Ok... so Friday Billy came home early after getting his Driving Certificate and went to sleep. So William and I took a loaf of bread and some grapes across to the street to the Lady on the Corner's house and had a little picnic with her kids. Then it was just such a nice day, we ended up staying outside to "get a little sun on our faces." As we sat there, a few more friends trickled in and after getting the older kids home from school, we had a whole party of people. So we decided to grill out (a very impromtu event). The kids were just playing in the sand (by the way, have I told you that we don't have dirt - we only have sand?) and playing in the water while the parents sat there talking. Even my husband came over and sat with us. It ended up being Billy and myself, Lady on the Corner and her husband who is an infantry guy, and the Lady with a Fun Name and her husband who is a medic. Lady with a Fun Name lives just a couple doors down from the Lady on the Corner and just like us, they are in their 30's and brand new to the Army. She's been here since around December but is just now coming around to where she'll talk to us. I think this move was hard on her. And really, we get it. Moving from a civilian life to a military life is nuts!! But... I'm getting sidetracked. So, yeah... we had a nice time just sitting on the back porch. Enjoying each other's company. We didn't go home until well after midnight. Usually, we would be in bed and sound asleep by then. It was just super refreshing to have some folks to hang out with and feel like we belong somewhere. I know that sounds silly. But Billy and I have never had any couples that we can just hang out with. It's like either I have friends or he has friends - but we've never all hung out together. It was just a nice day.
And I had another "I gotta have a yardsale" moment this morning. I got in the pets' room and saw a couple boxes of things that I knew we could do without. So, the more I think about it... the more I think I'm just going to have one. I'm going to get a table set up in the garage and just start hauling stuff out there. If I have enough stuff, I'll do it... If I don't, I'll just take it to a goodwill or thrift store somewhere. Only problem is that the closest Goodwill is like 45 minutes away. How is that even possible??? But I'd really like to have a yardsale so we can have a little extra money for our trip home.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Thursday, March 15, 2012
YouTube and its aftermath
Can someone please PLEASE PLEASE take YouTube away from my husband!??!! For Pete's Sake! About two weeks ago, he needed to replace the bulb in the headlight of his truck. So, he gets the brilliant idea to look it up on YouTube to see just exactly how to take all the parts off, clean them and reassemble them. All this was fine and dandy. But this also led to his obsession with watching all these 'how to' videos like "How to install air shocks" "How to put a lift kit on your Ford Explorer" "How to find the secret computer code on your truck to reprogram the security code keyless entry thingy." I'm not kidding!! He's been on a hiatus over this YouTube sensation. Now he's been looking at toy monster trucks and how to build bigger engines or install 4x4 kits and all this stuff. And yes, he already owns a toy monster truck. This is not a kid's toy. This is one of those adult men toys. So, last night he pulls the monster truck out of the closet (where it's been since 2006) and dusts off the old battery charger ready to do some major overhauling of his newly rediscovered toy -- only to be stopped short of the fact that he can't find the battery anywhere. OK... so, this thing has now been through three moves in the past three years. It's been packed and unpacked three times. Never used.. just shuffled about and shoved in the closet for "future" use. So... when he calls me last night as I am on the way to Allison's parent track briefing to ask me where the battery for this toy monster truck is... I'm like....um... in a box... somewhere... and no I do not know where. So guess what I got to do this morning?? Yup, dig through our "I don't know what to do with this crap and therefore will not unpack it and just keep moving it from house to house until it gets thrown away" box and low and behold there it was!!!! I was dreading the task like you have no idea. Going into that box just opens up so many overwhelming issues... I need to have a yard sale... I need a hoarders intervention... I need to stop keeping crap that I will never use... why is there a caulk gun in here? I am lucky that I found the battery within the first few minutes and was able to just put the top back on the box and walk away. Otherwise, I'd still be in this box digging and making a list of things that I just do not think I can tackle right now. Kinda like when this morning Allison came to me and said that she wanted to wear shorts but all her shorts were in the "summer clothes" box and could I please help her find some. So, I pull out this box and start digging through clothes and the same thing happens. I wonder if Emma can wear these yet... why are there a perfectly good pair of jeans in Emma's size in this box and not in her drawers where she can wear them now... we need to sit down and make everyone go through their drawers to start cleaning out their winter things...ooohh here are some perfect shorts for Allison to run in.
