It's After 11:30 p.m....

And the neighbor kid is still banging on the darn drums...

Oh, I Almost Forgot...

I was out in the garage talking to the hubby. He had fixed his rear tire (he had picked up a piece of a nail somewhere, which explained the slow leak), and had ridden it around for a little bit.

I came back in the house and he finished what he was doing in the garage. I sat down on the couch and started to settle in to work on my cross-stitch - a beloved hobby that I've been neglecting way too long. As I get settled, I hear "Oooooooooooo." It kind of startled me, because it sounded like it was close behind me, and I was trying to figure out where it was coming from. Then I realized that the couch doesn't sit right against the wall because it reclines. I leaned over and looked around behind the couch and see the boy's big head there. I started laughing and told him to get out from behind the couch. They both came crawling out amid squeals of delight. "We got you, Mommy! We got you good!" I'm not easily startled and they try but have not been successful up to this point. So I told them that yes, they had gotten me good this time. Then we had to tell Daddy all about it since he had been in the garage.

Silly kids...

The Little Things

One thing I absolutely love about kids is the fact that it's so easy (usually) to make them really happy.

I had to run to Wal-Mart today to pick up a couple of things that I couldn't get at Food Lion yesterday. The hubby has had a slow leak in the rear tire of his motorcycle and wanted me to pick up some Fix-a-Flat. Food Lion doesn't exactly have that. Well while I was over there, I decided to pick up a couple of these for their rooms. I had seen commercials for them and thought the kids would enjoy them.

So when they got home and finished homework, I told them I had picked up something cool for their rooms, but they had to get them cleaned up first. Well, they got busy after that. They finished cleaning up and I took them up to their rooms for them, with instructions to leave them alone except to turn the light on and off. After all, that scented oil stuff can stain. They're just tickled with them! I think maybe our issues with having to have lights on upstairs when they go to bed may now be coming to an end as well. They decided they wanted complete darkness up there so they could really see their cool lights and the way they change.

And I meant to write about this the other day, but never got around to it. I just love my kids' school bus driver. He's always on the lookout and watching out for the kids. There have been utility workers in my neighborhood this week. One day they were right outside my house. That day when the kids came in after getting off the bus, A told me, "Mommy, we have a new bus stop!" I asked what she meant and she explained to me that the bus driver had let them off right at our driveway instead of the corner where they usually get on and off the bus. It's kind of caty-corner from our house. He had done that because he felt it was safer for them due to all the workers milling around the area. I know it's part of his job, but I just appreciate his thoughtfulness there. They'll miss him when we move because I'm pretty sure they're going to be riding a different school bus.

Oh well, like I said, it's the little things.

I Hate...

Grocery Shopping!

I'm a terrible procrastinator about almost everything, and grocery shopping is no exception. I was gonna go yesterday, but ended up not, but I really had no choice about going today. Well, I was gonna go before the kids got home from school but waited too late and had to wait till they got home. I really don't like going alone with the kids, but I really left myself no choice. So after the kids did their homework, we headed off to the grocery store.

You know, I used to think it was hard going to the store with babies and toddlers. But at least I could keep them confined in the cart. With very active 6- and 8-year-olds, it's much more challenging. Half my time was spent keeping track of them. Yes, I put them to work helping me, but sometimes that was terribly distracting as I was trying to decide what I needed, or what brand I wanted. I got lots of chuckles from other shoppers though, as the kids asked me what was next and I asked them to be quiet and let me think. And in the frozen foods section, where they have the big freezers on either side of the aisle, they also have stuff in the center of the aisle. The kids would hide behind the stuff in the aisle until they heard me open a freezer, then one of them would appear behind me to grab what I had to put it in the cart. I nearly stepped on them several times. And I lost count of how many times I told them to move from in front of the cart. The Princess was the worst for that...she'd put something in the cart and then stand right in front of it until I fussed at her to move from in front of the cart so we could continue.

When we were finished shopping, of course they had to help unload the cart onto the conveyor belt at the register. Then the baggers put our stuff into two grocery carts, although I didn't have a problem getting it into one. So the kids pushed one of the carts out to the car. I had to get them back on track going in the right direction several times. Once we got out of the store into the parking lot, they thought it would be a good idea to take off running. I let them know real quick that it wasn't a good idea and if they ran the cart into anybody's car, including mine, I'd blister their hineys.

At home they wanted to help me unload the car, so I let them. That was a huge help...they brought the stuff in and I put it away. But I have to say that I HATE the plastic bags that Food Lion uses. I swear they buy the cheapest ones they possibly can get away with, and they don't double-bag anything. So by the time I get everything home and in the house, at least half the bags are broken. This evening I was emptying one bag into the pantry and it broke. Two jars of spaghetti sauce fell out on the floor, and one of them broke. Eeeeewwwwwwwwwww! Thank goodness that happened close to the end of the entire process, because I'd had just about enough.

So next time I procrastinate about grocery shopping, I'll try to remind myself about today's experience.

Bad News

I got a call from a good friend of mine tonight. She doesn't have a blog, so I can't link to her or anything. I'm also not gonna give out any personal information. But those of you who were closest to me in the last year or so in Germany know who my closest friend was there. She's going through a tough time right now and could use all the prayers and good thoughts she can get. I hurt so bad for her because I can't physically be there for her this time. I know I can't fix things, but I'd feel lots better if I could be there to give her and her hubby a great big hug right now.

My Ballerina and Her Brother

My baby girl had dance class tonight. She's taking ballet and tap. She took a little bit of ballet when we were in Germany, and was so excited to be able to take it again when we got here. I think I blogged about this when she first started dance, but I was excited too. The lady she's taking dance from is the same lady I took tap and jazz from when I was a kid. I was tickled to be able to give my girl the same opportunity I had...she's a wonderful teacher and loves what she does.

Tonight A was dancing around the family room, practicing some of her ballet moves. I'm seeing a HUGE difference in the way she's moving. She's becoming so much more graceful and is really "getting" the flow of movement. I'm so proud of her, and can't wait till her recital in June. She loves ballet, but tap is more of a challenge for her. I wanted her to try it this year because I figured it would be a really good experience for her. Plus, it was my favorite. My thought is that it's better that they try different things and decide then whether they like it or not. We did the same thing with J and basketball this year. He was hesitant to try, but I pushed him a bit, and he ended up LOVING it. But now that A has had the experience, I think I'll let her decide whether she wants to continue tap next year. Maybe I'll encourage her to try jazz next year if she chooses not to take tap.

J was watching her practice and decided that watching her practice made him an expert. So he got up and tried to mimick her.

J - How's this Mom?
Me - Nice try, baby, but you're not so graceful.
J - (Giggling) What about now?
Me - Honey, I don't think ballet's quite your thing...but that's ok (the hubby is listening to this exchange and I think he was a bit relieved...lol).
J - (watching A do a split and deciding he wants to try one too) Aaaggghhhhhhhh!
Me - Yeah, Sweetie, that's why boys aren't really naturally made to do splits.

Plans

OK, I know we don't officially have the house yet, but it's never too soon to start making plans for what we want to do with it, right?

When the kids first found out we were planning on trying to buy a house, they got excited. J said "I want to have our own house...that way we'll never have to move again!" As adaptable as they are, I know that the moving is hard on them sometimes. I just gave him a big hug and explained to him that even if we bought a house, it won't mean that we won't ever have to move again. But I told him that one thing it DID mean is that he and his sister could pick how to decorate their own rooms. They could pick the wall colors and everything. A piped up and said she wanted her room to be pink (big surprise there) and wanted Princess Aurora on her walls. J said he wanted Nascar painted on his walls.

So then I had to explain to them that painting Princess Aurora and Nascar on their walls wasn't as easy as it sounded. I know their daddy could do it, but it would take quite a bit of time. So I told them to choose a wall color and we would find cool wall borders that had what they wanted. So this morning the kids and I sat down here with my laptop looking for wall borders. We found this for my Princess child, and this for the little man (scroll down; it's the Dale Earnhardt Jr. one). A's sticking with her pink wall color (which will work nicely with the border she chose...look at the top and bottom edges), and J chose yellow. He surprised me with that...I figured he'd choose blue or something, but I think it's a great choice. Yellow (as long as it's a good shade) will work with so many different things. Anyway, we'll probably paint their rooms pretty much immediately after closing so we have that done before we move the furniture in. Just easier that way.

We went to Lowe's today to start looking for a refrigerator. Our contract includes a refrigerator allowance, so we're trying to decide where will be the best place to get one that fits our needs (and wants...lol) and be within the range of the allowance. We worked out a pretty nice allowance, so we should be able to get something nice.

We got to take my mom and her boyfriend over to show them the house today. I'm so excited about our first home purchase, and I love being able to share it with my mom. It just seems kind of appropriate that we buy our first home here so close to where I grew up. I don't know...it's just a sentimental thing. But P took a tape measure with him to measure the rooms of the house and get an idea of the measurements of the back yard (we're trying to plan for a privacy fence...not an immediate thing, but we do want to put one up). And I had my camera today and took lots of photos of the inside. The kids picked out their rooms today, too. J asked me at one point, "did you buy it yet?" Kids are so cute. We had to explain to him that it's not quite that easy with a house, but promised him that we're working on it.

I talked with our Real Estate Agent today. I just love her. I think it was meant to be that we met her last weekend. I couldn't have chosen a better fit if I tried. Her husband is military, too, and they were stationed in Italy before they moved here. She and I have really enjoyed talking to each other about the culture shock that goes along with moving to NC from Europe. We also enjoy reminiscing about Europe. I'm definitely gonna have to have her over for some vino in the new house! Anyway, I'm just trying to make sure that I do everything I can to make the closing process go as smoothly as possible. I found out what I need to do about the insurance since we're not going to go with that offered by the mortgage company (that was my biggest concern). Other than that, I guess there's not much for us to do at this point. We will have the walk-through, but she said they usually do that around a week before the closing date.

