don't get myself in trouble. The whole plan is getting myself to the gym first thing in the morning thus cutting down on procrastination time. Then I'll be doing my Fluidity or Squeeze workouts 3 times a week. Once I get myself back into a regular routine, I'll incorporate other workouts I have at home with the cardio being the one constant.

This morning was my first day at the gym. Surprisingly I wasn't winded at all even though I haven't used a treadmill, stationary bike or elliptical trainer in months. The one issue I'll have is the stationary bike. My arse is sore and the copious amounts of scar tissue I have isn't helping the situation. I'll most likely go between the recumbent bike and stationary until I get past the soreness and break up the scar tissue some. On the left side by my tailbone it still hurts. I will get to a physical terrorist again if this continues. Otherwise I feel good.

Boring, Sydney, Boring.

I'm bored. School starts next week so I'll be even more bored. Sure there's stuff I could do around the house only it'd last all of 10 minutes. Which means I'm sitting here in front of the t.v. while putzing around on the internet. Here is all the excitement from being a stay at home mom once again. Woohoo!

On a good note we might have sold our double jogging stroller this morning. One of the families at the pool has twins. We're bringing the stroller with us tomorrow so they can check it out. Fortunately they don't give a damn it's not in pristine condition. They appreciate the fact it's been used. Keep your fingers crossed it leaves our hands.

Mini Ft. Leavenworth on our Street

This is what happens when you move to a community with a large military population: you're surrounded by military even when not living on post. So it is with our street. Friend's of Jason are experiencing the same phenomena in their neighborhood down the road from us.

Our neighbor's on the left are military with a currently deployed spouse. Two neighbors directly across from us are military. The one on the right works on post. I know there's a few more down the street from us of which I've met the daughter. I'm not saying I don't mind being around military but if I wanted to be around so much I'd rather live on post. Such is life.

The one on the left moved in the day after Jason arrived here. She and her two boys have been in Arkansas for the past year. Both her mom and FIL died. They moved back upon finding out her mom was sick while her husband went to Ft. Riley for training. Her FIL died shortly after their moving back from a riding lawn mower accident. I'm fuzzy on the details since we were drinking that night. Her house is a beautiful disaster one experiences with moving by yourself coupled with kids. I know this all to well having done the same while living in Germany when Jason was deployed.

Yesterday we bonded some more. She's more conservative in a few areas then me but we lean towards many of the same lines of thinking. It was nice talking a bit about politics without having any major differences of opinions as our boys wrecked havoc on her house. Her youngest is a few months younger then Jake making them twins by default. She also appreciates TJ hanging around Brendan and Colin vs. her oldest who is 11. He opens up around the boys in a way Tristan doesn't bring out of him, giggling along with whatever mischief is going on.

We've also shared a few similar past experiences with our respective spouses which I'm not ready to spread all over the internet. The deployments have wrecked various kinds of havoc on both of our families. I'm hoping things will be smoother for them when her husband comes home this time then our experience a few years back. At least he'll have a break once school starts in January.

And we're in Kansas

It's still all fresh and new smelling so I can't exactly give a decent opinion on being here. I do know the drive through Missouri I read all kinds of billboards saying I would be going to hell. I mean, I already knew that part it's just unsettling in seeing so many bible thumping, pro-life billboards like that on the open road.

The drive to Atlanta and then Leavenworth was okay. The boys were heinious buggers for various parts which I can't exactly blame them. The dvd player only worked partially on the way down. Boredom was the name of the game until I put on the GPS map. Amazing how a little map with a red arrow can be so entertaining.

I'll write more on Atlanta later. It was a difficult trip for me in seeing mom and how the house has become these last few years. I can't say it's easy seeing a parent getting old.

We're mostly settled in to the new house. A rental found through a military website. During the past week, Jason and I have made several comments wondering why the property manager didn't get a cleaning crew in or what is our expectation upon moving out. I never expected to clean up old urine from an unknown person.

At least we're within distance of a major city. One of these days we'll get down to Kansas City and check the place out. So far we've been figuring our way around Leavenworth, Lansing and the surround area. I did make a wrong turn down to Overland Park the other day. Damn construction on the highways.

So yeah, we haven't left Kansas yet, Toto.

Am I missing something here?

