Completely Uninspired

Its been a tough couple of months for me. I don't know if its the holidays or what. I haven't figured it all out yet. I just keep thinking "hmm, I wonder if I'm depressed". Not what I wanted to hear myself say. I really think I need to go see my doctor and address a couple of issues.

I am totally uninspired! I used to be prepared to cook dinners. I go to the store 2-3 times per week and I still can't manage to pull a meal together. I don't cook all the things that I used to cook because I have tried to be healthier however I haven't replaced those "full of fat/calorie" meals with healthy options...so I never know what to make! When Dominic is working I tend to just microwave something for the boys and fend for myself.

I used to do laundry from start to finish...now it takes me all week to get the stuff all put away and thats if I even managed to fold it all.

I feel very short tempered lately too. I'm not in a "happy" mood unless Dominic is home.

I need to snap out of it!

There's my rant!

Christmas Time!!

Its Christmas time again and about a year after I started this blog. Its unbelievable that a year ago this month was when Dominic left for his deployment. So much has happened in a year.

Last week mom's were invited to come to school to help the Pre-K kids decorate their gingerbread houses and have milkshakes. That was fun! Then yesterday Ayden's class had their Christmas party so I went to that. It was nice too.

We are about done with our Christmas shopping. We always have to focus on getting our families stuff done first since we have to ship it all to CA every year. That was a major process again this year. It takes a lot of organizational skills to get all the gifts for all the right people in the right boxes, packed, labeled and ready to ship. Its a lot of work! We managed to get it all done and shipped off last week. Then I got all the Christmas cards ready and mailed yesterday. Today we got three packages from family in CA. So now it really feels like Christmas :)

We don't have any plans for Christmas at the moment but I think we will invite a friend and her daughters over. Her husband is deployed and will be back the first week of January. She and her daughters just moved back to town this week to get settled before he gets home. I think we'll have them over for dinner. We're going to cook a turkey with all the fixin's. Dominic will be off of work for 8 days but will have to work 8 days over New Year's.

Today was the boys last day of school for the semester and now begins winter break. They go back to school on Tuesday the 5th! I will be so ready for that day to come by then.

I joined our local YMCA a couple of weeks ago. Its been fun to go a few times each week to work out and take a class. I have a friend that teaches a toning class which I have really been enjoying. My next adventure will be Zumba I think.

We have all been battling forms of colds and sicknesses over the past several weeks. Last weekend Dominic, Christian and I managed to get food poisoning of some form. We were sick the entire day and night then okay the next morning. I'm glad it was just a day. Now we have head colds, coughing and runny noses. What a pain! I just hope that it all works itself out by Christmas Eve!

I made 6 batches of my aunts recipe of Almond Roca this year. Its such a easy recipe but its all about execution and it can be a hit or miss kind of thing. I managed to only mess up one batch this year so I consider that a huge success. Everyone loves this candy and looks forward to it each year. Maybe its a new tradition.

It feels like home!

The new floors are finally in and done! Its been a very long few weeks between going to flooring stores, scheduling estimates and picking out flooring. We chose a great local flooring company to do our floors and we are completely satisfied with their work.

We wanted carpet in all the bedrooms and part of the living room with laminate in all the high traffic areas. I am so happy with how the house looks. We've also taken this opportunity to do some rearranging of furniture. Hopefully that will help make the house not feel so cluttered.

The Living Room

Laminate and Carpet

We are completely overjoyed at how awesome the floors came out. I can finally feel proud of our house. We've done so much work in the 4 years that we've been here but this, by far, feels the best.

I am anxious about getting the house put back together. The garage is packed full of household junk. I was able to get a lot done already and I will work much more efficiently once the boys go to bed.

Proud Parents

It was time for our first parent/teacher conferences at the boys school. The first 9 weeks of school are over as hard as that is to believe.

I met with Ayden's teacher last week. She was very nice and for lack of a better word, normal. She wasn't one of those Pre-K teachers that talks to EVERYONE like they are 4. That was refreshing :) Anyhow, Ayden is doing great. He knows all of his colors, shapes and can count to 14. My big question was "is he taking naps?" She said that most of the kids are not sleeping during their one hour nap time but by law they have to have a rest time. They must lay quietly and still for a whole hour which must seem like all day to all those 4 year olds. The only problem that she has with Ayden is that he is a little "handsy". He likes to push and hit however she did say that its not just him. There are several boys who are doing the same thing and what I liked the most is that she didn't make a big deal out of it. She acted like it was completely normal for boys at this age which I agree with.

My conference with Christian's teacher was yesterday. His report card looks amazing! He has four A's and the one B is only one point away from an A. He's doing so great! His teacher shared with me a composition that he wrote. He did a great job and had very few spelling errors. His teacher was very complimentary about Christian and said several times that he is a very hard worker. It was an absolute relief to speak to one of Christian's teachers and have a positive response. From the time Christian was four years old and started at a British school in England we have been getting nothing but negative comments from teachers. Its been a very long road but we are now at the point where we have Christian on track with his medication and he is excelling in school. Its amazing and Dominic and I are absolutely proud beyond belief.

We have spent the last week and a half going to flooring stores and having measurements done to get all new flooring in our house. Today I'm getting the last estimate. I am anxious to decide which company to go with and set a date. We are going to put laminate in the majority of the living area and carpet in the bedrooms. I am so excited about this because I feel like it will make me feel proud of our home. I currently hate to have guests over because the carpet is beyond horrible! Its thoroughly embarrassing. To have new flooring makes me feel like I will be proud to have guests come over.

I'm an Auntie!

On Monday, October 5th my niece Eleanor Paige was born! My sister labored very long and hard for 35 hours before they finally decided (after dilation stopped) to do a c-section. Kara worked so hard for so long with lots of discomfort and pressure and was disappointed to have to end up with a c-section. The surgery itself turned into "the worst experience of my life" in Kara's words. Hearing her describe it was heartbreaking.

Of course the end result was nothing less than a miracle...a beautiful, healthy little girl! Elle was 7 lbs 6 oz and 21" long. Her daddy is Mexican, giving her long thick black hair, dark skin and eyes. What a special baby she is. Her mommy and daddy love her to death and Elle has lots of family and extended family who are completely in love with her. She has lots of adventures awaiting her.

Me giving Elle kisses before I had to fly back to TX

Sweet baby Elle!

8 days old

I am so happy that I was able to fly home to be with Kara, Julio and Elle for a week. I cooked lots of meals for the freezer and helped wherever I could with other housework. I know how amazing that help is after having a baby and I didn't even have a c-section.