I know I keep saying this, but I just keep getting more excited each and every day. I'll probaby be blogging quite a bit about the new house for a while, at least for the next month, but I'll try not to blog exclusively about that. It's just a huge part of our lives right now.

Request for Help...

I saw this request from Some Soldier's Mom. Those poor kids. I think I'll be heading over to Target this week and mailing out a package.

Layout Frustrations

In my last post, I wanted an extra line break between each paragraph, but no matter how many times I go in to try to fix it, Blogger won't put them in there. It's really frustrating! I want that extra break there...I think it's aesthetically better than having my paragraphs all crammed together.

Oh well. Back to your regularly scheduled programming...

A Little More

Yep...I'm on a roll tonight.

First, here's a picture of my unicorn. She was crawling around the den on a hand and both knees, and I just had to take a picture. Not great quality, again, because I took it with my camera phone, but I actually think it does really well considering I was indoors and it doesn't have a flash. It comes in really handy in those times when I want to take a picture but forget my camera...you never know what kind of shenanigans kids will pull unexpectedly.

I have to brag on my boy. As most of you (especially those of you with school-age kids or who are otherwise involved with schools) know, February is Black History Month. Both of my kids studied influential black Americans this month, especially Martin Luther King, Jr. J had a Social Studies project/report he had to do where he had to choose a Black American to research and write a report on him/her. So we did some research, and chose Bill Pickett. After he chose his subject, we sat here and researched him, and I had him take notes. Then I had him write his report based on the notes we took. I tried really hard as we were working on this to keep from crossing the line from helping him to putting words in his mouth. It's very important to me that my kids learn to do their homework on their own, and that it represents THEIR thoughts. A's really bad about bringing me her homework papers and asking me for the answers. I remind her that it's HER homeword, not mine, and that she has to learn to understand the questions and answer them herself. I'll help if she really has problems, but it frustrates me when she obviously doesn't even try, considering how incredibly smart she is.

Anyway, as I was going through the boy's papers today while cleaning up, I found his report, which had been graded by his teacher. He got an A+! I was so proud of him! I put his report on the refrigerator. His daddy was really proud too.

There is a funny story that goes along with that report, too. J got a book for Christmas that teaches him how to draw different types of motorcycles. He actually does really well, although he complains sometimes that it's "hard." We're trying to express to him that if he wants to learn to draw, he has to learn the fundamentals. His daddy's an artist, so I really want to cultivate this in him, because it's a talent he seems to have, and I totally didn't have it. Anyway, the hubby told J to give him the book after he was finished with it, and I guess he's drawing something from it. J goes in the kitchen and sees his Social Studies report on the refrigerator and comes in exclaiming that he got an A+ on it. I cracked up, because I had just told him about an hour or so before how proud I was of him for the work he'd done on it. He was using it as an excuse to sneak up behind the hubby to see what he was drawing. I told him to grab the report off the fridge and show it to Daddy, which he did, but is still looking for excuses to sneak up behind him. Too funny!

Curiosity really gets the best of my kids sometimes, and I KNOW they're not the only ones.

On a different note, I was looking back at my archives. I started blogging in May, and had exactly 100 entries in 2006. When I checked earlier this evening, I had 58 entries just this month. It may be 60 now. I guess I'm starting to get a bit more comfortable with this blogging thing, or at least realizing that maybe I really do have something to write about. Maybe somebody wants to read it, maybe not. But they're my thoughts, and I (or maybe even my kids) may want to go back and read them one day.

This is way better than any journal any English teacher wanted me to keep when I was in high school! It must be the technology thing.

Sitemeter

This is such a neat feature, and I'm just recently (over the last couple of months) learning about it, even though I've had it on my site since September. But I get a bit frustrated with it too.

First...why do I get frustrated? Well, I saved the settings where my ISP was excluded when counting visits to my site. But it doesn't seem to work. I like to check my page after I post or make other changes (and it's a good thing, too, because recently when I didn't check it one of my posts appeared twice). And when I check my sitemeter, I can always see the times when I've opened my blog to check it out. It's really not a big deal, but I'm just wondering why it doesn't work the way it's apparently supposed to.

Now...why I think sitemeter's pretty neat. I definitely don't get hung up on the numbers, because that's not why I started this blog. But it is pretty interesting to see how many people visit my page, and where they visit from. Some of you I recognize, but some I don't. Most of you link to me from (probably) mutual friends' pages. Sometimes, though, I get a hit from a google or blogger search. Those are pretty interesting, especially the search terms that sometimes cause my blog to show up in the results. More than once I've gotten a hit from someone searching for "Steak on a stone in Pottenstein." I wrote about our final visit there in one of my very first entries. Man I miss that place. Anyway, some of the searches make me wonder, and some of them bring back fond memories.

I love meeting new people, and I have met a couple of really neat people through this blog, one of who has a blog which has become a new addiction for me. She and I actually have quite a bit in common from what I can tell so far (those of you who truly know me know that I can be pretty outrageous sometimes, and usually quite outspoken), and I'm learning to express myself a little more bravely here, at least to a point. I'm at least finding that I have more to write about than I originally thought.

OK, so this entry started out talking about sitemeter, and evolved into something a bit different. Funny how a lot of my posts do that...hence the title of my blog? After all, I do tend to ramble on sometimes!

So much for that idea...

So I posted last night about how I hoped my kids would let me sleep in some this morning. Alas, it wasn't to be. My kids haven't learned to enjoy the art of sleeping late on the weekends yet. I have a tendency to sleep on the couch when the hubby is home...the bed just seems too big and lonely. So I was down here on the couch, and I heard footsteps pretty early, but it didn't quite register how early. So I propped my head up and looked over, seeing the boy sitting on the loveseat, and it was BEFORE 7 a.m.! UGH! Instead of sending him back upstairs to bed, though (I knew where that would lead...he thinks the entire house has to be up when he is and would certainly have waken his sister up), I told him to lie down on the loveseat and rest quietly. He asked me if he could go back upstairs to bed, and I told him "no" for the very reason I expressed above. So I dozed back off, but heard footsteps on the stairs shortly thereafter. So I again propped myself up, looked at the loveseat where I had told the boy to rest quietly, and he wasn't there (remember, I'm in a bit of a sleep-deprived stupor here). So I called to him in a bit of a stage whisper, but he answered in a loud voice. Okay, so much for not waking his sister up. So I told him to come back downstairs and lie down on the loveseat like I told him to do. The girl child was less than two minutes behind him. I tried to get them to watch TV quietly, but it didn't work out quite that way. So I was up before 7:30 a.m. (not a pleasant thing on a Saturday) and got their breakfast for them and our day started.

I sat around being lazy for a good bit of the day today. After working so many hours over the last few months, it was nice to be able to just veg out here with my laptop surfing the net just doing what I wanted to do. The hubby called between 11:30 and 12:00 when he was on a break from training letting me know he'd probably be leaving there around 1:00 this afternoon. I always like him to let me know so I have a ballpark of when to expect him to be home. This afternoon I set to cleaning the house. I didn't get it all done by any means, but I'm trying to gradually get the house to a point where the cleaning will be easier to maintain since I won't be working anymore. I've never been a great housekeeper, but I do a much better job of it when I'm not employed outside the home and can keep up with it better. I'll freely admit that I've neglected my womanly duties around the house since I started work and school, because there just aren't enough hours in the day to do it all. I thank God on a regular basis that I have a wonderful husband who has picked up my slack, usually without much fussing.

I love my kids more than life itself, but there are times when they push me to my limit. They don't usually give me a lot of grief when the hubby's gone, but this time was different. I swear they did everything in their power to tick me off as much as humanly possible. They had made a mess upstairs last night, and they were supposed to be cleaning that up this afternoon while I was cleaning down here. I checked on their progress a couple of times and reminded them of their responsibilities. At one point I went upstairs, and the hallway up there looked way worse than it had less than an hour before. I was PISSED! The excuse? "The books fell off the shelf." OK, we do have more books than we have room for on the one bookshelf that we have upstairs. And sometimes the books on the front edge of the shelves get knocked off when we walk by them. But somebody explain to me how HALF the books, including those on the rear part of the shelf (which is more than wide enough for books to sit on without hanging over the edge), just "fell" off the shelf. I'm totally not buying it.

On top of their refusing to pick up their mess, they were arguing and fighting, and just generally getting on each other's nerves this afternoon. When A. gets really irritated, her voice rises to a pitch that literally hurts my ears, even when she's upstairs and I'm downstairs. I don't think her voice came below that painful pitch this afternoon. I know they were getting on each other's nerves so badly because they were so tired from not getting enough sleep. I finally couldn't take anymore and made them lie down for a nap. I don't do that very often anymore, but there are times when they just HAVE to take a nap. I was about to lie down for one myself when P. got home. I was very happy to see him, but was still pretty stressed. He was really tired and decided to rest for a while himself after he told me a bit about his trip. So after he went upstairs, I messed around on the internet for a little while longer, and ended up resting here on the couch myself. I nap on the couch because chances are better that I'll get up after an hour or two instead of sleeping four or more. That way I can wake the hubby up before he sleeps too long. So we got up, the kids were put to work finishing their cleaning upstairs, and then we all had dinner.

