i can't find our sd card reader and it has our sd card in it :(
oh well
Christmas is over, but the mess is still here
all the kids gifts are still under the tree since we really can't put them away here at my parents
they were of course spoiled rotten
Jonas' gifts included
2 of the ever elusive zhu zhu pets, plus the wheel and the car, i have to admit, the things are pretty cool
the bop-it he wanted so badly
books with corresponding character stuffed animals
more matchbox cars (yay...)
uno-moo
2 big GI Joes (snake eyes and storm shadow)
a bakugon battle dome
a painting of a train from my grandmorther
cash
and the biggie, a luddwig drum set
and i know im missing a few gifts of stuff we opened up in NC
Hayley got
a rocking horse
another baby doll, this one says a little prayer
the crayola color me a song tablet
crayola begining crayons
a disney princess 'cd' player
a little purse
fisher price stuffed learning toys
a doll house
a farm that goes with the doll house
a giant my little pony
a painting of a kitty from my grandmother
puzzles
cash
and more stuff haha

tom and i don't exchange gifts
we haven't for 3 years
it doesn't bother us, we would rather spend the money on the kids and getting home for christmas.

though we did get another deposit on our heroes at home sears card
im thinking a new printer..
my parents continue to pay for our XM radio and our AAA membership
they also give us a little cash
we gave them a flag tom had flown while he was deployed, folded and put in a box along with a certificate saying where and when it was flown
the kids gave them gifts they made at our paint your own pottery place and my dad of course got his annual bottle of mennen skin bracer

most of our family left sunday
my uncle is still here, though i think he leaves tomorrow
and my other uncle and aunt and cousin will be back for new years eve
it gets pretty crowed here around Christmas, we used to have 17 people sleeping in the house at christmas, with 1 bathroom and 3 bedrooms.
im not really even sure how sleeping arrangements worked back then. except 6 of the grandkids were crammed into the family room.
now we are down to 11 staying in the house this year, still a bit crowded but we also have an extra bedroom/living room added on since then, and an extra bathroom.

hayley had her first romp in the snow yesterday
she did not like it
she took 2 steps and face planted right in the snow
as soon as we hunt down the sd card ill post those pictures

thursday night tom has another race he is running. jonas is running the 250 meter 6 and under race.
its going to be chilly, 34 with a windchill of 29 and snow...
its 11 degrees outside right now
yikes

how cute are my children





i need to scan the santa picture, but i don't know how my parents scanner works

i wish i had taken snow pictures this morning (no snow in our part NC, we are at my parents)
there was a good 3 inches but now at 11 20 at night there is none!
it snowed all day too, big fat snow flakes
not so fun to go out to the mall in
but very fun to look at the window and watch

the kids saw santa today
jonas actually talked to him this year!
hayley cried. of course
but she fell and bumped her heard, literally 30 seconds before we they called us for our turn
i'm really not sure if she wouldn't have cried even if that didn't happen though
when i picked her up of his lap she stopped crying and then stared 'talking' to him
she touched his beard and his glasses and she held his hand
when we left he blew him a kiss and signed 'love you'
then he gave them each little christmas mouses.
maybe he should have gave hayley mouse before we took the picture

i got all my hair cut off this morning
i mean all off it
like a good 15 inches
i have a baggie of hair to mail out tomorrow
2 year of growing out my hair
the last time i got it cut was dec 11th 2007
ill take and 'after pic' tomorrow after its washed and fixed
right now its just in pigtails since we left the salon and went straight to the mall to get the kids pictures.

family comes in tomorrow
not sure what time though

tom is very content in playing madden 10 all night
i think all be content in going to bed shortly

more race picture

http://www.flickr.com/photos/5k/sets/72157622829766523/

thats the link to the whole 428 pictures!
but if you don't want to pic out the ones of tom and jonas ill post them
thanks sayer photography! and thanks barnes photography!

2 in one day
go me!
yesterday, tom, jonas, and our friend jerry ran in a local reindeer run
tom and jerry ran the 5k and jonas ran the half mile egg nog jog.
it was cold and slightly rainy
but we had a great time
tom came it 21st over all out of 725 but came in 3rd in his age group.
we need more marathons or 10ks
longer races
tom is more of a distance runner
though he still does very well in shorter races

spoil sport tom wouldn't wear his antlers
jonas only wore his for a little bit

before hayley wanted them

she refused to give them back
jonas also had a nose, but it fell off and landed in a puddle before i could take a picture of him
he is very proud of his ribbon
tom's next race is another 5k in fairborn ohio new years eve
after that he has a 20 miler somewhere near asheboro, nc
also, tom and jonas have this set up
http://mycharitywater.org/p/campaign/?campaign_id=2286
seriously
everyone should donate like 10 bucks
every little bit helps!

i have 2 months worth of videos on our ipod
i should probably up load them to the computer
or i could do a few on here

what a good lil mama

tomorrow at this time tom will be back!
he's been in florida since tuesday so he missed most of hayley's birthday.
he did get to wish her a happy birthday though, we went out to breakfast before he left.
we aren't doing anything big for her birthday till next saturday though when we will be in VA for thanksgiving.

i've been looking over a lot of 'black friday' ads
christmas is going to have to be on a very tight budget
very tight
with us having to buy a new engine and compressor for my jeep and tow it back here
that leaves us with very little money for christmas shopping
tom and i will probably go giftless again this year
i don't think we have bought christmas gifts for each other in about 3 years
my birthday is 2 weeks from christmas, and i usually go giftless for that too
i'd rather save the money to get the kids gifts
thankfully we've been blessed once again by being accepted into the sears 'hero's at home' program for military families
we get a gift card to sears/kmart
they put money on it 3 times between Nov 24th and Jan 1st
last year we ended up with almost 300 dollars
they also gave us a special card with an extra 100 for decorations and gift wrap and such
im not sure how much we will get this year
frankly any little bit will help
we also saved up all our change from the year and that alone as given us a pretty good amount of money, if i can hit up good sales.
i've made each kid a list at toys r us
people had better follow them this year
i make a list every year but it hardly ever gets followed
jonas doesn't really need toys
but i still want him to have some gifts of course
what i guess i mean is he does not need toys with 'parts'
like lego play sets, tool kits, train tracks
pieces get lost and then the play set is pretty useless
certain members of the family are really bad about giving him gifts like that even though every year we ask them not to
last year one of these relatives gave him 50, yes 50 hot wheels cars, even after a phone call asking what he needed and what not to buy for him
he does not need anymore toys like that
books are good, movies are good, a few age appropriate few action figures maybe
and he really wants a bop it haha

