Had to Share

The Princes had a science project to do. Her class was studying sound, and she was supposed to make a musical instrument. She wanted to make a guitar. Her initial idea was to use a paper towel tube and rubber bands to make her guitar with. Well, the hubby was having none of that. He started drawing out an idea for her project Saturday night and finished it up Sunday morning. When I saw his drawing and ideas, I reminded him that she's in second grade, and that she's supposed to do the work. No problem, he said. She's going to do the work. She's just going to do it with close supervision. When he told her his plan, she was very excited. Throughout the day, he had me come out and take pictures of her using different tools and her progress in general.

Here they are getting ready to work.
Using the miter saw...we found out later this was her favorite tool. Hubby said he had to keep after her because she got a little happy with it the more they used it.
Using the drill...with a little less hands-on supervision. Check out daddy's proud face!
Showing Mom how the dowels will work to serve as tuners.
Chiseling out the frets.
Sanding down another piece and tacking it together:
And the finished product! She's so proud!

Not Quite There Yet...

But I'm working on it. I'm still trying to get back into my blog groove. I thought it had been longer since I put a post up than it has. Sometimes, I just put up something random and then forget about it later. Imagine that!

A fellow blogger left a comment on my page a few days ago that reminded me why I enjoyed this so much. I'm not sure whether I've been finding my outlet elsewhere or have been holding it in. Whichever is the case, I need to make more of an effort to keep up here. I know I have friends and family who care about me and want to know what's going on with our family. Sometimes, with the way life is, this blog is the easiest way to keep our many long-distance friends and family updated.

So for those of you who still check in on us, THANK YOU for your love and your patience. I'll try to be less sporadic in my writing from now on.

Little Stinker

The other night, the kids were going to play a card game. The hubby had the TV on some kind of off-road show with vehicles the boy sees as "Monster Trucks" so the Princess was having a hard time getting him to pay enough attention to play cards with her. Getting his undivided attention is a challenge, but that show just about had it.

Well, we finally talked him in to playing cards with her if he could watch the show too. So he gets down on the floor with her and is waiting for her to be ready. He's watching the show with his daddy and I look down and see the Princess laying the cards out. I asked her what in the world she was doing.

"This is how I shuffle the cards," she says.

I couldn't help but laugh! I told the hubby it looks more like she's stacking the deck to me!

Kids

The kids crack me up sometimes.

I set up a little computer desk for them here in our family room. That way they can have access to the computer and I can easily keep an eye on what they're doing. I have a rule, though. Before they can go to any websites that are strictly for fun, they have to do "Study Island" through their school website and practice their math. Study Island has a game setting, though, so they can still have fun while they're practicing.

After they played on Study Island for a while, the boy asked if they could play on Cartoon Network's site. Told him sure, no problem. But they have to take turns...he plays a game, then when his is over, she plays one. Well, she just finished a game, and was arguing with him that it wasn't his turn yet because his game lasted longer than hers did. Guess she got "game over" before she made it to the next level. I told her that they needed to switch after each game, and she gave HIM a dirty look, which of course prompted him to say "why are you looking mean at ME?" So I reminded them that if they were going to fight over the computer, they were going to be through playing for the night. Promptly put an end to the fussing.

And now the princess is happily knitting.

Couple New Tickers

As I'm sure you've already noticed, I've added a couple new tickers to my page.

I mentioned that I might add a weight loss ticker in an attempt to help keep me honest. So I did. I sure do hate seeing that big number for the amount of weight I still have to lose, but at least I've gotten a start. And I might end up changing my ultimate goal. We'll just have to see. I've actually lost a bit more since I created the ticker, but I'm only going to update my weight once a week, on the same day I record my weight with Weight Watchers.

Also, the hubby and I are so ready for this Recruiting assignment to be over that it's not even funny. It has definitely been a test for us in so many ways. In some ways, it's been more difficult than previous deployments have been. I know that probably sounds crazy, but it's the way it is. I don't know what the exact date of the end of this tour is yet, so for right now I'm going with the two year date after he assumed command. I'll change it once I get a definite date. We're also pretty clueless as to what is in store for us next. But as always, we'll just wait to see what the Army has planned and drive on.

