(But it won't be a long one this time, I am busy and besides, I have to ease back into this saddle)
I last left you in March, complaining about a spider vein on my leg and the cruelty of the aging process. As far as I can tell, the vein is still there, however I do have a little tan, so hopefully they are camouflaged better now. Very shortly after I wrote that blog, I heard some news from my husband. His grandmother was very sick in the hospital and the prognosis was dim. He was granted emergency leave from Iraq, however due to sandstorms in Kuwait, his flight was delayed and his grandmother died one day before he was able to fly home. We were then faced with attending the funeral, but the flight would have had to have been over Easter weekend, and bought at the last minute. Can you say "out of our price range"? It would have been about $4,000 for our family to just go to New Mexico. Since we were going to be on the mainland we were planning on a quick visit to my family so they could see the grand kids as well.
To make this particular looooooong story short(er), we took a Space A flight to CA. Space A is a military flight with room available. If a plane is going to where you want to go, and if there is room, and if you are the right priority passenger, you can take the flight for free. Since Erick was on emergency leave, we were 1st priority leaving Hawaii. We spent 12 hours at home packing before taking this flight, the next 12 days flying/driving/flying around the US and back to Hawaii where Erick had time to sleep one night in his own bed before having to pack back up and head back to the sandbox. It was basically a "don't blink or you'll miss it!" kind of break. It went very fast and was actually kind of hard to recover from. But we did.
After that trip, I spent the last week in April doing laundry, catching the kids up with schoolwork and lamenting the 5 pounds I managed to pack on while we were traveling. When you are only 5 feet tall, 5 pounds may as well be 15 pounds. And I had just been able to fit back into my little-er post baby jeans. Poop.
The kids and I somehow made it to May intact, in maybe a less picked up house, but we still were functioning. Then I was talking to a friend of mine who had started working out at the YMCA. I found out that since my husband is deployed I am eligible for 6 months free membership PLUS they have FREE childcare. And so I left the house right that very second and followed her to the YMCA to sign up. I have been going since that day in May, and happy to report those jeans fit me once more! I have now set my sights on the size 5's and 3's that are taunting me from inside my closet. Oooh, I can even fit* some little dresses again!
The kids finished school the first week of June which also was the same week my big brother Ed came out here on his R&R from Iraq. He brought his little girl with and I was able to wear my "Aunt Bonnie Hat" for the first time! The last time I saw my niece she was a 5 month old infant, so it was really special to have some time with her. They were here for a week, a busy, insane, fun-filled week. Joe and Lily enjoyed having their cousin around as well as Uncle Ed! For me, it was great to have my brother here, and also a treat to even have a grown up to talk to (although, Ed being a grown up, that is debatable... Just kidding, Ed! Ha ha!).
And that quickly brings us to now, the end of June. I just went to the first meeting tonight for this years soccer season. Joe and Lily are on the same team, also the same team as my friends kids, so that worked out nicely. Joe and Lily are also doing cooking class once a week, and once school starts Joe will have cub scouts again. I really hope the den meetings are not on a soccer practice day or cooking class day! I do Zumba once a week in the evenings, as well as a 30 minute cross-training/personal torture session that I actually look forward to. That leaves only a few possible times for the den meetings to not interfere with what we currently have planned, so we'll see how this goes...
Oh, I am also now conducting a summer school in my home for Joe and Lily. Joe needs the extra help and it won't hurt Lily any either. We learn from 1pm-3pm each day and so far it is going fairly well. We've had some bumps here and there, but I think the kids actually like it! I hope it does the trick and helps get them better prepared for 2nd and 3rd grade.
(That is totally crazy, that I have a 2nd and 3rd grader! Where on Earth does the time go???!!!!)
Let us see, other things to re-cap...
Oh.
New skills Leah has learned:
- crawling up the stairs
- saying "I/you did it!"
- calling the dog by; 1. her name "Jewel!" and 2. kissey sounds that she does with her tongue sticking out, like a kissey-raspberry!
- playing tug-o-war with the dog
- light switch on AND off
- walking while holding on to things
- dancing
- giving momma things she shouldn't have
- climbing on the dishwasher while the door is down
- learning what "no" really means when she is climbing on the dishwasher when the door is down...
So, the kids and I are chugging along and keeping ourselves occupied till October when we should have our main man home again. And since I took time to type this and it is now 0100, I am done for the day.
I am going to go check my crops on Farm Town** and go to bed.
The laundry can kiss my butt.
-B
*They don't look very pretty yet, but darn it, I can pull the dresses over my hips (!) and the zippers finally go ALL the way up!
**This little Facebook time waster is actually very cute and simple. Grow crops, harvest them and earn coins to buy farm-y stuff. Yeah, I know it is a little lame, but don't hate... Hey, Solitaire is a time waster too, and I know people play that all the time!
