Update on Michael

I haven't posted anything about Michael lately (mostly because I am waiting to get more pictures from him), but I thought I would give a quick little update....
Michael seems to be doing well. I am SO grateful that we are able to talk just about every day. I love him and miss him so much!
He is at a different base right now doing dentistry on a lot of Iraqis. Actually, most of them need teeth pulled and they don't want him to pull them, so he is trying to convince them to let him work on them. I think it's nice for him to be in a new environment and seems to make time go by faster. About a month ago, he got a small pox vaccination and ended up with cellulitis. His shoulder was very swollen and red and he got sick. Though he still has a scar, he is doing much better. He works VERY long days (16 hours sometimes) and sounds tired most of the time. I feel so bad for him, but I'm so proud of how well he has dealt with this experience.
Now for the good news....When he gets back to his home base, he will have just a short time before he gets to come home! Yippee! He should be home by the end of September!! I CAN'T wait! I feel so lucky that he has had such a short deployment and really admire people who do it for 12 or 15 months. I just can't imagine.

Holy Crap!

Tonight while I was cleaning up the backyard, I found the biggest spider I think I have ever seen (aside from at a zoo). I even said "holy crap!" out loud to myself. I went next-door to show the neighbors, but they weren't home, so I had to put in on the blog. Unfortunately, the boys are in bed and didn't get to see it, and I'm not a nice enough mom to save it for the morning. It was sprayed with spider killer and flushed down the toilet. I have felt like I have something crawling on me ever since. Yuck!

Goo Gone

Okay, so I think I am probably the last person to hear about great products, so maybe all of you have already heard about this.... But, I am a new fan of Goo Gone. So far I have been able to get yucky guck (probably gum or something) off of our leather car seat, stickers off of a chair, and super glue off of my bathroom counter. It is GREAT stuff!

Slumber Party in Mom and Dad's bed

Braden, Fluffy, and Conner... Tonight I told the boys that they could sleep in my bed, but of course, Fluffy had to be there too. Fluffy is the class bear and Braden is the privileged one who got to take the bear home for the weekend. Today on the way home from school Braden told me that all week he has been wondering whether Fluffy is real or not. "So, do you think he is, mom?" he asked. I told him that he is for sure a real teddy bear and can be a real friend. So, we get to have Fluffy with us for a few days and we'll find out just how real he is. Kindergarten is so much fun. Every day Braden is SO happy when I pick him up and so happy to tell me all about kindergarten. So far, his favorite parts about kindergarten are:

1. the math toys (every day he tells me that that is one of his favorite things)

2. going to music, PE, and art

3. fire drills

So much fun!

Kindergarten, here we come!!

I can't believe that I sent our sweet little four year old (almost five) off to kindergarten today! Braden was such a trooper. He was nervous to be at a new school, with a new teacher, and new kids that he'd never met. Everything went well though. I didn't really get emotional until we pulled close to the school and saw all of the kids big kids outside of the school and just can't believe how fast Braden is growing up. He is SUCH a good boy, and I get so nervous for him to be around so many outside influences (paranoid, I'm sure). Anyway, we met the teacher and Braden was so brave when it was time to say good-bye. I drove away and said a prayer and thought and worried about him until three hours had passed by and it was time to pick him up. He was SO happy and so excited when I picked him up. He LOVED kindergarten. Whew! What a relief! I'm so glad that he had a good first day and is excited to go again tomorrow. Michael called and said that he had been thinking about Braden all day and was so excited to hear about how kindergarten went. Braden wanted me to take the picture of him holding his backpack to show Daddy. (Braden wasn't quite sure if he was ready to smile with this new teacher quite yet!)

Quick trip to Utah

Before I start this post, I want to say that I feel bad for anyone that I wasn't able to see while we were in Utah. We only had a chance to be with family this trip. Unfotunately it was a very spontaneous trip and it went way too fast.

