i don't believe it

I went to the DMV this morning to get a current Nebraska license. (I still have my Texas license with my maiden name on it.) I was feeling unusually lucky this morning because the clerk reluctantly agreed to use a photocopy of my marriage certificate showing the name change since I also had my military ID. Plus, when I got there I was the only person in line.

Things changed when she entered my information in to the data system. She asked if I ever got a ticket in NC and I couldn't immediately recall. Let's be honest, I could have an outstanding ticket in several states and a couple of countries. I said, "I don't think so." Turns out someone with the exact same name and birthday (except she was born in '73) got a ticket (or something) in NC. On a military installation.

The clerk couldn't verify it wasn't me and I'm not sure she really believed it WASN'T me so I couldn't get my license. She gave me a phone number of the DMV in Onslow, NC, to call. I have to prove to NC that it wasn't me who got the ticket. How am I supposed to do that? I don't know, they don't know. I called and after getting passed around three times the supervisor said she'd call me back. It might be tomorrow before she has an answer of what I need to do.

My main concern in this whole thing was registering to vote. The Nebraska clerk said I needed a clearance letter from NC before I could get my license and god only knows how long that would take! I asked about voting and she said no problem and took my registration form without question. I thought that was odd. I can vote without proving who I am, and I can keep my TX license and drive around until 2010 but I can't get a current license.

say no to gnocchi

I spent HOURS making homemade gnocchi yesterday just to have it turn in to a pile of mush last night. That kind of stunk.

Last night was Schmitty's first CCD class, he wasn't impressed. It was 3rd and 4th graders together, a large group of kids. It sounded like they just sat there and played a quiet version of Simon Says most of the night while the 4th got their instruction. Oh well.

no-key

I'm a litte annoyed, okay more than a little. I've searched high and low in probably half a dozen different grocery stores for gnocchi and can't find it.

from the mouth of babes

We got the framed portrait of the boys back on Saturday, it's beautiful. Yago spent the weekend hanging things on the walls and making it look a little homier in here.

Schmitty spent last night at my parents' house. It's always weird when he's not here. We were talking the other night, sometimes he says the most interesting things. We were on the couch and he'd just finished clearing the table, I still had to do the dishes. I said something about how I didn't feel like doing the dishes and he offered to help. I smiled at him and told him that was really nice of him to offer. He said, "Well, I think when you help someone it leaves a little spot on your heart." I thought that was just about the sweetest thing I'd ever heard. I smiled and joked that I bet Yago doesn't know that. He replied, "I think he does. I also think that when you lie it leaves a spot on your heart, at least it does on mine." Geez, Mr. Philosopher.

not a word

We took Ralph for his 18-month well-baby visit the other day and there's a teensy bit of concern over the fact that he refuses to talk. The doctor tried to help us out with a, "But he says mama and dada, right?" No. "Is he in daycare?" No. "Does he watch a lot of tv?" No, not a single word. Hmph. I think he's just stubborn.

open house

A conversation overheard at Schmitty's open house last night:

A mother looking at an assignment hanging on wall...

Child: "That's for you to look at, not to be criticked."

Mother: "Critiqued."

Yago says I have issues but it was more for my own amusement. I thought it (I) was funny.

not very interesting

Lately my blogging has not been prolific but it's mostly because I've been swamped. It seems like there's always a task (or two) of the day. There's so much I want to do but right now I'm swamped with the mundane.

Yesterday I went to a frame store and chose a frame for a portrait of the boys that Yago had done in Iraq. It's a beautiful painting and I'm really excited to get it framed and hung.

Ralph is STILL in his empty-all-the-cupboards, watch-mommy-put-everything-away, and empty-all-the-cupboards-again phase. It's fun. (or it was for the first week)

there goes peter cottontail

Schmitty and I have a little routine in the morning on our walk. We know all the dogs that are out and say good morning to them. There are three dachshunds in one yard and we call one of them Sadie, "Good morning, Sadie." Then there's the most well-behaved boxer I've ever seen. We look for him every morning and say, "Good morning, Boxer." Finally, there's a bunny we see every morning that hops in to the same bushes. All we see is her little tail.

This morning we didn't see the bunny and commented on it. A little further up the road there was a squirrel that had been hit by a car. I told Sam not to look, just keep walking. Turns out it was a little bunny. I didn't have the heart to tell him. I was sad enough for both of us.

Last Saturday we drove up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to visit Yago's best friend since kindergarten. We spent the night there and had a good time just hanging out. They have a 2 1/2 year old daughter and Ralph loved playing with the baby dolls and princess toys. It was funny. It was a little more difficult for Schmitty to entertain himself. After digging through Dora and Barbie Princess videos he finally found Schrek, Cars and The Fox and the Hound. We invited them down for a weekend and I hope they come.

going solo

Last night was Skate Night at Schmitty's school. I took him after his piano lesson and it was there that I learned (again) my little boy is growing up.

We went in and I paid for admission and skates for both of us. When we got to the counter to get our skates I asked if he wanted me to skate with him assuming he'd say yes. I was so confident that I'd already paid for my rental. "No, that's okay. I'll skate with my friends first." Oh. He went out there and I sat near the snack bar watching. I waited all evening for an invitation that was never extended. Gone are the days of the two of us holding hands and skating around as fast as we can, giggling wildly.

I spent his early years dressing him in argyle sweater vests and reindeer sweaters around the holidays. His hair was cut and gelled just so. Now he reads greek mythology books about vampires, wears a dragon necklace and his favorite school shirt is a t-shirt that says "Caverns of DOOM" under a bat. Throw in a flaming skull tattoo and he's ecstatic. The nerve of my little boy.

I couldn't help but laugh at the skating rink when they started playing YMCA and Schmitty thrust both fists in the air with index, pinky fingers, and thumbs extended. That was too funny. Oh and at the end when he tried break dancing, I nearly busted a gut.

ollie ollie in come free

Last night Yago and I searched and searched for the remote. I was upstairs looking in our closet, thinking maybe Ralph snuck it up there to play with while I was in the shower. Yago searched the pantry and kitchen cabinets. After much searching, Yago found it placed neatly inside our front loading washing machine. All I could think was, "Thank God I'm not the one that misplaced it."

In other tv adventures I called the cable company this morning to ask if there was an outage. Turns out Schmitty changed the input on the tv when he turned it off before school. A little embarrassing but at least I'm a girl, that's always a good excuse.

Tonight is Skate Night at Schmitty's school so we'll be heading over to the roller rink after piano lessons.

Ralph thinks he's funny slurping the broth from his noodles. He's got his face buried in his bowl. sigh

all over the place

I'm listening to Dr. Laura, as I always do. She's reading a letter from a woman in the Army who is separating to be a stay at home mom. She's describing her family care plan, I hated doing those. I've still got several years in the Reserves but I'm so happy I'm out.

I met some neighbors today They have two boys, a 3-yr-old and 18-month-old. I was happy to talk to them.

I went to the PTO meeting yesterday and everyone knew whose house we bought. I didn't know anyone but was introduced as the one who bought Susan's house. (it was weird because I didn't tell anyone that) Apparently, Susan was the PTO President last year. Is there anything this woman couldn't do? She kept an immaculate house, worked at the school and was the PTO President. Sheesh.

I'm reading one of Schmitty's books because he was so excited about it. Ugh. It's about vampires and half-bloods. I don't know if I can slog my way through it. He's always asking what part I'm on. blah

I hate those giant black crickets we have in Nebraska. I don't know how but they always manage to get in to basements which gives me the willies everytime I head down there. I killed one yesterday but they're big and gross. Yuck.

what's the word?

Forgetful. Sam forgot his lunch yesterday and today he forgot his shoes. He wears rubber boots in the morning for the walk to school and changes in to his sneaker. I got home this morning and found a message from the school nurse that he didn't have any shoes. I drove up there and dropped them off for him (thereby negating any carbon footprint reduction this morning's walk had accomplished).

I'm trying to go back on a diet and gained two pounds! I hate diets.

Oh! I have my first PTO meeting today after school. I have to take the kidlets but it should be fine. I'm sure it'll be a colossal waste of time but I'm going, nonetheless.

We had someone pull over and offer Sam a ride to school again. I think it's really nice and I feel bad for saying no. I also feel bad because I think they assume I don't have a car and I'm walking because I have to and not because I want to. The woman today got out of the car with her daughter and had her daughter translate for her. I thought that was muy amable. She even gave me her name and number.

I've got to mount my license plates and change a headlight while Ralph naps. I'd better get crackin'.

a while

It's been a while since I made an entry, not on purpose or anything. It's just when you skip a few days you feel like there should be a ton of news and a zinger entry but there isn't.

We bought a piano last week and that's been our exciting news. It's a mahogany finish upright, nothing fancy but a piano nonetheless. Jake, as you can imagine, loves it.

