Sometimes you just have to laugh....

Ever since Larry left on the 20th of February for pre-deployment processing in GA it's been completely nutty around here. We all got bad colds (mine turned into a sinus infection) and another round of pink eye. Then the snow storm hit! We got about 10 inches here and oddly enough it was just what we needed! The kids and I had an absolute blast playing in the snow having snowball fights and making snow angels. It was strange because after a few minutes it felt like the stress was just disappearing and being replaced with simple happiness. We are such a goofy & silly family that when we are all stressed out it completely changes our dynamic. I even put a sign on the fridge this week that reminds us to be silly and laugh every day.

We are all slowly getting back into our daily routines. For me that means getting to the gym every day which just makes me happier and feel good. The kids are excited that Grandma Shirley & Phil will be coming into town tomorrow so they can go to Great Friends & Grandparents Day at school on Friday. Chase is really excited since he has never had anyone that was able to come in years past. Also since this will be the kids last year at Charlottesville Catholic School it makes it that much more special.

Valentines Day in DC

The tax man showed up late so we ended up having to leave a day later than planned. Which meant we also had to cancel our Valentines/Anniversary plans but that was ok since we wanted to kids to have a great time.

The kids had a half day on Friday so we picked them up after school and headed straight to DC. We made it the hotel about 4pm and were about to head out to go see the monuments at night when Kalyn said her eye hurt. So I took a look at it... pink eye strikes! I got on the phone to her doctor's office to see about getting a script called in to a local pharmacy. They said to wait for a call back before heading to the pharmacy. So we waited and waited. We were finally able to get her meds about 9pm but it was too late to go the monuments by then.

Saturday we headed to downtown on the metro, then by bus. They had closed one of the metro stations for repairs and they had buses to take people around to the next stop. It wasn't too bad, just added thirty minutes to our travel time. First we went to the American Indian Museum which we had never been to. I especially liked all the art work and the kids liked the computer system they had set up at many of the exhibits. Next we went to the Natural History Museum and Chase was anxious to see the Rocks & Minerals exhibit. He walked us all through it telling us what everything was and how it was made etc..etc... Kalyn just ran around saying "Ooo look at this one...Ooo look at that one...they are so pretty". Of course we also had to go by the gift shop and pick Kalyn up a new butterfly snow globe since the one she got last year got broken fifteen minutes after getting home. The new one lasted a bit longer...it broke a week later. :(

Then we headed to the newly remolded US History Museum to eat lunch. Lunch was good but gave us sticker shock! Boy they sure do rack you over the coals with that kinda stuff. It is beautiful museum! Very modern looking and a lot more open than it was before. They even had a kids area with "hands on" stuff to do.

We had walked way too much that day. We were all pretty tuckered out! Sunday we ended up going home early because the "pink eye" struck again! This time is was Chase and it was really bad. By time we made it home and got him to the doctor his eye was completely swollen shut. We spent the rest of the weekend watching movies together and pretty much just loafing around. All in all it was a good trip and have some great memories and many more to laugh about.

Good Luck Bailey....

Well after many schedule changes trying to get Bailey to his new home I finally was able to drop him off in Richmond on Sunday. Then it took many hand offs to get him to his new home in North Carolina, but he has made it safe and sound!

It's so strange not having him here. Even with all of us in the house it's unusually quite. No more clicking of nails on the hard wood; no more "Happy Dances"; no more annoying licking and snoring sounds; no more looks of "where is my food" or even him jumping around waiting to be tossed some popcorn. I think we all miss him! I just have to keep telling myself and the kids that it was the best thing to do for him. He has friends to play with now and is with a nice retired lady that is home all day and able to take him out as much as he needs.

And hind sight being what it is...I'm glad it was just me that took him because I'm having a bit of trouble with the look on his little face of complete confusion. At least the kids got to say good bye at the house and he was all happy and excited to be going on a car ride.

We love you Bailey and we will forever remember you in our hearts and minds!

Busy, Busy and More Busy

Boy it has been a busy couple of weeks! We've been racing around trying to get all Larry's pre-deployment stuff done, finish up a few projects around the house and have a bit of fun in between.

