My Little Helper

Feb 28th...

This whole deployment has got me completely off my rocker, to be perfectly honest. There has been a lot of adjusting in a short amount of time and I know there is still more to come. I know it would be foolish of me to say I have tested to my limits already, I feel like I have...but I am less than a month in. I am positive more obstacles are on there way, coming to break me down, make me cry, rip me apart, God knows what else...but I am also positive that I will push through. We are going to keep it together, and carry on with what needs to be carried on and keep things in order for when Derrick comes home; it's funny because the reason I know that, the reason I;m not scared anymore, was my biggest concern before this whole adventure started. Cael. I was worried for him in every way you could think of. How could he go a year without his Daddy? What if I don't make a good mother AND father to him? What if he wants Derrick and nothing I do or say can come him down? What if I'm no good at splitting my time between him and his sister? A million other questions along with those, including the big one: How am I going to be able to handle him out in public and also juggle the baby?

As time as gone by these past 2+ weeks I have begun to realize that I was worrying for nothing. At least about the handling him in public part. He has been there for me when I needed him the most. When I cry, he hugs me. When he wakes up really early in the morning, he lets me sleep on the couch. And when we go grocery shopping and he can no longer fit in the cart because of all the food...he sits patiently on the diaper shelf while I decide which size sandwich baggies we should send to his dad.

Mail For Daddy!

Feb 27th...

We got our USPS Military mailing kit today! I called and ordered it a little over a week ago, and some of the other wives I have asked said it could take about 2 weeks to come in the mail. Guess I am lucky today! In it I got 6 different sized flat rate boxes, a big stack of customs forms and a free roll of packing tape! I am so excited to start sending mail to Derrick, I just hope the packages don't take too long to get to him! I told him it is my mission to make sure every package he gets makes his friends jealous!

Cael walked around for about 15 minutes today just random things in this box for Derrick...a deck of cards, a combat patch from my uniform, a glove...before finally deciding that he could fit inside instead! I asked if he was going to mail himself to daddy and he said "Dadda!" and shuffled his way over to the door. I wish it was that easy bud. I really do.

Invitations

Feb 26...

I have been putting it off and putting it off, but with Cael's birthday coming up in a week, it is finally time to meet the neighbors.

I had only seen glimpses but I knew 2 of the houses across from me have little boys but I couldn't tell how old, and the house directly across from me has 2 kids but they are a little older. If the weather is nice, I am planning on having the majority of the party in the backyard and I know even older kids know how to have fun outside no matter what the circumstances are. So today after his nap Cael and I made some quick birthday party invitations and walked across the street to finally introduce ourselves.

The meet and greet went much better than I planned, (although the 6 year old directly across from us wasted no time in inviting the entire neighborhood!) all 3 families said they would love to come! We may have ourselves a party after all. I have a few other friends I have made that will be coming, but all our kids added up only came to 3 babies and 1 little boy other than Cael. Not that Cael would have minded, but I want him to be able to run around and play and know that he is the prince of the day! So, now I know some of my neighbors and they know me and I think next Friday is going to be a lot of fun!

This picture cracks me up because if you know Cael, you know how little emotion he shows when he is concentrating! He was definitely having fun painting the invitations (and the mat underneath them) but you wouldn't be able to tell that by looking at his face! He is such a thinker and he takes everything in before letting you know how he feels about it. Derrick and I took him to a theme park last summer and every ride we went on...he kept a straight face. I honestly have no idea, to this day, if he likes rides or not. He is just that kind of boy, he has to take it in first...he will let you know later. I love that about him, he is a very smart little cookie if you ask me.

Finally some news!

Feb 25th...

Wow, this morning was emotional, to say the least! I was woken up this morning...is that right? "I was woken"...oh well. I was woken this morning by a phone call from Derrick! Finally! He told me that he's fine he is finally in Afghanistan, and going to a different place than we originally thought. Not that surprising, plans change all the time, we are used to it, but at 6 o'clock AM that was enough news to send me into panic mode! He was cutting out like crazy so that added to the stress, and he said the new place he was going might not have internet...that really made the tears flow! How can we go a whole year with choppy crappy phone calls? With Averi never getting to see him on the webcam...how will she recognize him when he comes home? So many questions were going through my head. But at the same time, questions are not a good thing for me yet. I know how scary it is over there, but I don't know yet if I want to know the details. I haven't yet decided which would make me feel better...thinking there is no danger, or knowing there is danger and worrying to death. I don't know, that decision will come later. After we got off the phone I reverted back to a 5 year old little girl who needed her mom, I think I worried my poor dad have to death when I called and woke them up! I had already looked up a plane ticket for mom to be here by 9:54 tonight...no dice though. I guess maybe if we were millionaires it may have been an option. But, like he always does, Derrick found a way to get a hold of me and put all my worries and anxiety to rest. I felt so much better after getting to talk to him for a few minutes and calm down.

