Ice Cream, Used Clothes, & Migraines...OH MY!

Today I took my daughter to an ice cream social to re-register her for another year of Girl Scouts.  Before leaving, we invited the guys to come with us to enjoy the creamy delights which they declined because Call of Duty is much more important.
Anyway, this year she is a Brownie and she is super stoked!  I mean, c'mon, FREE ice cream BEFORE dinner.  Who could resist that??? 

So, I asked her if she wanted a vest like her Daisy vest from last year or if she would prefer a sash.  She looked at me quizzically and asked what the heck was a sash.  First thing that comes to mind to describe one to a seven year old was to say it's like the piece of material that Ms. America wears.  Almost before I could finish, she was like, "Oh yeah, Mom, I want THAT!" 

There is a pint size diva hidden in my daughter and I don't know if I like it sometimes.

Afterwards, we made a stop at Goodwill.  I swear, you would have thought I took the child to Sax Fifth Avenue the way she browsed the clothes informing me how "fabulous" everything was. 

As I looked over the racks of used treasures, my daughter would pull shirts off the hangers and thrust them forward just to inform that "THIS shirt, mom, is sparkly and that is just awesome!"

She had a hard time deciding what to get.  She wanted EVERYTHING!  She wanted shoes.  She wanted skirts.  She wanted...she wanted...good thing we were in a thrift store.

After returning to our home, my daughter paraded in with her bag of goodies.  She then preceded to rub it in my son's face that SHE had ice cream and went shopiiiiiing which, of course, led to bickering between them and all I got was this lousy migraine.  So until bedtime, I had the pleasure of hearing how unfair life is from my son over and over again ad nauseam.  Lucky me!

The Beginning of a New Decade

This weekend flew by.  I am officially starting a new decade of my life.  Good-bye 20s.  It was fun.  Friday consisted of enjoying the kids going off to their first day of school followed by a night of Rockband and Tom Collins.

My son takes a more relaxed stance to rocking out.

For those about to rock, we salute you.

The infamous Raghead!

So NOT the next American Idol!

Gin is not my friend.

The guys also took some time to reminisce about the "old days" in Fort Hood by cracking out the photo albums.

WTF is that?!?!

Soooo many war stories...

Saturday was a day of recuperation.  We slept in and did basically nothing for most of the day.  It was great!

She slept until about 10:30 a.m. which is unheard of for a seven year old.

Sunday was another lazy day.  Our buddy volunteered to take the kids to McDonald's while my husband took me out for hibachi, sushi, and beer.  It was yummy-yummy, delicious!

If there is a camera, my daughter is THERE!

We are so hot...no, seriously!  It's like 102 degrees right now and it's quarter after 8 p.m.

After we came home from our hot date, the family sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we ate a delightful Snickers ice cream cake.  Droooool!  Well, here's to hoping this next decade of my life is full of surprises.

Surprise!

Basking in the Silence

The kids went off to school this morning and I seriously felt like Kevin McAllister.  It was divine!  The best part it that as I am writing this, there are still two whole hours left before they come home.
I snapped a few photos before they headed out.  My daughter was super excited and my son was too even though he won't admit it.

She couldn't wait to wear her new shirt.

Out of everything we bought, this is what he picked out.

They sure are cute when they aren't fighting.

Nothing ever lasts...

Getting in some computer time before they head to school.

P.S.  Should I be concerned that Netflix is suggesting "Dark Dysfunctional-Family TV Shows"?  Things that make you go "Hmmmm"... (just the chorus applies)



You got to love the 90s!  lol

Now I am going to enjoy a nice shower while there is no one here to bang on the door to ask me if they can have a snack or tattle on their sibling.

Gracing The Internet With My Presence

I haven't blogged in a few days for many reasons.  The obvious one being that my family and I are trying to square many things away before my husband leaves for his work excursion...aka deployment.  There are so many things to do and, as it happens, I'm the family's appointed "executive assistant".  "Secretary" sounds so outdated and the terms "executive assistant" just sounds so much more important, like I run this shit (which I do, duh!).  I'm scheduling physicals and setting up meetings to take care of all the power of attorney business.  So now, I've got the power!  Thanks Snap for bestowing that 90s gem on us.


Tonight is open house at the kids school so we get to take the kids to meet their new teacher(s).  We'll be dragging my son against his will, of course.  My daughter is still young enough that she will gleefully skip to school humming the Smurf's theme song.  La la lala la la la lala la la....  Actually, kids these days have no freaking clue who the Smurf's are.  I'm just saying...



