I've always wanted to say it.

Often, when people find out that my husband is in the military and was deployed, their response would be "I'm sorry".
That statement always took me by surprise.
Yesterday, I was watching E1 during her karate class. I began chatting with the mother next to me. During the conversation, I mentioned that my husband just returned from deployment and was in the military. She said, "I'm so sorry"

I replied, "There's nothing to be sorry about... we volunteered to do this"

Happy Birthday E2!

It’s the eve of E2’s 5th birthday…
I cannot believe how fast the years have flown by.

She looks so much like me, and has inherited my stubbornness as well.

Even before she was born, she was stubborn.
I was told that my pregnancy was most likely to not continue…
I was 16 weeks along, and began hemorrhaging. A. Lot.
They said that there was nothing that we could do, whatever was going to happen, would happen.
I remember seeing D&C written on my chart and scheduled for the next day.
Obviously, the doctors and nurses didn’t know how stubborn this little girl was going to be.

Happy Birthday E2!
You bring many smiles to my face each and every day.
I am so very blessed to be your mother.

Demoted

Last night E3 awoke in the middle of the night and called out for "Daddy!"

I absolutely loved the look on Stuntman's face when he heard that.
I've been demoted, and I am just fine with that.

Remembrance

I had not heard of the Moment of remembrance, I guess I'm out of the loop a bit, but unlike 72% of Americans, I DO know what Memorial Day stands for, and always have.

The idea for the Moment was born when children touring the Nation’s Capital were asked by the Commission’s Director what Memorial Day means. They responded, “That’s the day the pool opens.” A Gallup Poll revealed that only 28% of Americans know the meaning of this noble holiday.

The White House Commission on Remembrance was established by Congress (PL 106-579) to promote the values of Memorial Day by acts of remembrance throughout the year. The major initiative of the Commission is the National Moment of Remembrance.

h/t to Buck

Life

It's been an emotional roller coaster the last few days... so many highs and lows.

We are all so happy and relieved to have Stuntman home, safe with us.

We had about 30 minutes on day 2 that we saw what could only be called a "reintegration issue".
It was me... I have been wound so tightly for the last 15 months, and had my emotions so turned off, that I had difficulty returning back to "normal".
It was regarding the kids and this problem that I was having. I needed to to the Heimlich Maneuver on E3 (he's fine) and it triggered a reaction that I hadn't anticipated. A river of emotions poured out of me. I recognized it for what it was and had a good talk with Stuntman.

Stuntman is currently at a memorial service for his best friend, T. T passed away just days before Stuntman returned home. He was here, not at war, he was safe. He was so supportive while Stuntman was away... I wish I could go today, but Stuntman preferred that I stay home with the sick kids, and the sitter is sick too... so I'm home.

Life has no explanations. There is no such thing as safe.

Whew!

He's home!
We were soaked to the bone (it began pouring just as he was deplaning)
Soooo happy now :D



... and I am currently on hold with Time Warner

whatever.

It’s still raining… and it’s cold, so my homecoming outfit may not work. It’s in the 50’s. Brrrr.

AND to top it off, my home phone doesn’t work. Thanks to Time Warner and their wonderful customer service. Remember this issue? I am still trying to resolve it. I called earlier in the week and thought that it had finally been resolved… but no, they just changed my phone number to something else and then disconnected the line a few days later.

Déjà vu from this problem last year.

What the hell is wrong with that company?!

Luckily, Stuntman was able to reach me and tell me his estimated arrival time. My cell phone does not receive calls here because I’m just below but out of sight of the towers. He left me a message.
I don't know how other units work, but there was no notification from the actual unit or FRG regarding the homecoming, just the soldier calling home to the family to notify. At the FRG meeting over a month ago, they did say it would be in late May, but that's about it.

Today

It's raining.

I may need to switch from holding paper Welcome Home signs to holding umbrellas.

... and the yellow ribbon mural painted on the driveway with sidewalk paint is toast.