We're well into summer day camp and parents are still trying to get their kids enrolled. I'm not talking about parents just moving here or starting work on the island. These are parents who've gotten the emails from us months ago which they blatantly ignored. We know this because they've said so to our faces. Funny how they're scrambling now in trying to find something for their kids to do over the summer.

I know some of the military try passing the buck claiming they've never received anything. Problem is most don't realize who I am or who my husband is. Between my boss and Jason, the soldiers and parents were definitely blanketed in emails about camp and being registered with CYS. I had one Dad claim deployment status even though he got here a year ago. When I asked if he was on our email list or registered he said no, which I did verify. When I searched his name within the installation phonebook I saw he was within Jason's command. His denial fell flat after this information surfaced because I know the email Jason sent out back in February to all of his soldiers.

And yet, they get angry with us because there's a wait list. They get angry because we don't give them what they want. They get angry because they were the slackers who spaced on when school ended. We only do so much hand holding for the parents before we make them accountable for their lapses.

I want a healthy household please

I got a call about Jake throwing up after his nap on Wednesday which meant Jason or I needed to pick up him. After getting an earlier phone call about his general clinginess in the morning I called for an appointment. Helps I knew he already had HF&M so we just needed the confirmation.

The diagnosis? Double ear infections, strep throat and HF&M. For a child being this sick he spent the rest of the day on Wednesday running around like a banshee. Yesterday was pretty much the same only he was more pissed off in not getting allowed to play outside. The neighborhood didn't need a HF&M infestation going on.

On a wetter note, we got bombarded with water during our fire drill this morning. So woefully under prepared for this annual event. Bear pulled the alarm for our monthly fire drill with a giggle. The trucks were waiting for the kids by the fence to all line up before the onslaught began. No water balloons on our part. No water guns. Nothing but soaking wet kids who enjoyed the hell out of themselves.

It doesn't flood here!

Whoever made that comment to Jason must have been smoking something good because they are full of shit. It was coupled with the phrase 'we're at the widest part of the Mississippi'. This past month's been a doozy with the weather and flooding in our neck of the woods. We're fortunate in missing out a good chunk of what's hit Iowa. Not by much.

Yesterday as we drove off the island more ponds cropped up around the main road on post. The road circling the island by the bridge is under water. Looking across the way to the Mark, you can see how high the river has risen this past week. Steps and walls are completely submerged. Sandbags have grown overnight in preparation for the final cresting of the Mississippi in our area. Davenport's been hit the worst since it's slightly lower then the Moline side. Parents are cursing the new commutes because they change every second. Yesterday it took one parent 7hrs to pick up their stepdaughter when it should have been only 2 thanks to all of the detours.

What's truly frightening about all of this is the worst wasn't as bad thanks to levees breaking up and down the river, doesn't matter which one because it's happened with all of them. Records have still been made even though the 500yr flood plan apparently happened in 1993. Try telling that to everyone whose houses are submerged, their memories gone with all of the water.

People Get Ready,

I'm going swimming. Sort of. It's more of a chaperone deal/extra body there for ratio type of thing. I found out this morning I've been recruited the next 3 wks for the swimming field trips. I don't own a bathing suit. I'm fish belly pale. I have tattoos which aren't easily covered with a small band aid or two. All this means is I sit on the sidelines and play cards with the kids who won't go into the pool.

Randomness squared

A decision was finally made yesterday over who the new commander would be. A few months back this had been decided then a mini-uproar ensued. Apparently something along these lines should have happened when Jason took command because there's not much of a difference from my perspective. Anyways, I'm glad that's been taken care of even though it really doesn't change things for us. We're still leaving here for Ft. Leavenworth. It only means Jason won't have the time in going over the monumental amount of paperwork the newbie will be faced with. I don't even know if they've done the auditing of equipment yet.

In a few weeks Jason will once again be out of command. Seriously, 4 times he's been in command already. A slight break being in school will be nice. We've heard the gamut in school being a slacker's paradise to having one's nose in a book for 10mths. I think it'll be inbetween with more downtime then expected. He's already planning on taking the boys to school next year so I don't think it can be too bad. Or am I already delusional?

The job search continues. The one I applied for back in March has been reposted. I was at the point of being asked for references when they pulled it. I only know this from calling personnel and inquiring about the job and whether or not I should put my name back in the hat. Two more jobs opened up at the hospital down there which I've self-nominated myself. Both are administrative/HR types along the lines of what I'm doing and have done before. I even applied for one down at the jail. Not sure which one but it's for HR so it's not like I'll be contributing to any one's delinquency.

