There really hasn’t been a whole lot going on since Kevin’s parents left. The week of leave Kevin had off went by too fast. I could have sworn it was only a day long, instead of the week!

I have started getting school folders and such ready for the start of school. I know I still have 3 weeks till school starts, but at least they are ready. Today I plan on heading by the schools and seeing what info I can get on the kids and teachers. Derric has been asking (more like begging) to go back to school.

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Thing have been going pretty good around here… Not much really to talk about. The three day weekend did leave me thankful for the week again, but the shift in Kevin’s schedule is just enough to completely throw my mornings off….

Over the weekend, Kevin got me a new toy. He bought me a digital camcorder and I love it. I only seem to have one problem with it, it doesn’t save to the computer for upload. No, it backs up onto the computer in a format that non of my players will play, and trying to find software that will convert and compress has been difficult. The camcorder has an 80GB hard drive on it and it takes the mini SD cards. So it seems more designed for storing memories then sharing… So if anyone knows a good software that compresses MPEG files, please, please, please, send me the info! LOL.

I have a good chance to use the DVD feature this month, Kevin’s dad’s birthday will be in a couple weeks, and I want to create a message from the kids to mail him. I am just trying to think of a way to actually do this… Just having the kids sit infront of the camera to wish him a Happy Birthday would be way to short, so I need to come up with some ideas to make it a bit longer and special for him….

Not much else is really going on… Tuesday I got my FitLinks account set up at the base gym. Interesting program, really worked my muscles and I am sure sore today and I didn’t even do that much! FitLinks is a program for the military to track fitness of their active duty members. Spouses can have an account also, only our accounts wont be able to be accessed online like active duty accounts… Since I didn’t even know about that feature, it wasn’t too saddening to hear that, so I got my account set up. I did 40 minutes on a new form of elliptical that can do three forms of motions, it can act like stairs, short strides, or longer strides. It really is an interesting machine. Hit three target areas without changing machines… I LOVE it! BUT it isn’t in the FitLinks system yet so I could record it. After the “warm up” I headed in to do the Natialis weight machines. It was interesting working with the FitLinks system. Each machine I had to set my rang of motion and my sets/reps. It took me about 4 machines to get the hang of it… So the next time I go in, my info will be a bit off, but that is ok… I just like the tracking it will do!

The hardest part of the FitLinks is that it has a timer for each motion you do. If you do it too fast, it yells at you, too slow it gets onto you. So learning to stay in its set time really was a work out on its own. On one machine (that works the arms), you had to do one rep in 3 seconds…. Normally I am in the middle of my second rep by the three second mark, so really holding the weight added another workout. My arms sure can feel it today, and I didn’t even do a huge amount. So I really think this FitLinks will help in the longer run….

Today, since I am sore in both legs and arms, plus my back is killing me, I think I am going to rest today, then tomorrow pick my legs, and leave Friday for my arms again.. Seperate what I work on, and then when I have a full week to work out, just see about going Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays… But that is a plan for another day… Today, I just want to rest, try and do laundry, and maybe get a little knitting done.

My mom will be here in less then a week. My house is nowheres near ready for her visit. In all honesty, I don’t know if I am ready for her visit. She will be arriving on Thursday, then Derric’s birthday is on Friday, Kevin starts leave come Monday…. I am very happy about Kevin’s leave. He has two weeks, so one will be spent with my mom, the other, just as a family. I am looking very much, to that.

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My Friday was a lot more busier then I had planned…

1. Got the pets dropped off at the vet for their health certificates.
2. Got Derric dropped off for his last day of school… My big boy.
3. Made my reservations, well, all but the shuttle, it had another run that day and wont be available, but working on another shuttle place….
4. Kevin has out processed from this base. He no longer has a squadron or a base. He is now, officially in limbo. Such a fun place to be.
5. Headed by finance, got our dislocation set. Should get it the day we leave. That will help greatly.
6. Ran by to pick up the pets, only they needed more shots! Oi, pets got expensive fast! But the good thing, they are taken care of.
7. Because of how long it took to get the pets taken care of, we left and went straight to Freya’s grooming appointment. She looks so pretty now!!
8. Dropped Cheyenne off at the room and then headed to lunch.
9. Picked up Derri, oh so sad to see the teachers say good-bye.
10. Ran by the elementary school and got a copy of the kids’ school records.
11. Picked Freya up and came back to the room.

My day was busy lol.

The room was wonderfully calm, even thou we had the kids in and out from the part between the TLF buildings. They enjoyed the running and playing they got to do. While they did that, Kevin ended up taking a nap. Silly guy. I ran by a crafting website I requested to join at the beginning of Dec. Got the invite, made my account, but never used it.. So today I decided to use it. Got to work on it and found I really like that site. Kiki! You should check it out. It is called Ravelry. Very cool. It is still in beta, but man it is good at resources for both knitting and crocheting. I really like it.

