Monday, September 21, 2009

Burning The Bridge Behind Me...230

I woke up very hungry this morning and ate breakfast and drank about 16 ounces of water. Then I remembered to weigh. Oops! So, my weight isn't 100% accurate for this post.

I'm getting really discouraged because of Ortho blowing me off. There are many run/ walk events going on around me and I can't do any of them with my leg hurting. I can't even train to do one right now. I'm starting to notice I've developed a "why bother trying" attitude. I know it's not right, but it is what it is.

I'm going to call my doctor again today and ask her to resubmit my consult to Ortho. This will be the 3rd time. I don't know what to do after that. I guess I just wait some more.

Till next week...

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Oh, Cameron...You're Just So Cute...

Cameron: Emily! There's a monster in your bedroom! It's either a large dog or a small bear!
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The day Cameron came home with dried vomit on his shirt, he told me that a girl in his class got sick and threw up on him. I said, "Well, did you tell the teacher she threw up on you?" Cameron said, "Noooooo, the teacher didn't throw up on me."
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Cameron: Are we going to move to Alaska?
Me: Maybe.
Cameron: Does it snow there?
Me: Yes. Allot.
Cameron: Yay! You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna do this! (he throws himself on the floor and proceeds to go through the motions of making a snow angel.)
Me: Oh, you're gonna make snow angels?
Cameron: Yeah! Are there any animals there?
Me: Yes. There are black bears and grizzly bears and caribou and moose. We have to be careful and watch out for bears.
Cameron: Oh, why? Will the bears eat my toys?
Me (laughing): Maybe, or they might eat YOU!
Cameron: OK...I don't want to move to Alaska.

Friday, September 18, 2009

How Many Cups of Sugar Does it Take to Get to The Moon?

Bonus points if you know what movie my title is from.

Do you ever say crazy stuff when you're asleep? I don't know if I do. No one is ever awake when I'm trying to sleep. Usually Chris goes to bed way before me. He gets up super early so usually he's pretty beat when he gets home in the evening. Around 8:30, he could get to bed and not think twice about it. Me, not so much. I stay awake usually till 10 or 11, sometimes 2, 3, 4 in the morning. Otherwise I just lay there in bed and stare at the ceiling, then stare at the wall. Close my eyes and try to sleep. Next thing I know, I'm staring at the ceiling again. Chris will be on his side of the bed just snoozing away.

Sometimes, when I climb into bed and Chris has already fallen asleep, he wakes up and starts talking. Sometimes it's coherent like, "Hey, I forgot to tell you that I have late-stay tomorrow so I won't be home till later." Or, "Did you remember to throw my uniform in the dryer?" And we'll have a teeny tiny conversation before he goes back to sleep and I stare at the wall.

Sometimes he talks crazy like, "Hey. Where'd the....where'd the....ummm.....where'd the hotel go?" And I smile because he's on vacation and I wish I were too. Last night when I went into the bedroom after he'd been asleep for an hour, the conversation went like this:

Chris: (excited) Hey!
Me: Hey!
Chris: (something inaudible, then) on the neon bench!
Me: What?
Chris: On the neon bench!
Me: On the neon bench?
Chris: Yeah.
Me: Um, I'm gonna go brush my teeth now.

Question: What's a neon bench? I want to see one. And I really want to know what the first part of the sentence was.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

More School Frustration

Last week I wrote about some of the frustrations I'm having with Cameron's school. I mentioned that he got lost, but I didn't mention that he was in a 2nd/3rd grade class when they found him. Now how did that happen? So far he's gotten lost 3 times. The second time, he got "yelled at" because the teacher thought he ran off. The third time, he says he found his way back before the teacher noticed. I talked to the teacher about it and mentioned that he said he got in trouble. She didn't confirm, but she also didn't deny.

On Wednesdays, they get out of school at 12:10. Last week when I got there at 12:10, they were headed to lunch and told me that if I wanted him to eat there, then to come back at 12:30. Ooookaaay? So today, what time do you think I went to the school? That's right, 12:30. Guess where he was. Guess. Not at the lunch tables. Try at the office because I was "late" picking him up. The office lady told me that they now eat lunch earlier so they can be ready to go home at 12:10. I said, "They really need to send home notes when they change things. We are not psychic. They need to communicate with the parents better." She agreed, probably just blowing smoke.

On the walk home Cameron told me that a girl in his class got sick and threw up and some of it got on his back. I looked at his shirt and sure enough, dried vomit down the right side of his back. Eeeeeeewwwww! What is wrong with these people? How can they just let a kid walk around with vomit drying on his shirt? Do they not have eyes? I know they have eyes, but do they not care? Are they not paying any attention at all? It's not like he didn't have a shirt to change into. They told us to pack a large ziplock with extra clothes in their backpack everyday. And we do. So what's the deal?

Would You Visit Us in Anchorage?



As everyone knows, we are retiring from the Navy next November 1, 2010. We are trying to figure out where we want to go. We can go anywhere if we want. We have a few criteria for the place we pick. The top two are: One, it MUST be within a reasonable driving distance to a military base because we want to use our benefits. And two, we want our kids to go to an IB school. After that, we are pretty flexible. Though we'd prefer not to melt or be eaten alive by mosquitoes in the summers.


We have been looking at quite a few places. Our top pick right now is Anchorage, Alaska. Yes, it is cold and snowy there. Which is opposite of what we said we wanted a few months ago. Well, the snow anyway. I'm sure we can adapt.

Anchorage has two military bases and an IB high school. Also, it has the Aurora Borealis. Who doesn't want to see this in person?

