I should really take a nap...

I won't, but I should. Last night I had every intention of going to bed before 11. Delilah, however, had different plans. She went to bed fine, but woke at 10 screaming. I finally brought her down at 10:30 and we went to bed at 11:30. She was up again at 4:45am and didn't go back to sleep until 6:45 and then was knocked out when I had to wake her at 7:45. I did get more sleep than I have been, but it was interrupted sleep, never good sleep.

I am dragging a** today, I have no intentions on going out today. It's currently 9 degrees and feels like -4 degrees. My brother so kindly picked up the girls and brought them home for me. I wasn't feeling well, tired and a little down.

I did finish Sophia's shirt last night. Only took me three hours, would have been less if the gathering stitches hadn't broken and needed to be redone. I like hers the best so far. Kale prefers Lilly's. You can be the judge for yourself. I think I will take a break for tonight and work on Aidan's tomorrow night.

You HAVE GOT to Be F*ing Kidding Me!

Kale is currently still in Cuba, will not be leaving until 5-6pm, hopefully. Why is he sitting in Cuba still? Because someone with no freaking brain decided that because it was raining in VA (the planes final destination) then they would just stay in Jacksonville. You know, instead of doing the logical thing and going to Cuba, picking them up, taking them to Jacksonville, and THEN waiting for the weather to clear in VA. But no, we are talking about people with "broken chromosomes" as K likes to put it, ie MEN!

He will miss his flight out of Jacksonville and there aren't any later flights to Atlanta from Jacksonville tonight. Unless they can completely re-route him and do it for little to no money, then he will probably be on stand-by for tomorrow. Hopefully first thing in the morning. Right now my optimism is very low. I do not deal well with the unknown. Hopefully I will know something as soon as he gets to the airport. But not being able to call him drives me NUTS!

Snow Day...Not for My Girls!

There are only two school districts in the greater KC area that didn't cancel school today....Fort Leavenworth and Leavenworth. I briefly thought about not taking the girls to school regardless, but my mom quickly talked some sense into me. Instead we were barely on time. It's still snowing right now and we have about 5inches or so. At least their Girl Scout meetings are canceled tonight. My mom is in Lansing School District, so she had the whole day off. And apparently she rubbed Stella and Meme's noses in it this morning, Stella didn't appreciate it much (neither would I).

Sophia, Delilah, and I packed up to go make cookies with Rosy and Alan. Aidan had a cookie exchange at her GS meeting, which is now canceled but I can still use the cookies for Lilly's holiday party on Friday. I have to go out to pick up the girls in about an hour and I don't want to. :( It's too cold outside and I am warm and sleepy. Oh well, it's my last day of having to chauffeur for awhile.

Kale is still on the ground in Cuba, the plane to Jacksonville is late, due to get there in 30-60mins. They are normally supposed to leave around noon, of course today they are behind. I was not happy when he called to let me know. Hopefully he will still have enough time to make his flight in Jacksonville. Needless to say I now have a tension headache. I am also worried Green won't want to drive over here tonight, he doesn't do well in the snow. If he won't I am sure my brother will go get him and drop him off. Of course that means we have to take him home tonight. GRR! It's not going according to plan. I hate not having control of things and I have no control over any of this.

COLD!

It's gone from 5 degrees to 2 degrees in the last hour. It's cold. We don't normally get this kind of cold in KS, it's more like the cold we dealt with the three years we spent in MA. The windchill today is -14 degrees. Kale is going to freeze his a** off tomorrow night and probably every day he is here. Cuba is nice and toasty warm, but I don't feel a bit sorry for him having to come here to freezing temps.

I spoke with my mother about the situation with Lilly's teacher. My mom is a principal and has been for 12+ years so I often go to her for guidance. I like to run things by her first to make sure I am not worrying for nothing or going overboard. She thinks I am completely justified feeling the way I do. She mirrored my opinion that the teacher just doesn't want to do her JOB. So I took her advice and I asked for a meeting with the principal. Kale and I will be going together, when it comes to my kids I tend to get overly emotional and feel like I am being attacked, even if I really am not. So I need someone to be there to calm me. I wish my mom could go with me, but she hasn't the time and she likes to make me handle things myself. If it goes further though, I think she will step in and help out.

