Jill ARMY

Kids say the darndest things...

2009-07-20T20:37:00.002-10:00

Milspouse

So I took my children to the Schofield Barracks pool the other day. They got a new cool slide that is a ton of fun. So my littlest child is having a grand time splashing around in the big pool. No more baby pool for us! She just took the lifeguard's test so she doesn't have to wear the encumbering lifevest anymore. She is thrilled! So I am sitting there on the side of the pool with homework in hand of course...and she looks up at me and asks..."Mom, is there gravity in water? I mean how come I don't fall?"

...stunned silence... ummm ...I'm stumped. Here I am sitting at the pool doing homework to finish my Master's degree in Accounting, I mean I am no dummy here, but my seven year old has stumped me in five words. How can this be? This child of mine is always thinking. Of course she still walks into the occassional wall and can not help herself from touching everything she sees but man she is a thinker!

I of course went right home and googled it. So just incase your child ever asks..."There is gravity everywhere, even in outer space. Gravity happens when something has mass and is pulled by other items that have mass. In water, there is also a buoyancy force that works in the opposite direction to gravity". Thank you very much MIT Alum Sue Kayton from www.allexperts.com. Great site for all sorts of questions. I learn something new everyday. Isn't parenting grand ?

hmmm well ...so much for un-jinxing myself...

2008-10-31T21:44:00.002-10:00

Well...I guess there is more to an unjinxing than I was aware of...may need to track those sticker guys down or something. We missed the blogging convention all together. Neither of us could take time off work. yuk and double yuk!
Forgive me for not blogging. Truth is I'm freakishly busy, overworked and extremely sleep deprived. Thank goodness my mom moved in with us in June (poor Jack) or I would have dropped dead by now. I don't know how I'm going to function when she leaves. Who would have thought I could be a wife and parent, have a full time job and be a full time graduate student? This just isn't fun at all. I keep telling myself it will be worth it but I might be more convincing if my employer were footing at least some of my tuition...
Jack is still blogging as far as I know... we don't see much of eachother these days. He's here and not in the sandbox this time but he's out the door an hour before I'm up and either home after I go to sleep or he goes to bed as soon as he gets home from sheer exhaustion... I think we communicated more when he was deployed. Such is life here in paradise. I sure do miss being a stay at home mom sometimes... Gotta get back to the homework...I'm an excellent procrastinator so maybe I'll blog again soon. I'd love to blog about the wonderful place I work...and if you know me at all you heard the scarcasim dripping off that sentence. hee hee hee.

I'm un-jinxing myself!

2008-05-13T19:31:00.003-10:00

Milspouse
SO...here's my theory...the guys at the blogworld expo in Las Vegas last year jinxed me!
You know those guys that were promoting a blogging movie out of a VW bug? They handed out stickers that read "I Can't Stop Blogging". After Jack and I arrived home with our bags o swag (stuff we all get at these expo thingys), I put my sticker on my new laptop. As ridiculously superstitious as it sounds the freaking sticker has put some sort of anti blogging hex on my computer. Not a single post since I put that stupid thing on there. Coincidence? ...I think not.
So this is my official un-jinxing post.

The fact I haven't blogged in awhile couldn't possibly have anything to do with the fact Jack returned from 15 months of desert fun, my fifteen year old had a melt down and moved to Chicago (to live with her dad for the first time since she was 4yrs old), I volunteer for my 5 and 6 yr olds Parent teacher organization, I am working on my master's in Accounting, or I just started a full time job. Nah none of those things interfere with blogging at all. It's the darn sticker I'm sure of it.

I intend to begin blogging again...right after I scrub the residual sticker goo off my computer. I will be reviewing a book : "I Will Not Be Broken: Five Steps to Overcoming a Life Crisis," by Jerry White, the co-founder of Survivor Corps http://iwillnotbebroken.org I've already read the intro and first two chapters (thanks to the free download) and it's going to be inspirational and help so many people. I know it is something all my readers (yes all two of them ...hi dad!) will enjoy and pass on to those around them that need to hear the message and take the steps. I know I will. Looking forward to blogging again.

I've been tagged?

2007-11-24T18:53:00.000-10:00

Okie dokie... here goes. I've been TAGGED!

I'm no woman of mystery but I've been tagged so I'll play along. Here goes...
five "FOUR" questions for me to answer
Four dishes I like to cook (and eat):
1. Thai Beef Salad (Yahm Nua)
2. chicken enchiladas
3. Thai chicken and coconut soup
4. homemade pizza with the girls

Four qualities I love in people:
1. Honesty
2. Outgoing/spontaneous
3. Humor
4. Integrity....not neccesarily in that order :)

Four places I have been(other than the mainland):
1. Philippines
2. Hongkong
3. Germany
4. Hawaii!!

Four things in my bedroom:
1. My bed, of course
2. A vintage 1967 Snoopy and Woodstock telephone that was actually used by my family when I was younger, my mom gave it to me a few years ago.
3. My favorite quilt given to me by Jack (one of his better gifts) beautiful American flags, handmade from pottery barn.
4. Vintage Fisher-Price Camper..great gift from my mom..it was one of my favorite toys when I was young.

Four dirty words (phrases) I like/tend to use:
first I have to say I don't use these words often...but when I do need an explative...
1. Shitballs! not sure where I picked this one up but it seems to fit in alot around here.
2. Are you freaking kidding me??
hmmm can't think of any others...I guess that's a good thing?

Four objects I will never part with, and will leave to someone to inherit when I die:
1. My vintage Fisher-price toys (see above)
2. The American Flag Chest (another great gift from Jack)

3. My engagement ring it's a keeper!

4. My Asian cookbook (hmmm another gift from Jack...aren't I lucky?)

So there you have it...All you never wanted to know about me. Ha

Blogworld Expo day two

2007-11-09T08:16:00.000-10:00

Sat in on a terriffic milblog session, Blogging from the Front. Of course my favorite speaker of all time is Jack Army and he didn't disappoint. I was surprised to see the audience demographic almost an even split between male and female. Not that that's a bad thing, just an interesting observation for me. It was surprising to see the audience a little on the sparce side. I thought the milblog track of seesions was quite popular and full of relevant current events. I could be biased...nah. I'm a little on the tired side today, and not for the reason you would think...we went to the 10pm Cirque de Solie show last night. We went to one that was based on the music from the Beetles. WOW! It was amazing. Really a good show and if you ever get the opportunity to go, do it. It was cool.

Blogworld fun

2007-11-08T13:06:00.000-10:00

Here at the Expo and already having fun. (No kids...coincidence?...I think not)
Tons of stereotypical geeky bloggers to laugh at and at the same time some great bloggers to learn stuff from. Not to suggest at all that you can't learn anything from the geeks quite the contrary in fact. Anyhoo...
Jack Army and I are sitting in on the milblogging track. Good info and although some of it was a wee bit over my head, it amazes me how far blogging, specifically milblogging, has come. I know I sometimes crawl too far under my parenting rock, but I had no idea the White House sat down face to face with milbloggers...That's cool! Jack would have loved to be in on that one. I am sure had they known he was available, instead of doing war stuff in Iraq, he would have been invited. We are staying at the cool castle Excalibur Hotel. It's pretty neat...our little princesses will be so jealous..oohh not to mention the pajama party ...they love a good pj bash.

Long time no blog

2007-11-08T07:57:00.000-10:00

Hopefully my four readers haven't missed me too much.
A lot has been going on in the past month or so. Jack Army returned from Iraq and we all know what that means...Yep I gotta share my computer. Only because his is in the shop getting un-desertified--which means dumping out the sand from Iraq. Not that I mind of course, I mean I don't blog very often anyway... far too busy being a mom and all.
But there is good reason to blog today! We are in Las Vegas at the 2007 Blogworld & New Media Expo. Unfortunately our bags haven't made it yet so excuse the stentch. We got here last night from Hawaii where we left our children in the care of friends for five whole days! I just can't believe it. Five days with no children what will I do? Who will follow me to the bathroom? What will I worry about...oh I'm sure I'll find something...like do people who walk around with their mouths open get sick more? Nah I'm kidding...any mom knows the worrying doesn't stop because of distance in fact I think it makes it worse. Anyhoo...I'm excited to be here (kid free) and to see Jack in all his blogging glory...He's on a panel, how exciting.
I'm sure we'll both be blogging in the the next few days (hours for Jack ha ha) so stay tuned!

OOPS! broke first rule of journalism

2007-09-21T07:29:00.000-10:00

I should have checked out the source for myself. Craig Smith wrote that rant on America Not Jay Leno. I'm sorry to misinform my HUGE readership. I guess you can't totally blame me though..I mean I do take full responsibility for messing up and not checking this out, but I suppose it is more of a story coming from Jay Leno as opposed to Craig Smith. I never even heard of this guy...so I don't want to nominate him for the presidency...not that I "knew" Jay Leno either but I hope you know what I'm saying here. At any rate thanks a bunch for keeping me on the straight and narrow and checking up on things. This is why America is awesome. I can say whatever I want whether it be true or not...and if I mess up nobody comes to my door and kills me and my family. Nice isn't it??? I know I love it! Great! Now everyone get right out there and thank a soldier! And have a great day in America land of the free and home of the brave.

