Sunday, January 30, 2011

Falling into place

It's been a crazy weekend. So, rather than give you a detailed description on the goings-on... I'll just post a list:
  • Saturday, we went to Allison's game - the opposing team only had 4 kids, so they forfeited and played just for the fun. (but we still won)
  • After the game, we got a call from the Landlord that he was wanting to show the house to some potential buyers... CRAP! It's one thing to clean... yet a whole other thing to clean for complete strangers.
  • Rather than clean, we decided to go outside and play basketball as a family. LOVED IT!! Emma cheered. And later William stole her pom poms and came up to Billy cheering, "Do something else! Do something else!!" HAHA!!!!
  • Woke up and cleaned like crazy. Thought we'd be done in time for church and then just didn't make it.
  • I took Allison to a birthday party at a gymnastics studio. Such fun! Now she wants to do gymnastics after basketball season is done. Such clever people - those gymnastic studio owners. (I wonder if that's how the Army could get more recruits... get a bunch of guys together for a "party" at the obstacle course at Fort Jackson.... HA.... nah)
  • And then tonight we went to a revival at church. The man was hilarious. I intend to go back tomorrow and Tuesday. But boy, he was talking 1000 words a minute. And then the only time he slowed down was to holler.
  • Now, I'm about to sit down and make my list of assignments due. I'm getting a couple of my classes confused. One is Intercultural Communication and other is Mass Media and Culture. It is like I'm taking the same class but with different texts. Too bad I can't recycle essays.

So, there you go. busy busy blackburns.

Oh and one more thing!!! I love to watch Masterpiece Theater. LOVE IT! I've been hooked on a series on there called Downton Abbey. (Billy watched it with me and kept calling it Downtown Abigail - like it was some show on HBO or something) Tonight was the finale and towards the end I was thinking, "There is NO way they are going to tie up all the lose ends in ten minutes." Of course they wouldn't. They are just going to make a season two that probably won't come out until Jan 2012. Hopping mad was as close to exercise as I'm got for the day.

Army Tidbit of the day:

Whenever you are thinking about joining the Army - every single Army movie or show about military or song about fighting freedom comes on the TV or radio. It is a fact. Kinda like when you are pregnant and everything you see or hear is about babies. Hmmm.....?

Friday, January 28, 2011

Fabulous Weather

Today was the first warm day we've had in weeks. And it was only a high of 50 but it felt like Spring compared to the cold we've suffered through. It was so nice William and I decided to take a little walk and then play outside for a couple hours. I fixed his swing and he had a big time. Especially when the girls got home! They love to play with him. Emma was so sweet with him on the swing and Allison taught him some basketball moves. Such sweet girls.
So, Billy's pretty much starving. Not really. But he thinks he is. I've got him on a low carb-low fat-high protein diet. And for those of you that know him well, it's not an easy thing for him to do. I bet after this whole mess, he'll never want to see a piece of grilled chicken or scrambled eggs ever. Plus, the no more milk thing! But anyway... I've also cut out his dr.peppers. He'll have maybe one a day. But then he drinks a lot of water. So, here's the kicker. He is gaining weight. It's nuts! He's gained like ten pounds in three weeks. He's getting really upset about it. Somebody told us to do the Army Fat Calculator test. We did. And he's well below his threshold. So, I think all this weight is muscle. HOOOAH! Of course, by telling him this is only going to make his head bigger and that defeats the purpose. I don't think the Army allows for big-headed-ness in their measurements. We shall see... :/
William has a tiny imaginary friend he likes to call Fido. Fido is an invisible fly. Fido pops up now and then and we've all learned to just appreciate Fido for his awesomeness. (Will stole this idea from a show we love called The Upside Down Show) Anyway, go back a couple of days when I told you that William found a tiny boat and sailed it across the tiny ocean - AKA "the toilet." Well, apparently Fido has now become the captain of the S.S. Commode. Lots of fun! Lots of fun! Speaking of fun in the toilet... Will has now learned that to stand up and "do the business" is way more fun than sitting. In fact, he finds it down right hilarious! He just laughs and laughs and squeals with delight at how he can make bubbles with his little willie woo. And for a beginner, I gotta say, his aim is pretty good. : )
Army Tid-Bit of the day:
Did you realize that in Basic Combat Training (boot camp) the Drill Sgts only give you three minutes to eat a meal? Soldiers are not allowed to talk or look at anything other than their food. It is recommended you put your face as close to your tray as possible, put anything on your tray between two pieces of bread, and eat a "whatever-the-heck" sandwich you get.
Kinda seems backwards -they want you to be nourished and eat well yet they make you jam food down your throat. Food is to be eaten - not tasted.

