A lot has happened since my last post. We boarded a plane, after we were told that my son was on the no fly list. Then my other son got horribly ill from the turbulence. After we got to BWI, we were able to see many wonderful people, if only briefly. We were delayed at midnight in BWI, but finallly got to Germany. We were in the base hotel for about three weeks, and finally found a house. We have been without internet for a month. Although some find this to be a small inconvenience, we can't even do simple things like pay our bills. We moved into the house, but will not have internet for a couple more weeks, which also means we cannot make phone calls. Matthew did get promoted and bought himself a car. Our other car, as well as our household goods should be here in mid December or so. We are still waiting on some paperwork to get Ian into school, but are hoping that will happen soon. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

The mass exodus has started...

What a week! Monday we took Matthew's parents to the airport and then spent the whole night seperating household goods from storage items, from unaccompanied baggage, from stuff we are going carry with us. Tuesday came with TWO movers showing up. They took one look around and said, we need more people! The moving company never sent anyone out to look at our household goods and now the movers were starting to flip out. Not what I needed. After taking yet another load to Goodwill, Matthew and I stayed up until after midnight packing, just to help out. Wednesday, they sent four people and put in a request for another day. Meanwhile, I had a IEP meeting for Ian. They proceeded to tell me that his cognitive and speech were that of a 16 month old. That is a deficit of 16 months. Not what a parent ever wants to hear. Now it is Thursday, we have the movers coming to finish household goods and the storage company coming. After today, we are going to be sleeping on borrowed air mattresses. The AF only allows fives days in TLF and will not pay for any more. After the 14th, when unaccompanied baggage goes, we will be in this house will no sheets, towels, dishes, plates, etc. We are scheduled to leave the 26th.
BUT, in this madness, we have some very good news. We got an offer on the house!!!! The inspected tried coming on Tuesday, but was unable to finish because of the mass chaos everywhere. We had to throw in all the appliances and the car, but that is better than the alternative. It is truly a miracle considering the timing. We are so grateful!!!

Some people are just ignorant

We are down to five weeks.  Five weeks to sell our house, organize our move, sell some furniture, and tie up dozens of loose ends.  I listed the couch and chair again yesterday and we so pleased to immediately get several responses.  We called a person who wrote that they really wanted it.  So we made arrangements and even offered to borrow a truck and drive it the forty miles up and 40 miles back to deliver it.  We showed up after borrowing a truck, dropping of the kids at a friend's house, buying a new tarp and ties, and they people will NOT answer the door or their phone.  I was just sick.  I had so much to do yesterday and instead of getting it done, I wasted 5 hours driving, organizing, and waiting on someone who is obviously an ignorant jerk.  Afterwards, we took it to one Goodwill that was to full to accept it, trying to find the warehouse the Goodwill guy suggested, and then finally finding another Goodwill.  So, I am left frustrated and exhausted.  The most frustrating was that several other people wanted it, but since we already had it loaded up, we just got rid of it.  That doesn't really help with my lack of faith in humanity.  Well, it's another day, time to start all over again.

I had no idea! But how cool!

I came across this video on the web of Flyleaf. I had heard them on the radio and was curious, so I looked them up. What an awesome video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-tBTBQoYB0

We took the crib apart and finally put Ian in a "big boy bed". This is the end result. Every day is something new and we so enjoy every minute we are getting to spend together. Last night we watched one of the best movies I have seen a long time: Neverwas. If you get a chance, check it out. We are getting nervous. We are down to less than two months and we are still hoping to sell the house and soon. We find out on Thursday the end determination from Ramstein. What a week!

I don't know which is scarier, spiders or the housing market.

So, as we sink back into a "normal" life, things are, as always, hectic.  We are starting to feel a little panic about selling the house.  The market is still in trouble and no one has come through in nearly a month.  It's pretty scary.  On top of that, I came across this story this morning.   Just what you need to worry about after redeployment.  Luckily, I don't think we really have to worry about that.  But, the housing market on the other hand...well, just please pray we sell without any major problems. 

Welcome Home

He's BACK!!!!  Matthew flew into BWI and got a grand welcome from Operation Welcome Home.  (Make sure you check out the slide show, the pictures are great. And the best part?  The validated every one's parking!!!)  Matthew has had an exhausting couple of days back.  He got back to Sea-Tac at 11:01 on Wednesday, 20 August.  We finally got back to the house just after one am.  Jameson was asleep on the couch and was so happy to be woken up by daddy.  We were on the road by 0830 for an appointment for Jameson.  He had a speech evaluation where we were told that though his speech is at the level of a three  year, six month old child, he would not qualify for any services.  Then off for some in-processing for Matthew.  Then off to the overseas clearance office to find out what the "bad news" was with the paperwork.  Evidently, my dentist thinks I am going to have a dental emergency in the next 12 months and Ramstein denied our package.  So, we had to schedule a second opinion dental evaluation with the military dentist.  (Guess what, there is nothing wrong with my oral health; my dentist evidently is a money hungry jerk).  So there was a lot of running around to do.  But, at least it kept him up so he can try to adjust to the time a little quicker.  At the end of the day, Matthew changes his first diaper in a long while.  I heard shrieking and commotion coming from the other room as I made dinner, followed by, "What the...?"  Matthew found a penny in the diaper.   I guess that is his tip.  Even Ian has adjusted to having daddy home.  He initiates play with his daddy and is doing so well.  Everything is looking up.  Now we just need this house to sell....    