I am excited to see how Elle grows and I hope to be a big part of her life although being so far apart makes that tough. I think that our family has proved that its possible though with our boys...so I'm determined!

Losing My Mind!

Its Sunday.  Dominic is working nights this weekend and its my job to "try" to keep the boys civil and preferably quiet so that Dominic can sleep.  I bought him ear plugs but doesn't wear them.  

Ayden is a major handful!  He is currently sitting in time out for the 5th time today!  He wrapped a belt around Christian's neck at one point.  Then less than 5 minutes later he spit in Christian's mouth!!!  Ugh!  I thought I was going to loose it.  He's been climbing over the back of the couch all day after being told to stop a thousand times.  I just don't know what to do with this kid sometimes.  I guess I need to re-read my new parenting book.  

I'd like to go to Target today but honestly, leaving the house with all three boys in tow just doesn't even sound slightly appealing to me right now.  I'll wait until tomorrow when I can just have Mason and Dominic will be off.

We're inviting a potential new friend over for dinner on Tuesday.  Our good friend Zach who is currently deployed, announced several months ago that he's getting married.  We've met his fiance, Megan a few times and had lots of interaction with her online.  She's a sweetheart and we are excited for Zach.  They are planning on having their wedding and reception out at Zach's Papa's land.  She asked us if we would take her out there to sort of talk about where the best place would be for the wedding.  Then we'll pick up the boys from school and come home to have some dinner.  I'm looking forward to getting to know her better.  

I'm finding that I have much more time on my hands now that two of the boys are in school.  I would love to meet some new people preferably some other stay at home moms but I just suck at being social.  I wish I weren't so timid all the time.  Maybe I need a new hobby.

Back to the kids...

Just Stuff

Its been a fairly calm weekend.  We expected Saturday to be busy...it turned out to be busy for Dominic.  He got up early and headed out to "the land" as our family calls it.  

The land belongs to our friends Papa and Grandma.  They have been so kind in letting our family use it whenever we want.  Dominic takes the boys camping, fishing and hunting out there and they always have a blast.  Papa (Jim) used to have some cows but he sold them all this year.  There is a nice barn out there and the rest is all just mesquite trees and a few tanks or ponds with catfish.  Jim absolutely trusts Dominic and thoroughly enjoys his help out at the land. 

So early Saturday morning Dominic and the boys headed out to the land to fill the deer feeders with corn and were meeting up with Jim to help put up a new feeder.  They got out there around 8am.  Jim let the boys ride in the tractor with him and even let Christian drive it.  Jim said they were full of questions.  Christian had a Cub Scout car wash at 11am.  Dominic brought Ayden back home after filling the feeders then took Christian to the car wash.  They got home at about 1 o' clock then we had a bbq to go to at the Deason's house at 2pm.

The Deason's are some wonderful people.  Zach used to be one of Dominic's troops which is how we met them.  Zach and his family are from here so he is so lucky to be near them.  Zach is currently deployed but will be home before Thanksgiving.  His mom and dad (Laurie and John or JD) are so great.  They have babysat the boys for us a few times and are always so good to us.  They have a beautiful house here in town with a gorgeous backyard and pool.  Laurie's mom and dad are the ones that own the land outside of town.  The whole Deason family has been so kind to us and the boys...they treat us like family.  We had a great time at their house on Saturday.  They made great brisket and sausage, beans, salads and tons of desserts.  It was a blast!

We didn't have any plans for the rest of the weekend so we mostly just hung out at home yesterday.  Dominic got some wood split and stacked for the winter.  Today we ran a couple of errands and had some lunch.  Dominic is working tonight.  The boys are back to school tomorrow and we will get back into the routine.

Cub Scouts is going well so far.  There is a new den leader this year who seems determined to fix everything.  Part of that refers to not having siblings running around at the meetings which is a great idea but not for those of us who have more than one child.  He plans on having siblings sitting at a table during the meetings coloring or something.  That just won't work for us.  How do you make an 19 month old sit in a chair for an hour?  It just won't happen.  Dominic and I are committed to being more involved in scouts this year so Dominic is going to go to the meetings every other week which is when he'll be off anyway.  I will have to drop Christian off at the meeting on the other weeks.  Dominic is also doing some woodworking projects for the group that will help them get their Handyman badges.  I'm happy that he is more involved and anxious to help this year. 

Week in review

We made it through the first week of school!  The boys did great!  I have to get a picture...every morning Christian walks Ayden to the back of the school (where his classroom is) holding hands.  When school gets out they are walking holding hands to the car.  Its about the cutest thing I've ever seen.  I told them to hold hands because I was afraid that Ayden would walk through the crosswalk without stopping.  They really seemed to get the routine down in the first week.

I got a phone call from Ayden's teacher this afternoon.  She wanted to give us an update and let us know how the first week went.  She said that Ayden did great and is picking up the routine rather quickly.  She said that he's a little "handsy" meaning that he and the other boys can't keep their hands off one-another.  That doesn't surprise me :)  She was very understanding about it and said its completely normal for the boys and they they will work on that during the school year.  I asked her about nap time.  She said that some days he slept and some days he didn't but when he didn't he laid quietly on his mat.  That was great news!  I was truly concerned about how nap time would go and I was especially pleased that he slept even if it was only a day or two.

Christian's teacher seems great and I am looking forward to this year.  I think he will do great.

Cub Scouts started up again on Monday.  Christian loves scouts and since he's not particularly into sports at least he has an interest in scouting.  Dominic promised to be more involved this year and is hoping to have Christian's troop over to build tool boxes to help them earn a badge.  The popcorn fundraiser starts next month again.  We did great last year and still have some extra money to update his uniform for this year.

Mason and I had a great week together at home while the boys were at school.  We went shopping one day which worked out great.  Mason took almost 3 hour naps all week!  How wonderful that was!  I even had some time to read a book!  Its been a very long time since I've been able to read.

I'm anxious about this coming week and excited to see how it goes.

Great First Day!

Today was the first day of school!  Christian started 4th grade and Ayden started Pre-K.  It was a great day.  They got out of school early so we'll see how tomorrow goes though.

Ayden said that they played.  I asked if they had circle time, music time and story time and he said yes.  He ate breakfast and lunch at school.  I'm anxious to see how nap time goes.  He hasn't taken naps in way too long.  I know that once he gets into the routine of school he will do what everyone else is doing so we'll see.

Ayden LOVES his backpack!