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Today was full of surprises

So, Billy went to this security interview. We just assumed everyone had to do it. Not according to the lady doing the interview. Billy (tactfully) asked why he was being interviewed and she said she wasn't sure, but that the authorities must have a good reason because these "tests" are expensive and they don't just do them to everyone. Her guess was that Billy scored so well on his ASVAB tests that they wanted to see if they could get him security clearance. It was a lot of questions about his family, his finances, and stuff like that. We're still not sure who ordered the test and why, but if he can get security clearance that will help him get a better job eventually. However, in my mind I'm thinking the less you know the less the enemy cares about you. But who am I? Another surprise... we have been debating opening a new checking account with a large bank in order to have access to a branch where ever we are stationed. I reluctantly decided that Bank of America was probably the best choice. I really do not like large corporate banks after having worked at one for close to 8 years. Still a tad bitter - but that's a story for another day. Anyway, we had a very pleasant experience and I'm even kinda excited about going online tomorrow to do some of the online stuff. I guess there are some advantages of going with a big bank. Heck, at least I don't have to work there. Which is funny because I was sitting there enjoying my experience so much I almost asked if they were hiring. Then the bank lady turned to me and asked if we wanted a credit card and I thought - NAH UH! I am not going back to making quotas on credit card sells. Forget that! Anyway, Billy and I said "NO!" in unison to which she said, "well if you change your mind...." AS IF!!! Emma came to me about 30 minutes ago and says, "Mom, I need a poster board to enter the poster contest tomorrow." SURPRISE!!! At 9 pm. For me to run to town (35 minute drive) buy a poster board at Walmart (3 hour minimum) and get home to decorate it before school tomorrow. Um, sorry sister. I hated to tell her we can't do it. I even searched through my mind for any 'old' yard sale sign that we could refurbish, but nothing. We just didn't keep any of that stuff when we moved. So... she doesn't get to do the poster contest. BUT... she did write an excellent speech for her 4H club and she was chosen as a top five participant to enter into the speech contest. YAY! I stole Billy's Guide to Basic Training Book... Lot's of good information. I think I'll start posting my Army Tid-Bit of the day just to make it more educational. LOL! Today's Army Tid-Bit of the Day: Every soldier must have this memorized The Soldier's Creed I am an American Soldier I am a Warrior and a member of a team I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values I will always place the mission first. I will never accept defeat. I will never quit. I will never leave a fallen comrade. I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself. I am an expert and I am a professional. I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat. I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life. I am an American Soldier! *goosebumps*