The weather here sucks mightily still.I read yesterday they're predicting record setting shittastic weather in the Midwest this summer. Awesome and we're moving to Kansas. I want to say the line was from Wichita up towards Des Moines in the article I read. Woohoo! More trees and branches were down from the storm early this morning. Yet another tree is being taken down across the street. It wouldn't affect our row of houses but the ones right next to us. Although if it fell right we wouldn't be able to get on our street.

I guess I should actually start working. It's the calm before the storm of summer camp.

No more chocolate

The smell of chocolate syrup is overpowering at the moment. The summer staff had a food fight after the exercises Tina had them going through. Ice cream, syrup, sprinkles and cherries are everywhere. I'm sitting here behind my computer snickering at everyone. They're all a mess with nary a change of clothes in sight.

Welcome to the Midwest

There was a doozy of a storm this morning. As my boss and I were driving back on post we saw several trucks on my street including one which digs up stuff. No, I don't know what they're called. The tree right next to our storage shed came down in the storm hitting the fence of the house behind ours.

Every severe storm we get trees go down on island. I'm honestly surprised this is the first time it's happened with those around our house. There's a copse of trees behind ours which has several trees that came down at some point. They never fell towards our house so it's a non-issue.

No other trees fell down in our area. Not only did we lose a tree, the dahlia's I planted around are now gone. At least they didn't die by the hands of those bloody chipmunks.

The last week of school and possible bus suspension

And what not to do without all of the pertinent information.

The rumor mill started with a phone call from our director informing us 3 kids, including Brendan, were suspended from the bus for eating. This came from one of my coworkers who took the phonecall. I called the director to verify when this happened. She only stated it came from Mr. C who wanted to know when the last day of school is.

I call Transportation so I can find out what happened. This is all related to Brendan's being written up last week for not sitting still or staying in his seat. His inability to do so has been a long standing issue since the first week of school. As I told my boss and Transportation my only issue is why it's being written up now. Transportation will be riding today and I asked her to double check the new monitor isn't shoving the elementary school kids towards the back.

Apparently chaos was the word of the day last Thursday. Kids were eating and drinking. One kid was spitting on another. Nobody was listening to the new monitor. Fortunately Brendan wasn't one of the ones eating. Don't get me wrong, his not sitting still is a huge issue for us. He definitely should have been written up a long, long time ago. Part of the problem stems from having a bus monitor who the kids figured out how to manipulate. Doesn't help there is now only one bus in the afternoon so all 3 schools are together. The elementary kids are on the longest since they're picked up first. Care to guess some of the words and finger gestures Brendan's picked up on thanks to all of this?

I am so glad school is almost out. The bus issues have been a bloody nightmare this year especially with the going down to one bus in the afternoons.

I'm still waiting

To hear back about one of the jobs I applied for at Ft. Leavenworth. It's my job only at the CDC instead of with Youth Services. In the meantime I've self-nominated myself for 3 more jobs. Full on crapshoot on my getting them but it's worth a shot. Two are within the library and one is in HR. These would be better because then I'd be in the government system instead of NAF never mind they're all full time instead of part time.

Then again, if I weren't so bloody picky I would apply for work at the jail. Think I'd fit in?

This may actually work. Huh.

Lawn of the month

Goes to us. This makes me giggle since the plant life is only beginning to come up. We got the award the very last month last year and now the very first month of this spring/summer.

My tulips are in the throes of death though they came up beautifully for a first year planting. Very tall and sturdy with one caveat: they weren't the color I ordered! I had purple, pink and one peppermint tulip. This goes well with my color theme of purples, pinks and blues but I wanted dark purple tulips. Damnit.

The bearded iris I planted last year is coming up with at least 3 blooms. Only greenery showed up last year. My neighbor planted two more irises on my side since only the one deigned to grow. There's also a tiny morning glory beginning to grow by the lamppost. Hopefully it'll continue to grow and wrap around the pole. Between that and the sweet pea, the front part will be covered in flowers.

All of the various lilies which barely made it between the bloody chipmunks and roofing contractors are coming up strong. The four asiatic lilies are huge and getting ready to bloom. Now if I could only remember colors of the other two varieties I'd be set.

