Homecoming

Hubby is home!

We are all very happy that he's back home with us.

And his homecoming was, as always, wonderful.

The girls and I got to the Navy base at around 7:30 a.m. and found a parking spot. We took the shuttle to the pier where his ship was going to be pulling in, where we met up with his parents, who were also there to see him come home.

So many people were there to see their loved ones come home, after being gone for six long months. Many had signs welcoming them back. The military had MANY booths there for the families and friends to visit, get a drink, buy t-shirts, and make signs to welcome them back.

My girls wanted to make signs to welcome back Daddy. The eldest made her sign, and I helped the youngest with her sign. All I had to do with her sign though, was to tell her how things were spelled. She knew exactly what she wanted to put on there and she just needed to know how to spell "Welcome Home". She already knew how to spell Daddy.

At around 9:30, we saw the top of the ship's mast moving behind the other ship that was already docked at the pier. The crowd was cheering immensely! At last, he was coming home.

Hubby and I had already decided via e-mail that he would call me on my cell phone as soon as he was able to when the ship was pulling into port. I checked my cell phone to see the time and I saw that I had a message from him. He must have called while the crowd was cheering and I didn't hear it. He said that they were pulling alongside the other ship and were coming around the corner.

Then we saw the bow of the ship, and all the sailors lined up around the top of the ship. If you have never seen that, it is an amazing sight. It makes you so proud to be an American and so proud that you have a loved one on that ship and they are coming home to you. Once I saw that sight, I had a flood of emotions overcome me. So proud, so happy and so relieved that he was home again.

He was on that ship. He was coming home to me and his daughters.

The ship slowly pulled forward and lined up parallel to the pier. Then the tugboats slowly pushed the ship toward the pier (it's such a large ship, it's not like they can just parallel park, you know).

It is such a wonderful experience to be there, seeing your loved one come home, but it does definitely take a while. Once the ship is docked, then they have to put the ramps and stairs up to the ship so they can depart the ship. From the time they pulled in, to the time they got off the boat, it's easily a 1/2 hour or longer.

When they lowered the bays, hubby called me and I told him where I was on the pier. He told me where he was on the ship. We were able to see each other and wave madly to each other.

The first ones that get to get off the ship are the new daddies. The ones whose wives' had babies while they were out to sea. We have been very lucky in which hubby has been able to be home for both of his daughter's births.

The next ones off are the officers and senior enlisted. Then the junior sailors. I have been on both ends of that spectrum. On our first deployment apart, he was one of the junior sailors so it definitely took a while for him to get off. Now he's a senior enlisted sailor so he gets to get off sooner.

Hubby called me to tell me he was about 5 minutes away from getting off the ship. Then when he was off the ship, he called again so we were on the lookout for him throughout the crowd.

I spotted him and I told my girls that I saw him and pointed to where he was walking towards us. The eldest saw him and took off for him and the youngest followed.

They found their daddy and they hugged each other so tight. This was the eldest's fourth time being away from Daddy, but really the 2nd time she remembers it. As for the youngest, this was her 2nd time, but she was just a baby the first time. She went running up to Daddy too and they hugged each other too.

I sat back and watched happily, tears in my eyes. My girls had their Daddy back. My mother-in-law stood behind me and put her arms around my shoulders and we watched together. She said, "You need to go up there too", but I declined. This was their moment with their daddy and they needed to have that time for their special reunion. I could wait a few seconds longer.

Then they walked over to where we were and hubby and I hugged and kissed each other (not too passionate though, the in-laws were watching.....) and hugged and kissed and held hands.

I just love the youngest's expression in this picture. :)

I have my hubby home again.

Daddy's Coming Home Tomorrow!

This is what my youngest is saying over and over today.

Oh, and she's been watching her "United Through Reading" DVD's over and over. (United Through Reading came out to the ship in April and the Daddies (and Mommmies, too, I'm sure) read books to their children via the camera and they mailed them back home so the kids could have their parents read to them. Isn't that neat??!!!)

What a long trip this has been.

Correction...

....we have one dog, one cat, and now we are down to one fish.

Less Than A Week Left!

Until hubby is back home with us!

I got to talk with him this past weekend. It will be so good to have him back home!

So much has happened in six months!

My eldest started junior high and my youngest started kindergarten.

My youngest started playing soccer.

The hamster died.

Most of our fish died.

Our dog had ear surgery.

Our cat is about to have surgery.

I started having anxiety again.

I'm now getting that under control again.

My friend had a baby.

I found out that my BIL and SIL are having a baby.

My sister got a teaching job.

Our 15th wedding anniversary was in July.

My aunt got married to a really great guy!

My cousin had twins (a boy and a girl).

I joined a softball board as uniform coordinator.

I'm no longer allowed near my eldest while in school. (It's not "cool", you know....).

But at least she still talks to me!

Still counting down the days until we see him this weekend.

Single Digits

NINE...................................MORE......................................DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hubby will be home in NINE MORE DAYS!

We are in single digits now! I love it when we get into single digits. It makes it that much more exciting!

We went from 180 days to 9 days left.

Some people say "boy that sure went fast".

But not for us.

I'm just happy to be in the single digits "zone"

I'm also happy that he'll be pulling into a port where he can use his cell phone to call me too.

Then he'll be home.

And we'll be complete again.

Junior High..........

Today was the Student of the Month/Honor Roll Assembly for my eldest, who is now in Junior High.

After they had the awards (of which she received one for being on Principal's Honor Roll, which means straight A's) they had Spirit Day Activities. All the junior high"ers" are divided up into different groups and each group had a certain color t-shirt, which the kids wear, and they play these games that the ASB kids make up and do.

How freaking fun is that?!!!

I remember in Junior High that we had certain activities similar to that, but I also remember the only certain people played them all the time.

Here in her school, all the kids will get a chance to play the games. The teachers of their groups have cards and they go through them and draw names so everyone will get a chance to play.

Normally, the parents do not get to watch these, as it is after the assemblies and the parents have gone for the day, but I was hanging around because I had to help in my youngest's classroom shortly thereafter and it would have been silly to leave and come back in 15 minutes.

So I sat and watched.

All the kids looked like they had fun and they all were into it.

Of course when mine saw me watching from afar, she was trying to get my attention to get me to leave.

Yea, that's what junior high is like.

Parents Not Welcome By Kids.

It's not "cool" to be seen with your parents like that.

Ahhh......it's just the beginning, I tell you!

Oh, and it's not like I do stand around her all the time and invade her "space at school". I let her go off and hang with her friends.

I mean, come on, I probably wouldn't even be there, except for the fact that I have another daughter who goes there and is in KINDERGARTEN, so I need to be there with her.

I was telling my eldest that she spends less time learning now, than she did before. They have 4 classes and then lunch, and then their elective and P.E.

She was like, "Oh yea! That's cool!"

I remember just before she started junior high this year that she was SO nervous about it and didn't want to go. Now she says "It's fun MOM!" (Oh, but don't worry, she still has the "I hate all this homework I have!" "This teacher is mean", etc.)

I'm just glad she's enjoying herself as well.

Ahoy Mateys!

Aye, today, September 19th is "Talk Like A Pirate" day, Aye!

So don on yee pirate hats and go forth Mateys! Argh!

Me children thinks me Scuffy and may be wanting me to walk the plank, argh!

Go forth and pillage and plunder and have some grog for me!!

If ye need some help on thee pirate "lingo", below is a list of some of me favorite words.......argh.....yohoho!!!!

************************************

Ahoy: Hey!

Avast: Stop!

Aye: Yes

Black spot: to be 'placin' the black spot' be markin' someone for death.

Booty: treasure

Buccanneer: a pirate who be answerin' to no man or blasted government.

By the Powers!: an exclamation, uttered by Long John Silver in Treasure Island!