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

How Appropriate

The more I think about it, the more I like the name of this blog. And they're off like a herd of turtles. The Blackburns never seem to do anything in a hurry. I mean heck, Billy is joining the Army at the age of 35 and I'm just now about to finish my degree after 16 years. I tell my kids to go do something and they reply, "In a minute." See?!? Never in a hurry. One exception to the turtle reference would be my writing technique. Remember me talking about writing a 1200 word paper in 2 hours? Well, guess who loved it? That's right, folks! My professor's comments were something like, "uncommonly good for a first paper in this class." I rock. I can't help but brag. It's just that I was really sweatin' that one. Not bad starting out with a 100 - at least in one class. Can't really say the same for the other five...yet. Billy got the weirdest phone call today. It was someone scheduling his security interview. This took us by surprise considering we didn't know he was supposed to have one. Anyway, he's going to do that tomorrow. I think it is basically just someone who asks a bunch of questions to make sure you aren't lying or whacked out on drugs. Even though he's been interviewed multiple times by multiple counselors and taken multiple drug tests. Just another turtle reference. Everything takes about twice as long as you would think in the military. At least that is my first opinion. We might become the Herd of Jaguars after it's all said and done. So, I lose William about 30 times a day. I just don't know where he is. Well, I don't really LOSE him. I just don't see him. So I holler out his name a few times to get a check on him. You know, just making sure he's not outside or playing in the toilet. (Which he was today... thanks to the tiny boat he found and apparently thought that meant he needed a tiny ocean) ANYWAY, I think my paranoia stems from the potty training phase. He'd just go hide to poop. And if I didn't see him or he ran off, I'd immediately start tracking him. So, today I hadn't seen him in a few minutes and did my holler. No reply. I hollered a little louder. Still no reply. This is never a good thing. Guess where I found him? In my room with the PlayStation controller - playing Tomb Raider. Playing it! He had Laura Croft running all over the place, shootin up everything in sight. He said, "Look mom. I shoot!" WOW! It was so cute, I just sat down and watched him play. He's got some talent - that boy.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Imagine if you will...

I say to Billy, "hey there aren't captains in the Army, right?" Now imagine a moment of complete silence accompianied with a stare that said (without sayin) 'you have horns growing out of the center of your head. who are you and why are you in my living room?'
Yeah.... apparently I was wrong about the no captians in the Army thing. OOPSIES! In my defense, if there really needs to be one... I was thinking that Captains were only in the Navy. you know, like a captain of a ship. Hey, I told you I got a LOT to learn. LOL!!!
Four hours later when I think Billy has dozed off in his recliner he surprises me and says, "I can not BELIEVE you thought there were no captains in the Army" and then proceeds to crack up at my expense. Thank you Thank you!! I'll be here all week!!! ppffllltttt!!!!!! That still doesn't mean he can be Captain Awesome though. It just makes me Private Dorkus.
No real news... snow coming in again tonight. blah! And I have a ton of homework to work on. BLAH! Allison had bball practice tonight and came in so excited about making 'a gazillion' shots! And Emma started talking about the boys she wanted to invite to her party and in the same breath she told her friend on the phone that she would make sure her boyfriend was there... to which I replied, "oh I decided we don't need to have a boy/girl party. Girls only." For Pete's Sake! She's turning 10, right? I didn't miss a couple of years while in a coma somewhere, right?
Billy's recruiter said we need to take a picture of him now, another before he ships out and then another when he gets done with bootcamp. I thought it was a great idea. So, I make him stand at an angle that will really show off that fabulous belly. : ) And then I take a close up of his face. I said, "Billy, you need to smile so your kids will have a nice picture of their father to look at." He said, "Well, then they wouldn't know who I was."
I got a good quote for you: "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great."
~ Coach Jimmy Dugan, A League of their Own.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Private Awesome First Class

(Billy's going to kill me) So... Billy started calling himself Captain Awesome a couple years ago. I'm not even sure I remember what extraordinary task he completed to give himself such an honor, but it was funny - so it stuck. But I got to thinking... I don't even think there are Captains in the Army. (I still have a lot to learn) But anyway... he's now been demoted to Private Awesome First Class. Which I find hilarious! So, PAFC went to workout today and his mood improved tenfold. When he sits around the house (which he has for 4 days) he starts freaking himself out with unanswered questions. I think just being around "the guys" helps him come back to center again. I started a time clock to countdown the days until he leaves. 89 days. Seems like a shorter time than I imagined. I find myself missing him already. : ( On a lighter note, Emma never ceases to amaze me. As I was sitting down here tonight, Billy shows up and says, "Have you seen the way Emma laid her clothes out for tomorrow?" Well, he was cracking up, so I had to go look..... So funny I had to share. (I'm looking at this picture and thinking... I JUST vaccumed and her floor is already covered in tiny pieces of paper. She must have cleaned out her spiral notebook tonight)

Sunday, January 23, 2011

You would think the Queen is coming...