thanksgiving will be in VA this year
never done a thanksgiving in VA
since we have been married tom and i have had thanksgiving in St Augustine Fl twice, once at our 'friends' house, and twice on our own.
St Augustine thanksgiving will always be my favorite, with the exception of last year when hayley was with us for her first thanksgiving :)
jonas' first thanksgiving was in St Augustine
i love thanksgivings with lots of people.
im not sure how this thanksgiving is working since it's not at my house
tom's mom (God love her) is not the best cook, she will be the first to tell you that haha
but her sister is coming down.
i also like to be in charge in the kitchen, so this could be a problem
unless people have assigned tasks, like my side of the family has had for the 20 thanksgiving i remember, i like to take charge
i do know im making the pies
at least i am assuming as much, tom told his mom i was...
as for the rest of the meal i don't know whats going on for now
we are having a party for hayley on saturday
not really sure whats going on for that as of now either
i feel like i've dropped the ball on her birthday
again its not at my house so im not sure how they want to handle it
for jonas we just a big bbq
i really should be in bed right now
jonas has school in the morning
sarah palin will be on Ft Bragg on monday
trying to decide if i want to go
well i do want to go, really really bad
but rumor has it that her book signing starts at noon, jonas gets out of school at 11 20 and it is at least a 40 minute drive to that side of the base
blah it probably won't happen

my baby girl is a whole year old!
i can't believe it!

a few pics from halloween
ok im lying they are from disney's trick or treat
but i haven't gotten the real halloween pics off tom's camera and i've been getting bugged to post pictures of the kids costumes
if you can't tell, hayley is a lady bug
haha better pictures on the camera still

playing catch up

BUSY last week
and i do mean busy

last sunday, jonas, hayley, tom, mark, and i all set out for sunny orlando florida
it was thankfully an uneventful drive, stopping once for breakfast at a denny's and at the state borders for bathroom breaks.
both kids did well, they slept most of the morning part of the drive so that was helpful
we got in around 5ish, checked out the time-share we were staying in then went off in search for dinner. tom spotted the ever elusive 'crab house' and since we couldn't find it, we settled for a joe's crab shack.
after dinner we did a walmart run for breakfast foods and such then headed back to the house for sleep.

Monday-Animal Kingdom
the park is nice, very shaded, the weather was great.
jonas tom and mark rode the african safari ride, hayley and i hung back
i wasn't aware she would be able to ride it, even though i had ridden it 5 years ago, i guess i remember it being a little rougher than it is.
but we walked on the 'hiking' trail and saw the monkey's and gorillas and hipppos
she seemed to enjoy that
after a mini meltdown from jonas at lunch time, mark and tom rode the everest rollercoaster, then all the boys rode the river rapids ride, then we watched the 3D bugs life movie
the park closed at 5 so after that it was time to head back to the car
an early evening was a good idea. tom went and got a new pair of sunglasses, and some pizza's for dinner and the kids conked out around 9.

Tuesday-EPCOT
we took it easy in the morning
3.99 breakfast buffet at the sizzler. that was a pretty good choice, jonas had ice cream and pancakes for breakfast.
hayley took a nap on spaceship earth
mark got sick after ridding the mission space ride.
italy makes some nasty soda
and jonas did the kim possible secret agent game around the world showcase. ok well he only did it in france. it was pretty neat little deal though. you go to KP station in the world of tomorrow, and they give you a ticket to meet an 'agent' at a country in the world showcase. they give you a verizion cell phone and you follow the clues that wade calls into you.
hayley got to meet princess jasmine and snow white. we missed belle :( not that hayley cared, i did though. she is my favorite princess, followed by jasmine, arielle, princess aurora, snow white, and cinderella.

Wednesday-Hollywood Studios
i was slightly disapointed by this day, we wanted to catch the night show at 9 so we got to the park around 2. only to learn that fantasmic was not playing that night and the park closed at 7.
it wasn't that big of a deal though. its a pretty small park so we got a lot done in the 5 hours we had there. the toy story midway mania ride/game was pretty freaking awesome. jonas was too short to ride the star wars ride though, so while tom and mark were doing that, we met mater and lightning mcqueen.
mark convinced tom to ride the tower of terror with him. and then i rode it with tom.
it was fun. im not the biggest fan of heights, but as tom put it 'you aren't up high for very long'
apparently during our ride (which was short) it started raining. so we ran over to the rockin roller coaster.
tom and mark rode, i opted not to since the park was almost closing and hayley was getting in one of her moods, knocking things of shelves, screaming, and all the sorts.
sleep was must since thursday was the big day.

Thursday-Magic Kingdon
knowing that we had privilege of staying in the park till midnight, we slept as late as the kids would let us. this time getting to the park at 2 wasn't a big deal.
space mountain and big thunder mountain were both closed :( so that was a bummer
but we had lots of fun anyway
jonas 'hated' the haunted mansion and 'hated' pirates of the caribbean
at 6 o'clock we got the kids in their costumes, jonas was snake eyes from G.I. Joe, and hayley was a lady bug in a tutu. then we rode the rides in tomorrow land till 7 when trick or treat started!
the trick or treating was fun. they had handed out maps when you got your 'not so scary halloween party' wrist band that showed all the trick or treat spots. we hit all the spots in tomorrowland, toontown, and in between. jonas got a whole pumpkin full of candy.
we met mickey at his house, he was the only character tom and mark were willing to stand in line for. so much to my saddness he was the only one we met that day. the halloween party focused on the disney villains so you could meet honest john from pinnochio and the evil step sisters from cinderella, jafar, cruella but of course you could meet mickey, minnie, donald, goofy, daisy, and all the good guys too, all dressed in their halloween best!
i really enjoyed the paraded, and im 100% convinced that it was johnny depp on the pirates float. ok, it probably wasn't, but it seriously looked just like him.
we ended up leaving around 10 the kids barely made it off the monorail.