Aidan is getting sassier and sassier. I wanted to smack her yesterday. We had our Christmas with Jason, Rosy, and Alan since they are leaving next Friday. And Aidan had two gifts to open, one from them and one from my Aunt Mel. The only reason she had the second gift was because my uncle decided they needed to open more than one and brought the gifts from her over. After Aidan opened her two gifts, loving both of them, expressing thanks, all that good stuff, then came the water works and the "I don't have any more presents to open!" Then the screams "I WANT MORE PRESENTS TO OPEN!" I cut her off quickly, which is how you have to deal with Aidan so it doesn't escalate quickly. Usually when I am with my family my dad steps in and starts yelling and arguing with her, it just makes it worse. They usually end up in a screaming match, really they are like the same person. The louder someone yells at them, the louder they yell. It's lovely when they get into it with each other. I was able to get her to go to sit by herself and calm down rather quickly. I am not sure, but I think this behavior is going to take something drastic to get it to stop. Like taking away a present or something the next time she does it. Selfishness is not something I take very well, it drives me NUTS! And she is the only child that acts that way, the others are happy with what they get. Not her, she always wants MORE.

I guess if she does it again I will be taking her to donate a toy or two to Toy's for Tots, out of her own Christmas presents. She needs to learn selflessness. I am just not sure how to teach it, I will figure it out though, I know it.

Tomorrow! He will be here tomorrow night! :)

Wordless Wednesday

Here's Lilly modeling the dress K made for her, it fits perfectly.

K also made this cape, but she intended it for Abby. It was far too big for her, so Aidan benefits from this fact. Aidan likes that she looks like Little Red Riding Hood. I may use it for her Halloween costume next year.

Sophia in the dress K made for her. It wasn't originally intended to be for our family picture, but now that I changed colors it's perfect.

She wanted to take the pictures outside even though it was only 28 degrees outside with a wind chill of 18.

Some days she can be such a ham.

This was while we were waiting in line to pay at Kohl's this past Saturday. It wasn't quite Black Friday long, but it took a good 20mins to get through the line.

I received my dress in the mail today and it fits. :) Although a little big in the bust, as usual. Apparently most people my size have considerably larger breasts. It's the last place I gain weight and the first place I lose it. :( I am at peace with my size now, I don't like it, but I am at peace with it.

Judy is sending a dress she had bought for Aidan, it should be here tomorrow. She thinks it will be perfect for our family picture, I haven't seen it yet so I am hoping she is right. Delilah's is not my favorite, but it will work. Hers is a brown corduroy jumper dress with flowers printed in lots of colors on it. It also has a pink shirt underneath. I saw one I liked better, but I didn't want to shell out $24 for a dress and another $17 for the sweater. I can't do it right now, I am saving our extra money for activities while Kale is here.

Hope you all had a great day!

It's Snowing!

It's not the first time it's snowed this winter, but it's coming down a lot faster than last time. Maybe it will be enough to cancel today's Girl Scout Ceremonies, I don't feel like going and being social. And of course both girls have ceremonies the same day and time, so that is wonderful. My aunt is taking Lilly for me, so at least I don't have to feel the guilt of "No one is going to my ceremony!" Although Aidan maybe upset that I am going to hers instead of Patience, we will see. I also have to go get a dessert to bring with us. And I have to go to the post office to return the wool dress coat I bought and didn't notice the sizing was junior's sizing. Needless to say it did not fit. I ordered a new one in the appropriate size already.

Some pictures of recent acquisitions:

Kale's New "Top Coat" for Dressier Outings

My New Dress Coat

My Dress for Our Family Pictures

K made two of these dresses out of fabric I bought this past fall. One for Sophia and one for her "friend Abby".

Here's Abby modeling the dress. I would post one of Sophia modeling hers but it was just mailed out yesterday.

After Judy decided she wanted a family picture also, I decided for my side of the family's picture we would all wear brown and pink or black. I couldn't find anything I liked for Lilly so Keisha offered to make me one. I just had to pick a pattern and she found the fabric. She is my hero, she made the entire dress in less than 12hrs. Impressive to me as I have little to no sewing experience. I also don't have a picture of her modeling it as it was also mailed out yesterday.