In the middle of dinner, I hear the baby girl proclaim "My tooth fell out!" She didn't feel it come out, but noticed a "big gap" in the bottom of her mouth. So I asked her where it was, and she said she didn't know. Then a few seconds later, I hear her say "it's in my mouth!" Thank goodness she didn't swallow it along with her sandwich. I had her put it on the kitchen counter by the sink so we can rinse it off before she puts it under her pillow tonight. She's looking forward to a visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight. Both of her two front teeth on the top are loose, too, so it's just a matter of time before she loses those.

She's been playing with pencils tonight. She was holding two of them on top of her head while sitting on the couch and said she was a bunny. Then she was sitting by the back door holding one on top of her head. The hubby asked her what in the world she was doing. "I'm a unicorn!" Alrighty then!

The boy was complaining of his foot hurting after his nap this afternoon. Let me just preface the rest of this paragraph by saying that the kids and I didn't have the flu shot this year. They came down with the flu (at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was) while they were on Christmas break, and the hubby did too. So after that, I didn't see much of a point in having them vaccinated. Besides, even if they hadn't come down with it, they've been sniffling, sneezing, and coughing off and on since then, and I simply will not let them have the flu shot if I think their immune systems are the least bit compromised. I'm the only one who didn't get sick during that time, but I didn't have the shot either. The hubby wouldn't have gotten the shot either, but he had to. The Army doesn't exactly make exceptions for those who have had the flu before they get the vaccine.

But I digress. The boy is sitting down here on the loveseat saying that his foot hurts since he took a nap. Whatever. Then I hear him say..."My foot hurts. Should I get the flu shot?" WHAT?!? Where does he come up with this stuff?? The hubby looks at me and says, "What did he just say?" I told him he had said exactly what he thought he'd just said. The boy is goofy!! They keep me on my toes though...there's no doubt about that.

Fighting Kids...

Aaaarrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

My kids have been fighting almost since the moment they walked in from school this afternoon. I briefly mentioned my need for a nap earlier. Between my final exam for my class that I had to turn in Monday and the hours I've been working to finish my job, I've been up really late every night this week. So this afternoon, I finally had to lie down to try to get some rest.

I was lying down when the kids got home from school this afternoon. They were fighting when they walked in the door. I finally got them to calm down long enough to go upstairs. I tried to explain to them that I had a bad headache and needed to get some rest. It apparently didn't sink in. They went upstairs and continued the arguing and yelling. So I separated them and told them to leave each other alone for a while. Then A started banging things around in her room. I called them downstairs and talked to them. A said I was mean because I told her that since she wanted to make as much noise as possible I was going to do the same next time they didn't feel good. Harsh? Maybe. But maybe it will teach them to think about the feelings of others.

My mom and her boyfriend came over tonight to pick up her vacuum cleaner. We had borrowed it when we moved in this house before our household goods got here and haven't taken the time to take it back to her house. She's trying to sell her house and needs to get some cleaning done so the agent can come over and take some photos of her house for the listing. I still had a bit of a headache, but it's always good to see them. Maybe they'll have a bit of time this weekend so I can call our agent to show them the new house. Maybe this time I'll remember the camera so I can take photos of the rest of the house.

The kids have still been fighting off and on this evening. They've calmed down a bit now though. I think it's about time to put them to bed. We usually let them stay up late on the weekends, but it's pretty late now. Maybe they'll let me sleep in a little in the morning.

Wireless Mouse

I have a wireless mouse for my laptop that I bought a few months ago. I don't use it all the time...I have gotten used to the touch pad, but have noticed my wrists bothering me a little lately. So I figured maybe it's partially because of the laptop's mouse pad. So this morning I pulled my little wireless mouse out of the drawer. It's really cute...very compact. It has a USB stick that is stored in the bottom of the mouse when it's not in use. I plugged it into one of my USB ports and was using it this morning as I finished my work.

I was sitting here on the couch tonight catching up on my friends' blogs that I haven't read in the last couple of days. I had left my mouse on the arm of the chair where I was sitting earlier today before I had to take a nap because of my sleep deprivation headache. So as I'm sitting here reading, the cursor starts moving around my screen, although I knew I wasn't moving it. I happen to look over and J was sitting in the chair playing with my mouse. So I made him give it to me and told him that he "freaked Mommy out" because I didn't know why my mouse pointer was darting across the computer screen the way it was. He thought that was pretty funny and giggled about it before he decided to go upstairs and play for a while.

Silly kids...

Finally

Well I think I'm finished with my job now. I've been working practically non-stop this week, especially Wednesday and Thursday, to get my last audit done. I finally finished it and got it sent in this morning, thank goodness. It was later than I had hoped, but it took longer than I expected. Oh well...at least I'm finished. I'm so glad to be done with them it's not even funny.

Things seem to be moving along quite smoothly with the house. P. and I have been pleasantly surprised at how smoothly it's gone to this point. I got a call from our mortgage specialist yesterday morning. When we applied for the mortgage she had quoted us two different interest rates. One would be the rate if we closed in 30 days and the other was for 60 days. Our closing date is just outside the 30-day timeframe, so we were hoping we could get locked in at the 30-day rate. So she called me yesterday to let me know that we had, indeed, gotten locked in at the lower rate. So I called P., who is in SC for a few days, and let him know. We're both really happy about it. So the house is under contract, so I guess at this point we just have to wait. I'm not sure what all is involved in the process for us between now and closing since we've never bought a home before, but I don't think there's much that we have to do.

Here's a picture of the house. I took it with my camera phone Wednesday, so the quality isn't that great, but it's definitely good enough...just a little blurry. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

New Look

So I chose a new template for my page. It' s just a different color of the same layout I've been using, but I like the blue better.

Tonight we had a little banquet for J.'s basketball team. We went to Pizza Hut and they got their trophies. J. got the trophy for "Most Improved Player," which I think is definitely a pretty accurate assessment. He went into the season knowing practically nothing about the game. He got steadily better throughout the season, and now definitely has at least a basic knowledge of the rules and progression of the game.

I got a call back from our real estate agent this morning. We got a counter-offer from the builder, which we accepted. Tomorrow we go and sign the new contract and give them our earnest money for the house, and go from there. I think I'm starting to get more excited and a little less anxious as we go. It doesn't seem quite real yet...we'll see how I do once it's definitely official.

Thankful for My Blog

Tonight I was thankful for this blog. I've never been one to keep a journal, but this blog has sort of turned into a journal of sorts for me. It's a way for me to get my thoughts down. I'm at the end of my current US History course, and will have a week off beginning tomorrow. I've been working on my Final Exam. I have one more question to answer - they're essay questions. After all, I'm taking online courses...lots of writing!

One of the questions was about similarities between Iraq and Vietnam. Made me thankful that I had written this entry. Although I had to tweak it to answer the question given by the professor, if I hadn't put my thoughts down then it would have taken me longer to answer the question. But since I got my thoughts down there, and they were MY thoughts, I had no worries about using this post for this purpose.

Our Weekend

I love holiday weekends. This weekend was no exception. We didn't have any plans, but had a really nice weekend anyway.

I talked a few days ago about the Puzzlemania books we get from Highlights magazine. I realized again last night just how glad I am we get these for the kids. They have lots of fun activities, and are such a wonderful educational tool. My kids just LOVE these books and are building their vocabulary and learning other things with them. I usually have to help them out with the crossword puzzles because of some of the words in the clues they don't understand, but they amaze me anyway. I got really tickled at them once last night, though. J. was working on a crossword puzzle in his book and A. was working with him. Most of the puzzles in these books have some kind of theme. For this particular one, all the answers had "IN" somwhere in the word. One of the clues was "another term for slender." So I asked them "what do I call A. sometimes?" Remember - A.'s lanky like her daddy. So A. jumps up and says, "jabber jaws!" I cracked up! Well, yes, but that has nothing to do with being slender and it doesn't have "IN" anywere. After a bit more prompting, A. realized I was referring to the times that I call her "skinny Minnie." Well, after all that, J. tells me the word only has four letters. So then we decide it must be "thin." We all got a good laugh out of that though. They crack me up sometimes!

Something else I mentioned a few days ago was a big decision that P. and I were considering. We've decided that now is the right time for us to buy a home of our own. We will probably settle here in North Carolina when it's time for retirement. The market here in our area is a buyer's market right now, and with the BRAC and the increase of troops that's going to happen within the next couple of years, property prices are probably about to skyrocket. Our lease on the house we're renting is up the end of May. So with all these factors, the timing just seems right. We've been considering it off and on for about a year now (since before we left Germany). Now that we're here, know the area better, and the kids are in school, we are very specific in what we want. We don't want to have to change the kids' school, so I looked up the school's district so that I knew where the boundaries are. We found a house we really like in another part of the subdivision we live in. It's a brand new house, has just been completed. We got the preapproval and made the offer today. The Realtor feels we should have an answer from the builder by fairly early tomorrow. Then we just have to wait for a commitment letter from the lender and then the process from then to closing. I am so excited about finally owning our own home, but am pretty nervous about it too. We always thought we'd wait until after retirement to buy, but this will be a good investment, even after we leave.

So that's what's been going on with us lately. Let's just hope the rest of the home-buying process goes as smoothly as it has up to this point.

Withdrawal Treatment

Today is a beautiful day...chilly but very sunny. It's kind of windy, which makes it seem chillier, but still very nice. We had plans to get some house cleaning done.

Got a phone call around lunch time and made arrangements to meet with a nice lady we met yesterday. P. asked what I thought about going on the bikes. We could have ridden when we went out yesterday, but it was overcast and windy. The wind felt damp and cold. So we decided not to with the kids. If it had been just us, we probably would have, but I don't want to ride with the kids if it's too cold. Since it was nice and sunny today, and since we weren't going to be going very far, I agreed it would be a good time to ride.