Emma's tenth birthday is in a few short weeks. Three weeks and three days. However, we are having her party (a crazy fun slumber party) in two weeks and four days. Trust me... she will not let me forget. It's like the urgency of planning is killing her. She's made lists. list of types of pizza to get. List of who to invite. List of what movies to rent. And then when she doesn't like a list she starts all over. She is her mother's child. I'm all for having the slumber party. But she first told me (months ago) that she only wanted a couple friends over. Then it changed to maybe a couple friends and maybe a guy friend or two. Now she wants this slumber party and invite guys over for the first half. UGH! Then she gets all crazy with worry over when to pass out invitations, where will Allison be (because she really doesn't want her here and I am sure the feeling is mutual), blah blah blah. She's driving me nuts! I know she is so excited and I want her to have a great party... but I also know that when you try so hard to plan something and then it doesn't live up to your expectations, you feel worse. I know. I do it everytime we have a party. Maybe this is God's way of showing me to chill. That it really isn't a big deal. Just try to make the most no matter what. In other news, I think I'm getting sick. I have that headache that is creeping in and the kinda tight throat. Like it's swelling or something. Not a fun feeling. Please... I do not want to get sick. I really don't. Allison was also feeling kinda icky tonight. I made her take a shower and sent her on to bed early. so.... we'll see. Army stuff still at a pause. He'll get to go back and work out tomorrow - hopefully. He said he's been doing some exercises before I wake up. He doesn't want me to see him. I can totally understand why. He thinks I'll laugh at him. Even if I did, I wouldn't be laughing AT him. I would just think he's incredibly cute! Talked to my sister today online. It is great fun! We get to laughing at each other and our conversations always turn bad!! And for pete's sake, she always cheers me up! We're typing so fast at each other it's almost like something has lubricated the keyboard. Which of course only leads to horrible typoes and that only leads to more laughter. I love my sissy. She's too far away. I think one of my biggest fears is being sent even further away from her. But at least we have the noogies!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Red Team was Mean!

So, Allison had her first experience with bad sportsmanship on the basketball court today. The team they played was very good. However, you could tell they were very used to playing "street ball" with no real rules. Those kids were nasty. Allison got pushed and no foul called on the kid. Not cool. So, anyway. It was just a good lesson in how not to play. But it was really hard to keep quiet. Our coach was getting upset and a parent kinda started screaming about not calling foul on a kid from the other team. But one look from the coach and the parent shut up. So, they lost and I think Allison was bummed out. But that's ok. Like I said, it was a good lesson. Billy got in his book on Basic training today. He read the whole darn thing in one day. LOL! Which is funny because he was talking about some of the kids he works out with and how gung-ho they all are about joining up. Billy was like, "I'm just like whatever. I'm not excited. I'm not really anything. It just feels like a job." And then he goes and reads this book in a day. I've never EVER known that boy to read anything except the funny pages. Tell me he's not gung-ho. LOL!! I think another thing that has him bothered is he doesn't know how some people really feel about it. (and I'm being just totally honest - no judgement being passed whatsoever) But I think he feels like he's made some people angry by joining up. The last thing he needs is to feel his ties being severed. He didn't make this decision to please others. He did it because he needed to do this for himself and to support his family. He just went on a little tangent this afternoon about something totally unrelated but the undertone of his speech was perfectly understood. I don't know how others are feeling. I would hope they aren't angry or disappointed in his choice. But even if they were, it's his life. I understand that it is hard to support something you do not understand. So to put it plainly, the only thing to understand is this: Billy is a wonderful and brave person. His heart is huge and his integrity goes beyond most others I've ever known. He is a fair and decent man who has been given a chance to fulfill a dream. So therefore, I will always support that. Always. ------ Sorry about that. I think blogging is a good way to just get down your feelings and organize your thoughts in a way to help you process things. If I'm a bit harsh, it's just because I'm having a highly emotional day. Which apparently is the case today. Everything I said is true. Probably more blunt than I usually am. But when you are going through a major overhaul to your entire lifestyle - you just don't have time to tip-toe around the important things. So... I'll end with this: Please let him know that you support him if you do - or keep your mouth shut if you don't. But either way, do not let him go into this thinking you've stopped caring for him. That is all.