My dahlias are coming up again this year. I half-assed conserved them over the winter. I decided if any came up all was golden otherwise who gives a rat's ass since we're moving. Nope, they are coming up strong with tomato cages surrounding them in eager anticipation of their growth. I liked how well the dahlia's bloomed last year I bought dwarf dahlia's for the front of the beds. If we had the time here I'd be growing the fire red dahlia's in the yard. Stunning doesn't give them justice.

I've also lost quite a bit of what I planted in the fall thanks to the aforementioned evil chipmunks. None of the lenten roses I planted on the side survived the chipmunks. Apparently they had a field day in digging tunnels through everything there and stole my bulbs.

My widow's tears are only growing on one side. This is okay since I planted the dahlia's on the other. The liatris are a crap shoot. They started sprouting last year and I don't know what'll happen now. It's quite possible they'll come up late if they weren't killed off by the frost. The poppy anemone's are coming up slowly. Only one bloom as arrived so far. This might be the only one for the season with next year showing stronger growth.

Things are still very sparse and yet we got Lawn of the Month. At least it's better then last year when things were dying. It was the wee fence I put in to corral the mulch which made the day.

Lost in the shuffle

A few weeks back the school nurse sent home paperwork for Brendan's kindergarten dental checkup. We never got it done in the first place and were under a new deadline. Not a problem. I got Brendan in the dentist on my day off yesterday.

He did great with his first round of mouth x-rays ever. Chatted up a storm with the person doing the x-rays. I could hear him down the hall. He loved the bubble gum toothpaste for his cleaning and sat through the fluoride coating like a champ. Everything went great until I had to set up an appointment for his getting the molars sealed. He's not in the system. The person doing billing called Tricare and United Concordia. I'm the only one listed in the dental program. Not something I expected to hear after the appointment.

I get him back to school and check out Tricare online to find out who I need to call about this small snafu especially since the dental deduction is taken out of Jason's pay. One customer service rep said I could enroll the boys online with the effective date being June 1. I told her this wouldn't work especially since I'd just come from Brendan's appointment. Further into our conversation she mentions DEERS automatically enrolling kids when they turn 4. I bring up the fact Brendan and Colin are 6 and 4 respectively. Obviously we fell through the cracks at some point. She sends me over to enrollment so I can ask more questions as to why this didn't happen. Seems our coming from Germany affected DEERS automatic enrollment in Tricare Dental. Our situation isn't unique because the guy I worked with in figuring all this crap out has heard of this before. It's also not the norm. He was able to get things worked out so the boys are covered starting May 1st and will continue to be covered no matter where we move. Got to love the system. Hah!

This is one of the many frustrations we've had since being married. The move to Germany had Brendan and I not enrolled in Tricare even though the paperwork had been filled out more times then I can remember. Every appointment I made at the clinic I was told I needed to make sure I was enrolled the next time. There is no next time. I'm enrolled and have proof. Moving across Germany the same thing happened. Even better, it happened with our move back to the States. Jason filled out all of the paperwork upon arriving at RIA. I filled out the paperwork two more times because one kid was in, the other two weren't. Then all three kids were in but I wasn't.

What I appreciated about this fuck-up was how easily I got things taken care of. Once we figured out what happened the problem was solved. No arguing with reps which is the norm anytime I call HealthNet. No being treated as if I haven't a brain or because I'm the spouse I don't amount to shit. I even had the first person say she didn't know enough about the enrollment process and wanted to transfer me so I got the correct information. This never happens. Ever.

Keep your fingers crossed out next move doesn't bugger things up again.

I love my mom by Colin

I love my mom because she reads me books about the boogie man.

I love my mom because she helps me ride without training wheels.

I love my mom when she makes me laugh by tickling me.

I love my mom because she taught me how to be good.

I love to hear my mom sing because she doesn't sing.

I love my mom because she finds time to play at the park.

I know my mom cares because she always says that.

I know my mom is smart because she plays hide and seek.

I love my mom because she works so hard at her work.

The rain dance isn't working

I used to love the rain until moving here. Thunderstorms never bothered me unless one cracked right overhead. Watching lightening arc across the sky was always a favorite past-time of mine. Not anymore. Last week had our first round of tornado warning's going off. This meant all the kids sat in the bathroom for two hours until their parents picked them up from school. Paul was the unfortunate one stuck in the bathroom with screaming children.

Today work feels damp. We've all been dragging as the day ticked away the hours. My throat is scratchy. My eyes feel swollen. I want to shake the rain off of me but can't since another front is coming through. I feel groggy with the change in weather.