So we went out on the bikes and it was awesome! I've been having withdrawals in the worst way, and I just feel so much better after getting to ride, even if it wasn't very long. The kids loved it too, and were kind of disappointed when we came home and put them back in the garage. The wind picked up, though, and the temperature dropped, so it was best. I'm just glad spring is on its way and we'll have more chances to get out and ride soon.

Last Game

Today was J.'s last basketball game. They lost again, and lost BAD. I think the final score was 33-3. J. scored two of those points. He was so proud of himself, and we were proud of him, and so happy for him. He made a basket during the game! What a confidence booster! He played really well today, in just about all respects. He was focused and aggressive. He remembed what I told him Wednesday night about his defense.

Wednesday night I was talking with one of the dads. We were talking about some of the different teams. He was telling me how he thought they were supposed to divide the teams up to try to make sure that each team had kids of all skill levels. But some of these teams played like they'd been playing together for quite some time. Unlike our team, where you could tell this was their first season playing together. He figures that the "regular" coaches pick and choose their teams based on who was on their team in the past. Makes sense to me, considering the fact that we spent a couple of weeks wondering if we were even going to have a team until one of the dads stepped up. P. would have loved to do it, but his schedule simply doesn't allow it. It certainly makes for an unfair advantage though. Oh well...as long as the kids have fun, that's the most important thing.

The kids were VERY chatty today. I don't think we had a single quiet moment all day. Even when we tried to shoosh them for a minute so we could finish a sentence, it didn't last. Between the talking, singing, and humming, there were a couple of times when it got to be a bit much. I couldn't help but giggle at them a few times, though, and someone actually commented, saying, "well at least you're laughing." My response...they're really great kids. We have our moments, as do all parents and kids, but I'm reminded at just the right moment sometimes just what great kids they are (like at lunch out today). We typically let them stay up late on the weekends, so we just put them to bed about a half hour ago. P. and I haven't talked much since then...we're enjoying our quiet time and the chance to finish watching a movie in peace.

Speaking of movies, we tried to go see "Ghost Rider" this afternoon, but the tickets sold out while we were standing in line. Bummer.

My Kids are Weird

We were watching a movie tonight. It was a bit on the scary side. So the hubby scared our girl a couple of times.

The boy was expecting to be scared the whole time, and was actually kind of disappointed at the end of the movie when we told him to go to bed. He started complaining about how he had hoped his daddy woud scare him. So I gave my hubby the look, and he caught it, as we were getting them to gather their blankets and take them upstairs. A. had given both of us goodnight kisses and had started upstairs. J. gave me a kiss and grabbed his blanket. Then he went to give his daddy a goodnight kiss. P. took that opportunity to scare the socks off him. His face was priceless, and of course he took it a bit farther and threw himself on the floor. P. and I both cracked up!

Was it mean? Maybe, but he specifically asked for it! Maybe we all need that adrenaline rush every now and then. Oh, and A., who was on the stairs, started complaining. "Daddy, you scared me!" I told her, "that's what you get for hovering on the stairs." We all got a good laugh out of it, especially J., who got just what he wanted.

Yep...my kids are definitely weird. How many kids request that their parents scare the bejeebers out of them?

Highlights

I thought those of you with kids might be interested in this. When I was a kid, my parents had a subscription to Highlights Magazine for us. I LOVED that magazine! So when we got back to the States, one of the first things I did was subscribe to it for my kiddos. Well, they haven't quite learned to love it as much as I did, but I know that will come.

A few months ago, someone from their office called the house one evening when I wasn't around. They were calling to offer us a subscription to their Puzzlemania books. P. actually agreed, which really surprised me because he really gets irritated with me about my magazines sometimes. Those have been the BEST thing for my kids. I got the latest ones in the mail earlier this week but didn't open them until last night. A. had taken her previous one to the in-laws' one weekend when they went up there and forgot to bring it back. So J. had his here, but she didn't. She was asking him last night if she could do one of his puzzles, and I remembered about the new ones I had for them. So I told her I had a better idea and started opening the package. When she saw what it was, she literally started squealing and jumping up and down from being so excited. They ask to work on their puzzle books, so it's a reward for them when they do the things they're supposed to do. J. asked to work on his earlier, and I told him his room had to be clean first. That's the quickest that boy has cleaned his room in a long time.

So for those of you with kids, especially elementary age, I highly recommend these. They have all kinds of neat activities - word searches, crossword puzzles (some in different shapes), mazes, etc. Mine get bored with coloring books sometimes, but will lie on the floor and do the activities in these cover-to-cover.

Useless Information?

I made a run to the grocery store this evening to pick up a few things. I really need to make a major trip, but I'd rather do that without the kids. As I'm walking by the beer section I notice they have Guinness Draught in bottles. All I've been able to find before is the Extra Stout, and P. isn't really crazy about it. So since they had this kind I went ahead and picked up a 6-pack.

When I got home, he had just gotten home himself. He had to be in Raleigh all day today. I told him about my find and asked if he'd like one. He said sure, so I opened one and poured it into a glass for him. When I turned the bottle upright after emptying it, I heard something. So I looked down into the bottle and saw a little something down in there but couldn't tell what it was. So I had P. look at it. He thought it looked like a chunk of ice or something. Well, I knew it wasn't THAT cold. Curiosity got the best of us, so he proceeded to break the bottle. He showed me what he got out, and we were still clueless. Hmmm...maybe I need to Google it.

So I came in here, grabbed my laptop, and Googled "Guinness bottle." This is what I found. I had never had Guinness from a bottle before, or a can, so had never heard of the widget technology they talked about here. I guess it's more for people who drink it straight from the bottle than those of us who pour it into a glass, but I still thought it was pretty interesting.

Post Office

I found out today another way we were spoiled in Germany. Our post office. We sent lots of packages while we were overseas, from Christmas presents to family to care packages to P. while he was in Iraq. They always had lots of packaging material available to us there. There were rules about what could and could not be on the boxes going through the Military Postal Service (MPS). The post office had a big roll of brown paper for us to use to wrap our boxes in. Customs Forms were always available, as were any other forms or envelopes we needed. The only things we had to get from the counter were boxes or anything else we had to pay for.

I went to the post office today to mail a couple of things. I had one thing in a package that I'm going to need to wrap before I mail it. So I walk in and start looking around for the roll of brown paper. Hmmm...there isn't one. After being confused for a minute, it hits me that this must have been one of those privileges we had because we were overseas. OK...I'll have to take it back another day after I get it wrapped. I finally find the Express Mail envelopes and get my other item ready to send. As I'm waiting in the very long line, several different people come in with packages going to deployed soldiers and are looking for Customs Forms because there are none with the rest of the forms. They were OUT of them! I guess folks were grabbing stacks of them and taking them home. Honestly, when my husband was deployed I tried to make sure I had a few at home at all times so that I could have them filled out and ready to go before I ever got to the post office. Makes it easier to itemize what's in the box that way, too. I think they had maybe about a half dozen forms left behind the counter. When one lady asked for a couple, she was asked by the postal employees if she had her packages with her. She did, and showed them. So I guess my post office is going to keep the Customs Forms behind the desk from now on and only give them to people who have their packages with them. I can see this causing frustration. First the customers are going to get frustrated because they have to ask for them every time instead of being able to grab one when they come in. I can also see the employees getting frustrated with being asked for them. The folks in this post office were rather snippy today anyway. Fortunately the man who helped me was pretty friendly. But if they're going to be making these folks ask for them instead of allowing them access to them, I sure hope they don't get all frustrated and impatient at how many times they're going to have to stop what they're doing long enough to get them one.

Our Valentine's Day

As I mentioned yesterday, we had a pretty nice Valentine's Day yesterday. I kind of tried to lay low where the hubby was concerned. Sometimes I unintentionally put pressure on him where these things are concerned and it backfires big time. Last year I had all these expectations, and I'm sure part of it was because he was deployed the year before. So I was really hoping that he'd do something really special (although that's not really his style) and then got really disappointed. I'm not saying I expected flowers and candy, blah blah, but I guess just something other than the day-to-day routine. But it was totally my own fault, and I did apologize to him and we talked about it.

Anyway, I didn't do that to him this year. I got the kids off to school, got the coffee ready for him before he left and tried to do some schoolwork. He called me about 10:30 and invited me to lunch. So I got dressed and went to meet him at the office. He took me to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack, which was delicious. I love that place. They weren't at all crowded, so we enjoyed a nice lunch and talked about some things he's been thinking about lately. We're contemplating a big decision, and I'll share it once we know a little more. But anyway, it seems like we don't have time to talk as much as we used to, so that was really the best part of the lunch. When we were in Germany, we used to have lunch together every day - except for the year he was gone, of course. We both worked on post, so there was no reason not to. We really valued that hour every day where we had the opportunity to carry on a conversation without the interruption of the kids. Some folks used to comment that it was nice to see us do that, and seemed surprised that it was a daily routine. One thing I've learned over the past couple of years is to appreciate the time I have with my husband and kids - it's precious. It's been much more difficult here, especially once I started having to go out to the hospital every day. We talked about that yesterday too, and he mentioned that since I'm not going to be working anymore, we should be able to pick our daily lunch routine back up. I'm glad to know that he misses it as much as I do.