Jay Leno for President!

2007-09-19T12:15:00.000-10:00

Okay now I was kidding about that title of course please don't go hound Jay for his nomination but sheesh. Could we please at least try to have more people like him speak up??? This is what he said:

"The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll data I found rather hard to believe. It must be true, given the source, right?

The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed, and 69 percent of the country is unhappy with the performance of the President. In essence, 2/3's of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change.

So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, ''What are we so unhappy about?''
Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week?

Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter?

Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job?

Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time, and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year?

Maybe it is the ability to drive from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state?

Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter?

I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough.

Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and
provide services to help all, and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital.

Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames thus saving you, your family and your belongings.

Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes , an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss.

This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90 percent of teenagers own cell phones and computers.

How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world?

Maybe that is what has 67 percent of you folks unhappy.

Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have , and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here.

I know, I know. What about the President who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The President who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same President who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The President that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in the book for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks?

The Commander-In Chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad?

Think about it...are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the "Media" told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day.

Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go.

They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an ''other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable'' discharge after a few days in the brig.

So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want, but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds, it leads; and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood and guts. How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The media knows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer what sells , and when criticized, try to defend their actions by "justifying" them in one way or another. Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J. Simpson to write a book about "how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did he would have done it this way"...Insane!

Stop buying the negativism you are fed everyday by the media. Shut off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as a country. There is exponentially more good than bad.

We are among the most blessed people on Earth, and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.

"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to another, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, "Are we sure this is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"

Jay Leno
2007

Could we please try and be a little less spoiled and alot more appreciative of what we do have? Turn off network news and turn on Joel Osteen perhaps if you just have to stare at the TV to believe in something...just last night Joel said "study the people that were put in your life...give them what they need not what you need" Our president needs his country to support the difficult and mostly unappreciated job he does. He needs us to have faith in him so that he can do the very best for the country. This country reminds me alot of my teenager...so incredibly frustrating at times. She fails to see the big picture, the forest through the trees, however you wanna phrase it. It's not all about you I tell her. Brad Paisley said in a song recently (letter to me I think it's called) "At 17 it's hard to see past Friday night..." So true. So my point is...ha you thought I didn't have one huh? The point is...grow up America! Look in the mirror and see just how good you've got it. You're 321 years old for God's sake...act like it!

Beauty in the breakdown?

2007-08-13T01:14:00.000-10:00

This song struck me as an amazing piece of advice today... I lasted 12 months, 8 days and approximately 17 hours. If only I hadn't listened to the words. Yeah...thanks to Frou Frou I have officially broken down...and yes there is some beauty in it....it's actually peaceful here in the depths. If you're teetering on the edge don't listen to the words just enjoy the music there is a very soothing beauty in it as well.

Pleasant boot camp environment?

2007-08-09T22:42:00.000-10:00

I had to chuckle when I saw this article on possible new recruiting incentives and ideas. What exactly is a more pleasant boot camp experience? I mean don't get me wrong, I myself have never been to boot camp. I can only imagine what it must be like. Like others who haven't been, my imagination is assisted by movies that show these poor pitifully shaved souls being woken up at the butt crack of dawn, screamed at and made to run crazy distances singing silly songs. Doesn't paint a pleasant picture to me. To say "make a more pleasant ...environment" suggests it had some pleasantries already. I wonder if those who have been just leave those pleasant parts out to make it appear more strenuous and difficult. I mean if it sounded like a bed and breakfast would everyone join the military? Pleasant boot camp experience? I might even consider it. Especially now that they are taking old, out of shape recruits. Sign me up!! (As long as they can make war a little more pleasant too of course)
I know I know you all feel safer already. Ha ha
PS don't worry mom and Jack, I'd never quit my day-job...it's way too much fun. wink wink

Love Thy Neighbor

2007-07-03T01:15:00.000-10:00

God tells us to do this... but I tell ya sometimes it's not as easy as it sounds. Especially when they are as stupid as the deployment is long. I mean I have had some winners for neighbors in the past, I mean I have lived on a military post before, but these folks here give even the worst a run for their money. Some episodes are easier than others to ignore. Like the DAILY yell for their kids to come in that for some reason has to be made right in front of my open window, when the kids are out on the roof at midnight raising a ruckus two feet away from my sleeping daughters window, skinny dipping in the pool which is far too visible from far too many places in my house, when her 6 yr old is laying in the middle of the street (not our small cul de sac, the street) and refuses to move when a car comes by (apples sure don't fall far from the tree huh?), or even when the girls are cold on a rainy day and begging to come in my house when their mother won't allow them in her own because they might wake her up (I couldn't ignore that one) but today was the most humorous of their attempts to communicate (see picture). I had to chuckle just a bit because the kids they are trying to insult(yes that would be my 4 and 5 yr old) can't even read much other than their own names yet ...so the insultees thought it was a nice welcome home note since we'd been out when it was written. HA! Our little angels are oblivious to the wild freaks of children that surround us. The sad part is I know these kids probably had to ask their parents how to spell more than half the words. Obviously parents were no help in the grammer department. We are not talking about bright people here, but at least they are good for a laugh now and then...at least for a few more days. HALLELUJAH

How about them SPURS!!!

2007-06-14T21:34:00.000-10:00

Whoo hooo A sweep! Isn't that the coolest? Man I miss watching the Spurs with my husband. It was something we did while we were dating. Of course that was way back in 1999 when they won the championship that started the dynasty talk. We had so much fun going to Spurs parties, going to Chili's to have a beer and watch the game. To be there in San Antonio during that season was good times... good times... I miss you Jack.
I'm with Duncan...

"It never gets old, it never gets old," Duncan said. "Unbelievable. Such a great
run, a great journey, a great bunch of guys."

Congrats to the Spurs!

Throw the book at me

2007-05-16T23:03:00.000-10:00

Well it was bound to happen...just never thought it would be so literal. I started substitute teaching not too long ago. I mostly work at the middle school level 6th- 8th grade. I realize you just can't please everyone all the time but sheesh! After an incident last week I found myself just wondering about a few things...Does throwing a book at the substitute really make you feel better as a student? Have better methods of communication not been covered at this point of one's education? Is that kind of behavior tolerated at your house around your family? Is a trip to the bathroom during class that important it makes getting suspended for two whole days worth it? What kind of adult will this student turn out to be? Have I failed to acknowledge or appreciate some hidden cry for help in this random act of violence? Is it someones grand plan to put this student in my path everyday? Why on earth do I keep going back for more?
Hope you aren't holding your breath for any of these answers because I really don't have them. But I am sure you guessed that.
In other news... I took a much needed day off from subbing just to go to the zoo with my daughter and over 100 kindergartners! Wheee! what was I thinking? It was two days ago and I still haven't fully recovered.
If you want a good cry, I suggest you check out a good video on a Blog called Cheeseburgers in Paradise written by a fellow Army spouse blogger here in Hawaii. She's awesome and does a much better job at blogging (and losing weight I might add) than me. We are both missing our husbands. I think MTV should pull the yucky video they have for Chris Daughtry's song and put this one up instead. Of course, if they do, then every time I see it I'll be a wet slobbery mess. yuk I know...just don't throw a book at me please!

Where in the World is Jack Army?

2007-05-04T13:54:00.000-10:00

I know I know...opsec and all. But sheesh man I am over here waiting and waiting for some sort of news. An email or a phone call would be awesome. Snail mail is ridiculous from there the girls and I got a letter on April 14th that was mailed by Jack on Oct. 12, 2006!!!
I realize "no news is good news" but I would really love some news. Some one commented over at Jack Army about a blanket order not to blog or email with out commander approval. What the hell? Like the commanders don't have enough to do over there that they gotta be the email police too? This is crazy! Here's part of that comment...ugh

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death
Noah Shachtman 05.02.07 2:00 AM AP
The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending
personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior
officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest
restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it
could mean the end of military blogs, observers say. Military officials have
been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers
have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the
public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the
operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers
have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly
grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.
The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted
before every blog update.

can't figure out how to turn off indention but ... pretend it's off.
So...now I am a bit concerned. If I have to go the next 7 months (thanks
to the extension) with no communication I am going to have myself a little meltdown. I don't know how my mom took care of 3 babies and had her fourth (me) while my dad was in Vietnam. They did get to talk on the phone but the telephone
connection was so bad my dad thought my mom named his fourth daughter
Baron after him. I guess he thought she was so distraught after having yet another girl no boys. HA So at least I'm not having any more babies. My three are quite the handful themselves. Having them makes the separation all that more 'in your face' though. Like when the littlest one just out of the blue says "I can't remember daddy's face" That's enough to send me right over the edge. I started crying the poor little girl. Even though logically you can't escape all the pictures of Jack in our home. Screen saver on the computer is Jack, refrigerator has Jack all over it...pictures on the bulletin board...maps of where he is...he's everywhere. but for a four year old to just come up with that is just so heartbreaking words can't describe. Her older sister sleeps with Jack's T-shirts at night and when they "lost his smell" we spray a little of his cologne on. I do the same thing to my pillow. I don't know if that makes it better or worse. These are the things the politicians in Washington need to think about when they extend the troops. Fifteen months is an eternity to a preschooler, not to mention the moms of those preschoolers. I know we all appreciate our troops and know we need them there. But I still miss Jack and hope some politician somewhere lets him get back on the internet soon.

