Monday, April 30, 2007

Just when I think I am raising gypsies....

I really have apparently spoke too often and too well of how well my children "The Collective" travel.

Because as with all things that you boast about, it has quickly come to an end.

Which really is a lesson I should have learned somewhere in my almost 37 years on this planet. SHHH never boast when things are going well. Life lesson #12.

The trip to Fort Benning (about 10 hours), turned into about 12 pr 13, about an hour away from DH Friday night. Why you ask? Well it seems as thought Pink Ninja was suffering from motion sickness. It started with a "Momma my tummy is upset." I thought, well sure it is, we have been sitting in a car, and snacking. So I told her, to hang on for an hour, and we would meet up with Daddy soon.

"Puke" followed by crying.........

It is dark out, and I am in Alabama headed east on a winding road. I pull over, change her clothes, clean what puke I can out of the truck, with what is available.

"Puke" followed by more crying.............

It is still dark, I change her clothes, clean out the car, pile about 7 paper towels under her chin, beg her to puke in a cup.

"Puke" followed by crying..........

The truck smells like puke she is crying.

I want to cry.

The phone rings.

It is DH.

DH: "where are you guys?"

AWTM: "Yeah, I am cleaning puke off of PN, can you hear her crying?"

DH: "When will you cross the river?"

AWTM: "I have no freaking clue, I want to poke my eyes out right now, I am driving as fast as I can, she is sick. "

This "puke" scenario continued for the rest of the drive to Fort Benning. Which despite being an hour away took like 2 1/2 extra hours with all of the cleaning and consoling.

When we met with DH, both kids seemed well after getting cleaned up. We of course had to run to the grocery store to get some woolite upholstery cleaner, laundry detergent etc. As the truck was not the most plea sent to ride in at this point.

OK the trip was fine after all of this, a pleasant weekend was spent at a cabin out in the middle of nowhere by Uchee Creek. No one was sick, all was well.

UNTIL........

This "puke" scenario played out again today while. driving from Fort Benning to Asheboro, NC today. LOVERLY I know.

This time it was I85 North headed to Atlanta, lunch rush hour. This time it was both of The Collective.

PN: "Momma my tummy hurts"

AWTM: "Do you need to go poopy?"

PN: "no, puke......cry...."

AWTM: I pull over, clean PN off, unsnap her car seat latch, and hold her whilst she pukes all over herself, me, and my poor coach purse.

PN: "crying....puke....cry...puke"

AWTM: grabbing clean clothes out of the suitcase for both of us.

We all go to the bathroom, change, and clean up.

AWTM: I call the pediatrician, tell her I suspect motion sickness. She agrees.

SO while driving through Atlanta, during lunch rush, I am trying to scout out a Walgreens, or a Wlamart, an Osco. Some place that will carry Dramamine for children.

Sir Rowland: "Mom, I don't feel good."

AWTM: "OK"

Sir Rowland: puke.......cry...

PN: puke cry...........

Sir Rowland: puke ...cry

Pink Ninja: cry puke

Sir Rowland: puke....cry....

AWTM: stopping, and rinsing clothes, and changing clothes, and cleaning puke like I have 8 arms.

The puking and crying went on for 4 public bathrooms, and 3 gas stations, 5 clothing changes.

I found a publix. I found Dramamine, and ginger ale. .....and gave to The Collective.

TAH DAH!

CURED.

It seems as though, The Collective have inherited my predisposition to motion sickness.

I cannot read in a car, I do not passenger well, I cannot ride on anything that goes round and round...

The Collective, cannot watch the new "movie players" and ride. I think this is the problem. Normally.....without tv, they ride grandly. However, I am guessing watching these screens is causing them to be ill.

Dramamine did help, no more complaints, or nausea for the remainder of the 6 hour trip....

but for about 2 hours today I wished myself far away, from the road trip, and the puke, and all else that is Motherhood. Who would have thought these portable movie players, that every suburban Mother has sang praises about, would cause such chaos?

Oh and the dramamine, will be going into my purse, as a permanent "item" just like lipstick.....

Thursday, April 26, 2007

SpouseBuzz Live San Diego!!


The Second SpouseBuzz Live event is around the corner, and I am getting EXCITED.

The Itinerary is absolutely amazing, and I am honored and thrilled to be in such fantastic company.

If you know anyone in the San Diego are please e-mail, or call them about this event. It is sure to be an amazing day.



As always, I promise that the fellowship will be the best and most amazing part of the day.

Our last live event in Fort Hood, was a touching and wonderful experience for all of the SpouseBuzz contributors.



*photo from SpouseBuzz Live In Kileen*

Please go over to SpouseBuzz for the details! You can REGISTER HERE!

Andi, USAA, and Military.com have amazed me with the efforts they have all put forth for SpouseBuzz Live 2.

I hate being right




Pink Ninja "helped" me pack for a little while today, and when we exited the Master Bedroom, we found Sir Rowland passed out in all his glory on the sofa. Naps rarely happen in this house, but I called this today. So Pink Ninja and I covered him with a blanket, and laid him down. He woke shortly after that VERY GROUCHY.

Oye!


See you tommorow evening DH!

WTF?

look what I found on my site meter....

Someone from the House of Representatives looking up Bow Chick Wow axe commercial?



[<<] [>>]
Domain Name house.gov ? (United States Government)
IP Address 143.231.249.# (Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives)
ISP Information Systems, U.S. House of Representatives
Location
Continent : North America
Country : United States (Facts)
State : District of Columbia
City : Washington
Lat/Long : 38.8933, -77.0146 (Map)
Language English (United States)
en-us
Operating System Microsoft WinXP
Browser Internet Explorer 7.0
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 7.0; Windows NT 5.1; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 1.1.4322)
Javascript version 1.3
Monitor
Resolution : 1280 x 800
Color Depth : 32 bits
Time of Visit Apr 26 2007 10:15:11 am
Last Page View Apr 26 2007 10:15:11 am
Visit Length 0 seconds
Page Views 1
Referring URL http://www.google.co...C song%2C bow chicka
Search Engine google.com
Search Words axe commercial, song, bow chicka
Visit Entry Page http://armywifetoddl.../04/give-it-axe.html
Visit Exit Page http://armywifetoddl.../04/give-it-axe.html
Out Click

this is my blog and I am going to piss and moan.

Apologies for my whinefest.

I was awakened this morning by Sir Rowland at 4:50am. Mind you I even kept The collective up until about 8:15 before being put to bed, to ensure I could sleep until at least 6:45am. I was exhausted last night. Just beat from coughing all day. I am suprised I have not coughed up an ovary yet.

