Quittin' Time...

For now. For a while, at least.

I just don't feel like keeping this up right now.

Maybe when we get to Alaska, I'll start back up again so that you can get a feel for our new life, but in the meantime....I quit.

But I won't delete this blog entirely, because there are a lot of great posts on here that I don't want to lose. I've mentioned before that I keep this blog as a diary and one day, I want to get it printed.

Take care, guys! And thanks for reading. If you want me, you know where to find me. I'm just a phone call away.

Where in the world is Janet?

Hello!

Bet you've been biting your nails, wondering where in the heck I've been...and if I'm still feeling the vibes from my last post.

Well, I'm much better these days.

Phillip came home from his second tour in Iraq in the early days of June. It is safe to say that we are all so much happier. The kids and I LOVE having Daddy home again. I'm not nearly as exhausted as I was, mentally or physically, and I feel WHOLE again. Sarah is Daddy's Little Girl, and Gabe is just glowing.

We just came off of a two week vacation to Disney World and Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, Alabama. Oh, the fun we had! I will put pictures up on the photo collection from that, as well as pics from the rest of the summer, whenever I get the chance.

We all needed the rest, and we are preparing for school to start tomorrow with refreshed minds. I admit that I have mixed feelings about tomorrow. I'm happy that the summer is over, and that we are starting yet another chapter in life of  Us. But, I'm also sad and a little anxious that our baby boy is starting the second grade. Where does the time go?

Sarah will be in a Mother's Day Out type of thinga-mu-jig on Wednesday's so that I can have the day to do pretty much whatever I want without having to stop for nap times, etc. I have so much to do, as far as working on CME credits for my Surgical Tech certification, tons of pictures to go through and catalog into photo albums (scrap booking is not my thing), home organizing, etc. etc. It'll be nice to vacumm the floor without the worry of an 18-month old thief trying to take over the Dyson!

Phil got the news that he will be going into the Maintenance Test Pilot's course in the spring of next year. I'm not exactly looking forward to him leaving for about 3 months, but I'm extremely happy for him that his career is taking the path that he wants. He'll be training at Fort Rucker, Alabama, so he won't be too far away. At least it's not thousands of miles, right? And hopefully, we will find out soon when and where we will be moving to next. Though we all love Texas, we agree it's time for a change.

I don't know when I'll post next. I admit that since I got a Facebook account, and I update my status on it almost everyday, I feel uninspired to write on this blog. I must remind myself that I'm using this as a journal of our life.

Until next time, guys...

Janet

Chain Link (Part One)

A few weeks ago, I decided that I needed to show Gabe and myself that we really didn't have much time left to this deployment. I purposely forget to take a link off on some days, so that I can show Gabe that time is passing without us realizing it.

To be continued...

Update and Pictures as promised...

Here's a rundown:

• Sarah now has 8 teeth. That's 8 teeth since Christmas. And everytime she cuts a tooth, she gets a horrible diaper rash. Poor Baby! Poor Momma!
• Gabe lost the first of his top teeth a couple of weeks ago. His two bottom teeth are practically all filled in by now.
• Gabe continues to amaze and inspire me with his awesomeness. He's really a great kid and great company.
  
• We were sooooo sick for the week leading up to and during Spring Break. First, Gabe had sinus trouble, then me, then Sarah. She started vomiting the day before we were due to leave for Louisiana and a few days after that, I, in a fit of exhaustion, loaded up the car and headed for home. Then, the WHOLE HOUSE in Lafayette gets sick with a stomach bug...and I haven't been sick like that in years!
• Spring Break kinda sucked because I was sooooo looking forward to having a break (without having to try to recover from illness), but oh well, I still got the chance to...
• have lunch with two of my favorite people in the whole wide world; one of which is expecting a baby boy in July...
• buy an awesome pair of Keen's shoes...
• and take my son to New Orleans for a day.
• Again, I'm thankful that Phil's parents were around to help us in a time of need. When I got back to Lafayette, I actually felt like a plane coming in with one wheel down and one wheel stuck in the crappy aircraft! I am, however, very sorry that we ALL got sick during that week.
  
• On the way home to Texas, we stopped in Brenham to take pictures in the blue bonnets. And I sat on some "pickers", and almost had to call my friend Tiffany to come operate on me to get some out.
  
