Hunting for the Perfect Book

Our New Normal

It's only going to last through tomorrow, but it was nice to see what our new normal is going to be like. Everyone woke up and got ready (w/o the TV on). Dan headed off to work for his redeployment appointments and Caden and I got the girls off on the bus. I even had "the normal" fight with Jaelyn about wearing a jacket. She won and she's getting a cold so I'm sure the runny nose is only going to get worse. It's been hot, but this morning we opened the door to high 60s or maybe low 70s. It was cool. We all put on jackets, except Jaelyn, who wore shorts and a T-shirt to school. I need to print the chart I used last year again.

Anyway, by 8:30, it was just me and Caden with a long day stretched out before us. We (I) actually accomplished a lot. We walked to the library and to check out new books - my exercise for the day - my goal is to get back to the gym as soon as he starts school. I did at least 4 loads of laundry. The sheets have been changed on the beds and the house has been vacuumed. It feels good to have things picked up and clean. I even managed to fix our disconnected router issue without throwing it off the back deck. Did I mention we got a new computer? Well, new to me, we switched over the Dell Dan bought in Iraq. I hate change. Everything was set up and working on the old computer. I think all of the computer components are finally playing nicely together, but I did not enjoy the transition.

Anyway, the girls came home mostly happy (Allie lost a dollar in her classroom's citizenship for not following directions - she never would tell me why). Dan engaged in Jedi light saber training in the front yard while I helped with homework. We had dinner where I managed to get the girls to each try a bite of shrimp and to get Caden to eat 4 green beans. The kids had baths and were tucked into bed by 7:30.

It was a good day, all around I think. Dan has more appointments tomorrow. Caden and I are going grocery shopping in the morning. I might dedicate an entire post to how nice it is to shop with one child!!! Then, I'm off to Florida on Wednesday to celebrate my Grandma's 90th birthday and to have some "me time." I think Dan and the kids will have a great time together! After my trip, Dan'll have one week off and then he goes to back to work and Caden goes to school. I'm not sure what I'll do with myself.

Jedi Wars

A Last Good-Bye to Summer

I was so thankful to get up and see sunny blue skies with puffy white clouds this morning. It's our last weekend to go to the pool before it closes for the year. We'd planned on going Saturday afternoon, but thunderstorms were forecasted. They never materialized, but I like to go early on weekends before the pool gets filled up with young soldiers from the different schools on the base. I took the kids after lunch today. We only stayed about 2 hours because it was getting really full. I got tired of telling the guys to watch their language (insert me rolling my eyes). Why do people talk like that? I don't understand. I don't think my kids actually heard anything and they had fun diving for their rings and going off the diving boards; so it turned out okay.

Allie and Jaelyn are looking forward to school next week. Both had really good first days. There has been no crying for Miss Burriss from Allie and, surprise, surprise, she likes Mr. P (the new gym teacher). There was a scare the first day when she came home talking of the scary new music man with a beard (she's just seen him in the hall). Jaelyn assured her it was Mr. Bruns who just grew a beard over the summer. Allie thought that was silly and planned to question him about it as soon as she has music. Jaelyn loves her teacher and is looking forward to going to school tomorrow. I'm so glad we aren't have a repeat of her daily "I hate school" mantra.

Dan stayed up way too late last night switching us over to his fancy dancy super computer (Dude, we have a Dell) he bought in Iraq. I am very resistant to change so I threw a few little tantrums while I was getting my stuff set up like I like it. Sorry, Dan! :)

A Treat - Before and After

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Mini M&M Cookies

Rainy Day

Yummy Frittata

We are giving my parents "bean" diet a try. That's not really a good name for it though. He's eating healthy, no processed foods, and adding a serving of beans three times a day. He's lost 8 pounds so far. I'm proud of him. Anyway, I'm trying to be creative with recipes. I have a new shrimp dish to try tonight and for breakfast, I made a frittata out of a Cooking Light cookbook. It was really good...so I'm sharing. I did modify the recipe since it had corn and he's not eating starches. In place of corn, we added diced bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and spinach to get in a serving of veggies at breakfast.

Smoked Sausage Fritatta

4 oz turkey sausage, quartered lengthwise and diced
1-1/2 cups chopped veggies
1 lg egg
4 lg egg whites
1/4 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add turkey sausage to pan; saute 4 minutes or until browned. Stir in veggies and ground red pepper; reduce heat to medium low.

Combine egg and egg whites in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Drizzle egg mixture over sausage mixture in pan. Cover and cook 8 minutes or until almost set. Remove from heat; sprinkle with cheese and cilantro. Cover and let stand 2 minutes. Cut into 4 wedges.

I froze half of this. I hope it reheats okay. We are testing egg dishes so Dan can have some variety in quick, easy breakfasts when he goes back to work in 2 weeks and has to start leaving the house at 5 again. I'm not getting up at 5 to cook him breakfast!

