This was a recreation that didn’t quite match up to the original which I missed recording. But it’s still cute. 🙂
Category Archives: Tom
Charlie and daddy!
“CHARLIE!”
“DADDY!”
I just HAD to do this for today for Tom!
I just HAD to do this for today for Tom…even though her outfit is too big! GO GREEN!
Then we took him on a walk, too!
It was finally nice and sunny today so we went for a walk when we got home!
“I stomped on your head!”
Jingling all the way home:
Daddy wanted to go on errands with us.
Tom texted me on Facebook to say good morning and I told him we were headed out on errands. He said he’d like to go with us, so I kept sending pictures. And FYI it’s harder than you’d think to take pictures while you’re shopping…while trying to keep an eye on one and keeping the phone away from the other who wants “Alno.” 🙂
Waiting for the hair place to open:
Getting ready to get his hairs cut:
Waiting for brother:
At Walmart:
A tempting display:
“I want to push her!”
Done!
Showing daddy Owen’s big boy booster seat (he uses the regular seat belt now) and his new hair cut:
Waving to daddy!
Owen’s first school pictures!!
Hell, technically his first ever professional pictures!! (I had the professional photographer come when he was about six months old but that never turned out…and I had my professional photog cousin take some pics one weekend at a family gathering, but it wasn’t anything official.)
I am BEYOND THRILLED and honestly a little amazed at the perfect smiles and cute poses! I mean, just look at the goofy grin I got this morning! I was really worried about getting one good shot, and I got three! Of course I think Pose B is hilarious because that’s just SO not him but it’s such a typical school photo shot—I love it! I had no idea there would be three options, as the form we filled out just let us pick a color background (beige, blue, or red) and accessories (the letters J-O-Y, etc.).
So after I posted them on Facebook, Tom messaged me:
Tom: OMG! How did you know?
Me: How did I know what?
Tom: The Shirt. Rob and I had to wear matching blue shirts for every school picture, until 6th grade.
Me: Ha ha, I had no idea. I just wanted him in blue since he looks good in blue and I knew I could pick a blue background.
Talk about fate. 🙂
Oh, and…CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. 😈
And, wow have school photos come a long way—you didn’t get an order form ahead of time. As I mentioned, we just got the background and accessory request. You get the order form with the proofs about two weeks later with a website and code numbers to see the proof and order everything from holiday cards to mugs and notepads. I haven’t gotten to check the prices on anything yet, but I’m guessing I’ll just get the smallest package that gets me all three pictures and then I’ll use them as I normally would in my Shutterfly things. STAY TUNED.
Things about me you might not know.
This game has been going around Facebook whereby you are given a number and you are then required to tell that many unique or fun things about yourself that most people wouldn’t know. I’ve really enjoyed reading the answers from all my friends, and while I didn’t officially get a number I thought it would be fun to play along.
- At a very young age I knew I didn’t want children and actually asked my mom if I could get a hysterectomy. Wisely, she assured me I should wait.
- I still didn’t want kids until a few years after getting married… But that changed during the few days after finding out my Grandpa Len had died and I was with all my extended family back in Michigan and I realized how much I loved my family and didn’t want it to end with me. It’s a good thing Tom was on board.
- From that moment, it took three years to get pregnant and involved both of us being tested (no issues), though one of those years Tom was deployed. 🙂
- We are currently on our third deployment: ~9 months, ~13 months, and hopefully this one with kids will be the shortest at ~6 months. When you dream about falling in love with a military man (Oh! Those uniforms!) you never think about the sucky parts.
- In college I made a list of the top 25 or so things I was looking for in a partner. The top 5 were CRITICAL. When I met Tom? He had none of the top 5 but I still knew from the first night he was the one. Yes, I knew the very first night that we would get married. It took four years but we did it!
- I loved every part of my wedding and would do it all over again in a hot second. I loved all the unique touches (trumpeter, writing our own vows, one of the groomsmen barfing in the bushes during the ceremony, reception on a dinner train, personalized cake topper, and a horse and carriage) and to this day people still tell me how awesome it was.
- For someone who is a homebody and doesn’t like change, the military is not really the best thing for me. I always said I would wait to have kids until we were settled so they wouldn’t have to move schools…but life just doesn’t work that way (I got old too fast and Tom had decided to stay in for 20). But, we have met the greatest people and can’t imagine life without having met our best friends Roger & Ursula Mitchell and Tom & Karen Trimble).
