Dude, don't be so moto!

As our house is being (very slowly) packed up I have been reflecting on the past four years of military life. Mainly reflecting on things that I have learned, some deep such as how I can be a strong "single" mom of two while hubby is deployed for seven months, the pride of being married to one of the few, and some silly. For now let us focus on the not so serious. The followings are words and phrases that I had never heard of prior to enlistment and for those of you not in the know I will give you the definition:

Head - bathroom

Field-day - sounds fun, but really it means cleaning

Rack - bed

Moonbeam - flashlight

Go fasters - tennis shoes, you know cause you can go faster in your tennis shoes then your combat boots

Semper Fi(delis) - Always faithful

Devil Dog - a nickname for any Marine

Oorah (not to be confused with Hoorah) - can mean a number of things, like if somebody asks a group of Marines how they are doing, it is usually answered with a loud oorah!

PT - no not physical therapy, physical training

Various ranks

The significance of 10 November - The Marine Corps birthday in 1775, which is to be celebrated every year with a ball

Commissary - Grocery Store

Exchange - a mini mall!

Boot - Usually refering to somebody fresh out of boot camp who is still in that deer in the headlights phase. Commonly used like so: "That guy is so boot!"

Skate - referring to not doing any work, just skating by

Moto - Referring to somebody who is really motivated

Key Volunteers - A network for wives, sometimes really, really informative and others not so much

A few phrases my husband picked up:
That's a negative, or sometimes he just says "negative."

Roger that

The phonetic alphabet, you know like alpha, bravo, charlie which sometimes gets a bit annoying when I want a simple answer to a simple question like how do you spell...

Funny story about hubby field-daying. When he fresh out of boot and at his specialty school he would call me whenever he got a free minute. Usually when asked what he was doing, he would say that he was field-daying and wasn't supposed to be on the phone. With my limited knowledge of such terms I just assumed it was something recreational, like jogging or something. I mean don't you remember when you had a field day at school and would get to be outside all day doing various fun physical activities? It took me a few weeks to realize what he was talking about. Mainly because he started being so specific, saying he was field-daying his room and that his roommate was a slob. Um, ok! I don't know if I ever told him about that or not.

Seriously, it has been a great experience. Being here has made me sad. I miss the community, the instant family, the (ahem) steady job, great benefits and most importantly seeing my cute husband in uniform. Have you ever seen a man in uniform? Seriously, almost any guy looks good in uniform, so take my cute hubby + uniform = hottness!!! That being said my husband is happy to be a civilian. However, I think once he gets a "real" job he will be shocked at how easy he did have it. I mean how many jobs do you know of where you go in at 7:30 get a two hour lunch and usually be home by 4:30? Of course that was not always the case as they "owned" him and technically he was on-call 24-7. It has been a great ride, we have had our ups and downs but we would NOT trade it. So, good-bye Havelock. Good by Marine Corps, Semper Fi. I will miss you...(sigh)

Come join our club! It's really, really fun....REALLY!

Zander had managed to pass his misery on to all of us. We are all plugged up snotty messes. Except Tater, she just has an ear infection. It is really strange that she had no symptoms she just started complaining that her ear hurt on Sunday. So the very next day we took her to the Doctor and she had a BAD ear infection, so bad her ear drum had popped. Yikes! How is it that she did not complain about anything until it was that bad?
This all leads into our wonderful night we had last night. Tony took me out to OG for my birthday (yummy) and we had a great time. Unfortunately I did not have all my homework done. So when we got home, we put the kids to bed and I had to finish up the rest of my homework. I got it done around one and went up to bed. I was so exhausted from the yucky cold and I just wanted to sleep! I swear that I just got comfortable and I hear Alex crying then coughing then crying some more. So, I went to get him only to be greeted by the smell of throw-up. I get Tony and we start the clean-up process. I clean Zandey and he cleans the sheets. It was pretty funny listening to him rinse the sheets and gag. We get everything cleaned up and Daddy decides to sleep in the chair with Zander. I give him a towel and he looks at me questioning what it was for. Trust me, you'll need it was my response.
I just started to fall asleep and I hear Tony calling me because he needs my help. It is around 3:30 by now and this time Zander got Daddy. He was finally initiated into the club after three years and seven months of being a parent. It was the first time Tony has been around when the kids have been sick, so it was the first time he has ever been the target! I have been thrown-up on countless of times and I told him when he got back from Iraq it was his turn! We start the whole process over again. Get everything cleaned up, I throw all of the sheets, blankets, towels and jammies into the washer. Tony takes Zander back down to the chair and we repeat it again. By this time there is nothing left in the poor guy's stomach. We decide that we don't think that he is really sick, we think it is all of that mucus in there because it is brought on by the cough.
It is now 4:00. Hannah wakes up because her ear hurts. She wants to be in bed with me. Ok, I put her in bed with me. She tosses and turns so I give her motrin. She finally falls asleep and Daddy comes up with Zander. We switch and I take Zander into the other bedroom. Time is now 5:30. Are we going to get any sleep? Hannah wakes up at 9:00 and starts crying because she wants Mommy. Tony brings her into the room and she wakes up Zander. Tony takes Zander downstairs and I lay down with Hannah. Not long later the dog comes running in and wakes up Tater. By this point my eyes are burning and my head is pounding. Thanfully, I have a wonderful husband who let me sleep until noon and then let me take a two hour nap with the girl. Without that sleep I do not think that I could have made it through the day.
I did have a wonderful birthday though, just not a good birthday night. I got my camera and I have enjoyed playing with it. We had my party with my family on Saturday and then my dinner with his parents tonight. So I got to enjoy two amazing meals, two very yummy chocolate cakes and a dinner out with my hubby all in four days. Now on to valentine's day...