I got home right as the kids were getting home from school. My mom and her boyfriend came by to give them a little Valentine's present. P. and I planned to take them out for a Valentine's dinner before J.'s basketball practice. I had wanted to pick them up a little something from us, but didn't have a chance to go without them. That's what I get for being a procrastinator, I know. So I called the hubby and asked him to pick them up a little something on his way home. He balked a little about that, but agreed. Turns out his awesome secretary had actually gone out to get something for her girls and picked up something for him to give our two. What in the world are we going to do without her? So he got home with the gifts and the kids came down. He had even gotten me a little something, which was a nice surprise. J. got a cute pen. It's covered in a red felt-like material and has a fuzzy top with a little frog sitting on it. He was tickled with it when he first saw it. Then later on last night when he realized it was a pen, he got really excited! A. got a pink rose. Let me tell you...she really felt like a princess then. Her little face just lit up and she gave him a hug. I wish I'd had my camera out when he gave them their gifts, but I didn't. It just brought back memories for me of getting flowers from my Daddy and how special that always made me feel. For me it was usually to congratulate me for a significant accomplishment or something like that. But I know just how it made her feel.

We took the kids out to Mi Casita for dinner. They love tacos, so we thought they'd really enjoy it, which they did.

After dinner we hurried home so J. could change for basketball practice, and he and I headed to the gym. That boy did so well last night! One of the dads and I were talking, and we agreed that it's too bad that Saturday is their last game. Now that the kids are finally "getting it" and it's all starting to come together, the season's over. J. is finally starting to get aggressive and really played defense. At the end of practice, I told him I wanted to see him play defense like that on Saturday. The coach overheard me and praised him as well. He has come so far the past couple of months and makes me so proud!

So all in all, we had a pretty good day. The photo above is the gift that P. brought home for me that really touched me. There was already a perfect place for it on the mantel. It's things like this that remind me why I love him, even though he makes me crazy! But don't they all? :-)

Oh, and my lesson from yesterday? Don't pressure the hubby with high expectations. Just let him be himself and make me feel special in his way. I won't feel disappointed and he won't feel inadequate. Maybe that's not quite the right word, but you know what I mean. We're both happier then.

Tomorrow...

I'll post about my Valentine's Day tomorrow. It turned out to be pretty nice. I have a friend who lost her husband in Iraq on Valentine's Day two years ago. So she's been in my thoughts all day today. I can't help it - when I know my friends are hurting, it hurts me.

Sorry for the sad post, but that's kind of how I've been feeling. I enjoyed having my hubby here to spend the day with, but I'm ever mindful of how fortunate I am.

Darn!

When I checked tomorrow's weather forecast earlier today, it said it was supposed to be in the mid-50s and cloudy. I was really hoping to ride a little tomorrow while the kids were in school. It's been raining off and on all day today, but was supposed to slow down tonight. I'm sitting here listening to wind gusts and rain beating down on the house (which is really quite relaxing), so I checked the forecast again. Now they're calling for showers and wind with a high of 55. Darn it! I don't mind some wind, but I'm not gonna ride in the rain. I'm a fair weather rider, at least until I get more experience.

But on a happier note:

My kids just crack me up sometimes. I talked a few days ago about having to talk to our P.A. about J.'s medication. His appointment was this afternoon. The best thing about it is that my mom and my sister work at the clinic where we get our medical treatment. My dad was the P.A. there when he was alive. So when we go see our P.A., I get to spend a little time with my family too.

I was sitting there talking to my sister and teasing her between phone calls and other things she had to do. All of a sudden I hear an ear-piercing squeal. I get all prepared to yell at my daughter for screaming in this place of business, but then I hear my mom laughing. So I peek around the corner to see what's going on. I see A. on the floor and my mom has her by the ankles. My mom is laughing so hard she's about to cry. A. was "prissing down the hall" (my mom's words, and I know it's true...my girl is a real priss), and I reached out and grabbed her. My mom scared the bejeebers out of A. So I told Mom...you got her riled up, you deal with her...lol! She got her calmed down and she was quiet again.

So we saw our P.A., he listened to me and we increased J.'s dose to the next strength. We also both agree that J. isn't really true ADHD (he doesn't really have the hyperactivity piece), but he is definitely ADD (definitely has an attention problem). I really struggled with changing his dosage, as I always have before where this is concerned, but I want him to succeed. He's so smart, and I don't want this attention problem he has to keep him from succeeding and doing as well as he can. I really like having a healthcare provider that really listens to us.

As we were leaving, my mom gave each of the kids $10 to spend on what they wanted to get for their class for Valentine's Day. They both were very specific -- they wanted to do cards for each child, and wanted to include a lollipop with the cards. They were just tickled about having money to spend themselves. My prissy girl grabbed the money from my mom and RAN!! I know my jaw just dropped. In all fairness to her, though, she was just running back to give my sister bye kisses and hugs and get something she had left there. It was pretty funny though. She told my mom thank you when reminded, and we left.

So we went to Wally-World to get the Valentine goodies. Boy was I in for a rude awakening here! Another example of having been gone too long. I couldn't even maneuver down the aisles where the cards and such were. Yeah, my own fault for procrastinating, but it's what I do best. Then we picked up dinner on our way home. After dinner, I made J. redo his sloppy homework before I would let him work on his Valentines for his class. He has a tendency to rush through things to get done quickly and move on to what he would rather be doing. Sloppiness is not acceptable, though, so I was mean and made him redo it. I'm hoping that after a couple of times of having to start all over he'll get a clue and do it right the first time.

We had the best time getting their Valentines ready for their classmates. I got so tickled at the differences in my kids though. A. was very careful about trying to pick the right Valentine to give each of her classmates. She had Care Bear Valentines and there were probably about 8 different phrases. So she's like, "J. likes pink, so let's give her the Pink Bear. Oh, and T. likes sunny days so let's give him the one that says 'I wish you a sunny day' because he'll get to play outside. And R. likes wishes, so let's give him the one about making a wish." I got so tickled at her logic. J. was much less particular. He had Spider Man Valentines. They had shiny accents, and half of them had red backgrounds while the rest had purple ones. The boys got the Valetines with the red backgrounds and the girls got purple. Heck with what they said. They also kind of tickled me about the things they said about some of their classmates, although I reminded them to be nice. A. said, "so-and-so's weird because he picks his nose in class; he should use a tissue." As we're going down the list of names, I asked J. whether one of them was a girl or a boy (this was after I had figured out his pattern of red-purple). He said, "well, he usually ACTS like a girl." I looked over at his dad, who is chuckling "THAT was funny," he said. So again, I'm stressing not to say things like this at school because their friends' feelings might be hurt. These kids...you just never know what they're going to say! I love them like crazy, and we had such a good time tonight. It's going to be nice when I'm not working anymore and have more time to spend with them.

So this post started as a vent but ended with a smile. Can't get much better than that!

Homework

So my kids are doing their homework right now. A.'s working on a math worksheet. She's had several questions that help them put different measurements into perspective. Last week she had a problem saying that a grape weighed about a gram and a brick weighed about a kilogram. Then she had to decide which she would use to weigh two paperclips.

Today she had a question that asked about how tall her father is. Her choices were 6 inches, 6 feet or 60 feet. She told me she chose 60 feet because that is the biggest number. For those of you who don't know us in real life, my husband is a full 10 inches taller than I am, and I'm not short! He's 6'6" so since she knows that he's lots taller than most people, he must be 60 feet tall. I laughed and told her he's not 60 feet tall. He is more than 6 feet, but 6 feet is a closer estimate than 60.

I'm looking for a new template for my blog. I'm already bored with this one. So I'm on the hunt for one that I won't get bored with so easily. I wish I was creative and knew HTML because then maybe I could just design my own.

Silly Hubby

Something else funny that I hadn't gotten around to writing about...

I've talked already about going to spend the afternoon with the in-laws yesterday. We had talked to the hubby's brother about our frustrations with hanging things on the walls in this house because of the fact that there aren't as many studs in the walls as there should be. Well, P.'s brother had gotten a great deal on some "stud finders" and bought almost a hundred of them a few months ago. He gave my hubby a couple of them yesterday. P. picked one up, saw "stud finder" on the package, and passed it back and forth in front of himself, saying "beep, beep, beep!"

Hardy-har-har

The funniest thing though was when his brother's wife busted him out big time. What made it so funny is that she's really quiet compared to the rest of us...and I thought *I* was quiet, which I really kind of am compared to them. She looked at my hubby and said she held hers up to J. and it didn't go off. There were 7 adults sitting around the table, and we all just LOST it!

Yep, we quiet ones are the ones you gotta watch out for!

I Forgot About This

One day last week, J. came home talking about the spelling bee. He's not old enough to participate yet. When I was in school kids could participate in the spelling bee from fourth through eighth grades. But I guess the third graders got to observe. I can remember my school doing that with the younger kids too.

So he comes home talking about the spelling bee and the kinds of words they were spelling. He told me, "Mom they were spelling words like 'tropical' and 'vacation' and I can't spell big words like that!" Mind you, "I can't" are words that I truly dislike hearing my kids say. So I suggested that he try. He tried, and he spelled them correctly. Perfect lesson about not saying "I can't" before even trying.

I also used this as the perfect time to talk to the kids about the cool opportunities they can have available to them if they study and really try in school. A lot of you don't know this, but I competed in the spelling bee when I was in school. My seventh grade year, I went all the way to the National Bee in Washington, D.C. I can still remember the name of the girl who won that year, and the word she spelled correctly to win. I can also remember the word that I spelled incorrectly to put me out of the competition. It was an incredible experience, and was one of only two times I've been to our Nation's Capital. The second time was during my Senior year, and was also an academic trip...a Young Leaders' Conference. That trip focused more on the politics...we sat in on a Congressional session, visited with our Congressmen, etc.