• I'm happy to announce that we have right about 2 months before the guys come home, and we're so excited!!!
• I'm on a small home improvement kick right now, because we have NO IDEA what the military has in store for us in the next year, and we really don't know if we are going to be selling and moving; to start off, I bought a tree for our front yard to replace the one that died mysteriously and shortly after 2 helicopter pilots wrapped Christmas lights around it's trunk. Next, I will hire someone to finish off our fence (we were lucky enough to have our surrounding neighbors put up fences, so all we have to do is finish ours off). I may get an estimate on putting a small waist high fence around an electrical box-thingie that we have in the far corner of our yard (then put some bushes or other decor in front of that).
• This past Sunday, the weather was nice and I decided that we needed to go explore something. Ted Nugent has spoken of a Barbeque place in Waco that I wanted to go try out, but it's closed on weekends. I decided, while Gabe was in Religion class, that we'd go to Crawford, TX. I stopped at a gas station to get some "stuff" and asked if the Bush's were around for the weekend; the girl behind the counter said that she saw some Secret Service in the area, and so my answer was probably a yes. To make a long story short, we found the area of the ranch, and the small motorcade was practically a minute behind me going back into town. And like the stalker I am, I did an awesome little traffic move, and followed them into Waco! A picture is included down below for you.
• Now, if I can just find out where Ted's house is...
  

I think that's about it for news on this end. I'll try to post again soon for ya!
J~

Craig and Mary are gonna have a BABY!

Gabe is being shown how to stear a Kayak in The Backpacker, in Lafayette.

Blue bonnets in Brenham, TX.

If you click on this picture to make it larger, you'll see a black SUV in the center of the road. I'm assuming he does this to protect George from having anyone drive directly on the side of him, because the car on it's left has George and Laura in it. Laura was on the left hand side of the car that they were riding in. In order, was a state trooper, the Bush's SUV, a small black Secret Service car, and another state trooper behind them. This was about 2:30 on Sunday, and I assume again that they were headed toward Dallas.

Beware of The Beads...

Because they have the power to make your eyes look big and wide!
(the cheeks are hereditary)

The above photos were taken at Paw-Paw and Ya-Ya's house in Lafayette a few days after a St. Patrick's Day parade in New Orleans.

"Hello, Stranger."

The title to this post is actually a quote from one of my all-time favorite movies. It's called Closer, with Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Roberts and, make my heart thump, Clive Owen.

I know that I haven't posted in a while. I've been busier than usual and frankly, I've been avoiding the computer. But my favorite Algebra teacher from high school just called me to say hello, and after filling him in on what's happening here, I realized that I might need to update this blog soon.

So, to make a long story short....try back in a couple of days, or so, and I'll have some news and pictures for you.

Hope everyone is doing well.
J~

Another item on the family wish list is...

Okay, I saw this on the Price is Right this morning and I want it!
It's the Molokini Clear kayak from Clear Blue Hawaii and it's only about $1600 after taxes. Aaaahhhh! Imagine the places we could take it to...we'd have to start off in Central Texas, of course.

The Swamps would have been a better choice!

I need to learn to just bring my camera with me whenever I leave the house for anything. Again, I had to rely on my cell phone for this picture.

This past Sunday, the kids and I went shopping in Austin. I needed to pick up a free 16 x 20 portrait of the kids that had been waiting on me for about 2 weeks, and I also picked up two new baby gates....because our little princess is getting into EVERYTHING these days. I'm getting kinda tired of stuffing things back into drawers, and poor Gabe has to be selective about what toys of his that he brings out into the living room to play with; at least, with a gate on his room, he can play in peace while little Sarah tippy-toes to watch him from the other side. And like the sweetheart that she is, she drops stuff over to his side for just in case he needs something else to play with.

On our way home, we took our usual short cut around Stillhouse Hollow Lake and while passing over the bridge to get home, I saw that there was a huge commotion of EMS vehicles and two large tow trucks on the boat ramp in the distance. And because I'm a very curious person (okay, nosey...), I looked back to see if Sarah was still snoozing in her carseat (she was) and turned off to see what was up.

