Day 72

Yeah...it's Friday!!  Not only is it the end of the week, but it's the end of the month too:

We have now successful survived two full months (plus a half a month)...only nine full months (plus half a month) left to go.

Today I made the mistake of going to the commissary.  Don't get me wrong...grocery shopping isn't usually a faux pas.  However, going to the commissary on payday - yeah, that's playing with your life.  There were more people out shopping than I care to think about.  Had it not been for the fact that I was going to a party tonight and needed something to take with me, I would have waited til next week to get my shopping done.

Taryn did 'LINKS for Tweens' this evening; at this point, I'm not really sure whether she had fun or not.  She tends to be a bit of a non-joiner, and it takes a while to get her to say whether or not she likes something.  I guess I'll find out eventually.

Last but not least, we went to a party this evening also.  Two of the friends I've made down here will be leaving before too much longer, so we all got together as a way to say goodbye.  We had a lot of fun, and Gabriel took a lot of crazy pictures.  I'm going to try to get them posted on Facebook tomorrow; if you don't have me as a friend on there, add me! =)

And with that, I think I'm going to sign off and get to bed.  I suddenly can't stop yawning...and Saturday means I get to sleep in!!  Til day 73...

Day 71

Today was the last day of mentor training.  We had to give our presentations today.  Let's just say that I still have a lot of work to do.  I know I'm not really comfortable getting up in front of people; I'm hoping that it's mostly lack of experience, and that mentoring will help change that.

I did get a nifty trophy for finishing the training, though:

Here's hoping that with a lot more work and a lot more practice, I'll get a lot better.

I forgot to mention that we hit a big milestone this past Saturday - our day count is now down into the 200s.  It might not seem like a big deal, but I didn't think we would EVER get below 300 days.  I think the next big one - getting below 200 - should be around mid-July.

I hope everyone's been having a great week.  I'll be back on day 72!

Day 70

Day 2 of mentor training...still having a blast.  We learned a lot today; one of the most fun parts was the demonstration of a bad presentation.  We have to give our presentations tomorrow.  I'm nervous, but I hope I'll do okay.

Wednesday means chain day:

I swear I *will* find somewhere else to hang these things up...just haven't decided where yet.  It has to be somewhere that Taryn and I can stull reach the end to put more links on.  I think hanging them up might have an unfortunate side effect, though...I don't know that I'll be able to fit them in a picture anymore.

See everyone on day 71!

Day 69

Today was the first of three days of LINKS mentor training.  It may take me a while to work up to wanting to get up in front of groups of people and do presentations, but I think I'll get there eventually.  I'm definitely having fun in the meantime.

I have to admit that today's picture was kind of an afterthought:

I was sitting here working on some stuff for training tomorrow, and noticed that I seem to have lost my dining room table.  I'm pretty sure it's under there somewhere...I even had it mostly cleaned off before I started working on things today.

And on that note, I'm going to hit the sack.  I'll shall return on day 70 (a new first number!!).

Day 68

Ah, another Monday.  The kids brought home their school re-enrollment packets for next year.  It amazes me the amount of paperwork I have to fill out and/or send in.  I mean, some of it I understand...making sure all the personal information is still right, updating their health info, etc.  But what I don't get is why I have to send in copies of Ben's orders and our lease, both of which the school should have on file from when we first registered the kids.  At least two of the forms have to be signed by the sponsor, which means I also have to send in a copy of my power of attorney.

I started trying to make copies of things, and what should have been printed in black was printing in a reddish color instead.  So, once Gabriel got home, we had to make a run up to the exchange to get a new ink cartridge for the printer.  It's all good; I also needed to get some things for a baby shower I'm going to next week.  What I didn't need to do (but did anyway) was hit the discount software bin:

Oh well...I always say one can never have too many games (though I think Ben might disagree...lol).

And with that, I'm off to bed.  I have a busy couple of weeks in the works, but I'll wait to tell everyone about things as they happen - gives me something to write about.  Be back on day 69!!

Day 67

Another uneventful day in our house.  Well, almost uneventful.  I did briefly lose Gabriel, but he was found again in short order - and then yelled at, since he was told he couldn't go outside.  He waited until I was distracted letting Lacy borrow a vase, and he slipped out.

The skies looked terrible slmost all day today, but nothing much ever came of it - just a lot of wind.  The sun even came out every once in a while.  I guess that's a good thing, since they were calling for potential severe thunderstorms and possibly damaging wind gusts.