Tomorrow is the glorious day I've been waiting all summer long for...THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.  Choirs of angels surrounded by golden light have come down from their spaceships to sing beautiful hymns.

Sunday is my birthday.  Some say I'm turning twenty-ten.  Other say it's the first anniversary of my 29th birthday.  I say I'm just getting freaking old and one day I'll die...just like everyone else on this glowing ball.  My children still, no matter the valid arguements I produce, continue to think I'm ancient.  My son recently asked if I had electricity when I was kid.  I told him I didn't.  I also told him my best friends in school were Cleopatra and Joan of Arc.  Hell, if I'm going to be old, I may as well have been a cool and popular kid, dammit!

In other news, a beer would be highly regarded right about now...END!

"In Reason We Trust"

This has made my day!  The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is broadening their latest campaign to include the New Orleans area.  They are placing five billboards in the area.
See the full article here.

I hope one day I'll be able to see one of their billboards here.  Church groups and religious organizations are always placing billboards around pushing their beliefs on passerbys.  Their favorite seem to be gory abortion ones.

I'm sure this will cause an uproar.  Churchs and their members will probably picket and write letters like they do.  The local news channels will be all over it and blah, blah, blah, so on and so forth.  Religious organizations are all about their freedom of religion and freedom of speech that is until an anti-religion group (or any other group for that matter that they disagree with) decides to excercise their same rights.
Be sure to check this out to for shits and giggles.

We Threw Boredom Overboard!

Who says you can't play with your food and take pictures of it?  My husband says the people at Long John Silver's (LJS) thought we were crazy.  I say, screw 'em!  I think my kids should be kids and be able to enjoy themselves wherever we are.  As you can see, they do.  Besides, we were at a fast food joint not a fine dining establishment.  I also think the best pictures come from pure randomness.  Take a look!

We bring the fun wherever we go...LJS will never be the same again.

AARRGGHH!  To the belly with ye!

Captain Hush Puppy Eye!

A Day at LETRA

Today we took the kids out to Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area (LETRA).  It was beautiful but freaking AFRICA hot.  I think at it's hottest, it was107 degrees.  My skin was melting off.
The only reason we went out there was because my husband's company decided to have a picnic.  It was nice to see Mt. Scott from LETRA instead of our usual view of LETRA from Mt. Scott.

View of Mt. Scott from Lake Elmer Thomas

The company rented the party cabin complete with a/c (thank goodness).  It was a welcoming experience after being out in the heat.

The party cabin

We had never been to the lake before so we did not know what to expect.  We should have brought our bathing suits.  There was a beach area were you could swim in the lake as well as a water slide.  Too bad my son had to head out to OKC for a boy scout camping trip later that afternoon. 

The beach

The water slide

We took the kids in the paddle boats which they enjoyed.  Of course, Nick and I did all the work.  On the way back, Nick informed me that we should have thought about the "going back" part before we went out as far as we did.

The family

All squints and smiles

We had to follow the rules...EVERYONE had to wear a life vest.

The husband

We should have pushed him in...lol.

Gabe wanted to put his feet in the water.  I told him there were schools of piranhas in the lake.  So he decided he was going to put his feet ON the water.  That didn't last too long.

IN the water

ON the water

The boy child was also fascinated by everything that floated past us.  He'd pick it up and display it for all to see.  Sometimes he would throw it at his sister, who would nearly fall into the lake.

One such specimen

 We knew it was time to head back to land when she started acting miserable.

Who knows what she was crying about?  Maybe it was sun stroke.

Thanks, John Cena, for this one.  Your "coolness" has managed to ruin nearly every one of his pictures.  "You can't see me."  STFU!

We also played a few holes of putt-putt but it was just too damn hot.  We played holes 1-4 and then skipped over to 16 and played through 18.  The kids didn't even complain about the short game.  Maybe we will go back and try again when it snows.

She cheated...often

He did too.

 After that strenuous game of putt-putt we needed to soak up some glorious a/c which we did in the party cabin which was very "rustic".  There were tables and chairs that had the appearance of being made by hand.  Animal heads and other taxidermed monstrosities decorated the walls (and I use the term "decorated" VERY loosely).  I could not bring myself to photograph them...although I regret not taking a picture of the buffalo complete with braided goatee.  :(

The girl child soaking in the a/c

Wrapping up the afternoon, we waited for the husband to finish his cigarette so that we could head to our final destination of dropping of the boy child. He was going camping on a baseball field in OKC with his boy scout pack. So we are down to just one child this weekend at least until tomorrow morning.

