What A Guy!

Dad is a "what-a-guy"!  

He replaced switches, outlets, a toilet, hung blinds, added and changed our kitchen lighting and helped me move firewood.

Thanks dad!

Dad replaced our small round kitchen light with a new 4' florescent kitchen light and added a whole new light fixture above the fridge.

This area had no light before and was always dark.  Not anymore!

I can actually see when I'm cooking now.

Dad and Ayden replacing a 3-way switch with their headlamps on.

ADHD?

Okay so we've been in the process the past month or so of trying to figure out if something in Christian's brain isn't connecting the way it should.  We were told to call a local mental health place here in town.  I got Christian an appointment with a Clinical Psychologist.  Our first appointment was just to answer a few questions and meet the doctor.  The second appointment I dropped Christian off for a four hour evaluation.  They did a series of tests with him to help the doctor make a diagnosis (if there was one to be found).  The third appointment was today where I was given the results and diagnosis.

Christian has all the classical symptoms of what is known as ADHD Inattentive Type.  The doctor went over all of the test results with me.  He said that there is no doubt that Christian is smart, he is, anyone that knows him can tell you that.  There are two areas of concern.  One being Christian's social skills the other being his lack of focus.  These are apparently typical of the inattentive type.  The doctor said that the next step is that we will get a letter in the next few weeks and I will need to take him to see his doctor on base.  Then we can discuss our options.  There are some medications that he said work immediately and that we would be able to notice in the same day.  There are others that would take a matter of weeks.  

I intend to do some research online and see what our options are.  I was visibly surprised by what the doctor was telling me which he pointed out.  He said that children with this often get overlooked because they aren't hyperactive (Christian is not).  He seems to think that the rest of the school year will be a much different story.  

What a bit of news!

A few Christmas Pictures

Ayden opening gifts

Mason's new toy table!

Mason and Papa

It's a Wii!!!!!!!!

The boys in their Christmas jammies :)

Not as bad as I expected

Well, its Christmas night.  The boys are FINALLY tucked in bed and asleep.  Dad is out walking Millie and I am settling into my blog.

What a day!  I felt a bit disheveled today after all the gifts were opened.  We spent about two and a half hours opening gifts then about an hour and a half trying to get into the toy packages and putting batteries in everything.  Once that was done we needed to organize the trash piles and toy piles.  By this point Ayden can barely focus on one thing.  He starts to play with his Aquadoodle mat but then gets distracted by the new bounce back racer.  Christian got lots of great new books which he had his nose buried in not long after the excitement was over.  Dad, Christian and I played one of Christian's new games.  We all enjoyed that.  Then we went out back to play with silly string.  Dad and I transferred firewood from one stack on the side of the house to the stack by the back door.  However we won't be needing it for tonight or tomorrow.  It is supposed to be 78 degrees tomorrow.  Then 50 degrees on Saturday!

Mason likes his new toys and I am so glad.  He so enjoys following me around the house.  I hope that these toys will distract him for a short while so I can get things done.

We had a nice dinner of ham, corn and green bean casserole, baked potatoes and rolls.  We also made a pumpkin pie for dessert.

Dominic didn't think he would get to call, but everyone was authorized a 15 minute call to family by the commander.  I was grateful!  He called yesterday evening.  He said that things are good and he sounded good which is what I look for when I talk to him.  If he sounds good that makes me feel better.  He spoke to Christian and dad also.

I think this next week I will probably take down our decorations and get the house back in order.  Dad is going to do some repairs for me which I am excited about.  I am truly enjoying having some company.

Our good friend Zach came over yesterday for a quick visit and brought us some Chex mix that his mom made.  Then we went to the evening service at church.  It was nice, the music was beautiful and the chapel was glowing with candle light.  I was so happy that we went.

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas!  I did (all things considered)!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Okay, time to catch up a bit.  

My dad arrived Monday afternoon.  Christian was patiently waiting by the front window to see the white monster arrive.  Dad has a big white diesel and was pulling a white enclosed trailer with him.  As soon as he was seen the boys were out the door!  

Its been nice having him here and having some adult conversation rather than talking to kids constantly.  Yesterday I was able to leave the two big boys at home with Papa so I could go to my stroller class.  That was nice.

We ran some errands yesterday.  Did some last minute shopping and picked up a few groceries at Walmart.  It was packed, which I expected.  The boys were fine and we were able to get what we needed and get out.

Today I think we will go to the Harley store.  Then this evening we will go to the Christmas Eve service at church.  Maybe after that we can drive around a little bit to see some Christmas lights.  

I got a few emails from Dominic over the past couple of days.  It sounds like everything is going okay.  He said that he will be working over Christmas Eve and Christmas day so he probably won't get to call.  He will be flying in and out of Iraq.  I am anxious to get to talk to him again though.  I miss hearing his voice.  

I asked Dominic how much down time they have between missions.  He said they get about 2-3 days between missions.  He said they have TV shows and movies that they can watch.  They sleep a lot.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Mission #1 complete!

I just got an email from Dominic.  He completed his first mission.  He and Nate flew into Iraq three times today.  WOW!  Its crazy to read that huh?

He said that it was "cake".  He got to sit in the cockpit for one leg of the mission but assured me that he wasn't flying the plane.  What a relief!

Dominic says "It's official, I have been in a combat zone, I'm a combat vet"

I'm so proud of you babe!

We love you and miss you!

He's spoiling me :)

I know it won't last, but Dominic is really spoiling me in the past two days.  He called yesterday for just a minute, then I got an email.  The phone rang just before 7 am this morning and it was him again.  I knew at that hour who it would be and I am so glad that it was.

They are 9 hours ahead of us here in TX.  So when he called at 7 am it was 4 pm there.  He said that they had a Christmas party today and had food brought in from town.  He said the food was very similar to the Indian food we've eaten in England.  He and the rest of the team have their own building.  Dominic is sharing a room with two other guys.  They have 4 computers in their building to use.  That will be nice.  I think the most contact we will have is via email since he only gets two 15 minute phone calls per week.  

I asked him a couple of questions about him getting a mission but his answers were very generalized.  I'm getting a feel for what he will and will not be able to tell me.  He knows that I know there are lots of things he won't be able to tell me and that's okay.

He said that their bus ride to the base was "un-nerving".  I guess the bus driver stopped to check a tire and fell out of the convoy.  That made Dominic really nervous.  He said that they had armed escorts that stopped with them though, so that's good.  He also said that the people drive like "mad men" there.

When I picked Christian up from school on Wednesday he was not looking good.  He usually runs to the car but he just slowly strolled to the car.  When he got in I asked how his day was and he said "oh, I don't want to talk about it".  Hmmm, okay.  Well eventually he told me what happened.  His teacher offered an extra credit assignment where the kids could bring in a traditional holiday food that their family makes.  It could be for any holiday.  Well I talked with Christian and we decided to make the almond roca that is my Aunts recipe.  I make it almost every Christmas.  So I made up a batch, counted the pieces to make sure there was enough for the whole class, bagged them up and sent them to school on Monday.  Well, on Wednesday when they were supposed to share their food Christian asked his teacher where his extra credit was.  She said "you didn't bring any".  He said "that's when I knew she ate it".  His teacher thought it was for her and ate all of it.  Christian was beyond disappointed and it broke my heart.  He was excited about sharing with his class, but that didn't happen.  I just can't figure out why we keep having these miscommunications with his teacher this year.

Short but sweet enough

The phone finally rang at 7:56 this morning.  YES!  I knew it would be Dominic.  He sounded good.  He said that he couldn't talk for long but that he was there and he was okay.  The conversation went something like this:

me:  Hello?

him:  Hi babe!

me:  Hi!

him:  I can't talk long but I wanted to let you know I'm here and okay.

me:  okay, I'm glad you called

him:  what are you up to?

me:  just getting ready to take Christian to school

him:  oh, well I don't have an address yet, there are a few things I don't have yet  but hopefully I will get one soon.

me: okay

him:  I better go, I don't have much time to talk but I love you

me:  ok babe, I love you too

him:  bye

me: bye

I was so glad to hear his voice!

I can't wait for the next phone call!