- I :heart: Amazon. If I never had to leave my house to shop I would be just fine. I have my fingers crossed that someday we move somewhere that Amazon delivers fresh groceries. If you ask me where I got something, chances are probably 90% it was from Amazon, 5% it was from another online source, and 5% it was local. 🙂
- If I never had another job again I would be just fine. I am NOT someone who has to work to feel validated.
- I don’t consider myself a hoarder, but my pantry has been referred to as Dharma. Yes, I also :heart: Costco and Sam’s Club.
- I hate being late. For anything. Even with two kids on a hectic morning, I still make it to Pre-K (with a 15 minute drive) at least five minutes early.
- This was the first year since we got married that we didn’t have Chinese for our anniversary dinner (it started as luck then we planned it and even managed during his past deployments). We changed it to steak and shrimp this year so we’d be eating the same thing on the same day!
Eww. Just ewww.
Look what I found today.
Exactly. What is it? So I looked closer…and saw tiny clawed feet.
/shudder
A lizard. Completely stuck, tail and all, inside the siding molding of the garage door. I am pretty sure it will stay there until Tom gets home.
New car seat + Tom not here to deal with it = mini panic attack
I’ve read the book and watched videos…but I still get really nervous because he’s ALWAYS done them. I’ve NEVER done them. But it actually took longer to get the old one out and clean out the seat than it took to get the new seat in.
The mess under Katie’s seat:
It seems sturdy enough and I’m sure it’s safe but I’m still anxious.
Owen’s explanation of the MSU win.
We were Skyping with Daddy and he mentioned that Sparty won.
Owen: Yes! They did! The green guys got lots of points and the red guys just got some.
Owen’s Halloween Party
I walked into controlled bedlam. Or maybe it just felt that way to me, since I am unaccustomed to being in a room full of little kids. 🙂 It was actually quite calm—just noisy. I regret not taking a video so you could fully understand. 🙂
Katie loves coming in (which she rarely gets to do because I leave her in the car while I run him in or pick him up). She gets into everything. I tried to keep her corralled with cheese and crackers today but it only lasted so long.
Then daddy called so he could see the party.
It didn’t last too long, though, since we couldn’t hear each other due to all the ambient noise. But what was funny is that the teacher saw me holding my phone up and was like “Oh, what do you have there?” I’m guessing she thought I was showing Owen something or taking a video. When I told her it was Owen’s daddy on Skype she was really surprised! And excited! So she got to meet Tom briefly today. (Again, it was loud so it wasn’t much more than “Hi! Nice to meet you!”)
Peekaboo with daddy
This will melt her daddy’s heart.
Katie loves daddy!
Holy crap! Owen is pretty good at hitting!
Papa wanted to surprise Owen with his own baseball bat so he got it the other day and planned to give it to him after school before his dentist appointment when we’d be at the playground.
Then after a few quick attempts and after getting his grip and stance corrected, he was hitting most of my pitches! We were stunned. They weren’t perfect, of course, but I’d guess he was at least making some sort of contact on 80% of them…and probably good contact on 50% of those! He even smacked me with a ball a few times and had me ducking more than once as a ball whizzed by me.
While we were playing, Tom happened to Skype in, so he could watch Owen! It was awesome! Tom loved it!
Helping Papa make cookies for daddy
He wasn’t terribly interested in helping so I was lucky to get one picture.
A Halloween surprise for daddy!
When I saw this resin pumpkin on Woot, I had to get it for Tom! And today Katie just happened to be dressed in her Sparty outfit…
How many sleeps until daddy gets home?
Owen: Mama, I miss my daddy. How many sleeps until he gets home?
Me: A lot, buddy.
Owen: Like 21? 22?
Me: [laughing] No, like 150.
Owen: Wow, that’s a lot.
Me: Yes, it is.
Daddy’s watching you!
Owen “coloring” for daddy…
Which is really more like playing with the crayons and talking to them and…doing everything you see here. He did eventually get something done we can send, but it was almost like pulling teeth. It kills me that he really has zero interest in drawing—he can’t be my kid!
My first substitute husband job!