Cat o' nine tails: whip for floggin' mutineers

Corsair: a pirate who be makin' his berth in the Med-...Medi-...that sea 'tween Spain and Africa, aye!

Davy Jones' Locker: the bottom o' the sea, where the souls of dead men lie

Doubloons: pieces of gold...

Fiddlers Green: the private heaven where pirates be goin' when they die.

Furner: a ship which be yer own, not one ye steal an' plunder.

Gentlemen o' fortune: a slightly more positive term fer pirates!

Go on the account: to embark on a piratical cruise

Grog: A pirate's favorite drink.

Jack: a flag or a sailor

Jolly Roger: the skull and crossbones, the pirate flag!

Keelhaul: a truly vicious punishment where a scurvy dog be tied to a rope and dragged along the barnacle-encrusted bottom of a ship. They not be survivin' this.

Landlubber: "Land-lover," someone not used to life onboard a ship.

Lass: A woman.

Lily-livered: faint o' heart

Loaded to the Gunwales (pron. gunnels): drunk

Matey: A shipmate or a friend.

Me hearty: a friend or shipmate.

Me: My.

Pieces o' eight: pieces o' silver which can be cut into eights to be givin' small change.

Privateer: a pirate officially sanctioned by a national power

Scallywag: A bad person. A scoundrel.

Scurvy dog!: a fine insult!

Shiver me timbers!: an exclamation of surprise, to be shouted most loud.

Son of a Biscuit Eater: a derogatory term indicating a bastard son of a sailor

Sprogs: raw, untrained recruits

Squadron: a group of ten or less warships

Squiffy: a buffoon

Swaggy: a scurvy cur's ship what ye be intendin' to loot!

Swashbucklin': fightin' and carousin' on the high seas!

Sweet trade: the career of piracy

Thar: The opposite of "here."

Walk the plank: this one be bloody obvious.

Wench: a lady, although ye gents not be wantin' to use this around a lady who be stronger than ye.

Wi' a wannion: wi' a curse, or wi' a vengeance. Boldly, loudly!

Yo-ho-ho: Pirate laughter

Kindergarten Is Going Well

She likes it so much, she lined up her stuffed animals so she can "teach" them as well.

Do you remember doing that when you were young?? Oh, I so did. Although it wasn't my stuffed animals, I would "teach" my little sisters with the chalkboard that was on the back of our bedroom door.

All Your Saturdays are Out

That's what AYSO should stand for, according to parents, not American Youth Soccer Organization, the official name of it.

Soccer season has started!!

My seasoned veteran.......

She didn't get the number she wanted, #11, like her Aunt Heidi though....

This is her 7th year playing in AYSO, and she did very well, from what I hear. I didn't get to see much of her game because.......

.....we've decided to make our Saturdays even more busy by adding another player to the mix....

I had to take this one to her soccer game, which was around the same time as her sister's game.

Now, for this division, there are no goalies. There is no keeping score. It's basically just watching them take turns going down the field kicking the ball to the little net that's down there. It is totally cute though!! About 1/2 through her game though I had to quit cheering for her out loud because everytime she heard her name she would look at me and not focus on where she was going. She was quite happy to be running with all the other girls and not trying to get the ball. By the end of the game though she was starting to get the hang of it and focusing on the ball, not all the girls running. It was QUITE cute!! I seriously need to take the video camera next time so I can capture this.

As for my seasoned veteran's game? Sadly they lost. :( Her team has some players who are just enjoying the scenery around them, for the most part and not trying on the field. Sadly for her team that they are probably not going to be high on winning games, but good for my daughter, because she's going to stand out even more as one of the better players. Yes, I am being conceited. My daughter is good. She could be AWESOMELY good, if she loved the game more and wanted to play it all the time, however she doesn't want to and that's why she's not on a club team, and doesn't want to be on a club team.

I'm just glad that next week their games don't overlap too close in times, that I can see most of my eldest's game. I'll just have to miss the last 15 minutes or so. But thank goodness I have a friend who will stay there and bring her to my youngest's game when they are done.

So stay tuned for the results of next week's Saturday......

My Lopsided Unicorn

About two weeks ago we noticed that our dog, Burbank, had a floppy ear. He's a German Shepherd and they don't normally have those.

So we took him to the vet and found out he has a Hematoma on his left ear.

Which means surgery.

Which means money.

So on Tuesday we took him back and he had his surgery.

He originally came home with a cone.

Can you imagine a cone on a big ass dog like this?

Yea, it was torture for him too.

He kept bumping into things.

Poor guy!

He wouldn't eat or drink.

The next morning I woke up and saw the cone on the floor.

Sans the dog.

Uh-oh.

So since I have never put a cone on a dog, we had to go back to the vet so they could show me how.

I also had them look at his ear.

They decided to take him back in and wrap his ear.

Picked him up after a few hours and this is how he looked.

Sans the cone.

Happy for him AND for me!

I'd much rather have him look like a unicorn, than a depressed dog with a big ass cone around his neck.

Plus they showed me how to give him his meds if he wouldn't take them with other food.

Okay, I tried.

I tried to put it down his throat, but it's a little intimidating to me to put my hand down his throat.

Needless to say it didn't work well.

So we got "Pill Pockets".

They are very squishy treats you "hide" the pills in.

That worked most of the time. But I still had to entice him to take them.

Then my friend told me to put it in Velveeta.

Well, I didn't have Velveeta, but I did have sliced cheese!

Yea, the cheese works like a CHARM!

We go back in a week to check his ear and bandages, and then a week after that he gets his stitches out.

Then no more unicorn dog.

But at least he'll have two good looking ears again!

First Day Of School!!!

Today was my girls' first day of school.
The oldest started junior high today, with her snazzy new shoes.

And her new outfit.

The youngest had HER new Dora Shoes.

And her new outfit.
She started Kindergarten.

And they both had to have new backpacks as well.

As I left the school this morning, I was thinking, "Oh my goodness, BOTH of my girls are now in school!" No more preschool, this is actually it!!! My youngest's Kindergarten teacher had all parents stop at the door. At least for the first week. Which I think is a fabulous thing. Get it over and done with, quick and easy. No drawing it out, giving the kids a chance to worry about what it's going to be like without mom and dad, etc. My youngest did great. I could tell that she was a little hesitant while we were waiting, but she got in line with the rest of them, and when it was time to go in, she went in with the rest. Now, this is only the first day, so let's hope the rest of the days will continue like this. I'm not going to say one way or the other, because honestly, I have no idea.

The eldest? Yes, Junior High. Their school is a K-8, so when they get to 7th & 8th grade, they go off to a different section of the school and have different classrooms and periods throughout the day. They don't offer many electives either. She said it was a decent day, but then again, she wasn't looking forward to junior high. Ahhh, once she gets the hang of it, she'll be fine and so used to it, she'll forget what it was like to be in one classroom the entire day. P.E., gym clothes, it all brings back so many memories for me!!!

So now both of my girls are in the same school, for two years. Yippee!!!!!! And another bonus??!!! Not having to pay for preschool anymore!!!!

What did I do all day, you ask? (Because I don't work on Mondays, just Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Fridays). Well, I went to Michaels, Target and then I had my therapy appointment. But after that I went to my friend's scrapbook store for a while before I had to pick the youngest up. The only thing, she gets out an hour and a half before the eldest! And I live about 10-15 minutes away from the school. So by the time I get home, I have to turn around a 1/2 hour later! So sometimes I will go home, others I will go do errands and then other times I will have my friend bring her home. Back to the carpool thing next week!

Back From The Land of "Where is she?"

My girls and I have had a fairly busy last two weeks.

The girls and I went up north two weeks ago to 1. : celebrate my friend's 40th birthday (and by the way, she does NOT even look close to 30!) and so 2: my youngest could go spend a couple of days with her aunt, aka my sister.