The Mountain that was God

I have read many descriptions of heaven, or a place of total utopia. One of my favorites was done by Anne Rice. But, as I was hiking around Mt. Rainier on Thursday, one particular aspect struck me. Mt. Rainier, or Mt Tahoma (The Mountain that was God) has an uncanny way of making your eyes travel heavenward. No matter how beautiful the scenery, the flowers, the emerald greens, the animals, the breath taking beauty, your eyes always travel back to the mountain itself. My guess, if I had to take one, is that is what heaven would be like, emense beauty, but with one central focus: God. The hikers were like pilgrams, marching around, looking at all the scenery, but eyes always returning to the mountain with complete awe on their faces.

Buddha the Truck Driver

Yesterday, I noticed that my small statue of Buddha had a Play Mobile cap on him. So, I called Jameson over and asked if he had put the cap there. He nodded and said, "He looks like a truck driver!" Today, he was giggling to himself and finally I said, "You need to quit laughing, finish eating, and get ready to go." He simply replied, "I can't stop, my laugh is too strong." I hope you all have a day in which your laugh is too strong to stop.

I was able to sit under a perfectly gorgeous canopy of stars and milky way
tonight and saw seven shooting stars. (It must be August). I am
blessed with a second pair of hands to help me and that makes things a lot
easier. Unfortunately, it looks like Matthew might be delayed,
again. He was supposed to be here by now.

I am still having issues with the fact that our move is depending
on a government agency that will determine what is best for my child. I know there are safe guards in place to protect children, however, it just leaves me feeling undervalued and drained with frustration.

Amazing

I found, yet again, another depressing story about women combat veterns and the sexual trauma many of them have faced while in a war zone. It is really disgusting. However, while reading it, I found one of the most beautiful and amazing websites I have ever seen. A former Navy nurse who served in Iraq was raped by Iraqi men at a store in Hillah in 2003. She dissolved into depression and upon returning felt numb. During her therapy process, she begin illustrating her pain. It is some of the most striking and vivid art work I have ever seen. It just drips with raw human emotion. I encourage everyone to tour her online gallery and please, browse each tab or hit "next" toward the bottom of the first page to read what she has written or quoted. It is absolutely amazing: http://www.dianepickelplappert.com/index.html

The story of the day is about a soldier, a medic. It is just heartbreaking. He volunteered to go to Iraq to help his friend, a newly single mom. He was the centerpiece of one of the most famous pictures of the war. He was a true hero. His tour landed him in hell. Truly tragic.
We did manage to go to the Air Expo yesterday. It was pretty miserable. Trying to keep two small children in line at a place that huge was not fun, for anyone. The children's activities (slides and bounce houses) had lines that ran about 15 minutes each. It was warmer than expected and Jameson hated the noise. Not fun. Note to self: do not try to do things like this without another adult around! We left earlier than planned, but it took us 45 minutes just to get out of the parking lot. So, we watched the Thunderbirds from the car. They were awesome.

The World's Most Dangerous Place

So, according to this article, my husband is in "The World's Most Dangerous Place". And I was worried about the window frame in my house that I found bent today. Peachy. And what am I doing on a Friday night? I am sitting here, with an ice pack on my ear where my little cheeky monkey threw a tape measure at my head that the other cheeky monkey pulled out of the drawer where he wasn't supposed to be. But, at least I had a showing today. So, I go to sit outside to enjoy the night air, only to be exposed to the conversation of the neighbors three houses away. These idiots are bragging about their combat tours and one in particular is bragging about his three year old that knows how to differentiate different beers. This child evidently also starting drinking the beer and got falling down drunk. The guy then proceeded to bitch about how people were complaining to him about his drunk three year old and how mean that was. His response? "It's my f*cking kid". So, then he bragged about how the child then fell off a trampoline and got hurt (but that was ok because there was an Army medic present). But he gave him another beer and he was fine. WHAT IS WRONG WITH PEOPLE?????

Customer Service is Dead

I am pretty sure I am not the only person on this planet that has noticed a severe decline in customer service. Whether it be your fast food cashier or your car dealership, customer service seems to be some sort of lost art form. I feel that I have a pretty good sense of "good" customer service because I started working with the general public at 16. In fact, I put myself through college as a "Customer Service Manager" at Wal-Mart. These days, it seems that people that are in the "customer service department" don't even care enough to treat you with respect as a human being. The "customer service department" of Ford finally called me back. Not only was "Mike" completely unhelpful to me, he didn't seem to care how upset I was. It was like talking to a robot. Once again, I told him my MAIN concern involved the fact that I still haven't gotten an answer about my car and why I have to keep getting new rear brakes. He, of course, can't answer that question. He isn't trained to do so. I told him the mechanic couldn't answer me either and he said that NO ONE CAN HELP ME then. Brilliant. I told him I didn't understand how a company would charge someone 30k for a vehicle and just screw them. He didn't understand how I was being screwed. Evidently I do speak Chinese. He never apologized. He merely stated, "I can understand your frustration." No, I really don't think you can. You have no idea. So I told him, I am going to put a sign on my car that says, "Ford treats military wives like crap". He wasn't concerned in the least. Evidently, Ford's vehicle sales have hit an all time high and they can afford not to care about their customers. Good to know.

"...uses her child's disability as a crutch for her parenting inadequacies."