She went up and down the steps...informing us how BORED she was.

Me and my baby girl

My guys...chill-axing

Needless to say, we all survived the heat.  The weather here baffles me.  Even at six and seven o'clock in the evening it still manages to be 105 freaking degrees.  I am looking forward VERY MUCH to fall and winter.  The thought of being able to use my fireplace again is enough to make me do a little happy dance around my living room.  *sigh*

Future Undetermined

For a little over a month, I had been keeping a journal.  I did it on a friend's suggestion that it would help me with the things I had been going through on an emotional level.  For nearly 30 days, I wrote my innermost thoughts.  Then I began to realize I don't want to dig that deep into myself.  With all the things that have been going on in my life in the past few years, diving that deep into my brain made me feel, well, depressed.  I would journal about certain topics and then feel shitty for the remainder of the day and sometimes into the next day.  I also felt that I kept continually rehashing the same things over and over and over again.  Anyone that knows me will tell you, me and emotions (especially sadness) are not very close.  Bring on the raging anger any day!  I don't do the tears...it feels like weakness and giving up to me.
So, now I decided what's best for me is to just scratch the surface.  I figure if I'm putting myself out there for all to see, I will express myself in a way that isn't so "poor me" which is more comfortable and true to life than what my journal was turning into.  I've decided that some things are better left inside your head...filed away deep in the back of your mind.  I know many arm chair psychiatrists and basement therapists will disagree but I'm going do what I feel is necessary and relevant to my life.
All those things said...on to the meat...
There is a very good chance my husband will be going away awhile for work.  I'm not looking forward to this at all but I look at it this way:

1. I have already dealt with two deployments.  The first one I did under very similar circumstances as right now and made it through.  The second was much easier.  I knew what to expect.  This time not only do I know what to expect, we are a little more financially prepared to handle whatever curve balls life throws our way.
2. Once he returns we will be much closer to being able to finally purchase a home.
3. We can get the debt monkeys off our backs.
4. We will have the opportunity to actually set aside a college fund for the kids.

I do not expect it to be a cake walk but I KNOW I can do this.  I know this because when backed into a corner the claws always come out!  When push comes to shove, I'm going to do whatever I need to do to move my family forward just like what my husband is doing.
He said in taking this job he will have a supervisor position on top of working directly under a three star general.  He said that if he can add that general as a reference on his resume in addition to all the experience he will gain going away, his career will be golden.  I hope he's right.
At this point, I'm ready to pray to any god, stick pins in a voodoo doll, light a candle or two, or sacrifice a goat just to ensure that this all works out to our benefit.  I'm just tired of struggling and having nothing to show for it.  I'm not some high maintenance person either.  When I say I want something to show for it, I mean I want a house.  And I'm not talking some five story mansion with an indoor pool and a mini movie theater.  I just want a quaint home on some land.  I'm not fond of neighbors...I'm not fond of people in general for that matter.  I want enough money to be able to pay my bills, put money on the side for my children to attend college, and have a little left over for minor upsets that arise from time to time and/or a little entertainment cash.  I don't need a yacht although a small boat would be nice.  I don't need a $50,000 vehicle...just a small vehicle that gets me from point A to point B when needed.  I want my kids birthdays and Christmas to roll around and not scrounge for pennies just to buy them a gift or two just so something is under our tree or next to their cake.
We will make it there someday and by my husband taking this job it feels within our grasp.  Hopefully in two years, I'll be able to blog about how everything worked out.  I must say though, many times I wonder what the hell I did in a past a life since nothing has seemed to go as we've planned.  I have my fingers crossed we have finally paid our debt to fate and now things will start to look up.  We shall see, won't we?