On brighter notes! Cael had me cracking up all day today. While I was doing "tummy time" with Averi, Cael rushed by me like he was being chased, into the kitchen, sliding all over the floor in his socks and straight to the tupperware cabinet. He grabbed a plastic container, slapped it on top of his head and ran back out to the TV to finish his morning cartoons. As he passed Averi and I in his blur, he threw his hand back and yelled "Bye Momma! Thank you!" And there he sat...watching Super WHY! as if nothing had happened....with a bowl on his head. I don't know sometimes...I just don't know. I took this picture when we were outside after a walk. He was trying to talk to Jo through the fence but didn't really understand where she was. He could hear her barking...but he just didn't believe that she was back there I guess. I love the hand on his leg...he was just trying to figure it out. Instead of putting up a sad picture, or something to represent my stress this morning, I thought it would be better to put one up that made me smile.

Talk about mail today...

Feb 24th...

Two pictures again today, I wanted to showcase my new glasses. One day without them was enough to make me want to shoot myself so I went to Wal*Mart this morning and got some new ones. I couldn't believe the prices there! They had a $9 rack and then a $186 rack with NO in between! The guy took my lenses and said "If we can make these fit into a pair of frames, you will be good to go, if not you will need to schedule an exam" I told him "Try the $9 rack first please..." lucky for me he found some, they are blue and they are ok. I love the look of the frames, but I'd like a darker color. Oh well I can see for $9 and that is the important part!

I got an awesome surprise this morning when I got up at 7:30! First thing I do every morning is log into face book and skype, I know, sounds a little retarded, but Derrick is 12 hours ahead of me right now so my morning is his evening and there is always a chance he might be online. Well I hadn't talked to him for a few days so by this point my morning routine is just that, a routine. I was about to go make some breakfast when a message popped up that said "Baby!" He only got to be on for a few minutes and we didn't even really get to say bye or anything, but it was AWESOME to hear from him! He said he doing pretty good, he is in charge of a group of guys right now which is no surprise to me at all. He kicks butt and everyone knows it. I love hearing from him, I bet that's why everything else seemed to fall into place today...

To continue on with my adventure this morning, I took the kids to Kohl's today. My sister posted on facebook yesterday that they were having a huge clearance sale and clothes were going for almost nothing, after she posted it, more and more people were getting on there and posting their success stories from their shopping! My friend was on her way over so I couldn't go, but once I found out it was a 2-day sale, I was all over it! I got a bunch of cute stuff, lots of pants for Cael because he hit a growth spurt and all of the sudden all his pants are too short. I also got him a new pair of shoes which are adorable. The outfit Av (that is what I'm calling her these days...not to cause confusion, I just think it's cute)is wearing is new too. Those pants were $3! Granted they are still super big and would go all the way up to her arm pits if I wanted them too...but that's ok, she will grow into them.

When we got home from our shopping trip I was pleasantly surprised to see my netflix movie in the mailbox and a package on the doorstep. It was the birthday present my oldest sister got for Cael, I am excited to see what it is! I called and got her permission, I get to open it tonight! Hopefully I can keep my composure and hide it until his birthday next Friday. To make my "mail day" even more exciting, while I was watching my movie the doorbell rang and I saw a UPS truck outside! Yay! It was my bed. And although I said a few bad words while putting it together, it is beautiful! The mattress and box spring will be here in 1 -6 weeks so I figured I could just put my queen size air mattress on it for now...haha no! I jumped right on it like a dummy to show Cael, and the air bed folded up with me inside and sandwiched me down on the floor. I guess that center rail in the frame doesn't do much for a fatty like me. Cael however, can go night night just fine, he already showed me. He is going to be crushed when I make him sleep in his own bed tonight.

Well...I talked about Derrick, I talked about my shopping, I talked about my mail, I talked about putting the bed together...I think that's everything! Hope you all had a good day too!

Play Date for Averi

Feb 23...