No way, he wakes me at 4:50 lights on, playing with his Rokenbok, and fussing out of frustration because he does not have the engineering capability of a 27 year old with a Phd. I have no idea how long he had been up. I will find out at some point today, when he is sooo inexplicably tired that he is beyond repair.


Today is packing day. Clean out fridge day, make things as nice as you can before leaving day.

I need to clean out the truck, charge all items that need to be charged for the trip. Phones, handheld games, computer, etc.

I embark tommorow morning for Fort Benning, GA. DH cannot wait to see The Collective, and they him. I think the drive is about 10 hours give or take 2 depending on traffic etc.

Prayers as always folks for safe travel, and healing.


I am sure to feel better in a couple of days!

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

HOW YOU CAN HELP WIN THE WAR!

Maj. Eric Egland a fellow contributor to the Blog of War. Can be seen at the above link on FOX news discussing how you can help win the war in Iraq! In addition, there is a newly released book, as well as a website where you can help, right from your livingroom!

The Troops Need You, America! Click here to contribute to the 1st Battalion of the 28th Infantry Regiment. The famed "Black Lions" are battling it out on a Sunni/Shia fault line in Baghdad and need your help. 100% of your donation will send them the goods they need to build influence with Iraqi locals, so they can leverage that influence to encourage the locals to help fight Al Qaeda and the insurgents. This innovative approach is outlined in Step 3 of "The Troops Need You, America: Six Ways to Help Them Win," a plan from the troops for victory in Iraq.

(For a donation over $100, Major Egland will keep you posted on the progress in an exclusive newletter!)
How can you support
victory in Iraq?
Three easy steps...

1. Read the book with the plan from the troops themselves
2. Take action by organizing your friends and neighbors
3. Tell the rest of us what you did!

Latest updates

WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS
by SUSAN EUART on Wednesday, April 25, 01:13 pm
YOU JUST HAVE TO KNOW THAT THERE ARE SO MANY OF US SUPPORTING OUR SERVICEMEN & WOMEN...BUT WE JUST NEVER MAKE THE NEWS ...WE AREN'T OUT PROTESTING! I VOLUNTEER FOR THE USO, I...Read More

Support of Major England's emphasis on positive happenings by our troops.
by Linda Frederick on Wednesday, April 25, 12:26 pm
Heard Major England on Fox News today 4/25. It was the first that I knew of his book and his efforts on behalf of our troops. I heartily applaud his courage to step forward....Read More

Thanks for all you do.
by James Kenyon on Wednesday, April 25, 12:14 pm
Thank you very much and all the people out there that send packages to the troops over here and in Iraq. Any little thing that you do goes a long way over here. Its about th...Read More

Your interview on Fox News this morning!
by Rob on Wednesday, April 25, 11:36 am
I was very pleased and excited that someone is trying to obtain through original means what our troops need. I was impressed with your articulate nature and the honest approac...Read More

Major Egland on Fox News
by Major E on Tuesday, April 24, 05:47 pm
Please tune in to Fox News on Wednesday morning. Major Egland is scheduled to be a guest on Fox News Live with E.D. Hill to discuss the Plan from the Troops for Victory in Ir...Read More

Post Comment Read All





Go take a look, buy a book for a neighbor!

OK...who remembers this song?

I was at Donnaville today, and she had a youtube posted of this song. I forgot how much I liked it...

Stumblin in'...I forget how old I was, I remember my Sister playing it on AM radio, while she twirled a baton. I would guess I was about 5?

You may remember Suzi Quatro from her guest appearence on Happy Days, as Leather Tuscadero.

(I sound like like Leather Tuscadero , with this scratchy voice)

*Oh and give me a break already, i am on cough syrup with Vicodin in it, and am hypoxic from the pneumonia*

Elvis has NOT left the building




Since living down South, I can honestly say there are some things that are no longer a surprise.

Several years ago before moving South, my DH and I went to Graceland. I can certainly say that I saw several people emulating Elvis. Which at Graceland is sort of expected i suppose. It was odd, but after all we are talking about Elvis.

I will say this, living in the Mid-South, not far from Memphis means.....

EVERYTIME I go to a truckstop, gas station, or Walmart I see someone emulating Elvis. Normally it is the trucker glasses, black dyed bouffant greased back do. Sometimes, it is a jacket, or an entire outfit. I am not kidding here either. I am DEAD SERIOUS. Oh and if you go to a State Fair, or some other public gathering there are sure to be at least 6.

It is just weird. What is even stranger, is the fact tht no one ever seems to acknowledge these folks. I have never EVER seen anyone go up to any of these men and say "Hey you sort of look like Elvis", or "You do not look like Elvis, who are you kidding?". '

In the Mid south, it is NORMAL.....

And sometimes the women are coiffed to look like Cilla!

The kids are fine

I took the kids to the Dr. this am. They both have colds, but that is all. I will continue to keep a paranoid Mother's eye on them.

Pink Ninja is grouchy, which is a rarity. But happens when she is under the weather. Sir Rowland seems healthy!

To the Dr. AGAIN

OK, So I am taking The Collective this morning.

Sir Rowland sounds ok. A cough, a little sick.

Pink Ninja however, seems a little under the weather, and even with her quick to heal child response, is SLOW healing. I am guessing she may be headed down the pneumonia path as well.

crossing fingers...

I have 48 hours to pack( for a month) , clean truck, empty fridge, laundry, etc. And then it is off to Fort Benning. DH rented a cabin on post, so I can rest, heck so we can all rest quietly. That should be nice.

And then it is off to North Carolina to see Granny, who wishes we were there a month ago already.

Please say a prayer that we are all on the way to healing. Nothing says fun, like a cross country trip with a truck load of people with pneumonia!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

I sound worse than I feel....

Every time I answer the phone, people tell me how horrid I sound. I seriously sound like crap. The odd thing about pneumonia. Your body is coughing all of this nasty crap up. So I drink and drink and drink...hoping to loosen secretions and cough.

I coughed from about 6:30am, all through the day. I just took my cough medicine that is supposed to make me stop coughing through the night so i can sleep. I do hope I can sleep. I am going to put in The Royal Tennenbaums, that is a good sleepy movie. I believe loosesly based off of the Wiz Kids short story written by J.D. Salinger.

I have nice fresh bedding to crawl into.

Fresh linens. A luxury. When I was back in Nebraska, My Aunt Virginia (actually she is my second cousin, but my father being an only child, I call her Aunt) anywho....we were discussing--Luxury. We both thought it would be grand to have fresh linens nightly. 1,200 thread count (at least), and fresh nightly. ahhhhhhhh.......