I have also recently bought Aidan and Delilah wool dress coats, Sophia's my mom bought a couple of years ago at a yard sale for only $3. It's in perfect condition and only needed to be dry cleaned. I bought Lilly's last year in an after Christmas sale. I almost always buy coats a little big so they last longer than one season. We will be a well dressed family this winter. :)

12 Days and Counting.....

Very, very soon Kale will be back, the 16th to be exact. He gets in at 11pm that night and I am picking him up myself. Green has volunteered to come over and sit with the sleeping children. The girls don't know exactly when he is arriving, just that it's soon and before Christmas. Lilly will be very excited he will be able to attend her Christmas musical on the 17th.

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Black Friday

As is the tradition for the women in my family we went shopping on Black Friday. Green was kind enough to spend the night on my couch and "take care of" (be the adult in the house just in case) the older three girls. Rosy insisted I leave Delilah with Jason and Alan, I wasn't going to argue. I am just glad for my brother that she went straight back to sleep after I dropped her off at 4:40am. As always I have to be the first one up that morning because I am the driver and I have to pick everyone up. I picked Rosy up, dropped Delilah off, and picked Patience up. It's really not bad, I live 10mins from Rosy, Patience lives across the street from Rosy, and then it's 5mins to my mom's from there.

We went to Walmart first, arriving just before the doors opened. There was a line formed all the way around the outside of the store. We joined at the very end and it took us about 15mins to get inside. It was very cold that morning, only 20 degrees. Rosy was not ready for that, this was her first time getting up at the crack of dawn to join us. She went the years before, but after 8am usually. My mom bought her 50" Plasma TV my dad wanted, Rosy bought a trampoline, Meme picked up some gifts for the girls, Stella bought shampoo and nail polish remover (we teased her about this), Patience bought toys for her grandson Matthew, and I bought pj's and toys for the girls. My mom got right through the line and took the tv home while we shopped and stood in line. Patience and I didn't take too long in our line. We had a nice older lady in front of us and she was not letting a line jumper in our line. It was very funny to watch her tell him no he couldn't "squeeze in". Other than that we didn't see any arguments. After I got through the line I went to keep Rosy company, it took her awhile to get into line since they had to find a flatbed cart for her trampoline, that sucker was heavy. I couldn't even lift one end. It took us and hour to get through her line to pay. Then the worker loaded it in the van and we had to take it to her house or nothing else would fit.

We didn't get out of town (out of walmart) until 7:30am, then we headed to north KC. We spent another hour at Toys R Us. Then Kohl's, Target, lunch at Applebee's, and Old Navy. We were home about 3:30pm. I found Green as I left him, sleeping on my couch. The girls were dressed and had been fed, he woke up long enough to handle that much. It's a good thing Lilly is older and can take care of things. Delilah gave Jason a run for his money, she and Alan like to fight. There was an incident with Alan's poopy diaper and her grabbing it and flinging the poop everywhere. We laughed our butt's off at that one when he called to share. All and all it was a fun day, I wasn't sure I would be able to go this year and I am thankful my family stepped up to the plate to help out.

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The Days Ahead

We have a ton planned for when Kale is here. It's going to be a whirlwind visit, I think our heads will be spinning by then end of the trip.

17th: Trim the Tree, Family Picture (ENTIRE Family, all 14 of us), Lilly's Musical
18th: Delilah and I have doctors appointments at 1pm
19th: My parents are watching the girls and we are going out to dinner ALONE/Jason, Rosy, and Alan leave for Mexico and won't return until the 5th of Jan.
20th: Kale is taking the older three to see Bolt
21st: Kale's b-day dinner (his b-day was 11/22) at Famous Dave's with our extended family
22nd: Painting Sophia's room white again and switching her room and Delilah's
23rd: Kale's parents and Nanny arrive/We will go out alone again
24th: Christmas at my parents with everyone
25th: Christmas of course/plus Kale and his dad are taking the older three to Tale of Despereaux/Judy and I are making dinner/My mom and the teens are coming over for dinner
26th: Probably family pictures with Kale's family (since Judy all of the sudden after 5 years decided she wants to get it done professionally again, AFTER she has said numerous times that regular snapshots are good enough)/My parents and the teens leave for Chicago
27th: His family leaves
28th: Not sure yet
29th: He leaves at 6pm :(

The only positive thing about Jason, Rosy, and Alan being in Mexico for Christmas is that they are letting Kale's family stay at their house. That way we aren't cramped here and they don't have to spend money on a hotel. Otherwise it sucks, we will miss them like we do every year.