Friday-Seaworld
we hit up the 3.99 buffet again! haha
tom was able to get free tickets to seaworld thanks to anheuser busch's heroes salute
i think we headed in around noonish? but its mainly a big aquarium so its easy to get everything in. tom and mark rode the manta while jonas, hayley, and i fed the sting rays. that was a weird experience. we played with the dolphins, jonas fed them again this time. they had he set up different than the last time when we were there. it was a lot better organized and a lot more fun this go. jonas won a 2 polar bears at one of the carnival games they have set up. he won a baby one for hayley, and a bigger one for him. tom one a little penguin in the same game. then jonas asked if he could bounce on the bungee trampoline they had set up. since the tickets where free, i didn't have problem paying the 8 bucks for it. hayley got her first pearl at the pearl diving place. she picked out her oyster and everything. im not sure how we will have it set for her, but we will have it done by her birthday. after a snack, and a pretty big jonas meltdown, we went into shamu stadium to see the shamu show 5. then jonas played in shamu's happy harbor till the park closed, i made him ride the shamu express, a kiddie coaster, he did not enjoy it, i laughed at him.
Saturday
me and mark were both sick. thus leaving tom with the 2 kids to entertain
i chalked mine up to food poisoning. but i've since changed my mind to stomach bug since tom picked it up sunday night/monday. it didn't help my tummy that tom and mark found the forementioned crab house and decided to do the all you can eat seafood buffet. i left and slept in the car.

we left sunday around 6 and after stops, including on at south of the boarder for fireworks. we got home around 4. im not sure what time mark got back to VA, but i know how tired we were with out the extra 4 hours of driving. mark must have been beat.

this week has been pretty quick.
tom was sick monday
jonas had his school halloween parade yesterday
and today/tonight tom has combat survivor training to teach till who know's what time friday morning. this means he does not have work friday, but we are leaving for VA (ugh) after we pick jonas up from school.
tom needs to give the jeep a one over, basically to make sure walmart did or didn't have anything to do with what happened. we are kinda hoping they did, maybe a wrong oil filter, or they put it on too tight so the oil couldn't get through enough.
then they can pay for a new engine.
ill post pictures of our trip as soon as i sort through all of them and figure out which ones i want to upload

our pumpkins this year :)

what a week!
tom is finally home! he has been for a week now haha, and he has all of next week off too. as much as i love having him home, it has been a bit of an adjustment having him back. being able to cook actual meals again with out having 3 days worth of left overs has been nice.
he wasn't too messed up by the time difference, since he worked nights it kinda kept him on the same time schedule as us. and sleeping the entire flight back help out too. but since he was working nights he did have to get used to being awake when the sun was up.
we haven't really done much this week and i'm not sure what is in store for next week.

jonas and hayley are of course loving having daddy back. hayley had to get used to tom. she still wont give him kisses, cuz he hasn't shaved since he's been home.

hayley's lady bug costume is almost done
i'm going to make her wings tonight



not really sure what's going on with the camera flash
but you get the idea
she really likes it so i'm going to get some pink, white, and purple tulle and make her another one. she keeps trying to take it out of the bag and put it on her head.

i don't think either tom's or my football teams are on tv tomorrow
which is odd cuz va tech is playing duke

this is our mojo
beemer the hokie
brutis the buckey
and pi pumpkin cat holding an art monk card
i need a browns bulldog
cuz that'll help
haha
right

like a kid waiting for christmas
every time I look at the clock I get a little jolt in my stomach
one more hour closer to when tom will be home.
then things will finally be back to normal

minus my jeep of course :(

I don't know why
but the only reason I am still awake is I really want to see the new harris teeter ad in my inbox
I have some catch up grocery shopping to do
for Tom, coffee, cream, sugar..haha
I don't usually drink coffee with out tom, so the house has been scarce of it for 4 months
maybe get a few more sandwich things

I still don't know what to cook for Tom's first meal home
Jonas wants pizza and fried chicken
And I'm sure Tom will be ok with one of those, it's not chow hall food or fast food
Well, I guess domino's or KFC would be fast food ;)
Maybe we will go out

Jonas has all of next week off from school
Not sure what we will do
I don't want to push Tom with a ton of family stuff
I know he will be tired and we are going to disney in less with a month
But I know Jonas will want to do all sorts of stuff with him and Tom will do anything Jonas asks him to do, so we will just wait and see how things play out.

jumping ahead to halloween
I don't usually start this for about 2 more weeks, but since I'm going to be gone during my primary costume sewing week, I've started early.
Jonas wants to be a ghost. I can't come up with anything other than a sheet with hole cut into it. When I look online, all i can find are either just that, or really scary ones.
I'm sure I can come up with something though. Maybe a sewing some patches on the sheet or something. I also don't know if I want him to be a ghost. Growing up my brother and I where not allowed to be ghost, or witches or anything like that. Though I don't mind the idea of him being a cute little ghost, it just seems too plain. And this is vain of me, but I take pride in the costumes I make for him. I really don't want people to look and him and think I forgot it was halloween till 10 minutes before trick or treat.
Hayley is going to be a ladybug, so say Jonas. That's easy, though I'm having trouble finding a leotard for her. A tutu is simple enough to make, cutting will be tedious, but I'll get through it.

