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!
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.
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.
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.
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...
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...
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.
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.
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!
I really need to do a better job of blogging. Did so well there for a while, and it seems life has created other priorities for me.
I created this blog, though, so that family and friends that I no longer get to see day to day can keep up with what's going on. I talked to a good friend tonight, and was reminded just how much has changed the last couple of years.
I'll try to get some pictures up of the kiddos here soon. Will also try to do better about updating with stories and silly things the kiddos do.
We're on yet another roller coaster wondering what the Army's going to do with the hubby, but I'm trying not to stress too much.
Election Day's tomorrow. Y'all go VOTE!!
We had a mostly uneventful weekend. Most of it was spent trying to get the kids to clean up the disaster areas that they call their rooms. That's a never ending process!
Yesterday, the hubby and I had a friend who was coming to Fayetteville from Goldsboro to meet another buddy of his. We put the kids on the back of the bikes and rode over to meet them for lunch and hang out for a while. After lunch, we went over to a leather shop, which shares a building with a Victory dealership. Those are some freaky looking motorcycles! When we got ready to leave, we noticed the sky looked rather threatening. Sure enough, storm rolled in and the guys who had ridden down high-tailed it out to get home. We loaded the kids up and headed home. We got DRENCHED!! We were all soaked to the bone by the time we got home. The kids thought riding the motorcycles in the rain was fun, though. The boy child was on the back with me on the way home, and he was singing something back there. Not a care in the world! And here I am trying to make sure I miss standing water and don't slip going around curves.
Today the hubby went out back for something. He came back in the house, got a jar, and went back out. I asked what he was doing, but he didn't answer. Typical. He comes back in the house with the jar in his hand and shows it to me. He'd managed to catch a big Black Widow spider. He'd seen one a few weeks ago and wanted the kids to see one up close so they'd know what one looked like to stay away from it. Well, before he called the kids down, he came over to me, held it over my lap, and acted like he was going to open the jar. I said a few choice words to him as I let him know he'd better not let the damn thing out of the jar. He's such a smartass!
So I promised I'd try to blog an update, so here goes.
The hubby has been extended in his Recruiting assignment for another year. The story of how it all went down is a long one, but I'll try to do the short version here. He got verbal confirmation from Branch that his next assignment would be for deployment and was supposed to report to Fort Riley on 21 June. But he never got an RFO. Finally got in touch with his Branch Manager to see what was up. Well, he didn't have a replacement, so his command wasn't about to let him go without a replacement. So they finally found a replacement, changed the dates, and he got orders for the deployment with a report date of 1 August instead. Now that he finally had orders, he started the process of getting all his medical stuff taken care of. Well, at his appointment at the Pain Clinic, his doctor determined that he wasn't fit to deploy. He has a lot of pain from old injuries. So the doctor wrote a memo to Branch stating this, his replacement got reassigned, and he was extended in his current position.
He's actually ok with it. And if he's ok with it, then I'm ok with it. They have a new Battalion Commander, and most of the Company Commanders within the Battalion have changed fairly recently, so he and the rest of the command decided it would be beneficial for the Battalion if the top company had some consistency through all the changes. He's also hoping to have the opportunity to get some things changed to be able to make things less stressful for the Recruiters in his company.
I started my new job at Womack in mid-May. I'm the coder for the Orthopedics Department, which includes the Ortho, Podiatry, Physical Medicine, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy clinics. I'm loving my job so far...I definitely stay busy.
On that note...back to work!
Yeah, I know it's been FOREVER since I blogged. For those of you who have checked and wondered, I apologize. With the new job and everything, blogging hasn't exactly been at the top of my priority list.
I'll try to update within the next few days.
I'll also try to work blogging into my schedule. I don't even know whether I can access Blogger from work. I could back when I was a Contractor, but I'm not sure whether they've changed the settings.
Hope you all are well. So sorry I've neglected my blog here. I was so active with blogging for a while, but things have been crazy.
We STILL don't know what's going on with what the Army has in store for the hubby. His branch has an assignment for him, but his command here is pushing for an extension. Here we are about a month out from when he's SUPPOSED to change command, and 45 days out from what SHOULD be his report date to his new assignment, and still no orders. At this point, we just want to know something!