Friendships Wanted, Not Needed

Six months I've been here and I'm convinced no matter where you move people are either crazy or boring or both.  Making friends has never come easy to me...maybe I'm a snob.  If I think someone is a bore and/or a lunatic, I will go out of my way to keep my distance.  For some reason though, these people are drawn to me like bums to bus terminals.
It doesn't matter where I am, the check out line at the grocery store, the gas pump, or an airport bathroom, these individuals will talk to me and divulge the craziest things to me.  At first, this entertained me.  I felt complimented in a sense that I must put these people at ease in a way that they feel comfortable telling me about their issues.
Let me interject here.  When I say "crazy", I do not mean someone diagnosed with mental disorders.  At least when these people do something out of the ordinary, you can empathize.  No, I'm talking about these folks that seem to eat, sleep, and breathe drama.  I'm referring to those people that seem to go out of their way to invent problems just so they have something to entertain themselves.  To these people I say, find another hobby!!
Anyway...
For a long time (probably the first twenty or so years of my life), I didn't have any rules or regulations for a person to be my friend other than you couldn't be a total asshole.  I would talk and befriend anyone and it would remain that way until they did something to piss me off.  As time went on and my family and I relocated to Fort Hood, these lackadaisical stipulations proved to be more time consuming than previously anticipated. 
With deployments and loneliness running rampant throughout the base, spouses clung to different forms of companionship.  I chose the safe, platonic route.  At first, it was nice to have the company of other women.  I felt a bond with them due to our similar circumstances.  Little did I know the drama that would surround many of these females like the dust cloud that hovers around Pigpen from Peanuts comics.  Like I said, at first this entertained me.  It was like watching an episode of Jerry Springer or Maury Povich pan out right before your very eyes.  I wanted to grab a bowl of popcorn and sit back and enjoy the show.  That was until these loonies began including me in the craziness.  It was at that time I had to step back, take a deep breath, and say "Fuck. This."
After the military, we headed back to our hometown in New Orleans area on the good ol' Westbank which by the way was only supposed to be temporary.  It, unfortunately, turned into nearly two years.  During that time I stuck to the handful of people I knew who where a.) not boring, b.) not crazy, and c.) trustworthy.  Seriously when I say handful, I literally mean like five people, nearly half of which were family members.
On more than one occasion people would tell me how they didn't understand how I could cut myself off from others so easily.  I don't really see the problem.  Why should I befriend people who I don't really enjoy being around?  What?  Just so I can say I have oodles of friends??
Now we are in Oklahoma and I must admit I am a little lonely.  However, I'm not lonely enough to resort to being bored to death just for the sake of company.  I also will not participate in their drama just to be entertained...they have reality shows for that.   Also, I can't stand liars.  Furthermore while I believe fully in freedom of religion, I cannot be around someone who feels the need to "save" me.  I must be able to be myself 100% and the truth is I curse like a drill sergeant and I am completely random ESPECIALLY after a few drinks which I look forward to consuming at least one a week if not (and hopefully) more.
As you can see, I do think it's wise to have a hobby.  Everyone needs something to occupy their time.  So as for me, I'm going to blog my own thoughts and try to avoid falling into the same old habits.  Truth is, loneliness is a bitch and as much as I'd love to move into a cave somewhere, we both know it isn't going to happen.  So in the meantime, I'll keep my fingers crossed that one of these days in my trek around Texhoma, I'll actually come in contact with someone that can hold an intelligent conversation with me that doesn't involve gossip and rumors.  I won't hold my breath though.

Back To School Bliss

Ten more days until school starts! *shimmy shimmy happy dance*


I’ve grown tired listening to arguments between the children. One of the latest went something like this:

My son kicks my daughter in the butt. “Your butt jiggles.” he says.

“Your butt is stupid!” yells my daughter.

“Your face!”

“I hate your face!” she screams like a banshee and slams her bedroom door in his face.

It’s little love filled interactions like these that make up my day. Can’t you just feel the love? Periodically, I have to check eBay and Craigslist just to check to make sure neither of them put the other up for sale. On the upside, they’ll have many humorous stories to tell at family get-togethers once they are grown and out of my house. *Remember that time when you…* Ah, good times!  Good times!

On a lighter note, I have finished all of the back to school clothes shopping for the kids. They will be styling and profiling! Check them out!

Her most favorite shirt

Every little girl loves Hannah!

Skinny-mini in her skinny jeans.

Pinky

Typical girl...love, love, LOVES trying on clothes

She's a little diva!

Always striking a pose!

Pure cuteness

The boy is ready to get some school on!

The jeans were too tight so he was sucking in his gut.

I just don't ask anymore...

His John Cena move...

What can I say?  The boy is special.

Don't tell him I told you but he enjoyed trying on clothes too.

He knows he's cute.

As you can see my babies, errr, big kids...are ready to start another year of school.  But no one in our house is more excited than me.  Hell, I'll be like the Home Alone kid once they leave on the first day.  I may even run around naked!  Don't worry...I won't post those pictures.