so little miss hayley is FINALLY caught up with all her shots
no thanks to the wonderful people at the hospital at ft bragg
unlike the air force, the army won't let you schedule appointments till 30 days out
when jonas would get down with his well baby appointments, the front desk scheduled the next appointment that very day as we checked out.
almost every morning since hayley was 5 months old i've called the appointment line at WOMAK to make her her appointment, only to have the main line tell me nothing is available, and for them to patch me through to pediactrics and only to have them not answer there phone.
so i would leave a message, just so they would ignore it.
at jonas 4 year old check up here in town, i found out that they now see infants.
so i drove myself to the base and had tricare change her PCM to jonas' doctor
when they asked why i was changing her doctor i explained to them about how for 4 months i was unable to get my daughter an appointment, how pediatrics never returns messages, and how the last time she was seen there i personally heard the ladies behind the desk say 'oh they'll stop calling eventually' about the never ceasing ringing of their appoiment line.
it is also a lot more convenient to have both my kids seen at the same place
but anyways
since i had picked up the paper work for her at jonas' appointment to fill out
it took me under a minute to make her appointment in town
hayley is 30 ins long and 21 lbs 6oz
she did ok with her shots
she didn't cry till it was over
she looked confused as it was happening
when it was done, she not only cried , but she signed 'done' or 'finished' over and over again
i thought it was funny
jonas cried more than she did about her shots
he didn't want them to hurt his sister
and when we were done
they made her 1 year appointment for us
in november!
more than 3o days out!
so thats nice, her appointment is made
and its on the calander
and thats one thing i'm actually good at remembering
odd note
the dr told me that when the kids had the flu a few weeks back
if i had taken them to the dr, they most would have tested positive for H1N1
she also told me that it was smart of me not to bring them in to the ER because if they didn't have it when they came in, they would have certainly left with it, and if they did, others would have gotten it.
she said you only need to go the dr for the flu, is if you have a high fever for your age group or if you are having breathing trouble other than just a stuffy nose
neither of them had terribly high fevers for their ages, but had hayley's gone up 1 more degree i would have taken her in
but i know what to do if my kids get fevers and get sick
the only problem i had was there are now no over the counter for cold meds for hayley
so she had to suffer with a horrible stuffy nose
all the suctioning and saline wash didn't do much for her
and now most meds for jonas say 'for over 6 yrs' on them
even though he's been taking most of them since he was like 2
like the triaminic strips, his doctor when he was 2 said to give him 1 strip of the symptom specific medicine.
now it says he 'can't' take them
his dr here says she finds it all ridiculous, and as long as i follow proper dosage, like i have, jonas can take most over the counter children's meds
so that was kind interesting
cuz i joked with jonas about him having 'piggy flu'
turns out, maybe he did have it!

not exactly sure on the date of tom's return
but its soon!
next week will be the last full week without him
everyone is getting antsy
i'm a little afraid that hayley will be scared of him
but i show her pictures of him and her together everyday
and when she sees the pictures she shrieks 'DADA!' super loud and super high pitched
but i'm still a little concerned that when he takes her from me she won't like it
my dad told me the first time he went TDY after i was born i was about hayley's age (when tom left) and when i first saw him i screamed
and he was only gone for 2 weeks
but we will see
and after daddy gets home
its only less than a month till disney!

jonas just came in with a thermometer under his arm and informed me that is said he weighs 100 pounds

tom will be home sooner than we know it
we are down to the last few weeks
and with jonas in school the days seem to fly by

speaking of jonas in school
so far he loves it
im so glad he does
it kind worried me that he was going to have a hard time with preschool
what with me not being the one to get him out of the car or take him into the classroom
but he as no problem with it at all
i talked him through it a few times asking him who gets him out of the car, and who walks him into the classroom. each time he said 'ms. connie'
though he did seem a little stunned when it actually happened

hayley is still doing good
she is trying to walk so i got her one of those push toys she can walk behind
its a pink little stroller and we put her cabbage patch doll in it
i used the last of her baby wipes this morning
so i made a bunch of baby washclothes we had into baby wipes that i can just throw in with her diapers in the evening wash.

jonas keeps asking 'is daddy home yet'
he knows that day is getting close
he misses tom
and he uses that as an excuse to try and get out of trouble
but i caught wise the first time he tried it

still working on getting an engine for the jeep
i miss my jeep
a lot
a whole lot
i have my mamaw's '95 buick century right now
i hate cars
i hate that my kids car seats don't fit in them right
i hate that i have to bend down to put my kids in them
i hate that the ones i've been driving have NO power behind them
i am grateful that i DO have a car to drive
that i can get jonas to school and run my errands
that if there is an emergancy, i do have transportation
but i really do hate driving a car and not an SUV specifically my jeep
i don't know if tom's waggy is drivable
well i know it drives
but i don't know yet if it will pass inspection
if it is i might get it inspected and try my hand at driving it
tom would be incredibly jealous
he hasn't even gotten a chance to drive it yet
plus im thinking that a V8 '88 grand wagoneer with an 8in lift
might just be more car than i can handle ;)
also i would change the bending down to get my kids in the car part to needing a step ladder to get my kids in the car
and that would be more of a hassle

my 86 cent shopping spree
the shampoo even came with a free styling gel
can you guess the only item i payed for?

long story short
our car needs a new engine
not good at all
prayers for funds
prayers that mark or i can find a salvaged engine
prayers for my sanity
all most welcome

so our car broke down today
thankfully i noticed something was wrong and pulled off the road before we got to the tunnel
which was the next exit!

anyways
prayers are needed
jonas starts preschool friday so i need to leave tomorrow evening at the latest
they haven't called with an estimate yet
and the tow truck dropped if off around 2
also money is an issue
i have no idea how much this is going to cost
and in my head
i can't think of what could possibly be right with the car
nothing works as far as i know
including the electrical stuff
the only money we really have is our money to take jonas to disney when tom gets back
we can't touch our savings
its a military run savings account, and we can't get into it until tom retires
lastly
no one is watching the cats...
i just left them extra food and water since i planned on being back tomorrow morning

please keep this situation in prayers

i just spent 2 hours baking home made fudge rounds for one of the guys tom works with
he's deployed (not with tom) and now one has sent him anything
eat your heart out little debbie
100 times better than the ones in the box



also as promised
here is jonas on his scooter
and one of hayley in a swing
just because :

i got to talk to tom last night :)
he's doing good
he was pretty tired
but other than that he's good
i'm glad i've gotten to talk to him as much as i have
they way his phone are there, its just like him calling from his work here to the house
monitored and everything haha
because his phones are like that he gets to call once, sometimes twice a week
and he usually tells me if he isn't going to be able to call for a few days