Wow. This story is unbelievable. Seriously. It is the comment at the bottom that truly is unbelievable, i.e.: "If you were a good parent you would know that having a screaming child in a public restaurant, where people PAY to have a nice meal in a NICE ATMOSPHERE, is absolutely inexcusable. I personally find it disgusting that this woman uses her child's disability as a crutch for her parenting inadequacies."
So, a mother takes her autistic child into a restaurant and then gets kicked out, by the Chef of Police, no less. "Gail says Chief Rushton yelled across the restaurant again. "He said, ‘You need to pick her up and you need to get out of here now,'" Gail said. "
Let me get this straight. A grown man is upset by a four year old autistic child, so he yells across the restaurant.... The Chef of Police is disturbing the restaurant by yelling across and that is ok, evidently, but the four year old's yelling is not ok. I am so glad to know that grown ups can throw temper tantrums and children are not allowed, regardless of the fact that the child is Autistic. And this restaurant is called Buckhead Café in Jackson, SC.... Never having been there, I can't really judge. But my guess is, with the Cafe in the name, it isn't a 5 star restaurant. Next, we will be kicking kids out of McDonald's because people are paying to have nice meal. This one just kind of made me sick to my stomach....

We had a very fun day at DJ's birthday party. My little darlings were in this pool for nearly four hours. Although the temperature was quite warm (edging toward 90 degrees), the water was pretty icy and they were shivering violently, but still refused to get out. They were very cute and all the children got along remarkably well. I hope the birthday boy had as much fun as we did. (Thanks again for inviting us Jennifer!). I found out today that Amanda's baby came yesterday, four weeks early. Our thoughts and prayers are with little baby boy Nipper. For those of you with prayer chains or take requests, my uncle had a heart attack on Thursday and isn't doing very well. We are still waiting for a date for Matthew. I went into the office yesterday and they told me the date they have is 1 Oct. That can change at any time, of course. That gives him very little time to clear. I can do most of the legwork, but that is a quite the time cruncher. For my moment of zen today, I put the children to bed and was able to mow. I then proceeded to sit outside in my Adirondack chair and enjoy the half moon and the smell of fresh cut grass. Ahhhhhhh!

I wouldn't buy the Olympian if it were the last newspaper on earth.

So, I have had a bit of a rough week. I am exhausted. It's Saturday and I just want to sleep. The kids got up earlier than normal, so I let them watch some tv in my room so I can lie in bed a bit longer. I also haven't heard back from Matthew and I am anxious to hear from him. The phone rings at 8:20, so I jump up to answer it. It is the Olympian newspaper. I can't tell you how many times they have called asking if I want to subscribe. I was nice, the first three times. Then they started calling me at 9:20 at night while I was putting my kids to bed. They are flat out harassing me. Each time I tell them I am on the national do not call list and to remove my number. Does this do any good? NO. The have called 5 other times this week and I just didn't answer. Why do people feel the need to bully me? Do they think this will make me want to subscribe? Did I change my mind from yesterday about millions of pounds of paper waste that many people don't recycle? Why would I want a subscription to a newspaper at all? I don't really care about the poorly written local news and I can find everything I want on the internet. WHY CAN'T PEOPLE LEAVE ME ALONE?????

Today, Jameson went on his first field trip without me. I was originally told that no siblings were allowed on the field trip, only to find out today, that we could have actually gone. So, instead Ian and I headed to the gym to see if there were any classes that I could take. I stopped by the free daycare service to see if there was a waiting list. I found out instead that my registration had expired and I needed to fill out paperwork. I decided to go ahead and fill it out, so that if or when I wanted to come back later, everything would be ready to go. Instead, I had some stupid daycare worker yelling at me about Ian's bare feet. I told her I wasn't going to leave him there, I was just trying to fill out the short form and would leave. She lectured me about the safety hazard I was imposing and told me I had to hold him as I filled out the paperwork. Right, I am going to hold a squirming 2.5 year old while I fill out paperwork. I mean after all, I didn't just spend the last FOUR months registering the two boys through Child and Youth Services, so they needed more paperwork. And wow, I was really putting these people out with my barefoot child in their stupid child care room for 2.5 minutes. So, I left. I guess the Army wants the wives to stay fat.
I was able to get haircuts for both boys today. Ian shook the entire time, like it was excruciating. That was very sad. But his hair is adorable.
So, today's news? Among the tragic and sometimes stupid (like the Mormon getting in trouble for his shirtless calender) I found this story about a brother and a sister that have be reunited after being seperated in 1942. I will warn you, I got pretty emotional reading it. It is another reminder of what is really important in life.

And the verdict...I went to the dealership because they never called to tell me what was going on. I got there, the car was outside and finished. I went in, so angry that I was shaking. I mean really shaking. I stood there for almost 10 minutes waiting for someone to help me. One the service tech asked if he could help me. I went over and started talking to him. He asked if I was dropping my car off, and I said, "No, my vehicle has been here for 27 hours and I want a status report." He then looked at me and said, "I don't like your tone of voice or your attitude. You're going to have to find someone else to help you." And then, he walked off. I swear, I can't even make this stuff up!!! I was so upset at this point that one of the other people asked if I wanted popcorn for the kids while I waited for the mechanic. I was shaking so badly that I couldn't even get the popcorn in the bag. Basically, no one could help me, no one could explain why I needed breaks AGAIN, and no one wanted to do anything for me. So, I paid my $537 and went outside. I put my kids in MY car, turned the AC and a movie on, walked back down to the rental to unload it. Two Britax carseats (not small, mind you) and all the stuff I had packed for the day and walked back to my car (half a parking lot away), no one offering to help me at all. I got in my car, cursing Ford. I was fighting back tears by the time I got back on base. Meanwhile, it had taken so long, that Jameson was 30 minutes late for school. I went to the squadron to talk to one of the vehicles maintenance guys who agreed with everything I told him. I finally got home around 4:30. After putting my already sleeping kids down and unloading the milk and yogurt, I called the customer service line for Ford. I started telling him calmly about why I had a complaint and then he asked me to hold because "my personal information wasn't showing up in his computer". I held...and held..and held...and then was disconnected. I immediately called back. "We're sorry, our office is now closed....". I guess the FORD MOTOR COMPANY's car sales are so great right now that they can afford to treat there customers like horse manure. Next time I am in the market to buy an expensive vehicle, it will be a car that is actually worth a damn. I bet Toyota would be happy to see me. In fact, when I bought my little Saturn a few years ago, I was treated like gold, regardless of how much money I spent. Too bad all car companies aren't like that.