Jill's thoughts for the day...

2007-05-01T07:22:00.000-10:00

I don't want to take away from all the pain and suffering the families of the Virginia Tech Students are recently experiencing... BUT ...I was passing by our huge flag on post the other day watching it fly at half staff. I stopped and prayed for those families it was flying low for. The country nationally recognized and mourned approx. 30 students who died in a extremely horrible way. That's great. I thought it was good of the President to do this. Then I started thinking about all the soldiers over there with my husband and all those who have come back in those flag draped coffins. I wonder why our flag isn't flying low already. Certainly our country is in a constant state of mourning for these families as well. Maybe it's because these soldiers chose to make the sacrifice they did. Does that make it any less horrifying or painful for their families and friends? Maybe it is because these kids at VT were innocent and unsuspecting. I don't know. It made me just a little bit sad for our soldiers. I don't need low flying flag to help me to remember these soldiers and their sacrifice for this country, but maybe others might. Maybe if the shooter had joined the Army instead of going to college he would have felt included and found camaraderie instead of persecution he got from the clicks in college. I don't know. Maybe not I don't know... How about if we send all the crazies out there who have some sort of grudge toward whomever over to Iraq to go out on patrols. Have them take their anger out on some insurgents who deserve it before they get shot. Just a thought in my head, feel free to disagree. Aren't you glad you live in a country where you can? Good! Now go out and thank a soldier!

hilarious

2007-04-13T11:55:00.000-10:00

Not sure if everyone that reads this will think it's as hilarious as me or even if I should think it's hilarious at all because afterall I have married into this wonderful family. But oh my...
on my sister in law's blog she tells the story (more like soap opera) of her father's new wife. It makes me smile when there is very little in my life right now to smile about. Katy is laugh out loud funny!! It's nice to know I am not the only one who has to deal with complete idiots on a daily basis. I hope I can do a better job at finding the humor here...

The dreaded EXTENSION!

2007-04-12T19:10:00.000-10:00

It's official. ALL active duty Army troops on the ground in Iraq will be extended for an additional 3 months. We are sad but optimistic. We were all so excited about the "over half way" mark that had just passed. People had started to count down the days to redeployment. So now we kinda feel a little deflated and downright sad. You can almost hear the collective sigh of reality setting in. Alone for another 7 months... Sigh.. what can you do?
Jack would say there's a job to do and we aren't finish doing it so we'll stay to get er done! But sheesh we miss him like crazy and the short R&R 17 day visit was great but really just made the missing him all the more fresh in our minds.
It doesn't make me feel any better when a soldier home on R&R runs into me at the PX and says "wow how are you doing...I mean knowing where Jack is and what he's doing ?" ...ummm like what's that supposed to mean? Well great! Now I am all paranoid. I didn't know he was GOING someplace I thought it was a communications issue...radio silence thing no worries... but going someplace? now wait a sec...why in the hell did you have to go a say something like that?? oh for goodness sake!
I think would be completely sane if I were deaf. I recently came to this realization. I would have little to no trouble with my extremely loud and obnoxious neighbor, I would be safe from all the drama that seems to everywhere I go on this post. AND I wouldn't have to be affected by the absolutely insane things that some people say to me on a daily basis. Yep deaf seems to be a good option for me right now...maybe I'll just go buy some good ear plugs.

Cutest kid on the planet?

2007-04-09T21:41:00.000-10:00

Well she might beat me up for this later in life but in my completely unbiased opinion...this kid of mine is just adorable at times. Even when she's sleeping. Cute cute cute. But how does that saying go? ...when she's good, she's really good but when she's bad, she's...? yeah she does have her moments of complete and utter loss of emotional control. But hey who doesn't ? She cracks me up all the time. Thank God she's ten years from being 14! I don't care how cute one is...the attitude of my 14 yr old makes her downright ...well ...insert word of choice here. I am sure this phase of my teen's life will pass. I am just hoping it does as quickly as that bad burger I had the other day did.

Update

2007-03-28T17:04:00.000-10:00

So it's been Spring break here. That is always a ton a of fun when my husband is gone and my teenager left me for more exciting relatives. So just me and the little girls. We have spent quite a bit of our time with a neighbor and her three children. We both have been watching eachothers children so we can go to our part time jobs without having to pay for childcare which worked out great. On our off days we had a few adventures. We went to Haunama Bay snorkling! It was beautiful and even my littlest who doesn't put her face in the water yet got to see the big fishes! We went to the park today ( it was my day to keep the kids ) we took baseballs, a bat, gloves, frisbees and a soccer ball. We had so much fun running around and playing. I've noticed my friend's boys are very different from my little girls. My girls have melt downs when they don't like the way things are turning out and boys, they just beat the crap out of eachother. Somedays, I think I'd rather have boys. My middle bundle of joy had a huge melt down at the build a bear store at the mall. It really befuddled me becuse this melt down was AFTER I told her she could make an animal of her choice. I don't get it. She just lost complete control of herself and wouldn't stop crying. We have this rule if you cry at a store you can''t get anything and so she didn't get to get anything. This made her even more upset because I had already told her that she could go and make one. We had never been to one of these places before and our friends had gift certificates to use so we went along. My youngest of course was unjustly deprived of getting her as well because I got all flustered and walked out of the store to calm myself and the other one, so of course she had to have her own melt down. More fun for me! Arugh! My friend has an awesome job of being a mystery shopper. We are lucky because we often get invited on her mystery shops that include resturants. So yesterday we went to TGI Fridays, one of my favorites. So the two of us moms and five children in tow went to this resturant for dinner. What a fiasco! the waiter was awful the service was bad and our food took over an hour to come out! I wanted to stand up and shout Hey she is a secret shopper I suggest you try real hard to please her! I didn't. We ended up (by we, I mean my friend... I don't complain) complaining to the manager and getting all 7 of our meals free! who hoo! that was worth the wait.

Barb wanted to know about the inlaws...well I talked to Katie the other day. Clint was scheduled to arrive that night so she was very excited. They are back in Colorado at least for a few weeks until her gets out of the Army and they move down to Texas. So I would guess they won't be blogging a whole bunch anytime soon. They aren't as dedicated as Jack to the whole blogging thing. Not many people blog as much or as often as him, especially when he was home on R&R grrrr don't get me started on that!

Anyhoo...my teenager is arriving tonight from her Spring break away from her sisters. I think she had a good time. Too bad I got her report card a few days ago and she'll be grounded as soon as she gets home. Oh well... that's what she gets for blowing off her English homework. I am such a mean mom. :(

Oh and our cat had kittens!! awwww.... perfect timing second day of Spring Break.

no juicy for you

2007-03-19T21:22:00.000-10:00

Last week I wrote this letter to the commanding general of Jack's division through his "open door policy". I have never ever done anything like that before. I just got really annoyed at all the people here squabbling and scrambling to get in these new homes that are going up on our post. At first it was all great and wonderful these new homes were intended to replace really old, bug infested homes our most junior soldiers and families were living in. Some awesome general (I believe it was Gen Mixon but not exactly sure) decided the golf course on this post was less important than these soldier's living in a decent home. So he put into action a plan to rip up a golf course and put in hundreds of new homes. Way to go!! All was great until the general deployed to Iraq. With him away, some of the (let's just say non- lower enlisted) spouses decided their families were more deserving than these lower enlisted families. Shameless if you ask me.
I was going to post the letter up here but thought twice about it...so much for juicy.

012345

2007-03-18T21:57:00.000-10:00

WOW! 12,345 that's a ton of people! I was looking at my blog today and saw that # on the counter! 012345 hmmm. I know alot of those are myself and Jack but still alot of people come by and see what I have to say. I wish I had a more interesting life for you all to read about. maybe if I wasn't such a chicken I could tell you all about my neighbors...but it might have to wait until I am out of this war zone. ha ha ha
so until then...
This morning I woke up to a little 4 yr old in my bed. I went to bed alone, like I've been doing for some time now. but I rolled over this morning and there she was just like the last ten mornings in a row. I have tried to get her to sleep in her own bed through the night, I mean she used to do this with no issues at all before Jack left, shouldn't be too hard. Every night I give her lots of kisses and hugs and tuck her in real good I even told her if she slept in her own bed all night she'd get a piggyback ride upstairs the next night. Apparently this bribe hasn't been working so good because she is there in the morning more times than not. So this morning I decided to ask her why. Her answer was so precious I think I am going to just have Jack deal with it when he gets home. When I asked her why she was always in my bed in the morning she said with out even missing a beat "because I love you so much I never want us to be apart". Awww okay you win. Who can argue with that? Not me.

Juicy?