I may be hit and miss again during all of this. I have been very lazy, bored, and tired lately.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Too Cold....

It's not usually this cold in KS this time of year, at least not as consistently cold as it has been. It's going to be a long, rough winter this year I am afraid. Which does not bode well for me, I hate being cooped up and lack of sunshine depresses me. That's one of the major reasons I hated living in MA.

Lilly and Aidan went camping this past weekend. Aidan and her troop got to sleep in the lodge, where it was warm. Lilly and her troop had to sleep outdoors, the first night it was in the 30's. The second night it was in the low 50's. They had a lot of fun.

My mom and I took Sophia and Delilah to Boo at the Zoo. Sophia didn't want to wear her costume and cried until we got inside the zoo. Delilah wouldn't leave her left bootie on and everyone kept stopping me to point out that she had "lost" it. Which is nice, but irritating if you know it's not lost. Finally I took it out of the diaper bag and hung it on the stroller handle, no one pointed it out anymore. We had a short, but nice visit to the zoo. She got just enough candy for a three year old and enjoyed looking at the animals.

Sophia also got to spend the night with my parents all alone. Even went out to dinner with them all by herself. I think she enjoyed that a lot.

I thought I would get some sleep, but I am not so lucky. Delilah is cutting her molars and has not been sleeping well. At least that's why I am hoping she isn't sleeping. Because that is temporary. I keep reminding myself that A) eventually she will start sleeping better or B) Kale will come home for good and he can get up with her. :P

Tomorrow Aidan has a costume tea party at her Daisy meeting. Then on Friday she and Lilly had a "character parade" at school. They get to dress up as long as they dress up as a character from a book, and it has to be a literature book not a comic book. Nothing gory, scary, or bloody. Lilly is going as Sacajawea and Aidan is Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz. They have to bring a copy of the book their character is from so I ordered the books earlier this month and we already received them.

I am also happy Halloween is on a Friday, my mom and the teens can take the girls out trick or treating. Kale has always taken them before, it's not my idea of fun. I go if I have to, but I prefer to hand out candy.

No One Told Me....

First I would like to apologize for my foul language in my last two posts. I was typing so fast and furious I didn't even attempt to *** out some of the letters. While I do have a potty mouth, I know when and where it is appropriate to use.

Back to normal now....

No one told me just how hard this really was going to be. I cried last night on the phone with Kale, telling him just how hard it was and how upset I am that it's only 1/4 of the way over. I have been a mess this week. It's pretty bad when I am crying in my van when Gavin Rossdale's Love Remains the Same or Secondhand Serenade's Fall for You comes on the radio. -If you haven't heard either you should check them out, they are really good songs.-

I think my kids are handling this better than I am. I was fine the first couple of months, then school started and I have been home all day bored, just thinking of him. I am not having trouble dealing with the kids or dealing with the house. It's just the loneliness of it. I have not been apart from Kale for more than a month since I was 18, that's 10 years of being together. In February we will have been married for 10 years, he says he's finally going to buy me a big rock. :P But I have to wait until he comes back in June, he wants to be there with me when I pick it out.

I think it's the silence at night that bothers me most. He's been really good about calling me twice a day and emailing me everyday. I am happy when he calls, but I become even more sad when we have to hang up. It was easier for me in the beginning when I was so busy, but it was harder for him. At that time we didn't know that he can use state to state calling cards, which are WAY cheaper than the international ones he was using. I was also always busy and missed his calls often. He will have internet in his house again mid-Oct. and then it will be a little cheaper to talk. And I can talk to him all night long. Since he left my typing has improved, I was pretty good before, but now I am so much better.

In other news I have now lost nearly 15 pounds! I am excited. I am going to start walking to the school and back to pick up the girls on nice days, it's probably a 2-4 mile walk both ways. That will help. The "happy pills" have been helping to keep me away from sweets. I eat only what I need and I have even cut back to two 8oz pepsi's a day. I already drink a lot of water, so that's not a problem. I also started taking a multi vitamin to help with energy.

Well, my weekend is pretty busy. Lilly and Aidan both have parties to attend and on Sunday we are all going to the Renaissance Festival. It's been a beautiful week and it's supposed to continue for the weekend.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Where were you 9/11/01?

