Little Blessings

I was reminded today that our children are such little blessings. Yes, I know this everyday, and there is not one day that goes by that I do not thank the Lord for these wonderful little people (at least once), but I was given another reminder of that today.
Bill dropped some bad news on us today. A couple of weeks ago, he told us that he wouldn't be able to come home in May as we had planned on due to a TDY he was scheduled to go on. Sucky, but whatever, we were coming up with a solution and would work something out, no tears needed. It wasn't in stone anyway, just a great idea that we could probably make work. Today he told us that his one bedroom suite (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, living room, door to separate the kids, etc) was being renovated and he was moving to the small dorm rooms (complete with all the luxuries of a bathroom, bedroom, and kitchenette), making it virtually impossible for us to stay with him. Hard to do crew rest with two kids when you have to go to bed at 5 or 6 in the evening or need to sleep in until 2 pm because you have to go to work to fly at 4 pm. It just isn't going to work.
Now, here I sit in Sumter, on a rainy day, wishing my family were together to enjoy a lazy Saturday when this bomb drops. Panic sets in and I have that suffocating feeling of not being able to breathe. Never had that feeling until right before Bill left for this assignment, just so you know. He told me this on chat and I was crying the silent cry in between messages and while making lunch, when he told me he was heading to bed. So I called him via Skype and he talked to the kids. Kaity now notices that I am crying and asks me why. I tell her I am sad. It is looking pretty dim that we aren't going to be able to go out for the 4-6 weeks we had planned on this fall. I didn't tell her that part. She doesn't need to know right now. Bill told me not to get so worked up, that we would figure out a way to make something work. Easier said than done. The brick wall had already fallen on my chest and I couldn't breathe. Trying to take deep breaths I start to complain (I really don't do this often, he knows it sucks too, and I know it isn't his choice, nor is it his fault).
The conversation starts something like this (said really fast as I am approaching breakdown mode - I know you all know what I am talking about). It's just that we planned for you to come home the first part of May and now that bubble is burst and I really wanted to go to Disney again as a family (AD military get in free and their dependents get a 5 day pass for $99) and now that isn't going to happen, and plane tickets are expensive, and we don't know when we are going to see you now, and you might not see the kids until we come out there as it is and now there is this, and (said with less emotion and speed) our children have the table manners of elephants! Ryan had just dumped his mac n cheese onto his tray from the bowl and is trying to pet the dog from his high chair with his spoon and Kaity is eating hers with her hands, hanging half off her chair so she can see herself in the computer, trying to talk to Bill over me while her mouth is full.
I don't know why I said elephants, but I did and as soon as I said it Ryan starts making elephant noises and then Kaity starts with the noise and her elephant trunk. Then the kids turn into laughing elephants and soon everyone is laughing...at least for a few minutes before Mom (aka Fun Crusher) decided to try to reestablish order at the table.
So, another moment where I am reminded that our children are such a blessing and can make us laugh even during moments when we feel like we don't have a laugh left in us. I know this will all work out and we will figure out a different path when faced with a life filled with roadblocks, but the detours are stressful, and at times depressing, and we are so thankful to have the distractions of our sweet little comedians and our greatest little blessings.

Three Little Words

On Saturday as we were getting ready to board our flight at the airport, Ryan told Aunt Sharon, "I love you!" This was the first time he has ever said it. I am constantly amazed by the differences in my children. Kaity had literally been speaking sentences for months by the time she was Ryan's age and he still has very few words, and no sentences. Unless you count Elmo followed by various animal noises. It is from an Elmo book that he "reads" to me. Telling me in his own way that Elmo is a monkey, or an elephant, or a lion. But he said, "I LOVE YOU!"
Since then he says it numerous times throughout the day. To Bill on Skype, to Kaity, to me, to the dog. The sweetest was this morning when I was taking Kaity to school and she said, "Mommy, I love you." And Ryan said, "I love you." Then Kaity laughed excitedly and told Ryan, "I love you, Buddy." And he said, "I love you," right back to her. SO SWEET!
This evening we were rushing around the house to get ready to leave for a short notice doctor's appointment and I was bathing the kids so I wouldn't have to do it when we returned at (or potentially after) their bedtime. I scooped Ryan out of the tub, dried him off, and hugged him tight and he said, "I love you" and gave me a kiss. I slowed down (just a shade or we would have been really late) to enjoy one of those fleeting moments of motherhood before I blinked and it was gone. I truly think the way he sings those three words in his sweetest baby voice is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard!

A High Five

I caught something out of the corner of my eye yesterday, and in one of my "good mommy" moments I decided to forgo scolding and try to get the story. It was out of the corner of my eye after all.