Am I speaking Chinese?

Today was a unbelievable. I had to have the car to the dealer at 9:15, meaning I needed to leave at 8:15. Fine, not a big deal. Since I was out, we decided to go to the free movie, but when we got there, it was full. So we went to Wall-e instead. It really was a cute moive. I wanted to take my awesome friend who was driving me all over Western WA, so we stopped at the Taco Del Mar in Hawks Prairie. After ordering 4 kids meals and two adults meals, all the while trying to keep the kids in line, the guy behind the counter says, "So, how are you today?" to my unsmiling face. I answered him honestly, "I'm tired", and continued ordering. He says, "Why are you tired, are you working? Do you actually work?" If I didn't have four hungry kids and a pregnant woman with me, I think I would have jumped over the counter and and knocked him out. So, I still hadn't heard anything about my car, it is now 2:30. I call and of course, they need to call me back. They call right in the middle of Ian's therapy at 3:30 (keep in mind, they have had my car since 9:15). "There is a problem with this... and that is under warranty...blah blah blah, but your breaks have actually worn through and scored your rotors, that is going to be about 500 dollars and we are going to need to keep in over night....blah, blah, blah...". So I asked again, "Why are my rear breaks needed to be replace after 28,000 miles AGAIN???" I told her I would call back when my son wasn't in the middle of ABA therapy. So I go to the dealer. What is going??? Well, you know...blah, blah, blah. I finally looked at the guy and said, "That's nice, what I want to know is WHY ARE THE CHEWING THROUGH TWICE IN ONE YEAR. THAT ISN'T NORMAL AND YOU NEED TO FIND OUT WHY BEFORE I REPLACE THEM AND HAVE TO GET NEW ONES IN ANOTHER 20,000 MILES!!!!" "Oh, I see, yes, no, that's not normal...blah, blah, blah. I have asked this same question, I can't tell you how many times, to how many people. Evidently, I have been speaking Chinese and no one understood me. So, off to the rental car place, where I am given a really crappy car, full of animal hair. I drove ALL the WAY HOME and realize, I don't have a key to get in my house. Luckily, I had instictively grabbed my gate key. I drove the HOUR back, calling my friend from Germany who works on FT Lewis to head that way before me. I have one hour until the close...and it takes me an hour to get there. She got there and I told her where I had left my car parked so I could give her my code to get in and snag my spare before they locked up the parking lot. She calls and tells me my car isn't there. They had pulled in the bay and only sales people are left and they can't get in the bay. And it is on the lift. Seriously. We found the manager and he was able to get in the bay. But no one was authorized to bring the car down. I looked at him and said, "I have two small kids, I live an hour away, and I have NO WAY into my house!" (Keep in mind that, yes, I called the realtor to see if they could help...I am still waiting for them to call back and they only live 10 minutes down the road). So, I said, "How sturdy is the side of that lift, because you can turn your back and I will climb up there and go in through the window." He pulled up a stool and climbed in himself and got the key for me. So, I fly, an hour home to my other friend's house were I had left the kids (Jameson had to pee, so I stopped by and the generously kept them while I drove my two hour rampage). Finally, I get home, just shy of 10pm. I checked my messages, just as I noticed a card sitting on my counter. My house had been shown. Fantastic, I have been sorting the boys clothes, you can't even walk down the hallway upstairs. Stellar. The other message? I have another showing first thing tomorrow morning. Now...back to cleaning....

Today's cool link is a video about a man with Autism that has the most unbelievably ability to see things and then, with his photographic memory, draw them, down to the most minute detail. It is quite amazing. Tonight's dinner was a little bit more successful than last. I got Ian to eat a plate full of brown rice pasta, pan fried with lots of spice. Jameson only nibbled his carrots, but licked the plate clean of peanut butter. I have been making quinoa burgers (I used the Martha Stewart recipe, doctored it a bit to be gluten free, and added more spice). I found this makes a very tasty salad topping and I can keep the excess in the refrigerator for days until I pan fry another "burger"). I use romaine lettuce, kalamata olives, homemade tzatziki (Greek yogurt, lemon, dill, cucumbers, garlic, salt, and pepper...most of the liquid removed), tomatoes, and brocco sprouts. It is quite tangy and it makes me feel better about myself. Tomorrow, I have to take the Freestyle back to the dealership. I have having the rear breaks replaced AGAIN. This will be the second time in about a year. I don't understand why the rear breaks on a front wheel drive vehicle are chewing through that fast. The first time, it was a recall. Now, I don't know what is going on. I am not looking forward to dealing with a bunch of guys that think I am stupid and spending my day waiting for them to call me. Luckily, an awesome person offered me a ride back and her other car so I can take Ian to ABA. (I guess the dealership thinks I am a stay at home mom, with nothing better to do). Hopefully, it won't cost an arm and a leg. One more thing to do with my spare time and my spare money. Geez.
It is interesting to me that as I was talking to Ian today, he seemed to really understand what I am saying to him. Not that I didn't think he could understand my language, it just seems that he really understands what I mean unlike a 2.5 year old normally would. I reasoned with him and he understands. He seems he listens more to what I am saying. He is so sweet and so cute.

