4th Week of School, September 9-12

3rd Week of School, September 2-5

The first paper he said had his snack on it. They were crackers he had to count he said, all I know is they were greasy. They left little round grease marks all over the paper!

3rd: As I got Jaycob off the bus today all I hear are children screaming, "Jaycob I love you! Jaycob we love you". Yeah it was crazy! That was the loudest I've ever heard the kids on the bus and they were all screaming at my child like he was in a boy band! The bus driver said that when kids get on the bus that's the first thing they say, "Where's Jaycob?" or tells Jaycob HI!

I'm so thrilled he's well liked! As a parent I think this is something we all worry about. The fact that all the kids on the bus are in his class really helps I think. I ask him about all his friends and he has no info... All well!!

4th: Woo Hoo! I've been waiting for this! Book orders were sent home today, our first one! Now I just have to remember they're due on Wednesday the 17th!!

Followers

Ok so Blogger has just rolled out a new feature, Following. You can go to your Blogger home page and right there read all of the blogs you follow, or at least see who updated their blog. Along with this you can let those bloggers know that you follow them and your picture will show up on the side of their blog if they choose to put that feature up! I have choosen to do just that. So if you read me on a normal basis... Please Follow Me!!

Grandma's Coming!!!

The kids are so excited! Last night they were telling us where she was going to sit while watching TV or reading them books and eating dinner. Abygail last night told me that Grandma Cyndi is going to sleep in Older Sisters bed! Both the kids were talking about how she was gonna bring something for Jaycob's birthday. They just went on and on!

They're excited!

Way Too Hot!

Just what the title says! It was almsot to hot for even this!

First Week of School

Well the first full week of school has come and gone! We did get his B.E.A.R. folder, I'm so excited! He still loving to hop on the bus and go to school as of right now. I need to take pictures of all his first week papers he did. Friday was the first day they didn't get to go outside and play on the playground. He was kinda upset about that, but he talked about the other things they did instead! He's picking up things at school like crazy already. He's been singing this monkey and crocodile song non-stop and has even taught it all to Abygail! I just can't figure out the last lines!

Anyway... I know this was quick and I'll add the pictures later. I just had a minute so I thought I would jot it all down real quick!

2nd Week of School, August 26-29

What is a Military Wife?

A Military wife can be tough to describe.

She is a Southern belle, a Northeastern Mets fan, a California 3rd generation recycler, a Pacific Islander.

She is short or tall, a tomboy, a fashion diva, a physician's assistant, a Republican, a Democrat.

A Military Wife is a career gal, a home-schooler, a scrap-booker, an accomplished cellist, an auto mechanic.

What IS a Military Wife?

WHAT is a Military Wife?

What is a MILITARY Wife?

They may look different and each is wonderfully unique, but this they have in common.

They have THIS IN COMMON! Lots of moving---

moving

moving

moving far from home

moving two cars, three kids and one dog, all riding with HER of course

moving sofas to basements because they won't go in THIS house

moving curtains that won't fit

moving jobs and certifications and professional development hours

moving away from friends moving toward new friends

moving her most important luggage; her trunk full of memories.

Often waiting-

waiting

waiting

waiting for housing

waiting for orders

waiting for deployment

waiting for reunion

waiting for phones calls

waiting for the new curtains to arrive

waiting for him to come home for dinner----AGAIN!

They call her 'military dependent', but she knows better she can-

balance a checkbook

handle the yard work

fix a noisy toilet.

She is intimately familiar with drywall, anchors, and toggle bolts.

She can file the taxes, sell a house, buy a car, or set up a move, all with ONE Power of Attorney.

She welcomes neighbors that don't welcome her.

Reinvents her career with every PCS.

Locates a house in the desert, the arctic, or the deep south and learns to call them all 'home'.

She MAKES them all home.

She is fiercely IN-dependent.

Military Wives are somewhat hasty-

They leap into decorating, leadership, volunteering, career alternatives, churches and friendships.

They don't have 15 years to get to know people.

Their roots are short but flexible.

They plant annuals for themselves and perennials for those who come after them.

Military Wives quickly learn to value each other.

They connect over coffee, rely on the spouse-network and accept offers of friendship and favors and record addresses in pencil.

Military Wives have a common bond.

The Military Wife has a husband unlike other husbands. His commitment is unique.