Let me start off by saying that I stupidly broke my glasses today. I was making the bed and they were sliding off my face so I got the smart idea to try and squish them and make them tighter. Well I guess I don't know my own strength because I snapped them in half. Good grief. I can't see a thing. They are jimmy rigged with Scooby Doo band-aids and they slide off my face whenever I look anywhere but the sky. In hind sight, I should have just been ok with the small bit of sliding that was going on earlier because this is driving me absolutely insane right now. Oh well, anyway, on to my blog. There is a website called Fort Campbell Wives and it is just basically a place to introduce yourself to the community and get advice, share stories, ask questions, show off your kids...whatever. I made a friend on there who has a little girl 2 days younger than Averi and it has been so nice! Today Eryn and her daughter Sonia came over to hang out for a little while. The girls were so cute, they stared at each other and talked to each other on the floor on their play mats side by side. Really cute stuff, they even napped together. Cael had fun too, he is such an energetic little bugger these days and he loves it when people come over. I have made a few friends that have kids his age too, so his play dates are coming soon! We are thinking about meeting a little boy and his mom at the park tomorrow so we will see.

In other news: My dryer came today! Woohoo! It's huge! I washed every single blanket Cael and Averi own pretty much and they were all 100% dry in less than 1/2 an hour. love it. Allright, I can't take it anymore these things are giving me an awful headache and I still have a butt load of TV that I HAVE to watch. :) Night everyone.

Smoothies!

Feb 22...

There is not a day that goes by where Cael doesn't get into the cupboard that holds my Magic Bullet and get the cups out and pretend to drink out of them while I am doing dishes. Today I figured instead of making him put them back, we could fill them instead so he really could drink! Derrick got me this Magic Bullet for Christmas of 07 and I was SO excited! The very first time I used it, it broke so I had to get it replaced and I have been afraid to use the new one pretty much ever since. I have made a few blended coffees with it and they are awesome, but I just don't want to break it again. (FYI: Magic Bullets do NOT grate cheese no matter what the little booklet says! You will burn out the motor, you are just going to have to suck it up and grate it by hand!) Anyway, I plopped Cael up on the counter and got out all of our supplies so we could make a smoothie. He held the cup while I poured in some orange juice, but other than that he added all the ingredients himself. Even when I told him that was probably enough raspberries...he could stop any time...he just kept adding them...

Then it was the opposite with the banana pieces, he kept taking them out and eating them haha! But, it was his smoothie so I didn't mind.

We had a lot of fun with our little bonding activity today and watching him drink it out of a regular cup was hilarious. After he was all done I had to take his shirt off...there just was no wiping it clean! It was a fun day but he is growing up so fast..

A Day To Play

Feb 21...

It was nice again today so I thought I would take the kids to the park. I was a little nervous because with Derrick away, I have zero help when I venture out into the world. Growing up where I did, we never had to worry about the parks being crowded or anything, more often than not if you were there...you were the only one there. Not the case in Clarksville. With the weather turning so nice, I guess every body and their mother wanted to take advantage of it and head down to the river, which is where the park is. (At least the only park I know about so far.) It's in an absolutely gorgeous location, right on the river front, you can go for a walk, play on the play ground, just sit and watch people take their boats out...it's nice, I like it. When I got there and saw all the people I was instantly second guessing our outing. There was no way I could get the stroller into the bark to help Cael if he needed me, and with all those people there, I couldn't leave Averi, even for a second. Instead of turning around I figured we could at least give it a shot, so I got both kids in the stroller and headed over to the play ground. When we got to a good spot where Averi and I could sit on a bench, I had a little pep talk with Cael. I told him he could go play with all the kids, but I couldn't go with him so it was up to him to only play on the stuff he was big enough for. I also told him that he needed to stop every once in a while and look for me so he didn't get too turned around (the play ground was huge.) To my great surprise, he listened! He was so good, I was so proud of him. He tried to go over the wobbly bridge a few times, and I was sitting on the bench thinking "no Cael, no!" Bigger kids were running back and forth on it and he was short enough that the railing wouldn't keep him on it. He used his better judgement and decided against it which I greatly appreciated. After playing for about an hour though, he did finally get brave enough to climb the steps to the big slides. I was on the ground yelling "alright! Go Cael!" But when he slid down on his belly at the speed of lightning my yells turned to "Oh Jesus!" and I ran to catch him. He came down that thing so fast, he was a little disoriented when I helped him to his feet. I probably wouldn't have found it so funny had he face planted into the bark, but the look on his little face coming down that slide was priceless. Too bad I was too busy saving his life to take the picture.

He had a ton of fun there and we are definitely going to go back, It will be a great place to take my nieces when they all come and visit this summer!

Welcome Summer!

Feb 20...