We finally got out of the house for the 4th. We met up with Hobie, Serina, Sarah, Dan, and his girlfriend and his sister. There wasn't any jumpers this year, which was disappointing. We had a little shower before hand which made the ground quite wet. We went to dinner before, and as I was talking to the other adults present, Jameson suddenly fell out of his chair. It was the strangest and funniest thing! I think he just wasn't paying attention and just fell over. He was fine. He has come to love taking pictures, almost as much as I do. He took this picture of me (top right). He was very happy because the Army band played the theme to Indiana Jones. Ian didn't move a muscle during the fireworks. He was completely enthralled. I am glad we decided to go and to top it all off, I was able to sell on of my chairs on Craigslist! Hopefully I will be able to get rid of lots more stuff and soon! Matthew is supposed to find out approximately when he will be able to come home, soon. It will be good to have at least an idea. Meanwhile, I will be continuing to sort and make trips to Goodwill. As long as the children let me!!!

And yet another story from Afghanistan, adding to the horror that I already see behind my eyelids. The world, it seems, gets a little more callous everyday. I bought Tapioca bread yesterday and Ian won't even touch it, except to push it as far away as possible. I will keep trying. I also bought some dried, sweeten Hibiscus flowers at Trader Joe's. We will see how they are. Last night, we had a thunder storm and I have never heard thunder quite like what occured at 2am. I am not sure if the west coast experiences a different kind of thunder storm, or if I was half dreaming. The thunder rumbled on, rolling, for quite some time. It also did not contain the same characterist boom, falled by the rumbling roll. It did not, however last very long. I am exhausted though, from the constant disruption of sleep. I just wish I would hear some news. Tomorrow, I will contemplate taking the boys to the fireworks. I have absolutely no one to go with or meet and I am afraid it may be more trouble than it's worth. We will see what the day brings.

ABA was canceled today and I feel like a slug. We did nothing, all day. But then again, it was kind of nice. It was the perfect temperature outside, staying in the lower 80s. It was so hot the other night that Jameson took his underwear off claiming that it was too hot for underwear and it was going to give his butt a heart attack if he wore them. I haven't heard from Matthew since he went out again. I did see the three guys that died from 7th Group on iCasualties. It makes me quite literally sick to my stomach. We haven't had anyone look at the house in about four weeks. That really worries me too. Gas is up, most places it is between $4.39 and $4.49 for regular. I am really hoping I just paid the last propane bill for this place. So much to do, so little energy. I did get a steal on bananas yesterday: 5.12 lbs for $2. That means the aroma of banana bread will soon be permeating the walls of the house.

On Friday we drove to Johnston Ridge. We made many stops along the way to get various shots of Mount St. Helen. It is such a fascinating landscape. The river looks like a river of ash. The Crater itself looks like a bomb craved it. (The force of the blast was many times that of Little Boy). The trees that are still around the area are still all pointed away from the blast where they fell nearly 30 years ago. On the last stop before the final point, we all hopped out to snag a few more shots and Jameson was really upset that I left him in the car. "I need to get out too!". I told him, that he could get out at the next stop and we would all walk around. "No, you can't leave me here in the car. I will have a heart attack. You are going to give me a heart attack!" So we headed up the last bit of the incline and all got out. We watched a short movie about the explosion and the changes it made in the environment. After it was over, the curtain went up to reveal an awesome view of the Crater. We went outside to get a better look. Jameson, was a bit scared after the movie. But he looked around and announced, "We HAVE to tell Mt. Rainier about these other volcanoes!" I told him I was pretty sure Mt. Rainier knew about the other volcanoes. All the other people standing around were very impressed withe this four year old who wanted to inform Mt. Rainier of possible rival volcanoes, or possibly warn Mt. Rainier of impending danger. I am disappointed I didn't get a picture with someone standing in front of this view. My shots don't do it justice or show the absolute enormity. Dad did take one that shows it a little better....

Jameson had his surgery last Wednesday and all went well. In the hospital, we had Jack Sparrow take some of his medicine (to calm him down) so that he would take it too. He was in recovery for over an hour while they were trying to wake him up. I don't think I could have gotten through this without my mother. She kept Jameson calm with sock puppets and she kept me from wanted to just sit and cry. We finally got on the road at 5, right in rush hour traffic. He was so hungry; it had been almost 24 hours without food. He begged for more and more food. We tried to give him small portions with breaks in between. After a while, we just finally stopped at McDonald's and he ate an entire kid's meal as well as most of a large fry. When we got home, he kept trying to walk, but his legs kept giving out. I am so grateful that he had an easy recovery. I gave him Tylenol Thursday morning right after he woke up. He was pretty much back to his energetic self the rest of the day. He did take a small trip into town with mom and dad. He didn't do any walking. But when he came home, he said as he was bent over, "Mom, I'm walking like this again(meaning doubled over)." So, I said, "Do you want some more medicine?" He responded sounding like a sarcastic 16 year old, "Ummmm, YEAH!"