We had plenty of rain last night on top of the rain from last week. The river has slowly gone back down only to start the rise once again. One of my coworkers brought in pictures from '97. The baseball stadium was almost entirely covered in water. Downtown Davenport flooded 4 blocks up from the river. I don't know how much the Rock River flooded on the Illinois side but I know it must have been a doozy. Which meant Moline got flooded on both sides.

This year the river didn't get inside the stadium. This year the bandstand wasn't covered entirely. This year only 2nd Street was flooded instead of all the way up to 4th Street.

Stiff neck or pounding headache?

Which one would you prefer? I'd prefer neither but have the fortune of experiencing both at the same time.

I slept wrong the other night throwing a kink in my neck. A nerve's gotten pinched because I can feel the pain floating down into my right arm. The soreness also radiates through my neck and shoulder. Last night made everything worse. The moment I tried leaning on my right arm so I could lay down I felt pain shooting from my elbow to my neck. Yeah, you know where this is going: crappy sleep with even more stiffness. Slapping myself silly with Tiger's Balm isn't even touching the pain or increasing blood flow in the area.

My headache is bouncing between sinus issues or becoming a migraine. By the time the day is over it'll be a migraine if I can't nip things in the bud. I've already popped two pain killers and nothing is stemming the pressure I'm feeling. Stress induced migraines are the best.

101 Uses for duct tape

#1 : Tape child's mouth shut.

I don't say this lightly considering I have 3 monsters running around my house, the youngest being a screamer himself when denied something. There's one child who has been coming to playgroup for the past year or so who's a screamer. He screams almost from the moment he arrives to when they leave. Mom never takes him out of the building so we get the grand experience of his screaming for 2 odd hours or more every Thursday.

Today was the first day he didn't stay the whole time and I can say I'm glad they left. While I'm not uber busy, I don't enjoy the screaming lungs of a child who refuses his Mom's requests. I know she's frustrated with her child's behavior. We've shared the rolling of the eyes many a times. She's vented to me when I used to be in playgroup before working. Hell, she still vents to me as I sit at my desk while S is screaming in the atrium.

The boys have done their fair share of getting on other's nerves. All kids do this. I feel for mom because she can't shake this behavior out of S for the life of her. It'd be nice for S to come in one day, happy, smilling and not screaming. How come I think this will only happen after we leave?

I'd like to thaw out please

Because of how wacky the weather's gotten outside work is an icebox at the moment. I have goosebumps everywhere, my fingers are icicles and my feet have no feeling. It is the end of April. We shouldn't be having weather like this. It's supposed to be in the high 60's/low 70's now hence the reason why work is an icebox. All I can say is I'm glad I didn't shave this morning. The goosebumps would have ruined a perfectly smooth leg.

I'm also incredibly bored. Everyone I work with is at a conference today and tomorrow. This means I'm stuck like Chuck at work. I can't even leave the building for my break until someone else comes here. This won't happen until around 3 when the kids will start filtering into the building.

I'm bored. I'm freezing my ass off. I'm stuck. This about sums up my work for the day.

House Hunters

I wonder if we could wrangle ourselves onto the show so they can do all of our dirty work. And then do a sob story letter for Oprah about how it's our first house, we can't agree on decorating and can you please send Nate Berkus over for a free house makeover? Maybe tack on a honeymoon since we never took one thanks to the slightly shotgun aspect to our getting hitched.

As previously noted to my lack of readers, we're moving this summer. After debating on the merits of renting, buying or living on post, we've decided on buying a house. So far the list has been whittled down to 15 or so houses. From there we need a smaller list for Jason to look at in the next week or so when he drives down to Leavenworth. We're trying to stay around the Leavenworth/Lansing area because the traffic getting on post will be a bitch. Don't exactly want a 20 mile commute before the queue at the gate begins.

We're trying to find houses which don't require a lot of work. More because we'll only be there for 10mths before moving once again. Is this realistic? More so then one would realize considering what we've found so far. Knowing our luck, though, we'll end up on the house which needs all the wallpaper stripped. This wouldn't be bad if I'm not working. I'm perverse in rather enjoying removing wallpaper and painting. The only snafu will come from Jake in his desire for helping out. Much hilarity would ensue amongst my trying in keeping his hands out of paint, glue, etc..

