Honey (I) Do

It’s that time of the year again, you know the time where the school year is coming to an end. The trees that have been sitting bare for months and months are starting to sprout little buds and the grass is turning from that yucky straw color to beautiful shades of green. The sun is coating everything with a warm glow and the remnants of a long, cold winter are disappearing.
That also means that it’s time to get yearly physicals, dental cleanings, and eye exams. I have decided that the best thing to do is get this done at the end of the school year so I can avoid the masses making last minute appointments. They are all good for a year. I have all my duckies in a row and plan on clearing them all out before the final bell rings at the school this year. I hope to be able to do that every year from now on. It’s just too much of a hassle to try and get an appointment any time after August 1st. Let’s see if we can get it all done.
I have some plans going for the summer as well. Some much needed R and R is coming our way. With Dante’s hectic work schedule we only get a few precious moments together to really relax and have a good time. It will be a surprise for the boys…all three of them. Some sun, sand, and good times will be heading our way. I always feel ancy when I am making vacation plans with no help. I tend to feed of Dontes input. What’s a girl to do? (Don’t worry, he never reads the blog so he will stay in the dark)

My Baby

My oldest son is in the fifth grade. I swear it seems like yesterday that he was just a tiny little thing that wanted no more than to dance to Elmopalooza and get snuggles from his Mama and Dada. He loved to eat cheerios and drink his bottle. His little swing was his absolute favorite. Bath time was always a fun time. He loved the rubber ducky song and would splash and sing at the top of his lungs. It’s so hard to believe that he will be in Junior High in just a few months. *sigh*

The Shack

I love Barnes and Noble. I love the atmosphere, the rows and rows of books, the people that are scattered either immersed in their own books or looking to discuss whats new.
I just finished reading "The Shack". I bought it forever ago and it sat on my shelf while I read the whole series of Twilight, Marley and Me, and The Secret Life of Bees. I really wasn't too sure what the book was about. I remember being in target and the boys and Donte were looking around and I was drawn to the books. I remember it catching my eye and I vividly remember taking the book into my hands and thinking about how haunting the cover was. A dilapidated shack in the middle of a beautiful light that gleamed off of the snow covered ground, The ladybug that was on the front and back, it all just flowed together in a sense but didn't belong together in another.
I don't know where to even start. This book touched my soul, deep in my soul. I am by no means a Bible beater and I am not a heathen either. I read this book with a completely open heart and embraced the whole thing. Far fetched is one way to describe it, but a few other words are hope, sadness, joy, and peace.
There were many passages that jumped out at me. There were so many times that I paused and reread a line or two...to just take it in a little more. There were so many that just rang so true. Some the author wrote and some he borrowed from others, either way he placed all the words in exactly the right places.
"My Sister's Keeper" is next on my reading list and from what I hear it's a really good read as well.

Sundays = Football

Big Donte has joined a Football team out of Bolingbrook. As we all know men never really grow up and they feel a need to run and muddy each other up as often as they possibly can. Today is cold and rainy. The fog is so thick that it looks like Vilseck on a cold fall morning. The kind of fall morning that your not quite sure if it's actually fall or winter. The boys and I endured the elements as Donte got good and dirty and acted 10 again.

I am supposed to be taking a quick nap before I head out to a jewelry party...instead I am blogging and wishing it were Friday evening again. This weekend flew by way too fast!

Bliss

I'm sitting here at my kitchen table, looking out my sliding glass doors as my boys throw a baseball and my dogs laze in the sun. What an afternoon. In a few minutes I am headed over to a friends house to help her unpack. After that....who knows. Thank God for lazy spring afternoons!

Absolutly Nothing

It’s finally getting nice here. The sun is out. I actually wore Capri’s yesterday and am going to slip into my flip flops when I get home. I have been waiting for weather like this for ages.

I find it a little funny that, that really is the most exciting thing going on in my life right now. Not funny in a bad way but in a good way. Calm is a great way to be. I hope the weekend goes by in the same fashion.

Did you see the story of the spinster that was on Britain’s got talent? What a great story. I remember the Paul Potts fella that did the same thing a few years ago and the little boy. What a great way to show that you aren’t supposed to judge a book by a cover. The audience there was awful. They were booing and the dirty looks were really bad. She floored them and I for one am glad that she did. I have the utmost respect for anyone that can get up and do that sort of thing. Can you imagine how hard it is for anyone to get up and sing in front of judges and an audience that is booing you just for your appearance? I can imagine how the audience felt when they heard her beautiful voice….I hope they felt like asses.

Early Morning Edition

Donnie had band this morning so I had to get him to the school by 8 AM. Dannie and I are now being brainless in the living room until 8:30. Dannie is actually watching Robs Fantasy Factory. Have y'all seen that? It has to be one of the funniest shows ever. I was a huge fan of Rob and Big as well. Great morning brain food huh LOL.