It got to a whopping 60 degrees today! Coming from Washington, that's pretty awesome for February! I couldn't believe it, I was getting the kids in the car this morning and I just paused for a second and said "Ok Cael let's take off your coat!" To my even bigger surprise it lasted all day. After he woke up from his nap around 3 I decided to take the kids for a walk down to the end of the street and back. It was so nice seeing our neighbors (for the first time!) Everyone was outside riding bikes or playing catch with a football. I didn't know there were so many other kids on our street, most were a lot older than Cael, but there is a little guy right across the street from us who is maybe just a smidge older. Pretty exciting stuff for a family who's been cooped up for the past two months. After we got back to the house, Averi was more than ready to go inside and have a bottle but Cael was having so much fun playing in the yard that I had to get my camera. I absolutely love this weather. When everyone is realizing that it's getting warm finally and wants to take advantage of it, that's my favorite time of year.

Carrots, ICK!

Feb 19th...

Today was pretty busy and as exhausted as I am, I think that's a good thing. I am not opposed to making the days go by faster, at least until Derrick and I are a little more used to this separation stuff. Our tax refund came today so the first thing I had to do was head to Lowes and get a dryer. I had already been looking on-line so I knew which one I wanted, but I figured if they had it at the store, maybe it could be delivered today so I loaded up the kids and off we went. Well they did have it, as well as the pedestal drawer underneath and the matching washing machine (which Derrick applauded me for NOT buying) but of course they can't deliver it until next Tuesday. Kind of funny when you think that our house is less than 1/2 a mile from the store. Oh well, that's how life is without a husband at home I guess, I have to learn to make do on my own and if that means wearing dirty clothes for a few more days...we will survive. After Lowes we went to Kroger for some groceries and I was dreading it a little to be honest. Cael's attention span is only so long and we had already spent half and hour at Lowes. To make things a little easier for him I bought him a Toy Story book and sacrificed my dignity by pushing around one of those carts with the car on the front. He was satisfied with all that and let me shop in peace for the most part! When we got home, I ordered a crib for Averi (yay!) and a bed for our room (double yay! no more air mattress!) and then I fixed the curtains that Jo pulled down, washed the dishes, vacuumed the floor and took the garbage out! (That last one was aways Derrick's job, I will trash into that can until it won't even hold a q-tip anymore) But I did it, and I am very proud of myself today!

I got to talk to Derrick again today, but it may be the last time for a while. He is packing up and heading somewhere else for a few days for training and who knows if he will have as much free time when he gets there. We are both just going to keep our chins up and know that when we do get to talk again it will have been well worth the wait.

Oh by the way, I tried feeding Averi some carrots today (figured I should mention it, since that is my picture. If you think I am going to stop and take a picture at the grocery store and waste those precious minutes of Cael's not caring that we are there...you're crazy) Needless to say she did not like them! I have given her rice cereal on a spoon before and she seemed to really like it, but the carrots were just too much flavor I guess. I was laughing so hard and taking pictures of her and the whole time she just gave me this look and let me know just how mean she thought I was being to her. Poor babe, we will stick with rice for now and when we try food again I will go with something a little sweeter, maybe some bananas or pears. Sorry this blog drug on a bit!

Chuck E Cheese

Feb 18th...

Today Cael, Averi and I met one of my new friends Eryn and her daughter Sonia at the Chuck E Cheese here in town. We had been trying to schedule a play date for a week or two now and we were finally able to make it work today. I hadn't been to a Chuck E Cheese in so long, that I wasn't sure if Cael was going to have anything to do, or if everything would be to big for him, but it was awesome! We sat in the toddler area that had a few coin rides and slide and stuff. Cael loves slides and he played on that thing forever! There was a big jungle gym that he wanted to go on, and I thought about it for a few minutes because it was the tunnely kind that you see at Burger King or McDonalds, but it was way up high, so if he were to get stuck or scared, I wouldn't be able to look at him through the windows. I eventually decided, why not? He really wanted to go on it and it ended in a big curly cue slide which he would love. So I took him over, took off his shoes and tried to explain to him that he would be on his own up there, but that I would follow his progress from the floor. Well to start this thing you had to climb up a series of platforms like a ladder, and it was surrounded by net so he had to do it on his own. I helped him get inside the net and that was it lol, he couldn't reach the very first platform. He just stared at me, and I stared at him back and finally said "Well, that was fun. Come on out bud" haha! He wasn't too heartbroken, he will be able to climb on that one soon enough.

We did have fun with everything else though and I can't wait to take the kids there again!!