We went to the reunion in OKC and that was good. Nothing much to report from the trip though, just eight hours in the car with a grouchy baby.

Pretty boring. Sorry.

peach soup

We took my parents out to dinner last night to thank them for letting us use their van while we waited for our cars to make it across the Atlantic. We went to China Road and came back here for dessert and show them our house.

My peach souffles turned out to be more like peach soup in little ramekins. While they were baking Yago chased the midget through the kitchen and they collapsed. There were two left standing when Schmitty ran through, he took care of those. They bubbled instead of cracked but I finished baking them, sprinkled them with sugar, and served them anyway. I didn't mind too much, I like my rambunctious boys.

Tonight we leave for OKC, we're going to a family reunion. It'll be a long drive but we always have fun. I'll be back Tuesday-ish. Happy Labor Day weekend!

lacking

Today I'm lacking. Lacking in motivation to work out, put things away and recycle.

It was storming out this morning, complete with thunder and lightning so I drove Schmitty to school. Ralph has been a bear since he woke up and when I put him down for a nap I didn't feel like running downstairs and, well, running. I should though.

I've been trying to figure out how I require so much closet space when I don't feel like I have a lot of clothes. I can't find a way to neatly organize everything. Why do we have so many blankets? What are we going to do with them all? It's ridiculous.

I'm also lacking a lemon to make peach souffles for dessert tonight. I'll have to pick that up later because I don't feel like going out in public right now. (Note: I'm not very good at making souffles. They never turn out right but that doesn't keep me from trying.)

Tomorrow we're leaving for Oklahoma City to go to a family reunion. I should be doing laundry and packing. Ugh. I've done a lot but I don't feel like I've accomplished anything. There are still huge piles that look only slightly diminished.

I really love our house though. I really think it's perfect for us, I just wish everything was unpacked and decorated. (We got rid of the boxes but not all the piles.)

secret's out

I guess it's not really a secret that kids can be a giant pain in the behind. After enduring and afternoon of errands with Ralph yelling at me almost the whole time, I got home and discovered he'd lost a sandal somewhere along the way. I'm not even attempting to retrace my steps.

This morning on the walk back from school he threw his sippy cup out of the stroller. Of course I don't know where it is, I just know it wasn't in his stroller when we got home.

I really don't think he likes me.

i did it!

I finally finished reading The Three Musketeers! Holy crap, it took a long time. I was reading that book when I was pregnant. Most of my readers will remember me lugging it around last summer when I spent a couple months in the states while my husband was on vacation (in Iraq).

I want to run (on my treadmill) today but I'm seriously lacking energy and motivation.

Oh, something else we did that I didn't think was possible... we emptied all the moving boxes. That's not to say everything is in it's place yet but we're having all the boxes picked up this afternoon. It's mostly credited to Yago's herculean efforts.

Well, I've only got a few more minutes of Ralph's naptime to enjoy so I'm going to go do something.

complete chaos

I hate moving. The initial euphoria felt after receiving the phone call that our stuff was here has been replaced by inundation. I feel like I'm drowning in crap, my crap.

Yago has spent hours posting books and DVDs on swaptree. That makes him happy but I'm still feeling completely overwhelmed.

We found our scale last night. In two months my hair has grown about 7 lbs. I can't think of any other explanation. Ugh. Yago and I are starting the ol' diet program today but he is much more fastidious about it. He logs every calorie consumed or burned where as I procrastinate and forget. He also burns 600+ calories riding his bike to work which means he can eat a lot more than I can. It really stinks come dinner time when I don't feel full and he's drinking a beer and eating his second helping. Sigh.

big day

Yesterday, we went to the airshow and saw the Thunderbirds. It was a lot of fun, mostly because Schmitty had such a good time. Ralph startled when a jet flew by and ran to Schmitty, hugged him and buried his head in Schmitty's belly. It was very funny.

I got a good sunburn on the backs of my legs. Yago noticed I was burning and I applied SPF 50 but it was too little too late. My ears and neck got it pretty good too. The boys were slathered up good and early so they're fine.

Today's the first day of school. We walked. Oh my goodness. We left at 8:15 and I got home at 9:30. Pushing Tubby in his stroller, on the grass, at a side incline, up and down hills... not the best way to start my day. And I'm supposed to do it again this afternoon? I'm reconsidering my options, already. We showed up all sweaty and panting. It was actually a little humorous.

I enjoy the mornings with Schmitty and don't want to spend it with him sitting behind me in a car. I think it's mostly because of how much I hated dropping him off at daycare when he was two and three years old. Now I enjoy our talks in the morning. Eventhough Ralph is there, he's usually pretty quiet in his stroller and it feels like it's just Schmitty and me.

There was a parent that was walking her child in to the school wearing pajama pants. I absolutely hate people wearing pjs out in public. We went to Panera Bread for breakfast yesterday and a guy was wearing his Husker pajama bottoms. It's so tacky, I don't understand it. It doesn't pass as clothes and it's not cute. Please, let's put a stop to it.

waffle wednesday

Last night after dinner Yagopuchae attached Tubby's bike trailer to my bike and so began Waffle Cone Wednesday. We rode our bikes to the ice cream parlor/Subway down the street on the corner. (It's a Subway restaurant that has an ice cream counter.)

I have to say I was nervous about riding my bike, especially towing Tubby. I also don't think I've ever ridden along a road with real traffic. (And as stated in yesterday's post, there's no shoulder.) Anyway, we all got there and back in one piece and Ralph loved it.

I got my windshield fixed today and I'm really happy with the result. Now I can get my car registered and people can stop staring at my European plates.

Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation, I'm a little sad. I'll miss hanging out with Schmitty.

you must be kidding

I've had a relatively busy day. After I went to lunch with my sister I stopped by Schmitty's school to see who his teacher was going to be. I also wanted to talk to someone about the bus situation.

I politely asked the front office what I could do about getting Schmitty on a bus. I found out the back corner of my subdivision is over 1.5 miles away and gets transportation. I asked if it would be possible for Schmitty to get on the bus if it wasn't full. Nope. I can try to enroll him in a different school outside our district that is further away. Then I could qualify for a bus. But, I argued, I want him to go to this school for several reasons that I researched and I live in this district. He's seven years old and there's no sidewalk or safe way for him to walk. There's not a shoulder or anything and it's 1.3 miles each way. If I walk with him I'll have a baby and a stroller and still no sidewalk. I don't get it. There's a bus that runs a few blocks from where I live that comes here that would be safer. Why can't he get on the bus is there's room? Nope. Liability issues. Is there a waiver process? (Can you tell I'm former military?) Nope.

It really doesn't make any sense to me. I'm trying not to think about it too much because the more I think about it the more extreme my thoughts get. (Keep reading.)

I also took Sam to a piano lesson today. Mrs. Meyer complimented him several times on being a good listener. She said, "I bet you like to read, don't you?" He said it was one of his favorite things. She asked him if he had all his school supplies ready for school and I told her that the school said they're providing everything this year and didn't give me a list. Mrs. Meyer said it was because of a lawsuit a few years back where a father said if he paid taxes and sent his kids to public school everything should be provided. He apparently won. That got me to thinking about suing for a safe walk to school.

I know it's not a big deal, I should just suck it up and drive him everyday like everyone else does. But I don't want to do that. It's not that I'm lazy, I walked him probably half a mile to the bus stop every single day in Germany. Happily. It's that they think it's okay for a kindergartener to walk 1.3 miles to school without a sidewalk? They keep harping on me about carpooling but I don't have a huge SUV or minivan. There's space for one more kid in my car, that's it. And when I walked Isaiah to the bus stop last year his mom was always late. Serenity now. I need to stop thinking about it.

son of a .... gun!

I went to St. Louis with Schmitty yesterday to pick up my car, woohoo! We flew out at 7:30 and arrived at 8:30. I'm not really sure why but I was on edge all day. It was an effort not to lose my cool for no particular reason which isn't the day I wanted to have. I got my car and we drove to the arch but there wasn't any parking, it was all roped off and plastered with no parking signs. I was thoroughly annoyed and left, I decided to just drive straight home (443 miles). I think I was cranky because I was tired, I can't think of any other reason. Maybe sometimes I don't need a reason...

Saturday afternoon/evening Yago and I tried our hand at canning tomatoes. We bought a big box of them at the farmer's market that morning and looked forward to preserving some fresh food for later use. We also shucked, cut from the cob and froze a couple dozen ears of corn. I just read Greek Tragedy and she canned fresh tomato sauce. She made it sound idealic and homey, she left out the part where you drop a slippery tomato on the floor and make a huge mess (stain) on an area rug or where you ruin a t-shirt. (It looks like I tried hacking a small cat to bits.) She also forgot to mention the part where at the end you wonder if you're doing it right and yell at your husband. Will the jars seal? Is it going to spoil because I accidentally touched something after it was sterilized.