Since nothing worth taking a picture of happened today (and I didn't want to take yet another picture of the laundry I was doing today...lol), everyone gets to stare at Harley today:

Good night, all.  Til day 68...

Day 66

It's the weekend...yeah!!  Not much happened today.  I've been feeling kind of yucky.  I'm fine all week and feel icky on the weekend.  Go figure.  Gabe was happy, because he got to spend most of the day outside playing with his friends.  Plus, he got to get a Sonic ice cream bar from the ice cream truck.  We're talking little boy heaven here!

The three of us got gifts from Ben by way of Amazon this week.  The kids each got a new DS game (which Gabe was especially thrilled with, because I took him off DS restriction for the weekend so he could play his new game).  Me, I got a gorgeous necklace:

Can I just say that I love my husband?  I mean, I'd love him even without the necklace...but I love him even more because he's thoughtful enough to do things like that.  I told him I felt really bad that I'm sending him goofy stuff like dart guns, and he's sending me diamond necklaces.  Yes, I know he has no use for diamond necklaces, but still...lol.  I'll find a way to make it up to him, I suppose.

And with that, I'm off to watch the rest of the end of the world (in the form of the movie '2012'.  I shall return on day 67!!

Day 65

Not much to report on today.  Taryn's team at school had their 3rd quarter awards ceremony this morning (which her horrible mother forgot about):

She was on the A/B honor roll; she also was the most improved student in math and science, and was tied with another student for the highest GPA in math.  She also found a friend to hang out with today; coincidentally, the other girl's dad is in Ben's unit.  She got to go over to her friend's house for a little while today.

Other than that, the most exciting thing that happened was that they came down our block and resealed everyone's driveways.  For a while, our street looked like a used car lot or something...there were cars parked up on the curb, in yards, everywhere.

I was planning on writing more, but I have apparently been up for too long, as I'm sitting here falling asleep over the keyboard.  Good night all!  Onward to day 66...

Day 64

Another unremarkable day in my life, surprise surprise.  Got the kids off to school, then came back home and attacked the DVR again.  I almost had it down to 50%.  Even though I think I'm watching a lot of things I have recorded, even more things keep getting recorded.  I have a hard time just sitting and watching TV...I like to be doing something else also (crocheting, putzing on the computer, etc).  The problem is, a lot of the things that I have yet to watch are shows that you have to pay total attention to lest you miss something.  Oh well...I'll figure it out somehow.

After the kids got home and did their homework, we headed out to the exchange.  I had to pick up Gabriel's inhalers, so I decided to be nice and take the kids out for dinner.  We hit Wendy's, then we wandered around the exhange and the book store for a while.  I'm sad to say that by the time Ben gets home, he's probably not going to recognize the main exchange.  They're always moving things around, and it's getting very confusing.

The one thing that has not yet moved is Ben & Jerry's:

That's my Mint Chocolate Chunk milkshake...a nice end to the day.  After hitting B&J (where the lovely lady working the counter was nice enough to make me a milkshake even though she had already cleaned the blenders and put them away in preparation for closing time), we came home and the kids got bathed and ready for bed.  Now it's mommy time...yeah!!

And now, I'm off to finish watching "Julie & Julia".  Have a great night, everyone...I shall talk to you all again on day 65!!

Day 63

Today was a long day, but I had a lot of fun.  After I took Gabe to the bus stop, I came home and finished a few things.  Then I went to LINKS for the day.  I mentioned doing a LINKS session back in March; basically, it's "Marine Corps 101".  I decided to start volunteering with them as a mentor (mentors teach the different parts of the workshop).  I don't do mentor training til next week, so I went in today to help with anything that needed done behind the scenes.  Once I got home, I just relaxed.  Gabriel had eaten dinner at a friend's house, so Taryn and I did a 'fend for yourself' night.

This being Wednesday, here's what everyone is waiting for:

I still haven't made it out to look for things to hang the chains up, so we're making do with hangers.  The chains are doubled over, and are still about as tall as I am (if not taller).  We're only a sixth of the way through the deployment, so imagine these six times longer than they are now...wow.

And on that note, I'm off to bed.  Til day 64...

Day 62

Today was another not so good day for Gabe and I.  For the second day in a row, he asked if he could go to someone's house, I told him no, and he went anyway.  At least he was outside where I could see him this time, unlike yesterday.  I also have to say that he took his punishment like a champ...no temper tantrums like we had yesterday.