A little boy and his dog

Feb 17th...

Cael got in trouble probably five times today for being mean to Jo. Whether it was throwing his book at her, trying to run her over with his tonka truck, or using her as a stepping stool to get onto the couch...he doesn't seem to care about her feelings at all. And Jo just lays there. I swear if I look really close while he is running at her, I can see her close her eyes real tight and hold her breath. She is constantly trying to find a spot to sleep where he can't get to her. It makes me feel terrible that he doesn't leave her alone sometimes, but at the same time it makes me feel very proud. It takes a good dog to get walked on and run over on an hourly basis without retaliating.

There are times though when he grabs his blanket and curls up with her on the floor, and he doesn't hit her, sit on her or try to cover her head with the blanket...sometimes he just wants to lay with her. And surprisingly to me, those times, she lets him. Dogs must know that little boys don't really mean any harm.

Ugh

Feb 16th...

I realize I have two pictures to post today, and I apologize. But the one of the reasons I am doing this, is to learn how to say out loud some of the things I am feeling. (By out loud, I mean typing...quietly...but for people to read) Tonight was not a fun night at all. Promised Cael some time at daycare, no daycare. Thought I would meet some new friends who were in my same boat, they apparently already have each other and don't need me and just assume I don't need them. Thought that I was a person too and my voice counted as much as everyone elses, it doesn't. Thought my son would be treated fairly and get a birthday cake at next months meeting, no birthday cake for him, only for the little girl with the March b-day. Thought I could make it at least two days without my husband, I can't. When Valentine's Day is only two days behind you and there is this much chocolate gone...something is very wrong.

Hang on baby!

Feb 16th...

She has been trying for the past few days and today she finally did it! She grabbed onto that flower! After words she just lay there and stared at her hand, I was so excited for her. I was congratulating her and clapping and taking pictures...then I went about my daily business for a few minutes and when I looked back, she was still holding on... Poor little girl couldn't figure out how to let go!

One down...

Feb 15th...

Well, we have made it through one day without Derrick. ( I still have to make it through the night), but as far as Cael is concerned, it has been a whole day without daddy. This part is nothing new to him I guess, Derrick has been gone for short periods of time before, but I hope a whole year isn't too much for our little guy to handle. I need him to stay positive for my own sanity. I hate to ask so much of him at 2 years old, but he is the man of the house now and momma will definitely need his help in seeing the good side of some of the days we are about to face. Everyone keeps telling me the first few days and/or weeks are the hardest, and if I can keep it together through this part I will eventually fall into a "new normal" routine and the year will go by pretty fast. Is it wrong of me to want to rush Averi's first year of life? This is such a complicated emotion. I am so afraid of "missing" this next year of the kids' lives because I am trying to rush it along, or feeling like if we do anything big that we will be making Derrick jealous...I don't know. He has his computer with him and we are going to keep in contact the best we possibly can, so I think I need to just take a deep breath and take this deployment day by day. Wish me luck! And definitely keep my awesomely brave and strong husband in your thoughts!

Heart Day

Feb 14th...

Normally, Valentines Day isn't really our thing. Not because we don't like it to join the cliche, but mainly because we are always broke or we forget. We are more the type of couple who realize what day it is and say "Oh Crap...I'll be right back" and that just takes the fun out of it. Last year we were down in California visiting Derrick's parents and we were actually going to celebrate the occasion (last minute plans of course) so we each took turns driving to Wal*Mart, grabbed each other a quick card and some candy, and then got all dressed up and headed to dinner and a movie. First stop was the Olive Garden...Yeah Right! There were so many people there (of the smarter variety, who made reservations) that the line was outside the restaurant and down the street! So we contemplated for a while, and drove across the street to Taco Bell! There is nothing more romantic than trying not to drip taco grease on your shirt while a zitty high school kid mops up the spilled pepsi underneath your stool...

After the movie I made sure to tell Derrick that it was the best Valentine's Day I had ever had! I didn't care about eating cheap Tacos for our dinner, or last minute gifts. All that matters to me is that today was acknowledged...that's more than I can say for the year before!

Well this year was a completely different story. There has been so much in question about whether or not Derrick was even going to be here today, that I decided to tell him I thought we should just not worry about the materialistic side this year. I told him we should just tell each other I Love You and do something nice during the day. He responded with "Oh crap...that is coming up isn't it..." So I figured that was a good idea. I don't mind when he rushes out and gets me something last minute (usually because today happens to fall on payday) but it does hurt my feelings a little when I have to remind him of the holiday itself. I thought this would be a good way to do it this year, take the pressure off, and just relax about it.