2007-03-17T12:50:00.000-10:00

Well I am not sure this is juicy but it's a warm fuzzy part of the bigger story which I will tell later (I am still giving the general a few more days to respond). So as you know I live on a military post. I try to be involved as much as I can and keep up on issues and events going on in our area (as every good military spouse should do). Anyways in my attempts to do this I went to one of our town hall meetings. If you have never been to one, I highly recommend it. The officials of the post attend this meeting. people like the LTC of the division, the DeCa guy, the AAFES guy, the provost marshall, housing manager you get the idea. They get the head of whatever facility where they anticipate the issues will come from. Great plan if you ask me. They also give out door prizes in an attempt to get more people to attend. The Army is awesome! They really want us to be there and tell them what's on our minds. So at this particular meeting the issues were mostly about the new traffic pattern necessary because of renovations being made at the main gate. So people had the opportunity to say what was bothering them because of this change, for instance one lady lives near the smaller gate opened to let people off post and she has observed vehicles speeding and not stopping at stop signs. She was concerned for her children's safety. So the MP guy said no problem we'll get a few patrol cars out there and enforce the speed limit and rules more. (and sure enough the next day I went out that gate twice and both times a patrol car was sitting there with a radar gun I smiled and thought now that is awesome, after I slowed down of course)
So another lady had an issue of troops doing PT in her front yard. Physical Training is done on post M-F mornings from 7-7:45 am. Every soldier, which is alot, has to run around and exercise. Mostly they run, but they also do sit ups and ruck marches or even play football. They mostly do this in big groups, units or battalions...whatever. They also call cadence when they run. These cadences are songs that keep them in step and build up excitement I guess. When you have a ton of guys singing it can be a little loud and sometimes a few obscenities fly here and there, not surprising it is the Army ya know. So this woman was upset that she had smaller children who didn't have to get up for school and these soldiers were waking her and her children up doing PT too close to her home. So the LTC said well, they shouldn't be doing PT any earlier than 7am, shouldn't be in a housing area so let me know after the meeting where you live and I'll go out there figure out who it is and get it right for you. That sounded awesome to me and thought it was the end of that well she kept griping about it, got disrespectful to the LTC and was just rather unsatisfied by his solution. So he took some other peoples questions and then came to this other lady who stood up and said: "um yeah I just have a comment for that other lady...I live about 20 feet from Area X ( a range I guess) and I hear all day nights and weekends too mortar fire, gun fire and the dude on the loud speaker calling out orders...is it annoying? Sure it is. But I deal with it because I know I want our soldiers to know how to shoot and I know I want them in top physical condition so I live with it, knowing it makes our homes safer everyday. You live on a military post for the security it provides and then bitch because that security training is too loud in the morning that you want to sleep in?? GIVE ME A BREAK!!! wow! I couldn't have said that better myself! I wanted to go hug that lady! We all just clapped for her as loud as we could!! Right on sister! you get it! you really do! I am glad I am not the only one who is grateful to live here, respectful of our soldiers and leaders who sacrifice everything to go defend us and our country. I don't even know that woman, I tired to find her after the meeting but she had already left. I wanted to shake her hand and thank her for having the courage and saying something we all wanted to. Thank you whoever you are!

well thanks Jack!

2007-03-15T23:45:00.000-10:00

AS if I needed a little extra pressure right now...my dear Jack has really set you guys up for disappointment... sure I have a few ideas but...who can live up to juicy ? I just have a few stories about the drama that is unfolding in our little Paradise over here. Don't get too excited...I don't want to disappoint anyone. I'll work on them this weekend unless someone decides to swallow a dime or ... ya know, throw off my groove in some other inventive way.
"I'm sorry but you've thrown off the emperor's groove" ...aahhhhh....

OY!

2007-03-05T21:28:00.000-10:00

Yes that's my word of the day...just when things seem to be moving right along, fine and dandy...cablamo! All I can say is Oy! I don't even know what that word means. I suppose it's spanish for something close to Damn! or Hell! at least that fits in the context in which I use it. Who the hell knows? Now please don't send me a bunch of emails educating me on the spanish explicatives...I get all the Spanish I need from Dora the Explorer. Just saying I've had a hard day. I am tired and I am going to bed. Maybe tomorrow will be better. I have a good post in my head about Supernanny. I was watching that a week or so ago and that lady JoJo just freaking amazes me. Who is she? Does she have children? All I know is she really rocks. She can come over to my house anyday!! How about Tomorrow? I got a teenager that needs her naughty bench!

long time no posts

2007-02-22T23:06:00.000-10:00

Well I am back on the blog o sphere... lots has happened since Christmas.

We had another trip to the ER with our littlest princess. This time she swallowed a dime which got stuck in her trachea and had to be extracted. So we got an all expense paid ride in an ambulance (from our little clinic to the big pink hospital) and an over night stay in an ocean view room. It would have been quite wonderful had I not been scared out of my mind the entire time. So we get home from that wonderful event and a few days later realize the 11yr old freak that lives behind us has been a bit too friendly with our second to littlest princess. She is now learning things I didn't want my kindergartner to have to concern herself with. Like the fact that all people aren't good and nice, and some people (gasp) don't treat others in the manner they would hope to be treated. Shocking for a five yr old. The the oldest and original princess got a wonderful digital camera from her grandmother and uses it for her photography class at school and has it stolen by a fellow classmate right under her nose. Of course the laid back Hawaiian culture doesn't help the teacher do his part in solving the crime. He lets all the students go to the next class with hardly a word. So we filed our third police report and are severely disappointed again with Hawaiians lack of concern for breaking the law. I get the feeling these police reports are lining someones bird cage somewhere.

Not all my news is as distressing... Jack got home for R&R in time for his birthday and Valentines Day. Even though he blogged 11 posts in 17 days, (insert big sigh here) we had some good times. Went to the beach, the movies and ate some Thai food. My cousin, Diver Bob, and his family are visiting Hawaii and having a great time. They have really pointed out how much there is to do and see here. They have seen and done more in Hawaii in a week than I have in 15 months! That's crazy. I had better start taking advantage of all the activities before we get orders. Get ready friends I may be dragging you along on my outings ...you know who you are!

Happy New Year?

2007-01-10T11:09:00.000-10:00

I haven't been too good about blogging here lately. It is not because I am so super busy entertaining my princesses while they are on winter break. The sad truth is I've just been hanging out passing time and that isn't too thrilling to blog about. The holidays were nice. My mom came to visit Hawaii for the first time. We didn't do much of the touristy stuff I am sorry to say. Instead we got alot of nagging tasks done...like organize Christmas decor and packed it away so that more of it might survive until next Christmas. We also decluttered my room which had become some sort of storage heap for every item in the house I didn't have the energy to put away (and since Jack's gone it's no longer a love nest). But it looks really nice now. We organized the kids clothes and weeded out the things that no longer fit and took them to the thrift store. That seemed unsurmountable before my mom got here but we nagged eachother and got it done. Thanks mom! Now if I can just keep it clean and organized for awhile. That would make a Happy New Year.

Christmas is coming!

2006-12-07T07:31:00.000-10:00

Time to get the kids in a cookie making frenzy! This year it was fun! I am certain none of their "cookies" ever made it to the cookie sheet. But for a few bucks a stick of butter and and egg, It was great fun for about 45 minutes which any mom knows is longer than most activities can keep their attention. My rule of thumb for deciding on an activity by the way, is simple. I ask myself will this take me longer to clean up that it takes them to get bored with it? If the answer is yes I usually don't put forth the effort.
But before you all go away from this blog thinking, "WOW! That Jill, she really has it all together and during a deployment at that? She really rocks!" Let me tell you...Effort and enthusiasm are in real short supply these days. So what works for me you ask? I find the more neighbors and friends I piss off or alienate the more time I have to do fun stuff with the kids! Amazing how that works, God's own devine plan? Ruffle feathers= more time with the kids! Ha But seriously I am not sitting over here being miss suzie homemaker as my blog might lead you to believe. I have neighbors that hate me and a teenager that has an attitude (yeah who doesn't) and my little ankle biters are sometimes badly behaved (can you believe it?) ! So hang in there. We are all doing the best we can with what we have to work with.