Egads. A house of our very own.

Have I mentioned I'm bored?

Didn't think so. I'm bored.

And the illness of the week is

Fifth Disease brought to you by Colin. At least it's giving him some color since we're both jockeying for the palest of the pale family member in our house.

In the past month we've dealt with pneumonia, strep with scarlet fever, strep with vomiting and now fifth disease. For some reason Jake has escaped the weekly illnesses invading our house this past month. I wish I could say the same for Brendan and Colin.

Coming from nowhere

Is how the thoughts feel running through my mind. The past two weeks have been a blur which I'm still recovering from. Bloody hell my fingers are swollen. I say this because typing is interesting for me at the moment. See! Comments from nowhere. Get used to it because I'm not changing.

Last week I had surgery. Scar revision of my c-section scars along with upper/lower/flanks lipo. Yes, I delved into the underbelly of plastic surgery. Say what you will but the difference in my torso is huge if somewhat lopsided. Looks as if I had a baby while things continue shifting, swelling and settling into their final resting place. The scar revision was worth having a drainage tube for a week.

I'd been having issues with adhesions after my section with Jake. I still don't think the surgery will have corrected all of my issues but the ones surrounding the scar itself have been taken care of. There's still a part of my stomach which twists and turns when I do certain movements. It was this pain which brought me into the doctor's office to begin with. Two CT scans later, nothing really showed up but Tricare said they'd pay for scar revision. When we move to Ft. Leavenworth I'll be getting my colonoscopy done to see if there's anything else going on. Woohoo! More things shoved into my body which shouldn't be there in the first place. At least mom won't be in the hallway when I have something sticking out of my arse, the doctor pops open the door and asks if she'd like to see into my bum. Yes, this really happened to me at 13.

Throw in being post-op a week and this past Monday had me dealing with one hoarking child with another who was all aglow in scarlet fever. Brendan and Jake had their worst case of strep throat. Over the weekend Brendan had been running a fever which caused his skin to flush. I'd done a bit of reading where I learned scarlet fever is a sympton of strep. Here's the problem: his skin would flush, go normal, flush again. If the flush stayed constant we'd have been in the ER.

By Monday he was red and officially diagnosed with scarlet fever. By Monday Colin started hoarking. Everywhere. By Monday I learned hoarking is a sign of strep. By Monday the boys had their first rapid strep tests come back positive.

None of this would be so bad if Brendan hadn't gotten over pneumonia 2-3 wks before getting strep. At least Jake's test came back negative and I haven't caught anything myself. Knock on fake wood.

The boys will be missed

Since it's becoming more known we're leaving, several of my coworkers are putting their foot down. Apparently we're not allowed to leave the Arsenal. They don't necessarily care about Jason and I staying, it's the boys they don't want leaving.

Brendan's come a long way since the beginning of the year. He started coming to SAS shortly after I started my job here. The first day of kindergarten had him being a deer in headlights. Watching the kids come in the doors from the school bus I could see how lost Brendan was that day. He went from being the big kid at daycare to being the smallest and not knowing his way around.

Mrs. Luke keeps saying Brendan can't leave because he's gotten so comfortable in his surroundings and how much he's grown during the past year. Each day Brendan whispers into his ear who his secret identity is and not to tell mom. Both Mrs. Luke and Mr. Shame have been invited over to our house so they can play games, something which has never happened to either one of them in their years of working with kids. They both appreciate how comfortable Brendan has become with them to invite them over. Never mind the quirky sayings which tumble out of Brendan's mouth which cracks everyone up.

We've been talking with the boys on our move so they're prepared. I don't think this move will be as easy as the previous ones. Hopefully the few weeks before school starts next year they'll have adjusted to our new environment. At least Colin will have Brendan with him again once school starts so they're not all lost in new environments.

The job search begins. Again.

Thanks to being in the military one accepts moving every few years give or take. This makes it rather difficult in finding a job when you're the spouse of the soldier. They have a job or school with each move whereas you don't.

Last year I started work again after five years of being a stay at home mom. Initially I started doing a medical transcription class with the grand idea of working from home. I think in a few years I'll revisit this idea once things settle down within my headspace. I needed to be out of the house for my sanity. Depending upon where we end up after school I may pursue the transcription again with a passion.

