The Question Game

So, um, Jennie (from She Likes Purple and Style Lush) is going to think I am stalking her. (Jennie, I'm not, I swear, you've just had some most stellar posts lately.) Today, she asked:

What is one place (you haven't yet been) that you'd be ridiculously bummed to never travel to in your lifetime?

I answered Greece immediately. I went back and skimmed the other 20+ comments and found that Greece was the most popular answer. Weird, huh? Do we have some primal need to reconnect with the birthplace of Western society?

You know, I could probably live happily without going to Greece. I'd probably be more bummed if I never made it back to Chester, England. In all of England (and Ireland, but I was never taken with Ireland the way some people are), Chester was the best. It had everything good about London without the hassles tate come with a big city. We only spent a day there, so I often wonder if I'd be as fond of it the second time around.

Oh, and the Florida Keys. My husband and I need to make it back there some time.

I'm clearly more rooted in the known and familiar than the unknown.

In similar news, rumor has it that we may not find out our next assignment till well after Christmas. It's just a rumor as of now, but would anyone be surprised? Not this lady. I wouldn't be surprised, but I'd be a little disappointed. We've been waiting for this news for a long time. What's three or four months, though, when you've been waiting for years.

The Other Stuff

OK, we made it back from Indiana. I did the big drive on Monday. It took 16.5 hours - could have taken 30 to 45 minutes less if it wasn't for a few spots of construction. Not bad with two kids in tow!

The DVD player was a success. It worked throughout the entire ride home and still appears in good shape. ::HAPPY DANCE::

I was tired and grumpy Tuesday. There's something about sitting on your butt for an entire day (in a car) that really takes it out of you. My body ached. I am not as young as I used to be.

Yesterday, Wednesday, was also a tough day. Moose refused to nap and screamed for 3.5 hours straight. I went in a few times to ::soothe:: him, but nothing changed and he never fell asleep. We did a walk to the park around 9ish. The air was so sticky that Bean quickly declared, "Mama, let's go home." We only played for about 10 minutes. Also, Moose pooped at least four times yesterday. I stopped counting after that. Four times is at least twice as many as necessary. Husband and I did get to watch The Lucky Ones yesterday evening. He gives it four stars. I agree.

The kids and I ventured to the commissary today. I hoped to wait till tomorrow (when we get paid), but we I couldn't wait. There was no chocolate in the house. I found some cookies in a gift basket my mom sent. It wasn't enough, though. We have produce, so the kids can enjoy something beyond applesauce. I also found a stash of reduced meat off to the side (why do they hide it back there?) - two roasts, eight pounds of ground beef, and two T-bone steaks! So much for eating less beef! I also got some chocolate cereal and Oreos and ice cream. I'm totally in fear of running out again.

I need to do a quick inventory of what we have and get back to menu planning. Oh, the things I missed while not running a household ...

Husband had the house cleaned when I got home. I've been trying to maintain, despite the ultra-helpfulness from 1.0 and 2.0. I even got my car cleaned out from the trip on Tuesday and cleaned out my closet (it's big and there's a lot of crap in it, so it's sort of like cleaning a room) yesterday. My craft room is in desperate need of a good cleaning, but progress is slow-going.

The boys both have well appointments this afternoon. Moose is screaming till then. I'm excited to find out how much he weighs! I'm guessing 28 pounds. Anyone else want to take a guess?

Indiana Summers

It was 83 here on Saturday, and everyone was complaining about the heat. I was totally comfortable ... possibly, even chilly! Texas has seeped its way into my blood. ::shudder::

So far, it's been a beautiful visit. I scored free Pyrex, then totally spludged at the I Love Toy Trains store on this. I told Bean, "Your dada is going to shoot me." Bean said, "Dada shoot me too." It's probably true, but darn if it isn't a cute train set.

Moose doesn't seem to sleep any better here then he did in Texas or California. He doesn't want to nap, and he doesn't want to go until I go to bed. I will have a nightmare on my hands when we get back to Texas. Can't wait.

Yesterday, I met up with two great friends. I haven't seen Nx since I was pregnant with Bean. Last time I saw T. was right after she had her 2.0 (he's now 2.5) and she's pregnant with her THIRD BOY! Exhaustion overwhelmed me the second she told me it was another boy (not that girls are less exhausting, but I think it's a different exhaustion). But, you know, it'll be nice for the three boys to pal around together. She's excited to take them all snowboarding one day. I scored fresh green beans from T.'s garden. I've been munching on them all day. Her and her husband had a great garden - there's no way I could keep something like that in Texas. One hot day in June would roast everything to a crisp brown.

I also played bingo Saturday night - I didn't win.

Yesterday, Bean ran around with my mom. Rumor has it that he wasn't the most well-behaved kid. Oh, how I love Bean showcasing my excellent parenting skills to my mother.