Friday, January 21, 2011

WOWZER!

Second night in a row when I look up and it's 10:00 pm and all the kiddies are fast asleep. This is a major accomplishment considering William's crazy sleeping schedule the past couple of months. WHOO HOO!!! Nothing new on the Army front. Billy's workout got canceled again because of the snow. He woke up this morning kinda in the dumps. I think he's starting to freak himself out about not being able to do the physical requirements. I know he can. He can't do it in a week. But he's got 13 more weeks until he leaves. And even then, he'll be there for 10 weeks. The drill sgts give them plenty of chances to pass the PT tests. I think he's just having mood swings about it. I try and be as positive as I can. I know he can do it. I'm not lying to him. I see those guys on The Biggest Loser and think... wow! That's Hard!! Billy is gonna be just like that... without the weight to lose. Well, he needs to lose about 10, but that's nothing. He'll have that gone way before he ships out. So, I was a total "student" all day today. I had to watch Dances with Wolves for an assignment and then write a paper on it. A 1200 word paper. Here's the fun part. I had to Netflix it. It didn't get here until today at 1:30 and I had to have the paper submitted by 11pm. It was a four hour movie!!!!!! You do the math. And here it is 10:15. I watched the whole movie, and wrote the paper in about 6 hours. I'm tired. My brain hurts. And the paper wasn't total crap either. My professor may disagree. I don't have much to update you on the kids. I really didn't spend much time with them today. I do have one awesome story though... LOL! William gets a "go"gurt (tube of yogurt) every time he poops in the potty. So, sometimes he'll MAKE himself go. Crazy. Only a man could poop on demand. Anyway, yesterday he 'said' he pooped but had no evidence of it. So after the interrogation process, I finally just gave in and let him have a gogurt. But we both know there was some doubt. Well, the next time he pooped, he came in and said, "Mom! I pooped in the potty! See! (pointing at his buttcrack) I pooped right there. It came out. I pushed it! It came out right there! Come see! Quick, so I can get my yogurt!!!!"

Thursday, January 20, 2011

In the Army Now

Billy and I both finished reading the blog about Pvt McGuire's adventures through basic training. What an eye opener. I'm scared for Billy and yet my heart is just already over flowing just thinking about seeing him all in uniform and having finished such a huge accomplishment. I'm scared only because there are a few guys who just don't make it through. And not for being unable. But stupid stuff like getting the flu or a spider bite. He'll be able to get another chance if something like that pops up. But ugh! I don't know. My mind is just full of this other guy's stories and even though everyone has a different experience... I can't help but be a little freaked anyway. I think he's going to hate it. I have no doubt he can do it. But it will be hard. For him. For me. For the kids. GOSH! Listen to me... I'm so mopey. I'll change to something more cheerful.... the guy writing the blog kept talking about how funny it was when people fart. It's like a bunch of 12 year olds giggling. That kept me laughing. And the Drill Sgt's quotes - hilarious!
Billy was actually bummed about not getting to work out today. They canceled because of the snow. They told him not to do anything at home until he's really good at it. They don't want him messing something up. So he's in there watching "In the Army Now" with Pauly Shore. LOL!!!
I made all the kids get to bed early even though I knew school was canceled because of snow. They didn't know this. I just didn't want everyone up all night. Even William is sound asleep. WHOO HOO! I guess I'll go watch some dumb Pauly Shore movie now - what's left of it. Buuuddeee!!!!!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I knew we weren't alone

