Priorities

There are no condiments on my walls, furniture, fl...

2007-06-03T15:22:00.000-10:00

There are no condiments on my walls, furniture, floors. There are no broken bones, bruises or bloody noses. No electronic equipment ate any of my children, nor did the children eat anything non-toxic or otherwise. What did happen is remarkable.
The movie, Stranger than Fiction with Will Ferrel. I watched it. The sun was still out. All 3 children were awake. I watched it without having to pause it. Really. I sat 2 feet away from the television, ready to hit pause (Sean has a thing for remotes, so we hid them all) if a child needed rescuing or who knows what.
So, kids- perfectly content- with THEIR TV OFF! mind you. No computers, no video games, no television. Just playing with each other, getting along, putting together Mr. Mrs. Potatoe Heads. Building lincoln logs, legos...
Sean would come out every 5 minutes and sit in my lap. He babbles on about what the kids are up to in his unintelligible way. A smile and off he is running across the kitchen again to get back to Juliet and Colin.
No snack requests, no drink requests, no pulling chairs to climb onto this or that to grab things they werent allowed to have.
Now, if you have never met my children- this post may not make any sense to you.
I need to write the date down. I watched a movie, with children awake. I cant tell you the last non animated movie I have watched. I am overjoyed.
Ok, so good noodles. I have 4 good noodle stickers (shiny sparkly star stickers) for Juliet each day. First sticker, sleeping in her bedroom all night. Second sticker, getting dressed (alone) and brushing teeth (assisted). Third sticker- General listening and behaviour. Picking up toys, listening without leading me to yell, normal stuff. Fourth sticker is going to bed the right way. Two nights in a row, She loves those damn stickers. Colin on the other hand, just wants a star sticker to place in the center of his palm so he can stick his hand out and say "Hi! Im a doodlebop!".
We drove to Juliets school today. Not her kindergarten, but the summer program. Its half an hour away, but seems nice enough. Afterwards we took the kids to McDonalds with a playground. All 3 kids enjoyed themselves.

I don't blog much these days. Tonight all of the ...

2006-12-20T15:04:00.000-10:00

I don't blog much these days. Tonight all of the kids were asleep by 7:30. Rare treat.
Work is good. Can't say much else, as my web address is linked here and don't want to say anything stupid. I enjoy going to work though. I miss my kids some days, but most days I enjoy getting out.
Christmas time is here. Juliet is easy to manipulate these days with Santa threats.. Colin is just a happy little guy that likes to sing carols, and Sean- well he's just good natured all the time regardless. Im on the hunt for a digital camcorder this evening, so this post will be brief.
Hubby is doing ok, misses us like crazy- as we him- but I think he is doing ok. Seems upbeat most days and in good spirits. Love him miss him dearly.
Im very bah-humbug this season though. Should be in a better mood, but hasnt set in yet that in a week I get to take my tree back down lol. Oh well, back to online pricing of camcorders!

Juliet stuck an apple seed in her ear canal today....

2006-04-20T01:59:00.000-10:00

Juliet stuck an apple seed in her ear canal today. Mom and I tried to suck it out with a nasal aspirator, but failed. Took her to see her pediatrician for the first time since moving home- he was able to get it out fast thankfully. He had me worried though. He showed me a model of an ear and where it was stuck- told me he didnt have all the tools that an ear nose throat doctor would have- but that he would give it a shot. I love that man! He really made a stressful situation dissipate in moments. Juliet was rewarded for her model behavior with a sundae from McDonalds.

Now I need to lie down as the contractions are back! One more week, just one more week!

I see my OB today, and pre-register at the hospita...

2006-04-10T01:58:00.000-10:00

I see my OB today, and pre-register at the hospital afterwards. I am 36 weeks pregnant as of yesterday.
Kids are doing good. Juliet and Colin have been going to bed at the same time which makes bedtime much more possible. No crying or fussing, just sleeping- Colin sure doesn’t like to be in the room by himself. Im tired though, waking up at 7am isn’t as much fun as Colin makes it out to be.

It’s been a rough couple of days with the kids. Fi...