jonas starts preschool next friday
so we are going to have to cut our VA trip short by 2 days
well i guess he doesn't actually start that friday
but he has orientation
he got his shots yesterday
that was not fun
i'm not afraid of needles
as is apparent by the various piercings i have and had
but when i saw the needles for the shots
my heart jumped into my throat
i don't remember his shot needles ever being that big
she said they were one inch needles but i swear they were bigger
maybe it was just fear taking over
but i really think they might have been the wrong needles
jonas went into hysterics
screaming shaking sobbing uncontrollably
he has for a chocolate milkshake as we were going home
i gave in pretty easily
jonas wants to go outside but its not even 10 yet and the heat index is already 95
tomorrow its supposed to be cooler
movies are pricey, but its always cool in the theater
maybe we will take in a flick
we'll see
right now he is pretty intent with building a fort with my couch cusions

big lots deals?
sometimes
maybe
the last few times i was there, i noticed they had 3 drawer rubbermaid rolling organizers for 11 bucks a piece, not a bad price
except walmart sells them for 9
i scored a 4 gig SD card for 10 bucks a few weeks back
but when i went this past wednesday they had them 'on sale' for 12
their ad had them 'on sale' for 10
so i pointed this out to them
they said they would fix it
so now i wonder how many people got ripped off
this week they have cans of hunts tomatoes on sale for a dollar a can
but i can get them at harris teeter for a dollar
walmart for 89 cents
or the commissary for 75
they had betty crocker cupcake mix for a buck, which is just half a box of cake mix
a whole box of cake mix is under a buck at the commissary and like a 1.10 at walmart
the stuff would be fresher too.
i noticed most of the name brand toys cost more too
most not by too much, just like 50 cents to a dollar
but they are supposed to offer 'closeout prices'
the linens and kitchen stuff are pretty well priced, but most of the kitchen appliances are off brand and really cheap looking
anyways
jonas insisted on getting coffee at starbucks this morning
first some older men decided that i jonas and hayley were not important and proceeded to order as if we were not standing in front of them
but the girl behind the counter pointed out we were first and the men grudgingly waited their turn
second the girl was a but confused when i ordered a 'short' coffee
a short coffee is an 8oz coffee
not many people no that :)
apparently not even the baristas
i changed it to a kid sized coffee, which is the same size, and i asked her to only fill it about half way with decaf
jonas was very happy with his half coffee half milk quarter sugar concoction
after we left starbucks he decided he wanted pancakes from mcdonalds
they are only 2 bucks so i didn't fight him
that took a lot longer than needed because the guy ahead of me refused to move forward to the second speaker box, ours has two but they rarely ever use the first one
because he refused to move forward, even after he was asked to, the speaker box he was at kept recording his order and it backed everything up
that was fun
time to get cleaning
then do sunday school with jonas :)
but first i think hayley wants to snuggle

is tax free weekend really worth it?
im not so sure
maybe if you plan on spending hundreds of dollars
but even then if you are spending that much its only 7.50 per hundred spent.
i got most of jonas' school stuff last weekend as i don't usually like shopping on tax free weekend
i did venture out out this morning to get him some shoes
i figured it wouldn't be so bad today since every one was still at work
then i made the mistake of heading to walmar
it wouldn't have been so bad if they were not in the middle of reorganizing the entire store
now my cat is puking up a piece of straw plastic
because jakob is stupid and eats plastic
i tried to get it out of his mouth before he swallowed it, but i didn't have any luck with that
i love jakob
but he truly is a moron
now he is curled up in jonas' back pack
now he is curled up next to me
such an odd kitty
but i love him :)

jonas got himself a scooter with his birthday money
we took it down town and he rode it around
he thinks its great
and he is pretty good on it
its pretty cute, i'll post pictures when i get the camera out of the car

heading to VA next week
hopefully
jonas has appointments for preschool next week
but the week after that is free

hayley is awake now
and i have a giant wet sweat mark on my leg from where she was laying
she and jonas sweat a lot when they sleep

i sure wish i could hear from tom
2 months down
about 6 1/2 weeks left?
7 trips to moes
3 more pay days haha
3 pay days makes it seem shorter

its been awhile!

so here's what's been up.

we went to ohio for 2 weeks to be with my parents

my brother was in from germany for a wedding so we got to see him for a week

we went to the aquarium

met a penguin

saw some movies

visited OSU campus

jonas went fishing with his pops

and jonas went to a dayton dragons game with his gammy and pops

we had his birthday party while we were up there

can't believe jonas is 4 now. sheesh

we've been back home since tuesday and jonas has been fighting a cold since the friday before we left ohio.

he started getting a fever this thursday

it went away but came back last night

so he is couch ridden for the day.

tom has about 2 months in iraq

its been quick

i hope it keeps going by quick

jonas has been pulling the 'i miss daddy' excuse when he is getting in trouble

i know he misses tom

but he's been pushing it

he got to talk to tom on his birthday (which was the 21st)

that really made his day

hopefully he will get to call tonight

sundays are when he usually calls

i haven't read anything about dust storms in the news

tom didn't call for like 2 weeks

which didn't worry me (no news is good news)

and i had read on the news and the base site that they were having bad dust storms

i figured that was the reason for the delay in calls

i was right ;)

i wonder if i can get the kiddos to go down for an early nap

we got up super early cuz jonas was not feeling well

then we ran to walmart to get jonas some more medicine and some gatorade after the motrin kicked in

jonas says he's down with takin a nap

 so pretty crazy day

first my cat was put to sleep

then we find out farrah fawcett died

then michael jackson dies

my poor little shotgun had to be put to sleep this morning

she'd been fighting some type of infection for the past 3 months

and for the past month she has been on a feeding tube 

she has a good 4 years though

very spoiled

she was tom's baby

i'll have to tell him the next time he calls

thats not going to be fun

only 14 more weeks to go

at the least

it could be one or two more though

but i hope not

my mom comes next week

that will be fun :)

thats all i have to say right now unfortunatly

are free movie tuesdays really worth it?