So, I've been reading this blog. It's a daily account of a man 36 years old who just joined the Army. He wrote letters to his wife and had her put them online. Completely entertaining. Incredibly funny. Very informative. I told Billy to read it. Of course, he's trying so hard to read as much as he can about what's going to be happening. But to have a real first hand account like this is too cool. I love all the nicknames the guys come up for each other. And I really love all the quotes he has from the Drill Sargents. Really funny. None are appropriate to list here on a family blog... but check it out if you can. http://www.mcguires5.com/army/Welcome.html His wife even has her own blog. I only read a couple of hers. But the one I read made my heart skip to a halt. Her husband's first orders were to go to Korea - alone. For a year. What if that happens to us? I just think that would suck. All this time I've been mentally preparing myself to move to some fabulous place here in the states. A nice little family adventure. HA! Man, I'm naive. I just can't obsess about that crap. On the bright side, I now have that possibility filed away in my brain so that when the time comes, if we get some crazy orders like that... I won't be totally knocked on the floor. Speaking of, Billy went for his third workout with the recruiters. He's already getting better. I'm already seeing his confidence shining through his nerves. I think what I love most is his dedication to this. He's taking it seriously. He's researching and reading everything that he can find. He even woke me up at some crazy hour this morning to ask if he could order a book online to help him prepare for BCT (basic combat training). I just love it. I also love that he isn't drinking a gallon of milk a day. That was getting really old buying so much milk all the time. If we were running low... the world had to stop spinning until we were stocked back up again. Now, he just grabs a bottle of water. Love that!! I was just telling him today I was kind of jealous that he's going to be all fit and healthy and I'll still be all gross and post-baby. I really want to start some sort of routine. Just another thing to fill in my time. Like I don't already have enough on my plate. But it's not all about me, is it? :) OK... so William is ADORABLE!!!! Seriously adorable. He is talking all the time. Making conversation with a newbie conversationalist is tremendous fun. I get a lot of, "why not?" and "what is that?" and "how bout a poptart is OK?" LOL! That kid could eat his body weight in poptarts. Oh but see the poptarts we buy are actually nutra-grain bars. We call them poptarts because he wanted the real poptarts and they are just junk food. But he wanted to be like his daddy and eat poptarts. So... we made them into his own poptarts. Kinda like how he calls every soft drink - sprite. He saw a Dr. Pepper and asked if he could have some of Daddy's Sprite. LOL!!! Anyway, tomorrow is a big day. Emma may get to ride a horse for the very first time at her 4H meeting. It's going to be exciting. I plan on bringing my dumb camera and making a nice little video. We'll see how it all works out.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Bummer

So, I was filling in my calendar for this school semester last night. I realized two things. One I already assumed and the other kinda bummed me out. The first thing I realized is that I have a TON of homework due the day Billy gets shipped out. Second, I realized that he'll be leaving April 24th - Easter Sunday. BOO!!! We'll have to come up with some sort of alternate Easter plans. Oh well.... at least he'll be with us for the morning. I think we have to take him to his recruiter at 1 pm. So, we may even get in a church service. I doubt it though. Anyway, he's going back this afternoon for another butt kicking. I think he'll be more prepared this time. He doesn't want me to drive him. Anyway, lots to do - and this is only distracting me. Will post more soon.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Hoop Star!!

