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