2006-04-08T01:58:00.000-10:00

It’s been a rough couple of days with the kids. Fits and boredom- lately they really have perfected the art of ignoring things I say to them.

My Mother and my father talked about me, wondering how I will handle 3 kids when the two I have right now are so difficult. She cleans the house for me (I pay her) and I think hubby wants me to ask her to spend more time with the kids and less time cleaning- It will be easier to hire a new cleaning person than to hire help with the kids.
She also wanted to know how on earth I intended on breastfeeding baby number 3, with the other 2 running around the house reaking havoc. Hopefully Juliet will do well in summer camp, and maybe she’ll end up going full day from time to time, to give me a break around here. I really need to get over my fear of her in group settings without me there to supervise. I wont be able to go to school with her ya know, might as well work on that separation thing while they are still little.

Baby update- 2cm’s dilated, 50% effaced, 3rd stati...

2006-04-18T01:59:00.000-10:00

Baby update- 2cm’s dilated, 50% effaced, 3rd station. Moved c-section to Thursday instead of next Friday- one day sooner. Now I need to call dr. office if my contractions are 5 minutes apart. I live 30 minutes from the hospital. Baffles me. The reason I am having the c-section is so my body wont labor. Allowing the baby to “engage” and for me to have productive contractions can do harm to my repair work just as much as pushing the baby through the birth canal…oh well.
Its 7:30. Im heading to bed at 8pm. Gotta sleep while I can!

Contractions are a pain. I am 37 weeks today. Plen...

2006-04-17T01:59:00.000-10:00

Contractions are a pain. I am 37 weeks today. Plenty of contractions, doctor appt. in the am. Hopefully I am not dilated or effaced or anything like that- Id hate to have the baby sooner than we arranged. 12 days till baby, 10 days till hubster arrives.
We didn’t have Easter today, its delayed till hubby gets here. Mom made me a meatloaf, I made mashed potatoes- Boy do I miss how great she cooks. I try everything I can to make my food taste like hers- Im mediocre!
Colin got sick this afternoon. Makes me super happy I bought that carpet cleaner yesterday. Thinking it was his McD’s sausage for breakfast, as his Gpa got sick too and had the same thing.
Ready to be unpregnant, but still enjoying at least a bit of sleep at night time. Not looking forward to night feedings and all that jazz. Oh well, at least I will lose some of the backpain I have now.
I need to remember to update the Army on where I am living now. Many of the letters I get in the mail I need to give updated addresses to. Slacker!

Boy, yesterday was so much of a better day! We wok...

2006-04-04T01:58:00.000-10:00

Boy, yesterday was so much of a better day! We woke up well, played outside, played inside- Later the kids both had baths, then to bed at 7. Bedtime took 45 minutes, which was better than the full hour the night before. I hope today goes as well as yesterday did.
The homeowner told me I could put a fence up before I moved in, so long as I left the fence after I moved out. After some negotiations about the type of fence, in which I lost, it was decided that I would put up a vinyl picket fence. Lowe’s has good pricing right now, still need to check home depot. Guess it’ll be a project hubby does when he comes home for the birth of the baby.
She is coming over to discuss dimensions today, hopefully not an enormous amount of land to fence.

Life is adjusting I guess. The kids had started to...

2006-04-03T01:57:00.000-10:00

Life is adjusting I guess. The kids had started to establish a schedule, but that got altered when daylight savings time took place. It is now light and bright outside instead of darkening when they head to bed at 7pm. Last night was the first night, it went awful. Colin has been asking for D a d d y all morning. Thankfully MeeMa came by and changed his train of thought to balloons. My landlady stopped by and found that the sprinkler system is turned off- and it has been for as long as we’ve been living here. The grass is a bit brown, not my fault at least- I didn’t even know where the on/off switch was.
The baby’s room is coming together. We bought a high chair and a bassinet this weekend at a yard sale. We still need an exersaucer and a pack and play.
I am 35 weeks yesterday. Very tired, very pregnant. Having braxton hicks often now, not fun at all!
This weekend was full of company. In laws came for Pizza Friday night, I dont remember much of Saturday except that the morning was spent driving around town looking for an open hardware store and at yard sales.
Yesterday my brother and his family came to visit. They live pretty far away, which is good because my kids were monsters because of all the activity.
So, today is for relaxing. I went shopping after I put the kids to bed, so I dont need any store supplies for several days hopefully. I need some good quiet time for the kids after a very busy weekend.