Yesterday was Allison's second ever basketball game. Her first game was a struggle to say the least. She didn't understand the defense/offense concept. She was told to find the kid she was to guard and stay on them the whole time. So even when she was in offense, she would run straight to the kid and let them block her. It was cute. And then half the time she didn't even know which way to run. Yesterday's game was a huge improvement. She finally got the ball (of course I was struggling with my stupid camera and missed it on tape) but she dribbled for a little bit and then got nervous and threw it at the first person she saw - the other team. Oh well... her coach was like, "Allison!! Hey, try and remember to throw the ball to the ones in purple!!" HA! But she's so proud of herself. She got knocked down and has her first sport's injury - a raspberry on her knee. Anyway, they won and it was a great game. Her whole face was lit up and she came running to me after yelling, "we won!! we won!" I'm glad she finally found her niche. She's number 4 in the video - the littlest one in purple.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Date Night

Before I go into the details of my first date with Billy in several months.... let me just say this: As we drove to Murfreesboro yesterday afternoon, the area along the interstates and highways were still covered in several inches of snow. It was beautiful!! How amazing is it that landscape that is usually mundane and nothing special becomes spectacular. Old, ugly barns transformed into picture perfect scenes. Huge vast fields set up against the background of dark green trees looked like something the Happy Little Painter would have featured on his PBS show. Not to mention the way the sun was falling in the sky cast a slightly pink glow to some of the snow covered hills making me think of the kids' Candyland game. It is still on my mind this morning and I just wanted to share with you. So, yeah, we went on a date last night. It ended up being a fun little outing to Murfreesboro. The kids stayed at their grandmother's house and we just had a great time. The King's Speech - this movie was such a great film. I basically had to drag Billy into the theater. And to make matters worse, a group of gaggling geese came and say in front of us. Nice little church outing. BUT WHOA HOWDY! It's amazing what people say to each other when they don't think anyone else in listening. Trust me, Billy and I were not trying to listen. We had no choice. The woman in front of us would NOT SHUT UP! The lights go down, music gets loud.... she just gets louder. And the movie was very funny. But you would think somebody was down there sitting on her tickling her the way she carried on. She even laughed at some serious moments. I guess she thought they were joking. However, nobody else seemed to get the joke. Billy and I got about as much of a kick out of her as we did the movie. Speaking of, the movie was hilarious. It was touching. It was emotional. It was wonderful. I recommend it to everyone!! Even Billy forgave me for making him go. He enjoyed it as much as I did.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Not a Spring Chicken - for sure

Bless him. Billy got his first real taste of Army basic training this afternoon. His recruitors told him to come in every Thursday afternoon to do some pre-boot-camp exercise to prepare his mind and body for Army life. WHOA HOWDY! Without hanging Billy out to dry, I will say this - his recruitor was extremely supportive and understanding. He's going to let Billy come EVERY day until he's ready. LOL!!! He was a little mushy when I picked him up this afternoon - murmuring words like "100 jump-n-jacks, 80 push-ups, air-cycling." I do not envy him... I start back to school today. I'm taking the most classes ever - well since my Freshman year back in 1995. 18 hours. That's a lot. But I am determined to get this done. If Billy can go through boot camp at the age of 35 - I can certainly get my degree by May. Which reminds me... after looking at my school calendar I realized that my finals will start the week Billy ships out. Nothing like some academic stress to top off the emotions of having one's family ripped apart. Nah, that's me being a brat. I can handle it. I just hate he'll miss my graduation. Oh and yes, I will be playing some loud Johnny Cash on graduation day - I promise.

Should have done some research

Apparently there will be no internet access while Billy's away for training. That makes me sad. However, I am still going to keep this blog going. We'll make it fun for everyone - not just Billy. If he gets deployed... surely he'll have some access to internet. But anyway... I am going to try and make a post per day to update the family on our daily adventures. Starting now... It's already Thursday Jan 13 (at midnight mind you) and I'll give you a post on how things went "today" which to me is still Wednesday the 12th. William is doing his 'not wanting to sleep at any kind of normal hour' phase. So, last night (Tuesday) he woke up from his nap at 10:30 pm!!!! Not fun!!! We have the most snow Middle Tennessee has seen in decades outside right now. The kids and I went sledding yesterday. All we had was about a 10 foot incline on the side of our driveway and a laundry basket. But it was enough to produce squeals of delight for all involved. We did try to attempt a really steep hill down the road a bit, but it was like a Extreme Winter Sports course due to the trees and the massive sink hole at the bottom. So.... that only lasted a moment when my maternal instincts kicked in. If you watch the video below, you will notice the tiny speck at the bottom of the hill... that was Allison. It was a BIG hill. Emma and Allison have discovered that they can play their DS's from their rooms. They can play each other from across the house. So, I send them to bed and an hour later I hear a giggle. There they are playing a mario game and not even in the same room!!! Stinkers! It's been snow days all week, so I'm not too upset. In fact, I am wondering why I never had something so cool when I was little.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Why the Herd of Turtles??