Well I was at the store last night and I was walking down the Valentine's Day isle thinking to myself "Should I surprise him anyway?" But I knew I couldn't, that would make him feel awful! And he leaves tomorrow for a whole year, so why would I do that to him?

I woke up this morning 3 hours after the rest of the family because they let me sleep in (and it was AWESOME) and when I came out into the living room Cael said "Momma!!!" and pointed to the couch. There was my awesome Valentine's Day surprise from my awesome husband! He went shopping for me 2 weeks ago! I could tell because the dog was still cold from being hidden out in the shed, and the card was all about how much he missed me. I was so surprised, he made me feel so special this morning, and what do I have to give him??? Absolutely nothing! How terrible is that? Now, I am going to be the one running to the store last minute...what a dummy.

Sleepy

Feb 13...

What a little sweety I have. She looked so cute with her fingers interlocked like that, I had to take a picture. I had to think long and hard about it first though...the only reason she was wearing that dorky little outfit was because I hadn't planned on anyone seeing her! Atleast the blanket hid that fact that her legs are about 4 or 5 inches longer than the pants...She's so cute, she could pull off anything, I don't know what I worry about :)

Getting ready to go (for real...we think)

Feb 12th...

Well Derrick got the orders saying Monday is the big day, so once again we are preparing for him to leave. We already did the whole mopey, sad part...now we are just pretending we're excited for it so he can leave us on a good note. Lucky for us, today was payday and he got to go buy his laptop. We were thinking I was going to have to buy it when our tax refund came back and then ship it to him, thank goodness we didn't have to go that route! I was so nervous about how much that was going to cost, and whether or not it would get damaged...plus, how long he was going to have to go without a single thing to do. This bad boy was $1,000 but he wanted it so bad, and he's going to Afghanistan...I think he deserves it! Not that it's my call anyway, he makes the money! :) That was a joke, we tackle every big decision together and this one was a no brainer, he looks like a little kid right now on Christmas morning. I am just so happy that he will have a webcam, him being able to say goodnight to the kids is very important to me. I know it won't be every night, but those nights we get to talk to him are going to be so special. I think Averi will have a much easier time knowing who her daddy is if she gets to see him talk to her.

I did something else in order to prepare for this deployment today; I ordered each of the kids a "Daddy Doll." They are at hugahero.com and they are awesome. It's a 12" pillow-type doll that has a full length picture of Derrick on one side and plain fabric on the other (pink for Averi, american flag for Cael) and there is a pocket in the back so Derrick can leave them each a little note before he goes. I think it's such a nice idea, Cael will be able to take daddy wherever we go...daycare, the grocery store, he can even sleep with him in his bed. I think he will love it. Averi probably won't care for a few months...but it's only fair that she gets one too!

Well...that's pretty much our day so far, emotions are flying every which way, but I think we are as ready as we can be, now he just needs to go so he can come back.

*Side note: I realize this isn't the best picture in the world, I should have taken a few more to try and get the keyboard and logos to focus...but Derrick is so busy playing on it right now, I can't get him to turn it back off so I can try again. Plus...I'm lazy :P

It's Puzzle Time!

Feb 11...

Derrick and I started this puzzle almost a year ago, and were forced to put it back in the box without much progress being made. (I say we were forced because "doing puzzles while watching season's 1 & 2 of Heroes" became our nightly thing to do after Cael went to bed...well when we were done watching them, season 3 wasn't out on DVD yet...so obviously we had to forfeit puzzle time)

It's out on DVD now...but we don't have it yet, so instead we decided to watch a movie on our computer screen (since it's bigger than our tv right now haha) and get the puzzle out on the kitchen table. I did catch Cael once, taking pieces and putting them BACK IN THE BOX...little stinker, but at least he didn't lose any of them. He didn't have much of a chance to do much damage anyway since we had that bad boy done in 2 DAYS! Wohoo, now we are awesome puzzle-doers like Misty and Pat!

Sweet Little Girl

Feb 10th...

I took some random pictures today thinking nothing really special was going to happen for me to blog about, and really liked the booties...but then later I decided to put Averi in the bumbo again! Last time we put her in, she had a really hard time holding her head up and she face planted the center piece between her legs...whoops. But today I thought I would give her another chance and she did great! She probably sat in there for 10 minutes before her head started to wobble around. Just watching Friends , like a big girl! She is not really getting anywhere when it comes to pushing herself up while on her belly, she just can't seem to figure it out, poor thing will just lay there and lick the blanket... so I am hoping if I keep her vertical for big chunks out of the day, she will get her neck strength that way and have an easier time on her tummy.