Christian said that he met a friend named Ethan today.  He's new to the school this year.  Hopefully they will develop a good friendship.

Off to school!

Christian starts back at Cub Scouts tonight too!  Busy day!

Busy week

Whew its been busy but not too crazy.

Mason woke up at 2:30 am on Sunday morning screaming his head off.  It was the kind of scream that made me think someone was in his room.  He was scared which scared me.  I went in there and he was grabbing for me as I went to pick him up.  He must have had a nightmare or something.  I'm not sure.  He was warm but not so bad that I thought he had a fever.  I rocked him in the recliner until he fell back to sleep then put him back in bed.

In the morning he woke at 5:30 with a high fever.  We started with Tylenol and did the typical switch between that and Motrin every four hours.  His highest fever was 103.5.  I decided to see if we could make it thru the night and would take him in for a same day appointment at the clinic on Monday.  He didn't have an ear infection and his fever finally broke yesterday evening.  He was attached to my hip for 3 days!  Poor baby.  I know he didn't feel good but he's doing much better now.

Christian had a check up for his ADHD meds today.  He has a new doctor.  I really liked her.  She asked lots of questions and was very thorough.  I told her that I had a few concerns but that I wanted to start the school year on this medication with his new teacher so that I can compare the teachers thoughts on the matter.  We will go back in a month and might make a change at that point.

Tomorrow the boys have a dentist appointment in the morning then we have Meet-the-teacher night at the school in the evening.  Ayden is so excited about starting school.  He even knows his teachers name already!  School starts on Monday!  I might cry when we drop off the boys.  Its a huge thing to have two kids going to school.  I can't believe it.  

Christian's 9th birthday is Friday.  We are going to take Christian and Ayden to the local water park for part of the day and Mason is going to stay with a friend.  I'm looking forward to that.  We might do a special dinner and dessert that night.  Then on Saturday we are having Christian's party.  He wanted a pizza party this year.  We'll have some pizza and salad.  We will put up the big inflatable water slide for the kids to play on.  That's always a big hit.  

REAL Family Photos

Erica M Photography

ericamphotography.com

These are just a few of our favorites!

Macias Family Vacation - 2009

First off,  is anyone even reading this anymore?  I know, I know...its been FOREVER since I've posted.  Sorry!

Its been a busy and very eventful summer and I can't hardly believe that its almost over.  We started our vacation off by hitting the road and driving to California.  We gave ourselves too much time to get there so we added a night to our hotel and took the boys to the beach.  It was Ayden and Mason's first time to see the ocean.  I have missed seeing the ocean living in Texas.  Being from California, we were only a few hours from the ocean.  It would take us a whole day to drive to the ocean now.

We met up with some family in Anaheim and had a nice dinner together.  The next morning we hit Disneyland hard.  It was very exciting to be able to take the boys there and also to be able to share that experience with our family.  We rode lots of rides.  The boys loved it.  My sister who is very pregnant wasn't able to go on many of the rides so she was the designated kid watcher.  She hung out with Mason and Ayden when he didn't want to go.  Most of the rides didn't take that long to go thru so that was good.

Family all left the next afternoon after we met for breakfast.  Dominic, the boys and I hit Disneyland one more time then made it over to California Adventure for a couple of hours.  After that it was time for us to hit the road and head to Las Vegas.  Its about a 4-5 hour drive, so not too bad.  Mason slept almost the entire way there...poor baby was whooped!  We arrived at our friends house late and they were in the garage waiting for us to pull in.  The boys made themselves right at home.  Its always great to see them.We were able to get a babysitter one night and go out with JR and Amanda to Margaritaville on the strip.  Great food, great drinks and great company.  We had a blast...while it lasted :)

Amanda and I

Amanda and JR watched the boys for us for 4 nights while Dominic and I stayed at the Luxor.  It was the first time we had spent an extended period of time alone together without the children since our honeymoon.  It was so great.  We saw Carrot Top perform and also went to a Cirque de Sole show called Zumanity.  It was H-O-T!  We ate at great restaurants and shopped.  The walking got old quick though.  We decided that our next vacation...whenever that may be...will be more relaxing.

The day before we left Vegas to head home we were able to visit and spend time with one of our best friends that we met when we were stationed in England along with JR and Amanda.  Laurie and her sister-in-law flew into Vegas the night before and we got to spend some time with them the next day.  We haven't seen Laurie since before we left England almost 4 years ago.  Her husband, Ben and their new baby boy, Liam stayed in Montana so we didn't get to see them.  We are hoping to plan a England reunion trip next year though.  We had the best of friends there and its just not the same without all of them.

Our trip was long and exhausting but we had a great time.  We made lots of memories for the boys and our whole family.  I am still excited that we were able to take them to Disneyland.  

Now we are getting into the mindset for school to start.  Ayden starts Pre-K this year and will be in school 5 days per week, all day.  Christian is going into 4th grade.  I can't believe that I have a 4th grader!  It goes fast.

I'm going to try to post to my blog a little more often now that things should be settling down...I hope!

Surprise Weekend

My sister and her boyfriend, Julio had planned their baby shower for Saturday afternoon.  I wasn't planning on going since I knew we would be seeing them in two weeks time for our family vacation to Disneyland.  I just couldn't justify spending a whole bunch more money right before our vacation.

My sister and I

When my sister called me crying and upset the week before her shower it broke my heart.  I just felt for her because she wanted mom to be there and sort of felt like there wouldn't be much of our family there.  I was crushed and I know she was too.  

Dominic was very insistent that I fly home to CA for the baby shower while I was still not able to get past the money issue.  We spoke to a family friend and she reminded me that its not about the money....its about the memories.  From that point on, I knew she was right.  I had to go.

So I bought a plane ticket and reserved a hotel room and rental car.  I figured that if I am going to surprise my sister I might as well surprise everyone!  How fun would that be?

Me, my brother and sister.

So I flew into Sacramento on Friday evening, rented a car and drove to my hotel.  It was already very late and I was not feeling well from traveling.  I grabbed some food and and crashed for the night.  The next morning I woke up and got ready but still had to wait until 1pm for the shower to start.  I was ready to leave at 10 am and I was so anxious to get on with the day.  I couldn't wait to see the surprise unfold.