yes and no

today we got up early to go see a free screening of madagascar 2 at out local theater

we get there early because its first come first server

here in lies problem 1

they don't open the theater till 10 minutes before the first showing

so think 100+ tired restless kids

i did like that they had the movie on 2 screens

and that they sat larger groups in a separate theater

problem number 2 came when i promised jonas popcorn

only to get to the concession stand to find they do not take debit cards

and me only having 3 bucks in cash on myself

we go back to our seats and the lady behind us informs me that there should be an atm at the front

we push our way against the crowd only to find, they took the atm out

bummer

so jonas hayley and i push our way back to our seats

jonas tells me it is ok he didn't get popcorn

thankfully i had packed snacks and  drinks for jonas and he said he was happy with his gatorade and chocolate raisons 

about a minute after the movie starts the lady behind us leaves

she had told her son she would get him a drink and such after everyone was settled

when she came back, she stopped at our row and handed jonas a kids pack that has popcorn, a small drink and candy

i was speechless

i must of thanked he 100 times

she just smiled and told me it was no problem

i made jonas thank her after the movie was over

she again just smiled and told me it was her pleasure

i remember dozens of times, ive given up quarters for little kids who come up short at the candy machines

or when i would run concession at my brothers baseball games

some kids are grateful, they smile and say thank you, and run off to tell their parents 

some kids give i you a skeptical look and take the change

jonas being so young, of course didn't get the gesture

he just knows that i told him he could have popcorn and he did indeed eventually get popcorn

when he asked me where he got it from i told him that a very nice lady got it for him when she didn't have to.

that it was very nice of her to get this treat for him

and that just like she was nice and did something for him

we should be nice and do things for others

i sure hope that sticks

both jonas and hayley were good during the movie

but will i do this again...

maybe

i think next week is kung fu panda

waiting outside was the worst part

transformers starts tomorrow

but im skeptical about taking jonas

he saw the first one in the theaters

and about a million times afterwards

but ill probably wait till someone i know has seen it and can tell me what's up

borders has a sale on kids books

hmm

maybe later in the day

one week with out tom down

about 15 to go

every morning jonas wakes up and asks

'where's daddy'

but i'm not worried

he did that when tom was here

hayley can now stand up in both her crib

and her playpen

she had been having trouble with her playpen with it having mesh sides and all

but she figured it out

i've been making her little headbands and bandanas

they're pretty cutes

she gets complemented on them when we go out

so i guess i did a pretty job

i have no idea what to make for dinner tonight

without tom here

thats a pretty big challenge

you wouldn't think cooking for 2 people would be that big of a deal

but tom eats so much and then takes some for lunch the next day

i don't have him to clean up any leftovers

so poor jonas for the past 6 nights has had a side of left over pasta

that i made the last night tom was home

we still have some left

but i can't make him eat anymore

i really want papa johns pizza

maybe when my mom comes down

again we have the problem of tom not eating food here

i don't want half a pizza sitting in the fridge

jonas says he wants pancakes

i think i can do that

first weekend with out tom

so far so good

a little boring

a little quiet

the kids are sleeping

and  its hot

there is a bluegrass festival today

i would like to go

but its really hot

i don't want to take the kids out in the heat for a couple hours

plus it cost money

and i know jonas will want to eat there so thats more money

so me and jonas are going to make pizza when he wakes up

i have my new curtains up

i need one more set of the black out curtains

well i really need 3 panels 

but ill get those next pay day

and i put a fan in front of the bathroom door

its the coldest room in the house since it the smallest

im hoping it will draw cool air out into the living room

then maybe the a/c will cut off after 3pm

right now it runs from about 3ish till 10ish

its ridiculous that we only have 1 vent to cool such a large space , plus the downstairs

im hoping the new curtains will keep it cooler longer, or cool faster

they make the living room dark though

ive done sooo much cleaning today

but it looks like ive done nothing

i hate that

jonas has way too many toys

and we have too much junk and not enough storage

i might remedy the storage problem in a few days

we will see

so tom's gone

good news is, he's there and he's safe

the bad news 119 days to go...

or more

day one went well

jonas got a little weepy last night when tom left

but then he was ok

he has calendars over his bed that he puts a star on every night at bedtime

and he has a jar of candy, and he gets 'hug' and 'kiss' from daddy every night

im pretty sure he's going to be ok

thats one of my bigger fears

that jonas will flip out one day that tom isn't her

oy

its going to be a loooong 4 months

but we'll get through it

my new curtains are freaking awesome

but now i need a new curtain rod

pay day is friday

so we will look then

absent minded mommy moment

went to walmart to get milk, sunscreen, cat food to print out some pictures of tom for jonas' wall, and diapers.

jonas got a kick board and goggles for the pool

hayley got a tank top

we checked out, and left

as i pull up to the light next to rite aid

i realize that i didn't get the diapers

so that means i had to pull into the rite aid and get the diapers

go me

and because of that, i missed the UPS guy by like 2 mintues

that meant i know had to walk to main office with the kids and get our package (which was our curtains)

thank God for strollers

time to get the little man in bed

T-8 days till tom leaves

not looking foward to it

but ill get through

3-4 months is a long time

but it could be a whole lot longer

so im grateful that 3-4 months is all he will be gone

bah its going to feel like forever though

had a good trip to VA

it was great to see most of our friends

to bad all our friends live in so many different places

having our friends near by would make things easier for when tom leaves

moes for dinner tonight

yay for kids night

i love when places have kids eat free nights

it makes it less stressfull when jonas gets antsy

no one complains

except random idiots who come to a place, knowing it is kids night and then whine that its kids night

they usually whine more than the kids

that happens a lot at moes

also

i started a twitter page

i tried not to

but with the 100 people expecting me to tell them if i know how tom will be doing and if i have heard from him

this might be the easiest way

here is the link

http://twitter.com/tsjhgibson

if you want updates on tom

as i get them

you can check there

or here

im sure ill post on here too if i hear from him

time to get the kids cleaned up for dinner

tom should be landing in san antonio shortly

and i have a sleeping baby on my lap

it won't really hit that tom won't be home tonight till around 6ish

when he doesn't come home haha

got some good deals at walmart for hayley today

i got her a hoodie for the fall for a dollar marked down from 12

and to dresses for 3 bucks each

then i had to ruin it with swim diapers and regular diapers

those are never on the sale rack

but  the diapers where on sale thankfully

the only diapers she can wear are papers cruisers or swaddlers

they have some kind of mesh lining and every other diaper (even other pampers) give her a horrible rash