Head holding will come with time and practice sweetheart, and once you master that, I am afraid you might be off and running...we'll just have to wait and see.

AFV Family time!

Feb 9th...

America's Funniest Home Videos is definitely a favorite in our house, especially a favorite of Cael's. He climbed up on the couch tonight after dinner (which he ATE! Note the ketchup...) and made himself comfy right in front of Derrick. They looked so cute sitting there, I had to get my camera. They were laughing and clapping and "OHHHH" -ing together...so cute!

Time Out

Feb 8th...

It's official. I am "mean momma" now. I have let Cael get away with everything, every day, because I keep telling myself he's too little to get into trouble...or, he just doesn't understand. Well Yeah Right! He knows exactly what he's doing when he pulls every single DVD off the shelf, opens them up and takes out all the movies! He knows what he's doing when he sneaks into a corner somewhere with Averi's bottle or one of her binkys...just staring at me, and slowly trying to put it in his mouth, and he definitely knows what he's doing when he takes all my tupper ware containers out of the cabinet and carries them all to the living room and says "momma!" and then drops them on the dog so they can get all hairy! He knows....and he thinks it's funny. I don't. Time out you little stinker....time out....

River

Feb 7th..

Realizing I hadn't taken any pictures today, I asked Derrick if he wanted to take the kids to the river this afternoon and see what the parks were like down there. Cael (who has been shamelessly getting up between five and six every morning for the past few weeks) decided he needed a four hour nap today and we lost our sunlight! I didn't want to take the kids in the dark, and it was getting pretty chilly, but I still wanted to take some river pictures, so Derrick stayed home with the kids. I figured if I could look around down there, and see what all there was to do, we could take Cael and Averi tomorrow.

The river is absolutely beautiful! I found a huge playground that Cael can play on tomorrow, and I can get a lot more pictures then! I only spent about ten minutes down there taking pictures because my hands were getting so cold, but I am way excited to spend more time down there.

I know you are all probably thinking...what about the Super Bowl??? Ya, I could have posed us all on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and pretended we were watching it...but in all honesty we didn't. We don't know anyone to host a party for, and we don't really follow the games enough to pay much attention ourselves...so instead we DVRed it so we can watch the commercials tonight after Cael goes to bed. Plus, as long as we know the score tomorrow, we can fool people into thinking we didn't just shame America.

Peaceful Day

Feb 6th...

Today was a nice relaxing day. Nothing crazy, no stress, no tears coming out of nowhere! Those are big accomplishments lately for this household. We spent the day cleaning and folding laundry...but those things are much more tolerable when we do them together. By "do them together" I mean have derrick fold a little stack of clothes, and then continuously find other things to do (like nap on the couch) and have Cael see if he can unfold as fast I put clothes in the basket (he can.) But all that is fine by me because it was a good day.

I actually took this picture yesterday, but I think it's adorable and Derrick was so excited that she smiled at him like that, I just had to post it! Plus, my pictures from today just weren't up to my standards, I am running a little low on ideas I think, and I have a lot more 2010 to go! I hope I get out of this funk pretty soon or this blog is going to be pretty boring very soon! Anyone have any ideas? I am going to attempt to tell a story in 8 photographs to try and win a scholarship to the Art Institute for next year, so ideas would be awesome! I have some, but I need it to be spring time first, or at least some weather that could pass for spring!

I just want to say thanks to everyone who is reading this blog. This is really fun for me and it's awesome to know that people care! Especially those people that aren't part of my family, I am amazed and honored that you think I am a tad bit interesting!

I can't believe it has been over a month and I haven't missed a day yet! (Except the one I posted at like 1 in the morning, I guess I missed that day technically, but I had no picture!) Anyway, thanks for motivating me, I feel like I'm not so far away from home when I do this, and it really, really, really means a lot.

Bye Hon...nevermind...

Feb 5th...

I can't breathe.