It turns out that with the drought that we've had for a VERY LONG TIME, the lake is getting really low and things are starting to turn up. Some criminal or criminals, or maybe just someone looking to get rid of an ex's cars decided it was best to dispose of them in the lake. The cars had Ohio plates on them from what I heard from someone in the gathering crowd. It must have been a busy day, news wise, in Central Texas, because there was no one from the local news covering the story.

There were some boaters waiting to get their own boats out of the water, but they had to wait to use the ramp. And there were divers looking for bodies, for just in case it was not just a stolen car issue.

I tell ya, if I ever had to get rid of anything, I'd choose the swamps of Louisiana...

A few days worth (Part Three)

Sarah's trying to cut another tooth (#6), and so she's got another horrible diaper rash. I figured that bathing with her brother would both be fun and a distraction from a burning bottom.

My little bathing cuties...

Nope, it's MY duck!

A few days worth (Part Two)

After much time, effort, stress and money, we (no, I) completed Gabe's Pinewood Derby car in the nick of time to turn it in on Thursday night, so that it could be weighed and measured.

For a little over a month now, we've been planning on just how we were going to accomplish building a winning car without Phillip's expertise in wood cutting etc.

When you first get the kit, all you have is a block of wood, 4 wheels and axles, and some guidelines that have to be met. As for the wood cutting, I purchased a hacksaw from Walmart and with Sarah watching me on a very cold day, I put a layer of towels on my kitchen table and hacked away for about an hour and a half to get our car looking like SOMETHING worth racing.

At a few of our Boy Scout meetings, we were able to get together with others to work on our cars; the parents did most of the work, while our young Tiger Cubs played games of chase and "raptor". I'm thankful for the tips and advice that some of the father's handed down to me, and Gabe's soccer coach from last year is a Saint for putting those darn wheels on for me. (after we got the wheels on, we glued coins to the bottom of the car for extra weight needed for speed...I forgot my weight strips at home and I WAS NOT going back for them!)

working away on a Saturday...

Mike, an Eagle Scout

Our car, before...

and during.

I have to admit that after all of the worry (I didn't want to fail Gabe on making a car not worth being proud of) and stress, I did learn something. Number One, hacksaws are cool! Number Two, I have lots of tricks up my sleeve for next year! Number Three, I accomplished something that I didn't think I would!

It turns out that our car was not really a winner, but it did cross the finish line and for me, that's all that counts. Gabe was an awesome little sport in being happy for his friends that did cross to win 1st Place.

Thanks to cousin Adrian, we have lots of tools and goodies to work with for next year's car!

Best friends, Gabe and Tyler

Handing his car over...

his is the score all the way to the right.

Another race (we raced 3 times, once on each slot of the track)

The track (which I hear is worth thousand's!)

A few days worth (Part One)

It seems that sometimes, time can just drag on and on, but last week was a busy and fast paced one for us.

On Thursday, Gabe and his friends at school had to dress up like their favorite book character. If you've never heard of Skippyjon Jones, I think you should check him out. We really enjoy reading books about him. He's a little Siamese kitten who thinks he's a chihuahua, and little Skippyjon is always getting himself into some sort of trouble or imaginative adventure. He's one Friskito Bandito, Dude! Below, you'll see our little Skippyjon.


That night, after I gave Sarah a bath, I noticed that her hair was especially curly (maybe it was the weather?). I do hope that she inherits the trait from just about everyone in her family. My Mom has lots of body to her hair, and so do I. Phillip's side of the family practically have ringlets. I want her hair to grow quickly so we can have fun with it!



On Friday morning, I was in the process of waking Gabe when the phone rang at about 6:20. Phil's Mom was calling to tell me that they had left their house and were on their way to Texas. On Friday night, we finally had the Pinewood Derby that we had been preparing for, and it just so happened that the trip that Manuel and Zella had previously planned included a chance to see it.

How do you like my $60 comforter from the recently out of business Linen's and Things? Together with the double sheet set, my whole bed cost a whopping $100!

Now WHO could be calling at this hour?!

As I mentioned in my post title, I'll have a series of things for you to check out this week. Come by again soon to see pics of the PW Derby.

And I do hope that everyone has a great week!

J~

Found...

A new place to explore that is only 22 miles away from our house! I just may have to put the kids in the car this afternoon to satisfy my curiosity!