Something else that I find funny is that my neighbor is outside mowing his grass right now....it's 39 degrees and I cant see the difference between the grass that is cut and the uncut portion. Maybe it's his way of willing warmer weather our way. Oh well more power to him.

Today is going to be a good day at work......I may even whistle while I work.

Vent!

I am really over this whole recruiting thing. Let me tell you I don’t like to bitch and whine but sometimes I just gotta let it all out. My husband had a four day last weekend for Easter. We had a great Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We enjoyed family time and frankly enjoyed spending some time just being together with the kids. Monday the boys and I went back to school and my husband had an appointment so he went in to work to do that and ended up staying the better part of the day. He did this on his own instead of staying at home and piddle paddling like he deserved too. They stress numbers in recruiting…stress them like it’s no tomorrow, like their lives depend on it. My husband has worked every Saturday for over a month not counting last Saturday…never mind that 6 weeks ago we had a company meeting that the new station commander put together and the words that came out of her mouth stated that our husbands would be home on most Saturdays. Now I have been living this recruiting life for two years and there are a few perks(trying to be positive) but the disadvantages are many, the threats from higher ups are ridiculous(haven’t threatened us, but have threatened a few in the unit with inconceivable punishments for nothing. When a wife is calling me crying uncontrollably the chain of command has failed), the long nights, weekends, holidays, and middle of the night phone calls are ridiculous. My husbands’ fire team has won the top achievement the last two years at ATC (annual training conference) so suffice it to say they know what they are doing and are obviously doing a great job at it.

*whew* OK that was the PG version of what I needed to vent about. 12 months and counting until I can get back to the normal Army Wife Life.

To some it may seem strange to say normal Army Wife Life but I miss it. I miss the company functions, the camaraderie, and just the fuzzy feeling that it brings to be apart of it all.

I am grateful for what I have and I was fore warned about recruiting. It has had its highs and lows. I feel like I have dealt with it all in stride as has Donte, but enough is enough. I miss Fort Stewart, Vilseck, and Fort Bragg. If I wear my ruby red shoes and click my heels do you think that the wizard will send me home?

Gloomy

What a gloomy, gloomy day. It is literally gray outside. Not the fall gray that is beautiful with scattered leaves all around of all different colors. I love that gray when there are specks of yellow, orange, and red all over. When the hot smoldering summer starts to slowly morph into those days where it’s too warm for a jacket but cool enough for a sweater. Nope this gray is the icky, make your bones creak, stay in bed gray that no one likes. I swear it’s enough to throw any sane person into a deep, deep depression.

I suppose it could be the fact that the boys and I just spent a great week together doing absolutely nothing and everything. There was no differentiating between bedtime and rise and shine time. Most nights were spent just hanging out, watching movies, or playing games until the wee hours. There was no set time for wake ups. We got up and took the dogs out at around six and then it would be back to bed until whenever. It was nice to be lazy for a week and not worry about much. It was nice playing, cooking, and cleaning with the boys. We had so many great conversations and a ton of laughs.

One of the things that we did was watch an old stand up act of Bill Cosby. We all laughed and laughed. At one point I laughed so hard I was crying. I hadn’t watched it in years and it felt like the first time watching it again. I wish that more comedians today had clean stand up shows for the kids that they could enjoy. My boys also watch all the old reruns of the Cosby Show that come on. I have fond memories of the show and am so happy that my children will as well.

Happy Easter

Easter has always been a fun holiday in our house. I was so worried last night that it was going to be different since the boys announced that they didn't believe in the Easter Bunny. I am happy to say that we had a great time and that we still did our Easter Egg hunt and the boys loved their Easter baskets. After a hearty brunch we are all relaxing. The boys munching on candy, Donte asleep on his chair and I blogging.

Our nephew is being Christened today. Donte and I are the God parents but we only had a weeks notice and the flights were super expensive and we couldn't drive because the kids and I have work/school tomorrow. My Mom is standing in for us. I am disappointed but what can we do? Not much I am afraid. Anyway, we have been discussing what to get for Carson. In our family we often give money but I wanted this to be personal and truly from all of us. We went to the stores this past week and couldn't find anything perfect enough. Well we finally came to a decision.....let me explain before I reveal what it is.

My brother is six years and one day younger than me. I had/have a teddy bear that I have had since birth and that is my security blanket. My baby brother had a blanket. He loved this blanket took it everywhere with him. He sucked on it, cuddled with it, and was totally in love with it. Now Adam was rough and tough, he had his fair share of stitches, scabs, and bruises but he turned into a big ball of mush with his blankie.

My sister-in-law Chrissy loves the color green. I do believe that her house would be covered slab to roof in green if she could.