Sweet dream, I am off to watch a Wes Anderson movie, and have cough syrup induced dreams....

I sound like my Mom,

my Grandma, my Aunt Peg, and Aunt Joan, and Aunt Janice....(Sort of Marge Simpson Sister sounding)

After coughing up very foulest of tasting sputum for the past 3 days, I am noting the vocal quality of my voice has changed. (Feel free to call if you do not believe me)


This is freaking fantastic, as I have 2 public speaking engagements soon.

I might bring my own translator, or The Collective's magna doodle!

Not his Mothers child...




I am sitting here on the couch coughing a lung up. The Collective are quiet, and i am enjoying it.

Imagine my surprise when Sir Rowland comes out with this!

He built it by himself. The wheel spins, and he made it so the monorail would fit on it, without coming off. He is five.

He amazes me.

I do not think I could build this with step by step instructions.

Monday, April 23, 2007

Do what you can!

Andi posted the following at the Mil-Blogging Conference Site.

The wonderful Sandi Hammersley has suggested we do the following!

A Baby Shower at the MilBlog Conference?

Yep.

If you're a frequent reader of milblogs, I'm sure you've heard of DJ Emery. If not, MaryAnn and Matt have background.

This weekend, while DJ was busy fighting for his life, his beautiful wife Leslie gave birth to their daughter, Carlee. The Emery family has a long road ahead of them. They face many challenging days. Milbloggers are going to welcome baby Carlee into this world by hosting the Mother of All Baby Showers (MOABS) at the MilBlog Conference.

Attendees of the MilBlog Conference are encouraged to bring a gift for baby Carlee to the cocktail reception on Friday evening, May 4. Feel free to throw in a gift for mom or dad, too. We'll have a designated table where you can place your gifts, and we'll be sure that the gifts are delivered to Leslie and DJ.


What a wonderful idea!!

We remain thoughtful here of this family, as they continue this journey as parents. We also continue to pray for this mans healing.

Sarah get to knitting more obscure animals!!

WOW MUST WATCH!!

I cannot get a direct link...(If you figure out how please do so! )

BUT YOU NEED TO SEE THIS.

Go to MSN

Then scroll down to Scars From Iraq, on the right hand sidebar.

WATCH!

If I ever needed a dose of humility, I just recieved it, and if I needed perspective, I just recieved it, and if I needed reminding that there are men willing to risk it all, so i do not have to I was reminded.

WATCH

If I were Emma Peel....




I would be having drinks with Steed instead of being diagnosed with pneumonia.

Yes pneumonia, I got a shot in my gluteal and everything. The Collective loved watching Momma finally get a shot.

No wonder I feel like crud. My right lower lobe is the primary problem.

so Now I am off.

To get better and pack, etc....

It would figure...

I cannot think of a worse time for me to be sick

On the cusp of traveling to Fort Benning to see DH. From Georgia to North Carolina. From North Carolina I fly into DC. From DC I fly back to North Carolina. From North Carolina to San Diego. Then back to North Carolina.

Holy crap I think i am nuts...

MUST READ

Pat Dollard, has a letter posted for

"That Douche Harry Reid"

note to self

You have a Dr. appointment at 2:45.

Do not forget.

Thank God they got me in.

I am still unsure what to do with Pink Ninja. She is sick but running circles around her old Mom.

Cruddy

OK

It seems as if Sir Rowland is better. Pink Ninja, has a cough...

Mom is sick...

the crud is no longer clear.

I am calling the Dr. right now.

Sunday, April 22, 2007

Tonight

Listen to Andrea Shea King, she has 2 special guests on!

breathe


OK quick note.

I think since my Mothers passing, my Father has had his boat on the water 1 time. He may have went to Canada or Lake Erie.

A couple of days after I left Nebraska this past month, he called to let me know he was going Walleye fishing in Lake Erie, with a group of friends.

I was thrilled. I was even more thrilled when I heard he was having such a good time, he was staying an extra week. It does look like the fish were biting.

I was told, fishing made him miss my Mom......

sick haiku

Tenacious sputem

So thick I could knit sweaters

And maybe a scarf

Granny Get Your gun!




WAYNESBURG, Ky. — Miss America 1944 has a talent that likely has never appeared on a beauty pageant stage: She fired a handgun to shoot out a vehicle's tires and stop an intruder. Venus Ramey, 82, confronted a man on her farm in south-central Kentucky last week after she saw her dog run into a storage building where thieves had previously made off with old farm equipment.

re: my funeral



Tammi asked this on her blog a couple of weekends ago.

"What music do you want played at your funeral."

Wow

A tough question. I mean I will be dead, and I won't be able to enjoy it.

However, I will say, I had given this some thought.

Upon burying my own Mother and realizing that someday, by the grace of God, my children would have to do the same.


Hopefully I will be VERY OLD, otherwise all of this "clean living" , not smoking, and pilates, and yoga is for the birds.



One of my Mother's greatest gifts to me, was not planning her funeral. She had a list of honorary female pall bearers, and told me she wanted pink flowers on her coffin. That was it. I mean I watched her slowly wither for 2 1/2 years.

And when she passed, I was angry that "the funeral" was not planned. I mean after all she knew she was dying. She had fought metastatic colon cancer for 2 1/2 years.

The five of us had stood at that Dr. with the second opinion, when he said...."Yeah, there is not much we can do for you at this point, there is this experimental drug, and you should make final arrangements.) We all stood there with tears in our eyes, except for my Mother who was bald from the chemo and radiation. Face looking moon like from the steroids. Wearing a black and white striped nautical looking hoodie and a liz claiborne hat, in a w/c. And when the Dr. was done handing my Mother her death sentence....she said "Let's go to Red Lobster".

None of us wanting to eat, or hungry. All of us standing there looking at our queen, or Matriarch...and wondering how on Earth we were going to stand the pain of loosing her. Watching her suffer was painful enough, but knowing that she would be gone, how would we bear that pain.

And so upon her death.

We picked up the phone, and called all of those who would want to say goodbye at the house, before sending her body to the mortuary.

And more phonecalls. When people die, you are on the phone a lot. (Just in case you have ever had to bury anyone.) You are the phone a lot. A lot.

Planning her funeral, made the immediate family come together, and talk and plan. This was good, because I know we all wanted to go to separate rooms and lick our wounds. But there is plenty of time for that when it is over I assure you.

And somewhere in the second day after her death, after the obituary was written, and the coffin was picked out, and we listenend to music, and Bible verses were picked, and the Pastor visited.

