Is it sad that I don't even know how many deployments Jack and I have been through? I think it's 5, but do you count the half of one he did that was 3 months or so? Air force counts a deployment as 3 months, but Jack doesn't count that one, so I don't know.
Anyway, Jack has volunteered for a deployment to Germany that starts in May… well, the training starts in May. He leaves for Germany later June. He volunteered because there was an IA hanging over the squadrons head and the skipper was going to make his selection on who was gonna go until it actually arrived and then if he was chosen, he'd have no choice in the matter. It would most likely be on the ground in a war zone. We decided to take control over our fate and volunteer for something much less dangerous and maybe even quite enjoyable. The kids and I plan to go visit for the summer for a few weeks or a month or whatever we decide. It will be a great experience for them.
I, obviously, have some anxiety about 9 months of doing it all on my own over here, but thankfully we didn't decide to move and I have my family here to help, so it could be worse!
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Sunday, February 1, 2015
We made our first trip to the ER
Well, after nearly 9 years of having children, we finally had to make our first trip to the ER. UGH! It was not fun.
I have a cold and Becca managed to get into my mucinex. When I found her she had an empty bottle of mucinex all over her and the counter and I'm not sure how much she ingested. It was a full bottle. I called poison control and since I couldn't say how much she had, they had me go to the ER. Of course, Jack was not home. I frantically got the boys out of the tub and we rushed to the hospital. No blankets, no diapers, no phone charger for my dead phone. Totally unprepared.
Thankfully, we didn't have to wait at all and they pulled us right back. Unfortunately, Becca had to have a whole cup of liquid charcoal and 4 hours of observation after that before we could leave. She spit out the charcoal immediately and I thought, "oh man! This is gonna be hard!" They took the drink back and loaded it with TONS of chocolate syrup. That did the trick but after a bit of the drink she realized the trick and just wouldn't drink anymore. I gave up. They never said anything so thank goodness I didn't have to force that drink down her throat. She's pretty set in her ways, so I have a feeling that wouldn't have gone well at all.
We got home at 12:30am and I didn't sleep until all the cleaning supplies and meds were far, far, far out of her reach. I'm very much looking forward to her being a bit more mature to understand the dangers of some things in this house!
I have a cold and Becca managed to get into my mucinex. When I found her she had an empty bottle of mucinex all over her and the counter and I'm not sure how much she ingested. It was a full bottle. I called poison control and since I couldn't say how much she had, they had me go to the ER. Of course, Jack was not home. I frantically got the boys out of the tub and we rushed to the hospital. No blankets, no diapers, no phone charger for my dead phone. Totally unprepared.
Thankfully, we didn't have to wait at all and they pulled us right back. Unfortunately, Becca had to have a whole cup of liquid charcoal and 4 hours of observation after that before we could leave. She spit out the charcoal immediately and I thought, "oh man! This is gonna be hard!" They took the drink back and loaded it with TONS of chocolate syrup. That did the trick but after a bit of the drink she realized the trick and just wouldn't drink anymore. I gave up. They never said anything so thank goodness I didn't have to force that drink down her throat. She's pretty set in her ways, so I have a feeling that wouldn't have gone well at all.
We got home at 12:30am and I didn't sleep until all the cleaning supplies and meds were far, far, far out of her reach. I'm very much looking forward to her being a bit more mature to understand the dangers of some things in this house!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Tre gets his brown belt
Tre joined karate when he turned 4 and worked all the way through the "little gator" belts (white, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and camouflage). Then he was old enough for "official" belts and worked his way through white, yellow, orange, green, and purple. On Saturday he tested for brown. It's his last test before his black belt test. He was super nervous about this test because it required him to spar for 4 minutes straight with a new black belt each minute. I know that doesn't sound long, but it was and he was exhausted. Sensai warned me that moms normally have a hard time watching and usually leave in tears. He wasn't wrong. I cried when I saw my baby sparring and crying his way through it. It exhausted him. When the minutes were over, he thought he was done but then Sensai wanted him to kick the black belt in the head (there were pads). At that point he was too tired to get his foot that high so it took him about 45 more seconds to do it. By the time it was done he was emotional and his face was flushed with exhaustion. I have never been more proud of him. It was a challenging test and our boy stayed on his feet and he never quit. I love this kid. He has a lot to be proud of.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Happy 2015
Well, we had a very Merry Christmas and a great New year too! 2014 was very good to us, with the biggest accomplishment being that Jack finally got his dream job (second only to his Navy dream job) and works for the airlines. Unfortunately, he's low man on the totem pole, so he missed Christmas and New Years, so that was a bummer, but I must admit, that i am so proud of our children and how well they adjust to him being gone so much, and especially on important days. We parents worry about them so much, and then it seems like they never give it a second thought. Thankfully, I think daddy's work schedule is just a way of life for them and something to be proud of and not something to be sad about. The kids got more than they needed for Christmas and we got to spend the day with my parents, sisters, nieces and nephews so that is aways fun.
