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!