I realized why she had left it for us to plan....

We needed to plan it to keep our hearts busy, even after 2 1/2 years we were in shock that she was no longer breathing. Her funeral gave us something to soften the blow of her absense.

And even after I had rented extra chairs for our church...it was standing room only. People standing by the front entrance of the church.

So anyway, I think I will do the same.

No Girls Allowed




OK, so we remain sick. Acually i think Pink Ninja and I, are peaking with this illness. Sir Rowland seems less affected. We are unable to go to church.

I am trying to work on my list of things I must get done.

Of course there is my full time job of referee...

My head still feels like a watermelon, sloshy and heavy.

More uses for baby oil

Saturday, April 21, 2007

for anyone keeping track

I am google #4 removing mousetrap glue

I am google #6 axe bow chicka bow wow

A Note to Daddy



Pink Ninja as drawing, and coloring more than I have ever seen a child color. And she does not want a color book. She wants blank paper. We went through half of a notebook today. We are bringing a box filled with her art. There is enough to wallpaper your small dorm room.

*According to her explanation, I am the tall one. And yes that is me flying to the "smoke alarm" to change the batteries.*

Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home

I did manage to throw on a semblance of a face, and drove the collective on post to get a haircut.

$16 dollars for 2 haircuts, and that includes the tip...yowza.

We all feel horrible. Anytime i can tak a sudafed, and feel like a nap...yeah i am sick.

We have used a small box of tissue in les than 24 hours. We have 2 to go.

We will miss the guest speaker at church tonight.

And unless The collective stop with the nasal drainage, we will not go in the morning.

My head feels like an overripe watermelon. Sloshing echoing as I blow my nose again....

I hate being sick, but I really hate it, when I am "in charge and with other sickies with no reprieve."...

List of things to do this week

Pack for a month (pack for 3, for a month...from everything from beach to business)

Go through bills
Post Office
Damn Walmart (no not really damn them, but i do have to go)
Clean out truck
Pack truck
clean out fridge, and make sure all garbage is out
find USB cable
go through items for the church yard sale (there is a lot..a lot )

everyone has had a haircut, and the truck is ready for the road.

Also

Sir Rowland: " I thought you were coming home with different hair?"

AWTM: "I did"

Sir Rowland: "It looks blonde to me"

AWTM: "really?"

Sir Rowland: "Really"

Must see TV.

David at The Thunder Run POSTED THIS.

Watch the ENTIRE THING!

darn it

What I was hoping was allergies, is flu.

The 3 of us are ill with the flu.

I ache, am exhausted, have constant fluid running out of my nose, scratchy throat.

The Collective have it as well.

I cannot afford to be ill right now.

We have a lot of traveling coming up. A LOT.

Darn.

Reason # 44,980 I hate the media.

Breaking News: Alec Baldwin is a crazy douchebag!



So I am sitting here watching Fox news. I guess there is nothing worth reporting on the planet. Because as I type this, they are playing a recorded phonecall , from Alec Baldwin to his daughter who is like 11 or 12.

Holy Crap. It was an awful phonecall. He really is a huge douchebag.

But we already knew that right?

UPDATE: This is the guy, that enjoys giving the President foreign policy advice? Perhaps Hillary Clinton was right, "It does take a village".

Friday, April 20, 2007

Did I mention I feel like crap...

Top 100 Worst Cities For Spring Allergies

April 16, 2007 12:30 p.m. EST

Patricia Shehan - All Headline News Staff Writer
West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) - People with allergies may be suffering the most if they're living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as this city tops the list of the worst 100 cities for spring allergies. The information to determine the cities with the worst springtime allergies were compiled from 2006 data, according to a recent report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

The top 10 worst cities to live in for spring allergy sufferers are as follows:

1. Tulsa, OK

2. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

3. Fort Myers, FL

4. San Antonio, TX

5. Tucson, AZ

6. St. Louis, MO

7. Wichita, KS

8. Little Rock, AK

9. Charlotte, NC

10. Atlanta, GA

For a complete list of all 100 cities, go to www.aafa.org .

did

OK...

It is allergy season. Which means I have a sinus headache, that has turned into a migraine. CRAP. Will go take an imitrix NOW. CRAP. It made the afternoon of running errands without The Collective. Not as enjoyable as it should have been, due to my head feeling like it was going to explode. .

I did find 2 cute tops! Which is hard. Everything is cut funny and looks like maternity wear. I do not need help looking pregnant. After all I am left with a marsupial pouch, thanks to my tremendous weight gain during both pregnancies. Hey designers, women want to look "thinner"...SURPRISE!



I showed up at the hairdresser, a little freakish. She has been doing my hair for 5 years? So we went a bit darker. We are going to do it a bit at a time, so by fall I am "natural"....

Sounds like a plan.

Here is the new hair color...reminds me of the color of an acorn. I have no idea what to call it. There are highlights mostly in front.

*note no makeup left on and a migraine...and kids freaking out at me because i had been out most of the day.*


OK...

Give it the AXE...

Dear Axe "Bodyspray" (whatever body spray is),

Thanks for making teenagers with a moderate budget smell like crap. (Does anyone remember the wafting of polo in junior high hallways? I still cannot freaking stand the stuff, the thought of it naseates me).

Also thanks for the Bow chicka wow wow, 70's porn reference music you are using in your current ad campaign. Because now my 5 year old is running around going...

"Bow chicka wow wow" in the grocery aisles is just plain hardcore. The other parents are not amused.

I am insane....

So I am awake, and can't seem to get to sleep.

I am worried about my hair. My hair....of all things. On a planet where there is famine, a war, and evil. I am awake worried about becoming a brunette in the monring. That is ridiculous.

Just when I think I am deep.

Shit...embarrassing to admit.

Ok....

I will say this.

There are few things in my life I have control over. I mean honest control over...

My hair is one of the only things I get to pick. WOW!

I guess we will see if I have the guts to do it or not.

Right now, if I was a gambling man, I would place my bets on me walking out "the same"...

So.

I am also up, because Pink Ninja has a spring cold. Poor thing.

We ran out of tissue tonight. Poor kid. She does not want to use toilet tissue, "because it is for butts."

I am surprised she cannot smile her sickness away!



*HI DADDY*

Thursday, April 19, 2007

More from the "I can't make shit like this up" .. files....


With DH being gone, I have been collecting his mail, magazines and the like so I can send a box. (Although at this snails pace I might as well deliver it by hand).