Tre got a kindle and a xbox game he really wanted. He loves to read and informed me the other day that after he's a Navy Pilot and retires from the airlines, he wants to be a librarian and own lots of different libraries. He is his father's son.
William got a bike and another xbox game that he really wanted. He was slightly jealous of the kindle, but got over it quickly with all his goodies.
Becca got a kitchen and she is in LOVE with playing with it. I love to watch her mimic my role as a mom!
New years was spent at my house and my brother-in-law cooked chili. Then we walked down to my sisters and did fireworks. Becca loved them, which was a surprise because she hated them last year. After she hit a wall, not literally, we came home, put her to bed and hung out with our across the street neighbors. I got in bed at 11:45. Jack was in El Paso, so my motivation to stay out in the cold to see midnight was small. We usually sit in the hot tub to bring in the new year and talk about how the year went and how we think the next year will go. Usually we say, maybe this year you'll get hired by the airlines. It's exciting to think that now we don't have to worry about that and can just look forward to the pay increases every year! HAH!
Nothing new is going on here, though. The main focus right now is potty training Becca and working on William's behavior. We tried to train becca a few months ago and she did a great job, but she never ever asked to go. It was constant reminding so mommy got tired and decided to try again when she turned 2. The Christmas break was the perfect time to start anew. It's been a week and a half and she is doing fabulous and actually asks to go. Unfortunately, we are struggling a bit with the poop, but hopefully we will get there soon. I am anxious to see how she does when she goes back to MDO.
About William, all the kids seem to go through their "season" and william is going through his right now. We are working on 4 things: not whining and complaining, not talking back, eating what is made for dinner, and cleaning up after himself.
Until next time...
Tre got a kindle and a xbox game he really wanted. He loves to read and informed me the other day that after he's a Navy Pilot and retires from the airlines, he wants to be a librarian and own lots of different libraries. He is his father's son.
William got a bike and another xbox game that he really wanted. He was slightly jealous of the kindle, but got over it quickly with all his goodies.
Becca got a kitchen and she is in LOVE with playing with it. I love to watch her mimic my role as a mom!
New years was spent at my house and my brother-in-law cooked chili. Then we walked down to my sisters and did fireworks. Becca loved them, which was a surprise because she hated them last year. After she hit a wall, not literally, we came home, put her to bed and hung out with our across the street neighbors. I got in bed at 11:45. Jack was in El Paso, so my motivation to stay out in the cold to see midnight was small. We usually sit in the hot tub to bring in the new year and talk about how the year went and how we think the next year will go. Usually we say, maybe this year you'll get hired by the airlines. It's exciting to think that now we don't have to worry about that and can just look forward to the pay increases every year! HAH!
Nothing new is going on here, though. The main focus right now is potty training Becca and working on William's behavior. We tried to train becca a few months ago and she did a great job, but she never ever asked to go. It was constant reminding so mommy got tired and decided to try again when she turned 2. The Christmas break was the perfect time to start anew. It's been a week and a half and she is doing fabulous and actually asks to go. Unfortunately, we are struggling a bit with the poop, but hopefully we will get there soon. I am anxious to see how she does when she goes back to MDO.