Other than that, not much happened today.  I cooked dinner tonight, using a recipe Lacy gave me.  You can't beat simplicity.  She calls it 'Poor Man's Casserole'...it's basically two cans of chili with corn bread on top.  It was really easy to make, and really tasty to eat.

Gabriel got a treat tonight...Daddy read him a story (and please excuse the brown blob to the left of Gabe's head...it's covering up something we bought as a surprise for Ben, and I didn't even notice it in the picture til after the kids went to bed...lol):

Ben recorded himself reading the book "We Serve Too!" before he left, and I pulled it up so Gabe could read along.  I highly recommend that book for anyone with kids who have a parent deploying.  Younger ones might not understand it as much (and moms may cry trying to read it), but it's a great book.

Good night, all...see you on day 63!!

Day 61

Very slow day today...or maybe it just seemed that way because we did so much yesterday.  Gabriel and I haven't been having a good day.  For some reason he was really crabby and whiny when he got home from school, and it was all downhill from there.  I let him go out and play, but the rule is that he has to stay where I can look out the front door and see him, unless he comes and asks if he can go somewhere else.  He came home and asked if he could go to a friend's house for dessert.  Since this friend has a habit of inviting people to do things without checking with adults, I told Gabe no - and he went anyway.  He then proceeded to throw a temper tantrum...sigh.

But now the kids are in bed, and I'm getting ready to head that way myself.  But before I go....

COOKIES!! =)

I'll be back on day 62!

Day 60

Today was a kind of exciting day:

Yep, that's right.  As of approximately 4:30 this morning, we have officially survived two months of this deployment - only ten more to go (hopefully). 

We were out and about most of the day today, too.  I took the kids to Golden Corral for breakfast, and then we went and wandered around Kmart for a while.  I was there looking for more dart guns to send to my husband; they didn't have the same thing I sent before, but I hope he'll like what I did get (in case anyone's wondering, he reads this blog when he gets a chance, and I like to keep him in suspense...lol).  I got some good deals too.  Gabe found a couple pairs of Transformers shoes that he liked.  They were on clearance, marked down from $17.99 to $9.99, which isn't bad for character items.  But wait...there's more.  When I went to check out they rang up for $4.99.  Can't beat that with a stick!

After we got home, I got a text from Lacy.  The three of us had been planning on getting together and taking the kids to a circus that was in town this weekend, but she said they had read some reviews about it and the general consensus was that it wasn't all that great.  So, we ended up going to a little zoo about 20 minutes away instead.  I have since heard from others who went to the circus that it was a blast, but we ended up having a lot of fun at the zoo so it's all good.

I actually cooked dinner tonight too...wow!!  I made cheeseburger biscuit bake tonight.  It was really good, and no one died from having to eat my cooking...lol.

And on that note, I'm going to hit the sack.  Good night, and goodbye til day 61!!

Day 58

Today was a good day.  I got Gabe off to the bus, then I came back home and putzed around til the commissary was open.  I went and bought lots of food for a cookout we're having at Brian and Lacy's house tomorrow.  When I got home I baked up some cookies (Cinnabon sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies...yum!), after which I spent a while sitting on the back porch talking to Lacy.

Gabe went to a L.I.N.K.S. for Kids workshop this evening (for those who don't know, L.I.N.K.S. stands for Lifestyles, Insights, Networking, Knowledge, Skills...it's basically kind of like Marine Corps 101).  Here is a shot I took of all the kids with their ceritifcates (and Gumby...lol):

He wasn't sure about going (especially since he was the first one to arrive, and he was worried he'd be the only kid there), but he ended up having an absolute blast.  Taryn's doing the L.I.N.K.S. for Tweens workshop in a couple weeks; he's hoping she has as much fun as Gabe did.

And on that note, I'm off to bed.  See everyone on day 59!!

Day 59

Today was a fun day.  We hung out around the house most of the morning, and I continued in my quest to get the amount of stuff on my DVR down to manageable proportions.  I've got it down to 80%, but every time I set something to record the DVR tells me my available space is limited.  Guess I'll work on that some more tomorrow.

I got to talk to Ben for about an hour this afternoon, and that totally made my day.  The last care package I sent him had a suction cup dart gun in it, and they've apparently been having a blast with it - so much so that he said I need to send more.  On a good note, that particular package only took ten days to get to him - much better than the two to three weeks they were taking.