One of DH's favorite magazines for the past 10 years at least is Backwoods Home. (He dutifully gets a subscription yearly at Christmas, a wonderful, and most useful resource of self reliance information. Deployed soldiers get a year for $10!!!)

So yesterday, as I am packing a box for DH. I thumb through the Backwoods Home. After all it is one of my favorite magazines too. I note an article on rodents, and how they have caused more death than ALL WORLD WARS COMBINED. Ick. For the record, I loathe mice, and rats. Really I don't care for them, they are dirty, and gross. In addition to loathing live mice and rodents, I also have a sort of abnormal fear of dead mice as well.

There is a point to this...I promise.

So this morning, I am luxuriating in the sweetest of dreams, and am sleeping so profoundly and soundly that I might have slept forever if left alone. And I am awakened to the following...



(*Also whine a lot when reading The Collectives parts, it will only add to the story, I promise)

The Collective: "Mommy we are sorry, it was an accident."

AWTM: *looking beyond The Collective, at the red alarm clock numbers, which says 5:57am*

The Collective: "Mommy, it was an accident."

AWTM: *Looking at them both, pupils trying to decipher light from dark and furniture from human faces.*

The Collective: *standing at my bedside with tears in their eyes.*

AWTM: *not wanting to know what I am about to wake up to, but insist on preparing my uncaffinated brain* "What is going on guys?"

The Collective: " We are sticky, we are stuck to everything."

AWTM: "Why?" "What did you get into guys?" *Yes I am still lying there trying to drag my ass out of bed.

The Collective: "the black thingy."

AWTM: *mentally going through the list of all black things in the home, trying to figure out what is sticky* My brain firing slowly, begging me for a cup of coffee. I look at The Collective and notice hands are sooo sticky that individual fingers are stuck together turning individual fingers into clumps of fingers.*

The Collective: *whining*

AWTM: "Mousetrap?!"

AWTM: "Why were you in the mousetrap? Do not answer that, please." *Deciding at this moment that I need to unstick children before even looking at the trap.

AWTM: *Slowly throwing legs off of the bed, and trying to figure out what in the name of God I have in the house to remove glue meant to trap a small rodent. Also wondering what else they could have touched, that is now covered in this stickier than honey left in the sun for 3 days substance. *

The Collective: *insert more whining here*

AWTM: *insert a list of 1,000 expletives trapped in my uncaffinated brain, along with the WTF were they thinking taking precedent over the rest of it.*

AWTM: *plodding to the medicine cabinet, and taking the only bottle of nail polish remover out. Why I bother keeping nail polish in my home is odd, my nails are currently a mess from yard work, planting, and plain neglect.*

AWTM: *rubbing small hands with a towel moistened with nail polish remover that is now sticking to hands. Not working.

The Collective: *insert more whining*

AWTM: "Do not touch a thing, do you understand, nothing, do not touch anything."

The Collective: *whining and touching whatever they can*

AWTM: *thinking about throwing them into a shower, or bath, and knowing there is no way in hell I am going to get to exercise class, which I NEED.*

PHONE RINGS

Tammi: "Good Morning!"

AWTM: "Guess what I am doing?"

Tammi: "What?"

AWTM: "My kids are covered in mouse trap glue, and I am trying to remove it."

Tammi: "baby oil."

AWTM: "baby oil?"

Tammi: "baby oil."

AWTM: "Are you sure?"

Tammi: "sure"

So here is the tip for the day. I am already #1 if you google "how to remove poop from carpet", and now in addition to that I am going to be #1 for how to get mousetrap glue off of children's hands".

Crap. Just when i think I have nothing to blog about folks.

What a great way to begin the day.

Oh, and the trap was empty THANK GOD!! But makes me wonder what was so intriguing about the damn thing in the first place.

Tammi , I owe you a drink when I see you in DC.

Trapped.....




More on this later when I have time.

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Done living a lie and paying for it...or the root of all evil




In 2 days I am throwing in the towel, for real this time, at least for a while.

The caramel hair, is simply too much to maintain. Too much.



I am going back to my roots.

Enough is enough (For now anyway).

Despite what color my hair is...1) I am not getting any younger. 2) It is so expensive to maintain 3) there is never a sitter when I need one, so I can maintain the faux look. 4) DH is not even here to enjoy it anyway, and will not be for some time. 5) The Collective do not care. 6) I am tired of looking at roots in the mirror.

I am sure being a brunette has to be better than being a poorly maintained blonde, although I am sure someone ou there loves the look.

There is this problem though.....

I have no idea, other than by staring at my roots, what my REAL hair color is anymore.

16 years ago, when we got married it was medium brown brown, and with each pregnancy my hair turned darker and darker. I think it is almost black now. Oh and there are a few stray gray *coughing bullshit* hairs popping up on the crown. (Which I pull out as soon as I spot them.)

So Friday, new hair. which will be shocking. I think I have been trying this for about 3 years. Enough is enough.

My hair could use the break. Besides, what i the worst thing that could go wrong, I could show up at the mil-blogging conference, and SpouseBuzz events looking very "goth"....

Look who is GLAMEROUS!

Imagine my surprise, when i was going through my blogroll, and noted
Captain KJ is blogging for GLAMOUR magazine!

Congratulations KJ, I am loving your blog, and I think it is a great forum to introduce military life to what I would guess, is a market, that would normally not be exposed to the life of a female service person!

Go over and give her a word or two of support!

WAY TO GO!!

If I Were Emma Peel




This would be the perfect springtime trench coat!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Details......

Healing.

As a Spouse I suppose when they come home, you know better than to expect the exact same life you had. We get close, oh so close. But things are a little different. Especially for the first couple of months home. Things are just different. I recall having helium balloons all over the neighborhood and the house when DH arrived home. Of course having children, a couple made the way into the house. And as the balloons floated from room to room.....one night while sitting on the couch my DH said "those fucking balloons keep freaking me out." For a moment I laughed, and then I noted they ended up being tied to something. I forget if I did it or he did it.

When I was in Kileen with the SpouseBuzz ladies, I confessed once again that I have not been able to ask my DH for "the details" of his deployment. The 39ths losses left me spinning, and the embedded blogger Amy Schlesing those of us back home well informed, and she did it with honor and she delivered the news back home as softly as one could.

I guess i just didn't want to hear the story that would prove me as lucky and blessed. I was afraid that I would have a mental picute of an incident or incidents that would leave me broken. Only to picture the incident over and over, and knowing that this war is no where near completion, I knew my DH would be serving his country in the same capacity again.