Me: Kaitlyn, what happened? (Add the sound effects of Ryan crying in the background)

Kaitlyn: (Thinking really hard about the best way to answer this question...I am telling you, I could see the little wheels turning). I tried to give brother a high five, but it was too hard. (Said in her most innocent voice)

Me: Really?! You were giving your brother a high five?

Kaitlyn: Yes! (Hesitantly, but excited that I might actually buy this line)

Me: On the back of his head?!

Kaitlyn: No. (Said in defeat)

Yup, that is what I saw out of the corner of my eye. Kaity hitting her brother on the head. The turkey sure is creative though. See what I get for giving her the benefit of the doubt? A funny story! :)

Plans to Tri

Someone once told me that one way to work through a deployment is to set personal goals while you are apart. Since Bill wasn't going to be gone long enough for this past deployment to need to do something big, I tucked this little nugget of information away to retrieve when needed. Thinking that a year is a really long time, I have been thinking about setting a pretty big goal. One that would take me a while to reach.
Many, many years ago during our first year of marriage and our first assignment at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, I had a friend who did a triathlon. Our group of neighborhood friends went to cheer her on, and I decided that one day I would really like to complete a triathlon.
Fast forward to late spring/early summer of last year when a bunch of us gals were sitting around talking about ways to make the 4-5 month deployment easier and a friend who has been through a deployment before made the personal goal suggestion. Most of the couples strive to loose weight together or to eat healthier or to become better organized. I went home and thought about something I wanted to accomplish. I don't really need to lose weight (maybe just a few pounds), I eat pretty healthfully (most of the time), and I am a pretty organized person (again, most of the time). Then a thought struck me...I could accomplish the goal of completing a triathlon! Okay, I'll do it. I'll start training when he leaves, and find one we could go to together as a family when he returns and he and the kids can cheer me on. Great plan! I'll definitely have enough time to train. Perfect! A month or two later we find out about Korea and we weren't sure if Bill was even going to be deploying. In all of the hubbub of the air force madness, I didn't really think about it again. Too busy focusing on what the next six months would entail for us.
Fast forward again to November when I was visiting one of my best friends on my trip back home and she told me she had recently decided to start training for a triathlon. I told her that it was something I had always wanted to do and that maybe I would look into doing one with her if I ended up moving back home. Over the next couple of months I thought about this off and on, but not very seriously. After Bill left, I decided I was definitely in need of a great distraction. I also decided I needed to focus my energy on something I could control instead of the stress of the things I couldn't control. Being apart, single parenting, not knowing where we will be moving next, selling a house. You see where I am headed. The loony bin if I don't act quickly. I started looking up events both near here and back home that might be feasible options. I came across an event the last weekend in May back home. The timing with my plans of being home was perfect and it was a mini tri. 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and a mile a half run. I could do that, no problem! I would start small and work my way up. So I e-mailed my friend to see if she wanted to do it with me. When she wrote back, she told be she was already registered for the sprint distance event the next day and told me that I could do the sprint distance and that I should do it with her. It is ONLY a 1/2 mile swim, 16 mile bike, and a 5K run. She has a lot more faith in me than I have in myself. :)
After doing a bit of research later that day, I thought, I can do this...maybe. I have plenty of time to train. If I can work it out with the kids. I just bought a new bike in May. A Wal-Mart special. I have swimming experience. A long, long time ago. I have done a 5K before. Sure...I can do this. Does it sound like I am trying to convince myself? Maybe it is because I am. ;D Just kidding. I am pretty sure I can do each by itself, maybe even the swim and run together, but don't have any experience on a bike. Aside from the leisurely rides with the family. It will be a great challenge and I am looking forward to it. I committed myself to doing it a few weeks ago, not monetarily (which is the biggest commitment), but I did start telling people I was going to do it. And I told Michelle I was in a couple of weeks ago, so I am definitely committed. Intimidated, but committed nonetheless.
So, I start training tomorrow. I have 14 weeks to train. By the time I cross this off my bucket list, we will be more than a third of the way through this long year. Plus, I will have done something that I have thought would be really cool to do someday. My someday is May 31, 2009! Bill hasn't decided on a personal goal just yet, but I am sure he will think of one. He won't let me show him up. Game on baby!

