Halloween 2010

I was minus one kiddo for Halloween this year. The boy was invited to a sleepover and birthday party for a boy that goes to their school. He went over yesterday and spent the night and stayed all of today. They ended up inviting him to go trick-or-treating with them, and he had a great time.

My girl was home. She and Daddy carved her pumpkin late this morning. She got ready for trick-or-treating this evening, but we live in a very SMALL neighborhood on post, with not many kids. I can count on one hand the number of kids that came to the door tonight. So I ended up driving her to another nearby neighborhood to trick-or-treat. My timing was perfect, because she ran into a couple of her friends as soon as she got out of the car and walked with them as I followed. It made for a much more fun experience than she would have had otherwise. I actually think both my kids had more fun than they would have had if they'd gone around our neighborhood together.

Here are a couple of pictures...

A with her jack-o-lantern

From Halloween 2010

My little sorceress

From Halloween 2010

Happy Halloween everybody!

Not to be a snob or anything...

But I'm so freaking sick of this house, it's not even close to being funny anymore.

It's a well known "fact" that "rank has its privileges" in the Army. Well, you know, time goes along with that. I was still in NC when my husband accepted our house on post here at Knox. I know he was kind of thinking that we wouldn't really be here all that long, so the loss of space for a temporary situation wouldn't be so bad.

He's been in this house now for 7 months; the kids and I for 4 months. It's all we can do most days to walk through the house without stepping on each other or running into something. This house is the same size and layout as the one we were in 10 years ago...the year he was promoted to Captain. Something's gotta give here.

Hopefully the situation at Fort Benning will be better. I've already let the Housing office there know what neighborhoods we prefer. I really don't want to have to deal with the hassle of renting a home and getting into a lease. I don't know how long we'll be there. My preference is to utilize Government housing until we're able to return to NC and live in our own home. As much as the thought of the hubby's retirement petrifies me, part of me is so ready to go home permanently.

FRUSTRATED

I don't seem to be having a whole lot of luck with laptops these days. The monitor on the one the hubby got me for Christmas a couple of years ago is kaput. I was able to manipulate it for a while and get it to still work. No can do anymore. So I started using the baby girl's computer. Well now the mouse touchpad on it has stopped working properly, and even every external mouse I hooked up to it started acting stupid. So I put it away for now and pulled out the boy's. It seemed like it was going to act stupid, but I rebooted it. Seems to be doing ok right now.

I can't wait to get the MacBook that I have said for a while would be my next laptop. Guess I know what my Christmas present is going to be!

Ugh

I'm so fed up with being sick, it's not even CLOSE to being funny. I'm feeling a good bit better, but have congestion and a cough still lingering, and it's enough to drive me insane.

As you can see on the right side, I got my logo added to my blog, and made it a clickable link to my website. Fortunately, I have a good friend who's a geek by trade, and he helped me figure out how to do it a couple of weeks ago. I might have figured it out eventually, but he saved me a lot of time. I had forgotten how much fun it can be (although sometimes very frustrating) to play around with HTML code to get something to look the way I want it to.

Busy, Busy Fall!

It seems that I always manage to stay busy, no matter what. Even as some aspects of my life seem to wind down, others pick up to fill the void.

We've had an incredibly busy fall. J decided he wanted to play football, and A wanted to be a cheerleader. Cheerleading was easy...no worries about A not getting to participate. Football, on the other hand, was a different story. We remained frustrated most of the season as the coaches played the "first string" the majority of every game, while J and some other boys sat on the bench. I finally had enough and said something to one of the coaches at the end of one of the games. After all, we all paid the same registration fee for our kids to play football for the season. There were not separate fees for "my kid plays" and "my kid rides the bench." After I spoke my mind, J got to play more each game for the rest of the season. I can't be sure that was the reason, but I can be sure that keeping my mouth shut would have been no help at all.