Anyway, my kids thought the spelling bee story was pretty cool. Maybe I can convince them that Mom's not as stupid as they naturally seem to think I am! I really hope they take advantage of as many opportunities as they can. They're both very smart (sometimes they scare me), so I'm working with them now on the importance of applying themselves and learning as much as they can, from the beginning.

Yummy

I had a craving for Korean food this evening. I'm so glad we have a Korean restaurant here. So I called up the hubby and asked him if he felt like Korean for dinner tonight. I've never known him to turn it down, and tonight was no exception. He asked about J.'s practice, but I explained to him that he wasn't going to go to practice tonight. That's another story, involving sneaking into our room and taking a pocketknife to open nuts that A. had brought home from school. Grrrrrrr. I'll share that later...don't know what I'm gonna do with these kids.

So I called in our order to the restaurant. I ordered 3 Bulgogi dinners and lots of Kimchee. She says, the Kimchee comes with the Bulgogi dinners. Yes, I know, but the hubby wants EXTRA Kimchee. I think she knew at that instant who I was (he usually calls and orders). Whenever we go eat in the restaurant, she brings two separate dishes "so you don't fight over it." We also love the Gim Bap (a type of Sushi), so I had to call back and order that because I forgot the first time I called. The kids would have a fit if we didn't have that. Last time we ate in the restaurant, the hubby and I cracked up at our daughter. Those of you who know what a little bird she is and how slowly she eats will appreciate this. We're sitting there eating our Gim Bap, and she stuffs one in her mouth, and then has two in each hand. So of course we teased her about being a pig. My kids just LOVE foreign foods of just about any kind, but when it comes to eating the home-cooked Southern foods like my mother-in-law cooks, we sometimes have a really hard time getting them to eat. They love the typical "kid foods" like chicken nuggets, french fries, pizza and mac & cheese, but also love the kinds of foods that most kids their age turn their nose up at. Whenever we would go to our favorite restaurant in our little town in Germany, they always had to split an appetizer of Escargot (Schnecken in German). They really hate the fact that our German restaurant here doesn't serve Schnecken...lol!

P. had a really crappy day at work today. He gets frustrated almost on a daily basis, but today was really bad. I won't go into too much detail because of potentially sharing too much information, but let's suffice it to say that it really gets under his skin when people discount what he tells them, taking everything someone else says as gospel. It's no wonder this particular organization they work with manages to get away with so much crap. Nobody seems to question their excuses.

I'm sharing this because my baby girl can always seem to get a grin out of her daddy when he's had a bad day. Tonight when they were giving us kisses before bed, she came and gave each of us a big kiss and hug. Then she decided to get us each a raspberry. She gave me a raspberry, and then her daddy. Even though he knew it was coming, it still made him smile. So I told the baby girl she should be proud of herself because she can always get her daddy to smile when he's having a bad day. That just tickled her pink!

Ugh!

It just wasn't in the cards for me to be able to sleep in this weekend. My kids just simply don't understand that Mommy and Daddy want to sleep later than usual on the weekends. We let them stay up later on the weekends than we do during the week, but they still get up insanely early. I swear I think I understood the art of sleeping in by the time I was their age, but maybe not quite. I keep hoping they'll figure it out.

This weekend, though I really can't blame my kiddos. I've already mentioned that yesterday morning the hubby got a call from one of his soldiers at 5 a.m. That call woke the boy up, and once he's awake, there's really not much chance of getting him to go back to sleep. He gets that from me. I love to sleep late, but have a difficult time getting back to sleep once I'm up. Well, this morning his work cell phone rang before 8 a.m. One of his potential recruits was in an auto accident last night. Ugh! Right now the story is that he wasn't hurt. I guess a teenager ran through an intersection and T-boned him, totalling his vehicle. I really hate that this happened to him, and hope everything works out for him as far as his recruitment is concerned. I hope he's able to get want he wants, what is best for him and his family. But at the same time, I'll be so glad when the hubby isn't in Command anymore. That damn Government cell phone is the bane of my existence, I swear! I cringe every time I hear it ring. Even when someone else's phone rings that has the same ringtone, I just wanna scream!

I plan to take full advantage of the fact that I'm not going in to the hospital tomorrow. I'm gonna put my kids on the bus and then go back to bed, or lie down on the couch, whichever suits my mood. I'll sleep all darn day if it suits me!

Flags of Our Fathers

Have you seen this movie? P. and I have been wanting to see it ever since we saw the first trailer for it. I mentioned earlier today that we were going to the in-laws so we could spend time with P.'s brother and his wife while they were in for the weekend. Little Brother told us that he had "Flags of Our Fathers" with him that weekend and had been waiting to see it because he wanted to watch it with the hubby and their dad.

So after we had lunch, we all gathered in the family room to watch the movie. Let me just say real quick that I've gotten extremely spoiled by our big screen TV. We put it on layaway before Christmas of 2003, and I managed to get it paid off in time for it to be delivered to us before the hubby deployed to Iraq. That way he was able to enjoy it for a little bit before he left. I thought that was only fair. I mention this because the film "Letters from Iwo Jima" was advertised on the DVD of "Flags of Our Fathers." Apparently that one has lots of subtitles. I'm sitting there watching the previews and having a very difficult time reading the subtitles, especially when they're over a light-colored background. Ugh! I was afraid the movie we were watching was going to have a lot of subtitles, but was glad to see that it didn't.

But I digress. I have a tendency to go off on tangents like that from time to time. So we all watched "Flags of Our Fathers" this afternoon. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. My hubby, who is quite the military historian, was pretty impressed with it, and he'll be the first to nitpick a war movie to death. We'll definitely be purchasing this one to add to our collection. I really like movies that show the facts of something (like the war on Iwo Jima), but also go behind the scenes, so to speak, and get to the nitty gritty personal stories of those involved. "Flags of Our Fathers" does that, and some of it was heart breaking. I won't go into any more detail, but I'll say again that I strongly recommend seeing this movie if you haven't already.

Family

It isn't often that we have the opportunity to get the whole family on both sides together. Yesterday was one of those times. Well, not quite the WHOLE family, because my brother wasn't there, nor was my sister's husband, but the closest we've come in a very long time.

J. had a basketball game yesterday. My mom has been at most of the games. My sister comes when she can. P.'s parents and sister usually come down when they can, too. They live about an hour away. Well, this time, P.'s brother and his wife were in for the weekend, and they came to his game too. My sister was able to come with the baby, so I got to play with her for a little bit. After the game we all went out to lunch, minus the hubby because he had some issues come up with work, so I had to drop him off at the house to take care of some stuff.

But it was a pretty nice day. We all had to lie down for a nap, though. The hubby had gotten a phone call at 5 a.m. from one of his soldiers, and that woke the kids up, so of course we weren't able to really get any more rest yesterday morning. They really weren't convinced that they needed a nap since I normally don't make them take one anymore, but I put my foot down this time.

I'm not feeling so hot today. Scratchy throat and a little achy. I've managed up to this point to dodge the bullet of the bug that's been going around, even when everybody else in my house was sick. I'm afraid my luck may have run out though. I hope I'm wrong. Guess I'd better go shower and get dressed so we can go to the in-laws' to visit with the hubby's brother and his wife before they head back home today. I always enjoy spending time with them. Hope everyone has a great Sunday!

Movies

P. was sitting here checking the list of movies available through Movies On Demand tonight. "Crank" is one of the movies advertised there right now. He says, "look Honey, it's your boy, Jason Statham." I'm like...who? So he says, "the guy from "The Transporter." I'm not big on action flicks, but I loved those movies.

So I said, "Oh, the sexy bald guy with the accent?" He says yeah.

I tell him, "Hey, when you lose your hair at least I'll think you're a sexy bald guy!" Not sure what it is I have about bald men.

I got that sarcastic, I'm not so amused laugh from him.

I Love...

Nights like tonight.

I mentioned in my last post that we were going out for dinner tonight. We went to Carraba's, which is my favorite Italian restaurant. For those of you who have never been, it's an Italian Grill, and I find it to be the closest thing here in our area to REAL Italian food. When I say REAL Italian food, I mean the kind of food we had when we spent Spring break in Italy last year. That was an awesome trip!

So why was tonight such a great night? The kids really were on their best behavior. The last few time we've gone out to eat they have complained about waiting for their food. I don't understand this, because they don't wait half as long for their dinner here as they did when we would eat out in Europe, and they hardly ever complained there. I guess they've already become way too accustomed to the instant gratification that is a huge part of the American culture. But tonight was different. I did tell them as we were leaving the house that I didn't want to hear ONE complaint about waiting for their food at the restaurant tonight. After all, they do have to wait for their food to be cooked, and after all, how long does it take Mommy to cook dinner sometimes? So we got to Carraba's and it was going to be about a half-hour wait for a table. But both of the bar tables were empty, and they're on a first-come-first-served basis. I learned this when Christy and I went out for her birthday. Thank you, Christy! So we asked if we could sit there, and they said absolutely. So we went ahead and got a table there instead of waiting. After all, waiting for a table for a half-hour isn't fun with two kiddos.

So we got our table, and they got their kiddie menus with activities and crayons. They decided right away what they wanted to eat and drink before they even started with the fun stuff. I didn't even have to remind them! Carraba's does something fun for the kids when you ask (at least we have to ask at ours). They'll bring them bread dough to play with and shape, and then bake it. So I asked for dough for the kids, the waitress brought it, and that kept them busy for a while too. So we had our dinner, and it was incredible. I'm never disappointed at that place! Christy, I strongly recommended that P. get that yummy lobster ravioli that I had the night you and I went out. He wasn't disappointed.