No Word

Yesterday was a crazy day, again. Ayden started throwing up and having the runs first thing in the morning. He asked for some water and threw up after each of the three times he drank. After about two hours he was clearly feeling better and didn't throw up again. He did manage to go through four pairs of underwear yesterday :(  Poor little guy!

Dominic was supposed to call at 7:30 am so that he could talk to the boys before we took Christian to school. He never called. When we got home there was a message. We missed him.

Mason decided not to take any naps yesterday. So it got to the point where I knew if we got out of the house (in the car) that he would fall asleep and not be so fussy. Christian had tutoring after school with his math teacher so I knew we had about an hour before we had to go get him. I loaded up the boys and drove to Target. I didn't really NEED anything besides to get out of the house. So we get there, park and I open Ayden's door and he's out! Sleeping! Well, there is no way I am going to wake him up. He's sick and he needs some extra sleep. So I decide to go to the bank and just drive around for an hour until its time to go get Christian. Ayden and Mason both slept in the car.

We picked up Christian, came home for about 40 minutes then we were off to the Hearts Apart Christmas Party. It was at the Family Readiness Center. There wasn't as many people as I expected. Santa was there for pictures. It took a long time and patients to get Ayden to sit with Santa and the only way he would was if I sat on Santa's lap and Ayden sat on my lap. Yeah, I know! A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do. Santa was so very generous and such a sweet guy. He had a beautiful Santa suit on and his beard and mustache were real. He asked us our plans for the holidays and I told him. He said that he always has an open door policy at his home and invited us to come for Christmas dinner if we didn't have anything to do. What a sweet guy! Christian loved him! Each of the boys came home with a bag full of stuffed animals and toys. They also served pizza.

We haven't heard from Dominic yet. I am anxious for the phone to ring, but I just don't know when that will happen. I am patiently waiting.

So sad.

Okay, I'm allowed to have a "poor me" day right?  Well this is probably one of many that I will have over the next 6 months.

Ayden and I both woke up this morning sick.  We have head colds, thankfully no coughing yet.  I would much rather be stuffed up or have a runny nose than a cough.  Ayden did pretty well today although he was a little short tempered.  He hasn't eaten much over the past two days but he goes through stages like that often.

It was FREEZING today.  I kid you not!  Yesterday was 76 degrees.  Today with the wind chill, it was 11 degrees!  Yeah, I know.  Honestly, how does that happen?

I'm sad.  Dominic's phone has no service and although I can call him at the hotel its not the same.  We always text each other throughout the day.  Now I know I won't be getting any texts from him.  We called the hotel to say good night to him but he wasn't in his room.  We left him a message.  He called a while later and said he was doing laundry.  They leave tomorrow.  Dominic said he would call me in the morning before we take Christian to school so that he could talk to the boys then.  After that, I don't know when I will hear from him again.  That's a hard fact to swallow.  I will miss hearing from him on a daily basis.  He is my hero, my very best friend, my lover, my everything!

I will be strong for the boys but its okay to be weak once in a while right?

A slow clap

Hi all, its been a while since i've blogged.  I guess we've just been enjoying a quiet weekend at home.

Dominic finished up his training on Wednesday and graduated on Friday.  He said it wasn't a big deal.  Their group leader went up and got their certificates and that was it pretty much.

Yesterday they all flew to their destination for the next couple of days.  They are staying in a beautiful Hilton hotel near the airport.  Each of the NCO's got their own rooms.  Dominic lucked out and got a king sized bed.  They will be there until Tuesday.

They had a short flight, only about 40 minutes or so.  They all had to fly in uniform which has its advantages.  Dominic got a first class seat.  The flight attendant made their announcements about snacks and drinks.  Then he said to all of the military folks "your drinks are on us".  Then one man started the slow clap.  You know what I mean...like in the movies.  When one person starts to clap and others slowly join in until there is a loud roar of people showing their appreciation.  That's what happened on the plane.  Dominic said that it felt really good and that he got the chills.  I am so proud of him and it so nice that even strangers aren't afraid to show their pride for our military.

I made tacos for dinner last night.  I got a thumbs up!  Christian took one bite, then another.  He said "they're good, but they're not dads".  That's good enough for me.  He was right after all.  They were certainly good but they weren't daddys.

I am planning a party!  I'm excited about it.  I don't have many friends but the few that I do have I am going to have over for a cookie exchange.  Each person brings 2 dozen cookies and everyone gets to take home a few of each kind to their families.  I am going to have an ornament craft for the kids to do also.  I am going to invite the lady that I met in stroller class and the wife of one of the guys that is with Dominic.  She lives right here in our neighborhood and has a 6 month old baby boy.  I hope that every one can come.  It will be next weekend.

Speaking of next weekend, my dad will be arriving early in the week.  Probably on the 22nd or 23rd.  He will be driving from California.  I inherited some of my moms furniture which my sister has been storing in her garage for me.  My dad will bring it all with him which is great.  He will also bring with him a couple of items that my grandma wants us to have.  The boys and I are really excited to have some company for Christmas.  

This next week is Christian's last week before Christmas break.  Monday he has a Christmas party for Boy Scouts and Wednesday he has a field trip for school.  He has Sylvan Wednesday and Thursday, so we have a busy week ahead of us.

Care Packages

Okay, I have heard that a few of you that read this are preparing to send Dominic packages.  I want to share a couple tips.  First of all, if you go to the post office you can find Flat Rate Boxes.  There are two sizes and they are free.  You can take as many as you need.  Also while you are there pick up a stack of customs forms.  They usually have these in the lobby also.  Those of you that used to send us packages in Iceland and England know what these are.  Its a white form about the size of half a sheet of paper.  You must fill one of these out to send things overseas.  I much prefer filling them out at home than at the post office, so I keep a stack at home.  So  you have your flat rate box and customs form.  Fill the box with whatever you intend to send Dominic.  It does not matter how much the box weighs, it will only cost the flat rate (provided you use a Flat Rate Box).  I believe the flat rate to send to military is $10.95.  This is a great thing!  

A few ideas for a care package:

wet wipes

snacks

beef jerky

powdered drink mix

treats

toiletries

home baked anything

magazines

travel size games

cough drops

candy

Remember that most of these things will get shared with the whole team.

Cold, really cold!

It's so cold here today!  We have winds from the North but they are supposed to die off later this evening.  This morning when we got up it was 28 degrees outside.  We bundled up to take Christian to school which I wasn't even sure was going to happen.  Christian hasn't been feeling well for several days.  He was having tummy problems over the weekend then it started to shift into a head cold.  Yesterday he complained of ear pain again.  I have an appointment for tomorrow morning to see if he has another ear infection.  I waited until this morning to see how he was feeling to decide whether I would send him to school today or not.  I honestly didn't think he would get thru the day without having to come home but its almost time to pick him up and I never got any calls today.  

I took Ayden and Mason to a play group again.  My friend Tasha invited us to go with her and Emma.  The play group was at her pastors house this time instead of the church.  It was nice and the kids had fun.  Each child got a gift.  Mason got a board book about baby Jesus and Ayden got two books with a cd and some finger puppets of the nativity scene.  Its very cute and he was excited about it.

I found some great books last night on Amazon.com.  They are children's books about a parent deploying.  I ordered five I think.  I can't wait to get them in the mail.  Ayden is finally enjoying bedtime stories.  I read a bedtime story to Christian from the time he was three years old until he could read books himself.  I've tried lots of times to read to Ayden but he just wasn't into it.  Now he loves it!  I'm so glad.  About the books, I ordered The Soldiers Night Before Christmas, The Soldiers Tree, I Miss You, A Paper Hug, and Night Before Christmas In The Military.  I am so excited to start reading these with Ayden and talking to him about daddy and what he's doing.  I hope that they will help him to understand what's going on.  He asks about daddy everyday wondering where he is and when he's coming home.  Poor little guy doesn't even know that its only just begun:(

I'm trying a new recipe for dinner tonight.  I think (hope) that the boys will like it.  It's very similar to tater tot casserole.  I make that for the boys and everyone loves it!  This one has brawts and saurkraut with cheese sauce and tater tots.  The boys love sausages and tots so I think this one will work.  I'll let you know.

