It's that season: soccer, ticks, and baby dolls

This past weekend was busy and the next several weekends into June will be busy. Soccer season has arrived, so A has those games followed by Tae Kwon Do. She was pretty tough and powered through this weekend so I hope she will be able to carry on the next 6 or 8 weeks (or however long this stuff lasts).


I told Hubby I don't know how my parents did it when us 4 kids were growing up playing games every weekend and scattered all over the place. We get drained after one!!!


Speaking of "seasons"... apparently this place is very popular for ticks -- those gross, blood-sucking pests. For the first time in my own memory I had found a tick on me. Cue the internal freaking out! I was able to remove the creep easily enough and flush him away... and then, paranoid (though calmly), did quick checks over my WANs. They were clean. Guess I'll have to be watching more closely for that now.


I found something else this weekend too, W had prepared all of N's babies for bed. It was so sweet! N adores her baby dolls and can often be found hauling 1 or 2 or 4 around with her. She is a good mommy to them; giving them blankets, feeding them, giving them hugs and kisses. When she saw what her brother did she got so excited and then wouldn't lay in her bed because she would mess it up. I love to see how W expresses his caring heart for his sister.

We have a full week ahead of us and the month of May is coming like a freight train so I should sign off and head to bed.

Yes, we saw Endgame

I'm laying here deciding if I should even bother searching through Netflix or Hulu for something to watch because maybe I should go to bed.

It has been a good day, but I just feel so tired!

W had an important appointment with the Developmental Pediatrician. Hubby even came along. We think it went well: there is a lot of progress seen and we have a good plan in place. There are some things we all have to work on to help W increase his independence and responsibility so I think Hubby and I will have to start expecting more and structuring things out better.


After the appointment W and I sat in the pharmacy for over an hour waiting for a prescription. These military pharmacies and wait times are not improving as the years pass. I really hope somebody can come up with a more efficient system to implement because so much time is wasted there. Thankfully we brought the Switch so W happily played minecraft while we waited.

Later in the afternoon Hubby and I went to see Avengers: Endgame.

No spoilers from me, but it was great! I think it creates a good "ending" and allows space for the franchise to continue. I told Hubby now we have to spend the next month watching ALL the movies in chronological order then watch Endgame again. I'm not sure he's on board for that.


Today I am thankful for our respite provider watching the girls during W's appointment and then having all 3 kids so mommy and daddy could be grown ups for a bit. Having safe, reliable childcare allows such a relief for military families especially when you live no where close to family.

Dandelions

A high note every week for me is attending PWOC on base. These ladies are always great to be around and the class I'm in has an amazing teacher. This woman loves to learn herself and does so much research to prepare what to share with us. Our study is giving us some fresh perspective of Jesus and his ministry through the lens of the Jewish culture of that time. Interesting stuff.

The PWOC has childcare as well as a homeschool room so both girls are taken care of.

Afterwards on our way to the car A and N were gathering dandelions (which ended up making a mess on their seats). I thought it was funny later that afternoon when we picked up W from school and he also had collected a couple dandelions.

My kids like to blow the dandelions around and brag that they are helping the bees.

Anyway, I also had Bunco tonight. I didn't win anything this time, but, as usual, had a blast! I am determined that one of these times I will win Left-Right-Center! I have been close several times and tonight I was in the final 3! I'm the youngest lady there and these women are so fun! Food is good, too. With a group of military spouses from (literally) all over the world, you would expect good food. 

Early Show Up Gold Star

I had a non-brilliant moment today.

A had an appointment at Walter Reed... which is about a hour away from home. In my phone I had it scheduled for 11am but my wall calendar had 1pm. Why?? I don't know.

I figured my phone was correct and we showed up for her appointment 2 hours early.

At least we weren't 2 hours late. (Bright side, huh?) Also, we had brought A's schoolwork with us so she had plenty of time to finish the day's assignments.

Thankfully, as the flagship hospital, Walter Reed is BIG. The check-in desk suggested where to go so the girls and I enjoyed a VERY affordable and yummy lunch in the "galley." There is also a food court but supposedly more expensive and busy.

After A's appointment and fighting traffic, we arrived back just in time to pick up W from school.

I am the keeper of the calendar around here so if I can't keep it straight it really fouls up my day.

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This is our first spring out here and I am LOVING all the flowers! I'm glad we don't suffer from allergies because the pollen here is no joke. Brushing up against a car turns clothes yellow!

But the pretty flowers look great and smell amazing!

When the day is smooth

I enjoy when we have good days. A's schoolwork gets done with little complaint, N doesn't cause a ruckus while mom is teaching, and we get positive comments on how W is doing in both school and therapy.

Also, we had respite care tonight so I finally took care of the supplies from teaching Art at our local homeschool co-op that has been overwhelming our downstairs for the past few months. Later, Hubby took me out to the movies so he could see Captain Marvel before Endgame comes out later this week.

Sometimes home life is crazy, but every once in a while the gears move smoothly.

A Fresh Start

I feel the need to write again.

To document what our life is like now and remember our adventures.

It has been awhile... several years... a lot has changed.

We are now stationed on the East Coast and loving it! Except for the traffic.

Update on my little WANs:

W is doing well in his special education class at school. At 11 he is doing some beginning reading and basic math. Maybe not where we would want him to be, but he is making progress and that is what is important. Once a week he attends Speech and Occupational Therapy. He still loves video games.

A is keeping us busy. She is a purple belt in Tae Kwan Do, involved in the base soccer league, and is homeschooled. We have doctor appointments as we work through some issues, but she is doing well. She has just turned 9 and we cannot believe how quickly these kids grow up.

N is what I call the sweet distraction. She is happy and curious and cuddly and sometimes mischievous. At 2 years old she is in a fun stage of life. It was a bit difficult going back to "baby land" after the other two kids were so much older, but N has been a joy and we are blessed to have our bonus baby in our lives. This past week she moved out of a crib and into a toddler bed which has actually gone pretty smoothly.

Hubby has his work, I have my hobbies and home life. We are happy.

It was Easter this past weekend. We got dressed up and headed to our church for Sunday service. Afterwards there was an egg hunt. W was concerned about following the rules and making sure the little ones were being watched. A was busy running full out to get as many eggs as she could and not afraid to shoulder in on the boys if they were in her way. N just wanted to grab every egg to put in her basket because she thought all of this was wonderful.

Once home, we ate a simple lunch and hung around the house for the rest of the day enjoying our Easter treats.

Simple, peaceful. 

(except for when we did Resurrection Eggs and I wanted to send everyone to bed with no dessert for bickering and crying... but it ended alright)