Here is the link to The Vineyards at Florence: Vineyards

Oh, and check back in a day or two for another post on some exploring that we did this past Monday.

Hope all is well on your end,
Janet

What do I title this post?

Every morning, on my way home from dropping Gabe off at school, I see the same young man waiting for the buss, by himself, away from the crowd of other middle-schoolers. He's either reading a book or day-dreaming; never talking to anyone.

I wish I knew why he's such a loner.

I hope that life at home is a happier place for him than the bus stop seems to be.

I worry about him.

And I say a quick prayer for him every morning.

Some of Sarah's very first steps...

We're working on Gabe's Pinewood Derby car for Boy Scouts. This afternoon, we're going to a hobby shop nearby to get some paint, decals and maybe a few more ideas on how to decorate it. Gabe wants a dragon theme. I'm thinking that Yoda driving a Star Wars themed car would be perfect for my Little Star Wars Lover. I promise that I'll post some news, details and pictures on whatever we decide on soon!

It seems that I've been posting a whole lot about Sarah lately; I guess that it's because life doesn't really change much these days for the older people. But for the babies...

I was able to get this video the night of our swimsuit fashion show. Enjoy!

Sarah's 1 Year pictures...and new swimsuit!

We went to Kiddie Kandids again this past Saturday to get Sarah's 1 Year Portraits taken.

While shopping, I also found a swim suit that I just could not pass up, even as Gabe warned me that Phillip would not be happy about my buying it for Sarah without his approval! I told him that maybe we need to have this discussion when she turns sixteen (or hits puberty). But just in case Dad feels that we would be showing too much skin (or chub), I got the matching cover-up. Ohhh! Daddies and their little girls...

I'm a BIG GIRL now!!!

Our little Sarah Belle turned a whole year old on Monday!

This past weekend, we met Phil's mom in Mount Pleasant, Texas; Phil's dad had to stay home in Louisiana for another obligation, and Phil's sister and her husband were at a convention in Galveston. Below, you'll see the rocker that every grandchild gets for his/her first birthday from Manuel and Zella...

Our niece, Elise, made an awesome chocolate cake for the party...

LOVE those "juicy" little thighs!


At home, on Monday, Gabe and I threw our own small shindig for Sarah. Gabe had fun opening her presents for her...
the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls are Gabe's gift to her; he chose them all by himself.

Sarah is starting to stand on her own with a little help from pulling up on something. She's also gettting really brave and takes about 5 or 6 steps before she realizes that crawling is much faster!


And this is the end of the day...
She didn't nap very much that day; we were really busy with this and that.

I took her for her 1 Year well-baby appointment yesterday. She is a whole 28 inches tall and a whopping 21 pounds heavy. Her pediatrician told me that it's entirely okay to take her off of formula and to put her on whole cow's milk. I've been slowly transitioning her with it. She's not too keen on cold drinks, but after a year of washing bottles and mixing formula, this morning, we went cold turkey! No more bottles!!!!! I figure (and I have the doc's support) that if she's thirsty enough, she'll drink milk at whatever temperature...eventually. Her pediatrician also assured me that even though it may not seem like it, with the small range of big-people foods she's eating now, she's still getting the vitamins and nutrients that she needs. And as for the nasty business of sometimes fighting her sleep, I'm gonna have to get tough and teach her to put herself to sleep without the aid of me patting her little leg until she finally gives in. For the past two days, she's played in her crib for her afternoon nap until she zonks out. I guess now, I can put away her baby swing as well (because she's getting too big for it anyway).

That first year is really tough when it comes to babies. Things are definetly getting easier.

I called Phil's mom this morning just to tell her that from now on, I don't have to pack formula and bottles etc. for excursions out of the house. I was giddy, I tell ya!

Hope all is well on your end...

A whole lot of nothing...

Hey Guys!

I don't have very much going on at the moment; the house is clean (somewhat).

I think I'm going to make some changes to my blog...make it prettier (?).

In the meantime, I'll also try to find something to blog about....

Momma Said...

"My, what big teeth you have!"

"All the better to eat PIZZA with!" said the...

scary...

little grandma!Get it? She looks like a little grandma walking with her walker (?).
Aahh, what I think of to entertain myself these days.....