I drove to the mall to kill some time and did some shopping for our Vegas trip.  After that I drove out to the Edible Arrangements store where I had ordered an arrangement for the shower.  I picked it up and headed over to Kara's house.  As I pulled up to her house I saw my dad's truck parked on the street.  I was so happy to see that he was there.  I was hoping he would be there.  Then as I came up to the corner I saw Julio tying some balloons to the street sign and I covered my face as I turned into the court so he wouldn't see me.  I parked the car, grabbed my purse and started walking towards him.  As I approached I yelled "can I help?" to him.  He looked up and smiled as if he was trying to figure out who I was and as I got closer his jaw dropped.  That was a great feeling.  My whole body was trembling as I hugged him.  He was shocked and surprised and hardly had any words.  

I followed him to the front door and while he went inside to get Kara I stood outside.  She came to the door and opened it.  She immediately started to cry as did I while we hugged.  It was really great.  After we hugged for a bit Kara asked if dad knew I was coming.  I said no and just as he was coming into the house from the backyard we were walking right towards him.  He hugged me so tight and was really happy to see me.  I felt very loved in that moment.  Dad helped me bring in the HUGE fruit arrangement and as we walked to the car he said "when I was taking my shower this morning I just wondered if you might show up".  

As the day went on I was able to surprise our Aunts, and lots of family friends.  It was like the gift that keeps giving.  I really had a great time and I was happy that I could be there for Kara and Julio.

The baby shower was beautiful, very well done by Kara's closest friends.  They got lots of great gifts and are so loved.

Whirlwind!

We have had a very busy week but its been so great to have Dominic home.  He's been very helpful with the boys while still learning all the new things about the boys and our routine.  It has been so nice for me to have help getting out of the house.  I used to make 2-3 trips to the car before we could actually leave.  Now, we are out the door all together.  That is nice!

We have done lots of shopping lately.  Dominic wore his tennis shoes out from walking in the sand so much over there.  We got him some new shoes and the boys too.  Dominic and I took the boys to daycare on Thursday so that he and I could spend some time together.  I took him for his first pedicure.  His feet were a mess from being in boots or tennis shoes all the time.  He said that the pedicure tickled :)  We had lunch together and went to see a movie.  It was a really nice day.  We also took the boys bowling one day.  That was fun!

On Wednesday we went to the squadrons welcome home bbq on base.  The food was catered and it was AWESOME bbq.  They served brisket, sausages, bbq pork, buns for sandwiches, coleslaw and potato salad.  It was the best bbq I've had in a great while...Dominic too :)

We got Mason some cowboy boots.  They match the boys that they got at Christmas time.  Mason loves them!  He ran all around the house in his diaper and boots the other night.  It was so fun to watch him.

Dominic installed our new dishwasher yesterday.  Oh man!  I have been WAITING to have a dishwasher back.  I have been hand-washing dishes for close to 3 months now.
Yesterday we went over to John and Laurie's house.  The boys swam and had a blast.  Mason LOVED the water.  He's a little fishy without gills.  We put arm floaters on him and he was so comfortable in the water.  He absolutely LOVED the pool.
When it got dark we were able to sit in their backyard and watch some fireworks from the country club.  It was amazing!  We had the perfect view and didn't have to fight a crowd or find a place to park.  Laurie and John made some homemade ice cream and we sat and talked.  They are such great people and we really enjoy hanging out with them.

We didn't do much today.  We did some more shopping then we came home and made some dinner.  We had some steak, bacon wrapped scallops, zucchini and squash and fresh corn.  It was a lot of food and we came to the realization that we just don't eat like we used to.  None of us eat nearly as much as we did 6 months ago.  Dominic lost fat and gained quite a lot of muscle, I lost 53 lbs (so far), Christian doesn't eat as much because of his medicine and Ayden has his on and off days.  We need to start cooking less :)

I hope everyone had a nice 4th!

Happy Homecoming!!!

He's finally home! The homecoming was so great. It was an unforgettable moment.

The boys have their daddy back!

We were interviewed for the local news channel.

We're down to hours!

Its surreal.  I cannot believe that in only a couple of hours my husband will be back from his 7 month long deployment.  

I have stayed very busy so far today which is perfect.  I bathed and dressed the boys.  Mason is taking a nap and the big boys are watching cartoons.  I showered, did my hair and makeup.  We hung the "Welcome Home" banner outside on the porch.  Now we just wait...only a little while longer and I will have my husband back.  I'm so excited, I could burst!

2 More Days!!!!!

My baby is comin' home!  I'm so excited and that doesn't even begin to describe how I really feel.

Dominic and the rest of the guys went on lock-down today.  They won't have access to anything and they can't leave their designated area.  Its all for security and customs.  I got one last email from him this morning.

Tomorrow they will fly out and I should hear from him sometime really early in the morning on Saturday.

I can't believe its finally here.  Its been way too long.  So much has happened since December 1st.  Many people said that it would go fast and in some ways it probably did.  Overall, I would say that it did not go fast.  When I think back about that time I realize how much I accomplished.

Sylvan twice per week

after school math tutoring

LOTS of doctors appointments and immunizations

getting the house painted

having some electrical issues fixed

having the washing machine fixed

Dad replacing lighting, electrical sockets and switches and a new toilet

starting and trying new medications for Christian

dealing with Christians teacher this year

staying on track with my weight loss

getting the cars in for service, oil changes and inspections

finding a dependable person to mow the lawn for me

finding a babysitter then losing her :(

holidays and birthdays

family drama

meals, naps, baths, bedtime stories

crying, yelling, screaming

smiles, laughs and special memories

Its been a rewarding time for me because I learned that I can live without Dominic if I have to.  I hope I never have to again, at least not for this long.  I did gain some much needed independence.  I also know that I couldn't have made it through this without so many people.  My sister has always been there, online, all day for me to talk to or vent if the need was there.  She has helped me find confidence in myself.  My dad was always a phone call away if I needed help and boy did I need help :)  Thanks dad!  Jim and Patty (my in-laws) have called lots of times to check in on us.  They helped make birthdays special.  My friends, you know who you are, have been amazing support.  Two of them have done this before and offered lots of encouragement and understanding.  I love you guys!

Its almost over :)

He's Coming Home!

Dominic got his itinerary today.  He'll be home Saturday afternoon.  I just can't believe how amazing it feels to know that he's really about to be home again.  The boys will have their daddy back and I will have my best friend back.  I cannot wait to see him.  I know there will be a lot of tears but it will be a joyous day.  I don't even have the words to describe my happiness.  

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day babe.  We wish you were home.  We love you and we'll see you soon.

Happy Father's Day dad!  We love you and miss you very much.