As I'm typing this out... I realize that I not only need to have a yard sale, but I need to do some major spring cleaning. And ALL this because Billy and his dern YouTube.
Army Life Update:
Billy's been in driver's training now for almost two weeks. He's doing well and is actually really loving it. Only problem is that his back and his shoulders hurt - from A. the seats in the vehicles are awful and B. he has to wear his helmet all the time. My thought was ,"you better get used to it because when you go over to the Afghanland, you're going to be wearing your helmet and driving these vehicles all the time. But what do I know??"
Kids Update:
Emma's been grounded for about 6 weeks now. I love her, Lord knows I do!! But she just did some really dumb things all at the same time and it caught up to her and therefore she is under lock and key until (as of right now) March 23rd. See, I grounded her a while back and told her she would be ungrounded by the 15th - BUT if she gave me attitude or got in trouble, I would add one day to her punishment. You do the math. She kinda hates me right now. But I don't see any other way to get through to her. And I promise you once this punishment is over, I will do the same thing - ground her for a day every time she gives me grief. Oh and see the grounding isn't from playing outside... she's not allowed to do anything electronics (TV, computer, Ipad, phone...), she isn't allowed to have friends over or go to friend's houses, and when she plays outside - she has to check in with me every 30 minutes - if she's late, I add another day. Momma ain't playing!!!
Allison had a bit of a meltdown last night. I took her with me to the parent meeting for the track team. They were throwing out words like Track Meets, spikes for shoes, assessments, sports bras, spandex, sprinting, long jump, relays, invitationals, junior Olympics.... She just got a little overwhelmed. So right before bed she came and climbed in bed with me and Billy and said, "I don't want to do track anymore!!" Bursting into tears she admitted that it was scary and she didn't like to do new things. I said, "do you like to run?" She said, "yes." I said, "do you run well?" She said she guessed so. I told her that's all she needed to worry about. All the rest will just work out. I think she's going to be fine. Just have to get her excited about buying her new running shoes!!
William is William. We can't walk down the street unless he gets on his big wheel and tears up the pavement with his little plastic tires. The dog ate his new tennis shoes he got for Christmas so we had to go out and buy him some new ones. He got ones just like his Daddy and now he thinks he's big stuff!! He'll start soccer in a couple weeks. I'm a little stressed about it because his practices are the same days and times as Allison's track practices. So, that's going to be a bit of a juggling exhibition. I think that my neighbor is going to be his coach and if so, she can at least get him to practice and either Billy or I can come afterwards. I just don't know which parent is going to do which thing. Sigh...
My update:
Nothing much is new. I'm determined to get some sun on my legs as I look like a speckled white egg. And other than running here and there and everywhere... I'm just hanging in there. Laundry... dishes... coffee and catching up on some TV I've been missing. Oh and this must be the season for Home Product Parties. This week I'll have gone to three. Mary Kay, Jafra, and Thirty-One. All this in one week!! I just don't think my wallet can handle this kind of stress. The Mary Kay lady was a cousin of my neighbor who was in desperate need of some extra cash, so in my mind it was an act of kindness that I bought mineral foundation, eye make-up remover, and lip gloss. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
As I'm typing this out... I realize that I not only need to have a yard sale, but I need to do some major spring cleaning. And ALL this because Billy and his dern YouTube.
Army Life Update:
Billy's been in driver's training now for almost two weeks. He's doing well and is actually really loving it. Only problem is that his back and his shoulders hurt - from A. the seats in the vehicles are awful and B. he has to wear his helmet all the time. My thought was ,"you better get used to it because when you go over to the Afghanland, you're going to be wearing your helmet and driving these vehicles all the time. But what do I know??"
Kids Update:
Emma's been grounded for about 6 weeks now. I love her, Lord knows I do!! But she just did some really dumb things all at the same time and it caught up to her and therefore she is under lock and key until (as of right now) March 23rd. See, I grounded her a while back and told her she would be ungrounded by the 15th - BUT if she gave me attitude or got in trouble, I would add one day to her punishment. You do the math. She kinda hates me right now. But I don't see any other way to get through to her. And I promise you once this punishment is over, I will do the same thing - ground her for a day every time she gives me grief. Oh and see the grounding isn't from playing outside... she's not allowed to do anything electronics (TV, computer, Ipad, phone...), she isn't allowed to have friends over or go to friend's houses, and when she plays outside - she has to check in with me every 30 minutes - if she's late, I add another day. Momma ain't playing!!!