And lets not forget about the pesky baby that wants to be in the kitchen with four pots of boiling water on the stove and all sorts of things to get in to. I guess her twins are more boring than my Ralph.

I almost forgot the best (worst) part of my story about picking up my car. I was within NINE miles of home when a construction vehicle in front of me kicked a rock up on to my windshield. I have a big ding and crack in my windshield. Grrr.

My Aunt Rita came to visit for the weekend. I wish we'd been able to spend more time together, she's pretty funny. Sometimes I'd like to go back to NY to visit but I don't have anyone to stay with, I'm not really close to any family back there anymore. It's been years since I've been back and seen people.

Time to make Schmitty breakfast and enjoy the few moments left before Ralph wakes up.

i called it

As predicted, I've been compulsively checking my email to see if the biological has responded with updated contact information. He hasn't. I need the info to have him served with paperwork but I know he doesn't much care.

I'm trying to just relax about it. I'll give the lawyer the address from Dec 06 and we'll take it from there. If he doesn't respond it probably won't matter anyway. The lawyer said even if he tried to contest it (which I REALLY don't anticipate) it'd be hard for him because he hasn't been involved whatsoever in the child's life.

In other news, my Aunt Rita is coming to town to visit for a weekend. We're all going to Mistress of Moomoo's house for enchiladas, I'm bringing stuff for peach mojitos. Yago and I realize we can't drink the whole pitcher ourselves this time, that was one nasty hangover!

I got Schmitty a couple of 3rd Grade workbooks to do, he's less than thrilled.

who says lawyers are all bad?

We found a lawyer in Florida that will take our case and says he can start right away. I'm VERY excited, I'm mean we're very excited. The only thing now is getting the biological father to email me back with updated contact information. That'll be a challenge.

I got Schmitty enrolled in school a couple of days ago. It's 1.3 miles away and the bus won't pick him up if he lives within 1.5 miles of the school. There isn't even a sidewalk for him to use, he'll have to walk along the side of the road. That irritates me. I guess a normal person would just drive back and forth everyday but I don't want to do that. I'm trying to teach and live conservation which leaves me one other option. I could walk with him to and from school everyday, a total of 5.2 miles everyday. That doesn't sound so great either, especially with Ralph.

I got a MESS of chigger bites a couple of weeks ago and I'm still scratching. I've never had chiggers before, it's awful! I can't even describe my misery a couple of Sundays ago. I had fullblown hives and was in tears it hurt/itched so bad.

We're meeting Yago for lunch today so I've got to get in the shower. Ciao!

adopting frustration

I'm spending the morning researching stepparent adoption. Yago and I started talking about it two and a half years ago and found that we couldn't do it while stationed overseas. I find it very frustrating that we could have adopted a baby from China but Yago couldn't adopt Schmitty while we were stationed in Germany. It ticks me off. (Seriously. My former boss adopted a daughter from China while we were there. There are provisions for that but there isn't a state that will consider jurisdiction in stepparent adoption while overseas.)

In Nebraska we have to wait until we've lived here a year, so we can start in 49 weeks. Ugh. I heard Oklahoma has some of the easiest adoption laws in the country and since Yago's from OK I called. The child has to live in OK for six months. Hmph. Now I'm waiting for a call back from an attorney in Florida, Yago is a legal resident of FL. This stinks.

It really irritates me that the delay is caused by Yago being in the military. If it weren't for that the adoption could have been done a couple of years ago.

Whew

We finally made it after many adventures and missteps. I can start with our last mass.

Schmitty and I were all psyched and ready to announce to the congregation that we were attending our last mass, they always ask new people to introduce themselves and leaving members to stand and say goodbye. Anyway, Schmitty was very excited and afraid the priest wouldn't ask if it was anyone's last mass before leaving. I had to reassure him several times that they always ask and we would stand up.

We didn't have our regular priest but toward the end of mass he asked the Huff family to come forward. Huh? Crap! I have no idea what you're supposed to do when you go up there! Everyone always bows when they approach the altar but I don't know if it's because they're part of mass or if you're supposed to bow within a certain distance of the altar... I go to church every Sunday but I have no idea what people are doing most of the time and don't know half the prayers. I just show up and take Schmitty to CCD.

Anyway, I got all nervous and flustered when the "Huff Family," consisting of only Schmitty and me, went up there and I started bowing and making the sign of the cross out of nervousness. I did't know what to do!!! The priest presented us with a plaque and thanked us for our service to the church. He said he felt a little strange because he didn't normally serve our church so he didn't know us but could tell we must have contributed an awful lot and been very involved for our congregation to want to say goodbye to us in such a way. Nope. Like I said, I don't even know half the prayers we say during mass. It was VERY embarrassing. I spent days thinking about it afterward, kind of kicking myself for looking like a retard up there not knowing what to do. Ugh.

Then, there was our last evening out in Germany. Yago and I went to the spa up the street from our house. That? Was an interesting night. It was a textile free sauna, I can't even describe it. Lots of naked people roaming around. Inside. Outside. You name it. There was an indoor/outdoor pool that you can go in. Basically skinny dipping in front of a couple hundred naked people. There were all sorts of different saunas, with different infused scents. One was a pretzel sauna, we went to that one and they poured some liquid on the hot rocks that really made it smell like a baking pretzel. Another one was chamomile or something and then you step back outside and rub rock salt all over yourself (for exfoliating purposes) and then go back in. It was crazy but fun.

Well, I'll save the Alburquerque and Topeka stories for another day.

We still don't have our furniture but we got our household goods so we have pots and pans and stuff like that. We really like our house, it was a good choice for us. I'm going to go look at a couple of schools today and figure out where to enroll Schmitty. I have to get on the ball because school starts next week!

Tchuss

Goodbye, Internet. We're packing up the computer and disconnecting everything. I'll have lots of stories to tell in a month or so. Our last mass here and the sauna are good ones to start with. Bye.

15 luv

Pete Sampras and Venus Williams we are not. The last two days Schmitty and I have gone to the tennis courts to play our version of tennis. It's more of a game of chasey chasey but we try.

The midget wanders around the courts completely unafraid. I guess he's comfortable in the knowledge that in the unlikely event one of us hits the ball over the net we couldn't hit him if we tried.

mojito mojo

Schmitty's party went off without a hitch on Saturday. We'll just say we were glad when it was over but we played lots of games. We played pin Schmitty on the map, fill the cup with spoonfuls of water, yard darts, water balloon toss, and make your own sundae.

The funniest part was after the water balloon toss we had a full on water balloon fight. One of the girls accidentally hit Yago in the privateers with a balloon. I saw it happen and the delayed reaction on his face. He fell to the ground and all the kids ran over and started bombarding him with water balloons. He was soaked and helpless, it was hilarious. Another mom and I just stood doubled over we were laughing so hard.

Last night Yago made homemade peach mojitos. He peeled and chopped the peaches, picked the mint from our backyard and I squeezed the limes. We stuck it in a blender and it was delicious! We drank 10 servings between the two of us. We were a teensy bit hungover this morning. Certainly worth it though. Well for me anyway, maybe not for Yago who had to ride his bike to work this morning. He also didn't get to sleep in until 9:00.

Yesterday, we shipped Yago's car. This week the gov't will start picking up appliances on loan to us like a fridge, washer, dryer and microwave. It's really happening. I hate moving.

You know, I was thinking about Mickity's comment on the Omaha mansion. I'd like to point out that she owns THREE properties.

Yago's inspection is over and they're receiving their debrief this morning. I'm making chocolate mint bars to take to his flight. I know Mistress of Moomoo would love them, I think I'll make them for her for her birthday or something.

I'm really hoping the weather holds out tomorrow for Schmitty's party. If not I don't know what we'll do. Yago is sooo NOT stressed about it. He doesn't feel the need to entertain them. "They're kids. They'll play and have fun." Man.

treading water

Today is the last day of school, Schmitty has a half day. Yesterday was the last piano lesson, we're done with baseball, CCD, and den meetings. Whew. Two more days of swim lessons.