I'm sure that Stuntman will love to see the rain :D

So Soon :)

I received my daily note from the Universe today.

It said:

You know that dreamy look of deep, soulful love you've sometimes seen in the eyes of another as they gazed into your own, Susan?
Expect a lot more of it.

Whoooooooohoooooooooooooooo!!
The Universe

How did the Universe know?
:D

a first

I paid over $4 a gallon for gas today... actually $4.03 and 9 tenths
ugh.
I am sooooo glad that I dumped that POS Land Rover that required premium and got a whopping 8 miles to the gallon.

mistaken identity

While waiting in line at the post office today, E3 began staring at the man behind us.
E3 looked up at him, then at me...
E3 pointed to the man and said "daddy?"

The guy did look a bit like Stuntman, and was wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap.

I told E3 that, no, that's not Daddy. I also told the guy that he did look a lot like my husband.
I don't know what everyone around us was thinking. There were a few inquisitive looks.

I didn't feel like explaining to everyone that my son has only seen his father for 3 weeks total in the last 15 months because Daddy was busy serving his country.

E2 just said "ya, he does look like Dad, but shorter"

waiting...

I can hardly wait until Stuntman is home, and has a few days/weeks of uninterrupted time with us. He has been gone so much in the last 3 years. I don’t recall the last birthday party that he was able to attend. It was a few years ago. His civilian job requires travel, and requires nights/ weeks away for training. Add to that the amount of training that he did with the Guard prior to actually deploying, and lets just say that he was rarely home during the last 3 years.

I don’t know how much time that will have here at home before he needs to report back to civilian work (I know I’ve read 90 days, but I’m unsure how much of that will be including a paycheck). When he does return to work, he’ll need to leave for a few weeks or a month or more for training to catch up on what has changed while he was gone.

I don’t want to think about that.

I just want him home.

water + dirt

= mud.
It was a good day for mud pies.

Thankful

Another day down…

My stress level is lower; I’m no longer watching the clock or calendar. I really have no idea when Stuntman will be home, so I’m going to stop waiting and wondering.
The kids have been, how do I say it… on my last nerve lately.
The fighting and arguing between them is ridiculous! I need to try something so they can get along better, I’m just not sure what.

It was really windy today, that hot, dry wind that totally negated any precipitation that we received in the last few days. Everything is dry again.
We were out running a quick errand. I had only been gone maybe 15 minutes and two fire trucks blew past us… Then two more... Then more sirens and vehicles from other directions. At least 10 fire trucks plus numerous other fire vehicles. I noticed that they were from several neighboring communities.
I looked around and saw a nearby cloud of smoke rising into the sky. It looked close… too close to be near my house. Whew.
As I drove closer to home, I realized that my original perception was wrong, that smoke is coming from somewhere near my house. Eek!
I cancelled my final errand and called my next-door neighbor to ask her about the fire. She said “what fire… wait a minute…” she glanced out her back door and said “oh, there is smoke just coming up over the hill behind us”
We arrived home. Helicopters were overhead, a faint smell of smoke was in the air, but luckily, the wind had died down.
I did my mental checklist. I made sure that all three dog leashes were handy. I reviewed the most efficient path through my house to pick up anything valuable (sentimentally, not monetarily). Photos, mementos, backup hard drive, check. I know that if there is ever a fire nearby, I’m taking the kids, the dogs and whatever else I can easily grab and I’ll let the house go. No way am I going to stand there with a garden hose.
Thankfully, the overwhelming response of the firefighters knocked out the fire relatively quickly. If they hadn’t sent that many trucks… if the wind hadn’t died down at just the right time… the fire could have easily gotten out of control considering the terrain.
Tonight, I am thankful for the LA firefighters... they're more than just eye candy ;)

Stuntman would have said it

E3 was standing on the ottoman (a very low, large ottoman) and decided to jump off of it as he had seen his big sisters do so many times.
As he jumped, I yelled out "feet and knees together!"

huh?, did that just come out of my mouth?
Stuntman has said it many times.
I almost followed it with "lower jumper has the right of way!"