I am very anxious for Christmas.  There are a few things under the tree for Mason that I would really like him to have now.  He is bored with his toys and needs some new stimulation.  His new thing is wanting to stand.  Every time I go to put him on the floor he wants to stand, not sit!  He's even starting to let go when he's standing at the chair or couch.  He always falls within a second or two but he's trying.  I got him one of those toy tables for babies to stand and play at.  I really think he will love it and I wish I could give it to him now!

Christian is at Sylvan right now.  He has a huge packet of make up work to do from missing school yesterday.  He's going to be busy tonight.

Today was Dominic's last day of training then they will graduate on Friday.  They learned of their flight plans yesterday.  Dominic asked me when I started this blog to not put any specific names or locations on it so I won't, but they will be making two stops on their way to their final destination.  They leave on Tuesday.  I just spoke with him and he said that today was good.  No specifics though.  He sounds pretty tired.

Thunder? Lightning?

Okay, so last night I knew that we were supposed to get rain.  I didn't know that we were going to have a thunder storm!  The weather was very strange yesterday.  It was warm (70 degrees) and windy.  I just didn't feel right to walk outside, with leaves crunching under our feet, to have a warm wind on our faces.  I don't know, it was just strange.  As it got dark, the wind picked up and by the time the boys were getting to bed it was a full on thunder storm.  It down poured rain for about 20 minutes and there were huge roars of thunder and tons of flashes of lightning.  Christian thought they were fireworks at first.  

Thunderstorms don't bother me.  I mostly fear the huge wind gusts.  Last year in June we had the biggest storm we've seen (since we've lived here).  I thought for sure that one of the two pine trees in our backyard were going to come through our bedroom.  I even got up to go sit in the living room because I was so fearful.  Many people had fences blown down and tree damage from that storm.

Christian had his four hour evaluation/test today.  We will get the results after Christmas I think.  I am anxious to see if they came up with anything regarding his problems following directions along with a few other concerns.

I spoke to Dominic last night.  They finished up their training early and he was so happy.  He said that it was freezing yesterday there.  The water in his camel-back froze!  That's pretty damn cold!  They did some training exercises where they simulate a hum-v rolling over.  I guess they have a simulator that rolls 360 degrees and they have to pull the gunner down and get out safely.  He said that it was really fun he just wished it hadn't been so cold.  They have today and tomorrow left of training and will be done after that.  They still don't have flight plans set yet so he doesn't know when they will leave.

Menu

I decided this weekend that I am going to make a menu for the week.  This way I will know what we are going to have for dinner each night.  I am going to shop for all of the items I will need that way, I know I have everything and won't have to make any quick trips to the store.  I also hope that this will help us eat healthier.  We'll see how it goes this week.

I checked my rat trap this morning and it had been messed with.  It was flipped over but there was no dead rat.  It ate the peanut butter though and left a whisker behind.  I set the trap again this morning but this time I used a chewed up tootsie roll.  I am determined!

I asked the boys last night what they wanted for dinner.  Ayden said "tacos".  He LOVES Dominic's tacos.  Dominic makes what we consider the best tacos.  The boys love them.  Every time we sit down with a platter of Dominic's tacos I think about how many tacos we are going to have to make when all the boys are teenagers.  We laugh about it every time.  Ayden can eat three tacos already!  Anyway, I told Ayden that we didn't have everything to make tacos but that maybe next week we would have some.  Then Christian said "do you even know how to make tacos?"  It makes me laugh because tacos are Dominic's specialty but its a joint effort.  I'm the "cheese girl".  He's called me the "cheese girl" from the beginning because he cooks the tacos and I put the cheese on.  I am sure that I have helped enough times that I can handle making tacos.  Christian is so funny!

Successful Shopping

Yesterday was perfect!  I dropped the boys off with Heath and Leslyn around 1:15 pm.  Mason had already taken a great nap so I knew that he would be good to go for a while.  I took him with me.  It's time to get some shopping done and checked off the list.  

First we went to what Ayden calls "the letter store" Toys R Us.  If you think about the sign you'll understand where he gets that from.  He just sees the big brightly colored letters.  We got a few things there then we went to Target.  After that we went to a store that I have heard about on the radio.  It's called The Browse Shop and its in downtown WF.  We've never been there but I was hoping they would have what I needed.  I was looking to get the big boys each a new pair of cowboy boots but I didn't want to pay $70-90.00 per pair.  The Browse Shop was amazing!  It was huge and they had anything a cowboy could want.  There was an amazing selection of western clothing and boots especially for kids.  Most western stores have a few pairs of boots for kids and mostly John Deer ones.  I didn't want John Deer ones.  I was able to find them both boots and I got both pairs for $80.00!  I was a happy camper.  After that store I needed to come home to drop off all of my treasures before I could pick up the boys.  Mason fell asleep in the car while I unloaded.  On my way back to get the boys I stopped at the craft store to get a few things.  The boys and I are going to work on a project for Dominic today.  Then I went and got the boys.

I had a very successful day and I am done shopping for the boys!  After they went to bed I wrapped all of it.  

It's time to man up!

Okay, I know how disgusting this is so bare with me.  

Every once in a while we get rats that get up into the bottom of our bbq.  I guess they eat the charred drippings or something.  We have an alley behind our house where the dumpsters are.  We don't have rolling garbage cans that we put out on the street on a certain day for pick up.  So we assume that there are rats in the dumpsters but I have never seen one personally.  Anyhow, Lilly FLIPS OUT when she smells the rats.  One time she even caught one and carried it the house...eek!  That was shortly after we moved in.  Once I got it out of her mouth I used a shovel to throw it over the fence.  Dominic was working nights then.  Okay, moving on...  Well Dominic doesn't ever seem too bothered by the whole thing.  I guess because he figures that they aren't going away since we have the alley.  I on the other hand want to kill them!  So a few nights ago Lilly was flipping out again and I knew what had to be done, and who had to do it.  That's right!  Me!

So I bought some traps the other day at the store.  I put peanut butter on two of them and set them on the grill bars in the bbq.  The next morning...nothing.  This morning a dead rat!  Yes, it worked!  Okay so now the problem is that I have to actually get the nasty dead rodent into the dumpster without touching it.  I did NOT want this to be my job...isn't that why I got married?  So I could have someone there to kill rats?  LOL, okay I know that's a little irrational.  Anyhow, I told Christian that there was a dead rat in the bbq and that I didn't want to touch it.  Guess what he said to me?  "oh, man up mom"  Can you believe that?  Christian told me to man up!  Then he took it upon himself to be the man of the house.  Well, he tried anyway.  Pliers in hand, I went out to get the rat.  Christian wanted to do it but I was afraid he was going to squish it or something nasty.  He ended up holding the plastic grocery sack open for me to put the rat in.  I grabbed the tail with the pliers, put it in the bag and tied it up.  Not so bad.  It wasn't as bad as I had geared up for.

I did it!  And I set another trap for the next victim.  

Ready for the weekend

I'm going to make this a quick one I think.  I'm tired!  

Ayden, Mason and I went to Target today.  I love Target!  I would much rather go to Target than Walmart but sometimes you just can't beat the prices.  Anyhow, we shopped for Dominic.  We got him some things that we thought he could use.  We are going to get a box together that we will send once he gets his address.

Dominic called again tonight.  He said it was a good day but kind of boring.  They will have the weekend off.  He took a long shower and was ready for bed.

We were invited over to our friends house this evening for a game night.  The problem is that Mason is in bed by 6:30 pm almost always.  So as he does, he was in bed by 6:45 pm.  We were supposed to go to our friends house at 7 pm.  So that just didn't work out.  I'm happy that they invited us though and hopefully we will get to go next time.  I'm not sure when this weekend but they are going to keep Christian and Ayden for me so I can finish my Christmas shopping.  

Sickly

Christian came in my room this morning at 6 am to tell me that Ayden was coughing a lot and he thought that maybe he threw up.  I got up to check on him and he was curled up without any blankets on.  He coughed a few times but was sound asleep.  I covered him up and tucked the blankets around him.  When we got up for the day Ayden didn't want breakfast.  Then he came in the kitchen and heaved over the floor.  He didn't have anything to throw up but he looked a little sick and pale.  We took Christian to school and came home.  Normally Ayden likes to snack all day long.  He eats great, healthy food but he eats all day.  Not today.  He never did throw up again and he didn't cough at all.  I'm not really sure what happened this morning but he seems okay now.