A good friend and American

2006-11-24T19:04:00.000-10:00

Military wives stick together and help each other out as much as possible. This becomes especially important when husbands are deployed and you really just need a friend who is there for you and understands your temporary meltdowns. My friend Danice is one of those friends. So here's my opportunity (and yours) to support a super military spouse and an awesome friend. Go check out this site: www.starsforheroes.homestead.com She is hand making wooden service flags for families of deployed soldiers. If you've never heard of service flags, take a look. They have a long history that is interesting. It would be great to revive the tradition. If you don't have a family member serving in the war, think of purchasing one for a friend or neighbor. A whopping 60% of her profits go to our local Fisher House which is more awesome people honoring our hero's service. She also gives them to surviving spouses and parents free of charge. It's wonderful to know such good people, kinda makes up for all the crazies...and boy do I have my share around here these days. HA

tattle tale

2006-11-22T23:39:00.000-10:00

SO ... I have been ratted out. I thought I was really getting away with it too. Until...
littlest princess spilled the beans.
It all started when a friend came over and we started chit chatting about talking to our deployed spouses. So I was showing her my web cam and how it works when my husband comes online and starts chatting with us. Of course the little princesses can't stand me getting daddy all to myself so I let them have him to talk to for a while while I see my friend to the door. when I come back to sit down and chat littlest princess has gotten the can of whipped cream and is showing it to the web cam yelling..." Daddy see this? This is good stuff ....mommy sprays it right in my mouth! it is yummy!! Mommy bought TWO cans!
BUSTED!! bad mommy!

how to entertain a four year old for pennies

2006-11-01T23:44:00.000-10:00

I know millions of moms (well I don't know them personally) that can benefit from this information, maybe a few good dads too. It all came about quite by accident. My youngest has a bad ear infection. Dr. said it looked like hamburger ewww right? I am thinking this is bad. Anyways I go out and get a bag of cotton balls becuase the Dr. said that the longer the drops stay in her ear (and water and germs stay out) the better. So I discover that cotton balls are very inexpensive. You get a million for under a dollar. This girl spent the good part of the afternoon making all sorts of stuff from those cotton balls, paper and some glue. "this ones a sheep , this one is a cloudy day, ...and here is a fluffy cat" fun fun fun!

spousebuzz hits nail on head

2006-10-24T05:27:00.000-10:00

Up at a ridiculous hour this morning because a mom of one of my husband's soldiers is worried about her son at 4am. yawn. So doing what half america does when it can't sleep I surfed the internet some. Went to all my favorite blogs. One I have mentioned before Spousebuzz. This post really hits the nail on the head. check it out. It was humerous because it's so true. I loved the part about collective ooh and ahhhs I get that alot. funny

awww

2006-10-13T00:30:00.000-10:00

Awww...This is a really nice website. Check out the music videos but get a tissue first.
It really amazes me how just incredibly caring some Americans are... And some aren't...

I went to my class tonight (it's a class for being a substitute teacher). We did an activity to divide us into groups. Instead of just calling out numbers and splitting off we had to line up according to our response to a question. Strongly agree to the right, neither agree or disagree in the middle and strongly disagree to the left. The question was do you support the war in Iraq. You don't have to know me very well to know where I was...nor is that my point. I only mention this because I was amazed who was standing near me and who wasn't. I take this class off post in a town near the post where I live. We have a variety of students in the class. Young old, Hawaiian locals, military spouses, mostly women only two men, about 20 total students. When we finished lining up (remember we are only about 10 miles from an Army post and 15 miles from Pearl Harbor) four people were on the right with me at the front of the line of course then about five in the middle and the rest towards the left. I was surprised to see another military spouse in the middle and another towards the left. I didn't say a word though I just got in my group and did our lesson but the thought that kept going through my head was how nice it is that because of my husband and other soldiers like him those on the left didn't get imprisoned or killed for voicing their opinion in public. I don't know about them but I kinda like living in a country where I feel safe. I am relatively sure my home won't be bombed in the near future, I fly on airplanes with confidence I can thank the President and soldiers for that security. I think some people take freedom for granted and then criticize those that gave them the gift in the first place. Someone sent me an email today. The quote at the bottom said: "If you can read this thank, a teacher. If you are reading it in English thank a soldier" hmmm I like it! So thank you Mom and thank you too Jack!

oh and I must mention my friend Rachel not sure why... She's neither a teacher nor a soldier but... faithful reader of my blog and fellow soldier's wife so I sent her a huggle. ha

Long overdue?

2006-09-18T08:39:00.000-10:00

Well Jack is a faithful blog reader and sometimes his hours of pouring over the blogosphere pays off. Today was one of those days. He found a new blog Spouse Buzz It's a new blog for military spouses. It has a group of writers -there's a bunch of em so go potty and get a beverage and a tissue you'll be there for awhile-lots of perspectives. I found myself laughing out loud and tearing up as well . It's wonderful to hear about others just like me. It's comforting especially while Jack is so far away to know that others have been where I am and have gotten through it and can now just laugh about all the fun they had. I was a military brat. Dad was an Air Force officer. Much different on this side of it ( Army enlisted spouse) but it's an adventure right? Yes! Everyday is something new. SO if you're a military spouse too, go check out this new blog it's great!! Thanks Homefront Six. I look forward to meeting you soon.

Just another day in Paradise?

2006-09-07T22:15:00.000-10:00

These are really so Jack and grandma can look and see the girls. Missy is in mid sentence as usual and the little one is eating as usual. Just another day here in Paradise for these girls. These were taken at our last company BBQ. All ten of us had a good time , Ha Ha not a great turn out maybe this new company will have better leadership and participation. I can only hope.

Just as a "personal rant" as Jack would say. I am appalled by the show of underwear at the FRG meeting tonight! I mean for goodness sakes!!! I must have seen about 20 ladies (if you could really call them that) undergarments hanging out of their pants... Don't people own mirrors these days? I am so tired of looking at tiny thongs riding WAY up over their waist and WAY above their pants. Is this a fashion trend? EWWWW People let's show a wee bit more self respect when we are dressing to go out in public. If you are wearing these new low rider pants PLUHEEZE at least wear a top that covers your crack when you sit down. In addition if you are FAT (and you know who you are!) wear garments that cover up your rolls when you sit and move about. This is not attractive it's just plain gross. Our post recently had to implement a policy on undergarments showing in public places...This is getting out of control. I think us mature people should start pointing out these fashion faux pas to the younger women we see violating our eyes with their idea of fashion. This is just plain trashy! I hope this trend is dead and buried when my girls get older, if not they'll be geeks in their normal jeans and covered cracks!

woe is Jack

2006-08-22T15:15:00.000-10:00

One day he's taking his girls to kindergarten (look how proud Missy looks that her daddy picked her up on her first day) and the next he's being sandblasted in unbearable heat. I wish I could do something to alleviate some of the yuk he's going through. All I can do is sit here and watch the phone not ring and see my email inbox stay empty... Can't quite convince myself that no news is good news.
Ugh we are all trying to hang in there. Gosh I hope the first few weeks are the worst because I can't imagine missing Jack more than I do right now. He's all I ever think about and I find myself seriously distracted most of the time. I haven't gotten as many phone calls or emails as I would like but I try to tell myself he's hot and tired and working hard to adjust. I am just hanging on trying not to cry in public. I hate it when people give you that look and ask if you are okay..."yeah I was until you just said that now I am a freakin basket case again thanks!" I went to my silly little job today and I just thought to myself what the hell am I doing working here? Crazy!

BIG SIGH!

2006-08-07T22:21:00.000-10:00

Well it finally happened. My wonderful Jack has deployed. He's only been gone a few days but I missed him the minute the big aloha busses pulled out of the Quad. It was an interesting thing to see all these soldiers ready to go. Amazing how little they carry. I found myself wondering how many bags I'd have if I were leaving for more than a year. Certainly more than what these guys had. Of course a few smaller guys might disagree with me when I call their rucks anything resembling the word "light".
I have to tell you I have never been so proud of Jack (or anyone for that matter) in my whole life. I had really never seen him in charge of so many soldiers at one time. It was impressive to see him line the guys up and make sure they had everything they needed to go...right down to the last dog tag. It was the epitome of organization and efficency. WOW. My soldier rocks!

If you are interested in adopting a soldier ( like the readers on Jack's blog are) Email me and I will send you the info to get going with that. Most of Jack's guys are young and single and would really appreciate kind words of encouragement and support...and probably some cookies and unmeltable candy too.

Still here!

2006-07-26T08:16:00.000-10:00

Well after that Blog birthday I went a little awol. But since my dear sister in law wants some more blogging she gets what she wants! I've been a little distracted with my life here in paradise. Jack is leaving for the desert very soon so we are walking on eggshells trying to be in good spirits before he goes. This isn't so easy when nerves are so frazzled and the pending deployment is causing some anxiousness. But recognizing that this is normal is a huge step for us and we are trying. My dad just left from a week long visit which went really well. The girls love him (even though they hadn't seen him since they were itty bitty babies) He played a ton of board games with them which they just ate right up!! We went to the beach and we all made a huge hole (we've decided holes are more fun than castles) They loved him immediately!! What's not to love? My dad is really great with kids! We had a great time with him. I wish he could have stayed longer but he had to jet off to the Philippines to save the world from counterfeit clothing hee hee that was a joke. But we all agreed not to let 4 years pass before we get together again. We will plan a trip to Disney World this year which I personally can't wait for!! I think I am more excited than the kids! I LOVE Disney World and have great memories of Space Mountain rides with my Mom and Dad. Fun fun!

HAPPY BLOG BIRTHDAY TO ME!