The eldest got to go to Magic Mountain and have the wonderful tradition of having her aunt take her on The Revolution. (My aunt took me on there the first time, along with each of my sisters as well, meaning she dragged us kicking and screaming, but we did end up loving it). Then my sister and her came back down for a few days and we all went to the beach on one of those days. She also took the eldest shopping and spoiled her with stuff.

After my sister left, we went back to the beach the next day, as my eldest's best friend came out here from Colorado and so we got to see them. Her friend also spent the night, which was a real treat for my eldest, and us of course. The youngest LOVED it as well. When her friend came in the house she said, "Ah, my 2nd home" AWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! That made me feel so good, but so sad too, as we wil only get to see her in the summer when her and her family come out to visit their family.

Then the next day my wonderful Mother-In-Law came out for about a week. Part of the reason she came down was because for her Mother's Day present, we took her to sea the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. My eldest loved it as well! Then MIL took the eldest shopping over the next two days and spoiled her with stuff even more and they both went and got manicures and pedicures together. Too cute!!!!

Now, it is the weekend and other than going shopping for school clothes, we aren't doing anything spectacular. Ahh....................... nice and relaxing.............................maybe I can get over this cold that I picked up when I went and saw the Dead Sea Scrolls..............................

Happy Birthday To My Baby!

My baby is 5 today!

She started out early in this world, coming 6 weeks early. She's been on the go ever since!

She definitely has a mind of her own. She can be such the chatterbox when she is around her family or friends that she has known for years. Get her around others? Forget about it.

She has such an active imagination, I love to sit and watch her do things.

She is that girl though that will ask you a TON of questions and just when you think you've answered them all, she'll ask you one and throw you completely off guard and then you have to come back with "I have no idea" or if she continuously asks you why, you eventually have to say, "Because I said so" because you have literally run out of reasons that will suit her.

When we walk somewhere together, she automatically finds my hand to hold, and if I can't hold her hand for a minute, she'll hold onto my pants.

She is a very emotional little girl too.

She's someone you definitely have to pick your battles with.

She comes up with the goofiest sayings though and do so many things to make you laugh. But don't laugh AT her, because she doesn't like that. If she says or does something that she doesn't think is funny or amusing and you laugh, she doesn't like that and gets very embarrassed. She loves to be the center of attention when she wants to be, but doesn't like to be when she doesn't want to.

She has a love affair with band-aids. I should seriously buy stock in them, we go through them so fast. If there's a booboo, or it hurts, a band-aid must be put on it.

She used to be so afraid of our cat, she would wear rain boots in the house so the cat couldn't attack her feet. She doesn't do that anymore.

She loves our dog and loves to boss him around at times. Hell, she loves to boss EVERYONE around if we'd let her!

She is a clumsy one though. I have a feeling she will be using cups with lids on them for a LONG time. And at this point, you can't get mad at her. It's just the way she is. So cups with lids on them are here to stay for the time being. She's also a slob too. I really need to work on that.

She wears her heart on her sleeve. She's definitely not one to hide emotions.

Her eyes are so intense you instantly fall in love.

Happy Birthday to my wonderful baby, my Sweet Baby J.

Pumping Iron?

Apparently I must be, because I don't know my own strength anymore.

Either that or we just have some crappy-ass made cabinets.

Which do YOU think?? LOL!!

Swimming, Day 1

Today was my youngest's first day of swimming lessons. She was so extremely nervous and a bit scared. The good thing about it was that there were other kids there so she got to see them do things first. You could tell she was so nervous about it (my poor baby!!!), but she did everything that the teacher wanted her to do. So that's a good thing. I've got her in lessons for 4 weeks total, as of right now. I know she's scared about it, but she has got to learn. And I know once she gets over the fear of it and relaxes and figured it out, she'll be loving it. I'm looking forward to the day I can take more of these pictures and she's smiling in them.

Happy Anniversary

Today is mine and my husband's 15th wedding anniversary. That's right, 15 years. Wow.

It's a bummer though that we are not together on this day. He is still out to sea. He did call me this morning though and that was a WONDERFUL treat for me. :)

Fifteen years ago we got married in a little church that barely held 75 people. Afterwards we had the reception in my grandma's backyard. Nothing fancy at all. We just wanted everyone to have a good time.

On the way to my grandma's from the church, my mom asked us to stop by the nursing home so that my grandma could see us. She was unable to make it to the wedding, as she was still recovering from a stroke. So as much as I didn't want to go, I did. And I'm so glad I did. It was not only a treat for my grandma, but everyone in the nursing home, because they got to see us all dressed up. When I walked into my grandma's room, she immediately started crying. Which caused me to cry too. I wanted her there so much for the wedding, but at least we did get to see each other on my wedding day. That was a very special moment in my life for me and lucky me, it was on my wedding day.

Five years ago, on our 10th wedding anniversary, I was almost 8 months pregnant with my youngest. We went out to dinner to a fancy steak house that promoted the best steak around here. Sadly, neither hubby nor I thought that way. But we had a nice time anyway. It's not that often that we do get to go out on our own, so we do enjoy it when we get the opportunity, and we make time to make that opportunity on our anniversary. So we'll just have to celebrate it a few months late when he comes home.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows

I've got it.

I waited for the mailman yesterday to deliver it.

I let out a squeal of delight when I saw him deliver it.

I've read it.

I've finished it.

Finished it about midnight Saturday night.

There was no way I was going to wait to read it.

Last time I waited, I overheard someone telling their friend what happened in the book.

I wasn't going to let it happen again.

I LOVED the book.

She did a fabulous job!

My heart was definitely racing throughout the book!

I love the fact that an author like this comes around and peaks the interest in not only children, but adults.

I've even gone back and reread parts of the book today.

It's THAT good.

Dance, Dance, Revolution

Nothing's better than beating your daughter at Dance, Dance Revolution on the Playstation 2. :)

Hubby and I got the girls a PS2 for Christmas, the year before last. One of the games I made sure to get with it was Dance, Dance, Revolution. I figured if the girls were going to have a video game system, I wanted them to have an interactive one as well. (Of course now there is the Wii, which I TOTALLY want too. Oh well, maybe another year or so). And yes, I admit it, I wanted it for me too.

Growing up in high school and a little beyond that, my friends and I went to dance clubs EVERY weekend. There was Marilyns, Network (the original and the second one), 321, Magic Mountain (they used to have dancing there during the summer), Florentine Gardens, and others that I can't remember. Of course we went there to find guys as well. But damn, we were all very thin back then, and a lot of it I know had to do with dancing (yes, we did dance when we were there too)

So this Dance, Dance Revolution was as much for me as it was for them.

So today we get it out and play with it. Of course my eldest, who wasn't playing at first, comes on and gets an "A" on her playing level her first time today, whereas I'm trying to get at least a C in some of the songs.

BUT, BUT, we put on "Play That Funky Music White Boy" and I did it and I got an A with a star! I did every move and touched every arrow correctly on the mat! Ha-Ha! They may not have all been perfect, but they were either perfect or great. The eldest couldn't do it. Ha....Ha......Ha.....

We did have loads of fun playing it today though.

And it is great exercise for me too. :)

Over 1/2 Way There!

This is what's left of a chain hubby and our two girls made before he left to go out to sea.

It had 3 more colors, representing the months on it.

Even though the red looks long, there's only a little over half of the colors left.

And it's fitting that the chain is centered around hubby's "shelf", which includes a picture of him and his great-uncle in their uniforms together when hubby made chief (great-uncle wasn't in the Navy anymore, but still had his uniform and so they posed together), a picture of hubby holding a fish to our oldest (in which she has an "icky" expression - I'll have to showcase that picture later), a ship that hubby made, and a fishing reel that was my grandpa's that hubby wanted.

