I never did post after our weekend with company. Had some folks come in, we rode and had lunch, and just hung out here for most of the weekend. Great weekend with great friends!

Letting Go

Giving up control feels really good sometimes, and though I hate to admit my kids are growing up, I have to realize they're not babies anymore.

I have company coming in this weekend, and with being busy this week and being sick earlier in the week, I had a lot to get done. And it needed to get done TONIGHT. I picked up the kids, took them to get haircuts, then went to the grocery store. We got home and I put them to work bringing the groceries in from the truck and putting them away while I cleaned the kitchen and got dinner going. That has become a regular occurrence here.

After they finished putting the groceries away, they asked if they could go watch TV in the bonus room. I told them nope. We have company coming in and a house to clean, and they were going to help. Their daddy was late coming home from work, which is the case more often than not, and was stressed this evening. I'm not the best housekeeper, but am usually pretty particular when I do get to cleaning, so I usually just do it myself, or the hubby and I do it, and just encourage the kids to stay out of the way. Not this time. They helped me straighten the living room, got their mess cleaned up out of my dining room, and took care of cleaning their rooms, the bonus room, and vacuuming most of the upstairs for me.

They were such a big help, what would have taken me all night was mostly done in a couple of hours. And I think they enjoyed helping me.

What a Pain!

The hubby decided that he wanted to change the paint on his Electraglide yet AGAIN. So he has spent the better part of the last couple of weeks getting the bike ready to paint and actually painting. He was mostly finished this weekend and started getting it ready to put back together. He goes TDY tomorrow and has yet to decide whether he's going to ride or take the car.

A few months ago, he got a new taillight assembly for the bike and while he had it taken apart anyway decided that now would be a good time to put the new lights on it too. He stuck his head in the house shortly before lunchtime and asked me if I could come give him a hand. Wiring is not his forte', and with my logical mind, not to mention the patience I have that he doesn't, I'm usually able to help him trace wiring diagrams and figure this stuff out.

This time was different though. I was looking at the instructions that came with the light. The biggest problem is the motorcycle has 6 wires coming out of the main harness, where there are only four going to the new light assembly. Biggest issue is figuring out which are not supposed to be connected, and what to do with them. What a pain in the ass!

Mind Your own Business!

I find myself saying this over and over and over to the boy child. That and worry about yourself...not everybody else. He thinks he has to have his nose in every aspect of everything that is going on around here. The girl child has been sick and we finally convinced her this morning that she needed to eat something or else she wasn't going to feel any better. So when she came back to the couch from the kitchen table, I asked if she had eaten some breakfast. Before she even had a chance to answer me, boy child decides to take it upon himself to answer for her. I reminded him, sternly, that I was NOT talking to him and his sister could answer for herself.

Then I was reading something funny from my favorite blog to my husband, and the boy made comments about who he thought I was talking about. Again...mind your own business. I was NOT talking to you. Kids!

Sign of Spring

We're about to get a doozy of a storm. The hubby was out in the garage working on his bike, and I've been sitting here listening to the thunder roll. The satellite just went out. He came in to look something up. I told him that I had been sitting here listening to the thunder, and came to the realization that we don't get storms like this in the winter time. Spring is here!

End of the Week

Finally! It's Friday! I'm so glad we're at the end of this week. Unfortunately, I'm home with my daughter again, as she's sick. I have a good friend who lost her dad earlier this week, so my mind has been on that as well. It has also kind of surprised me the emotions that has brought back for me, knowing how she's feeling right now.

The hubby will be leaving Monday to go TDY for the week. In the meantime, I'll be trying to get ready for company to come in that weekend. Going to be a busy week for me, and hopefully a better one.

Getting Older Sucks!

So I had an appointment for my routine preventive visit this afternoon. Nice thing about being an Army spouse and working at the hospital on post is being conveniently close to where I need to go for my appointment. So what could have turned into 3 hours or so away from work was only an hour away from my desk, as I was able to just walk to a different part of the hospital.

So anyway, the provider is asking me questions about my medical history and my family history. He asks about history of breast cancer, and naturally I tell him about the two great-aunts on my mother's side who had breast cancer. Then he asks if I've ever had a mammogram. Umm...no. I'm 35. Routine mammograms usually start at age 40. So he says ok, we're going to order one. I asked him...do I need one at 35? He said we're going to do one simply because of your family history.