A few months ago, I felt I owed it to my DH and myself, to sit and listen to what he felt like sharing. I told him, I thought i was ready. After all, there was an amazing amount of guilt that was sitting on my shoulders making him carry this load alone. I owed it to him to at least listen.

So I sat by my Husbands side, and I looked at the maps, and the roads, and I listened to him tell me about his life while at Camp Taji.

Almost 2 years it took me ..... to ask. And he did it as softly as he was able, looking at my face, gauging my reactions. And in typical AWTM, and DH fasion, we did our dance as delicately as we were able. DH explaining what his job entailed, and me sitting there wanting to cover my ears and saying "uh huh, right.....uh huh......." Picturing his life in my head. Me trying not to cry, and him sitting there, telling me just enough to make me understand why he is quiet sometimes.

Fucking balloons.

Monday, April 16, 2007

PBS WATCH NOW

Hat Tip Tammi, Badgers Forward, and Acute Politics.

Tonight, the best thing on TV by far. Acute Politics will be featured.

PBS

Celebrating Our Children

It is the Month Of the Military Child.

Come over to SpouseBuzz and and help us by celebrate and honor our small heroes with big hearts!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Meet Pukey the squirrel





* the following is just plain gross, sorry*


The other day, we had the good fortune of nice weather, sunshine, no rain. Which is uncommon in these parts this time of year. So We spent the ENTIRE day basking in the rays of sun. I even insisted we eat our lunch out of doors.

Sir Rowland ate too many peanut butter and apple jelly sandwiches, and did not chew properly, so he puked on the patio. Not once but three times. Nice.

So when the sun started setting and it was dinner Pink Ninja, Sir Rowland and I headed into the house to begin our routine. And when we sat at the dinner table we were entertained by a local squirrel, who did me the great favor of cleaning up Sir Rowlands mess. (I know, I know, pretty gross. However as an LPN, I wasn't really grossed out, and The Collective were intrigued.) Sir Rowland even made a comment about his food being recycled.

Well, the squirrel has been back about every 3 hours since that time, looking for more food.

It seems as though we have a new pet. The Collective have named him Pukey. I am unsure if "he" is actually a he, but I refuse to think a female would have such horrid table manners.

So we now have a "pet" of sorts. Pukey is getting fat on apple cores, leftover biscuts and the like. No vet bills, plenty of replacements if I run him over, and no waking to take him out to do his business.

Pukey is also a clepto and has taken to trying to steal the finch's food.

Pictures are sure to follow....

*P.S. I also know the song has nothing to do with squirrels or puke. But the Shins are keeping me company this week.....great voice*

All In The Family

The "news" or "leaks" of extensions this past week has been a hard pill for the military community to swallow. But guess what, everyone continues to do their job.

I have been on the recieving end of this sort of news several times now, since this war began. In fact the Spokesperson of the Pentagon "leaked" the information on one ocassion. This led to mass confusion here in the State, and instead of my DH being able to do his job, my DH got to work only to find the phone ringing off of the hook on a Monday at 6:00am. And spent about 1 week fielding calls from Guardsmen, Wives, Mothers, Fathers, Employers, and the like, some of those in tears.

We, as a military community, have taken this news in stride I think. I think we have handeled it well.

I will say this.

It does hurt to recieve such news from an "outsider, the MSM, a phonecall, a neighbor, a Spokesperson". It just does.

I think it is a disrespectful gesture to our military families, and service members.

We are willing to do what it takes, but at least allow these men and women to tell families as they see fit.

To me it is a question of respect and honor.

The MSM, already thinks our service members are barbaric, and has even gone as far as calling them "mercinaries".

I am guessing most military families are like my own.

We want to be treated with respect. Our Husbands and Wives are doing an honorable job.

We want fair benifits, we want our widows to be treated respectfully, and with tenderness. We want our warriors to be able to fight this fight with proper equipment, and with both hands. We do not want them to be used as pawns in a political battle, only to get to the battlefield with one or both hands tied behind they're backs. If you want to know how to fight this war, do not ask some politician, ask those who are doing the fighting.

MSM, stick with what you know, Rosie, Imus, Anna Nicole Smith, Saint Angelina Joile, and Freaking George loony, and the rest of the salacious crap that you call news that is used to entertain the masses.

Do not feel as if you need to inform us about looming deployments, extensions and the like.

Because you aren't very good at that either.

Oh and to the "person" responsible for the "leak". I honestly hope you will come to understand the pain, tears, arguments you may have caused. The tearful phonecalls that had to take place, instead of our men and women being able to do the job at hand.

for Today

Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal.
~Albert Camus

"Salerary"

*how Sir Rowland is pronouncing Salary.

While at Fort Benning. The collective acquired "game boys" from Daddy.

Sir Rowland is currently intrigued about the game of Life.

Sir Rowland: "Mom, do I want to start a carrer, or go to college?"

AWTM: "Go to college."

Sir Rowland: " But Mom, I do not want to be broke."

AWTM: "Ha, that is college alright, but it is fun."

Sir Rowland: "Mom, there is more to life than fun."

AWTM: "Like what?"

Sir Rowland: "Like money."

AWTM: "great."

Friday, April 13, 2007

16 years ago today.....


1 week after we were married. Dear Husband had just returned home from Desert Storm. 16 years ago. Very young and very tired. We were at Dear husbands Grandmas house. I could look at this photo all day.


Every time my DH called this week he would ask...."So do you remember what you were doing 16 years ago today?"

It seems as though some of the memories have melded together. When did he take me to buy my shoes? Did I attend University all week?

I cannot recall most of that now. Funny, I thought I would not forget that week.

I remember meeting him at the airport, I remember what he was wearing. He had just returned from a deployment with the 82nd Airborne. He was soooo thin. And I do recall that joy I felt when seeing him. I felt such joy my heart GREW, I swear I could feel it swell in my chest.

I remember our first moment alone was in an elevator.

I do not remember the drive from Omaha to Lincoln.

I do remember you pulling a ring out of your pocket and placing it on my hand.

I remember the rain.

A penny in my shoe.

The ceremony was 20 minutes.

And in 16 years so much has happenned.

We have worked jobs and put one another through college.

We traveled a bit.

We have spent many hours with family and friends.

We have lost many people we have loved so much.

We have compromised often.

We have argued very little.

And when people come over and look at out wedding picture on the mantel, and say "Who are these people?" We both laugh.

So today I thank God I miss you, and I am glad my heart aches for you........

Thursday, April 12, 2007

Easter photos redoux




OK DH, here is the hard copy, close up....

Still can't find my USB thingy for my camera...

But progress is progress.

Today is a better day.