About William, all the kids seem to go through their "season" and william is going through his right now. We are working on 4 things: not whining and complaining, not talking back, eating what is made for dinner, and cleaning up after himself.
Until next time...
Monday, December 22, 2014
So bad at this!
Wow! Has it been over a year since I wrote on this thing!? Believe it or not, I actually check my blog page daily. It's not because I check MY actual blog, but because I check the blogs I actually follow. The ones I love the most are from friends that write about every day life… nothing special, but totally relatable, you know. Sometimes, I feel with Facebook, that it's a waste of my time to update my blog, but then I LOVE going back and reading older posts. I might make it a new years resolution to keep posting on this. Maybe not daily, or even weekly, but maybe once or twice a month!?! We shall see!
Lots has happened since I posted last.
Tre: Tre is in 3rd grade and an AVID reader. He is completely OBSESSED with harry potter and is on the 6th book. His original goal when entering 3rd grade was to finish the first two books! He sure did blow that out of the water. We are now in search of a new series that he might be excited about. I want this reading thing to continue. I never learned to love to read and it sure did show on my ACT scores. HAHA!
Tre is also in karate and is a purple belt. He should be testing for his brown belt soon, but apparently this test is very challenging with a 6 minute non-stop sparring round with 6 different black belts. He has a lot of anxiety about it, but he will do just fine. He's grown so much in karate since he first started. He also loves baseball and the other day his cousin told him that he's a good receiver so now he wants to start flag football.
William: William is in first grade and doesn't really like school too much but he's very smart. He is already reading on a 3rd grade level and flies through his math work. The only problem is getting him to sit down and do it! He's my "slow" child and is in no hurry to get anything done.
He's also in karate and just recently got his yellow belt. He enjoys it and is looking forward to advancing even more because he loves the idea of contact sparring, unlike his brother. He also plays baseball and seems to like it, although, he's moved on from t-ball and is somewhat overwhelmed by the thought of the pitching machine. We signed him up for fall ball as an introduction and he actually got some hits. I think he will do well.
Becca: Becca is a sweetie pie and a total stinker, depending on the day. She is into ALL things girl and I have learned that is totally innate. We have started to potty train her and Jack got her batman panties and she is not a fan. I went back and got her princesses and she's much more excited about those. We tried to potty train a while back and that was fairly successful, but she never got in the habit of asking to go and after going to the beach for a week, mommy fell out of the habit to remind her, so now we are starting over again. Since we have two weeks off for Christmas, now is as good of a time as any. Today she had two accidents, but I'll call that a success.
She is in mother's day out at St. Mary's and she loves it. So do I. I use that time to play, tennis, run, grocery shop, clean, or go to lunch with Jack if he is in town.
Speaking of:
Jack: Since I wrote last, Jack was hired by Southwest Airlines and is a first officer based out of houston. So now he drills with the Navy a minimum of 10 days a month in New Orleans, or wherever they send him, and spends the rest of the time flying all over the country with Southwest. We waited a long time to be hired by a major airline and are thrilled we finally don't have to say "maybe this year" when we spend our new years eve in the hot tub talking about how the year went and how the next year will go! Now we can just say "I can't wait for second year pay!" HAHA! The pay in the first year is really bad. Thankfully, it's a steep increase every year for the first few years, so we don't have to wait too long! We talk often about moving closer to his base or to Dallas (he'd change his base) but I think we are waiting for his retirement in the Navy first since he'll still be gone a lot while he serves and I have family support here and I wouldn't in Texas. Still, it's in the back of our minds all of the time.
Sarah: Well, I still stay at home, but consider myself a "married, single mom" on most days. Jack is only in town a few days a month, leading me to do all things karate, boy scouts, homework, potty work, etc. Some days I am completely and totally exhausted and other days I feel like it's a piece of cake. I am thankful that I have family as a back up. My mom helps a ton with the kids, my dad helps around the house (i.e. a mouse in the house last week), my sister and I are neighbors and car pool lots, etc. This year Jack won't be home for christmas so allison, my other sister, is sleeping over and helping me with that.
I guess that's all for now! Hopefully next time I write, I can say that becca is totally potty trained but I'm not convinced!