Stuck in the matrix

Things are such a mess right now. We came up to Ohio a couple weeks before Christmas without any definite plans on how long we were going to stay up here. We packed a bunch of clothes and took off. Now, two months later we are still here. Living one week with my parents and the next week with his. It is such a hassle to move back and forth every week. Not to mention I never know if I lost something or if it is just at the other house. Right now I am missing two hairbrushes...two! If I was smart I would have left one at each house and been done with it, but instead I had one in my diaper bag and the other I would pack. Well now I can't find either of them.
Not to mention the strain it has on the marriage. You know, being treated (and some of us acting) like you are teenagers again can also put some strain on the marriage. I keep telling myself, just a couple more weeks...just a couple more weeks. You can do this! However it does not seem to be working. Everyday I get a little more frustrated, everyday I hold that frustration in. We don't want our families seeing what a crazy person I am! So for now I just feel stuck. Wishing that things were different. Wishing for that ocean breeze, wishing for a stable job, wishing for health insurance at least for the children. I am just stuck wishing...

Yucky, yucky, snot, snot!

Little Zander woke up such a grouch today which is so not like him. Normally he is Mr. Smiley in the morning. All day long he would not let me put him down, he was whiny and would not nap. He was full of snot, his nose would not stop running, he was coughing and his eyes were all puffy and red. Eventually we resorted to a car ride just so the poor little guy could get some rest. I knew it was his ears, it is always his ears....but hmmm, we do not have insurance. So we have the big debate on if he should be seen or not if he should suffer. (Of course I am the one voting for him to go and hubby is voting for suffering) It was also a debate on whether or not we should pump him full of antibiotics every time he gets the "sniffles." We eventually went and guess what? The boy has a double ear infection.....AGAIN! Not only that but when the doc looked in his ear she said it was "wicked." I believe she said that a couple times. Then she said she wished there was a med student there to see it because it was so bad. The poor baby, it seems like he has only been healthy for a week. Of course the free antibiotic does not clear him up. Oh no, he needs the expensive shot, three days in a row! The doctor wants us to start thinking about tubes, but hmmmm...NO INSURANCE!!! Which is an entirely different post, so please don't get me started on that. For now I would just like everyone to pray that Zandey sleeps through the night. I really do not want to sleep in the chair tonight.

It was bound to happen sooner or later...