Last night we had prayer meeting at church, and I spoke with the principal, and Sir Rowlands "to be" teacher. It is settled. He will be going to the academy. Nice ladies, nice families. Kind ladies. Real ladies, practical ladies. Both took time to speak with me after working all day, and being at church all day. That says something to me. all is well, they find Sir Rowland charming. I hope that sticks.

I did manage to get tires rotated, oil changed, transmission flushed today.

I went and picked up hard copies of The Collective's Easter photo.

I went to excercise class, hoping we would have pilates, or yoga...it was a cardio, ball, gliders, and weights circut thingy. It killed me. It did. I felt like a major league wussy. Especially after however long without getting to the gym. (It is noticable I have been drinking regular coke, and sitting on my but for thousands of miles.


OUCH.

The sky is the bluest of blues.

The birds are singing.

The wind is blowing.

Butterflies are floating.

My 3 trees are cut down. Sir Rowland counted the rings on the pine that had beetles. She was 37 years old....poor thing.

My yard in back is mowed short, and most of the leaves are gone.

My gut wants me to dig and weed and plant. However I will be gone again for quite some time. SO I will wait until I get home.

The white climbing rose I planted for my Mother below my kitchen window is thriving, and should blossem before the anniversary of her passing.

the white iris up front are blooming.

The Crepe Myrtles got tips frozen the other night. I was not aware they were so frail, these wild things that want to take over my yard.

It is another day, and The Collective are under the bog oak out back digging holes.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Like your heart with two legs....


To any of those of you have read me, I am sure you are aware of my Sir Rowland....

Sir Rowland is 5.

Sir Rowland was my fussy baby, my no napper, my baby who read at 18 months. Not exagerating, the child could sight read signs. EXIT, STOP etc. He could identify colors, etc. He new his alphabet and numbers early. They call it hyperlexic.

However with tht came, the lack of any real reciprical converstion, trouble with his Activities of Daily Living, melt downs.....and more melt downs. He could read, before he would say I love you....

There is really too much to put down, too many indicators that Sir Rowland was Sir Rowland....

And I kept the Dr. updated, and I watched him skip picture books, and blocks, and go directly to golf, and an unhealthy obsession with carrying money or playing cards, he had to read EVERY sign we passed. His favorite show when he was an infant was Price is Right. He would memorize the schematic of a house, a cemetary, a town after one visit. He can still tell me how to get to his Aunt and Uncles house in Omaha after being there a handful of times.

He knows t-cells are part of the immune system, and is intrigued by inertia.

He will describe things that are bumpy as stucatto.

He is an amazing child, our little guy.

However there is hand flapping, and when frustrated and anxious he can some times become self injurous.

He will repeat sounds and words over and over because he likes the way they sound. He has trouble with too much sound, too much light, too much smell. And forget if you have all 3. some of you will recall our last trip to the circus.

I will say this, Sir Rowland has made huge leaps this year. HUGE. Melt downs are less the OCD behavior has improved by at least 75%.

He has taught himself to write his letters. He can say thank you in Chinese.

He can have limited recipricol conversation.

He is 5 now.......

We can go to the nursery at the gym!! We were unable to do this for 3 years.

We can go to the library for story time.

He will now wear a band aid.

He is attending church 3 days a week for an hour.

We can leave the house.

This past 5 years has been very hard on Mom the most. And I am unsure why......

This morning, I spent the day trying to clarify the situation at the Church Academy. You see when he hit the kid at choir a couple of weeks ago, a red flag went up. I understand this....

I do not want my child interferring with others learning. I want him to like other children, and to learn, and follow RULES (which is a problem for him).

So I spent the morning on the phone, chatting with the public school, and with his Dr. and with a Mother in town who has 2 boys with Asperger's syndrome. And I prayed and I prayed....and I prayed some more.

and my heart has been heavy for a week.....

He is five, and he is frail, and I need to let him out of this nest I have made. A private nest......where he has been safe and nurtured, and accepted.

And it makes my heart hurt. It makes tears FLOW SO HARD AND FAST that there is no comfort in them.

And Dad is gone.

And my little guy, is wonderful. When he loves you, he loves you......BIGGER than you have ever been loved.

But when he is frustrated, or overstimulated, or scared, it is frightening...even to his Mother, so how will a stranger react?

And he is five, and I do not think I have EVER been more frightened of anything in my life.

I also know I am lucky to be blessed with my 2 healthy and active children.

I have seen my small cousins die, and what it did to my Aunt.

And I saw my Sister work harder than anyone being mainstreamed with hydrocephalus during a time when the Drs. were all suggesting she be intitutionalized.

And I saw my Brother born with sacrococygealtetroma. I watched surgeries, and warnings of permanent brain damage, and paralization. I watched my parents....spend years in and out of hospitals. I watched them make friends with those other familites they met at the Drs. and hospitals. I have seen what a life of illness can do.

And I became a nurse.

I am not sure what I learned as I sit here writing this.

I know I am blessed.....

But boy it hurts like hell today.

They are going to give him a chance at the academy.

And we could use your prayers today...

the Easter Potrait....



I have not recieved my hard copies yet from the photographer...

but I have an Easter photo taken every year.

When i iwent to fort Benning, I forgot to take the print out with me.....

So DH,, I apologize for forgetting it. I had jotted notes on the back at Bible Sudy and then left it sitting on the kitchen table.

Not the best quality photo, taken off of a bad print, and then i snapped a photo with photo booth....

What a difference a year makes huh?

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Where did I put that thing?

Imagine my disgust.

I cannot locate my USB thingy for my camera.

I have looked almost everywhere.

I am tired, maybe I will find it tommorow.

Choice?

I was asked yesterday by a waitress in a Huddle House outside of Hamilton Mississippi if it was hard being an Army Wife. (I think the Infantry t-shirt gave me away). She is currently engaged to an enlisted man who has been in Iraq for 2 months.

She really asked me in one of my weaker moments, as I was hitting hour 7 in travel time. I sat there over a steaming hot cup of mediocre coffee, with The Collective climbing around the booth like it was a jungle gym.

I tried to explain to her that certainly it was hard.

I am a war bride. Married for almost 16 years this week.

One week after my Husbands return from Desert Storm, we married.

10 years ago during non-combat times, not as hard.

A new Bride looking at deployment AFTER deployment certainly not something I can give advice on. As a 16 year veteran of an active duty marriage, one year? as civilians, and now as a National Guard Spouse....I am proud.

"Is it hard?" she asks....

And I recall those moments

A fresh faced man meeting me at the Omaha airport after Desert Storm with an engagement ring in his pocket.