Swim lessons. I'm kind of mad at myself about those. I somehow mistakenly put Schmitty in the same class he had last year which means he's not learning anything new. He can't really swim, he can stick his face in the water and kick really hard but he doesn't go anywhere. He pops up to breath, touches the bottom of the pool and pushes off again. It's my own fault because I told his teacher when I enrolled him that he was afraid of the water again since he hadn't been in a pool since last August. She put him in the Level 1 class again so he's not being pushed. He's the biggest kid in the class and he's fine with that.

shopping companion

I finally realized what I'm reminded of when I shop with Ralphie. Walking through a store with him holding my hand is like walking with E.T. He clomps around unsteadily, leaning too far left then too far right, and it reminds me of when the kids took E.T. trick or treating.

finders keepers

Oh my gosh! I almost lost Ralph today while mowing the lawn. I was mowing the back and he was hanging out with me. The bag on the mower filled up so I went out front to toss the clippings in the composter and went back to mowing. At some point I realized Ralph wasn't outside anymore but I wasn't too concerned. I figured he had wandered back in to the living room. Then I saw that I'd left the front door open! I went running in the house yelling Ralphie and then out the front door to the street. I didn't see him anywhere! Thankfully he popped out from around the entertainment center. Whew. I don't think Yago would be too happy with me if I lost him.

a daunting (and confusing) task

I'm still sifting through school information. I had been using psk12.com to look up school performance but the data were from 2002. You have to pay $100 to see more current information. When I talked to the school district they told me where I could find school performace information on the dept of education website.

Holy cow. It's all free and current up to the 2006-2007 school year, it's much different than the 2002 stats I was looking at. According to the state website the school that was ranked 63/85 in Omaha scored better than all the Bellevue schools in 2007. It's still much poorer but their performance is way above other schools in the area. It could be a fluke; reading, math and writing scores all spiked last year to nearly 100% even though the free lunch eligibility is double what it is in Bellevue. How is that explained? I always thought more money = better education.

You know, it would be much easier if we just lived in a small town with only one school. Like Allegany.

sold

Darn it, they took our house off the Internet. That means no more playing the virtual tour over and over when I'm bored. I used to play it and get a warm fuzzy feeling, but now it's gone! No more daydreaming and admiring. (sigh) Those were good times realtor.com, I'll miss you.

a bitter-sweet evening

Let me preface by saying when I'm not cleansing, I'm REALLY not cleansing. I ate Burger King for lunch today and then decided to make brownies at 9:00 this evening.

I asked Schmitty if he would like to help me make brownies and his face lit up. He hussled over to the kitchen to see how he could be of assistance. While we were measuring and mixing, he said he loved cooking with me. I was a little surprised and told him I did too. He remarked that it had been a really long time since we'd done something together, just him and me, no dad or Ralph. (dad is still putting in long hours preparing for the inspection and Ralph was asleep)

While the brownies were in the oven we got to work on his farewell party invitations. I told him he could invite five people over. He asked where on the invititations were we going to list his interests so people would know what kind of present to buy him. I told him there weren't going to be any presents, it's not a birthday party, and his face fell. In a flippant manner, he said that he should be able to invite all his friends then because it could be the last time he sees them. I replied it probably would be the last time he saw them, that's why he got to invite five of his best friends over to say goodbye.

That's when the realization of what was happening hit him. It tugged at my heart looking at him. He didn't start crying, I could tell he was trying his hardest to choke back the tears. It was worse looking at him not crying. In the excitement of the new house and being near an aunt, uncle, grandparents and cousins he hadn't thought of what he was leaving behind.

He'll start third grade in his third school. I told him that was part of being a military family and he nodded in quiet acceptance. As difficult as this move may be I know the next one will be much harder for him.

batteries required

I took our camera to the pool today to take pictures of Schmitty and Ralph. Ralph is really cute playing in the kiddie pool, plus the pools in Germany and really neat. So I got my camera and went in for the closeup only to discover I left the battery on the kitchen counter. That stunk.

Yago and I wanted to go out to dinner tomorrow night but we can't find a babysitter. Schmitty told me about his friend's sister that lives in the neighborhood. He said she was a babysitter but turns out her mom won't let her sit kids under five. Schmitty suggested we take Ralphie with us...

a little dirty

The cleanse has been called off, I ate two whole wheat quesadillas for lunch. Yago called "fed up" with the diet and we decided we'd try to incorporate portions of the cleanse in to our daily lives but the whole thing was too restrictive.

Vegan is difficult but add to that no sugar or wheat and it's too much. I'm tofued out.

directoral debut

Yesterday, Ralphie and I went to Sammy's class to watch mini-movies each student had made. They were essentially Power Point slide shows with recorded narration. They were funny and cute. Sam actually looked a little embarrassed to be standing in front of everyone while his played. He usually blows me away with his ease standing in front of people but he was sheepish yesterday.

After the movies each child was given a cd containing work and projects he/she had worked on throughout the year. The parents were invited to follow the kids to the library and look at what was on the disks.

On the way to the library I heard a classmate behind us crying because his mother didn't come to see the movies. Sam's teacher tried to explain that something must have come up at work to prevent her from being able to attend. He cried that she was at home. Sam told me later that his mom just got home from a year in Iraq. I always think it's sad when I hear how many of his classmates have gone a year without a parent.

spoke too soon

Turns out having a little turd float by while swimming is grosser than stepping on a slug and then flinging slug guts on to your ankle.

the grossest thing

I was walking with Schmitty this morning and the most disgusting thing happened. While wearing flip flops and capris, I stepped on a slug and it was flung across my opposite ankle. All I felt was wet slime hit my ankle. When I looked down there was a thick string of brown slime on my leg. I had no idea where it had come from until I noticed the wet slimy smudge on the sidewalk. Ick!! I grabbed a couple of leaves and wiped it off but it was seriously disgusting.

I think Yago would score our gluten/dairy/sugar-free waffles a close second for the grossest thing.

three

We are entering day three of the cleanse. Oh boy. I have eaten probably a pound of cashews. Sunday we had grilled tofu triangles with rice and veggies for dinner, Ralphie LOVES tofu. Last night, we had an arugula and grape salad with sunflower seeds and a homemade vinaigrette. Tonight, I think it's a tofu ragout. I've eaten oatmeal with blueberries and soy milk every morning, it's pretty good. I only had one cup of coffee yesterday so I'm making progress there.

I've had to completely change my outlook on food. The cleanse does do that. You become more focused on what you can get out of your food and where it comes from instead of mindless snacking. Ralphie and Schmitty aren't cleansing, they're still eating milk and dairy. I can contemplate going vegetarian but vegan is hard, it complicates menu planning.

Yago and I have each dropped about 5 lbs in three days without trying. I was surprised because of all the nuts I've eaten but I weighed 131 this morning.

OH! And Yago bought a bike Sunday. He rode it to PT/work this morning. I feel a little bad for him because I don't know what he had for breakfast but he rode seven miles to the gym and then did squadron PT. For lunch all he has is leftover salad, he's going to be starving!

toe dipping

Yago and I are experimenting with "the cleanse." We haven't gone all out but for a week we're trying it with one exception. We started yesterday and we'll go until next Sunday.

The exception is coffee because I seriously drink about six cups of coffee a day. I get raging headaches if I don't have caffeine so I'll cut it back to a cup in the morning and if I get a headache a cup in the afternoon/evening. Hopefully by the end of the week I won't have any at all.

We've taken out meat, dairy, sugar and all forms of wheat. That leaves a pretty restricted diet. I bought gluten free flour thinking I could make homemade bread without the gluten but the recipes without gluten call for xantham gum so I don't know what's going to happen. The gluten gives the bread structure and holds it together and I have no idea where I could find xantham gum, certainly not at the commissary.

You would think I'd probably drop a ton of weight on this diet but I don't think that'll be the case. Almost everything I ate yesterday was pretty calorie dense. I ate a lot of dried fruit and cashews. It was mostly out of laziness, they we're easy choices because there wasn't any preparation involved. I'll try to be a little more motivated today.

We'll see how miserable I am after a week. Oh yeah, and no alcohol. Nothing makes you want a cocktail more than knowing you're not allowed to have one. What's up with that?

more of a tidying

I watched Oprah last week when she had Kathy Preston (sp?) on as a guest. They were talking about the "21 day cleanse" and I was interested but skeptical. She talks about giving up certain foods for 21 days to improve your spirituality and rid your body of toxins. I was interested in it for the novelty, challenge and health benefits. You're supposed to give up animals (meat and fish) and animal products (to include yogurt, butter, eggs, etc), caffeine, alcohol, sugar, and glutein.

First, I can't do it for 21 days. That's too long. Second, give up gluten? I don't think so. I can't give up bread and all things wheaty. Caffeine? I don't think I can do that either, I love coffee and we just bought the loveliest coffeemaker last year. It sits in the kitchen and looks at me all day long, beckoning me over for another steamy cup of heaven.

I am thinking about it and maybe soon I'll commit to a 14 day tidying instead of a 21 day cleanse. Maybe only 7 days to start...

wee wee wee all the way home

I think we got a house! Can you believe that? We bought a freakin' house from an ad on realtor.com. That's insane to me but I'm so excited! We're working out the details but it looks like it'll be a done deal by Friday! It's got the open floor plan I wanted so I could watch the kiddos and cook dinner, a big back yard, some (not all) hardwood floors, AND there's a park in the neighborhood! I'm so excited I could do a cartwheel. Oh, and it's got a lot of built in shelving which I really wanted for all our books.