A Funny Memory

One of my best friends recently reminded me of a funny story from when Kaity was a little bit younger than Ryan. When I was talking to her Ryan brought me a piece of slobbery dog food in his chubby little hand and was chomping on one in his mouth as well. He does this quite frequently and, while I am disgusted by it, I have gotten used to it. He gets a certain look when he has it in his mouth. It is a cute, funny, defiant little look that begs for attention. I was on the phone with a very dear friend in Italy and it had been a while since our last phone call, so she had my (nearly) undivided attention, leaving Ryan to find creative ways to get my attention once he was finished playing by himself. I asked him what he had in his mouth, did the finger sweep, pulled out a piece of dog food, and exclaimed, "GROSS!" before telling him we don't eat dog food...again. Angel asks me if I am going to call the ER. I laugh that exasperated, head shaking, eye rolling laugh and say, "No, he does it all the time." She laughs in return and says, "You don't remember that?" Apparently (I do remember this now), the first time Kaity ate dog food, somewhere around a year old, I actually called the emergency room to see if it was something I should worry about. I think it was after the Pediatric Clinic was closed, but it was the ER nonetheless, making the story even funnier. The difference between the first and the second child. The nurse laughed and told me it was fine, but to make sure I brought her in if she started barking. I totally forgot about this and was so thankful that Angel reminded me that I promised I would blog the memory. Maybe that is why my children like to pretend they are dogs, too much dog food in their diet.

Snow Day!

Happy girl, happy dog!

The Tuesday after Bill left, the weather forecasters were predicting a couple of inches of snow. While I was hopeful and felt a little bit like a kid on Christmas Eve, I wasn't holding my breath or staying awake for it. I woke up to find quite a dusting of snow outside my window! This Florida girl was SO excited! Kaitlyn was excited too. She woke up to use the restroom and couldn't go back to sleep. She ran into my room and said, "Mommy, something really great happened. IT SNOWED!" While I was enjoying my first cup of coffee, while checking e-mail and facebook, she ran into her room, got dressed, and snuck outside (I heard her go out the back door). I peeked outside and found her, almost dressed for the cold, but not quite. Before I could get the camera ready, she had already gone down the slide and gotten her jeans soaking wet. She was too excited about the snow to care about the cold. I joined her outside with the snow gear and played with her for a little while making and throwing snowballs and making a snowman while Ryan was still asleep, then we came inside to warm up with hot chocolate in front of the fire.

Busted!

Catching snowflakes.

When Ryan woke up, he ran straight to the window (Kaity spilled the beans about the snow) and was also very excited. His wonder was so sweet to watch. They were both really excited about the newly fallen snow and the snow flurries that were coming down pretty steadily while they stood in front of the window in awe. Fortunately, Ryan was happy watching the snow from the warmth of the indoors for a little while.

Decorating her snowman.

Kaity's friend Meghan came over for lunch and we built another snowman and the girls had a snowball fight with the fence, threw snowballs playfully at each other, and decorated their snowmen. JD loved the snow as well. It has been quite some time since he has played in the snow and he really seemed to be reliving his puppy days. The snow on the ground didn't last long, in fact it had all melted shortly after lunch, but it was a wonderful day of excitement and fun when we needed it most. The Lord provides!Throwing snowballs.

Our New Puppy

I think I may have scared the you-know-what out of Bill and made the rest of you wonder if I have lost my mind. No, we didn't get a real puppy, but Ryan starting pretending to be an animal today. He got down on all fours in the kitchen and started crawling around and barking like a dog. He got a kick out of himself and would crawl around the apartment barking and laughing, making sure that Kaity was watching his antics. She was, and was impressed that he picked up this newly acquired skill, undoubtedly learned from her. It isn't the first thing, nor will it be the last. At least this was one of the cute things!

Trucks, Trains, Cars, and Planes

Ryan is ALL boy! He is always on the go, constantly running and very rarely walking. On our way out to California, he discovered really big planes at the airport. He was in love. Kept saying plane. Throughout the plane ride, he kept looking out the window and looking at the wing and saying plane. On the next leg he looked back to the engine and kept saying plane. He would also look out the window and say WOW! Then a few minutes later, he would look out again and start wowing all over again in his precious little sing song voice. A-dor-a-ble!

He is also really big into race cars. He either says vroom or queen. For McQueen. As in Lightening McQueen. He is infatuated with the Disney race car! And cars in general.

Even more than cars, Ryan LOVES trucks! He is hilarious. Every trip in the car he points out every truck. Also every bus, SUV, and camper is a truck. He loves the California freeway and one of the hits of our San Diego visit is that he gets to cruise around in Uncle Jack's truck!

And last, but not least, is the love affair with the train. Every time he hears the train whistle he starts exclaiming train until someone acknowledges him. It is pretty sweet and we actually like living by the train tracks. My sister's apartment is just a few blocks from the beach, so we hear the train cruising up the 101. We have many a memory of getting to the top of the hill with Kaity and turning around to see the train speed by. We haven't had the right timing yet for Ryan, but I know when we do he will be beside himself with excitement.

Trains, Sharks, and Seals

Ryan telling his sister about the jaguar in the train. Roar!