Pinning my DH's rank on his shoulder after he was commissioned.

Getting phonecalls from other wives during the last deployment, in which they expressed relief that my Husband was serving with they're Husbands.

A Husband safely home, and holding his children for the first time in a year...

I guess it is hard, but I wouldn't trade one moment.....

And what was the other option?

ALERTED....

Four Guard Brigades Alerted for Iraq Duty

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 9, 2007 – Four National Guard brigade combat teams have been notified for possible deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, DoD officials said today.
The units are the 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Little Rock, Ark.; the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, from Oklahoma City; the 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, from Indianapolis; and the 37th Brigade Combat Team, out of Columbus, Ohio.

The units are not scheduled to begin deployment until December, officials said, and some may not go at all. “The units will only be deployed if conditions on the ground dictate it,” a DoD spokesman said.

These units will be mobilized for one year in total. In the past, units often mobilized months in advance of a one-year deployment to train for the mission. Officials would also add a month on the end of a deployment for demobilization. Often units spent 16 months mobilized for a yearlong deployment.

A total of 13,000 National Guardsmen are affected by the alert. The alert is earlier than is common for active-duty units. This time gives the units time to notify families and employers of the possible deployment. It also gives the soldiers time to train for the tasks they will perform in Iraq.

While all of these units have deployed in the war on terror, most of the soldiers in the units have not. DoD officials said that more than 60 percent of the soldiers in these four brigades have not deployed before.

The 39th Brigade served under the command of the 1st Cavalry Division from February 2004 to February 2005.

The 45th Brigade Combat Team served in Afghanistan to support training of the Afghan National Army. The unit deployed in Fall 2003.

The 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team served in Kosovo from August 2004 to February 2005. The brigade includes soldiers from Ohio and Michigan.

Many elements of Indiana's 76th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have deployed since November 2002 to both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. The last brigade-level rotation was in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan from May 2004 to August 2005.

Monday, April 09, 2007

Clicking my heels.




We have returned from Fort Benning. We are safe at home. I am no longer topless. E-mail already checked, etc. One load of laundry in, and 2 or 3 to go.

In typical AWTM fashion there is soooo much to blog I am operating on some sort of overload from the road.

The Collective had a bath, 3 stories, and are in bed. This means I should head there right now as well.

However, it was an interesting trip to be sure. DH looked geat despite his being ill with some sort of gastro bug, and an injury he sustained durig his combatives class.

We ended up having Easter dinner (supper) at a restaraunt that will remain nameless, with a suprising amount of transsexuals. And I am not trying to be judgemental, it was just odd and unexpected.

DH and I spent Easter morning horrified as we listened to our 5 year old question the existance of Jesus, it was a long day.

I managed an afternoon of shopping alone, and managed to buy a swimsuit. Heck I even tried them on before the margarita.

I am sure to be back in the morning.

Glad to be home, and am only here for 15-17 days before heading out again....

WOW.

Thursday, April 05, 2007

I'm off to see the wizard

I am leaving my laptop at home.

This is going to be a short trip.

In good news,

I found someone who will take my tree out for me.

I also found someone to give ma an estimate on my lawn.....

Say a prayer for a safe and happy journey.

Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Double knit?

I am not sure what the trend is in your area..

What is with the cheap double knit stuff that is sure to last 1-4 washings?

Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Georgia, really love your peaches want to shake your tree

The Colletive were up late last night. Imagine that. They were up until 11pm. I guess all of that energy from "my driving", and "my unloading", etc. did not tucker them out. Sitting for 10 plus hours is not exhausting, when you are small. Even if you argue 8 of them. It is exhausting if you are the Mom, and you drive it, and referee, sing, point out cows, funny town names, antique cars, signs etc.

I did note this morning, upon my inspection of the lawn that it had been mowed. The neighbor across the street took pity on us. I did go to thank him and tried to pay him for his trouble. He refused. He also let The Collective fill his bird feeders. The birds should be fat and happy.

It is 87 degrees here, so I took bags of The collectives used clothing to the neighbors, in hopes it will fit this summer.

I did spend the morning on the phone calling a lawn service, a tree service, the tax man, my salon. I had to go to the Post Office and pick up held mail, and must make out bills ASAP.

I am doubtful that I can get into the salon. So I will show up at Fort Benning looking like a hooker with 1/2 inch of roots showing.

I also had to run and get an Atlas, as I cannot find mine. And I did not need one on this trip, I have made the trip to Nebraska many times.

However my upcoming trip to Georgia in less than 72 hours is a different story. I think Sir Rowland has the Atlas someplace.

Wish me luck. There is plenty to do. I also ate to much while in Nebraska and am unsure if my Easter suit will fit. I certainly do not want to show up looking like a hooker with 1/2 inch of roots and an ill fitting suit.

Blogging will continue to be odd nad light.

Monday, April 02, 2007

Don't Say your easy on me....Your about as easy as a nuclear war

I am home.

In my house.

Typical sort of fashion....

The Collective have discovered "poopie" is an insult.

Sir Rowland, fell asleep 10 minutes away from our town, after fighting sleep for 10 hours.

We made it to the grocery store ASAP, only to hear "there is a tree coing down in your front yard". This from the (neighbor who had the baby in the driveway) Sister.... That is really nice news to hear first thing out of the "truwk".

I then proceed home, with my truck goceries, a freezer full of meat (bought in Nebraska) the deep freeze, kids that NEED to pee, 3 suitcases, a dresser and chest of drawers that need to be unloaded, ad naseum....

Then my INSANE neighbor (who only leaves her house to talk to me, it seems) comes running across the street like she has a dire emergency. DIRE folks. I have not ever seen this woman run this fast. She comes running, one arm flailing. She then announces "AWTM AWTM, darling...I thought the kids might like to see this egg I just found."


She is lucky she is not walking funny. 10 hours is a long time to be locked up on a drive with a 3 and 5 year old.

An egg folks.

Oh and the tree is not almost down, it is the same as when I left. Thank you crazy people.

Can o worms....




Pink Ninja spent most of her free time at Grampanios digging up worms. Buckets and buckets of worms!!

Sunday, April 01, 2007

We're on The Road to Nowhere





The Great Plains , seem to hold no beauty for my Dear Sir Rowland at this time. The open vast prarie...no charm. He keeps telling me

Sir Rowland: "Mom, we are in the middle of nowhere".

Sir Rowland: "This place is really in the middle of nowhere.",

Sir Rowland: "You people live in the middle of nowhere."

I will note he did the think the dirt quality was much better than ours.