I'll be SO happy when we are on the last color, Pink, and especially on the last day because that means I get my husband back and the girls get their dad back.

Another "Feet" picture

I have always loved my feet.

Some people have called them "Flinstone Feet".

I don't care.

I love my feet.

Except for the time when I was 5-9 months pregnant with my first child, then they swelled up beyond belief.

I have my mom's feet.

And since my mom had my grandma's feet, I also have her feet as well.

One of my sisters has our feet.

The other ones doesn't.

My eldest doesn't have my feet.

I'm sad about that.

I think my youngest might.

I just checked and they look very similar to mine.

Left foot. Right foot. Feet, Feet, Feet.

Oh how many feet you meet.

Just had to throw in some Dr. Seuss in there.

Friends

The other night my girls and I went over to a friend's house to get together with some of my friends to say goodbye to one of them.

She came out from back east to visit with all of us and so we wanted to see her one last time before she left.

I had such a WONDERFUL time on this night! We sat around the firepit talking and laughing our asses off. My eldest was sitting next to me, while my youngest was inside playing and watching video games with a couple of the other kids.

Having my eldest next to me reminded me of me when I was her age. I loved to be out with the adults listening to them talk.

I love these friends SO much. I am completely me with them. Faults and everything and we can talk about it and never have to worry.

We have to have more of these get togethers more often.

Go Figure

My eldest daughter is spending the night at her friend's house tonight because tomorrow they are getting up early so they can be at the American Girl store when it opens. My eldest has always had some issues about spending the night over friend's houses. She would just much rather be here at home. I used to worry about it, but after talking to one of my older sisters (on my dad's side, like I said, a story for another day) she told me that her youngest daughter didn't spend the night over people's houses until she was well in high school She just didn't like doing it. And my niece is a very confident young woman too.

So today my eldest was talking about how she was talking about how she was a little nervous about going (but she did end up going) and in comes my youngest, who isn't even in Kindergarten yet and she says, "I want to go! I want to spend the night!"

Total opposites.

I'll be lucky if I am able to keep her here on weekends when she gets older.......

I See Me In Her

My eldest.

One of her softball coaches took this picture of her while we were all watching an All-Star softball game this year. I love this picture.

No, she's not smiling and the camera and you can see she's got something she's chewing on in her mouth, but it's such a candid shot.

Hubby was talking (or rather emailing me) the other day about how by watching his girls grow up, he can somehow get a glimpse as to what I was like back then.

This was me at around her age:We both have blue eyes. I had/have freckles, but she got hers from her dad. The red hair? She got every bit of Irish from both sides of our family all wrapped up in her.

She's a straight A student and doesn't have to work that hard at it. I was like that too, that is until high school came around and while I was still an A and B student, I could have gotten straight A's if I had tried a little bit more. But having fun with my friends and partying were a bit more fun.

She does love to read, but not nearly as much as I did. I remember the year this was taken, my friend and I, who went camping with us, sat around the campsite and campfire reading "The Amityville Horror". I would walk home while reading a book as well. I read Gone With the Wind in 7th grade. In the summer, I would stay up until 2 a.m. reading a Steven King novel (in high school).

She doesn't care for the really LOOOONG books (she only made it through the 4th Harry Potter book, started the 5th and lost interest), while I love them (having just finished Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince and is eagerly waiting the 2 weeks until the last one comes out).

She has her friends and there's one that she's the closest too. I had my one really close friend back then too. And I'm very happy to say that 29 years later, we are still friends.

She's the oldest, and so am I (at least on my mom's side, but that's a story for another day).

My mom relied on me to help and I do rely on her to help out as well.

In comparison to relationships between mothers and daughters, I think I have a closer one with my eldest at the age she is now, versus the one I had with my mom at this age. But in all fairness, my mom was a single mom raising two other children besides me and had to work full time as well.

I talk with to her about everything (well, almost).

She had "Family Life" classes this past year and she made a comment to her friends that "Oh, my mom already told me about this" and they were like, "Your MOM told you about this?" and she said "Yes" like it was no big deal. I love it.

She's actually listening to me!

My Baby

My youngest, my baby.

Her entrance in this world was definitely not one of normalcy or calmness.

She decided to come into this world 6 weeks early, but even at 6 weeks early, she was 5 lbs, 15 oz, which is pretty good. Imagine what she would have weighed if she waited 6 more weeks. She probably would have been like my oldest, who was 10 lbs, 6 oz!

So she came into this world 6 weeks early and she had premature lungs.

She had to be in NICU for about a week, which really isn't THAT long compared to a lot of babies and the fact that she had a collapsed lung. Here is a picture of her in NICU at the hospital. The blue lights are because she was also VERY jaundiced as well.

That was one of the worst and longest weeks of my life, worrying about her.

But she's a fighter. And she came through it just fine.

She's now a rambunctious preschooler, however the girl has got issues.

She's hesitant (to put it lightly) to try new things.

Like clothes, or shoes.

I've been trying to get her to wear sandals with a strap on the back for school, but she doesn't like them because they don't "feel right".

Or she won't wear a dress because it doesn't "feel right", even though she's worn it plenty of times in the past.

This morning she was literally crying in the car on the way to school because the dress all of the sudden felt "different".

Well, she got through the day and she was just fine.

And today we bought new sandals with a strap on the back to wear to school. And now she doesn't want to go to school tomorrow because she'll have to wear the sandals.

Sometimes she frustrates me so much with all of this and we've literally tried on at least a dozen pairs of shoes. She'll run in them, skip in them, walk in them while we're in the store, but if I ask her if she wants them, she'll say, "No".

UGH!

And then I just want to hug her and keep reassuring her that it's okay. It's not going to be bad. The shoes will be fine. And the dress will be fine.

Maybe it's because she knows she's going to be going to Kindergarten next month and she's worried about that.

Like I said, she can have issues.

She's definitely one of those people who likes to know what's going on in advance.

Days in advance.

All children are NOT the same.

I can definitely attest to that.

Sometimes you have to change your parenting styles with each child, because the same thing doesn't always work with other ones.

She certainly keeps me on my toes though!

My baby.

She may drive me crazy at times (yea, and I'm going through the pre-teen years with the eldest, no fun either), but I love them both so much and wouldn't trade them for anything in the world.

Bored?

Either that or maybe she's trying to recreate being in the womb again?

Sunday Afternoon...

And mom gets to sit in a chair and read a magazine.

Now that's what I call a good day. :)

Overheard Conversation

My eldest to her friend:

"I'm glad "What Not To Wear" is on when we're kids like this. That way when we grow up, we will know better"

Just Me Worrying.....Again....That's What I Do.....

I worry.

I admit it. I worry about shit before I should even think of worry about it.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for my eldest for the summer.

The next upcoming school year, she will be going into 7th grade, the junior high portion of her K-8 school.

We bought a junior high yearbook for a friend who moved away earlier this year.

The eldest was looking through it.

She has a crush on a boy in there who is a year older than her.

So I started perusing through it.

And I see the "Lunch Box Social" pages.

It's where girls put together a lunch and the boys bid on it.

The boys do the same later on in the year.

So I worry that no boy is going to bid on her lunch, should she decide to do it.

And that she will be crushed.

She's starting to enter an age where it's starting to be a "social status" thing too.

It's not that she's unpopular.

But I know that she's not SUPER popular either.

I watched her at the 6th grade picnic today.

I did see times where she was just walking around by herself.

It made my heart break a little.

But the good thing was that it was only for a short time, and most of the time I did see her with friends, or playing volleyball.

Like I said. I worry.

I do encourage her to get involved with sports and school activities.

And she is a really good soccer player.

And good with softball too.