I've been checking out the jobs down at Ft. Leavenworth and applied for two knowing I probably wouldn't be a candidate. If our move date were closer there would have been a better chance in getting interviewed. I'm still rusty in my interviewing skills and sending out resumes so the chance in doing so is welcome. Yesterday I found my job open down there. I'm scrambling in getting my resume updated since they don't use Resumix. I also can't use spousal preference because our move date is far enough out. Still, I won't pass this chance up since I'm already doing the job and have all the background checks in place.

The chances of my having a job while Jason's at school is slim considering the length of time we'll be at Ft. Leavenworth. It's hard thinking I'll be taking a year off again after going back to work. There's been a tremendous change in me since I've been working. I've had people comment on the difference, of how I'm calmer now and less frazzled. I didn't realize how much I needed to be in the workforce again, bringing home a paycheck until this past year.

I love my kids to death but I'm not a stay at home mom. It's just not me and I'm fine with this knowledge. Here's hoping a job falls into my lap again like the one I have now.

Must be user error

As much as I'd like to curse the ready made blogspot templates for making yesterdays post disappear, I know it's user error. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Taking responsiblity for my blogging idiocy.

How a child curses his birthday

Poor Brendan, he was robbed this year. His birthday is usually the first day of spring except this year thanks to Leap Year. He's been going on and on how he wanted the 17th to be his birthday because it's St. Patrick's Day. I told him we tried but he came on the 21st. Now that I've gotten him to think it's cool being born on the 1st day of spring this year it falls a day early.

Please don't tell my child he's been robbed this year. I will never hear the end of it otherwise.

I could be a coffee whore for enough money

I started drinking coffee around 16 and it took me a few years before I became a full blown coffee drinker. There was a time I could drink coffee all day long and still go to sleep after a cup. Even better, coffee had the opposite affect on me towards the end of the day: I got tired because of how much I drank.

During the years of drinking coffee, I've worked in two different shops. I've seen the gamut of afficianados to those who think cappuccino from a package is prime drinking. I enjoyed both experiences tremendously because of the customers and who I worked with, not necessarily for. Many a times a regular would come in order a drink and they'd get something else because I knew they didn't want their drink. I got away with this because of the barista/bartender relationship.

Or we had our regulars who drove us batshit crazy with their conversations until one figured out they were joshing us all along. Mr. K was one such customer. He always showed up around 9am for his morning coffee and stayed a good hour for conversation. His family joined him around a year later from Russia and he'd bring them in with them. There was another customer, Rudy, who'd come in during the afternoon. An older gentleman with the tattoo on his arm. I never asked him about his experiences but he knew I was aware of his tattoo and what it meant. The closest he came to acknowledging his past was in fessing up being a translator of german. He had a client who wanted something yesterday and couldn't understand why a 25 page report would take a bit for translation.

I've never claimed to be knowledgeable on coffee. I've done enough reading, drink making, bean buying to know my likes and dislikes. During the past several years things have changed in the coffee world, becoming more chi-chi. I have issues with certain companies in how they make their drinks or machines they used. This is the one snobbish area I embrace. I learned how to brew espresso on a piston machine. I was responsible for the taste of the espresso I poured, for the amount of crema on top, not a machine. Having people acknowledge this on a hectic day made everything all right.

Apparently a normal coffee maker is too pedestrian because this is now available for a slight dent in one's wallet: http://www.slate.com/id/2185655/

Personally, I think we should experiment with pedestrian coffee and see if we can wring out the olive notes from a can of Maxwell House or Folger's.

Ow, my aching back. Or how I love my physical terrorist.

In the ongoing saga of my back the latest chapter started on Saturday as I got J out of his crib. The slight turn to the left shifted my spine. Don't ask for I couldn't even tell you exactly what happened. I didn't think much as I finished getting everyone ready for the Easter Egg hunt. A few hours later saw me hobbling around the house everytime I stood up from the couch or chair.

My back hasn't hurt this much in many years. Even with the car accident I never had a time where I couldn't put my full weight on either leg. This time everything is different. My back didn't go out on some type of bending move. There are times where I can't put my full weight on my left leg. Oh, and the L3 is acting up again. This disc is the start of my back problems from the tender age of 11.

Fortunately I already had an appointment with my physical terrorist this morning. The moment she saw me bracing myself in getting up from the chair she knew something happened. Since I've been going to her this is the first time my back's gone out. Barb knows my history and knows how the past year has seen a difference in how things go out of whack. She actually experienced what my back does when the shit hits the proverbial fan. So much so, I'm seeing her again on Wednesday. We've been okay with my going in every other week for the time being. I've been there, done that with physical therapy since the car accident and the workouts I'm currently doing have increased my flexibility through my lower back and hips.

