Robots

On Tuesday morning I woke Sam up for camp. (In a gentle way, not by flipping on the light...Dad.) I told him it was time to get ready for day camp. He said he was having a good dream. I asked what it was about and he said he was building a robot. He showed it to me and I was very proud of him.

Now he's on this robot kick. They made door placards yesterday at camp and his says "Warning! Do not disturb while working on robot or else!" Complete with a skull and crossbones. Last night when it was time for bed I wanted to put Ralphie down in his room thinking if Ralphie sensed a warm body to cuddle with he wouldn't wake up. (wrong) When I asked permission to enter Sam's room he said I wasn't allowed to look at the robot still under construction. I promised and was allowed entrance.

Buzz buzz buzz buzz

For those of you keeping track and writing my Mother of the Year submission, here's some more fodder:

This morning when my alarm was going off, I frantically groped Ralphie's forehead looking for the snooze button.

Raining, not pouring

They say when it rains, it pours. I think there might be a little something to that. Or maybe my car has been cursed by a garden gnome.

This morning while dropping Sam off at camp I locked my keys in the car. Brilliant. I spent a good two hours stressed trying to keep the "church mouse" quiet. I don't know how I managed to keep him quiet all that time but people kept commenting on what a happy baby he is. (I hurt myself supressing the eyeroll and biting my tongue.)

Someone finally broke in to it but now I think I'm a little bit afraid of my car...

Wearing the Pants

Dear Jacob,

When you're sitting on my lap naked while I run your bath, my pants do not become your diaper.

Love,
Mummy

Gee Mom, I wanna go home...

I checked the weather last week and it was supposed to be hot all this week. Things have changed. It's been raining. A lot. During Sam's day camp. That stinks for him, they're outside all day with no respite. It's going to be raining and in the 50's. That's not bad if you're outside for a few minutes but when you're outside the whole darn day it's freezing. I feel bad for the little buckaroo but he's not complaining so I'll keep my sympathy to myself. Lest I give a reason to complain...

If I had gonads, I'd be adjusting them right now

Because I fixed my car that died last week shortly after Yagopuchae left. I figured out that it was the battery and replaced it. (A little tidbit of information for Volvo owners out there--your battery is in the trunk next to the spare tire.)

I didn't tell Yagopuchae beforehand that I planned on changing it myself because I knew he'd fire off an email to his superintendent ordering him to look at my car. I wanted to at least give it a whirl myself. My sister told me a long time ago that she changed a battery so it gave me some confidence that maybe I could do it too.

Although Yago's car may be nicer than mine I still prefer mine. I know where everything is and how it handles. And it feels right when I sit in it. Driving someone else's car always feels funny. So yea! I got my car back!

Conversation with Sam...

Yagopuchae had his conversation with George, I offer mine with Sam.

Last week we bought a birthday gift for a kid from Sam's choir. It was a Superman toy that cost $6. A couple days ago Sam discovered his Boy Scout wallet with $8 in it.

Sam: Mom, can we play a game where you're Suze Orman and I'm calling to see if I can afford it?

Me: Okay.

Sam: But we're really playing, you can't laugh that what I want only costs $6.

Me: No way. Let's go. Okay. Sam, I have you on the line. Tell me what you want, let's see if you can afford it!

Sam: I want a Superman toy that costs $6.

Me: Let's see your stats. How much money do you make?

Sam: A dollar.

Me: How much credit card debt do you have? Do you owe anyone money?

Sam: No.

Me: How much in savings?

Sam: $355.89.

Me: How do you plan on paying for it?

Sam: Cash.

Me: Well, Sam. Since you're not using a credit card and your savings looks pretty good... You're approved! Go ahead and buy your Superman toy!

Non-believer

Yago's never going to believe this but I've swept, mopped and done laundry today. Pity he isn't here to bear witness because these things may never all be accomplished in one day again. (not by me anyway)

So the victory feels a little... well, empty. He's not here to appreciate it and Schmitty could care less.

As if on cue, Ralphie's awake and crying.

It Came Back Around

What goes around comes around...

Last year I washed a tube of Chapstick in a load of laundry containing Yago's favorite pair of pants. I ruined them and have heard about it frequently since. Every time we go somewhere and he wants to wear khakis I have to hear about how he doesn't have a pair of khakis anymore. Those were the perfect pants, they fit him just right and were comfortable.

I washed a load of laundry yesterday and Sammy had a tube of Chapstick in one of his pockets. A couple of my shirts are ruined and I couldn't bring myself to thoroughly chastise him because all I could think about were those dumb pants.

Uncalled For

I was at the pool yesterday and saw something uncalled for. Actually I saw several things uncalled for because it's Europe and men wear Speedos but that's a different story.

Anyway, a family arrived around 6:00. I noticed they were American because the kids (teenagers) were wearing wife beaters in to the pool. Europeans don't cover themselves up, they just don't care. (It doesn't matter how bad they look, they're not modest.) They get in the pool and I notice the girl, about 14 yrs old, is wearing shorts. Not even a swim suit. Her brothers finally take off their wife beaters when I realize she's just wearing a bra with a wife beater and not even a nice bra. It was a cheap, unlined bra made out of t-shirty material. Who on Earth would take their daughter to a pool without a swimsuit? I mean, stop by a store and get some cheap ol' suit. Not even a German would have sent their girl out for a wet t-shirt contest.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

I want all my readers (both of you) to immediately check out Yago's blog. He's attempting reentry into the blogging world and may need a bit of encouragement.

