Tonight's Thankfuls

1- Best Buy. Over 40 members of four different local Best Buy stores volunteered today with the 19th Engineer Battalion. They produced over 100 Welcome Home posters for our Soldiers. Yes, they are three months from redeployment of main body, but this really sparked the "they are coming home soon" feeling in me :-)

2- I was smart enough last night to put a towel under the humidifier in my room. It leaked the entire gallon out, but there wasn't too bad of a mess since the towel (a good one at that) caught most of it!

3- Grace had an awesome time at her first friend sleep over. She has stayed overnight with her GA cousins, but has never stayed with someone other than family. I must admit that I was a bit worried... but she seems to have had a blast. I don't think she slept too much, but what 7 year old does at a slumber party?!? She needed and took about a 45 minute nap this afternoon and was still asleep by 9:30pm.

4- Sam has successfully moved into his 'big boy' bed. He has taken a couple of naps, but last night he shook his head 'no' at the crib and went for the twin bed. So, I left the bathroom light between our two rooms on (so he didn't get scared in the dark if he was looking for me) and let him try it. He stayed in the bed until 0500, when I heard him crying. He was definitely disoriented, but I scooped him up, held him tight until he fell back asleep and put him in the crib to finish the night. Tonight, same thing -- I told him to go in his room and get ready for bed and when I went in there, he was in the big bed :-) He looks so little in there!

5- Since my early bird (G) was away this morning, I got to sleep in! My little three are sleepers like me :-) I didn't hear a thing (other than the 5am redirect of Sam) until 0915! I can't believe it. SO nice and SO needed!

Now... a funny story... with pictures.

As I said before, Best Buy volunteers came to Battalion headquarters today. They wanted to meet some of the families that they were supporting. So, quite a few families showed up to thank them for their thoughts and actions. Anyway, the kids were encouraged to participate. So, the crew went to work. The volunteers were so great. Sam was given a crayon and told to color.

He did a great job. See:

The other kids did a great job too, but this story is about Sam... (but here's some pics of the big three too)

(he's signing his art)



so anyway... it was getting to be around Sam's nap time. How could I tell? Well, I told him not to walk on the posters that were completed and on the ground. He had melt down! Dropped down and wallowed on them!

Not only does he have melt down, he rolls on a poster that has loads of fresh, wet glitter glue all over it! Check out this hair:

In case you ever need to know, glitter glue does come out of hair. It took three washes, but it did come out!

Thankfuls

1) Got to talk with Rob and know that he is safe... not at his final destination yet, but well on his way.

2) Grey's Anatomy with Heather tonight!

3) volunteered at the big kids' school this morning. I really do love popping the popcorn :-)

4) Sam is in a kissing phase. He wants to kiss... and kiss... and kiss... I won't ever pass up a chance for a kiss from my kids, even when they are super snotty (which is most of us right now... but I'm not thankful for that, so forget I mentioned it).

5) sugar free candy. I don't care how bad my tummy hurts after I eat it, somedays you just need chocolate. Today was one of those days... and I was glad for some sugar free chocolate!

Faithism

Faith just told me that she is as hot as a butterbean that just got out of the oven.

What?!?

Thankfuls and catch-ups

First, my thankfuls:

1) Today, I put Rob back on a plane to Afghanistan. No, I am not thankful about that... but I am thankful that I got to have 2 wonderful weeks with him. I think back to military spouses of the past. I don't know how they did it! I get to talk to Rob at least once a week... granted the connection sucks and it is only for 10 minutes, but I get to hear his voice AT LEAST once a week, depending on where he is -- sometimes daily. Back in the day (WWII, for example), those ladies kissed their Soldier goodbye and didn't hear or see anything from them for YEARS. Years! I can't imagine.

2) There is just over 3 months left in this deployment. April cannot come soon enough for me!

3) So, tonight was a 'free' night at our house. Emotions were pretty raw, so we had a 'whatever' dinner (which ended up being mainly corndogs and nachos) and a movie -- kids' choice. What did they choose? Twilight! Of all things... Twilight. I was more than okay with that :-) We didn't watch the whole movie before it was bedtime, so looks like another Twilight night in my future

:-)

4) Found some tea that I bought about a month ago. When I brought the grocery bags in, Sam got the box and took off. I just found it. In my defense, we've only been here just over a week since then... But it was yummy tonight!

5) Went to Hobby Lobby today after the airport (come on... I was in Louisville anyway, right?) and got a new organizational container for my scrapbooking paper. They are in a magazine basket, which works fine... except that the corners of the pages at the bottom of the basket always wrinkle. Hopefully this will solve the problem... plus I'll have my basket back for magazines!