Ahhhh, to fall in love with a place. This place was just beautiful, looking west toward Mt Hood and over the Columbia River Gorge. We read about the replica of Stonehenge in Weird Washington and decided to take a drive. It was well worth the effort after a day of filing police reports, changing my locks, and generally feeling paranoid and crazy. I had my identity stolen. What was worse is that someone was actually trying to have things delivered to my home address. So, one would come to the conclusion that it would have to be someone in my gated neighborhood. Someone who knows the hours I keep. It's a crazy world out there. This was a small slice of heaven filling the cracks between crazy and paranoid.

Things I will miss

There are many things I will miss about this place. One, is the freedom that comes from having a yard. I will miss my gardening. I have so enjoyed it. There is a such a creative power that comes with gardening. It has become such an outlet for me. There is a such an immense beauty in the Pacific Northwest. It is always green, even in the dead of winter. That's what comes with living in a rain forest. I will miss my flowers, my 15 rose bushes, my lavender that smells so wonderful, even when not in bloom, my three different types of mint and my fresh tomatoes and basil that I so enjoyed last summer. This year I added strawberries and raspberries that I will probably never get to enjoy. I sat outside, listening to the almost silent raccoons with their soft sniffing, looking for insects in the grass. They stop to wash their hands on the dew. It is so serene. This I will miss.
Jameson finally got a date for his surgery on the 25th of June. I just pray that all goes well. Even though it is a common, "outpatient" surgery, I can't help but feel frighten by it. They are going to cut my baby open. I hope I can hold up. I am sure it will be fine. It is just the thought.

Gas, Food, and Cookies

Well, gas is up to $4.29 at Safeway and I heard yesterday on the news that the average cost per gallon for WA is $4.22. Food costs are also rising, and Americans are feeling a tighter squeeze. I just read the school lunches may be increasing by as much as 50%. So, what happens to the children whose parents were struggling to put food on the table before the gas and food increase? It is a scary world out there. I feel like I have been a lone witness to a horrible trainwreck and now, finally, years later, other people are coming to the trainwreck, wondering how it happened. But, hey, a couple years ago, we were giving tax breaks to people driving huge SUVs. Time to release the technology; It's LONG overdue.
I am very excited because I am making cookies...for Ian. The simplest recipe I have ever seen. A recipe with 4 ingredients. They took literally 20 minutes from start to finish. I can't wait until they cool and he can have one. I am quite sure he will wonder why I have been holding back from him for so long.

And the verdit? He loved them...check out the crumbs:

It's like a tent!

My little darling...he told me earlier he needs wood, glue, crackers, gum, and jelly beans and he would build me a fence. And while we were dancing earlier to Holy Diver, he asked me if I wanted to, " see his moves". What a ball of energy. These boys are truly my joy in life. I bought this tunnel for them at Ikea last weekend and Jameson was so excited that he didn't want to get out. So, he finally grapped a blanket and pillow and fell asleep in it.

Amazing Arlington

This video clip is truly amazing. I hate all the banter that comes with the commentary. But the video is definately worth a look. As you can see the rain and wind get more and more intense:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-31270

And the week's not over!

This weeks has been so crazy. Monday, OT was postponed, but we had to pick up some pictures from the studio at Target (45 minutes away) and then off to Jameson's school. We got home around 4:45 and since Ian was sleeping, I "quickly" mowed the entire yard. Finally dinner was on the table about 6:45.
Tuesday was off to Ian's school. He got so angry at one point that he head butted me in the jaw bruising my tendon and flairing my TMJ. I was so upset and I guess it looked pretty bad because people were scrambling to get me an ice pack. Back home for a quick lunch, turn around, drop Jameson at a friend's and then off to Ian's first ABA therapy in Tacoma (1.5 hour away). Finally got home around 5:30. So, I am exhausted, went to bed without my usual cleaning until 11:30- 12:30.
Wednesday, I am walking out the door to speech therapy (45 minutes away) when a realtor calls. She wants to show the house while I am gone. I strapped the boys in the car (milk and cereal too) and ran through the house doing my best to straighten. The off, down the road. Off course, the lady whose son has therapy after Ian is knocking on the door, interrupting Ian's therapy AGAIN because she feels that the front desk doesn't announce her arrival in a timely fashion. Then off to lunch. I tried taking them to a playground or park to eat our packed lunch but the construction blocked the road. Then off to school. So, as I am getting back into my car, I notice my tire is flat...I mean really flat. Not all the way flat, but not something I want to drive 45 minutes home on. So, then I find a place to replace it and before they started work I told them, this HAS to be done so that I can pick up my son at 3:30. I have to pay a dollar a minute I am late and I am assuming he will not be happy with me. So, as you can guess, I am late to pick him up because it took longer than they though. I had to scramble, calling my mom back on the East coast to look up the number on line so that I can call and ask if he can go into hourly care because of car trouble. I am flying down I-5 like a bat out of hell, praying the cops are not out. I finally get him and then, 45 minutes back home.
Today is Ian's home visit, rescheduled from Friday. Then I am driving up to a friend's house (thank you friend, you are awesome) to spend the night because Jameson has his surgical consult tomorrow morning in Bellevue which is north of Seattle. With morning traffic, I am not even sure how long it would take me to get there. Then back by 12:30 to get Jameson back to school and Ian has his rescheduled OT at 1 in Lacey. Seriously. I am not really sure I am going to make all these appointments.
The weather is really rainy and cold. I really need to get out finish landscaping. I need to clean out my garage. I need to do a lot of things. So tired. So cold. It's 63 degrees in my house, but I refuse to turn on the heat. Why? Because it's JUNE and propane is ridiculously expensive.

"My father is a soldier..."