Sucky Day

Every morning I wake up and check my email hoping to see some type of definite flight arrangements for Dominic and his team to come home.  Every morning there's nothing.  I emailed Dominic and received one back from him later in the morning.  He said that there was bad news.  GREAT!

They were not scheduled to fly out on the 21st.  Instead they MIGHT fly out on the 24th or 26th.  Dominic said that their 1st Sgt. had to step in because the travel rep. wasn't doing his job...AGAIN!  

I don't even have words to describe the sadness and disappointment I felt this morning.  I was just deflated.  How can they keep getting our hopes up just to be crushed in a matter of days before they were due to be home?  

Another issue is that there has been no communication from this end (Dominic's squadron) to any of us spouses.  It amazed me to find out today that they didn't even know that the new team had arrived and have taken over for our guys.  There is a major lack of communication and organization and the people who pay for it are the guys and their families.  Its a huge disappointment.  

I am pissed off, angry, sad, disappointed and depressed.  That is probably only a speck of what Dominic is feeling.  

Happy Appointment

I had another appointment today.  I couldn't take the boys to the hourly daycare because that's only available on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I wish I had known about that when I made this appointment.  We went loaded down with drawing stuff, toys and snacks.  Ayden and I colored, Christian drew and Mason sat in his stroller eating goldfish.  We only sat for about 5 minutes before we were called back.  Thank goodness.  We were out of there within 30 minutes.  I couldn't ask for much better than that.  I made my next appt. for a Thursday ;)

The boys have been pretty good today.  Mason took a good nap (not 4 hours, but good anyway).  I laid down while he napped which was nice.  The big boys watched cartoons and were fine.  I'm not sure why I was so tired but it felt good to sleep a little bit extra.

We're still waiting to hear from Dominic about travel plans.  No news as of yet.

I know my man!

Dominic called me today.  Just as I suspected he was checking my myspace and blog for pictures of my new hair.  That is exactly why I didn't post any pictures :)  Sneaky bugger!

We had a fairly productive day today.  I took the boys to get haircuts then a run to Sam's Club.  Gotta love Sams!  We came home and Mason took a 4 hour nap!  Whoa!  That was great.  The big boys were very irritable today though.  They just couldn't get along at all.  These kind of days are exhausting.

We are hoping to hear tomorrow what the definite flight plans are.  Its getting very ridiculous.  There are a lot of people who are waiting.  

I have another doctors appointment tomorrow.  I hate these appointments because I have to take the boys.  I hope it goes fast.  Sure wish I hadn't lost my babysitter!

Interesting weekend

It was quite an eventful weekend...both good and bad.

Friday was Christian's last day at camp.  I got a phone call at 4:30 from the camp nurse saying that Christian was not feeling well.  He complained of a bad headache and was really hot.  The nurse wanted to know if I wanted to come get him so that he could ride home in an A/C car instead of the bus.  Well it would take me 30 minutes or more to get out to the camp site which would be just after 5 pm which is when the bus arrives at the pick up spot.  I asked her to give him a cold bottle of water and put him on the bus.  When I picked him up they had arrived in a 15 passenger van with A/C.  I don't know if that was just for him or not.  He was fine.  They had spent most of the day in the pool and he was tired and hot and most likely dehydrated.  He fell right to sleep at bedtime and was fine the next day.

Saturday morning I had a hair appointment at 8 am.  My friend, Leslyn made me an appointment with her hair stylist with the help of my sister.  It was my birthday present from my sister.  I dropped off the boys with Leslyn and went to get my hair done.  It had been 6 months since I last had a hair cut and I was about to the point where I wanted to shave my head.  My hair was dry and brittle and so unhealthy.  I was pulling it back into a ponytail every chance I got.  

I had been waiting for this hair appt. for so long.  I wanted to do something VERY different.  Another opportunity for me to step outside my box.  And boy did I step out!  I love...no LOVE my hair!  It's everything that I had hoped for.  I'm not posting a picture or placing a description because I don't want Dominic to know what I did.  He knows that I got my hair done and he was hoping I would do something drastic.  He just doesn't know what I did.  He doesn't know if its dark or light or blue!   Hahaha.  I'm excited that I might actually be able to pull off this surprise.  We'll see.

On Saturday night we had a huge thunder and lightening storm go right over us.  It was the second most intense storm that I have seen since we've been here.  It did a lot of damage to trees and fences.  We lost power at 9:30 pm.  That was right about the time that Christian came to me to let me know that there was something in his hair.  I figured it was probably a piece of clay or something.  Nope!  It was a tick!  Gross!  It hadn't been there for long by the looks of it.  I did manage to get it out (head and all) in candlelight.  I didn't want Christian to know what it was until I got it out.  I didn't know if he would freak out or not.  Better to not find out I figured.  He was fine.  

We went to bed and in the morning the power still hadn't come back on.  I messed with the breaker box a little and no luck.  Around 12:30 in the afternoon I went outside to find out if my neighbors had power or not.  Our next door neighbor didn't but the ones across the street did.  I was glad that it wasn't just me.  By about 3:30 I was going insane.  It was so hot and SO humid!  It was so bad that we left the house at one point just so we could be in the A/C car.  I finally called my dad because I thought maybe I had messed something up when I messed with the breaker box.  He saved my butt once again.  I  had turned off power to the whole house and I tried several times throughout the day to switch it back but the switch wouldn't budge.  Anyway, dad walked me through it and I could have done a cartwheel (something I never mastered....even as a kid) when all the lights started coming on.  I couldn't get the A/C on fast enough.  My dad has saved my a** so many times while Dominic has been gone.  There's no way I could thank him enough!

That was my weekend!  Now its Monday and I'm hoping that by about this time next Monday I will be seeing my husband.  Life can't get much better than that.  Dominic is hoping to hear the definite travel plans by tomorrow.  I hope so.

Update on Homecoming

Dominic called last night.  We talked again about how much we can't wait to see each other and the boys.  Its so close now!

This morning over email with Dominic something wasn't right.  I could tell that something was not good.  I asked and he said that he had a very bad day.

Dominic was giving the new team a tour and went to see the guy that handles all of the travel arrangements, we'll call him "the travel guy" since I don't know what his official title is.  The travel guy said something to Dominic about leaving on the 25th.  Dominic asked if he had him confused with another team.  Apparently not.  The travel guy never confirmed their seats for the flight on the 19th and now there won't be a plane at all on the 19th.  TSgt B. lost her mind according to Dominic and managed to get them on the flight for the 21st.  So that's how where it stands now.  They will leave on the 21st which of course happens to be Father's Day.  We had hoped for him to be home by then.  