And I told her today that when she does get a boyfriend or a guy that likes her, that she shouldn't put aside her aspirations just because of him.

That if she has a softball or soccer or volleyball game, he should be interested in her interests as well, as her being interested in his.

I want her to be confident in herself.

And proud of herself.

But not conceited, obviously.

But the whole boy issue....

I know hubby certainly is not ready for any of this to be starting.

Boys can be such self-esteem breakers.

Because the hormones are raging and causing girls to be insecure at times.

Especially with the whole puberty thing.

I just hope she has good enough friends that are good enough friends, you know?

I did.

And still do.

Not that I have to worry about boys anymore.

I got mine.

And he's definitely a keeper!

Okay.

Enough rambling.

Doughnuts With Dad

Today was "Doughnuts With Dad" and the youngest's preschool.

Since Daddy is out to sea right now, we brought a picture of him, so she could at least have a picture of him with her while we had doughnuts and fruit and orange juice.

Oh, and the bandaid? She just has a scratch on her cheek and the girl is so obsessed with people NOT seeing any booboos, she has to wear a bandaid over it to cover it. Never mind that it just makes it THAT much more noticeable.

When The Youngest Is Bored....

Poor straw.

Probably never saw it coming.

The One To Watch Out For

You know you're in trouble with a child when they say to their sister, "C'mon, let's close the door so mom can't hear us"

And this is the youngest saying this.

We're definitely going to have to keep a very watchful eye out for this one!

Anyone want a truck that doesn't work?

Because that's what I have in my driveway.

Shortly before hubby went out to sea, he was starting up his truck and it made a very LOUD noise when the engine was running. So he's thinking it "threw a rod".

Whatever that means. All I know is that it has something to do with the engine. Which is not a good thing.

So he's out to sea now and so I have it towed to the repair shop (because you are NOT to drive a car when it has "thrown a rod". See, you learn something new every day) and this morning they give me an estimate.

Over FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS!!!

Okay, the truck isn't even worth that much when it was running!

Yea, no, don't think so. Sorry, not going to happen.

So I have them tow it back to my house to put it in my driveway.

Well, the tow truck has to position the truck in a perpendicular way to the street so as to put the truck back in the drivway. So of course this blocks traffic.

And it just happens to be during the time of day when people are coming home from work. Most people are fine with it, some able to squeeze around. One guy who does manage to squeeze around starts yelling at me and the tow truck driver that we're blocking traffic.

Really.

Like we didn't know that.

He starts spouting off as to why don't we just park it on the street.

Yea bud, like I'm going to park a truck that DOESN'T WORK on the street for four months when I have a driveway to put it in.

So I start yelling at him, almost to the point of screaming because I am so pissed off at him that the truck doesn't run and then he takes off and I flip him off.

It's a good thing he did take off because I would have continued to yell at him and curse him out and give him holy hell. And come back with some GOOD comebacks. Of course I think of all of this AFTER he drives off.

I guess I freaked out my eldest because I was yelling at him. I told her it was okay, I was just yelling at him, I certainly wasn't afraid of him.

Then it got me mad that there are people like this in the world, who don't care about waiting for other people, or even think what people's situations are. All they think about is them, and how they are inconvenienced.

So now when hubby gets back home, he will be getting a new truck about a year earlier than we had planned, but again, that seems to be our life this year.

You Want Fries With That?

This evening we were on our way to get something to eat for dinner. Now, the youngest calls every kid's meal a Happy Meal. Doesn't matter if we're at Burger King, Wendy's, Carl's Jr., Jack In the Box, etc. (not that we even go to these places very often, in fact, before today, the last time we went to one of these places was well over a few months ago).

So we're on our way and I tell her, "Do you want a Happy Meal?" (I just call them that anyway so as to not confuse here and then go into a big long explanation that will take me forever)

And she says, "YES! I WANT A HAPPY MEA-! Wait, does it come with a toy?"

A girl's gotta have her priorities...........

Oh, and don't even get me started on ordering through the drive through. I couldn't figure out if she was saying "Banana" or "Vanilla", because I think she said both! I finally had to S-P-E-L-L it out and then when we got to the window it still wasn't right.

Memorial Day 2007

Okay, it's not even 9:00 a.m. and already I have things to write about!

This morning I was laying in bed with my girls (they get to sleep in my bed on the weekends when daddy's gone) awake and playing with the cat when the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and it said "unknown number" and had some freaky phone number that I did not even recognize. For a second there, I thought about not answering it, but then I figured I probably should. And also, in the back of my mind, I remembered that hubby was pulling into a port on the other side of the world.

Yes, it was hubby! He was so happy to be on land! They had spent almost two months out to sea with no port visit. They even got a "beer day" for being out so long (they get two beers each, so it's not like it was a drunk fest out there, hell it probably wasn't even a "buss fest" out there for most of them).

We talked for a little while and then I handed the phone over to the eldest and she got to talk with her Daddy for a while. I always love watching them talk with their Daddy. Sometimes I can hear his voice too on the phone while they're talking. Then the youngest got to talk to Daddy and her telephone skills are much more concise than the eldest. I've got to figure out questions to have Daddy ask her next time where she will answer them and not have to think too much. That's when it gets her, when you ask her questions that she actually has to think to answer. She becomes silent................... If it was night, you could probably hear the crickets it would be so silent on her end.

So we got our morning call from him and I showed the girls where Daddy was. He's in a place called Dubai, that's in the United Arab Emerites. The eldest says, "Dubai? Is that where you got "do buy" things?" ............smart ass................................

Then some sad news. The eldest came out to the family room to see the hamster and the hamster wasn't moving. That always sucks. Being the one that finds the deceased pet. My youngest sister found my grandma's dog, Lady, when Lady passed away. I was so heartbroken then. So it was up to me to get rid of the hamster. Now, if you know me, I'm NOT one to have to deal with dead animals. I had to get rid of a dead fish (it was one of those sucker fishes and man when they are dead they are hard as a rock) and I had to scoop it up to flush it down and so I used the fish net, put it in a cup and it went THUD. :::::::::::::::shudder::::::::::::::::: Blech!!

So now we are one less pet in our house (okay, why is hubby always away when an pet in our house dies? He was away when I had to get rid of that fish, and now the hamster), and we are not replacing it. Dr. Doolittle has one less pet to worry about. Oh, don't get me wrong, I LOVE our dog and cat, and even enjoy the fish. The hamster was one thing thought that didn't rock my world. But I never hated it. Rest in Peace Jackie The Hamster.

Today the eldest has an indoor soccer game and then we are off to our friend's house for a dip in the pool and bbq.

United Through Reading

Have you ever heard of this program?

I had, a while back, something that I tucked away back in my brain.

United Through Reading, is a program that brings together moms and dads to their children when they are apart. The mom or dad reads children's books to a video camera, thus to their children, and the DVD is sent back home, so that the children can "see" their parent, even if they are far away.

This program has been on hubby's ship. We just got the 2nd DVD from him this past week. My youngest has been SO entranced by them. She likes seeing Daddy on TV reading and talking to her. The first one he sent, he was growing a moustache (hey, sometimes they get creative in their "trying to entertain" themselves when they are on a ship). The 2nd one, he had shaven it (thank goodness! He got bored with it and it was bothering him anyway) and my youngest said,

"Daddy doesn't have that hair on his face anymore!"

Too cute.

He read 4 books to her, two of which were Dr. Seuss. When my oldest was a wee one, I got just about every Dr. Seuss book they had (I'm sure there are a few I don't have). Well, I still have them and I pulled out the two that Daddy was reading to her and she was so happy that we have a couple of the books that Daddy was reading to her.

What a wonderful program, I tell you! For my girls to be able to see their Daddy on TV talking to them, while he is away.