So I just have to say how proud I was that we made it from Colorado Springs to Riverton, UT (about a 9-10 hour drive) only stopping ONCE! With three children and only one adult, I think that's pretty darn good. We did have a long stop in Grand Junction where we had lunch and I made my children sit on the toilet until they pooped so we wouldn't have to stop for that, but it was our only stop. (We won't talk about the way home.)

We had a nice time with Michael's family. Michael's sister Nichole is staying with Michael's parents while her husband does an internship, so it was nice to be able to spend a lot of time with her. She probably got sick of me, but I loved being with her. We went swimming, shopping (at the outlets), ate at Cafe Rio (yummm!), went boating, and watched the cousins play so well together. It was a nice visit. I sure wish that we lived closer to more family.

Kylie is three months older than Haley and she sure did love being the older cousin! ....So cute!

The boys LOVED going boating and especially loved it when we got to jump in the lake.

Okay, I've been tagged and I feel bad not being "it"

So, I was just going to ignore that someone had "tagged" me, but I'm feeling bad (a couple weeks later) and decided I would go ahead with this......

4 Jobs I've had
Pharmacy delivery driver
Branch Manager for staffing service
Nanny
Lerner NY sales person

4 Places I've lived
Cleveland, OH
Riverton, UT (in a house that used to be a chicken coop)
Grenwich, CT
Littleton, CO

4 Favorite TV shows
(this one is hard, because I've probably watched t.v. maybe five times since Michael's been gone)
The Office
Amazing Race (when it's on)
.....hmmm I seriously can't think of anything else

4 places I've vacationed
Europe (France, Italy, Switzerland) for 3 weeks with Michael. So awesome!
Caribbean cruise
Cancun, Mexico
Myrtle Beach

4 Favorite dishes
TACOS (fried) yummm! These can always put me in a good mood
BBQ Chicken pizza
Cafe Rio pork (salad or burrito)
Costco salad mix with craisins, feta cheese, almonds....very good, but I can't think of the name

4 Places I'd like to be
In Michael's arms (So badly)
Laying on the beach in peace and quiet
On a run... Lately I crave running and wish so bad that I could go at night while the kids are in bed
In school. Sounds crazy, but I have a huge desire to go back to school lately

Tag you're it!
Nichole K
Marian K
Yvonne H
JJ

Decoration for Haley's room

Okay, I am not a crafty or creative decorator, but I heard about this idea and thought it sounded cute. Last night I decided to get it done and it took all of about five minutes. I printed off a letter "H" on white cardstock and then just glued on some beeds. I heard about doing this with buttons, but I coudn't find cute buttons so I decided to use beeds instead. I think it turned out pretty cute! (If you click on the picture you can see the beeds up close)

Just having one of those days!

I am so TIRED today! My poor children (4yrs and 3yrs) got a little lecture tonight about how Mommy is tired of doing everything (picking up toys everywhere, making dinner, changing diapers, dressing children, doing dishes) ALONE. I want their help, but unfortunately I'm expecting a little much from such young children. It is Sunday today, and church was long. I play the piano for choir, so we get there an hour early, then I teach the Laurels and it feels like I am always the last one to leave once I've cleaned up my lesson stuff and gathered the children. Then on top of it, it's right during Haley's naptime, so she was just a pill today.

Okay, I know this is probably a terrible post because I'm complaining so much. I'm just having a "me moment". I put the kids to bed at 7:00 for my sanity and also because they were cranky because not one of them took a nap today. It seems like some days it takes forever for 7:00-7:30 (bedtime) to come. Is that terrible that I look forward to that part of the day everyday?

So, I am going to go upstairs to make myself a little bowl of ice cream (okay, maybe not little) and sit out on the porch and enjoy the cool night. I really am happy and doing fine with Michael being gone. ....It's just one of those days and I feel like sharing it.

I know it's probably silly to put a picture of myself, but my little neighbor was over taking pictures and commented on how messy my hair was. I thought I would share my "tired mommy" picture.