As I picked Jameson up today from school, I showed him a flower I had gotten from the American ex-prisoners of war for giving them money. (If he is with me, I usually let Jameson shove money in the jar for the American Legion and they hand out silk poppies, these guys hand out silk daisies). It held it and said, "It smells wonderful!" (Personally, I don't really care to smell silk flowers). He asked me where I got it and I told him a soldier gave it to me when I put money in the jar. He replied, "My father is a soldier." I said, "Yes, he is..." (kind of). I asked him what soldier do, what daddy does. He replied, "They shoot! They shoot walls, and buildings, and cars! The shoot signs. Signs are very bad, so they shoot them. He shoots high and low and very far." It was an interesting account of what soldiers do. He misses his daddy very much. It is truly heart breaking.

Unbelievable

One of the top stories from CNN made me, literally, sick to my stomach (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/05/28/soldier.electrocutions/index.html). This young man was killed in a shower because of improper wiring. The American Government has spent millions and millions of dollars paying contractors to do a job that is obviously not being done correctly. This is beyond gross negligence. The Army should have launched a full scale investigation after the first death and inspected EVERY installation for such negligence and corrected the problem immediately. It is nothing short of manslaughter to allow this to happen.

Memorial Day 2008

Today, I breathed a sigh of relief after my husband called me to tell me he was ok. I feel terrible that I didn't attend a Memorial Day service. After going to the beautiful cemeteries in Europe and their elaborate Memorial Day services, you really feel guilty for not observing Memorial Day with the utmost sincerity. Instead, I spent my day fighting with a weedwacker. I have always taken care of the lawn and in fact take great pride in it. But weedwackers are NOT my thing. I couldn't get the plastic line to coorperate. The more I fought with it, the more irriated I became. Won't ANYONE offer to help me out, just a little?? I am definately not looking for a handout. It would just be nice if someone, anyone would offer to lend a hand. I have spent hours watching other peoples kids, mowing other people's lawns, cooking other people food, driving people where they need to go, etc. Everyone once in a while, it would be nice to have someone return the favor. I guess every once in a while, someone will, if asked, or paid will watch my children. So I guess I can't complain too much.
On a much cuter note, I told Jameson that he was having friends over and my little darling responded, "It's a honeyful day!" Not a day goes by that he doesn't ask for his father or wonder where he is. He told me he was going to drive to the airport himself to pick up daddy.

A better gluten free crust...

I was so excited that I was actually able to roll this one out! http://www.fitnessandfreebies.com/wheatfree/wf15.html Ian seems to be eating it just fine....

Gas is $4.09....

I went into town a couple hours ago. I just needed to pick up a couple things from the grocery store and drop off some mail at the post office. I looked at the gas station on my way to Wal-Mart and did a double take. It truly said that regular unleaded is $4.09 a gallon. I guess that because we celebrate Memorial Day weekend by driving to the beach or where ever, they drive the price of gas up. So, I continue down the road to Wal-Mart which of course is NOT my favorite store, but my only other choice is Safeway. Safeway is so ridiculously expensive that I don't go in there unless I am buying their artisan bread. At Wal-Mart, I am literally sicken at the cost of food. For the Wal-Mart brand cheese, it is $4 a block (hmmmm, running neck and neck with gas), the smallest box of powdered milk (Wal-Mart brand) is $7. I just bought what I needed. I couldn't bring my self to pay what they were asking for mozzarella. I am so grateful that I can shop at the commissary. Food prices are rising there too. I felt the pinch when I saw soy milk had gone up over a dollar per half gallon. I don't know how people are making ends meet. I saw these people at Wal-Mart looking so sad and almost desperate with their shopping carts trying to compare the best deal. I think we are all headed for a very rude awakening. Things are only going to get worse. The rest of the world has been feeling it for some time. Look at the bread lines in Egypt. People spend hours waiting in line to buy the bread. Some major changes need to take place.

The Real Memorial Day

For many people, Memorial Day is just another holiday. Please remember why we have a day off work: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/05/23/memorial.day.irpt/index.html

"Sleepless" In Seattle

Until two months ago, I was without "normal" American TV. Yes, we lived here for 18 months without tv except what my father would tivo for us. Before that, in Germany, we only had German stations, so only watched EuroSport, CNN International (which is much better than any other news program I have encountered), and German-dubbed Pimp My Ride on MTV. It is crazy to watch commercials, esp. infomercials. I actually want to by the products they are hocking. Lately, I have been having a difficult time falling asleep, even though I am exhausted. The other night, I was just drifting off to sleep when I felt like I had been hit in the chest. I thought I had been shot. That's the problem with military spouses. We may not be "there", but we are still having some symptom of PTSD. I have nightmares of killing people, of people being killed, of being killed, of war, of soldiers thinking they are being killed or shot at. These dreams and images have a way of sneaking up on you. I don't watch violent movies at all. I try to take my mind off of everything at night, before I go to bed. Lately I have been drowning in the monotony of the election. I started to search some other channels (I can't really tell you what is out there other than news and kids programming). I have found that The Soup guy is absolutely hilarious. I also find Chelsea Lately quite entertaining. Anyway, I used to think I was one of the only ones having this problem. I have been digging deeper and I find that quite a few spouses have been having this same problem, as well as head aches and other physical symptoms. I have no idea what is being done about this. Well, there is ONE option I know of. I can go talk to a psych tech...a person with a high school degree and couple weeks of training. Thanks, but if I have more education than you, then I don't want your help with a psychological evaluation. Not that I would actually seek help for nightmares. I know better. They will suggest paxil. That will fix EVERYTHING, thank you. I have been through this before and at least I am getting some sleep. These kids exhaust me. Seriously, and I am grateful for it. If it weren't for them, I would probably be a wreck. Jackie's Strenght.