Thank heavens for friends! (I could actually say that a lot, but today it’s about Roger coming to look at the sink.) 🙂
At first he was afraid it was inside the faucet with the hot water lines—which would require a plumber—but then he said “Hey, let me check this quick…”
And bingo! It was the pull-out handle—it was loose and the water was dripping from there. A quick tighten and it’s fixed (and he could find the tool he needed right away thanks to Tom organizing everything before he left!). He also moved the hose to a less-constricted space (away from the dishwasher line) so it’s easier to pull when necessary (and will create less stress on the part).
I never would have thought to check that, but now I know if it happens again!
Phew! I was envisioning $$$ for a plumber and/or $$$ for a new faucet.
And I think it’s pretty good that I didn’t need a fill-in hubby until a month in to the deployment! 🙂
Happy birthday dear daddy!
He’s good at building cars!
I have had magnatiles on Owen’s wishlist for quite some time but have never bought them because A) he has so many toys already and B) they are damn EXPENSIVE. So when I saw these Magformers available on Amazon Vine (the program where I get to pick items for free and then I just have to write a review on it), I snatched them up!
Owen picked them as his weekly Chore reward this week. (Normally expensive toys aren’t options, but since they didn’t cost me anything—and mostly because he saw them before I could hide them!—I let him choose them.)
As it happened, Tom Skyped in right as Owen was wanting to open them, so Tom got to watch the fun for about 20 minutes! Even though the age said 3+ I wasn’t sure if he’d be able to follow the patterns to make the cars without getting frustrated—but he jumped right in and before I knew it, he had laid out all the pieces for the spaceship with no problem!
Then he made two cars (with a little of my help since the pieces kept snapping together) and then he was making his own shapes and vehicles without the patterns.
Of course, now I want at least one or two more sets so he can build bigger and better things…I’ll be adding some to his wishlist. 🙂 The other good thing about these is that the pieces are big enough AND the magnets are enclosed so they are fine for Katie to grab and play with (though it tends to make Owen melt down when she does that).
Tom’s new room!
The guy Tom was replacing finally left so Tom got moved to his room! It’s much better as there’s only one set of bunk beds and there’s a recliner, mini fridge, and microwave!
Pics from Afghanistan
These are from his trip over and the first week in Afghanistan. He didn’t have time to write info on each photo until recently (which I wanted before posting them) so that’s why they’re a little late.
At the military airport At Cherry Point. The snack bar closes at 6pm, but they have the troops show up at 7pm and wait for 4 hrs…WTF?
Lobsters in the Airport at Bangor. Yes, fresh Lobsters. You can see the tank at the back left in picture.
Giftshop area of Ramstein military annex.
Ramstein computer area where they allow unit graffiti.
Phone bank at Ramstein
Manas International Airport is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan located 25 kilometres north-northwest of the capital Bishkek.
My (first) room! I now have a new room but don’t have pics yet!
The door to my room.
Angle 1
Angle 2 – you can see where I sleep and sit to Skype.
Extra bed and rifle.
Our in-room A/C unit.
The gym area outside my room.
Stairs to the second level of rooms.
The door to my room.
The pathetically see-through TP.
Halloween costume!
Owen picked out his Halloween costume at Costco today as a reward for being a good boy at the hospital. I had hoped he’d go for Iron Man (since we already have the real mask and arm band) but no, he wanted Robo Knight (one of the Power Rangers). He has never watched Power Rangers (as far as I know) and really only wanted it because it was called Robo Knight. 🙂
Of course, he had to put it on for daddy.
And then of course I made him pose for me:
Edited two hours later to add: He still hasn’t taken it off!
Home again, home again.
Almost as soon as we got home and walked through the door, Tom happened to Skype. Within 30 seconds, Owen told me he had to poop! WOOHOO! So all three of us went in the bathroom (yes, Tom came with us) and…OWEN POOPED! It was still all water but he did it all on his own!!! I was amazed, really.
As we were both praising him, he gets off the potty, points to his mouth, then points to the toilet. Huh? I didn’t think much of it because he has a recent habit of being silent while mouthing words and pointing. But then he leaned over and barfed. Again and again.
One one hand…WHAT?!?!
On the other…YAY!!! He finally realized what was coming and actually remembered that we told him to barf in the toilet!
So Tom got to watch him barf from halfway around the world! And I didn’t have anything to clean up!
Owen: Can you wipe my face?
I’m pretty sure it was just the pizza plus the milk he had when he got home. I guess I should have given him lighter fare for at least a day or so.
But, as usual, he seemed no worse for the wear!
Happy 12th Anniversary!