2006-06-21T22:25:00.000-10:00

I have been a blogger for a whole year! I don't post as often as Jack but I am still here and enjoying posting a little more often. Alot has happened in a year. We had issues with NewOrleans Recruiting Command and crazy landlords, survived a hurricane, evacuations and relatives, then moved to Hawaii just to get ready for Jack to go to war. What a year! In the year ahead we are looking forward to having our first visitor since we moved here. My dad is visiting in July. Yipee! Our middle child will start kindergarten at the end of July. She is really excited and truthfully so am I. Can't wait for the million questions a day to stop. Anyone with a five yr old can relate. (How come everyone doesn't have a mommy? They do. Well Lilo doesn't! - How does the moon stay in the sky? Can we trade in the bunny for a puppy?) After awhile I get lazy and say "i just don't know" I feel guilty when I say it though. I imagine her as this little sponge trying to soak in all this knowledge and I am just plum out of it at the moment. Maybe I should start doing crossword puzzles or somthing cuz I just don't have all the answers all the time. She makes my brain hurt.
But I digress, we are not so looking forward to some other things. Our oldest daughter starting High school. Yikes! And Jack going to the desert. Knowing that he'll be happy doing what he loves to do is comforting to an extent but life will be lonely here with no adult conversation to look forward to at the end of the day. 14 months is a long time. I'll miss him. The girls will miss him too. Maybe some of Jack's family will come visit while he's gone...STEVEN???KATY??? DAVE??? this means YOU!!! Please come visit when you can. We miss you and love you!

Bravery test failed!

2006-06-02T23:28:00.000-10:00

Well ya know how I said just a few hours ago about how brave I am and the whole conquering your fear hoopla....Well just scratch everything I said!!! Sitting here at my computerat 11:00pm in my bare feet I feel a little tickle accross my foot. Thinking it's our new little kittens I don't pay much attention to it until I realize Jack put them out for the night (on the lenai not outside) anyhoo...when that thought registers I look down to see a CENTIPEDE running across my BARE foot!!!! ARUGH!!! Needless to say I screamed, and screamed!! Then ran for the only thing I could think of the kitchen tongs!!! I picked the sucker up... what was I thinking??? It wiggled and wiggled until it looked like it would just leap out of the death grip I had on it and boy did it looked pissed! Of course, brave me got the heebeegeebees and threw it out side (with the tongs, a loud squeal and whole body shiver!!) Then I thought about that earlier post SO ... I got a flashlight and the centipede spray and went out to hunt it down! I found it and spayed it until it died...not very quickly I might add. Then I cut him up into four pieces and flushed it. Still not the end of the story though.... I was so mad that my Jack didn't come to rescue me in my time of need. I thought he needed to be woken up. Apparently I need to plan my emergencies a little better because having one late on a warm night when the airconditioners are on, no one can hear my screams for help. ARUGH!!!!

Happy Birthday to me!!

2006-06-02T13:33:00.000-10:00

So...yesterday was my birthday and what grand birthday surprise was waiting for me when I woke up?! (see below) This is the dreaded Hawaiian pest the centipede. The little girls found it on the Lanai (Hawaiian for back patio, ours is screened in). So I killed it of course. I am not one of those girls that squeal and call a man to dispose of such things. Don't get me wrong...I would like to be one of those girls but since I have a husband that is rarely at home when things like this come around and when he is home couldn't be bothered with saving anyone from anything, I do it myself. Case in point...Last time I asked for his help, it was a spider. Not just a little spider either this one was big and furry yikes! So I asked my brave man to come kill it. HA after he finally got up the spider was between the screen and the window so instead of smashing it so I'd never be seeing it again, he opened the window and let it escape!! So now I know there is a huge spider somewhere lurking around my home. Thanks for that. I should have cut it into small peices like I did with the centipede before I flushed it. It was probably full of little huge spider babies just lurking around until I am sleeping and then ....aaaah I can't think of that right now...Yuk! The rest of my birthday was just as crappy as the begining. Ahhh to be old ...it's all downhill from here. I know what your'e thinking gosh what an optimist that Jill is. HA

Famous Hukilau Cafe??

2006-06-02T12:53:00.000-10:00

Okay so we went on a bit of an adventure the other day. To find the elusive Hukilau Cafe from the movie "50 First Dates" ya know the one with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler? After about a 40 minute drive (I know this is an island but... these annoying mountains really get in the way of a direct route to anywhere) anyhoo...we are looking for the quaint little cafe in the movie and THIS is what we found. hmmm...we went in anyway and had breakfast. I ordered the local plate LOCO MOCO which said it was spam and rice ( no mention of thick brown gravy or eggs) but what I got was a large styrofoam plate mounded with rice, spam, two eggs over easy and then covered with brown yummy gravy. Not exactly on my new clean eating plan. But if you know me at all I am not one to for go a meal so... It was so yummy. I only ate 1/2 the rice (still about 2 cups of it though), the spam 3 slices, and none of the eggs. I just couldn't do gravy on eggs my little cholesterol meter was screaming already. My friend had the banana pancakes and said they were just okay. So during our meal the waitress, noticing our lack of localness, gave us the low down on why we weren't dining in the cute little cafe visited by Adam Sandler. Apparently the movie makers liked the cafe's name and gave said restaurant $$ for using the name. So instead of filming in this little dive they made their own Huki Lau Cafe over on Dillingham ranch about an hour away...filmed it there and then ripped it down. hmmm is all we had to say.

Treasure hunter

2006-05-27T22:06:00.000-10:00

well it's official my daughter is a fish! Like mother like daughter I suppose. We both love the water. I was sitting with her outside today while she swam and swam and I told her about the time my dad made me a pool in our back yard. He dug the hole and everything. (eventually he called in a bulldozer but still, to my little four yr old mind he dug that hole) So as I told her how I sat in about two inches of water waiting for the hose to fill this gi-normous pool.. . she laughed because she did the same thing when I filled this pool up for her birthday...then I told her I used to pretend I was diving for treasure when my dad would throw pennies in the pool and I would dive down and retrieve them. Of course I had to go in and fetch some pennies.... so after about two seconds she goes down and comes up with her "treasure". The thing that amazes me is that she can't even swim and just a year ago wouldn't get her face wet in the bath tub... my how fast they grow. Happy Early Father's Day Dad! I do have good memories with you in them! Can't wait for you to visit us in Hawaii!

My children are brilliant!!

2006-05-27T21:59:00.000-10:00

Even in her sleep she is deep in thought (see the finger on her cheeck) She was obviously thinking very hard an a subject before she surrendered to dreamland. Maybe she was thinking why do I always fall asleep when daddy's around. hmmmm coincidence I think not.
Poor Daddy he's so tired...I guess they don't have comfy couches at NTC.

I have not fallen off the face of the earth

2006-05-02T10:43:00.000-10:00

Contrary to popular belief I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. Just drowning in parenting paradise ( or is it Hell?) Our 13 yr old is brilliant and been a straight A student for most of her life. Progress reports show her failing English and Algebra !! Failing!! She actually got sent to the office for REFUSING to finish an assignment and being all around disrespectful to GT teacher. Then my recently potty trained almost three yr old has started poopin in the pants again. We had four weeks of no accidents and then all of a sudden bam!! POOP! every day for the past week! What happen to pooping every other day??? WAHHH She still gets to the potty just fine for #1 so what the heck?? It's not like she forgot where the thing is! She is also strangely dry at night as opposed to the four yr old who is soaked through pull-ups every night and last night for an added surprise had diarrhea during the night as well...yuk.
My lucky Jack is missing all this excitement. But I am sure he is having fun playing GI Joes with all his friends in the sand. He's due home in a few weeks and I am seriously thinking of taking a week off of parenting. He's so much better at it anyway. And just incase Jack reads this before he returns be prepared....I rearranged the furniture...I am an Army wife, that's what I do when I get stressed... move furniture. Change is really the only constant in my life. :)

Sweet smell of success?

2006-02-08T11:24:00.000-10:00

Well my little mini-me is potty trained...sort of. While Jack was gone playing army I decided to concentrate on getting it done. So we went to underwear during the day. I told myself no turning back. I didn't care how many accidents. So for a week she was doing great one accident here and there but for the most part really good (even with poop) Week two was good until Thursday she pooped in the drawers and now it's been a daily event. But with no #1 accidents. I'd hate to go back to pull ups when she's doing so well on the one side...but poop in the panties is not fun to clean up.

I'm baaaack!

2006-01-29T09:10:00.000-10:00

I apologize for that last post. I was having a seriously bad day(week, month...Year?) My children are trying to push me over the edge with embarrassing the crap out of me! I have a three year old who refuses to be potty trained! She doesn't want to be a big girl, wants to be my baby forever! (oh great!) It's come down to neighbors being involved...borrowing princess potty chairs and still she craps in her undies at the bowling alley! {hmmm what's that smell?...oh that would be my child's butt!!}
My four year old, cute as a button little girl, told a new friend's little seven year old boy she wanted to have SEX with him. ARUGH!! Although both kids think that word means kissing, I wonder what kind of parents exposes a four year old to such words! Yikes! I never thought my kids would be the one that people told their kids not to play with...But if a kid said that to one of my daughters that's probably what I'd do.
So ...That leaves the 13 yr old... of course she has to get in on terrorizing her mother. She lost her retainer and said she looked everywhere for it. it was gone a week before she even mentioned it to me. I know, such a responsible child I raised... I found it under sher bed! ARUGH she didn't even say thanks...
So needless to say that week was the one that pushed this otherwise completely sane and capable (yeah right) woman completely over the edge! Andrea Yates doesn't seem so crazy to me now...and bathtubs are harder and harder to walk past. {for all you sane people... that was a joke!! really} If it weren't for my great commentors (yes all three of you!!) I don't think I would have made it. THANKS!! and leave a comment they keep me and my kids safe!