Damn it. I'm SOOOO not thrilled about this.

An Update

I've come to realize that I've not written an update about the husband and what the Army will be doing with us or what we're hoping for out of his career. Things were in a good bit of turmoil for a while, and some of you may be wondering.

He came down on orders again for deployment a few months ago, but because of chronic pain and other issues, his doctor determined he wasn't deployable at the time. On top of that, his current command really didn't want him to leave. He's been quite successful as the Company Commander of the busiest Company in USAREC for the past two and a half years.

As a result of all that, and a process of accepting reality on his part, he has made the decision to request a branch transfer to be able to stay in USAREC. He's quite close to being eligible for retirement, and this is a good way for him to complete his career without doing any further damage to himself physically, while still having the possibility for natural career progression such as Battalion Command, etc. If anyone had asked me about a year or so ago how I felt about it, I would have been adamant that he get the hell out of USAREC. I hated it. But the command climate here has changed, he has moved up to the Battalion level as the Executive Officer (although he's still doing duties as Company Commander since they haven't found his replacement yet), and we're all much happier. The daily commute is a pain, but we're managing. He brings work home when he's able, as I've told him I'd prefer that he do that than be 9 or 10 getting home at night.

As of right now, he's planning on attending ILE in January of 2010, and after that will probably be moved to a Brigade staff position until he's eligible for Battalion Command. The kids and I will probably stay here when he goes to ILE if we can. I really don't want to disrupt their schooling for a year if I don't have to. Then we'll see what's in store for us after that.

That's the plan as I know it right now. Who knows what will change next week.

Home from Work

My girl child is home sick today, so I'm home with her. She was complaining of her belly and head hurting, and her throat too, and she's pretty congested. I just hope it's not the flu. Their three-week spring break starts next week. It never fails...at least one of them seems to get sick right around the time one of their breaks starts.

We have company coming in next weekend, so maybe I can take advantage of my extra time at home to get some cleaning done to get ready for that. Wonder if I'll find the motivation. Hmmmm...

Not the Only One

As I browse blogs, trying to catch up on the lives of my friends that I've been neglecting, I find I'm not the only one who has let her blog kind of fall by the wayside. It makes me sad, as I started this to give me a way to keep up with my friends and family that I'm so far away from. But as it happens, life just gets in the way sometimes. I'm hoping, though, to find a newfound inspiration to write.

A few recent pictures...

Great Weekend

I had a great weekend this past weekend! Saturday I went for a short ride with my neighbor. It was COLD once we got going! But it was nice to get out anyway. Then Saturday night he came over with his fiancee' to hang out for a while.

Saturday afternoon, a couple of friends from South Carolina asked if we would be interested in meeting them for lunch on Sunday if they rode up to our neck of the woods. They were interested in getting their bikes out for a good ride. They live in the western part of SC, so it was almost 250 miles one way to get here. Of course, we agreed, and they left early Sunday morning. We met them, had lunch, and came back to our place to hang out for a bit before they headed back home. When it was time for them to leave, I left with them and rode as far as the NC/SC border before turning back home. Although nothing like the 500 miles they did to come see us, it was a nice ride, and one I needed badly.

I'm thinking warmer weather is finally almost here to stay, and I'm really looking forward to this spring and summer.

My Poor Blog

Has been so neglected! I've just been doing other things, and blogging has been quite close to the bottom of my list of priorities.

We have quite a busy spring and summer planned. I communicate with a lot of people on line. One couple I've been talking to online is moving from the west coast to the east coast as we speak. I'm organizing kind of a get-together with them and some other friends the first weekend in April. Later in April, we're taking a trip to Maryland to hang out and party with some of our friends as well. Ahhh...the start of the riding season!

This summer, in June, we're taking a family vacation to Disney. I'm so freakin' excited! The hubby and I have never been. Neither, of course, have our kids. We're taking a combined family vacation with some good friends of ours who have kids the same age as ours...or close. They've been before. We figure this way it will be lots more fun for the kids, as well as for the grown ups.

My little sister's birthday was this past Friday. We took her and her hubby out Saturday night.