Yikes! I didn't even realize it had been so long since I last wrote. Had a lot going on, and blogging hasn't exactly been at the top of my list of priorities. Thanks to my little brother for checking on me though!
I started my teaching job on the 14th of April. That very Thursday, the 17th, I got a call from Fort Bragg CPAC with a job offer. So I'm going back to the GS system full time with all my benefits again. Although I hated to leave my students after I started the class, the college was able to find a replacement for me and it's all going to work out. I start at the hospital on Bragg Monday, the 12th.
I'll try to post more of an update soon.
My baby sister's birthday was Thursday. She's 30. She and her hubby invited my hubby and me to dinner tonight to celebrate. We jumped at the chance! We haven't spent nearly enough time with them since we got back to the States almost two years ago. We all hope to change that.
We went to this place that none of us have ever tried before. It's a bit off the beaten path, which was REALLY nice, considering the fact that it's payday weekend in a military town. I knew that "Restaurant Row" would be a nightmare tonight. This place was kind of rustic looking, but had a very elegant atmosphere and was a bit pricey. The food was quite good, and the service was fair. Not quite as I felt it should be for a place like that, but my sister made a good point when she mentioned that she could only imagine how difficult it would be to find a happy medium as a server. How do you make sure you're being attentive enough without being overbearing? Good point. I worked as a waitress for a while when I was in college, so I know that feeling all too well. The most important thing was that we all enjoyed the food and the company.
The company was enjoyable indeed. There never seems to be a time that my sister and I get together that we don't go into a fit of giggles for some reason or another. I mean the kind of laugh that makes your belly muscles ache and you can't even begin to talk. The kind of laugh that's good for the soul. Tonight was no exception. Tonight it was at her husband's expense. What a good sport he is! It's no wonder we all love him. You never know who will be the brunt of jokes with my sister and me. But it's always in good fun...we're never mean spirited about it.
I made sure to take my camera with me, but we didn't take a single damn picture. That is so out of character for me, and I'm rather annoyed with myself. Oh well...hopefully we'll be better about spending time together and have pictures next time.
I just love finally being home. It's nice to be able to just spend an evening like this together. I sure do hope we're able to stay around for a while.
I swear yesterday I thought my daughter had completely lost her mind. My son had been cooped up in the house most of the week because of the flu and had a serious case of cabin fever. We did go for a ride Thursday because the weather was just PERFECT. They wanted to play outside yesterday, but had to clean their rooms first. The boy got finished first (huge surprise for me), and I sent him out. Then the girl child said she was finished so I went up to check hers.
While I was in there I noticed this big black spot in the middle of her floor. Asked her what it was, and she stood there and shrugged her shoulders, saying she didn't know. How in the world is a big black spot going to just appear in the middle of her floor and she doesn't know where it came from? I could tell she was lying to me. So I came back downstairs, telling her I expected an explanation before she could go outside to play. She came down a few minutes later.
Her: I remember how that black got on my floor.
Me: OK...how?
Her: Well, I wanted to draw a picture yesterday and I had a black marker that I wanted to see if it worked.
Me: So you decided to test it ON THE FLOOR???
Her: Yes. (Could tell by the look on her face she knew she was in trouble now)
Me: Have you lost your mind? What would possess you to do that? (Then she starts crying) You need to go up to your room and think about what you've done.
OK, maybe I shouldn't have said it like that, but that was exactly how it seemed. And I'm thinking at this point that she has made yet ANOTHER mess that her daddy and I are going to have to clean up. Then I thought...oh HELL no!! I'm tired of cleaning up mess after mess that she and her brother decide to make...and so is their daddy.
So I called her downstairs and found one of those sponges that has soap already in it, wet it for her, and told HER to go upstairs and clean up the spot. Told her to wet the sponge more when she needed to. After a few minutes, she called down asking me if she had to clean it ALL up. When I told her yes, she said "UGGHHHH...it's gonna take all day!" Yeah, that's kinda the point.