About two weeks ago Missy Tater cut her hair. Thankfully it is not noticeable at all, she mainly cut some hair close to her bangs, so it looks like she has a little framing going on. However, it could have been much worse. She was upstairs working with Grandpa in his office when Grandpa had to run out and move his car. After a couple of minutes I got worried when she did not reappear. I was thinking that she probably got her hands on an important contract and it was now covered in pink marker. So I ran upstairs and yelled her name and she appeared from Grandma's room. My first thought went to makeup. I gave her the once over and she had no evidence of makeup. Hmm, I thought I must have caught her in time. I followed her down the steps and we snuggled up on the couch to watch some Dora. A few minutes later I notice a bunch of hair covering the blanket. Odd. So I ran my fingers through her hair and a bunch fell out. Hmmm, what is going on. I ran my fingers through her hair again and even more fell out. By this time I was mentally FREAKING out because I started thinking something was wrong with her. Her hair was falling out, what kind of disease did she have? My heart started pounding and I was getting ready to call my mom (the nurse) to ask her what I should do. I ran my fingers through her hair again and a big clump fell out. Before I really wigged out, it dawned on me that she cut her hair.
Me: "Hannah, did you cut your hair?"
H: "Now Mommy, don't yell at me."
Me: "Hannah, DID you cut your hair?"
H: "Mommy, don't get mad."
Me: "HANNAH, DID YOU CUT YOUR HAIR?"
H: Nods her head and quietly says "Mommy, I said don't yell at me."
Really, how can you be mad at such a sweet girl? We went through the whole conversation about how you don't cut your hair, only the stylist can cut it...yada, yada, yada.
I kept the big chunk to put in her baby book. I would take a picture of it, but I cannot locate my camera at the moment. A picture will follow. Actually a picture can't follow because my blogger is not working right, but when it starts working then a picture will follow.

An American Solider

It is only fitting that on my first RWBF I pay tribute to my husband Sgt. Fries. Although he is no longer active duty, he served for four years with two deployments to Iraq. I feel like there is so much to say and so many people to pay tribute to. He is my rock and I am so thankful that he was able to return to me. Although his sacrafice was not as great as some, his greatest sacrafice was missing so much of our children's lives, before he left for his second deployment he kept talking about how much he was going to miss. Yet he was still an amazing father while he was gone. Like most that were with him, he rose to the occasion and went above and beyond what was expected of him. So, to him and to all of those Workhorses, I would like to say a big THANK YOU!!!

Follow me through a bunch of rabbit trails...and some poo

Miss Tater-Tots had her first ever dance lesson tonight. She was so adorable! Her Grandma Chips bought her a cute little leotard outfit with matching slippers. The bummer deal is that is in an enclosed room so we watch them on a little tv which means no pictures! It was cute to watch though, the floor has little blue squares to sit on and since her cousin Anna is in the class they sat next to each other. One problem she had was when they went to the ballet bar and Missy Tots could not reach it. Her teacher told her to just touch the wall. I think she did pretty good for it being her first class. I was a little worried about how well she would listen, and on occassion the teacher had to personally get her attention but I think that is normal for a three year old. I think that she likes the class and we plan on signing up for three months as it was our trial night. There was one little incident that happened after the class. There was a little boy there who was probably 8 or 9ish, who was a rambunctious little fellow. (As a side note I would like to think that my children would be able to sit still or at least do as asked when they are that age as it was only a half-hour class, my second side note is that he had nothing to do so was probably bored) Anyway, after the class let out Hannah walked past him and he said "She has a really big head!" Thankfully Hannah did not hear him, but that is the first time that we have ever really had anything like that happen. I was not prepared for it. I just let it slide even though that is not what I wanted to do. Up until this point she just looked small for her age, now it is starting to be noticable. I have to question myself as to how we are going to deal with this. I would like her to be able to just shrug it off and not let it bother her. To be able to stand up for herself and say, yes my head is big so what? Or when people call her shorty she can just laugh because she is short. I want her to be the strong one, even though on the inside I want to protect her from the hurt that it will cause her, the sneers of the uninformed. It hurts my heart when I think of all she will be up against, but I know that she has spunk and she will get through it.

********This next part talks a lot about poo!********
So, we are almost there I can feel it. At least I hope we are and I am not just getting worked up over nothing. Maybe she won't be the first one to have to delay entering the public school system because she won't go "poopy in the big girl potty." Because I was seriously starting to wonder if it would ever happen. Tuesday night she actually pooped in the big girl potty...all by herself. With no coaching, coaxing or forcing. She just went in there and pushed it out. Of course we sang and danced and jumped around, she even got a prize out of the deal. Then later that night she pooped in her pull-up. It is sort of like take one step forward and two steps back because she'll poop and then will refuse to sit on the potty for months. Then tonight she wanted to try again and bless her heart she tried, and tried and tried. She tried for over an hour with little success (just a few little "poops" came out). Poor girl was so tired because it was past her bedtime, she just started crying saying that it hurt and she wanted her diaper. I talked her into trying some more with no luck. I still made a big deal about it and she will still get a prize in the morning, but I just wish it was not so hard for her. I sometimes wonder if it has anything to do with her short stature. I mean how would you like to try and poo when your legs are straight out in front of you?