My brother and I can pick up stuff with our toes. Most people can but when I was pregnant I got to a point where it was easier to pick up things with my toes rather than bend down and get the object. My boys are both pros at this as well and Donte always jokes around that we have monkey feet. I often call my boys little monkeys, as has just about everyone in my family.

So we are hand making Carson a hand made fleece blanket. On the front are lots of cute little monkeys and the back is the perfect shade of forest green. I know that he is in GA but with the heat comes air conditioning, and there are a few months of cold. We are making it bigger than the average baby blanket because we want him to enjoy for years to come. It took about 2 hours to make and we all poured a heap of love into it.

I tried to post some pics but blogger is being a pain. I will try again later.
Happy Easter everyone!

The Tax Man Cometh

Today was the day of reckoning.....we had to get our taxes finalized and sent in. I hate this part of the year because if we have to pay it means that I didn't take enough out and if I get a huge refund it means that I let Uncle Sam have my money for year and that he gained profit from it and not me. We also have two different state returns on top of our federal. Between our home and the different states and all the other crap I swear our returns start out like a Where is Waldo. At least this year it was little over 2 hours and we were done. We walked out with the knowledge that we will be getting a return but here's the kicker I didn't account for the fact that Donte and I are now full time college students....can I say "YEEEEEE HAAAAA" Wow what a difference. We more than doubled our return and can now pay off some bills, go on a great family vaca, or just honker it in our savings and watch it grow. It sure is nice when you walk in with a headache and walk out with a smile.

Our boys also told us over the weekend that they no longer believe in the Easter Bunny.....CrUsH, BoOm, BaNg....there went my heart. They have been asking since last year and Donte and I kept up the charade. It was time though. They are 9 and 11. I remember when I figured it all out. My parents were stationed in Germany and we were going to England for Christmas. I was helping my Mom pack...or just being nosy....who knows, and I saw the cutest little purple cabbage patch kid. In my head I thought it was for my Cousin Michelle and thought no more of it. We arrived in England and let me tell you when my family gets together it's a lot of laughs and fun. Especially when you are a kid. I remember watching the adults and giggling at the jokes even though I barely had a clue as to what was going on. My cousins from the states were there as well as my Granny and Grandpa, it was safe to say that I was in my own little slice of Heaven. I can remember the crowd that seemed so large to an eight year old, the giggling and playing, the tickling and cooking. The smells that would snake through the house were divine. To this day when I smell them it takes m back to my childhood. I remember Christmas morning that year and opening Santa gifts.....we did stockings for decoration but we put pillow cases out for the Santa gifts.....how else would he be able to give us everything that we needed? I remember going through my pillow case at warp speed as was my brother and cousins and guess what was in my bag? You got it that little purple cabbage patch. Was I heart broken? No I can honestly say that I was proud in the fact that I figured it out.

It still doesn't make it any better that both of my babies are all knowing now. I had a moment yesterday with Donnie as I was redeeming an itunes gift card. I scratched the back of the card and input the numbers....it wouldn't take...Donnie comes up behind me and swiftly points out that the i is actually a t and that the other letter was a z..........enough said.

A Great Deal!

My mom is the best bargain shopper that I know. She can find a sale anywhere and if what she wants isn't on sale she will go to store after store to find it and wont leave unless she finds it at a great price and has it tucked safely in the back of her car.

Donnie and I both love to take pictures and can go through a memory card like it is no joke. Donnie has a 2 gig and does well with it. My parents bought him a Nikon coolpix and he does all kinds of stuff with it. He would have it firmly adhered to his hand if he could. I soon realized that I should have got Donnie a memory card with more space. I myself have a 4GB and find that I fill that up pretty quickly as well. Well my Madre informed me that Best Buy had 8 GB memory cards on sale for $29.99. The original prince was $59.99 So I basically got 2 for the price of one. I have a Canon Rebel xsi and I can now take 1375 pictures on one memory card at 12.1 mega pixels. Donnie can now take 2005 pictures on one card. Watch out world here we come.

Donte and I also finished our finals and have 2 weeks off from college...wooohoooo. I can also proudly state that we will both be receiving an A in the class. On the 27th we start statistics....can I go ahead and say ewwwww!!! Our whole reasoning is take the hardest classes first and then take the easy ones closer to graduation so when the oil is burning low we can still sail right on through.

Tomorrow we are getting our taxes finalized and submitted....YUK....I will post more on that later :0)

Finally!!

We had a decent day today...by decent I mean it actually hit 57 degrees. The funny thing is that in the past that would translate into "It's still too cold to go outside" here in Illinois it translates into "Woooooo doggy time to hit the great outdoors"....funny how life changes. We did spend about 5 hours outside. I read for about an hour until the sun started to shine down so hard that my legs felt like they were being burned, spent another hour cleaning my car out, then sat and chatted with my friend Daisy for a few hours. Of course the boys played basket ball, base ball, and catch. They should be good and tired tonight.