Larry and I went to the SAIC belated holiday party. It was "Vegas" themed complete with Elvis impersonator! If it were not for the gambling tables it probably would have been very boring. It definitely wasn't like the "old days". Open bar all night, guys dancing around with ties on their heads and wacky embarrassing pictures being taken. We were really bummed that it was only play money because we ended the night with total of about 750 thousand dollars. (we started with 50K) Oh what I could have done with that kinda cash. I was doing pretty well at Craps with Missy being my good luck dice blower. I'm thinking a real Vegas trip is in our future. Course I know I won't have that kinda luck there!

Just two days ago we had Larry's fairwell lunch and beer fest @ the Wild Wing Cafe. We were there at noon and finally made it out by 9pm. I think my rear is now shaped like a bar stool! This place is so great you can actually taste the wings spices instead of being drowned in sauce. The staff was pretty cool too! We are an interesting bunch of people to say the least and they got all our jokes and weird humor. One staff guy even bought us a round shots later in the night to say thanks to Larry for going to Iraq. Now honestly how kool is that?

Just under two weeks left till he heads out so I'm sure we will be busy cramming stuff in right up until he gets on the plane. Hopefully these memories we are making will keep us all going during his deployment......

Me & My Toad

It's getting close to our 7th anniversary (or 14th depending on how you look at it) and all the seemingly random events that lead to our marriage have been running through my mind. I've come to the conclusion that they were not random at all. I like to think that it was more of a divine intervention from my guardian angels (my dad & grand dads). I had once told Larry (aka Toad) that we had met back in 1995 because my Dad was looking out for me and said up in heaven "she's not ready for him yet but here he is anyway" and that is how we ended up crossing paths. Divine intervention aside here is our story.

It was the early spring of 1995 in San Angelo Texas. I was working at the Officer's Club at Goodfellow AFB and Larry was stationed there for training. Larry has told me that he saw me many times when I was working the lunch shift at the "O Club". I only vaguely remember seeing him. The first night I clearly remember meeting him is the night his class was having a BBQ at one of the picnic areas on base. I had been invited by some other folks and when I arrived the party was in full swing! Larry had his blue Dodge truck with the keg in the bed of the truck and made me sing with him before I could get to the keg! The song was Bob Seger's "Turn the Page" (which, by the way, he is playing for me right now as I write this). I guess I should also mention that I was under 21 at this time! Larry likes to say he was contributing to the delinquency of a minor! I only saw him around base a few more times after that party and the last time was just before he shipped out to Germany. He stopped by the O Club to say goodbye and we exchanged numbers. Over the next 7 1/2 years we stayed in touch through letters and the 3am phones calls to Germany (waking him up). We were able to get together for dinner once in a while when he was close by, but other than that our entire friendship was long distance. Ironically, he was the only person I was petrified of telling about having my son.

Fast forward to 2000. Larry was out of the Army for a while by this point and was working for a company is Charlottesville. He traveled regularly to Ft. Meade Maryland which was only thirty minutes from my house in Baltimore. So we were able to visit much more often in person than we were ever able to before; but we were just friends. Or so I thought. Larry had always said he was never getting married and having kids. Although every once in while he would do something that made me question his conviction. By late 2001 I had been laid off from my job and was looking for a new one. Larry had offered to give my resume to the company he worked for and I ended up with an interview. Long story short I didn't get the job. When I told Larry about it he seemed a bit off, almost ticked off.

A few days later I get a call from him telling me that he wants Chase and I to come and stay with him till I can get back on my feet. I pretty much told him he was crazy; he had no clue what he was getting himself into and that it was my responsibility to figure things out. By the end of that conversation he had convinced me to come for the weekend to talk about it. All of Friday and Saturday he was telling me how he wanted to help us and how it was the "logical choice" to let him help. Well Sunday rolled around and I was more confused than ever and grabbed him by the shirt collar saying "Dammit, you are straight forward with everyone but me. What the heck is going on". With a look of shock on his face he told me it was because he was in love with me and had been since we met in 95'. He even admitted that when we would talk on the phone while he was in Germany he would say to himself "if I'm not careful I'll wind up marrying her". I told him that I still couldn't just move in with him, that I wasn't that "kind" of person. Then he said "well then...we should just get married." I was shocked, overwhelmed and happy all at the same time! It felt so right in so many ways and of course I said yes! We both called our moms that same day and told them we were engaged. I told my Mom and all she said was "about dam time"! Larry's mom had said close to the same when he told her. Apparently they knew something we didn't! So on the drive back to Baltimore so many things were running through my head and the farther I got away from him the more my heart ached and the more I missed him terribly and knew deep in my soul it was right!