she had one from when she was 2 weeks old for 4 months straight

she turned 6 months sunday

nothing got rid of it because nothing wet can touch her rear

tom says only pure gold or the hands of angels can touch her with out it breaking out

sorry, no more diaper talk

we need a new washing machine

ours leaks but it would cost as much to fix it as it would to replace it

so i got a drip pan for 20 bucks today

this way i can do laundry easier while tom is deployed

i won't have to lug laundry and kids to the laundry building i will just have to suck the water up with a shop vac or the little bissell and that will  be way easier

now if i can con one of the neighbor kids to take my trash for me

ill pay em haha

i love watching the cosby show

i think i will make jonas some chicken fries for dinner

since tom is not going to be here all week

i have no need to make big family dinners for all of us to eat and for tom to have leftovers for work

ill just make small simple meals for jonas and me

maybe soup and sandwiches tommorrow

we'll see

mothers day and anniversary

this past friday (the 15th) tom and i had our 5 anniversary

and just like every year for the past 4 years

we went out kid (now kids) in tow

but thats ok

i love having my children

and i wouldn't have them with out tom

so they should be part of the celebration as well :)

but when we go to VA next week

maybe we will ditch the kiddos for night and take in dinner and movie or something

we only get nights out when we go to VA or OH and thats very very few and far between

mothers day was the 10th

jonas got me hat haha

i made a joke that i wanted a 'watering hat' that was on the disney show imagination movers

and jonas dragged poor tom around to every store and boutique in downtown southern pines

alas there were no watering hats to be found

so i got a regular hat from out outdoors store

its cute and will come in handy on trips to the zoo and the park

tom leave for TX on tuesday

he will be back friday

then its of to VA for his birthday, memorial day, and one last hurrah before he deploys

prays for that.

this is first deployment

and most likely not the last

he's going to be gone for at least 3 months

fun

but we will get through it

jonas is trying to convince me he has swine flu

but he does not want swine flu

cuz he doesn't want to turn in to a piggy.

he thinks that getting swine flu will will turn him into a pig

i told him he had nothing to worry about

he is already a piggy with out getting sick

so tom got his jeep on saturday

boy did that day suuuck

Friday:

we had a trailer lined up to tow it back but we needed a truck

one of the guys that he works with is deployed and tom got his permission to use his truck

but someone used his truck and no one knows where the keys are

the other guy with a big enough truck was TDY

so we decided to rent a truck and reserve one with enterprise

Saturday:

Tom come in the bedroom around 8 15 almost in tears

he has pulled his back

he decides he is well enough to go

and we go to get the truck

which was already rented out

so to gets angry with them wondering how he could rent a truck from there if they had no trucks to rent

so i go to walmart to get tom some icepacks for his back, some aleve, and snacks for the road if he can indeed go

he calls the rental place on place, and where as they don't allow towing with their trucks, they give him the number to place that does

so 140 bucks plus gas later

leaving 3 hours later than he had planned

and getting home at 2am

tom has his wagoneer

oh and jonas went with him

but jonas was good

though he came home with a busted lip from getting off the trampoline at the guys house wrong

sunday was commissary day

and i spent the most at the commissary than i have ever spent

i took a page out of lindsey's book and planned every dinner for the next 2 weeks

we only do grocery shopping every 2 weeks since we use the commissary the only things we buy in town is milk and fresh fruits and veggies.

im hoping this works out

and can save us a little money

we have a bad habit of just saying 'lets go pick something up'a

though i have allotted monday night as Moe's night

kids eat free so we eat for 9.55 ;)

and maybe next payday we can go to lonestar steak house

kids eat free on tuesdays and we have a 15 dollar coupon, so we can eat for like 10 bucks.

its nice outside today 

i have the window's open

both kids are napping

dinner is in the crock pot

and the house smells yummy

i  should be doing something more productive

i should go clean the table off and get it set for dinner

ill do that

the mysterious case of jonas button

ill start off with the most interesting thing to happen since i left off

yesterday around 3 30 i stopped jonas from putting a red button in bank

this wouldn't be a big deal but its one of those banks that counts the money

i didn't want the button stuck and what not

well i wish i had just let him put the button in the bank

it would have been so much easier to extract the button from his bank

than from his nose

thats right

about 20 minutes after i told him not to put the button in the bank

he comes running to me screaming and freaking out that the button was now firmly lodged in his nose

i calm him down and try and look for the button

i can't see it so i think the worst(ish)

i get him dressed 

get hayley dressed and pack the diaper bag

try and get a hold of tom, which is difficult when no one at his work is allowed to have cell phones on them in the buildings and their pagers are very unreliable 

so i leave a note on the door for him

also i have no car at the moment 

so i had to call 911 and get an ambulance

the EMT's didn't see the button in his nose either so they decided to take him to the ER

i hate going to the ER

half the people their don't need to be seen and make it take longer for more urgent cases to be seen

a kid that came in right behind jonas had little nick taken out of his head, he wasn't bleeding and was fully alert but his mom insisted he need stitches

and a little later a little girl came in with a fat lip, and brought mom, grandma, great-grandma and cousin along with her.

she was fine too judging buy the way she was running around and eating candy bars.

we waited 5 hours to be seen

3 hours before he even went back to triage and then 2 after tom showed up for the doc to see him

no reason for the first 3 hours but he had to see an ear nose throat doc, and he was pretty busy

reattaching someone's whole lip.

so that accounted for the 2 hours afterwards

then i left with hayley to take her home to get her some more diapers then to pick up some food for tom and jonas

but tom called 20 minutes after i left saying they were done

thankfully the doc could see it and was able to get it out

he told tom that if he couldn't have gotten it they were going to have to knock him out

which was what i was afraid of

that it would either be sucked into his lungs or so far up into his sinus cavity that the would need to be put out and under go some sort of surgery

tom said jonas was very brave and didn't cry and answered all the doc's questions

like 'is there really a button up your nose' 

to which jonas replied 'yes a little red one'

he told everyone in the ER there was a button in his nose, and informed me his ER bracelet said 'jonas mark, put a button in his nose'

all in all a fun night!