Lots has happened since I posted last.
Tre: Tre is in 3rd grade and an AVID reader. He is completely OBSESSED with harry potter and is on the 6th book. His original goal when entering 3rd grade was to finish the first two books! He sure did blow that out of the water. We are now in search of a new series that he might be excited about. I want this reading thing to continue. I never learned to love to read and it sure did show on my ACT scores. HAHA!
Tre is also in karate and is a purple belt. He should be testing for his brown belt soon, but apparently this test is very challenging with a 6 minute non-stop sparring round with 6 different black belts. He has a lot of anxiety about it, but he will do just fine. He's grown so much in karate since he first started. He also loves baseball and the other day his cousin told him that he's a good receiver so now he wants to start flag football.
William: William is in first grade and doesn't really like school too much but he's very smart. He is already reading on a 3rd grade level and flies through his math work. The only problem is getting him to sit down and do it! He's my "slow" child and is in no hurry to get anything done.
He's also in karate and just recently got his yellow belt. He enjoys it and is looking forward to advancing even more because he loves the idea of contact sparring, unlike his brother. He also plays baseball and seems to like it, although, he's moved on from t-ball and is somewhat overwhelmed by the thought of the pitching machine. We signed him up for fall ball as an introduction and he actually got some hits. I think he will do well.
Becca: Becca is a sweetie pie and a total stinker, depending on the day. She is into ALL things girl and I have learned that is totally innate. We have started to potty train her and Jack got her batman panties and she is not a fan. I went back and got her princesses and she's much more excited about those. We tried to potty train a while back and that was fairly successful, but she never got in the habit of asking to go and after going to the beach for a week, mommy fell out of the habit to remind her, so now we are starting over again. Since we have two weeks off for Christmas, now is as good of a time as any. Today she had two accidents, but I'll call that a success.
She is in mother's day out at St. Mary's and she loves it. So do I. I use that time to play, tennis, run, grocery shop, clean, or go to lunch with Jack if he is in town.
Speaking of:
Jack: Since I wrote last, Jack was hired by Southwest Airlines and is a first officer based out of houston. So now he drills with the Navy a minimum of 10 days a month in New Orleans, or wherever they send him, and spends the rest of the time flying all over the country with Southwest. We waited a long time to be hired by a major airline and are thrilled we finally don't have to say "maybe this year" when we spend our new years eve in the hot tub talking about how the year went and how the next year will go! Now we can just say "I can't wait for second year pay!" HAHA! The pay in the first year is really bad. Thankfully, it's a steep increase every year for the first few years, so we don't have to wait too long! We talk often about moving closer to his base or to Dallas (he'd change his base) but I think we are waiting for his retirement in the Navy first since he'll still be gone a lot while he serves and I have family support here and I wouldn't in Texas. Still, it's in the back of our minds all of the time.
Sarah: Well, I still stay at home, but consider myself a "married, single mom" on most days. Jack is only in town a few days a month, leading me to do all things karate, boy scouts, homework, potty work, etc. Some days I am completely and totally exhausted and other days I feel like it's a piece of cake. I am thankful that I have family as a back up. My mom helps a ton with the kids, my dad helps around the house (i.e. a mouse in the house last week), my sister and I are neighbors and car pool lots, etc. This year Jack won't be home for christmas so allison, my other sister, is sleeping over and helping me with that.
I guess that's all for now! Hopefully next time I write, I can say that becca is totally potty trained but I'm not convinced!
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
It's a new school year!
Well, we met Tre's second grade teacher today. She is young and nice and organized. I told Jack on the way home that her classroom reminds me of the way I'd set up my own classroom, so that's always a good sign. I think Tre will like her.
Tomorrow is the first day for him. I decided to have him ride the bus home this year so that I don't have to wake Becca up from her nap. I have a LOT of anxiety about it, but am comforted to know that I can change my mind anytime I want. Plus, his cousins (Carter, Reese, and Grant) live in our neighborhood and will be on the same bus. I think that helps Tre feel a little better about it too. William? William can't wait, regardless of who is on that bus! I admit that I will feel WAY better when I see him get off of it for the first time tomorrow. The website says he will get home at 3:31. I'll be waiting at 3:20 just to be sure I don't miss him! HA!