Dominic is PISSED and of course everyone involved is disappointed.  As for myself, I'm disappointed but its only two more days.  It could have been 6 more days!  I'm trying to keep my eye on the prize, so to say.  

I have a hair appointment on Saturday and my friend is going to keep the kids for me.  I'm really looking forward to having a new hair cut and color and some time alone.  Dominic will be home very soon, and I cannot wait!

Giddy like a school-girl

The doorbell rang and look what was there!  Dominic sent me these beautiful flowers.  I was very surprised because I was not expecting flowers!  I love the note too :)
We are nine days away from our long awaited homecoming with Dominic.  I cannot wait to see him.  We have been talking and planning, un-planning and so on.  First Dominic wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse to eat on the way home.  I told him that I would rather come home first then go out if he wants to do that.  Then he said that he would rather come home, stay home and relax, play with the boys and spend time quietly as a family.  I was glad to hear that.  That's what I would like to do also.  We will play it by ear because it will all depend on what time they get here.

I am so excited and those words don't do it any justice.  I am giddy and sometimes get a nervous jump in my stomach when I think about Dominic.  Its almost like when we were dating.  I used to get so nervous about seeing him that my hands would shake uncontrollably.  He still teases me about how I used to shake around him.  I just can't wait to see him, hug and kiss him and have him back!

Sickly

Three of the four of us are sick.  That's how it goes.  It started with Ayden, then Mason and me.  Ayden seemed to be feeling good all weekend until yesterday when he ran a fever.  He took a nap yesterday...that's how I know he's not feeling good.  He woke up this morning not feeling good either.

Mason is feeling much better but still has a runny nose.

I started to feel sick yesterday.  I'm going to do everything I can to keep it under control.  I have been drinking airborne.  I hope it helps.

Dominic called last night.  He picked up their relief from the airport last night.  He said that they will have a couple days of in-processing and he hopes to have them trained and flying missions by Saturday.  He said that the tents are great but they'll do.

We talked a lot about when he gets home.  We both can't wait to be a family again.  We are already getting requests for taco/fajita night from some friends :)  Christian asked me this morning if we can have tacos tonight.  Maybe I will make my version.

Christian's day camp is going well.  He's really enjoying it.  They do lots of crafts and art activities and they get to swim everyday.  He loves that!

I want my baby back!

My poor baby Mason has been very sick this weekend.  He started with a runny nose on Friday morning.  He was very fussy, and crying most of the day.  By afternoon he was running and fever which I was trying to control with Tylenol.  He took three naps.  When he woke up from his last nap, he was burning up and I had given him the Tylenol only an hour and a half before.  I took his temperature and he was running 104.7!  That completely freaked me out.  I took off his clothes and put him in a cold bath.  He screamed and cried the whole time but I had to try to get his fever down.  I called my friend Leslyn.  She's an RN.  I guess I just wanted confirmation that I needed to take him to the ER.  She said yes, absolutely take him.  So I dropped the big boys off with her and went straight to the ER.  We went straight into triage and she gave him some Motrin.  Then we were sent over to Urgent Care.  We got straight into a room and the doc came right in...I guess they weren't busy yet.  So his fever was going down and he was obviously feeling better.  It turns out that he has his first ear infection.  We got a couple of prescriptions and were out of there within 40 minutes.

I knew it was going to be a long night and I couldn't have been more correct.  Mason slept from 9 pm until about 12:30 am.  I went to bed but hadn't fallen asleep by the time he woke up at midnight.  He stayed awake until 3:45 am.  He and I slept on the extra bed in his room for one hour when he woke up at 4:45 am.  Then we went back to sleep together at 6 am until 7:45 am.  That's it.  That is all the sleep that we got and I thought I was going to die!  I was SO tired.  All day yesterday was long and horrible.  Mason didn't feel good and cried almost all day.  He only took one nap.  He went to bed at 7 pm, I put the boys to bed at 8:30 pm and I went to bed at 9 pm.  Mason woke up for the first time at 1:30 am and went back to sleep at about 3:45 and slept until 7:45 this morning.  It wasn't perfect but I finally got some sleep.  I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't.

Mason is feeling much better today.  He ate some scrambled eggs with cheese and went back to bed.  I'm hoping that we can get out of the house for a little while today.  The boys were very bored yesterday.  Maybe we can go to the park or something.

Dominic is hearing that they got a flight for the 19th instead of the 17th.  It's not certain...just what he heard.  They will be moving from their dorms to the tents tomorrow.  He says they're junk.  I just hope that the last couple weeks goes quick for him and us.  We have two more weeks to go.  I can't wait to see him!

Christian starts his Scouts Day Camp tomorrow.  He will catch a bus at 8am and be back at 5pm Monday-Friday just for this next week.  He will have a blast and I know he will learn a lot.

The Countdown Begins

Dominic gave me the "all clear" to go ahead and make a countdown chain for Ayden.

Summer: Day One

Today was the first official day of the beginning of Summer for us.  That really just means that Christian is home now.

Ayden woke up and turned the TV on.  He doesn't know how to change the channels so he watched The Daily Show With Jon Stewart on Comedy Central.  I think I will just set the channel to Noggin before I go to bed that way when he wakes up and turns on the TV, its good to go.  Christian slept in again.  He woke up around 10:30 am.  Mason and I were up at 9 am.  Wow!  It's great to sleep in once in a while.

Last night we had a friend and her 11 month old son over.  Her name is Jordan and her son is Cooper.  Her husband is over there with Dominic and they live only a few blocks away.  She is the one I went to the Garage Party with.  Anyhow, I made spaghetti and salad.  She brought over some garlic bread and dessert.  We talked and dreamt about the homecoming :)  Her son Cooper fell and hit his head on one of the wooden chairs (we think).  No one was near him and all the sudden he started screaming.  He split open his eye lid a little bit below his eyebrow.  We discussed stitches but she was okay with just letting it heal.  The cut didn't look very deep.  Hopefully it won't scar.  Aside from that we had a nice relaxing evening.  Ayden wanted to run with Jordan so they went into the front yard and raced across the grass.  That was cute.

We didn't have any plans for the day but I did need to get Mason some milk.  We hung out and I picked up the house a little bit.  Dominic and I emailed a few times and then he called.  He talked to both of the boys.  Ayden mostly likes to talk about camping.  He LOVES to go camping.  That is what he wants to do when daddy gets back.