I'll try to post a link but I don't know if it'll work.

The only teeny little problem or hesitation I have is my housekeeping and taste aren't as good as whoever presently lives there. I don't want to picture the house with my clutter or messiness. Maybe it'll make me a better housekeeper. If only housekeeping were fun. (sigh)

We got a house!! And I'd be remiss if I didn't thank my family for making it possible.

zum kotzen

Poor little Schmitty is sick. He started throwing up around 1:00 this morning and he's still sick. He's wretching in the bathroom and writhing on the couch. I know in I couple of days I'll have whatever he has and somewhere in there the baby will get it too.

He keeps apologizing to me and I keep telling him to stop. He said, "Well, I know I'm being a handful because I keep making all that noise on the couch." Poor guy. He's holding his belly and crying, he's not being a handful.

swiss miss

Switzerland was fabulous but EXPENSIVE. I ate fondue and raclette. We went to a Chinese restaurant and I ordered Kung Pao Shrimp that cost about $28 and if you wanted a bowl of rice it was an additional $10.

We stayed at a beautiful, old hotel. The breakfasts included fresh squeezed orange juice from the juicer and champagne, mimosas! They brought us little snacks each evening, muffins or a bowl of fresh fruit. They had laid out a ducky robe and matching slippers for Ralphie, it was adorable.

We hiked down a mountain on Saturday and then spent the rest of the weekend recovering. We commonly called Ralphie "Tubby." We carried him on our back, he weighs a ton now and has nearly outgrown his backpack thingy. We were struggling carrying him around and he would be yawning or snoring on our backs! He had quite a relaxing trip. It was so beautiful though...

It was a five hour drive and I swear Ralphie cried, screamed and carried on until we were ten minutes from home!! Ten minutes before we got home he fell asleep, he's something else.

thingy-ma-bob

The other morning I was at the bus stop with Schmitty and a bunch of kids were telling me different stories. One of the boys, about 8 yrs old, was telling me a story and was talking about his brother falling out of a window few years ago. He said, "We were leaning on... those window bug catching things..." I thought it was funny because there aren't screens here in Europe so the boy had forgotten the word.

done deal

Last night we had the contract negotiations and Schmitty's allowance is going up from $1 to $3.50 but he has to clean the bathrooms, not just the sinks. We'll see how it goes. I thought it was going to by Yago and me against Schmitty but in an unexpected turn in events Yago decided to represent his "client." With 20 bonus points Schmitty can choose a family activity we do together. He gets 5 reminders a week, after that he loses his allowance. Again, we'll see how it goes.

I found a house online yesterday that I liked and was excited to show Yago. When I told him how much I liked it he said, "Let's buy it," without even looking at the pictures. That's how much he hates uncertainty. He's dreading moving and not knowing where we're going to live. He doesn't like change. At all. It's funny.

I'm going to take Ralphie out for a walk to the park or something. I'm going a little stir crazy.

Tonight is my last German class, that'll be one less thing on the dreaded Wednesday schedule. Day after tomorrow we go to Interlaken. I want lots of fondue and swiss cheese.

oopsie

I'm thinking it's not non-alcoholic. I'll let you know for sure after another, but I'm pretty sure there's something in there. I can't wait til Yago comes home and verifies...

scheisse

I think I accidentally bought alcohol-free German beer. Why would they even make that? I lugged a whole case to the car with the midget only to get home and see a flyer stuck to it that says alcohol-free. Actually, alkoholfrei. scheisse.

contract negotiations

Tonight we're entering in to contract negotiations with Schmitty over his allowance. I'm kind of looking forward to seeing what he comes up with. I know Yago will counter everything and it'll be amusing to watch.

I'm really tired again today, I got up to pee last night and couldn't get back to sleep.

I should be making lists of things to do but I haven't, that means I won't get what I want done. I'll be running around without direction or focus but I've been goofing around on the Internet and now I don't have time. I need to get to the gym before all the ladies show up and hog the treadmills. I'm the only treadmill hog I like.

I'm looking forward to househunting. I have a whole list of wants but I'm most excited at the prospect of having a place to put my treadmill and weight bench so I don't have to go to the gym anymore. I want a big open kitchen so I can cook dinner while interacting with Schmitty and keeping an eye on Ralphie. Schmitty wants to share a room with Ralphie and even though I don't expect it to last it makes me happy that he wants to now. I envision a bedroom from the Pottery Barn Kids catalog that isn't realistic but I enjoy thinking about it anyway. I can't wait to have closets and a garage for storage, maybe even a mudroom. I'd like to have a clothesline too. Maybe we'll live near a bicycle trail, that'd be great. So many possibilities.

I'll miss Alpine winter getaways, for sure, and I'll miss all the flowers EVERYWHERE.

The grumpy baby is up so I'd better get ready to head to the gym.

Fancy Boots

I forgot about this story yesterday, it's a good one!

Sam came home from school and showed me his papers, as he always does. He proudly pulled out a cowboy boot he'd drawn, colored and cut out in art class. He'd drawn flames coming off of it and everything. He handed it to me and went through every detail he worked so hard on. He pointed and told me he even made a sperm. "Sperm?" I asked. Then I realized he was pointing at the spur! I had a mighty good laugh.

I asked if he knew what sperm was and he said no but he'd heard of it.

I ran errands all darned day but don't feel like I got anything accomplished for efforts. I went to get recycling bags but now you have to get them at City Hall and it closes at 1200 on Fridays. It was 1237.

I went to a art and craft store to get a neighborhood friend of Schmitty's a birthday present, her party is tomorrow. The craft store is closed on Fridays, and so on.

winding down

So it seems the busy spring is winding down. Scouts meetings are over, the last CCD class is Sunday and only two more weeks of German class. Of course June begins the swim lessons everyday at 5:30 for two weeks and we'll still have piano and baseball.

Ralphie woke up last night hollering, I brought him downstairs and discovered some awful diaper rash that was very painful. I felt really bad for the guy, he had a toxic poo.

I'm trying to book a trip to Interlaken, Switzerland, over Memorial Day weekend but the agency is having trouble booking the hotel for some reason. I should know today if the booking went through.

I've been trying to read about how to entertain Ralphie. I know he's learning and his mind is a sponge but I don't really know how I should be stimulating him. Frankly, I think we're both often bored with my lack of creativity. I'm trying to read and get ideas. Doesn't seem like it's something a person should have to research...

I'm trying to get a Reserve slot at Offutt but they're losing a lot of theirs and the ones they have are full with a line of people waiting. It doesn't look promising though, we'll see.

realization

I used to think it was a fluke but I think I've finally come to the realization it's true. It's the way it is, not just an accident or luck. Yagopuchae is a better housewife than I am.

When I go to class and come home a few hours later the house is tidy (kitchen clean, floors swept and mopped), the kids are clean in bed and he's outside reading a book while sipping iced tea he made. I haven't even mentioned he took the boys to a field to practice baseball with Schmitty while I was out. I get 10 hours a day to try to accomplish such things and it never happens.

It's a little disappointing, yet comforting. Maybe I can work in some more BonBon time after all... He can certainly pick up the slack.

Happiest Mother's Day

Sunday was a perfect Mother's Day. I got up in the morning and made sausage, eggs and toast for breakfast then dashed upstairs to get ready for CCD and church. When I came home Yagopuchae had done all the dishes, gone shopping, cleaned the house and packed a picnic lunch for us. Schmitty and I changed our clothes, then headed through the woods to a big city park for our picnic. Yago even remembered to bring a bottle of wine. He stopped at a bakery on the way and bought fresh brotchen. We dined at the park and Schmitty rode his bike and played. It was perfect picnic weather and relaxing. We sat and watched other families play soccer and badminton while Ralphie wandered around in his diaper. I don't think it could have been any better.

Ralphie's in the foreground and Schmitty is in the background.

keep some things to yourself

Last night we grilled and ate outside because it was sunny and beautiful. I was preparing dinner and the grill while Yago and Schmitty practiced his baseball swing. We grilled green beans, eggplant, zucchini, and ribeyes. I also made potato salad and a tossed salad, lots of veggies. Mmmm. Then we had some family reading time before bed.

Yesterday I also got a card from one of the women at church. Her son and Schmitty are in the same CCD class. She sent me a Mother's Day card about what a great friend I am and how I'm always there for her. The thing is, we're not really great friends. She's the one I've mentioned before about how I feel like she's always sizing me up. It's weird. We're both moving in about a month and a half, and we won't keep in touch. I can't really explain the oddness of getting this card from her without sounding like an insensitive jerk and maybe I am.

