May the Force be with you…. May 25, 2008

So now I know. Not to slight anyone whose dh may be serving in the Army, but I just have to tell this story.

First a little background…part of the reason the Air Force engineers are being tasked so heavily is because the Army does not require everyone who is an “engineer” to have an engineering degree.  When you add to that the fact that the Army just doesn’t have enough people for the missions overseas, it makes the situation much more challenging. Not the fault of those in the Army as much as it is the fault of those civilians who claim to “lead” the Army. But that is another blog for another day.  So as a result, the AF is filling in some gaps/positions for the Army in the AOR.  My dh told me stories of Army “engineers” who didn’t understand a basic form that most AF engineers could fill out in their sleep.  It is the form that is required to do anything….it is to an AF engineer what oxygen is to the rest of us mere mortals.

Last night dh and I are watching TV and he sees a light sabre. He pauses the TV to tell me that there were 2 Army Captains in Afghanistan who had light sabres like that except they were “much, much cooler”. His words, not mine.  Ahh….see what happens when you put a bunch of like-minded men in one place. :-) The point of his story is that these 2 guys (Army Captains) would go out in the middle of the night and CHOREOGRAPH a fight scene.  What?!? 2 grown men who are supposedly protecting us from the terrorists are outside in the middle of freezing temperatures choreographing a fight scene like they are a couple of 12 year olds on Christmas Day in 1977?!?!

Good Grief!  No wonder the geek squad has to go in and help the Army with their role in the war.  Not that the AF is perfect in any way…apparently we don’t have the ability to “rough it” as much as the Army does. But regardless of the teasing.. on this Memorial Day I want to remind all of us the sacrifices that are made for this great country.  Although I may vent my frustration for our government, this country and the principles on which it was founded are amazing.  I want to not only remember those who have given their lives for this country, I want to also remember those who love them. Those who wait for a phone call or a letter from a distant land. Those who hang flags and stickers and support those serving, not because we support whatever military action, but because we love someone who is so dedicated.  Those who take care of the sick kids and the bills while their spouse is gone. Or the mom who only wants her child home for Mother’s Day. Or the Dad who simply wants to stick his chest out and be proud. Those who have a hole in their world because the loved one is gone.

Guess who’s coming to dinner… May 23, 2008

This happened last week and I couldn’t help but share.  Last Tuesday, I was able to get the downstairs of our home really clean. The reason I say “downstairs” is because I can never get the whole house spotless at the same time. I either run out of time or energy before I get everything done. Its the floors…you have to clean them twice. Once to sweep/vacuum up the dirt and dog puffs and then a 2nd time to mop them.  I love the big house and all of the space, but can I just have a little bit of carpet? So I try to make it a point to get one floor of the house really clean each week.  Its a small goal but we all have to start somewhere. 

Anywho….last Tuesday I get the downstairs really clean and when the girls get home from school I  make it a point to show them how clean it is and how I would like them to help me keep it that way.  Feeling like my 5 year old wasn’t quite paying attention I ask “Don’t you like how clean our house is?”.  To which she replies “Uh-huh….who’s coming over?”  What do you mean “who’s coming over”?  She then proceeds to tell me that she likes our clean house but it only gets this clean when someone is coming over and she’s just wondering who it is.

For the record, I would like to point out that is not the case. I do clean when someone is coming over but it’s not the ONLY time I clean. sheesh!

Stressed? May 18, 2008

Ok…I’m not sure exactly what’s going on with me…I am a bit befuddled.  Normally I am pretty in tune with my body but right now it has me a bit confused.  I am showing all of the signs of being overstressed….

First, my face is breaking out.  I feel like I am 17 again. Normally I don’t break out like this even when I am about to start my period.  And speaking of period….I have been waaaay irregular for the last several months.  One month I will go long (and wonder about the doc who took care of Jason) and the next I will have a very short month….then I will go long again.  I have been regular since I started cycling after Izzy’s birth/nursing, but suddenly.

Then there is the sleeping…or lack there of. I lie in bed…thinking, thinking, thinking….nothing in particular, just a stream of conciousness. Even though I am exhausted when I fall in bed, but I can’t sleep.   And all I want to do is lay on the couch and veg.  That is only typical behavior for me when I am SO completely overwhelmed….like when Jason is deployed and we are traveling for Christmas.

Everything keeps pointing to stress, but I don’t feel like I’m stressed. I don’t have a calendar full of activities and things to do for the  kids and stuff. I don’t have 2 sick kids and a costume to make for Friday. I don’t have no money in the bank and no food on the pantry. The cars are running well and the dog is healthy. I know we are getting ready to go through a lot of change in the next 8 or 9 months, but I have really been telling myself not to worry about it.  To get through the end of the year first and then we can focus on the summer and school for next year and setting a date to move and such.