Yes I can: Derrick called this morning and said he's not shipping out today. Good grief. I don't know how many more times I can say goodbye to him...just leave already! :) I was bummed at first, mainly for his sake because Mike was the last person to make it on to the flight (Alphabetically) so they are no longer traveling together. Nobody could even give us an exact date that Derrick is going to go. It makes me wonder if it's going to be a call in the middle of the night that says "get here by 5 am" or if he will have a day or two notice. He told me there is a possibility of piggy backing with another unit this Sunday, or waiting until the 22nd when more of his own guys ship. I guess we will just wait and see. He is still going to the same place though, and he will meet up with Mike and everybody else once he's there. He just gets the benefit of spending a few extra days with his family...that's how were looking at it. The whole unit will come back as a whole, so the more days he spends here, the less he has to spend over there and that is just fine by me. One of his buddies today told us to not stress about saying goodbye all over again, we've already done that. Now we just spend every minute as a family, and when the time comes for him to leave, we won't have to rely so much on the painful part. We already did that and survived, we don't need to do it again.

I promise, I will keep everyone as informed as I can, I know how much he is loved and cared about and I don't want anyone to worry.

Well I guess this is it

Feb 4th...

We invited Derrick's friend Mike over for dinner tonight so he wouldn't have to eat all alone on his last night here. He received his smallpox vaccination the other day so little Averi had to spend the whole time in her bedroom (lucky for me she is fast asleep so she didn't mind!) Him and Derrick have been together since their training at Ft. Benning last Fall, it's nice to know that my husband will have someone to talk with over there.

I (by my own admission) am really good at ruining dinners! So I was a little nervous tonight just because I wanted them both to have a good meal that they were going to really like. We had some big fat pork chops in the freezer that would probably take me year or two to eat if I didn't give them to the boys, but red flags were flying up all over the place! "Don't do it Darci....you're pork chops are always so bland...it will be a pity dinner!" Instead of just seasoning them and throwing them in the frying pan like I normally do, I decided to try something completely new! I looked up a recipe online for pork chops with mushroom soup and rice. I knew it had "Oh Boy..." written all over it, but I wanted to try it anyways. I realize I have been married for 2 1/2 years now, but that doesn't mean I am miss suzy homemaker yet, not once have I attempted to cook rice for Derrick. My mother-in-law is an amazing cook and set the bar really high for me, so I normally just steer clear of the tough stuff. I called Nikki and told her I wanted to try and she said she walk me through it, so I figured it might be ok. At least if I completely destroyed it, there were leftover enchiladas in the fridge that they could eat.

So I start cooking, and the first thing I do is burn the oil. Did you know oil could burn if you left it on long enough? well it does! By the time I put the pork chops in, the oil was like caramel and I had to pick it all off and throw it away (literally! throw it away...it was no longer a liquid) I just added more and crossed my fingers that it was OK to do that. After that things went alright, my sister walked me through cooking the rice (really easy, I felt a little dumb for thinking it was scary) and I just had to let the pork chops simmer in the soup for 30 minutes. By the time it was done, the soup was completely brown from the burned oil and the veggies had burnt to the pan...but the rice was perfect! I made everyone's plates and put them on the table and as I was making my plate, I noticed that neither of them were taking a bite, they were just looking at it. They said they were waiting for me but I know what was going through their minds! By the time they finally got their courage up and took a bite they were both so surprised! Derrick kept saying "Wow babe....Wow!" I don't think I have cooked that yummy of a dinner before, and he was as shocked as me! Well long, story short, I cooked rice tonight and it was good. haha!

I got a tad side tracked...the point of my blog tonight was Derrick and Mike leaving for Afghanistan in the morning, but oh well. None of us know what exactly is going to happen when the sun comes up in the morning...or what emotions we will all be feeling...but at least we know they were well fed for their flight!

My Lone Tree

Feb 3...

Very stressful day, I've been on the verge of tears for hours now and I needed to step outside for a few minutes to get myself together. I'm trying to not lose my cool in front of Derrick or the kids right now so I am not the reason for any added stress. Once he has safely made it and once the kids are in daycare...then I will break down. For now, I will just go outside and take pictures of my only tree :)

Hmm...

Feb 2...

The whole point of this project 365 is to get out and not sit on your bum all year...and when you do go out BRING YOUR CAMERA! Well i do. Everywhere. Just in case. The kids and I went to Ft. Campbell today to meet with my Family Readiness Group leader so I wanted to get a picture of the Welcome To Tennessee sign on my way there...next time I will make sure my memory card is in there!

So here is a picture of my girlie in her new "little lamb" baby swing.

Yummy!

Feb 1st...

There aren't a whole lot of things that I think McDonald's does better than other food places...they are usually near the bottom of my list. (Unless I'm pregnant! Then nuggets and ranch are all I dream about) But they just brought milkshakes back (I think...or I never knew they were there) Regardless, I had my first McDonald's milkshake the other night and it was so stinkin good, I got another one tonight! Hooray!