Today, I received a phone call from a realtor wanting to show the house. I did the usual running around to make the house look presentable. I figured I would just take my children to McDonald's as a treat to them and a way to keep my kitchen clean. By the time I finished cleaning, I was hot and forgot that it is quite cool outside and McDonald's play area is outside. I drove the 13.5 miles to McDonald's with my children quite cranky. Jameson actually fell asleep. When I got there, I ordered, knowing it was an unusual order. The guy keep screwing it up, but I tried to be understanding and patient. I figured he was new and needed a break. I let the children sit at the table directly behind me as I ordered. I turned to see Ian playing with the light hanging just above the table. I rushed over and stopped it from swinging back to hit him in the face. I told him it was a No No and he left it alone...for now anyway. So, as I waited for the order to be corrected and then had to add things to an additional order because he forgot to add them to the original order, I went back and forth to the table. We finally all sat down to eat our lovely dinner of fast food, when Jameson came around to my side of the table and asked me to help him put together his new toy car. As I did, I could see Ian was doing something that he shouldn't be out of the corner of my eye. As I turned to say something to him, the manager of the McDonald's starts yelling at him to stop and then mutters, "That's just what I need, broken glass." I turned to look to see who had so rudely yelled at my autistic two year old, not even bothering to say (as a normal person who is taking to a complete stranger), "No, no sweetie, you can get hurt". She was yelling at him rudely and was more concerned about cleaning up glass than my son's face. This is supposed to be a child friendly restaurant. This is my child, whom I am perfectly able to stop from swinging the dangerous lamp to begin with. It will be a long time until I order at the Sh-sh-sh-shelm McDonald's again.
As I drove him, fuming about the manager that decided to overstep her bounds, I began to think about all the unbelievably rude people in Western Washington. Then I remembered a particularly bad incident at a German McDonald's. Jameson has broken his leg at his second birthday party. A couple of weeks later, I took him on a road trip to Wittenburg. We stopped on the way home to get something to eat and he was so awful that I wanted to scream. The Germans were laughing at me. Then for the finale, I tired to pull him out of the high chair and because of the cast, he was stuck and I mean really stuck. I could not get him out. So the young group of Germans were really laughing at me and making fun of me. I didn't know what to do. Finally a German man (not a part of the group making fun of me) came over to help. His act of kindness drove me to the bathroom (after we rescued Jameson from the chair) to hide my tears.
So I started thinking about the world in general. Are we all just meaner people these days? I realize the economy sucks, middle class Americans are becoming homeless (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/05/19/homeless.mom/index.html), we are at war, the elections are far from being inspiring, and so forth, but why are we becoming increasingly callous? When I moved here, I was surprised how rude people were, literally looking down their noses at others. I was used to the Germans being rude because they didn't like Americans (at least some, others were more tolerable). When I visited the East coast, people seemed more friendly at first. Until I encountered fast food employees. My sister-in-law was chastized for asking for Italian bread at Subway, and I was told to get over it when I complained that I had to wait over 10 minutes at the KFC/A&W in Eldersburg for a drink. So, what are we left with in society? People losing their jobs and other people not wanting to work the jobs they have all while the cost of gas and food skyrocket. I am still wondering if the increased rudness is my perception or if it is a true increase and if so why? I know fewer people are going to church and subscribing to religion. ("Love thy neighbor as thyself" goes out the door). Maybe people are more irritable because of the increase in the cost of living. I don't know what it is, but if we all find our selves in deep peril, are we going to reach out to one another, or just shoot each other and take our neighbor's food surplus? Maybe I am just really tired and my focus is just lost.

When dogs go to school

So, as I am browsing through the nation's headlines, I find yet another story about Autism, or at least about a dog who belongs to a little boy with Autism (http://www.kcra.com/news/16331182/detail.html). So, Autism is being diagnosed in epidemic proportions. The latest statistic I have seen is 1 in 96 boys, or 1 in 150 children, born in America fall somewhere on the Autism Spectrum. Think about that number. If you go out shopping, you will probably encounter at least that number of children throughout the day. That means, you are seeing these children. In this particular story, the child is denied access to his preschool because of his service dog. Of course I wonder if the parents cleared this with the school officials before the child started school. But on the flip side, I think school need to be prepared for these types of things. It seems that most parents I have encountered want to mainstream their children in the classrooms. Fine and dandy, but what about the dog? More and more autistic children are getting service dogs to help them cope with everyday life. What about the other children that are allergic or have a phobia of dogs? I don't really have a good answer. I know that dogs are everywhere. After flying from Seattle to Baltimore and back, I think I saw more doggie strollers than human strollers. Dogs are more than welcome in stores like Home Depot, service dogs or not. It is almost impossible to avoid dogs. Someone had better come up with a good solution to this before lawsuits start popping up.
Of course, my own autistic son loves animals, esp. dogs. Thirteen grand for a service dog though? Wow. Of course if it really helped his emotional outbursts, it would be worth every penny. I got a black eye from him yesterday and today he bruised the side of my nose. Seriously. I don't think there is enough Assam to get me through the next 50 years.....

Good morning

So, today I am actually going to do it. The Army of Dude Blog inspired me to finally write something. Everyone has something to say and sometimes you just need to get it out. His blog is fantastic and I really admire it.
I am Me: mother, military wife, college graduate, salesperson, slightly paranoid, and always looking for a good laugh. Welcome to my world.