So maybe I’m stressed and I’m too close to it to be able to see it. So I’m doing what I do when I’m stressed….getting more sleep, trying to get organized, eating more healthy, drinking more water, exercising, trying to be a bit more zen in my attitude towards life…none of it seems to be helping.

((sigh))

This old house… May 11, 2008

Jason goes upstairs to take his shower after we get the girls to bed and I sit on the couch watching whatever show I want to see on Tivo that he has no interest in. I hear a funny noise.  In this old house, you never know what you may find….a squirrel platoon who may have decided to invade or a water bug so large you can only kill him with dh’s size 15 shoe.  I walk around the area a little bit….looking, looking. WHAT THE ?!?!? I have water dripping on me! Its coming from upstairs down the dining room wall and from a bubble that has been created in the ceiling of the first floor. I am standing directly under the Master Bath where dh is taking a shower! I quickly run upstairs and tell dh to get out of the shower b/c we have a leak.

The next day we call housing maintenance and they send the handy dandy repairman who just finished reporting to his parole officer.  Anyway, he says its because of cracks in the grout. He seals it.

Earlier this week it started leaking again.  We call. They send the same genius who came out the first time and now he says it must be the overflow valve. He “fixes” that.  Now, did the guy even look through the door that gives access to the bathroom plumbing from a closet in another room? No. Did he look at the bubble in the ceiling of the dining room?  No way. Did he talk about the best way to dry up the water that is sitting  between the floors of the home? Never in a million years. Did dh bother to ask him?  No…but that is another blog for another day.

On Thursday night, Jason is once again taking his evening shower and I hear that same familiar drip, drip.  ((sigh)) I know exactly where to look and there is another leak. I tell Jason to get out of the shower again. So after he comes down stairs, we have a conversation.  I think there is something fishy going on. It doesn’t leak when I take a shower. It doesn’t leak when our girls take a shower. It doesn’t leak when I take a shower with a various combination of the girls. It only leaks when dh takes a shower. He gets all offended that I may be implying he is obese and he sticks out his chest, beats on it and says in his best caveman dialect “what did you do?”.  WHAT DID I DO? Ha!  I just roll my eyes and walk away. He made it too easy. I could have beat him with one hand tied behind my back.

So Friday the normal handy dandy repair guy comes in.  Not the parole repair guy. The one who has some common sense, but smells like his last place of employment was in a tobacco barn. I tell him my theory and he nods his head.  It appears these houses are old enough that the supports under the tub are weakening. And when someone who is approximately my hubby’s size gets in, the support bends and there are subsequent gaps around the tub and it leaks! HA! I am not as crazy has my hubby thinks….take a shower in another bathroom and he will get the wood and come back on Monday. I can do that. We have 2 other full baths in this house.

But wait…it gets better…..so last night Jason moves over to the girls’ bathroom to take a shower.  I’m downstairs and decide to get something to drink. I go to walk in the kitchen and my socks are wet. HUH? I’m confused. But only for a second. I hear the familiar sound. It appears we now have a leak in the kitchen.  You know…the kitchen which is directly under the girls’ bathroom.

Tonight he has to move to bathroom number 3. Wow!  This is amazing housing we get for “free”. 

Katey’s Big Day May 7, 2008

My Goodness! Katey had a very big day today and she is revelling in all of her glory…as only a 5 year old can.

First, she was chosen to be “Duck of the Day” in her classroom. Which to us adults means that she gets to lead the class to lunch and recess and stuff. But to her, it means she gets to be leader for the day and is able to help whenever it is needed. She really enjoys these days.

Then, she was selected out of her class to have a speaking part in the Flag Ceremony in front of the whole school. I thought she would be too shy….she usually is around a lot of people…but she was awesome.

She was also very proud today because she was allowed to check her first book out of the school library.  She felt SO BIG when she got in the van.

After school was the big test. She had a dentist appointment for a routine cleaning but the dentist was going to look at pulling a couple of baby teeth. Katey’s permanent lower middle teeth had come in behind her baby teeth. Her baby teeth had been loose, but we could not get them loose enough to pull ourselves and her permanent tooth was getting in the way of her tongue.  I watched (and wrestled Izzy) while Katey had her teeth cleaned. We went to the waiting room until the dentist was ready for us and then Katey went back by herself for the dentist “to just look”. She came out, we talked, agreed to pull both teeth with one shot, Katey came out a few minutes later with gauze in her mouth.  She told the dentist she was fine and later when I talked to her, she didn’t even realize she had been given a shot.  She was so very proud of herself.  We made a trip to the toy section of Target for her bravery and the “tooth fairy” has left some decent cash as trade for the first teeth.

Wow! Sometimes when I think Katey is going to live with us forever because she has such a hard time stepping away, she does something to amaze me.

I will post pictures as soon as I can edit.