I have been looking for a pattern that I can do for a good market bag. With us being in Germany where there will be markets for daily trips, I was hoping to make myself a bag to use… So far, they have all been just beyond my grasp. So far the ones I like require a basket weave stitch that isn’t  like the one I am used to…. So it has been a very large challenge, one leaving my hands hurting because of how tight the stitch gets working this pattern… And it has messed up each time.

Oh well, always tomorrow night, after all the running we have to do, to work on it. If I am lucky, I will get it done before spring lol..

Night all.

I had hoped for a normal end to the hectic weekend. But this wasn’t granted to me.

On Thanksgiving, while Kevin was out getting the 12 volt plug for the fountain that was busted, he wandered the yarn isle at Wal*Mart and found a knitting book I might like. I have been sitting with that book open all weekend. I learned, finally, what some terms meant, so I could start knitting the kids their gloves/mittens.

Sunday, I got most of Kauchana’s done. One hand was finished, I just needed to work a few more rounds to start finishing the second hand. But as midnight hit, I still wasn’t done, and was just calling it a night when my phone rang.

When Kevin left on the TDY, he was slotted to return to his normal swing shift. Well, sometime while he was gone, they changed shifts on him and no one informed him of his new shift. So he was late. They were calling to find out where he was. Gee, doesn’t that look grand.

So my life has been a little bit stressed. we still don’t have hard copy orders. We are almost exactly a month out from our leave date. We have alot left to do. We are at the point where we can’t do anything without those orders. We can’t get TMO to pack our house. We can’t get housing to clear us of our house. We can’t drop the truck off to be shipped to Germany without those orders. We are at a standstill and it is driving me up the wall.

Friday is the end of the month, the last Friday of the month. For base, that means large items pick up day. With that being the case, I have this week to decide what to do about some of our furniture. Their couch and sofa set. It is falling apart. Xavier has managed to take out almost all of the springs that was on the pull out bed, which just happened to be the support for the cushions.  Freya clawed at it pretty bad when she was a pup, Cheyenne still claws at it when she is too lazy to head to her scratching post… I would feel better about getting rid of it this Friday if we had our orders and were already packing to leave. I should be doing that anyway… packing to leave, that way when we do have our orders, we can just go. Still so very much to do…

I hate limbo.

Other then all that… things are starting to get back on track.

Dokota has been letting his grades slip. One of his team teachers sends home notes that require parent signature every couple of weeks. It lists any work left not turned in, and the grades of any major test that has been taken. Dokota handed me his today. He got 2 zeros out of 3 tests. He says those are from when he was out of school. There was also a note stating he hasn’t been turning in his homework. His answer for not turning in the homework? “Darn my memory” I kid you not. He has been told often, mostly while Jen was here, that he is developing Kevin’s lack of short term memory. Now, that is his scapegoat out of doing things.. or at least that is what he is trying to turn into his scapegoat. He got informed today that computer (unless homework related), nintendo, playstation, gameboy, and tv are taken away until he can remember to turn his homework in, and to be assertive enough to get his work from the time he was absent and get that worked on and turned in.. I made him cry. I heard him mutter that I’m no longer the fun mom. I seem to be the only person in the world that actually knows what he can do, what he is capable of, and wont let him half ass his way.

I am mostly “no longer the fun mom” when Jen pops up. How can I be when all she is, is fun and games?

Kauchana also informed me I am no longer the fun mom today. She had to get an ultrasound of her jaw today. She has a cyst like mass on her jaw that started to act up, I am thinking because of her molars looking like they are ready to start coming in.. But as we did this venture, I got informed I am no longer fun. She still loves being around me more than anyone else, but she wished I would be fun like mommy. How can I explain I can’t be fun like “mommy” when I am the one responsible for her? How can I explain that I can’t be the fun one like “mommy” and have her still respect me enough to listen to me. How can I explain that “mommy” is only fun because she saves that money after bills, fun, and whatever she pays for, and then, only once every so many years, pops up to spend it all on her, to make her forget that she isn’t around any other time?

I don’t know. Xavier came by and asked if he could send “mommy” a package. I asked what he wanted to send her, he said a note asking her to come live with us. I had to tell him that was sweet, but it wasn’t the best idea. He doesn’t understand. I still don’t think he understands just who she is to him. I think he still just sees her as a person that the other two call “mommy”, and who spoils him when she does decide to pop up…

Dokota is about the only one that has just about stopped talking about her. And when he does, if it is just him and either Kevin or me, he calls her by name. I have only heard him call her mom once since he started calling her by name, and that was only because Kauchana and Xavier were near.

I just don’t know. Honestly I don’t. I have spent many days thinking things through. I seem to be getting myself lost in thought as I sit and knit during the day. I had started working on laundry today…. but sat to knit and just got lost in thought about all this.. I am just very lost and confused. I think most of it is just stress from this move..

Oh well… It is late. I have many phone calls to make tomorrow… I also have bills I need to sit down and start working on. And hope, somewhere in there, we have enough to get the kids something small for Christmas.