Allison had a bit of a meltdown last night. I took her with me to the parent meeting for the track team. They were throwing out words like Track Meets, spikes for shoes, assessments, sports bras, spandex, sprinting, long jump, relays, invitationals, junior Olympics.... She just got a little overwhelmed. So right before bed she came and climbed in bed with me and Billy and said, "I don't want to do track anymore!!" Bursting into tears she admitted that it was scary and she didn't like to do new things. I said, "do you like to run?" She said, "yes." I said, "do you run well?" She said she guessed so. I told her that's all she needed to worry about. All the rest will just work out. I think she's going to be fine. Just have to get her excited about buying her new running shoes!!
William is William. We can't walk down the street unless he gets on his big wheel and tears up the pavement with his little plastic tires. The dog ate his new tennis shoes he got for Christmas so we had to go out and buy him some new ones. He got ones just like his Daddy and now he thinks he's big stuff!! He'll start soccer in a couple weeks. I'm a little stressed about it because his practices are the same days and times as Allison's track practices. So, that's going to be a bit of a juggling exhibition. I think that my neighbor is going to be his coach and if so, she can at least get him to practice and either Billy or I can come afterwards. I just don't know which parent is going to do which thing. Sigh...
My update:
Nothing much is new. I'm determined to get some sun on my legs as I look like a speckled white egg. And other than running here and there and everywhere... I'm just hanging in there. Laundry... dishes... coffee and catching up on some TV I've been missing. Oh and this must be the season for Home Product Parties. This week I'll have gone to three. Mary Kay, Jafra, and Thirty-One. All this in one week!! I just don't think my wallet can handle this kind of stress. The Mary Kay lady was a cousin of my neighbor who was in desperate need of some extra cash, so in my mind it was an act of kindness that I bought mineral foundation, eye make-up remover, and lip gloss. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Good news!
So I did actually get Allison onto the track team. We got a call this weekend and I'm very excited about this. She's always been such an athlete. And since there is no ball involved, she might actually be able to do this well! LOL! The only issue we are faced with now is getting her sports physical done and registering her officially and getting her new shoes and working her practice schedule around William's soccer schedule and then we'll eventually have games and meets which will likely all be on the same day and then trying to figure out a way to feed the family every night due to the fact that we'll likely be at some sort of practice here or there or somewhere. Whew! I'm tired already!! But I don't have it near as bad. My neighbor had four kids - three of which are in separate sports and she is the coach of the 4 year olds soccer team. Lordy! I feel so sorry for her.
So, yeah... our friend's husband got back from his deployment and he seems to be fitting in well enough. I think he was a bit out of sorts for a while there at his welcome home party. I mean it would feel weird to have a welcome home party and not know a soul there. But he seemed to handle it OK.
And we filled out the leave request papers for our trip home. I'm seriously hoping this isn't the week that they were talking about going into the field. I wonder if he would get approved to miss that or not. Apparently 'going in the field' means camping out in a field and playing soldier for a week or so. Billy wonders why they would even need to do this. He is a cargo man. He loads and unloads stuff. He doesn't think he'll ever actually see any real action. But I think it would be fun to go camping like that. I could be wrong.
Speaking of going away for a week. Me and my coffee drinking friends have been pondering how we could take a long weekend and go to the beach. Just us gals. Just a mommy time out. It seriously sounds like a load of fun! I can only imagine all the men back home with all the kids. Oh man! I think I would have to "lose" my phone or it would be going off every six minutes. I just want to sit on the beach with my feet in the sand and read a book and laugh with all my friends. Oh well... we'll just have to see. It's wishful thinking at this point.
So yup... that's all I know for now.
So, yeah... our friend's husband got back from his deployment and he seems to be fitting in well enough. I think he was a bit out of sorts for a while there at his welcome home party. I mean it would feel weird to have a welcome home party and not know a soul there. But he seemed to handle it OK.
And we filled out the leave request papers for our trip home. I'm seriously hoping this isn't the week that they were talking about going into the field. I wonder if he would get approved to miss that or not. Apparently 'going in the field' means camping out in a field and playing soldier for a week or so. Billy wonders why they would even need to do this. He is a cargo man. He loads and unloads stuff. He doesn't think he'll ever actually see any real action. But I think it would be fun to go camping like that. I could be wrong.