I know I said I was going to finish Sophia's birth story but I heard some old sound bites from 9/11 this morning on our way to school and it brought everything that happened that day rushing back to me.

The morning of 9/11 Lilly was sitting on my bed watching cartoons (Disney Channel) she was only just 2 at the time. I was packing for our trip later that day. We were due to fly out of Louisville International Airport later that afternoon. That's when Kale called. His first question "Are you watching tv?" I told him that yeah, Lilly was watching Disney, "Turn on one of the news channels." He informed me. I did so, just in time to watch the second airplane crash into the other tower. I am pretty sure I screamed. He then said to me "I don't think you are going anywhere today." He was right, at least I wasn't going by plane. I stayed glued to the tv not knowing what I should do and then the towers started falling, one then the other. I cried. I cried for all those people who were scrambling to get out, for all the people who had loved ones still trapped inside, for all the people on the planes at the time of the crashes, and finally for myself. I knew my life as I knew it would never be the same.

At the time we were living on Fort Knox, where the gold depository is, they felt it was a target. I knew if I didn't leave within a few hours I would be trapped for days. I told Kale I still wanted to go to my parents as planned, but I would drive instead of fly. But we had a problem, we only had one car and since he had planned on getting off to take me to the airport he drove it to work instead of getting a ride. And he was on lock down in the jail and we had no idea when he would be able to leave. I asked one of my neighbors to drive us over to the jail to retrieve the car and she very kindly did so. We did have to do it illegally though, I only had one car seat and it was in our car. Kale and I both worried that I wouldn't be able to find gas or that it would be very highly priced, but I didn't want to be there in case terrorists had plans for other places in the country. Not to mention I would have been very claustrophobic having to stay on post for who knew how long. Turns out it was a good idea to leave, they were on lock down for quite a few days.

Lilly and I loaded up and headed out just before lunch that day. We sat, listening to the radio, listening to all the stats, listening to people talk about their missing loved ones, listening to reporters discuss who could have done it, we just rode the whole way as if in a cloud. No one was on the road, nothing was in the sky, it was just us. I was able to make really good time that day, I hardly remember the drive at all. We only stopped for gas twice, peed at the station, and just took snacks to eat. When we arrived at my parents house my mom was there to greet us. I collapsed into her arms and we cried.

During the next few weeks all I watched was the news. I drown myself in the statistics, I prayed they would find more people alive, and I waited on baited breath hoping they would. It consumed me for days until I finally had to say enough is enough and walk away from the tv.

Now, 7 years later, life for most is not effected daily by this. My life is, every time I have to stop at the front gates to my home and show my ID. And then there are the times when I fly and I swear to you every single time we have flown since 9/11 I have been "randomly selected" for additional screening. Once they even patted Sophia down, at the time she was only 7mths old. I am infuriated they do this to me every time. I know they can't profile, but please....I am a woman, a military wife, with four children, I am hardly a terroristic risk. They are "just doing their jobs" but that doesn't explain why it's always me. I am probably their "look we don't profile, look we picked her!"

Today my kids are doing their annual National Anthem Project walk for freedom. They have done it every year for three years and last year Fort Leavenworth was awarded with the "All Star City" award, even though we aren't technically a city. It's a gloomy day, I hope it doesn't rain on them too much. They are having a picnic afterwards and I don't want it to get rained out.

So, Where were you on 9/11/01?

Slept IN!!!

It's not very often Delilah lets me sleep past 7am and yesterday she woke me up at 6:15am with a foul odor. I was awaken by the same foul odor but this time at 8:30am!!! I needed the sleep, yesterday was a long day due to the ungodly hour I was awoken.

I went to to doctor yesterday, I had a tick bite my dad insisted I get looked at. Actually he insisted I should be on antibiotics. The doctor said nothing was wrong with it and it was just red/itchy because it was scar tissue built up and healing. Then she fixed it so I only have to take my "happy" meds once a day. I am constantly forgetting the second dose. Rosy was nice enough to come over and sit with the kids while I went.