At one point, I told Barb I'd considered calling Dr. M. so he could see the difference. Since I'm relatively new in his practice I wasn't sure how they handled same day phone calls along the lines of 'I'm in serious fucking pain without any good drugs see me now!' Back in Atlanta this wouldn't have been a problem. Here in the neighborhood this side of hell, it's slightly different. Dr. M. considers Barb to be a saint with regards to physical therapy and uses her as a second opinion. I know this morning she'll go into detail for him which is why I held back in making a phone call.

Dr. M. and I have talked quite a bit about how my back has changed from the car accident and having three kids. J really screwed me up in so many ways from how I carried him. I went through two pregnancies with normal aches one experiences. This is highly unusual considering the soft tissue damage, bulging disc and squashed vertebrae, 8 mths of physical therapy and one cortisone shot in the disc I received from the car accident. When I first got pregnant with B, my doctor in Atlanta didn't sugar coat what I could go through while pregnant. Everyone was surprised when pregnancy helped me even though it was a slight possibility. Love pregnancy hormones.

Anyways, this past year my pain has evolved and so does how I get said pain: no warning. I appreciate being in physical therapy but I can't help but feel surgery is in my future. Dr. M. isn't one for surgery being the first option. I appreciate this, truly I do because I'm not exactly looking forward to my spine being tinkered with. Only, I don't know how it can be avoided for much longer especially considering the bone compression I have going on. Oh well. At least I have tender, pain giving hands with my physical terrorist.

Gak!

The smell of brine shrimp is in the air. A co-worker knocked over the cup of defrosting brine shrimp for the fish tank onto the floor. Since there isn't a rug cleaner in sight, the smell of rotted, dead shrimp is in the air. I made a feeble attempt in cleaning the mess with a carpet cleaner spray. I think I made it worse: dead fish smell mixed with lemon verbena rug cleaner. You tell me.

Curse you daylight savings time!

I spit in your general direction. Or would if I weren't so flippin tired. This week is killing me with the time change. I'm not even used to getting up early even though I've been doing so for my workouts.

Today was the first day I only woke up two boys. Thing 1 crawled out of bed around 6:40am otherwise he's been snoring when I've gone in there to wake both Things up. I feel bad for the boys because their schedule has gotten screwed up with the change. Mr. pixie and I try keeping bedtimes consistent only this spring forward crap rips us a new one each year. Hopefully things have returned to a modicum of normalcy with the boys having adjusted better then their parents. There's nothing like hearing the yapping going on at 9pm when it should be snoring. Such is life with kids.

I still want another cup of coffee. I've cut back exponentially the past month or so: 1 cup a day is the norm. I know. Shocking since coffee is the nectar of the gods but I've made a conscious effort in cutting back on caffeine. Okay so the gazillion points I'd have with Weight Watchers helps. My body isn't reacting very well in my drinking coffee past noon. I'll still have the occasional cup but coffee drinking is now a morning activity. The queasy shakes just isn't fun anymore. Bah.

Crack open a bottle for me

Snotface is quickly coming up on his second birthday. It's a few months away and he's full on in the tantrum stage. The evenings have been a chore in getting the boys through the door, dinner on the table, pajamas wrestled onto squirming limbs, running interference with the older two and wondering when mr. pixie's coming home. In the midsts of all the chaos, Snotface throws a tantrum. Or two. Or three.

The first one he started throwing magnets off the fridge. When I didn't pay attention he put them back on the fridge so he could throw them off again. Then socks where thrown at me with the occasional smacking on the legs. Finally, he laid on the kitchen floor sobbing while an eye peeked up at me. I know all about tantrums, Snotface, and you won't get any sympathy from me.

Only it's frustrating when I can tell something's bothering him but he can't put anything into words. The only signs he's gotten are 'more', 'please' and 'thank you'. Those are hit or miss at best. Combine 1 part laziness on mom's behalf with 2 parts older brothers deciphering the pointing and odd noises it's no wonder he won't sign more.

My escape is Snotface being tossed into his bed for the night, Thing 1 and Thing 2 watching cartoons in the living room while I sit here wasting time on the computer.