Once I got off the phone, we went to Brian and Lacy's house to hang out.  I took food over, Brian grilled (sausage and hot dogs...yum!), and we just had a good time.  We played cards for a while (Monopoly Deal - cool game!!).  Then we got silly and started playing with the cameras on our cell phones.  I don't even remember how that whole thing got started, but here's one of the resulting pictures:

Yes, that's right...I took a picture of my neighbors taking pictures of each other taking pictures...lol.  To make it even more confusing, Taryn said she took a picture of me taking a picture of my neighbors taking pictures of each other taking pictures...lol.  All in all, it was nice to hang out with adults.

And with all that said, I'm outta here for the night.  Til day 60...

Day 57

Not a whole lot to talk about today, as usual.  The days are all kind of a blur at this point...I just wish they'd blur a little faster.  On the good side, we hit eight weeks today.  My donut (Donut Post) is around 15.5%; better than it was back on day 11, but still a little too far from 100%.  Oh well...we'll get there soon enough, I suppose.  I did go next door for a little bit so Lacy and I could help keep each other occupied, then I came back home and cooked dinner (fish with mac and cheese...yum).

Today's picture is my little flower pots on my kitchen windowsill.  I planted them over the Easter weekend, and they just kind of took off.  I've decided they'll be a weekly photo series (kind of like the deployment chains) until they get too big for the pots and I have to find somewhere else to plant them.  Here they are this week...last week's picture is under this week's for comparison's sake:

That's all I really have for the day, so I'm headed off to bed.  Goodbye til day 58...

Day 56

I left the house for the second day in a row today; granted, I only went next door, but I think it still counts...lol.  I went over to watch the kids for a little while so Lacy could take her mom to the airport.  The kids are SO adorable.

Other than that, I spent most of the day trying not to crash and burn.  I called my mom last night, and we ended up being on the phone until 2:00am.  Yeah...my mom and I know how to talk (and talk, and talk).  It was nice to catch up, though.

It's Wednesday once again, so here's the weekly picture:

My mom gave me some ideas for how to hang the chains up, but I need to go out to the store and get the stuff to implement these ideas.  On that note, I'm going to go crash into my bed.  See everyone on day 57!

Day 55

I actually left the house today!!  I had a LINKS volunteer meeting this morning, so I got to interact with actual adults for a couple hours today.  Other than that, today was pretty much the same as any other day.  I got home from the meeting and putzed around on the computer.

When the kids got home from school, we took at trip out to Petsmart to get some flea stuff for the cats, and then wandered around Target for a while.  I decided to be nice, and I took the kids to Chick-fil-A for dinner.  I got a peach milkshake:

This was actually take two of the milkshake.  The first one ended up on the floor at the restaurant because of their poor cup design.  Unfortunately, the second one didn't taste nearly as peachy as the first one.  Since they were nice enough to replace the one I dropped on their floor, I can't complain too much. 

And that's pretty much all that happened today.  Until day 56....

Day 54

Spring break is over...yeah!!  Not that I begrudge the kids their time off school, but it's nice to have my routine back.  One of the neighbors from down the street and I usually walk home from the bus stop together; today we stopped at another neighbor's house to chat for a little while.  Once I got back home, I puttered around on the computer for a while.  I've been trying to clear some of the stuff I have amassed on my DVR.  It only holds so much, and it was at 82% full this morning.  If you can't tell, I haven't been spending a whole lot of time watching TV.

The good thing was that today seemed to absolutely fly by.  I'm trying to figure out how I can get the next ten months to follow suit.  It was really nice outside, so I opened the windows - Harley was in heaven:

I want to start remembering to open the windows more now, before it starts getting too hot outside to do so.  I know that's coming soon, as we moved down here in July/August (Ben moved here in July...the kids and I followed in August, but Gabe and I came down to visit a couple times before then) and the heat and humidity was awful.

And on that happy note, I'm done blogging til day 55!

Day 53

Today brings the end of a long week, and the beginning of having my routine back.  And believe it or not, things actually happened today.

As some of you might remember from back on day 21, we did a great bed switch with our neighbors - they took Taryn's twin size bed, Taryn got our full size bed, and we got the neighbors' queen size bed.  Then Taryn went to her dad's house, where she discovered an old bed frame that used to belong to her cousin.  Her dad brought it here, only to discover that she couldn't use it because the frame needs slats and the frame she was using didn't have any.  She was at her dad's house this past week for spring break, so he brough wood to make slats with him when he brought her back.  Now she has her bed, but I think it might actually be a little taller than Gabe is...lol.