Round trip nonstop flights from Houston range from $673 per person in economy to $2253 per person (ouch) in first class. It's a seven and a half hour flight. From Kansas City, round trip flights with one connection range from $573 economy to $2081 and higher for first class. You can also get there by train, but I'm sure it would take a week or so. You would also have to switch train lines in Canada. I'm not even sure if Amtrak goes into Canada anymore. You may end up on 3 different train lines. I'm sure it can be driven also, somehow and for days and days.

This post is long enough. If you're interested in reading a little about Anchorage, here's the Wiki page for you. Skim through it if you feel like it.

And, no, this is not a joke.
Love ya!

Monday, September 14, 2009

I Don't Like Work.

Every single weekday morning Gabriel looks at Chris's side of the bed and sees it empty. Every single weekday morning we have this conversation:

Gabriel: Where's Daddy?
Me: He's at work, Baby Bear.
Gabriel: Oh, at urk?
Me: Yes, at work.
Gabriel:
Oh.

Today the conversation went like this:

Gabriel: Where's Daddy?
Me: At work, Baby Bear.
Gabriel wrinkles his face like he smells something sour: I on't ike urk. (I don't like work)

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...229.6

Yay! Just barely below 230. But still. Now if only I can keep going. It's so hard. And Emily is tempting me so bad. She's the devil, ya know. We went to the grocery store earlier and she was just bugging me to get a German chocolate cake they had right there at the checkout. Evil store layout planner people. I wanted the carrot cake that was right there next to the chololate one. It was soooooooo hard. But I resisted. But I did give in and let her get the spinach dip and chips. I told myself I wasn't going to eat any. But by the time we got home, my Frosted Mini-wheats had long worn off. I was hungry. I should've went for the yogurt, but no. I had a couple of handfuls of chips and that stupid spinich dip that is nowhere near as good as homemade. I gotta plan my snacks better and eat before I get hungry.

I finally got my labs back. 'Bout time, right? Cholesterol was less than 200, but the doctor wants to see it lower. Blood sugar showed borderline diabetic, but another showed that it was OK. So I just gotta watch it. Doctor told me to eat more fatty fish, which I would LOVE to, but I'm the only one in my family who will eat it. And I don't wanna cook two different meals for dinner. So, we'll see how this works out.

Well, that's all I have for now. Till next week...

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

School Frustration


Cameron


and Gabriel



Christopher not happy about school starting.


Cameron started kindergarten yesterday. It's so quiet now. Gabriel easily fell asleep around 12:30 for a nap. It's nice to have calm. At the same time I'm frustrated with Cameron's school. First they had him enrolled in first grade. I found out when I called the school office two weeks ago. I told them then that he is supposed to be in kindergarten. They told me to come into the office to verify on Monday. I did; he was still enrolled in first grade. I came back on Wednesday. They couldn't look him up for some reason. I came back on Friday. He was finally enrolled in kindergarten. The 3 times I went in, I asked if they have any kind of information packet, handbook, whatever for new students. No. I asked if there was an orientation for kindergarten. Yes, on the Friday AFTER school starts. Mkaayy? That doesn't make much sense. Anything I need to know? Just have him here at 7:25 for breakfast. Pick him up at 2:10. OK, how does he know where to go? Is there going to be someone keeping tabs on the kindergarteners? No, but he'll be fine. Really?? You don't know my kid. If he gets too confused, he'll head for home. And since the school gates are to remain open during school hours, and no one is keeping tabs on the kids, he may just make a run for it. He does know his way home, but he has to cross a street first. A street people speed down, with no stop signs. And this place isn't exactly a place you want a 5 year old walking around by himself. Ya know? On Friday after going through all of these questions again, I decided that we are screwed, it's going to be a rough start, and we are just gonna wing it. As I turned to leave the lady says: You DO know about the uniforms, right? NO, but please tell me because I was just off to clothes shop for school. (AND this would be a great example of why you need an information packet or something. Jeeze. And while I'm complaining, do you think I can get the school supply list and the schedule in ENGLISH? Just FYI I don't speak spanish and I certainly don't read it. I know I should in this day, but sorry, I was born in the 70's, it wasn't required learning at school yet. Oh, and I'm white. So, ya know english speaking parents and all.) No I didn't say any of that. I'm too much of a chicken I guess. But yesterday when I picked him up from school, my frustration got to me. Instead of trying to decipher the paper I had in my hand, I took it to the office and said, "Can I get this in english, because I don't speak spanish. Or at least can I get it translated?" It was information on a t-shirt they are selling and can be worn as part of the uniform. Yes, they found it in english for me. They seemed a little peeved as if I had offended them, but what can I do? Actually, I'm offended. But this spanish/ english thing is for another post.

Turns out, he did get lost after lunch. Maybe because nobody's keeping tabs on the kindergarteners. AND he didn't have a snack. Maybe because we didn't know to bring one. So strange though that the spanish speaking people knew. Hmm. And by the way, before I get frowned at too much, there is one other white, non-spanish speaking kid in Cameron's class. They didn't get the info about the uniforms or snack either. Strange?

And Cameron came home with a belly ache.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Burning the Bridge Behind Me...232


No workouts last week. I've been SLACKING. And I feel like it too. So sluggish and tired. Like that bear in the picture.

I'm back on this week though. Chris and I signed up for a 12-week fitness challenge. I think I've done about 4 now. I've never completed. I've gone pretty strong for a couple of weeks and then just fizzle out. I'm gonna try and finish this one. With the kids going back to school tomorrow, maybe things will calm down around here and I won't feel so drained.

I STILL haven't gotten my lab results back. As I suspected last week, I got pushed to the back burner. My doctor is on vacation now. I know I should be super grateful that I have medical insurance and that I shouldn't complain about how long this is taking, but dang, this is getting ridiculous. I also still haven't heard from Ortho. That referral went out on August 4th.

Well, till next week...