After the doctor's appointment we packed the kids up, went to the post office, and then picked Jason up from his "class" he is taking in KC. Then we went to Party America, Sams Club, and the Mall. I found a set of candles that spell Sophia so I bought those for her birthday. Plus, I found a tiara that lights up and says Birthday Girl for Lilly to wear on Saturday. While we were walking into Sam's I mused "I wonder if people think you are a polygamist, Jason?" and we laughed. We walked around the mall and surprisingly I didn't buy a thing. We headed out stopping only at QT for drinks before heading home. It was a good afternoon just hanging out.

Delilah was a pain to put to bed last night though, she went down at 9pm but didn't give up until 9:45pm. All I can say is I am glad she didn't scream, she fussed a bit, but mostly talked and squealed. I went to bed at 10:30pm and as I said before, I actually got to sleep in.

Aidan is having a blast with my parents. My mom took her to the zoo in the morning while my dad was in meetings. She was able to dress up like a lemur, zoo doctor, zoo director, and a bird. She pet the goats and saw a bald eagle named Lela. After they took a nap, they met up with my dad and went to Chinatown. They had dinner there and she ate duck. This was so surprising for me. You have no idea how picky this child used to be and how much she has changed in just a couple of years. Seriously she used to only eat peanut butter sandwiches, mac n cheese, and chicken nuggets (McDonalds only). Now she is willing to at least try most things, before she would screech at you until you quit asking her. It is amazing to me. She did say though (about the duck) "but not the feathers, mommy." That is just so Aidan.

I am hoping Lilly is having a good time. Her first day there it was 102 degrees outside and it rained at night. Yesterday it rained off and on all day. So I am not sure how much they have been able to do outdoors. It's supposed to storm the next two days and be nice on her last day there. I can tell from the pictures they uploaded on the eCamp site that yesterday was a mostly indoor day. But she looked happy in the pictures. So I won't worry about her.

Other than that, my new gates came and work wonderfully. I am very happy with them. I also love my new diaper bag. It's big enough but not too big, I don't need a huge one. I am not sure my plans for the day, well beyond going to the commissary for milk and such. But for me to get there I have to get off my lazy butt and get around. :P

It's sooo hot and humid here....

Summer has taken hold in KS. KS summers are very hot and humid. When you go outside you are immediately sticky and sweaty. Makes you feel pretty.

Last night we went to Atchison, KS for the Amelia Earhart Festival. She was born in Atchison and they hold tight to that claim to fame. They even have a bridge that has a spotlight shining to the heavens above to "light her way home". They also have an AWESOME fireworks show set to music. It's always better than Fort Leavenworth's 4th of July show. This time Aidan sat on my mom's lap for only the first song, then she moved down to her own chair. I am sure my mom was grateful, it was hot as hell. It was a wonderful show, a good time, but we didn't get home until midnight.

Lilly's home and had a wonderful time. She made lots of friends, including the snotty cabinmates. Her one cabinmate even asked for our phone number. Her nose and cheeks were a little sunburnt but other than that she was in one piece. She only mailed one letter, to her Grammie. All it said was "Dear Grammie and Pop, I like potatos! Love, Lilly". It's some weird thing she and her BFF say all the time. I was also glad to hear they fixed her mosquito netting the first day.

And now, since I am tired and can't think anymore, I will leave you two recent Aidan anecdotes.

We are in Kohls and Aidan starts saying very loudly:
Mommy you wear a size 1 EXTRA. Look this one is your size, it's a 1 EXTRA!
I had to politely explain why she shouldn't do that and how it embarrassed me.

Then last night my mom was pouring water from one bottle to another and spills on herself.
Mom: Damn, now I look like I wet my pants.
Aidan: Nonnie, did you forget to put on a PAD?
Luckily no one outside of a 3ft radius could hear her because of the fireworks.

Good Things and Not So Good Things

I have been kind of MIA the last few days, we've been very busy. I think I mentioned my grandfather, Nadja (former ExStudent), and her mom were here. It has been non-stop, go-go-go, busy-busy-busy for us.

Since I am strapped for time I am going to leave you with a few of the good things and a few of the not so good things.

Good:

I was able to refinance my van loan at a very low rate, saving us over $50.
Delilah is trying to pull up to everything and anything.
Delilah cut another tooth.
We went to a very cool and fun outdoor play on Friday night, Beauty and the Beast.
My MIL loved it.
We went to the only 19th Century woolen mill that still has all of it's original machinery.
My MIL loved it.
I finally got to see Jason and Rosy's new house, it's very nice.
We rode the Midland Railroad again this summer.
My grandpa and the girls love it every year.
Friday we went shopping without mil and younger three girls.
I have managed to get all but two items on Lilly's summer camp list, I will be getting those two things today.
I haven't had to cook a single meal since I got home.
I have gotten home every night just in time to put the girls to bed.