After all that, our neighbors were kind enough to invite us over for lunch, and we ended up spending all afternoon over there.  I love my kids, but it's really nice when I get a chance to hang out with adults.  I think I've said it before, but it's worth saying again...it's also really nice to have good neighbors.

And now, for the photo of the day:

Taryn's home (and looking totally enthused about it too...lol)!!  See everyone on day 54!!

Day 52

Happy Saturday!  Today was yet another lazy day at our house.  Gabe spent some time playing outside, and some time playing Wii.  I've been trying to catch up on the massive amount of stuff I have sitting on my DVR.  We ordered pizza for dinner (or as Gabe says, I cooked on the computer...lol).

After dinner, Brian came over for a little while.  Gabriel has been asking for him to come over for the past few days, so he finally obliged.  I think Gabe might have ended up regretting extending the invitation, as the first thing that happened was this:

I promise, no six year olds were harmed in the taking of that picture...lol.  After that, Gabe conned poor Brian into playing Wii for a while (ah, sweet revenge...lol).  Oh, what an exciting life I lead...sigh.

Good night, all!!  I shall return on day 53!

Day 51

Today started out rainy, windy and chilly, but it actually turned out to be a pretty nice day by the afternoon.  It's the last day of spring break; now I just have to get through the weekend, and I get my routine back for a while.  It's sad.  When I don't have Ben going to work and/or the kids going to school, I totally lose track of the days. 

Not much went on today, so my picture comes to you courtesy of Chiquita:

Those are a couple stickers I pulled off some bananas I bought recently.  I don't know when they started putting the little monkeys on their stickers, but I thought they were cute.  And now that we all know that I need to get a life, I'm out of here.  Til day 52...

Day 50

Not much to say today, as not much happened today.  I took a cute picture:

These are little plants I bought from the dollar bins at Target, and they're currently sitting on my kitchen windowsill.  Each pot has a different kind of plant in it - but since it didn't occur to me to label the pots as I was planting them, we'll have to wait til they bloom to figure out what they are.  One is marigolds that Gabe got in his Easter basket...the other two are plants I bought for myself a few months ago because I thought they were pretty.

Sadly enough, that's all I really have to write about today.  It's been a blah kind of day; the kind of day where Gabe and I spent a lot of time getting on each other's nerves, and all I want is a hug from my husband to make me feel better.  I can't complain too much - it's taken me almost two months to have one of these days.

In any case, I shall return (and hopefully be in a better mood) on day 51.

Day 49

Another slow, lazy day in our house.  Gabe spent a lot of time outside playing.  I did get a little exercise; we walked up to Taryn's school to drop off a copy of the lease to prove we still live on base, and to pick up some paperwork that they were trying to mail to our first on-base address.  Well, I walked...Gabe scootered...lol.

Other than that, today was pretty much same old, same old.  It's Wednesday, which means it's time for the weekly deployment chain picture:

It's current location is a temporary measure, til I figure out how I want to hang it up.  For a little bit of a size reference, the outside of the frame is about 14x18.  For anyone who's wondering, Taryn has been at her dad's house for spring break since Saturday, so that's why her chain isn't in the picture.  It'll be back next week after she gets home and adds all the links for this week.

And now, in the famous words of Porky Pig, th-th-th-th-that's all folks!  I'll be back on day 50!

Day 48

Today was another one of those days where there just isn't really much to talk about.  I got to talk to Ben for a little while this afternoon, and that was pretty much the highlight of my day.

Gabe spent a lot of time outside playing, since the weather's been so nice.  I like that there are lots of kids around here to play with, but I wish they were a little more mannerly.  The neighbors right across the street from us have four kids; a couple of them have absolutely no issues with wandering into any door that might be open...the garage, the front door, the screened porch, whatever.  The oldest one went into our garage and tried to take my bike out the other day; karma got him, and he fell before he got even a quarter of the way down the driveway.  His sister is just as bad about wandering into places, and she's one of those kids that likes to repeat things over and over and over and over.  I just wish people would teach their kids more respect and manners.

Other than that, we just have a lot of 'same old, same old' going on.  Today's picture was taken as Gabe and Daddy were bedding down for the night:

His daddy doll has a voice recorder in it; Ben recorded the little blurb we always say to Gabe when we tuck him in, so he gets to have 'Daddy' say goodnight every night.

That's all for tonight, folks...catch you on day 49!!