Back when I was a little girl, my grandfather used the phrase "Off like a herd of turtles" any time we (the family - cousins, aunts, parents and all) were about to take a trip. I never understood this expression until I had my own kids. You can't just get up and leave if you have to go somewhere. There is a list of things that must be accomplished before just walking out the daggum door. Not to mention getting assembled in the car and such. Pick out clean outfits for each man, woman and child. Wash hands and faces of kids (and sometimes man and woman). Make sure each man woman and child has been to the bathroom BEFORE you begin to dress - trust me on this one. Finally, dress the family. This does not include getting together matching socks. For some reason, the picking out of outfits never seems to logically follow picking out matching socks. It should - and yet it doesn't. Whatever. Locate all the pairs of appropriate shoes. Now, let me take a moment to establish the fact that adding a pre-teen or teeange female to this picture only complicates the chaos by a factor of 10. Prepare for at least a daily fight about the choice of outfit and/or shoes. Next we go to the least favorite task of getting ready... Brushing hair. GOOD GRIEF. I suggest keep the children's hair short unless you enjoy spending 15 minutes a day making your children beg for mercy. If you are getting ready in the winter months - just allot a certain amount of time for finding the appropriate outerwear. Oh and good grief... if you have tiny ones - do not forget to stock the diaper bag with plenty of hygeine products as well as snacks or travel entertainment. And then if you are like me, you need to make a trip around the house turning off lights, unplugging curling irons, closing the clothers dryer door to keep cats from making nests inside.... Ok... so you get the picture. Then you get in the car and fight with seatbelts, fight with children who are fighting with seatbelts, fight with children who are fighting with each other over the front seat or something stupid like seatbelts. Remembering you didn't lock the door, running back inside and realizing you forgot your purse and keys on the kitchen counter so you are saying a prayer of thanksgiving that you didn't just lock yourself and the entire family outside in the cold.... All these things just to get in the car and return your movie before you get charged another night's rental fee. So, you see... you never can just get up and go. It's like watching a herd of turtles race toward the finish line. Slow and painful. The intensity of the internal panic on the faces of the turtles is probably equivalent to the intensity I feel just trying to get out the daggum door.

When Life Throws You a Grenade You Make... Lemonade?

The five words that any mother dreads to hear: “I am joining the Army.” You always expect something like this type of announcement to be considered a joke or a moment of reflection. Like “what if I joined the Army?” Or “There’s always the Army – HAHA!” But when I looked at his face – that beautiful strong and familiar face – I realized there was no joke. No what ifs. He was 100% serious. Our eyes locked for a while. I was reading those eyes. Trying to find some glimpse of humor or doubt, and I saw none. It’s like I could see his determination spelled out across his forehead. I turned away from him for a moment to collect my breath and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized I hadn’t inhaled or exhaled in quite some time. I took in a nice long breath, turned to face him and smiled the biggest smile. "Well, if that is what you want to do, I will support you absolutely no matter what!" And just like that my husband at the age of 35 became a soldier for the United States Army, I became an Army Wife, and together we have three Army Brats. (well, of course it wasn't 'just like that.' It took about 3 months of paperwork and waiting and more paperwork and more waiting... but it became official today) So I am making this blog not only to track my family's emotions and adventures, but also to record our daily happenings for when Billy gets sent away and wants to read about what his kids and wife are doing back at home. To Billy: I seriously couldn't be more proud of you than I am right now. My love is too big for words.