He doesn't have a job, he has a 'mission' he can't just decide to quit.

He's on-call for his country 24/7 but for you, he's the most...

Unreliable guy in town!

His language is foreign: TDY, PCS, OPR, ACC, BDU

And so, a Military Wife is a translator for her family and his.

She is the long-distance link to keep them informed the glue that holds them together.

A Military Wife has her moments-

She wants to wring his neck, dye his uniform pink, and refuse to move to Siberia.

But she pulls herself together.

Give her a few days, a travel brochure, a long hot bath, a pledge to the flag, and a wedding picture.

And she goes.

She packs.

She moves.

She follows.

Why?

What for?

How come?

You may think it is because she has lost her mind.

But actually it is because she has lost her heart.

It was stolen from her by a man who puts duty first, who longs to deploy, who salutes the flag, and whose boots in the doorway remind her that as long as he is her Military husband, she will remain his Military wife.

First Real Day Of School

As I sit here and catch up on my morning computer stuff all I can think about is my baby going to school today!!!! Its now appx. 2 and a half hours until the bus will come and take him away!! I really do hope he has a good day!

Update: Well, the bus came and got him over half an hour after class was supposed to start!! Yeah! Crazy! First day kinks need to be worked out! But here's the picture I got of him! He hopped right on that bus like he's been doing it for years, I was so proud of him!

Oh and one of him getting ready to go wait for the bus!

Update II: He's home from school and had a really nice day. I was disappointed to not see his daily(B.E.A.R.) folder come home yet, but I'm sure it will at some point! He told me they read a story and he went pee at school and a lady helped him. And then he was done talking about it! Short and sweet, that's my boy!

Due to more prodding he also played with a little girl, some cars and a car wash, and something else we couldn't make out!

More Korkers

This time I used smaller ribbon and a smaller dowel. Still not as small as I would like, but I think this is going to be as small I can get them!

Sorry!

It's been a couple of crazy weeks!
1)Older Brother and Older Sister were here
2)We had company come in
2)Our last days with "Baby T"...

I have pictures to share though not many. You all know I post-date so check below for the new posts I'll be putting up!

Hot Dog Store

This is Jaycob and his 'Hot Dog Store with a water tower'... Wouldn't you want to eat here??

He later added an addition which consisted of a Pizza House!

Look at What I Made!!

Woo Hoo! I'm so proud of myself!

The pink and white pair were my first... I think I just cut the ribbon too long! The brown and green set I like MUCH better, I cut them almost an inch shorter! They're still too big for my likings. I'm gonna try it with smaller ribbon and a smaller dowel... We'll have to wait to see how that goes! But I think these are way too cute. Now if only Abygail had something to wear with them!!

Long Walk to the Beach

Daddy took the day of of work today and we decided to go out and check out this beach that we've heard so much about! Little did we know it was a mile and a half trek down to it! Good thing we threw the good stroller in back just in case!

This section of the trail you see was pretty uneventful, but sections of it we had to pick up the stroller over the tree roots or 'creek's as Jaycob called them!

I don't have any pictures down by the beach because it was just too bright down there, non of my pictures showed up!

Evening Beach Trip

We usually don't head out after dinner. Its generally our time just to relax. But Aspen had called and asked us to head to the beach with them and the weather was so perfect it was just too hard to resist! And boy was the weather perfect!!

We got to see a couple new things at the beach this trip! We seen the swans pictured above, we seen the beach at a different tide level then we're used to, and we seen a woman kayaking! The kids thought all of these things were the greatest!

We had a blast, wish we really could have made it last all night long! But little ones needed to still come home, shower, and go to bed. It was a late night for us!!

A Few Pictures

Went to the beach this morning! Here's just a few pictures!

And then we went to the pool for playgroup!

Sick Kids

My poor kids are sick again. It started with sore throats, took them to urgent care, did strep test and they came back negative. They sent us home telling us we were crazy and there was nothing wrong with them, probably just a virus! The whole time the kids are crying about sore throats and both have high temps. Yeah its a virus all right... Uhhggg! The hand, foot, and mouth disease virus!!! I don't blame the urgent care staff for not diagnosing since all they had at the time were sore throats. But the big ol' blisters all throughout my kids mouths should have been a beginning clue. Like I said I know they can't do anything with just blisters, but... I guess I just felt like they didn't care much! At least we got free doses of Motrin for both the kids out of them!