Speaking of going away for a week. Me and my coffee drinking friends have been pondering how we could take a long weekend and go to the beach. Just us gals. Just a mommy time out. It seriously sounds like a load of fun! I can only imagine all the men back home with all the kids. Oh man! I think I would have to "lose" my phone or it would be going off every six minutes. I just want to sit on the beach with my feet in the sand and read a book and laugh with all my friends. Oh well... we'll just have to see. It's wishful thinking at this point.
So yup... that's all I know for now.
Friday, March 2, 2012
In like a Lion
Yesterday, I'm driving down the road (on post) on my way to the CYS "child youth services" to sign Allison up for track ~ that's a whole other story; I'll get to that in a minute ~ when my phone rings. It's Billy.
Billy: Hey
Me: Hi
Billy: So I just had to meet with the Commander and she said I'm out. We have until Tuesday to get all our stuff packed and move.
Me: .................................
Billy: Hello?
Me: ..........................................
Billy: Becky, I'm just kidding. (and then proceeds to laugh hysterically!)
Have you ever had a moment when words just aren't enough. When all you want to do box his ears or flick him in the sensitive areas??? OMG! I was soooooo freaked out. So Not Funny!
But see, he did meet with the commander and it was because she wanted to have him sign the paperwork to release his flag and remove the bar from reenlistment. So AMEN!! Such a relief! And see no one really knows this, but for the last few days we've been thinking we weren't going to get to come home to TN and KY in April because A. his flag was still out there and B. because he was supposed to get into a driving class in March and they didn't have him on the roster. This basically meant that he was going to have to take the class in April which was smack dab in the middle of our trip. I was pretty much certain that we were going to have to wait until the summer to take our trip because he was going to have to take that class. And see, this is where the meeting with the commander could not have come at a better time. After she releases his flag and stuff she asks him if everything was going well. He didn't want to be a complainer after all the nonsense the past few months, so he just said "Eh, it's fine." So, she asks him if he was able to take the driving class and he said that he didn't get put on the roster for March and that he was disappointed. She asked him why they didn't sign him up, and he said he simply didn't know the answer to that. So she gets on the horn with the Sgt over the class scheduling and basically says, "get him in the class even if you have to call another company and put him with them." WHOO HOO! I'm kinda loving this commander. (leave it to a woman to get $#!* done... I'm just saying) All of this went down yesterday and the class starts Monday. So, that's a pretty awesome turn of events. Especially since we've been thinking for almost a week that we were going to have to tell our family not to expect us until July. So yay!
So the long and short of it... Billy is off his probation. And he finally got into the class that he kept getting bumped out of.
Now on to the woes of sport sign ups. Sigh.... Back in January when soccer sign-ups opened for our neighborhood, I was broke. Our budget was cut so thin, we had to wait until payday to sign up the kids for any sports. So by the time we show up to fill out the insane amount of paperwork just to have my kids kick a ball around for a couple months, the teams are all filled up for Allison's age group. William got in just fine. Allison's number 4 on the waiting list for soccer. Which means they just need one more coach to volunteer for the eight year olds. I kept thinking maybe... just maybe someone would drop out, move or another team would form and she could get to play. But apparently no such luck. So after a little bit of discussion, Allison decides she would do track and field instead. I call CYS and they say there is no wait and that I just need to come in and fill out the papers - hence my trip yesterday. But when I get there, I'm told that she is number 18 on the wait list. Angry doesn't begin to describe how I felt. UGH!!! Total waste of my time driving up there. Now, I just don't know what to do. She would have been fantastic at either of these sports. I just wish there was something else we could do. And no, I do not think I could coach. I already went down that nightmare about 6 years ago when I coach Emma's peewee cheer squad. I decided then and there that I would never ever ever ever ever EVER coach a kid sport again. Parents are friggin nuts when it comes to their children in competitve sports.
And here we are finally in March. The weather has been spectacular. Mid 70's and breezy. It's glorious!! I'm dying to take a drive to the beach soon. Maybe in the next couple weeks we can take off on a Saturday and drive down to Myrtle Beach for the day. That would be terrific. We've pretty much felt trapped since October. Well of course, me and the kids got to come home for my grandmother's funeral. But it was such a stressful time I didn't feel like we had much of a visit. I'd say we could go to the beach tomorrow, but my friend's husband just got back from a deployment this week and we are all going to celebrate and welcome him home. It's kind of weird that we've all gotten to know the girl so well and heard so much about her man, that to finally meet him... it's just cool I guess.