We didn't go to stroller class today because Ayden was sick.  It was super cold this morning too so they were going to move the class to 2 pm instead.  My legs have been hurting so bad the past two days.  At stroller class on Tuesday we did lunges the length of a basketball court twice.  Its no secret that I am not in good shape but I have never had such horrible muscle pain as I have from those lunges.  I am feeling much better today but its still painful.

Dominic called earlier tonight so that he could talk to the boys.  They have been asking to talk to him but are always in bed when he calls.  He spoke to Christian first then Ayden.  Christian told him about the trains that we saw on Monday and they talked about our Christmas tree.  Ayden kept asking when he was going to come home.  He said "I love you daddy, goodnight"  That whole conversation was hard for Dominic.  He was crying when I got back on the phone with him.  We talked about things that the boys and I can do to help Ayden understand time.  I think we will get a special calendar where we can have him cross off each day as we get closer to June.

I think I am going to have a shopping day on Saturday.  Our friends told me that I could call them whenever I need to take a break.  Well, I don't so much need a break yet but I do need to finish shopping for the boys.  That is very hard to do when I have them with me.  So I think I will drop off the big boys and take Mason shopping with me.  I hope I will be able to finish all of my shopping.

Christmas Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

So Proud!

I just got home from my meeting with Sylvan.  After every 12 hours of instruction they schedule a meeting with the parents to go over the things that Christian has learned and mastered.  This was our first meeting after 14 hours of instruction.  

First let me start with the goals.  They predicted that Christian would need somewhere between 68 and 79 hours of instruction to get him caught up to grade level.  He needed to go back to the basics of second grade math and master those skills before they even moved on to the third grade stuff.

Christian is doing amazing!  He has already mastered all of the skills that he needed for second grade math.  They are now moving on to third grade skills to include learning his math facts and also multiplication.  They haven't even started learning multiplication in school yet.  They now expect that he will be up to grade level with only 38 hours of instruction.  That's almost half of what they predicted!  I am beyond excited for Christian.  I struggled with math in school and still do.  I HATED math!  I do not want for Christian to have to go through school feeling the way that I did.  Dominic and I both felt like this was an important thing to do for Christian.  We were hopeful that it would work out.  I can't wait to talk to Dominic tonight and tell him the news!  This is just about the best news ever!

4 Bathrooms?

So far so good. Yesterday was a good day, mostly.

I went to the stroller class at the YMCA. Only one other lady showed up. She was the same one whose husband left on Monday as well. She was having a tough time. I could tell that she had been crying. We decided to walk in the gym because it was pretty windy again. We walked and talked and compared stories. We have so much in common right now. I am looking forward to getting to know her better. About 40 minutes into our walking the lady from the Child Watch came to get me. Ayden wet his pants! I felt bad of course but it wasn't his fault. The problem is that the room where they keep the kids doesn't have a bathroom and there are certain rules about how many adults have to be with the kids. So the lady went to get another adult to come in the room so she could take Ayden to the bathroom. Unfortunately it just took too long. He couldn't wait that long. I felt so bad for him. When I came to get him he had his jacket tied around his waist. He just looked at me and started crying. It was like he was embarrassed and didn't know what else to do. Poor little guy. He had had a lot to drink that morning so next time I will make sure to take him to the bathroom when we get there and also not give him so much to drink. Maybe that will help for next time.

Dominic called last night. He said they didn't do anything yesterday except go to the BX. They got in a day early again so they start training today. So here's the thing...there are 160 people there for training and 4 bathrooms. Two female bathrooms and two male bathrooms. Of course the men out-number the women so really there are only two bathrooms for a whole bunch of guys. Dominic was getting up at 5 am to try and get a shower. I'm anxious to hear how that went. Doesn't sound fun to me.

No major plans for today. I have an appointment at Sylvan in a few hours to find out how Christian is doing. I hope to hear good things. He loves Sylvan so I really hope that its working. After how much we paid for it, it better be working....hehehe.

Mission Complete

Its done!  I got our Christmas tree up yesterday while Mason took his morning nap.  He took a great nap so that was helpful.  When he woke up I brought him out of his room and stood in front of the tree.  He looked very confused but so far he hasn't been interested in pulling on ornaments.  Ayden however can't leave them alone. See, the problem is that we have LOTS of toy ornaments. We have Tonka tractor ornaments, Thomas the Train, Bob the Builder...etc. Ayden wants to play with them like they are toys. This morning Christian yelled for me saying "MOM, Ayden has an ornament in his bed!" I will have to stay on top of that.

Dominic got to his destination fine however the airlines left 14 of their bags in Dallas. He texted later saying they got them all back. They must have sent them on a different flight. We didn't talk yesterday, only texted. He sent me a picture of the back of his cabbies head. He said this guy had the worst hair piece he'd ever seen. So they secretly took a picture and sent it to me. I was driving Christian to get his allergy shot when I got the picture. I laughed so hard. It was hilarious. I've seen some pretty bad rugs but this one takes the cake...hehehehe

While Ayden, Mason and I were waiting for Christian to get out of school Ayden asked me where daddy was. I knew this question was coming since he has no idea what is really going on. I told him that daddy flew on an airplane again. He said "aw man!" I think Dominic's absence is going to be the most difficult for little Ayden.

We went to Cub Scouts last night. Instead of the regular meeting we met at the local museum for a model train exhibit. There is a man who is an Eagle Scout that lives locally. He got his first model train for Christmas in 1941 and has collected ever since. Every few years he packs up his basement of trains and sets them up at the museum for the community to see. He did a special presentation just for Christian's pack last night. It was amazing! The boys LOVED it and so did I. He had 20 trains going on all different tracks. There was a circus, a zoo, an Army base, a McDonalds, Albertsons...etc. It was HUGE and so intricate. The whole thing was amazing!

I spoke to a really good friend of mine last night. Its always so great to talk to her. She is currently in the same situation as us with her husband gone. He will be coming home two months early which is great news. However, with the military, its one of those things...you believe it when you see it. So hopefully he will be home in the first week of January.

Well I better get ready for our stroller class. It is kind of windy today though so I'm not sure if it will be canceled or not. We'll see.

Rough Night

Whew, that was tough.

We had a nice but long dinner at Johnny Carinos.  It was between that and Texas Roadhouse as I predicted.  Dominic usually isn't big on Italian food but I love it.  He picked and said that Italian sounded good.  So we got there and their computers crashed or something.  The food was slow getting to the table but it worked out fine.  We had a small group of three people next to us.  They sat talking long after they finished their meals.  Once they got up to go, they stopped to talk to the boys.  They complimented Christian on his drawings (on the kids menu) and told Dominic and I what a beautiful family we have.  They were so nice.  They said several times that they were impressed how well behaved the boys were at dinner.  Its always so nice to hear those things and people in Texas aren't shy about saying things like that.

Dad called Dominic while we were at dinner to say goodbye.  It sounded like Dominic ended the conversation quickly then when he hung up and I looked at him I knew why.  He was crying.  He has been so sad about leaving.  Everyday he told me "I don't want to leave you guys".  That's hard, on both of us.

We got home from dinner and it was time for the boys to get to bed.  I changed Mason's diaper and Dominic put his jammies on while I made his bottle.  Dominic put him to bed and cried the whole time.  Then he read the boys Green Eggs and Ham and put them to bed.  He had a very tough time even getting thru the book.  It was heart breaking to watch.  

Dominic and I went to bed.  His alarm went off at 2:30 am.  He showered and I laid awake waiting for him to say goodbye.  He dressed quickly and came to say goodbye.  This will be the longest amount of time that we have ever been apart in almost 9 years of marriage.  Its going to be really hard but we both have our minds on the goals ahead of us.  We are both confident that the time will pass quickly.  We will both be busy with our "missions".

My mission for the day...get the Christmas tree up.

Dominic's mission for the day...get to training.