Happy 12th anniversary from halfway across the world, baby! It feels like just yesterday but also like we’ve been together our whole lives as I can’t imagine my life before you. I love you and miss you desperately!
And this year—after a respectable 11-year run—we FINALLY ended our accidental-turned-scheduled anniversary tradition of having Chinese for dinner. Damn marine corps not offering anything remotely Chinese in Afghanistan today. Hmph.
However.
We’re possibly starting a new tradition as Tom had steak and shrimp…so I figured instead of me just grabbing Chinese take out, I’d go and get steak and shrimp as well!
However.
I didn’t really want to get it take-out (who wants steak and shrimp to cool off on the 20-minute ride home?) but I honestly didn’t want to go by myself (well, with the kids)…so I sent an open invitation to my moms group…and one mom offered to come out with me (well, plus one of her kids). So…YAY for friends! And new traditions!
That said…WOW. I don’t think I’ll be taking the kids out by myself anytime soon. Or if I do, it will be to a FAST FOOD place or somewhere we can get much faster service.
Those of you with small kids will understand—you do everything QUICKLY. You order quickly (you quite possibly even order the kids meals first), you pay the check quickly, and you’re hopefully out of there before the squirming and whining begins. But unfortunately that was not how tonight played out. I fully blame the waitress, who constantly disappeared for loooong periods at every stage of the meal. Tom and I can usually get in and out in under 40 minutes. Ruth and I were there (at the same place) for just under ONE AND A HALF HOURS. Good god.
Ruth was a godsend, though. At one moment when it was a bit of a circus—everyone was noisy, there was too much crap on the tables and nowhere to put anything, Katie had reached for the knife three times in under a minute and was spilling corn all over the floor, Owen was asking for the third time where his milk was (damn slow waitress!), we were trying to share the onion appetizer…all while trying to place our food order—she volunteered to take the kids (my two and her one) for a brief walk so I could have a breather. And then she noticed Katie needed a diaper change so she did that, too.
/sigh
Of course, Owen didn’t follow along quickly enough and then Ruth was too far away for him to chase after so he stayed with me. Then announced he had to pee…so I had to take him back to the bathroom anyway. But then I left him with Ruth and went back to the table as they took a quick roundabout tour of the restaurant and I got to eat three bites of my salad in peace.
Overall it was a great meal—the steak and shrimp were REALLY good. It may have spoiled my usual order at that restaurant as well (I have ever only ordered one single thing every time we’ve gone there). The only thing that could have made it better? To have been able to calmly and slowly eat the yummy meal in peace and quiet—appreciating the food—instead of just shoving in a random bite here and there between managing two kids. Well, I guess that’s technically more than one thing. 🙂
I am so glad to have made a few new good mom friends who just UNDERSTAND and are willing to lend a hand—or supportive meal—when it’s needed.
And on that note… I mentioned that I’d probably order steak every time I went out because I wouldn’t be eating it at home because I don’t grill. And Ruth pipes up “I GRILL!” So I’ll provide the protein and the grill, she’ll provide the actual grilling, the kids can play in the pool…YAY!
New window seat…and desk.
Someone is happy that we rearranged the office and she has her window seat back.
And I guess this is as good a time as any to show pictures of the new desk Tom built… I’ve been meaning to post them but then it got later and later (and you know how I like to have posts on the day they actually happen) until I kinda gave up. But today works.
Though the desk has been a work-in-progress for months (he started with gusto and then took a long break and then finished with gusto!) we finally got it put together on August 1.
Ahhh, so nice and empty. I still REALLY miss the orange. 🙁
The three-piece L-shaped desk! That white cabinet (aka old printer stand) is now placed at the end of Tom’s section of the desk (which is just out of frame). It now has the scanner sitting on it, unplugged, since we rarely use it (I have a Fujitsu ScanSnap
Tom did a really great job and it’s SOOOO much better than the [two-year] temporary desk we had in there. (We used to have an L-shaped desk in here, but after a few PCS moves, it was a little shaky.)
Making daddy dizzy
Tom Skyped in just now and I needed to hand the phone to Owen so I could get Katie more milk. Well, Owen doesn’t really understand that he needs to keep his face in front of the camera—he was just carrying Tom around the house. Tom kept telling him to stop because he was getting dizzy (all he could see was the walls and ceiling fan bobbing around). I finally came back and made Owen stand still.