And Cher? Put some clothes on, you're 61 for god's sake.

that girl

I was that girl yesterday at the gym. I got on the treadmill and suddenly the place started filling up. People were waiting for one of the two treadmills and a lady asked me how much longer I had. I fibbed a little and said 20 mins but really I had about 28 mins left with the cool down. I know she was mad waiting on me and I should have cut it short but I didn't. I rationalized thinking about what an ill-behaved brat her kid was. He was climbing and jumping all over the place and she never chastised him. I was ready to get off the treadmill and walk over there and yell at him myself.

Today Schmitty got suspended from school for fighting. A first grader was picking at him and Schmitty chased him down and hit him. Not the best way to handle it but these days I guess you can't get away with a fight on the playground.

Maybe my parenting skills aren't the best either.

his favorite san francisco treat

Have I mentioned how much Ralphie likes rice?

The End

Yesterday Schmitty's class had a little presentation of Three Billy Goats Gruff, it was really cute. Sam played a cowbell and then had a narrating part at the end. And? If you can believe it, Ralphie behaved. Maybe the first time ever, he behaved when I wanted him to.

Yago and I are trying to figure out what we want to do for Schmitty's going away. We want to have a get together for his friends but we don't want a zoo. We want them to have fun but we want to do something at the house. I was thinking back to the park picnics we used to have and trying to come up with some ideas. Those were always a blast but our yard is quite small. There are kids from school, scouts and the neighborhood but we'd prefer it to be intimate. Add to that we'll be preparing to MOVE and it gets a little complicated. We'll get it figured out and organized eventually...

i can't get no... customer service

Do you ever feel like you're not a very nice person? Sometimes I say and do things that leave me wondering why on earth Yago married me. I know I'm being a witch sometimes and can't help myself. When we got to Normandy I was pretty mean and made a small scene for no reason. It's funny because during the course of our trip we were left thinking there wasn't a happy couple to be found but they may have thought the same of us (me) if they were judging by my behavior Friday morning.

I'm really mad because I ordered Schmitty his First Communion stuff a couple of weeks ago and realized last Thursday the order apparently hadn't gone through. I tried calling the customer service number but I got a dumb recording asking me to leave a message and they'd call back. It's too much trouble to explain on an answering maching that I live overseas and I'm not even sure how to give instructions on how to call me here. I emailed their customer service and never got a response, it's disappointing. When I realized the order didn't go through it was too late to fix it anyway because the mail is so slow.

It's supposed to be a big deal and I don't have a gift or tie for him. His extended family isn't here to celebrate and there aren't any gifts. I feel like I failed and I ordered it two weeks ago thinking I was on top of everything. I hate when I actually try to do something right without procrastinating and it backfires. I think I'm early and feel good only to wind up right where I always am anyway. Stressed out and a failure. Blah.

Normandy

There are a couple of things I can say about Normandy. It was beautiful in many ways, so much better than Paris. The landscape was gorgeous, the houses were like in storybooks and the museums were wonderful. And? If you go, go without two bus loads of other people.

I most enjoyed our time at Pont du Hoc. The land is still riddled with craters from the artillery and rockets. It was strange to watch Sam and all the children play there.

cutie pa-tootie

How adorable. We went for a walk yesterday. "Walk" might be overstating it, more of a stop and pick weeds then have mom drag me 10 feet down the path to pick new weeds.

beaten to the punch

I was going to post about Sec Gates but Mickity beat me to it. I have a different take on it though.

Sec Gates spoke at Air War College about it being like pulling teeth to get the Air Force to support the war on terror. Then he turns around and gives a speech at West Point about discretion and honesty. It seems contradictory and Rumsfeld-y, if you ask me, which I'll point out no one has.

It's nonsensical. They've been cutting AF personnel year after year to fund new aircraft development. I've been wondering for years why the AF needs new fighter aircraft when we're not dogfighting any other air force. Why aren't we funding bombers, ISR and close air support aircraft? Fighters can be used in those roles but they're not the most efficient/effective way of doing business.

And? Does it really need to be a rated officer piloting unmanned aircraft? Not in the Army, they have NCOs doing it. Should the flight clearance requirements be the same? Not in my opinion.

Back to bad talking the AF at Air War College, what is he trying to accomplish? If he has an issue with pilot proficiency requirements take it up with the Sec of the Air Force. How about you fund the personnel and equipment required? Then don't turn around and talk about discretion to a bunch of West Point graduates.

a day in the february life

I was going to do a day in the life post a couple months ago but lost motivation. Here are a few of the pictures I took anyway.

This is Schmitty, Isaiah and Ralphie as we leave the house and head to the bus stop.



















I'm feeding Ralphie at the gym before I get to the family workout room. I'm hoping with a full belly he'll behave. I'd promise pony rides if I thought it would work.





This is the view from the treadmill. It's hard to portray how cramped it is. There's one weight machine and it's a lat pull down Nautilus machine. We don't need stronger lats, we need stronger arms, legs and bellies!





Schmitty doing his homework after school. I'm sure he'd say it was his favorite part of the day. Not really.





And Ralphie enjoying an after dinner glass of wine with his father. Hmrr.

to be seen or not to be...

Now you would think after all my complaining and lamenting that I'd be super motivated and excited about going to the gym today, wouldn't you? Not so. I was dreading it but I hauled my happy butt there anyway, along with the screaming meanie's angry butt. He hollered at the prospect of me being 20 feet away so I had to put him in his car seat next to the treadmill. He was hollering 15 mins in to my little workout so I cut it short after he screamed for five minutes. Five minutes doesn't sound very long but when you're in public with a screaming kid AND running at the same time, it's an eternity.

After the gym I stopped by the commissary and saw someone I really didn't want to see. (Thankfully, he didn't see me.) He's a wing commander now but I knew him when he was a squadron commander and a deputy group commander. (Brown) He's conceited, full of himself, and he wasn't very nice to me when I was a Lt. I was in my old sweaty gym clothes and he was in his uniform, now as a full bird colonel. I'm sure if I thought he was pompous before he'd be an amazing a$$h#le now. When I was putting my groceries in the car I saw that Schmitty's piano teacher had followed me out and was parked two cars away. I pretended not to see him and he did the same, I'm still pissed about last week's lesson. I've been trying to work on my nice voice so I could call him and verify we're on for this Wed afternoon but I wasn't prepared to do it in the parking lot.

Day after tomorrow we leave for Normandy. Again, I'm not looking forward to a twelve hour bus ride with all the scout families. (or the screaming meanie)

Well, I should go shower. Maybe that will cheer me up because I'm not in a great mood today.

Zippideedooda!

I got my car back!! Swing low sweet chariot! I've got my wheels and freedom!

fuzzy memories

I haven't downloaded pictures since we got the wireless and brought the computer downstairs because the cable was upstairs in Ralphie's room. The only time I thought about downloading pictures was during nap time and there's no way I would consider disturbing the buckaroo.

Today I finally remembered to bring the cable downstairs before he fell asleep and I made a terrible discovery. I've had a blurry fingerprint on the lens of my camera for months and didn't know it. All the pictures are smudged on the left side. If I'd loaded them on the computer a long time ago I would have realized I needed to clean the camera and then I would have wedding pictures (brother-in-law's) without the big blur.

Here's a blurry pic of Schmitty and the flower girl after the wedding. He had the whole, "I'm embarrassed to be touching an icky girl." look on his face all afternoon.

I knew it

I knew it was coming but it finally came today. It was a phone call from my job in the Reserves. They need to do an OPR and all that jazz. Ugh. I've been dreading it. It's all stuff I need to do but have been procrastinating. I hate all this stuff.

The best part is the new boss used to sit at the desk across from me and I spent a good part of my day making reservations for upcoming trips and talking to my old unit in Stuttgart. I also left everyday to go breastfeed my baby monster and early to do PT so I could pass my fitness test. We debated politics almost daily because we have polar opposite views on everything.

Schmitty's friend is sleeping over tonight so I really should pick up some. His friend doesn't eat vegetables so Yago tried to slip some Morning Star veggie bites by him. They're little frozen battered vegetable patty things, quite tasty and not really that healthy. The friend wasn't falling for it though, it was funny.

Why is it that Victor on The Young and the Restless looks the same as he did 30 years ago and still always has a hot young love interest? Not that I'm watching. Really.

the glass is always cleaner on the other side

I did the windows today. Well, not really. I did three or four big windows and then got bored with the squeegee and chasing the midget away from the bucket and curtains. Yago said he should leave me carless more often. That brings me to the next topic... Yago's car still isn't ready.

We went through all the scheduling hassles yesterday and got almost nothing accomplished. We didn't (couldn't) get his car, didn't have the piano lesson and I couldn't make my German class. For all the hassles and headaches we only got Schmitty to his baseball practice.