It's been a lazy day here. Cleaned up a bit, ran off to Target to find a portable DVD player (old one pooped out and Target was sold out of the model I wanted, but they should have more in a week). Ate lunch (Moose ate three pieces of watermelon, about four tablespoons of peas, two strawberries, and two chicken nuggets; Bean ate eight nuggets and a few french fries and four pizza rolls ... this is the most I've ever seen them eat in one sitting). Finally got Moose down for a nap (he did sleep in till 9:30 this morning - after skipping naps almost entirely yesterday and partying until 11 p.m.).

A college friend is headed in to town Wednesday and is staying a few nights. We might also be meeting up with House of Toys next week (ahh, the reunion ... their boys and Bean have not shut up about one another for more than a month ... sometimes Bean gets banned from even saying their names ... no joke, that's how much he talks about them).

California Pictures (Round 2)

Moose's Faux First Birthday:

California Pictures (Round 1)

Venice Beach:


Santa Monica Mountains:

We're Back!

We're home.

We have lots of great pictures and stories, but we are just readjusting to being back home for now.

While we were in California, Moose started to crawl, drink from a sippy, sleep through the night (when not sleeping by my side), and popped his second top tooth. A lot happens in two weeks.

Once home, he quickly learned how to pull himself up in his crib and slam his body against the rails and appear like a prisoner. Yesterday, our first full day at home, Moose was particularly clingy and fussy. Today is started better ... he slept all night and didn't get up till 8:20 a.m.

Yuckies

Bean has a sinus infection and strep throat. Lucky for him, one antibiotic treats them both. Hopefully, we see a marked improvement in his cough soon. I like this diagnosis a lot more than "sinuses" or "allergies." Thank goodness for a different doctor!

Moose has been running a slight fever since last night, about 101. He's had snots for days. Last night he had some projectile vomit, but I think that was a combination of the fever and overeating (he nurses to sooth himself) and gagging on Tylenol. He and I had a terrible night's sleep last night - I think we were up every 30 minutes or so. It was miserable. As soon as I would start to drift off, he would wake up. It was a very tough night. He's napping now with no fuss. We're not able to get him into the doctor today, but I'm hoping between rest and nursing that he'll work it out himself.

Right now I'm not planning on making our trip to Indiana. The drive was going to be hard enough with just me and two healthy kids. But now it's just me, two sick kids, and me operating on a terrible night's sleep. I also have a headache, and I only get headaches when I'm on the brink of getting sick. So, I have a feeling that things can still get worse before they get better.

Perhaps tomorrow or Saturday will bring a huge improvement in everyone's health, but if that doesn't happen ... hopefully we can plan another trip sooner rather than later. I had plans with three friends I haven't seen in years - I'm totally bummed to cancel on them. Part of choosing motherhood, though, is putting your family first.

Well, I am tired.

Sick Kid

As you may remember, a couple weeks ago the doctor said Bean's smoker's cough was due to sinuses and allergies. We've been giving him is Zyrtec and Singular every morning, and we haven't seen a huge improvement. His cough was particularly bad yesterday, waking him up at like 2:30 in the morning. It sounded like his lungs were going to come out his throat (they have not ... yet). Yesterday evening he started running a fever, about 100. He took a nap and it's pretty clear that he's tired.

Today, he's still running that same fever. We're giving him Motrin and just letting him veg on the couch. He's still coughing. I opted to keep him out of school for the day - he didn't have a fever when I sent him to school yesterday. He has a doctor's appointment tomorrow at 9:20 a.m. We're seeing a new doctor on base and, if it's who I think it is, I've heard less-than-good things about him. Luckily, Husband will be available to go in with me ... so hopefully that will make Mr. Doctor behave better than he has with some of my friends. Anyway, I'm actually hoping that seeing a different doctor will provide some more productive answers. I feel like this cough has been going on for years.

Moose is napping and still has a bit of a runny nose, but it's clear and nothing too exciting. He's eating and sleeping well, so I'm not so worried about him.

I planned on leaving around 8 a.m. tomorrow for the drive to Indiana, but obviously I'll be getting a late start. Worse case, I can wait till Friday to leave and still be on schedule to see the friends that have made plans with me. We'll see how the day and night and the doctor's appointment go ... but I really need to get out of Texas!

Since Husband was home this morning, though, I was able to pop in at the library and pick up several books on CD:

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
I've always meant to read this, but I've just never gotten around to it.

Dry: A Memoir by Augusten Burroughs
I read his first memoir Running with Scissors, so I can't wait to see what this one has in store. I hope it's not about sobriety. Sobriety is boring.

Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
I've never read a Nicholas Sparks book nor seen any of the movies. Crazy, I know. Anyway, I thought it's be good to have something light.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wild
I read this in college, but I don't remember it. With more than 30 hours of driving ahead of me, surely I can find some time to appreciate a classic (but I'll admit that is the one I'm most likely to skip).