Last post

2006-01-21T23:35:00.000-10:00

I am done blogging. I am not going to post anymore because it just seems so fake and forced. My children are really undisciplined and rude, not the cute little angels you see here in my blog. My family is really not enjoying Hawaii as much as it seems. I am surprisingly a failure at many things not just blogging.

Our first Christmas in Hawaii

2005-12-26T22:36:00.000-10:00

Awww aren't they cute? These are the little girls putting out cookies ad carrots for Santa and his reindeer. They are full of giggles... and here's what they woke up to Christmas morning. It is always so much more fun with little ones around for the holidays. I m not ready for them to be 13 like their big sister. She doesn't believe in the Santa thing any more and wanted to stay up and help "be Santa" kinda takes the magic out of it a little but she had fun putting batteries in tinkling baby dolls and voice recognizing puppies. So It's all good.

Moved in

2005-12-15T14:50:00.000-10:00

So here is our home. The outside of it anyway not quite ready for indoor shots. We are in the middle unit of a three unit dwelling. We share a carport with the neighbor, there are 7 extra parking spots in the middle of the circle. Our back patio is screened in and it's pretty nice. We get a great breeze through the house which is great because it's 85 everyday and no airconditioning. :( Most people have window a/c units but it just isn't one of our top priorities right now since it is "winter". Our neighbors say we'll really need em come may-july.

We actually live on Pipi circle! HA! It is quite funny giving people our address. They always say "really?" Ugh welcome to Hawaii! Anyways we love our home and our neighbors and living onpost again after 3 years of civilan life in Lousy-ana. No freaky landlords to worry about here. :) Although the housing is privatized it still feels like normal post housing. You call maintenance to fix stuff and you get no BAH. So what's the major difference...not sure yet. I'll keep you posted.

First few days is Paradise

2005-12-01T22:09:00.000-10:00

Our first few days were great. Jack didn't have to report until Monday so we had all weekend to explore. We went to alot of beaches. We couldn't pronounce the names of them but they were all really beautiful. This one is Hali'ewa (pronounced "holly- a- va" I think) here we saw sea Turtles swiming in the water. The next one we saw sea turtles sunning themselves on the sand at "Turtle beach" It was amazing to be so close to these huge turtles!
I am not sure which one of us enjoyed the beaches the most. Everyone has their favorite beach for different reasons. The little ones like Ko'olina because it's a "flat beach" no waves so they can swim and play with out worring about being swallowed by a wave. The teen likes the waves to boogie board on and splash around in. Jack likes to do lots of snorkling and has seen some pretty amazing fish. Me, I like them all I love to jump in the waves, I like to see the colorful fish and such underwater and I like just building sandcastles with the girls on the beach. This is going to be an awesome 3 years! Everyone please come and visit soon!

Arriving in Paradise

2005-12-01T21:42:00.000-10:00

Here the little ones have just arrived in Hawaii. A nice fellow at the airport gave us all a lei... flower necklace. The girls thought this was great...ok well Sarah didn't but she's 13 and leis just aren't cool I guess. After we arrived at the airport Tom got all signed in and we got rooms at the Airport Best Western Plaza (Schofield Inn was full). We were all starving and tired so we ordered a Pizza, ate and went to bed. Ahhh in Hawaii at last!

Home at last!

2005-11-30T17:20:00.000-10:00

At last we are in Hawaii and settled into post housing. Hawaii is beautiful and warm in November. We see the mainland news reports of winter snow storms and kinda smile when we are in shorts and flip flops (here they call 'em slippas) It is really a paradise.
Our neighbors are wonderful but unfortunately they are short timers and leaving soon. The girls all have tons of kids to play with and can ride bikes all day long -year round too! They are having a great time too.
Tomorrow I will post some pictures of us at the beach and the girls riding bikes. Hello to everyone.

Back in Lake Charles!

2005-10-12T10:22:00.000-10:00

So we are back in the land of...hmm what's the word I'm looking for??? STINK yeah that's it. The Land of STINK! Jack came home Monday to check things out before the kids and I came back yesterday. Lucky for me he emptied out the nasty fridge before I got here. But it still STINKS! The whole house smells kinda strange but we've got candles burning while I clean the house to get it to freshen up. I guess it's just a stale smell but still it isn't fresh and clean like it is usually. I do love Febrezze but who knew it was flamable?? SO FYI don't spray it near an open flame... I think it actually says that on the lable but... who reads those until it's too late.

Anyway... The part that sucks is that we were all ready for the movers to come on Thursday before the hurricane. We had tons of stuff everywhere ie: books down from the attic stacked up in the living room, clothes laid all over my room b/c we emptied out the walk in closet so we could separate unaccompanied baggage from household goods, it looks like RITA came in and tackled the kid's room. Not a piece of floor in sight it is completely cover with stuff! Ugh.. all the neighbors are coming for dinner tonight. That's a good incentive for me to get things in order quicker. There is just so much to do... the garage is a mess, the dining room is covered with stuff, our bedroom is chaos... I am looking forward to getting things in order before the movers come and feeling better organized before we leave for Hawaii. I think this little evacuation was like a trail run for living out of a suitcase for two weeks. I wrote down somethings I missed that I forgot to pack like nail clippers and perfume (you never realize what you use until you don't have it) I wasn't my fresh, groomed self for the past two weeks and it was hell! I am in desperate need of a pedicure!
So...
The new plan is that the kids and I are staying here until the 19th. We will go to San Antonio. Jack will be here to meet the movers on the 20th and then steam clean carpets, finish cleaning up the house, and have the move out inspection done. He'll clear and out process at Ft. Polk andjoin us in SA. Then we will be done with the armpit of america (Lousy-ana) forever! Thinking about that last comment.. Louisiana is probably not the actual "armpit of america" even though it is moist and stinky...if you look at the map..Washinton state and Maine are arms, California and Florida are legs ...that leaves Lousy-ana to be...the crotch! and I guess sometimes that area could be moist and stinky so...
But I digress... We will leave San Antonio around the 1st of November for Hawaii!! Then we will be in limbo again for another month or so until we get housing. I am not very fond of limbo. I just want to be settled. who knows when our stuff will ever get there. not to mention our van which we won't be able to drop off until after the 22nd. So we'll be with out a vehicle for a month in Hawaii! Yikes... I wonder how much it is to rent a car over there?
Anyways...

we are alive!

2005-10-01T07:30:00.000-10:00

Well, we survived the hurricane. we fled to Leesville and stayed with a friends family during the storm. They got hit pretty good and lost power and water Saturday. We stayed for a few days and then decided we were being a burden so we left for San Antonio on Monday. Now we are mooching from family and waiting until the wonderful folks in Lake Charles get the electricity back on. Oh and just in case the owner of our house are reading: the house did pretty good. A few pieces of siding are down, a handful of shingles are off and one of the vents (whirly thingy) from the roof is gone. A friend went and checked for us this morning. Much to our dismay we didn't get our household goods packed up and moved out before the storm hit. As soon as the power is restored we will have the Army come and pack everything up and take it to Hawaii! We are working as fast as we can to get out of Lousy-ana. These storms are getting ridiculous!

Going to Hawaii

2005-08-27T06:43:00.000-10:00

So now that we know where we are going we have TONS of questions. Anybody having any information about Schofield barracks or Oahu Hawaii please comment or email me. I am so excited! This is gonna be fun... Also I need help shedding some pounds. I don't want any life guard trying to roll me back into the water when I am trying to sun bathe... "Arhhhh Beached Whale!!" No but seriously I need to lose about 50 pounds to look decent in a suit. So send some ideas or hints that have worked for you. I have already given up my favorite beverage Dr. Pepper it's been 4 weeks since I've had one. So I am trying. Any thoughts you want to share comment or email me. Thanks!

I see a light at the end of the tunnel

2005-08-25T16:29:00.000-10:00

As tiny as it is, I can finally see a glimmer of light and a flicker of hope at the end of our recruiting hell (tunnel)! After much searching and calling and nagging of civilian friends in high places we have news of our next assignment. Notice I didn't say we have orders because we don't. This recruiting battalion and brigade even, is in such disarray. I know they have more pressing duties but... To know they have been able to retrieve our information at any time for who knows how long and still have not, is completely infuriating. We, and I use the term very loosely, had to jump through hoops to even get the tidbit of news that we did. Oh which is by the way Schofield Barracks in Hawaii report date Nov. 10th !! Yipee Skippy! I am excited. I just wonder how long the recruiting command would have waited to tell us if I hadn't been so persistent? And who knows when they will actually get around to cutting us orders. Which of course we can't do much planning with out those.
But on the bright side.... We have a date. A firm date when our recruiting duty will be gone hopefully forever. I love the Military and have loved every place I have been but this assignment has been the worst by far due to the mere fact that recruiters and their families get deserted out in the middle of nowhere (in regards to other military facilities and people as well as other recruiters in most cases). It is not surprising to hear the divorce and suicide rates in recruiting are sky rocketing. Even the strongest of people (Jack & Jill Army included) have a difficult time handling the stress and solitude. I think if it weren't for my church and friends I never would have survived. I think Jack's blog and faithful readers really got him through this difficult time. I can't imagine how frustrating it had to have been (and is) to be left at home waiting while other soldiers with less training and experience go to war in his place. Almost nine months of waiting... Finally almost over...Shouldn't we have something to show for it? The last three times I waited nine months for something I at least got a gorgeous baby girl out of it.