Locks of Love

The Princess decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to have her hair cut and donate to Locks of Love. I finally took her to have it done today. I just love the way it came out, and she seems really happy with it too.

Here are a couple of pictures from last weekend so you can see what it looked like before. It was nearly down to her waist.

And after:

I have the hair here that I need to take care of sending in to Locks of Love. Just gotta get the info off the website and take care of it. I'm so proud of her!

So Far So Good!

Well, today I finished my third week of going to the gym five mornings a week. I really didn't feel like going this morning, and thought about making excuses. Was feeling kinda crampy. I had a hair appointment at 10:45, and with going to the gym about 9 or 9:30, I really would be pushing it to make my appointment on time. But I talked myself out of my excuses. After all, exercising may help with the crampiness. And there was no reason I couldn't just go to the gym earlier so that I'd be able to make my appointment on time with no problem. So that's exactly what I did. Took the kiddos to the bus stop, and left straight from there.

And between the working out and doing Weight Watchers, I lost three and a half pounds this week. I have a long way to go, but that was definitely encouraging!

Patti, I like the idea of a workout partner. I'll have to see if I can find one. I have a tendency to make excuses too.

But so far, I'm pretty proud of myself!

Weight Loss

So yet again I've decided to renew my weight loss attempts. I'm tired of being overweight, and I finally decided that I'm gonna do something about it. I'm pretty determined right now, and motivated. I just hope I can keep up my motivation.

I've had a gym membership since shortly after we moved here. It's mostly been a waste of money, though, because I haven't used it much. I made up my mind two weeks ago to stop wasting that money, and to use that gym membership. Yes, I have equipment to work out here at home, but working out in a gym or in a group motivates me much more than working out here at home. So I'm now into my third week of working out five days a week. I'm starting to see some subtle differences. Nothing significant yet, but hopefully that will come soon.

I also started Weight Watchers again. I've noticed that I always have the most success with the WW plan, as long as I follow the plan and pay attention to everything I eat. I have to be really strict with myself, and the hubby makes fun of me, but it works. At this point, I'm just doing the online version. My first weigh-in will be Friday. I just might have to put a ticker up on here or something to keep me honest.

I hope to lose weight and be in pretty good shape in time for this spring and summer riding season. I figure I'm well on my way!

Pictures

One thing I think we can all say for digital photography is that it is so much more convenient, in so many ways. After all, you can instantly see your picture, delete it if it sucks, or keep it if it's good. Then you can save it on your computer, print it on your own printer if you choose, or if you're like me, upload it to a third party to have prints made for a scrapbook. Because my printer doesn't print great pictures. But the NICE thing is you can pick and choose which ones you want printed. It's not like taking a roll of film to the photo shop and having the whole thing developed, only to end up with a handful of pictures that are any good.

The problem I'm finding with digital, though, and it's not REALLY a problem when I think about it, is that I have pictures scattered all over the place. Over the last few weeks I've been trying to consolidate and organize my pictures into one general place. I have SOOO many pictures, and I've spent the better part of today going through some old ones. The good news is I've gotten quite a few organized. The bad news is, I have a LOT more to go. I'm trying to organize them chronologically, too, which isn't always easy, since I can't always remember when they were taken. Oh well...I'll just have to make an educated guess on the ones I can't remember. Today I was going through pictures from when the hubby's parents came to visit us in Europe, back in the summer of 2005. Our trips were fairly easy to organize within a couple days there, because I KNOW we were in Paris for the baby girl's birthday that year (which is also my mother-in-law's birthday). So by trying to remember how many days we spent on each leg of the trip, I've been able to get the dates pretty close.

A boring tidbit, I know, but I'm trying to get back into the swing of blogging again. I lost my blogging motivation some time ago, and I really need to find it again. It was always fun and therapeutic for me. I also need to get back into keeping up with my friends' blogs. I've missed you all!

More updates to come!

Have I Ever Mentioned...

That I LOVE the South?

Here it is the 3rd of February, and the high today was about 69 degrees. So, of course, we took advantage of the weather. We needed to go and visit with the hubby's parents for a bit anyway, so we bundled the kids up (since the wind is still a bit cool), hopped on the bikes, and took off. It's almost an hour to get up there, so we had a nice ride. Visited with them, and rode home. We got up there a little later than we intended, and stayed a little longer than planned, so it was about dusk when we left to come home. By the time we got to the house, it was completely dark. The kids were excited since it was their first time riding at night. They both said they were plenty warm enough, and totally enjoyed the ride.