Yago and I had both had rotten days, his at work and mine with Ralphie. At the end of the day we were both very grouchy but were cheered up by the other person's level of grouchiness. (At least I was amused by his sucky day.) Funny how that works.

too much to ask

I took Schmitty to his piano lesson again only to arrive at an empty house. Apparently, it's too much to ask for advance notice if his teacher isn't going to do a lesson. It has happened repeatedly and I only tolerate it because it took months for me to find anyone to teach piano. I don't think this guy understands what a pain it is to get Schmitty there. I have to pick him up from school (which usually entails a walk in the rain because they block off all the streets around the school) during Ralphy's nap time. Then I have to drive the 20-30 minutes to his house, entertain the baby (who doesn't get his nap and is very grumpy) for an hour then drive home. We eat late because I don't start dinner until 5:00. It's 2 1/2 hours of stress for an hour lesson. I'm not even including the time I spend getting Schmitty's snack together or making sure I have his piano books and notes. Grrr.

the last

Today Yago gets his car back, which really means I get my car back. Not a day too early either because baseball practice starts today along with a whole list of other activities. Schmitty's schedule feels a bit grueling sometimes but I always make sure it's something he really wants before I sign him up. Except piano lessons. He has scouts, piano, baseball, CCD and in a few weeks he'll have swim lessons. Luckily, by the time the swimming starts the scouts and CCD should be over.

He makes his First Communion in a couple of weeks and I'm excited for him. Yago doesn't really understand what the big deal is and I can't explain it. I just remember when I made my First Communion and I remember what a big day it was. I was most excited about my white dress and shoes. I can still see those shoes with the cut out heel, they were the neatest shoes I'd ever had. I remember mom helping me with the pantyhose and my hair being curled. I remember dad taking me outside in the yard to take a picture of me in my dress. I was disappointed by the taste of the bread, I was expecting something spectacular. It had to be really special and tasty since it had been witheld so long but it wasn't.

There were gifts and a party afterward. I got a praying hands necklace, a glow-in-the-dark rosary and something I'll always treasure: my grandmother's pendant. I still have and regret that I didn't wear it when I got married, I forgot it. I had a cake and my grandparents came over, and I think I remember us all playing a game.

I hope Schmitty remembers his big day.

new things

I tried a couple of new things over the weekend. The first was playing raquetball with Schmitty and Yago. Playing with Schmitty was more fun because neither of us knows the rules. We just kind of ran around and whacked (tried to whack) the little blue ball. Yago was very patient with both of us, bless his heart. That was the new thing I tried on Sunday.

On Monday I tried making homemade pasta, whole wheat tagliatelle to be specific. I say I made it but I should say we because Yago spent a lot of time unfolding and untangling my mess. (He had the day off.) I also tried to make french bread from scratch. It didn't turn out right but the good thing about bad homemade bread is that even if it's bad, it's still pretty dang tasty! So what if it's on the flat side and too dense?

The best part was I got to leave right after dinner to go to German class. The kitchen was a DISASTER! The counters were caked with dough and flour from kneading bread and pasta. I think I dirtied almost every bowl and pan in the house because, did I mention we also made homemade tomato sauce with capers? I came home to a pristine kitchen and dining room which surprised me a little given Yago's hatred of dishes. Plus, I wasn't even sure if two hours would be enough time to clean the mess I'd made.

Well, I'm going to take the little meanie out for a walk and maybe even stop by the park since the weather's gotten better. Hope you all have a good day!

barbara wahwah

I spend too much time watching The View but it always bothers me that Barbara Walters thinks of herself as a serious journalist. She does dumb celebrity interviews, oscar specials and an occasional middle eastern leader where she wears a head scarf improperly and tries to look legit.

post midget syndrome

Yesterday I got myself all mad about something stupid for no real reason. I'm reading a book called A New Earth (because Oprah told me to, according to Yago) and it goes to great depth discussing the ego and it's disfunction. I knew it was my ego getting upset and it was all quite inconsequential but I could not help myself. In the end, I sent a terse email to my dad and then felt bad. Yago came home shortly thereafter, immediately opened a bottle of red wine and declared us both PMSing. It was funny. (Neither of us got a good night's rest the previous evening because of the baby.)

Today, I'm unmotivated to do anything. Yesterday, I felt like I was constantly working but getting nothing accomplished. Today, I'm not working or getting anything accomplished.

I was eager to get back to my diet but it's not going so well. It's hard being out of my routine, it should be better once spring break is over and Yago gets his car back. School starts Monday and Yago gets his car Tuesday, I should see a marked improvement starting Wednesday.

Anyone want to come over and do my laundry and dishes? I'll even let you clean the bathroom while you're at it.

I made a muffuletta for dinner last night and we just finished it for lunch today. It was yummy and made me think of Mickity because hers is better.

I'm watching Mommie Dearest, she's crazy.

Schmitty updated his profile and he's pretty excited so check it out.

newest discovery

Yesterday Ralphie discovered a place to keep his index finger warm. It's called a nostril. Charming. I guess I should be thankful that he doesn't have 10 nostrils.

Rotkappchen

I went to my German class last night and it was good. We worked as a class telling a fairy tale in German. The instructor was at the board and we worked together to tell the tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

I had to introduce myself to the class in German so the teacher could gauge my ability. I got nervous and failed miserably. He asked where I'd studied German and I couldn't think of the words so I sat there and finally blurted out DLI in English. He apologized thinking I was purposely trying to withhold that information, which I wasn't. That detail just made it more embarrassing, like I should have known more. After that brief awkwardness everything went smoothly. I'm glad Yago made me sign up for it. He's a really good husband.

Oprah just started and I love Jamie Lee Curtis. She's funny and has interesting things to say. Incidentally, I'm a little mad at AFN for moving Oprah from 0800 to 0900. That throws a monkey wrench in to my schedule. I'll have to figure it out.

bummer

I wrote a post earlier, a long one about our trip and my day today but the Internet hates me. I hit the publish button and lost my connection, now it's gone. You'll have to wait until I'm in the mood to write again.

back from the wizard

(I found the draft so I don't hate the Internet anymore.)

So we all survived the trip. I'm still tired and a little jetlagged but it's getting better. I have some emails that I need to reply to but I'm not sure when I'll get to that.

Our trip was fun. We went to Oklahoma City for the brother-in-law's wedding. It was more fun than I'd anticipated. I met lots of relatives from Nebraska, everyone was excited that we're moving there. Then we went to Council Bluffs for a few days to visit my family. We were busy non-stop but it was nice to see everyone, even if only for a few days. We looked at some subdivisions near the base to get an idea of what was available and are confident we'll find something suitable over the summer.

I went to the gym for the first time in a few weeks today. How shall I describe it? It sucked. I wanted to get some exercise and feel like I accomplished something but two minutes in to the workout all I wanted to do was stop. I cut it short and decided baby steps was better than wearing myself out and getting sick again.

I'm taking a German class tonight and have a feeling I'll be in way over my head. I'm starting German III when it's been 16 years since I studied German. I don't remember much vocabulary or the cases but it's non-credit hours so it doesn't matter. At least I'm doing something, even if it's late in the game.

I didn't take pictures while we were on leave which is a real shame. Sam was the ring bearer and he was so cute that everyone moaned when he took the flower girl's hand at the end and walked down the aisle. I overheard several people talking about him at the reception. Ralphie had a little suit and all the grandparents GUSHED! It was adorable and quite amusing to watch them all. I'm disappointed I didn't take any photos.

off to see the wizard

It's time to go. I'll be offline for almost a couple weeks. Wish me luck on the flight!

advice

A tidbit of advice for my readers (reader)...

When you are getting over a killer chest cold don't go crazy working your abs. Yago declared Saturday was my day to do whatever I wanted with the car and go to the gym if I so desired. (His car is still sitting in a parking lot at a garage somewhere, he won't let me see it.) I went for an easy (slow) two mile jog, did some crunches and then found the Nautilus ab crunch machine. I felt good when I left but the feeling faded Sunday when I was coughing and holding my sore belly. Not too smart.

dread

Yago and I are DREADING the plane ride coming up tomorrow. Oh my god. I just want it to be over. That baby is going to be the target of death stares the entire day tomorrow. He doesn't have a seat and will be writhing and hollering the whole time. Even Schmitty was difficult to contend with at that age. It's the worst because they want to be down exploring, not nailed to a seat for nine hours. He doesn't have an attention span long enough to distract with any activity.

We're leaving the house at 6:00 tomorrow with a bunch of stuff; luggage, carseat, pack n' play. Ugh. That means have everything ready tonight and wake up about 4:00. Yuck.

Easter was okay but uneventful. We got a bunch of snow and Schmitty spent the day playing outside. Seriously, from 8:30 until about 5:30 he was playing with neighborhood kids. They had a snowball fight out front and there are little clumps of evidence stuck to the house.

This morning was our last morning walking Isaiah to the bus stop, they're moving while we're in the states. It's a little bit of a relief.

The screaming meany woke us up at 3:30 this morning and didn't go back to sleep until 5:00 so I'm tired today. I'd try to sleep but I'm too stressed about all the things I need to pack.