Oh, I love that we have e-mail now, as when he first went out, almost 15 years ago, e-mail wasn't around then. Sometimes it would be 3 weeks before I got a letter from him because of the mail. Now I get an e-mail every day or every other day.

And when he's in port, he can call us too.

But having that video is just another good thing that is out there for my girls.

Love Thursday - Being A Navy Wife

picture taken by the Navy

This picture was taken yesterday, as our United States Navy entered the Persian Gulf.

I love this picture.

My hubby is on one of those ships.

One of the bigger ones, one of the aircraft carriers.

Seeing pictures like this make me DAMN proud to be a Navy Wife.

When hubby and I got married, he was already in the Navy, but I did know him before he joined the Navy (that story will be for another time).

We will have our 15th wedding anniversary this year.

However, hubby will not be home for it, he will be on one of those ships.

Of course it makes me sad that he's not here.

But I swell up with pride when I see pictures like this, because I know he's out there, doing his job to help protect our county. Even if it is halfway around the world.

Do I get scared? Of course, all the time.

He was over there 4 years ago when the Iraq War started.

And I'm hoping that this deployment will be part of it ending as well.

When it started 4 years ago and I knew that he was over there, I cried when the war first started. I was scared. I mean, come on, a war was starting and my hubby was over there.

Now granted he was on an aircraft carrier, which makes him a lot safer than being on the ground.

But I was still scared.

After 9/11 happened and I saw the show of support that our United States had for it's country and it's service members, I got all choked up with emotion. When I saw that every house on a street had their American Flag flying, it made me so glad to see that our people came together and supported our troops and rallied for our country. All the stories of people clapping their hands when service members came around, or offered their seat on a plane for them, etc. made my heart fill with pride.

Today, the Iraq war certainly isn't favorable among the majority of the Americans.

But they still support the troops and that makes me so happy. So happy that America has learned from Vietnam, that even though they may not support the war or the reason why we're over there, they still support the troops and are thankful to them for going over there and risking their lives.

I am a Navy wife.

Do I like war? Ummm....no........of course not.

Do I wish that there would be alternate ways to handle things? Oh yes, definitely.

But there are people out there in the world who refuse to compromise. People who want to kill people just because of their skin color. Or their religion.

Is this the only reason a war starts? Of course not.

While I certainly don't like being separated from my husband, I love him tremendously and I love him for serving our country. And so I deal with the hardship of being separated from him.

A Glutton For Punishment?

Today I took the girls to the softball fields so that my eldest and I could watch the All-Star games. She has friends on the teams and wanted to root for them. I enjoy watching the games too, and plus I get to chat with some of the parents that I have gotten to know as well.

And the youngest likes to play there, in the dirt, mostly....

Oh, and I've decided to be on the softball board for next season as the Uniforms Coordinator. Am I crazy? Like I don't have enough on my plate as it is. I wanted to do it, then found out that I really couldn't because of the "once a month" meetings they have and hubby will be in and out to sea for the next year and because they are in the evenings, I don't want to have to have to take my girls somewhere to be watched, I'd rather they be at home. But then I find out that you only have to be at the meetings for "voting rights". Oh hell, it'll be my first year there, I don't care that much about voting rights, I just want to help out the league. So I'm putting my name in the hat again to be the Uniform Coordinator. I'll really only be busy before the season even starts, getting the uniforms ordered and distributed. That's just one big lump thing to do all at once and I can handle that. Hell, I put a yearbook together in a couple of months and that was labor intesive on the computer.

Maybe it's just the "Uber Mom" in me wanting to come out again........

Conversations with my pre-teen

Ahhh.....the preteen years and the early teen years.

Hell, the late teen years and early twenties as well!

Okay, back to the preteen years.

Such the start of an emotional time for all preteen girls. The hormones are starting to flow, the bodies are changing, and the desire to "fit in", and have the cool clothes.

Being so sure of yourself one minute and so UNsure of yourself the next.

I frequently have conversations with my preteen about life and living it. Tonight was about being a good person (actually quite a few are like that). Treating others the way YOU want to be treated. Not judging someone by what you think they are like. And if someone you know is acting a different way, to ask them about it. You'll never know the answer if you don't ask. You'll never find out if there's a problem if you don't ask. It's about caring about the other person.

My preteen can have the biggest heart there is. Last year she spearheaded a Katrina Relief Fund at her school and the school ended up raising almost $1000 for it. All because she wanted to bring in a jar to her classroom to raise a few dollars for it.

But sometimes she can be the biggest snot and brat too.

Like I said....hormones.

I also think society can play a part in it too. That's why I frequently have convesations with her about it. And give her examples and show why certain things are wrong, or why certain things are right.

When I meet someone, I rarely, rarely ever had a preconceived notion about that person. I don't want to say I've NEVER had a preconceived notion about a person, because I'm sure I have at one point in time. I'm sure someone has told me something about a person I may find unflattering and that may have allowed me to think negatively about that person.

But I try to be a good example to my girls. To show them that you can't think a person is weird or different just because of how they look. Or dress.

I do have to say that I love the friends I grew up. And the atmosphere we had. It didn't matter the hair color, even if it was purple. Or a mohawk. Or ripped clothing. Or with spikes on it. We were open to knowing all people. And still are.

I could easily, EASILY, have the worst potty mouth in the town. I could cuss them up and down and sideways. But I don't, because I want to show my girls how to have good manners. Does that mean I don't cuss? Oh hell no. And I know they've heard me say things at times. Do I want them to think I'm perfect? Oh no. I know they need to know that I make mistakes too and I have to learn from them. And I will apologize to my children if I've gotten mad at them just because I'm PMSing. And I thank them when they do something I ask.

All I want is to raise them to be good, polite people with good manners, with the wisdom to know and learn from their mistakes.

I sure hope my preteen listened to what I said and took it to heart.

You never know with those preteens........ I know. I was one of them once......

Waiting For That Last Link On The Chain

And then he'll be home.

I miss my hubby.

I want him home.

We're not even 1/2 way through his deployment yet.

Sometimes the kids drive me bonkers.

Especially the youngest today.

She's in one of her non-stop talking moods.

At least I get a break on Saturday when I'm going scrapbooking with my friends.

Another friend is going to watch my girls.

I hate the way my body feels on the first day of my period.

Like today.

It makes me cranky.

And sometimes towards my girls.

I don't like that.

My cat likes to chew on cardboard.

Very weird.

My dog still likes to try and hump the cat.

Very, VERY weird.

I enjoy the fact that my eldest and I like watching certain shows together.

Like General Hospital.

And Dancing With The Stars.

And America's Next Top Model.

My youngest makes some of the cutest facial expressions.

It makes me smile and laugh.

It sucks that hubby is going to miss all of our (and his) birthdays and our 15th wedding anniversary this year.

But we deal with it.

That's Navy life.

It seems like a lifetime ago when we went through this for the first time 14 1/2 years ago.

This is our 6th time doing this.

And it's probably not going to be our last.

I'm rambling, aren't I?

Oh well, I'm in one of those moods.

If you don't like it, bite me.

That's one of my favorite sayings.

Bite Me.

I want to put it up on one of the walls in my scrapbook area.

I already have a "NO WHINING" sign hanging in there.

Time to get the youngest one in bed.

Ta.

This, That & The Other

Damn, I can't believe this month is almost 1/2 over already!! Hubby has been gone for almost a month and a half now.

April was not a fun month for me. I was sick with the stomach flu for over 2 1/2 weeks! Blech! And it's not like I could just lay in bed all day long and have someone take care of me. Being the sole parent sucks big time when you're sick. I still don't know how my mom did it, and she had 3 kids all by herself, all the time.

Which brings me to my youngest sister. She's 10 years younger than me and we are a lot alike in a lot of ways. Sometimes when I see her go through things in life, I'm like, "Wow, that was me back then". We have always been very close too.