I do not have gestational diabetes! And my other b...

2006-03-16T01:57:00.000-10:00

I do not have gestational diabetes! And my other blood work came back just fine Bad news is that the doctor that I saw this morning has a very busy schedule, and has not promised to write my ERD letter in a timely fashion. Makes me wonder if I should just make another appointment to see an alternate doctor…grr.
Im very tired. Im 32 weeks pregnant now. The house emptying is going very well. Our bed leaves tomorrow, the couches on Friday (although Id prefer they left tomorrow too), and we need to load boxes of kitchen items to bring to the thrift store still.
I am making a diligent effort to keep my feet elevated more. Many of my aches and pains are treatable, Just by relaxing more than I have allowed myself to. Elevating my feet feels so good! The kids are eating dinner, while I sit on the couch typing and having my feet propped up on pillows. Our washer and dryer are getting looked at tonight for possible purchase. They should leave this weekend. We are paying housing to clean the house, So we have minimal work to do here.
Well, need to go wrap up some dishes.

First, our ERD was approved :) Now to my purpose ...

2006-03-30T11:31:00.000-10:00

First, our ERD was approved :)

Now to my purpose of blogging today. Its only been 5 minutes, but im still a little bit Mommish. We have neighbors with a 5 year old little girl. This child has lived next door for the last 9 months, with no children her age to play with. Her Mother introduced their family to us, and was ecstatic that her child would now have a playmate. Nice people, husband is in the FBI- makes me feel safe that they live so close :)
Anyhow, the girls played outside briefly a couple days ago. Today, Mom and daughter rang the doorbell- invited Juliet over to play and have dinner. Whoa. Poor Colin right? No- She brought over a bin of large size lego's that make up a train station, so he is on cloud 9 playing alone.
Me, im a little different.
Juliet has been so bored today, I am glad she is getting to play- but even though they are right next door, Its a new experience for me. Our kids have never really played with neighborhood kids. Its just Juliet and Colin, they play together, the day goes by. Now, She is playing at a friends house. Somethiing new. Its so quiet! I hope I start to feel better about it soon, I just get so nervous about how she will act when I am not around. I know I should be grateful for the rest, being nearly 35 weeks pregnant and all. But with Hubby having left this morning for a month back to Hawaii, Im just missing Juliet a bit- even though it has only been 5 minutes.

This weekend was awesome! Saterday my friends thre...

2006-03-06T08:31:00.000-10:00

This weekend was awesome! Saterday my friends threw me a surprise baby shower/going away party! It was such a surprise, I started sobbing when I walked in the door. I’ve never been surprised ever before- so it really caught me off guard. Im going to miss everyone so much!!
Juliet had her appointment at Keiki Kuts yesterday. Im really glad we did it! Im going to miss that place when we leave here. She has so much hair- its right above her shoulders now. Hopefully it will be more manageable now.
Hopefully we’ll have ERD response soon. We have 14 days left in paradise. Not sure i’ll have time to get to the beach yet. I wonder if hubby would be ok with spending the night at the beach this weekend in a cabin? We’ll see.

Day 3 of antibiotics and all is well! Juliet doesn...

2006-02-06T12:09:00.000-10:00

Day 3 of antibiotics and all is well! Juliet doesn’t enjoy it, but she is taking the medicine, albeit disguised in milk. I am happy to say that with the exception of a runny nose, Juliet is very healthy in appearance! Since Thursday night, she has not once complained of any ear pain, and she has been fever free since midnight of Friday.I needed her to get better, Life is hard enough when your spouse is away and you take full childcare responsibility on- Her being sick was just negative icing on the cake. Colin doesnt seem to be getting ill, so lets hope it stays that way.

Juliet is on the road to recovery, almost a full w...