Our dinner turned out fantabulous last night. I had two very eager helpers that helped me whip everything into a yummy dinner. In fact here's a picture of Dannie before he dove in.

Both boys had two servings and are excited to eat the leftovers for dinner tonight. I've got a few hours until Donte comes home so I think I will now plop myself onto my couch and watch the Oprah that I DVR'd this morning.

You Know I'm Bored When.....

I have time to post three times in one day. I think I shall turn my restlessness into a yummy dinner. Donnie and I have been dreaming up some yumminess and now we are going to get started. What shall we make????
Shrimp and Scallop Curry
Cucumber and Onion Salad
Milk Rice.....

OMG I am hungry!

Lazy Days of Spring.....Not So Much

One of the perks in being a military family is the joy we get of living all around the world. I have lived in Sri Lanka, Pennsylvania, Texas, Germany(twice), Georgia, North Carolina, and now Illinois. I can say that Illinois is my least favorite place of them all. Here we are on the 8th of April and it is cold....not like in the 60's cold but the high today is barely hitting 50 and with the windchill it is even colder. It snowed on Monday and there are still a few rem rents here and there. What a spring break....don't get me wrong we have found things to do. The boys went to a birthday party yesterday and swam at the indoor pool at our local YMCA. We have run errands and done crafts. The mornings are usually spent lounging around until we decide to drag ourselves downstairs. When I say drag I mean drag. Every morning we open the back door in the hopes that the wind that blows in will be a doable cool but nope we get slapped in the face with the icy cold wind that seems to cut straight through to the bone. The only good thing that has come out of the cold is staying in and having family movie time. We all cuddle up in the living room and have watched Marley and Me, The Secret Lives of Bees, Mama Mia (boys mysteriously disappeared), The nutty professor, Seven Pounds (didn't like it), and the boys watched Max Payne with Donte (I suddenly disappeared on this one). Our DVR is almost empty and the local Barnes and Noble now know us on a first name status. It's nice to have so much free time but I wish the weather was nicer to do more outdoor activities without getting bundled up.

Our recruiting time is dwindling down. We have been her for two years now and I for one can not wait for our orders.....*fingers crossed for Germany or anywhere warm*

Update

I know that I have been slacking with my blog…….but…..I have been cheating on blogger and MySpace with FaceBook. I can’t help myself, it has got be one of the most addictive indulgences that I have had to deal with for awhile. Not only have I reconnected with tons of people but the layout is really easy and the thing that I like most is that you can make it all private. That way only the people you know will have access.

I would like to say that it is finally getting warm here but it’s not. Our spring break is next week but they are calling for snow on Monday and Tuesday!!! Seriously??? We should be approaching our last 12 to 24 months here depending on what happens. I have made some really great friends here but I am over the Midwest weather. I need warmth and sunshine. We aren’t traveling home this year instead we will be at Great Lakes for a few days and hanging out around home for the rest of the time. We are all looking forward to a little bit of down time.

Donte is busier than ever with recruiting and let me tell you it is wearing thin. He is good at what he does and his outlook is positive but mine is not. He hits 15 years this month and I can honestly say that I saw him more in any other assignment. I know, I know cry me a river right. I am grateful that he is not deployed and that he is home every night, even if its midnight when he gets home. I suppose we are both ready to get back to a military base and the military of life. There is a difference between a military infused community and a civilian one. I just prefer the military one. I for one would love to go back to Germany *wink, wink*

Donnie is doing great in school. He continues to break out of shell and has made some really good friends. Girls have started to call the house and I can’t say that I am happy about it but I am happy for him. He is so tall now and I know the day is coming soon that he will be taller than I am. It’s hard to believe that time has flown so fast. He is active in so many things from sports, to band, and everything else under the sun. He has definitely learned how to schedule himself. He reminds more and more of Donte everyday. He makes me so very proud.

Daniel is doing great too. School is a breeze for him and he is excelling. He is so tough it blows my mind. That child has had a trip to the emergency dentist, a jump rope burn on his neck, and a black eye from playing “get the bacon” in less than 3 weeks. If you had asked me 9 years ago if I could handle all that I would have said no…but I can now say proudly that I handle it all with just a few more gray hairs. I would go into detail but the trauma would have my blood pressure shoot through the roof. Daniel is growing by leaps and bounds too but he still loves to cuddle with me. I know it won’t be too much longer until he pulls away a bit so I am enjoying every moment.

School is going well for Donte and me as well. We start statistics on the 27th and I am not looking forward to it. However, I am looking forward to getting it done and over with. School is much easier the second time around though. I find that I have the patience and the knowledge to get me through what I need to do. All the hard work is paying off though. So far I have a 4.0 and Donte has a 3.8.

Well, that should catch everyone up for a bit and I will try to be a little better about blogging. I will also try and post some pictures soon.