I'd better go start...

fashion time warp

I'm in a fashion time warp these days but I don't mind much. It's because I lost about five pounds and can fit in to jeans that went out of style a few years ago. They were probably too young for me when I bought them but I've dragged them out years later for a revival regardless of how ridiculous I look. Given the rocky road situation I don't see this as I problem I'll be dealing with much longer.

Ralphie's discovered a screech that can only be compared to nails on a chalkboard just in time for our transatlantic flight next week. It'll be a good time.

Happy Birthday, Ralphie!

Just when I get used to my baby he has to change things up on me. We've had a morning nap routine for months now. It's when I relax, read, watch Oprah and do the sudoku. No more. He's decided he doesn't need a morning nap now that he's one. Sigh.

I made Ralphie a chocolate chip cake today and overcooked it a bit. I'm sure he'll eat it but I'll be glad to have a normal stove again when we move. I don't know if it's the celsius that causes my problems baking or what. Also? While waiting for the cake to bake I might have eaten the rest of the rocky road. (I did leave a bit for Schmitty tonight.) I have about 34 calories left to consume today. I'm sure they'll be tasty.

Hopefully, I'll be posting some birthday pictures tonight.

One more thought, I was extra nice to Isaiah this morning.

a rocky road ahead

Grrr. Tomorrow is my little diablo's birthday so I bought some ice cream today in preparation for tomorrow's festivities. Yago had a work thing to do tonight so I decided Schmitty and I should break it out a little early. Our little secret. I ate half the darn carton!!! And it was a big carton. I'm not sure who to blame here. (not myself, obviously) I could blame Ralphie for having a dumb birthday. Or Schmitty for being so enthusiastic about a special treat.

karma

Schmitty and Isaiah got in to it this morning and I lost my temper. Schmitty was telling Isaiah to get off the couch and Isaiah wasn't responding. (I almost daily have to tell Schmitty that he doesn't need to worry about correcting Isaiah, that I'll take care of it.) Anyway, the bickering began and I yelled at both of them to stop talking and go to the door. "Let's go!"

I could go on with the mundane story but finally, halfway to the bus stop, I realized Isaiah was having a hard morning because he missed his mom. Then I felt bad for being so rough on him because I remembered having to drop Sam off after a rushed morning when he didn't want me to go to work. I felt awful for not being nicer and more understanding, as I wanted Schmitty's caretakers to be.

That's what's been on my mind all morning.

eye eye

I had my eyes dilated today to test for glaucoma. They even took pictures of my cups! Talk about feeling violated... Yago couldn't stop making fun of me. We joked the whole way there about asking for a prescription for medicinal marijuana. Turns out I don't have glaucoma, darn it.

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day and during the walk to the bus stop Schmitty told Isaiah his dad was out "fetching gold today." It was pretty funny. He also told Isaiah that he found a house leprechaun in the morning and put it in his backpack.

Well, time to go feed my little leprechaun.

Nearly One

I had a realization this morning. Sort of. Ralphie is almost a year old already, that means the big food transitions that come with turning one!

He won't need rice cereal and formula for breakfast anymore and I was thinking of what foods I used to transition Sam. I mean it's not like he can feed himself a bowl of corn flakes yet. I realized that I never really did a breakfast transition with Sam because he was in daycare. He got whatever the daycare ladies gave him, or my parents. I usually worked six days a week because I was in the Reserves too.

Lately, I've been thinking about how Sam wasn't much older than Ralphie when I applied to OTS. I can't believe I did that sometimes but it was the most stable job option I could think of. I'd do it for a few more years and then not have to worry so much... I'd be retired.

Well, Ralphie just slammed his hand in a drawer... Time to comfort.

poo

I feel like poo. This weekend has not been a good one.

My sister's favorite dog, her third child, died. I feel awful for her. It was so dramatic, I can't even imagine. I want to call her but the time difference thing again. From what I've gathered, someone that was doing an estimate at her house didn't close the gate and the dog got out. They found the dog drowned in a frozen lake shortly thereafter. Terrible.

Yago and I were going to go out to dinner last night. Yago was starving but took Sam to go stay at a friend's house and on his way home got in an accident. No one was hurt but his car is in bad, bad shape.

I worked out for the fifth day in a row on Friday and knew it was too much but ran three miles anyway. It felt awful the whole time I was fighting myself to not stop the treadmill. Now I just spit some green-yellowish stuff and my chest is killing me. I brought it on myself. I ran 4 miles Thursday and felt worn out on Friday but I wanted to earn enough calories to go out to dinner. Damn diet program. I'm sure that weakened my immune system and is why I'm sick.

I can't stop thinking about poor Mistress of MooMoo. Maybe I'll call and wake her up.

lonesome

The time changed in the states but it doesn't change here until the end of the month. That means my daily email and blog checks are off an hour, very inconvenient.

date to remember

I have a real problem remembering dates lately. I was at the gym talking to a mother with a similarly aged child, she asked when Ralphie's birthday was and I said the 25th. THAT'S NOT RIGHT!! And? I didn't even realize it until a couple of hours later when I was thinking about the conversation.

Add to that, most of the time I couldn't tell you when my anniversary is. I saw anniversary marked on the calendar and was trying to think of whose anniversary it was. It took a few minutes to realize it was mine. Duh. Yago's happy because that means he can't be faulted if he forgets.

false starts

This morning I layed in bed convinced it was Saturday. I was trying to think of what I could throw together for the Cub Scout bake sale at 9:00 and remembering I still hadn't picked up a gift for an afternoon birthday party. I was thinking of brownies and a trip to the toy store when I realized it was Thursday. Ugh. And raining. I had to get out of bed and walk to the bus stop in the rain. I hate days that start like that.

I've been doing really well going to the gym this week and have lost a couple of pounds. I know (recognize) most of the other mothers at the gym now. It's amazing how much better I feel if I get a little sweaty!

give them cake

I have had a terrible time resisting cake lately. I made a banana cake last Thursday and ate 2/3 of it. Then at the commissary today they were giving away cake samples at the bakery counter so I got one for me and one for Ralphie. Unfortunately, Ralphie didn't eat his fast enough so I had to eat most of his.

I'm not bragging, I'm just sayin'...

My baby can be cute and charming when he wants to be.

I went to the gym today and for the second time he played in the corral with the other kids. In less than half an hour, one of the girls had her skirt off. That's a charming boy that can get an older woman out of her skirt in 26 minutes. Shortly thereafter, he was laying on the mat with another girl laying next to him carressing his bald little head.

He's got some skills, that's all I'm sayin'.

i'm the cat by the bar toasting to the good life...

Yago and I went out for the first time in a long time without the kiddos. A girl from church came over and babysat for us, it was terrific.

We dressed up and it was like a real date! A little cocktail while drying my hair even... We went to a sushi restaurant because that's the kind of place you can't go with small children. It reminded me how much I enjoyed dating him.

I was going to post some "day in the life" pictures today but my camera is low on batteries so I decided against starting something I couldn't finish. (A bit unusual for me.) It would have been a good one because I went and talked to Schmitty's teacher today. You would have gotten to see his school, even though it's a series of boring government tan buildings.

He brought home a test on counting money last week and he did very poorly. I wanted to talk to the teacher and make sure it was an anomoly, not a new trend. Yago went with me and then we had lunch together at a little Turkish joint. I'm stuffed.

Tomorrow, I'm meeting a spouse from Yago's squadron and driving to some basket factory. Or something like that. I don't remember exactly but it involves a stop at a chocolate factory on the way home so it won't be that bad. Maybe I'll take my camera even though it won't be a typical day. It'll give the appearance my life is more interesting than it truly is.

It's snowing like cats and dogs here but it's not sticking. It's just ruining my hair. The baby's screaming which means he needs a little attention.

things to remember

There are a few things I need to remember in the morning:

1. It's light out when I take Sam to the bus stop now. I should check my face (cheeks) for yesterday's mascara before I head out. (And a brush wouldn't be uncalled for either.)

2. In case I want to talk to someone in the morning it would be polite to brush my teeth first. I'm not trying to scare people away with morning AND coffee breath.

3. Sometimes I should change it up and not schlup around in sweats all morning. Others may appreciate the effort of a clean pair of pants before I head out.

4. Housewife = Homeless is not the look I'm going for.

weekend travels

The realization that we're leaving Europe soon has set in and Yago wants to travel almost every weekend. We went to Strasbourg a couple of weeks ago and Saturday we went to Dusseldorf. He has some friends stationed up north and he called them to arrange our meeting at the Aquarium. They have a two and half year old son that Sam used to practice being a big brother with before Ralphie. We spent our day catching up and walking around. After the Aquarium we went to a park where the boys rolled down a hill and played. It was fun but very bad for my diet.