2006-02-09T12:09:00.000-10:00

Juliet is on the road to recovery, almost a full week on antibiotics and I believe she’s better. Colin never did get sick, Very happy about that. We have been enjoying the fresh air and beautiful weather this week. My kids are in bed no later than 6:45 or so, as soon as it starts to get dark- And it really helps them fall asleep fast if we spend at least an hour or two in the back yard before dinner. Fresh air makes them sleepy I guess!We had to pull out long sleeves and pants yesterday. It was 70 outside, and although it may seem warm to most- when your accustomed to warmer weather, it was quite chilly.
We have decided to attempt an ERD (Early Return of Dependents) from Hawaii. Although we have made alternate arrangements to leave the island, Being that we have no intentions of returning here, it only makes sense to give it a try. We’ll see!

We ordered pizza tonight, Didn’t have any desire t...

2006-02-12T12:09:00.000-10:00

We ordered pizza tonight, Didn’t have any desire to cook. It’s been such an eventful day! Before lunch, I was incredibly ill- very nauseous and short of breath. It passed and I was able to get an awful lot done today, despite my mothers pleas to take it easy today.Im 28 weeks pregnant now. I look like I have a basketball under my shirt.I broke down Juliet’s bed, leaving the boxspring and the mattress on the floor. I took everything off the walls, the blinds off of the windows, and cleaned her walls. I also vaccummed 4 times, I just love to see the dirt leave the floor and get into the cannister!

Yay for husbands coming home! Now the work begins....

2006-02-16T12:08:00.000-10:00

Yay for husbands coming home! Now the work begins. Yard sale on Sat- Followed by Curious George. Sunday I have an outting, so that kinda makes that whole day go away-We have to get in to see the Chaplain, call my doctor again, get some paperwork rolling. Clean the house, prepare to move, AH! One month from now, ONE MONTH!I’ve almost finished washing all the downstairs floors and waxing them, still some areas that hubby will have to do, I seriously dont see him letting me wash floors on my hands and knees at 28 weeks along!Wish me luck that things go smoothly, we have a lot to do – and not a lot of time!

When I am frustrated or stressed, I read blogs. Th...

2006-01-07T17:36:00.000-10:00

When I am frustrated or stressed, I read blogs. There are maybe 5 or so that I read regularly. I like knowing that my children are not the only hard to handle children. I like to live vicariously through those that are having a phenomenal day while mine was shot to hell. I think of it as akin to soap operas, except with more kids and less sex.Hubby is marinating steaks for tomorrow. He is participating in a chili cook off with his unit. He has never prepared fresh chili before, let alone 5 gallons of it, however he cooks fairly well and I have faith he’ll pull it off swimmingly. There are teams of 5, one head cook (hubby) and lots of beer (I mean chili!)- We’ll stay home and root his team on in our minds, while we play with our wooden trains and dig in the sandbox.The dog is evil. Ohhhh I wondered out loud today while briskly walking all over kingdom come to catch the demon that escaped from the laundry room door. We have special locks installed to keep the dog in- but I was on the carport chit chatting with my neighbor and Juliet decided it would be fun to let the monster run free- Go Monty, have fun.If it werent for my neighbor being outdoors, willingly making sure my children didnt run into oncoming traffic, I wouldn’t have gone after the dog. My balance isnt that great (pregnancy) and he just plain is pissing me off by running away. He ran out the door, down the street- about 2 blocks I think. Then when I get there, he runs back to our house. Then he ran next door, and back across the street to this large field we have by the front gate. There he runs back and forth, He’s a hunting dog and loves smells…I hate him. So, he finally has a moment of weekness and has to pee- thats when I was able to grab him. Did I mention that I hate him yet?It was really the most exercise I have gotten in a very long time- did NOT feel good.Gotta run, Needed in the kitchen to marinate.

Both kids are sick, its crummy. Yesterday, Juliet ...

2006-01-09T17:35:00.000-10:00

Both kids are sick, its crummy. Yesterday, Juliet woke up hot- never getting more than 101 though. Her fever seemed to go away in the afternoon, but it came back full force last night. We kept her awake with us till 9, and then took her to bed with us so we could keep a good eye on her. At 4am I had to give her more tylenol, but when she woke up the fever was gone. I am keeping her on the tylenol today just in case, I dont need both kids having fevers at the same time.Colin woke up hot today, same thing though, nothing higher than 101. He is lethargic and moody- doesnt want to eat or drink anything, even tylenol. Had to give him suppositories of tylenol just like we did Juliet yesterday- at least they cant vomit that back at us. He seems to have gotten a little happier, its noon. Lets see what the rest of the day holds for us.