Today we took the kids on a miniature train ride through Balboa Park. The train pulled up and Ryan ran to the fence yelling, "Train, train, train!" After the train stopped, Kaity ran over to the fence and stood with Ryan. He kept roaring and we discovered he was telling her that there was a jaguar. We came to the conclusion that they were conspiring to ride next to the jaguar, because that is where they ran after they handed the conductor the tickets.

Getting ready for the train ride.

Both kids really enjoyed the train ride, but Ryan was so excited. He clapped when we went into the tunnel and he kept saying train every time the train went around a curve and he could see the engine. It was pretty adorable!

Watching the engine on the curve and Ryan saying, "Train!"

Cute baby boy, looking like a big boy.

Kaitlyn waiting to feel a baby Rylee kick.

After we rode the train, we headed up to Paradise Point Resort to see/feed the sharks and fish at the marina area. We decided to let the other people there get the fish hands and enjoyed watching the birds and sharks and other fish fight for the food. It was entertaining for both the adults and the kids. We had fun taking silly pictures too.

Ryan and Uncle Jack checking out the sharks.

Being silly

On the way back home we hit up the La Jolla Cove for some close up time with the Harbor Seals. They are always hanging out on the beach in this little cove and are cute to watch. It is pupping season and the moms will give birth in the spring to new babies, but there were some small ones out there to watch as well. Hopefully we can get back to do a little more seal watching and picture taking when Ryan isn't so tired and difficult to keep still. :)

The Beach

As soon as we woke up at Aunt Sharon's, Kaitlyn was itching to get down to the beach. We walked down and Kaity took her shoes off and bolted for the water. She was not even fazed by the brisk Pacific water. We were excited to see the tide pools that were exposed by the low tide this visit. Despite all of the times we have been here to visit, we have never seen the tide pools. It was really cool to see them and to watch the kids explore them. We didn't find anything good in them, but it was still pretty cool. Check out all of our pictures through the link to the right.
Ryan, and his slow to warm up self, still cries when he gets to the beach. After about 15 minutes, he was finally interested in getting down and exploring. Once down on the beach, he didn't slow down! Fortunately, he was hesitant around the big tide pools and didn't want to get too close without one of us. Kaity on the other hand, was running in and out of the surf, hopping over the tide pools, and wading through the deeper pools. They had a blast!

California

We decided to take a trip to visit Aunt Sharon (Kim's sister) while the rest of the Shooters were enjoying a couple of weeks off after returning from their deployment. We left Sumter Wednesday morning and after a VERY long day of traveling (a drive to Raleigh Durham, changing planes in Nashville, and a four hour fight (I mean flight) with an over tired baby boy) by myself with both kids, we arrived in San Diego to smiling faces and a big belly. My sister is 5 1/2 months pregnant and as cute as a button. It makes me miss being pregnant! The kids adjusted right away to California time, waking up only an hour earlier than at home (6:30-7:00 here), which was a huge blessing and an even bigger relief. Unfortunately, Kaitlyn spiked a 102 degree temp our first day here and both kids have a little bit of a cough and head cold. Kaity seemed to be feeling better, but spiked a 103 degree temp today. Another little damper on our day has been cold, wet weather. It has rained (and even hailed) much of the time we have been here. Fortunately our first day was sunny and there have been pockets of sun and, even with the rain, the weather is so much nicer than what we left. The temps were in the 20's when we left and there was snow on the ground just north of Sumter. Even with the rainy weather and sick kids (and a mommy who is fighting the sick fight) we are still having a great visit. We are even thinking of extending our visit if we can find someone to check on the pup. If not, we only have a few days left. Hopefully both kids will wake up healthy in the morning and the rain will stop so we can enjoy the famous San Diego weather!

Bill's Intro to the ROK

I made it safely to Korea. My trip started in Atlanta on a Saturday morning and ended at 1:00 AM Monday morning. Although my 14-hour flight was packed and I was stuck in the middle, each seat had its own screen with on-demand movies and music. I think I watched 3 or 4 movies before I'd passed Alaska. Upon my arrival, several Juvats (new squadron's name) met me at the bus with a drink and a fighter pilot song. I am sure there will be lots more of both throughout my time here!

Skype has been a great means of our family staying connected, although there has been some getting adjusted to the time differences. Kaity is enthralled with the idea of eating dinner while I am having breakfast on the next day! Not to be left out, Ryan has quickly warmed up to talking to me on the computer as well. He's still not "talking" much, but we give "High fives" and "pounds" to each other through the webcam. It is really just great to see their smiling faces and hear their voices, not screams or whines.

I am slowly getting settled in both at home and work. The squadron here is great and living in a dorm with the people you work with creates a very tight knit group. I'll write more later, but I wanted to get my first blog out of the way.