Its down to hours

Well, its about 5:30 pm and we are literally down to hours left before Dominic leaves for his deployment.  He has to leave the house at 3 am.  We've had a really amazing week together.  We have spent a lot of time doing projects and getting things done but we've also spent so much time together as a family.

This morning I made breakfast (normally Dominic's undertaking).  Then he and I finished cleaning up the garage.  This was one big task but one that I really needed him to do for me.  I need to be able to get to things like a screw driver, drill and actually know where to find it all.  I am not a freak about organization but I do like to be organized.  It drives me crazy when I need a tape measure or screw driver and can't find one.  I also needed to be able to get to the shelves where we keep our Christmas decorations so that I can put them away when the time comes.  So it took us about an hour and we got the garage looking great!  I love when it looks like it does now.  Dominic took down the Christmas decorations so that I don't have to.  I appreciated that so much.  Now all I will have to do is put them back up.  I can handle that.

I wasn't planning on putting up any Christmas lights this year but then I thought, well I suppose we could put some on the deck railing.  Dominic helped me with that too.  He's what our family calls a "what-a-guy".

We are going to go out to dinner tonight.  I'm not sure where he wants to go but I told him that he gets to pick.  We like to go to Texas Roadhouse for steak so maybe that's what he wants.  We'll see.

Christian understands and knows what daddy is doing, where he's going and for how long.  Ayden doesn't have a clue and of course neither does Mason.  Dominic has been spending a good amount of time doing boy stuff like wrestling with them on the living room floor.  They love that!  I asked Dominic if he would make them a video that they can watch when they want to see daddy.  I was hoping that he would read them some stories on video so they could have him read them a bedtime story.  He just couldn't bring himself to do it.  He said that he will have an easier time doing something like that once he's already gone.  I will mail him some books and I hope that he will record himself reading them to the boys.  I think its really important for Ayden especially to be able to see daddy.  

For those of you that want to send him care packages, he won't have his address until he gets down range.  Once I do get it from him I will let you know.  Dominic will have cell phone service for about two more weeks.

Happy Turkey Day!

Our dinner table was filled with food that was made with love.

Dominic has smoked a turkey on the grill the past 2 years.  It became a tradition that my dad started several years ago.  He makes the best smoked turkeys.  Dominic learned how to do it and now we smoke our own turkeys.  Dominic got the turkey on the grill around 10 am and we were eating by 3 pm.  We had smoked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potatoes, corn and green bean casserole (Dominic's favorite), stuffing, rolls and we never forget the cranberry sauce in our house.  It was a great meal and we enjoyed it together as a family.

I said grace before we ate which was tough.  I asked Dominic if he wanted to say grace although I knew he would be too emotional to get through it.  He said no, so I said it.  We thanked God for giving us the time to be together, we asked His blessings on the family and friends that we couldn't be with, we asked for safety and comfort for Dominic and for the boys and I as we get ready to separate.  There were tears by the end.  Its tough because as the days go by we know that there are fewer days on the other end.  He will be leaving so soon.  

I still can't decide if I will shop at 5 am tomorrow.  Dominic is saying that he sort of wants to go because he's never done it before, which would mean waking up the boys that early.  So I still don't know what we are going to do at this point.

Dominic is taking a nap in his recliner.  He finally got to sleep in today.  He's woken up early every day that he's been back.  They were waking up at 5:30 am during training.

Well, I usually put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving which I would like to do tomorrow but there is so much stuff floating around the house right now.  Dominic's luggage, clothes, stuff that he needs to take with him are all on the floor right where I put the tree.  I would like to have it up before he leaves so that he can see it but I don't know if we will have room for it.  We'll see.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday

Another full day.  Christian had school today.  They got to go on a "campout" with a real tractor/trailer hay ride and s'mores.  It was the schools reward for being named an Exemplary school by the Texas Education Agency.  Congratulations!

I went to my stroller class for the first time this morning.  It was a beautiful day, perfect for walking.  I walked with three other ladies.  I was the only one with a stroller today though.  I did meet a lady that I spoke to for most of the walk.  Her husband is deploying on Monday also only he will be gone for 12 months.  She has three kids, two girls and a boy all under age 4.  It was great to talk to her because we can relate so much.  The walk was tough and I was regretting it in the beginning but I hit my stride and kept going.  It felt great when I was done and I am happy I went.  No stroller class Thursday for Thanksgiving but I will be there next Tuesday.  Ayden stayed in the Child Watch and LOVED it.  He cried the whole drive home because he didn't want to leave.  I have a feeling the transition into preschool is going to be smooth....hehehe

Dominic finished up with his out-processing on base around 2:30 so he offered to pick Christian up from school.  That was nice.

We went to the deployment dinner tonight.  It was kinda nice.  I got to see all of the people that are going on this deployment.  I was surprised about how many of the guys have wives and kids.  I didn't realize that so many of them had families.  There are 12 guys and 1 woman going on this mission.  The Family Readiness Center prepared a meal of burgers, hot dogs, baked beans, potato salad and chips for everyone.  The kids drew on all of the white boards and played.  It was short and sweet.

Tomorrow won't be as busy.  Christian is done with school for the week.  I think we might get some things done here at the house and maybe Christian and I will bake a pumpkin pie.

Busy, busy

Okay well you probably can tell what I've been doing since I haven't been blogging.  I've been focused on Dominic and family.

Yesterday was another busy day for everyone.  Dominic had to be at work by 7 am.  He had some stuff to do in the morning and firing in the afternoon.  He didn't get home until 9:30 pm.  I guess there were too many failures with firing and they had to stay until everyone passed.  Dominic always does great with firing and was three shots away from best shot.

I took Christian to school then came home to wait for my car to be finished.  I dropped it off in the service dept. at the local Dodge dealership last Friday.  He called me Friday afternoon saying that it was leaking coolant and they needed to replace the lower intake manifold gasket but wouldn't have the parts until Monday.  I told him to keep the car since I had the truck to drive at home.  So yesterday he called when my car was done and the boys and I got a ride back up there to pick it up.  It was covered by our warranty so we only had to pay the $100 deductible for a $400 job.  Love that warranty!

I spent a lot of time wrapping Christmas presents yesterday.  I want to try to get them in the mail soon.

I got an email from the Airman Family Readiness Center yesterday inviting us to the Hearts Apart Christmas Party.  This party is for families that have a deployed family member.  I replied with an RSVP for the boys and I.  It should be nice, they serve dinner and each child gets a gift from Santa.  I also got a list of in-home day cares that have drop in/hourly slots.  That will be good to have should the need arrive.

Dominic and I laid awake talking in bed last night.  We are both starting to get sad about him leaving.  He absolutely does not want to leave us.  And I understand the difference between him wanting to leave because he needs to do the AF thing and not wanting to leave us.  Its going to be a tough 6 months.  He told me that he hopes that if nothing else, I will make some friends while he's gone.  I hope so too.

Today, another busy day.  Dominic left for work at 7:30 am.  He has out-processing today and a few other things.  Later today we are going to go to the park then after that we are going to a deployment dinner at the Family Readiness Center.  I'm kinda looking forward to it.  I hope to meet everyone that is going with Dominic and get some pictures.  Maybe I will meet some of their wives too.  I know at least a few of them are married.  

Dominic is leaving early Monday morning.

He's back!...temporarily

Hi all, Dominic got back at about 9pm last night.  He was tired but so happy to be home.  I kept Christian and Ayden up so they could see him.  Mason just couldn't hold out that long.  Dominic brought us all gifts.  He got the boys each a Webkinz.  Ayden got a skunk that he calls "Skunkie" and Christian got a bald eagle named "Eddie".  He also got Christian a mini snow globe from Philly.  He brought me a magnet and some fresh pretzels.  

This morning we got up and went to breakfast at The Cracker Barrel.  They have really good breakfast and Dominic loves their pancakes.  They serve them with small bottles of real maple syrup too.

We did a little bit of shopping today and we are going to have a nice dinner at home tonight.  Prime rib and bacon wrapped scallops are on the menu along with Caesar salad.  Dominic has a huge to-do list of things that he must get done this next week.  I am going to do whatever I can to help but I know that most of it he has to do.  

Its so great to have him home.  We sort of keep following each other around the house.  We both missed each other and are so happy that we will have this week together.  It will be hard to let him go again a week from now.