So, I'm off to the store to pick him up a welcome home gift and grab some groceries.
I sure do miss blogging. I need to make myself do this more often.
Billy: Hey
Me: Hi
Billy: So I just had to meet with the Commander and she said I'm out. We have until Tuesday to get all our stuff packed and move.
Me: .................................
Billy: Hello?
Me: ..........................................
Billy: Becky, I'm just kidding. (and then proceeds to laugh hysterically!)
Have you ever had a moment when words just aren't enough. When all you want to do box his ears or flick him in the sensitive areas??? OMG! I was soooooo freaked out. So Not Funny!
But see, he did meet with the commander and it was because she wanted to have him sign the paperwork to release his flag and remove the bar from reenlistment. So AMEN!! Such a relief! And see no one really knows this, but for the last few days we've been thinking we weren't going to get to come home to TN and KY in April because A. his flag was still out there and B. because he was supposed to get into a driving class in March and they didn't have him on the roster. This basically meant that he was going to have to take the class in April which was smack dab in the middle of our trip. I was pretty much certain that we were going to have to wait until the summer to take our trip because he was going to have to take that class. And see, this is where the meeting with the commander could not have come at a better time. After she releases his flag and stuff she asks him if everything was going well. He didn't want to be a complainer after all the nonsense the past few months, so he just said "Eh, it's fine." So, she asks him if he was able to take the driving class and he said that he didn't get put on the roster for March and that he was disappointed. She asked him why they didn't sign him up, and he said he simply didn't know the answer to that. So she gets on the horn with the Sgt over the class scheduling and basically says, "get him in the class even if you have to call another company and put him with them." WHOO HOO! I'm kinda loving this commander. (leave it to a woman to get $#!* done... I'm just saying) All of this went down yesterday and the class starts Monday. So, that's a pretty awesome turn of events. Especially since we've been thinking for almost a week that we were going to have to tell our family not to expect us until July. So yay!
So the long and short of it... Billy is off his probation. And he finally got into the class that he kept getting bumped out of.
Now on to the woes of sport sign ups. Sigh.... Back in January when soccer sign-ups opened for our neighborhood, I was broke. Our budget was cut so thin, we had to wait until payday to sign up the kids for any sports. So by the time we show up to fill out the insane amount of paperwork just to have my kids kick a ball around for a couple months, the teams are all filled up for Allison's age group. William got in just fine. Allison's number 4 on the waiting list for soccer. Which means they just need one more coach to volunteer for the eight year olds. I kept thinking maybe... just maybe someone would drop out, move or another team would form and she could get to play. But apparently no such luck. So after a little bit of discussion, Allison decides she would do track and field instead. I call CYS and they say there is no wait and that I just need to come in and fill out the papers - hence my trip yesterday. But when I get there, I'm told that she is number 18 on the wait list. Angry doesn't begin to describe how I felt. UGH!!! Total waste of my time driving up there. Now, I just don't know what to do. She would have been fantastic at either of these sports. I just wish there was something else we could do. And no, I do not think I could coach. I already went down that nightmare about 6 years ago when I coach Emma's peewee cheer squad. I decided then and there that I would never ever ever ever ever EVER coach a kid sport again. Parents are friggin nuts when it comes to their children in competitve sports.
And here we are finally in March. The weather has been spectacular. Mid 70's and breezy. It's glorious!! I'm dying to take a drive to the beach soon. Maybe in the next couple weeks we can take off on a Saturday and drive down to Myrtle Beach for the day. That would be terrific. We've pretty much felt trapped since October. Well of course, me and the kids got to come home for my grandmother's funeral. But it was such a stressful time I didn't feel like we had much of a visit. I'd say we could go to the beach tomorrow, but my friend's husband just got back from a deployment this week and we are all going to celebrate and welcome him home. It's kind of weird that we've all gotten to know the girl so well and heard so much about her man, that to finally meet him... it's just cool I guess.
So, I'm off to the store to pick him up a welcome home gift and grab some groceries.
I sure do miss blogging. I need to make myself do this more often.
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