I'm baaack

2005-07-31T10:29:00.000-10:00

I've been home from vacation for awhile but my mom has been visiting and I haven't had much time to blog. I've actually been reading! My mom recommended a book by J.A Konrath (Whiskey Sour--it's a funny detective/murder type). I read it all in two days! I decided to read her second book too(Bloody Mary). I finished both of those so now I'm starting on Sue Grafton's books. Normally reading a book wouldn't be all that much to blog about but mommies can probably relate. It's not uncommon for mommies to sacrifice hobbies, free time and sleep for their children. I haven't read a whole book since my babies were born. Maybe now that they are 3 and 4, I may start getting a break here and there and use that break to read. Last night I sat on the bathroom floor so I could finish the one I was reading. It was worth it (even with the broken tail bone) to sit on the cold hard floor and have some uninterrupted time to just read. Did I say uninterrupted? Okay it wasn't exactly. Maybe my next residence will have a bathroom with a lock!
My sister and her daughter are visiting this week. We went to the mall and to the water park. We made strawberry daquiries for the pre-teen girls and they pretended they were models when we took thier pictures outside by the pool.
oh to be 12 again!

In New York

2005-07-10T09:57:00.000-10:00

So here we are in New York at a cafe checking email and yes! updating my blog! Yipee! It has been quite the trip. I decided to fly up to upstate (Lockport) NewYork with my youngest daughter to see who she got her red hair from and to visit my grandpa who is 97 and not doing so great. So we arrived late Wednesday night, I got up Thursday morning to come down for breakfast and fell right down my grandmother's old wooden stairs! Ouch! I went to the ER Friday night, after a day and a half of excrutiating pain, just to find out that my coccyx (tail bone) is fractured and there is really nothing to do for it. Great. I got some pain meds but I haven't taken any. We fly home tomorrow to Houston and then have to drive two and a half hours to Lake Charles. A whole day on my butt sounds great huh? I hope there is some sympathy waiting for me at home. If you're lucky Jack will take a picture of my pretty purple bruise.

ramblings...

2005-07-03T12:07:00.000-10:00

It's the day before the Fourth of July. I love July, not only because I can dress the kids in Americana outfits, go watch fireworks and have an Americana themed Pekeno party, I also love the patriotic events that seem to come out of everywhere. Yesterday I watched a ton of cool movies...Black Hawk Down, We Were Soldiers Once and Young, Hart's War... etc it was some patriotic themed movie marathon! Yipee! My favorite. I am not sure why I love these things so much. Maybe because I was raised on a military base in the Philippines. Maybe because I was born during the Vietnam War and my father was over there when I was born until after I was walking. I think I've loved the military ever since. I truly can't wait to get our orders so we can move back to a military post again. This is the first time in my life that I have lived more than a ten minute drive from a military installation. (Fort Polk is over an hour away) I am not particularly fond of the civilian community. I miss the camaraderie, the instant friends that you can meet at the commissary or PX. The neighbors that are from all parts of the country and have a more global view of the world, as opposed to these civilians who have never left the state of their birth. It seems they are just so closed minded. For instance...I love it when people tell me they hate sushi and then proceed to tell me they've never tasted it. I didn't love the idea of eating raw fish myself so the first time I tried it I didn't like it either...But at least I tried it before I formed an opinion, now I really love it. We even make it at home sometimes.
I tell you living in Louisiana has been quite the experience. People here will turn their nose up to clean, fresh raw fish yet swarm to mounds of muddy crawfish ready to squeeze the heads off, crack the bodies open getting their fingers all nasty for this tiny piece of gritty, sandy meat. Too much work for such a small morsel of not so great tasting food. That's my opinion of course but you know I have tried it on more than one occasion. I can honestly say I don't really care for it.
My sister started her blog and I hope she keeps up with it better than I am. She has a ton of funny stories from her hilarious family. When ever I talk to her my face just aches from laughing so much. So keep it up Fern! I can't wait.

Greener grass games

2005-06-26T08:36:00.000-10:00

Alrighty then (grass isn't greener), here are the things I just don't get:
(after viewing Katy's post for today I had to change #1....)
1. I don't get why overweight elderly people find it necessary to post obscene pictures of themselves for the world to see. Ewww doesn't she have family to tell her to cease and desist?? That's just gross!

2. I just don't get how some people don't seem to be bothered by their own filth. Have you seen that show "How clean is your house" ? Some of these people are seriously filthy. Even to the point of stuff growing in their bathtub and bugs crawling over food in the kitchen. Some of the worse cases have feces on the floor and carpet. Now I admit, I am far from perfect ...I may be a little obsessive about cleaning, but my house is by no means immaculate. I just do the normal stuff like putting food away, wiping off counters, and doing dishes and laundry. Those daily chores seem obvious to me but others (even some in my own family) don't seem to care if the dishes aren't done for a day or two or food is left out to go bad. I just don't know... That's just gross.
3. I don't get how some people are completely okay with breaking the law. Specifically discrimination... At my temp job it was decided that the employee couldn't come back from her medical leave so the position will need to be filled. The recruiter told me they needed to hire a black person because of some affirmative action crap-ola. I think that is absurd! I don't know why race has to come into the hiring equation at all. The most qualified person should get the job period. Race, age, gender shouldn't matter. I know people that know me will say I am a hypocrite because I break the law myself ... But I don't think speeding and the occasional pirated movie counts... Okay it should count but come on..I've said it before and I'll say it again... I am far from perfect.
4. The last thing I can think of that I just don't get is people that don't discipline their children and then wonder why they don't behave... At least I know why my kids misbehave hee hee just kidding... I think my girls are semi-behaved...It keeps it more entertaining that way. I love the show nanny 911! It makes our kids look like angels!

so there you have it... sorry no pictures I am not a very good blogger yet. I did take some pictures of me in shorts but they were pretty bad...maybe next Friday...

Friday YIPEE!

2005-06-24T03:00:00.000-10:00

Yipee! It's Friday and I am not at work! I get to stay home with the girls today while JackArmy is needed on a very important mission in New Orleans. (Last very important mission was setting up chairs for an event). I can't believe they have a SFC with 16 years in drive 3.5 hours one way to do stupid stuff like that, So strange.
I don't mind though because at least I get to take a freaking day off from the wonderful temp job I have. I get to spend the whole day with my little girls and I don't have "the husband" pissing me off by sitting on the computer all day! So that's nice. I'm gonna get tons done today (right after I finish blog'n). Anyhoo I would have put up a self-portrait today but JackArmy stole my new photo. So you can go to his blog and check it out. Man, he is one great-looking dude! I am so lucky. Even if he is on the computer, he sure is good to look at. No shorts sorry Katie, I need to lose about fifty pounds before we subject people to that kind of torture.

At work

2005-06-22T04:00:00.000-10:00

So...I am at work. Maybe I shouldn't blog here but I am taking a little break. I took this "short term temporary position" to fill the time while Jack Army was home awaiting orders. No sense in both of us ignoring the kids, right? So this will be my 10th week in this position and we just got word yesterday that the person for whom I am filling in for will not be back for at least another four weeks! Yikes! Now I am all for earning a little extra money for our family and bills and such, but sheesh it's not so great getting up early every morning while Army boy is still in bed snoozing away. Now I know how he felt. Most days I get the kids breakfast and get them entertained (flip on the TV) before I leave so that he doesn't have to get up right away( I know... I am so great!) But I am getting a bit tired of the dressing up everyday and squeezing myself into these business professional clothes. Then just to come home to everything I usually do when I stay home that needs to be done, ie folding and putting away laundry, cleaning up the huge mess that unentertained kids make, and catching up on all the missed hugs and kisses (that part I don't mind too much). It's frustrating. But here I am at work... Answering phones and filing (I went to college for this?) anyway... Just complaining.

numero uno!

2005-06-21T16:29:00.000-10:00

Okay this is my first post...
I have been watching my husband (Jack Army) Blog since February and to say that he is addicted is a huge understatement. He is on the computer from the moment he wakes up until he's ready for bed. He eats most of his meals at the computer and only gets up to trouble shoot the little girls needs. Yet, I don't mind as much as he thinks I do, I mean, certainly there are worse things to be addicted to. He is a master of the blogs. Not only has he taught himself this activity, he is sharing the addiction with family members (Grass isn't greener, cowboy, etc) and helping them become addicts as well. Isn't he great? And now it is spreading to me. I don't feel like I have much to say but I really enjoy some of the other mommy blogs like my sister-in-law's (grass isn't greener). So maybe I'll find some humorous stories...like the one that goes with this picture. We were making cookies for the new neighbors and the four year old says "turn on the light I wanna watch the cookies grow"! Kids are so great! They just say the funniest things like when we are eating dinner and my four year old isn't loving her Kraft macaroni and cheese. Dad says eat up so you can get big and strong. So she starts eating huge bites and says " I wanna be big and fat like mommy"! Great!