Anyway... We came home from the urgent care, treated the sore throats and fevers, and sent them to bed! Next day while Daddy went to get Older Brother and Older Sister. Jaycob fell asleep here on the couch and as he was sleeping I looked down and noticed he had rashes all over his feet... No big deal, he does sometimes get random rashes when he has a high fever. Yeah, by the time he woke up when Daddy got home the rashes were all over his hands too... So between the rash on his hands and feet and the sores in his mouth... Self diagnosed hands, foot, and mouth disease! Looked on the internet, called a few people with experience just to confirm... So of course my next calls were to people we had exposed or may have exposed us! Those are always the fun calls to make!

Several days in and we're still treating throats and fevers. They seem to be feeling better! Yesterday I'm trying to get Abygail to eat something since we're on day 3 of NO eating from her. She's standing in the kitchen and she tells me she can't eat. I ask her why and she tells me this... "Can't eat. Throat hurts. Take throat out and put it down here." all the while motioning taking her throat out of her mouth and setting it on the floor!!! Awwwww.... Like I didn't feel bad enough as it is!

Anyway... Seems as of today that we're in the clear, no fevers. Abygail has slowly eaten since yesterday, though she still has minor complaints once and a while. And Jaycob only has a few spots left on his hands and feet! I can tell you they sure are fighting like normal!

Cows at the Door??

Huh? Some of the things the kids have come up with lately are just nuts! Today I hear ding dong noises from Jaycob... Then some moooooo's. Huh? I turn around and see the table set with a full course meal, Abygail at the top of the steps, and Jaycbo at the bottom waiting to greet the cows to dinner. Abygail opens the 'door' and tells the cows, "Come eat, lots food" all while Jaycob is waving his arm welcoming them in.

Next thing I know Abygail is running crazy around the living room yelling, "Oh no! Get down! Come eat. Shoo shoo!" as she's corralling the 'cows' downstairs! Jaycob's screaming, "Come and get it! Come on cows, come eat!!"

Guess it was kinda a had to be here scene!

Which Austin Girl Are You?

I stole this quiz from Aunt A's blog. (Yep, I stole your Title too!). My results really don't surprise me that much... Though there's no way I would marry who she did, but hey!

Take the Quiz here!

Take the quiz and let me know who you ended up as!

Playgroup at the Pool

This is the first playgroup at the pool we've gone to this summer. The kids were quite timid around the water, but they eventually warmed up! Jaycob a bit sooner then Abygail. Abygail did it in true toddler fashion, was ready to swim like a fish and really get into right before we had to go!!

Maddy and Jaycob were sitting side by side and by the time I pulled the camera out Maddy was ready to go out again!

Of course soon as she seen me take a picture of Jaycob she came and sat right back down by him!

While the Cats away....

The mice will play!

Or is that the kids and daddy?!? I left for the night for a much needed mommy break. When I came back I took my stuff upstairs and noticed Daddy's pillows weren't on our bed. I immediately started feeling bad that he most likely ended up spending the night in one of the kids beds. As I continued to pick up and put stuff where it belonged I realized the kids pillows weren't on their beds either.... Of course I thought of the worse. "Great, Daddy had a rough night and had to do pee-pee laundry on top of it!" So I go to ask him what happened and if his night was really as bad as it seemed. Nope! I head down the stairs and there is a full size 4 person tent set up in the playroom!! Yeah! It really did surprise me!

I guess I know where all the pillows went! After talking to Daddy I found out that soon after I left they had dinner, put up the tent, and got ready for bed. Daddy told them that after they fell asleep he would move them into the tent and they could sleep there! So they happily went off to bed and Daddy did just what he said he would do. And they all slept in the tent last night!

Isn't he the coolest Daddy ever!

Tents, Picnics, Friends and Pools

This mornign I made a tent for them over their table. This is the first time we've done this with them in a long long time. They thought it was a great idea! When I looked down later they were having a picnic on top of their tent!

Later we had Aspen, Maddy, and Hayden over for a little bit of pool fun!

Company Picnic

Today we went to a company picnic for Daddy's work. All the kids had fun! There was so much for them to do and so much food to eat... WOW! Let me just say that the host and her family went way out of their way to provide us all the great time we had!