Chase and I had moved in with Larry in Charlottesville just after New Year's Eve 2002 and the three of us were married on February 23rd. My amazement didn't end there! A couple of weeks after our wedding I became pregnant with our daughter Kalyn and then a few weeks after that Larry asked me if he could adopt Chase. This was something that had never entered my mind till that moment. I was just simply happy to be blessed to have married my best friend and have a father figure in Chase's life. When Larry asked me this he simply said "if you think about it...if I had gotten off my ass all those years ago Chase should have been mine to begin with"! Needless to say I cried...a lot! The adoption was finalized on the 23 of August 2002; followed by the birth of our daughter Kalyn on the 27th of November 2002.

I can't find enough words to say how truly happy and blessed I feel to be married to my best friend! I now have more in my life than I ever thought I would or even deserved to have. Larry is my prince, my best friend, my heart and the best father to our children I could have ever asked for! I'm loving you now and always!

Perspective

Here of late Chase & I have been having many conversations about perspective. How different people can have a different perspective about the same event. We had these conversations in hope that he will have a greater understanding of himself & of other people. Being able to see something from another persons perspective can help in so many ways. When you're hurt it can aid your healing; when you're sad it can make you smile; when you're confused it can give clarity and my favorite, it can make you laugh.

Just recently we had gone out to dinner during which Kalyn and I were playing Tic-Tac-Toe before our meal. Once Kalyn & I were done eating she wanted to play some more so I told her to draw the grid. Well a few minutes past and I hadn't played. This is the conversation that followed:

"Mommy you lost" Kalyn exclaimed.
"But I wasn't even playing...you cheated" I said with a smile
"No I didn't...I was just helpin and took your turn" She said laughing

Unfortunately it's not always that funny as I have experienced and now Chase is learning first hand. Sometimes to find out the other persons perspective can be scary, confusing and down right nerve racking. However, on the other hand my family and I have gained so much from getting "perspective". My husband & I understand so much more about each other and I'm getting to know my kids on whole new level and I am truly amazed by their depth of insight at such a tender age.

Good & Tough Week All in One

Our week started off with Larry heading out to CA to close out a project he's been working on. I was concerned whether or not the kids were going to have a good week or not. I'm pleased to say that it was a good & tough week all in one. Kalyn proved to herself that she can have a good day at school even if Daddy is not here. I'll be reminding her of that fact in the months to come. It's tough being in kindergarten but she does love it! She even likes being able to sit in the kitchen with Chase & do homework. So much so that I have to hide her homework packet so she does not try to do a whole weeks worth in one night. I'm sure it won't be too much longer and that will change.

Chase and I had many long conversations about perspective & consequences this week. It was great to see those "light bulb" moments during our talks. Chase has made so many strides this year academically & socially. Learning to work with his ADD instead of fighting it. We are so proud of him! The best part is to watch him get excited over school & to tell us all about it. He never wanted to talk about school before or much of anything else for that matter. Everything was always locked up in his head.

I started writing this entry before we left for school so now I have to tell you about this mornings conversation with Chase. He was telling me that at the last book fair a few of his classmates did not have any money to buy anything so Chase decided it would be a good thing to lend them money so they could buy something. He then said "and I didn't ask or want anything in return. I just felt good about it". Now, how cool is that? I told him that is was a wonderful thing he did and that I was very proud of him. However, I felt the need at that moment to talk with him about being careful and asking himself a few questions before doing something like that in the future. "Ask yourself Chase, is this a person who will truly appreciate your thoughtfulness and is honestly your friend or is this a person that is only being nice because they want something from you". Yes, I realize that this may be viewed as a cynical way of thinking but unfortunately this is how some people are. I've experienced it and at Chase's tender age of 11 has already experienced it as well.

After we talked about that for he bit he said to me " I don't know why but some people think that being able to buy lots of stuff is more important than other things. Having stuff is not more important than love, family or faith." Wow......I was floored! Then I replied "some people think that being able to buy lots of stuff or the most expensive stuff will make them happy and some (not all) of those people are the most sad" . To that Chase replies "now that's just wrong".

It was a tough week trying to figure out a new routine that will make things as easy as possible for when Larry heads back to Iraq. It may not have been the funniest or easiest week; but it was a good week. I saw my daughters' strength & determination to have a good week. I saw my sons' new found love for himself and understanding of others. So I think that is an amazing week!