Our Venus Fly Trap

Caden has never been a big eater and he's never eaten vegetables. Even as a baby he would spit out and then refuse all baby food. We've been working at getting him to eat vegetables for as long as I can remember. We go through stages where I make him try a bite, usually ending in him gagging and spitting up all of his dinner, and stages where I just let it go and hope he'll start eating vegetables at some point. I've been known to add spinach leaves to blueberry smoothies and carrots to brownies in the past. In the last few days, he's decided he'll eat carrots. I started out slicing them paper thin and giving him 4 (for the number of years old he is). I'm slowly slicing them thicker with the hopes of working up to 1 baby carrot. It's not a lot, but it's a start. The kids learned about Venus Fly Traps from a kids' show today so, I picked up a carrot and made buzzing sounds at dinner. He thought it was hilarious, especially when Daddy added the sound effect while he was chewing his "flies." He ate his 4 bites and then asked for more. In all, he ate 1-1/2 baby carrots. I know it's not much compared to the vegetables Allie eats, but you have to understand that Caden's main vegetables are pickles (and I'm not totally sure they count!). Anyway, we all thought this video was hilarious. I think you'll agree.

1st Day of School

Grandma Molly Update

I just wanted to share that Grandma Molly went home yesterday. I know she was so glad to sleep in her own bed last night. She's been in the hospital or at the rehab place for 3 1/2 weeks. They've found a retired LPN to stay with her until she can get her strength back a little bit more. Thank you for all of the prayers! Oh and I get to go see her (ALONE) in 6 days for her 90th birthday! So excited.

The Morning of the 1st Day

I can't believe today finally got here. In June, summer was starting out so slowly that I didn't think it would ever end so the kids could go back to school. All the sudden, here I am in August, wishing for a few more weeks. It wasn't an easy summer by any stretch of the imagination, but it was fun, especially once Dan got home.

Anyway, I set my alarm for 6:30 this morning so I could get up and get ready before the kids got up. Allie came to me in the bathroom already dressed wanting her hair fixed with a pretty bow. Caden followed quickly after her. Jaelyn, thankfully, slept till 7. The morning went really well. Everyone ate a good breakfast and got ready on time. We did have one slight problem over shoes. Jaelyn did not want to wear her new Mary Janes. She loves this style of shoe. I took her to the real Stride Rite store (I didn't want to spend half a day lost in Amish country again for 1 pair of discounted shoes) and let her pick out a new pair. $55 for her new shoes and this morning, she refused to put them on saying she didn't like them. Talk about making me flip my lid! She wanted to wear her new tennis shoes because they were more comfortable. My response was to tell her if she didn't wear her brown shoes, I would not be buying her another pair for the rest of the year. She took what I said to heart because when we went out the door to the bus stop, she had on pretty shoes that looked good with her dress, not clunky tennis shoes.

1st Day pictures

New Backpacks and Lunchboxes - Jaelyn actually paid to have her name put on hers.
3 little ducks going to the bus stop.We were very relieved to see Miss Cathy driving our school bus again!Praying they have a great day at school.

The last 2 years, I cried as the bus drove away. I'm a little sad today, but I don't feel the overwhelming need to sob! Dan is keeping Caden occupied this morning. He's going to be so bored until he starts school on the 9th.

Organizing!

A Winning Hand (or Not)

Crazy Uno

We played a rousing game (or 3) of Uno tonight. It got a little crazy in the middle. I think Dan was a little annoyed at me for interrupting the game for photography, but you've got to be ready to take pictures wherever/whenever! Right???

Meet the Teachers

Today was open house at the elementary school so we got to go, drop off supplies and meet our teachers. Jaelyn has Mrs. Mason. She's new to the school, but not new to teaching. Several of Jaelyn's friends are going to be in her room including the little boy she got in so much trouble with in kindergarten. Hmmm...I warned her teacher to keep them separated.

Allie's teacher for first grade is going to be Mrs. Young. Jaelyn had her last year for a short time for reading. She seems very nice and all the parents I've talked to love her. The problem, as you can see from the picture, is that Mrs. Young is pregnant, due in January, which means we'll get to experience a long term subsitute for Allie's first grade year just like Jaelyn's first grade year. Allie was excited to see several of her friends in her room. Sadly, Alex will be across the hall :(.

School for the girls starts on Thursday. Caden won't start until September 9th.

Scroll Down

I've worked hard to update the blog today...scroll down...there's a lot!

Another Day at the Park

I am so loving our lazy mornings. I finally decided to take the gate down permanently at the top of our stairs; so the kids have free reign when they wake up to go to the basement and play. I have no clue what time they are waking up, but I'm not waking up until 7-ish. Once Dan and I rolled out of bed, we had breakfast and then did nothing. I'm not much of a "nothing" person, but every now and then it's really nice (especially after the work we did yesterday - cleaning, working in the yard, etc). About 10:30, we walked up the hill to one of our neighborhood parks. It's been a while since we played at this one...I got some great shots.

Jaelyn's smile is getting brighter and prettier everyday. She's getting braces next month to go with Cranky!