Love These!

I have been eating a lot of soups lately.  I absolutely love these.  The Southwestern Corn is my favorite so far.  I've had the tomato and the butternut squash ones too.  I have yet to try the broccoli and sweet red pepper though.  Just thought I would share!

Friday

I didn't blog last night like I usually do. I was really tired last night and still am this morning. When I spoke to Dominic last night he said that he will be sleeping in on Sunday. He's been waking up very early for the past two weeks so I don't blame him for wanting to sleep in.

My handyman called this morning and said that his daughter is home sick today and that he wouldn't be able to come do my jobs today. He is in a similar situation as us. His wife is deployed (but gets back today) so he takes their kids to school and stuff. He offered to come do the jobs tomorrow morning instead, which is fine. I am a little disappointed but thats okay.

I got a text from Amanda last night saying that JR is in the ER again with his kidney stones. Geez! This poor guy! He just can't get a break. I haven't heard any more from her yet. I hope he's okay.

I got a text from Dominic this morning saying "I'm done". They will stay in separate billeting rooms tonight and get up early to get to the airport tomorrow.

My sister was hoping to be able to take a leave of absence from work for a month to come out here to Texas and stay while Dominic is gone in the early part of next year. She found out yesterday that it will cause too many problems with her benefits and seniority to do that. It would have been so great if she could have done that but I don't want her to sacrifice that much with her job. She will still come out around Spring Break time like she has the past three years. The boys love her so much and she is so great with them. Ayden asks almost every single day if we can go to Auntie Kara's house. Poor thing, he just doesn't realize that she doesn't live right around the corner. He LOVES his Auntie!

I am hoping but also expecting these six months to go fast. I think that if we continue with our current schedule we are going to be so busy everyday and the weeks will pass quickly. I hope anyway.

I was really excited about trying out the stroller class at the YMCA yesterday but the weather was bad. It didn't work out and the class was canceled because it was very cold and windy yesterday. We could have still done it if it hadn't been windy. The wind chill was 30 degrees and its just not good to have the babies out in that kind of weather. We will try again on Tuesday.

My car is leaking...something. Dominic thinks its transmission fluid. Even I can tell that its not oil. Its clear and doesn't smell like oil. I was hoping to be able to get it in the shop on Monday but when I called they said to bring it today. That works for me as long as I can get a ride home. They have one of those courtesy shuttles so they will bring us home. I can drive the truck if I need to go anywhere. Thank goodness we bought a truck that fits our whole family. I am just waiting for Mason to wake up from his morning nap then we will go.

It's cold again today. It's been very warm for this part of the year. It was 76 degrees on Halloween this year!

Excited!

It was a good day. I took Ayden and Mason to a play group this morning. There was a little bounce house and some snacks. We sang a few songs and played. Ayden had so much fun. The friend that I go with is 30 weeks pregnant with her third daughter. I am liking her more and more. We went to the park last week together. Her name is Tasha. Anyhow, she and her husband are trying to sell their house and have most of their stuff in storage. They have all of their brand new baby items ($1300.00 worth) in storage which was broken into and all of the baby stuff was stolen. She is only 10 weeks away from her due date! I felt so terrible when she told me about it this morning. It is always so special to pick out the items that you want and the patterns that you like and to have someone just take it right out from under you like that is unimaginable. People can be so cruel! Her baby shower is on Saturday. I won't be able to go because I don't have a babysitter but I have a gift for her.

Christian went to Sylvan this evening. I guess it went well. He didn't say much. I will be meeting with the director probably next week to see how he is doing. I'm anxious to hear.

We got word today that we won't be having guests for Thanksgiving now. Its unfortunate but Corey and Amanda won't be able to make it here. I guess it will be the five of us. I am trying to decide whether or not to brave the 4am crowds on Black Friday this year. Last year was my very first time ever getting up at 4am to go shopping. I waited in line with my friend Leslyn at Best Buy for 2 hours and almost passed out. I was very pregnant and as soon as I stepped out into the fresh air I instantly felt better. That was a strange experience for sure. So we'll see this year. I don't have a friend to go with this year but maybe I will go alone. We'll see.

Dominic took his test today. He said that he knew that he passed but didn't know what his score was yet. They finished up really early today, around 3:30pm. I guess the guys all had fun messing around and joking today. I think most of the pressure is off now that they've tested. They have a few things to do tomorrow then they will graduate on Friday. Saturday they fly home. Since they didn't get their plane tickets until late and because its the weekend before Thanksgiving, the guys got split up between three flights. Dominic comes in on the first flight but has to wait at the airport for the other two to arrive. He has to be sure that everyone gets in okay. They will have a bus pick them up and drive them back to base. I'm guessing that he won't be home until after 10pm.

Tomorrow I am going to try out a Stroller Class at the YMCA. They have daycare for Ayden and Mason if I were to take a class where I couldn't have them. So tomorrow Ayden will go to daycare at the Y and Mason and I will go to the class. I guess it's a lot of walking and they stop occasionally to do lunges and squats and things. I know the lady that is the director of the Y here and she teaches lots of the classes. She just had a baby herself and takes or teaches this class...i'm not sure which. Anyhow, I am really excited about it. The class is on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I am thinking about adding this to our weekly schedule. We'll see?

Okay so I am going to sign off for now. More to come tomorrow!

Testing my limits

Sweet little Ayden.  He can be such a booger.  I love him to death and he makes me laugh all the time but he is one big handful of...something!  Today he just seemed to be testing me at every opportunity.  He jumped on the bed 2 seconds after I told him to stop...timeout!  He jumped on the couch after being told to stop...timeout!  He just couldn't follow directions.  He went to bed early too!  

Christian missed 30 minutes of tutoring at school today because he wasn't paying attention or following directions again.  I got a phone call from the principle wondering why Christian hadn't been picked up yet.  I told him that Christian was supposed to be in tutoring.  Its so frustrating sometimes because I feel like the teachers think that I am a bad parent.  That's hard.  If Christian could just use his ears!  His teacher called the names of the kids that needed to stay and he just didn't listen.  We have an appointment with a child psychologist next week.  They will do an evaluation with Christian.  We just want to cover all the bases and maybe get some answers.  Christian has had trouble focusing and following directions from the very beginning of school (in England).  I am hopeful that we will get some suggestions but we'll see.  Christian is so smart and loves to learn but has trouble in this one area.

Mason isn't sleeping well lately.  I'm not sure why.  The only thing I can think of is that I switched from cloth diapers to disposable because he had a rash that wouldn't go away.  When I switched back his rash dried up and is gone now.  He does fine with them during the day but I wonder if they keep him from sleeping well at night.  He only took two 20 minute naps today.  I am going to change to a cloth diaper when he wakes up for his first bottle.  We'll see what happens after that.

Dominic called late.  He is whooped!  He said that today was a pretty boring day.  They did some training with the C-130's then did some classroom stuff.  They did some studying and will test tomorrow.  Dominic scored a 100 on his last test the other day.  While we were talking he asked me to hold on so they could have their evening prayer.  I thought that was nice.  A few minutes later it was very quiet in the background.  I asked if everyone was going to sleep...he said yes.  So we hung up.  He said he would call again tomorrow.

I am going to take the boys to playgroup again tomorrow morning.  I think they are supposed to have a bounce house or something.  It should be a good time.  I don't have any other plans beside that for the day.  

So until tomorrow...

Monday, Monday

Its been a good day.  We went on about our normal routine however we had a tough time getting started.  Christian enjoys reading, writing and drawing so much that we can barely get him to go to sleep most nights.  We've always allowed him to lay in bed with his lantern to read at bedtime.  Its gotten to the point now where he lays in bed for hours (much like I did as a kid) and he writes comics and draws pictures.  I love that he is creative and I do feel bad that bedtime seems to be the only time that he has peace to be able to express his creativity.  I have gone in to check on all of the boys only to find Christian still awake and drawing or reading at 10:30pm when I am going to bed.  Well this morning Christian woke up turned off his alarm and went back to bed instead of getting ready for school.  New Rule:  No more bedtime free time for the rest of the week.  