After about an hour or so of much crying and complaining, stomping, banging, and other noisy protesting, she came down and very politely asked me if I would come and look at how much she had gotten cleaned up. So I went up to look, and this HUGE black spot had been reduced to a very small spot that probably won't be obvious to someone who doesn't know it's there. So I told her she had done a great job and could go outside and play. We also talked about how frustrated Mommy gets when she and her brother make messes like that and I have to clean them up. I'm really hoping that she has learned a lesson that will make her think twice about doing something like that again. I'm still not sure why in the world she tested a marker on her carpet. She certainly knows better than that. I can't count how many times we've stressed to her that she's not to color on anything except paper and coloring books. Just like most kids, they've done their share of coloring on the walls. I thought she had mostly outgrown that.
We'll see if this incident has done the trick.
I don't think I've mentioned anything about this here yet, but I've been looking for a new job for a few weeks now. I kind of started around the first of the year, and got more serious about it last month. As of the end of this month, it's been a year since I left my last job, and I need to get back to work for a few reasons.
My mom knew I was looking for a job and talked to me about a month ago about the Community College she teaches at part time. She teaches down there three days a week, and I guess it has gotten to be a bit stressful with all the prep time on top of her other job. One of the ladies in the Continuing Education department approached her about returning for the summer term to teach the class she's teaching, but she told her she needed a break. When the lady asked my mom to help her find a replacement, my mom recommended me and talked to me about it that same week.
I decided to go ahead and fill out the application. After all, at the very least, it's a job I can do in the interim until something else comes up. If I hate it, I'm only committed to one term. The summer term goes from mid-April through mid-August. If I love it, maybe it would be something I could continue even after August.
My mom called me yesterday afternoon. She had seen the new course catalog for the summer session. The course was listed in there, with my last name listed as the instructor. Mom said...you're the only "F" I know who's applied to teach down there. Then when I got home and checked the mail, I had a letter from the school letting me know that I am, indeed, scheduled to teach for the summer session. I'm a little confused about the dates, so I'll have to show the letter to my mom before I call down to the school to clarify. The course I'm teaching is Administrative Medical Coding Specialist (Coding & Billing), which is pretty much what I've been doing off and on for the last 18 years, I guess.
I'm very excited, but I'm a bit apprehensive about it too. I have done things of this nature before. I have experience teaching AFTB classes (Army Family Team Building for those of you who read my blog and not familiar with the terminology). I actually have to say that my experience with AFTB is the main reason I originally gained an interest and the confidence to teach adult learners. When I worked at the health clinic in Vilseck, I did training sessions there on documentation and coding, particularly for the doctors and other healthcare providers. So I have the knowledge and expertise. The difference here is that I'll be working with a more structured curriculum. Fortunately, though, I'm basically taking over for my mom, so I'll be able to get a lot of the information from her.
One of the best things about this is the hours. The pay is actually quite good, particularly for part-time work. And I'll be working Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from 8:30 to 2:00. The great thing is that I'll be home by the time the kids get home from school. I'll have to work something out for the times that they're on break, but I'm sure that between the family members we have here, we'll be able to figure something out. I would love to be able to avoid having to put them in daycare, but we'll figure it all out.
Well, my little guy's feeling much better now. When I took him to the doctor Monday, she advised us to keep him out of school through today, and that he could go back Thursday. I could have sent him back earlier if he was fever-free, but he was still running a fever on and off, including this morning. So we kept him home.
Today was their last day of school before their 3-week Spring Break. I love year-round school! I have some ideas for things to do with them during the break. We'll have to see how that works out.
The bad thing is that he's got cabin fever something AWFUL! Thank goodness the weather here is supposed to be pretty tomorrow. I'm gonna kick both of them out of the house for a while to play. Being sick really sucks when your 9!
My little guy has the flu. Woke up this morning congested and said he couldn't breathe. So naturally, I kept him home from school today. Took him to the doctor, where he was traumatized by having his finger stuck and a strep test. Fortunately, no strep throat, but the flu is bad enough. Now he's upset with me because the little girl who lives next door came by and wanted him and his sister to come out and play. Naturally, I can't let him go out, but that doesn't mean his sister can't. I feel bad for him, but at least he understands I'm not just trying to be mean. I hate when my babies are sick!