After dinner and dessert, we came home and told the kids to play quietly. They're restricted right now from playing together until they can learn to play without fighting. As soon as they got close together they started arguing and fighting, so I had to separate them again. UGH! I don't get it. P. had to run out to the store, and while he was gone, A. came down to get her PJs. After he got home, we were sitting here watching TV, and I realized the kids had gotten awfully quiet. That usually means they're getting into something. So I went to check on them, and they're both in bed fast asleep. I was shocked! We all had a busy day. It's been a long time since they did that though. They must have been utterly exhausted. They're such good kids. I think that's why I get so frustrated when we have days like we've had all week. I know everybody has bad days, and I can handle that. But when a bad day or two turns into a bad week, it starts to feel like it's almost too much. But when it comes down to it, I love my babies more than anything, and they know it. I remind them constantly that I love them, even when I'm upset. And their daddy told them the same thing last night.

Wanna know what incredibly sweet thing my son said to me today? As we were waiting for the bus this morning, I was checking my email. I read something funny and smiled. J. tells me, "Mommy, I like your smile." Things like that just warm my heart. I kind of like my smile too, and I want to do it more.

Better Day...

Well, today has definitely been a better day than yesterday was. Traffic still annoyed me on the way in to work, but it wasn't quite as bad as yesterday. I was back at my normal work station today, so I was able to get much more done in a shorter period of time than I did yesterday. I actually managed to get the rest of the records that I needed pulled for my audit this month, so I'll be able to do the rest from home. If I'm lucky, I'll have no need to go back out to the hospital for the rest of the month. If that turns out to be the case, then I just might be finished with this job before the end of the month.

The kids seem to be in a better mood this afternoon than they have been for the last two days. So hopefully we'll have a pleasant evening. J. doesn't have a whole lot left to do in his room, so there's no reason he shouldn't be able to get it done within the next hour or two, as long as he stays focused on what he's supposed to be doing, and as long as A. leaves him alone. I just don't understand why they've been fighting so much lately, but it really needs to stop.

Oh well, hopefully they're figuring out that their dad and I are serious about the responsibilities they have here at home. If they can do that, life will be much more peaceful around here.

Are You Kidding?

OK, so the husband and I like keeping a well-stocked liquor cabinet. We enjoy entertaining, and we like being able to mix the drinks for our guests that they enjoy. He built a bar while we were in Germany, and we always kept it well stocked. I bought him a Bartending book too. So he'd look up recipes (and mark the ones we and our friends liked) so he'd know what kinds of things we needed to keep on hand.

Well, when we left Germany we had to get rid of quite a bit of stuff. The movers aren't supposed to ship liquor. Most of it we used up before it came time to move. Like I said...we enjoy entertaining and for the last few weeks before the movers came, we constantly had friends over. So ever since we got here, we've been needing to restock, but have found it challenging to do so. Time, cost, etc.

The hubby went to the ABC store tonight, and the timing was right. He was after a couple of things specifically (his favorite Scotch, our friend Jack), and I told him to go ahead and pick up a couple of other things that he knew we needed. I like to have a Martini sometimes, and I LOVE, LOVE Margaritas! So when he got back, he came in with a box of stuff. I didn't think much of it...I figured they just packed it in a box to make it easier for him.

While I was writing my last post, he pulls out this piece of paper. From a distance it looked like something from the school. He said, "I had to get a transportation permit from the liquor store." I nearly rolled off the couch from laughing so hard! Surely he was kidding. He brought me the paper and I just laughed harder! He had to get a "Special Occasion Storage and Transportation Permit" because he bought "Spirituous Liquor" over 8 liters. He said he told the lady that if he'd known that he would have gotten a shopping cart full. She asked him if he wanted to go back and get more!

I told him, "you know I have to blog about this right?" I usually warn him before blogging about something that pertains directly to him. He said, "I don't care." I said, "I'm glad, because this is totally blog-worthy!" I'm addicted!

It just cracks me up because we never had to think about these things in Germany. I wonder if it's because we were buying from the Class Six or because we were in Germany. Maybe next time we need to buy several different things we'll have to go to the Class Six to test my theory. Oh, the things we in the military take for granted sometimes!

U.S. History

I've been a bit hesitant to post about this on my blog up to this point. But then I figured, hey...it's my blog. I can post my opinions. After all...I've never cared before whether people agree with me or not. Why should this be any different? Maybe I'm just finally beginning to get a bit more comfortable in the blogosphere.

Some of you know that I'm currently working on finishing my Bachelor's Degree. I met my husband in college and married him after I dropped out. No, I didn't drop out to get married...I was burned out and would have quit anyway. But that's beside the point. I'm currently working on getting my degree in Health Administration online with University of Phoenix. I started this in October 2004 while P. was in Iraq. As long as I stay on schedule as it is right now, I'll be finished this October. Thank goodness for technology and distance education. I can't imagine trying to do this the "traditional" way with the way we move all the time. I'd probably never get finished.

Back to the point. My last two classes have been in U.S. History. Yes, technically I'm a Senior, but I had some elective credits I had to complete. I chose to do those electives in U.S. History. Interesting choice considering I HATED the subject in high school, right? Well, I'm married to a history buff. And over the years I have come to appreciate just how important our history is to us. Not to mention how personal it became for me when I visited Normandy. The kids and I went twice. Talk about amazing!

My previous class covered the period from 1865-1945, and my current class covers the period after 1945. I'm getting to the reason that I'm blogging about this now, I promise.

I've heard people refer to Iraq as our generation's Vietnam. In studying U.S. History for the past few weeks, I can see some similarities between the two.

But honestly, I was surprised at the similarities I saw between the Iraq War and WWII, at least regarding U.S. involvement.

So why do I feel this way? First of all, we were attacked first in both instances. I don't have to elaborate anymore here. But in studying the events of WWII, something struck me. Japan attacked us, right? Not Germany, not Italy...Japan. Yet when the U.S. entered the war following the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt wanted to go into Europe first. And the American public didn't understand why then. After all...Japan had attacked us; we should retaliate, right? So, what reason did we have to invade Europe? Well, because there was an alliance between Japan, Germany, and Italy - the Axis Powers.

Today we're at war in Iraq. The American public understood why we went into Afghanistan. After all, Osama bin Laden was behind the 9/11 attacks, and that's where we need to find him, right? But then when we invaded Iraq everybody wants to know why. Hmmmm, well, if I remember correctly, Saddam Hussein publicly praised the attacks on us. He vowed to support further attacks, particularly monetarily. There may not be a formal, written alliance here, but it's an alliance nonetheless.

The biggest difference as I see it? We didn't have U.N. approval. Well, is that really a difference, though? After all, the U.N. didn't even exist until January 1942. If there had been a U.N. when Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, what would the result have been?

I've heard September 11, 2001, referred to as our generation's Pearl Harbor.

Just something to think about.

Oh Well...

My day didn't get any better. The kids started again before they even walked in the door this afternoon. A. walked through the door first and slammed the door in J.'s face. I heard him yell. So I fussed at her, telling her it is NOT ok to do that. "Well, it didn't hit him," she said. She's gotten so bad about talking back lately. Maybe it's time to bring out the soap. My kids used to get along so well, and now they're being so mean to each other. I know a big part of it is the age, but STILL!

I got a call from J.'s teacher this afternoon too. He's had a bad couple of days at school. Apparently he's starting to do some of the same things at school that he's been doing at home. He has ADHD, and is on medication for it. Usually he does really well at school and then has more trouble at home. I can deal with that, because the whole point of having him on the medication is to enable him to focus at school. We've been trying to teach him to control himself without having to increase his dosage, because I definitely don't want the medication to become a "crutch" for him. P. and I have been noticing a significant difference over the last couple of months, and now it's affecting him at school, too. I guess I'm going to have to break down and talk to our P.A. about increasing his dose.

It's just been a really stressful day. I know a bit part of it for me is the I-hate-my-job-itis. Hopefully everything else will start to calm down a bit once I've eliminated that factor. I'll have to post later about the voicemail I had from the VP for Human Resources last week. Can we say too little, too late?

Sad...

Anna Nicole Smith died today. She was 39.

I feel for her family, especially her little girl. She's only six months old.

Annoyed

I shouldn't be blogging right now, but considering the fact that this computer is so blasted slow, I need something to do while I'm waiting between records. Besides, what are they gonna do...write me up? Fire me? I've already put in my notice, so that would just mean I'd be able to quit working that much sooner without feeling guilty. I've been in a rotten mood since I left the house this morning. Part of it is because I so dread having to come in here, but there definitely were a couple of contributing factors this morning.

The first thing that got under my skin was the traffic in Fayetteville this morning. I honestly do not understand the way a lot of these people around here drive. There's a four-lane freeway that runs between Fayetteville and Fort Bragg that I drive every morning. The speed limit is 55mph. Now I'll be the first to say that I have a bit of a lead foot since living in Europe for five years. OK, that's an understatement. If I don't set my cruise control, I'm driving 80mph before I realize it. Hey...I drive a European car...they're built to go fast! Anyway, one of my pet peeves is people who drive well under the speed limit. So here I am on the freeway where the speed limit is 55mph, and BOTH lanes of traffic are moving at 45mph. So here I am yelling at these people to DRIVE THE SPEED LIMIT as if they can hear me! Yeah, I'm a bit nuts. I have the same issue out on Business 95, though, so I avoid that stretch of highway when at all possible.