My lawn guy came by to mow today.  I've only had him mowing the front yard and around to the alley but not the back.  The back yard has lots of sticks and pine cones from our two pine trees and its NOT a nice backyard by any means.  Well the weeds were really starting to get tall and I just figured at this point by the time Dominic gets home and gets around to cleaning it up back there the weeds will be waist high!  So I asked the guy to go around back and let me know how much he would charge me to mow it.  He said 5 bucks!  I pay him $20 to do just the front.  He said that he normally charges $25 for front and back.  What a deal!  So I gave him $10 for the back since it was such a mess then when he comes back I will start paying him $25 to do both front and back.  I paid Christian $3 to pick up all the sticks and pine cones too.  He also discovered a dead bird.  Hmm, I wonder how it got there.  Did it fall out of the sky?  Interesting.

We went to the grocery store to get some milk and fruit, came home and had dinner.

Ayden has a weird cough going today.  Its not constant but its pretty hoarse.  I hope he's okay tomorrow.  If he is, I am going to take Ayden and Mason to day care and Christian and I are going to the movies together.  We are going to see the new Night at the Museum.  Christian has been wanting to see it.  The only bad part is that from what I have seen in the previews, there is a huge computer generated octopus!  I am deathly afraid of them as irrational as that may be.  So we'll see how that goes.  I'm hoping that Ayden is feeling okay.

I'm old!

I turned 29 yesterday.  I was fairly sure that it wasn't going to be a great day from the start and maybe that's where I went wrong.  I should have felt positive from the beginning and I certainly didn't.

I did wake up to several emails followed by phone calls, messages and texts...oh and a couple of cards came in the mail too.  That was great and I am so grateful for all of them.

I got an email from Dominic and later a call.  He told me that it was looking like they wouldn't be leaving until somewhere between the 24th - 26th of June.  That was terribly disappointing.  When we are so close, all we have to cling to are these dates and nothing is for certain.  Its all rumors!

It was Christian's last day of school.  He got out at 1 pm.  We picked him up then came home to hang out for the rest of the day.  I figured that maybe we would order some food to pick up and bring home just to make the day a little different than the rest.  Mason took a very early nap yesterday so he was cranky for most of the evening.  Christian was in one of his moods and I was starting to get very irritated.  I finally just said "screw it".  We stayed home, I cooked hot dogs and beans for the boys and a typical diet meal for myself.  I made myself an ice cream cake and ate it alone since neither of the boys wanted any.

I heard LOTS of  "happy birthday's" and LOTS of "I love yous" but I was so completely hurt that the boys didn't wish me a happy birthday or give me a hug or make me a card.  I got nothing and it made me feel very unappreciated.  Then I felt bad for feeling that way.  They are kids and they are not worried about anyone but themselves.  That's completely normal.  I know they love me.

By the time I got the boys to bed and my dad called me I couldn't hold onto all the emotions that have built up over the past 6 months.  I completely lost it.  Why can't I be grateful for what I do have?  I always focus on all the bad stuff or the things that don't go the way I want them to go.  I don't know why I am wired that way.

I just needed to get to bed and wake up to a new day.

Today was much better.  Mason woke up at 6:15 this morning which is very odd for him.  He normally sleeps until 7:30 am.  At 9 am he was ready to go back to bed and I was too.  Ayden was up watching cartoons and Christian slept until 11am (he must have been up all night).  I laid back down while Mason slept and Dominic called me at 10 am.  I was awake, just laying in bed.  

Dominic said today that the word coming directly from the Chief is that they will most likely be leaving on the 17th (this one is not a rumor).  Of course, we never know and I am going to try to not get my hopes up (yeah right!).  I just want my husband back!

This afternoon I took the boys to walmart so we could get a pool and water toys.  I got an inflatable pool that we can put on the deck.  Its big enough for Christian to play in but also fine for Ayden and Mason.  We bought a package of those splash balls that soak up water.  Those are by far the best pool toy ever made.  I LOVE playing with them.  I got the pool set up and filled, the boys in their suits and we started playing.  I got a good work out chasing the balls down, dipping them in the water and throwing them at the boys.  They loved it and I did too.  That was fun.  Then the next door neighbor girl came over and played with the boys for a while.  Then her mom came out and invited the boys to come over to their house to play with their slip and slide.  This was the first time that both Ayden and Christian went over there.  Mason was taking a nap and the house was QUIET for one whole hour!  That was awesome!

When the boys got home we got ready for our dinner date.  We went to On The Border because I have been really missing Mexican food.  Its hard to get Dominic to go to a Mexican restaurant anyway because he's always disappointed by it.  He would much rather make his own tacos than go to a restaurant and be disappointed.  So my friend Leslyn and her 2 year old, Carson, my friend Erin and her 11 mos old son and the boys and I went out to dinner.  It was a little loud and hectic but fun.  It was nice to get together and catch up with them.  They each brought me a gift which I didn't expect.  That was very sweet of them.

Anyhow, dinner was good.  We came home and I took off my clothes to get jammies on.  The door bell rings.  I thought "oh hell".  Ayden answered the door while I pulled on a dress really fast.  Guess what it was?  Flowers, chocolates and a stuffed bear from my Aunt Val and Uncle Bill.  What a surprise that was!  I never expected that and it really made my day.

Its now 8 o' clock and everyone is quiet and doing their own thing...but everyone is happy, including me.

3rd Grade Achievements

Christian received the A-B Honor Roll, Citizenship Certificate for A in conduct and work habits all year, Commended Performance for Reading and Math for the TAKS test and Jump Rope for Heart.

He did so well academically in spite of everything we've been through this year.  We are so very proud of him.

Lazy week

I haven't done much this week.  I have, just nothing really significant.

Mason and Carson playing in the pool.

Monday turned out to be a nice day.  I was hoping for something to do but didn't have any plans.  After I took my shower I checked my cell phone and there was a message from my friend, Leslyn.  She said that they were having a bbq and invited us to come over.  I gladly accepted that invitation.  The boys had fun playing with their friends and I got to visit with my friend.  Mason and Ayden played in the baby pool.  They loved it.  It was a good time and kept my mind off of my sadness.  

Tuesday Christian went back to school.  Wednesday we went for his allergy shot and took him to the clinic for a physical.  He needed one for his Boy Scout day camp that is coming up.  Its June 8th - 12th every day from 8am to 5pm.  He's looking forward to that.

Today is the 3rd grade achievement awards ceremony at Christian's school.  We will be going to that.