Tell me he doesn't look like me. Everyone says he is Little Dan, but I think he has a lot of me in him too!Me and my precious girlsI hope and pray the girls will always love each other as much as they do right now. I always wanted a sister growing up.My favorite picture of the day! It's going to require a frame for sure!

Working Down My List

Question For You

If a man says he vacuumed and no one sees or hears him, did he really vacuum?

Lazy Days

We've had a few lazy days at our house. It is so wonderful having Dan home. I told him I'm going to dedicate an entire entry to how he's jumped right in with the house and children (a lady in the airport told Dan "kids" are baby goats so we will be referring to them as children from now on ~ insert eye roll here). We went to the school this afternoon so Allie could show off her bicycling skills. They rode over to the library, checked out the monster turtles in the pond and then played on the playground for a bit.
It's been hot out today, but not more than usual. I don't think we've noticed the heat as much because we've spent so much time at the pool (which is closed for the summer now ~ boo hoo).

I have so many posts to type out and pictures to post, but honestly, I just don't feel like doing it. I promise to do some back posting next week, maybe Thursday when the girls start school!!! I can't believe it's already that time again. I must admit, I'm kind of ready!

Data Destroyed

Where Am I?

Being Prepared - My List and Grocery Store Bingo

Moving In

Dan went to work for a little bit on Wednesday to pick up the gear he shipped home. He took Jaelyn with him while I took Allie and Caden to run errands with me. I need to stop and admit that I do not like taking all 3 of my children shopping. It's hard work and not fun at all. Taking 2 and even 1 some this week was soooo nice. Anyway, Dan brought home 5-6 HUGE foot lockers filled with camouflaged stuff! I'm sure there's a more technical term than stuff, but to me, that's what it is. I was really impressed with Dan. Normally, he's not into work and would have brought the boxes home to leave them in the basement, unpacking them slowly over several days, leaving me a huge mess that would drive me slowly crazy. This time, he unpacked all of the stuff the first day and I didn't lose my house to a sea of camouflage. The kids had fun helping him unpack and looking at all of his treasures he brought home. Our favorite by far is the Aladdin lamp.
Caden carried it around all day. The girls wanted it so badly. Eventually, I had to take it and put it in my locked cabinet. Dan did give it to me after all.

I think Dan needs to work on his Iraqi yashmagh (aka turban) wrapping skills.

A Soldier's Gear

Fringe Benefits

Showing Daddy We Can Swim

We took Dan to the pool today. The children were very excited to show him how well they've done. He was impressed. We only spent a couple of hours because it was kind of hot and well, Dan's not into hot these days after spending 270 days in a desert. His poor white as can be skin couldn't take another minute of sun. While we were there, though, Dan had fun throwing the kids around and they had fun climbing all over him.

We had a little couple time too while the kids swam. I posted this on my 365 blog, but it needs to go here as well! :)

Relaxing By the Pool...Together

Dan's Homecoming

Yesterday was a crazy day as we were waiting in excited anticipation for the phone call telling us what flight Dan would be on. First, it was a late night flight landing at 10 pm. Disappointing. Then, we rushed out the door when he called to say he got an earlier flight and would be to Baltimore in 2 hours! We still had to buy our balloons and hang our banner, you know? We did everything we needed and were heading to the interstate when the phone rang again. Stand-by...and no one had given up their seat to a soldier returning to his family from Iraq. Pathetic. Majorly disappointed that time. In the end, we set out for the base about 8:30 to ride with Sgt. M who had to drive Dan back to the base because of his weapon. We made it to the airport a little before 10 ~ perfect timing as his plane was scheduled to land around that time. Sgt M dropped us off at arrivals and we ran in to the airport. We passed the luggage return flashing Dan's flight so we knew he had already landed. We got up the escalator and the area was empty. We looked around and there was Dan with a luggage cart piled high with stuff looking for us. All my plans of having the kids lined up with their signs and "American Hero" balloons were dashed, but I guess it really didn't matter as the kids rushed into his arms!

We made it home about midnight tired and very happy to be a family together again.

Welcome Home

Tomorrow is Today!!

Two hundred seventy days is a long time. That's 6480 hours and sometimes we survived literally hour to hour. Deployments, encase you haven't figured out, are all about survival and just getting through them. I'm so glad this one is finally over. Dan called this morning with his flight times...landing 10 pm tonight after a layover in Boston (crazy). I was disappointed and a little unhappy about the late night with the kids. Then he called and said he got on an earlier flight and he'd be home by 4. We hurried to hang our sign and balloons and jumped in the car. We were so excited. We were 10 minutes from our house when Dan called to say he was stand-by and hadn't made the cut. Talk about deflating happy hearts. We are now back to the 10pm landing.

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

Dan just called and he'll be home Monday night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He won't know his flight until the morning, but he thinks it'll be late afternoon. We are obviously so excited and ready for him to be home. It's been a long 270 days. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. It's meant a lot to us.

The kids and I spent a few hours this afternoon making a sign to put on the house and making posters for the kids to have at the airport.