So obviously, by the time I get the hospital I'm extremely aggravated. Then I make it to the Medical Records room, where I usually work, and find out that the work station I usually use is being used by someone else. I'm a contractor (black sheep as far as some of these folks around here are concerned) and don't have my own work station. They have auditors here this week (which is also what I do), and these auditors I guess have priority. Whatever. So I come back upstairs to drop off the folder of work I had just picked up a couple of minutes before. Then I find out that a couple of the girls who work for the same company I do are out today, so I'm able to use one of their computers. I've been hearing how the girls who usually work on these computers complain about the trouble they have. Let me tell ya...I can understand why now. It's driving me absolutely insane how slow this thing is. The system I have to use to pull the records from my audit is slow enough. It's the military's electronic medical record system, and it holds all the records of service members and their family members from the time it went live. It went live in different areas at different times, but I think most places are using it now. Anyway, it has been a thorn in my side ever since the clinic I worked at in Germany started to use it. Add a slow computer to the mix, and it makes it even worse. There's a serious lag time between records, especially if the record I need to audit isn't one of that person's last four visits. I don't have an option to just choose the next four visits. It's either last four or all, and some of these folks have LOTS of visits. Oh well, I guess I should be glad that my trip out here wasn't completely wasted. At least I'm able to get something done, although not as much as I usually can in the same amount of time. I just keep telling myself: 20 more days, 20 more days.

I'm so ready for 2pm to get here. Then I can go home. I hope the kids are in a better mood than they were yesterday (they started fighting before they even walked in the door). After homework, they have to get their mess cleaned up if they want to go to their school's Sweetheart Dance tomorrow night. They say they really want to go...let's see if they show me.

What's Your Southern Sign?

I saw this somewhere and thought it was cute, so decided to share it here. I'm Boiled Peanuts! "Salty" is nicer than some of the other things I've been called!

OKRA (Dec 22 - Jan 20)
Are tough on the outside but tender on the inside. Okras have tremendous influence. Older Okra can look back over his life and see the seeds of his influence everywhere. You can do something good each day if you try.

CHITLIN (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
Chitlins come from humble backgrounds. A Chitlin, however, will make something of himself if he is motivated and has lots of seasoning. In dealing with Chitlins, be careful they may surprise you. They can erupt like Mt. Vesuvius . Chitlins are best with Catfish and Okra.

BOLL WEEVIL (Feb 20 - March 20)
You have an overwhelming curiosity. You're unsatisfied with the surface of things and you feel the need to bore deep into the interior of everything. Needless to say, you are very intense and driven as if you had some inner hunger. You love to stay busy and tend to work too much. Nobody in their right mind is going to marry you, so don't worry about it.

MOON PIE (March 21 - April 20)
You're the type that spends a lot of time on the front porch. A cinch to recognize the physical appearance of Moon Pies. Big and round are the key words here. You should marry anybody who you can get remotely interested in the idea. It's not going to be easy. You always have a big smile and are happy. This might be the year to think about aerobics. Maybe not.

POSSUM (April 21 - May 21)
When confronted with life's difficulties, possums have a marked tendency to withdraw and develop a "don't bother me about it" attitude. Sometimes you become so withdrawn, people actually think you're dead. This strategy is probably not psychologically healthy but seems to work for you. You are a rare breed. Most folks love to watch you work and play. You are a night person and mind your own business.

CRAWFISH (May 22 - June 21)
Crawfish is a water sign. If you work in an office, you're hanging around the water cooler. Crawfish prefer the beach to the mountains, the pool to the golf course, and the bathtub to the living room. You tend not to be particularly attractive physically, but you have very, very good hands.

COLLARDS (June 22 - July 23)
Collards have a genius for communication. They love to get in the melting pot of life and share their essence with the essence of those around them. Collards make good social workers, psychologists, and baseball managers. As far as your personal life goes, if you are a Collard, stay away from Crawfish. It just won't work. Save yourself a lot of heartache.

CATFISH (July 24 - Aug 23)
Catfish are traditionalists in matters of the heart, although one's whiskers may cause problems for loved ones. You Catfish are never easy people to understand. You run fast. You work and play hard. Even though you prefer the muddy bottoms to the clear surface of life, you are liked by most. Above all else, Catfish should stay away from Moon Pies.

GRITS (Aug 24 - Sept 23)
Your highest aim is to be with others like yourself. You like to huddle together with a big crowd of other Grits. You love to travel, so maybe you should think about joining a club. Where do you like to go? Anywhere they have cheese, gravy, bacon, butter, or eggs and a good time. If you can go somewhere where they have all these things that serves you well. You are pure in heart.

BOILED PEANUTS (Sept 24 - Oct 23)
You have a passionate desire to help your fellow man. Unfortunately, those who know you best ~ your friends and loved ones ~ may find that your personality is much too salty, and their criticism will affect you deeply because you are really much softer than you appear. You should go right ahead and marry anybody you want to because in a certain way, yours is a charmed life. On the road of life, you can be sure that people will always pull over and stop for you.

BUTTER BEAN (Oct 24 - Nov 22)
Always invite a Butter Bean to a party because Butter Beans get along well with everybody.You, as a Butter Bean, should be proud. You've grown on the vine of life, and you feel at home no matter what the setting. You can sit next to anybody. However, you, also, shouldn't have anything to do with Moon Pies.

ARMADILLO (Nov 23 - Dec 21)You have a tendency to develop a tough exterior, but you are actually quite gentle and kind inside. A good evening for you? Old friends, a fire, some roots, fruit, worms, and insects. You are a throwback. You're not concerned with today's fashions and trends. You're not concerned with anything about today. You're almost prehistoric in your interests and behavior patterns. You probably want to marry another Armadillo, but a Possum is another somewhat mating possibility. Not every mole hill has to be a mountain.

Mom's Not Playing...

Remember when I posted a couple of weeks ago about how I was about to get meaner if the kids didn't fulfill their responsibilities? Well, tonight I had to follow through on that. J. has basketball practice on Mondays and Wednesdays. He has been told that if he doesn't do his job at home, then he's not going to get to continue to play basketball. I went upstairs this evening to check on his progress with cleaning his room. It looked WORSE than it did before. So I explained to him that was absolutely unacceptable and we would NOT be going to basketball practice tonight. He blamed it on his sister. She does have a tendency to keep her room clean and go play in his room with him and contribute to the disaster. I explained to him that although I know she contributes to the mess (and she does have to help him clean up), it's his room and his responsibility. I hated to make him miss basketball practice, but I have to follow through with what I tell them or they won't take me seriously. Their school is having a Sweetheart Dance Friday night, and they both want to go. Plus J. has a basketball game on Saturday, and one of his little friends is having a sleepover birthday party he's wanting to go to. I hope tonight served as a reminder that I mean what I say.

Kids...

You just never know what kids are going to come out with. Tonight we went out to dinner at our favorite Korean restaurant. The Princess was quite chatty tonight and we were trying to get her to stop talking so much and finish her dinner. She was in one of those moods where we literally had to tell her between each bite to eat. She had already eaten her veggies and was being rather slow eating her meat. She's never been a big meat eater. So finally, I looked at her and said, "Baby, you're making me tired." She said, "well, go to sleep."

What could I say? Kimchee nearly came out of the husband's nose. Six-year-old logic. Gotta love it.

The Big Day

Well, the hubby's promotion ceremony was today. It's kind of hard to believe, and it will probably take us both a little time to get used to it.

He wanted his ceremony to be simple and informal. So we went to lunch at a local restaurant, and we did the promotion there. The Battalion Commander actually made a remark when he was talking that he thought this was the most informal one he'd ever done. P. says, "Mission accomplished!"

So we all ate lunch, and did the promotion afterward. I tried to talk him into wearing BDUs instead of the ACUs so I could pin him right, but he refused. He said I could give him a punch in the chest, though. OK, but not quite the same. So the BN Commander talked for a couple of minutes, talking briefly about P.'s career to this point and then he discussed the significance of this promotion. Then the First Sergeant read the orders and we pinned the new rank...although I guess "pinned" isn't the appropriate term for it anymore. After I replaced the CPT rank with the MAJ rank, I looked at him for a second, he said "Go ahead," and I gave him a good punch in the chest, on the rank. Yeah, it's more symbolic than anything now, but it's tradition. The reaction from his soldiers that were there was pretty funny. I guess they were kind of surprised that I did it. One of them asked me to do it again so they could get a picture. Silly Recruiters.

Another tradition in the Army is when a soldier is promoted, he/she passes the former rank to the person they feel is most deserving of that promotion. So in a "normal" unit, he would have passed it down to a Lieutenant. Well, since he's the only officer in his company, and the only other officer in attendance was the BN Commander who outranks him, he did things a little different. He "offered the CPT Rank up" to the NCO who wanted it. One of the NCOs stood up immediately, and P. tossed it to him. Apparently, this NCO had submitted an OCS packet before but it had never gotten through the system. Hopefully he'll submit another one and something will come of it, if that's what he wants.

Although informal, it was a really nice ceremony. His parents were able to come, as were my mom and her boyfriend. Several of his Recruiters were also there. One of them asked him afterward if this meant we were leaving soon. P. told him no, that we're still going to be here for a while. The look of relief that came over his face made P. feel good.

Afterward, they all went back to work for the afternoon. I took him back to the office and then came home myself. The BN Commander called his cell phone later this afternoon to test him. When P. answered the phone correctly (correct rank), the commander told him that was the first time the promotee had "known his rank." That really made me laugh. The silly things they do...

I've been referring to him affectionately as "Major Pain" all afternoon.

I put together a little slideshow of a few pictures.