Yesterday my dad's sister and her husband came down to visit. They stayed at my sister's house, so the kids and I went over a bit before 11 to spend the day with her and her family. Even though we live so close now, we don't get to spend nearly enough time with her. My aunt and uncle got there between 1 and 1:30. I hadn't seen them in over four years, since my dad's funeral, so it was wonderful to be able to see them. They enjoyed visiting with their great nieces and nephew, and I enjoyed catching up with them.

We spent the whole day over there. My sister had called me a couple days before to let me know for sure when they were coming. I had told her earlier to let me know if she needed me to help with cooking dinner for their visit. She told me Wednesday that she had decided that she was going to cook a roast, and asked if I could cook one too, to make sure we had enough for everybody. So I had a pot roast in my crock pot that I took to her house yesterday. My mom made apple pie for dessert and brought it. So we had a delicious homemade dinner. Pot roast is one of my favorite things to make. It's easy, and almost always comes out delicious.

Yesterday also made me realize even more how badly I need to make a trip to West Virginia to visit my dad's family, as well as my extended family on my mom's side. The hubby also has family in WV, so we can visit them as well. Maybe I'll be able to manage a trip up there when the kids have their next school break beginning in March.

When I was a kid, my dad's family always said how much I looked like my aunt. As I get older, I think I look more like my mom, but there are definitely things about my dad's sister that I think I share. And I learned something yesterday when my sister pulled out her wedding album to look at. My daughter was not quite two when my sister got married, and there are a couple of pictures in her wedding album that look to me just like my niece. Before yesterday, I never had really been able to see a resemblance between my daughter and my sister's daughter, although I had been able to see a strong resemblance between my son and my niece from the day she was born. Genetics are a funny thing.

Here is a picture of me and my dad's sister.

Kids

You just gotta love the honesty of kids.

I have to start this story by telling you that we got the kids a new game for their PS2 system. We got them Guitar Hero III. I have to be honest, though, and say that I have had more fun with that game than anybody else in the house. The hubby plays guitar, so gets frustrated with it because he thinks he should play that guitar like he does one of his own. The kids don't quite have the dexterity for it, but the baby girl is actually picking it up quite well.

I was messing around with the game again this afternoon for a little while before the kiddos got home from school. I had to run an errand this afternoon, and while I was out put the radio on the local Classic Rock station instead of my usual Country station. One of the songs that I had been playing on the PS2 game came on. I was telling the hubby and the kids about that at dinner this evening. Upon hearing about it, baby girl asked me, "so you mean the songs on the game are really sang?"

Me: Yes, baby, a lot of those songs are songs Mommy and Daddy used to listen to when we were younger.

Baby Girl: Ohhhh...so they're OLD!

Hubby and I cracked up. I nearly spewed my food all over the place, and he looked like he was about to roll out of his chair. She acted mad that we were laughing...thought we were laughing at her...until we explained to her that she had made a real funny joke without even meaning to.

Kids are great!

100th Day of School

Yikes! It's been nearly a month since the last time I wrote. Every time I think I'm going to get better about blogging, things come up and blogging is the farthest thing from my mind. We've had a stressful few days, but I wanted to write about something cute today instead.

Today was my kids' 100th day of school. Girl child, who is in second grade this year, brought me a little packet of activities they had done. One of them was really cute. It had a list of 10 things that if they had a hundred of them, they were supposed to answer what they would do. Here are her responses:

1. If I had 100 dollars, I would... spend 50 and save 50.
2. If I had 100 pencils, I would... write 100 sentences.
3. If I had 100 mosquito bites, I would... scratch with 100 serving spoons.
4. If I had 100 friends, I would... play with them all.
5. If I had 100 legs, I would... run very fast.
6. If I had 100 eyes, I would... look all different ways.
7. If I had 100 arms, I would... grab 100 things.
8. If I had 100 noses, I would... smell 100 roses.
9. If I had 100 fingers, I would... point at 100 people.
10. If I had 100 moms, I would... ride on their hands.