Not So Good:

Delilah is pulling up.
Delilah was cutting more teeth, thus very grumpy.
The play was cancelled due to lightening after the first half.
We were strapped for time at Watkins Mill and house, so we didn't get to see everything.
Judy complained about this.
It was hot for us adults on the train.
Judy complained.
Judy complains every night about what time we get home.

You know what though? I don't give a flying flip!

She goes home on Wednesday and Monday and Tuesday are filled with fun things to do.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Feeling a bit better today

I have been able to talk to Kale everyday now. Mostly on Windows Live, the phone reception sucks and he is deaf so it's a lot of "WHAT?" and me yelling. And I am not a fan of everyone in the house knowing my business. The guys who live with him suggested we buy webcams and microphones and talk through Windows Live. So today I braved going back to Walmart with Judy to purchase said products. I found a middle of the line webcam that came with a headset to talk with and it works with Windows Live. I had to buy two, he said there aren't any to buy in Cuba which I am surprised. Our PX (like Walmart) has them so I figured the NX (Navy's version) would have them too. Especially since he said the NX has more than our PX, but oh well I bought them anyways. Now I just have to send it to him and wait for him to get it, about two weeks.

We spent 4hrs out and about today. We went looking for something to keep Delilah confined to a certain space. Judy's vacuum is broken and their dog loses a ton of fur daily. After she's been on the floor for awhile she is black from dog hair, YUCK! It grosses me out. We wanted to find a play yard you sit on the ground so we could lay a blanket down under it and she'd have room to crawl. They live in a small town and variety is not an option. Instead I found a relatively cheap walker to put her in. She gets upset with it though, she can only make it go backwards right now. We'll see how she does later. She has had to have a bath every night since we got here because of the damn dog fur. I almost bought a vacuum instead, but she says she is getting hers fixed and until then we can use Nanny's (Kale's grandma, she lives with them).

We took the girls to the library today. It was the smallest library I have ever seen. It was one room for all the books. Lilly found 8 that interested her for now and Aidan found 9. Sophia checked out 2, a board book and a Max and Ruby book for us to read to her. We don't let her have paper books alone anymore, she ripped two of them to pieces during her nap. They were ours, but still. After lunch Judy and I went to town and were there for FOUR hours. This is our trek:

1) Walmart 1hr 30mins: We bought many things.
2) Dollar Tree 10mins: Judy ran in.
3) Lowe's 20mins: They didn't have what she wanted, we knew it after 10mins but still looked around for 10 more.
4) Consignment Shop 20mins: Looking for baby playyard or walkers. They wanted $24.99 for the walker I bought brand new at Walmart for $33.99.
5) K-mart 20mins: To see if they have a cheaper walker. I did find swim diapers that were Delilah's size and only $2.99! I took the huggies ones back and got my $7.50 back, they weren't her size anyways they didn't have her size at Walmart.
6) Big Lots (same reason) 15mins: Old ladies were gushing over Delilah so it took longer than it should have.
7) Back to Walmart 15mins: To get the walker and my ice cream.
8) Carwash 15mins: To wash the bugs off my van.
9) HOME to make dinner, bathe children, and put them to bed.

It's a wonder why I am not that tired right now. I got some sleep last night, it was in 3-4hr periods but for most of the night. Teething babies are the pits. Hopefully she will sleep better tonight. Tomorrow we are going to the Flea market and for Father's Day we are taking my FIL to an Aquarium, because 85 degrees is "too hot for the zoo". Whatever! But it's not my day so I will keep my trap shut, except to bitch to you and my husband.

Have a good weekend!

Saying Goodbye Sucks!

Lele is gone, sort of. She is stuck in Chicago and hopefully will be leaving at 2:45pm. She was supposed to leave at 5:30pm yesterday, but didn't take off until 8:30pm. The weather yesterday was warm, sunny, and very windy, I guess that's why the plane couldn't take off. We don't know though, they did tell us why. By 6:00pm when my parents sent everyone home to start dinner because they were told her flight wouldn't leave until 9pm causing her to miss her connections. So they were going to stay and rebook her flights then come home for our Father's Day BBQ. We were doing it then because everyone will be out of town next weekend.