Tomorrow is the last day of school!  Another year down and so, so many more to go.  I am very excited about Christian being a 4th grader and Ayden going to Pre-K.  I will have Mason home during the day for the next few years.  How great is that?

Tomorrow is also my 29th birthday.  Dang!  I'm old :)  Dominic and I can't believe that we are almost 30!  That's hard to wrap my brain around.  My friend Leslyn is going to take me to dinner on Saturday so that will be nice.

I talked to Dominic last night.  He was so tired.  He had to get up 4 times last night to either take or pick up teams.  I asked him if there was someone that could help pick up the slack but he said that if he doesn't do it himself, it won't get done right.  Today he said that he only ended up sleeping maybe 4 hours last night.  It was also 130 degrees there today!  No, that's not a typo.  130!!!!!  He said that once it gets over 110 you don't notice a difference.  Hot is hot I guess.  I hope he doesn't just spontaneously burst into flames.

There have been a few dates flying around about when the guys will get back.  On Monday I heard that they will be back on the 19th.  Then Dominic said yesterday that the latest rumor is that they won't leave there until the 25th.  That was disappointing.  Unfortunately these dates are what we cling to and the fact is that nothing is certain until they are on the plane and in the air.  That's just how it is.

Memorial Day

Thank you so those who fought and died for our freedom!

And thank you to those who are still fighting.

We celebrate you today!

Oddly enough, today is one year to the day that my mom passed away.  I spent all last night and all this morning thinking of her.  I've been thinking about how much she is missed.  I wish she didn't have to leave us so soon.  I wish I could have one more hug, one more phone call.  I can hear her voice in my head which breaks my heart.  I miss my mom so very much...words cannot express.  I love you mom!

Strawberry Pickin'

Last night I decided to look and see if I could find somewhere where the boys and I could go to get out of the house for a bit.  I thought maybe the farmers market which is downtown.  It opened today for the season.  When I looked it up on the Internet I found a website for an orchard that is nearby.
I printed the directions and off we went this afternoon to Young's Orchard.  It was 45 minutes away.  The drive was nice.  Mason slept, Christian read and Ayden called out EVERY SINGLE motorcycle he saw (FYI, motorcycle riders can ride all but about 2-3 months per year...so there are A LOT of them).  "Mom, you're never gonna guess what I just saw!"  Oh I bet I could :)
The man that runs the orchard was very nice.  He gave each of the boys a basket and pushed us out the door to the field.  He said we can eat as many as we want while we're out there.  I ate only one because they were pretty dirty.  We bought 5.5 lbs of strawberries freshly picked by ourselves.  They were dark and so sweet.  They were small but so tasty.  He also grows onions, peaches, tomatoes, asparagus and black berries.  He said to come back in two weeks for the blackberries.  I can't wait for the peaches!

Christian was totally into picking them.  He loved it.  Ayden picked...maybe three.  Then he decided that it would be much more fun to run up and down the rows, which was totally fine.  We had a great time and we will most definitely be going back...very soon.
I made 6 jars of strawberry/orange jam and 4 jars of sugar free strawberry jam.  This one event made for a great day.

Success!

It worked!  I heard Christian going to the bathroom at 6:45 am.  At 7:15 I heard him pouring himself cereal.  When I got up he was dressed, with the exception of socks and shoes, he had eaten breakfast and got his backpack ready.  Amazing!  He was sitting quietly in the chair reading a book while the other two boys were waking up.  Christian made it to school just after 8 o' clock this morning.  It was perfect!  Completely stress free, I love that.

I praised his efforts and hugged him and told him that this is what I expect from him.

Christian is completely capable of doing these things but because he knew I was going to make sure he did, he didn't HAVE to be responsible for himself.  That was my mistake.  I have learned a huge lesson from this.

In other news, Dominic took his math final last week.  He got an 86 in the class which isn't as good as he hoped but he's okay with that.  He's happy that its over and he feels like he made something of the deployment.  The month of May is going quickly for me.  Once this week is over we will have next week which is the last week of school.  Friday the 29th is the last day.  Then it will be maybe two or three more weeks before Dominic comes home.  Its right around the corner and I am so excited!

Ready for change

Okay, so I went to the bookstore yesterday.  I was looking for a book called Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours.  A friend of mine is reading it and suggested it to me.  Well the store didn't have any copies so I continued to look.  I found a book called Have a New Kid by Friday.  I found out that both of these books are by the same author, Dr. Kevin Leman.  He suggests that parents these days are so focused on their kids achieving success that they aren't letting their child fail.  I am not an extreme parent in that situation but I did see myself in some of the things he discussed.  

I have read over half of the book and started immediately with some changes.  It starts with me after all.

Last night I told Christian that he needs to get up, get dressed, brush his teeth and have shoes on in order to be on time to school this morning.  I decided (with the help of the book) to let Christian make some choices.  He needed to choose wether he was going to be responsible for himself and be on time to school or not.  I told him that I wouldn't be yelling, or reminding him of the time, that it was up to him to make sure he was at school on time.  

Here's what happened.  Christian's alarm is set for 7:15am.  At 7:30 I heard him go to the bathroom.  After that I heard a lot of laughing, playing and screwing around between Christian and Ayden.  At 7:45 I went in to get Ayden out and get him dressed.  At that time Christian was dressed but didn't have socks or shoes on.  I didn't say anything to him.  Ayden got dressed and went back in to their room where they continued to play.  At 8am Christian went to the bathroom where he remained for over 10 minutes.  He still didn't have socks or shoes on and hadn't eaten breakfast.  So time just keeps going by and he realizes at 8:25 am that he is going to be late (he has to be there at 8:30).  He finally gets his socks and shoes on which takes another 10 minutes or so.  He grabs a granola bar and we head out the door.  He was 15 minutes late to school and his first time EVER to be tardy.  I gave him a note for his teacher saying "Dear Mrs. Hill, Christian has no reason to be late.  He simply chose to play instead of getting ready for school.  This is a lesson of responsibility.  Please do whatever you do with children who are tardy.  Thanks."

Tomorrow Christian has a field trip.  He has to be on time or he will miss the bus.  I will tell him the same exact thing at bed time tonight.  If he's late, he will miss the field trip.  It will be his fault because he needs to be responsible for himself and also learn the consequences of his actions.  Whatever happens tomorrow morning will be the true test if this is going to work.  I am very anxious to find out.

On a final note I have to tell you that it was KILLING ME not to do anything this morning.  To not remind him of the time, or tell him what still needs to be done.  A true test of patients for me.