Here's Jaycob finishing up his lunch. And then Jaycob and Older Brother in the pool. Jaycob would not trust anyone to get him in the pool. He would walk around the edges, put his feet in, and get on the first step but that's about it! I guess long as he enjoyed himself!

Pool Time

Today was the perfect kind of day! Warm enough for the kids to play in the pool, but not too warm for the adults sitting on the sidelines!

The kids would go down the slide so fast and then come to a screeching, splashy halt that they would almost bounce right out of the pool! It was crazy!

All my little beast in the pool!! Maddy was being a turtle, Jaycob a frog, Baby T a dog, Abygail was switching between all of them!!

'Fireworks'

Since it started to rain and storm yesterday after the 4th of July festivities the 'fireworks' had to wait until today. I had just bought those poppers for the kids... The ones that you throw down and they snap/pop... The kids thought they were the coolest thing. I should have bought more!

Yes, they're in their jammies. We had taken early showers since we were supposed to get more storms... But since the storms weren't here yet we took them outside to do this!

Happy 4th!!

We went to Aspen's for our 4th of July festivities. Matt cooked pork chops and there were plenty of other fixings. We took over our moon bounce and the kids all had such a blast.

Maddy and Jaycob looking at a slug.

Awww... Couldn't help it... Baby Hayden!


We had fun and started home just in time. Once we got home the weather really started to act up and we had boomers the rest of the night!

Dreams, Nightmares, & Night Terrors

Jaycob has all of thee above and each is talked about differently.

Night Terrors: Well, obviously in true night terror fashion Jaycob doesn't remember them at all. He does have them a couple times a month. We'll have two in one week, none the next, two the following week, and none the last week. This seems to be the pattern we deal with. His night terrors consist of plenty of screaming, crying, standing up in bed and the likes. We usually just try to get him to calm down. We know 'they' say that you're not supposed to interfere and we really try not to, but when you see your baby in that state its really hard sometimes. When its done and over with he's usually back to peacefully snoring before his head ever reaches the pillow.

Dreams: He usually wakes up and just tells us this off the wall story that we're really not sure if he just made it up or if it was actually a dream.

Nightmares: Like last night... In the middle of the night we get the screaming and terrified look, kinda like the Night terrors but he's aware. Last night he was afraid of something (something eating and or biting him) and neither one of us could pin it down. I eventually just sat with him until he calmed down/ passed back out. Fast froward to this morning and I get this story...

"A snake was eating me. He went like this with his tongue (he sticks out his tongue). And he eats me all up!" "There a frog and he goes like this with his tongue (again the tongue sticking out), but he didn't eat me! Frog eats bugs! (As he's rubbing his belly) Turtle was dreaming too. He didn't eat me (vigorous head shaking no). He out of his shell like this. (Severe neck stretching) He eats grass. Snake eat me all up!! (dramatic chomp chomp hands)"

Somewhere in there I had asked him if this was his dream last night. And his answer was, "Yeah, I scared. The snake eat me all up!" and the story continued!

I hate to say that I actually enjoy his nightmares, because I don't at all. What I enjoy is the actual conversation and insight into his mind the next morning.

All About Me Game

Open up your internet browser and do Google searches as outlined below, only use YOUR name instead of mine. Type in the following and choose the first item that comes up!

1) Melanie needs: To accept that no one is self-sufficient all the time.
2) Melanie looks like: The psychological child that she is ... (from an Alfred Hitchcock site)
3) Melanie does: The Cha Cha Slide! (I do?? Didn't know I could dance!)
4) Melanie hates: Ian (I don't know one, but I guess I hate him!)
5) Melanie goes: Home (From another book)
6) Melanie loves: Tommy (Don't know one of these either)
7) Melanie eats: A 17 year cicada (This one is a bug!!)
8) Melanie has: Been awarded two gold albums (Not to sound greedy, but I could sure use the money associated with this one! LoL)
9) Melanie died: In a plane crash of the Crossair Flight 3597 near Bassersdorf by Zurich in Switzerland. (Well hopefully I was on my way back from a vacation!)
10) Melanie will: Be featured on Triple J's next crop on Friday 25th November, also another tour on the way. (Back the 2 gold albums!)

Wow that was fun! I'll try to get back to real blogging here soon!