in other news

tom gets his new jeep on saturday

we sold our cherokee to my brother and have been down to one jeep

but tom found his car and will be picking it up on saturday

a 1988 jeep grand wagoneer

that's tom's car

its pretty hot

and it got it for 1000

which is awesome

he has been looking at one since november

its been parked out side a now non existent used car dealer

the car is still there

we found out who was selling it and he wanted 6 grand for it

it's not worth 6 grand

if it was fully restored with new everything, maybe

but not with mud dobber and wasp nests in the engine from where it had not been driven in goodness knows how long.

kbb has it worth not even a grand

and that's probably part of the reason it has not sold

the one tom is getting is 4 years older and has half the miles on it

in way better condition

with better after market parts and a lift and newer tires

he's pretty excited

my brother has my old cherokee

it will soon be on route to germany

wow idiot alert

the news just told me that people are complaining that the 3 smallest fonts on the new amazon Kindle 2 are too hard to read

maybe they should just use a bigger font and shut up

problem solved

also

john clark has been on abc 11 for freaking ever since i was in 8th grade i think

maybe longer

sheesh

its hot

its pretty hot outside right now

but thats ok

tom is tdy to florida right now

he had to leave today rather than tuesday

but thats ok too :)

things don't feel too different till about 6 tonight when he doesn't come home

but ill just tell myself he is on one of his over night trainings 

which he is

its just in florida this time haha 

and he won't be back till friday

hopefully dan calls soon with flight info

semi funny story

i saw a taco bell commercial last night while tom was out getting a paper and thought to myself

'hmm maybe me jonas and dan will grab some taco bell while he's here'

when tom came home he tells says

'well i know one thing you wont be doing when dan is here, going to taco bell, the whole thing is up in flames'

there was a fire at taco bell!

tom saw it when he was at harris teeter 

he doesn't think any was was really hurt since no ambulances left with lights and sirens 

but still

i was thinking about going to taco bell at the same time it was on fire

i drove past it today and you can't tell it was on fire until you get to the entrance

from the back you can't see the mess in the front and through the windows it looks like its just closed

but once you look through the windows of the front you see this huge pile of mess

so im wondering where it started  oh well

im sure its in the local paper

here ya go!  

no one was hurt

thats good

most exciting thing to happen here since we've moved here

i have laundry to do

which is tedious with out tom

or a washing machine

gotta load the children in the stroller

load the laundry card

walk to the laundry place (which in in the complex)

it should be fun!

day one with out tom is under way

only 4 more to go!

TGIT

Thank God its Thursday

its been a loooong week

tuesday was the worst day ever

tom was the sickest he has ever been in the 7 years we have been together

i woke up to him puking around 2am tuesday morning

that was super fun

he was sick all day

wednesday i was ill

not nearly as sick as tom thank God

and thankfully neither of the kids are sick

that's outstanding

my brother graduates tech school on the 10th

the same day tom leaves for training for 4 days

daniel (my brother) is going to come up here the 11th or 12th and stay for a few days

that should be fun

i haven't seen him since Christmas 2007

and he is going to be stationed in germany for 24 months

he is already been ordered to send me monthly kinder egg packages

i miss kinder eggs

dont know what we are going to do while he down  here

tom will come back friday at sometime

probably not till late

so maybe (weather permitting) me and dan will take the kids to the zoo

jonas is begging for cheetos 

and hayley is helping me type

tomorrow is the end of the work week

no real plans for the weekend other than get ready for my brother's visit

we'll see though

i need to get in the habit of doing this more often

oh well

lots have been going on

on valentines day we took jonas to the nc museum of life and science

we had a great time

tom and i haven't actually celebrated valentines day since we've been married

awesome huh

but taking jonas to the museum was fun

lots of hands on stuff for him to play with

in the butterfly house a butterfly landed on hayley

but i couldn't find tom with the camera till after it flew away

tom ran his half marathon on sunday

he did good for his first longer distance run

16th in his age group 

120th over all in the men

he finished in 1 hour 35 min 51 sec

7:17 mile time

the guys that came in first through third ran it in 1:06-1:07

they were super speedy

like olympic speedy

all of us are getting over colds

poor hayley can't take any medicine thanks to the recall last year

so she has been really snotty and sniffy

poor baby

she's been extra cranky do to the lack of being able to breath out her nose

i wish a i had a table hockey set

that would be neat

so i started this in november

go me!

not much happening really

christmas was great

we had a fun snow day here in NC 2 weeks ago

that was awesome

hayley is getting big!

she's sleeping  a lot longer at night which is great

well she's either sleeping more or i just don't hear her till 5 30ish 

whoops

im sure its her sleeping though.

going to be up in VA in a few weeks

tom is going to be running the 

anheuser busch colonial half marathon in williamsburg

it will be his longest run to day

but he is training for the air force marathon in september in ohio

so he needs to see if he can do 13.1 miles before he does 26.2

i think he'll be fine

jonas starts preschool in septmeber

they had an open house for the one we were looking at in january

that seemed a bit early for open houses and registration but we did it  and he's in so that's good

super bowl was good

i was routing for the cardinals

one because they've never been to a superbowl

and two as a browns fan, i can't cheer for the steelers

not matter how 'cool' they are

but football season is now over and opening day is in 2 months 4 days

baseball season woohoo

i love it

i have cleaning to do

vacuuming and such

we need dining room set

been shopping around

they are so expensive

even on craigslist

we seem to live in a greedy area

people on freecycle ask for ps3, xbox 360's and 'cars 20o2 and newer please'

they also post 'please my child is starving i need formula'

or 'we are out of diapers'

nice huh

craigslist isn't much better

some one was selling the same book cases we have (that we got from walmart for 15 bucks a peice) for 50 bucks a piece. and walmart curtains for 75

um no

lunch time for kiddos now