Mother's Day '08

My mother's day started out perfectly.
E3 looked up at me and said "hi mommy" and gave me a big hug. It was early, no sleeping in allowed here, so the two of us sat in the living room drinking our coffee and milk. I had the coffee, he had the milk, he really doesn't need anything to perk him up.
The girls awoke soon after.
My brother-in-law arrived at 9 am for breakfast. I made one of my favorite foods, french toast. We also had eggs and bacon.
Emma graduated from beginner obedience class today, what a star student :)
So far, we've spent most of the day playing outside. Stuntman has called twice, and I spoke to my mother, sister, SIL, and several friends on the phone to wish them all a happy mother's day.
It's currently watermelon break time.
I'm writing this down so I can remember how thankful I am for this beautiful day, and my truly blessed life.

That'll do

I was back at the gym yesterday after being absent for two weeks. I went today as well.
My kids finally are clear of the snot-nose... they won't allow snot-nose kids into the gym daycare.
Working out really helps alleviate stress.
I'm still craving a tour on the bike ... that will have to wait. The weather right now would be perfect to ride... cool and cloudy. Stuntman mentioned that riding at Ocotillo Wells in the heat of summer would be a piece of cake after dealing with the heat of Iraq in full battle rattle.

So, I'll just keep running along on the eliptical... have I ever mentioned that I love the eliptical? I can run on it without the stress on the knee. So much fun.

One foot in front of the other…

I don’t know why I’ve been so stressed lately… well, I do, but usually I handle it a bit better.
My life is full of blessings, and I know it.
I was born in the best country in the world (I’ve only been to a few others, so I’m taking Stuntman’s word on that, he’s been practically everywhere)
I have the most wonderful, supportive husband imaginable. One who volunteered at a time of war because he knew he could help. A husband that works hard so that we can live a comfortable life.
I have three healthy, wonderful, energetic kids.
…and three fun dogs.

I can tell that I’m stressed because I have been grinding my teeth. It’s been a bad habit of mine for as long as I can remember. A little over 10 years ago, I stopped. I had been to several dentists and doctors due to the damage done to my teeth and jaw.
For the last week, I have had a headache and my jaw is swollen.
I’m going to purchase a mouth guard tomorrow, hopefully that can stop my habit from returning permanently.

blah

As you can tell... I've been a little tired lately.
I've barely been commenting on other blogs, I've barely been reading them either.
I've had little inspiration for my own blog.
I've been easily distracted when I sit down in front of the computer.

Still no date for Stuntman's return. Still in the groundhog days of deployment.

My non-paying mom job has been busy with school activities and sick , but not very sick kids. (too sick to go to school, but not sick enough to actually sit still at home)
My paying job has been really busy as well. That is a double-edged sword. I like the extra money, our savings were depleted quite a bit during this deployment because of decreased wages and increased expenses... but that also means that I sleep a lot less since I do most of my work after the kids go to sleep.

I'm just plugging away... day by day...

Generation gap

The kids and I were watching the "Alvin and the Chipmunks" movie tonight.
Dave, the human, walked into a record company.
E1 asked "what's a record?"

Stuntman and Tweety Bird

The kids were watching an older not-so-politically-correct cartoon in the car the other day.
E2 says "Hey Mom! Tweety has a gun, just like Dad!"

Sparky Dog

update on the Sparky Dog...
no major illnesses found, no tumors, most blood tests fine.
Her kidney function tests were elevated... could be the kidneys beginning to fail.
Now she has special low-protein food and a supplement.
Sparky has been the healthiest dog we have ever had. She's only been to the vet for her yearly checkups.

Now at feeding time, Roxie receives a special low-fat diet and vegetables, Sparky has her special low-protein food and supplement and Emma eats whatever she wants. It a virtual dog restaurant around here.