The last four things, she had to fill in the blank of what item she would have 100 of. I just thought it was really cute.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. We certainly did!

We went up to the hubby's parents' yesterday to exchange gifts with them. We had a nice time, kids not too many gifts, and we ate too much. We got home about 7 last night. After we got home, we made cookies for Santa and the kiddos went to bed. One of their new aunts sent each of them a gift bag that included reindeer food, so they left food for the reindeer along with milk and cookies. My mom and her husband, and my sister, her husband and my niece were coming for Christmas today, so I got as much done last night as I could, which wasn't as much as I wanted. But we got some of the food prepared and rearranged some for this morning, and then headed on off to bed.

The kids didn't get us up as early this morning as we expected, which was a pleasant surprise. So we got up and came downstairs to get ready for them to open their gifts. Santa brought them some awesome gifts this year. J got a Razor electric-powered dirtbike, and A got a Razor electric powered European-style scooter. His is blue, and hers is pink (big surprise for the princess). They went nuts waiting for us to get the rest of lunch prepared and ready to go in the oven before they finally got to get out and try out their new toys. They zipped around on our street for a little while. I had no doubt J would take to the dirtbike like a fish in water, but I was impressed with the baby girl. She has no fear...she was running up and down the street with it, and doing u-turns with no issues at all. That's my girl!!

A on her scooter

J on his dirtbike

While the kids were outside riding their bikes, my mom and her husband got here, as did my sis and her family. At that point, I had everything ready for dinner, it just all had to go in the oven. Once I got everything ready, we all sat down for dinner and ate too much yet again. Everyone enjoyed the food, and after dinner we came in to exchange presents.

Yet again, the kids got too much, but they absolutely LOVED everything they got. I think the hubby and I succeeded in pleasing everybody with the gifts we gave them, and that always makes me feel good.

So tonight I'm sitting here trying to unwind, the boy child is playing his new PlayStation2 game, the girl child is working on the latch hook kit she got for Christmas, and the hubby is checking out one of his gifts.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Slacker

That's what I've been lately, where blogging is concerned. I know I keep saying I'll get back to it. I guess I'm just having trouble finding blogging inspiration.

I'll try to do better. And I know I still need to post pictures from my mom's wedding and some other things. I'll get them up soon.

Happy Thanksgiving

We're having Thanksgiving dinner at the hubby's parents' house this year. I cooked dinner here last year and had my family over, so this year we'll be up there with them. The good news is that I get a break from all the work that goes into preparing such a meal.

I did offer to bring my Pumpkin Cheesecake. That is a recipe that I've been making every Thanksgiving for the past three or four years now. When I told my mother-in-law that I would bring it, she said that maybe she wouldn't bother making the pies that she usually makes. She had bought a cake at a bake sale, and thought that between that cake and the cheesecake I'm bringing, we'd have enough desserts. When I mentioned that to the hubby, though, he pouted a bit and said he really wanted a pecan pie. So I called her and told her what he'd said, and told her that I would make that as well. Turns out I called her just in time, because she was just pulling out the stuff to make the pecan pie there. I figured that would be one less thing for her to have to worry about. The hubby's brother likes coconut pie, so maybe she'll have the time to make it.

I have so much to be thankful for, and always appreciate the reminder to do so. My husband is home with me this year. My children are healthy and happy, and are wonderful kids (even though they make me crazy). I'm thankful for our military members, at home and abroad, who serve our country and protect our freedom. Those who are separated from their families are always in my heart this time of year. I'm also thankful for the time we have to be close to both of our families right now. I love that the kids get the chance, even if just for a little while, to spend time with their grandparents and aunts and uncles. I'm thankful for all the blessings I have been given over the years.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tomorrow...

Well, today actually, my mom is getting married.

My sister and I, along with one of my mom's fiance's daughters, spent the day decorating the chapel where they're getting married. All of the decorations in the chapel were white. But the walls are red, as is part of the carpet. My mom is having autumn colors for her wedding. My sister is the creative one, and she had to find a way to tie in the colors my mom wanted for her wedding with what was already in the chapel. I have to say, it looks beautiful now! I'll have to post before and after photos later. I didn't have my camera with me when we were decorating today, so didn't get to snap any before photos today. But I figure I can snap a few tomorrow after we take our decorations down. We were over there all day, and it really paid off. It looks so much better.