USAFR Punks

I'm kind of losing my mind with the Reserves. The IMA dude wasn't answering my questions via email or answering his phone so I packed up the kidlets (Dr. Laura) and went to drop in on the dude. Turns out he's on leave/tdy until 2 Jul which means he won't be in to work until after the 4th. Reading what I could find, I don't think I'll be able to get my credit towards retirement this year. Especially since I can't coordinate anything until I get back the end of Aug. Damned Reservists. They don't answer phones or return messages.

Sam had a swimming lesson today that went pretty well. Except the goal at the end of the two weeks isn't to have a swimming kid. It's to have a floating kid, they should call it floating lessons for $150. Plus? The instructor totally requires goggles. Since when are goggles necessary equipment for swimming and going underwater? Goggles were a luxury when I was growing up. I'm not sure I ever owned a pair. So people's legs are blurry, why is crisp vision so important? Especially with my kid who borders on being a pansy in a pool.

My baby was driving me a little bonkers today. He's better now, because he's sleeping.

I stopped by the gym earlier to check out the family workout area. Lame-O!! There are about 5 cardio machines crammed in to a little area without a tv or anything to look at or listen to. ...I mean besides my kids. Kids. That sounds weird, I have kids now. Hmm.

Back at the NOSC

Arghh! I swear it's like working in the NOSC again. I'm checking my email incessantly to see if I got anything new from Yagopuchae and I'm driving myself crazy. It's not that he isn't emailing me, it's just that I'm being completely compulsive about it. It was the same thing when I worked in the NOSC. I'd sit the 12 hour shift and check my email every few minutes to see if he'd sent me anything new. I think I need a schedule or something for checking email but who am I fooling? ...I'd never stick to it.

The Church Mouse

My dad calls Ralphie a church mouse, nothing could be further from the truth. I took Sam to mass today for the first time since the baby was born because they're closing down our 8:30 mass. Today was the last one and the Choir Director had some award thingies she wanted to give Sam.

Ralphie was good until the mass actually started and then he began fussing. I had to hang out in the bathroom and nurse him for about half an hour. The good part was I JUST missed the collection, a little extra money in my pocket this week... More good news? The Choir Director, most of the choir and lots of volunteers are Philipino so guess who made the brunch? That's right! A bunch of philipino ladies. We had noodles and lumpia and rice... Ralphie behaved until I was done eating and then started up again. A perfect excuse to eat and run. I guess he came in pretty handy today.

Last Call

I can't wait for last call... I got my first call today. My first call from Yago "downrange." All I can say is it's going to be a long 6 months.

Yago left a dog tag for Sammy and I bought him a chain the other day so he's been wearing his dad's dog tag around his neck. It's cute.

Anyway, I'm busy ruining dinner. I was going to grill some jerked pork tenderloin but we ran out of gas and now I'm baking it. It won't taste as good...

Jake is hollering so I better go tend...

Quiet

It's very quiet here. Sam's out playing and the baby's sleeping. I've showered, applied makeup, cleaned the bathroom, dusted the office and made my bed. It's crazy. It's also quiet, did I mention that? Too quiet. My reduced tv summer is in effect so there's no tv on making me feel less alone. I use it as a companion a lot.

I was just thinking I was hungry and I see it's lunch time, I'm going to go heat some leftovers. Eating is sure to wake up Ralphie, he HATES it when I eat in peace!

New Milestone

Today Ralphie rolled over for the first time. He was laying on his belly and I was down on the floor with him and he rolled over. He did it another three times to show his brother. Before we know it nothing will be off limits. Eesh. It was nice plopping him down knowing he couldn't go anywhere...

The First Night...

I was dreading my first night alone but it was okay. I went to bed an hour later than usual procrastinating... Then Schmitty laid in bed and read with me for a while, I made it clear he couldn't sleep with me though.

The real reminder that Yago wasn't here came around 2:00 in the morning with a killer thunderstorm. I remembered I left my sunroof open, he usually dashes out in the middle of the night and takes care of that stuff before the thunder wakes me. Well, last night I had to run out in the pouring rain and fix my mistake all my lonesome. I was drenched.

Other than that it went okay. Today is better than yesterday...

And so it begins...

We said our goodbyes this morning and it was... it was exactly how I expected it. Now I'm just wandering around looking at all the reminders of him that, before long, will be gone. His washcloth hanging on the shower, his shorts on the floor. I've decided to leave his space on the towel rack empty even though it'll be off balance. I was considering putting Schmitty's towel there but once Schmitty develops a habit it's hard to break it. So, we'll save your rung on the towel rack Pooky.

Tomorrow I'm going to a dinner/b-day party at Sam's choir director's house. Then on Sunday is Sam's swim lesson orientation, lessons begin Monday. The week after is boy scout camp and then I'm going home. Plenty to keep me busy for a while...

I'm going to run errands and see how to get a flight back to the states.

The time is near...

All I can think about today is tomorrow.

I woke Yago up at 4:45 this morning and told him he was late for work. I thought it was 6:45. Oopsy. We were both having ridiculous dreams, his a little more ridiculous than mine. We told each other what we were dreaming about and laughed together. That's what I'll miss.

Sam gave Yago a Father's Day card and wrote in it that he wished Yago could take him (to Iraq). That was a little sad. We got him a Dwight Shrute bobble head and a Dunder Mifflin "World's Best Boss" coffee mug. Sam was SO excited about the gifts! Our family night is watching The Office together...

We went to our landlord's house for dinner Sunday evening. Holy crap they have a nice place. They have a sauna, exercise room (complete with massage table) and one of those indoor pools were you turn on the current and kind of swim in place. They had two fountains in the backyard and beautiful landscaping. Crazy. Now I'll be even more embarrassed when he stops by.

Gotta go check out what advice Dr. Phil is dispensing today.