The little boys and I went to Walmart to pick up some items for our Thanksgiving meal.  We have a great friend named Corey (Cool Bobby) that we met in England.  We are so grateful for the people that we met there and he is one of them.  He lives in San Antonio with his girlfriend, Amanda now and we've invited them to come up for Thanksgiving with us.  We heard yesterday that they might not be able to make it because Amanda's schedule has been switched around a bit, but we'll see.  We hope that they can make it.

Mason didn't get to nap very well today because of my appointment.  I had to wake him up so that we could go.  There are few things I hate more than waking a sleeping baby, or having someone wake a sleeping baby.  I guess when you have three kids and the house is generally noisy anyway it is a huge accomplishment getting the baby to stay asleep.  I just hate to wake him.  My appointment went well.  I took some coloring stuff for Ayden and he sat quietly and colored.  It was great.  Mason was fine too.  We only waited for 10 minutes or so then my time with the doctor was only about 5 minutes.  It was great.

Christian had Boy Scouts tonight.  His den leader said that he is going to try to get a field trip organized for the boys to go to the Sheriff's Department or something.  That would be really cool I think. 

I spoke to Dominic for a bit.  He said that they had another rough day today.  They did their last section of Asp training.  For any of you that don't know what that is, its an expandable baton made of steel that they carry for self defense.  Dominic has had asp training many times but this time has been very intense.  When someone screws up they all have to drop for push ups and sit ups.  I guess there have been quite a few screw ups.  Dominic said that he is exhausted.  He was laying on his bed looking at all of his bruises.  I think he's going to look pretty beat up when he gets back.  They will be traveling to another base tomorrow to train using the C-130.  He seemed excited about it.  I guess they are expecting snow there tonight.  I hope he takes pictures.

Well, I guess I will sign off for now.  I am tired and need to catch up on sleep.  Doubt that will happen but the thought was nice.

Lazy Weekend

It was a very laid back weekend here.  The boys and I just hung out at home.  It's getting a little bit colder here.  Its dropping into the 30's at night so we've had a nice fire going in the evening.  I really enjoy using our fireplace.  Dominic enjoys it more though.  He can't wait to use it when Fall rolls around.  I sent him a picture of our fire Saturday evening on his phone.  He said it made him smile.

Dominic has been busy at training.  They had today off though.  He said they practiced grappling for fun in the morning and just hung out the rest of the day.  

Well, I guess this is going to be a short one since there wasn't anything going on this weekend.  We have another busy week ahead of us though.

Words of wisdom

Today was another pretty good day.  Thank goodness!

Woke up, took Christian to school, came home, stayed home!

We didn't go anywhere today which was just fine with me.  It was a very busy week.  I was perfectly happy to stay home, clean, do laundry and take care of some odds and ends around the house.  I spoke to the handy man.  He is going to do my small jobs for me.  He gives a military discount which is always a plus.  I also called my doctors office about bringing the kids to my appointment.  The lady I spoke to said that it would be fine to bring them, they just don't want kids screaming and making a scene.  I completely understand!  Then I asked her when would be a better time to schedule my appointments given our circumstances.  She asked for my name and looked at the schedule.  I am the first appointment of the day!  Could that be any more perfect?  I was beyond happy to hear that.

I spoke to Dominic this afternoon.  He called while we were picking Christian up from school.  We spoke for a good 15 minutes.  We had a really good conversation and I needed that.  He said that they did some grappling today.  He got paired up with a 280 pound guy who ended up just laying on top of Dominic and he had to tap out because he couldn't breathe.  That made me laugh...and still does as I write it.  He said that it was fun and they all had a good time.  They finished class early today.  They will have a break Sunday.

Have you ever gotten a phone call or an email right when you needed it?  That happened to me this evening.  I got an email from my Aunt Lani.  She is one of my mom's sisters.  Aunt Lani and Uncle Chuck were an Air Force family so I know that she understands what we are going thru.  I am going to share her email with you (I hope that's okay Aunt Lani).  Thank you!  I needed to hear these things.

Hi Brianna, I love reading your diary and let me tell you the memories come flooding back.  Our phone calls were very rarely what I thought they would be....You are in one world and Dominic is in his Air Force world.  It's NOT that you aren't in tune with each other it's just you both are responsible for Your job/His job.  Brianna you have a huge job 24/7 and this can be mind boggling at times (like bring no children) my reply to MYSELF was always...so like what am I supposed to do? put them in the freezer till I get back!  Just remember you are a huge wall of love for the boys while he is gone.  Sometimes you will just feel so overwhelmed and ask What about me?  NORMAL.  Dominic wants to hear all the news but also feels so left out...he is taken care of with meals and time on his hands which he can't do with or be with the ones he loves the most.  He always has the guys to be with if he chooses and on his free time can do as he pleases.  This would bother me because I didn't get those choices...NORMAL.  You are a wife, mother, lover, friend, and all around make everybody feel good person.  This is Brianna and you are just like your Mom used to be and like your Gramma Lane was.  NORMAL.  A military wife (a good one) is all of the above.  It's OK to cry and yell into your pillow when things aren't great for you.  Just always let the boys know how much you love them and let them share in the letters to Dad.  He is a good Dad and loves his family.....he would love to be home but he is helping to keep our country FREE.  I send you my love and not a day goes by that I don't think of all that is involved in this part of your young lives.     Love, Aunt Lani

It's a new day

Well, today wasn't so bad.  The morning was good and Mason was so happy this morning.  He slept thru the night and woke up in a great mood.

The boys and I ran a couple of errands and picked up a few groceries while Christian was at school.  We checked the mail and I got an appointment reminder.  The problem, as I expected, is that on the letter they ask that you don't bring children.  Uh, yeah right!  As if all people even have that option.  Its so frustrating that I don't have anyone that can help me with this.  I completely understand the doctors office not wanting to have children there.  Believe me, if I didn't have to take them I wouldn't.  I would rather not!  They can be loud, annoying and embarrassing at times.  Its a tough situation but I don't have the option of not taking them with me.  My appointment is on Monday so I am going to call them tomorrow to explain the situation and I hope they will understand.  We'll see.

I called a handy man today.  I am hoping he will be able to come do a few small jobs that Dominic wasn't able to get done.  Honestly, there couldn't possibly be more than a few hours worth of work so I hope this guy can do it.  He gives a military discount too which is great.  I have to call him back tomorrow.

Christian had Sylvan again this evening then immediately after that we had to go straight to school for the PTA meeting and 3rd grade performance.  It was very cute and Christian did a great job.  We practiced his lines in the car and talked about how important it is that he speak slowly and clearly.  So many of the other kids speak so fast and you can't understand what they say.  Christian did great and I will post a couple of videos on youtube of his performance tomorrow.

Dominic took Ayden to McDonalds a few weeks ago to get a happy meal.  Nobody asked if they wanted a boy or girl toy, so he just happened to end up with a small plastic Barbie doll.  Ayden LOVES this doll and takes it EVERYWHERE with us.  He played with her like she was a female race car driver or something.  He didn't name her or comb her hair but she was good at what he had her doing!  Anyhow, he had her as we got out of the car at the school tonight but then she was gone.  I told him to put the doll in his pocket which I saw him do.  Then he and Christian chased each other on the lawn in front of the school.  Next thing we know, she's gone!  Ayden threw an absolute fit!  He is so beyond upset about it.  Poor little guy.

I spoke to Dominic a little bit.  He seemed more interested in what the guys were doing than talking about our days.  We only talked for a few minutes.  He didn't say anything about his day other than he did his laundry.  Its so hard to not get to talk to him and then when we do, it doesn't go the way I had hoped it would.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow, so until then, i'm off to sleep.

What I hoped would be a good day...

I had hoped for another great day.  I have had three really good days since Dominic left for training and I thought I was on a roll.  Well, my hopes came crashing down before I even got a shower today.  I'm just going to say that there is some drama going on with my family that has thrown a big ol' wrench into a bunch of people's lives.  As if there isn't enough going on?!?!?!?

Anyhow, I did get a phone call from a friend today.  She asked me if the boys and I would go to the park with her and her 2 year old daughter.  The weather was absolutely perfect today so there was no way I was going to pass that up.  We met up with them at the park and she and I got to have some good adult conversation while the kids played.  It was a nice break.  