Our football season is now over. J's team, the Eagles, won one game during the regular season, and it was against the other Fort Knox team. It seems the way they do playoffs here, all the teams get a chance, regardless the kind of season they had. We played the other Fort Knox team again the first game of the playoffs and won, so got a chance to advance. Unfortunately, we lost the next game. But at least the boys got a chance.

P and I have both been sick the last couple of weeks. There's something going around post. I don't really think it's the flu, but it's icky...kept me out of work two days, which is rare.

On a GOOD note, I have started a new business. I recently learned of Scentsy and immediately fell in love with their products, so it only made sense to sign up to be a consultant. I am having fun with it already, and am excited about the earning potential. I'll have to put up a link once the upgrade to our websites is finished.

Anyway, it's been an eventful fall, and winter will be even busier, since we're going to be moving again in a couple of months. P got orders this week...Fort Benning, here we come!!!

Transition...

I'm starting to think maybe it's time for me to start blogging again. Other things that have been taking up my time online, as far as writing is concerned, are becoming less and less time-consuming as the days go by.

But it's too late tonight for me to write much. More to follow soon.

Moving Again

Wow...it's been over a year since I blogged last. Dare I try to get back into the blogging groove? It was something I really enjoyed for a while...I just have moved on to doing different things. I got to thinking, though, considering the fact that I started this blog when we were in the middle of our move from Germany, it seems somewhat appropriate I would revisit it now, since we're in the process of moving again, this time to Fort Knox, Kentucky.

This move has, so far, proven to be the move from HELL...more challenging even than the moves to and from Germany. From waiting to get the hubby's orders to fighting with the transportation offices on both ends (since the office at Fort Knox didn't send our information to the one here at Bragg until just about the last possible minute), and everything that has happened in between, it's a wonder I haven't completely lost my mind.

The packing started today, and the movers have all but finished packing our downstairs here. The hubby has been sick for the last couple days, so I was on my own supervising and answering questions today. Hopefully he'll feel better tomorrow.

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.

Christmas Wishes

Yeah, I know I'm a little late, but better late than never, right?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We had a great one here. Kids got way too much as usual, although the hubby and I seriously pared down this year. Santa brought them a Wii, and we've had LOTS of fun with that. We're gonna have to get two more remotes for it so we can all play Wii Sports together. I've been enjoying Wii Fit. I'm thinking it just may be something that might motivate me to get moving enough to help me lose the weight I need to lose and get in better shape.

Santa also brought the kiddos a trampoline. We just got it put together and set up today, so hopefully they'll be able to enjoy it some...if it doesn't get too terribly cold.

Mom and Dad got the kids a few things. We refused to get them toys. They're getting older now, and we knew that grandparents and aunts and uncles would be getting them toys, and they have too much already. So we decided to get them things they can use. They each got a digital camera and chaps for when they ride with us when the weather's cooler. We got them each a watch. J got a set of tools and a new helmet, since he outgrew the one he got a couple of years ago. The boy's got a big head. A got a locket (which she's managed to already break the chain on) and a password journal. They also each got a couple of games for their PS2.

We spent Christmas Eve with the hubby's family doing Christmas with them. Then we came home and did our Christmas Eve routine here. Kids opened one gift each, we put out milk and cookies for Santa, then after they went to bed Mom and Dad finished getting everything ready for Santa's arrival.

Christmas Day, the kids got us up about 7, which was later than I expected. I got to sleep an hour or two longer than I thought I would, which was nice considering it was about 2 before we hit the sack. We did our Christmas here, and I finished doing the cooking I was doing for Christmas dinner, and we headed over to my sister's house to do Christmas with my family. We had a wonderful time there with my sister and her family, and my mom and her husband. Kids got to play together and enjoy their new toys some, and I got to enjoy the company of my family who I don't get to spend nearly enough time with.

New Years is just around the corner, and we're going out of town to spend it with some friends. I love this time of year, but I will be glad when summer comes back around!