I'll put up pictures tomorrow...or today. Whatever!

Petty Complaint

OK, I'm going to bitch here for a minute, and my complaint will probably sound stupid. But I'm entitled from time to time.

I was in the mood for Chinese take-out for dinner tonight, but neither of us really felt like going to pick it up. So we perused the yellow pages (and hubby the internet...lol) looking for a place that would deliver. After three phone calls, we finally found a place. We gave them our phone number and address, and they told us no problem. Placed our order, she told us it would be about an hour, which would be cutting it close to the kids' bedtime, but we decided it would be ok.

About a quarter till eight, the restaurant calls me. By this time it had been over an hour and a half. She verified our address with me, and then told me that the driver couldn't find us. OK, well, that's happened before, since we're in a brand new section of the subdivision, but usually the driver calls us for directions. Apparently the driver had already returned to the restaurant, and she asked if we could come pick the food up. I was annoyed, the hubby was pissed! Honestly, it wouldn't have been so bad if they'd have called a lot earlier, giving us the opportunity to get the kids fed and still in bed on time.

So I went and picked up the food. Got there and the lady asked me to point out on the map where we were located. Well, there's the problem...their map doesn't have our section on it yet. But I pointed out to her the general vicinity, and she said she'll tell the driver, and maybe next time it will be no problem. The good news is, the food was really good. This is one of those little hole-in-the-wall type places, which from our experience usually have the best food. We weren't disappointed this time either. Plus she did throw in about a quart of iced tea, so she at least made the effort to make it right. I always appreciate that kind of effort. I was calmer by the time I started on my way home.

Anyway, that's my bitch for the night.

Great Weekend!

Well, my house guest for this past weekend left this morning. I have to tell you, we had the best time, and I hated to see her and her little girl leave. It never ceases to amaze me the kind of friendships that I have developed over the years with people who I communicate with primarily online. Mel and I have been "online" friends for nearly 10 years, and this weekend was the first time we met in person. I was comfortable with her almost instantly, and she is just as great in person as she has been in our many online conversations over the years.

My kids loved having her little girl here to play with. I had told here when she first started planning to come visit, that she probably wouldn't see her Princess much throughout the weekend, because my kids would sweep her away and take care of her and play with her. True to my expectations, they did just that. So she was able to have a little bit of a break, which with her hubby deployed, is always a nice thing. I was glad that we were able to help her out a little for a few days.

This past weekend was a weekend of good friends and good conversations. We laughed a lot, and shared quite a bit. I truly can't wait to have her visit again, or visit her and her family one day. Hopefully we will be able to spend some time with her after her hubby comes home.

Thank you for coming and spending time with us, Mel...we loved having you both here!

Pictures to come soon.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day Comments - DazzleJunction.com


This post is dedicated to all those who have served to protect our freedoms over the years. Some of you served in times of peace, some in times of war. Regardless, your service is appreciated.

I have always appreciated those who so selflessly serve our country, but it's amazing how my perspective has changed as a result of being married to such a man.

So to all our veterans, from all eras, THANK YOU!

Coming Back

I know my blogging has been seriously slacking for quite some time now. I'm going to make an effort, starting now, to start writing again. It was so therapeutic for me when I was writing regularly, and I miss keeping up with all my blog friends, too!

I finally finished school! It seems strange to say it still. I haven't gotten the documentation yet, but I have officially finished my Bachelors Degree in Health Administration. What I'm going to do with it, I'm not quite sure yet.

I have company this weekend. Mel from Mel's Musings in my blogroll is here for the weekend. I've known her for nearly ten years now, although up until yesterday, our relationship has always been through email. But when she got here, there was an immediate comfortable relationship, and we're having a great time. My kids are really enjoying having her little girl here to play with, and hopefully it's helping Mel have a bit of a break since her hubby's deployed right now. And those of us who've been there know how important every little break can be.

So I have all intentions of blogging regularly again. I have a lot to talk about. My problem has been the fact that with all the papers I had to write for school, I had very little motivation to write for pleasure. But now that's over, and I look forward to writing here again. I hope to have some photos to share after this weekend, although my camera is on the fritz. I guess I'll just have to make sure to get copies from Mel.