Tomorrow is also kindergarten testing for William. He meets his teacher on Friday and his first day is next Tuesday. I will miss my love boy so much! I haven't been use to him going to all day school yet!
Tomorrow is the first day for him. I decided to have him ride the bus home this year so that I don't have to wake Becca up from her nap. I have a LOT of anxiety about it, but am comforted to know that I can change my mind anytime I want. Plus, his cousins (Carter, Reese, and Grant) live in our neighborhood and will be on the same bus. I think that helps Tre feel a little better about it too. William? William can't wait, regardless of who is on that bus! I admit that I will feel WAY better when I see him get off of it for the first time tomorrow. The website says he will get home at 3:31. I'll be waiting at 3:20 just to be sure I don't miss him! HA!
Tomorrow is also kindergarten testing for William. He meets his teacher on Friday and his first day is next Tuesday. I will miss my love boy so much! I haven't been use to him going to all day school yet!
Monday, July 15, 2013
Job change!
Change always scares me! The funny thing is that in the military you are always moving and changing. To me, though, that's comfortable change. You know you're going to like your job. You know you're going to make enough money to live a good life. It's predictable change.
When Jack got deployed last, I moved home with the kids and when he got back, we got out of active duty and he got hired by a Naval Academy grad, turned good friend (set him up and he eventually married my best childhood friend), to be a project manager for a marine construction company called Truston Technologies. That change was scary too. Although, I was getting to stay in my home town, I cried like a big baby about getting out of the military because I thought that was scary! I worried Jack wouldn't like his job and I worried that the pay cut would hurt! Then he got accepted in the the military reserves so he got the best of both worlds. He got to see what the civilian world was like and put his master's degree to use in project management and he also got to keep flying. It all worked out. Doesn't it always?
After two years, Jack's been thinking of changing his career path, and over the last few months things started to fall into place. Today, he let his boss/friend know that we are gonna go out on our own. Jack recently got two "part time" jobs consulting and he is hoping to do some part time work for Truston. He is also in the reserves and will continue to do that. Tomorrow he is meeting with a guy who owns a business that got his resume from a friend and we will see where that goes. It seems like the phone has been ringing a lot for Jack and that is exciting... but scary! I know that Jack is so so smart and such an asset to any company. I know it will all work out. It's still scary.
I think Jack's ultimate goal is to do the Navy Reserves until he retires in about 6 more years. He would also like to be hired by a major airline and then when he is home from those trips to do part time consulting. Even though it seems like a lot, it actually might mean more time at home. At least, that's the hope!
When Jack got deployed last, I moved home with the kids and when he got back, we got out of active duty and he got hired by a Naval Academy grad, turned good friend (set him up and he eventually married my best childhood friend), to be a project manager for a marine construction company called Truston Technologies. That change was scary too. Although, I was getting to stay in my home town, I cried like a big baby about getting out of the military because I thought that was scary! I worried Jack wouldn't like his job and I worried that the pay cut would hurt! Then he got accepted in the the military reserves so he got the best of both worlds. He got to see what the civilian world was like and put his master's degree to use in project management and he also got to keep flying. It all worked out. Doesn't it always?
After two years, Jack's been thinking of changing his career path, and over the last few months things started to fall into place. Today, he let his boss/friend know that we are gonna go out on our own. Jack recently got two "part time" jobs consulting and he is hoping to do some part time work for Truston. He is also in the reserves and will continue to do that. Tomorrow he is meeting with a guy who owns a business that got his resume from a friend and we will see where that goes. It seems like the phone has been ringing a lot for Jack and that is exciting... but scary! I know that Jack is so so smart and such an asset to any company. I know it will all work out. It's still scary.
I think Jack's ultimate goal is to do the Navy Reserves until he retires in about 6 more years. He would also like to be hired by a major airline and then when he is home from those trips to do part time consulting. Even though it seems like a lot, it actually might mean more time at home. At least, that's the hope!
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