After we left the park we had to take all of Christian's popcorn orders to the squadron to be passed out.  I met up with our friend Zach who helped me since I didn't know anyone that had ordered.  Unfortunately most of the people didn't have money or weren't even there.  It kinda sucked but I left it all with Zach and he is going to be sure that everyone gets their order and I get the money.  Zach is a great friend along with his family.  

I figured that since we were at the base I had better take Mason to get his shots.  I hate to do it but it had to be done.  I'm not sure what else to say since we all know what happened next.  Mason screamed, Ayden didn't know what was going on and I tried to comfort them both at the same time.  I was glad to get out of there.  I don't go to the base very often so I don't feel as comfortable there as I did when we were in Iceland and England.

I really needed to talk to Dominic today just to vent.  He can't have his phone during duty hours so I don't get to talk to him until about 6pm.  Normally if I don't get to talk to him I would call my mom.  When I have a bad day she is who I call, well, called.  Its still so hard living life without her.  Its only been five months since she passed away.  My heart aches for her.  Sometimes I need to hear her voice.  Is that so much to ask?

Anyhow, Dominic called at 6pm but we didn't get to talk for long since we had to go get Christian from Sylvan.  Christian does 5 hours of math tutoring per week.  Four of those hours are at Sylvan Learning Centers.  This is his second week and he really seems to be doing well.

Dominic said that PT was okay.  They did a run at 5am, then they started training.  They didn't get done until 5:30pm.  He sounded tired and physically exhausted.  I guess all the guys were starting to wind down.  Some were doing laundry and some were making calls.  

I am anxious to get to bed tonight.  I am anxious to start tomorrow on a good foot, and keep it that way.  

Training starts....finally!

I talked to Dominic this afternoon.  He called while I was in the second hour of Operation Toy Organization.  They still hadn't started training yet but they got their room assignments.  Well, I guess you could say they got their room assignment.  I guess the twelve of them are all in one room with bunks on every available wall.  He said that it was what he imagined prison to be like.  They have been waiting around to start training which was supposed to start today but that didn't happen.  They had to go to a briefing this evening and they will start with PT bright and early at 5am.  I asked him if he thought that his training would last longer since they started a day late.  He doesn't seem to think that will happen.

Dominic said that everyone has been so bored.  He said that several of the guys made a trip to the BX twice yesterday.  A few people bought some hand-held computer game systems and Dominic bought a Monopoly game.  The base is huge I guess.  Dominic says that it is really nice though.   

My day was a huge success.  I am very proud of what I accomplished today.  I got all of the toys organized, both rooms clean and vacuumed and they look great.  They NEVER look as good as they look right now.  When I was done I realized that Mason's room needs a new fire alarm.  We took the one down that was up because the alarm kept sounding for no reason...not from cooking either.  After we picked Christian up from tutoring we went to Lowe's and bought a new fire alarm.  We got home and I installed it.  I'm glad to have that done.  It was a small project but I am so happy that I was able to do it by myself.  I can feel some independence coming back.

Well, its late and I am going to head to bed.  I think I will sleep on Dominic's side...hehehe.  We have a constant running joke with each other about sleeping on each others side of the bed when the other isn't there.

Until tomorrow...

Teeth Picture~

Mason sitting still with all four teeth showing!

Another day, come and gone.

Well, yesterday was a fairly busy day by my typical standard.  We all got up and got ready for the day.  We took Christian to school.  Mason cried the whole drive, he was REALLY hungry.  Ayden, Mason and I got home and had some breakfast.  It couldn't have been soon enough for little Mason.  I started in on Christian and Ayden's room while Mason took his morning nap.  Its a big job going thru all of the boys toys.  If it weren't for so many pieces!  Each toy comes with at least 50 pieces and when they play with all of their toys together they get all mixed up.  I guess its some mild case of OCD for me but I like to have the toys in their own bins, not all mixed up.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not completely anal about it or anything but when I clean, I organize at the same time.

So I made a trash bag and a donation bag and got to work.  I decided that I was definitely going to need more bins though.  

When it came time to pick Christian up from school, I loaded up the car with our donations and planned to drop them off.  We got Christian, took him for his weekly allergy shot, dropped off our donations and came back home.  We had to eat, do homework and get ready for Boy Scouts.  Mason was sleepy so he took a nap while we ate dinner and I had to wake him to take Christian to his meeting.  I figured that it would be best to go buy some new bins while Christian was at his meeting so we wouldn't have to go home where Mason would be fussy.  If we went to the store he would be fine, and he was.  We got our bins and a few groceries and by the time we were done it was time to pick Christian up.  It worked out perfect.

I called Dominic but he sounded occupied.  His room was loud with people.  He said they were playing cards and dominoes.  We didn't talk for more than five minutes.  He did say that the Army food is awesome, so thats good to know.

I spoke to my dad yesterday and the house is almost done.  He was going to finish the 1/2 bath then both bathrooms will be done.  I can't believe the amount of progress that has been made in such a short amount of time.  I just wish I could see it with my own eyes.

Dad is thinking about coming out here to be with me and the boys for Christmas, so that would be exciting.  We'll see though, nothing is set in stone.

Christian has math tutoring today after school with his math teacher for one hour.  I hope it goes well.

Today, I am going to continue my project with the toys.  Its a big job!  Wish me luck.

My Flower

Ayden picked this flower for me yesterday.  Isn't it pretty?

We had a good day.  The boys and I picked up Christian's Boyscout popcorn.  We picked up a Sunday paper and came home.  Christian likes to read the comics and Ayden likes to look at the toy ads.

We hung out at home then went to a friends house for a  Pampered Chef party.  It was a good chance to get out of the house for a bit.

Dominic called in the evening.  He sounded tired.  They got to their training base around noon and got checked into their rooms.  He said that he and the guys hung out in his room watching football and had a couple beers.  Then they went to the enlisted club for dinner, watched more football and had a couple more beers.  They will start training tomorrow.

Ayden likes talking to Dominic on the phone.  He told him that he wanted to fly on a plane to see him.  Christian wanted to know where he was and asked him some questions about what he's doing there.

No big plans for today.  I am going to start going thru toys.  I feel like we are overwhelmed with toys and with Christmas right around the corner, I know there are more to come.  Get ready for a donation Goodwill!

Date day

Yesterday Dominic and I dropped off the boys with some great friends of ours so that he and I could spend some time together.  We didn't have any plans except to go to lunch and maybe do some Christmas shopping.  Thats exactly what we did.  We had a nice lunch at Chili's then went shopping.  We enjoyed our time together and we are so grateful that our friends were willing to watch all three of our boys along with their two boys.  It can be a serious handful when they all get together but everyone seemed to do fine.  I was concerned about how Mason would do because we've only left him one other time.  They said he did great and only got fussy when he was sleepy.

We picked up the boys, came home and packed Dominic up.  It didn't take long since he mostly took military gear.  We decided that we wanted to go out to dinner with the same friends that watched the boys.  We always have a good time with them.  So we went to Logan's Roadhouse.  We had a great time and lots of laughs.

Dominic and I went to bed at 10:30pm and he had to get up at 1:50am.  He showered, dressed and said goodbye.  One of the guys that is on Dominic's team lives in our neighborhood, so he picked Dominic up and they met up with the others at the base.  Dominic was able to arrange a government bus to take all 12 of them to the airport.  I hope he was able to sleep on the drive since its about 2 hours long.

The boys and I have a couple of plans today.  We have to go pick up Christian's Boy Scouts Popcorn this morning.  Then we are going to a friends house for a Pampered Chef  party.  She said that it would be fine if I brought the boys.  They have plenty to play with at her house too.

So, today should be a good day.  I am choosing right now, in this moment to make this day a good one.

Mission

This is a photo showing what Dominic's mission is.  He is part of a FAST (Fly Away Security Team).  Their mission is to secure the aircraft and crew once they have landed.  Often they will be landing on dirt runways with limited or no security.  When a C-130 lands at a remote strip, the security forces pour out from the back of the plane and take up positions where they can keep an eye on the surrounding landscape.  The planes are often carrying people, supplies, medical aid and injured.