The kids are still sick. We just came home from ge...

2006-01-11T17:35:00.000-10:00

The kids are still sick. We just came home from getting throat cultures done, Looking forward to healthy days ahead- too tired from being up the last several nights to type much more.Make them well!!

I think we are healthy again! No fevers for almost...

2006-01-12T17:35:00.000-10:00

I think we are healthy again! No fevers for almost 2 full days. Juliet still has a rough cough, she got sick last night from coughing so much, but other than that- YAY! Just in time for a 4 day weekend!

It’s been busy, so I havent’ posted. We found a ho...

2006-01-20T17:34:00.000-10:00

It’s been busy, so I havent’ posted. We found a home to rent! We are moving mid March back to Florida. Hubby will help us get settled, then go to NTC, then take block leave with us in Florida before heading back to Hawaii for his trip to the middle east. Things are all falling into place! I still have a plethera of questions that need answering, hopefully i’ll get those answers tomorrow.We are all healthy, Baby is growing well- and all these short work weeks are making for a very happy me!

My husband says I am sick because of stress. Findi...

2006-01-26T17:34:00.000-10:00

My husband says I am sick because of stress. Finding a home to rent, buying airfare, preparing our home- I guess it all finally got to me. I have a fever, a runny nose, a cough- Im miserable. I need to feel better!

Not that you need a moment by moment recap of my h...

2006-01-27T17:34:00.000-10:00

Not that you need a moment by moment recap of my health- but im still really sick. Fever went down, but it goes up at night. Im almost halfway through a giant box of tissues- my head hurts, chest hurts, sinuses hurt- Im a big whiny baby.No longer moving into that great 2 bedroom- instead am getting a roomate and finding a bigger house. Enlisting hubby in the househunting, I dont have the voice or the energy- but at least we have the money.Gotta feel better tomorrow

Im on the tail end of bronchitis- just the annoyin...

2006-02-01T17:33:00.000-10:00

Im on the tail end of bronchitis- just the annoying cough part, nothing to worry about me getting you sick or anything. Juliet on the other hand is still a walking germ, Fighting the fever- runny nose- cough, poor thing is having a rough time of it. Colin has managed to stay healthy, Lets hope it keeps on!Today was incredibly boring. I dont want the kids spending too much time outside because she gets tired so fast from being sick, so we have lots of tv time. Tv time doesnt make kids tired when bedtime comes. Both kids were harder to put to bed tonight. Hubby will be sad to hear that Colin wouldn’t allow me to sing Itsy Bitsy to him tonight He just kinda kicked me out of the room. Juliet took an hour and a half of tossing and turning and talking out loud to fall asleep, and then only because she assumed I had fallen asleep right beside her.Things have all fallen together. The lease is signed, the plane tickets purchased, and bedroom assignments are the last thing to be mapped out. I feel a huge weight off of my shoulders.Heading to bed, still love my sleep!!

After thinking Juliet was healthy, we spent 2 hour...

2006-02-03T17:33:00.000-10:00

After thinking Juliet was healthy, we spent 2 hours awake last night talking about how her ear hurt. I can deal with a cough or fever, but mention ear pain and a red flag goes up. I made a same day appointment and had her in to see her PCM. Today could NOT have gone any better than it did. No problem getting through to the appointment line, No problem finding parking, Kids that behaved like angels while waiting and seeing the doctor, no line at the pharmacy- and they both fell asleep in the car on the way home! Its the first time I have gone out since dh left on Monday, it was awesome! Believe you me, I was braced for an awful time!Problem is, Juliet now has an ear infection- a pretty hideous one. She has to take both motrin (fever) and amoxacillin (sp?), an the only way i’ve gotten her to do this is with milk. Poor kid is going to sense that im up to no good soon, because this milk thing is going to get old.Please keep Colin healthy!