As I was pulling into my driveway to get the food, my dad calls and says she is leaving at 8pm, if we want to say goodbye we have to go back. It's 6:30pm at this point and it's at least a half an our drive, plus it's storming so bad I can barely see out the window. I decided to leave Judy and the girls at home, order them a pizza, and Green and I would drive back. On the way back the storm had moved south, but we still had to drive though it again. We got there at 7pm and at 7:15pm they announced they would be boarding right away to try and get out before the storm hit. It so sucked, we had to say goodbye in the security check line. Then my mom had forgotten to give her the card with the money we all gave her for her trip home. So she had to take it to a security guard so he could track her down. At least I saw him physically give the envelope to her.

I feel so sorry for her, she is stuck in Chicago right now and not sure when she is getting home. Her bags went all the way to Milan already, so she has nothing to change into. She is most upset that she has to wear her underwear two days in a row. We were lucky that there was another exchange student from Germany on the plane with her and her host family has family in Chicago. So they picked them up at the airport and took them to their house to spend the night. Then they brought them back this morning and helped them get their tickets straightened out. But she is on stand-by so the ordeal is not over yet. My mom is worried the other girl will get to go on and Lele will be stuck another day and be alone. The girls host mom said her family would keep her again if that happens but mom is not sure how Lele will feel about being alone with strangers.

It's a big mess and that is why I decided not to leave today. I just was there all day yesterday, plus I was up Sat. until 1am and up at 6:30am Sun. Delilah thinks it's time to get up when she sees the sun. Plus she had soaked her clothes and bed that night. So I woke Judy to give her a bath while I cleaned her bed. I spent the morning cleaning, grocery shopping for my mom (because I don't have enough to do already), then we went shopping before going to the airport, and then the rest happened.

I am much more rested today. We went to bed at 11pm last night and Delilah slept until 8:30am this morning. We went to breakfast at McDonald's (that's where Judy wanted to go) and then picked up some things at Walmart. Now I am going to pack, well when Delilah gets up from her nap the suitcases are my room where her crib is too. I will get everything packed up and loaded and tonight we are having the BBQ. Tomorrow we will hit the road so I may or may not post, depends on how tired I am when I get there.

Hope everyone had a good weekend, mine could have been better.

Fun Filled Day.....and it's only 10am

Delilah has taken to waking me everyday before 7am and making sure that I can't get back to sleep before it's time to get up. This morning she was even more rude, she feel asleep just as I had to get up and I had to go wake her up to take the girls to school. That breaks on of my rules Never wake a sleeping baby.

After we got home from dropping them off, I lost track of time reading blogs and was nearly late leaving for Delilah's doctor's appointment. Oh and It's freaking snowing, AGAIN! I swear, I thought I moved away from MA. As I was going down the hill I started to slide and had to run the stop sign to avoid sliding right into the ditch. I am okay driving on snow or ice unless 2 minutes into my drive I have something like that happen. At least I don't panic and I know how to correct myself without creating more problems.

We got to the clinic and her appointment is for next week. SHIT! Kale makes her another one for this afternoon, but it's not with the doctor I trust. So I have him cancel it and I talk to the doctor's nurse. She assures me I am doing everything right for treating her pneumonia. Which is all I really wanted to know. So we go home, Delilah screeching all the way there.

I get home and make her a bottle. Walk into the living room and see something weird on the carpet. Upon closer inspection and a poke of my finger, I find out it's Aidan's fish Rainbow. Stupid F*ing cat ate only the head and left the rest on the floor for me to clean up. He could have at least had the decency to finish the meal and just left me wondering where the fish had gone (like I wouldn't have known). (As I was finishing typing this he actually went over to where he left the damn thing and gave me a dirty look as if to say I was gonna finish that!)

It can only get better from here, RIGHT???

Kansas Weather SUCKS!

So yesterday it's cold, snowing, then raining. Today, it's BEAUTIFUL. 65 degrees and sunny. Tomorrow, cold, snow, then rain. It has been like this all winter. I am ready for spring already. Last year we had an abnormally warm winter until February. This year it's been abnormally cold. I am used to KS weather fluctuating day to day, but come on!