She just recently lost her father, due to a brain tumor, that somehow got "activated" when he had to have surgery on a broken leg. He was 80 years old. Before that he had rarely been sick a day in his life. I feel for her. But before he passed away, she was able to let go of all of the negativity she had for him. I never got to do that with my father before he passed away. It warms my heart that she got to do that with her father.

Yes, you read that right. We have different fathers. In fact, our other sister who is inbetween our ages, has a different father too. Now some of you may be thinking, "Wow, their mom must have been a hoochie-mama, with all of them having different dads." You couldn't be further from the truth. She just had HORRIBLE luck with me. Part of me wonders if this was because she lost her own dad when she was 13. My grandma did marry again when she was 16, so she had my grandpa for that, but I know it wasn't the same for her. My father ended up still being married to his first wife when he was married to my mom. (Yea, I know, nice, huh??!!!)

Then came along my younger sister's dad and he and my mom were supposed to get married, but then he decided to take off on her before it happend and before my sister was born.

And finally, came along my youngest sister's dad. When my mom got pregnant with her, she was already set enough in how she lived that she did not really want to get married to her dad.

Pretty much after that, she just quit dating alltogether. I mean, come on, how could she, raising 3 girls all on her own?! And she never asked for child support either. She told me once that she didn't want to have to rely on it for one thing, and she also didn't want to have to be obligated where we had to spend weekends, vacation or whatever with them.

I'm sure you are thinking, hello??!, there is a thing called birth-control. And no she wasn't catholic either. Maybe she was naive. In a lot of ways I think she was. She was a trusting person for the most part as well.

So even though we all had different dads, we were all together all the time. My dad rarely came around, my younger sister's dad NEVER came around, and my youngest sister's dad probably came around more than anyone else's.

But having your dad come around here and there, never at any specific time, doesn't make for a good relationship there. And both me and my youngest sister definitely had issues with that. Our grandpa was always around for us, so we did have a male figure in our lives, but he was grandpa, you know?

Anyway, back to my youngest sister. The service for her dad was this past Wednesday. She went and got to spend time with her two older sisters and older brother. I am SO happy for her. I LOVE the fact that she is getting to know another part of her family. Over the years, I have gotten to get to know my two older sisters (I actually have 3, but I've never met the other one) and my older brother before he passed away in 1992. And even though they are my family too, it's still so different from the relationship I have with my 2 sisters that I grew up with.

*********************

My eldest daughter's softball team won first place in their division a couple of weeks ago. It was SO exciting! I was so happy for her team, and not just for my daughter. I was actually more happy for the coach, his daughter and the pitcher for the team. They had all been in the playoffs for 5 years in a row, and each time they had always taken 2nd place. Until this year. So it was a very heartwarming win for them.

**************************************

Mother's Day is this Sunday, and all I've asked for from my girls is to let me sleep in, and let me scrapbook that day. I don't want them buying me anything. To make me something is the best thing, because they made it for me.

It's also definitely a time where I do miss my mom a lot too, but a few years before she passed away, she let me know that it was okay for me to stay at home and enjoy my mother's day. After all, I'm a mom too. That was such a wonderful gift to give to me too. I got to start making my own mother's day memories with my girls (hubby and the eldest got on their hands and knees one year and cleaned the floors for me, because I was pregnant with the youngest at the time). So even though I miss not having my mom for mother's day, it's not as bad as if it was a day where I was with her every year.

And I do have my mother-in-law too though. She has been wonderful and has been there for me when I do need her.

Only Mothers Can See

Lately my youngest has been obsessed with eating Shrek Gogurt. For those of you who don't know, it's yogurt in a tube and you just squeeze it out to eat it.

Since it's Shrek and all and with the Fairy Tale theme going and all, I've told her that when she eats it and blows air out of her mouth that magic sprinkles come out with the air. But no one else can see them except for me. Mommy. Not even sister can see them. Only Mommy.

She LOVES this, and totally believes it.

Make believe. It can be such a sweet thing. :)

Out of the Mouth of Babes

So I'm sitting on the couch and my ear is itching so I'm rubbing it and my youngest says:

"Mommy, do you have fleas?"

Then, later in the bathtub she asks me,

"Mommy, do boys have to squeeze it to make the peepee come out?"

Only from her............

Love Thursday - Birthday Card

My youngest made this for me on Wednesday when we were at my work in the afternoon. I will cherish this always.

A Glimpse Into the Future?

Sometimes when you look at her, you can get a glimpse of what she's going to look like when she grows up.




That is if she doesn't dye her hair, get multiple pearcings and tattoos.

Back From Camp

What a week she had

"Did you have fun?"

"Oh yes, we did this, and this, and that, yada, yada, yada. But I missed you SOOO much!"

"So do you want to go back?"

"NO!"

I'm glad that she had a good time, but I feel bad that she missed us so much and even cried a few times.

Not that I want her out of the house, mind you.

But I do want her to be confident on being away from us as she gets older.

And I think she will.

I might start giving her some more independence soon to help with that.

But I'm awfully glad she's back.

I missed her very much too!!

"I Miss You So Damn Much"

You think that this is what I would be saying to my hubby because he's away.

Well, I do, but I didn't write this.

This is what my eldest wrote to me in her letter from camp.

This is her first time away from me for more than a night without either me or hubby around.

It's a strange place, she's never been there before, but at least she has her friends there.

She did say she is having fun though, but I can understand her missing me. Because I do miss her. Very damn much. And I miss hubby too, SO damn much.

And now you may be thinking, my 11 year old is writing this to me. 11? And saying "damn" to me and me allowing it?

Yes.

But only in certain contexts.

Like I miss you so damn much.

Or Damn!

When she reaches certain ages, I allow her to say certain words.

But they come with stipulations.

Like she's not supposed to say it around her sister.

Or her grandparents or other adults.

And she's not to use it to say it meanly towards me.

Like, "Damn You".

Or anyone else.

I mean, come on.

I'm not stupid.

I certainly was saying a HELL of a lot worse at her age.

I remember one time coming home from school, me and my friend, we had promised to stop cursing. We wanted to work on talking better.

But then this boy really pissed both of us off.

And we looked at each other and said, "Okay, this ONE time".

And then we both turned and said the exact same thing at the exact same time to this boy, without knowing what the other was going to say.

Let's just say there were two words, and one started with an "F" and the other started with an "A".

Hey, I can have a mouth on me just as bad as a sailor if I really wanted to.

But because I have children, I work really hard at not cursing.

At least not in front of them.

But sometimes it does slip out.

Damn it.

Love Thursday - Just Watching

I SO much enjoy just watching my youngest. She is so full of life! She loves to just chatter away when she's playing by herself, she's so enthusiastic when she talks about things she likes, and even things she doesn't like.

Even though I miss my eldest, I am enjoying my one-on-one time with my youngest.

Kumbya, My Lord....

My baby left for 6th grade camp today.

Even though she's my oldest, she's still my baby.

She was so nervous yesterday and this morning. I'm surprised she even slept at all.

Lord knows I didn't get much sleep! I feel asleep fine, but then when I got that "middle of the night pee call" I couldn't fall back asleep right away. And then finally when I did, the cat started playing with something on the hardwood floors and then the dog decided HE had to go pee too!

She did get up once in the middle of the night, but was able to go back to sleep fairly quickly.

She was fine when we were packing things up, packing the dufflebag, rolling up the sleeping bag, labeling everything, etc. She was even fine when I timed her to see if she could take a shower in 2 minutes (1 minute, 45 seconds, you go girl!) It wasn't until we were sitting there, watching TV that I think it hit her and she got very nervous and a bit teary eyed.

I certainly couldn't let on that I was nervous too! After all, the longest she had been away from me was 2 nights and that's when I went away for the weekend! And I was missing my family after the first night way too!