Now...

New Year's Resolutions. I'm putting this down in writing and I hope anybody who reads this will hold me accountable.

*1* and the one I think I will have success with ... Start using my fabric grocery bags. I own about 15 of the dang things. They sit in the back of my van, unused, because I forget to take them into the store with me. When the baggers at the commissary come out to load my groceries, I feel quite the fool when I say "Just put them on those [fabric] bags."

*2* get to the gym at least twice a week. I have gotten pretty good about doing some sort of exercise at home at night, but nothing beats the workout at the gym. Twice a week.

*3* breathe and be patient. Harder done than said...at least for me.

So... what's missing? My usual weight loss resolution. I'm not doing it. I don't care. I am healthy and relatively fit, so why should I care what the scale says. Muscle weighs more anyway, right?

My Thanks Tonight

*Josh got his first real soccer trophy today! He got a mini-trophy last year for Smart Start, but this was his first for really playing. He is SO proud!

*Got to talk with Rob twice today. He's not in his 'normal' location, so he can call a bit easier.

*Spouse Appreciation Night for the 19th Engineer Battalion tonight. Fun with a lot of fun ladies! We Sumo-wrestled, we line-danced, we beat each other up (learning self-defense) and ate. Great :-)

*Had a Derby race at the Night too... we didn't win, but I got the horse finished with a little bit of time to spare! It's a shovel with a dumptruck on top and a seahorse in the bucket!

*The kids sing along with Camp Rock and Miley Cyrus's new CD -- I really love to hear them sing

*The kids watched The Goonies tonight. Though they were scared in parts, they all really liked it!

Thursday's Thanks

* Popcorn day at the kids' school. I really love going and being a worker bee at the school. I like that the teachers all see me AT LEAST once a week -- and the kids wave to me from the hall :-)



* Grey's and Private Practice tonight -- AND Survivor too!!



* Girls had cheerleading pictures tonight before their game. Don't think Faith felt too great, but she made it through the whole game before melting down.



* Got Sam some Lactaid brand milk today. I have been debating getting it for him, but the commissary only had the low fat and skim. Today they had the whole... bingo! He tried it and seemed to like it... let's hope that his tummy likes it through the night!



* Chocolate Chip Pizza :-)



* Today was the kids' last day of school before Fall Break. We get 10 days of nothing... well, we have a few things planned, but on the whole... nothing!

* Another day down towards getting back to NC for a little while. I can't wait! I wish I could take off tomorrow... but Josh has a soccer game Saturday morning and half the team is already not going to be there. I will be very upset if the other team doesn't have enough and it is a forfeit anyway!

Thankfuls

*Faith went to her first Daisy Scout meeting yesterday and had a BLAST! Be ready, folks... we're going to be hitting you up to buy some cookies soon!


*I had coffee this morning with a friend with all kids in daycare or school! We both are moms to 4, so I think we were both just so thankful to be without any even if for only an hour :-)


*Finally finished cutting out pumpkins and moons for Josh's Pre-K class. There were SO many... I think I will be dreaming of pumpkins tonight


*Grace's school had 2nd Grade night tonight. Their school doesn't do routing conferences except at midyear (unless there is a problem). So... the teachers decided that it was important for the parents to see what happens in the classroom. So, the kids brought us in and had an agenda that they had to go through with us. So fun! Grace dragged me all over that room :-) They did a play that was super cute.



*A great friend agreed to watch the little three so I could take Grace to her night at school and concentrate on HER


*G's teacher said she's doing very well! She said her (the teacher's) biggest challenge is keeping her occupied. Everything comes so easily that she gets done and then gets bored ... and talkative. I guess there are are a few similarities in us :-)


*Glee tonight :-)


*Grace had her first school project this week. A diorama of a Great White shark's habitat. I really had to struggle to NOT do it for her. Pretty cute, huh? The only things that I did were suspend him and help with the glue. Well... I helped with shaping him, but only a little (he is clay on top of a pool toy and the clay was REALLY hard). I started with the shaping just to show Grace a technique to doing it :-) She used some of my craft supplies to make seaweed (see the green string) and drew her own fish -- this was hard for me...



*we went to Burger King for dinner because of the school thing... it was at an awkward time to eat before and then it would have taken too long to make something (I know, I know... excuses). Anyway, Sam likes ketchup :-) Lots and lots of ketchup. French fries are optional... as long as the ketchup keeps coming!