So I soothed her, hugged her, gave her kisses and told her that everything would be alright. I kept reassuring her. I told her that I knew for a FACT that she was NOT the only one who was feeling this way. I knew some of her friends were nervous as well. But that she would have her friends there and her teacher would be there too. (How cool is that, to be a 6th grade teacher and be able to go on this camp with your students for a whole week!) I think, or at least I hope, that it helped her some.

She was still nervous this morning, but she marched on.

We dropped off the youngest at preschool early and then headed on towards her school.

Of course finding a parking spot in the parking lot was impossible because every other parent who's 6th grade student was going too and they wanted to be there, just like me.

The bell rang and us parents stayed behind to watch all the luggage while the students went inside to class to gear up for the trip.

The bus came (there was literally a whole bus just for the luggage) and we loaded it up.

Then I saw her teacher and she guided us parents over to where the kids were lining up to get on the bus. We gave them hugs and kisses and waved them goodbye as they left.

Four nights without my baby.

I hope she has a BLAST though.

Dreams

Do you believe in dreams? I do. I believe dreams can be a powerful thing.

I have had quite a few dreams in my life that are so vivid that they have stuck with me.

I also believe that your loved ones that have passed o,n can use your dreams to be a pathway to communicate with you. I really do. That is why I believe that there is a heaven and that your soul doesn't die when your body does.

Case in point:

About 5 or 6 months after my grandma had died, I had this dream. In my dream I was at a family gathering and my grandpa was also there. When I looked up behind my grandpa, there was my grandma, standing behind him. I was so shocked to see her! I asked her why I could see her and what was she doing there. She told me that she was there to watch over grandpa and that only he and I could see her. Hubby literally had to wake me up from my sleep because I was crying so hard. Crying for sadness? No, joy because I was able to talk to her again, and I knew she was still there.

That was my first time I had ever had that happen to me. And I truly believe that she came to me in my dream to let me know it was okay. And to realize that she was actually watching over me as well.

It was nearing Christmas that year and I was telling hubby about this train set that used to get set up every Christmas, and how we loved it. He was very interested in it and we both were thinking about seeing if it was still around and if we could possibly have it. It was at my grandma's house (my mom was living there to take care of my grandpa) but no one could find it. My uncle said that I could have it (it was his, growing up after all) if it was still around.

That night I had a dream in which I found the train set in an armoire in the garage at my grandma's house. That next day I called my sister, who was also living there, and told her to go to that armoire in the garage and it would be there. Sure enough, it was there.

Psychic?

No, I think it was my grandma telling me where it was in my dreams.

I knew she was watching over me that night I had to drive up to see my mom, who had just had a massive stroke. I knew my grandma would make sure I got there okay to see my mom.

About six months or so after my mom passed away, I had a dream about her. I was at a family gathering (similar to the one I had when my grandma came to me) and I saw my mom there. My two sisters were there with me too. All 3 of us were able to see my mom and talk with her. And then, almost just as soon as it began, she wanted to give us a group hug because she had to go. She had to go so that she could come back to us again. One second she was giving us a group hug and then the next second, it was just the three of us hugging.

And my last example?

Just happened Thursday night/Friday morning.

I was having a dream that I was on MySpace, on my cousin's site, reading about the birth of her two babies. There was a picture of one of the babies. I kept reading on that she had had some complications with the delivery, but she was okay. I only saw one of the babies. My dream was so vivid, and I was going to keep on reading to find out what happened, but I got awoken by my cell phone going off.

I had a text message from my aunt.

She text messaged everyone to let them know that my cousin had had her babies. My cousin had to be in ICU for a little while, due to excessive bleeding, but she was okay now. And the big surprise? She didn't have two girls like the ultrasound had "supposedly" showed, (but my cousin never wanted to know the sex of the babies, but hubby knew and that's how we all knew), but she had a girl and a BOY (thus the reason I only saw a picture of one baby in my dream. I think I was supposed to see the pictue of the boy in my dream had I not been woken up by my aunt's text message about it).

So the fact that I had a dream very, very similar to what had actually happened, coincidence?

Possibly.

But I believe in the power of dreams.

Dialogue from the Youngest At The Dinner Table

"I'm eating worms" (spaghetti)

"It's red worm blood"

"It's squishy"

"I was eating the worm blood"

"The flavor is spinach"

"I have a worm moustache"

"Know what it smells like? Spinach"

"And inside the worm blood is another worm inside"

Boy, I sure can't wait to see what this kid is going to be like when she starts drinking! She will probably be the girl who swallows the worm in the tequila bottle........

Decompressing

All day today I've felt like I am just going to burst or blow up or yell or scream.

Do you ever have one of those days?

Where nothing "specific" actually happened to foul your mood, but you just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess?

It started off waking my girls up. My eldest is usually a bear to wake up, but when I told her she had an email from Daddy, she hopped out of bed in an instant. I mean that's great and all, that she's excited to get an email from Daddy, but it also made me feel like the gum on the bottom of the shoe.

Then my youngest is starting to follow suit with her and waking up in crabby moods as well. She used to wake up all nice and cheery and loving. Not so much anymore.

Plus work is work. No fun.

Don't mind me, I'm just whining today.

Easter Eggs....

Dying eggs for easter.

What a time honored tradition.

This year it was no different in the fact that we dyed eggs, what was different was the place.

We were at home. I can't even remember the last time we stayed home for Easter. For the past few years we have been up in Henderson, NV at my aunt's house for Easter. It was always fun for the kids too. Plus they were with their cousins and we had a lot of family around. Dying eggs, finding their baskets Easter morning, going out in the backyard to find the plastic eggs hidden about.

Before that we would be at my mom's house for Easter. Same scenario, different location.

So this year was much more cozy.

It was just me and my girls.

Oh, and the Easter Bunny had to wrap all of the Easter baskets in cellophane to prevent the cat from getting into the baskets at night while they were hidden around the house. That was a new thing to do, since I've never done that before.

It was a nice quiet day here around the house and I liked it too, except for the fact that hubby wasn't here for it. We sure miss him.

Here's how our eggs turned out. Quite cute I think....

Where Did It Go?

My creative mojo.

It seems lately all my creative mojo has gone out the window.

Perhaps it is because I have been so busy lately.

My scrapbook area looks so lonely and wishing for me to come over there and create.

I'm hoping to get over there and do some work tomorrow, as it's on my list of things I need to get done (I'm doing a swap with some friends and it's due tomorrow, so I guess I should get a move on, huh?)

I just feel like I'm in a rut with the creative process.

It probably has something to do with the fact that I do need to get stuff done around here, so the "clutter energy" can go away, leaving me free to create.

I hope I can find it tomorrow under the clutter!

It's only Day Two!

Of Hubby being gone and already I'm having to yell at the children!

Okay, I know it's stressful for them.

The eldest is showing it already. Plus I think she's tired.

The youngest still doesn't really know what's going on, or that Daddy will be gone for a while. Today she wanted to get Daddy's phone number to call him and tell him she loves him. :*) (Too cute though!!) It's hard to explain to her that Daddy's phone doesn't work where he is and we don't have a number where we can call him, so we'll just have to email or write letters or draw pictures for him until he can call.

Whenever that is.

So I get my "stern mom voice" out and tell them to both come over here where I'm sitting.

I make them apologize to each other.

Then give each other hugs.

Then kisses.

Then wiggles. (that gets them to start giggling)

Then tickles.

Okay, they're fine now.

New Shoes

Back in style.

Finally, a pair of slip on Vans my daughter likes that don't make her feet look like boats.

Aren't they cute?!!!

I still find it amazing that slip on Vans are back in style.

That and bermuda shorts.

Yea, she got two pair of those today too.

Spring Break Shopping!